An addict is someone who is obsessively devoted to something.
People can become addicted to all sorts of things, such as alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, sweets, sports, gambling, sex, travel, TV, gardening, gossip, etc. They can even be addicted to community growth.
Most people with common sense realize there is an optimal size to almost anything. A garden won’t flourish if plants are too close together or too far apart. A forest won’t flourish if trees are too close together or too far apart. An animal herd won’t flourish if there are too many animals for their range.
Bigger isn’t always better.
However, Growth Addicts are unaware of the ramifications of overpopulation. These are people who have some sort of inane behavioral quirk whereby they simply can’t accept the size and scope of the community in which they live. They are compelled by some sort of neurological disorder to stimulate community growth.
If you ever ask one of these Growth Addicts at what point the growth should level off, they’ll look at you as if you’re crazy.
To a Growth Addict, there never is enough growth.
To a Growth Addict, growth is a way of life.
Many local politicians are afflicted with this disorder. They promise to lure industry into their area under the preposterous notion that this would have a positive impact on the entire community. Many real estate folks are also afflicted with this disorder. They travel to far away locations and attempt to persuade people to relocate to their area. Some local business owners are also under the delusion that community expansion will benefit them.
I lived a few miles outside a small town in Arizona in 1986-1992. It had a population of about 3,000 and seemed like an ideal place to live, especially after having spent nearly 12 years in Los Angeles.
However, it didn’t take long to sour on the place.
The city council was made up of bankers and real estate brokers. They had this simple-minded notion that bigger was better and that if they didn’t do something drastic the world would pass them by. Their idea of progress was to attract industry so they could grow at a much faster rate than would normally take place.
Their first course of action was to spend huge sums of taxpayer funds building an industrial park near the airport. Naturally, as bankers and land brokers, they all got a piece of the action.
When no one would build a business in their overpriced industrial park, they spent huge sums of taxpayer funds promoting the fiasco, including expensive advertisements in business publications in such places as Taiwan and Hong Kong. To date, the industrial park still remains empty.
During another brainstorming session, the city council determined the town would be more attractive if it had “funky” pink sidewalks, just like the ones in a popular ski resort town in Colorado. Tons of taxpayer dollars went into the project. All the concrete sidewalks in town were ripped up and replaced with pink, inlaid bricks. When the dust finally settled, it looked like cowboy town with pink sidewalks.
Progress, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. One person’s idea of progress is another person’s nightmare.
Promoting business and encouraging population growth should not be a function of local government, which has enough problems simply keeping up with the natural flow of change.
The flaw in this thinking is obvious. As more industry is added to an area, more people will move there to take advantage of the expanding economy. Suddenly, you’re back to the same old problem of needing to add more industry to support the growing population.
Local business won’t benefit from this ploy. As the area grows, new businesses will pop up, creating more competition -- a bigger pie with smaller slices. Eventually, local businesses will become overrun by national chains.
Nothing will be improved -- there will just be more of everything, including more traffic, more crime and a need for more solutions, requiring more tax revenue.
Most people live in a certain area because they like it there. For those who yearn for a larger community, it would be easier to move elsewhere than scheme to make the area grow faster than it would otherwise grow naturally.
Rather than move on, Growth Addicts insist upon spoiling things for everyone else. Bringing more business, more industry and more people into a community doesn’t benefit anyone, including those who have an insatiable urge to hasten progress.
Most areas will grow at a nice steady pace without Growth Addicts forcing their will upon the natural flow of progress.
Perhaps, Growth Addicts dislike their community because they subconsciously dislike themselves. Instead of taking responsibility for their own happiness they manipulate the world around them in a vain attempt to alter a reality they blame for their own perceived misfortunes. If so, Growth Addicts are in dire need of psychological help.
Some of my best friends are growth addicts. Even members of my own family are infected with this insidious malady. They can’t seem to help it and don’t even appear to be aware of their dysfunctional condition.
If you’re not a Growth Addict, read no further.
An intervention is a confrontation, usually initiated by family and friends, directed toward an addict in an attempt to rid the addict of his or her harmful addiction.
Consider this to be an intervention.
I am your friend.
You have a serious mental disorder.
I want to help you get well.
STOP IT. STOP IT. STOP IT.
We don’t need your guidance and control.
You’re obsession for growth only makes things worse.
More industry means more people, creating more problems that will be solved by bringing in more industry. Then more industry will attract more people, requiring even more industry, which will again attract more people, and so on, and so on.
This is a vicious cycle without end.
Bigger isn’t better -- it’s just bigger.
You have an unhealthy addiction.
It’s unhealthy for you and everyone around you.
Get over it.
Your problem isn’t the size of the community; your problem is you.
If you have a compulsion to make changes, look inward.
Stop and smell the roses.
Or move to a bigger city.
___________
Quote for the Day -- "Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it." Milton Friedman
___________
Bret Burquest, author of four novels, has recently published THE REALITY OF THE ILLUSION OF REALITY (esoteric knowledge) and 1111 HAPPY TRAILS ROAD (humor) -- available on Amazon. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a dog named Buddy Lee and where work is a four-letter word.
___________
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Thursday, June 9, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
Superstitions
A superstition is a belief or practice resulting from ignorance. It’s also evidence that mankind hasn’t exactly reached the peak of intellectual potential.
"It is one of the superstitions of the human mind to have imagined that virginity could be a virtue." Voltaire
Some superstitions are peculiar to a particular country.
1) In Ireland, it’s considered lucky to kiss the Blarney Stone, but unlucky to spill a drink.
2) In Nigeria, it’s bad luck to sweep a house at night, but a thorough sweeping in the morning gets rid of evil spirits.
3) In Japan, killing a spider in the morning results in the destruction of a human soul.
4) In Scotland, it’s bad luck to stand with your back to the edge of a door, and the sight of three swans flying together is a precursor of a national disaster.
5) In Malta, church clocks have two faces, one showing the correct time and another with a false time to confuse the Devil about the time of the service.
The world of show business has its share of superstitions.
1) If an actor uses a bar of soap belonging to another actor, it’s believed that some of the luck will rub off on him.
2) But if an actor leaves soap behind in the dressing room, he may never be employed again.
3) To open an umbrella or drop a comb onstage is bad luck.
4) Actors never look over the shoulder of a colleague into a mirror
5) Set designers avoid the color yellow.
6) The most egregious act occurs when someone whistles in the dressing room. Surely disaster will soon follow.
Gamblers are notorious for being superstitious.
1) They always wear their lucky ring or shirt or whatever.
2) Many will rub or blow on the dice or cards.
3) Sitting in the right chair or standing in the right spot is a must.
4) True gamblers never cross anything, including their legs, and never place a bet before 6:00 PM on Fridays.
Professional athletes, particularly baseball players, are among the most superstitious people on the planet.
1) On game day, they will eat the same meal or park in the same spot or walk the same path using the same number of steps entering the clubhouse.
2) Many baseball players will always enter the playing field in the exact same manner each time, performing personal rituals such as touching the same base or crossing a line at the same spot.
3) When batting, most baseball players will take the exact same number of practice swings while making the same gestures to help bring them luck.
Being an astute observer of human nature, I’ve come up with my own set of superstitions.
1) If a black cat crosses your path, it usually means the cat is going somewhere.
2) Wearing cloves of garlic around your neck will ward off evil spirits. Except for goat farmers and residents of New Jersey, it will also ward off most people.
