Soldiers

In my previous blog, I had mentioned soldiers in my second paragraph. After much thought, I have since removed the word soldiers. My intent was not to disrespect soldiers who selfishly put their life on the line for democracy and freedom. I was only trying to show that it is a sad fact that while most people around the world celebrate Christmas, that soldiers are often far away in foreign countries, away from their loved ones, their friends. That was the point that I was trying to get across. My apologies to all soldiers and their families, if my words were misinterpreted.

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It Must Be Christmas

Snow. It must be Christmas. Snow. It is cold. It must be Christmas. Giving and sharing. Smiles, laughter, singing and helping one another. It must be Christmas. Baking, cookies, decorations, lights and candles. It must be Christmas. Babies, children, Mothers, Fathers, neighbors and friends...together again.

It must be Christmas.

Wars, hunger, hatred.Innocent people dying, corruption, deceit. Disease, pollution, waste, greed.

It must be Christmas.

 When will we learn? When will we stop? When will it be...Christmas?

It starts with you. Are you ready?

It Must Be Christmas.

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A Walk In The Woods

A walk in the woods. This is a picture that I will call "The Green Carpet". I saw a lot of this, while walking in the woods. I had a handheld GPS with me, so I just walked where my feet took me. I saw a lot of boar stands, used for waiting out boars that may come along. There are quite a lot of boars around here and I saw 5 such stands. Also, something that looked like a feeding station to attract boars...a lot of bread and a contraption above that I was not quite sure what it was for. I believe I even, dare I say, frightened a boar, because I heard a lot of rambling and rustling nearby on one of my "off the trail" ways. As far as wildlife, the only creature I saw was a tiny mouse trying to find it's way under cover to avoid any capture! Oh well, maybe next time! I will say, the GPS is very good to have, because you can just walk wherever and not worry about getting lost...unless, of course, the batteries die! Hmmm...mental note...take extra batteries on next walk. Perhaps on my next posting I will have a picture or two of a BOAR! HA!

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My Little Town ( apologies to Simon and Garfunkle)

   Sösdala, my little town. Or, village, as I have been told. My home town. Two grocery stores, two banks, one gas station, three frisorar ( hair solans), bus station, a couple of pizza parlors...I use that term loosely..., two schools, a library, a couple of clothing shops, a bakery, a few privately owned businesses, a bath and kitchen remodeling business, florist, a hardware store, a church and a lot of friendly people! Oh, and I can't forget the recycling place, commonly known as, the TIP. You can place bets on horse races at the gas station..I like that...maybe even do it some day. Money, Money, Money!

    I can walk into town in about a half hour from where I live, which is not a bad walk at that. I think by now, most of the people who see me recognize me as the local american who speaks a little swedish. It's a very nice village and I have come to call it my own. Every village, town, city has this same familiar sign letting you know that you are about to come into the area of such place. The 50 sign above states the speed limit, which is a little confusing since it is universally known that you always drive 50 when entering a municipality. But, who am I to argue, gives someone a job,I guess. Right passed this sign is a familiar tree. A Buckeye tree! Funny, being the state tree from where I come from in Ohio! At least it is funny to me and I always take a look at it as I pass it. When I go into the two grocery stores, I always look for anything new that may be on the shelfs. Kind of interesting to find things that remind me of US stores and then other things that may be so different, as well. No ICA Jerry, but I look for him, just the same! I wished that they sold the Euro Shopper dark chocolate again...I always look for that! So Good! LOL, I am getting off topic, now, sorry. On most saturday mornings, there is a Loppis...flea market....which has some good things and some things that people just don't want anymore! Not unlike the US, LOL. The village recently celebrated 150 years! I find that interesting in the fact that it is not really all that old of a village, in relative terms, if you think about it. A lot of people with their dogs, a lot of bikes used by both young and old...I like that...I hope to get a bike myself soon. Pedal into the village and maybe explore a little more on my own. I'm old, gammal, a bike would be better for me than walking, I believe. Definately faster! Oh, and not one of those skinny seats either. My butt needs a wide saddle for the comfort!

