The Poe House - Hope Griffin - Google Review

https://www.google.com/maps/reviews/data=!4m8!14m7!1m6!2m5!1sChdDSUhNMG9nS0VJQ0FnSUMtckwzRXV3RRAB!2m1!1s0x0:0x47670f2850f1f3d3!3m1!1s2@1:CIHM0ogKEICAgIC-rL3EuwE%7CCgsIw5T0mgYQiOzBNg%7C?hl=en-US&g_ep=CAISBjYuMzUuNBgBINDkAQ%3D%3D&g_st=i

 We made reservations for tonight specifically to see Hope Griffin and so glad we did. Much like her name Hope brings Happiness to the arena and Faith that love will prevail. We were seated front center and as the evening hours darkened the studio filled in. Soon there was standing room only as the crowd was energized by her acoustic renditions of Stevie Nix, Simon and Garfunkel and yes, The Rolling Stones. The place was alive with friendly chatter and clinking glasses, the wine and beer selections are Poetent, but amid the spontaneous gaiety a sudden hush came over the crowd as Hope soared into her crescendo of Bruce Springsteen’s I’m on Fire. Total Silence as all ears and eyes were focused on Hope, who also became aware of the moment and whispered, I’ve got them now…It was one moment in a night of 44

Spider-Man meets his Momma Tess

years together that my wife and I will never forget. The vibe is much like the Village where places like the Cafe Wha? and the Vanguard hosted folkies like Robert Zimmerman before he became Bob Dylan. Hope Griffin is of that caliber. She covers better than the originals and her originals have depths of emotion worth exploring. Ask Siri to play Lullaby on Apple Music and we’ll look forward to seeing you at Hopes next concert. Until then drop into the Poe House for your own night to remember.

Leaf - YouTube

 I really liked this video. I want to go all electric and I’m kind of waiting for Honda because we’ve been brand loyal for 40 years  but  this Leaf is very tempting and if I get to test drive and like it I might just pop over to  Nissan. Thanks!

Nissan Dealerships

Oatmeal - YouTube

 Wow another great video that just happened to corroborate with what I’m already doing. My wife and I recently rediscovered oatmeal as a kind of comfort food that just hits the spot as a bedtime snack. I toss on raspberries and blueberries but I’ll confess to a little sugar. Nonetheless thanks to your video I think a small bowl or two of oatmeal is going to help keep me on track for a1c and weight control. Thanks Again!

Ben Franklin: The Thirteen Necessary Virtues

 Ben Franklin: The Thirteen Necessary Virtues

In The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, we find a list of thirteen virtues that “occurr’d to me as necessary or desirable.”

These names of virtues, with their precepts, were:

1. TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.
2. SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.
3. ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.
4. RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.
5. FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.
6. INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employ’d in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.
7. SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.
8. JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
9. MODERATION. Avoid extreams; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.
10. CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation.
11. TRANQUILLITY. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.
12. CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dulness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.
13. HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

 Guidon has done a great job developing their property. They have their own kitchen where their chefs prepare a selection of traditional German/American fare. The food is delicious! My friend and I stopped by today on our quest to sample all of the breweries in our area. Of the 20 plus on our list, Guidon is a keeper and we will definitely return with friends and family. The beers are genuine German craft and the warmed soft pretzels with dipping sauce made my day. Nice seating outdoors with unobtrusive classic rock rounds out a great experience!

Broccoli for Life - YouTube

 I’ve decided to set a personal goal to eat broccoli Every Day until Christmas which is 65 days from now. That means increasing from once a week to 7 times a week. I like broccoli so I’m lucky. I steam it but of course I also melt and pour on a lot of butter. My theory under keto is that the fat won’t be a problem. The Besti Videos are great, informative and interesting in layman’s terms. So here I go. I hope I can stabilize and maybe reduce my weight without starving or intermittent fasting. Also reduce a1c. Thanks for all your videos… if you ever need a reason to do something, your videos give all those reasons.

