Remembrance and joy

My Brother’s Fire

My time has come that I must break these earthly bonds

and shed the fickle chains that tie my earthly soul.

That I have lived a life, a life of dreams

a life that holds a fervent fire,

And quenched my thirst of love and grander things I have not known.

That I have climbed the mount and flexed my wings

and soared to heights unbridled,

and touched the sky with thoughts and prayers my mind may only raise.

In starlight’s glow I bask above the earthly blue

and breathe the breath of angels

as God’s own hand does call me home.

Those hands I touch that comfort me

that soothes my soul I touch no more,

yet revel in the memory of a touch long lost.

I fill the void my heart has longed to keep

and hold dear the face of my child

and I shall sleep now in peace as I await my valentine.

*     *     * 

That five years has now passed is nearly unfathomable, and there is nearly not a day goes by that I do not think of one of the seminal souls that touched my life. His wit and humor influenced not only my life but had a profound effect on those who knew and loved him, and love him still.

Yet with our faith, a faith that, although I question from time to time, I know that one day I shall again place my hand in his, that my check shall brush against his and my lips shall kiss his forehead in celebration of our reunion.

Donald Lee Thomas

North of 50

3 of 5

 

Of a certain age

It has been well documented over the years in this blog that I really don't watch much television. There are shows that over time have caught my attention, yet with my irregular schedule I just don't have time to follow along, especially shows that have a continuing story line. I will simply miss too many episodes to be able to follow along.

Recently I discovered a secondary channel that shows the Star Trek shows, Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager. In the days of my youth these were shows that captured my imagination and to some extent, led to the recent publications of Star Eagle Six and Ghost Fleet and the series which I hope to add to this year with the coming book, Battle Wagon. But I digress...😉

Since I do most of my writing at night, usually after My Beloved and Ragin' Cage go to sleep, it turned out to be the perfect accompaniment to my writing, especially since I'm working on the Home World series. During one of the commercial breaks there were certain types of commercials that filled my screen ...

This blog began nine years ago this month. Fairly soon I'll have to decide if I want to change the name of this ramble to 'Thoughts of a Sixty Year Old Man'. Have I come to that age where the television shows I recall from the days of my youth are filled with ads for; back braces (fully paid for by your insurance), an on-line site for reduced prescriptions and other ads for the aging population.

Now, I still think of myself as forty-something, except when I have to do things like shovel the driveway (without a snow blower) filled with six inches of snow and wake up slightly stiff at the hips the next day, but to have myself targeted by ads targeted to the senior population is really making this week rather difficult to acknowledge.

I supposed it happens to all of us at some time where life just creeps up on you, it just isn't supposed to happen this fast. Maybe to my older siblings Anonymous and Greybeard, but not me.

Flawed is flawed

Every once in a while you see something on the news that is just a head-scratcher. It was reported on the evening news that a group in California has filed suit so that coffee is labelled as a product that causes cancer.

Now on the surface of that, I suppose that it is good that someone is looking out for the rest of us. Apparently everything in the State California seems to cause cancer. Now, I'm not the smartest bean in the hopper but I'm not an idiot either. The report stated that there is an ingredient in coffee that is also found in many other plant based common foods including such things as bread. (I apologize that I don't remember the actual name of the chemical). That is actually immaterial.

But even to the idiot bean the study is flawed beyond belief. Mice were given doses of 1000 to 100,000 times the doses that a person would consume. I would hazard a guess that nearly everything on the planet given to an organism at that dosage would cause cancer. In my view the science is bad and therefore does not warrant a lawsuit.

I understand one can not monitor every possible thing over time to determine if it is a health risk. Entire generations would or could fall victim to a true health hazard, but to continue to do this type of study is nothing but a hoax. I'm not a scientist, nor do I play one on TV, nor did I sleep in a Holiday Inn Express last night, but this type of research simply cannot continue. The scientific world needs to look at itself and come up with another method of determining carcinogens.

I for one am glad I don't live in the Land of Fruit and Nuts. They might as well just put a label on everything in that state and say it causes cancer. Buyer beware.