Rainbow Forest

Purple Dandelions..... Majenta Moons
Marmalade Lakes.........Lavender Blooms

Violet Sunsets...... Torquois Seas
Snow white waterfalls..... Golden Pink Bees

I walk through the forest of colors.... I view the rainbows of life
Creeping to the edge of the forest... I see a world of strife....

Kaleidoscope images..... Images of fate...
Our world grasps the colors.... and molds them into hate....

Ozzy and my Youth....

So I am about 12 years old and my older sister buys me a 45 record for my birthday. Yes, remember those little records with one song on each side? Anyways, it was Ozzy, "Flying High Again"

Man, I played the shit out of that little record. Ozzy grew on me.... I loved the guitar and drums pulsating in my ears... I began to embrace the rebellious part of my soul that I had suppressed for a long time.

The following year I began Jr. High School and truly became a rebel. I let my hair grow long, started smoking pot and listening to Heavy Metal exclusively. One night Ozzy came to town. He was playing at the Sports Arena. My buddy and I purchased tickets and were determined to go! Of course our parents laughed when we said that we wanted to go...

So, we compromised with our parents and snuck out of our houses and walked down the storm drain to Mission Valley and then hiked another 5 miles to the Sports Arena on back roads. When we arrived at the Sports Arena, the parking lot was packed and the sweet smell of reefer permeated like a euphoric cloud over the large crowd of long haired, leather wearing head banger loyalists.

We were young but we fit right in. We got nice and high in that parking lot and strode into the concert.... We saw some of our friends from school with their older brothers or sisters. We were content in the fact that we were true hard core fans and had come on our own walking the whole way.

The concert started and we were transported into a new realm of happiness as our heads bounced back and forth to the steady bass of Ozzy and the heavy metal vibe around us. We were true head bangers now and we knew it. We looked at each other as we rocked our heads to the drums and we did not have to speak a word to know what we were thinking... just a smile was all we needed.

We rocked hard that night and we grew up even faster..... I'm not sure if my innocence had been lost before this point... but it definitely faded away after that night.

We had a long walk home that night after the concert. But... the walk home was like a dream....The moon was full and the sky was clear and perfect. We could have been flying for all we knew. Maybe the night was being true to Ozzy's words, "Flying High Again."

We had come and we had conquered...

Life is full of journeys. Perhaps my journeys started earlier than most people's....

I don't regret them. I embrace them. In fact, if my son or daughter ever comes to me one day and wants to see Ozzy, I will definitely say.............

OH HELL NO!!!!!!!!!!

Bailout Not Helping Small Business!!!

Obama states that "It’s not about helping banks – it’s about helping people." Supposedly, every dollar going to the banks and financial firms is not to help them but to help small business and individual Americans. That all sounds great, BUT..... it is not working and I personally am getting fed up!

Republicans supposedly had the trickle down theory. Money at the top will trickle down to the general public. Democrats took over as the supposed "grass roots" party that will help the average American at the bottom. However, in our first major crisis, the Democrats are taking the exact same approach as the Republicans and giving all the money to the top banks and financial companies and hoping it will trickle down to small business and average Americans.

Hello, McFly, it is not fucking working and I am getting fed up. Small business is getting crushed by the greed of Wall Street and all their Banking bed buddies. Now, because of their greed and ignorance.... fear is prevalent across the good ol U.S. of A and everybody is in panic mode! Now, nobody is spending and every bailout we give just exacerbates the situation and creates more fear. Pure B.S...

Banks are still NOT lending to small business! Interest rates on credit cards are still through the roof!!!!

Hey, with all this bailout money why can't they cap interest rates on credit cards at say 6%. Home and Business loans at 2%. Even at those rates, banks could still make a great profit. I think it is time to put some real strings attached to any money loaned to the banks. 20-30% interest on credit cards and 6-10% interest on home loans is usury and the American people should not be subject to these unsustainable restraints while we are bailing out Wall Street and the banks. Hopefully, the people, can really become one voice in the bigger picture of our economy and not just over some AIG bonuses that amount to a fraction of the amount we are really getting ripped off!!!!

As INXS once said, "Mystify Me"..... I am mystified that the Americans continue to allow this crap. How many times can we get pissed on until we realize that what's hitting our heads is not rain!!! It's time to band together and say, "No WAY!!" ...... NO WAY MAN.... NO MORE!!!!

Mixed Emotions!!!

So here I am.... words on page and mixed thoughts. I am nervous about my business. I have never seen such a crush before. We have seen steady growth for 10 years and now we are falling backwards. Not just sliding... falling. Is this God's plan? Should I now find a new direction? It is funny how life and the world seemed so fresh and attainable back in my Peace Corps days. I mean I had so much ideology and I felt I was towering above everybody with my beliefs and I would never go back to the capitalist bullshit in which I had left. I promised myself I would never return to that rut!

Now here I am 12 years later... back in the rat race. Only now, the whole world seems to be imploding. Man, how I would love to be back in my Peace Corps mentality where the world seemed so far removed. We had our little stipend that paid for all the basics that life really needs to survive. We were above the fray of the materialism that was "over there".

Wow how things change!!!!!!!!!! All I can say, if any current Peace Corps volunteers read this..... count your blessings. Life will eventually catch up with the majority of you... and let me tell you, it SUCKS!!!!

Can't wait to go back and get some new perspective! For sure...

My Nicaraguan travels...

So April 9, 2009 I will be heading down to Nicaragua for a 3 week vacation.... I will begin writing some general observations on my experiences and thoughts as I travel back to my old Peace Corps haunts....