Are we at this level?

Just be kind.

Is that hard? Apparently.  Be kind, be understanding, and be patient.  We live in a "my feelings are more important than yours" kind of closed minded world.  Combine that with the need for immediate gratification and it's a dangerous combination.

I'm not going to get in a great debate about what is or isn't the best course of action for us as a society, but I'll say this - we have to change.

Those who are doing wrong, must be punished, those who aren't, shouldn't be berated because of the color of there skin, no matter what it happens to be.  Recent events have brought to the forefront our (nation's) past.  It's not a pretty one.  I mean, there have been people all along our history who condone (or don't put forth the effort to stop) things that are unimaginably wrong.

Slavery in the past has not been limited to any race, sex or religion.  There have been near genocides of people based (usually) on their social class, not race.  Our ancestors are not us, would you have your child punished for a crime you committed? No. (If you said yes, well, I don't know what to say to you).

If my ancestors had any part in anything that crossed the lines of racism, sexism, ageism, antireligionism, or anything at all that discriminated against someone, I apologize on their behalf, they were obviously ignorant and maybe society had too much influence on them to make a stand.  I also apologize directly to any victims of discrimination, it is not right, and I hope that we find a way as a society to not continue this practice.

Notice I apologized FOR my ancestors and TO any victims, I haven't apologized for myself.  That's because I am not responsible for discrimination of that type.  I will say that if I personally know you, I may discriminate when I'm choosing someone say, to have lunch with.  I may discriminate against someone because they will talk too much, or maybe they won't talk at all.  Discrimination in itself isn't wrong, it literally means to discern between one thing and another.  If we didn't have some form of discrimination in our life, we might have a life full of half-thought choices, that may not be ideal.

Again, just be kind, follow Wheaton's Law, and remember, if we as a society don't change, and keep attacking ourselves, then what's the point? It's like a dog chasing it's tail if we all don't understand.  Humans are humans, apparently inherently ignorant, but still, all human.  Treat everyone that way.

Until next time, dear readers...

Deep Thoughts by James Riggs

If you are old enough, you remember the SNL skit “Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy”. Lot of good, funny and sometimes eerily insightful. Well, as we’ve all had (or most of us) a lot a time in our hands, sometimes the thoughts drift into silly realms, and this segment in the blog is about that.

This post’s deep thought is this: During the quarantine, ideally we should only leave our dwellings for food/necessities and to help and check on others. Now, I’ve seen a lot of memes about how introverts have been preparing for this their whole life. 

I get it, it’s funny. Being an introvert I can relate, but I thought about it, there is a group of people who regularly do this. They don’t go to restaurants, or shopping malls or department stores. They leave their home only for food or necessities and daily check on it he less fortunate. Who? Monks. Not even a specific type or group of monks, it pretty much covers them all. I guess this is proof that not everyone is cut out to be a monk, even if the at home haircuts make them look the part.

Just a little something to think about.

Sorry for the long delay in posting, sometimes life gets in the way.  Not a bad thing, quite the opposite, but it happens, and I apologize, I'll try to be as regular as a middle aged man on Metamucil.

Until next time, dear readers...

Day by Day

A lot of you know that I'm currently in a medical position that working isn't possible.  The alternative for now is to stay at home, and either read, clean house or watch TV.  I admit, I do a lot of the latter.

I've got a lot on my plate, but everything takes time. With all this "free" time, I've did a lot of reflecting.  Reflection is good, but it's really what you do with what you learn from said reflection.  There are a lot of things in my life I need to work on, some I can do on my own, some I can't.  For instance, I can really get back to writing on my own, but as for my medical issues, I have to rely on professionals for that.  That being said, it takes the correct professionals, as I have found that some of the ones where I live should go back to school. For my GI\hernia issues, there is a particular surgeon I've seen who I'm now convinced should not be allowed to do anything regarding GI and hernia issues, as I now have worse problems than when I began seeing that doctor.  I won't mention names, obviously, but I have filed formal complaints to the hospital and state agencies. 

Enough of my complaining, what I really want to talk about is the parts I can work on by myself.  As I mentioned, writing is one of the key areas I'd like to get back to focusing on, so little by little, I force myself to sit down, open up my book in progress and write.  A little more each day goes a long way to the end product.  That made me think (the philosophical part of me kicks in), if I make a little progress each day (on anything, not just my writing), then I can see the change, but others can not.  Sometimes we make a lot of progress (any progress is great), but if we depend or rely on the opinion of others for validation of that progress, we will be let down 99% of the time, and that in turn will cause us not to progress any more.

Right now, there is a lot of negativity in my life that I'm having to deal with.  Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of positivity as well, it's just that the negativity level is too far up the meter.  I do my best to deal with it, in my own way.  I can not rely on others to tell me I'm doing well handling it, because everyone, and I mean EVERYONE has their own view on how things should be handled.  Guess what?  I've got this.  I can and will deal with everything, but just as progress on my book, the progress on dealing with the negative people and things in my life is slow as well.  If you remember the inventory process that I've mentioned several times, there are people on this inventory list that I can not (or will not) cut out, no matter how negative and downright mean they are.  In the end, I love these people, and in their own way, I know they love me. 

