Random Medical Info

I was looking around the other day, checking out some of the demography attached to an illness such as a stroke and came across this blog that was especially dedicated to stem cell research. I was amazed to discover that there have been some stroke patients who have been helped by implanting them with their own Adult Stem Cells within one month of the stroke to overcome partial paralysis. There were 12 stroke victims in the study, none of whom that were able to carry out daily activities such as using the toilet, taking a bath, dressing and eating independently. However, after one year, 70% were able to overcome their handicaps and return to their normal daily activities. And there was no side effects from their own stem cells.

Interesting blog post for non-medical readers to check out.

Random Gratitude

This dude was talking about how he was celebrating his birthday and feeling blessed ... not about being a year older but because he had enjoyed another year on his board. If I was the skateboarder (and healthy), I would probably be celebrating over the fact that I had not already wiped out a few dozen times and shattered my tail bone into several pieces!

I know what he means ... you got to do what you love!

"I Thought I Saw A Puddie Cat?!?!"

This pic always makes me smile. Hope you have a good day.

©2009/Keith Simerson

Whether By Consent Or Conquest, We Will Have World Government

The only politically inspired sculpture that I ever created where the person depicted is, against his will, painfully having his vision, hearing, and speech restricted. The reference is to the strange certainty of James Paul Warburg's 1950 statement to the United States Senate on Foreign Relations.

©2009/Keith Simerson

For the meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day and from hour to hour. What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general but rather the specific meaning of a person's life at a given moment.
Viktor E. Frankl

Ex-Pastor Gets Sentenced To Life

What the hell does this scumbag find so funny?

What is one of the maxims that Christ is recorded to have taught about your possessions? Selling what you have and giving it to the poor? At least that was the instructions to the rich young ruler and it was recorded that he went away sad for he had great possessions.

I guess this ex-pastor is going to learn the same lesson because he is also going away ... but not freely.

Read the story.

©2008/Keith Simerson

A Simpler Way Of Life

I guess my frame of mind surfaced on Election Day when I found myself admiring this scene that brought to mind a simpler time in my life when all I had to worry about was what my next meal was going to be and how best to avoid the tobacco fields without angering too many people while doing it. Somehow the planting and harvesting of crops never obtained a high level of approval with my preconceived image of physical labor the same way that mending barb wire fences, hunting, fishing, and destroying old buildings and rebuilding the new did. I still don't like gardening but I love observing what those that do can fashion with their green thumbs. I don't hunt or fish anymore unless I am wanting a particular type of meal even though I am well aware of the need for wild life conservation. These days I just enjoy watching the wildlife too much to want to shoot it for any other reason than for eating. The changing of the seasons have become more noticeable than they use to be. I see a deliberateness in nature now like I sense in myself when I make decisions.

My, how I have changed.

©2008/Keith Simerson

Suicide Victim Still Eating Popcorn While Shooting Herself?

Never mind that the deceased had no trace of gun oil on her hands even though the weapon used was covered in gun oil.

Never mind that the victim would have had to position her elbow pointing toward the ceiling before she could have shot herself in the chest according to the shot trajectory.

Never mind that the victim's husband had just spent a couple of hours at his girlfriend's apartment trying to convince her to give him more time to leave his wife.

Never mind that even though her husband claimed to the 911 operator that he had been giving CPR to the victim he lacked any sign of blood on himself despite the blood soaked bed that she laid upon.

Never mind that the Texas Rangers uncovered at least 5 extramarital affairs committed by her husband over the last several years.

Never mind that the description the husband gave of how he found his wife didn't match the blood evidence that the autopsy detailed.

Never mind that the deceased had popcorn in her stomach, mouth, and down the front portion of her pajamas even though there was no evidence of popcorn found in the room. That question appears to have never been pursued any further.

Never mind that a there was a blood transfer to the oil can which meant that she would have picked up the can after she had shot herself even though the investigation showed that she would have died instantly from the wound.

Never mind that there were fresh bruises on the bridge of her nose, her right arm, the base of her thumb, right lower leg and left thigh. The bruise on her forehead matched the slide of the gun. I am sure that she was so angry at herself for letting this man control her life over the years that she beat the hell out herself and even hit herself on the forehead before finally putting a bullet in her chest.

Never mind that all these examples of what happened that night in 2000 sounds for all the world like a murder yet an Illinois medical examiner reclassified this incident as a suicide!

My question is this ... what in the hell would it take to convince a normal person that it was any thing other than a murder?

