Ale for the Soul

Is that arabica or robusto?  Straight coffee with no cream and sugar, or one of those fru-fru drinks with soy, double pumps of flavoring, and froth?  In whatever form it takes, coffee especially deserves its own day of honor.  More credit should be given to it for jump-starting my day on so many occasions.  Don't forget, it is also a very good reason upon which to gather with friends on a cool Fall day like today.  My very first management job was at Gloria Jeans Gourmet Coffee in the Galleria Mall in Houston, Texas.  That is where I cut my teeth in the world of coffee, acting frequently as the shop's barista.  Oh my how coffee drinks have proliferated over the previous twenty years.  At that time, there were only a handful of varied espresso-based recipes I had to learn.  Now there are so many, how does anyone ever keep track of which is what drink?  I'm already confused just thinking about it.  In the years since then, I have foun...

Of course, in one sense, the first essential for a man's being a good citizen is his possession of the home virtues of which we think when we call a man by the emphatic adjective of manly. No man can be a good citizen who is not a good husband and a good father, who is not honest in his dealings with other men and women, faithful to his friends and fearless in the presence of his foes, who has not got a sound heart, a sound mind, and a sound body; exactly as no amount of attention to civil duties will save a nation if the domestic life is undermined, or there is lack of the rude military virtues which alone can assure a country's position in the world. In a free republic the ideal citizen must be one willing and able to take arms for the defense of the flag, exactly as the ideal citizen must be the father of many healthy children. A race must be strong and vigorous; it must be a race of good fighters and good breeders, else its wisdom will come to naught and its virtue be inef...

A diary...journaling...keeping a log of one's life...all can essentially get boiled down to the same purpose.  With the act of keeping the events of one's life on paper, certainly the author should have some loose idea concerning or goal toward which the narrative is directed.  As I journal, most of the time the few scant lines are simply a chronology of the day's events.  Then I'll hearken back to the real reason behind why I started a journal all those years ago.  At such point, I'll begin to weave my heart and soul, the emotional coloring, in to the events unfolding on the page, as if happening for the first time.  What do I find, as a result?  Not mere lifeless words on a page, but a real, living and breathing, human being who rejoices for victories won, is hurt by carelessly flung, however unintentional, arrows which pierce my soul, and the secrets of my heart which no one else knows.  May the content I keep become enough evidence in a court of la...

The first day of Fall is finally here.  This season is one of my favorite times of the year, stretching from now until early Spring when the temperatures are cool.  Even though I haven't been camping very much in the last two years, the Fall season is really when I look forward to and plan to camp as often as time and opportunity permit me to do so.  In fact, I am planning a camping trip for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.  The Fall season really invigorates me with the changing of the tree leaves and the gradual cooling of temperatures.  Usually such a change in nature indicates hibernation and a sort of pseudo-death before coming back to life in Spring, but I seem to always come alive during this season.  Is this weird?  One great thing about the falling of leaves making the trees bare, is they are great for compost piles.  Have you ever given that much thought?  If I didn't live in an apartment or actually had the yard space to have one,...

During the course of any given day, I travel to many different retailers in order to service product within their store.  This is part and parcel of how I earn a living working for TNG (formerly The News Group).  A few of the companies I represent through TNG include: Nestle (Sweet Leaf Tea), Reader Link (books), Liberty (candy), Ty Babies, and many more.  To the general public's credit, it is a safe assumption to think I work for the store in which I am seen diligently working at that particular moment.  However, I always am amused by the questions people ask.  In my experience, people do not ask the correct question in search for and corresponding to the answer they are seeking.  For example, a person may ask, "Do you work here?" when the question should be, "Are you an employee of (insert name of store) ?  If I am in a playful mood, I'll respond accordingly with "Yes, at present I am working 'here'!"  This usually baffles the customer, at whi...

