Alone I Break

What can you do,

When love leaves you cold,

When your heart empties out,

Left with no one to hold?

The hurt and the pain,

Push out everything else.

You think back on your life,

And start hating yourself.

Without her there,

The world is dark.

The loneliness,

Will tear you apart.

Your soul always aches.

The pain just won’t stop.

You find yourself wishing,

You’d never wake up.

She’s what made you whole.

How can you go on?

Your life has no meaning,

Now that she’s gone.

You beg and you plead,

For any reprieve.

What could you have done,

To make her not leave?

At the end of the day,

You close your eyes,

And picture her face,

One more time.

The flame of your love,

Is the only light left.

It burns alone,

Within yourself.

Deep Bellied Cats and Dental Wizardry

I'm pretty tired today because I didn't sleep so well last night.  I'm visiting my parents this week and I brought my pets with me.  That means, when it is time for sleeping, I share my old bedroom with two cats and a dog that is big enough for a child to ride.  Surprisingly, Sawyer (the dog), is the quietest of the three.  He flops himself down in a corner and is asleep fairly quickly.  Kat (aka Justice), the smallest of my cats is also fairly quiet.  Now Tucker, on the other hand, is quite large and quite loud.  When I come into the room he seems to feel the need to show me just how much he is capable of eating.  While his eating accomplishments are indeed quite impressive, the middle of the night is just not the time to showcase them.  After about the third trip to the food bowl in only twice as many minutes last night, I decided he would not starve before morning and moved the food bowl out of his reach.  Tucker was unfazed by this and moved on to a new activity: attempting to set a record for the most ruckus caused while in a litter box.  So I put up with his banging and digging for several minutes until he finally finished his business.  I thought that maybe then I could finally get some quiet.  I got settled down in bed, closed my eyes, and then what felt like at least 17 cats ran across me.  Tucker had decided that my bed was the quickest route to travel from one window to the other, and apparently he was following something outside because he kept the path hot.  By this time, all the commotion had caused it to become quite warm in my room.  I finally gave up and Sawyer and I moved to the couch in the den to let Tucker have his wild party in the bedroom.

This afternoon I had the pleasure of going to the dentist.  It was just a routine checkup, but I certainly wouldn't call it fun.  Nothing particularly bad happened, I just hate the dentist.  I admit that I used to hardly ever floss, so a trip to the dentist meant bloody gums and flossing lectures.  In recent years I have changed my ways.  I have become diligent in my flossing endeavors, and floss almost every day.  The dentist refuses to believe this.  He looks down upon me with doubting judgmental eyes, even though the positive effects of my flossing shine bright and clear.  It's like he suspects me of using some form of dark magic to remove debris from between my teeth.  "Are you flossing?" he asks.  "Almost every day!" I reply.  "Hmmmm," he responds, jealous of my mystical arcane abilities.  Anyway, I made it through another checkup, and thankfully no problems were found.

Hatred Burns Hotter Than Any Flame

You may have seen this in the news lately.  A Florida pastor, Terry Jones, and his congregation are planning to burn Qur'ans to protest the September 11, 2001 attack, and also because they are uninformed simpletons.  The U.S. Embassy had to issue a statement separating the rest of the country from this heinous act.  The congregation has even been warned that their actions could endanger troops stationed in Afghanistan because of the retaliations this could cause.  Even after being shunned by the rest of their country they are still willing to go through with their plan.

I fail to see the fascination religious fanatics have with burning things.  If there is anything they perceive to be the slightest bit contrary to their interpretation of the Bible, or if there is something they simply do not understand, the only option seems to be to burn it.  These people have no idea what the Qur'an contains.  The majority of the congregation probably didn't even know it was the religious text of Islam until their attention starved pastor told them it needed destroying.  Jones even admits to having not read the Qur'an.  If I was head of a congregation and felt it was my duty to spread my views to the world, I think I would certainly want to read everything I could to know what I was up against.

The thing that really makes me mad is that this United States of America is supposed to be a harbor for religious tolerance and acceptance, no matter how you choose to worship.  Yet we still have imbeciles like this who abuse the freedoms provided by this country to peddle their hate and slander and attempt to deny others the right to worship as they see fit.  Jones has the gall to say that the burning of the Qu'ran is "not a message of hate".  How is the burning of something that millions of people hold dear and sacred anything but a message of hate?  He says it is only targeted toward the "radical element of Islam".  How can he justify that?  If a Bible was burned, would the whole of Christianity not be enraged?  In addition, Jones has no right to place Christianity on such a high pedestal, and pass judgment on what sects of a religion have a right to exist.  The Ku Klux Klan practiced Christianity after all.

