It Can All Change in an Instant

It can all change in an instant. That sentence always seems to have a negative connotation. Usually, it is in reference to a drunk driver forever changing dozens of lives with their decision to get behind the wheel. I live with the constant reminder that it only takes a second to change everything.

Case it point, feeding the dogs. It sounds simple enough. I’ve done it hundreds of times. But tonight was one of those instances that can change things in a second. Simply bending down to get the dogs’ bowls and my back decided it needed a night out. So it went out. My entire lumbar went into very painful spasms. It only took a second.

But that was only the beginning of tonight’s thought. When that sentence entered my conscious mind, I wondered why it always seemed to have a negative connotation. I figure if lives can be change forever for the worse in an instant, they can be change for the better in that same instant.

What does it take to change things for the better so quickly? Sometimes, a simple smile at someone struggling with their day. Often, a kind word with someone struggling with loneliness.

My wife likes to smile at people. She doesn’t go out often, but when she does, she has the uncanny ability to attract people in need of a smile. She has an abundance of smiles all free for the taking. In a doctor’s waiting room, she finds a child drawing a picture. She stops and compliments that child and gives the kid a warm smile. The child smiles back. Who knows what that compliment means to that child? Years from now, when that child is grown, she may remember the lady who gave her a big, warm smile just when she need one and she’ll, in turn, smile at another human who needs it. That instant in her life may have changed her for the better.

Maybe it only takes five dollars. Five dollars placed anonymously into a shopping chart, but not just any cart. This cart contained all the belongs of an individual who was at a hard spot in their life. They were homeless. They were hungry. Five dollars can mean the difference in eating and another night of hunger under a bridge. Again, as you probably guessed, it was my wife who place that five dollars in that shopping cart. It was an impulse, but that’s what moments are made of, an instance, a thought, a sudden need to help, to heal the hurt in the people around you.

Newton taught us that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Those actions can happen in a split second. The time it takes to curl the corners of your mouth into a smile. It can all change in an instant.

Scaring The S4!T Out of Me

Inscribed on the ancient Greek temple at Delphi was the phrase “Know thyself.” OK. It was actually in Greek and not Elizabethan English, but it’s still translates well.

I know myself well enough to know that it usually takes something dramatic to get my attention and make me act on something, especially when it comes to changing my lifestyle. Luckily? I had one of the “ah, ha!…er…oh shit” moments this week. I almost put myself into a coma.

Once I realized I had let my diabetes…wait…back up…Once I finally admitted I have diabetes, I vowed to change my lifestyle and fix this mess.

Here is what I decided:
1. I’ll take my meds as prescribed and talk to my doc about adjusting and/or changing them.
2. I will radically change my diet and eating habits.
3. I will exercise, however moderately, starting by adding 1,000 steps to my daily routine.
4. I will stay alive.

It’s all in this video. I’d retype it, but I’m going to get the WII out and do at least a little something. It’s amazing how much cardio that stupid, little boxing game that came with the console can produce.

link for the embed impaired.

theBarefoot 2.0

With my last blog post, I bid my official farewell to Yahoo. I haven’t been active there lately anyway, so it wasn’t a hard decision at this point. So where do I go after publishing for six years at their site? I don’t know, but I know I don’t care. It’s a big, big world and a brand new day. It’s theBarefoot 2.0 as far as my writing goes.

I know these few things. I’ll be writing here on the blog more frequently. I’ll be listening to more music, more loudly, through my new headphones. I’ll still be posting YouTube videos at I Eat Lemons. Most importantly, I’ll be giving some serious attention to writing off-line. I’ve got a book started. It may end up in the trash, but not before I finish it. I’ve made that promise to myself.

Today, I shot two videos. It was a very nostalgic experience because I shot them outside just like when I started posting videos on YouTube. I was feeling so nostalgic, I dug out the old “Nancy Intro/Outro” for one of them.