I get up in the evening And I ain't got nothing to say I come home in the morning I go to bed feeling the same way I ain't nothing but tired Man, I'm just tired and bored with myself Hey there baby, I could use just a little help You can't start a fire You can't start a fire without a spark This gun's for hire Even if we're just dancing in the dark Message keeps getting clearer Radio's on and I'm moving 'round the place I check my look in the mirror I wanna change my clothes, my hair, my face Man, I ain't getting nowhere Just living in a dump like this There's something happening somewhere Baby I just know that there is You can't start a fire You can't start a fire without a spark This gun's for hire Even if we're just dancing in the dark You sit around getting older There's a joke here somewhere and it's on me I'll shake this world off my shoulders Come on, baby, the laugh's on me Stay on the streets o...

Everyone can use words of encouragement and kindness.  When the storms of life beat us down, or at least don't seem to let up, a person's spirit gets weary and contemplates giving up.  This is sad news because often we never know how close we are to our next breakthrough of blessing.  The timing could be within the very day we are struggling, the next week, or sooner than is expected.  Also, the practice of giving encouragement is a virtue due to the fact one never knows what secret battle the person is waging.  Everything could look okay on the exterior, but this may betray a heavy heart and idea engaging life is not worth the heartache or effort invested.  For the very art of encouragement, I prefer the old-fashioned term exhortation .  The definition of exhortation is to address or communicate emphatically urging someone to do something.  That very something may be simply to keep pressing onward in life amidst obstacles and trials.  Prove...

Chancellor Kohl, Governing Mayor Diepgen, ladies and gentlemen: Twenty-four years ago, President John F. Kennedy visited Berlin, speaking to the people of this city and the world at the City Hall. Well, since then two other presidents have come, each in his turn, to Berlin. And today I, myself, make my second visit to your city. We come to Berlin, we American presidents, because it's our duty to speak, in this place, of freedom. But I must confess, we're drawn here by other things as well: by the feeling of history in this city, more than 500 years older than our own nation; by the beauty of the Grunewald and the Tiergarten; most of all, by your courage and determination. Perhaps the composer Paul Lincke understood something about American presidents. You see, like so many presidents before me, I come here today because wherever I go, whatever I do: Ich hab noch einen Koffer in Berlin. [I still have a suitcase in Berlin.] Our gathering today is being broadcast throughout West...

Personally I prefer the term eccentric in describing someone many would consider weird or odd.  Eccentric can be defined, when relating of a person or their behavior, as unconventional or slightly strange.  The reason why I believe eccentric is more befitting a person who doesn't quite fit the mold of the masses, is the key word unconventional .  To become unconventional is to think outside the box, or to act beyond the expected patterns of thought and behavior of the general populace, someone who lives on the fringe and chooses to not run with the pack, so to speak.  However, to boil it all down, it is still weird!  Eccentric simply sounds better and doesn't have the negative intonation or implication.  Regardless of how a person parses the situation, an anomaly is still occurring.  Roughly twenty years ago, a then co-worker gave me a valuable nugget of truth for advice.  She said, "Be true to yourself!"  This has stuck with me to this very ...

To truly understand the implications of today's holiday, allow me to define the word literacy .  Literacy is knowledge that relates to a specified subject, and the ability to read and write.  The only concept I would additionally incorporate in to this definition is the ability to comprehend, understand, and show forth the ability to have a functional, working knowledge of the subject matter at-hand.  Most anyone can display some semblance of knowledge, however limited, and the basic rudiments of reading and writing, but it is the concept of becoming fluidly versed in the essence of the subject matter, whatever that may be, that truly makes a person literate.  Knowledge alone is only valuable to a point, but understanding and placing the same knowledge in to practice allows literacy to grow and blossom in to a true object of beauty.  Sadly, the present state of education in the nation does not allow for practical application.  It appears the responsibility ...

I see you struggling every day You think, how long can I go on this way? On and on, again and again Oh, when will it end? You think, I just can't go on much longer But inside, my friend, your faith is growing stronger You feel the fire burning deep in your soul But I want you to know I think I see gold, I think I see gold in the fire Right there in the ashes is all you've desired Oh, it's hard as you press toward the goal Don't give up, don't give in, don't stop now I think I see gold Until this moment you've always believed When life grew darkest by faith you could see Open your eyes look for the light You see, you were right These lonely hours like a fire refining Something that's precious, something that's shining There in the darkness surrounded by coals Is starting to glow I think I see gold, I think I see gold in the fire Right there in the ashes is all you've desired Oh, it's hard as you press toward the goal Don't give up, don...

