Thoughts About the Las Vegas Shooting

I've never been to Las Vegas but, on Sunday night when the news was interrupted regarding the mass shooting that had occurred, I thought of all of my friends and loved ones that have had experienced a great time there. I thought of their friends that been to Vegas and finally stopped myself to give my full attention to the news from Las Vegas.

I think the news channel had first caught my attention but, the news wasn't coming fast enough. I visited my Twitter account. One of the first tweets I clicked on was a video of a young man running to his car to get his gun. His heavy breathing as he ran and his words gave me enough of the story. The man explained that a young lady standing next to him had been shot and he regretted not having taken his gun into the venue. 96 hours later, I am thanking God that the young man didn't have his gun with him. It could have made the scene worse and he'll never have to live with that.

There have been many statements made about the shooting that included people's regrets. An individual's actions brought violent chaos into our homes and it caused heartache throughout the nation. The debates and comments about gun control mean nothing to me. People are in pain and people are suffering. Please pray for Vegas.

America Needs Leadership

I woke yesterday morning to Director James Comey testifying about his statements regarding Hillary Clinton's email investigation.

For me, his testimony couldn't have come soon enough.

Any time I see and hear anything in the news I think about society but, specifically the children. What will the children think? How will they perceive the reaction of the adults? What will they learn from this example?

Children are smart. I recall overhearing a story in a restaurant. The grandmother was telling her son in-law about a family member that continually made bad decisions. He this and then, he that. He did this and then,,,,, The six year old sitting at their table spoke up, "Idiot".

Good leaders do things.

     1)  Leaders set a good example.

               Individuals know right from wrong and need to be held accountable.

     2)  Leaders know how to negotiate.

               Every good leader knows the art of compromise.

      3)  Leaders have the ability to make a decision.

                 Weighing the pros and cons is vital to success.

A good leader does not have a ulterior motive. When a leader accepts the responsibility to represent others they are to protect the group's interests and should be driven by the set of values that serves their followers.

America needs leadership.

It's time for each and every one of us to step up and be a leader.

The Long Trail Home Leads To Valhalla Ranch

Matt Littrell of The Long Trail Home has been on my mind.  He is now working to construct Valhalla Ranch, a small sanctuary for veterans that are affected by PTSD.  You know how I feel about that term but Matt doesn't care because he knows that post traumatic stress is a problem and he wants to help other veterans grow beyond it.

The other day I told somebody that they needed to get MADD to correct a problem they were having and that's exactly what Matt did.  He got MADD when one of his friends took their own life.  I didn't advise Matt to get MADD but that's what he did, he made a damn decision and started to work on Valhalla Ranch.  Good for you, Mr. Littrell!

I'm assuming that this was quite a shock to Matt's soon to be wife, Kristen.  Sure, Kristen was fine with supporting Matt in his dream of building a ranch where veterans could visit to clear the cobwebs from their mind, but the shock and pain pushed him beyond his having a dream and he started to work to turn his dream in to a reality.  Not an easy job for a young couple, but they have a mission.

Matt and Kristen could use your help.  Kristen has set up a gofundme page for Valhalla Ranch and it would be great if you would donate.  Seriously, they're needing 30K for this mission.  You're supporting the construction of bunk houses and fencing for the horses that Matt and Kristen have trained.

Thirty-thousand dollars and yet we sit around and say, "What's wrong with the younger generation?" Maybe the answer is that we have isolated ourselves so much that we won't believe in anybody from the younger generation.

C'mon, Matt set out to cross the United States on horseback and he did. Need more proof? Okay, it's on Kristen's shoulders.  She believed in his mission, stuck with him on The Long Trail Home and is training the horses that will be used on the ranch.  I guess she does some of that domestic dolly junk like cooking and cleaning too because it appears to me from the pictures she posts that there isn't a pizza shop very close to the ranch.  You can follow them on Twitter at MK Horsemanship or keep up with Matt and Kristen on facebook to watch their progress.

Most importantly, please donate to Valhalla Ranch through the gofundme page.  It's about freedom from miserable memories.
 

