Serenity

Nope.  Not the Joss Whedon movie that was a conclusion to the short lived Firefly.

It is the name of a restaurant in Zionsville, the hometown of a major part of my family.  The major surprise is where it's at.

I was indeed surprised, even shocked to find out my GreatGrandmother's home had been converted into said restaurant. 

I spent a great deal of time with Grandma (pronounced Gramma) Hiland over my early life.  She was a great positive influence who has never flagged, even all these years later.  What she taught me has lived within me and guided me, in spite of any detour.  I have always gotten back on course.

The revelation of this development has caused me to reflect, even beyond my normal memories.  I am not living in the past, mind you.  I am remembering.  All the good and bad of those years has coalesced in warm reflections.

Grandma Hiland, Rose Belle StClair Hiland, was a moral compass for me, my Dad and so many more. 

She was a lifelong Democrat and a suffragette.  What a difference between her and the monster that has morphed into a collectivist miasma now.  Her moral compass never flagged.  She was loyal, dedicated and American. 

She treated people equally, content of character uppermost, long before MLK. 

Her love was unconditional.  She gave as well as she got and more.

Her instincts re human nature were incisive.  Yet she overlooked the flaws in her own family.  That was part of her inclusive nature.

Her door was always unlocked, well til real late at night.  People all day long would come and pay their respects.  And she always had time for all of them.

When I visited her, quite frequently, I never felt jealous of that.  She had time for all.  Old friends and new, family, folks she influenced, they all came.

When I visited, I often ran errands for her.  I'd go from the grocery store to the bank and anywhere else she bade me.  Returning, Grandma always had lunch ready, for she loved to cook.  And that included breakfast, lunch and dinner, which she called breakfast, dinner and supper.

I'll never forget she would say I could sleep as late as I wanted.

Then , invariably, at between 6-7am, she'd yell, 'Mike, Mike MIKE!'

We'd sit down to an old fashioned farm breakfast and talk.  And talk.  And learn of family, friends, clan, as well as what was important.  That was mostly to be honest and face problems with no excuses. 

She had a most incisive view, not only of individual people, but of events

I'm going to write a memoir about her, my relationship with her, and how it all plays out.

At night, in the bedroom upstairs, I would sometimes stand at the window, gazing down on Main Street.  Quiet, streetlights shining, I was able to be peaceful, to sort things out.

Grandma Hiland's place was a peaceful nest in a sea of turmoil.

There is no coincidence the place is now called Serenity.

Rosebush

They are resilient, beautiful and represent love.  The sturdiness has been hijacked by collectivists as a symbol of 'socialism'.  Symbols are just that for weal or woe.

In this particular instance, I'm thinking of my ex's front yard.  She is doing well, btw.  In law school, determined to help children who have been sexually abused.

There is a lot of work to be done round her place.  I have helped as best I can.  This particular work was the other day.

Sunday 8/23 was her birthday.  I decided to clear a rosebush in her front yard.

It had been there for decades, planted originally by her Mom.  It used to thrive, then fell into stagnation.

As dawn approached, I tore into the vines and reedy weeds which were threatening it.  The bush seemed overcome, barely discernable, in a mass of choking weeds.

Before I started, I noted at the top there was a tendril poking out.  It was a new branch, with fresh leaves and thorns, green and springy.

It poked out and up, seeming to seek sunlight and moisture, even when the weeds were trying to engulf it in order to take its essence.

That tendril appeared to say, 'F*** you weeds!  I'm alive!  And I'm gonna live!'.

I cleared best I could, displaying the top tendril and two lateral ones.

A neighbor, on disability yet a landscaper, finished the process, til the rosebush was left alone, pristine in its renewed life, for all the living tendrils were green and fresh.

I will nourish it with plant food.  There is hope it will grow and thrive like it had for decades previously.

Need I say anything about analogies even metaphors?

To our enemies I say, F*** you collectivist weeds!  The Republic is Alive!  And it's gonna LIVE!

If Only.

The collectivist trolls are busier than ever.  Constant exposure has demanded constant revision.  Plus, many of them are emboldened with their dear leader and the carefully placed collectivist cabinet members, Congress members and assorted lackeys in many posts/positions within and around government.  Makes FDR's days look mild. 

I note the activity and its varying degrees of success.  Some trolls get easily rebuffed.  Others hang on and, as others respond, gain strength, thus dominating a thread.  I never participate, except to leave a cryptic message, 'don't feed the trolls'.

I remember a particular response about one of the lies/schemes of the Occupier of the Oval Office.  I said he was raised Marxist and there were many around him.  A shill, known for his sarcastic remarks, answered that, yes, there were a lot of those still around.  I rejoined with a picture of the actor Edward Van Sloan as Van Helsing from 1931's Dracula.  He says in the course of the movie that 'the strength of the vampire is that no one believes he exists', accompanied with a lol.  The shill didn't respond.  But another tag teamed me and said, 'f*** you Michael'.  How eloquent.

