MY OWN ROCKET

How do you spell freedom when you are nine years old? BIKE!!! Mine was a red and white rocket from the Gambles store-no fancy gears or anything like that. Mine was a bike made for the wear and tear that only a nine year old boy in a small town can give a bike
I remember well the 26 inch tires balloon tires, the tanks on the sides, the long horn handle bars, and even the tear on the black leather seat I put there while learning to ride it.
I also remember riding down the steepest ditch banks I could find, riding four other kids, my midnight ride to the police station when my cousin got hurt, and so many other great rides including the ride to Meeker Junior High the first day of school when a bunch of my friends and I rode together because of the Porter Gang.
Mainly I remember the freedom, the ability to get away from everybody and everything. Just getting on my bike and going, leaving all my problems far behind.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE A BIKE FOR SALE??

SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT THE FOURTH OF JULY

With the fourth rapidly approaching I thought the following to be time appropriate.

Independence day is for most people a day off work, a day for picnics, family time, and fireworks. For me it is also a day of getting in touch with my thoughts, to think about the rights we have because of where we live.

I believe we take many of the rights we have for granted, the right to travel unimpeded, not just from town to town or state to state but anywhere in this beautiful country we choose. In many countries of the world you are not allowed to leave your home area without state issued travel documents.

Here in America we have the right to complain about the government and the people who run it. We even have the right to choose who runs the government by voting, this is not so in many parts of the world.

Here in America we have the right to challenge laws we believe are wrong, the recent passage of the conceal and carry law ( whether you agree with it or not) is a prime example.

Here in America we have the right to education, and to choose how much education we receive, admittedly some people have to work harder to achieve higher education than others ( I worked three jobs at once while in college) but with determination a college degree is available to all who desire it and are willing to do the necessary work to achieve it.

Here in America perhaps the greatest right we have is the right to choose how we will live, the right to improve ourselves and our situations. No one in this country is required to stay poor or to stay in a menial job. If we are stuck in a dead-end job we have the right to quit and to go on to a different field of endeavour. Sure it may take hard work, long hours, or even changing the amount of education we have, but in America we have that right!! Bill Gates was not born a millionaire, he became one by hard work. W. Clement Stone who was one of the richest men in America started out selling newspapers on a street corner in Chicago.

So on this Fourth of July I urge all of you to take a look at your situations in life, and if you are not satisfied, to take the necessary steps to change it. It is after all one of the many rights we have because we live in this land of rights, this land we call The United States of America.

MENTAL CALISTHENICS

I have two quick questions for you, what is the capital of Nevada? What state is Montpelier the capital of? How did you answer these questions? Did you know the answers by heart or did you look them up? If you did either of these things good for you!

Too many people now days would say who cares. They would rather not exercise their minds, they do not enjoy the thrill that comes from finding things out through research.

A few years ago on PBS a motivational speaker named Leo Buscaglia told of how at the supper table every night his papa would ask each of his children what they had learned that day. Any child who didn't have an answer incurred papa's wrath.

This attitude towards learning, which use to be so prevalent seems to all but have disappeared in our rush about society. When your kids ask you a question how often do you tell them to look it up?

I remember asking my dad so many questions about words that he bought me my own dictionary and thesaurus just to get some peace. Dad's method of teaching worked well and I still enjoy keeping my mind busy and active. Try remembering things that you have forgotten and if you can't remember look it up.

You will be amazed at how good it feels to relearn things you once knew by heart but have forgotten. As an example complete this quote " The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones."

For a little summertime lift, try some mental calisthenics and see if they don't put a little smile on your face. By the way the capital of Nevada is Carson City and Montpelier is the capital of Vermont.