I Have Been So Wrong

PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT;  I had this thought in my mind that we were very much alike and it was all about the solidarity but today I learned it isn't like that.  You can't imagine how hurtful it was for me to discover that only 2.86% of my blog readers like food AND drinks.

For your information, I like food and drinks and cookies are a favorite!  I encourage the other 97.14% of my readers to join the minority and say yes to food and drink in moderation.  :)

Georgianna Hardware Corporation

ENOUGH OF THE SOFT WORDS

This afternoon it was announced that Royal Jordanian Air Force pilot

Moath al-Kasasbeh was murdered by ISIS. My heart wrenched knowing that just three days ago ISIS had beheaded journalist Kenji Goto of Japan. I feel for the reporters that are telling me of this news and I am frustrated to see the response from the President of The United States.

Moath al-Kasasbeh was one of eight children. He was Muslim, 27 years old and was reported as being a devout Muslim who memorized the Quran. I do not see that anything on this list is reason for murder.

After the announcement of Moath al-Kasasbeh's death the president made a brief comment and once again used the word “ideology”.  We do not use that word in my home. Ideology is not a reason for uncivilized behavior.

So I got to thinking about ideology. Ideology is a principle, a view, an idea, a philosophy. To me it is a soft word that should be used to describe literature and films. My next thought was Marxism. That's not a big deal, it's just a theory but I instantly think of communism. Communism is the implementation of Marxism. To me that's a really big deal!

When my children were toddlers I had rules. No hitting, no pinching, no biting, no kicking, no pulling hair. That was my ideology. NEVER! Not even once did I say to them, “I will not support that ideology.” No. I played judge and jury and removed the violator from the scene. As a parent I took control of the situation at hand. I told them that they needed to be nice and follow the rules. Bad behavior meant there was punishment and I didn't cover up their poor behavior with soft words.

From what I see on television most ISIS members are fairly young. I've noticed they don't like it when somebody says something not nice about them but somebody is the ring leader. They are not supporting a duty to Islam and even though it is not permitted in Jihad, ISIS is harming innocent civilians. It's no shock that they would break the rules but with all of the bureaucratic nonsense and soft words the world is literally letting these young people get away with murder.

Cowboy Matt Littrell's Long Trail Home

This weekend I had a moment of fearlessness when I offered some help to Matt Littrell with The Long Trail Home.  Please let me explain.

I adore horses and have since the American Quarter Horse Association sent me a free poster but I do not own one.  This may have something to do with the two near death experiences that I had as a child after I had received that awesome poster but I'm not really sure.  I still adore them and over the years I have fallen for different breeds.  The Clydesdale Horse rates high on my list, followed by Percheron and Shire, then American Paint and finally the Mustang.  

As I wrote in my last blog, the men with The Long Trail Home were brought to my attention in a round about way.  My daughter works at a horse rescue.  She and I discuss the horses daily and the conversation usually revolves around difficulties that the horses are overcoming.  When she arrived home full of excitement it was strange to me and there was no hiding it.  Look, I was raised in the suburbs and attended well groomed county fairs.  She's shoveling horse manure.  I spoil the cat and dog.  She takes me to the rodeo.  

The second rodeo I attended was a really cool, free-spirited crowd.  The excitement was contagious from the minute we entered the gates.  The weather was beautiful, the horses all appeared pristine and the vendors were busy with the crowd.   My husband and I decided to sit in the third row of the stands since I have a bad knee.  

Intermission arrived and the people around us started to talk to us.  Seems most of us in the lower rows of the stands have bad knees.  The lower the row, the worse the injury?  Anyway, a man about our age came along with his wife and they sat in front of us.  We welcomed them to the party!  The more, the merrier!  We laughed and joked and carried on and suddenly a teenage girl approached.  We all became politely quiet. 

The wife asked the girl what she was doing?  The girl told her mother that she was just going to go visit with one of the guys with the rodeo.  The man, in a deeper voice than I remembered, said, "You don't need to be hanging around with those cowboys."  The girl's eyes grew large as she looked at her dad.  The man turned around in his seat, belted my husband in the arm and said, "You know I'm right about that."  We all shook our heads and smiled trying to hold back our laughter.  The wife moved over a bit so the daughter could sit down next to her.