Often I answer, well when I do, with cryptic truthful remarks.  That got me accused of sniping and blocked from Jim Beaver's page on FB.  Actually, I was getting others to think and challenge him.  The collectivists indeed flee from truth like a vampire from sunlight, when facts are presented to countermand Alinsky trolls.  It is a matter of tactics.  Use the enemy's machinations against him/her.

I happened upon a recent discussion.  Someone declared that communism is evil.  I agree of course.  It's always dehumanizing, callous and authoritarian.  Anyway, responses varied, but I noted the trolls/apologists.  There was a claim, with much poo-pooing of the original poster, that communism was misunderstood.

They put Lenin and Stalin etc on the chopping block and said indeed, there was failure.  However, it would take worldwide communism to achieve not just control, but perfection.  I've heard that lame, dangerous excuse before.  They also claimed communism was just an alternative to what existed, as long as this universal goal was achieved.

On paper, actually abbreviated, they try to say collectivism is ideal.  Everyone shares, makes up for one another.  Government only controls so everyone benefits, etc.  It's the old tory.

The grass is always greener.  Put your mind on hold and do what you're told.  They're working out the bugs.

The opposite is true with our Constitutional Republic.  We are a work in progress.  There are problems, but they are faced, not covered up with erasure nor revision.  It's the here and now, not over the hill.

Collectivism is built on lies and half truths.  There fore this kinder gentler approach is meant to confuse and mislead, especially those not using critical thinking (a term twisted to fit the opposite..  Read Alinsky's Rules for Radicals. 

They all suffer from that 'if only' syndrome.  Let's say the nightmare happens and the world is beaten, that collectivism rules.  The purge would continue.  Perfection is elusive.  So, there would be pogroms, new initiatives like 5 year plans etc.  All this would do is feed the beast on a larger scale.

Our Republic realizes perfection is unattainable.  Yet we strive for it.  The difference is that and dealing truthfully with problems.  The main obstacles have always been collectivism interfering and subverting our Freedom.

That Liberty, that Freedom means we are free to make mistakes and learn from them, not to bludgeon scapegoats and rewrite something in a new set of lies.

If only we convince the world of that.  Then again, it must start with each of us, then the US, then the world. 

If only becomes surety.  A difference we can thrive with.  Based in truth, warts ad all.

Floaters

No, not the black flecks that dance around the eyes.  I'm thinking of thoughts/memories that come floating to the top.

Occasion presented itself to recall some experiences I had while doing theater in Indianapolis.

I got a lot of 'basic training' in acting and other aspects of theater.  Many of the times there were good.  Some were not.

It stands to reason that not everything is rosy.  And I believe we learn from all things.  That includes malicious treatment which was deliberate and vengeful.

This is no 'woe is me' harangue.  I'll get to that in a minute.

I had participated in a production, having been brought in at the last minute.  It seemed ok, but underneath was different.

The director/teacher was autonomous and bullied her cast.  She expected far too much from a bunch of kids who were supposed to be learning the craft.  Instead of nurturing them and seeking each person's potential, this was the sickening course taken.

I said no one should endure that carping and nitpicking plus threat of bad grades if they didn't do what she said.  I was met with cowed silence.

One of the director's toadies ratted on me as it were.  Unbelievable.  A tattletale in a college production.  Mind you I was brought in from outside, so I wasn't affected by any of it.  Except I was indirectly.

I was being paid for my work and consultation.   This harpy tried to withhold my pay, citing a snag in funds.  I knew it wasn't so.

It got so bad, I demanded the money or I'd walk.  I was paid and let go.  Good riddance I figured.

Shortly after, I continued auditioning for local productions.  I never got another part in anything locally.  I knew better than thinking my acting was the equivalent of road kill.  I'd been successful to a degree and had a good rep.  Plus I worked with the best Indy had.

The downside had actually begun before the above incident.

As with most things, there were cliques among the theater people.  Some were very shall we say loyal to their particular favorites.  There were plenty who, as amateurs were happy to stay that way.  That's all well and good.  I wasn't

I expressed my desire to do more, learn more and travel, becoming professional.

This rankled some who liked to be big ducks in small ponds.  I thought ok whatever.  But they resented ambition.  And they joined the bandwagon when I was blacklisted as a result of the previously mentioned production/incident.

The director/teacher was influential locally.  I discovered pressure was applied and all acquiesced to bar me.

There was a particular exception.  I was hired for a show which featured several professionals.  It was an opportunity again to learn.  While I did indeed add to my artistic knowledge, I learned how petty and spiteful some can be.

I had never been more mistreated in my life.  It was deliberately malicious and actually multileveled.  The conduct was unprofessional and unbecoming for those in the craft.  I stuck it out, in spite of efforts to pressure me to quit.

My personal and professional fortitude won out.  Plus I made a positive impression on a particular cast member and that flouted the ne'er-do-wells. 

This is no boohoo fest.  Weathering the storm of petty jealous people has made me stronger and spurred me to learn more and to meet and learn from folks like Pat McGoohan and Bob Wise.

