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"She was not quite what you would call refined. She was not quite what you would call unrefined. She was the kind of person that keeps a parrot." -Mark Twain
"People in general aren't willing to do what it takes to be successful today, so that leaves big opportunities for those who are willing to work." -Melvin Powers
"There are two things that are infinite, one is the universe, the other is human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe." -Albert Einstein
Probably Not…Take a Look: This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 from Salina, Kansas. It was taken from the original document on file at the Smoky Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, Kansas and reprinted by the Salina Journal.
8th Grade Final Exam: Salina, Kansas - 1895 Examination Graduation Questions of Saline County, Kansas
April 13, 1895
J.W. Armstrong, County Superintendent.
Examinations at Salina, New Cambria, Gypsum City, Assaria, Falun, Bavaria and District No. 74 (in Glendale Twp.)
Reading and Penmanship - The Examination will be oral and the Penmanship of Applicants will be graded from the manuscripts.
GRAMMAR (Time, one hour)
1. Give nine rules for the use of Capital Letters.
2. Name the Parts of Speech and define those that have no modifications.
3. Define, Verse, Stanza and Paragraph.
4. What are the Principal Parts of a verb? Give Principal Parts of do, lie, lay and run.
5. Define Case. Illustrate each Case.
6. What is Punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of Punctuation.
7-10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.
ARITHMETIC (Time 1 1/2 hours)
1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at 50 cents per bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs. for tare?
4. District No. 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
5. Find cost of 6,720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. long at $20 per in.?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (go grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance around which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.
U.S. HISTORY (Time, 45 minutes)
1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided.
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States.
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849 and 1865. ORTHOGRAPHY (time, one hour)
1. What is meant by the following: Alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication?
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: Trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals?
4. Give four substitutes for caret “u”.
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final “e”. Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: Bi, dis, mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, super.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: Card, ball mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: Cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.
GEOGRAPHY (time, one hour)
1. What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of N.A.
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Heela, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fermandez, Aspinwall, and Orinoco.
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.
7. Name all the republics of Europe and give capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give inclination of the earth.
PHYSIOLOGY (Time, 45 minutes)
1. Where are the saliva, gastric juice, and bile secreted? What is the use of each in digestion?
2. How does nutrition reach the circulation?
3. What is the function of the liver? Of the kidneys?
4. How would you stop the flow of blood from an artery in case of laceration?
5. Give some general directions that you think would be beneficial to preserve the human body in a state of health.
— Imagine a college student who went to public school trying to pass this test, even if the few outdated questions were modernized. Imagine their professors even being able to pass the 8th Grade. Can Americans, student and professor alike, get back up to the 8th Grade level of 1895? I seriously doubt it but stranger things have happened.
L
Somewhere In Ko Samui
“Something is about to happen. Something very wonderful.”
1. Teaching Math In 1960
A logger sells a truckload of timber for $100.
It takes 4 men 2 hours to cut down the timber.
It takes 8 men 1 hour to split the timber.
Each man is paid $5 per hour.
What is his profit?
2. Teaching Math In 1970
A logger sells a truckload of timber for $100.
His cost of production is 4/5 of the price.
What is his profit?
3. Teaching Math In 1980
A logger sells a truckload of timber for $100.
His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80.
What is his profit?
4. Teaching Math In 1990
A logger sells a truckload of timber for $100.
His cost of production is $80.
Did he make a profit?
5. Teaching Math In 2000
A logger sells a truckload of timber for $100.
His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20.
Your assignment: Underline the number 20.
6. Teaching Math In 2008
A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands.
He does this so he can make a profit of $20.
What do you think of this way of making a living?
Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes? (There are no wrong answers. )
L
Somewhere In Ko Samui
“Something is about to happen. Something very wonderful.”
Over the last 4-5 days I have been in a gigantic nostalgic mood. Sometimes it just happens. Flood after flood of old memories assault me. Both good and bad, pleasant and unpleasant. Is this what happens when you grow older? After I watched Cinema Paradiso over the weekend I was reflecting on why so many take so much for granted. No one fully appreciates anything until it is gone. With that in mind I want to introduce you to someone you don’t know. She has the same name as little ol me. Laurie. Laurie Boncimino.