3) Finding a four-leaf clover is good luck. It also means you have nothing better to do than crawl around outdoors on your hands and knees, gazing at clover.
4) Three men on a match is bad luck, unless you only have one match and there are three of you, or you are French Canadian.
5) A rabbit’s foot is good luck, except for the rabbit.
6) If you crack a mirror, it’s bad luck. If all you were doing was looking at the mirror when it cracked, it’s time for some cosmetic surgery.
7) If your name is Usama and you have a towel wrapped around your head and have 4 wives and your hobby is mass murder, you will someday have unwelcome visitors from a faraway land with itchy trigger fingers drop in on you from above to remove you from this dimension and confiscate your collection of pornography.
___________
Quote for the Day -- "The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out -- without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable." H.L. Mencken
___________
Bret Burquest, author of four novels, has recently published THE REALITY OF THE ILLUSION OF REALITY (esoteric knowledge) and 1111 HAPPY TRAILS ROAD (humor) -- available on Amazon. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a dog named Buddy Lee and where good luck involves indoor plumbing.
___________
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"It is one of the superstitions of the human mind to have imagined that virginity could be a virtue." Voltaire
Some superstitions are peculiar to a particular country.
1) In Ireland, it’s considered lucky to kiss the Blarney Stone, but unlucky to spill a drink.
2) In Nigeria, it’s bad luck to sweep a house at night, but a thorough sweeping in the morning gets rid of evil spirits.
3) In Japan, killing a spider in the morning results in the destruction of a human soul.
4) In Scotland, it’s bad luck to stand with your back to the edge of a door, and the sight of three swans flying together is a precursor of a national disaster.
5) In Malta, church clocks have two faces, one showing the correct time and another with a false time to confuse the Devil about the time of the service.
The world of show business has its share of superstitions.
1) If an actor uses a bar of soap belonging to another actor, it’s believed that some of the luck will rub off on him.
2) But if an actor leaves soap behind in the dressing room, he may never be employed again.
3) To open an umbrella or drop a comb onstage is bad luck.
4) Actors never look over the shoulder of a colleague into a mirror
5) Set designers avoid the color yellow.
6) The most egregious act occurs when someone whistles in the dressing room. Surely disaster will soon follow.
Gamblers are notorious for being superstitious.
1) They always wear their lucky ring or shirt or whatever.
2) Many will rub or blow on the dice or cards.
3) Sitting in the right chair or standing in the right spot is a must.
4) True gamblers never cross anything, including their legs, and never place a bet before 6:00 PM on Fridays.
Professional athletes, particularly baseball players, are among the most superstitious people on the planet.
1) On game day, they will eat the same meal or park in the same spot or walk the same path using the same number of steps entering the clubhouse.
2) Many baseball players will always enter the playing field in the exact same manner each time, performing personal rituals such as touching the same base or crossing a line at the same spot.
3) When batting, most baseball players will take the exact same number of practice swings while making the same gestures to help bring them luck.
Being an astute observer of human nature, I’ve come up with my own set of superstitions.
1) If a black cat crosses your path, it usually means the cat is going somewhere.
2) Wearing cloves of garlic around your neck will ward off evil spirits. Except for goat farmers and residents of New Jersey, it will also ward off most people.
3) Finding a four-leaf clover is good luck. It also means you have nothing better to do than crawl around outdoors on your hands and knees, gazing at clover.
4) Three men on a match is bad luck, unless you only have one match and there are three of you, or you are French Canadian.
5) A rabbit’s foot is good luck, except for the rabbit.
6) If you crack a mirror, it’s bad luck. If all you were doing was looking at the mirror when it cracked, it’s time for some cosmetic surgery.
7) If your name is Usama and you have a towel wrapped around your head and have 4 wives and your hobby is mass murder, you will someday have unwelcome visitors from a faraway land with itchy trigger fingers drop in on you from above to remove you from this dimension and confiscate your collection of pornography.
___________
Quote for the Day -- "The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out -- without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable." H.L. Mencken
___________
Bret Burquest, author of four novels, has recently published THE REALITY OF THE ILLUSION OF REALITY (esoteric knowledge) and 1111 HAPPY TRAILS ROAD (humor) -- available on Amazon. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a dog named Buddy Lee and where good luck involves indoor plumbing.
___________
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Wednesday, June 1, 2011
The Flow of Life
Life is like a river of natural events -- it flows where it wants to flow, and there's not much you can usually do about it without an enormous amount of effort and a slew of unintended consequences.
Basically, you have 3 choices in The Flow of Life -- go with The Flow, ignore The Flow, or change The Flow.
William Shakespeare was a very prolific writer who was mostly understood by snooty British intellectuals, high school English teachers and people with brain damage. Most of the rest of us who were forced to read his drivel back in high school didn’t have a clue what Shakespeare was all about.
One of his more famous excerpts comes in act 3 of Hamlet – “To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune; or to take arms against a sea of troubles…”
This is all a person really needs to know about life. Unfortunately, reading Shakespeare is a lot like reading the graffiti on the wall of a public restroom – it seems somewhat clever yet is often confusing, but you don’t really care because you’ve got better things to do than hang around and try to figure it out.
What Shakespeare was really trying to tell the world was that there is a choice in life we all face. We can choose to go with The Flow and suffer the consequences (suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune) or we can choose to go off in our own direction (take arms against a sea of trouble) and suffer the consequences. Choosing not to make a choice automatically puts you into the category of going with The Flow.
In other words, you can go with The Flow or follow your own path. Either way, there will be consequences to suffer.
Some people choose to go with The Flow. They elect people to lead them, obey the rules, pay their taxes and march off to war. They may not like it sometimes but they go along in order to get along. These are the followers of the flock of humanity and conformists who are obedient of authority, usually out of a sense of duty or fear of consequences.
Some people go off in their own direction, avoiding The Flow as much as humanly possible. Although often ridiculed by those who conform, they couldn't care less. And even when they’re alone they’re never lonely because they don’t need to be validated by others. These are the weirdoes who prefer to be different simply to gain self-respect within their own existence.
Then there are those who try to have it both ways, going with The Flow when it suits them and avoiding it when it doesn't. Most of the time they choose to go with The Flow, until The Flow takes them where they don’t want to be, then they rebel a bit. But taking arms against a sea of trouble requires strength and fortitude, forcing them to get back into The Flow when the going gets too tough. These are the flip-floppers who jump on and off of band wagons depending on which way the wind blows.
Furthermore, some people attempt to manipulate The Flow toward their personal desires. They demand the right to create and enforce their own version of heaven on Earth. Many of them believe they are creating a better world, while others are simply attempting to gain power, control or riches. Either way, it is a form of selfishness. No one has the moral certitude to change the world into their personal vision of wonderfulness, because wonderfulness is always in the eye of the beholder.
People who choose to always go with The Flow are happy people. Occasionally, they suffer the consequences of the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune but life is full of consequences and they don’t blame themselves for their suffering because they were merely caught in The Flow of the decision-making of others. Plus, the burden of making independent decisions is avoided because The Flow makes all the decisions for them.
People who choose to always avoid The Flow are also happy people. They go their own direction and follow their own path. They face lots of obstacles for not conforming to The Flow, but their suffering is of their own making and therefore more palatable. Independent people understand that suffering builds character, thereby making their way of life that much more endearing. Rather than allow the rest of the world to err on their behalf, they’d prefer to screw up their lives on their own.
