Sometimes you feel like a nut. . .

. . . sometimes you don't.

It's difficult to explain, but sometimes I feel like I am about seven years old. Childish? Hopefully infrequently, but more childlike, I think. Childlike in that I am curiously still full of wonder; questioning a plethora of things which so many others take for granted or are simply too busy (and adult?) to think about any longer. Childlike in my optimism (can you believe that?) and the sheer joy and pleasure I derive from the simple, and the BEST, things in life.

Security? Yes. I crave it at about the same rate as any other human being. But I do feel a certain amount of security, but a different, mature, independent security of my own making and not the security felt by a seven year old boy in a happy, for all intent and purpose, home with 'not a care in the world'. But at seven, why in hell should there be a care in the world? At fifty three, I would have to live in a hole to not have a care in the world.

The security I possess no longer comes from reliance upon a mysterious, unseen being or the promise of a nebulous, supernatural, post-death existence. It also most certainly does not originate from my own tiny little glob of gray matter. The king's portion of the security that I experience comes from my very own immediate family; my wife and three sons. And I don't mean that they exhibit a 'Ward Cleaver' authority and confidence to my sniveling, helpless child-man. What they DO each provide is a real, dependable, loving, appreciative, challenging human presence which elevates, fortifies, inspires, puzzles (and sometimes angers) me on a regular basis. This security seems to hit the spot for a mature (and again, I mean physically) adult male in 21st century America. . . me.



ANOTHER SHOT by Ray Jozwiak (that's me!)

Yeah. . .

. . . blathering again. . .

Music, music, music on my mind. Listening to my friend Doug Alan Wilcox as I write. He's working on a new CD. Check him out. Mellow! (The good kind of mellow.)

Good weekend. Weather is improving. Looking for those damned ants again. Not because I'm looking forward to seeing them. Only because they always show up. But I'm ready for them. I've got my Terro and more on order. Yuck!

Worked in the yard, not one of my favorite things, but actually enjoyed the time with my wife. And alas, another bottle tree grows in Towson. Tricky little suckers though. Gotta get the nails in the post at the perfect upward tilting angle, but not drive them in too far. A good wind though, and I fear their will be some bottles on the lawn to rake.

Watched a bit of the 'reelz' network special on JFK, my minimum weekly television requirement. Some good acting. Even DVRed, seems like there's a commercial after every 3 minutes of program. Sure, we zip through them, still annoying though.

Soothed the soul at the keyboard a bit. Mystic I played to a warm, appreciative congregation at CSL Baltimore on Sunday. Great folks. Love Lisa's soulful voice. (And the rest of the band is good too).

Shutdown of the government was avoided shortly before midnight Friday. That's good for a lot of government employees, that's for sure.

Gaddafi is still hanging in there. WTF???

Gotta go to the day job. Bittersweet. (Balance man, balance.)



ANOTHER SHOT by Ray Jozwiak (that's me!)

Stick to your guns. . .

STICK TO YOUR GUNS
STICK TO YOUR GUNS
DON’T LET NOBODY MAKE YOU RUN
JUST STICK TO YOUR GUNS

I’M NOT TALKING ‘BOUT WEAPONS
AUTOMATIC AND SUCH
IF YOU HAVE SOME CONVICTION
PRINCIPLES MEAN SO MUCH
PRINCIPLES MEAN SO MUCH

I JUST WANT TO SING
HEAR THE MANY VIBRATIONS RING
MAYBE MY MUSIC’S NOT YOUR KIND OF THING
I’VE GOT TO GET THE OTHERS LISTENING
I’VE GOT TO GET TH OTHERS LISTENING

IT’S A HUMAN THING
WE’RE EAS’LY LED WHEN THERE ARE TWO OR THREE
YES TWO IS COMPANY AND THREE IS A CROWD
THE GROUP OF VOICES CAN BE VERY LOUD
THE OTHER VOICES CAN BE VERY LOUD





ANOTHER SHOT by Ray Jozwiak (that's me!)

Some strange things. . .

. . . have I experienced this week. . .

The bumper sticker: "I love my Granddogs" (Sorry, this is taking 'doggie-dom' to new heights)

A girl I know always says 'You can do anything if you have your glasses and a bright light on.' (Which is probably true, now that I think about it.)

Trump is thinking about another run for President. (Does ANYONE really have to comment on THAT?!)

"Business is business and business must grow" [. . . Dr. Seuss] (Came to my mind after hearing some bad news about a local office of a very successful business)

And last but not least, the budget battle in DC. . . looked up some facts. . . (Thanks to FactCheck.org)
Obama claimed that by the middle of this decade his budget “will not be adding more to the national debt.” But that’s not true. The debt will continue to grow by more than $600 billion even in 2015, the year with the least red ink projected.
The president also claims that the “discretionary” budget is only 12 percent of the total. It’s actually 36 percent. Obama, like President Bush before him, is referring to “non-security” spending that excludes not only the Pentagon but the Department of Homeland Security and veterans’ benefits.
Republican Rep. Paul Ryan, chairman of the Budget Committee, repeated a false claim that Obama has increased domestic discretionary spending by 84 percent over the last two years. He hasn’t. That spending went up 27 percent, even counting stimulus spending, according to the official tally from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
Ryan’s committee also claims that Obama’s budget contains $1.6 trillion in “new taxes.” Actually, 44 percent of that total is made up of increases scheduled under current law, not proposed in the budget. And one big proposed increase is offset by Obama holding down a scheduled rise in the Alternative Minimum Tax.
Speaker Boehner claimed Obama has added 200,000 federal workers, when official figures put the total at 58,000, and Sarah Palin claimed in a bogus Twitter message that Obama’s cuts are only 0.1 percent of the deficit, when the true figure is 20 times higher.