Hole in the world - YouTube comment

 All I have to do is say Alexa, play there’s a hole in the world tonight… and she does. The miracles of technology have brought so much good into our world. So much comfort and convenience for so many of us. And yet here we are in 2022, eleven years after 9/11… I was at work at my job in South Carolina, I went into the canteen to watch the news on a tiny tv. My Mom and my sister were in New Jersey, just across the river, my niece at NYU. They could hear the explosions, they could see and smell the smoke. I didn’t call them… I went home and watched the planes crushing into the sides of the World Trade Center over and over and over again. I guess I didn’t believe it. I guess I couldn’t believe it. The next day the security guard stopped me from entering the building. He held me until another workmate verified who I was… I had been working there 10 years. I flew home to New Jersey for Thanksgiving. I felt an odd sense of safety thinking that the worst had already happened. When I got to  Newark the halls were lined with soldiers on duty. Each face held a strangers grimace. My sister and I went into The City. I had been telling myself that nothing had changed… we were in the crush of the crowd at the Tickets outlet on Broadway. A woman looked at me and said We are part of a community. Yes, we are all part of the community. Somehow we felt closer, sharing a bond of fear and disbelief. We walked past fire departments and said thank you to the firemen we met. We walked the streets of New York City much the way we had many times before but… but it was different… We were different… America was different. Instead of pulling us together, as I most certainly felt as that woman had said, instead of growing in that feeling of being one American community there were those of us who felt divided. There’s a hole in the world tonight… at once the most penitent and profoundly sad song so beautifully rendered by The Eagles. There remains a hole in the heart of America today. Technology continues to advance and offers so much promise of bringing us together yet our hearts remain hard and divided. In many ways we’ve never recovered from the horrors of 911.

Hole in the world - as Beautiful as it is sad

Hole in the world

Songwriters: Don Henley / Glenn Frey

There's a hole in the world tonight

There's a cloud of fear and sorrow

There's a hole in the world tonight

Don't let there be a hole in the world tomorrow

They say that anger is just love disappointed

They say that love is just a state of mind

But all this fighting over who is anointed

Oh, how can people be so blind?

There's a hole in the world tonight

There's a cloud of fear and sorrow

There's a hole in the world tonight

Don't let there be a hole in the world tomorrow

Oh, they tell me there's a place over yonder

Cool water running through the burning sand

Until we learn to love one another

We will never reach the promised land

There's a hole in the world tonight

There's a cloud of fear and sorrow

There's a hole in the world tonight

Don't let there be a hole in the world tomorrow

They say that anger is just love disappointed

(There's a cloud of fear and sorrow)

They say that love is just a state of mind

(There's a hole in the world tonight)

But all this fighting over who will be anointed

(Don't let there be a hole in the world tomorrow)

Oh, how can people be so blind?

There's a hole in the world tonight (hole in the world)

There's a cloud of fear and sorrow (fear and sorrow)

There's a hole in the world tonight (ooh)

Don't let there be a hole in the world tomorrow

There's a hole in the world tonight (there's a hole in the world)

There's a cloud of fear and sorrow (a cloud of fear and sorrow)

There's a hole in the world tonight

Don't let there be a hole in the world tomorrow (don't let there be a hole in the world)

There's a hole in the world tonight (yeah)

There's a cloud of fear and sorrow (oh, there's a cloud of fear and sorrow)

There's a hole in the world tonight (there's a hole in the world tonight)

Don't let there be a hole in the world tomorrow

There's a hole in the world tonight

There's a cloud of fear and sorrow

There's a hole in the world tonight

Don't let there be a hole in the world tomorrow

There's a hole in the world tonight

There's a cloud of fear and sorrow

There's a hole in the world tonight

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Don Henley / Glenn Frey

Hole in the World lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Nissan Leaf - Google Review

 Great Review! Informative and helpful. We’ve been leasing one CRV and one FIT for years and very happy but I want to go electric and the leaf might do it. Your video demonstrates just how drivable and practical the car is for around town which as you say is 99% of the time. I’m hoping to be able to test drive the Leaf soon and and see what my trade in and lease options are. I would want to make sure that any charging system in the house or around town would be universal say if we got this Nissan and later get a larger Honda CRV EV. Thanks for demonstrating a car for the average buyer and helping pave the way from gas or even hybrid that I have now to full EV. Thanks Again!

