Dr. Benjamin Carson for President of US in 2016

We all know the amazing story of how Dr. Carson, inspired by his single mother, rose from the darkness of poverty and frustration and became a world-famous surgeon. 

What we want to see now is how well he fits into an oval-shaped office. 

The old saying is true, "You can lead a man to Congress but you can't make him think." 

Moreover, you can lead a man to the White House and later, watch him sink. 

The sinking of the Good Ship Lollipop is what we are currently witnessing. 

We think it's time to Launch a NEW Vessel. 

Let's break out the bottle and Christen this The USS Ben Carson!

Come Watch a Professional at Work

I hear it all the time, these days. "I don't know HOW to blog." usually followed by "I don't know what to say in a blog." Pookey, let me tell you something, and this is important. If you aren't blogging, you ain't moving. Serious.

What you blog and to whom is significantly LESS important than IF you are blogging at all. There are professional bloggers out there, Seth Godin is one that leaps quickly to mind. You could check out Your Writing Lady (Kim-Lee Patterson), or Josh Wade, of Nectar Media, to name a couple more. See what they say. Read what they write. Do what they do.

But DO IT NOW.

Time is coming and going and this boat is about to pass you by. Water is rising and when your house sinks under the tide, no one will be there to remember you or your business, much less to mourn your passing. The Titanic was as unsinkable as yesterday's business. Take a hint. Take a risk. Write it down and get it out there.

Trick is to keep writing. It doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to BE. By the time you write your twenty-first blog, nobody will remember your first ten anyway! There's just too much out there to be read. Quicha crying and get down to busy. Consider it a Fair Warning.

Today Poland Tomorrow the World!

Poland is about to fall. I know, it sounds pretentious but look at it like this: According to my Blogger statistics, this very blog page that you are reading now, has had three hits from Poland. That's right, Poland. Now, I realize that three hits don't mean a very big hill of beans, but to bean counters, its a few. In fact, three IS a "few," and besides that, juxtaposed against my US readership, that nearly doubled my total reach. That's not bad for someone as loathe as me, as far as blogging is concerned.

I've never been to Poland. I haven't even sent an email to Poland, and yet, Polish people are beginning to take notice of my posts. That's pretty amazing. You have to remember that this is coming from Blogger, powered by Google -and Google, as we know, knows everything about everybody! It's incredible.

So, after conquering Poland, I'll have to take some time and consider my options before proceeding. But that's okay, I'm very patient. Besides, until I read it in my Blogger statistics, I never would've dreamed it could be possible.

Poland... WOW!

Stare Here and Stay Clear

Sorry. When my mind gets in a mood like this, it just gets weird. Fair warning. When the caffeine level in my blood stars to dissipate, I start drawing a blank -I mean REALLY drawing a blank, and ... just trust me.

Stare right here
Stay clear of flying debris and
Don't fear what happens next.
This too, will pass
But it won't be the last
My blank is filling up fast, but
For now...

nothing.

About Blank

I am drawing a blank. It's sort of a neo-existential treatment in art. You stare at a blank sheet of paper and you concentrate on nothing. It can even be a virtual piece of paper, like this blog, for instance. You think you are reading what I am writing but I'm not writing. I'm drawing a blank.

I sit here and I don't even blink. It's like low-tide at coffee hour. I just stare. I'm drawing a blank. You might call it poetry. I call it a blank.

El blanco, that's my new name. This is not a game. It's a blank.

Here, let me draw you a picture:

What else can I say, it's a blank.

Smart Phone Phooey

Yesterday I had to dash my "smart" phone against the table a few times, it probably wasn't a nice thing to do but hey, it had it coming. "Smart-alecky" is a closer description of that durn phone, sometimes. Every time I touch it, it says something smart like, "Please speak a command..."

I usually respond with something like, "Shut Up!" but it just keeps on talking.

Tell you the truth, I'm about ready to shirk all this technology and get REAL old school. These days, I'm in the market for the "dumbest" phone I can find. I'll tell you why.

I'm a guy. Yes, despite the spelling of my name (Kaycee), I AM a GUY! Long story that.

Let's say I'm at a social gathering and I am pontificating on a subject, I am (and this is a guy thing) wanting to eliminate any would-be competition to my knowledge-base -so, the LAST THING I need is a phone that is smarter than ME! Let's face it, as a guy, I can't handle the competition.

Give me a "dumb" phone.

I found a good old-fashioned dumb phone, last night, digging through my mom's attic. I mean a really dumb phone.

Now I don't feel threatened in the least.

Attention Early Risers

While the experts have not yet weighed in on this one, I am telling you now, so you can decide for yourself. It was about 6am, I was travelling along State Highway 27, heading South. I saw a fire-engine red pickup truck pulling away from the carcass of a freshly flattened deer. The truck seemed, for the most part, unscathed. The dear deer, however, was another story altogether.

