late night musings – by john

this is a place where you can read and think about the softer side of life...  entries will be added as time and life permit...  comments are invited...  if you enjoy it , "Subscribe...  if you have family or friends who might enjoy this, tell them about it...  and come back often...   john

late night musings

Disappointment

Disappoint, disappointed and disappointment are joyless words.  There is nothing positive about them.  They reek of dissatisfaction and regret.  It matters little which end of them you are on, they are dispiriting.  You are not a happy whether you are disappointed in someone or someone ...<< MORE >>
Posted by john at 7/2/2009 8:26 AM | Add Comment

Not all losses are equal

Loss is not a pleasant word.  While it describes a wide range of events and circumstances, almost none are pleasant.  Many losses are losses of the moment and have no long standing impact.  Others are monumental in their impact they have ...<< MORE >>
Posted by john at 6/28/2009 9:27 AM | Add Comment

Musing on these musings

According to one source, www.blogherald.com, there are over 70 million blogs worldwide.  The USA probably has the most though China, even with its restrictions on the internet, is quickly growing.  As you might expect, this number is not absolute in that ...<< MORE >>
Posted by john at 6/24/2009 3:24 PM | Add Comment

What I know

The AARP Bulletin has a feature wherein they ask readers to submit an essay, 400 words or less, regarding "What I really know".  What is interesting is that I recently received an email from a friend which itemized forty-five bits of wisdom purportedly ...<< MORE >>
Posted by john at 6/21/2009 4:48 PM | Add Comment

A golden milestone

I have mused about what I call milestone birthdays.  They are those birthdays where your age ends in a zero.  Thirty, forty, fifty, even eighty are years that come to mind.  In each and every instance it requires making some ...<< MORE >>
Posted by john at 6/16/2009 7:45 PM | Add Comment

Playing golf and living life


The Golf Channel had a Father's Day contest which invited viewers to submit an entry of 100 words or less to describe what your father (or mentor) taught you on the golf ...<< MORE >>

Posted by john at 6/14/2009 9:24 AM | Add Comment

Eight decades of living

I have written about some of the decade ending birthdays (30, 40, 50, 60), however I have not touched upon one that looms large, assuming one reaches it.  It is the one that caps a person's eighth decade - age ...<< MORE >>
Posted by john at 6/10/2009 11:44 AM | Add Comment

A rare kind of love

There are times while reading a book that I envy a writer's insight and wisdom, and the author's ability to express it so profoundly and clearly.  Sometimes it is just a phrase or a sentence that not only catches my eye, but ...<< MORE >>
Posted by john at 6/7/2009 1:26 AM | Add Comment

Another step, another year

There is a graduation picture of a seventeen year old, Class of 1954, on our dining room wall.  It is my picture.  While you might think it strange to have that picture in that room, it isn't.  In the room we ...<< MORE >>
Posted by john at 6/3/2009 10:18 PM | Add Comment

Many cats don't have nine lives

Like many, I tend to focus major news stories, be they international, national, state or local.  Once in a while something in the local news really grabs my attention.  Today was one of those days.  In addition to the news about ...<< MORE >>
Posted by john at 5/31/2009 2:53 PM | Add Comment

Ah, there it is

My wife enjoys watching the TV shows CSI and CSI/Miami, which are about crime scene investigators in Las Vegas and Miami.  Personally, I can take it or leave it, but since she watches those shows and I'm typically in the room (sometimes ...<< MORE >>
Posted by john at 5/27/2009 5:11 PM | Add Comment

A game I'd rather not play

Reader beware - dark, brooding thoughts follow.