Rivian - YouTube Review

 Love your Enthusiasm! I invested in Rivian last year. I’m in the red right now but still hoping this becomes the next Tesla in which case I’ve told myself I’d use the money to buy the Rivian. I’m also looking forward to a two drive wheel model at a lower price. We are long retired and I’d want the Rivian to replace the CRV’s we’ve been leasing for the past 20 years. So I hope they lease but also I’m thinking maybe instead of leasing for 3 years I’d buy a Rivian and keep it for 10. Also , how about Roadside Assistance and Servicing? I’m assuming low maintenance but I’d have to have reassurances for the what ifs. Will Rivian partner with other brand dealerships so you can access services through them? I realize you’re not a sales rep but if you were you’d sell a million of them. Thanks!!!

 My career…

When I was a kid I always had a soft heart. For animals, I once found a cat with one eye missing and rode my bike across towns to take her to a veterinarian. I thought myself a hero but he explained that the kitten was probably born that way.

My mom took me to see West Side Story and the music really moved me. Here come the Jets reved me up while There’s a Place for us brought tears to my eyes. My mom was an idealist and so too I felt that I wanted to help people. My Dad, much more the realist, said you can’t help anyone else until you can take care of yourself. A recent quote from Shaquille O’Neal reflected that sentiment. His father told him, the best way to help poor people is not to be one. Something or one thing I’ve learned in 74 years is that Everybody has there struggles. Nonetheless, I went to school, graduated college to avoid the draft as long as possible and got first SC State Job at The School for the Deaf and Blind and married Tess. My next job was in Child Protective Services at DSS. Then to Continuum of Care for Emotionally the Disturbed  and then back to DSS as Job Developer. During these years I taught myself Microsoft Office and developed a database to track my job placements wherein I had a quota, like billing Medicaid hours for COC so in many ways it was just like Radio Shack or Sears. Numbers Count! Ok so I hope through all of those years I helped some people and I think the Job placements were the most tangible and productive of that… but the story for today is that in those years where I tracked every nickel of expense in my database and reduced expenses over a million dollars, I met and talked with Governor Mark Sanford about my database and I wanted it to be adopted state wide to save money in all the counties. He was polite and showed som interest but nothing came of it. Later he was quoted in the news saying that the state was leaking money. I wrote him a letter saying that there was a gusher of money leaking from DSS and resent my paperwork showing all the money I had saved. This time I got a call from DSS State Office wanting to talk to me about my program. Now these were the same people I had been presenting to over the past 5 years with no impact ( oh yeah they tried to duplicate my program using Approach but it didn’t work). Anyway this invitation occurred literally within weeks of my 30 year retirement and after some discussion with Tess I said Bye bye and did very well for the next few years teaching at Spartanburg Texh. 

Sanford meanwhile took off in a state car saying he was in the Appalachian Trail when in fact he had run off with a woman he had met leaving his wife and five kids behind. I have now been happily retired for the past 14 years knowing that I left DSS faithfully fulfilling my responsibilities, leaving 100 unused sick days behind and a database that helped me do my job while saving public funds.  All of this was pretty much ancient history until this morning when I found Mark Sanford featured in a Netflix documentary about a “Christian” organization calling themselves The Family. Wow! All I can say this morning is Thank God for Tess and Our Family. I never achieved what I thought I wanted to achieve in my career. But I had a good job and I did a good job and that, by observation of everything else, was Good Enough. Or as Tess would tease me, it was Great!

Gentle Pain Release Physical Therapy Google Review

https://www.gentlepainrelease.com/

 Excellent on all levels! As stated in the name, they are Gentle but they are also far more professional and therapeutic than my previous experience with pre and post op physical therapy. The staff at Gentle Pain Release treat me like a person, not a billing number. They worked with me to get a thorough history and understand how my recent injury interrupted my active lifestyle. We then  implemented an individualized plan tailored to my specific needs. I had sciatic and peroneal nerve damage with severe pain and drop foot. In just a few sessions after my surgical laminectomy I’m actually getting better, regaining my ambulatory stability and working on my hiking endurance. I would encourage everyone to do their own research and talk with providers to compare services before simply accepting a PT assignment from their doctor. My doctor gave me an open order for PT so I could make my own choice. I walked in and spoke to the people at Gentle Pain Release before signing up and now I am so glad I did. 

