These words should be every person's mantra.

We've moved into a pretty conservative area.  Lots of 'Red' (small pun intended). Many residents were born, raised and grew up here... then married or bought a home here to start families of their own or just remained here as adults, purchasing a home in the same area.

I can't blame them. It's a beautiful place to live. We absolutely love living here.

Within your own block, even your own yard, you see and coexist with mother nature and all the wonder which comes with that.

Bald eagles, hawks, turtles big and small. Rabbits, fox, sand hill cranes and an occasional bob cat. My brother saw a panther on the bank when kayaking through a canal on the lake. Deer and their fawns are every where and visit every yard. Bird feeders stay busy with birds, squirrels and chipmunks. I try and avoid the snakes, but have learned to accept and appreciate the black snake which resides in our yard. Sometimes a gator will wander onto or across the road, thankfully I haven't witnessed that yet...but am well aware they're out there, and pretty close by.

Our neighborhood is at the end of a three mile road (four miles off the main road) which dead ends into a nature preserve...on both sides. A state park is located at the other end of the road leading out of our neighborhood and also has a marsh reserve on the other side of the road, along with a (different)lake on either side.

You couldn't ask for a better place to live if you love nature.

And I sure do.

It's truly a hidden gem, seven miles off the beaten path of life, red lights and busy intersections.

It's a gun toting community for the most part.

I learned that quickly.

 I remember when COVID panic started and they all talked (on social media or on walks by the house) about being stocked up on ammo. I'm still not sure what ammo has to do with a pandemic, but they were all locked and loaded.

 After the murder of George Floyd and protesters (both violent and non violent) marched the streets of hundreds if not thousand of cities, once again the community boasted about being ready if things got ugly in the/our  "hood."

Seriously?

Do you really think protestors are going to march ten miles just to protest in our neck of the woods? Or do you think they're gonna get bused in?

I'm pretty confident most of the angry peeps don't even know we are back here.

Then they posted how they were patrolling the neighborhood at night in golf carts to make sure we were all okay, and posted more than a few times how all guns were loaded and by their front doors.

Are you kidding me? 

Then I posted this sign by our mailbox.

It took a couple of weeks before it was taken, but the smiles, waving and stopping to talk went away pretty much immediately... and I spend most all of my time out in the yards every day.

Someone brought it back after they found it in a trash pile on a cul de sac where houses haven't been built yet.

Something tells me this wasn't a teen age prank...although all social media comments in the 'hood' attributed it to mischievous youths.

Then I put up this sign:

Notice I put it by our front door.

 I'm not very popular anymore with a lot of peeps who used to stop to chat and  comment or offer advice to me on the social media neighborhood page.

One neighbor flat out refused to acknowledge three different messages I sent on messenger...but their little profile pic popped up every time letting me know they had seen it.

Before my sign went up, they answered messages I sent.

These are now the people I smile the biggest at or wave to the most, every single time they pass my house or yard.

Since when did having different views make me an enemy?

So they like guns.

I don't.

They are welcome to their weaponry if they have a permit, I've just never been a fan of killing things.

Isn't that basically what guns are made for?

So they like Trump.

I don't.

He's a bully and a con man, plain and simple.

So some of them don't share my views on the human race in general; especially pertaining to equality.

That does bother me.

A lot.

Here's my issue.

If you're so right (small pun) in your thinking...why can't I feel the same way about my thinking?

*Bonus points how about me not shoving my views down your throat while screaming loudly and waving a rebel flag... or flaunt it in your face like a baited hook*

So I'm a Liberal.

Sue me.

You won't get much and will need to get in line behind the IRS.

We're still paying off a $28,000 debt we unfortunately got stuck with when a business deal we were involved with went south (another pun).

We pay our debts.

I don't like guns. I've never owned a gun. I've never wanted one. My parents never owned one, yet I still grew up and have somehow made it to the age of over sixty. My husband has never owned a gun either.

So Go me (us)!!!

I know I'm crazy.

It's my best quality, and sincerely mean that.

I know some (probably a lot of) people meet me for the first time and walk away wondering why they even let me out of the house.

I think my family feels that way a lot of the time...but that's okay too!

At least it's never boring, even if it should be.

When using the term crazy, I'm meaning the third definition.

Crazy: (of an angle) appearing absurdly out of place or in an unlikely position

That's me.

Talk about a glass half full!

That's a Life Win in my book.

Everyone has to find their own way in life. Sometimes you figure it out the first time. Sometimes you're lost. Sometimes it's trial by error and sometimes it's trial by fire.

I've been high (another small pun) and I've been low (a reality). I've had plenty and I've had almost nothing.

I know one thing.

You've got to keep on keeping on, especially when you feel like you can't.

We  need to love everyone. Everyone is someone...and one day you may be the someone who needs everyone.

It's plain and simple to me.

Be a good person. 

Don't shove your views in the face of others, express your views by your actions.

Actions speak louder than words...and volumes more than a huge freakin' banner screaming "No More Bullshit" on a flag pole in your yard.