How Southern Are You? is a response to a graphic that’s making the rounds on the internet. It’s wrong. I set it right. Friday the 13th, the Universe, and You is a bit more philosophical and I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject.

Change is here. Change is always here. Change is good. I embrace change and revel in the new while loving the old. I hope you stick around for the changes. You’ll probably catch me with my pants down a time or two, but that happens when you’re changing.

A Difficult Decision: Six Years Later, It’s Time to Change

Friends, readers, and accidental internet tourists,

It is with a heavy heart and sober mind, I make the following official and permanent. I will no longer publish articles with the Yahoo network. I will continue to write and publish mainly here on the old blog.

There were many factors weighed before coming to this conclusion. This in not a decision that was rushed. It started back in May 2010 when Yahoo bought Associated Content (AC). The assimilation of the old AC into the Yahoo network took from then until now and was done in incremental steps. The changes along the way made Yahoo a site that no longer fits my publishing needs. We have grown apart.

Associated Content was a platform where any writer, with anything to say, could publish their work in a supportive environment. Yahoo changed that. They are interested solely in work that aligns with advertisements. It’s a simple case of following the money trail.

My writing was never about ad-alignment. The type of articles I write are either too introspective to find ads to fit them or are humor/satire for which Yahoo has no appreciation. Frankly, AC had no interest in them either, at least not from a monitization aspect, but AC tolerated them and provided a easily accessible platform with good exposure. In my opinion, Yahoo has reverted to site with such tight controls, there is just no sense in my continued use of their platform.

Other changes are just plain annoying. For example, the ability to instantly publish an article for which I was requesting no up-front payment was a bonus with AC. Yahoo is requiring all articles, regardless of payment terms, to go through their “editorial” review process unless you go through some bizarre qualification process of obtaining a certain rank within their contributing masses. I use “editorial” in the loosest sense and with quotation marks because they provide no editorial support. Yahoo content managers simply check the article for viability and give it a pass/fail.

Then there are the technical bugs that remain unaddressed and which make publishing with Yahoo a chore. For example, hyperlinks put in by the author are regularly mangled and even removed by their software before the article reaches the content reviewer. The article is summarily rejected for having dead hyperlinks. It is simply easier to write here, where I know I control the finished product and have more flexibility in the final format. Yahoo still doesn’t support simple HTML code like tables which I find handy on occasion.

I could go on, but I let it be sufficient to say, “We have grown apart.” The spirit of the site that was AC, the spirit which appealed to me, drew me in, and gave me 6 years of satisfying publishing experiences, is gone. The final, symbolic act was the leaving of Luke Beatty, AC’s founder, from Yahoo’s management. Though the changes that make Yahoo no longer a fit for me were already in place, Luke’s resignation was the virtual wax seal on the document of change. The spirit of the old AC site is finally and officially gone and now, so am I.

I am grateful for the opportunities AC, and to some extent Yahoo, afforded me during the last six years. It helped me find my voice as a writer. It helped me make contact with other writers, many I consider my friends to this day. It helped me reach out to a broad audience and interact with readers of all stripes. I will continue to nourish those connections I made. I will just do it outside the confines of Yahoo.

So now begins theBarefoot 2.0 wherein I concentrate on the writing and not the trappings and politics of the site that simply distract from the content’s message. I even have the skeleton of a book in gestation. Here’s to learning when to say when and knowing how to move forward gracefully. My greatest solace is knowing that my readers can still choose to enjoy my writing here or where ever life brings us. We’ll move forward together to hopefully better writing to come.

P.S. The only bitter taste left in my mouth is the forums. I guess because when I found the AC forums, they were little-used. I jumped in with both feet and energized that community. When I started using the forums, multiple people independently contacted me to express their appreciation for my participation, humor, and helpfulness, a trend that continued until my last post, but which is not appreciated by the new owners.

