John Hopkins Hospital

I had the most amazing doctor’s appointment the other day. I am here to tell you the folks at John Hopkins hospital in Baltimore are pretty damn good! I learned more in one day then I did in a year.   Seems I may have to get some surgery soon and the doctors are thinking about titanium plates in my neck and my back. More test and time will tell.  It is odd what goes through your head when you get the initial news you need surgery. One would think you should think of family, friends, how it is going to affect your life.  Not me, I thought the craziest thing was (damn now if I go through a metal detector it will go off).  If I fly from any of the airports I hope my TSA Agent is named Helga.  Mendy would be funny! First person I thought of was Helen in England; I got scarred and smiled at the same time.  If you ever worked in the passenger terminal in England you smiled at that one!  I guess that is how I handle stress is with humor. Anyway, seems like all the pushing and pulling on my back have given way.   I have some kind of spinal compression that is causing pain in my legs, back, and neck and without the surgery may be crippled someday. I move slow now, have handicap plates and feel I am going downhill.  Thank God for pain pills. I was on face book the other day and commenting with my friends who in the past had sleigh rides down this awesome street (Kentucky Ave). I thought how cool would it be to even get on a sled.  I have not run in years and I want to start Kayaking.  I bought a treadmill and hope to start walking.  I guess you have to walk before you can run. It’s crazy what happens when you start getting middle age.  At least it will help me lose weight.  Until next time!

Driving

I was driving the other day on Route 1 in Delaware.  I was going a little over the speed limit and was passed by an idiot with New York Plates.  He proceeded to wave to me with one finger as he flew by.  I thought man what a butt hole.  I wondered where the heck he got his license and how the hell he even got one.  I also wondered where some of these idiots were from.  I think people in the northern states are the worse drivers.  New Your, New Jersey, Massachusetts, just to name a few. My ex use to say Virginia drivers were bad but they have nothing on New York drivers!  The only place worse I have ever seen was in Turkey.  Man what an experience! How come people who are driving slow or with a trailer feel they can drive in the left lane?  I thought the left lane was for passing or faster vehicles.  I started watching people as I drove, some were talking on the phone; some were putting on their makeup.  One guy was even eating a sandwich.  Could not believe it!  This was not even rush hour. All of them in the left lane!  I am amazed at some people when they are driving. I think sometimes “man I wish a cop was nearby”!  I guess some folks cannot pay attention long enough to get from point A to point B.  If that is the case they should not even get behind the wheel.  I guess it’s a good thing not to have a law about driving in the left lane, if so a lot of folks would get citations! Until next time!

Get a life!

Kids and Sports

There is nothing like going to a ball field in the summer watching baseball or soccer.  Problem I see is the parents!  It is crazy watching and listening to these good examples of sportsmanship, and morals.  How sad is it to see the umpire get abused everyday for his call making.  Think of it this way.  These guys (most of them) are volunteers to do this so your kids can play ball during the summer.  There was a playoff game in Delaware recently and cops had to be called because of fighting. It was kids and parents.  I think parents ought to sign something so they will keep their mouths shut while in the stands.  Granted root for your kid and support the team but this is supposed to be the time of their lives, for the record your kid is not the best one on the field and you need to remember that.  During practices I saw parents blast the coach because their kid was stuck out in the field and not pitching. Somebody has to be in the outfield and that is why they only have one pitcher.  I remember one time when my youngest kid was on a team, the coach got all the parents together and basically told us the ground rules of what we could say and what we could do.  I thought that was odd at the time but it was a help.  I am sure he did this because of past experiences.  He told us everyone was going to volunteer and help and no one was to yell at the umpire or other team.  It was actually refreshing when the other team would tell us what good sports we were.  Parents need to chill and relax.  I understand getting wrapped up in the game but don’t make an ass out of yourself and don’t be the bad example for your kid.  Also if your kid is sitting on the bench, don’t blame the coach!  Not all kids can play every second, and score every point! On a side note, way to go Japan on your victory yesterday, it was a well-played game all in all!  That was the example of sportsmanship! Until next time!!

Relationships!

