It Is quite amazing how and why people have the impulse to disfavor you in all kinds of settings – be it a Store, a Movie House, Church, School, sidewalk, a restaurant, anywhere!
Maybe it’s a ‘Social, verbal vitriolic attack because the personal ‘VVA’ remembers the number of times the person ‘has pushed his/her button recently’. Let’s call the ‘VVA’ another name as well, his real name, Lester Hale, the local high school football’s team hero who has shot them to the top of their local Football Division.
As in most cases of ‘Bullying’, the ‘Les’ knows how to sketch the points of where he levels our unsuspecting victim. The most frightening aspect of this ill-guided Teen-ager is that he understands exactly where the key is kept when not being used.
Lester has other problems this day. He watches the kids scratch their heads over the number of police present at the school, checking lockers and classrooms. He also catches the stares from members of the police unit. He is not intimidated by their presence.
He is however eager to know ‘why’ the police presence? The ‘deal’ he has cooked up doesn’t go until the bell rings at 3:15 PM.
Hey, I’m just backing to a few pages of history, and I’m not surprised to find we have had these kids with fouled brains throughout our history. The bastards who get them there have set the tone for their thoughts and their hatred…
Lester is having a marvelous day: he has gotten some real scary faces around him, those who wonder what is coming next from this unregistered member of the ‘KKK’ who has modified their programs of devastation. There is nothing good that will be coming from this group, other than dumbing-down talk and action…their lives, the way they were taught to live them. The kids had a chance, but did they have the positive images of ‘Purple Mountain Majesty’, ‘America the Beautiful’, and ‘A house not divided’ who sang the positive and the beautiful… No, the kids had their music and lyrics written for them by ‘lame duck’ nay-sayers and those shooting the dice for glory and bounty.
cheeksso much to people coming to America, and, somehow, ‘the melting pot’ became a ‘shooting arcade’, a place you can pick a good fight anywhere.
I cannot spend much time with our Governmental successes – certainly, not in the past couple of years, but it seems the young congress ‘modifiers’ – AOC and her group, are making America somewhat of a Pariah Playground…licking their cheeks and taking our money.
We are so close to becoming a country with all the evil forces of the past settling in for Armageddon.
I am not a ‘Doom-Sayer’ but, now an old man, I worry for my kids, grand-kids, and great-grand kids. We have the greatest motivators in our country coming forward, good and honest people. ‘Bite the bullets’ you need to bite, get rid of the ‘losers’, but, please, get our country running again. We have all you ‘red, white, and blue’ power-movers, and one can hope for here in the USA an emerging country and economy – with lots of gas, food stuffs, and some very large bottles of Champagne.
I have written 20 books, 500 blogs, short stories, flash fiction, poetry, and songs…hope you can enjoy some of my work…they are all at https://www.brchitwood.com
Because ‘Tomorrow’ for many is a ‘dream day’, that day when bells ring and all that one has wished to happen – happens! They become rich through a lottery drawing! They hear from their agent that a publisher has decided on their novel, their book of poetry, their historical fantasy. They receive word that The War Has Ended! Twin girls are born! big raise at work! Dream Days that make a Tomorrow rich with blessings and joy.
Because of circumstances, because of educational growth, low IQs, because of inbred anger, poverty, ignorance, laziness, and any number of causal effects, ‘Dream Days’ never come for some of us. No matter our prayers, our hopes and wishes, the Dream Days never come.
In a Democracy, each of us has our Freedom and Liberty to take us to our Dreams and Goals. Some of us are lazy and wait for the world to offer us our dream. It is seldom that will happen, and, when it does happen, the ending will not be easy to watch. Some will turn to crime for a possible rescue from their prevailing state of life, some even to murder…their envy and hatred of those who have worked hard to make their lives satisfying.
So, what is all this gibberish really trying to say…you read the newspapers…you watch the news on TV or hear it on your radios.
It comes down to this!
