May 3, 2026

CLOUDED VISION

I was speaking with someone about the shutting down of the Spirit Airlines. Wouldn’t you know it, the first thing out of their mouth was that is was Trump’s fault.
Now I don’t subscribe to everything that the Bad Orange Man does or says, but if you have TDS, there isn’t anything that can’t be blamed on him. I think it is a little strange that the color of Trump’s hair is no longer any shade of orange but he was given that name and for some, it will be forever.
There has to be someone, somewhere who has not heard the name given to Trump by an angry Democrat because one of his/her programs was shown as worthless and stopped by an Executive Order. So, it will be interesting to hear the explanation about who the orange man is who does not have orange hair. I do know it will be a problem as the left is used to only speaking in talking points and has no idea how to answer a follow-up question.
My first question about Trump and his killing Spirit Airlines was how did he do it? The answer was that the newscaster said he caused it because he did not sign some bill that was going to bail out Spirit Airlines.
Are we now in the business of bailing out every private business that is in trouble that was caused by their own business practices? I think not and I guess the President thinks the same way. Spirit Airlines has been in financial trouble for years. I have not seen their books but there must be a lot of red in a lot of catagories.
I wonder how many of you remembered without being prompted that Spirit and Blue Sky were going to merge a few years ago? Guess who stopped it? One of the big players was the man who tool maternity leave when his husband and he adopted twins, the pothole mayor, Pete Buttidge. Another was Senator Warren. There were other household names, all of which are on the left side of the aisle.
If the merger had of taken place, it is probable that even though it would not be called Spirit Airlines any longer, there is a good chance the 14,000 unemployed former Spirit Airlines employees would still be employed. Yet this is another chance to add to the long list of things that Trump has ruined, messed iup or destroyed.
I read two articles about the latest dustup between Newsome and Rogan. One was very energetic about Rogan coming out as the victor, while the other one worked very hard to work around the claims Rogan made, even going so far as to say neither side used any facts, which Rogan did raise issues without specific facts, (which every Californian knows), to make the claim neither side won the battle of words.
I don’t know if the newscaster has TDS or not. My guess is he/she is reading what the manager wrote for the telepromter, which definitely has TDS. I know what ever was actually written was manipulated to come out with the end result being Trump caused whatever is being discussed, unless it was a feel good story, which passed muster.
So the clouded vision starts at the teleprompter, goes through the newscater to the public, who believes everything said on the MSM news is Gospel, and without doubt 100% true. I have learned, there is no arguing with a teleprompter that has TDS.