I commend Matt with his success in raising money for The Semper Fi Fund.  His dedication and compassion for his brothers-in-arms is extraordinary.  Please support Matt's effort by making a donation at The Long Trail Home.  

Matt, I'm sorry that my suburbian upbringing made me leery of cowboys.  

I know my fearlessness pales in comparison to yours,

 but I would put money on it that you would have

 told that sweet, young girl the same thing.  

The Long Trail Home

I have been following The Long Trail Home since May, just a few weeks after they left out from Surf City, NC near Camp LeJeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina on horseback. This wasn't something that I had planned on but when my daughter came home from work one day and said that Iron Gait Percheron Horse Rescue was expecting two men to arrive for an overnight stay, every bit of me that's a mother kicked in. I guess moms will understand this. No police officer in the nation will do detective work better than I. The who, what, where, when and why will all be answered!

My daughter had been excited and I had been told all about the coolness of somebody finally doing something of worth to help our returning soldiers and best part for her, these men were using horses to get their message out there. Who are these men?

That evening I pulled my chair up to my computer. It didn't take long at all to find Matt Littrell's name.  I was even able to find his riding partner, Raymond Avery's name too.  Matt and Raymond are from Elbert, Colorado. These two good, honest men are on a mission to help the Injured Marines Semper Fi Fund. It makes sense that they were traveling across Georgia to get to Camp Pendleton.

Okay, I'll admit that I over reacted a little. Matt and Ray are simply trying to help others that need to be reminded that they did not serve their country in vain.  I do not think anyone should ever be needing reminding but I cherish my freedoms and am thankful to have them and I am especially thankful that Matt has reminded me of what an incredible country this is.  Matt updates The Long Trail Home facebook page regularly so I get to enjoy the horses and the cross country trip.

Please visit The Long Trail Home and make a donation to the Semper Fi Fund through his page.  

Men vs. Women?

I am not worried about the fact that women make less money than men. This is an age old argument that I will not be able to solve but I would like to point out that men and women have something in common. We are all human. People seem to forget that.

I have been reading the work of Jackson Katz recently.  He has been studying much of what we have been living since 1988. I thank Mr. Katz for seeing myself and other women as humans.

Jackson Katz focuses his work on the prevention of violence toward women. (You can get a quick Wiki synopsis of his work at this Wikipedia page.)

Here's where I have a complaint. I have noticed that many women seem to not appreciate men being benevolent. I taught my son to be caring, generous and kind but now that he is an adult I've seen more than one woman rudely tell him he doesn't need to bother holding a door because she is “perfectly capable”. Evidently being polite eludes them.

George Washington wrote 110 Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation well over 100 years ago. If you haven't read it, it's a fun read. Seems to me that the first rule applies to every human on the earth. That rule is: Every action done in company ought to be with some sign of respect to those that are present. This rule reflects the “Grandmother Test” I added notes of on the web site some time ago.  You can find it referenced on the Resume Help page.

I believe when virtue and honor are no longer fashionable we will all have more problems than we could wish for our worst enemies.

It's Easy

I think I may have encountered a non-believer. I can hear the echos of the nay sayers that have been around from the beginning but, yes there are always “buts” in my world!

During difficult times we wanted to help empower our friends and family. Hours of conversation and in regard to how to best help people and the decision was made to take the conversation to the world wide web and what a great experience it has been! Since the information that is provided through Georgianna Hardware Corp. is public knowledge we supply the information free of charge. I know. It almost sounds too good to be true but it's real.

Here's where I make the grand hit in the imaginary game of ping pong! The ball is now in your court. You must make the decision as to whether or not the information I provide is something you are interested in. It's that easy.

I have helped some people, made contact with many great people and have been fortunate to make some new friends. It's easy!

Georgianna Hardware Corporation

Impacts of Sequestration

I can't tell you of all of the impacts that will result because of the current sequestration, but I can tell you that it is not over.  We may notice something in the end of September but it appears that our public officials are not concerned about how citizens of American have been affected.

