Why social justice doesn't work and OWS won't make a difference

This is a parable called the River.

A group of people are standing at a river bank and suddenly hear the cries of a baby.  Shocked, they see an infant floating--drowning--in the water.  One person immediately dives in to rescue the child.  But as this is going on, yet another baby comes floating down the river, and then another!  People continue to jump in to save the babies and then see that one person has started to walk away from the group still on shore.  Accusingly they shout, "where are you going?"  The response:  "I'm going upstream to stop whoever's throwing babies into the river.

The moral of the story is to get to the root of the problem, right?  If we get to the root of the problem then all will be well.

I don't have to travel all the way upstream to tell you what the root of the problem is.  I can tell you now.  The problem is sin.  The problem is always sin.  And the problem will always be sin.

If I go upstream and find an evil man throwing babies into the river I cannot take the evil out of the man.  If I kill the evil man, there will be another to take his place.  If I go upstream and find a daycare built against the river with no barrier between the children and the river and see children falling in the river, I can talk to the owner.  I will find a lazy or greedy establishment, unwilling to do the work or spend the money to provide a fence.  If I build a fence to protect the children at this establishment, another establishment will be erected further up the river with lower costs, and there will be no fence.  Babies will continues to fall into the river.  

We cannot depend on government to save us.  We cannot take greed or sloth or vanity or wrath or envy out of government any more than we can take it out of a man.  Only Jesus can change a heart.

We cannot do anything about the root of the problem.  Only Jesus can fix the problem.  All we can do is jump in the river and pull out as many babies as we can.  When we, the Church, agree to waste its time searching for and attempting to fix the root of the problem we are only spinning our wheels and wasting our time and resources.  There will always be sin in the world until Jesus returns.

The Church is the body of Christ, just as the Bible describes.  Jesus met individuals where they were and in the condition they were in, he didn't meet with political figures and try to change the system.  I believe Jesus said something like, pay your taxes or render unto Caesar that which belongs to Caesar.  I believe the religious / political leaders didn't care too much for Jesus.  They rejected him.

So all you ministers, pastors, priests, Sunday school teachers, Christians who are promoting or participating or beating a drum for OWS.  You are not being the body of Christ.   Jump in the river.  Save a baby.  Social justice is a waste of your time here on earth.

Tamoxifen is my friend

Yes, those words tasted pretty bad, but they are true.  I haven't posted about Tamoxifen and me for a while.  Since it's October and all the manly American NFL players are sporting pink on any part of their uniform that will not interfere with the recognition of their team colors, I will ponder my 10th month on Tamoxifen.

I'm going to begin by saying, I thank God I do not have breast cancer.  I am grateful every day that I do not have this horrible disease.  I know I've been flippant about my side effects and the like regarding Tamoxifen, but, so far, I don't have breast cancer and this is the whole job of this drug.  Tamoxifen is supposed to keep Happygirl from getting breast cancer and it is doing it's job.  Thank you Tamoxifen.

I am also grateful I do not have the worst side effect of Tamoxifen, endometrial cancer.  I know I whined and complained about the many tests I endured to ensure I did not have this disease, but now that all that is in the past and I hardly remember all those doctor appointments and the invasiveness of them and the fact that I had to leave $25 on the nightstand.  I will say, thank you Tamoxifen.

Don't expect me to leave this post about Tamoxifen as being all kittens and puppies and butterflies.  Here are the hard facts.  I typically have two hot flashes EVERY day.  One occurs at 7:30 in the morning, as I drive to work.  Thank you, Tamoxifen, for the giant sweat stains under my arms every morning.  Another occurs at 9:00 in the evening.  Thank goodness it's dark at this time of the year as I typically have to go out on my front porch and take my shirt off.  (tmi, oh well)  Occasionally I will have a third hot flash during the day.  It always comes when I'm enjoying myself and usually when I'm with other people.  I love turning beet red and flowing sweat in the middle of a conversation.  (not)  The night sweats are continuing.  I am grateful it is autumn and will soon be winter and our home is heated with a heat-pump.  (read, this is not seriously considered heat)  I'm sure my husband won't mind freezing to death every night while I finally get a bit of sleep.  I do have one little ray of sunshine on the sleeping issue.  Valium.  This is great stuff.  I understand you can become addicted to it, so they won't give me very much of it, but this stuff works.  I've had a few really great nights of sleep under the influence of this drug.  Better living through chemistry, sometimes.

I will sign off with another hearty Thank You to Tamoxifen.  Also, any ladies reading, remember to get your mammogram and be vigilant with the girls.  If you forget I mentioned it, watch some football this Sunday and ask your husband why all the players are wearing pink.

Zombie advice

It seems like I've been in the advice giving mode lately.  Which is truly funny, as I certainly need to take more good advice than pass any out.  In honor of catching myself in the act of doing something I know I shouldn't be doing, I will give you one last advice post.  It's pretty important.  I mean, a zombie apocalypse could happen.  Also, The Walking Dead are back on AMC.  LOVE it.  I'm a zombie fan.  All time favorite, the first Dawn of the Dead.  I love them all.  If you are not a HUGE zombie fan, I recommend Shaun of the Dead or Zombieland.  Both excellent beginner zombie films.

Back to the point of this post.  I have a few tips to survive a zombie invasion.

1.  Get a good pair of running shoes.  Not all zombies are the slow walkers.  In fact, lately, zombies have been getting faster.  It wouldn't be a bad idea to start doing some cardio now.  Zombies, especially the fast zombies, don't become out of breath while chasing you.  They don't breath anymore.  They are dead.