Those who try to have it both ways are unhappy people. They have no direction in life. Rather than being comfortable within The Flow or comfortable outside The Flow, they are dissatisfied with both options and spend their days whining about how The Flow has ruined their lives.
People who try to change The Flow are also an unhappy lot. They tend to align with others who also want to change The Flow, exerting group pressure by forming associations and unions and political parties and religions and secret societies in order to manipulate The Flow in their favor. But no matter how effective they are at manipulating The Flow, they’re fighting an endless battle because there are always other interests attempting to manipulate The Flow in a variety of directions. And the ends rarely justify the means because there is no End to The Flow.
Flow Changers have been battling Flow Changers since the beginning of time. They are convinced their way is the correct way and insist everyone else conform to their notion of correctness, right down to the correct length of grass in your front yard and the correct state of mind from which you are forbidden to alter. Flow Changers are self-righteous, rebellious conformists who demand selfless, non-rebellious conformity from everyone else.
So if you want to be happy, accept the slings and arrows (go with The Flow) and fall in line like a proper obedient citizen (conformist). Or take arms against a sea of trouble (avoid The Flow) and follow your own path like a free independent thinker (outcast). One or the other -- you can't be both.
The opposite of courage is not cowardice, it is conformity.
The reward for conformity is everyone likes you but you lack the integrity (freedom) to be your true self. Even dead fish go with The Flow.
The reward for being an outcast is self-respect. It's better to avoid The Flow than to be swept away by it.
If you want to be an unhappy jerk, attempt to change The Flow and regulate the world. But always bear in mind that no good deed goes unpunished.
"You must not change one thing, one pebble, one grain of sand, until you know what good and evil will follow that act. The world is in balance, in Equilibrium. A Wizard's power of Changing and Summoning can shake the balance of the world. It is dangerous, that power. It is most perilous. It must follow knowledge, and serve need. To light a candle is to cast a shadow." Ursula K. Le Guin
There are only two things in life -- you and everything else. The only thing you can change is you.
Ultimately, you have 3 choices -- go with The Flow, ignore The Flow, or bang your head against the wall.
___________
Quote for the Day -- “No two ideals were ever more incompatible than the security of conformity and the freedom of individuality. After the choice is made, the rest is easy – unless you don’t have the guts to stick by your choice.” Hunter S. Thompson
___________
Bret Burquest, author of four novels, has recently published THE REALITY OF THE ILLUSION OF REALITY (esoteric knowledge) and 1111 HAPPY TRAILS ROAD (humor) -- available on Amazon. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a dog named Buddy Lee and the ghost of Raoul Duke.
___________
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-
Basically, you have 3 choices in The Flow of Life -- go with The Flow, ignore The Flow, or change The Flow.
William Shakespeare was a very prolific writer who was mostly understood by snooty British intellectuals, high school English teachers and people with brain damage. Most of the rest of us who were forced to read his drivel back in high school didn’t have a clue what Shakespeare was all about.
One of his more famous excerpts comes in act 3 of Hamlet – “To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune; or to take arms against a sea of troubles…”
This is all a person really needs to know about life. Unfortunately, reading Shakespeare is a lot like reading the graffiti on the wall of a public restroom – it seems somewhat clever yet is often confusing, but you don’t really care because you’ve got better things to do than hang around and try to figure it out.
What Shakespeare was really trying to tell the world was that there is a choice in life we all face. We can choose to go with The Flow and suffer the consequences (suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune) or we can choose to go off in our own direction (take arms against a sea of trouble) and suffer the consequences. Choosing not to make a choice automatically puts you into the category of going with The Flow.
In other words, you can go with The Flow or follow your own path. Either way, there will be consequences to suffer.
Some people choose to go with The Flow. They elect people to lead them, obey the rules, pay their taxes and march off to war. They may not like it sometimes but they go along in order to get along. These are the followers of the flock of humanity and conformists who are obedient of authority, usually out of a sense of duty or fear of consequences.
Some people go off in their own direction, avoiding The Flow as much as humanly possible. Although often ridiculed by those who conform, they couldn't care less. And even when they’re alone they’re never lonely because they don’t need to be validated by others. These are the weirdoes who prefer to be different simply to gain self-respect within their own existence.
Then there are those who try to have it both ways, going with The Flow when it suits them and avoiding it when it doesn't. Most of the time they choose to go with The Flow, until The Flow takes them where they don’t want to be, then they rebel a bit. But taking arms against a sea of trouble requires strength and fortitude, forcing them to get back into The Flow when the going gets too tough. These are the flip-floppers who jump on and off of band wagons depending on which way the wind blows.
Furthermore, some people attempt to manipulate The Flow toward their personal desires. They demand the right to create and enforce their own version of heaven on Earth. Many of them believe they are creating a better world, while others are simply attempting to gain power, control or riches. Either way, it is a form of selfishness. No one has the moral certitude to change the world into their personal vision of wonderfulness, because wonderfulness is always in the eye of the beholder.
People who choose to always go with The Flow are happy people. Occasionally, they suffer the consequences of the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune but life is full of consequences and they don’t blame themselves for their suffering because they were merely caught in The Flow of the decision-making of others. Plus, the burden of making independent decisions is avoided because The Flow makes all the decisions for them.
People who choose to always avoid The Flow are also happy people. They go their own direction and follow their own path. They face lots of obstacles for not conforming to The Flow, but their suffering is of their own making and therefore more palatable. Independent people understand that suffering builds character, thereby making their way of life that much more endearing. Rather than allow the rest of the world to err on their behalf, they’d prefer to screw up their lives on their own.
Those who try to have it both ways are unhappy people. They have no direction in life. Rather than being comfortable within The Flow or comfortable outside The Flow, they are dissatisfied with both options and spend their days whining about how The Flow has ruined their lives.
People who try to change The Flow are also an unhappy lot. They tend to align with others who also want to change The Flow, exerting group pressure by forming associations and unions and political parties and religions and secret societies in order to manipulate The Flow in their favor. But no matter how effective they are at manipulating The Flow, they’re fighting an endless battle because there are always other interests attempting to manipulate The Flow in a variety of directions. And the ends rarely justify the means because there is no End to The Flow.
Flow Changers have been battling Flow Changers since the beginning of time. They are convinced their way is the correct way and insist everyone else conform to their notion of correctness, right down to the correct length of grass in your front yard and the correct state of mind from which you are forbidden to alter. Flow Changers are self-righteous, rebellious conformists who demand selfless, non-rebellious conformity from everyone else.
So if you want to be happy, accept the slings and arrows (go with The Flow) and fall in line like a proper obedient citizen (conformist). Or take arms against a sea of trouble (avoid The Flow) and follow your own path like a free independent thinker (outcast). One or the other -- you can't be both.
The opposite of courage is not cowardice, it is conformity.
The reward for conformity is everyone likes you but you lack the integrity (freedom) to be your true self. Even dead fish go with The Flow.
The reward for being an outcast is self-respect. It's better to avoid The Flow than to be swept away by it.
If you want to be an unhappy jerk, attempt to change The Flow and regulate the world. But always bear in mind that no good deed goes unpunished.