The Washington Post created a nice state by state list of impacts that has a breakdown by category.  I commend them for compiling the information so that it can be shared nationally.  The information I have linked here may not be the most current, but it sure gives you something to think about!

I urge you to review the information released by the Bipartisan Policy Center (or the BPC as they prefer to refer to themselves) and see what they predict for America's future.  I do not like that the word "assume" is used more than once in the report.  I may just tell bill collectors that, "I assume I can pay"!

I also urge you to contact your elected officials.  Let them know that while they were on vacation you noticed that they were not doing the job you elected them to do.

www.GeorgiannaHardwareCorporation.com

Using Your Voice

How many of you use your voice in our government? Currently there are 122 open petitions directed to the White House that require signatures to advance to the next level of review. Some seem to be personal but some need our attention.  

One of the petitions that we should be paying attention to asks the president to End His Assault on our Nation's Coal Mining Families.  I can't imagine a world without coal and can't understand why it would be considered a mistake.

What I do see as a mistake is 18 day vacations that are scheduled by elected officials who haven't done their jobs properly while there are two new food assistance recipients for every one job created.  I just don't see this as a job well done that is deserving of reward.

If elected officials want to create a legacy for themselves they should not be doing to at the expense of the hard working, tax paying citizens of their country. 

Please help our coal mining industry by signing the petition so we can keep those 700,000 plus people working.

The War on Coal

I tuned in to the news tonight so I could hear what the president had announced at Georgetown University today and I caught that he had made his decisive environmental policies.

The news report fell on deaf ears because the statement was clouded by hearing that this decision was, “for the sake of our children and the health and safety of all Americans”.

I am tired of the president of the United States including my children in every powerful message he needs to make. My children have always been resilient and they speak their minds but I dare say they might see through the smoke and mirrors and suggest that if he feels this is the right decision for our country he should stand up at the podium and accept responsibility for his decisions.

Questions rush through my mind. What employment options are available to people that will find themselves out of work? What resources do we have available to replace the power that we will be losing because of the “war on coal”? What are we going to replace the $16 billion of exported coal with? When will we be able to see the cost-benefit analysis of the plan? Is coal really combative?

My questions are unanswered but I urge you to let the “war on coal” be your reason to contact your representatives and ask your own questions. http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

Who are/is They?

Tonight I log onto Twitter and six of the first ten Tweets I receive are making comment about how our personal information is being mined by the NSA as well as businesses.  Yes, this is ridiculous BUT...

Remember when you closed on your house?  I remember being a little surprised when the attorney asked me to confirm my alias name.  Fortunately I remembered that many years ago I had received a check that was made out improperly.  I was able to deposit it to my account as long as I was willing to wait the ten days for it to clear.  Yes, I did use that alias and yes, the check cleared but years later "they" still knew.

I'm not sure who "they" are.  I'm thinking "they" are the same as "everybody else's mother" but I do know that there are times this works to my advantage.  There was the time that my credit card company had placed a hold on my account because I used the card for an unusual purchase.  It wasn't convenient to call the company and confirm that I had bought gas and used their card but "they" noticed.  Good catch, "They"!

Facebook, Microsoft, and Google are all on the list of place that tapped into their user's communications.    It raises questions but you need to be aware that this happens and it has been happening for some time.  Remember you read it here and be sure to be nice, polite, and well behaved!

http://www.georgiannahardwarecorporation.com/Pages/default.aspx

The Thing To Do

I happened across an article by Leo Shane III of Stars and Stripes which refered to PTSD. (Ref. link that follows for article in question.)

http://www.stripes.com/what-do-we-need-to-know-about-veterans-1.223351

I have never served in the military but my dad served during the Korean Conflict. I was an adult when Dad was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress yet it was more than 25 years after he had served.  He didn't romanticize about his time spent in the military and never suggested that he questioned his choices, actually he said that joining the military at that time was just the thing to do.

