Do or do not, there is no try

God helps those who help themselves. When the end of an effort comes and there still is no victory, when should one give up? I say never, giving up admits defeat and admits that you are not good enough. What if the definition of victory differs between people? In that case I have already won and I am just repeating the cycle. In my case victory comes in the form of realization that I am destined for greater things. But if someone were to ask me what those things are, I couldn't tell them. I just feel it deep in my soul. Until that day comes I am going to continue to live for the moment and seize the day because life is fleeting and it is bound to catch up with you.

JB

Really??

The world is full of sore losers these days. Here recently the United States has elected it's first black President. Not only is our new President black but he is a Democrat. This ads insult to injury to those rightwing southern republicans out there. George Bush was president for eight years. He did do some good things for the country/world like search for wmd's and end up getting that bastard Saddam. But he also made things a tad rocky with the economy, healthcare and the housing market. Maybe not directly but it happened and that's the point. It will take time for it to get better. It will get better and people need to realize that it takes time to clean up a mess. Barack Obama has a ton of work to do. He may not do it in one year or two but it is important to have faith in our Government. Think how worse off we could be. We could live in a country where you have to live in fear of Taliban murdering your family, or violent rebels ripping through your village murdering and slaying women and children because they won't join their fight. Our country is the land of Liberty. We have it so good here. When I hear people complain, it makes me sick. It could be worse. A lot worse.

Cheers
JB

Augustus Chapter One Intro

The day my father died, I graduated from High School. I remember the smile on his face when I walked up to receive my diploma. I remember he was wearing his old brown suit that my mother had bought for him before she died. He was so proud of me.
My father raised me all by himself. He was a simple man that didn't rely on too much to get by. He came from three generations of Irish farmers. The land we farmed and lived on was the same farmland that was passed down from each generation. The only thing that remained from the original was a big red barn. It is still holding up just fine but it takes constant renovation to keep it from falling apart. If my father wasn't working with the livestock, he was working on that old red barn.

We went to lunch to celebrate at an old diner that we have been going to since I was born. It was one of those joints you see on television where the same old regulars show up every morning for coffee. Me and my pop were some of those regulars. He sat down across from me and said "I am so proud of you son, I am sure your mother is proud of you too".
After we had finished eating. My father starting fidgeting with the inside of his jacket. He pulled out an envelope and layed it across the table with my name facing up in his messy handwriting. I picked it up and slid the contents into my open hand, I had a feeling that I knew what it was and my intuition was right. A set of keys landed in the palm of my hand. It was the keys to my pops old truck. I had thought that he had gotten rid of it when he got the new one just the year before.

"Your giving me Betsy?"

"She is at home in the barn with a full tank waiting for ya."

My father and I parted ways. Some buddies of mine were going to crash a couple of graduation parties and I wanted to go along. If I knew then what I know now, I would have stayed home with my dad.

some roadblocks n such

I have a rather large number of distractions in my day to day life. I try to read as much I can but either I find that I still have some things to do around the house or someone wants to talk to me. I find that reading is extremely important in expanding your personal vocabulary and helping yourself think in complete sentences. I would love to have a day off all to myself where I can read as much as my brain will let me and write until I get carpel tunnel. That is not going to happen anytime soon. My honey do list is never ending.

My Augustus story is coming along in my head nicely. I just do not want my next post of it to be short like the last few. I love the idea of it. I know that once I get going it will be hard to stop.

On a different note, I have had something happen today. I know that things in life happen for a reason. Without going into too much detail, someone phoned me this evening that I have not spoken with all that much in a few years. Since my wife has become pregnant, we have been given much more attention from family. I think that given recent events of the last year, it has made this particular person realize that they need to make some changes in themselves before they alienate more than just a couple of people in their/our family. Who knows what will happen when our girl is born but I hope for the best. A family is only strong when it is whole.

Cheers

Jeremy

The New Story

Recently I have posted the Intro to Augustus which is going to be my next short or longer short story. This story seems to be more complicated than my first so its taking a bit longer for me to iron out some of the details. More should be up soon.

Jeremy

Intro to Augustus continued

The wind starts to settle. He lowers his arms to his sides and opens his eyes and all the wind and weeds become calm. He takes a deep long breath. He raises his arms out again. His expressionless and angelic face becomes one of intense focus and concentration. He brings his hands together in a large defening clap that shakes the earth to its core. A thick dust storm erupts tearing the surface of the earth in its wake.

Ten miles away the town of Smithton, Nevada is leveled by a freak storm. There were no survivors.

Intro to Augustus

He is standing alone in the middle of a desert. His angelic face is void of any expression. His tall body stands amongst weeds and tall dead sea grass. He is facing nothing in an endless direction. He closes his hazel eyes and clenches his fists. A light breeze starts to blow just enough to make the tall weeds around him start to move. His brown flannel shirt begins to billow as the wind picks up pace. The man opens his hands palm and lifts his arms out as if to hug the earth. The wind begins to howl, picking up dust and grass. The mans long brown hair becomes tassled and unkempt as the wind pushes harder against his body. The man disapears in a cloud of debree as the wind turns into a gale force creating a violent dust storm.