It's Sudden Death; and It's So Quiet We Can Hear Our Heartbeat Thing

Dear America,

wow.  we are in one sticky wicket, aren't we?

as the rhetoric ramping up the arguments against the so-called "establishment" versus real tea party conservatives continues...and strangely enough...the loudest cries coming from the well-established GOP candidates.


It's been happening for weeks now -- Gingrich, Santorum, Paul -- all raising concerns against one guy, the favorite, the one who looks as if he's got it all tied up right now.

funny.

anyone see the Farmer's Insurance Torrey Pines golf tournament?


truth is, I only watch this kind of stuff at the tail end...tuning in somewhere around the 17th hole on the last day.  How anyone can watch golf for three days straight [especially on T.V.] is beyond me; but hey, to each his own, right?  But it would behoove me to mention, I could have just moved myself off the couch and showed up personally to watch the sights, as this Taylor-made extravaganza happens to go on right in my own backyard.

and let me tell you...it has been beautiful for the event this year; it's not always the case...for some reason the universe sends in the clouds and drizzle year in and year out.  But this year....OH   MY   GOODNESS.  it was simply gorgeous. the great pacific was glistening. the torrey pines were smiling.  the egrets were wondering why their favorite watering hole was so crowded.  but I digress.


anyway...Brandt Snedeker was packing up his nine iron when something crazy occurred.  Kyle Stanley choked on the eighteenth hole.  Snedeker was called back to play a sudden death.

They tied it up in the first go round; then, playing the second hole in sudden death [at the 16th hole, i think] it appeared like it was all over for Snedeker for a second time, as he landed somewhere in the rough, down an embankment, and more or less, might as well consider it over the river and through the woods.

but noooooo.
that wasn't the way the universe was gonna let it go down.

long story short, Stanley met his match [even if only in his own mind].

Snedeker came back in sudden death to win the whole thing.

to watch it all unfold right before your eyes, unbelievable.  but what do I know, right?

But back to the politics of pulling bogeys and birdies on the campaign trail --

you know what makes this girl crazy?  listening to a candidate who one day calls the favorite 'a lying, capitalist pig...  who did nothing to warrant his 21 million dollar payday last year' [or something like that...and maybe not all in the same breath] -- to the same guy saying something like, 'I'll endorse him if I have to.'

That's just it.
Americans who truly love this country will come around, even in sudden death, and endorse whichever GOP candidate remains...BECAUSE we all know the country is toast if Obama gets re-elected. 

[and even in spite of people like Sarah Palin calling on Floridians to vote for Newt just to 'annoy a liberal'...which is normally not a good enough reason to vote for anybody...just sayin']

all I want to ask Sarah is how can you, of all people, endorse a Newt after he has spent weeks bashing capitalism and the very free market that made Romney --  the business man and millionaire, and most likely, a damn good golfer -- who he is today?

Just where is her critical, eagle eye picking Newt's pot shots apart, fair and balanced?  And how in the world does Newt get a pass from being considered part of 'the establishment'?   For goodness sakes, he has made a career of what, forty or fifty years, in government, working steadfastly for the republican party!   He's like the poster boy of the GOP establishment, much like Tiger is to GOlf (well, maybe not so much now).

but it's not just her -- it seems like every time we turn around, we are tripping over another conservative pundit popping their head up to be the next Newt caddy. 

The reality is, every single one of them (of those remaining in the GOP lineup) are established politicians of the republican kind. they are kinda all the same, but different.

Stanley or Snedeker; Gingrich or Romney; does it really matter?

honestly...

Sure, for Snedeker it matters -- but for the rest of the golf world, not so much; it goes into the history books as 'it wasn't me.'  But more than that, GOLF, in the macro, goes on just the same as it ever was.

The thing is, according to me, G, America is in sudden death.  And we can't afford going on in the same way, same as it ever was.

Against the well-established Obama administration -- a guy who, according to a CNN article from way back in 2010 'plays more [golf] than Bush'...a guy who, as of LAST summer, totaled 75 [golf] outings   -- ANY one of the foursome remaining will do just fine. [key word there is FOURSOME. isn't it crazy that the media has decided to stop talking about the other two?  it's not over, till it's over]

Which one is the very best for changing the status quo?

It's early.  We still have the back nine to play out.

It is the media, who would have us believe that Obama has got this thing all tied up [but that discussion must be saved for another day].


a thought to leave you with.......

"every secret is told, 

every crime is punished, 

every virtue rewarded, 

every wrong redressed, 

in silence and certainty.'  

Ralph Waldo Emerson

'Compensation'

so quiet, you can hear your heart beat at the eighteenth hole

Make it a Good Day, G

READ THIS from The Patriot Post, featuring THOMAS SOWELL here, 'Is Anybody Serious?'

