Q!

For those of you who are familiar with Quartzsite, Arizona, the picture above exemplifies the quirky mass of folks from all over the U.S.A. and Canada who descend on this special spot in the desert not far from the Colorado River and California on Interstate 10 in the winter.

The pictures below exemplify the real Quartzsite, Arizona. This is the Quartzsite that excites my wife and me the most. That is not to say we don’t like shopping at the multitude of vendors who dot the landscape and all the yard sales that pop up each weekend. We do – but the best part is our small homestead we call our second home. We have quail, Mexican and Ring Neck doves, humming birds, Cooper and Red Tail hawks, assorted lizards, and occasionally, coyotes who visit us looking for food. The coyotes are looking for bird dinner or better yet, Chihuahua steaks. We watch our dogs carefully when they are walking with us.

There is talk in Quartzsite that the city and county are trying to rid the town of vendor tents and the like. This may or may not be true, but from our perspective, the real lure of the area is the winter weather and motor home visitors who love to enjoy life. All of us are very sociable and like to meet new people who become winter friends. While we all scatter to the four winds in the summer, you can bet we all look forward to meeting again the next winter – God willing and the creek don’t rise!

Meet "Pickles," our Meyer's parrot. He is heading toward me for food and since he is a cannibalistic demon bird, a finger will do quite nicely!

Sunrise in the desert is so very special. We have doves waiting patiently for us to spread seed out in front of the motor home. This is a morning ritual that happens every day we are in Quartzsite until our departure for the summer.

Speaking of breakfast, Gonzo, our older Chihuahua (named after the former D-backs' baseball star), waits not so patiently for food. You can barely see Taco, our rescue Chihuahua, with his white head sticking out of the covers to the upper left.

My wife, Sandy, is holding Taco and Gonzo while standing next to an African Sumac tree we planted while in Quartzsite this trip. Planting trees is something we both feel strongly about. Someday after we have left the planet, this tree will still be standing tall and proud, providing it survives the long, hot summers. I travel to Quartzsite once a month in the summer to water trees and check the motor home.

We found this outdoor U.S.A. flag wall picture at a swap meet and decided it must be attached to our shed door between two palm trees that are guaranteed not to die in the summer.

Trust me when I tell you I did not look this good while digging the hole for the African Sumac. The ground is like concrete!

There are four new signs in Quartzsite that were paid for by a grant along with new road paving, plantings and bus stop benches. Signs of progress I suppose – I will miss the old Quartzsite that we have been coming to for many years. But still, progress is not all bad…is it?

Sandy took this picture while we were driving along the Colorado River on a day trip. There is still much unspoiled land in the southwest deserts. You can see the lake behind Parker Dam in the foreground. God, we love this part of the world – I guess you can call us desert rats for sure.

I’m just saying Happy Thanksgiving,

Mittster

Mourning America!

Who in the hell gave our government permission to rob the very people who support it? While I am at it, who gave the Democrats the right to give every Tom, Dick and Harry who asks – a free ride in America?

We have fought, died and worked hard to make America strong. Corrupt politicians and greedy corporations are sucking the lifeblood right out of the middle class. America is fast becoming a third world country, while China and the Middle East are becoming the giants we once were.

The super rich don’t want the middle class; they want the cheap lower class that works like slaves for little money. It means more money for the corporations. More, more, more – give us more! It also means more tax revenue for government. The illegal immigrant population does not expect nor has it earned Social Security or Medicare and is willing to pay taxes just to have food and shelter rather than live in abject poverty in their own country. Give every illegal immigrant amnesty and watch them vote for the Democrats for super handouts. Politicians have made sure they have retirement and medical expenses paid for outside the national programs which they steal from. The Great Society at its worst. Meanwhile the middle class diminishes until they are no more and America becomes only slums and mansions – much like it was during the Industrial Revolution.

What will it take for us (the middle class) to wake up? We are being squeezed like grapefruit and then discarded like garbage. Let me tell you something; I am awake and I will not go down without a fight. You can bet between now and the 2012 Presidential election I will write to Washington, Arizona and Camp Verde political incumbents and tell them like it is. My vote will not be cast for any of them. You can also bet that my voice will be heard by every Facebook and Twitter friend and they in turn can pass the message along to their friends until all our voices are heard in Washington. Someday in the not-so-far distant future, the rats will start climbing the ship’s mast as the USS Corruption starts to sink.

We can make a difference by using the power of the Internet and our right to vote. Incumbents beware…you will be fired from your cushy jobs and eventually forced to live on the same Social Security and healthcare we have to depend on to make our ends meet.
What a glorious day that will be!

I am just saying,

Mittster

Accentuate the Positive

I truly admire the youth of our great country. Everywhere I go the positive side of life is being demonstrated by the tenacity and attitudes of our young people. While baby boomers and senior folks are worrying and fretting over current events around the world, the younger generations are working hard and trying to change the things that caused the problems in the first place.

It’s refreshing to know that young, idealistic men and women are replacing the old, senile, life-time politicians who are still the power brokers in our country. None too soon, I might add. Look at Senator Gabrielle Gifford, who was shot in Tucson, Arizona, recently. No one thought she could survive, let alone recover from her head wound. Her courage and determination to return to work are inspiring to say the least. I can’t wait for her to return to office; she is the kind of person we need representing Arizona in the Senate.