Laurie was born right around the same time when I first started working for myself. She was wearing diapers when I was making my first few independent dollars. She was learning to ride a bike when I first started to get heavy into computers. She was 10 years old when I made my frst sale on the internet. She was 11 when I spent the summer in Russia. She was 13 when I started to sell on Ebay. She was 16 when I spent the winter in Nepal. She was 19 when I spent the summer in Egypt. She was almost 21 when I was in England. When I was in Chicago in 2002 I probably passed within half a mile of her yet we never met. Why you ask. You see, I never even knew about Laurie until this weekend. I don’t even remember how the links took me to her website Laurie Boncimino but I ended up there and read all about Laurie and I read her mother’s blog Barb K that speaks of the last 3 years.
You see, Laurie took her own life 3 years ago. March 2, 2005. At a spot I was visiting 3 years previous almost to the day. There’s just something about this story that hit me hard. Real hard. Her mom has posted many pics of Laurie. Here’s one.
And another.
What could have driven Laurie to take her own life? This is the part that kills me. By all accounts she was happy, in college, engaged, employed. Her mother spoke of some journals they received later from the police that were in her car when it was impounded. Her mom said there were some pages written 3 weeks before to her fiancee and there were a few “darker” pages that Laurie wrote later that evidently went on to explain a little what she was feeling.
“…she is sorry, she is sorry, the pain, no way out, her pride, “I can not handle the stresses of this world…its not made for me.”
Quote from Laurie’s mother: “She left the house that day, saying, “Mom, have a great day. See you tonight. I love you.” Did she have her plan in mind then? It does not seem likely to me. What broke her spirit and her mind? Will I ever have all the pieces? Probably not…”
She had studied the last 3 days for a test she was having later that day. She met with her fiance that morning for coffee around 9am. She left a little later for school and her fiance got a text message in the afternoon around 3pm that she was studying for the 6pm exam. She never showed up for the exam. Her mother knew something was definitely wrong when she did not show up at 5am to open the Starbucks she managed.
2 days later police discovered her Jeep near the Art Institute. They discovered her jacket and cellphone behind Adler Planetarium later Friday. On Saturday they recovered her body from the lake not too far away from where her jacket and cellphone were found. It was 27 degrees that day. The water temperature was 33 degrees. Life expectancy in the freezing water was about 15-30 minutes. In her notes Laurie wrote she waited until dark.
In my mind I go back to when I was there. I remember how freezing cold and windy it was. I try imagine what it was like that evening as the sun set. More than likely in that secluded area behind the planetarium Laurie was all alone with her thoughts. Sunset that day was at 5:41pm. By 6:30pm all remaining sunlight would have been gone. Darkness and a starry sky above were left. I am left with the thoughts how long did Laurie sit there before making that fateful decision.
Wings Of Desire
Did you ever see Wings Of Desire? In that movie there were two angels that spent their days listening to the thoughts of humans. Sometimes the humans could sense their presence when they were close by. I remember one scene when Cassiel came upon a woman contemplating suicide. She was so lonely and had no one to speak to. Cassiel leaned so close to her cheek while listening to her distressed thoughts. It was such a heart breaking scene.
Along those same lines I wish I could have been behind the planetarium that evening listening to Laurie’s thoughts. Oh how I wish I could have. For 30 minutes to be able to do what Cassiel could. To be able to feel what Laurie felt that dark evening. To be cheek to cheek with her listening to her thoughts as she senses another presence. She looks around and sees nothing. She is aware of something but dismisses it as her imagination. Laurie stands up, removes her jacket and walks to the water’s edge. It is at this point with Laurie standing there looking down at the water, tensing her muscles to jump, that I am allowed to become physical for a moment and call out her name “Laurie”. She freezes for a moment, turns around and asks who’s there. She’s puzzled because for the last few hours she has been alone at this spot. Now someone called her name. Someone closeby knew who she was. But that’s impossible, there was no one there a moment ago. Hearing her thoughts I tell her “Yes Laurie, it is possible”.
Midnight, on the water
I saw the oceans daughter
Walking on a wave she came
Staring as she called my name.
Her eyes adjust and she can now see me. She says she doesn’t know me and asks who I am. I tell her I know her name is Laurie Boncimino and I also know why she has spent the last 7 hours down here. I tell her I also know what she was planning on doing 30 seconds ago. “WHO ARE YOU??” I walk up to her, look into her eyes, hold my hand to her cheek and let my memories pass into her. In 15 seconds she sees who I am and she sees what would have taken place over the next week and over the next 50 years if she had jumped. A lifetime flashes by in seconds. Laurie experiences in 30 seconds what takes most people 50 years to experience. This can’t be real she says, this is some sort of trick, some sort of dream. Yes, that’s it, I’m dreaming all this. You are not real and I will wake up all alone like I was all afternoon. Once again I hold my hand to her cheek and Laurie sees what I see. “Then that means you…are……an……….”
