Sunday, February 20, 2022

The Rainbow Bridge

 There are a lot of things that really annoy me these days. Is it because I'm getting older? Maybe. Anyway, a lot of people, when their beloved pet dies, post that their beloved pet has gone over the Rainbow Bridge. This is because of a sweet poem written by Paul C. Daum*. There are actually two versions. One is more of a poem than the other. Both describe a beautiful place where pets go when they die, a place where they wait for their owners to meet them, and then they cross the Rainbow Bridge together. They cross together. How lovely, and wonderful if it were true.

What annoys me is that, as long as this/these poem(s) has/have been around, you'll still find the majority of people posting, "My [pet] has crossed the Rainbow Bridge."

Can you see why that annoys me? You don't have to look too hard. The poem says the pet goes to the Rainbow Bridge to wait and cross with its owner. So when a pet dies, you don't say it has crossed the Rainbow Bridge. You say it has gone to the Rainbow Bridge.

To me it's not only marginally illiterate to misstate the poem, but it's damned disrespectful, too. I have, in the past, tried to educate by correcting these people, only to be insulted. And that annoys me, too. They insult me because they are wrong. So now I just let it go. Let them be the illiterate buttheads that they are showing themselves to be.

Here, read for yourself. I'll post both versions.


Here's a link to the Wikipedia page so you can read all about it.

Now, I want you never, ever, ever to post that your beloved pet has crossed the rainbow bridge, unless you can post it after you die, from the great beyond.

*many people believe the actual author to be unknown; me, I have no idea.

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Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Is It Okay to Post Memes?

 I'm very liberal. VERY liberal. I've stepped away from Facebook for a while. It was bringing me down. But I still go look now and then. Today I saw a meme that I can relate to. Here it is:


This was the problem (and still is, sadly) with that guy who was our president for four years - the one before Biden. It wasn't/isn't a difference of opinion our citizens were having. It was a difference in morality.

Friday, February 11, 2022

Why Didn't Anyone Tell Me? ☹️

 One of my favorite shows on TV right now is The Curse of Oak Island. If you've never seen it, it involves two brothers, Rick and Marty Lagina, and a few friends searching for treasure on Oak Island in Nova Scotia. Here's what you'll see if you google it: 

Oak Island is a tree-covered island on the south shore of Nova Scotia that has intrigued treasure hunters for more than 200 years. It is believed that the island is hiding one of the greatest treasures of all time, but no one has been able to find it. Enter Rick and Marty Lagina, brothers from Michigan who have bought the rights to much of the island to try to solve the mystery. The two use modern technology and good old American know-how to look for the treasure. But it won't be easy as the search is expensive and dangerous -- several people have died trying to strike it rich on Oak Island, inspiring the titular curse. The Laginas hope to avoid the curse long enough to find the treasure before they run out of money... or worse.

Or worse? I guess they're talking about "the curse," which, if you're a big fan and have followed the show since the first season, you suspect doesn't exist and, in fact, is something made up by the press to make the whole thing sound more interesting.

I've followed for the treasure, sure, but I got very interested in the history; namely, the idea that people have been to the area long before Columbus "discovered" America, and many of those people were Templars (or Knights Templar). I read Zina Halpern's book with gusto.

Anyway, the reason for this post is that Rick Lagina, my soul mate (he doesn't know that yet), and his brother Marty, were actually here in central Texas for another show, Beyond Oak Island, in a vague search for something known as the Lost San Saba Mine, which is a Spanish mine that was very productive but had to be hidden when the Spaniards were attacked by local native Americans.

This is Rick Lagina.
 

I want to know why no one told me that Rick was going to be so close. I'm furious. I could have gone to meet him, taken numerous selfies, and we could have started our long and happy life together. But now I'm stuck here in central Texas alone. Well, I have my dogs, which is a very close second to Rick. (Actually Rick is a close second to my dogs.)

If anyone of you ever finds out in advance that Rick will be in central Texas again, you must tell me.

Thursday, February 10, 2022

WHERE THE HELL HAVE I BEEN??!!!!

Sleeping a lot. A LOT. Depression. Chronic Fatigue. Both suck and together they are debilitating.

I saw a cartoon today that made me think of something that happened to me at one of my overseas assignments. Here's the cartoon.

I was first stationed in Germany from 1973 to 1976. I was actually at three different places during that short period. At the middle one - a small site near what was the East/West German border - we shared the site with a small contingency of British soldiers, some of whom were accompanied by their wives. 

There were no barracks so all the American soldiers lived "on the economy," which means we lived in German houses and apartments that we rented. When I moved into my little house, I decided to throw a party. I invited everyone - Americans and Brits. I don't remember much about the party - whether I did a good job as host. I want to say that I didn't. (I don't remember food or music, but I remember booze.) But I do remember that a large number of the Brits came and some brought their wives. There was one American. The party lasted a few hours and then everyone went home. In my opinion, it was a great, fun party. I got the impression that the people who attended had a good time, as well.

The next Monday at work, one of my American compatriots asked, in sort of a weird, snide way, how my party had gone. I answered honestly, that it had gone GREAT! That we had a lot of fun. I think I immediately realized that he thought his question was going to hurt me. I realized he knew that almost no Americans showed up, and I think that was the plan. I honestly believe, now, that the American soldiers had decided to not show up hoping that my party would be a huge failure. I'm glad that I was able to respond the way I did. Hopefully I disappointed him (and the others) more than they disappointed me. Those people were bullies, weren't they? Yes. Yes they were.