"You must not change one thing, one pebble, one grain of sand, until you know what good and evil will follow that act. The world is in balance, in Equilibrium. A Wizard's power of Changing and Summoning can shake the balance of the world. It is dangerous, that power. It is most perilous. It must follow knowledge, and serve need. To light a candle is to cast a shadow." Ursula K. Le Guin
There are only two things in life -- you and everything else. The only thing you can change is you.
Ultimately, you have 3 choices -- go with The Flow, ignore The Flow, or bang your head against the wall.
___________
Quote for the Day -- “No two ideals were ever more incompatible than the security of conformity and the freedom of individuality. After the choice is made, the rest is easy – unless you don’t have the guts to stick by your choice.” Hunter S. Thompson
___________
Bret Burquest, author of four novels, has recently published THE REALITY OF THE ILLUSION OF REALITY (esoteric knowledge) and 1111 HAPPY TRAILS ROAD (humor) -- available on Amazon. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a dog named Buddy Lee and the ghost of Raoul Duke.
___________
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Friday, May 27, 2011
A Black Sheep on Memorial Day
Gregory "Pappy" Boyington was born in Idaho on December 4, 1912.
He went to high school in Tacoma, Wash., then on to the University of Washington (1930-34) where he was in the ROTC program and majored in engineering.
He worked summers in an Idaho gold mine to help pay his way through college and became a draftsman for Boeing Aircraft upon graduation.
One year later, he joined the Marines where he was a flight instructor for six years and later volunteered to be a "Flying Tiger" pilot in China and Burma.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Boyington saw action in the South Pacific where he was credited with shooting down 28 Japanese aircraft, a WWII record for a Marine pilot.
On the day of his 28th kill, Boyington was shot down by a Japanese Zero fighter and eventually picked up by an enemy submarine.
He spent 20 months in a prisoner of war camp where he suffered frequent beatings and near starvation. For some reason, his whereabouts were never reported to the Allies by the Japanese and he was listed as missing in action. On August 28, 1945, his prison camp was liberated.
Along with the Navy Cross, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Boyington led a turbulent life. He was a heavy drinker, went through a series of failed marriages and bounced from one job to another (beer salesman, stock salesman, jewelry salesman and wrestling referee).
In 1958, he wrote a book about his WWII exploits at an airfield in the New Hebrides titled BAA BAA, BLACK SHEEP. In it, he described how he had to form a squadron of fighter pilots from a group of raw replacement pilots, dubbed "The Black Sheep Squadron."
In 1976, the book was made into an NBC TV series starring Robert Conrad as Pappy Boyington. The series, difficult and expensive to produce, lasted only two years.
Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, American hero and troubled soul, died on January 11, 1988. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
At the end of his memoir, he wrote, "Just name a hero and I'll prove he's a bum."
In 2006, a University of Washington senior and former Air Force weather forecaster, Andrew Everett, presented a resolution to the college's student senate suggesting the school honor Boyington with a small statue.
However, this proposal was rebuffed by members of the student Democratic Party on the student senate.
According to the minutes of the meeting, Ashley Miller argued, "many monuments at UW already commemorate rich, white men." Jill Edwards stated she "didn't believe a member of the Marine Corps was an example of the sort of person UW wanted to produce." One member of the senate even referred to Boyington as "a murderer."
Perhaps the world does indeed have too many statues honoring people who have performed heroic acts, but the reasoning behind this rejection is astonishing. Some of these students are in dire need of a brain transplant.
First of all, Boyington was never rich and he was part Sioux Indian. To protest honoring him because he is rich and white is both incorrect and blatant bigotry. Rejecting a person based on that person's social status and ethnicity is a prime example of how far certain people will sink to ensure special privileges for those who don't earn it.
Bigotry is a two-way street and a liberal, naive, politically-correct bigot is still a bigot.
Discriminating against Boyington because he was a Marine is another example of bigotry. And to call him a murderer is inexcusable. Killing another human being, during the course of a world war, when that person is aggressively trying to kill you is not murder – it's called self-preservation.
War is an ugly, unfortunate fact of life but sometimes it's a necessity.
It's easy to assume if you're nice to the rest of the world, it will be nice to you -- but the world is not made out of sugar and spice and everything nice. When you grow up, reality will set in and self-preservation will take over.
Pappy Boyington was just another guy stumbling through life. He was also a hero and deserves our respect.
___________
Quote for the Day -- "A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom." Bob Dylan
___________
Bret Burquest, author of four novels, has recently published THE REALITY OF THE ILLUSION OF REALITY (esoteric knowledge) and 1111 HAPPY TRAILS ROAD (humor) -- available of Amazon. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a dog named Buddy Lee and the ghost of Davy Crockett.
___________
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-
He went to high school in Tacoma, Wash., then on to the University of Washington (1930-34) where he was in the ROTC program and majored in engineering.
He worked summers in an Idaho gold mine to help pay his way through college and became a draftsman for Boeing Aircraft upon graduation.
One year later, he joined the Marines where he was a flight instructor for six years and later volunteered to be a "Flying Tiger" pilot in China and Burma.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Boyington saw action in the South Pacific where he was credited with shooting down 28 Japanese aircraft, a WWII record for a Marine pilot.
On the day of his 28th kill, Boyington was shot down by a Japanese Zero fighter and eventually picked up by an enemy submarine.
He spent 20 months in a prisoner of war camp where he suffered frequent beatings and near starvation. For some reason, his whereabouts were never reported to the Allies by the Japanese and he was listed as missing in action. On August 28, 1945, his prison camp was liberated.
Along with the Navy Cross, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Boyington led a turbulent life. He was a heavy drinker, went through a series of failed marriages and bounced from one job to another (beer salesman, stock salesman, jewelry salesman and wrestling referee).
In 1958, he wrote a book about his WWII exploits at an airfield in the New Hebrides titled BAA BAA, BLACK SHEEP. In it, he described how he had to form a squadron of fighter pilots from a group of raw replacement pilots, dubbed "The Black Sheep Squadron."
In 1976, the book was made into an NBC TV series starring Robert Conrad as Pappy Boyington. The series, difficult and expensive to produce, lasted only two years.
Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, American hero and troubled soul, died on January 11, 1988. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
At the end of his memoir, he wrote, "Just name a hero and I'll prove he's a bum."
In 2006, a University of Washington senior and former Air Force weather forecaster, Andrew Everett, presented a resolution to the college's student senate suggesting the school honor Boyington with a small statue.
However, this proposal was rebuffed by members of the student Democratic Party on the student senate.
According to the minutes of the meeting, Ashley Miller argued, "many monuments at UW already commemorate rich, white men." Jill Edwards stated she "didn't believe a member of the Marine Corps was an example of the sort of person UW wanted to produce." One member of the senate even referred to Boyington as "a murderer."
Perhaps the world does indeed have too many statues honoring people who have performed heroic acts, but the reasoning behind this rejection is astonishing. Some of these students are in dire need of a brain transplant.
First of all, Boyington was never rich and he was part Sioux Indian. To protest honoring him because he is rich and white is both incorrect and blatant bigotry. Rejecting a person based on that person's social status and ethnicity is a prime example of how far certain people will sink to ensure special privileges for those who don't earn it.
Bigotry is a two-way street and a liberal, naive, politically-correct bigot is still a bigot.