Response from the owner 2 hours ago

Thank you so much for your kind feedback! We work so hard to create a positive environment for every person who needs our care. We're so happy to hear about your experiences here. Thank you again and we look forward to seeing you soon.

Adam Silverberg

Gentle Pain Release

Mein Kampf - Amazon Review

 This is an apology of sorts. I would do nothing to support what I assume to be a manifesto of hate as written by the most vicious of creatures identified as human. I purchased the book because the proceeds go to support Jewish organizations and I am reading it on the heels of watching The Holocaust by Ken Burns. Once I finish the book I may return to this review to add any final thoughts but now I will begin reading the thoughts and words of a madman.

 The New Colossus

BY EMMA LAZARUS

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she

With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46550/the-new-colossus

Lazarus was one of the first successful and highly visible Jewish American authors. She advocated for Jewish refugees and argued for the creation of a Jewish homeland before the concept of Zionism was in wide circulation. After the publication of Songs of a Semite, she traveled to England and France and met and befriended poets and writers such as Robert Browning and William Morris. After her return to the United States, she was commissioned to write a poem to help raise funds for the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. She initially declined and then wrote a sonnet commemorating the plight of immigrants. Lines from that 1883 sonnet, “The New Colossus,” were engraved on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty in 1903.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/emma-lazarus

Why hate?

Revenge can gratify for a short time only, but it never can satisfy for revenge is an agent of hatred, and the nature of hatred is to first destroy the hated one and then destroy the hater.

 I’m watching the Ken Burns documentary, Holocaust. A slow arduous journey through black and white films and the steadfast methodical narration of Peter Coyote. It’s very hard to watch and yet I feel I have a duty, a responsibility to at least look at what hate has done in this world and be aware of what hate can do and possibly is doing to our world. Hate. Hate is stronger than love. Love is shared and cherished by people who are lucky enough to find it. Love is needed by everyone but only given to those who earn it. The Selfish Gene addresses that fact wherein Richard Dawkins asserts that caring for or loving another person is confined to only the genetic bonds of mother and child. All other altruism is a receding bond from that point outward and all other social bonds are inherently self serving. He applies the word selfish as a term we can understand but points out that the gene has no feelings and makes no commitment or denial. The gene, on a cellular level, seeks only to survive and replicate. Is it this genetic imperative the foundation of hate? Does the mother loves the child, needs the father, needs the community for sustenance  lead to a fear of outsiders, xenophobia and hate. Is the cry of You will not replace us, somehow mapped into our genetic quest for self preservation? I think not, I hope not, I pray not but as I watch this I am faced with the reality that the Statue of Liberty and the republic for which it stands was not the loving and heroic nation of the highest ideals that I have always believed we were. Sadly xenophobia and antisemitism are very much a part of our history and continue into this day. It is so wrong, so un Christian, so anti christ and his teachings and yet the Christian churches past and present have turned their backs on their own savior,

By raising this question, Why Hate, and even by exploring a possible genetic link, I am in no way justifying, rationalizing, excusing or accepting hatred as acceptable. I am just mystified by it's existence and persistence in human history. I thought we confronted so many of these issues in the 60’s. The peace movement was more than a protest against the war in Viet Nam, it was a protest against inhumanity. In those peace demonstrations there was advocacy for human rights, for woman’s rights, for gay rights and racial rights. It was a generation of flower power, music advocating peace, love and harmony. I was never a full blown hippy. No drugs, no shoulder length hair, no rock throwing or calling policemen pigs… I was never a Jesus freak but I did believe in those things I thought to be the highest ideals of Christian love; blessed are the poor, the meek, the least of these. Love thy neighbor as thyself and The Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I taught that golden rule as a social worker and I try to live by it. Far from perfect but a worthy cause. I only wish, hope and pray that our world, our country would heed those teachings now. Jesus said, I am the truth, the light and the way. The Roman’s crucified him, the Nazis killed 6 million more and Kanye West went into some racist rant on twitter. Thankfully that was taken down but sadly antisemitism is alive and well in America today. I don’t know when I’ll be called to speak out against it. I only hope, when called upon that I do.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-american-jews-loyalty-israel_n_634c0de5e4b03e8038d51778