Yes, Laurie, you are correct. I am. But when you go back no one will believe you. They will believe you were under too much stress and saw what you wanted to see. For even now if someone came by all they would see is a young woman standing alone in the dark talking to herself. You can see and hear me because for 30 minutes I was given an opportunity to make you understand what a difference you will make on the lives of people over the next 50 years. To make you understand there are forces of good hard at work in this world but it’s not always easy to see. To let you see for yourself there are other forces at work that do care very deeply about you and your pain. Forces that are so far beyond the physical that it takes something beyond words for you to see it.
When I pressed my hand to your cheek you looked through my eyes. What you saw for the briefest of moments is what I see everyday. You were allowed that vision because of where you were with your life and because you were seconds away from ending it. Not everyone is given that gift. It’s sad but very few are. You were. For the briefest of moments you glanced into the future and saw what you will become. After tonight you will never see me again but you will feel my presence for the rest of your life. When you return, if you decide to relate this story, it will be called a dream or hallucination by the well meaning, things much worse by those with thorns in their paws. You know what you experienced and nothing will ever change that.
My time is short now Laurie. I just want you to know I heard all your thoughts this afternoon. When you walked under the large oak tree near the parking lot and felt something breeze by you that was me. I’ve heard all your cries and thoughts. I was so close to you I wanted to reach out and hold you close in my arms. But I couldn’t. That’s not the way it works. Normally. I was given special permission tonight to become visible to you and show you that you do matter and there is help available when you need it most. All you have to do is ask. Just ask Laurie. Good bye for now. Remember Laurie, Just Ask.
If I Should Stumble…Catch My Fall
Cassiel Touches Then Becomes Human
Wings Of Desire Japanese Trailer
Wings Of Desire German Trailer
Wings Of Desire Library Scene
Der Himmel über Berlin - Souls Bared
I Can’t Get It Out Of My Head
L
Somewhere In Ko Samui
“Something is about to happen. Something very wonderful.”
If you know me and have read any of my posts you know I forsake media and tv for the most part. With a few exceptions here and there. The History Channel, National Geographic and some classic movies ranging from around 1910 to the late 80’s. With particular attention to Now Voyager, Dark Victory and anything Frank Capra directed. I’m a sucker for old time movies that actually were intelligent and delivered a message. Score 50 points if it makes me pull out a big box of kleenex. There are just so few of those type left. The crap that now comes out of Hollywood never ceases to amaze me.
When I was young the big yearly thing was waiting for the once a year showing of The Wizard Of Oz. Every kid on the block knew exactly what day and what time this year’s showing was coming on. There was tons of popcorn to be popped, hot dogs to be cooked and home made ice cream to be made. Nothing could be allowed to interrupt the show once it got underway.
With that in mind I still keep a list of movies to be watched once a year. WOZ is on it. Rudolph is on it. It’s a Wonderful Life is on it. I have a few others that pull my heartstrings. Today is the day for another one of my favorites. Cinema Paradiso - The Director’s Cut. The 3 hour version. NOT the 2 hour theatre version released to the US audience after being chopped to pieces to “conform” to the US prevalence for under 2 hour films. Granted most cut their teeth on the 2 hour version unless you saw the original 3 hour cut in Europe first. US audiences were spoon fed for lack of a better word the 2 hour version. And a lot of viewers who saw the 2 hour theatre version first will insist to their death the 2 hour version is superior to the original 3 hour version. I disagree totally. If you have never seen this movie I would wait until you get your hands on the 3 hour version. Yea, it’s long, but oh so worth it.
I wish a 2 hour review could do this film justice, it can’t. You have to see this to understand. It’s about a young boy in Sicily that grows up and makes difficult choices that alter the very fabric of his life. He returns home later as an adult and has decisions to make, truths to learn and 30 year old heart breaking mysteries revealed.
I was reading a post over at IMDB from a woman that watched this movie with her family (not sure if it was the 2 hour or the 3 hour version) and stated she and her family were so disappointed with it. She said all it was about was some washed up old man and a boy. She got nothing out of it. Waste of her time she said. I read that and was in shock. I mean it’s like her visiting the the Louvre and saying all she saw was a bunch of colors on some old canvas. Un effin believable.
If you are cold blooded and enjoy action, guns, explosions and made up sugar coated BS then Cinema Paradiso is not for you. I guarantee it. If on the other hand you have a higher than normal IQ and love to lose yourself inside a masterpiece for a few hours then load this in your dvd player. Oh yea, it helps if you have a sentimental side. If you do not have a sentimental side pass on this movie. Do you stock up on extra kleenex for those one in a million great movies that make you cry like a baby? Well, you just hit the mother lode.
