tao1776

Not much to report from the hills of Central Massachusetts. Although we were officially located on the right side of the now downgraded to a tropical storm Irene, the wind was rather minimal with only a few gusts of 40 mph accompanied by a boatload of rain. If you look close, you can see a faint orange line in the top right of the picture. That is a hose which is attached to a sump pump located somewhere in the black hole just below it. We're used to the hype that goes on before any storm; major or minor. Like the boy who called, "wolf" many of us ignore any warning while a majority seem to flood the grocery stores like a famine is approaching. In December of 2008 we had an ice storm of gargantuan proportions and the memory of it weighs on some as the Great Depression did on a much earlier generation. Some residents were home bound and/or without power for a month. Mother Nature can be such a cruel bitch. But we know that it's all projection, don't we? The pum

A great post was recently featured on Brad Warner's Hardcore Zen . He examines an idea proposed by Steven Batchelor that speaks of an existent need perhaps, for violence. I suggest that you read the article for yourself and draw your own conclusion. My daughter is getting married next month and a month later her new husband will be deployed for the third time after having served in Iraq twice. He is now being sent to Afghanistan for a year. For some, there exists a sense of duty and that is also true for him. And while I respect that, I can't help but have the feeling that while there is duty, there also exists sheep and pawns who are easily duped into a loyalty founded upon empty political and emotional charged rhetoric. (remember Freedom Fries ?) Our war on terror has drained the economy of both money and spirit. I trust very little in what may be guiding the American Government to do what they do. If there exists any principles at hand that seek to guide Washington, i

I attended my second Al Anon meeting last night. You see, sometimes you reach a point where you may find it impossible to just "sit through" your experience and considering that my days of "sitting" are now almost nonexistent, Mindfulness Meditation is the absent tool in my bag. My frustration and anxiety, along with the feeling that "I need my day in court" so to speak, has left my body feeling tight, and my heart experiencing palpitations. Along with a deep feeling of loss and grief, feeling disconnected from my family and her....my soon to be ex-wife. I felt the need to do something! I felt an overwhelming sense of disconnect. As most seasoned mediators will tell you, feelings of disconnection are uprooted and slowly replaced with an awareness that just the opposite may be true. We are all interconnected , one with the other. I needed to remind myself of that! Disconnect is a projection of mind. Connection is found via the peace of awar

A year ago today my old friend "chick" passed away at the ripe old age of seventy five. And it's not that I had a remorseful day or anything but I sure did act melancholy. I visited the family graves and lit some incense at each site. I said a prayer of sorts and I felt a tear or two. I guess this divorce shit has helped lead me to stray from being the guy who has it all together. Sheesh! Later in the evening I went to movies with my eldest son. On my way home, after I had dropped him off, Layla played on the radio . The last few minutes of the song I finished sitting in my driveway with memories of laying in Mary's arms late at night as Layla faded in and out on the one tiny a.m. speaker. I must have been fifteen. The years that have passed! Nothing in life has gone off as planned but isn't that always the way? What is it that John Lennon said? "Life is what happens while you're busy making plans"? Well, I'm more than halfway between Layla an

I sit here seething  with what feels like a great weight upon my chest. I find it hard to breathe. It's a tale that cannot be told  within the confines  of some stupid little blog post.  My restraint is beginning to wane; someone could get hurt.  I have suffered at the hands  of the poster child for why you would go to Al-Anon. A no contact order: it continues. No trespass? It continues. Property destruction -  Once, twice, three times the charm? MY WIFE IN A NUTSHELL  & ***The End Result*** &  DARVO

This is not a Romney endorsement.  I've known better car salesmen than Mitt. While Romney states that Obama's leadership is built upon a "blame presidency" he continues to lay the blame for almost every problem in America at the feet of the current President. Then he continues with the sort of rhetoric that strongly concludes that he the kind of leader that would put America back to work. The sort of people that buy this message are the same kind of people who buy used cars with 95k at $17,000, while the salesman drives off in a new version of the same model and the dealer drives a Mercedes, Lincoln, Audi or Porsche. I don't begrudge them their nice shiny automobiles. Not at all.  No one tells more falsehoods than a car salesman or the man running for President. I'm sure that there are exclusions to the rule. But Romney? People feel safe in tiny little boxes of dogma. The more authoritative he sounds, a watchful eye will reveal that he is a master of the flip

I went to my local Air Cooled V.W. show on Saturday and I placed second in the Karmann Ghia class. Being that we are a rarity in New England, I've seen only six to ten Ghia together at one time and only when attending this show. This Saturday there were ten. Although the show presented more than over fifty beetles of every year and style style -  custom - Baja - stock - the show had them all and they were sandwiched between the lowly represented Ghia on the one side and the Buses/Transporters on the other.  I've taken two first place wins, one second and one third at this show. I also have several others that all fit nicely in my trunk set as wallpaper: decorations for showing. I have four others as well that stand tall in my dining/library room. My car is a stock 1600 dual port with the original carb and dizzy combo. It has factory leather and air conditioning. The paint is worn and has several rather poorly done body patches. But the car shows are about camaraderie, shar

Many of my Buddhist friends do not eat meat. They will avoid the killing of a fly or any household pest. And that is fine. That is where their path has led them. I begrudge them not. Now I certainly don't receive any amount of pleasure in dressing a meat bird for the freezer. It is done in reverence and with the satisfaction of knowing that I have fulfilled an age old path of raising what is eaten. It is not taken for granted. It produces the same sense of thanksgiving as with the eating of a fresh picked tomato or the preparing of fresh corn or broccoli. It just happens to be slow grilled with Jerk seasoning liberally applied. But the gun is at the ready - and I will kill. A rat that is. A rat has taken up residence under my pallet coop. He has a front entrance and a back one. When the girls are perched on the opposite side the coop he will let himself in and eat their feed, drink their water and for desert dig through the compost bin. Before you know it, word of these luxuriou