I am not saying that our older politicians are all senile and/or corrupt. Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona is a perfect example of what is meant by “public servant.” Her battle to secure the border with Mexico is unpopular to some, but critical for the economical stability of Arizona. She is not only butting heads with a minority illegal immigrant movement, but also with the Federal Government who refuses to enforce immigration laws that are on the books. There is no doubt in any thinking mind that this has to do with votes and that in itself is despicable. Furthermore, I find it unbelievable that we are still fighting in Afghanistan where we now have no real national interests, while Mexican drug cartels are killing American citizens on both sides of the border. It’s time to enforce a “no fly zone” in America!

Our younger generation proves to me that there is still hope for our country and the world as a whole. Do we need to adapt to changing political, economical and environmental landscapes? Yes, but human beings are all about change. That’s how we got here in the first place. We can adapt and continue to strive for changes that can and will resolve the dilemmas we face on our beautiful, blue planet Earth.

Write on,

Mittster

The Buck Stops Here!

Although I didn't write this piece and don't know who did, I thought it compelling. It's something you want your Children and Grandchildren to read. They won't believe this happened, but it DID.

Harry & Bess Truman
(This seems unreal.)

Harry Truman was a different kind of President. He probably made as many or more important decisions regarding our nation's history as any of the other 42 Presidents preceding him. However, a measure of his greatness may rest on what he did after he left the White House.

The only asset he had when he died was the house he lived in, which was in Independence Missouri. His wife had inherited the house from her mother and father and other than their years in the White House, they lived their entire lives there.

When he retired from office in 1952 his income was a U.S. Army pension reported to have been $13,507.72 a year. Congress, noting that he was paying for his stamps and personally licking them, granted him an 'allowance' and, later, a retroactive pension of $25,000 per year.

After President Eisenhower was inaugurated, Harry and Bess drove home to Missouri by themselves. There was no Secret Service following them.

When offered corporate positions at large salaries, he declined, stating, "You don't want me. You want the office of the President, and that doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the American people and it's not for sale."

Even later, on May 6, 1971, when Congress was preparing to award him the Medal of Honor on his 87th birthday, he refused to accept it, writing, "I don't consider that I have done anything which should be the reason for any award, Congressional or otherwise."

As president he paid for all of his own travel expenses and food.

Modern politicians have found a new level of success in cashing in on the Presidency, resulting in untold wealth. Today, many in Congress also have found a way to become quite wealthy while enjoying the fruits of their offices. Political offices are now for sale (cf. Illinois).

Good old Harry Truman was correct when he observed, "My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician.

And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference!"

To bad we couldn't clone him!

I'm just saying,

Mittster

My Favorite Addiction

According to a quiz, I am only 19% addicted to Facebook. I thought for sure the score would be higher; I'm a little disappointed. After deactivating my account for a total of three days so I could catch up on work, I found that during the process of writing my new murder mystery, The Phoenix Code, I would start thinking about all the wonderful friends and family I used to be in contact with on Facebook and lose my train of thought concerning the book. Crap, I was better off when I was checking out all the comments twice a day on Facebook. At least then, while I was working on my book, it was possible to concentrate.

Just to be sure I wasn't addicted, I found and took the test. OK, I'm only a little addicted. It's not like when I used to drink and could not stop at just one. This is different; I only need a Facebook fix twice a day, seven days a week. Holy cow, if that were booze, I would be totally whacked most of the time!

Well, I'm not quitting Facebook. I gave up my addictive behavior fifteen years ago when I got married. I need to have at least one addiction and Facebook will do nicely, thank you very much.

I'm just saying,

Mittster

They Said It Couldn’t Be Done

You may ask who “they” are. They are all the people who think life is a gambit to be run at full speed and no matter who gets in the way you run them down like rabid dogs so you can be first to the finish line. In other words, he or she who finishes first with the most stuff wins the game of life. First of all life is not a game, nor is it a finish “first or suck” scenario.

I had a shop teacher in junior high school who said my identical twin brother and I wouldn’t amount to a hill of beans. He also said in a condescending, derogatory way, “It takes all kinds to make a world!” I doubt you are still alive, Mr. Adams, but you sucked as a teacher and human being. Perhaps I will luck out and you are still alive and reading this blog. That would give me great pleasure. In a way you were right though; it does take all kinds of people to make a world. Thank God, because if we were all like you, the world would be a miserable place to live!

I don’t know about teachers in the classrooms now-a-days, but when I was going to school (right after the wagon-train era) teachers expected everyone to be a certain way in looks and behavior. We (my brother and I) were not made from the same mold as most teachers would expect. The teachers treated us differently than the rest of the class. We were considered so different that our classification bordered on idiot status.

We both managed to graduate high school and followed in our father’s footsteps to the construction industry. It was a good thing actually. PhDs were pumping gas in the early ‘60s while we were making so much money we couldn’t spend it all. While we both had successful careers in construction, our real success was learning that life is a learning experience and it should teach us to love all creation and that includes our fellowman. The greatest lesson is that “we are spiritual beings having a human experience.”

With that being said, I forgive you, Mr. Adams. After all, you were a product of your times just as I am in my time. I am thankful for my life and the diversity in people I interact with daily. Some I laugh with, others I laugh at, but always with respect for feelings and sensitivities. “Life is truly a box of chocolates; you just never know what you are going to find in the wrapper.”

I’m just saying,

Mittster

Lost in the '50s Tonight

If you click on the title of this blog, I guarantee Ronnie Milsap will take you back to a time when life was just plain wonderful. Even if you were not raised in the '50s, you will recognize the innocence of the time.

I remember the age clearly in my mind’s eye and even though I say I would never want to go back, the truth is that I would like to go back and live it all again.

This video says it all – there is no need for me to say more.

Enjoy,

Mittster