 John and I are on a beer quest or brewery quest? We are on a mission to go to all the local breweries and test all their beers or test a beer at each of the breweries. Based on that quest I think that it’s the least I can do to learn some of the basics of beer so at least I have some idea about what I’m tasting and what to ask for. Currently my favorite is the Hazy IPA. It has a fairly mild and yet slightly sour citrus taste. It is a pale yellow with a slightly milky or hazy look to it. For each of the next beer types I will look them up and paste the information or definition here to review. So first up is IPA.

IPA - So what is IPA? The initials stand for India pale ale. It was the answer to the problem of providing beer for the British Empire in the east. It was too hot to brew in India, so what was needed was a beer that could survive the gruelling six-month journey from Britain intact. In the 1780s, a London brewer called Hodgson answered the call by sending out a strong, heavily hopped beer called October ale that would normally be aged like wine before drinking. The beer not only survived the journey, but was found to have improved immeasurably. This was the prototype IPA; the beer gradually became paler and more refreshing to suit the Indian climate. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jan/30/brief-history-of-ipa-india-pale-ale-empire-drinks

Lager beer - 

https://www.thespruceeats.com/definition-of-lager-353244

Lager is the most common type of beer in the world. The bottom-fermented techniques used to brew it result in a crisp, refreshing beer, though it's a surprisingly diverse group. Lagers include many of America's famous beers, including Budweiser, Busch Lite, Coors, Miller Genuine Draft, and PBR. The style goes far beyond those big names and includes all of the great Bavarian pilsners, as well as bocks, dunkels, and Oktoberfest. Generally, the characteristics of a lager include a light, crisp taste that is mellow and smooth. They also tend to have more carbonation than ales and are less bitter. Some, however, are quite different. Bocks have a great barley flavor and can range from amber to dark brown in color and Oktoberfest and dunkels are known for their malty flavors.

Pilsner 

Pilsner is the pale beer that defines the essence of a lager. Czech pilsners are golden and full-bodied, a result of floor-malted barley. German pilsners use delicate and spicy hops, producing a thin, light color that tastes "cleaner." Allpilsners are noted for their refreshing crispness, low-range alcohol content, and delicate bitterness.

What’s Is an Ale? 

Ales are brewed using yeast that tends to flocculate or gather toward the top of the fermentation tank during the brewing process. This is the primary difference between an ale and a lager because lagers use a bottom-fermenting yeast that produces that crisper flavor in the final brew.

Sierra Nevada Brewery Google Review

 Sometimes the Biggest is the Best and that’s the case with Sierra Nevada. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. was established in 1979 by homebrewers Ken Grossman and Paul Camusi in Chico, California, United States.

The Mills River facility opened in 2015. Since then I’ve been at least a dozen times, taken the tour, brought family and friends and pretty sure accompanied by my dog on occasion. The point being, it’s got something for Everyone! Craft Breweries have grown from very few and far between to everybody’s got one. Yet, even with that proliferation, there are those that stand head and shoulders above the rest.

Hope Griffin

 Hello Hope, 

My wife Tess and I with our friends were there for your performance the other night at Jumpoff Rock. The place was jammed as you continue to draw large and enthusiastic crowds. We’ve actually gone to see you several times in several venues over the past few years and we thrilled and amazed every single time. I started a blog when we first moved to Hendersonville as a way to get to know the area and record the fun places and times we’ve had. This post is when we saw you at Mills River Brewery http://1thousandreasons2lovehendersonvillenc.blogspot.com/2022/05/hope-griffin.html when you were nice enough to talk with us and shared that you were originally from Alaska and the other night at Jumpoff Rock http://1thousandreasons2lovehendersonvillenc.blogspot.com/2022/10/jumpoff-night-to-remember.html

The talents that you and your group bring to our area are truly remarkable and truly on the level of those known on the national stage. When you sing, you communicate the song, create a sincere connection with your audience with a bond that keeps us coming back. Keep on doing what you do and remember us when you’re filling stadium seats in the future.