Are you calling our country bullshit?

By all means feel free to move.

I wasn't going to bring up the Rebel flag...but then again, why not...since I was born and raised in Georgia.

What are people thinking when they proudly fly it?

What, exactly are they proud of?

Why would you want to celebrate a time when we kept people in chains or on a leash like abused animals?

Not to mention the raping of many women, young and old, for years and years and years.

Many "boys" suffered the same....when they got tired of farm animals and were too lazy to go find the girls.

#Truefacts

It's humiliating, even to my (albeit) peas sized sense of intelligence.

Yes it's history (in the past) but it happened and it was horrific, so why rub it in the faces of all their descendants?

You know what...I'd have a chip on my shoulder too, especially considering how society has continually kept yanking the (not so proverbial) chain... time after time, after time, after time...and then again.

The same with Native Americans.

WE are the real immigrants, and haven't  exactly done a banner job of accepting nor acknowledging these facts.

Think about that as you sit around the Thanksgiving table with your own loved ones.

Because of them, we have everything that was theirs....and gave them nothing but grief in return.

 

We can do better than this.

We must.

If I have to be a liberal pariah of the neighborhood, so be it.

But I can tell you one thing,

 if you ever need help...no matter what, I'll do every single thing I can to try and help.

Every single time.

Remember, I'm the good kind of crazy.

Till next time...COTTON

How Did THIS Happen?

Taken a couple of years ago.

Taken twenty years ago.

True facts; in the mind of this baby.

(ten years earlier)

Are you absolutely kidding me?

I'm no rocket scientist, but there is no way on God's green earth that I am sixty freakin' years old.

My God, that's old !!

(by anyone's standard, who's old enough to remember when JFK died)

Yes, that's my barometer of  old age.

And if I have to tell you who this is, 

we're not going to have a lot in common either.

When I was a kid, thirty was middle aged. People in their sixties were the old people I knew...

or either I didn't pay attention until I was well into my forties.

I'm not quite sure where my fifties went, but know we didnt have a lot of money then, and more often than not, we had none at all.

Yet here we are a decade down the road of Life and even ended up on the sunny side of the street.

I kind of like that I'm a semi crazy, random ass freak of nature individual.

It seems to serve me well, and life is never boring.

No one searching for positivity in their life tends to gravitate  towards a snooze fest. 

 It's makes it easier for other people who already know me, to explain to others who don't, when first meeting me, that although I may seem (be) bat shit crazy at times, I'm basically a decent person who will do anything to help you at least once and have sometimes been  a repeat offender before I learn my lesson.

There are three things I consider hard fast rules in Life:

*You get what you give.

*No one can help you until you are willing to help yourself.

*Don't be a dick.

(sorry but it's true)

Pretty much every other rule falls under one of the above categories.

I'd say one of my biggest (or most cringeworthy) downfalls is my thick southern accent and how I sound the minute I open my big, loud mouth and the words come out.

Which happens a lot. 

A whole lot.

Case in point: My husband's name is Timothy but goes by Tim.

 That is one syllable... but when I pronounce it, is minimum three, maximum four.

Every. Time.

"Tee-umm-uh"

Maybe I should save his contact under "My Mullet Man"

I can't even use my bluetooth in the car to ask my cell to call him when I'm driving. It attempts every  other  two and three syllable contact beginning with the letter "T."

(and it's a long list)

Maybe he should save my contact under "Hick Stick."

I know I sound like a hillbilly (I've heard my recorded voice and is nails on a chalkboard) and actually try my best to corrrectly annunciate whenever I'm clocked in...or talking with people who's first language isn't English..or if I get pulled over by a cop.

Fortunately I haven't worked since March 16th. I only leave the house maybe two or three times a week, every neighbor I've met so far speaks english, and the last cop who pulled me over (for speeding) in PoDunk, south Georgia, sounded even hicker than me...and by a long shot.

Retiring at sixty has never been my plan, still isn't, but may be, depending on this current pandemic sweeping our nation. Given the all clear, I'd be glad to wait tables again for a few more years. If I have to wear a mask constantly and fear touching contaminated surfaces or exposing myself to greater risks, I'll stay home for now.

I had worked my way up to a five, sometimes four day work week, day shifts only. Currently they are only open from 4PM until 10 (midnight on the weekends). When (or if) they ask me to return, I will reassess the situation.

I've been above board and honest on all unemployment documentation...every single week.

 Am I out looking for work?

No. 

Would I like to?

Maybe, if I felt comfortable and safe, but I don't.

Are you currently unemployed because of COVID?

Yes.

The scientists, the doctors, the freaking people in charge of the CDC said stay at home if you can, so I did, because (luckily) I could.

Yeah, I lost a pretty sweet job, which took three years for me to work up to; a twenty hour work week , with a take home of six hundred bucks after taxes.

It was perfect.

Could I go out and get another job?  Sure I could, but it freaks me out now, to eve have to go to Aldi for groceries once or twice a week.