Terry Jones interprets the Bible as he sees fit.  Sadly there are many people out there who are quick to manipulate their own religions to help validate their actions.  Perhaps Jones should spend a little more time studying his own religious book.  The Bible does say the world will be destroyed by fire after all.  Perhaps this is the first step.

Buying My Way To Perfection

What's with all my physically fit posts lately?  Who knows!  Anyway...

I am convinced that people will buy anything.  If enough advertisements bombard us with how amazing some new product is, we can't help but run out and purchase it.  No matter what time of day you turn on the television you are bound to see at least one commercial advertising a spectacular new exercise tool, guaranteed to give you the body of your dreams in a few short weeks.  These commercials catch the eyes of people as they think that maybe they too can obtain the chiseled bodies shown on the screen.  Commercials wouldn't lie to us after all, right?

Apparently commercials would indeed lie to us.  You have no doubt heard about exercise shoes, the latest trend in staying physically fit.  These shoes are designed with specially padded soles to tone your lower body as you walk.  "Why, that's amazing!" you might say.  "I could strengthen my legs while walking, and I walk every day!  Wait, didn't walking already do that anyway?"  The shoe companies would then answer, "Quiet you naysayers, these shoes are special.  Traditional walking won't get you the shapely figures portrayed by these television models."  Well, studies have shown otherwise.  I came across this article today.  A study performed at the University of Wisconsin showed the benefits of these fancy exercise shoes to be the same as those from regular sneakers.  Many people have said they feel sore after wearing the exercise shoes, so it must be doing something, right?  The study goes on to explain that any soreness felt is simply from the different padding provided by these shoes and it will go away once your body becomes accustomed to it.

Along with exercise shoes, many other breakthroughs in exercise technology fight for our monetary attentions.  These crazy creations allow us to wheel, gallop, ski, and who knows what our way to physical perfection.  One such product that I find endlessly entertaining is the Shake Weight.  I don't think I even have to comment on this one.  Go check out the website.  The ridiculousness of this device speaks for itself. 

The fact that all these 'exercise tools' are purchasable blows my mind.  I picture households littered with discarded contraptions that were supposed to be the keys to a movie star body.  I also picture crushed dreams and people sitting on couches drowning their sadness with another bag of potato chips.

Can't Fit Through the Kitchen Door

Americans are fat. This is a problem that is getting no way but worse. Go to the store and I guarantee you will see at least five people who are unhealthily large. I'm not talking about the people with a little extra weight around the edges here, but the full blown elephants. You've seen them. They have seven chins, their bellies sag so low they could act as pants, and they have knees on the back of their calves. We, as a country, continue to gain more and more weight, and something should be done about it.

It saddens me to go out to eat and see overweight people stuffing their faces. A short while ago I was dining at Pizza Hut and a lady was sitting close by who easily weighed 500lbs. She was alone, but certainly didn't need any help polishing off her meal. No carryout box was required when she was ready to leave. I'm certainly not saying people shouldn't be allowed to eat what they want, but if you look like that, is going into public and scarfing down an entire pizza really the best thing to do? It shows the world that you've given up. Maybe that woman would say she was happy with herself, but even so, her life expectancy has to be drastically reduced by all that extra weight.

I was fortunate enough to be able to take a trip to China a couple years ago. I do not remember seeing a single overweight person during my entire two weeks there. The Chinese just generally eat healthier. Their lives don't revolve around junk food and quick meals. Not to mention, they walk and bicycle a LOT. Even in the smaller cities I visited, people could be seen outside walking or riding their bikes to their destinations. The majority of people in this country wouldn't even consider walking to the store, even if it was right down the street. You might argue that people walk all the time in larger cities like New York, but just look at the streets. The streets are flooded with bumper to bumper traffic almost 24 hours a day. There may be those who walk, but there are just as many, if not more, out there in cars and taxis.

Bicycle parking lot in China

Even the army is feeling the burdens of overweight America. I ran across this article today. New recruits are entering the army increasingly overweight. The army is in the process of completely altering its training program, eliminating sit-ups and running so that these physically unfit recruits can survive. Granted, from what they say in the article, it sounds as though the training program was ready for a few changes, but should overweight and unhealthy recruits really be the driving force behind such change?

