Hitch.

When his Dad crossed over, he lost not an anchor, but a rudder.  Which way to steer, to go?  

In his senior year of high school, he would sometimes take to the halls and wander, sometimes using the English/History department's office to call friends and family.  The teachers understood his grief and allowed this behavior.

After graduation, he travelled and instead of being a lackey, he moved to a couple of places.  He also took to hitching around the country, seeing sights and working odd jobs.  It was almost like some kind of series, meeting others and exchanging thoughts, grappling with being himself.

There were a lot of different people out there on the road.  Good angels and evil ones, some bad folks and a lot of good ones.  He learned to discern.  As long as he trusted that content of character, he gathered credit to be himself.  When he allowed others to try managing him, he wavered.

He figured there were those who sought Freedom and those who grasped tyranny, even in small ways as well as bigger.

Instead of accepting a pittance and letting others decide for him, he chose the riskier path to pay his own way.  And he hitched.  

He learned of different professions, a variety of jobs which balanced helping others and authority.  And along that seemingly wandering path, he awakened people to their own sense of self worth as he found his.  s.  We can choose to 

Giving up never works.  He has zigged when he should have zagged.  He has passed his knowledge aka content of character, to not just his kids but also many others.  It's free to them, however the cost is high. 

Dark and light, good and evil wend their ways through our lives.  We can see this.  We can choose to do something or nothing.  

We can risk Liberty or sink into the morass of tyranny.

Tolkien said in Lord of the Rings that 'Not all who wander are lost'.

We can hitch, meet others for weal or woe.  

The trip is worth it.

Soapy

As a child, he was a prankster.  Nothing nasty, just the whoopie cushion/joy buzzer stuff.  Humor was his way to deal with family intrigue.  

I spoke of it before.  There were factions and very much dark vs light.  Both sides of his family were involved.  It was Machiavellian; a soap opera. 

From the beginning, he was gifted with thinking for himself.  He had to see proof.  He questioned.

And when the intrigue threatened to engulf him, he was saved with love and light.  Even in total darkness, one light is a magnet for sanity and love.  

Mixed emotions of love and hate were meant to confuse, isolate and defeat.  Love, spiritual and earthbound overcame.  He was never alone.  

Content of character was his true inheritance.  It was the life preserver in the tempest.  

In spite of ups and downs, God's Love shone through.

Old Road

 He travelled the old road a lot.  Yet, as a child, he got nervous in the pit of his stomach on his way to the village.  Once there, he was surrounded with love.  It was unconditional.  Perhaps it was fear of the unknown?

It taught him to fight intellectually/socially.  Bullies and liars still scatter.

On that old road and offshoots, there were family members, security, a neighborhood nest.  

There were, of course, family intrigues.  Some were not what they should have been.  But others made up for that.  

The village exemplified that angst.  There, good vs evil wrestled.  Perhaps that was the cause of his rumble tums.  Good won.

At the other end, a baby grew to toddlerhood.  He came along at the right time.  Good won there too.

That old road was peaceful country, open, growing.  It changed.

Now, there is commercial clutter.  Strip malls, fast food and suburbs seemed to choke the gentle, quiet way.  Same road.  Different trip.

He is the last of the family on that old road.  But he has a family of his own.

The old road of the past is now the new road of his future.

He is making his own road.

Pinball

 He's a pinball wizard.  That has to be a twist.  Pete Townshend's lyrics are from the rock opera Tommy.  Symbolism reaching out.

There is eclectic thought process.  It bounces from one thing to another.  It's not as chaotic as you might think.  

It can be as simple as word association.  One thought leads to another.  A specific topic can render specific results.  Some fit some don't.  See what works.

Write thoughts down.  Trying to juggle them all can be daunting.  And if something escapes into the ethos, just wait.  The old adage if it's important it'll come back is often true.  Then again don't worry if it doesn't.  Alternatives come.

Having an outline/framework is a good idea.  The thoughts can mix and match.

Whiteboard helps organized main and tangent points, reminders etc.  

Don't obsess.  Balance head and heart.  

Learn how to rush and how to take your time.  Think under pressure and don't go to sleep either.

Just bouncing ideas.

So, try not to tilt, mind your bumpers and don't forget to use the flippers.

Better.

 Than what?

After so much improvement after 28 years, we are in a downspin.  And there is the crux.  Worse is better.

No, I don't ascribe to that.  It is a Leninist maxim.  As bad as things get, collectivists destroy even more, making the previous atrocities seem ok.  Then, the new crisis occupies the people, leaving no room to think or improve.  

Power for its own sake demands more.  It is bottomless hunger.  They control due to lack of self.  There is no humanity, only merciless conquest.  

As is normal for collectivists, what they do is opposite of what they say.  It might sound better, but it is worse.  

Look at better with light and a fine tooth comb.

Live in Liberty and truth.

Don't do better.  

Be best.

Ricochet

 Something, usually a bullet, that bounces off a hard surface.  Its path is deflected and can hit something, even the shooter, at an odd angle.

In self defense we make sure what is behind a target.  We don't want to harm innocents.  We want to only stop the threat.  Accuracy and control are paramount.

Gangsters/criminals or as Col. Jeff Cooper called em 'goblins' don't care.  They shoot into a crowd or wildly shoot, hurting many including kids.  Hitmen have downed a whole passenger list to murder one person.  It is lack of humanity.

Also, words can be accurate.  They paint verbal pics and can speak of love, strength, patriotism.

Words, especially these days, but as before, ricochet.  They are misplaced and can mean the opposite of what is said.  

Be accurate and mean what you say.  

Bullseye!

Prurient

 Immoderate or unwholesome interest/desire.  Sensationalism.  Arousal of quick, intense emotional reaction.  It ain't just sex.  It's distraction.

Nothing wrong with a little excitement of almost any kind.  But if it's obsessive, it stultifies.  The objective is, if not sex, that people get upset about something based in half truth if not lies.  

The idea is to be robbed of the ability to think, to reason. 

Don't be a headline hopper.  

It's easy to be led.  Unravelling is simpler than knitting.

Rise above.