Read full story.

©2008/Keith Simerson

"I am not moving another inch until someone can explain to me why I'm so confused!" ©2008/Keith Simerson

"You Better Clean Your Act Up Boy!"

©2008/GoodnEvilGuy

**Note the trooper standing beside the car wash vacuum cleaner giving advice to the driver.**

NOTE TO FREELOADERS: I Don't Mind Carrying My Burden But Would You Mind Keeping Yours Off My Back?

Anyone can carry his burden, however heavy, until nightfall. Anyone can do his work, however hard, for one day. Anyone can live sweetly, patiently, lovingly, purely, until the sun goes down. And this is all that life really means.
Robert Louis Stevenson

My Day Has Been Made!

Oh My God!!!!
I am so glad
that you stopped
by because
you made me realize
that life doesn't get
much better
than this!!...
Or something like that.

©2008/Keith Simerson

"Maternal Watch"

Loved yet not judged
watched yet not smothered
allowed to fully grow
yet given the room to enjoy the journey
the sleep is deep
the awakening is to know safety
darkness is met with an assurance
that the demons must withdraw their fury
that has no grip when their prey is enveloped
in devoted motherly love

©2008/Keith Simerson

The Final Frontier Of Refuge

The days come and go
the nights bring the light down
No time to appreciate the beauty
as our cars speed over our concrete paths
that slice thru the lady of nature
Driven to earn a living
Hoping to be accepted
trying to be noticed
yet praying to have privacy
Is there anywhere to hide our face
from the prying eyes of our unknown watchers
Into the depths of our mind
is our final frontier
to enjoy the freedom that our imagination can muster
It is a new land
wild and unexplored
My permanent residence where I take myself
where no one can intrude into my peacefulness
without my permission
What a delightful view!

©2008/Keith Simerson

Too Much Detail Work Makes GoodnEvilGuy A Crazy Man

To relieve the stress of working on this larger than life equestrian piece I began playing with the colors just to see if I could find anything of interest to use on any upcoming sculptures ...


I must have spent a wee bit too much time because I began having dreams where various colored horses were stampeding toward me while breathing fire! Maybe that was a clue to wrap this job up.

Anyway ... now I'm too scared to go to sleep because I'm beginning work on a life size woman that's turning into an angel.

That should make for a few more interesting nightmares to mess with goodnevilguy's already fragile psyche.

©2008/Keith Simerson

A Bloody Day In The Sculptor's Studio

Well, let me take a closer look at some of the things that got my attention today ...

1- After placing a bucket of silicone rubber into my vacuum chamber to be aerated I walked around the steel canister and caught the sharp end of a metal fastener square on my shin which ripped it open as I watched small amounts of my red vital fluid escape down my leg. That really got my attention.

2- I found out today that my number one enemy on this planet was on their death bed and supposedly feeling lonely and wanting to right some of their wrongs and the only thought that ran through my mind was that they were some how lying just to get sympathy (that should tell you what kind of person that I am referring to when no one will come and see them even when their 'friends' know that they are about to check out ... I kind of felt bad that I didn't feel bad about their dilemma but when you have never played well with others these kind of scenarios do tend to crop up).

3- While cleaning off hardened resin from a plaster shell I impaled my left index finger with a very sharp chisel once again causing more red vital fluids to leak from my body. This got more of my attention than the #1 accident.

4- I began to consider whether or not items #1 and #3 had any connection to #2. My brief concern that they may in fact be related in a karmic way led me to my final conclusion ...

5- To close the studio down for the day while I still had enough red vital fluids left in my body to keep my heart beating even though I really don't believe in karma per se. It seemed to be the only reasonable solution that I could consider since I needed to use the chop saw for the next couple of hours and I wasn't really wanting anymore gaping gashes to deal with.

After all, one should never be too reckless with spiritual principles that you do not believe in when it involves the possible loss of your life blood.

Right?!?

©2008/Keith Simerson

Politician Saying The Magic Words

©2008/Keith Simerson

Has Paul Warburg's World Government Finally Arrived?

I heard a financial analyst today make a comment about how the American people had been living way above their means for far too long and how we are now paying the price.

Excuse me while I go and vomit.

I know that many have lived above their means and now are paying the price but what about all of us that have did our level best to live within the means or confines of our budget over the years? I have lived such a conservative lifestyle over the last 20 years that most Americans would not dare attempt to live for fear that their neighbors might label them "tight as Dick's hat band".