Some people may think it is easy for me to sit here and preach in my buck fifty body and metabolism that wouldn't let me gain weight if I tried, and you are certainly right. Believe me when I say I feel for those working hard to drop a few pounds. I've never had to lose weight, but I have no doubt it is a daunting task. Instead of working so hard to promote weight loss programs and diet pills, maybe this country should focus more on fighting obesity before it happens. Parents today are quick to toss their child a hamburger from the fast food restaurant on the way home from work because it is quick and easy. Instead, they should be taking the time to prepare something for their children that is actually healthy and contains the nutrients for proper growth. With every generation becoming more and more overweight, if nothing changes, you have to wonder what we'll be like a few years down the road. In my head I picture a nation of Rascal Scooter riding lard buckets who no longer wear clothing because it takes too much effort to dress. Let's try and avoid that shall we?

Here's My Sign, Here's My Slogan, Ignore Me Now, Cuz I'm a Moron

Human beings are filled with rage. It amazes me how people are not content to keep their anger to themselves, but must enter into the world with signs and slogans to spread their hatred with the masses. Not a day goes by that you don’t find news of a picketing group somewhere. Is it really necessary to make such fools of yourselves, simply because something displeases you? Well you know what? You people make me angry and I feel like posting about it. Call me a hypocrite if you like, but at least when I express my feelings here, people have the opportunity to leave my blog if they don’t agree with what I say. When you stand in the streets, blocking paths and shouting at passersby, people have little way of avoiding you.

One of the things I find most irritating is when people use religion in an attempt to validate their malice toward a particular subject. In reality, all you are doing is using religion as a shield to hide your ignorance. A good example of this is the religious outcry heard in response to the release of the Harry Potter books and movies. Uneducated morons picketed and even got these books banned in some places because they are about witches and wizards. Really? Is this the 16th century? Had any of these people actually read the books? Of course not! The Harry Potter series, at its core, is a story of good triumphing over evil. Is that really what these religious zealots should be fighting to stop? For the first time in generations, America’s youth could be seen out in the world with books in their hands. Harry Potter introduced kids to the joys of reading, yet religious bigots wanted these fantastical tales off their shelves.

Picketer tactics are to pester and annoy until someone gives in to them, or forcefully drives them off. Is this really the best means to an end? Obnoxious complaints don’t get real results. You haven’t changed any minds. Instead, people give in to your outrageous demands just to make you go away. Picketers are like flies, nothing more than common pests. Money is thrown at them or decisions are made simply to swat them away.

There is enough anger and sadness in the world without everyone running to the streets with their signs when they disagree with something. In the long run these people have accomplished nothing. Maybe they’ll get what they want for now, but no opinions have been changed. How much harm has been done during these idiotic crusades for an empty victory?

The Day of Expiration

Chuck was driving home from work one day when a giant refrigerator parachuted out of the sky and landed on the road in front of him. Chuck slammed on his brakes, but couldn’t stop in time. His car collided with the giant fridge.

The fridge let out an unearthly roar. “Nooooo! My door will no longer shut properly! I must use extra energy to preserve my insides!!” The refrigerator began to hum as his motor cooled that which dwelled within the great white behemoth.

Chuck was unharmed and quickly exited his car. He ran towards a nearby payphone to call the police. To his dismay a sign hung from the payphone which read: ‘I am out of order. Do you really not have a cell phone anyway?’ Alas, Chuck did indeed lack a cell phone.

“Oh no, what can be done?” wailed Chuck. “We are being invaded by a disgruntled refrigerator and there is no one who can help me!”

“Fear not!” came a cry from a nearby bush. Out jumped a blue raccoon toting the largest flamethrower Chuck had ever seen. “I am here to unleash fiery fury!” he screamed. He bounded off towards the giant fridge, flamethrower in tow.

“Be gone blue beast!” boomed the fridge. “I am here to conquer all!”

“Fat chance!” screamed the raccoon. He lit up his flamethrower and began torching the base of the refrigerator.

“Let them eat toast!!” screamed the fridge.

Suddenly toasters began raining from the sky. Their metallic bodies pelted the sidewalk and dented up things quite horribly. The raccoon was forced to retreat under a nearby tree.

Chuck ran to join the raccoon under the tree. “I should have known! Why, just this morning I passed a man with a sign reading, ‘The frigidation is nigh!’ I thought him simply another lunatic!”

The raccoon laughed maniacally. “Oh Chuck, I am but a raccoon. I know not of such things!” The blue raccoon ran off into the bushes from whence he had come, shooting fire into the sky and spouting nonsense.

Chuck realized there was nothing to be done. He sat down under the tree, prepared to meet his chilly fate.

That night, the streets became stained with condiments.