So. . . THERE!


ANOTHER SHOT by Ray Jozwiak (that's me!)

Talk about your glass HALF FULL. . .

Irrespective of its inherent theistic philosophy, to which I do not personally subscribe, I do think this is a damned happy (and catchy) tune. . . .





Oh yeah, hope you'll check out ANOTHER SHOT by Ray Jozwiak (that's me!)

Who'da thunk . . .

. . . the government would actually shutdown. Well, this isn't the first time. It happened during the Clinton administration.

AND Rob Kaplan (Harvard Business School) says the government ALREADY HAS shut down, and this for a number of reasons. One, particularly glaring one though, is that 'while President Obama's budget commission developed proposals to address budget issues, a lame-duck Congress declared a temporary victory by extending all tax cuts (even for the wealthy) as part of a deal applauded by both sides of the aisle that, in effect, simply kicked the can down the road.' Fans of tax cuts for the rich think that tax cuts eventually pay for themselves, even when the facts suggest otherwise. They are unwilling to even discuss the facts that underlie this premise.

Gannett reporter William Theobald learned from his sources exactly what a government shutdown would entail:
- The Internal Revenue Service would continue to process electronically filed returns and provide refunds (and take payments), but would not process paper returns and would not conduct audits.
- The Small Business Administration would not issue small business loans.
- The Federal Housing Administration would not guarantee mortgages. During the 1995 shutdown, 12 percent of mortgages were FHA-guaranteed. Now, 30 percent are.
- The national parks would close, as would the Smithsonian Institution (and the Cherry Blossom Festival parade in Washington would be cancelled).
- There is no hard estimate on the total number of federal employees who would be furloughed, but it would be in the "same vicinity" as when 800,000 people temporarily were laid off.
- The Veterans Administration would remain open because it is on a multi-year appropriations schedule.
- The Environmental Protection Agency would no longer be issuing new permits and would stop work on Environmental Impact Statements, which are required for many transportation projects.
- The Social Security Administration would continue to provide benefits for current recipients. The SSA has not finalized the rest of its plans.While President Obama's budget commission developed proposals to address these issues, a lame-duck Congress declared a temporary victory by extending all tax cuts (even for the wealthy) as part of a deal applauded by both sides of the aisle that, in effect, simply kicked the can down the road.
- Medicare would continue to pay out benefits, at least for the short term. If a shutdown lasted for months, the trust fund would run out of money and payments would stop.
- Department of Defense employees required to stay on the job would continue to earn money, but they would not be paid. A significant number of civilian DOD employees would be furloughed.
- The same general rules apply to the legislative and judicial branches of the federal government, but the OMB official said those two branches make their own plans.

Politics, ideology and questionable theory should not influence this process. When your representatives ask you to re-elect him/her, ask them why they don't take YOUR BEST INTEREST more seriously!!!



Oh yeah, hope you'll check out ANOTHER SHOT by Ray Jozwiak (that's me!)

You don't have to. . .

. . . travel to the record shops, the Best Buys, Targets, WalMarts or the mall. You don’t have to decide whether to pay cash, write a check or use your credit card. You don’t have to lug it home and leave it under the car seat, and go outside in the rain (or snow) to get it after you’ve dragged your groceries, dog food, dry cleaning and six pack in from the car, forgetting that it was even under that car seat. You don’t have to clutter your countertop with that pesky little receipt which you can’t decide whether to throw away, recycle or file, and that your usually leave on the countertop, only to move it back and forth between that countertop and kitchen the table (sometimes the dining room table, for variety) because you couldn’t make the aforementioned decision. You don’t have to add another plastic bag to your already monumental collection which occupies a prominent place in your kitchen, laundry or mud room which frequently find their way to the ocean only to asphyxiate some innocent little sea creature or sit for innumerable years in the trash heap at your local landfill. You don’t have to struggle with that indestructible cellophane wrapping and cut a 2 x 3/4 inch gash in the tenderloin part of your right (your left if you are right-handed) hand using a steak knife to break through, or scour the house for that little plastic ‘cd opener’ which you have so wisely stored in ‘A GOOD PLACE’ which, as we all know, is the place where you will never find it until you have absolutely NO NEED for it! Which, of course, will prompt you to search for a band-aid, which you meant to buy last trip to the grocery store but forgot because you didn’t write it on your grocery list after you used the last one (probably the last time you bought a cd). You don’t have to struggle with that permanent, impenetrable tape that they put at the top of the jewel case and that only comes off in ½ millimeter strips instead of all at once, if and when you can pry off a corner. You don’t have to find a space for it on that over-crowded book-shelf, cd rack or the bottom cupboard of your entertainment center which is already over-stocked with Barney videotapes and chick-flicks that you can only bear to watch once, even though you thought they were funny and that you’d like to own them (the chick-flicks, not the Barney tapes). You don’t have to jam up the cd player in your car because you forgot Dean Martin’s Greatest Hits was still in there and you forced it into the slot anyway to find now that you can’t listen to either of them, or any other cd for that matter. . . or discover that the batteries in your personal cd-man only have enough power to illuminate the display that shows you are low on battery power. . . or find that your cd changer in your stereo has changed. . . it now DOESN’T work (which leads you back to Best Buy, Target etc. above, but that’s another story).

All you have to do is:
purchase it online
download
sit back and listen

Bet you wouldn’t have it any other way!

ANOTHER SHOT by Ray Jozwiak (that's me!)