I feel responsible for making the forums the vibrant, fun community it was. Sure, I had my moments of deliberate trollishness, but those were calculated responses to obvious malcontents and trolls. I still take credit for ridding the site of at least two particularly nasty personalities who disrupted the harmony of the community. Under the new regime, I am told that I am the disruptive influence. I’ve seen the same accusation made toward a few others who did nothing than freely contribute their time to mentor new members and answer the many question left moldering by the paid staff. Frankly, that hurts.

I poured my heart and soul into the community forums and there is no clearer sign that it is time to move on than when the place you nurtured tells you your services are no longer required. Being able to read between the lines, I can see that the current staff is too busy trying to keep their jobs among the hundreds of layoffs Yahoo has initiated, that they are unable to actually do their jobs. That is my one and only sour grape. The rest of my time with AC/Yahoo was a positive and productive experience.

Change for America: A Few Things I’d like to See Barack Obama Change

Ah! Morning in America. Why do I feel like I need coffee and lots of it for the next 4 years? The American voter has spoken. “We want change!” is the cry. OK, change this. Make the Federal government more efficient. Cut the fat and excise the bloat.

There is a great piece of artwork called Death & Taxes. It’s a real eye-opener possibly better than your triple-shot, extra-foam, cappuccino. After taking a look, I decided there are a few things that need changing.

Do get health insurance and the tobacco corporations out of each others pockets. Why don’t health insurance companies pay for smoking cessation drugs/programs. I’ve never been able to figure this one out. Smoking costs health insurance companies millions of dollars every year, but they won’t pay for preventative medicine. What kind of pictures are in the vault at Altria headquarters? Some really raunchy stuff from the Humana Xmas party, I assume.

Do away with the Department of Education. Cut my taxes that go to support the DoEd so I can happily pay them to my local schools. No child left behind. Are you kidding me? Washington mandates this junk and doesn’t send near enough money to pay for it. Let the locals handle their own. Besides, I know a kid or two that needs to be left behind or at least dropped off at the vo-tech.

Read the rest. It’s the best. »

Just a few thoughts on change.

Wednesday Morning Election Quarterbacking on Monday

Whether you agree with Obama’s ideas or not, you have to admit, he brought something to this year’s campaign that is the key to getting elected for any office. He brought enthusiasm. He infected the populace with enthusiasm. Early voter turnout is higher than any election in history. I offer this as evidence that people are enthusiastic about voting this year. I say, “people,” but I really mean Democrats. ¹

Most of the early voters supposedly have been Democrats voting for Obama. Republican early voting is about the same as in past years. The logical conclusion is Democrats are enthusiastic about the election while Republicans have a very “Meh?” attitude. The attitude of Republican voters can be attributed to the fact they were given their fifth-string choice by their party’s primary process. How can you get excited about your candidate when you really didn’t want him eight months ago?

Pollsters and pundits are still saying the race is close. However, while Republicans are sitting home Tuesday grumbling about how they really wanted Romney, Huckabee or even Ron Paul, Democrats will turn out in record numbers. If you go vote, be prepared for the hoard of zombie-like Democrats surrounding the polls and chanting, “Change. Change. Change.”

It doesn’t matter what Obama’s policies are. It doesn’t matter where he might take us. It isn’t about idealism, practicalism, or any other -ism. It’s just about the common man being fed up, as usual, with politics as usual. Apparently we just want change, what ever that change might be. The candidate who can effectively promise any kind of change can generate enthusiasm. Enthusiasm makes people go vote. That is the fact. Throw around whatever -ism you want, in the end, it’s all about the -asm…enthusiasm about the untenable; orgasm about the candidate; the spasm to vote.

My election day wish is, “May we all get the change we deserve.” Whether you vote or not is not my concern. Hell, I may just write in Ron Paul.

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¹ Democrat [dem–uh-krat]: a sub-genome of the zombie race bent on universal health care therefore ensuring your brain is nice and juicy when they come to eat it.

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