Discriminating against Boyington because he was a Marine is another example of bigotry. And to call him a murderer is inexcusable. Killing another human being, during the course of a world war, when that person is aggressively trying to kill you is not murder – it's called self-preservation.
War is an ugly, unfortunate fact of life but sometimes it's a necessity.
It's easy to assume if you're nice to the rest of the world, it will be nice to you -- but the world is not made out of sugar and spice and everything nice. When you grow up, reality will set in and self-preservation will take over.
Pappy Boyington was just another guy stumbling through life. He was also a hero and deserves our respect.
___________
Quote for the Day -- "A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom." Bob Dylan
___________
Bret Burquest, author of four novels, has recently published THE REALITY OF THE ILLUSION OF REALITY (esoteric knowledge) and 1111 HAPPY TRAILS ROAD (humor) -- available of Amazon. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a dog named Buddy Lee and the ghost of Davy Crockett.
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Monday, May 23, 2011
Moose on the Loose
The summer I was in sixth grade, my family went on a camping trip to Yellowstone Park. We pitched our tents in the most remote official campsite, along a stream in the northeast corner of the park.
After breakfast one morning, the four of us embarked on a hike, mostly uphill along the stream, to a huge meadow where we were going to fly fish for trout.
When we reached the edge of the meadow, we took a break. It had been a steep climb over very rocky terrain and we needed a rest.
A couple of minutes later, my dad wanted to push on, knowing the fishing holes were only a few more miles across the meadow. The rest of us were pooped so he went on alone.
Soon thereafter, I took off by myself along the same path hoping to catch up with my father. My mother and younger brother stayed behind to rest some more.
It wasn’t long before I was quite a distance from the resting spot and my father still wasn’t in sight.
Then I came over a small hill where something caught my eye. There were a couple of large animals a mere 20 feet off to my left in front of a clump of aspen trees. Yellowstone Park was full of bears and they had a reputation of occasionally mauling a tourist just to prove they could.
I froze in my tracks.
To my relief, it turned out to be a female moose with a baby moose at her side.
Then to my horror, I quickly realized I had encroached upon their territory, much too close, and surprised them. I also knew the most dangerous animals were the ones that were wounded or the ones with young offspring nearby. Off to my right was nothing but a wide-open field. The only trees I could possibly get to were on the opposite side of the moose.
I remained frozen hoping they would go away. I considered calling for my father but he was probably too far away to hear and I also didn’t want to startle the moose.
Soon my worst nightmare began. The baby moose took a few cautious steps toward me. Big momma moose didn’t like it at all. She began snorting and pawing her hoof into the ground.
The baby moose took another step in my direction. I had a fly rod in my right hand. I figured if the moose attacked, I’d fend it off with the fly rod, circle around it and dash into the clump of aspen trees. I even picked one out that looked easy to climb in a hurry.
There were several facts I didn’t know about moose at the time. The average moose is over six feet at the shoulder and weighs over a thousand pounds. It can run 35 miles per hour -- about twice as fast as a human being. According to the U.S. Forest Service, more people in America are killed by moose attacks than by bear attacks.
And the surest way to provoke a wild animal is to get between it and its offspring.
So there I was, patiently waiting to fend off a moose with a fly rod.
The baby moose took another step forward and big momma moose was becoming extremely excited. They were so close to me I could actually smell them.
Just as I sensed the impending mayhem, big momma moose stopped pawing her hoof and jerked her head back in the direction from which I had just arrived.
Then I heard it too. It was my mother and brother coming up over the hill, talking to each other.
The baby moose quickly scooted back to big momma and they both scampered off beyond the clump of aspen trees and out of sight.
Here are some tips when encountering moose on the loose:
1) Don’t run away from a wild animal, especially one that is faster, heavier and dumber than you are.
2) Don’t approach a baby wild animal. Any female that has recently given birth has a lot of repressed anger.
3) Don’t hike in moose territory alone. If you manage to survive a moose attack, you’ll need someone to drag you back to the car and drive you to the nearest emergency room.
4) Don’t try to bring down a moose with a fly rod. Something closer to an AK-47 would be more effective.
5) Don’t make any moose jokes. Moose are very sensitive to ridicule.
6) Don’t forget to bring a video camera. Moose attacks make good entertainment.
___________
Quote for the Day -- "Every creature is better alive than dead, men and moose and pine trees..." Henry David Thoreau
___________
Bret Burquest is the author of four novels, and has recently published THE REALITY OF THE ILLUSION OF REALITY (esoteric knowledge) and 1111 HAPPY TRAILS ROAD (humor) -- available of Amazon.com. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a dog named Buddy Lee and the ghost of Davy Crockett.
___________
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After breakfast one morning, the four of us embarked on a hike, mostly uphill along the stream, to a huge meadow where we were going to fly fish for trout.
When we reached the edge of the meadow, we took a break. It had been a steep climb over very rocky terrain and we needed a rest.
A couple of minutes later, my dad wanted to push on, knowing the fishing holes were only a few more miles across the meadow. The rest of us were pooped so he went on alone.
Soon thereafter, I took off by myself along the same path hoping to catch up with my father. My mother and younger brother stayed behind to rest some more.
It wasn’t long before I was quite a distance from the resting spot and my father still wasn’t in sight.
Then I came over a small hill where something caught my eye. There were a couple of large animals a mere 20 feet off to my left in front of a clump of aspen trees. Yellowstone Park was full of bears and they had a reputation of occasionally mauling a tourist just to prove they could.
I froze in my tracks.
To my relief, it turned out to be a female moose with a baby moose at her side.
Then to my horror, I quickly realized I had encroached upon their territory, much too close, and surprised them. I also knew the most dangerous animals were the ones that were wounded or the ones with young offspring nearby. Off to my right was nothing but a wide-open field. The only trees I could possibly get to were on the opposite side of the moose.
I remained frozen hoping they would go away. I considered calling for my father but he was probably too far away to hear and I also didn’t want to startle the moose.
Soon my worst nightmare began. The baby moose took a few cautious steps toward me. Big momma moose didn’t like it at all. She began snorting and pawing her hoof into the ground.
The baby moose took another step in my direction. I had a fly rod in my right hand. I figured if the moose attacked, I’d fend it off with the fly rod, circle around it and dash into the clump of aspen trees. I even picked one out that looked easy to climb in a hurry.
There were several facts I didn’t know about moose at the time. The average moose is over six feet at the shoulder and weighs over a thousand pounds. It can run 35 miles per hour -- about twice as fast as a human being. According to the U.S. Forest Service, more people in America are killed by moose attacks than by bear attacks.
And the surest way to provoke a wild animal is to get between it and its offspring.
So there I was, patiently waiting to fend off a moose with a fly rod.
The baby moose took another step forward and big momma moose was becoming extremely excited. They were so close to me I could actually smell them.
Just as I sensed the impending mayhem, big momma moose stopped pawing her hoof and jerked her head back in the direction from which I had just arrived.
Then I heard it too. It was my mother and brother coming up over the hill, talking to each other.
The baby moose quickly scooted back to big momma and they both scampered off beyond the clump of aspen trees and out of sight.
Here are some tips when encountering moose on the loose:
1) Don’t run away from a wild animal, especially one that is faster, heavier and dumber than you are.
2) Don’t approach a baby wild animal. Any female that has recently given birth has a lot of repressed anger.
3) Don’t hike in moose territory alone. If you manage to survive a moose attack, you’ll need someone to drag you back to the car and drive you to the nearest emergency room.