Our leaders – president, house, senate, state houses must be much better at their jobs, never lose sight of the People for whom they work. Those who use their charm and speaking talent and their enticing promises only as a stepping stone for the lifetime benefits of the Lobbyists and their own greed must be thrown out of office. People like George Soros and the rich who buy their favors cannot be allowed to interfere with government business for the American people. ‘Mr. Clean’ has a hellava job in cleaning up federal, state, and local governments.
If this country can do these things for the American people, we will see some very ugly statistics go speedily down, riots become a ‘thing’ of the past, criminals paying dearly for their crimes, prosperity becoming common for all states. All colors among our citizens are equal now. Then, again, what the hell do I know! I’m just an aging American citizen who wants all we attest to in our founding documents… LIFE, LIBERTY, THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS, PROSPERITY FOR THE PEOPLE OF ALL OUR GREAT COUNTRY…
You read it here! If we have to start over, START OVER!
From clean and washed minds, that is, from teachers of my past, elementary grades through college and beyond, from teachers of whom I can write these words with a modicum of certainty, this narrative comes to anyone who would want to read it – based on the events and factions today ruling our classrooms.
Foremost and generally accepted, we have devoted and principled teachers in our classrooms who wish to empower our children with history’s truthful events and doctrines, to teach our children the basics of Math, Reading, Science, and Social Studies that were taught to them by the disciplined minds of patriotic teachers who did not slip in nuances of some country’s Socialist principles where power to dictate and rule come from wealthy and poisoned minds of the past, those who rule by tyranny…does ‘American Marxism’ ring a bell?
If ‘Marxism’ does not ring a bell, think of some of our new dialogues in the ‘higher circles’ – teaching young children in their beginning classrooms about this ugly phenomenon, about a boy becoming a girl so he can compete and win in ‘Women’s Sports’ and vice versa…changing ‘rest rooms’ into non-exclusive rooms for body functions but for ‘lighting up’ or ‘shooting up’ with drugs.
Okay, I did not know the horror of all this until I began to research some of the stuff I was reading and hearing about it on the television channels…too retired into my writing and movie watching.
It is real, folks, believe me. If you can do any data-type research on colleges and universities across out country, you will find out for yourselves. So many of our schools and Universities are into this ‘ugly business’ in a thick and nasty way. Our US Education Association is in lock-step with this new Marxism, and their big money we fork out to them make them all the more dangerous. This plague, if I may make this reference, is so much with us at this point in time – more than I can do any creditable penning of the issue here. However, it is real, and it is true, even in our national government, representatives who should not be part of decision making in our House and Senate but neither should they be in our country.
We are the United States of America, free and able to express our grievances, untethered, free to make our own choices of who runs our governments – state and national – free to choose our leaders, particularly the President of this great country, but how many of us believe this past election was a terrible slap in the face to our loyal citizens… Senility and power are strange and dangerous bed partners. This president and his VP should be, must be, replaced quickly. We need real and enforceable laws to contain the crime and evil that comes with our freedom, but we should have a diligent and true police presence everywhere to protect our great nation and its people.
I am just a citizen, but I love my country and its democratic policies, truly protected from graft and malfeasance.
Somewhere along the scarred and diverse political line there has got to come a civil and practical union of minds…minds that can see the distinction between schoolyard bullies, those who have been fed political slop of bias and wrong-working policies from one side of the spectrum from parents who argue parts of political problems without the Bona fides to succeed…and, of course, minds that can see more logical and compatible policies that help an entire nation – not, just those labeled with ‘blue’ alone, but those that can work for the ‘Red’ and ‘Blue’.
I’m approaching that part of life where my living parameters are flashing with great neon awareness, where my political will and logic are weak and meager – not that they ever were so forceful in altering anyone’s assumptions on the blackboards of the two major forces who vie for our votes. I have never been this concerned about our nation as I am in the present. I see forces at work that could literally push our sacred ‘Life, Liberty, and Freedom’, our ‘Constitution of the United States’, our ‘Bill of Rights’, ‘Unity of Races’, all for which our proud men and women died for in our wars.
