Exercise And Diet

They are good things.  Yet, they only work when they are made to work.  Will and intent must be the catalyst and the daily operation.

What you eat and how you exercise are just as important. 

I'm not here to describe all that is, but it probably means to cut down or out the ice cream and cigs -s-.

Content is more important than volume.  Usually.

If there were no variables, there would be no variety.

And no, this is not code lol.

Pretenders

I enjoyed the tv series, The Pretender.  And barring any hollywood aggrandizing, they do exist.  Geniuses who can assume many walks of life.

My definition of genius is pretty much this:  Imagine a large rock or post in the middle of a river or rush of water.  That rock/post stands firm, the water rushing around it.  The rock/post faces forward.  Extrapolating, it can see through the flood, to a point beyond, past the confusion.   There is a singular purpose, excluding all else, leading to a solution.

Intelligence work has utilized a lot of outre methods, some stranger than others.  But people can at least grasp genius.  It doesn't take one to figure it out -s-.

What sticks most about the series is the idea of an elite which exploits said genius.  it does not value humanity and sees only commodity.  Control, deceit, exploitation rule.  It is run by a pack of hierarchical sociopaths who use one another as much or more than anyone else.  Sound familiar?

Often through fiction we can see reality more clearly.  Sometimes the more fantastic, the bigger the message in the ravioli. 

Jarod, the Pretender of the title, has escaped the Centre (name for the elite org) and assumes professions to bring justice to the wronged and to punish abusers.  Again familiar?

And one other thing.  Fiction is ok.  But whatever the message is, it must translate to reality for it to be effective.

Remember the rock and the river.

Mugged

What a word that is.  I soft peddles assault, kind of like pedophile does the same for child rapists.

I got assaulted Monday night, August 27. 

I was on what is usually a routine walk.  It was a route I oftenb take, but at varied times.  Even late at night there has been no trouble.  Til now.

So it's time for a warts and all narrative.

About 11pm, i was walking back home, having completed half the hike.  It was quiet and I thought I was in condition yellow.  I'd heard dogs barking in the alley behind the parkway and figured someone was rummaging, probably looking for a crime of opportunity.  I became the opportunity -s-.

I passed a certain street out of a dark spot, where I was very aware.  What happened, simply, is that I dropped my guard.  I rounded a curve into well lit street.  I heard mumbling behind me and looked.  There I saw the lowlifes, three of them. 

As I turned to flee, I said I thought you guys were gonna jump me.  The 'leader' said 'yeah you ugly white motherf****r.'

I needed to put distance between us but slipped in the wet grass and mud.  Thats' when the little shitems got me.

I defended best I could and sustained some punches to the face, which were attempts to disorient me.  As I resisted on my knees, I failed to retireve my Glock 23, in a fannypack.  They ended up grabbing the pack and after a brief tug of war, ran with it.

I went to a nearby home where the lady called the cops as I called my son.  I advised him to stay there with his guns, to defend if the the little bitches decided to visit.

The cops and EMTs came.  Checked out photographed and questioned.

These mokes were pulling this crap and the cops were one step behind them.  Til that night.

The idiots assaulted someone else a bit away and the cops nabbed them, their car and my gun and mags.

I'll get the Glock back after a few weeks.  There will be no stonewalling as they have proof it's mine and my lawyer is on retainer for whatever I need.  Also I know how cops think and I've known some of them for decades.  Also, The way I comported myself had a lot to do with it.  I wasn't panicked, I was concise and know how to talk.  Should I have gotten my lawyer there that night?  I decided not.

Now, the lessons learned.

I was fortunate.  The scumbags didn't kill me.  They didn't know what they got til they ran away.  In this case, the cops were spurred to quick action.  The angels had smiled on me.

I should have been more aware.  Too much relying on old rhetoric such as 'stay in condition yellow', when I was saying words and letting my mind wander. 

I should have had my backup gun and small fighting knife on my person.  No more fanny packs.  I will use retention moves that I will practice every day, moves I was allowing to lie fallow.  Words are not enough.

If attacked I will stop the threat up to and including killing my assailants.  My life is more valuable than street scum.

I will follow through.  I've spoken of a gentleman whose intentions were good.  He carried and sought to rescue a waitress who was being beaten and robbed.  The moke stopped when the man produced his weapon and bade him stop.  he turned and shot the would be Samaritan, killing him.  The manm thought probably the bastard would stop by just the mere presence of a gun.  As with words, that isn't enough.  You have to be willing.

The good news is my threshold for pain is still high.  I will not live in fear nor give into it and my attitude is aggressive concerning these parasites who don't care as long as they steal, what happens to anyone but themselves.  These stains have no power over me.  They will not control where I go nor how I live.  I will not look for trouble but I will do what I must in the midst of it.

And no, my preparedness is not the scum making me live a certain way.  Self defense is a way of life.  It is not a fear reaction.  It is a call to arms.

Life can be quick and violent.  Closing the distance happens in a flash.  Be prepared to inflict pain and to withstand it.

This was a wakeup call.

I woke up.

Pearls Of Wisdom

When I was in high school, my World History teacher made class very interactive.  Every day, there was a quote on the blackboard.  It might be from any source, but it always was thought provoking and we invariably discussed it.  We didn't stop there.  We were each encouraged to either quote as did our teacher, or we could come up with something of our own.  We referred to this as 'pearls of wisdom'.

My favorite was 'This above all, to thine own self be true'.  Hamlet, Act 1, scene 3

Be loyal to what's right for you.  Take care of yourself so you can take care of others.  Good advice when taken in the right context.

Polonius was self serving, duplicitous.  The quote is seen of course in a healthier light.  The point is for those of us who seek to do the right thing, being honest and helpful, it's a natural way.  For Polonius, Hitler, Putin, Obama etc., it means something else entirely.  It means equivocation, coverup, justifying wrong.  Currently that boils down to such an event as the gunwalking affair for instance.

Will I get in trouble for lumping modern politicians with fictitious and classic villains?

Well, I'm being true to myself.  I'm telling the truth as I see it.  Take it or leave it, come what may.

I'm grateful to my teachers of that time for helping to nourish inductive/deductive reasoning, for simply thinking for myself.

Discussion, reason, facts are always the basis for this.  I don't say things on a whim.

Look at the body of evidence and decide for yourself.

Whether this sketch is a pearl of wisdom remains to be seen.

But, I am being true to myself -s-.