Yeah, whatever!

The Rogue Speaks:

Jenny is on her way to Texas next week, so she wanted to give us a Texas prompt.  We have a limit of 100 words, plus the 5 word prompt.  Please visit Jenny's blog to read the Glen Campbell connection.  This prompt is not very inspiring for me, but here is my offering:

There's a yellow rose in Texas.  Yeah, whatever.    But Glen Campbell?  No way!  He broke up the marriage of an old acquaintance of mine from MANY years ago in Atlanta--Mac Davis.


Over the years, many roses have lost their wonderful scent.  It's hard these days to find a fragrant rose, but my favorite is Sterling Silver.

Honey Perfume is a florabunda rose that is also very fragrant!

I added the Gertrude Jekyll English rose here because not only is it fragrant, but we are heading back to Jekyll Island in June for a family vacation!!

I added the fragrant Just Joey rose for obvious reasons.

That's my Saturday Centus. Boring?  Yeah, whatever!

WRITE, RIGHT?

The Rogue Speaks:

I can hear it now!  All those bloggers whispering under their breath, "Thank God! She's off her political and religious rants!"  I thought I would give you all a break and highlight my son Joey's writing for a change.  I read about a writing contest on Studio 360's website and decided to participate.  The subject was called "Significant Objects," and the contest contained photos of three, rather strange, objects found in thrift stores.  Two were of particular interest to me.  One was a hand-made wooden thing whose purpose was definitely lost to me.  I chose that one to write about.  Another was a strange-looking handmade doll.  I told my son about the contest, and he chose to write about that doll.  Neither of us won the contest, whose prize was the object about which our stories were written.  Nevertheless, it was a fun writing exercise, and just perfect for Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday assignment this week--the letter "W."  If you haven't seen Joey's blog, go here.

WRITE, RIGHT?

SIGNIFICANT OBJECT

(doll, $5 thrift store find)
by
JOEY MAU

This is my papa. His name is Abdyl Kreyziu. He was born in Yugoslavia many years ago. This place does not exist anymore. He grew up in a place called Kosovo. This place was not a safe place for my papa. There was much hate for him. Now he lives in my room, watching over me to make sure I am safe.

 I see you smile, laugh, think, ‘That is a doll, an ugly homemade doll. Why does she show us this? Where is Peter’s snapping turtle again, or Emma’s colorful hermit crabs?’ This is no doll. This is my papa. See how he wears my papa’s shirt, the cuffs trimmed just the way Papa would wear them. See the bright sash of his favorite football club? The woolen socks Grandmamma knit for him. See the wink he wore so often, a trickster who loved to laugh? See his hair, his poor hair that would not stay upon his head? ‘If I cannot have a head of hair,’ he’d say, ‘I’ll make the hair that stays memorable.’ Like a cartoon, he wore his hair, sticking up. My papa.

“Mama says that our soul lives on. In the places we live, in the people we meet, in the clothes we wear, in the objects we touch our soul lives. We live. You see a girl with garbage, a frightening doll made from a dead man’s clothes. But to me, this is Papa. Not a memory or a doll. My papa. Alive. He was trying to make for us a better place, a safer life. We are here, I am here because of my papa. This is my show and tell.”

Blerta walked back to her seat and stowed her papa in her bag. As she watched Carlie discuss the Coach purse her mother purchased for her in New York, she did not notice the thieving hands of Adam Feld who pocketed her papa, only to toss it out the bus window two hours later.

Shawna Adams, jogging home, saw Blerta’s papa lying prone on the sidewalk. “Weird,” she remarked as she picked it up.

The idol of the Albanian patriarch was with her as she and her boyfriend joined the throng at the 4th Street Swap Meet.

 “What are you going to do with that thing,” he asked.

“Watch,” she said as she removed a He-Man action figure from a table of retro toys, pulled off the $5 price tag, and replaced it with the priceless protector of a 10-year-old girl whose father had been killed fleeing his home. “Think they’ll notice?”

ROOM WITH A VIEW

The Rogue Speaks:

It's Saturday already??  It feels like I just finished my Alphabe-Thursday "V" post.  If you haven't read it, go here.

Jenny Matlock, the birthday girl, has given us one tough Saturday Centus this week.  The prompt is in bold type.  After writing my Thursday post, I thought I'd be through with rants for a while, but Jenny's words just begged me to continue.  O.k., that's not entirely true.  I received a comment on my AT post from a Viet Nam vet who writes a blog called The Trumpet Summons.  How he found my blog, I may never know, but I appreciated his words.