Much luck and happiness,

Pete and Tess

https://www.hopegriffinmusic.com/?page_id=24#comment-6570

Jumpoff Rock - A Night to Remember

 We met John and Karel at the top of the rock via their invitation. Were it not for them we would have been content to stay at home. A year or two ago I would think about riding my bike up to the event but now I have to think about how to just get our cooler and chairs across the lawn. Tonight I was able to do so with a Little Help from our friends. Once there and seated, Hope Griffin

More Hope

and her ensemble group, guitarist Eric Condon, violinist Paul McIntire and Zack Page on bass, played their strings off and created a mini Woodstock for those of us willing and able to remember the original.

J&K had a bottle of red while Tess and I, a bottle of white. The cool of the mountain air warmed our hearts in the glow of the setting sun. During the height of the event I leaned over to John and said “number nine hundred and ninety nine”. 999 what?, John queried…

Nine hundred and ninety nine of the

One Thousands Reasons to Love Hendersonville 🥳

 

Pisgah Inn

The Blue Ridge Parkway and the Pisgah Inn are probably the biggest attraction of our area. I remember when we were first moving here that I was determined to drive to the parkway just to prove to myself how close we are. I don’t think I made it that day because it was late and Tess didn’t feel well but I have now been probably at least 100 times. With friends, Carolyn and Robert Hopper, Skip and Kim, riding bikes with Bryan and Mary, hiking here with Chip,  bringing Linda and Fred here when they visit, Lauren and Sam and many times with just Tess and I and Dolce and now Zeke. So Tess and I are heading out here today to have a little something to eat and drink and just enjoy the views. I’m going to look the map and see if we should come straight up 276 or maybe go out 191 to one of the overlook areas,

The interactive map is helpful.

Mile Markers Guide

 

  The future; something that no one can predict and yet Everyone does. How is that and more importantly Why? Maybe every living organism has some innate trigger to protect themselves from pending danger. We have noticed that even the pesky fly seems to anticipate and successfully avoid the swat. So maybe as organisms become more complex their instinct to anticipate and in our case predict the future is simply an organic component of being alive. 

What Are Stock Futures? 

Futures are derivative financial contracts that obligate parties to buy or sell an asset at a predetermined future date and price. The buyer must purchase or the seller must sell the underlying asset at the set price, regardless of the current market price at the expiration date.

People are not satisfied to buy and sell in the present they go to great lengths to make a wager on what they predict the value will be in the future. It seems crazy but so intrinsic to our nature that we have built it into our economic system. If we think it’s going to rain, let alone snow, we stock up at the grocery store because we think that the future is a greater rIsk. We recently ran out of toilet paper because we were scared shirtless that w wouldn’t be able to get any during the COVID pandemic. Ironically thousands of people refused to get vaccinated or even wear a mask to avoid getting sick so millions of people did and a million people died. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

Despite this reality, millions of people remain in denial. Not just, well I don’t know, I’m not sure… adamant, angry and defiant denial. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S104620232100075X

Rivian - RJ Scaringe

  I’m So Excited about this Car and this Company and this Guy!!! Go RJ! make this Dream a Reality! If at all possible put this skateboard in everyone’s driveway by making it affordable to the average family like the RAV4 and the CRV 😀

https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/RIVN/

https://rivian.com/connect/tell-us-more https://rivian.com/connect/tell-us-more

 What is it that I want more than anything else in the world? Exhaustion. That’s the only way that I think that I can just Stop Thinking. My mind never stops thinking. It’s not clever or profound. It’s not horrible or fearful or painful. It’s just thinking. Thinking words. Words that just keep coming. Words that are little bits of thoughts that string together that bring on more words or ideas or memories or fantasies. Remembering things that happened things I said. Things I should have said. Things I will say in the future. Words words words words. Some people capture feelings with their words. They write songs that bring out feelings in other people. This is a huge gift. Being able to feel. Which all of us do. But using words to make other people feel. That is the gift. That is the talent or.. that is the work product. If it is a work product then I should be able to do it by working. By working hard enough or long enough. Take these words these feelings and make tem count for something. Give myself an imagery for escape or expose that others can say yes I feel that way too. Or that makes me happy or that makes me sad. This is why I love the writer because they feel but they make oghers feel too. Good night. I’m feeling exhausted.