There is a heart breaking, soul wrenching scene in the final 20 minutes where Toto has given up all hope and is alone by himself standing on the dock at night looking out over the sea while an overhead light slowly swings back and forth drawing shadows on his face. The person he then encounters next is where I lose it. I mean I LOSE IT. You will know what I mean when it happens. I can play that 13 minute dock scene over and over and over again. I guess I am too soft for my own good. There’s just something about that intensely personal 13 minute scene that rips my insides out. What takes place is something eerily similar to something that took place in my own life. Maybe that’s why I react so strongly to that scene. Whatever it is I am emotionally spent, ripped to shreds, red eyed, happy and sad at the same time after viewing that scene. For good measure I put it on the A-B switch and watch it 5 or 6 times in a row.
Be sure to watch this scene in Italian with English subtitles. Do not watch this movie with the dubbed English. Keep the spoken Italian and refer to the english subtitles. After 2 minutes you will get used to it and the movie is 10,000 times better with the spoken Italian. The inflections, the tone, the music and depth of the Italian language all will be destroyed if you watch this with dubbed english coming out of their mouths.
Below is the 13 minute scene. If you have not watched the 3 hour director’s cut version before DO NOT watch this scene. It will spoil the final 20 minutes for you. Trust me.
Cinema Paradiso - Salvatore Elena Reunion
Now if you decide to watch the chopped up 2 hour version first then you will never know what I am talking about. That 13 minute scene is not in the chopped up version. And in my opinion that 13 minute scene is worth the entire price of the movie. Yah, it’s THAT GOOD! 30 years of life is explained in 13 minutes. In the very beginning of that 13 minute scene director Tornatore does a close-up now-then-now 4 second 30 year flashback and it’s at that point that Little Laurie starts going through the kleenex. Be prepared, it’s one of if not the most emotional scene I’ve ever viewed in my life.
That’s it for now. I’m off for the once a year viewing of Cinema Paradiso and a most looked forward to 13 minute 2 box of kleenex scene.
L
Somewhere In Ko Samui
“Something is about to happen. Something very wonderful.”
I have been in a very nostalgic mood all day today. A lot of thoughts have been flying through Little Laurie’s mind. In my last post I spoke about what is abnormal to me is normal to others. I have one question for you. Read below and ask yourself which scenario is normal.
Scenario : Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school.
1976 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up lifelong mates.
2008 - Police are called, SWAT team arrives and arrests Johnny and Mark. Mobiles
with video of fight confiscated as evidence. They are charged with assault, AVOs
are taken out and both are suspended even though Johnny started it. Diversionary
conferences and parent meetings conducted. Video shown on 6 internet sites. Senator pushes for new bill that mandates 15 hours per semester video training in conflict resolution. Senator’s lifelong friemd is awarded $24 million no bid contract to supply videos to every school in the state.
Scenario : Jeffrey won’t sit still in class, disrupts other students.
1976 - Jeffrey is sent to the principal’s office and given a good paddling.
Returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.
2008 - Jeffrey is given huge doses of Ritalin. Counseled to death. Becomes a
zombie. Tested for ADD. School gets extra funding because Jeffrey has a
disability. Drops out of school.
Scenario : Billy breaks a window in his neighbor’s car and his Dad gives him
a whipping with his belt.
1976 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and
becomes a successful businessman.
2008 - Billy’s dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy is removed to foster care
and joins a gang. Psychologist tells Billy’s sister that she remembers being
abused herself and their dad goes to prison. Billy’s mum has an affair with the
psychologist. Psychologist gets a promotion. Billy’s sister writes best selling book
warning of the dangers of parental rape and goes on nationwide TV with Oprah
warning other teenagers to be careful around their parents.
Scenario : Mark brings cigarettes to school.
1976 - Mark shares a smoke with the school principal out on the smoking area.
2008 - Police are called and Mark is expelled from school for drug possession.
His car is searched by K-9’s for drugs and weapons. Police find a copy of Playboy in his car and charges are filed for bringing pornographic materials onto state property.
Scenario: Vince fails high school English.
1976 - Vince goes to Remedial English, passes and goes to college.
2008 - Vince’s cause is taken up by local human rights group. Newspaper articles
appear nationally explaining that making English a requirement for graduation is
racist. Civil Liberties Association files class action lawsuit against state
school system and his English teacher. English is banned from core curriculum.
Vince is given his diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he
cannot speak English.
Scenario : Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers, puts them in a model
plane paint bottle and blows up an anthill.