Who knows what the Rogue Artist will write about next week?  Maybe it will be about art, or maybe my golf game, which has seriously suffered in the last few months that I have not been able to play.  Since we are celebrating the letter "W" next Thursday, maybe I will write about Willy Wonka, because I do love chocolate, or maybe I will write my entire post using the Wingding font, and leave you wondering just what on earth I am saying.

In any case,  here is my offering for this Saturday:

ROOM WITH A VIEW

“Wow!  This is MY room?”

“Yessir.  It’s for all the time you spent, living on foreign soil, dodging bullets and bombs.  It’s for your having lived on the streets when you returned and had no job.  It’s for the anguish you suffered when you were forsaken by a country you vowed to protect.

“How much will this cost?  I have no money.”

“It’s free.  We’re not for profit.  For comfort… for what you did for us.  A group of wealthy people have finally realized that all that money cannot by happiness, and they are working to provide for our veterans.”

The rendition of Bridge Over Troubled Water that you hear may be a little different from the one on the published album.  It happens to be the demo for the original song.

That's it for this Saturday.  Please come back on Thursday to read my "W" post.  Hmmmm...Maybe I'll write about Worms!  Nah!  That's too political!!

V is for Vexed

The Rogue Speaks:

 I am vexed that there are some people who will simply ignore this post altogether.  Why? Not because I think that my words are any more vital than those of others, but  because the people  who think that I am a crank do not live in the real world.  Their minds have been filled with misinformation, and they are not willing to even consider the other side of the coin.  It seems that it is much easier to just stick to the "old way" of thinking about life.   Life as our ancestors knew it has changed, however.  The world population 2000 years ago has been estimated at 231 million.  In 2012 there are 6.8 billion people on earth, and that number grows by 83 million a year.  We can no longer depend on the basic skills of tending sheep or goats, or planting fruits and vegetables for our sustenance in our lives.  In America, there are small groups of people who still spin their own yarn and make all their own clothes, and grow all their own food. I have the utmost respect for these people, even though their way of life has been compromised considerably in the last century, and they have had to adjust accordingly.

 The life and many of the rules  that were preached in biblical times are very impractical to maintain in today's world.  "Be fruitful and multiply" is very vexing to me, because 99% of the people in this country cannot realistically care for the needs of an exceptionally large family unless they figure out a way to screw with the system.  Sounds bad, doesn't it!  But don't kid yourselves.  It happens.  The people who speak out the loudest in most cases are the people who happen to get paid in real money every week.  Frequently, they are the women whose husbands make good salaries, and provide them with health insurance, and cars to drive their children to school and extra curricular activities, and money to spend at the department stores for school clothes.  These people wouldn't have a clue about tending sheep or goats, or spinning wool into cloth.  What's more, they don't even WANT to!    If they did, they would be living their lives the way people in biblical times did.  No car, no electricity, no running water, no cell phone--just obeying the wishes of their husbands, and following the biblical teachings of old,  and having lots and lots of children whether they could care for them or not.

Still, there are people who are bound and determined to maintain, at least on the outside,  that biblical way of thinking at all costs.  There are women in America who actually believe that the husband of the family is the superior being, and that what he commands is that which is best for the family.  These women have been brainwashed over the centuries into believing that it is their Godly duty to obey the wishes of their husbands.

So, if Jesus were to come to earth this very day, what do you think he would say about all the advances that have occurred in the last 2000 years?  God created us, and he gave us these miraculous brains that we have used to help mankind over the centuries.  Do you think that Jesus would want us to go back 2000 years and live on sheep, goats, grains, and a few vegetables, and forget about all the scientific discoveries that God has allowed us to make?  Do you really think that he would expect women to give birth to so many children that some get lost in the shuffle, and don't get the attention and love that they deserve?

So here is a challenge to all those women  out there who think that the biblical life of 2000 years ago should be followed without question  today.  Do it.   Give up your hobbies, your part-time jobs, your lunches with friends.  Send your children into the fields to tend the sheep or goats.  Spin your own wool into yarn.  Live without electricity, gas heat, a cell phone, or a car.  That's the way things were back then when those laws that you are so eager to follow were handed down.  Have as many children as you possibly can.  Oh, and if they get sick? Forget about taking them to the pediatrician for antibiotics.  No one had them back in the time when people were told to "be fruitful and multiply."  Never refuse your husband anything he desires, and confirm that he is the supreme ruler of the household.  He's been hearing just how superior men are to women since the day he was born.  He may be an arrogant half-wit, or a benevolent dictator,  but by God, he's right!!

You can't have it both ways.  You can't just pick and choose that which  you want to follow and that which you do not.  I am seriously vexed by your way of thinking.  If you have actually  STUDIED the words of Jesus, you might be surprised to learn that he might be vexed as well.

