I am a Veteran

I am a Veteran.

I have been told for the last eight years that I was illegitimate.  That everything I have was ill-gotten gains and that it was stolen from others.  I have been called the enemy, a terrorist and a bitter clinger clinging to God and guns as if that was a bad thing to do.

These were not perceptions that I gleaned from things I thought I heard imbedded in dog whistles and innuendo that is what the President of the United States said about me, my heritage, culture and belief systems.

I am not and was not bitter.  I do cling to the traditions and freedoms afforded me by my creator and guaranteed to me by my guns.  I was the enemy of those who wanted to take my freedom and my private property to include the fruits of my labor and my income.  I am still your enemy of you think you are going to steal from me.

I am not a terrorist and as I sit and watch people too lazy to vote out looting and rioting because their candidate didn’t win I kind of think they are terrorists.  I will treat you as such.  If you try to burn my stuff you will see true terror. 

We working class people are fed up with being derided for being privileged while we work 60 hours a week and a person who hasn’t worked a day in their life has the same lifestyle we do because they confiscate our earnings and redistribute them to the unworthy and ungrateful.  I don’t hate you because you are feckless and weak but you still can’t have my stuff.

You chicken shit little snowflakes need to crawl back to your mother’s basement and masturbate over those participation trophies you were cursed with as children because out here in the real world there are none of those.  It is blood sweat and tears full of busted knuckles, disappointment and grief. 

We working class people are Orwell’s rough men.  We trade that work ethic for the most rewarding and epic happiness that a man can achieve and that is communion with our God and security and fellowship with our families and friends.

The Thing About Luck

I get very tired of being told I am lucky. As was said before, I find that the harder I work the luckier I am. If you think success is too easy for some then raise the bar. They will be back there again and again.

My Father had a meager education but a monumental ambition and he turned out to be... "Lucky." My Mother grew up in the same dead end hole in the wall end of the county as my Dad and she was determined to see more and learn more and she was also, "lucky."

I do feel lucky to have grown up around that determination and ambition. Set a path and pursue it. Make your own luck and maybe you can drag the rest up the hill with you instead of letting them drag you back down it.

Tony Hines

The Old Man and the Tea

There was an old man and woman who did not know each other sitting on opposite ends of a bus stop bench when an angry and disheveled young man plopped down between them.

He went on about how he hated the city they were in and he hated the pollution and rude, selfish people. The he said he couldn’t take it anymore and was going to Chicago. The old man chimed in and said you’ll hate it there. There is lots of pollution and the people are rude and selfish. The bus came and took the young man away. The old man and woman still sat quietly.

Next a cheerful and bubbly young woman came up singing a tune and sat between them. She said hello to them and went on about what a pretty day it was outside and how excited she was to be moving to Chicago. She lamented leaving the quaint little town and the wonderful people but she was still very excited to go somewhere new.

The old man smiled, nodded and congratulated her. He told her he had lived there as a young man and that she was going to love the city, the beautiful skyline and all the wonderful people. The bus came and went taking the sweet young lady with it leaving the old man and woman.

The older lady then asked the man where he was heading. He replied nowhere really. “I just like talking to people who are heading somewhere new,”

She apologized for listening in and asked why he just told the angry young man that Chicago was awful and then told the beautiful young lady how nice it was.

Then the old man spoke. “I have been around the world several times and loved every place I have been. The one thing I have found everywhere I went was me. I had to go to places and do things I never wanted to do but ‘I’ was there with me no matter where I went and I could never leave me behind or arrive without me. That young man sees darkness and he will see it there. The young lady sees sunshine and she will see it there because his darkens and her sunshine are both within themselves.” Then he asked, “So where are you headed this fine day?”

She replied, “I was going to Chicago for a change of pace. My husband died a month ago and I can’t seem to find peace until just now. I think I will skip Chicago and have a cup of tea across the street. 

Will you join me?”

The old man smiled and said, “of ‘course. I love tea.”

Obama and Lincoln

Funny how people want to compare Obama to Lincoln. At first blush I am recoiled by the idea because history writers have made Lincoln into some kind of hero because he got shot in the head. Lincoln did more to destroy the rights of states than any president Then he divided this country to the point of war and during that war more Americans lost their lives than in every war we have fought before or after. Maybe Obama and Lincoln are more alike than we think they are. So far Obama is right on course to be the second Lincoln. I wonder what his death toll will be?