Posted on 04/14/2006 8:04:56 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
Well Folks!
I finally did it, fwiw.
10,000 times I punched the button .. and plop, like magic, there it was. I wanted to make this one a little more personal than most of the others.
Some were boring as hell and some I couldn't get a hit on if I paid folks to look at 'em.
Others , were equally as dull, but Hey, with all the stuff out there on the 'net these days, who's to say I could or would have much to add to much of anything that folks cared to know about or had always wanted to take a whack at in sharing their impression about a given topic.
Along the way, I made a lot of acquaintances, I even met a few folks at a local rally or freep for something or other.
Thru it all, I've tried to be respectful , altho in some eyes here, I am likely to have failed miserably.
You see, I don't continence BS too well, I grew up on a farm and I can tell a pile of poop from art or hooey with the best of 'em or at least like to think I can.
FRom time to time, I've even thrown myself under the train of popular thought and fought the prevailing winds of change that seem to catch all of us up in 'em from time to time.
I'm not sure why I did it sometimes, maybe it's because I spent more time at college in parties then in a classroom. Come to think of it, that's the only reason I went to colleges in general.
I got my education the old fashioned way, by taking off from home at a young age and joining the Marines, ya see we were fighting a police action and I could get a nice bonus to go to college for real if I survived , that is.
Well, as it worked out, I survived , never saw a dime of the darn bonus but still got a good education and got to travel and see a fair chunk of the globe doing it.
By the time I hit 21 , I came home, spent a couple years being a bum, working odd jobs, hitchhiked the country, mostly westward from the midwest, and along the way had a chance to see a bit more of the land that so many fought and died defending and protecting so others wouldn't have to.
I met all kinds of folks, some were a little weird but most were just regular folk. All of them that I recall loved where they lived and were willing to share what they had, be it a place to sleep or a bite to eat.
Then there were times when I wasn't around many folks and went my own way, call it my sojourn into the dark side of human nature, it wasn't by itself necessarily good for me, but I survived it as so many others have and that is what counts most in the end. Maybe that's what made me want to give back to others who aren't as fortunate and why I stand up for the little guy and more oft than not, take a unpopular stand cuz my gut tells me too, a stand for the guy who loses it all for no good reason except that's the way the system works or that Mother Nature wants it to be.
Then I had an epiphany, why don't I settle down and see if I can do what so many others have done. Well, that was not all I had wished it would turn out to be either, but it didn't stop the journey, just diverted it a bit.
Ah hell, Im rambling now, but so what? I'm accused of that a lot here, so I guess the old adage 'Some things never change" is true is after all.
Or is it?
231 years ago, a nation of laws like none other was founded on this continent. It sought to establish a land that all individuals could have opportunity and freedom afforded to them as long as they weren't abusive of those inalienable rights we are all endowed with weren't abused.
Of late, I'm not sure why, but I get an uneasy feeling that something is afoot, ya see, I don't walk the same corridors of power that our elected officials do. I don't get spoonfed what I want to hear, I see and hear things I don't want to hear and believe and then have to come to my own terms with them.
Now, I see where a lot of folks only want to tell me what to think and how to act and who to vote for and not ask questions.
That disturbs me, to say the least.
Hence , this post.
We all have a finite set of days and I reckon I've used up a fair share here at FR the last 5 plus years but I'd like to think they weren't all in vain.
So if I sound like I'm reaching out for something but I'm not quite sure what, that's OK. I know I'm just like so many others here.
We are all captives to a degree of our own upbringing and raising, the things we have experienced and shared with each other.
When I see someone being wronged, I'll do what I can if I know I can make a difference, but as Dirty Harry once said, "A man has got to know his limits."
I guess I am at a point in my life where I am asking myself is, have I made a difference? Does what I say really matter?
Which leads me to the nugget of the thread.
This nation is on the precipice of greater opportunity and greater challenges up the ying yang for all of its citizens.
Yet, we are also encumbered by a millstone of a government that has in some if not most ways lost touch with what this nation originally was founded for and that is to nourish its people and help them to grow free and string, unafraid of the future and what lies ahead.
FRankly, I don't like what I see today, a once proud nation is chastened by its allies and enemies alike, accused by many of its own citizens of not doing enough by some and doing too much by others.
This nation is divided like it hasn't been since the Civil War and in need of unity when it is under attack like never before.
In the end, what I think or say really won't matter that much to most and I can live with that, but still, when I see those who should know better seeking to undercut the principles and laws we have held dear for so long and replace them with global compacts and international laws that govern us without care for the individual, I have to admit, it ticks me off.
When I see a 2 party system that seems to be going thru identity crises and can't seem to figure what or who they represent and actually embrace foreign law and leaders and their doctrines, it really ticks me off.