I woke up feeling optimistic

 Sunday October 3

For some reason I woke up feeling kind of optimistic this morning. It’s 439 now and I’ve had 2 cups of coffee, a piece of pound cake and I’m watching documentaries on the history channel , the cars that built the world. Each of these stories in Food, Games, planes, and cars are about the collaboration and competition that created the things that have become household names. Kelloggs, Parker Brothers Milton Bradley, Boeing, Benz - Mercedes Benz and Rolls & Royce. All people with a driving force of ambition. These are the guys that came before Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos. These guys are hated by some but these are the people who gave us and continue to improve upon the modern world. Competition and collaboration, two dynamic forces that shape human relationships and destiny. Lennon and McCartney collaboration that made beautiful music. Jobs and Gates, competition that gave us the PC and the iPhone. Competition, the force that compels a person to work harder than the other to achieve more than the other to push themselves beyond their own limits and collaboration. Collaboration is that feature in human nature that recognizes its limits in one and its potential in working together. Every collaboration has its own intrinsic competition but stays within the bonds and boundaries of love, respect and trust.

God I just looked up and saw a picture of Nolan with a new haircut at age 9. He is a Young Man! Our generation has been lived. We enjoyed many things of the modern world. We’ve also made a mess of things with science deniers and white supremacy. Ironically there is a certain supremely demonstrated by or in the names I listed above. Yes it is true that white people and among them a significant number of Jews from Einstein to Seinfeld, have made the world a better place but they do it by working hard and applying their genius, not their hate. Anyway I am feeling a burst of energy and optimism and feeling like my contribution or participation anyway in by our ability to invest. I invested the 100k which has grown to 800k but has stumbled this year back to 600k but these are good, solid, great companies. I believe in the essential good nature of people and Americans and that our democracy and our capitalism and the freedom of the individual to survive and thrive through honest work will survive this dark age of Trumpism.

The intense pain I’ve been subject too for the past 3 months has been cured or fixed by the technical skills of my surgeon and the combined technology of modern medicine. Without that I would be dead. I was embracing death when dealing with this pain. I could understand why pain relief would be the number one priority I’d medicines. I can understand drug addiction to pain meds but I didn’t go there. This morning I feel optimistic. That’s the reason for my note. I’ll take another long walk today, watch a football game, love my wife and my friends and my dog and nature and count my blessings. I am rich. People are suffering. People are dying. People are cruel to people and hateful and ignorant But people are good and inventive and smart. Some people are very very lucky and that would be me. I have made a life habit of putting myself down. I don’t want to do that here. I have been blessed so at this stage in my life it’s time to count them. My dad once told me that being self conscious or putting yourself down is selfish. I’m starting to get that. One thing I’ve been learning is that the people you think that they have it made because of good looks or being tall or being rich or being famous. It’s doesn’t really add up that way. Everybody has their own set of challenges, their own insecurities and their own problems. I read somewhere recently, single people have single problems, married people have married problems. So true. When my best friends Dave and Alice were married I thought they have it made. When Tess and I were married I thought we had it made. Both are true. My marriage has been the most fulfilling and rewarding part of my life But… no, I don’t have it made it just changes my perspective and my sense of responsibility. Instead or worrying about will I meet someone I worry about can I take care of someone. It’s the worry that is the problem. Worry is ok if it motivates you to do something to make things better. Tess and I have made things better. We had our work, our family, we have our home and we have each other. It’s time to count our blessings and put worry aside. As I started this note, this morning I am happy. This morning I am optimistic!