The atmosphere was cool. A light fog was still lingering in the low, heavily-wooded areas, but the roads were pretty clear. After last night's storm, there was still some debris laying about. Other than that, it should've been pretty smooth sailing.

Now, a lot has been written, throughout the history of mankind, in regards to "early rising," for instance, Benjamin Franklin's famous, "Early to bed and early to rise... etc." but truthfully, I must warn you, there are hidden dangers that you might not have thought about. The guy in the pickup truck, notwithstanding, think of that poor deer. She got up early, walked out to grab a bite to eat, maybe start her day ahead of the herd and then BAM! Who could've seen that coming?

I can't tell you how many early birds I have witnessed, over the years, each probably still had the worms in their bellies, if anybody had taken the time to perform an autopsy -but here they were, formerly ahead of the flock, now only carrion, by the roadside. Fodder for the birds and other beasts that enjoy that sort of thing.

I caution you, my dear readers, don't fall into the trap. Early rising sounds innocent enough but, it could be your undoing. I'm suggesting, maybe noonish. In fact, you might not even want to get up quite THAT early. After all, you could fall victim to the noontime rush and get trampled just outside the doors of the local Starbucks.

Still unconvinced? Later in the day, around 6:45 am, I was coming back along the same route and saw the carcass of a porcupine that didn't quite make it across the road. Now, I realize that in the case of nocturnal animals, he may have been merely up past his bedtime, and who knows, maybe still a little tipsy from the night's activities -nonetheless, I have to believe that this is more than just coincidence, having happened all in the same morning.

Memories of a Burgeoning Artist

when I was starting out as an artist, I got a lot of co-workers who approached me with requests to draw pictures of their kids, pets, significant others, and so on. One lady approached me with a compelling story that tore my heart out. After I told her I could help her, I ended up tearing my hair out! Here’s how it went: She tells me that her grandmother, who was in her 80s at the time, was beside herself with grief because she had lost her little dog. The dog had died, and could I, possibly, draw a picture of it, so that this lady could put a smile back on her grandma’s face. I asked the obvious questions, what kind of dog was it, etc., I told her I could draw it, if I had a good picture to draw from (having never seen the dog) and, because of the “personal” aspect of the situation, I would “waive” my fee, as an artist. After all, putting a smile back on grandma’s face was a noble thing to do any day of the week, right? So we shook hands on the deal and the next day, she brings me a Polaroid picture of her grandma with the dog sitting at her feet, glowing red eyes and poor lighting -I actually knew LESS about what the dog looked like than before! Now I had to try to draw this very personal portrait and do it for FREE! Also, grandma’s health wasn’t so good, so could I please have it by next Monday?

note: This blog was originally posted on Kim-Lee Patterson's "Your Writing Lady" blog. You should check it out for yourself! http://yourwritinglady.com/author/kimleepatterson/ 

I can scarce remark on the impact that this man has made on my life. I grew up with Mork, from my Happy Days as a child until the twilight of reruns on Nick at Nite. Reality, what a concept. Thinking back is painful from this current vantage point and while a helpless nation mourns the passing of this great reliever of depression in others, I reflect on the realization that at some level, at least, Robin is at peace.

I don't even "Like" my own stuff anymore!

These days, everybody I know tells me to "like" this, "like that! All I know is I don't like it! Consider the lack of like on my own pages, here. I don't even like my OWN stuff anymore! That's pretty bad, because, without my support, I'm pretty well sunk. This is probably not news to you. I don't think I've EVER come up with something that YOU liked. But now that I've pulled out the rug under my own pages, and decided I don't "like" anything anymore, I'm about the most "likeless" lackey you're likely to see from now on!

Earning Your Stripes

Life is not an easy thing no matter who's keeping score. Earning your stripes takes a lot more than just wanting to do a good job. Some earn their stripes through hardships that you and I cannot even entertain in our worst nightmares, others are beset with handicaps, be they physical, mental or otherwise. Sometimes it gets down to a simple set of circumstances, sometimes just a strange twist of fate, but here's the kicker: It ultimately does not matter what your age, sex, political or spiritual beliefs are. It doesn't matter what your bottom line is, or what kind of car you drive. It doesn't matter where you were born, or to whom -not even under what circumstances. What matters is how you live. Personal integrity isn't putting on a show for whoever is looking on at the time, it's the way you make your decisions. It's the reasons you have for doing what you do and, ultimately, earning your stripes is the end result when you come through on the other side. Be who you are. Do what you do. Take your own life and personalize it. You make the rules. Now you've earned your stripes! Go get 'em, Tiger.

Blogger? More Like Frogger!

I'll be honest, I am not a blogger. I'm more than just old. I'm more than merely new to this concept. Take you back to the 1980s and a little video arcade game they called "Frogger." This is me blogging. I'm like that little cartoon frog, just trying to get across the street without getting squished beyond all recognition. Tweeting? What's that? It must be the sound I'll make after one of those cars hits me!