Focused at Fifty

"Hanging out with a Feathered Friend" Hey Kids! I want to push POSITIVITY today! So maybe today, just do something for yourself. Treat yourself. Or do something to make yourself  feel better! It could be looking up a favorite topic on Wikipedia and learning about it. Or maybe making a favorite dish that you love cooking. Looking through old photographs, playing a favorite CD. There are tons of stuff you can do to make this raining day better! Just do what will make you feel better and more positive about life! It doesn't have to cost anything. Why why why do you ask? I think we all need a bit of pampering know and then. Life is tough enough, so each day maybe take some time out for yourself to pump yourself up, increase your knowledge, make you feel better about YOU! Here are a couple of other things I have done to make myself feel better about myself (and yes, some do cost money but others do not)! I made brownies just for the hell of it just because I lo...

"Mountains Ahead"  Two friends passed away this just this week. It seems to become the norm that close friends pass away more often. Is it because I am older? Perhaps. Should we get used to it? No... and it doesn't get any easier. I yearn to write about them and all of our shared pain when someone passes. Usually I'm a very optimistic and happy fellow and perhaps my almost 50 + year wisdom pushes me to share my emotions with you all so that we can all commiserate on the pain and sorrow of death together. But  before I get into the explanations of it all I just wanna say, death just sucks! I feel like I have wrote about this topic a lot in the last couple years. Maybe it's just that I am still trying to make sense of it all. I get very sad but feel I have accepted the chaos. Chaos seems to become the norm when it comes to death. It's upsetting and unsettling. I don't know what to make of it. How to understand... I don't know. I just know that ...

Happy New Year! So once again as this year draws to a close we are being bombarded with of the "end of the year" lists and reviews. I guess this one is especially poignant as it is also the end of the decade. The news outlets are each doing a reflection and review of the 2010s. I will not bore you with the specific ups and downs of my life. If you read my blog or follow me on social media, you pretty much get the gist of how my year has gone. I do want to tell you that through the year's disappointments and heartaches, laughter and fun times, I have survived and I've come out stronger that I was before, albeit a bit grayer too! I recommend therapy if you want to rip yourself down to the core and build yourself back up. 😛  It's extremely insightful in figuring out why you tick. But it was also an extremely emotionally exhausting journey which I am still on. I've never felt more aware of my existence as well as m...

"MAX, the snuggle-bug" Certain mornings I feel weary from the world, Just laying in bed with just enough energy to gaze outside. Birds are chirping, even on this cold early winter morning. The sun dapples so brightly through the remaining pin oak leaves. Those leaves,  although crinkly and brown, remain ever so steadfast holding on for life. To my right I feel the soft warm body of my lovable snugglebug of a tom-cat Max. I smile as I nudge him; he purrs in response, stretching out a paw towards my hand, then a cold little nose to my palm. Perhaps I will stay in bed just a little bit longer, another 5 minutes, another 30, another hour. I drift in and out of sleep. Max’s purrs now become light snores. The weight of my comforter envelopes me, cocoons me in safety. So warm and so safe. Evergreen branches scratch at the window, beckoning me to finally rise. In a few minutes I say to myself, in a couple, maybe in awhile. Fo...

"Gossip - At every Sip a Reputation Dies" ***Blogger's note:  I did not write this but wanted to share as it is an important reminder on the dangers of gossiping! "My Name is Gossip" (author unknown) My name is Gossip. I have no respect for justice. I maim without killing. I break hearts and ruin lives. I am cunning and malicious and gather strength with age. The more I am quoted, the more I am believed. My victims are helpless. They cannot protect themselves against me because I have no name and no face. To track me down is impossible. The harder you try, the more elusive I become. I am nobody's friend. Once I tarnish a reputation, it is never the same. I topple governments and wreck marriages. I ruin careers and cause sleepless nights, heartaches, and indigestion. I make innocent people cry into their pillows. Even my name hisses. I am called Gossip. I makes headlines and headaches. Before you repeat a story, ask yourself: Is it tr...

Marc & the Big Ragu, World's End  This Fall has once again shown me that I have much to be thankful for. I am blessed with close friends and family, a solid career, a warm home, my new lil SUV, the Blueberry, two loving pets, the awesome force in my life known as the Big Ragu, and my health! I will attempt to curb my minor complaining. I have gained some weight as of late so if you hear me complaining, feel free to shove a beer or a snack into my face to shut me up. I have had some dissappointments this past year but I have learned from them. After cabin hunting across New England this Fall, the Big Ragu and I did not find our dream cabin/retirement home yet but that's ok. I am blessed enough to be able to be even thinking about getting a second home. That's pretty lucky so I shouldn't complain.  My heart grows heavy thinking about those that aren't even sure where their next night may be. I have no doubt that our vacation home is out there, we ju...

"Sunflowers for Cynthia"   My good friend is nearing the end of her life. When it comes time to begin thinking of saying goodbye to a close friend or family member there are so many thoughts and emotions that one goes through. My mind races from the past to the present and back again. I have been through it before, but each time it is just as emotional and difficult, but as it should be. It should not be easy to say goodbye. It’s not meant to be. For some of us, the good bye will have to be from afar. We are unable to get the time off. Unfortunately more often than not, our employers do not give us off for the bereavement of friends, even if that person has been more like family than one’s own family. Others cannot handle the visual repercussions of illness, accident or trauma. They cannot bear to see their friends or family member in such a state. And that is OK, there is nothing wrong with that. We are all different and should not be made to feel guilty ...