I am sixty years old.

I've been paying attention, and I'm at risk.

 

Over three years ago, I  stopped smoking cigarettes (cold turkey) after three decades...on Mother's Day, and have never smoked another one.

My lungs are worked out on a daily basis now. I've coughed up enough shit to sink the Titanic...but have never been prouder of an accomplishment. I stretch, excercise and drink tons and tons of water.

I have a concoction I drink every day for good health, detoxification and preventive purposes. I highy recommend it. Fresh ginger root, turmeric root, lemons, limes, local honey, cayenne pepper and apple cider vinegar. I make it by the batch in my juicer, and we all drink it now.

I feel healthier and stronger every day , but am still apprehensive about getting back out there, with all the others. 

Especially with so many idiots (yes idiots) refusing to mask up or social distance.

I've been paying into the unemployment system for well over forty years. Trust me, I've paid in a lot more than I've been paid out  since March 16th.

Once my benefits run out, I have been thinking about, and considering several options. As far as a 'clock in' job, I don't want to do anything other than serve. It's what I enjoy and what I do best. The better job I do, the more I make. I'm basically my own boss, as long as I do my job correctly, follow all expected guidelines, procedures, and consistently strive to be a team player.

 Every employee should be so lucky.

I've definitely been one of the lucky ones.

Every shift is a pay day and a new adventure.

I first started out for Red Lobster in the early eighties. After that, I worked for Steak & Ale, WD Crowley's Scotch House, Johnny's Pizza, LongHorn, Mama Lucia's (fine dining) also in the Atlanta airport for Fifth Group (Ecco) and even in Orlando after moving here almost four years ago.

But I enjoy writing...a lot.

I think I like it so much because you can't hear my accent or drawl.

It certainly helps, in any case.

I have thoroughly enjoyed writing this Blog, and after publishing almost eighteen hundred posts since 2011, I haven't done too shabbily.

I've had 254,134 hits on my blog as of today, before posting this one.

I have a dashboard which tells all my stats and numbers, comments and where my readers are checking  in from.

Believe it or not, this is what it tells me:

United States

Russia

Italy

France

 Germany

South Korea

United Kingdom

Ukraine

Poland

Canada

India

Ireland

Singapore

Brazil

United Arab Emirates

Spain

Belgium

Slovenia

(including 853 unknown regions)

That's pretty insane if you ask this Hick Stick Hipster.

I'd like to think for the most part, people who people read or follow my Blog, do so because it's a pleasant read or diversion, a chuckle or sometimes a sobering reminder, for just a couple of minutes out of  their day. I think we could all use that.

My daughter, my Bestie, my youngest...

thinks we should start a podcast together.

She's researching what all it would entail and how to best go about it. She listens to podcasts all the time. I concede and defer to her on all things current, popular and relevant.

(my Momma didn't raise no dummy)

 I'm not quite sure what podcasts are, but seems as if we'd be putting on our own little show, and posting it on the internet.

It looks as if I'm going to have to start brushing up on my annuciation again.

Big Sigh.

*pronunced "Bee-ugh S-eye-ah"

Till next time,

 COTTON@60 

Opinions

Lawdy, with all the craziness going on in and around this cray cray world, and all the spewed hate talk bounced around this election season,  it really makes you wonder... exactly how stupid are  people?

If something is posted on a social media page or website and goes along with someones' way of thinking, it is usually automatically assumed to be a fact and quickly passed on, as factual...

when in fact, it isn't.

All it is , is a widely spread opinion, and you know what they say about opinions.

I see more hateful comments and downright degrading, insulting, racist remarks posted by people who also always post a favorite daily Bible verse than ones who have an actual clue about life.

I'm not thinking that goes over too well with The Big Guy Upstairs... just saying.

Opinions like these are to be addressed in the privacy of the local polling booth...'nough said.

It makes me cringe to see people I've known all my life or for a very long time, accusingly point fingers at others when they haven't always been the saint they appear to be now.

How quickly some forget.

Luckily for me, I've never claimed nor thought of myself to be a saint, and am most  probably further away from being one than closer to, but am okay with that. I am a work in progress.

Here's my spin on life in 2018...

Politically,  until we all agree to meet in the middle... as a nation of  concerned yet mildly cautious moderates and equally cautious but concerned progressives, both willing to listen with an open mind and also give and take... we will continue and shoot ourselves in the foot.

Time and time again and year after year after year.

Our only recourse, our only way of changing anything is to vote.

Never vote for a party or a person, vote for policy you believe in.

 But most importantly.

Yeah, I didn't fact check this one (my bad) but from previous searches am pretty much sure is accurate...and is pretty sad.

Almost half of us aren't even checking in or offering our opinions, which do count, by the way!

If you are that worried about the state of affairs in this country or world, call your local voter registration office and ask what you can do to help.

Don't just bitch about it on social media.

I'm getting older, but at the age of almost sixty, am starting to get it.

Do something nice...today and every day.

It will make you feel better.

Til next time...COTTON