Defining Moments

The 19th century (1801-1900) was a period in history marked by the collapse of the Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Holy Roman and Mughal empires. This paved the way for the growing influence of the British Empire, the German Empire and the United States, spurring military conflicts but also advances in science and exploration. [ref-19th_century]

The summer of ’65
like any other day
a middle age man,
a fair-haired woman
sat among a congregation
of friends
as they watched
in disbelief
monstrosities
that were taking
place in a country
they had only known
of, through
missionaries
who would
take holiday
in their home.

1966 Delta Airlines

Via chartered Delta Airlines,
that would be making stops
in Honolulu, Seattle,
San Fransisco, Dallas,  & Miami…
with each departure
left behind
a new family
My brother and I, were
chosen that night
our
long awaited
arrival date
June 1966
our new
hometown
Orlando Florida USA

Flight Captain
with Kwai, my new brother
Captain wife
with myself, his new sister
down
the steps
onto the tarmac
a middle age man,
a fair-haired woman
received
one boy, a son
one little girl, a daughter
a family they
had become.

a year, three days
from that
fate filled night
the summer in ’65

.

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An unwanted tradition Christmas day, is upon me once again.

Christmas 1967

by Olan Mills

What has now become an unwanted tradition during the week
of Christmas is upon me once again. In addition, I think it will carry
on for a few more years, because I don’t think my parents
are getting any younger.

Winter Park Tower-Skilled care Unit, was the gathering place
for Christmas of 2006, my Grandmother held on and was very
coherent, by the following morning she passed away.

In 2007, I spent Christmas day with my stepfather who was
at ORMC one year and the following year at Conway Lakes
during the week leading up Thanksgiving of 2008.

I even jumped in to carry on this weird tradition, I went for cancer
treatment at MD Anderson Houston for the last two weeks
in December of 2008.

So this year my father holds the unwanted honor of why the family
is once again, spending Christmas at the skilled nursing unit
of Westminster of Delaney Park.

I usually try to see the good in situation thrust upon me, but I am really
over this odd Kennedy like tradition. I attribute the disdain towards
the knowing that usually the person at the center of why I am spending
Christmas in a health care unit is usually not with me to bring
in the coming New Year.

My life is their lifeline

Dad, A Bear and William Tripp – [l to r]

Caring for our elderly parents, was it a class
I overlooked in college?

– No, not even offered, but very much needed.
I was born in the winter of ’63, a “baby boomer”,
That’s me.

I am now on the verge of my fifth year assisting
an elderly group of family members, whom shall
remain nameless, yet well define, the days turn
into months, and the first year of my forties
become the last year of freedom as I defined it.

In the past four years, I have spent much time
overseeing their visits to; doctors, pharmacy,
and untimely ERs appearances.

I can only hope that I will come to appreciate
and understand the last four and a half years,
along with the onset of another new year filled
with uncertain mornings, inpatient telephone
calls and endless mundane reading in virus
fill waiting rooms, a majority, surprisingly not
designed for motorized chairs, walking canes
and square tennis ball trimmed walkers.

QTips, Waiting Rooms and Early Bird Specials

Q-Tips, Waiting Rooms and Early Bird Specials

I stop to use a pay phone, circa 1997; I glanced at the car…

– upon observing the white Lincoln Continental, with three
white-haired sisters, whom sat quietly in the back seat, I was
reminded of a box of Q-tips® , align, in a row, although
mass-produced, at glance they looked similar, but if you take
a closer look, each one has its own unique “fluffy tip”

The story of why I use the word q-tips when referencing
a generation twice my age.

A friend and I had just picked up her mother and two aunts
at the airport. I was informed of their initial destination of their
two-month vacation itinerary.  So with their safe arrival
and suitcases retrieved, we were ready to take the three
lovely women, now comfortably seated in the backseat
of my own mothers car, I was bestowed the task of driving
them to their first destination. Thinking I had what I needed…
I thought, as I drove into the darkness of night with purpose.

As the stars replaced the streetlights, highways became
a two-lane road.  [We had just passed the township sign,
population 819]. I spoke, a few simple, but very important
words,” I will need the street address”… The response
to my request was” I have it here, on this paper”.