1976 - Ants die.
2008 - The police and Homeland Security are called and Johnny is charged with domestic
terrorism. Teams investigate parents, siblings are removed from the home,
computers are confiscated, and Johnny’s dad goes on a terror watch list and is
never allowed to fly again. Johnny’s mum loses her job as a stewardess (ooops, sorry, flight attendant), becomes alcoholic.
Scenario : Johnny falls during recess and scrapes his knee. His teacher,
Mary, finds him crying, and gives him a hug to comfort him.
1976 - Johnny soon feels better and goes back to playing.
2008 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She is convicted and spends seven years in prison. Johnny undergoes five years of therapy. At the end of the therapy Johnny is convinced it was all his fault and hangs himself.
Scenario : Johnny has one night stand in Cancun with Lisa.
1976 - Johnny and Lisa understand they are too young to be parents. Johnny and
Lisa share the cost of an abortion. Both continue their education, graduate and
raise families.
2008 - Johnny and Lisa understand they are too young to be parents. Johnny and
Lisa share the cost of an abortion. Lisa keeps the money and has the baby
against their agreement. Lisa drops out of school. goes on welfare. In
order to receive government money Lisa names Johnny as the father. Family court
in New York finds Johnny the father "in absentia" along with 300 other "in
absentia" cases that day. Each case found guilty brings in government funding
for the court. 4 years later Johnny is arrested in the Rome airport while his
Italian wife and children are detained and interviewed. He was trying to fly on
a revoked US passport and owes over $90,000 in back child support. Johnny
contacts his attorney and discovers the New York court has revoked his passport,
revoked his drivers license, attached a claim for over $90,000 in back child
support, destroyed his credit, found him guilty in absentia 4 years previous and
now unless he pays $90,000 he will be flown back to the US in handcuffs to face
criminal charges.
L
Somewhere In Ko Samui
“Something is about to happen. Something very wonderful.”
I was checking my CJ stats the other day for some items I sold and one of them was for a photo of Carrie Fisher from the first Star Wars movie from 1977.
US $99.00 End Date: Saturday Sep-13-2008 18:41:40 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $99.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list
1977…..it feels to me as if it happened 2 years ago. Am I some kind of Rip Van Laurie where time stood still? 39 cent a gallon gas, a supreme 16″ pizza with the works for 4.50, adult movie tickets $2.25, concert tickets for the biggest names $4, $5 and $6. A brand new t-top 76 monte carlo loaded with every option for $5,600 cash.
Whenever I visit the states anymore (which isn’t too often) I am broadsided by massive culture shock. I get off the plane at DFW, take a taxi, look around and wonder WTF happened. I don’t even recognize the place I grew up in. Gang graffiti, this most horrid thumping music emanating from tiny cars with 1,000 watt amps, advertising everywhere for the most idiotic things imaginable, miles and miles of open farmland where I played for hours is now sheets of concrete with horrid cookie cutter warehouses stretching for as far as the eye can see with the prerequisite stripped abandoned car every few blocks waiting for the police tow.
Went to visit the first place I ever had a job as a teenager. GONE. Huge parking lot in it’s place with a bunch of shabby looking 1500 SF warehouse buildings.
Went to visit 2nd place I had a job. So many great memories from that place. GONE. Building still somewhat recognizable but it had been converted into some sort of low cost laundry mat for those down on their luck. I felt as if I had been stabbed.
OK, there’s still hope. I went to my 3rd place I worked at. GONE. In it’s place an auto parts store. Skating rink where EVERYONE hung out. GONE. Whataburger stand where EVERYONE hung out. GONE. Open wooded land next to the RR tracks where EVERYONE hung out, made out, got high, got laid. GONE. In it’s place a bunch of cookie cutter condo’s. At this rate all the skyscrapers in downtown Dallas will be gone and replaced with parking lots with warehouses and condos. I drove by the old library, it was still there. Totally remodeled, ripped apart and rebuilt inside as a model of political correctness but it was still alive. At this point I had little hope for the old high school. I drove a little further up the road and miracle of miracles it was still there. Many new buildings yes, but the old stadium and main building was there.
I probably should have not gone back. it was too depressing to see what it had become. Progress? Well, that’s in the eye of the beholder. I didn’t see much progress on my visit. I see a society going backwards. That’s just my perspective. I barely recognized the place. People still live there and put up with that? What is normal to me is completely abnormal to the majority. What is abnormal to me is 100% normal to the majority. It was with a sigh of relief and a weight lifting off my chest I flew out of DFW and watched the downtown skyline disappear in the hazy setting sun.
