Something To Think About…

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.
Because we have 5,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.
Sadly Mary is struggling with health issues. To see the latest about her situation, click here

To view past blogs, scroll to the bottom of this page and use the menu.

I’m currently in my 24th year of full-time RVing and my lifestyle is changing, For more info click here

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

The motorhome is parked at Thousand Trails Soledad Canyon RV Resort in Acton, California. I’m scheduled to depart April 2nd.

 

A friend sent this to me in an email yesterday. It impressed me enough to want to share it with you.

 

No matter what kinds of problems you might be dealing with… this message will likely make you feel better.

 

For years I’ve stated… Whatever problems you think you might be dealing with in life…

Know that only a short distance away there is a person would gladly exchange their problems for yours.

 

This following message helps put thinking about your problems in perspective…

 

 

 

 

Lightning In A Jar

This illustrates how truly fortunate we are.

 

 

After you’re done with the first picture, click on it and it will go to the next, and so on. So click on the link below and enjoy!

 

 

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1IDN6GC5umKRIYBkHazM5yOxP15iC2w8FhS9we7zD-j0/embed?hl=en&size=m#slide=id.p4

 

 

 

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE MESSAGE.

 Forecast for today is mostly sunny and 58 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 700 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://get.google.com/albumarchive/110455945462646142273?source=pwa

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet -2019

LOUSY PHOTOS

Pictures I’ve been taking lately have been lousy. Since I have a brand new camera, an exact replacement of the one I had, I couldn’t figure it out. The pictures are mushy, slightly out of focus. I have one disadvantage. I can read the small booklet that comes with the camera, but I cannot play the CD that goes into the advanced features. I’ve held to auto-focus, which is what I use most anyway. I took test photos around the house and yard and I threw out most of  them. The one above is not enhanced in any way and turned out well.

Nor was this one of my newly cleaned purse enhanced. It occasionally turns into a rat’s nest, somehow.

This one was blurry-still is. I had to enhance it  by saturating the color and cropping.

I did the same with this brave seedling starting life on a log, although, it could have stood alone. I liked it better cropped tighter and saturated a bit.

Then I got to playing around and turned this rather dull photo of plants against my brick wall with a reflective picture in the background into a pen and ink drawing. All with the magic of Picasa. It isn’t a great photo, either, but it is an interesting editing feature.

This tulip hadn’t bloomed in several years. It liked the strange rain pattern we’ve had this year. It turned out okay.

This Iris was gorgeous, not that the photo showed what my eyes saw.

This daffodil is a perfect specimen, but juxtaposed against a huge tree and distant background,  it seems to float as though it was pasted onto a drawing.  The light was weak and overhead and doesn’t illuminate the flower. Composition can make or break the photo.

In among the weeds, bright calendulas were hidden.

I concluded that the camera isn’t at fault. It is the photographer, that’s me,  who should  take  more thoughtful time to get decent pictures. Maybe the best part of my camera test was getting outside and enjoying my yard for a half hour. Or, as in the photo above,  just looking at everyday objects around the house from a different perspective.

TABOO SUBJECT

Aren’t they adorable? These dogs all togged out for the holidays?  Heavily laden with jewelry and coats, sweaters and fur.

I think it’s ridiculous. Of course, anyone who dares criticize pets and pet practices is in for a firestorm of …hate!  Yes, hate. If you dare offend a pet lover,  you  are in big trouble.

I usually just smile and avoid discussing the subject, but my values do not include treating pets like humans. When I saw this display while shopping, I almost gagged. I can’t imagine the dog or cat being comfortable in the expensive adornments they are forced to wear. Pet owners ferociously defend this type of clothing and jewelry, maintaining THEIR pet loves to get dressed up and loves the attention. I maintain animals are psychologically changed by the treatment they receive. And, I will concede that to dress up an animal for a short time for a parade or the holidays isn’t going to harm them.  It seems overboard and warping of a dog’s basic needs to coddle  pooches and cats, and treat them as though they are human, which by extension includes dressing them in jewelry and fancy clothing.  People expect them to act human-like and ignore their basic instincts.

I’m a practical person. Dogs and cats, horses as well, had an important function as domesticated animals. And they still do, as companions, medical assistants, rescue animals, and just unconditional love. Isn’t that enough?  It is noble. They seem to be natural healers.

What does it say about us as humans that there are food banks begging for food; some  have quit taking applications because they just can’t meet the needs. Many children are living in cars and struggling with parents stressed because the  family is at risk. So, does it seem okay to  spend $15 to $30 or more on doggie jewelry?  I can’t imagine teaching my children, if I had young children, that lavish spending on an animal is a part of family life. Especially in times like these, even if you can afford it.  I think  giving to a charity comes first and deliberately ignoring that type of spending teaches a basic lesson about moral choices.

We taught our children and my kids have taught their children that giving and sharing is part of everyone’s responsibility. If your children love  animals, teach them about Heifer International where you can buy a sustainable animal for families in Slovakia, Malawi or the United States. $500 buys a heifer, $50 buys a share. $120 buys a goat, or $10 buys a share. Wouldn’t be nice to know some little boy or girl can get a constant supply of milk in India? Or $10 buys a share of a pig in Thailand. $20 buys a flock of chickens in Honduras. Another great close to the ground charity is Oxfam, providing loans, work, education, clean water, self-sustaining practices, working with peace keeping organizations in countries at war. It seems to me that not enough Americans  have been hungry enough in  our collective memory to consider that the amount of money we spend on pets per year, over a billion dollars, could feed or educate a small country.

I’ve had pets all of my life. I’m not a pet hater. I love pets. I just think we should put the price of a pet in perspective. The land to grow the corn and wheat they eat. The detriment to wild birds from predatory cats. Consider the horror stories of people who don’t know how to care for pets and abandon them or mistreat them by neglect. The medical resources used to treat them. The continual cost of animal control by every county and city in the U.S. is a direct result of the mishandling of pets by humans.

Go ahead. Get out the whip!