Riders Block

If you want to see an even bigger photo, take your paw and click anywhere on this picture. Dad says it isn't necessary to say this, because most people know what a "mouseover" is, but I just want to make sure.

Good morning folks. Dad said he had "riders block," whatever that is, so he asked me to type something up. Here is a picture of me sitting on a big stump that is in front of our next-door neighbor’s house. The hurricane uprooted, what was once a fine oak tree.

This morning it is raining a little and we really need it. Since the end of August, we haven't had any rain. The whole month of October registered only a trace of precip. It is dryer than a cotton ball in the desert here.

Yesterday the carpets got cleaned at my house. That is what they tell me, but as far as I am concerned, a strange man with a big van full of noise making machines just came here to torture me for a few hours. Furniture was moved all in strange places, the floor was wet, I got yelled at for getting excited and running all over the place, I hated it. Things are normal again today. I am just waiting for dad to take me on my walk.

Thanksgiving is this month. I hope everyone has a lot to be thankful for, I know I sure do.

Dad should be back tomorrow if he is over his "riders block."

Until the next time
Bear

Seize the day and all that stuff

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may
by Robert Herrick

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today,
To-morrow will be dying.

It is a new week and we are alive. Let me say it again; It is a new week and we are alive. Enjoy your life, all of it, the work, the traffic jam, the line at the grocery store, and the bills in your mailbox.

I talk to people for a living and one thing I have noted is the things they complain about today, they will long for tomorrow. Parents complain away their children's school years, then wish they could sit on hard bleachers to watch their little athlete play a game. Retirees miss the office with all of its hassles and problems.

The secret is to enjoy it at the time, then years later, you won't have regrets because you will know you experienced it fully.

Like the sands dropping out of an hourglass, our days are fleeting. It is a shame when folks spend them complaining or waiting for something that may never come.

No one is perfect and I have wasted my share of time by procrastinating or worrying about something that might happen. Many worry and become anxious about a tomorrow or feel sad or depressed about a yesterday to the extent their today is wasted. Where we focus our attention is our choice.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Until the next time
and Happy Halloween

John Strain

Daring to dream

My friend Scott sent me a link to a video about a guy named Matt. Matt is 28 years old and has muscular dystrophy. Life expectancy for Duchenne MD is about 30 years.

Nevertheless, Matt has a dream.

I work with people everyday, who for one reason or another, make up excuses for not doing the ordinary let alone reaching for a star. I have seen able bodied people with many worldly resources accomplish nothing with it. Then we have Matt who has every reason to lay back and accept his fate, but he does not. His dream inspires others and the result may eventually be him realizing what many would have told him was impossible.

We are only limited by our small ideas. Don't be afraid to dream. With only one-tenth of the faith Matt has think about what you could do.

Thanks Scott for this inspirational story. That is one TV station showing some good news. We live in a world where folks like Matt are plentiful. The trouble is they are more about doing something than finding a camera to pose by.

It is a beautiful weekend here; ripe for dreaming and working toward them.

---

Scott sent me an update on Matt:

Hey Friends,

I was under the water in the pool yesterday for 35 minutes! I felt
great once again. I would have done longer, but we were monkeying
around getting my mask positioned correctly, it kept leaking in the
beginning. But we got it worked out. Next time in the pool I would
like to hit 45 minutes and go to the deep end and see how I can
tolerate going deeper than 5 feet.

My friend and dive buddy Drew moved me around under the water all over
the pool as well. At one time in the pool I was about 5 feet under.

I was able to be rolled onto my stomach at the end of my dive session,
it was a blast. I didn't even need anyone to support my head in that
position.

My other friend and dive buddy Frank took some great pictures and
videos, the pics are posted on my page here...

http://matt55125.tripod.com/scuba/

This is so much fun to be doing! Take care everyone.
Matt

So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.
-Christopher Reeve-

-My Websites-
www.divingadream.org
www.scubadivingdream.com

Until the next time
John Strain

You just never know what to expect

Some of our more psychotic individuals have been talking again. I was sitting in my office on Thursday when someone knocked on my door. I yelled, "Come in." The door opened and a patient was holding a pair of sandals. He dropped them on my floor and said in a very serious voice, "I am tired of playing these games." Then he turned and walked away closing the door behind him.

Another individual was talking about Pegasus. I tried to join in and said, "Oh yes, the winged horse." The reply came in a deep raspy voice, "Yes, but I tore his wings off."

Then there is the 75-year-old lady who curses in a manner that would make a sailor blush.

Never a dull moment around the work place, I am ready for the weekend.

---

Sunday, I am going to Tiger Stadium at LSU to watch the Saints and Dolphins. Watching football on a sunny autumn afternoon is quite a treat. The future of the Saints is in question, but while I can, I will enjoy our NFL team.

Have a nice weekend folks

Until the next time
John Strain

An observation

The other day I was looking for a reference related to Viktor Frankl. Viktor Frankl spent three years in the Auschwitz concentration camp during WWII. Most of his family, including his wife died in the camps. He is known as the father of logotherapy. He relates on experience in which all of the prisoners were ordered to completely strip. As he stood naked, he realized that even though someone could take everything away from him, down to his nakedness, he still possessed the power of choice. He could choose how he would respond and act in a given sittuation. You can read about his prison camp experience in the book, "Man's Search for Meaning."

What I was looking for is unimportant for the purposes of this post, but I continued to surf the net and blog hop. I visited Al's Blog and came across an amusing article he linked to on Ann's Blog about Sarah Jessica Parker. The gist of the article is Sarah dresses the way her two year old wants her to because it makes him happy and because, "He is the center of our lives."

In a few minutes of surfing I had gone from reading about someone with a great mind, who had contributed to our knowledge and understanding of human behavior to reading about a silly, shallow, actress who is confused about good parenting skills and self-pleasure.

The experience got me thinking about what our society holds dear, pays attention to, and ultimately honors. We give credit and attention to the shallow ones. The ones who do outrageous things, who have lots of money, who thumb their noses at the rules, and who go out of their way to be weird.

People like Viktor Frankl give away treasure. Still, society seems to rush by these treasures to grab for the "fools gold" of the celebrity de jour.

For the sake of balance, why not add some real treasure into your life. You could start by reading an interview Frankl granted at age 90.

Throughout my life, I have been blessed to be around people who gave away the treasure of their knowledge. My parents, my grandfather, teachers, and others. They will never be famous or known by millions, but that does not diminish their worth or importance.

One could become disheartened and say "Society runs after vanity and ignores what is important, woe is us." I, on the other hand, take heart. The world is full of good folks who freely give their knowledge and wisdom to those who are inclined to listen and learn. There is a lot of good news going on too, but the media will always push it to the back to show the bad stuff.

I have decided to re-read some books like Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning." I liked how I felt after reading the interview. It was like a conversation with my grandfather. It was reassuring. That reassurance is necessary when we have parents dressing in yellow clown suits just to make their two year olds happy and proudly proclaim their ignorance in the press.

Until the next time
John Strain