I was thinking the other day about relationships.  I have failed at a few and did pretty well on the short term idea but what about the long term?  What happens when the flair is gone and you are living the day to day things we call life? When the kids are gone, pets died off, and the house is just the two of you.  I know people who have been married for 30 plus years and some who could not last a year.  I was reading the paper the other day about a couple who were married 65 years, I thought, wow that’s pretty awesome!  What were they thinking?  LOL.  I wrote the other day about the first 15 minutes, it was pretty funny to think about that since after the charm you get the everyday things.  My dad was taken from my mom at an early age.  They were married for 38 years.  She still misses him to this day.  I am reminded everyday that I have said I will never marry again.  Does not mean I will not have a person in my life who means the world to me.  I really like the fact I have someone now who lets me be me, does not try to change me and lets me do the stupid things I do that make up Ronnie Allen.  Appreciation is a big thing.  You have to learn to appreciate the good and the bad of someone who makes for a relationship.  Think about it, it is a lot better to go through life with someone you like than be miserable and alone.  Have you heard that variety is the spice of life?  Does not mean a different person everyday but having different things to share is AOK in my book!  Bad habits or good habits.  You cannot be 100 percent all the time, why try!  Last thing is tell your partner, spouse, and significant other, whatever the case may be that they are appreciated.  It goes a long way! Until next time!

advice two

I did a thing on advice I have learned from Kindergarten the other day but thought it would be cool to expand that a little.  I have certainly tried to use those things I have learned but I realized I had learned some more.  In the military I was always 15 minutes ahead for an appointment, class etc and never understood why.  I do that to this day.  It is simple, Promptness shows respect. I learned the most valuable thing that I could have in my life is my reputation!  It is not expensive or hard but it is simple, and it is one of the easiest things to lose.   Be fair, honest, trustworthy, and generous and don’t forget to respect other people and their things. Unless you are really smart, which I am far from it, I will never be able to read peoples mind so I will never know when someone is having a really bad day or what they are thinking.  You will never be able to win an argument with a cop.  Don’t try; trust me when I say it is not worth it.  It is OK to be wrong, just acknowledging the fact that you could be is a big step.  Remember there is only one person in this world that was perfect and he got crucified for it.  Another thing I realized is that if someone is only impressed in what you look like, what you drive or what you wear is not really worth impressing in the first place.  You can only last in the charm department for about 15 minutes, after that you better have something else!  Nuff said. Never compare yourself to others as they may be more screwed up than you are!  Speaking of that, Dysfunctional people in your life make you feel better.  It is OK to keep them around.  Sure it is good to look good but be yourself! Look at someone in the eye and have a firm handshake, not the Chuck Norris type handshake but firm.  Always look at someone in the eye when you talk to them.  Mental illness is as real as diabetes, arthritis or any other disease, and no more disgraceful. It’s the stigma that’s disgraceful. Get to know the people around you.  The last thing is your kids will get to pick your nursing home.  Be good to them!  They may not like it at the time but stay on them. Until Next time!

Advice

I am sure we have all read or seen the “All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten” advise, but since I did not go to kindergarten, I did learn these things from living in Woodbridge Virginia and going to Gar-Field high school.  Funny how the things I learned as a kid and young adult I have used thought out the years.  I learned to share!  I share memories everyday with the peeps from back in the day and I try to share things with my family and friends. If I have it and you need it chances are it’s yours.  As life is not fair as we all know but I learned to play fair.  It did bite me in the butt a couple of times but I am a better man for it.  I always wash my hands before I eat and I do flush the toilet.  May not put the seat down all the time but if you hit the water, I bet it’s clean. LOL.  Pets, relationships, friends, plants, etc, they all die off, we all do so enjoy the precious moments you have with all of your friends, family and things.  You also can never have enough friends.  Believe it or not they help when your down and they pick you up in strange ways.  One of the things from the advice was Live a balanced life.  I am always trying to learn but learn some, think some, play some sleep some and whatever you do live some.  Working all the time and never stopping to smell the roses suck and no one should do it.  Money is important but it is not everything.  Take any one of those items and turning it around into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world - had cookies and milk at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon and then lay down with our blankets for a nap. Or, if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.  Until Next time! 