I dunno, to most I suppose 1975 seems like thousands of years ago or do not even know WTF I am speaking of since they were born much later. I suppose you would have to have been there to understand it. If any of you old 1975 Texans are reading this you will most likely get this. It was almost as if I was frozen in 1975, thawed out and unfrozen in 2006 then looked around in complete utter shock what had happened.
If you haven’t already, play the song at the top of this post. For those born after 1970 or so I doubt you will recognize it. For those Texans and others of 1975 listen and float back to the summer of 1976. Remember? Remember how simple things were? How cheap things were? Remember how much fun cars were to drive with 500HP that got 6 miles to the gallon. Do you remember where you were the first time you heard that song at the top of this post? Remember who did this song? Remember making out to this song in the back of a 69 SS 396 at the drive in? I do, as if it was a year or two ago. Rip Van Laurie. Remember tube tops?, windowpane? real drive ins? Getting excited at the intro music to ABC’s friday night at the movies?
I am a very simple, peaceful person. And that’s why I left. I did not see things getting simpler. I saw things becoming more and more complicated. To the point it was not worth it to me anymore. Are there still simple things left? In a land where a 5 year old child demands a mobile phone. In a land where it is customary to spend hours inside a fantasy game killing other fantasy players. In a land where it is customary to engulf almost as much television in one week as the number of hours one works in a week.
Naw, that’s for someone else. Someone far more educated than Rip Van Laurie.
And here is a little extra treat for those that read this far. Remember right around April 1976? Remember a tall, skinny guy with long blonde frizzy hair and a talkbox?
This song is for you my dear Jane, wherever you are now in the world or some other one, have not seen you since 76 when we last spoke of Castenada, unicorns and what you experienced firsthand. I still think of you all the time and I never stop wondering how your life turned out. And yes it was you, what other freckle faced, braided hair Jane spoke intimately about what she experienced first hand under peyote late into friday nights/sat mornings in that god awful building on the 10th floor.
L
Somewhere In Ko Samui
“Something is about to happen. Something very wonderful.”
What I am going to talk about today will never be politically correct. You will not see it on network television. You will not see it on the front page of the newspapers. You will not see it taught in schools or colleges. You will not see it spoken of by politicians and leaders. Your boss will not set you down and say this to you. Your parents never told you this. It is not popular. It goes against every popular thought.
You see it’s common and accepted to blame others or circumstances for the current situation you are in. That’s the easy and accepted way out. You are allowed to give up personal responsibilty and shift that responsibility to something else. Something else is responsible, not me. Yah..that’s so easy isn’t it? It’s not your fault. It’s because you only got a B average. Or you didn’t get the best teachers. Or you were born on the wrong side of the tracks. Or you don’t have the right connections. Or you don’t have enough time. Or because you were tricked, defrauded, lied to, railroaded, taken advantage of, used like a kleenex and tossed aside, etc… Or maybe you are too old, too young, too smart, too dumb, too fat, too skinny, not good enough, too good, too trusting, too cynical.
I call it the get out of jail for free excuse bag. Anytime something happens if it’s not “right” then it’s time to go into the get out of jail for free excuse bag and pull one out. Lemme see…I never saved a million (or $5k, 20K, 100K) because …reach into bag…I had all the bad breaks..things were fixed against me..things happened you wouldn’t understand…it’s impossible..it’s too hard…it was easier 30 years ago…I’m not a spring chicken…I’m happy the way I am…money is evil…the odds are against me…I have too many children to support…I don’t have any children to support me…I don’t have enough time…and the list rolls on…. Do any of those sound familiar?
I’m about to let you in on a little secret. A dirty little secret that 99.9% on this rock run away from and avoid at all cost. YOU ARE 100% RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS IN YOUR LIFE. Yea, I won’t get many brownie points or pats on my back for saying that but that’s too bad. I’m not looking for popularity. Until you pull yourself up by your bootstraps and shoulder 100% responsibility for the events in your life you will always be at the mercy of “those bad things that caused my misfortune”. The bogeymen that are easy to blame. Spill a cup of hot coffee in your lap? sue the company instead of realizing maybe you need to be more careful. Ah..but that is the easy way out isn’t it? Blaming others, sueing others, paassing new laws to protect you from the obvious. Slip in a puddle inside a store? sue the store instead of reflecting why you didn’t pay attention where you were walking. It’s easier and more profitable to sue huh?
