Well as many of my close friends know, I am very conservative and a true lover of America. Every morning I start of the same way by getting online and facebook to check out whats going on in the world (like an electronic newspaper). Everyday I get disgusted at what I see and what really is news. I know that Fox News is a bit better than the other media outlets but that's not saying to much. Today I was doing my morning routine when it really just struck a nerve. I had read an article about an article NBC had done on Remington Arms Company. As an avid shooter, I own many Remington firearms and have to say I love all of them. My most prized rifle is my Model 700 and I believe it is the most accurate out of the box rifle you can get!! Well NBC had claimed that Remington had "faulty triggers" on many of there firearms and refused to do anything about them. NBC also put that this is why the government needs to regulate firearms and manufacturing more. Well we all know that statistics can work from either side but I was amazed to find out their incidents occurred in the 80's and early 90's. It was also interesting to find out that Remington also had a video of one of the questioned firearms and could not get it to misfire!!! Of course that was not mentioned or shown!! All of this a week after NBC had to apologise for manipulating the George Zimmerman 911 call!!
As I slowly got "unpissed", I saw where Honor Air was flying World War II veterans to Washington D.C. for the day. Of course again the media attention was minimal but I just noticed how Dick Clark's death has taken over every media outlet!!! It also chaps my butt when you never hear of our troops who pay the ultimate sacrifice for this county to get only local media attention. We rarely hear of heroic people here at home or the good news (some homeowner smoking some crook who tried to enter his home)!!!
In closing here are some of my thoughts:
First, guns are no more to blame for crime than the pencil for spelling errors. Violent people have existed since the beginning of time and always will. They chose tools that makes their job easy. For most of the "sheep" who live life unarmed, you are easy prey. You have no way to protect yourself against their evil. All it takes is one armed America to stop most any "tragedy" that you have heard about in years past. Just think if one teacher in Columbine had a gun and took down the threats, or one student on the Virginia Tech campus that could have smoked that wacko. I think its funny that more violence occurs in "gun free" zones than in places where guns are everywhere (i.e. gun ranges, gun stores, etc.). If you are one of the ignorant people who want guns ban, then I say you take on the evil in the world with just your bare hands, and when they run you over with their car, make sure you get cars banned next!!
Second, I am over the media making the facts fit their agenda!! I wanna see the good news I talked about and more about our true heroes!! This whole thing over George Zimmerman is media fueled, and I ask why was the Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom not a media outcry!!! Those two were tortured!! If you do something to make me hate you, it don't matter what color your skin is. It is sad that this country has come to all this. We are all humans and we say we are equal but the media does not allow that to happen.
Finally, I give mad props to Ted Nugent who was going to drop his schedule to play at a fallen Navy SEALs funeral. Until he was told by a high military official not to come, because of an incident they are investigating. The link is here http://www.glennbeck.com/2012/04/18/who-cancelled-nugent-and-disrespected-fallen-seals-dying-wish-for-him-to-play-at-his-funeral/
Obama is the most anti-American I have every seen and I will leave it at that!!!
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Thursday, April 5, 2012
The Extra Mile....
Well it has been a long week and I can honestly say I am ready for some relaxation, which isn't going to happen!!! I tried hard today to keep a good attitude even though I am working at my father's, mowing on my off days. While riding around on the mower, I often think about the past and the future, while listening to music, which is a MUST!! I thought about our candidates who tried out for SWAT and the challenges that they overcame on Tuesday. It made me think about people and just life in general about going that extra mile....
I was very fortunate to be raised by a father who knew the importance of work and good work ethic. As a young child I always helped around his shop and did what I could. Since he owns and operates a slaughter house it was full of things that could literally kill a kid. That didn't matter to my father who put me right in the worst jobs there. He told me that if you wanna be good at something you need to know how to do everything about the job, even the worst jobs there. So from around age 6-10 I worked and do crappy jobs at his business. Around the age of 10, my father added a great incentive to work, PAY!!! I remember I was paid .10 cents and hour and after a long days work I often had enough to go grab a Pepsi. Through all that time, my father always pushed me to do my best and to do the very best I could at the job. He told me to imagine if I was paying someone to work, what I would expect them to do for me. So even with the crappy pay, I continued to work my butt off for him.