But I had my reasons because (1) I have feared something like this because of the warnings of overspending that has been written about for quite some time by numerous economists and (2) I have seen first hand what living above your means can do to a family whenever we want desperately to be seen as successful by anyone and everyone that we happen to meet.

Listen to most people attempt to explain their debt and inevitably you will hear them say that they only wanted the best for their family or something to that effect. Well, so did I but I did not want a debt looming over my head which was more than necessary. A decision that I have caught more than my share of grief over from a few friends and family that allowed their mouths to move before their brain could shut it off.

They can not grasp the concept of living in old(er) homes and driving and maintaining older vehicles. It was as if I was violating some type of unwritten code that states, "Thou Shalt Have Only Brand New Material Possessions".

Anyway, before I digress further ...

Then I heard a nasty tidbit that some of the G-7 members are accusing the US of initiating this economic fallout just so they could get their claws deeper into the banking industry. They are already in the auto industry when they bailed them out. Where is it going to stop?

It won't until we are all under a one World Government. Lest you go away now and claim that the present economy has driven goodnevilguy to be a conspiracy theorist gone rampant read this:

"We shall have World Government, whether or not we like it. The only question is whether World Government will be achieved by conquest or consent." Quote by powerful banker James Paul Warburg before the US Senate in 1950.

Kind of chilling ain't it? Especially when it comes from someone that was so highly placed in the world scene. Even it was 58 years ago.

Well, it seems to me that there are many Americans that just don't give a damn what kind of government rules them or how much they have their hooks in every aspect of our lives as long as they don't have to give up their quest for their new possessions.

Or maybe this is all nothing more than a hallucination brought on by the conspiracy theory advocates.

I think I'll go vomit again ... maybe that will clear my head and help me to better understand why we need more government intervention.

©2008/Keith Simerson

Can Financial Trust Ever Be Regained Without A Chastity Belt?

Last night as I worked late, burning the midnight oil so to speak, I heard some comments on NPR that were broadcast from the BBC that got my attention ... as I am sure they were intended.

One was concerning the trust, or lack thereof, of the people in their leaders not only in the US but globally. The commentator said that he felt that it would take a strong mother or father type image to come upon the scene and settle down the panic that is running through the financial markets because the people no longer trust the methods and wisdom of established leadership.

And that mentality does not have to be elaborated on given the track record of the criminal mindset of so many corporate executives in charge of public monies over the last 10-15 years.

Later during the program, the BBC aired the report that some unidentified deep pocket source came in at the end of the trading day on Wall Street and spent considerable monies so that the market wouldn't close as low as it was spiraling toward. Hhhmmm, now who could have that huge amount of surplus money lying around that they were willing to risk in our wildly volatile market? Whoever it was I am sure that many were glad that they did. At least for the time being it helped ease the pain a little.

The confidence in our capitalistic financial wisdom is extremely shaken and no one is sure what it will take to get it back. I am assuming that that was what the gentleman was referring to when he predicted that that it would take a strong mother or father type figure coming on the scene to halt the backlash created by so many sub prime loans being given out to everyone and their cousins as well as the pure unadulterated greed of numerous business executives that are largely being allowed to ride off into the sunset with their millions while the average taxpayer is struggling for their next breath.

And then you have the biblical prophecies, whether you believe in them or not, that have predicted for years that whenever someone rides onto the scene and creates world peace in a chaotic global scenario you will then have about 3 and half years before that person will be unveiled as the Anti-Christ.

Couple all of that with the Mayan stargazer predictions concerning the cataclysmic global events that will erupt around the year 2012 AD and it all leaves one to shake their head in disbelief in the scenario that we have found ourself in.

Maybe if we invest in a good strong pair of metal underwear to guard our backsides we will be able to protect ourselves a little bit from the predators that are still out there eyeballing us and waiting for the next opportunity to rape us just for good measure right before they try to steal our last dime and ride off merrily into the sunset. Why shouldn't they? If they think that they will get by with it you can damn well bet that they will exploit us at every chance.

Who knows, the metal underwear might thwart our financial attackers long enough until we can figure out a way to legally castrate them if they even look our way again. OR maybe we should require that our financial leaders wear some kind of a financial chastity belt so we can be sure that they aren't screwing around behind our backs again.

Whichever way it goes my head is hurting just contemplating what has befallen our economy ... either that or I need to loosen my metal underwear before I pass out.