4) Don’t try to bring down a moose with a fly rod. Something closer to an AK-47 would be more effective.
5) Don’t make any moose jokes. Moose are very sensitive to ridicule.
6) Don’t forget to bring a video camera. Moose attacks make good entertainment.
___________
Quote for the Day -- "Every creature is better alive than dead, men and moose and pine trees..." Henry David Thoreau
___________
Bret Burquest is the author of four novels, and has recently published THE REALITY OF THE ILLUSION OF REALITY (esoteric knowledge) and 1111 HAPPY TRAILS ROAD (humor) -- available of Amazon.com. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a dog named Buddy Lee and the ghost of Davy Crockett.
___________
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Saturday, May 14, 2011
Judgment Day -- May 21, 2011
Harold Camping, a former civil engineer, is an 89-year-old preacher from Oakland, California. He founded Family Radio in the 1950s.
His radio network creates religious programs in 48 languages and has tens of thousands of followers around the world, with radios stations in such places as Russia, Turkey and South Africa. With assets exceeding $100 million, his religious broadcasting network now owns 66 radio stations in the USA alone.
According to Camping, May 21, 2011, will be the Day of Judgment on Planet Earth.
He has predicted the Second Coming of the Lord on May 21, whereby two percent of the global population will be instantly propelled into Heaven (known as the Rapture) and the remaining 98 percent will be sent straight to Hell.
Camping bases his prediction on 70 years of studying the Bible and mathematics. He believes Jesus Christ died on April 1, in 33 AD (based on the Bible). He then discovered that if you multiply three holy numbers of 5, 10 and 17 together twice you come up with the figure of 722, 500.
"When I found this out, it blew my mind," Camping claims.
It turns out that May 21, 2011, is exactly 722, 500 days from April 1, 33 AD.
Therefore, Camping is certain it will be the Day of Judgment.
This isn't the first time Camping has made the same prediction. Years ago, he predicted the Second Coming would be on September 6, 1994.
"At that time there was a lot of Bible I had not researched really carefully," was his explanation recently. But he now insists, after further Bible study, that "God has given us outstanding proofs that it really is going to happen."
Hallelujah -- proof positive.
Since the beginning of time, people possessed with a sense of pending doom, high certainty and a personal pipeline to the Big Kahuna have predicted the end of the world. To my knowledge, it hasn’t happened yet.
Near the end of the first millennium, many people in Europe predicted the end of the world would occur in the year 1000. As the date approached, Christian armies from southern Europe waged war against the pagan countries to the north in an attempt to convert them to Christianity, by force if necessary, before Christ returned in 1000. When Christ didn’t return, those who criticized the church were labeled as heretics and exterminated.
It didn't happen.
In 1346, one-third of the population of Europe was killed by the black plague. Since this proportion seemed to correspond to Biblical prophecy, people presumed the end of the world was imminent. However, Christians had killed a majority of the cats in Europe at the time thinking the felines were associated with witches. Less cats, more rats. It was later discovered that fleas carried by rats caused the plague.
The world didn’t end after all.
On February 14, 1835, Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon Church, made a pronouncement at a meeting of church leaders that Jesus would return in 56 years.
It didn’t happen.
The Jehovah Witnesses claimed that the war of Armageddon would start in 1914, based on the prophecy of Daniel, Chapter 4.
It didn’t happen.
The Jehovah Witnesses subsequently revised their proclamations, many times, to 1915, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941, 1975, 1994, etc.
It didn’t happen, didn’t happen, didn’t happen, etc.
The founder of the Worldwide Church of God, Herbert W. Armstrong, predicted that the “Day of the Lord” would occur in 1936.
It didn’t happen.
Undeterred, Herbert W. Armstrong later predicted it would happen in 1975 instead. Many of his followers gave up all their earthly possessions in anticipation of the Rapture.
It didn’t happen.
David Davidson wrote a book titled THE GREAT PYRAMID, ITS DIVINE MESSAGE where he claimed the structure of the pyramid of Gizah foretold future events, including the end of the world in August of 1953.
It didn’t happen.
In 1978, Pat Robertson of the 700 Club announced that the world would end in 1982.
It didn’t happen.
Hal Lindsey, writer of Christian prophecy, wrote a book in 1970 titled THE LATE, GREAT PLANET EARTH where he claimed the Rapture would commence in 1988 (40 years after the creation of the state of Israel).
It didn’t happen.
Edgar Whisenaut, a NASA scientist wrote 88 REASONS WHY THE RAPTURE WILL OCCUR IN 1988.
It didn’t happen.
Prophecy is a tricky business, especially when you credit the Big Kahuna for your inside information. Perhaps, it's not wise to mess with the Big Kahuna if you intend to spend the remainder of eternity in his/her/its presence.
On December 21, 2012, I will be hosting an "End of the World" party at my place. There will be an $11 cover change which will be donated to my left pocket. No shoes, no shirt, no problem. Bring snacks.
___________
Quote for the Day – "Never make predictions, especially about the future." Casey Stengel
___________
Bret Burquest recently published THE REALITY OF THE ILLUSION OF REALITY (available on Amazon) -- topics include collective consciousness, UFOs, parallel dimensions, Edgar Cayce, Atlantis, St. Germain, Carl Jung, Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, End of Days, the White Buffalo, Jesse James, Noah's Ark, JFK and MLK assassinations, Dead Sea Scrolls, Illuminati, New World Order, Bilderbergers, Hitler after WW II, reincarnation, Near Death Experience, Mayan calendar 2012, much more.
___________
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-
His radio network creates religious programs in 48 languages and has tens of thousands of followers around the world, with radios stations in such places as Russia, Turkey and South Africa. With assets exceeding $100 million, his religious broadcasting network now owns 66 radio stations in the USA alone.
According to Camping, May 21, 2011, will be the Day of Judgment on Planet Earth.
He has predicted the Second Coming of the Lord on May 21, whereby two percent of the global population will be instantly propelled into Heaven (known as the Rapture) and the remaining 98 percent will be sent straight to Hell.
Camping bases his prediction on 70 years of studying the Bible and mathematics. He believes Jesus Christ died on April 1, in 33 AD (based on the Bible). He then discovered that if you multiply three holy numbers of 5, 10 and 17 together twice you come up with the figure of 722, 500.
"When I found this out, it blew my mind," Camping claims.
It turns out that May 21, 2011, is exactly 722, 500 days from April 1, 33 AD.
Therefore, Camping is certain it will be the Day of Judgment.
This isn't the first time Camping has made the same prediction. Years ago, he predicted the Second Coming would be on September 6, 1994.
"At that time there was a lot of Bible I had not researched really carefully," was his explanation recently. But he now insists, after further Bible study, that "God has given us outstanding proofs that it really is going to happen."
Hallelujah -- proof positive.
Since the beginning of time, people possessed with a sense of pending doom, high certainty and a personal pipeline to the Big Kahuna have predicted the end of the world. To my knowledge, it hasn’t happened yet.
Near the end of the first millennium, many people in Europe predicted the end of the world would occur in the year 1000. As the date approached, Christian armies from southern Europe waged war against the pagan countries to the north in an attempt to convert them to Christianity, by force if necessary, before Christ returned in 1000. When Christ didn’t return, those who criticized the church were labeled as heretics and exterminated.