Love one another.  Embrace  those in need.  Judge not, lest ye be judged.   Share your wealth with those less fortunate.  Read Luke 18: 18-25.  Now read it again.

That's all for this week.  Please check out the other offerings for Alphabe-Thursday.  You'll find them on Jenny's blog.

#1, SO MANY QUESTIONS, SO FEW WORDS!

The Rogue Speaks:

Why, oh why, oh why did Jenny give us only 100 words for this week's Saturday Centus?  I have so many questions that need to be answered!

Why, oh why, oh why!

Why do conservative voters want a smaller government? Do they even  know what that means?? If they do, let them explain it.  And which departments would they cut?  Health?  Education? Welfare? Environment? The IRS? Why not just demand oversight in every single department and cut down on decades and decades of wasteful spending?? Because they’ve been told it wouldn’t help?  You don’t know if you don’t try.  Why not just go after the companies who have been gouging our government for many, many year and make them pay for their greed?  The politicians have been supporting their cronies long enough!!!


To read the next two questions, go here and here.

#2, SO MANY QUESTIONS, SO FEW WORDS!

The Rogue Speaks:

Here is another question for Jenny's Saturday Centus:

Why, oh why, oh why???

Why don’t those against abortion simply pay for the prenatal care of every child-bearing woman who seeks an abortion, then adopt unwanted children and raise them? Why do these people keep trying to force their religious beliefs on an entire nation??  Better yet, why don’t they pay for birth control for these women so they won’t get pregnant to begin with???  How much being fruitful and multiplying do they think America can take?  Who’s going to stand up for the unwanted, unloved, abused or murdered children? 

If not those who are so against abortion and birth control, then who?? Who???


You can go here to read my first question, and here to read my last.

#3, SO MANY QUESTIONS, SO FEW WORDS!!

The Rogue Speaks:

If you can get through just this last question, I promise not to write another one!  Jenny really should have known better than to give us such a loaded prompt for Saturday Centus

Why, oh why, oh why???

Why, oh why, oh why do some conservatives who claim to be devout followers of the teachings of Christ think that wealthy people have the right to make as much money as they want to, and not pay their fair share of taxes, while we struggle?  Don’t they read the words of Jesus in the Bible?  Or maybe they’ve just forgotten them.

Why can’t just one candidate stand up and say, “I have millions of dollars to spend on getting elected, but I have decided to donate most of that money to relieve the suffering of our  poorer fellow citizens.”


O.k., so that's TWO question.  Sorry!  To read parts #1 and #2, go here and here.

Hilary Rosen, just STFU!!!

Hilary Rosen--infected with the Limbaugh gene!

Somebody get the hook!!

 

The Rogue Speaks:

My God, woman!  What on earth were you thinking????  Are you crazy???  The Democratic party doesn't need non-filtered blatherers like you!  I think you must be secretly related to Rush Limburger, lady!   

And just where did you get the idea that women who stay home to raise children are clueless about all things regarding economics, world affairs, and politics?  You are the one who is clueless!!

Haven't you learned by now that some politicians are fully capable of screwing up all by themselves?  They certainly don't need any help from you!  Just look at the firestorm you have created!  Shame on you!!  Shame!!   Please!  Please do not try to help the Democratic party!  You are a complete and total embarrassment!  GO AWAY!!

UNWANTED TENSION

The Rogue Speaks:

HIGH TENSION

I am starting on my Alphabe-Thursday post early (today is Monday) and I hope to have it completed by Wednesday afternoon.  Typing is still a bit laborious for me, but it should get better in a few weeks.

BREWER/OBAMA FIASCO (and yes, I altered it!)

I have an acquaintance with whom I used to play golf every week.  After the game, everyone would go up to the grill and have lunch together.  This woman always insisted on discussing politics, which is fine with me, as long as one has accurate facts to back up one's remarks. There is a politician in Arizona who has admitted on national television that his views are based on hearsay, and not actual facts.  This is the same fellow who keeps referring to Rosa Parks as "Rosa Clark," so you can see just how misinformed some people can be.  Anyway, this woman has always been very outspoken about her political leanings, but has based all her "knowledge" on what she has heard from others of her ilk.  Trying to get any actual true information out of her is like trying to milk a cat.

One day, I did manage to get in a few truths about certain bills that had been passed by the senate, and barely squeaked by the house.  I won't bore you with the details of those bills, but I did happen to know the bill numbers, which few people do (except for Arizona state bill 1070, which the whole world knows by now).  This woman was furious about the bills and claimed that the house was "lied to" by the senate to get the bills passed.  This, of course, is an absurdly stupid statement.  I asked her if she had read the bills, and she told me that they were kept secret.  Secret???  When I told her she could go online and read the contents of any bill she was curious about, she didn't believe me.  I think she didn't want to take the time to read them.  I think that so many people who complain about issues about which they are grossly misinformed are simply afraid to learn that they have been greatly misled by politicians whom they admire for one unrelated reason or another. 