MAY 19, 2026

MY LITTLE GUY

It is the day after Joshua went to sleep for the last time. I didn’t know I had this many tears in me. I will have to drink a case of water to get the reservoir back to even being half way full. Ali will take three cases just to move the needle off empty.
It is hard to write this without the waterfall starting at every word. I have to take my glasses off after each word I type to dry my eyes. It is hard to write when you eyes are filled with standing water, it is really blurry.
Ali and I went for a walk last night about 11:30, which was a little before Joshua and I would take our early morning walk and a little after his late evening walk. We covered the route in record time because the little guy was not there to stop at every one of his bushes to check out the new smells.
I did not want to acknowledge out loud the difficulty I saw Joshua having with his deposits but I saw them and tried to make it as easy for him as I could. I had to hold the leash so he could push his deposit out onto the ground. His back legs would not always hold him up. There was more than once when he thought he was going to give it up and nothing happened. Then he would move forward in a hunched up position and either try again or straighten out and move on to his next stop.
When we went to the vet yesterday with Joshua, I knew in the back of my mind that this was not going to a trip where we were going to get great news. Mind you, I am not a Pessimist or a Doom and Gloom guy. But the signs were there, and I was asking myself the question, “Am I keeping Joshua around for my selfish reasons, in spite of the difficulty he is experiencing while trying to please me?”
When we got Joshua, he was a puppy. I worked on getting him what they call, “housebroken”, by taking him out to do his business, it seemed like every 15 minutes. We would walk over to the gate on the Southwest corner of Elrovia, without a leash, and he got the idea that the outdoors was were he went to the bathroom. I taught him to respond when I slapped my leg and he remembered that command up to the end.
I believe Joshua only went to the bathroom in the house a couple of times and that was when he had diarrhea and it was a mess. Even when we would get home late at night from Ali’s volleyball games, Joshua had waited for me to take him out, He knew the first thing I did was put that leash on and off we would go. And we went around the block on more than one occasion.
Joshua went with me on some runs early in his career as a marathoner. He got up to 7 miles on one occasion. He probably did it on more than once occasion, but I was always bragging about that trip and didn’t keep track of other trips. I did learn that time was not to be the focus of our trips, or distance. The goal was to let Joshua enjoy all the new smells he found on each bush and blade of grass.
When we started going on a regular basis to cover some of the streets on my map, we were doing a couple of miles each morning. Joshua helped me do a great portion of Monrovia, Arcadia, Duarte, Temple City, and a few other cities, even as far away as Pasadena. We encountered a number of coyotes and Peacocks. Joshua disliked the Peacocks, even though they never got closer than the other side of the street. If he saw some down the street, he would go the other way. That was another sign I blocked out, Joshua stopped going on the walks with me
I have been carrying Joshua up and down the stairs for a couple of years now. I didn’t realize how long it had been until I asked when it was I started sleeping in the chair downstairs. Joahua used to sleep in Ali’s room at night. Then he started getting restless at night and waking Ali up. She was going to work at 4 in the morning and having a hard time being awakened in the middle of her sleep cycle.
I think this is how the events transpired as I started sleeping in the chair downstairs with Joshua sleeping in his bed by the couch. Then Ali went on the afternoon shift and then back to the morning shift. I don’t remember all the nitty and gritty details, but somehow I managed to start making sure Joshua was comfortable in the nighttime and stayed in the chair, according to Shayna and Ali, since around late 2023 or early 2024. Time sure flies when you are hiving fun. I never would have made the claim I had been sleeping in the chair that long and would have given odds it was not that long.
Joshua became needy in his own way. He did not like to be alone. If I went upstairs or downstairs without him, and stayed too long, some whining would start, and the exuberance demonstrated when I returned to area I left was overwhelming. I started trying to make sure Joshua was not left alone, along with the help of Dorothy and Ali. I only now realize how much my life revolved around the little guy. And here comes the waterworks again!
I had plans on going out to run and waited until it was too late to go because of the look. Joshua could read the signs better than me, He knew when I was putting on my shoes, I was attempting to walk out the door without him. And if I was unable to get the keys off the hook without him seeing me, he would start staring in the opposite direction I was standing and wait to see if I would take notice and stay instead of opening the door. It worked, more than once, I put the keys back on the hook.
There were times I had no choice but to take the look, ask Joshua to be a good boy and walk out the door, e.g., the dentist appointment or VA appointment had to be honored. But the personal gratification trips were at a minimum these past few years. I will confess, the first time I came home and heard the whining from 4838 Elrovia Ave., #B, had a lot to do with the inability to leave the little guy alone.
During the times we went on our long walks together, Joshua would stop when he wanted a break. I would pick him up and carry him for a period, (maybe a block or a quarter of a mile), and then he would start wiggling and be ready to get back to his business of checking the upcoming bush out.
Our daily walks, which also became more frequent these past few years, also became a little shorter over time. Whereas we at least went around the block and sometimes further each time, our route became around the townhouse compound instead of around the block, We still would go out on Elrovia each morning and sometimes on the later runs, but the desire to be carried started being more prevalent. And what was even more telling was the wiggling to get down did not happen at all, We would make it back to the house and Joshua was content to stay in my arms, even into the house if I could manage it.
Was I blind to what was happening? In some respects, I am guilty. Joshua brought such great joy into my daily existence that as I look back, I see how much he loved life and those around him and I wanted it to continue forever. When we went to the vet’s yesterday, I took him over to the grass so he could clear his bladder before we went inside. Joshua was excited to check out the new smell and was ready to start a trip around the parking lot to find more new smells.
Then we got the news from the testing that he was in stage 3 of 4 of kidney failure, had tumors in his lungs, had lost weight, and even though he did not appear to be in any pain, was not eating and at 15 years old, seemed to be entering the very last period of his life. We could take him home, try to keep him comfortable until his system stops working or do the humane thing and put him to sleep. The vet said he could have hours or weeks but the unavoidable was going to happen soon. You would think the waterworks are over by now but here they come again.
I love you Joshua and miss you.

MAY 21, 2026

JOSHUA WAS NOT “JUST” A DOG

            It has now been 3 days since Joshua went to sleep for the last time.  I will admit there are tears in my eyes as I write this.  I will admit tears come without any warning.  I tried at first to be that big tough guy on Monay, but the façade crumbled like a sand castle melts when the tide rolls in during a level 4 hurricane.  The first real act I did after leaving the vet and seeing that sand castle be leveled, was to buy stock in Kleenex.  I wanted to make sure I tool advantage of the increase in sales that was coming. I may have to make a run to the store because my case is almost empty.