The petty, the spiteful, the misery loves company crowd have to live with themselves.  I don't.  Forgive aka let go and don't let it eat me up was the order of the day.

The parallels between ths and what is happening to our Liberty is obvious. 

Rise above those who seek to defame you simply because you literally and figuratively stick (not cling -s-) to your guns.  Shout out what's right even though to quote John Wayne's Davy Crockett, 'you might get walloped for saying it'.

Collectivists, often following Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals, are past masters at derision and aspersions.  Be steadfast and counter with the truth.

Nothing says misery loves company more than these enemies of Freedom.

And btw, guess what kind of people politically/socially those negative folks were whom I encountered -s-?

Star Wars

Quite an emotional romp.  Including all 6 episodes, it is a thrillride with a message in the ravioli.

It incorporates the beginning, slow descent and acquiescence to evil with an eventual upswing, of Anakin Skywalker.  Many other substories interweave, but this is the central thread.

Good and evil wind their ways through daily lives in quiet and dynamic ways.  It is often the subtler orchestrations which build the symphonies rather than the crescendos.  Sometimes things remain hidden or obscured.  Often that is the way of evil.  Or it presents itself as something benevolent.  We can look around our current state of affairs and see this.

The whole course of Anakin's life is beset with more drama than seemingly ordinary.  The focus is portrayed by the good and evil Jedi and Sith respectively.

I'm not going to do a treatise on all this.  There is enough out there.  Just search and you will find.

I am interested in this dilemma Anakin faces increasingly.  What happens essentially is youthful ignorance is embroiled in more and more confusion til there is a tipping point.  He finally believes the lie that evil can fix what's wrong. 

Darth Sidious, the main Sith monster, lies and uses half truths to work his darkness.  Pretty familiar to what really happens n'est pas?  He wears Anakin down til the kid will swallow about anything.  Has a familiar ring too, huh?

The Jedi or good guys are at fault too.  They represent order and peace but are wrapped up in their own ideological struggles.  It blinds them to what's going on.

One of the major problems in life is to balance head and heart.  We need both to function.

Often, collectivists rely on emotion coupled with lies and half truths.

Those of us who oppose them and especially seek Restoration of the Constitutional Republic, use logic and facts to make our stand.

Without logic, emotion is eventually shown to cave from the weight of lies.  Without emotion or the brushfires in the mind, logic can dry up. 

So, emotion spurs us, using logical facts that are irrefutable.

Of course, the 'darkside' tries constantly to compromise that.  It is constant, unremitting war (if not in the stars).

Lesson?  Focus and learn, especially from those knowledgeable in balance.  Stay in the now and proceed.

Whatever else, Star Wars gives food for thought about what goes on in the real world.

Maybe we can achieve balance and victory over Darth Oblivion and his cohorts.

Evil is shortsided in spite of its Fabian patience.

Good mustn't think it's moving ahead when it actually bogs down.

Stay focused padawans apprentices -s-) and use both science and faith to achieve victory.

It won't be maybe or if we do so.  But when.

Armed Defense

Naturalized citizens will no longer be required to take up arms in defense of their new country.  It's been stricken from the oath.

An oath of allegiance is there for a purpose.  For those who come from radically different lands, it is an opportunity to declare they are now Americans.  With the rights inherent with citizenship come responsibilities. 

I smell redundancy.  As citizens, we are all required to serve.  It might be the work of our daily lives.  But in times of strife/war, it must be more. 

We already had allowance for conscientious objectors.  What the USCIS 'ruling' does is give anyone a free pass, no affiliation needed.  'Um uh I don't wanna fight'.  Um uh that's bs. 

Yes there are many ways to serve.  As in WW2, there were noncombatant jobs and a boat load of factory etc service.  We can fight in different ways.  The actual combat branch of a service is just one part of the whole.  Yet, they all are prepared to go the limit and beyond ie, pick up a gun and shoot.

How many of the gimme illegal aliens will fight?  Some, yes have actually enlisted to develop skills they will and have used against us as in gang activity.  There are always seditionists.

Of course, this is just another incremental step in literally disarming us.  It dissolve resolve and rots from within.

Speak up and out about this.

Armed defense requires the last vestige of courage and duty.

Be ready.

Heartbeats

I remember the sonograms produced by ultrasound of the kids.  Quite impressive this technology.  It's also awe-inspiring and heartfelt.  I've got those pics of the kids inside their Mom tucked away, but look at them occasionally.

The sound of the ultrasound picks up the fetal heartbeat.  Young life, growing, developing to birth and beyond.  From that, to now, the kids grown and off on lives of their own. 

I suggest you consider heartbeats.  Without getting too outre, they are endemic and central to life.  Each beat, from before birth, to the very last, keeps time with the actions and dealing for all of us.

Of course, I don't worry about those beats.  I'm gonna live til I die.  And God willing, with care taken, for a while more -s-.

The beat goes on.  The beat of life.  It's not a doomsday clock.  It's to be lived while we may.

All lives matter.