It seems to me all people – Blacks, Whites, Asians, et al – are now firmly part of our great United States of America…a splendid quilt, if you will of all among us.
So, why, ‘riots’? Why, rampant thievery and murder that does not invest its energies in the evening time, but during the day, visible to all who are watching. Yet, our fragmented police District Attorneys appear to be bought off by big money people – we have heard some of their names.
It must be admitted here, as I write this post, that I well-know nothing written here can or will never alter the issues of which I write. It is for me a simple attempt at renouncing the vile perpetraters of crime, malice, and evil doers who have no respect for our country or the people who honestly try to get our system in working order.
In these past couple of years I have seen our country’s borders come to ruin with millions of peoples from all over the world coming into the United States, along with purveyors of killer-drugs for sale, the Cartels making millions of dollars in smuggling and drugs in the process.
The man we call President, his Vice-President, and all of his cabinet picks are without equals in their government posts – words like ‘evil’, dumb, and unworthy come to mind…
There has never been a doubt in my mind that this current president was fraudulently elected, that he is eminently senile and puts our great country in peril…not to mention the son of this president who has committed crimes in his sexual pursuits and his use of our government as his benefactor.
Those who are reading this, YOU are correct! I should not be writing these words…although truthful and the ‘great washed’ among us know my words ring true…
So, I thank those who might read this post for their indulgence…after all, I’m only writing of things you already know.
I love this country and want the very best in leadership for its future, for me, my family, and all the families of the United States of America.
*All that I have written is on the above Website: 20 books, 500 blog posts, many short stories, many ‘flash fiction’ pieces, poetry, songs, and bio information…Hope you can visit… –
It is difficult to imagine where I would be in this life without the woman in the picture above, my wife, assuming my existence in this life at this point in time.
Sure, it is just another sentimental prosing of a hopeless ‘Romantic’, but this lady, Julie Anne, is all the trumpeting I’m doing here, and, more. She has been with me through the writing of twenty books in different genres, hundreds of blog posts, short stories, and flash fiction, reading it all, offering helpful comments along with her praise…in the meantime, preparing our meals, caring for our pets, and still managing to be a mother to our many children.
My immersion in the writing brings at times outbursts and childish behavior…she simply smiles gently and wanders off to tackle other chores.
Now, near the final years of aging, I still do some writing. Julie Anne does a lot with her genealogy efforts, communicating with people from all over the globe…Genealogy fascinates her, and her glee in finding new people who belong to her ‘tree’.
Julie has written about the pets we have owned through the years – “Animal Crackers in My Bed” (the book is on Amazon).
She has also compiled a history book – “The World After World War 1” (a ‘Tome’, really) of letters written by her grandmother and two sisters of her grandmother. One of the sisters serving overseas in the Red Cross during ‘World War One’. The letters brilliantly depict the history of the time – 1918-1921…also on Amazon. (A copy of one of the letters, written by James Thurber to the Red Cross sister, was acquired by Ohio State University for their historic documents of major importance.
Julie is a unique and beautiful lady, and, for some forty years, she has been there to help and encourage me in my writing, to love me, and a mom of the highest order… I am a most lucky man…
No? I knew him, not so well, some forty years ago…he was a habitue, a devotee, of the Phoenix neon night life, searching for parts of himself he lost along a long emotional road from the hills of Appalachia: lost in an abusive and disoriented childhood; lost in a flawed and impetuous marriage; lost in the glittering promise of booze and women. Yes, I knew him, not so well, as he made all his stumbles along the way, losing not only himself but the connections to family and friends, to the people who loved him.
Yes, of course, I’m the man in the photo, and there’s a lot more to the story…hope you’ll read THE CRACKED MIRROR, Reflections of an Appalachian Son, by Billy Ray Chitwood.