            While Ali and I were out running this morning, more like walking at a crawl pace, we say a dog that must have been living on the street,  A homeless dog, what is the world coming to?  Anyway, I saw it on a street the first time which was about 2 streets over the second time,  The coat of hair should have been white but it was a dirty white.  Ali saw it that second time I saw it as she was waiting for me in the car while I did a long street.  We had done the streets going North and South so she let me out and waited while I covered the street so I didn’t have to go back on the long street.  Probably too much information or maybe even confusing information, but that is what was happening.

So there is this dog that obviously needs a home.  Unfortunately for that dog, it was just a dog to us at that moment.  A short tug on the heart string but not hard enough to break the string.  So, off we went on our way home.

I walked into the house and missed the greeting I was used to receiving when I arrived hoe.  This greeting happened whether I was gone for hours or only went to Sam’s for gas and came right home.  Not only was I greeted in this manner, so was Ali, Dorothy, Shayna, and a number of others who entered the door of our home. 

Joshua loved people.  When he and I were out walking the streets, he was always ready for me to stop and speak with someone.  When he and I made his daily runs for his deposits, except for the few families that live in the Townhome complex who obviously disliked animals, everyone knew Josh and would talk to him like he was their best friend.  Jim takes Dexter out for his daily walks and he always makes a bee line for me when he sees me.  He will sit at my feet while Jim and I converse, but he is there for the back rub, not the conversation.

Josh gets close to the visitors, makes eye contact with them, and makes sure they know he is listening to what they are saying.  He may even nod in agreement at times.

I think I may have acknowledged previously I did not realize how much of my life was wrapped around Joshua.  I am ashamed to seem to remember that at one point in my travels with Josh I wondered what I would do with all the new found time I would discover if I was not walking each morning and night with him.  I wasn’t desirous of gaining the time, I was just musing about a free morning or night.  I am finding out first hand what it is like and I hate it. U always thought Josh would outlive me and was concerned about who would take him out on a regular basis like I did.  I wish he was here now so I could take him out for a walk.

Josh was a companion, a partner, a friend, and in a strange sort of way, a son.  We had a lot of understandings between us.  When he needed to go out, he told me.  When I got the keys and called him out through the garage door, he knew he was going for a ride.  When I got the keys without getting his belt and leash, he knew I was going out without him.  When we were out covering the streets, he would stop when he was tired and expected me to pick him up, carry him for a small period of time until he started wiggling to get down.  I started using the word, “wait”, and Josh would usually stop if I said it stern enough.  I would slap the pants leg and he would turn around and come back.  Josh stopped at the dumpsters and waited for me to take the leash off for the last 50 yards to the house.  Josh knew he could chose the route for his run and enjoyed being in charge.

I have gone through a lot of close friends passing away or leaving my daily existence, a lot of animals passing away, losing cars and motorcycles I loved, but none of any of those people or things come close to the grief I felt and feel from losing Joshua. 

Joshua was so much more than “just” a dog!

May 26, 2026

Let’s Save America

How many of you have heard of the pamphlet titled, “Male and Female He Created Them: Homosexual Relationships Challenge the Christian Understanding of Humanity”, written in 2004? It was penned in Finland by Päivi Räsänen, who collaborated with a Lutheran Bishop, Juhana Pohjola. Räsänen and Pahjola were recently condemned by the Finland Supreme Court of writing hate speech because she wrote in the pamphlet that homosexuality could be considered a “negative developmental disorder.”
I did not do the research on the Court system in Finland and do not know when the case was filed, but this is over 20 years from when the pamphlet was published that they were convicted. They have appealed to the European Court of Human Rights on the basis of free speech. I am not sure at the moment how long that procedure will take or how to follow the case as I sit here on my tukas writing this.
What is even more interesting to me to discover is, what is the penalty for such a condemnation? I will not dig much further but there are so many rabbit holes to duck into that I must work hard to remain on firm terra firma. But, are we ahead of them or behind them in making free speech into hate speech in the United States?
I wrote about the SPLC long ago and made a big deal about it during the extended flu season when I wrote the daily exhortations. They were a major contributing factor in moving the needle from free speech to hate speech on many subjects in the United States decades ago. They mastered the ability to add an “ist” to every descriptive word in Merriam Webster. Daniel cried out from the grave about the injustice but no one heard him but me.
I have become an outcast in my own home because I speak up about the injustices being foisted on my country by the Progressives, the Communists, the Democrats, the media, and SPLC and their ilk. If you only watch CNN, you only get one view, which is the same as the one on the daytime View.
The real difficulty is because everything is bad on the right when you live on the left, and everything is an all inclusive statement with no facts or evidence, e.g., Trump lies about everything, causing an inability to have a meaningful conversation. I looked up the list the Washington Compost used when they were counting the lies. I forget the exact number but way over 25% of them were about the number of people at the inauguation. They counted a lie every time Trump referenced that number. The rest of the lies were along the same line. But who cares when you can use a large number for your own purpose.
Porter is the perfect example, when in her interview, she refused to be asked a follow-up question about a stupid statment he said and stopped the interview. Becera basically tried to do the same thing when he started his interview by asking if this was a hit piece where he would have to answer more just using his talking point as a complete answer, (my description of how he started).
If you watched Elder debate Sharpton or anyone else, you know the difference between using facts and talking points. Larry was the first one I heard who shared the statistic about the real number of black unarmed persons killed by the police in a year, which was 11. Everyone asked in the polls thought it had to be in the thousands. And Larry went through each one, which was even more eye opening. California would be in a better position today if he had of become governor in the recall election. And even though he is black, guess who did not show up to support him on election day!
The ladies of the view literally would not support lower pharmaceutical costs, even though Mark Cuban was working with Trump to lower the costs, because Trump was going to make money on it. I don’t know if he was or not, but they accused him doing it to make money, not to really lower the costs. If you think about it, if Trump was making money on lowering the costs, wouldn’t he be making more money if he hept the prices higher?
Anyway, Mark Cuban was a really bad guy for working with Trump, even though he supported Harris in the last Presidential election. How stupid are they? The American people do not come first with them.
Americans do not come first with the Democrats, the illegals do. Americans do not come first with those affected with TDS. Americans do not come first with Sanders and Pratt, the Nazis do. Americans do not come first with Mamdani, the Muslims do. Americans do not come first with Omar, the Somalians do. The list goes on way past all the trees in the forest it would take to make enough paper to write it all down. When do the conservatives lay down the swords against the conservatives they do not fully agree with and at least kick these unAmericans out of office before they destroy America? Then we can ask the Holy Spirit to guide us and see what God has to say in His Word about how we should live in order to honor Him and glorify His Name!