This kind of attitude has created a lot of tension in our country today. It seems that no one from one political persuasion trusts anything the other side has to say.  People are angry, and friendships are lost because of the tension.  This has been going on since before 9/11, and it just keeps getting worse.  We don't need so much tension in our lives.  It's unhealthy!

With the medical issues I have been having for the last four months, the last thing I have needed is tension in my life.  So I dumped the nightly news, except for the weather, and dropped any activity that was likely to produce tension in my life.  I'll come out of hiding on November 4th, though, and cast my vote.  As for the rest of the stuff I have given up, I may or may not take it up again in the future.  When I recover from all those injections, I may just feel so good that I won't take the chance of becoming tense over the stupidity of others, and will give all that up for good!!!

Some people just don't get it!!

And we know who they are..

I rest my case!!!

Thank goodness for Medicare!  I never would have been able to afford that wonderful Tens Unit, since it cost $800 on the open market, but thanks to Medicare, we only paid $79!!!!  As the above photo shows, most of those uninformed  people who are screaming about Medicare NEVER stop to think that it is a GOVERNMENT sponsored program to help them with their medical bills.

Several months ago, I found myself in a very heated discussion of universal health care.  The person who was producing the heat just happened to be a very dear one to me, but who had been led astray over the years by a very controlling mate.  I asked what she thought should happen to the cancer-stricken child of poor people who cannot afford long-term chemotherapy.  The response was that the child should be allowed to just die rather than become a burden on the taxpayers.  Those words, coming out of the mouth of a person who breaks into tears when an animal is abused, totally confounded me.  What has happened to compassion? What has happened to "love one another, even as I have loved you"? 

Does it seem ironic to you that the countries that have health-care for all their citizens, rich and poor alike, are countries that a Christian conservative group of Americans consider "socialists?"

Pray, meditate...whatever it takes

to find inner peace.

Oddly enough, writing this post has not produced the tension in my that many might have thought.  I think it's because I am pretty confident that what I believe is the right thing to do so that all Americans get a fair deal.  Several years ago, the former leader of this country told us that tax breaks for all citizens, rich and poor, would stimulate the economy and prevent a depression.  That turned out to be false thinking on his part, because look where we are today.  Those tax breaks for the wealthy meant more money for them,  bigger bonuses, not more jobs, or a solid housing market.

Whew! I've typed just about all I can for this week!  If there is anything in this post that you disagree with, please feel free to comment, but you had better make darned sure that you have ALL your facts right, and don't rely on heresay.  I just love investigating, and finding the real story.

Oh, and if you  want to know how I feel about Hilary Rosen and her blatantly reckless remarks, please click here.

Easter for the Dog Children!

The Rogue Speaks:

Cheating????  This isn't cheating!!  I'm just using a little poetic license!  O.k., so I changed a few words from last year's Easter post.  Give me a break!  Yesterday I had LOTS of very sharp needles jammed in my brachial plexus to alleviate my on-going pain and suffering.  Those needles were loaded with an anesthetic and some steroids to sooth my howling and  screeching nerves and muscles. 

I liked the idea of a pet photo for our Saturday Centus Easter cards, and naturally I had the perfect one!  All sweet and springy!!  It isn't Liz pictured here, but our sweet Precious girl, who crossed the Rainbow Bridge in 2010.  AND I fudged on the word count--so sue me!!  Jenny won't care!  She's nice!  She's a lot nicer than I have been for the last several months.  Being in constant pain made me  MEAN and SNARKY!  What?  You couldn't tell?  Yeah, well I am more than a little opinionated when it comes to politics and stupidity--two words that have become synonymous in the last several years.

This post isn't either one of those things.  It's EASTER, for Pete's sake!  All sunny and warm, with lots of spring flowers in bloom!  So have a wonderful day, and let me know what you think of my card...

HAPPY EASTER!!!

'Tis the evening of  Easter, and all through the den,

The dog-candy wrappers are hemming me in!

The dogs, they are lying like two lumps of clay.

I know they’ll be snoozing the night-time away.

So stuffed to the gills from their quick Sunday raid

Of all the dog-treats we so carefully laid

In small secret places all over the house,

Tiptoeing quietly, just like a mouse!

I know I must teach them on using the broom

To clean up the mess they have left in this room!!!

HAPPY EASTER TO ALL MY BLOGGING FRIENDS!!!