In the end, my story must be like so many others, a story of a simple kid who grew up eating emotional soup and spending a lifetime trying to digest it. There are no spectacular or heroic moments. I’ve been in the United States Navy, but I’ve never fought a war—except the one I’ve declared within myself. So I know not the pain of holding a bleeding comrade to my bosom as he or she gasps the final breaths. I know not the anguish of a parent losing a child in an accident, or, in war—unless losing a child to drugs can be comparable. I’ve loved and been in love, but I’ve never stepped far enough from myself to know the true and natural profundity of its happiness and joy. I’ve been born but never died—unless the demon of the past is segmented death. The prospect of dying scares the hell out of me—not so much the prospect itself, but the pitiful legacy that is left behind. I’ve known insecurity and fear, along with self-confidence, loyalty, and pride. There have been the sins, small enough, I hope, to keep me at least somewhere in the thoughts of those I’ve loved. At times I’ve longed for ‘Nepenthe,’ the drug mentioned in ‘The Odyssey’ as a remedy for grief, the potion used by the ancients to induce forgetfulness of pain and sorrow. But, then, without some pain, can the soul truly seek refuge when the long journey is over?
***
The jail cell brought back sobriety and a stark reality. Sitting on a hard dirty ‘bed thing’ in the dimly lit, tiny barred enclosure, the demon thoughts came and possessed me. My world was disintegrating around me! The claustrophobic cell was my coffin of contriteness, a veritable symbol of my languishing life. There again was the ‘dark closet’ feeling within me, an anxious and suffocating hell! Grabbing at the bars I pitifully called out to the jailer, but no one came. Within the limited space I paced, stopped at the ugly stained wall, splayed my body against it, and tapped my forehead against its roughness. The jailer eventually came. He showed me a smile of compassion and told me that morning would come soon; then, I would be arraigned. The fitful night would pass.
***
It is Time that wears down the acts and deeds of man into something forgettable, mundane, heroic, noble, historical, and unforgettable. It is Time that leads us warily toward the greatest secret of all: That which lies beyond the dark veil!
***
“…There are men like you in the world, Prentice, through whatever kind of intervention, divine or otherwise, who must make us cry and laugh, who record for us the stirrings of the soul which we might otherwise never know.”
…
BR Chitwood
Okay, here I am today, no longer chasing those windmills, still trying to figure out this ‘one foot in front of the other’ thing. There are times when it seems I’m pretty close to figuring out this grand production, but those times are little teaser moments to stir something in the soul — sort of like a dreaded visit to a doctor or dentist, getting the car repaired – feels great when you find out the blood pressure is normal (thanks to a little round pill taken each day), the teeth cleaning and exam present no new cavities, and the car now carries no shameful dent.
All in all, living for some years on the rolling bluegrass hills of lovely Kentucky, a good wife, an aging, lovable cat, great daughters and sons, have given me happiness and joy. Back in Arizona the past still gets in my way at times in inscrutable ways, like a misty longing for something valuable I’ve left behind. I’ve never abandoned my faith, though fragile it might be, and there are many more good days than bad,
With all this said, I’m still writing, still searching…guess that only stops when mortal time gives up on me…
BR Chitwood – April 6, 2022
If you like books of mystery, suspense, action, romance, many of which are inspired by true events, please visit my website at https://www.brchitwood.com – after a short bio, just scroll down the ‘home’ page to preview the books and synopses of each.
Nine of the author’s 20 books shown below… Go to https://www.brchitwood – Website with synopses of all 20 books, over 375 blog posts, short stories, poetry, songs, author info, and BUY SITES AT YOUR AMAZON SITE…
Please visit! You will find some good reading with ‘BUY SITES’, book reviews, et al!
BR Chitwood – Author
April 6, 2022
NOTE:
All books below have 5-STAR REVIEWS on AMAZON!
***
If you like books of mystery, suspense, action, romance, many of which are inspired by true events, please visit my website at https://www.brchitwood.com – after a short bio, just scroll down the ‘home’ page to preview the books and synopses of each.