MAY 28, 2026

Thoughts On The Way To Slumber Ville

I was never a person who slept on their back. In fact, I am unable to remember ever being able to go to sleep on my back, whether in a sleeping bag, on the ground, or in a bed. That is of course up to the time I started sleeping in the chair because of Joshua needing someone with him when Ali went to work.
I think I made mention of Ali going to work at 4am, Joshua slept in her room and started becoming restless about 12 or 1, waking her up , she had a hard time sleeping, and Joshua wanted company when she left, so either I changed my sleeping place or the house was going to come apart because no one was sleeping. So I started either getting Joshua went I went downstairs, or he and I would be downstairs already and spend the night down there.
I am not going to make the claim I never fell asleep in the chair over the years. If I did and you believed me, I would make sure you have the opportunity to buy some of these red bricks I have on the patio from that bridge in Brooklyn. But taking a nap is not the same as making it your final resting place for the evening.
So, I tried to make it possible for a turn on the side in the chair when it was time to finally turn off the tv and catch that 40 winks before the sun comes arrives through the window. It was not possible to make that turn happen. I found myself discovering the ability to sleep on my back in the stretched out Lazy Boy recliner, making the saying about not being able to teach an old dog new tricks go up in flames.
The Bible says: “Can the Ethiopian change his skin
Or the leopard his spots?” Jer. 13;23a NASB
But is you look at the entire verse, it says:
“Can the Ethiopian change his skin
Or the leopard his spots?
Then you also can do good
Who are accustomed to doing evil.” Jer. 13:23 NASB

The whole chapter is giving Israel what for because of their disobedience, which is a common theme, not only in the Bible, but in my life. Thankfully it is becoming less and less as the years fly by. It would be nice if the obedience happened in the larger end of my life rather than the shorter end, but at least it is happening. The good thing is I can confidentially say it is happening because I want it to and not because the span of life is becoming shorter every day for me.
When we go back to the complete verse, it does seem like Jeremiah is using a statement that is saying it is impossible to say that we also can do good when we are accustomed to doing evil. But then he goes on to claim the judgment will happen and is happening because of their wickedness.
The final exhortation in verse 27 asks how long will they continue in their wickedness. I would say that the exhortation could be made today for too many people who claim to know the Lord and deny what Scripture says about their life and how they live. The Word talks about the good fruit coming from a good garden and not from the garden of thistles.
You may be wondering how all this fits together. Well, as I was lying in the bed, first on one side and then the other, finally working around to laying on my back, I wondered if you could tell the political persuasion from how one slept. I have never heard of a study concerning such a premise. Then I started wondering about what it meant if one changed their sleeping position as to their political position. Did that change also.
If I am the example, the answer would be no. There are always exceptions to the rule, and I have qualified many times to be the one drawing the paycheck for that job. But not here, no way.
Amazing what one thinks about as they attempt to get at least one hour of sleep before the eyelids refuse to stay shut any longer as the day has started.