Perhaps you should sue your old school district because you never saved a million dollars. Maybe you should sue your college because you never made CEO. Maybe you sue your neighbor because they failed to see the burglar hauling off your tv set. Maybe you should sue your ex wife for failing to honor her marriage vows. Maybe you should sue the local newspaper for stress. Those sound pretty stupid right? Well how much different are those from blaming something exterior for your failures? Oh, I know it’s the easy way out. There will always be a reason, a scapegoat, a bogeyman that prevented you. It’s comfortable to think you are not responsible.
I seriously doubt 1 in 1 million will get this post but I will write it for that special 1 in 1 million. Until you decide to shoulder 100% of the weight you are just spinning your wheels. Until you say “Yes, I understand I am responsible for everything that happens to me and for the conditions in my life” then you will keep on slip sliding from one mud puddle to the next pulling out that free get out of jail card and so proudly waving it for all to see “it’s not your fault”.
Don’t like where you are? Change your thinking. Don’t like your partner? Change your partner for someone that encourages you. Don’t like your job? Envision something better. Don’t like being broke? Concentrate on abundance. Don’t like sickness? Concentrate on health. Don’t like your present situation? Concentrate on where you are heading, not where you have been.
Alas, the majority take the easy route. Blame. Anyone and anything except themselves. Lawyers love that attitude. Who’s to blame? Who can we get the most money from? Who can we sue today? It’s someone elses fault and they are going to pay!
Are you that 1 in a million time traveler that understands you create your own reality? Or are you one of the masses that lays blame on exterior objects?
The world focuses on who or whose to blame. They search high and low. It’s those xxxxxx, they are responsible. It’s xxxxx, it is responsible. I would have achieved xxxxxx if it wasn’t for xxxxxxxx. We will never achieve xxxxxxx until we get rid of xxxxxxx. I can never do that because xxxxxxx is preventing me. Yah….that is the easy way out isn’t it? Been going on for 9,000 years now and if this rock is around it will be going on 9,000 years from now. Some things never change.
Dare to be different. Dare to dream the unbelievable. Dare to do the undoable. Dare to live the unimaginable. Dare to become responsible for your own life. Let the others continue blaming bogeyman and using their get out of jail for free cards.
Personal responsibility. It’s not just words, it’s a lifestyle.
You were given the most beautiful gift at birth, the gift of creation. Yet you have squandered it on shiny trinkets that will be dust in 100 years. Shoulder the weight, learn how to control creation and step into a brave new world.
L
P.S. If you have never read it you might want to hunt down How I Found Freedom In An Unfree World by Harry Browne. A great book for us iconoclasts.
Somewhere In Ko Samui
“Something is about to happen. Something very wonderful.”
If you have read any of my posts you know I do not like the bullshit and hoopla of 99.9% of the crapola pushed by the hypesters. I’ll leave that up to you to figure out who I am talking about. That said about the only people I put any weight on are Allan Gardyne, Phil Wiley, Andy Williams and Neil Shearing. Guys that have been at the game a long time and have paid their dues. Google any of those four and read more about them if you have never heard of them.
I love simple things and simple businesses. I have my fingers in a lot of pies and most of those pies are very simple ones that allow me to earn my daily bread in whatever country I am in at the moment. Simple businesses that only need a laptop and a net connection to operate. Surprisingly Neil came out a few days ago with something I have been doing for a long time. I do it in a little bit different way but the theory remains the same. The tools he provides just makes your job easier to begin with. Andy Williams, Allan Gardyne and Phil Wiley have been doing this a long time too and all 3 gave it their thumbs up. Andy in particular has paid the price since starting out as an affiliate 6 or 7 years ago. His humble beginnings are a real motivator. If you want to read a little more about Andy’s early struggles click here If you would like to see how Andy rose up in affiliate marketing go to http://forum.abestweb.com and do a forum search for past posts of “perfectg”. You’ll be able to read how he started from the very beginning His first post was on January 24th, 2002 Andy’s main site is www.ezseonews.com
I don’t need much money to live well. I know some folks need $5,000 a month to break even. Not me. I keep my overhead low and my lifestyle high. The house I’m staying in now in Ko Samui rents for less than $200 a month and it’s on the beach. Food is cheap here. A dinner that fills you to the brim sets you back $1. Jeeps rent for $10 a day. My websites do not need to make a fortune for me to live well. Phil has hundreds of small sites that continue to plonk cashola into his bank account 24/7. Simple sites. Very simple sites. Google Phil Wiley and read up on what he has done from the outback of Australia. It seems Neil has just released a pretty good method with a pretty good tool that lets you make simple websites that have the opportunity to make affiliate commissions via merchant datafeeds. In the old days it took quite a while to set up sites with datafeeds. Now it appears Neil has made that job a little easier.