To wrap this up, I would hope that your takeaways from this rant are that 1) Any progress is great, and 2) Don't look for others for validation.

As always, feel free to write me with your comments\questions\concerns and I will respond, as always.

Until next time, dear readers...

Not Today, Cancer

Some of you are thinking right now, "What is he talking about?" Well, I'll explain. When I had my double hernia repair surgery in December, I started having really bad pains in an area that was not near the repairs.  A few ER visits later and I was diagnosed with acute Diverticulitis, but on my post op appointment with my doctor, he said that he suspected it could be cancer, as sometimes it can appear to be diverticulitis on CT scans, so a colonoscopy was scheduled.  If it was diverticulitis and was bad enough, I would have to have my colon resectioned to fix the issue, if it was cancer, we would have to see the severity and plan accordingly, a lot of tears and fears that day.

Today, I had said colonoscopy and it was not diverticulitis. There was a precancerous polyp in my colon, so, he was correct.  Luckily, it was early enough that he was able to get it out and it looks like there wasn't any that had spread.  Tears for good reasons now.  Several times (especially during the prep day before when I couldn't eat), I thought of just rescheduling and eating to my hearts content.  I mean, it's when you can't eat that everything on TV is food commercials, and EVERYTHING looks great, even if it's food I don't like.  I'm very glad I didn't, and let me encourage anyone who thinks they might have an issue to get it checked out, ASAP.

In my mind, I ran through all the worst case scenarios, cancer, surgery, and what treatment options I would have if surgery didn't work.  I have a tendency to do that, as a professional hypochondriac.  While it was scary that it was what it was, I'm very thankful that it wasn't as bad as I feared.

I'll close out this brief entry with a reiteration, if you have pain or problems, get it checked out, don't wait.

Until next time, dear readers...

To Grow (Fall Forward)

It's never too late to grow.  It's never too late to admit your mistakes.  There is an amazing speech by Denzel Washington, in which he says it's ok to mess up, it's ok to fall, but fall forward.  Learn from your mistakes, learn from them and make better decisions and choices.  We all are imperfect, and we will mess up, we will falter, but we should take those moments as opportunities to better ourself or others.

In my life, I've made many mistakes, some big, some little.  Always, on the stumbling blocks I had dwelled too much on them.  It takes practice, but even the worst negative can turn into the biggest positive in your life.  I've had close friends and relatives depart from this world, and I harbored many regrets, most commonly that I never let those people know what they meant to me.  Sure, they might have known, but I would have preferred that I made it absolutely clear how much they meant to me.  The solution? Simple actually, while you have those you love, tell them exactly how much they mean to you, don't let them ever wonder how you feel.  Sounds a bit mushy maybe, but it's not always like that.  You can tell a coworker\friend that you respect their work ethic, or their dedication.

Now, I said it was simple, but if you are like me and a confirmed longtime introvert, it may take some practice, but the benefits are well worth going out on a limb with your feelings.  You both benefit from the act.

I guess this post is mainly an affirmation of some changes I'm actively making in my life.  To all of you, my readers, I do appreciate all of you, even those who message me to let me know that they liked my post, but in paragraph 3, section 5, I used "to" instead of "too."  You all play a big part in my life, and I am grateful for each of you.

There is a project I'm working on that I'm documenting, and I'll share in a later post, but I think a lot of you will be able to relate\appreciate it.

Until next time, dear readers...

Things I Learned in the Hood

I grew up watching Mister Rogers.  I watched him change into a cardigan, changes his shoes, and teach me about being a kind, gentle human being.  Sometimes his lessons were so simple, but the message attached was incredibly large and complex.  With some of the things that have been going on in my life, I started thinking about this, What Would Fred Rogers Do?  Not super catchy, but it got me to thinking, and here are 20 life lessons from Mister Rogers, and a little about what they mean to me.