And when I see those who once fought for this country, now seek to surrender to a larger governing body or to a few "special" folks, well, I won't say what I feel.
Anyway, let this be my own way of warning to All that seek to surrender our sovereignty or our way of life to any entity for any reason, don't expect me to support it.
Ok, now I went and done it.
Oh well. That's what its all about it, isn't it? Gittin' it done.
and it looks like that's what I can close on.
That no matter what happens in the future , folks can look back and say
American Patriot
Ya got it done, again.
God Bless.
See ya all around, Folks.
101
Hey Nork, er Norf....Nurm...aaaaahhh whatever!...git back here, yer catch can is stuck and the left rear needs more air.
WE ain't done yet!! Got another CHampionship to win!
This nation IS SPLIT...more than before. How and who did it?
This IS the Klintoon Legacy. His 'politics of personal destruction' created a rift that just keeps getting wider. That horrible man and a worse President created the atmosphere, the ability for him and his wrecking ball of an administration to lie with impunity, ruin people like Billy Dale and the media didn't do a thing about it.
We are a Nation divided now. Red v. Blue states.
No question about it.
G
Accurate observations. I have used the phrase, "turning of the times," from the Lord of the Rings books. Indeed, basic priciples and values are under attack from all sides. One can become discouraged with the rising tide of evil.
However, we have the means to expose these attacks and to educate each other of the truth. We owe it to the legacy of our forefathers and the future of our children.
You rang? Now go down that 12-pack :-)
You'll keep up the good fight.
If not here, somewhere else.
Hope to see you again.
That was a great read Norm, it's nice to see a little personal background of our FReeper FRiends. Sounds like ya done good and thanks for your service in the Marines.
I particularly wanted to point out that the following three paragraphs which are sadly so true and extremely critical to this countries future right now.
" Yet, we are also encumbered by a millstone of a government that has in some if not most ways lost touch with what this nation originally was founded for and that is to nourish its people and help them to grow free and string, unafraid of the future and what lies ahead."
"FRankly, I don't like what I see today, a once proud nation is chastened by its allies and enemies alike, accused by many of its own citizens of not doing enough by some and doing too much by others."
This nation is divided like it hasn't been since the Civil War and in need of unity when it is under attack like never before.
Funny how an opus brings the snakes out from under their rocks.
I sure hope you decide to stay. I've only read about a quarter of your threads and THAT seemed like work.
I sure have appreciated you being the grand poohbah of the nascar threads.
You have a good way of being the leader, keeping everything in line and up to standardswithout being jerky about it.
I sure hope you decide to stick around, but if you choose otherwise, I wish you well in everything.
Well Norm can I call you Norm or is Master poster or Sir Postalot. How cool is this 10 thooooosand posts and not once were you you banned ? I raise my beeber to you And just think your guidence counsol said you would not add up to much Where can i find out how many post I have done ?
Happpy Easter
Ditto that.
148 threads and 14,821 replies. Looks like I am there with WCG.
Now, I see where a lot of folks only want to tell me what to think and how to act and who to vote for and not ask questions.
That disturbs me, to say the least.
Hence , this post....
When I see a 2 party system that seems to be going thru identity crises and can't seem to figure what or who they represent and actually embrace foreign law and leaders and their doctrines, it really ticks me off....
And when I see those who once fought for this country, now seek to surrender to a larger governing body or to a few 'special' folks, well, I won't say what I feel.
Anyway, let this be my own way of warning to All that seek to surrender our sovereignty or our way of life to any entity for any reason, don't expect me to support it."
Heckuva great post/Opus, Norm.
You're saying what NEEDS to be said.
YOU are a great patriot -- we AIN'T surrendering and you ain't either....
As others have encouraged me, remain, my friend (take a coffee break like me ;-)
You're needed as ONE MORE Paul Revere at FR -- and d@mn the Redcoats.
Here ya go .. .. So does this mean you're gonna be sticking around
My call: stay.
Live long and string!
;-)
Hope youre doing well and will reconsider.
Could you please bookmark the rest of yours there so we can find them easier?
Thanks...
:>)
bump
I quit bookmarking stuff after about a year, there was just so much stuff, it unfortunately became unmanageable, much like our state of things in California. ;-)
I did get banned once , for about an hour.
it was ap's fault, by the way, seriesly.
they incorrectly identified info on a military plane crash into the black sea, someone saw it here and obviouilsy had an axe to grind with me and hit abuse claiming I did it with ill intent and on purpose.
as it turned out, somone else here also saw that initial error in the article that was quickly corrected on the ap wire, and I was back in no time.
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