Today is Read A Book Day, a holiday every bibliophile and avid reader should cheer over.  If you can't tell by my blog posts what my hobbies and passions are, allow me to make it very clear...I am a book lover and ardent pursuer of great reading.  I absolutely love to read!!  How many different ways can I find to say this?  Hmm!?  Anyway, I am currently reading my twenty-third book of the year, The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne.  In January I set out to read twenty books in 2016.  I had never set a reading goal before, other than to read for reading sake, but apparently I set the bar too low.  For 2017 I may make my reading goal twenty-five books, a slight increase from the year before.  Once I hit my reading goal during the first week in July, I did slacken my pace a little bit, but I do wish to continue in reading at a steady speed.  May I dare ask what you are presently endeavoring to read?  Is it fluff and pu...

A few minutes ago I was informed to take the evening off from the smoke shop.  This means I have the day off from both jobs...a true day of rest.  Two days in a row I haven't had to work for either company.  At this point, the elephant in the room is what to do with my free time.  After taking care of a few chores around the apartment, I loaded the bicycle on to the vehicle rack and promptly headed for Cobb Park on East Berry Street.  In passing this park multiple times, I had the desire to someday check it out.  That someday turned in to today.  Part of the Trinity Trail passes through this park, along with a local station of the Texas National Guard.  There is also a cement-paved trail running its course through the length of the park.  Riding the bicycle along the route was fun.  Of course I took a lot of pictures.  Once loading up to leave, I headed to Pioneer Rest Cemetery on the east side of downtown Fort Worth.  This pla...

Happy Labor Day!  Sometimes associated with the end of summer, the Labor Day holiday came to prominence during the 1800s.  As the driving force of the American economy moved from agriculture to industrial, workers, some as young as five or six years old, were forced to work twelve to eighteen hours a day.  The conditions under such employment were appalling: unsanitary conditions, no access to fresh air, and other nightmarish conditions.  As a result, it is no surprise and wonder Unions were born and rose to great power and influence.  Often workers would strike for better pay and working conditions, taking unpaid leave in order to participate in a protest or march.  In modern times, working conditions are a far cry from what history books reveal.  Health codes are in place and firmly enforced.  Building codes strongly dictate sanitation and proper ventilation.  Labor laws regulate child labor, and offer guidelines for overtime pay and other ...

Today has been filled with blessings from Heaven.  First, I enjoyed a free Swedish full-body massage from the south campus of Tarrant County College.  In times past, I have enjoyed several such massages from this school, but I only partook of one per semester.  I wasn't aware the massage therapy school allowed each individual up to and including four visits during this time.  Wow!  I have been missing out.  After this morning's session, I scheduled my next massage for Saturday, September 17th.  Upon arriving home, I checked the mail to find a $500 check from a benefactor.  This was a shock and a surprise!  It was as if money was falling from heaven, and it was.  In the Psalms, God speaks about owning everything in the world, along with cattle on a thousand hills.  Today He must have sold one of them to provide for my needs.  The money will get deposited directly in to the bank savings account for future needs.  Thank you G...

          Seventy-seven years ago today, German forces invaded Poland.  Their intent was to recapture lost territories ripped from them by the Treaty of Versailles after World War I.  Ultimately, Hitler's Third Reich desired to rule Poland and the rest of Europe.  Sometimes I hear people ask the question, "When did World War II begin?"  Well, the answer to that question is not clear cut.  For most people, as well as the history books, it is September 1, 1939.  However, most countries in Europe have a different perspective.  For Czechoslovakia, it is the time when Germany stole their Sudetenland.  The remaining nations already knew a war of ideologies was already getting waged, even if physical hostilities toward them had not yet been initiated.  As a result, there isn't a precise answer as to when the war began.           On this day in 1864, General Sherman and his Union troops capture and b...