Around the age of 12 I decided that I wanted a new ATV and I inquired on the thought with my father. He decided to pay me $5 a hour and to help me save money toward the purchase. He also told me that he would let me be the main man in charge of deer when the season came if I was up for the challenge and boy was I ever!! I remember waking up at 3:30 on the weekends so I could leave with Dad to work and I would sometimes work until 7:00p.m. The next thing I knew, I had saved up $500 and Dad was ready to let me purchase the four wheeler. We put the $500 as a down payment and I promised to make all the payments until it was mine. What I didn't know is that Dad had other plans. He paid every payment after that since I had worked so hard to get the money to put down. Boy did I have fun on that thing, and I still have it NOW!!
I continued to work for him up until I was 15 and he told me that I was ready to get a "real" job. He wanted me to get a job away from him so I would see what the real world was like. In a few weeks, I found myself that job. After a few weeks of working there I realized how lazy most people were and how thankful I was for how my father raised me. I have continued to try to live and work like that up until now.
As I continued to mow today, I thought, "am I doing all I can to do my best?" The answer was definitely NO!! I know I do more than most but I know also that I could definitely do more. Do more for my job by shooting, staying in better physical shape, by going the extra mile for the reports that are bogus, by just being a better Deputy, and doing what is right. I could do more for my family by doing more family activities, by being a better listener, by helping our more at the house, by being a better husband, and by being a better father.
Even with all that when it comes to my spiritual life, there is so much I can improve on. I am so thankful God is forgiving and hasn't given up on a sinner like me. So I challenge you, me, and everyone to go that extra mile in everything that you do. I believe if you do you can leave this earth with a tombstone that reads "here lies a man who got all he ever wanted." I hope that when I leave this Earth that my memory always includes that lesson my father taught me as a young age and that it is being carried on by my son to his children as well.
So as I finished my mowing I made sure today I went the extra mile and striped my grandmothers yard as best I can. I have to say that even though its mostly weeds, it looked almost as good as a baseball diamond on game day!!
I was very fortunate to be raised by a father who knew the importance of work and good work ethic. As a young child I always helped around his shop and did what I could. Since he owns and operates a slaughter house it was full of things that could literally kill a kid. That didn't matter to my father who put me right in the worst jobs there. He told me that if you wanna be good at something you need to know how to do everything about the job, even the worst jobs there. So from around age 6-10 I worked and do crappy jobs at his business. Around the age of 10, my father added a great incentive to work, PAY!!! I remember I was paid .10 cents and hour and after a long days work I often had enough to go grab a Pepsi. Through all that time, my father always pushed me to do my best and to do the very best I could at the job. He told me to imagine if I was paying someone to work, what I would expect them to do for me. So even with the crappy pay, I continued to work my butt off for him.
Around the age of 12 I decided that I wanted a new ATV and I inquired on the thought with my father. He decided to pay me $5 a hour and to help me save money toward the purchase. He also told me that he would let me be the main man in charge of deer when the season came if I was up for the challenge and boy was I ever!! I remember waking up at 3:30 on the weekends so I could leave with Dad to work and I would sometimes work until 7:00p.m. The next thing I knew, I had saved up $500 and Dad was ready to let me purchase the four wheeler. We put the $500 as a down payment and I promised to make all the payments until it was mine. What I didn't know is that Dad had other plans. He paid every payment after that since I had worked so hard to get the money to put down. Boy did I have fun on that thing, and I still have it NOW!!
I continued to work for him up until I was 15 and he told me that I was ready to get a "real" job. He wanted me to get a job away from him so I would see what the real world was like. In a few weeks, I found myself that job. After a few weeks of working there I realized how lazy most people were and how thankful I was for how my father raised me. I have continued to try to live and work like that up until now.
As I continued to mow today, I thought, "am I doing all I can to do my best?" The answer was definitely NO!! I know I do more than most but I know also that I could definitely do more. Do more for my job by shooting, staying in better physical shape, by going the extra mile for the reports that are bogus, by just being a better Deputy, and doing what is right. I could do more for my family by doing more family activities, by being a better listener, by helping our more at the house, by being a better husband, and by being a better father.
Even with all that when it comes to my spiritual life, there is so much I can improve on. I am so thankful God is forgiving and hasn't given up on a sinner like me. So I challenge you, me, and everyone to go that extra mile in everything that you do. I believe if you do you can leave this earth with a tombstone that reads "here lies a man who got all he ever wanted." I hope that when I leave this Earth that my memory always includes that lesson my father taught me as a young age and that it is being carried on by my son to his children as well.