Even stupid little websites that make you $20-$40 a month can add up. Ask Phil Wiley. How many of those stupid little websites do you need to live well? For little ol L it’s not that many.
If you would like to read a little bit more about Neil and his philosophy here is a little totally free ebook you can download and read. It’s for windows users only, sorry Mac fans. In it you will find 101 of the most popular articles Neil has written about success on the net.
I remember back a few years ago a particular day that seemed to go so far against the odds that I thought I was somehow inside a twilight zone episode. You see I knew from experience I could expect 2-3 rejections for every yes. Usually 3 no’s until I got that most coveted yes! Well, my question today to you is “How Many No’s Can You Handle In A Row?”
Most folks are so deathly afraid of rejection or what “others think” that they are lucky to rise above the norm. The norm being “getting a job” and chewing the cud for 40 years or so. How would you act if you didn’t care what others thought? What could you achieve if you didn’t seek approval? What limits could you shatter if your self image did not depend on the approval of others? Along those lines let me tell you the story of that day.
That day started out fine. Like all the others. Knocking on doors cold calling and reciting my well worn opening line “Good morning mam, would you like your curb numbers repainted right now or later this week?!” Yah!..great line…two positive options instead of a positive or negative. Guess who I learned that from? Anyhoos, I could always count on 2-3 no’s and then a yes. Out of 100 folks I spoke to I could get a yes from 25-35 of them on average. Well, that morning went to hell in a handbasket quickly. I was still working in affluent neighborhoods. I had moved about a half mile away from yesterdays work. BUT I started to get a lot of no’s. 5 in a row, then 8 in a row. OK, that’s still well within the law of averages but then I noticed I had hit 15 no’s in a row then 20. What the hell? I could not figure this out. A lot of times I went 3 for 3. Or 4 for 4. Now I am at 25 for 0.
Could you handle 25 rejections in a row? I kept going. 30 no’s, 35 no’s. Finally I had an order on the 39th! I went through 38 no’s in a row one right after another in the space of 3 hours or so. Could you? Can you take 38 rejections to your face in a row? And still smile? Still be enthusiastic? Still be positive? Well?….could you?
I seriously doubt if that was my first day ever I could have gone that far. Most likely I would have called it quits after 6 or 7 rejections. Lemme tell you something. The very first ever prospect I drove in my car to, I was so afraid and so scared of a no that I could not even get out of the car to go knock on the door. Yea, sounds stupid right? But I had this image that folks would not like what I had to offer and would say no to me over and over again and I could not deal with others not appreciating what I offered. So I had some issues to deal with before I ever got that first order.
I suppose to 99.9% of all that ever read this post it will not make any sense. Most have always worked for someone else their entire lives. They have never had to put it all on the line and depend only on their own skills in their own business to survive. You either make it or you die. To die means get a job. I have never had a job in my life except for a few odd part time ones as a teenager and a short 2 year stint in my early 20’s. I don’t understand how anyone can have a job and I really don’t understand the whole mindset other than the need for “approval” and “security”. Ef security and ef approval. I’ll take my chances. I’d rather be captain of an innertube than first mate on an ocean liner. The majority of the world would prefer to be first mates on an ocean liner, no prob, I just cannot and will not and never will. Sorry. I’m a horse of a different color.
Hmm…well..I rambled a bit off topic but getting back to the title of this post how many rejections in a row can you handle? My mentor and inspiration Thomas Edison failed over 10,000 times. Not really failed but discovered over 10,000 ways a light will not work. Could you? Could you day after day face rejection, disapproval, no’s or so called failure and still keep going? Until then the invisible glass ceiling of normal will keep calling your name.
“Many of life’s failures are experienced by people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” Thomas Edison
Proud to be abnormal,
L
Somewhere In Ko Samui
This post was composed under the otherworldly influence of Miss Sarajevo by U2 and Pavarotti
“Something is about to happen. Something very wonderful.”
Wow, time flies when you are having fun. I have not posted in such a long time. I used to post 3-4 times a month but the last 6 months I’ve been so tied up in other projects.
Do you want to see a new project? It’s my baby. Sort of like a long lost lover you found again after 20 years. A lover that haunted your memories every waking day of your life.
Something so strong that there are no words to describe it. Feeling a little adventurous? A little creative? Are you a free spirit? Are you artistic? Feel like traveling where no man or woman has gone before? Then strap on your seatbelt and take a peek at my pet project. A work of love that hopefully over the next few years will snowball into something wonderful.
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