It didn't happen.
In 1346, one-third of the population of Europe was killed by the black plague. Since this proportion seemed to correspond to Biblical prophecy, people presumed the end of the world was imminent. However, Christians had killed a majority of the cats in Europe at the time thinking the felines were associated with witches. Less cats, more rats. It was later discovered that fleas carried by rats caused the plague.
The world didn’t end after all.
On February 14, 1835, Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon Church, made a pronouncement at a meeting of church leaders that Jesus would return in 56 years.
It didn’t happen.
The Jehovah Witnesses claimed that the war of Armageddon would start in 1914, based on the prophecy of Daniel, Chapter 4.
It didn’t happen.
The Jehovah Witnesses subsequently revised their proclamations, many times, to 1915, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941, 1975, 1994, etc.
It didn’t happen, didn’t happen, didn’t happen, etc.
The founder of the Worldwide Church of God, Herbert W. Armstrong, predicted that the “Day of the Lord” would occur in 1936.
It didn’t happen.
Undeterred, Herbert W. Armstrong later predicted it would happen in 1975 instead. Many of his followers gave up all their earthly possessions in anticipation of the Rapture.
It didn’t happen.
David Davidson wrote a book titled THE GREAT PYRAMID, ITS DIVINE MESSAGE where he claimed the structure of the pyramid of Gizah foretold future events, including the end of the world in August of 1953.
It didn’t happen.
In 1978, Pat Robertson of the 700 Club announced that the world would end in 1982.
It didn’t happen.
Hal Lindsey, writer of Christian prophecy, wrote a book in 1970 titled THE LATE, GREAT PLANET EARTH where he claimed the Rapture would commence in 1988 (40 years after the creation of the state of Israel).
It didn’t happen.
Edgar Whisenaut, a NASA scientist wrote 88 REASONS WHY THE RAPTURE WILL OCCUR IN 1988.
It didn’t happen.
Prophecy is a tricky business, especially when you credit the Big Kahuna for your inside information. Perhaps, it's not wise to mess with the Big Kahuna if you intend to spend the remainder of eternity in his/her/its presence.
On December 21, 2012, I will be hosting an "End of the World" party at my place. There will be an $11 cover change which will be donated to my left pocket. No shoes, no shirt, no problem. Bring snacks.
___________
Quote for the Day – "Never make predictions, especially about the future." Casey Stengel
___________
Bret Burquest recently published THE REALITY OF THE ILLUSION OF REALITY (available on Amazon) -- topics include collective consciousness, UFOs, parallel dimensions, Edgar Cayce, Atlantis, St. Germain, Carl Jung, Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, End of Days, the White Buffalo, Jesse James, Noah's Ark, JFK and MLK assassinations, Dead Sea Scrolls, Illuminati, New World Order, Bilderbergers, Hitler after WW II, reincarnation, Near Death Experience, Mayan calendar 2012, much more.
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Saturday, May 7, 2011
Osama Bin Laden and Geronimo
On May 1, 2011, Osama Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan by a U.S. Navy SEAL team that stormed his compound. The U.S. intelligence code name for Bin Laden was Geronimo. This code name has offended those who have descended from Geronimo's Native American Indian tribe.
Goyathlay (one who yawns) was born in June of 1829 to the Bedonkohe band of Apache near Turkey Creek, a tributary of the Gila River, in New Mexico. He was raised according to Apache tradition and married a woman from the Chiricahua band of Apache when he was 17 years old. They had three children.
In 1832, a secret society known as Skull and Bones was founded by certain privileged male students at Yale University.
On March 5, 1851, 400 Mexican soldiers from Sonora attacked Goyathlay's camp, killing Goyathlay's mother, wife and children. Goyathlay and the other men were elsewhere at the time.
Although he was never a chief, Goyathlay soon became a ferocious military leader. In one battle, he repeatedly attacked Mexican soldiers with a knife, ignoring an onslaught of bullets.
The Mexicans gave him a nickname, after St. Jerome. They called him Geronimo.
Geronimo refused to acknowledge the United States Government. He fought U.S. and Mexican Armies for more than a decade.
To his people, he was renowned for his "power" because he was blessed with profound spiritual knowledge and protected by Usen, the Apache high-god. He had the ability to walk without leaving tracks and was metaphysically gifted (telepathy, telekinesis). Wounded many times by bullets, he always survived.
In 1886, Geronimo was finally captured after numerous daring escapes and sent to prison in Florida.
Later, he became famous in his old age. In 1904, he appeared at the World's Fair in St. Louis and rode in President Theodore Roosevelt's inaugural parade the following year.
Geronimo died on February 17, 1909.
There is a windowless building on the campus of Yale University called the Tomb. It houses the secret society known as Skull and Bones. It's basically a private club for young men of privilege, many of whom go on to become captains of industry, Supreme Court justices, cabinet officers and presidents.
Only 15 new seniors, called Neophytes, are chosen each year to become Bonesmen. They are sworn to a lifetime of secrecy and must go through a series of rituals to become a member.
For example, they're required to stand naked in the presence of other Bonesmen and recount their entire sexual history. Upon acceptance, Neophytes are shoved to their knees and knighted by a Bonesman tapping a sword on the Neophyte's left shoulder and saying, "By the order of our order, I dub thee Knight of Euloga."
Outlandish ceremonies are commonplace in the Tomb. In one ritual, a woman holds a knife and pretends to slash the throat of another person lying down before her, as Bonesmen yell and scream at the Neophytes. In another ceremony, Bonesmen wear devil costumes and pretend to perform satanic acts of torture on Neophytes who are also required to lie in a coffin at various times.
Death seems to be one of the major themes in the Tomb. There are more than a dozen skulls and several coffins scattered throughout the premises. Wall paintings are replete with scenes of death and destruction.
Also on display is a glass case containing one of their sacred treasures -- a bloodied knife and the skull of Geronimo.
Prescott Bush was a Bonesman. He and other members of Skull and Bones dug up Geronimo's grave at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, when stationed there in 1918 during World War I, removing the skull and some other bones.
Prescott Bush is the father of former president George H. W. Bush and grandfather of former president George W. Bush, both of whom were also Bonesmen at Yale.
On February 17, 2009, the hundredth anniversary of Geronimo's death, his great-grandson, Harlyn Geronimo, filed a lawsuit in Washington DC claiming that members of Skull and Bones stole the remains of Geronimo decades ago. The descendants want the remains turned over to the family so he can be reburied near his birthplace in New Mexico's Gila Wilderness.
Bonesmen are young men from wealthy and powerful families. In their circle, they can do no wrong. They have a lofty opinion of their position in society and strive to keep it that way. They refer to the rest of society as "barbarians." In their elite world, you're either a Bonesman or a barbarian.
Their antics are infantile, sadomasochistic and downright disgusting. It's a secret society that lusts for dominance and worships death. Its members are ambitious men of wealth and power who help other members reach positions of wealth and power.
The purpose of their satanic behavior within Skull and Bones, no doubt, is to compromise the dignity of its members to ensure a lifetime of loyalty to the society. Once a Bonesman, always a Bonesman.
These are the true barbarians.
In 2004, George W. Bush and John Kerry were the two presidential candidates. Both had been members of Skull and Bones at Yale, although not at the same time. Neither would answer any questions about the secret society.
