Fathers Day

It is interesting to think about Fathers Day and the impact our Fathers have had on us. My Father passed away many years ago, and I am not adept at telling stories like my wife. You can read her posts about her Father at Chisamba.

My Father was a very quiet man, he lead a dynamic and violent life prior to joining the US Army. My dad suffered greatly in the last few years of his life. He was one of the first men to be officially diagnosed with breast cancer, and eventually the cancer had spread through out his body. It was not pleasant, but he persevered through out the ordeal, he wanted to live and do what he did day in and day out.

I knew little of his life in Bulgaria and what his family were like. The past few years I have had contact with the family, and still very little was said about the history of the family, etc. I did get a chance to see some photographs that I had never seen of my Father, including some of my sister and I.

As the years continue to the pass, I realize that society and people are changing. It will be a much different world when we pass then what we were born into. Changes were drastic from the 1800's to the 1900's and the same with 1900 to 2000. But just look at the last 30 years of change, it is a totally different world. You can compare it to the changes from the handwritten letters and the pony express compared to the telephone compared to the Internet, or the horse and buggy compared to the car compared to the airplane. Our world has changed and so have we as a people, neighbors, communities, towns, cities, states and a country.

when your son grows up...and you learn from him

Mikhail, my son, is taking his junior black belt test this weekend. I think this is a very honest assessment of the life of a child growing up into an adult. Just a few sentences and what we should all strive to do in our own lives, at home, at work, and even in our relationships.

Mr Moncelsi should give me my black belt because…..

I started karate because I thought Power Rangers on TV was really cool. My mom asked me if I wanted to do karate, and I said yes. We found Mr Moncelsi’s school, and I started as a white belt. I thought karate would make me tough, and I would be able to beat up the bad guys.

While I was at karate I learned other stuff.

Respect: Karate reminded me to be myself. It make me strong inside, and help me choose right from wrong. If you respect others, like my Mom and Dad, my sensei, my teachers, grandma’s and my cousins, they will love and respect me back. When people at school make fun of me, I have to remember to have self respect. I go to child study team, and they told me that they want to have power over me, by making me upset. If I truly respect myself, I can ignore them.

Self Control: Sometimes I think that I don’t deserve to be a black belt, because my buttons are easily pushed. I can get very angry. Especially when people tease me. They say shhhhh to me all the time, even when I am not talking, just because I don’t like very loud noise, like in the cafeteria. Karate reminds me to control my actions. To be a black belt, I do not have to be perfect; I have to always be my best at self control.

Courage: Courage is one of the reasons I came back to Karate. That and because my Mom kept bugging me about it. I was afraid that I lose my self control, and hurt someone some day. Then mom helped me understand that Karate helps me work on my self discipline, my temper, my focus and my physical health. I faced my fears and came back.

Temper: When I punch the bag in karate, and kick, it helps me get the anger out that I have toward those people that bully me. Punching and kicking also help me focus and calm down. It also make me fitter, and improves my physical health.

Integrity: Before I started karate I did not know what integrity was. Integrity is when you stand up for someone, or something. I hate it when people lie to me, so I try to be honest even if it’s hard. I apologize when I am wrong, and try to forgive people when they have hurt me. Always doing my best and never giving up is what karate taught me about integrity.

Learning: I love karate. I love it when I get a new technique right, even though sometimes learning new stuff is hard and confusing. Sometimes I want to cry, but I do not have to be perfect, so I just try. I like getting stronger. I run and walk at night, I learn my form, and practice, and I try to live up to the advice my sensei gives me.

I deserve my junior black belt because I have learned these things and want to keep on learning. I want to keep on doing karate even after I get my junior black belt.

By Mikhail Georgiev

my tribute to the Obama spending spree

Please sing along to the tune by the Barenaked Ladies, "If I had a Million Dollars." The lyrics are entirely mine.

If I had your trillion dollars (If I had your trillion dollars)
I'd buy your house ( I would buy your house for you)
If I had your trillion dollars (If I had your trillion dollars)
I'd buy your furniture for your house (pay your utilities and property tax)
If I had your trillion dollars (If I had your trillion dollars)
I'd buy you Chrysler ( already bought you GM automobiles)
If I had your trillion dollars, I'd buy your vote

If I had your trillion dollars
I'd build a plenty of new roads
If I had your trillion dollars
You could help cause we’ll pay 75 grand
If I had your trillion dollars
Maybe we could raises taxes on the rich
Wouldn't that be fabulous!

If I had your trillion dollars (If I had your trillion dollars)
I buy you health insurance ( but not real medical that would be to expensive)
If I had your trillion dollars (If I had your trillion dollars)
I'd get China more US bonds (interest like 3 or 4 percent)
If I had your trillion dollars (If I had your trillion dollars)
I'd promise you no new taxes (All them crazy election promises)
If I had your trillion dollars I'd buy your vote

If I had your trillion dollars
We wouldn't have to pay at the store
If I had your trillion dollars
We'd take a limousine cause I have plenty more
If I had your trillion dollars I wouldn’t have to eat Kraft dinner

If I had your trillion dollars (If I had your trillion dollars)
I'd give your bank some green ( but not help you that's cruel)
If I had your trillion dollars (If I had your trillion dollars)
I'd give more international loans ( N. Korea or Cuba)
If I had your trillion dollars (If I had your trillion dollars)
I'd buy our way out of this recession (haven't you always wanted higher interest rates?)
If I had your trillion dollars If I had your trillion dollars If I had your trillion dollars
If I had your trillion dollars The FED be RICH!

The US Auto Manufacturers

Do we cry for GM and Chrysler?  I think not.  During the recent sales boom of cars these manufacturers never learned their lesson.  They didn't invest in the automobile, they ignored the people so they could make trucks.  This allowed Honda, Toyota, Hyundai and BMW to make significant headway into the US market, more so it allowed these car makers to build factories and build a work force.

What did GM, Chrysler and Ford do wrong- they avoided making cars that we wanted to drive.  The Taurus was the only success and that was due to the leasing market.  It wasn't a reliable, well built and enduring vehicle.  We failed to continue to support the consumer that supported the Mustang which had millions in sales.  Design and quality eluded the US car makers in the mid 70-s to the present.

The other problem is money management.  None of these companies should have had a cash flow problem like they have presently.  It is a lack of budgeting the coincided with poor manufacturing.

Shame on them and shame on us.  Neither party has done what is right.

Pirates

It is sad that in a modern society that Captain Jack can still sail the seas in a little speed boat and a few automatic rifles.  Modern technology and lack of ingenuity are shameful.  We have satellites, we have Navies, but we let a little country torment the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.  What has happened to world's Navy's that this is a continual problem?  The unfortunate aspect of this is that many other impoverished and poorly governed countries decide that this is a fair means of making money?  

I believe the world's governments should take a position on this individually, in a colaition, or through the UN (if they ever would do something).  But to let shipping companies or merchants pay the ransom is just a pavlovian method of rewarding the pirates.  

This is just insane.

War Funding

I am totally amazed that our country and president have to keep presenting a war budget.  What is the problem?  We know we are at war and will be at war, so what is the problem, can't we pass a fiscal budget that includes war funding?

We then have Congress complain about it.  Whatever happened to war bonds?  Our Congress has ignored the American people and the spirit that made this country great.

Our President and Congress need to get in tune and understand budgeting.  Budgeting that is totally another story.