• Each One of Us Is Special and Unique
• This is something that I've tried to pass on to my children.  There is not another one of them in the world, and there never will be.
• You're Never Wrong to Have Feelings
• This hits home right now, because I have said this innumerable times lately to one of my daughters.  She has been made to feel guilty for feeling how she is feeling.  If you are so narcissistic that you try to make your children feel guilty for not feeling the way they should, you should not be allowed around children at all.
• Love is Sacred
• The L word isn't something to use lightly, although it is so often.  Love who you want, for whatever reason you want.  As long as you are both rowing the boat in the same direction, you will reach your destination.
• Use your Imagination
• As we get older, we start being way too analytical, we need to see things with the mind of a child.  We could get so much more accomplished as a species if more people trusted their imagination.
• Stay Positive
• This is so hard.  I try my best, but I often have to make it an active thing to stay positive.  Things could be worse, so be happy and thankful for what you have.
• Look for the Helpers
• This was something Mister Rogers mother had told him.  There is so much chaos going on in our world, and so much negativity, but look for those helping.  They are the ones who are compassionate towards their fellow man, we all should be helpers.
• There is a Very Simple Key to Success
• As Mister Rogers said, there are three ways to succeed.  The first, is to be kind.   The second is to be kind.  The third? Be KIND.  No need to elaborate.  Don't break Wheaton's law.
• Listen
• Do not hear things to respond, listen to things to think.  There is a huge difference between hearing and listening.
• Don't Avoid Difficult Subjects
• Things happen.  Loved ones die, people get divorced, and people fall on hard times.  Be there for your children, so them, tell them what you are going through, let them know that they have the right to feel however they want to, just don't let them forget that they are loved.
• You Don't have to be Perfect
• I still have problems with this one.  We are all flawed.  The term perfectly flawed does apply to this, in the sense that we are who we are.  Our flaws might be severe, but without them, we couldn't be who we are.  Our flaws don't define us, how we handle them does.
• There's More to Life than Coming in First
• I've had numerous coaches in varying sports over the years, and the best among them, in my opinion, did not have the goal of being first.  I'm sure they wouldn't have minded it, but it was more crucial that the team works together, has fun and improves their ability.
• Embrace Growth and Change
• Things change with the times, holding on to the past is only holding you back.
• Imagine
• This is slightly different than using your imagination, in a sense.  Imagine what you can be.  Imagine what you can do.  Dream it, and make it real.
• The Things that Frighten you aren't Really that Scary
• This is an excellent lesson for all of us.  Obviously, the smaller message was explained to the children, those shadows at night in your room? Not real, you are bigger than them.  The larger message, we a bigger than any of our problems, we can and will get through them, and once you conquer them, things aren't quite so scary anymore.
• Take the Time to do a Good Job
• Anything worth doing is worth doing right.  Whatever you do, your name is attached to your work.  No matter what it is, put forth your best effort.  The harder part is figuring our what is worth your time and effort.
• There's Another Kind of Superhero
• Of course, not all superheroes wear capes.  As he was growing up, Mister Roger's fundamental ideas of what a hero was began to change.  Superman and the like, were of course heroes to him, but on a basic kind of level.  The real heroes are the men and women that go to work everyday to fight for our freedom, who maintain our civility and who do not know if they will return home safely at the end of the day.  That - is THE definition of a hero.
• Don't let Differences Divide People
• During the run on his show, racism and segregation were the norm, or it was for his generation, but he taught us that people are people. That's the lesson.  It doesn't matter what they look like, what color they are, how they identify themselves, none of it - none of it matters, because you know why? People are People, and we should show love and respect to them.
• Teach a Child to Love Books
• This starts with the parent.  Read bedtime stories to your children.  Practice your imagination, and just take the book in but make up a story involving them.  Use a different voice for each character, it will make them love diving into the stories from the pages or from your imagination.  Show them that reading is the key to maintaining a healthy imagination.
• Don't Forget What Really Matters
• Sometimes life is overwhelming, but just take a few minutes, sit back and remember what really matters.  Your family, your health, your happiness.
• Be Yourself
• Don't be fake. If you are fake, you will have fake friends, and when you are in a crisis, those fake friends will be nowhere around.  Do what you want, act like yourself, if people don't like it, that's not your fault, that is on them.  Be genuine, by amazing, be you!

I know this was quite a longer entry than usual,, but there is a lot going on, and I use this medium as a form of therapy.  I get a lot of feedback from you, dear reader, and I take in the good with the bad, because if you do not address your shortcomings, then they will lead to a large problem.  Please send me your comments\questions\concerns to me (jaydee.riggs atgmail.com), and I'll include some of them in my next entry!

Until next time, dear readers...

Penny Lane

There she is, cute little Penny Penny.  For those of you friends with me on the book of faces, you know that we lost our cute little pit puppy.  She was 1 day shy of being only nine months old.  She had a leg that the bone didn't form quite right so it was all but useless, but she used it.  She used it to paw at you to get scratches.  She used it to make you give her more scatches when you would stop.  She would use it to put around your arm when you were laying next to her holding her.

She was a cuddle bug.  She was moral and mental support for Cassie at home.  She really was a good puppy, and always, always happy.  She was however, ate up with worms she just couldn't fight off.  She would give you those puppy eyes and your heart would just sink, there was little that could be done.  By the time she started showing any symptoms, it was too late.

This will be a relatively short post, but I wanted to end it with a good story about Penny, so here it is.

Late one night, I had fallen asleep in the living room watching top 10 ghost videos on youtube and Cassie was laying in bed.  Penny was outside, and barking.  Cassie got up to see what it was, but found that she was barking at the only really dark area of our back yard between our shed and our fence.  Cassie wakes me up in a panic and, me, in all my recollection of the videos I had just watched went to investigate.  At any moment I knew I would find the ghost of a little girl asking me to play or something, but when all was said and done, we never figured out what she was barking at.  It wasn't until the other day I found out the other part of the story.  Cassie had went to go investigate herself before waking me.  As she went to stand next to Penny on the back patio to see what she was barking at, Penny darted past Cassie, heading towards the door, as if to say, "tag, you're it, I'm out."  She was like our own little Scooby Do at that moment.

You will be missed dear puppy.