Computers

Isn’t technology wonderful? I mean we have cell phones, high speed internet, Big TVs, fancy computers that test the speed of light.  But what happens when they don’t work?  We cuss get irritated, drink more who knows. Blood pressure goes off the charts, some people throw things, etc.  I was ready to shoot my dog!   We have become a society that is so dependent on the technology age we get pissed off if things don’t work.  We can’t do anything any longer without computers.  I lost cable and internet at my house and wondered what the hell I was going to do.  I can honestly say it pissed me off I could not get on face book, play mafia wars, or communicate with my peeps from my past. I could not write my blogs, keep up with everyone’s status, and watch my TV shows, not saying I am one that is glued to the TV but if I want to turn it on I should be able to! Thank God the electricity did not go off.  I would have lost my wine cooler!  LOL.  I work with a bunch of computers at my work.  I am so spoiled sometimes I hate when they move slow.  We rely so much on technology some of the newer generations don’t know how to exist with it.  I remember at work talking about manual procedures if the computers did not work, people thought I was from outer space.  They had never heard of such a thing.  Look at cars and how much it cost to fix them now a days.  I remember holding my four barrel together with a guitar string on my Monte Carlo.  Cars now a days have computers for everything.  Yeah life is good when things are going well but when they break down, God help us.  Well since my computer is down I might as well get stuff down around the house.  Until next time!

Casey Anthony Trial

I told myself I was not going to write a blog on this but come on enough is enough.  People are asking what is wrong with our justice system.  A woman is sent to trial for killing her child, the jury decides there is not enough evidence to prove she is guilty, and she goes free; instead the jury does find her guilty four different times of lying to police.  I saw a lot of emotions on face book but the one thing that stood out was simple.  Who was thinking of the rights of this child? She did not ask to get killed, she did not ask any of this.  I have not been following this trial but someday justice will be answered.  All in all I think the Anthony’s are a pretty screwed up family and something was covered up but maybe we will never know. I think the dad should have been on trial. The news said the family is dysfunctional, that is the one thing this proved without a shadow of a doubt.  This family is pretty screwed up!  One of the things I read was there was no winner in this case.  This is true because we as Americans still have a dead child and no one to be held accountable for their actions.  Casey Anthony who may be free of murder will not have a normal life from this day forward. At least she will have to fend for herself and not have three meals a day given to her until they decide her fate.  Her life is messed up and I am sure it will bite her in the butt.  She will have problems walking down the street as people from all over the world know her now.  I just can’t understand how so many lives have been changed by this.  If you think about it, the jurors will have this verdict haunt them either way it for the rest of their lives.  The families have basically been torn apart and it will take years, if any time to fix this damage.  It was crazy I started seeing the old faces of the OJ Simpson trial as commentators and analysis.  This was the O.J. Simpson trial of the new decade.  A lot of money was spent on this trial and for what?  No it is not the verdict any one thought it should be but in my opinion there is only one judge/juror and we all will have our day in court! So while we ponder this for the next few days think of this.  We may not agree with everything but this is the system we voted for.  Until Next time!  I’m off to turn my porch light on! RIP Caylee.

4th of July

What do you think our fore fathers were thinking?  Funny how back in 1776 our congress adopted the Declaration of Independence but today we cannot get our congress to agree on a budget or stay in session long enough during tough times. How cool was it for them to be basically starting a new nation, life.et c with independence? We celebrate this day with parades, fireworks, public servants giving speeches; cook outs just to name a few.  I know we take a lot for granted and some of us including me are a little spoiled but it isn’t it neat we can do things in this country that some only dream about.   This is a federal holiday and I am glad Lowes was open but all and all it is a great weekend and holiday.  I was thinking I know how some of them felt.  I have had a sense of independence within the last couple of years that is hard to beat.  I thank God every day for this new found freedom.  Our fore fathers had an idea for us and all and all it was a good one.  I was thinking of some of the names on the Declaration of Independence,   John Hancock, Sam Adams, Who by the way has a great beer named after him, Benjamin Franklin,  Thomas Jefferson, just to name a few.  So today when you are watching the fireworks, baseball games or parades, think what it was like for some of these guys.  Happy Fourth of July to all of you and as screwed up as this country can be what a great place to be from.  Until next time