So as I finished my mowing I made sure today I went the extra mile and striped my grandmothers yard as best I can. I have to say that even though its mostly weeds, it looked almost as good as a baseball diamond on game day!!
Sunday, April 1, 2012
To New Beginnings
Well it has definitely be awhile since I have done this and I can honestly say I miss keeping a journal, no matter how I do it. First off let me apologise now for any misspelled words or grammar because, one, I really don't care, and two, I have forgotten all that since college. I decided to look back on the last five years or so of my life and I started noticing lots of problems that I have overlooked. As most close to me know that I enlisted in the Marine Corps last April, late in life, for the purpose of doing my duty for my country and for bettering myself. Those six months away did amazing things to me, but once I got back home I began to see the same things popping up. I also saw that the military actually made some things worse and added to the problem. I guess what I am trying to say is today was a day of reflection. A day that I tried to see where I could improve and let me tell you it was a HUGE list.
I once thought that living a honorable life was what was needed to happy and respected but I realized there is much more to it. For my brothers and sisters in arms (military and law enforcement) we often see the worse that life has to offer and then are expected to return to our lives as if nothing happened. Most of us store these memories in the backs of our brains and think about them at the strangest of times. For those that have seen the hell on Earth I think we can honestly appreciate the amazing life we have as Americans. The downfall is we began to develop "hate" and "discontent" for society and even forget about our families and those close to us. Our love ones try to open up and we quickly shut them down and deal with our problems and stresses on our own. We then began to look for ways out or quickly change the subject. For me I have lost more friends over the past years mainly because I forget about them or have just not wanted to go that extra mile. The friends I have made in work are friendships that will last a lifetime but they truly know what we are faced with.
When I enrolled in college it was my goal to become an orthodontist. I want this career because of the money involved. After a successfully career in retail, I soon took a huge pay cut to do a job I love. In doing that I truly do have a job I love, but I also had to give up on many of my dreams of having money or being successfully. As I reflect back, I know that we cannot take Earthly possessions with us and I have come to except that. On the other hand it would be nice living on the lake right now and firing up the new wakeboard boat in the morning for a quick session before work.
OK, so after rambling a bit, it boils down to this. I woke up late for church today and work was fairly slow. So, this gave me plenty of time to reflect. I realized that there were so many things that I continued to overlook on myself. I heard Toby Keith's song "My List" and it truly hit the heart. The Marine Corps core values are: Honor, Courage, and Commitment. So my goals over the next few weeks are to write in here and continue to seek self improvement. I recommend everyone list to that song....it may touch you like it did me!!
I once thought that living a honorable life was what was needed to happy and respected but I realized there is much more to it. For my brothers and sisters in arms (military and law enforcement) we often see the worse that life has to offer and then are expected to return to our lives as if nothing happened. Most of us store these memories in the backs of our brains and think about them at the strangest of times. For those that have seen the hell on Earth I think we can honestly appreciate the amazing life we have as Americans. The downfall is we began to develop "hate" and "discontent" for society and even forget about our families and those close to us. Our love ones try to open up and we quickly shut them down and deal with our problems and stresses on our own. We then began to look for ways out or quickly change the subject. For me I have lost more friends over the past years mainly because I forget about them or have just not wanted to go that extra mile. The friends I have made in work are friendships that will last a lifetime but they truly know what we are faced with.
When I enrolled in college it was my goal to become an orthodontist. I want this career because of the money involved. After a successfully career in retail, I soon took a huge pay cut to do a job I love. In doing that I truly do have a job I love, but I also had to give up on many of my dreams of having money or being successfully. As I reflect back, I know that we cannot take Earthly possessions with us and I have come to except that. On the other hand it would be nice living on the lake right now and firing up the new wakeboard boat in the morning for a quick session before work.
OK, so after rambling a bit, it boils down to this. I woke up late for church today and work was fairly slow. So, this gave me plenty of time to reflect. I realized that there were so many things that I continued to overlook on myself. I heard Toby Keith's song "My List" and it truly hit the heart. The Marine Corps core values are: Honor, Courage, and Commitment. So my goals over the next few weeks are to write in here and continue to seek self improvement. I recommend everyone list to that song....it may touch you like it did me!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)