REGURGITATIONS

                 I was raised in a dysfunctional home.   Maybe, all of us were to some degree.   My home was filled with tension, harsh words, anger, threats, fear and physical punishment.   I felt perpetually unwelcome.   I would often lose myself in dreams of a better place.   A friendly, welcoming place where words produced laughter not pain.   To this end, I never missed a rerun of the Andy Griffith show during my childhood years.   Mayberry became my happy place.   Mayberry represented family and a better existence, a better America.   Baseball, apple pie and Chevrolet.   A cold coke on the porch as the autumn breeze brought another pleasant day to an end.   Maybe Uncle Andy would break out the guitar and we would sing a few tunes. No matter the events of the day it would end with a kiss on the forehead as Andy turned the bedside lamp out.   The town w...

      I am tired of the all or nothing people.... they are such a large part of the problem.... these people cannot be reasoned with.... it is as if they have detached so far from reality they cannot see that which is directly in front of them.... they are a hindrance to society and it's evolution. They are the people that believe all Christians are good, all soldiers are heroes, all policemen are respectable and America is infallible. These people believe the American dream is real despite the fact they are poorly educated and mired in poverty. They believe freedom is owning a gun while married to a person they despise but don't leave. They believe America supports the soldiers while complaining about the VA healthcare system which is run and underfunded by Americans. They believe soldiers give us our freedom while carrying a pocket constitution which originally outlined said freedoms. They are too blinded by their faith in a system that ...

     My 50+ years on this earth I've had many extraordinary experiences.  I've have taken advantage of everything America had to offer.  Early on, at the age of nineteen, I learned my first adult lessons about participation in the American way of life.  Regrettably, I learned sometimes America is not what it is portrayed to be.  I learned the American Dream is not necessarily the goal we chase but the way we retell the story of America.  Revisionist history is often the American Dream.  We long for the good old days, not when America was necessarily great but when we were young enough not to know any better.  Don't misunderstand me.  America has done some great things.  Technology and War are two of our greatest things.  But when you take a closer look at the "Greatness" of America you will find it was never great for all, and rarely great for most.      I am astonished how many Americans can pr...