My friend reached for the paper, which was scribe with
what I thought would offer me the instructions to their
brothers home.  The paper looked rather small to have
the usual information needed to find someone’s address,
a place I for one, had not been too, nor my friend, even though
it was her uncles winter home.

I could see, as the paper got closer, the numbers and words
came together in my head, and laughter burst from me
as if I had been punked by Ashton Kutcher.  My eyes would
not lie, would they?  So with firm knowledge of what I was
reading, would not be adequate to find their brothers home,
at least without the aid of a local postal employee.

Although the numbers looked larger than life on paper, I tried
to emphasize the reality that their brother and sister-law did not
reside at the local post office. Therefore, even though the city
of Webster is an area of 1.3 miles of it is land, none of which
is covered by water, we would still be hard pressed to find
their brothers home without his the typical information.

Just as we were about to head back into Orlando, and try to make
other arrangements, a local police officer drove by, I said, “hey, let’s
asked if he knew where the RV parks are located and how many
are there in the city limits. and how many there were.  We caught
up with the officer, and asked our question, and we received answer,
but not the one we wanted to hear. The officer stated he had just
moved to the area, but suggested the two streets we should look on.

Therefore, by process of elimination, we were able to locate
and drop the three lovely women, whom inspired my term “Qtips”.

I always like the phase in this song by the band Fastball called “The Way”

“Their children woke up
And they couldn’t find them
They left before the sun came up that day
They just drove off and
left it all behind ’em
But where were they going without ever
Knowing the way?”

“You can see their shadows
wandering off somewhere
They won’t make it home
But they really don’t care
They wanted the highway
They’re happier there today, today”
–Fastball/Tony Scalzo

It’s Nothing new, just another tactic other social networking sites are

are using to get you to use their site for your social page…I am not falling for it.

FB is safer than MySpace because it will allow you to customize down to even individual postings.

FYI If you don’t know, as of today,

Facebook will automatically index all your info on Google,
which allows everyone to view it. Facebook kept this one quiet.
Copy and paste onto your status
for all your friends ASAP

My Response to this issue –

The only thing that will show is your name page,
the privacy settings a person has sett already will still be
in effect. i.e; when some searches for me on Google,
they will get what they would normally get even if they knew
me already, yet they havent been added as a friend yet.

[Google, Results 1 – 10 of about 2,100 for finnperkins. (0.29 seconds) ]

…,Most of my settings are customize by listings and which list
of people can see what per section…. See More

…My Texas friends will not see some of my Florida photos a
nd my Vermont friends may not see some of my Texas photos, etc.

IMHO – its not as bad as it sounds, Google fishes you anyway…
any time you use their links they grab you ip because that’s part
of their AdWords program

Thinking ahead maybe a good thing to do sometimes -” ruling -303 F.3d 231 vacated a state conviction on grounds…

of the admission of irrelevant, prejudicial evidence.”

link to full citation-

After reading this, I think the State of  Florida  v. Casey Anthony may be as flawed as this case from 1979, overturn in 2002

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What would you ask the President of the United States?

What would you ask the President of the united States, If given the opportunity

This may be a question of a life time for the sophomore
college student, he was quite bold and direct… too bad
the President did not reply with the same tenacity, even
though he claims he and his family are not that far away
from those years when they did not know what bill was
going to be paid on time, including their student loans…

Here is the question –

a young man who identified himself as a college sophomore
— and wisely didn’t provide his name
— complimented the president on his efforts to stimulate
the economy. He then asked Obama whether he has considered
“legalizing prostitution, gambling, drugs and nonviolent crime”
as a way to further boost economic growth.

President Obama’s reply-

“I appreciate the boldness of your question, but that would not be my strategy,” the president said, to laughter. In college, he said, “what you are supposed to do is to question conventional wisdom.  So you’re doing what you’re supposed to do.”

[btw-never really answered this question]
I guess He is fitting in to “Washington-Politics as usual”

IMHO –

I guess he was far enough removed from that time in his life,
that he lost one of the lessons he learned in college “to question
conventional wisdom…” Finn Perkins

…so what another athlete has had affair on their wife,

…so what another athlete has had affair on their wife, WFTV get a clue… It’s been done before…so it’s Tiger Woods, now if he had an affair with a MAN, now that would be NEWS !