©2008/Keith Simerson

Is This Fox News Station Guilty Of Fanning The Flames Of Civil Unrest?

Last week High Point, NC police shot and killed an armed robbery suspect who had threatened them in some manner when they responded to a burglary in progress.

When the reporter for Fox interviewed the mother of the slain suspect, the report was split into two segments. The problem with their report came after the second airing when Fox allowed hearsay comments by the mother to be aired after several alleged eyewitnesses had told her that her son had been shot several times in the back by the police. An accusation that High Point Police denied. The SBI is conducting a thorough investigation into the shooting by the officers who have been placed temporarily on administrative duty.

Is this news station guilty of fanning the flames of an already unstable situation by allowing those kind of remarks to be aired before the facts have first been learned?

Click on this link to read the story and watch the two videos in the sidebar for the complete story.

©2008/Keith Simerson

How Survival Minded Are You?

You have been involved in a solo wilderness whitewater accident, temporarily knocked unconscious and washed up on a sandbar. But other than a lump on the side of your head you are uninjured. While rummaging around the area you have fortunately been able to locate a dilapidated and roofless shack that contained the following items:

1-one functioning flashlight with batteries
2-2 quarters
3-20 x 20 foot sheet of heavy-duty canvas in fairly good condition
4-fifth of 151 proof rum
5-seven wooden matches in a metal screw top waterproof container
6-one magnetic compass
7-gallon can of maple syrup
8-punctured inner tube for a 13 inch tire
9-hand axe
10-wind up alarm clock
11- 6 inch awl

On your person you have a life jacket, tee shirt, blue jeans, hiking books, and $88 in cash.

For those of you that have the time or the inclination, number the 11 found items in order of importance (to you) and how you believe each can be utilized for your survival. Include how the items you are wearing and the cash could possibly be used as well.

Submit your list for review if you like. There will be a blog written shortly afterwards revealing the more ingenious methods for survival with these limited items.

©2008/Keith Simerson

Before Being Killed By A Predator, Know That You Will Die Laughing

Have you ever wondered why we are only ticklish whenever someone else is tickling us? I almost go insane when someone tickles my feet but I can try my damnedest to tickle my own and it doesn't bother me.

I read that this one scientist had suggested that it's a throwback to primeval times when, grasped by a predator, we instinctively squirmed to escape and then automatically released our inner tensions by nervous laughter. I agree with the squirming to escape and the release of our inner tensions but I have to question the nervous laughter part.

I can't imagine that I would find anything running through my brain at that time even remotely comical when a predator latches onto me and I have a pretty good idea what's coming next unless I can somehow escape. I don't believe that anything or anyone would find that situation funny.

Based upon that scientific response or what I believe was a revealing remark by a closet masochist, I don't think I would want to find myself alone and in need of medical assistance with that scientist ... would you? As the old saying goes, "The devil is in the details."

©2008/Keith Simerson

How Good And Balanced Of A Human Being Are You?

Despite what some people think about me and my wonderful upbringing, I would like to inform you that I actually am quite the balanced personality ... I have chips of equal size and weight on both shoulders of which I bear extreme pride in wearing.

I have earned those honorable stripes through a diligent practice of observing and then probing the minds and actions of some of the most fucked up people that you will never hope to meet ... present company included.

Or maybe you have already met some of these elite human beings yourself and understand of what I speak.

I was helping my uncle split a dead elm for firewood last week when he told me about the trouble he was having with his horses eating tree bark right off the trees in the pasture as well as the fence posts. I asked him why they were doing that and his immediate response was, "Because they are as fucked up in the head as we are!" While there probably is some kind of explanation for that specific equine behavior I told him that if there was ever anything that he had said in his life that bore more resemblance to the truth than that, I could not recall.

I remember back in the day when I taught Sunday School and I heard someone say that I was such a "good" man. There was almost an instantaneous reaction inside my mind that enraged me because I knew how much of a lie that statement was and how many people that actually believe they are in fact ... a good person. I may be better adjusted socially than, say, Charles Manson, but I still have many things that I need to work on just like everyone else.

Isn't labeling someone "good" one of the most extreme forms of cruelty that you can bestow upon a human? How could I possibly be expected to happily live my life with that tag attached to me wherever I go? I would be better off labeled as "evil" because at least I could still do a good deed every now and then and the fingers that would point my way as well as all the useless gossip would be greatly minimized because we all know that an evil person doing good just can't equal the good person doing evil when it comes to sheer excitement. Right?