I recall him telling me the story of arriving home. He was walking down the street and saw his former boss. The man told him that it was nice to see that he was back and said, “I'll see you at work Monday morning.” Years later he laughed about that and told me, “So on Monday morning I went to work.”  I had a ton of questions.  Did you know what you would be doing for work, did you still want to work there, what were they planning on paying you?  He shrugged his shoulders and said, “I went to work on Monday because it was the thing to do.”

When Dad was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress he was shocked.  He couldn't believe that he had been living with PTSD all of those years and never knew it was a condition that could be diagnosed.  From the time that he arrived home he had kept busy leading his life and suddenly PTSD was demanding his attention.  Recognizing PTSD and acknowledging it was the thing to do.

The article in Stars and Stripes refers to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder but my dad nor his doctor ever referred to it this way. They referred to it as Post Traumatic Stress.  Perhaps these men were just wise l beyond their years and refused to give it a negative connotation.  Reading the article from Stars and Stripes only gives civilians a glimpse of what it is like to come home. We need to welcome these men and women home and treat them well because it's the thing to do.   

A Bit Off Subject

I was cleaning tonight and got to thinking about inflation.  A report I read claimed there was a 124.5% increase in grocery prices over the last five years.  I'm sure our health insurance has increased by 142.5% and gas is up 140.4%.  I suppose no government official will decide that cleaning is bad and there will not be an amendment to the Constitution stating that cleaning should not be done.  I do believe that gun control would not be a problem if these numbers were under control.  I encourage you to write your representatives!

Made in America Movement

America is absolutely amazing. Apple made an announcement that they were bringing some of their production back to America. This made the headlines, but we were curious. We wondered if we are still in the minority of people that look for products that are made in the United States of America. Come to find out, we're not the only people that believe in America.

The Reshoring Initiative teaches us that companies benefit from reshoring as offshore sourcing faces higher costs in transportation and fuel, as well as increasing wages. We invite you to visit our December Notables December 2012 Notables page to learn more about reshorenow.org.

There is a whole new trend coming along called "Reshoring" although some refer to it as "backsourcing" or "onshoring".  Either way the efforts support businesses bringing jobs back to the U.S. from overseas.  Companies such as Janssen Boas are happy to help other businesses bring products back to the United States and organizations like reMakeIn still believe that neighbors and local communities can help one another.  

America is amazing!  For many of us America is the country that owed us nothing but gave us everything.  It seems we're realizing that it is time for us to give back.

Why Care About the Presidential Election?

Sometimes I feel like I am preaching to the choir, but today's blog is specifically for the young people that are questioning why they should be bothered being interested in this presidential election.  This will take about two minutes of your time to read.

My mom's family came to America on the Mayflower. History books have taught me that they left England because they felt so strongly about their religious freedom. They were referred to as Separatists and had many difficulties prior to their arrival here.

My dad's family came to America from Nova Scotia, Canada. My paternal grandparents decided to come to America with hope of starting a new life. They were a young couple that had already experienced having two of their children die of Scarlet Fever.

Not having interest in any election is something that is not new to me. Actually, I follow politics for my entertainment and I get it that you're disinterested, but I'd appreciate your being kind enough to allow the few minutes for me to make my case.

This presidential election is rather unique in the fact that our country is divided so evenly. This month we are starting to see changes to our country that have been put in place by our current president. Companies are experimenting to see how they can still make profits while avoiding paying for health care. The first thing those companies did was cut employee hours to 28 hours per week. I bet that hurt. By my calculations those people will receive a check for $168.00. Crap. My smallest grocery order this month was $127.54.

Who cares? Your healthy. You didn't even want to work full time. OK, think about the number of doctors that are becoming disinterested in serving their communities because they never get time off, their pay is going to be reduced, and they will need to make budget cuts with their staff. Odds are they will need to have a part time staff. They went to school for this? They are doing more accounting than assisting people and they're not happy. Can you blame them?

We have heard a lot about Libya recently. Big deal. Most Americans don't even know where it is. That doesn't stop us from sending money to their country and we will do it again next year too. In return we had four Americans killed. Only four, but they weren't your brother, uncle, or friend. Americans care so our government sends money to countries that need financial assistance. Don't forget the millions that we send to others countries and that inludes North Korea, Columbia, and Russia. Wonder why North Korea wants to blow us off the face of the earth? Maybe it's because we gave them $106 million in 2008 but only gave them $2.5 in 2009.  I did the research using our government's web site at http://foreignassistance.gov/CountryIntro.aspx so that you didn't need to.