Nine of the author’s 20 books shown above… Go to https://www.brchitwood – Website with synopses of all 20 books, over 375 blog posts, short stories, poetry, songs, author info, and BUY SITES…
Please visit! You will find some good reading with ‘BUY SITES’, book reviews, et al!
A better person than I can parse and understandthe confounding natureof our world, how we arrive at a multitude of decisions as a disjointed group of politicians handle affairs of our nation from a position of power, personal goals, anger, and disassociation from a particular item of high importance to the people for whom they represent.
It is my belief that our government handlers are anything but centered to their life-long political biases and hatred for their counter-parts, many so paralyzed by their animosity they would deny their nation responsible representation.
An Appalachian transplant, who am I to have such thoughts?
I saw it at recess on the grounds of my elementary and high schools, in the classrooms, in the halls stalked by bullies… Unlike today, we young people were taught ‘Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic’ so we were spared today’s wide-spread indoctrination of blame, of how and who to hate for society’s slide into racial issues, kept alive and more viable to our youth by an almighty ‘National Association of Teachers Union’.
Okay, sure, we must allow for environmental differences, low IQs, high IQs, parental inability to carefully cultivate and fine-tune tolerance and care for a multitude of beliefs. We are built in our early years and that inculcation en masse make for the world we build.
So, we migrate, spread our selective fine-tuning to other cities, other countries, and the centuries roll on with our human sacrifices, wars, famine, and ultimate destruction and re-building…until!
What?
Our ‘Religions’ speak in different tongues, views that see ‘life and death, heaven, hell’ in totally sharp contrast…
Life goes on.
Death goes on.
Zealots go on.
Will freedom and liberty go on?
Can love conquer all?
Can a ‘Cosmic Wave’ pass over the world, instilling in each of us a predominant theme for living?
Does this ‘Cosmic Wave’ erase all of the frailties of the world?
Does Jesus return to make all things right?
Does another planet in another Solar System come to create a true Eloi?
Are we a ‘Lab Experiment’ that has gone wildly awry?
There is so much good in the world – can it not be an unbreakable bond for humanity?
Why would someone far away from the bomb bursts, flying bullets, and so much human suffering dwell on a Putin-pressed war in Ukraine…for that matter, why so many in the world dwell on this manic and corrupt event?
While pedestrian and immediately naïve, I need to put my words down because it is Sunday… Why, Sunday? A holy day for most of us, a day to dwell on our sins/transgressions, a day to pray for hope, for personal salvation, and for entire World Peace.
Of course, we have enough fret and worry of the ‘Infidel Killers’ and other groups who love to hate and kill.
With’ Putin’s War’, the ‘fret’ becomes more fierce, more difficult to calculate actions and reactions. Much of the world views Putin as a ‘Mad Man’, capable of actions leaders of nobility would never consider. The worst descriptive words for this beast of humanity have been used up by people of the world who follow his atrocities…it is difficult to imagine him long for this world. His sly eyes and demeanor, all that he is, there for the world to see. A reasonable person would assume this cold and distant Satanic collaborator could not be long for this global pool of humanity.
I pretend no great expertise on this Russian dictator and only rely on the years of ‘News Reports’ for this deeds and death tolls, like those being registered in Ukraine today and throughout his tenure in this world. I am just a man, imperfect in many ways with sins I must ultimately account for, sins far below the standards of this leader of a great nation.
So, I’m but an American Patriot who has served his country in our armed services, compelled in this modest monologue mostly by anger and by empathy and sympathy for the savagery being done to a Ukrainian nation of people of simple lives and loving families…
Shall I say, I just needed to vent my emotions and at least convey my humble and best wishes to those good and humble people subjected to this ‘Power and Ego-fed’ dictator.
I pray for the Ukrainian people a quick end to these hostilities and a return to normalcy – if it can ever be so…my heart grieves with yours.
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