Well, it has taken me many years of trying to rip off all the social labels that I feel was unfairly branded upon me but I must be achieving a certain degree of success in my endeavor because a couple of months ago, my aunt introduced me to a distant relative as the "mean one" of the family!

Now if I can only get "human being" added to my label I will have finally achieved my greatest success yet.

©2008/Keith Simerson

What Will Your Memorial Look Like?

I still am not sure how I feel about what just happened.

I hadn't actually spoken face to face with him but 3 times and over the phone maybe 4 times. We had emailed back and forth about 6 six times.

But all those communications were because we shared a similar interest ... sculpture.

He had hired me to reproduce 5 of his sculptures that he had created since his retirement from a construction firm because he wanted to give reproductions of his work to all his children and place some others in a small gallery. That would be a good idea ... I come across it often with the sculptors that I deal with on a daily basis. After all, who among us doesn't like to see our work displayed around our homes or our friend's homes? Particularly if it makes you or them happy when looking at what was created with your hands.

Over the years, I have caught myself on numerous occasions wondering what will happen to all my work once I am gone. A couple of days ago, the thought came full force again but in a way that I had never experienced before.

I had fabricated his sculptures to a point where I was suppose to phone him and send photos of a test patina so he could ok the final finish. I called twice but he didn't return my calls. Later that evening, his wife called to tell me that he was in the hospital and was very sick but they were planning to come to the Outer Banks later this month if he was feeling up to it. She sounded pretty certain that what was going on with him health wise was no big deal. He had even asked that I send some print film shots of the patinas to his house within the next couple of days.

The next morning, I received a phone call from his wife telling me that he had died early in the a.m. and for me to pick a final finish and to let her know whenever the pieces were done.

I was shocked.

What had began as one man's quest for sculptural beauty had become in a matter of hours his final memorial that was now in my hands to finish in a manner that I believed would satisfy him if he were here to approve.

I guess that everything that we put our hands to, at any given time, whether a sculptor, painter, writer, carpenter, doctor, lawyer, factory worker, or housewife, at some point will become our own memorial in a sense whenever we pass from this life. That's kind of a strange thought, isn't it?

What will yours be?

©2008/Keith Simerson

The dragon of our Western tales tries to collect and keep everything to himself. In his secret cave he guards things: heaps of gold and perhaps a captured virgin. He doesn't know what to do with either, so he just guards and keeps. There are people like that, and we call them creeps. There's no life from them, no giving. They just glue themselves to you and hang around and try to suck out of you their life.
---Joseph Campbell

Reddit Commenter Suffers Major Meltdown Because Of Hearing A Song

dbisping 2 points 5 hours ago

fuck you and your moby song!!!

what's wrong with you turds playing music after someone clicks on your site?!?

goodnevilguy 0 points 4 hours ago

If you had half the brain that God gave a gnat you would be able to figure out how to hit the pause button if you don't want to hear the song. It must be difficult for you to interact with common people.

dbisping 1 point 4 hours ago

you're oblivious of the fact that the pause button isn't the first and only thing experienced after the click. the fucking obnoxious song wasn't either, but it's overwhelming and annoying!

i like moby, a lot.

what i don't like is some dipshit who refuses to grasp that common people can't parse the assaulting distractions and loud uninvited belch that came out of my speakers not at my request.

i was reading, you prick! i was trying to read your website, you ass!!!

your desperate need for attention and acceptance makes you think that your blaring noises are more important than what you wrote.

you're so self important that you have to insult and annoy people who were trying to look at your website.

jerk!

goodnevilguy 1 point 4 hours ago

You are quite possibly the angriest homo sapien that I have come across in some time. Sorry about the urine in your cereal, it ruins the hell out of my day too.


Those former tirade of comments were the result of Reddit user "dbisping" arriving on my blog and hearing Moby's song, "Porcelain" automatically beginning to play. For those that do not wish to hear the music on my site I have left some extremely simple directions to follow ... Please Press The Pause Button If You Do Not Wish To Hear The Music.

For the average, intelligent person, those directions are sufficient should the music disrupt their concentration while reading. I have been to sites before when music was playing and if it caused a problem I would just turn the volume down or either stop the music.

Have I overlooked some sort of internet etiquette that I am not aware of? I would appreciate whatever feedback I can get and preferably with as much tact as you can muster.