Sösdala, my little town.

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It has been a while...

Yes, it has been a while, since my last posting. Have been in a funk for a while and thought I would wait it out until I wrote again. Maybe, because it gets so dark earlier. Maybe, because I have not been myself lately. What the hell, maybe, because I think too much! My life in Sweden, except for my lovely wife, has almost come to a standstill, perhaps...a Mexican stand-off...so to speak. No job, no money, no more doing the things I liked to do. Just kind of waiting, hoping, something comes along. I took this short quiz on Facebook yesterday...said that I wasn't crazy! Whew! Good thing. For a minute there, I thought I was! I do have my health, a loving wife...a very understanding wife, I might add...and a roof over my head. A great deal more, than others have. In that regard, I smile, I breathe, I relax...I try not to think too much. I keep on testing for that damn Swedish drivers license test. *sigh*. What a test! Reality is, things are bound to change. Besides, what else can a poor man do? I'm just running on faith. I love you Laila!

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Friends

Ernie (top left)

Matt, Duke, Sam, Bob, Dana, Graig

Roger K.

Bob, Roger W., Me, Mr. Burt

Jim, Dickie, Kenny

Friends are forever. No matter what ever happens in your life, your friends will always be there. Especially, the friends that you grew up with. These are the people that you run around with, get into trouble with and most of all, just have the best of times with! As you get older, you may drift apart and not see each other as often as you would like. You have families, different responsibilities, your job, kids, vacations, the house needs some work and you just don't seem to have the time anymore, like you use to. It happens to everyone at some time or another. But, one thing about friends, you can stop by and knock at the door and all of a sudden, Wham! You are right back to where you started from. All of the memories come flooding back, you laugh so hard that you cry! You have that beer or two...or more...most likely more, then it's time to get back to reality and go about your life as before. You say to everybody that you'll get back in touch and do it again...knowing that it won't be for a long time until you do. Ah, you try to stay in touch. You make that phone call, send that e-mail, but for some reason, things just don't come together. I am not sure why, must be that life thing again. You think about them all of the time...laugh a little, once more.....think about those good old days! But the years roll by, time catches up with you, things change and you long for those days when things just didn't matter that much. That the only thing important was just getting together again for a few more beers, a few more laughs, a few more tears. You miss the ones who are gone and think about them the most...the, what if, factor. I have a lot of friends, some of them are in that picture. That's my Senior year at Alliance High School Engineering Drafting. Class of '73. Others that have been life long friends - Ron C., Ron T., Kurt, Weiner, and a few others that I can't quite remember now...but, I will and when I do, I will update this blog. I did not add last names, because, they know who they are. They are my friends.

Borås Zoo Lion Cubs

Three lion cubs that were born on Friday at the zoo in Borås, Sweden, were euthanazied because their mother would not nurse them. Zoo officials claimed that " The option of bottle feeding the cubs was ruled out because doing so would have affected their behaviour for the rest of their lives, making it hard for them to live with the other lions." Another quote from The Local states “It always hits you hard when you’re forced to put down newborn cubs, but we need to be professional. This happens in the wild and isn’t out of the ordinary.”
   I'm a bit confused. I thought that animals were in zoos to protect them and care for them. A zoo is not the wild and I thought that zoo officials knew that. There was not even the option of another zoo to care for them. I find this strange, at the very least. It almost seems that something is missing from the story. Could the zoo not care for them properly? Did they not have the facilities adequate to raise them and keep them safe as they became older? I agree with the comments, that this was insane to put to sleep these 3 lion cubs, without any attempt to preserve life, as I always thought the meaning of zoos and their purpose for animals of the wild. As a lover of all animals, I feel that there needs to be some kind of investigation of the management of the Borås Zoo.

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