All 44 presidents of the United States are related by blood. For example, Obama is a distant cousin of George W. Bush. This bloodline of influential, wealthy families controls international banking, which in turn controls governments and the media.
The world is being methodically manipulated by a group of powerful people in high places whose ultimate goal is a One World Government with them in control. And the robotic masses go along with it because they buy into the programming of the educational system and the media. The greed-heads at the top, who want to control the world, feed off the greed-heads below, who always want more than they need or can reasonably afford.
Geronimo yearned to be free. It cost him the lives of his mother, his wife and his children, and eventually cost him his freedom.
In February of 2009, one hundred years after his death, Geronimo still yearned to be free.
The sordid fellows of Skull and Bones have chosen to display Geronimo's remains in their private meeting quarters. If there is any justice in this world, they will turn over Geronimo's remains to his family, offer an apology, disband their insidious secret society of human depravity and exorcise the Tomb of its demons, preferably by an Apache Holy Man.
___________
Quote for the Day – "I was no chief and never had been, but because I had been more deeply wronged than others, this honor was conferred upon me, and I resolved to prove worthy of the trust." Geronimo
___________
Bret Burquest recently published THE REALITY OF THE ILLUSION OF REALITY (available on Amazon) -- topics include collective consciousness, UFOs, parallel dimensions, Edgar Cayce, Atlantis, St. Germain, Carl Jung, Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, End of Days, the White Buffalo, Jesse James, Noah's Ark, JFK and MLK assassinations, Dead Sea Scrolls, Illuminati, New World Order, Bilderbergers, Hitler after WW II, reincarnation, Near Death Experience, Mayan calendar 2012, much more.
___________
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-
Goyathlay (one who yawns) was born in June of 1829 to the Bedonkohe band of Apache near Turkey Creek, a tributary of the Gila River, in New Mexico. He was raised according to Apache tradition and married a woman from the Chiricahua band of Apache when he was 17 years old. They had three children.
In 1832, a secret society known as Skull and Bones was founded by certain privileged male students at Yale University.
On March 5, 1851, 400 Mexican soldiers from Sonora attacked Goyathlay's camp, killing Goyathlay's mother, wife and children. Goyathlay and the other men were elsewhere at the time.
Although he was never a chief, Goyathlay soon became a ferocious military leader. In one battle, he repeatedly attacked Mexican soldiers with a knife, ignoring an onslaught of bullets.
The Mexicans gave him a nickname, after St. Jerome. They called him Geronimo.
Geronimo refused to acknowledge the United States Government. He fought U.S. and Mexican Armies for more than a decade.
To his people, he was renowned for his "power" because he was blessed with profound spiritual knowledge and protected by Usen, the Apache high-god. He had the ability to walk without leaving tracks and was metaphysically gifted (telepathy, telekinesis). Wounded many times by bullets, he always survived.
In 1886, Geronimo was finally captured after numerous daring escapes and sent to prison in Florida.
Later, he became famous in his old age. In 1904, he appeared at the World's Fair in St. Louis and rode in President Theodore Roosevelt's inaugural parade the following year.
Geronimo died on February 17, 1909.
There is a windowless building on the campus of Yale University called the Tomb. It houses the secret society known as Skull and Bones. It's basically a private club for young men of privilege, many of whom go on to become captains of industry, Supreme Court justices, cabinet officers and presidents.
Only 15 new seniors, called Neophytes, are chosen each year to become Bonesmen. They are sworn to a lifetime of secrecy and must go through a series of rituals to become a member.
For example, they're required to stand naked in the presence of other Bonesmen and recount their entire sexual history. Upon acceptance, Neophytes are shoved to their knees and knighted by a Bonesman tapping a sword on the Neophyte's left shoulder and saying, "By the order of our order, I dub thee Knight of Euloga."
Outlandish ceremonies are commonplace in the Tomb. In one ritual, a woman holds a knife and pretends to slash the throat of another person lying down before her, as Bonesmen yell and scream at the Neophytes. In another ceremony, Bonesmen wear devil costumes and pretend to perform satanic acts of torture on Neophytes who are also required to lie in a coffin at various times.
Death seems to be one of the major themes in the Tomb. There are more than a dozen skulls and several coffins scattered throughout the premises. Wall paintings are replete with scenes of death and destruction.
Also on display is a glass case containing one of their sacred treasures -- a bloodied knife and the skull of Geronimo.
Prescott Bush was a Bonesman. He and other members of Skull and Bones dug up Geronimo's grave at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, when stationed there in 1918 during World War I, removing the skull and some other bones.
Prescott Bush is the father of former president George H. W. Bush and grandfather of former president George W. Bush, both of whom were also Bonesmen at Yale.
On February 17, 2009, the hundredth anniversary of Geronimo's death, his great-grandson, Harlyn Geronimo, filed a lawsuit in Washington DC claiming that members of Skull and Bones stole the remains of Geronimo decades ago. The descendants want the remains turned over to the family so he can be reburied near his birthplace in New Mexico's Gila Wilderness.
Bonesmen are young men from wealthy and powerful families. In their circle, they can do no wrong. They have a lofty opinion of their position in society and strive to keep it that way. They refer to the rest of society as "barbarians." In their elite world, you're either a Bonesman or a barbarian.
Their antics are infantile, sadomasochistic and downright disgusting. It's a secret society that lusts for dominance and worships death. Its members are ambitious men of wealth and power who help other members reach positions of wealth and power.
The purpose of their satanic behavior within Skull and Bones, no doubt, is to compromise the dignity of its members to ensure a lifetime of loyalty to the society. Once a Bonesman, always a Bonesman.
These are the true barbarians.
In 2004, George W. Bush and John Kerry were the two presidential candidates. Both had been members of Skull and Bones at Yale, although not at the same time. Neither would answer any questions about the secret society.
All 44 presidents of the United States are related by blood. For example, Obama is a distant cousin of George W. Bush. This bloodline of influential, wealthy families controls international banking, which in turn controls governments and the media.
The world is being methodically manipulated by a group of powerful people in high places whose ultimate goal is a One World Government with them in control. And the robotic masses go along with it because they buy into the programming of the educational system and the media. The greed-heads at the top, who want to control the world, feed off the greed-heads below, who always want more than they need or can reasonably afford.
Geronimo yearned to be free. It cost him the lives of his mother, his wife and his children, and eventually cost him his freedom.
In February of 2009, one hundred years after his death, Geronimo still yearned to be free.
The sordid fellows of Skull and Bones have chosen to display Geronimo's remains in their private meeting quarters. If there is any justice in this world, they will turn over Geronimo's remains to his family, offer an apology, disband their insidious secret society of human depravity and exorcise the Tomb of its demons, preferably by an Apache Holy Man.
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Quote for the Day – "I was no chief and never had been, but because I had been more deeply wronged than others, this honor was conferred upon me, and I resolved to prove worthy of the trust." Geronimo
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Bret Burquest recently published THE REALITY OF THE ILLUSION OF REALITY (available on Amazon) -- topics include collective consciousness, UFOs, parallel dimensions, Edgar Cayce, Atlantis, St. Germain, Carl Jung, Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, End of Days, the White Buffalo, Jesse James, Noah's Ark, JFK and MLK assassinations, Dead Sea Scrolls, Illuminati, New World Order, Bilderbergers, Hitler after WW II, reincarnation, Near Death Experience, Mayan calendar 2012, much more.
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