If you're in the twenty-something bracket think back to September 11, 2001. Do you remember where you were when you heard about the attack on your country? Prior to September 11, 2001 there had been few foreign attacks on U.S. soil. Just for reference, we had the War of 1812, the U.S.-Mexican War in 1846, an attack led by Pancho Villa in Columbus, NM, in 1916, the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, and an attack in New York on the World Trade Center in 1993. These people that you have no interest in keep all of us from harm.  

I remember feeling that my vote didn't count and the president didn't really represent me. Not that either candidate can relate to me now! Who cares? The question is, why care?  Well, as American citizens we have been granted our unalienable right: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  The generations before mine didn't just throw these rights away, they've kept them in check for you. Even with its current difficulties people still have a desire to live in our country and they have good reason to. C'mon, that's kind of cool to know that people you don't even know want to have a life like yours.

If you don't care, too bad. You're not the first and you won't be the last. Worst that can happen is the candidate you choose might not win. I have a realistic view. Is the glass half full of lemonade or is it half empty. Realistic me: It could be piss. You're in America because the generations that came before you thought your rights were important. It's time you care.

GHC News for September 19, 2012

GHC News for September 19, 2012

It may not have been of importance to everybody, but we were excited to hear from USA Attachments of King, North Carolina.  Their products are made in America and the company exports worldwide.  

With all of the aftermarket equipment we see, it's nice to know that these products can be supported by professionals that engineer and build the specific part you need.  USA Attachments makes it simple.  They use AR400 steel and offer complete satisfaction with their products.  When we compared prices, we found that USA Attachments was certainly competitive.  You can follow USA Attachments on Twitter @excavator and find them on facebook at  USA Attachments.  If you're in need of backhoe attachments, excavator buckets, couplers, or pins...well, anything that you might need to attach to heavy equipment, please take a moment to consider the products that USA Attachments has available.

We were so pleased to see the products that are available through USA Attachments that we included them in our September Notables page.  

The Start of The New Year

And they're off!  Off into the New Year with great enthusiasum and robust confidence.  Leaving 2011 behind and dashing into 2012 with great eagerness. 

You were all part of the transition that is taking place.  Made in America is cool again.  More and more folks have taken steps to promote and support products and services that support American workers.  Good for you for being a trend setter.  Your awareness is what keeps Americans working.  No matter how minimal you think they are, I appreciate your efforts and they are making a difference in our country. 

Georgianna Hardware is speeding into the new year too, but things will be getting off to a slow start.  Sadly, my husband suffered a hernia late in 2011 and he will be having corrective surgery this week.  In a family owned and operated business this means the entire payroll calls in sick.  We want to be as close to him as possible during his recovery which means he should be quite anxious to return to work in February!    

Thank you for your support throughout 2011.  There are a lot of things in the works here and I think you'll like what Georgianna Hardware offers to you in 2012. 

http://georgiannahardwarecorporation.com/default.aspx

Looks out, guys. The girls might be taking over.

Remember me?  I told you I was a news buff and back in July I told you that I was angry.  I also said that we were on the brink of something, but we didn't know what.  Since I was angry and there was no real change in anything I decided I would make a change in my own life by shifting my schedule around a little.    

My work day usually runs from 10AM to 4AM.  My husband's day runs from 4AM to 10PM.  I can't tell you how this happened, it's just happened.  Anyway, when I shifted my schedule I thought I would notice something and I did.  It seems that the girls are taking over.

Sometime back in the late 60's and early 70's there was the feminist movement.  Now those folks are moving again.  Their children are grown.  Their grandchildren are looking to drive.  Hey, guys!  I repeat, it seems that the girls are taking over.  You can research it or you can take my word for it.

In the mean time, we've been working on the web site and have tried to use my schedule change to your advantage.  Please visit Georgianna Hardware and support American workers.
                                                                                                         ~Thank you