2.  Get a bunch of guns.  Seriously.  You are going to need guns and bullets.  Lots of them.  It may not be a bad idea to start your marksmanship practice now, too.  I mean, you've got to shoot them in the head.  It's the only way to "kill" them.  You can cut their heads off.  That works too, but you have to get up close and personal to do that.  Another way to "kill" them is to burn them up.  So, while your getting some guns, get a couple flame throwers, too.

3.  Get out of the cities and into the country.  You have to have a lot of open space around you to see them coming.  In cities, they can just pop out anywhere.

4.  When you find a safe place to hunker down in the country or small town, find stuff to reinforce windows and doors.  Find strong stuff, like 2"x 4"s and 1/2" plywood.  Sticking a chair under the doorknob is just not going to cut it.  Remember, the zombies do not get tired.  They will pound and pound away.  They don't mind breaking glass or getting cut.  Remember, they are dead.

5.  If, by chance, you meet up with other survivors and decide to join forces, do not turn on each other.  Seriously people, you don't want to throw other survivors under the bus.  One of your group is probably already the bossman and I can guarantee that the group you hook up with will have a bossman.  Please, for the love of God, encourage these guys (or girls) to get along and not forget they are in a zombie apocalypse.  This will only put everyone else in danger.

6.  This goes without saying, but I'm going to have to say it anyway.  Don't have sex.  Just don't.  Please save your energy for being a lookout or looking for food and water or finding more bullets and guns or finding more gas for your car or truck.  Seriously, sex should be the last thing on your mind.

7.  Oh yeah, I almost forgot, learn to be a good story teller.  There will not be any electricity, so, no tv, no Netflix, you won't be able to charge your iPod.  You are going to have to entertain each other in your downtime.  Please learn to tell a good story.  :)

8.  Make a plan and agree on it.  If you are going to survive, you're going to need a plan.  When you've figured one out, using whatever democratic or autocratic method you use, stick to the plan.  Don't go rogue when you break into your small groups.  People are counting on you.  For pete's sake, don't decide to check out the high end department store if you've been sent out to get food.  You don't need that Louis Vuitton bag, just because you don't have to pay for things anymore.

9.  If you get bit by a zombie, tell the other people you are with all about it.  Don't hide your wound and think you will be the one that recovers from a zombie bite and doesn't turn into a zombie.  You're going to turn into a zombie.  It's a fact.

10.  Don't be afraid to shoot your mother, father, sister, brother, husband, son, daughter, wife, minister, anybody you are related to or good friends with if they turn into a zombie.  You're going to have to shoot them in the head, cut their head off or light them on fire.  There are no close relationships with zombies.  They will want to eat your brains and they will not remember who you are.  That's just the way it goes in the zombie apocalypse.

Ok, that's all my advice giving for a while.  I think I've covered all the important things in life in the last few days.  Let's see, what you need to know to live a better life, how to succeed in life and now, how to survive the zombie apocalypse.  I think we're good now.

The key to success in whatever you do in life

I just heard a great quote about the key to success.  I decided to write a post about it (before I forget, 'cause that happens sometimes) because I hope EVERYONE gets an opportunity to hear it.  Today I was flipping through the channels looking for something to veg in front of for a few minutes.  (yeah, yeah I know I have a chore list to get around to)  I stopped on the image of John Leguizamo on HBO's The Latino List.  He was talking about his hit movies and work on Broadway.  He said something funny about getting a LOT of fan mail from prisons for his work on the movie To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar.  He was talking about making a name for himself in Hollywood.  He was talking about how agents and others told him to down play his ethnicity.  He was encouraged to tell agents and producers he was Italian and to change his name and stay out of the sun.  He, of course, didn't do this.  He was proud of his Colombian heritage.  I wasn't listening to everything he said, but this one thing caught my attention.  He was talking about his children and the advice he was giving them regarding how to be successful in whatever they chose to do in their lives.  I wish I could replay exactly what he said, but this is the nearest I can recall.  He said, to his kids;

"If you spend 10,000 hours at anything, you can be successful at it."

This is such good advice.  I think every person should hear it and believe it.  Success is not instant.  Success is not being lucky.  Success comes from hard work and lots of it.

25 things everyone should know

1.  If you don't have any money, you can't spend any money.
2.  To lose weight you have to expend more calories than you take in.
3.  It doesn't cost anything to be nice.  Compassion is a wonderful quality.
4.  If you borrow something, you should return it before you are asked to return it.  
5.  Please and thank you go a long way in relationships.
6.  When you make a promise to someone, keep it.  
7.  If something is too good to be true, it's not true and it's not good.
8.  There is always a winner and a loser and everyone in between.  Not everyone can be a winner.
9.  Being habitually late or keeping people waiting is a sign of arrogance, nothing less.
10.  A good night's sleep does wonders for your well being.  
11.  Drinking water is one of the best things you can do for your body. 
12.  Pay yourself first.  Make saving money a priority.
13.  Get some exercise.  It'll make you feel better and have a better attitude.
14.  Treat other people the way you would like to be treated.
15.  Pick up after yourself.  Don't leave your mess for someone to clean up behind you.
16.  It's a good idea to keep most of your opinions to yourself.  Opinions are like noses.  Everybody has one.
17.  Don't comment on facebook when you are drunk  
18.  Chew your food with your mouth closed and don't talk while you have food in your mouth.
19.  Telling the truth leaves less to memory.
20.  It's rude to text while you are talking to someone face-to-face.
21.  Be generous.  Give to charity or at least, pick up the check once in a while.
22.  Saying "I'm sorry" is a gift to yourself, as well as the person you say it to.   
23.  It's not a conversation if you are doing all the talking.  God gave us two ears and one mouth.  Use accordingly.   
24.  It's good to have a sense of humor about yourself.  It makes you more fun to be around. 
25.  You really are as happy as you decide to be.

There are more than 25 things people should know, but 25 is a good place to start.  I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.