 

As I have previously mentioned, of all the thoughts and ideas I have considered for this blog, there are a few topics you will not read about here.  One is politics and ...<< MORE >>
Posted by john at 5/24/2009 12:18 PM | Add Comment

A gathering of wise old owls

In 1982, retired Brigadier General Paul Tibbets was invited to visit the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell AFB, Alabama to share some of his experiences with the students.  That visit was the genesis of the Gathering Of Eagles ...<< MORE >>
Posted by john at 5/21/2009 6:29 AM | Add Comment

Another graduation speech

(Note to readers:  Graduation season is upon us again.  Last spring I wrote the following.  Given it's graduation time again, I thought it worth repeating.  In all likelihood, you - the reader, are not graduating, but you might know someone ...<< MORE >>
Posted by john at 5/17/2009 3:47 PM | Add Comment

An addict no longer

I have always considered myself a comic strip addict and have mentioned it a few times in the past.  I make that claim based on the 16 comic strips I read in our local paper, three strips that are always present ...<< MORE >>

Posted by john at 5/14/2009 11:54 AM | View Comments (3) | Add Comment

The music of our lives

We are defined by many things.  Depending on our age, our lives are affected by where we lived and when we lived.  When we lived speaks to the history we lived through and the music we grew up with.  In my ...<< MORE >>
Posted by john at 5/9/2009 5:49 PM | Add Comment

Writer's block

Although I am the author of this blog, I don't consider myself a writer.  Those who write novels or books of non-fiction are writers.  Those who write political or sports columns are writers.  As for me, I am someone who simply adds ...<< MORE >>
Posted by john at 5/6/2009 11:28 PM | Add Comment

We don't know everything


Science has a funny way of taking us out of our comfort zone.  That zone is filled with things we "know".  For example, we know there is a star, called the sun, which is about 92 million miles ...<< MORE >>

Posted by john at 5/3/2009 8:49 PM | Add Comment

Didn't we go to school together?

The other evening we had a few friends over for dinner.  Like me, they passed age 65 a few years ago, which means they graduated in the 1950s.  In the course of our conversation I mentioned that if you looked ...<< MORE >>
Posted by john at 4/29/2009 10:20 PM | View Comments (1) | Add Comment

The train ride of a life time

For some reason, I've been thinking of taking a train trip.  Maybe it is because it has been many years since I was last on a train.  I've heard some horror stories regarding the trains meeting schedule times, apparently running ...<< MORE >>
Posted by john at 4/25/2009 10:35 PM | Add Comment

A great generation

According to the PGP web site, Jon Callas, who is the son of a close friend and a friend of mine in his own right, has been bestowed with the honorary PGP® Fellow award, recognizing Jon for his encryption technology innovations ...<< MORE >>
Posted by john at 4/23/2009 3:27 PM | Add Comment

My, my - times sure flies


The other day the newspaper and other media outlets reported on the tenth anniversary of a dark event in America's past.  While I clearly remember the event, had I been asked, I would have said it happened more recently than ...<< MORE >>
Posted by john at 4/22/2009 6:05 PM | Add Comment

Sisyphus plays golf

In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was a king who was cursed in that he had to roll a huge boulder up a hill only to have it roll down again.  What really made it a terrible curse was that he was destined do it again ...<< MORE >>
Posted by john at 4/18/2009 9:47 PM | Add Comment

The slippery slope of life

You may have heard it before; someone tells you that you are on a slippery slope.  Just as if you were at the top of a snow covered hill on a sled, they might suggest that whatever you happen to be involved with at the moment could well ...<< MORE >>
Posted by john at 4/15/2009 12:09 AM | Add Comment

Love child

A while back, there was an item in the news regarding one of the BeeGees' brothers who had a child out of wedlock.  In reporting this piece of news (or gossip as the case may be), the article said that he had ...<< MORE >>
Posted by john at 4/11/2009 10:18 PM | Add Comment

Just me and my ...

I have written before about the changes a body, my body, goes through as it ages.  Except for those disciplined few, we all add a few pounds.  Some overachieve and add even more weight.  For some, their walk isn't quite ...<< MORE >>
Posted by john at 4/8/2009 10:42 PM | Add Comment

The three "whats" in our lives

When we are young, we dream of "what could be" - and we hope will be.  And why shouldn't the young dream?  We have a lifetime ahead of us to work to achieve those lofty dreams.  Those dreams may be ...<< MORE >>
Posted by john at 4/5/2009 12:19 AM | Add Comment

Super heroes cost more these days

The New York Times had an article reporting that top selling comic books are going increase in price from $2.99 to $3.99.  The impact will first be felt by Marvel Entertainment and then DC Comics.  Perhaps to some this isn't news, ...<< MORE >>
Posted by john at 4/1/2009 3:43 PM | Add Comment
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