©2008/Keith Simerson

If+you+had+half+the+brain+that+God+gave+a+gnat+you+would+be+able+to+figure+out+how+to+hit+the+pause+button+if+you+don%27t+want+to+hear+the+song.+It+must+be+difficult+for+you+to+interact+with+common+people.+

No More Wasting Of My Time

A friend of mine who is familiar with my writings asked me a very pointed question recently, "Are you an atheist?"

My response was quick, "No".

"Well then, are you a Christian?"

Again my response was no.

"How would you classify your personal beliefs?" my friend continued.

"Well, I think that Something (God if that helps you) does in fact exist that created all of the incredibly complex universe we find ourselves in and that this Something has given each of us a unique purpose to fulfill, which, for whatever reason I am not sure, is not revealed but hidden. Our responsibility is to find what that purpose is and to operate from that base. That search is the impetus that should give us a reason to get out of bed everyday and to fulfill whatever it is that we must do daily so that we can experience all that life has to offer, whether we term those experiences as good or bad. Hopefully, if we are patient, and if we can cease the belief that we are superior to nature, a superiority that usually brings with it a destructive mentality, we will also begin to appreciate the beauty of the natural world and how closely connected each of us actually are with nature."

He was only the third person besides my wife that I had ever said those words to. But I live my life with those beliefs directing all my steps despite what the religious and/or the atheistic try to get me to believe to the contrary.

I am not going to waste anymore of my time arguing about theological or philosophical BS when I can best spend my time appreciating this natural world by creating things that I find to be beautiful whether it be through sculpture, painting, photography, drawing, or writing. Whatever I choose to believe about the existence to come once this tired physical body ceases to live on this earth is my choice that I will choose ... not what all the denominations across town disagree about what it says it will be. Who died and made them omniscient?

Matter of fact, I have a sneaking suspicion that God has probably been wishing for the past several centuries that we free-willed creatures would stop creating religious and civil doctrines and stamping them with His Name of approval at the top and bottom.

In most cases I believe that "God willed it" is nothing more than a well-crafted forgery by man.

©2008/Keith Simerson

Learning To Live In The Jungle

The man looked at me like he had lost everything. I had known him for years and knew that he had at one time been a religious man but now he seemed to have lost something.

"There are times when I wish that I would have been killed in combat as a young man because I would have died deeply believing in something. In many ways I feel that those young soldiers that have died in Iraq are very fortunate."

I didn't know whether to feel sorry for the man or to shoot him to get him out of his misery.

I found it hard to believe that there was nothing that this man could believe in any longer. Was he speaking of losing faith in God? Had he lost faith in his country? His family? His friends? After speaking with him for awhile I assumed that it was a little of all of the aforementioned.

What I did not know how to suggest to him was something that I felt he should have already realized by now but evidently had not.

He was finally aware that he was in a jungle and was going to have to muster the will to survive this life or else be eaten alive.

We have to live our lives one day at a time, knowing that we are going to win some and lose some but always looking for those events or moments that bring us joy and happiness and then enjoying them to their fullest when they do occur because we know from experience that they are only temporary.

There is a real freedom that comes with being aware that we can't live our lives waiting on miracles even though I am all for having positive expectations for the future. All of those people that pretend to know what happens to us whenever we stop breathing can save their precious words for those that believe nothing bad will happen to them if only they will profess their faith in a God that they have been told about and who are going around telling others about with secondhand information and who are scared half out of their mind not to believe in for fear of divine retribution. They do this out of a fear of enduring an unspeakable horror should they die before they wake or who will have to experience unspeakable terrors that will rain down upon them by their loving God should they not follow all of the doctrines to the letter that have been fabricated and passed down for centuries by those that have wished to rule others by playing upon their fear of the unknown.

What kind of freedom and liberty can be gained by living that kind of life?

If my friend ever realizes that he can actually think and live his life much better on his own than by following what others tell him to do I suspect that his days of sadness will eventually pass away and he will finally discover who he really is and what he is made of.

But coming to grips with this realization ain't for the faint of heart.

©2008/Keith Simerson

What Are You Prepared To Do If You Run Out Of Gas?

I guess this is one of those "just to be on the safe side" type of outings.
©2008/Keith Simerson

Many lives have a mystical sense, but not everyone reads it aright. More often than not it is given to us in cryptic form, and when we fail to decipher it, we despair because our lives seem meaningless. The secret of a great life is often a man's success in deciphering the mysterious symbols vouchsafed to him, understanding them and so learning to walk in the true path.

----Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn