1halffull's Blog

That’s right, I can’t wait for the elections to be over and for all the negative advertising to stop!  It’s so common anymore that people have become desensitized to the negative blathering that one campaign does against the other. 

Well, I haven’t become numb to it.  I’ve become mad about it and not in a good way! 

Negative opponent advertising just screams to me that the person doing the negative ad has nothing good to say about themselves.  They don’t have a record to be proud of, can’t tell me anything that they’ve done to help the situation so they go after the perceived bad record of their opponent.  It’s gotten so disgusting that the only way I’ll vote for a candidate is if he or she runs an ad that tells me who they are and what they’ve done without talking trash about someone else. 

This method for voting really limits who I’ll be voting for!  So far I have two candidates:  Pepper and some lady whose name starts with a D that I can’t remember right now but will know it when I see it on the ballot.  What a way to pick a candidate.

Here’s what I think.  It doesn’t really matter who you vote for because there is not one good person left in this country to be elected to any office.  Even if they seem like they’re honest and will uphold the voter’s desires, once they walk through the doors of government, it will only take about five minutes till they’re ‘forced’ into cooperating with the slimeballs who’ve been there for so long moss is growing on their north sides.  Next the lobbyists will wave enough green stuff under their noses luring them into taking the plunge for their share of the goods.  Voters?  What voters?

I’m a non-partisan criticizer, here.  To me, it doesn’t matter if it’s a Republican, a Democrat or a lettuce leaf, you’re not going to be well represented. 

Which brings up another issue I’m beyond fed up with:  All the people on both sides pointing their fingers at one another and blaming each other for all that is wrong in this country!  I’m so sick of it I blew up one day this week at lunch time.  What a mess!

A friend has been very annoyed that her sister constantly bombards her with anti-Obama emails.  I understand her ire; none of us likes getting offensive email of any kind.  So, we were talking about that yet again when she decided to branch out and point her own finger at Republicans and the dastardly deeds they’ve accomplished.  Well, I blew!  Why?  Because, as stated above, I see that both sides are to blame.  Given the political record of the last 30 years, neither side has a right to point a finger at the other.  There is NONE righteous, no not one!  It’s pointless to even talk about it (and yet I am).

I used to write and recommend that people get out and vote because I believed that your vote counted.  Now I say ‘who cares?’ and ‘why bother?’  You’d be better served to go buy an American flag, if you can find one made in America, and hang it outside your house.  At least then you can point a finger and say you actually stand for something.  Better than the politicians who pretty much stand for nothing.

Sorry to all who are interested, that I’ve been away from the blog for so long.  Call it writer’s block.  Call it laziness.  Call it whatever you want, I just couldn’t get motivated to put anything out here.

I mean, who am I, anyway, to have anything to say about anything?  Why should anyone listen to me?  Why would anyone want to?  Even my #1 fan must sometimes ask himself, “Why did I bother to log on to read THIS stuff?”

Today, I’d just like to say this:  Just because I’ve celebrated many anniversaries of my 28th birthday doesn’t mean I’m not ‘with it’ as we used to say (oh, that’s pretty bad, isn’t it – with it?).  I’ve made it part of my business to keep up with what’s going on, what’s current, something most of the younger people I know don’t seem to know about me.

Take this morning.  A thirty-something was telling me about taking his girls to see a Toby Mac/Skillet concert.  While he knew who TM was, he was clueless as to who Skillet is.  I popped out with, “I LOVE Skillet!  They’re a great band!  I have two of their CD’s!” 

He looked at me as though I’d just grown a second head and said “Really?”  So I told him what I knew.  I also told him that I’d made it my business to know what my kids knew as they grew up – in music and other areas as well.  It was important to know what they were putting into their hearts, their minds. 

Just because they’re out of the house now, doesn’t mean I’ve stopped paying attention.  I’m living; I’m breathing; I still want to know how things are going, how they’re changing, so I pay attention!

Good friends of ours, Joe and Jennie Stevans, were 30+ years our senior but they were awesome friends!  Talk about people who kept up with what was new and who could talk to any age on any subject!  They were great!

They would never have spent two solid hours over breakfast talking about their heart surgeries and knee replacements, if they’d had them.  It wouldn’t have occurred to them that anyone would find that to be the least bit of interesting conversation.  Unbelievably, there are at least two couples I know who think that’s fitting talk over breakfast – I sat with them one morning and vowed I’d never sit with them again!

Joe always wanted to know what you were thinking about the local politics, the latest happenings in the world.  He wanted to know your perspective as a believer.  He would add his thoughts or pose questions that made you think about it more, give a deeper answer.  He was sharp as a tack and was interested and interesting.  Jennie was still sharing new recipes and where to find the best buys on everything from fresh corn to a dress to wear to a special event.   She, too, was paying attention and had ideas about what was going on in the world and why.  They both wanted to participate in life with you and they paid attention so they could.

I think one of the keys to their youth in old age was having younger friends that they hung out with on a regular basis.  They also held the key to life – Jesus first, and remembering to live fully and taking an interest in every single day and every single person.  To them, everyone who they came across was someone worth knowing.  It didn’t matter how old or how young; they took pleasure in each one.

Having known them, it makes it easier to try to follow in such good footsteps.  But also, having known them, it makes it harder when you come up against someone who doesn’t know to see you as a fully alive, albeit older person. 

It’s hard to be seen as just another old lady.  Yet it feels really good to bring a surprise to the table:  one that says AHA!  See, I am still here!  I am still paying attention!  I do know what’s up!

Now, if the ‘youngsters’ would just get ‘with it’ they might realize there’s actually value in knowing someone older.  We are interested and we have insights that are worth hearing.  Plus we’re willing to share.