It's a Show Up or Shut Up Thing

Dear America,

happy state of the union day.  yea.

so I keep Yahoo! as my home page...
no, it doesn't really scream G, but it seems a suitable place to start my day and get a layout of what is up or down with the world.


it's the little things that sometime speak to me the loudest -- things like waking up to the holiday icon, always featured up in the top left corner of the Yahoo! page, playfully showing a Chinese dragon chasing the bunny (year of the rabbit) away.  kinda funny, huh.  I have no other reason for bringing this up other than the matter of providing pure fluff; just hanging on the dragon's tail for one more day.

we've been talking about what I missed chatting it up with all of you while on the unexpected twenty-eight day hiatus.  And yes, it is; it is long enough to change a really bad habit, break an addiction, and even jump start a life all over again.  (Not that I have any...bad habits...addictions...)

It was quite the cog in the blog, wasn't it?

One of the things I thought about during the break(down) was simply this:  just showing up is everything.

Whether good, bad or indifferent, nothing happens when we don't participate and become the active, essential element of our success.  absolutely nothing.

AND when we join the power of showing up along with doing the right thing when we do -- we have the potential of making magic happen.

The Yahoo! page was also highlighting two stories this morning  -- and giving you just the headlines -- one reads "White House delays release of [Obama's] 2013 Budget"; the other one, "Expect [tonight, @SOTU address] 'very specific' economic blueprint from Obama: Advisor"


So the president plans on giving us 'very specific' economic projections and insight and reality based solutions WITHOUT a budget?

And, by the way, congress has been operating without a budget for 1000 days now -- something that is unlawful and out of integrity with one of the primary duties as members of congress.  what a mess.

Now, talk about not showing up  -- talk about not showing up AND not doing the right thing.

What has our president been doing?  campaigning

What has our congress been doing?  pointing fingers

The funny thing is, our lives usually -- and sometimes immediately -- reflect the demonstration of right action, good intention, and sound purpose every time.  Of course, the opposite effect is also true when deprived of such clear thought, whether a fault of our own un-doing or through who we associate and surround ourselves.

This country has been talking about controlling the debt/spending since I was born.  You would think -- over a span of nearly fifty years now -- we might have been able to get a handle on it.  just sayin'

Now, as we are all well aware, we will have an opportunity to welcome in the same president for another term or tap into our venture capitalist skills and bring in a replacement.  So running on the re-birthing theme of the last twenty four hours, the only thing we really know right now -- unless the skies open up and the earth shatters into a billion pieces -- all we really know now is that 'it's a boy'. 

"Now, more than ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature…If the next centennial does not find us a great nation…it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces."

works with presidents, too...

...the thing is, these words came from just a boy by the name of James Garfield. It was during his centennial address in 1876 -- with thanks to George Stephenson, of Grassroots America We the People, for his blogpost capturing the moment and timely sentiment for the ages.

So just in case you missed it -- that was then, this is now; we didn't get any better in 'the next centennial' ending in 1976 now did we...
And given that we are now merrily barreling down to the half way mark of 'the centennial' after that -- we, the people, STILL haven't learned how to show up...doing the right thing when we do.

Ignorance, recklessness and corruption is defining us.  Intelligence, bravery and purity is nowhere to be seen.


wonder what kind of American president will show up tonight?

Make it a Good Day, G

last word:  show up or shut up

It's a Fantastic Foursome Thing

Dear America,

oh my
where to begin... where to begin, again...

all I can say is be prepared; be prepared for the G thing to be all over the place.

We could start with the birthing of the brand new year -- the year of the dragon according to the Chinese calendar. The year officially begins upon the light of the silvery new moon [tonight, January 23]

...and you thought I was talking about that 'Auld Lang Syne' thing.

But isn't it fitting; who knew? what with the arrival of another election year.

You would think the Mayans and the Chinese got together to roll in one humdinger of a year.  Isn't the universe just hilarious...

But to quickly recap the last 28 days (returning to the time when good ole G was a wee bit more reliable in showing up), what in the world did I miss chewing on?

Well, of course there were 'The Holidays', the coming and going of a time when Jesus was the reason for the season, there is that.  Normally a magical time for me.  But this year's festivities were in a word, muted.  In a second word, melancholy.  It was something of an anomaly altogether and ended up being a time when I personally had to gloss right over, as solemn family tragedy happened to be surrounding me in every way. All I could do was get through it as quickly and painlessly as I reasonably could.  [make'n a sweet wink, blink'n and nod to Makers Mark]

What else...

oh right.
There was another round of GOP debates, along with a couple of state primaries, to keep us thoroughly twisted.  But cue the good news --

the FREE MARKET is still alive and well! (That is, at least within the confines of the campaign domain.)  And oh the magic -- observing the immediate demonstration of diminishing returns filtering out the riff-raff.

Actually, riff-raff is probably being a little harsh; it's not like any of them are really that bad; it's just that none of them are all that good.  None of them provide the one-two punch we all seem to be longing for in unison.

And so we are down to the best of last in the fantastic four who remain: Romney, Gingrich, Santorum and Paul.

So in order for me to stomach this reality, the way I choose to look at it is this way -- it's Veal Medallions, Bacon-Wrapped Filet, Pork Tenderloin Roulade with Prosciutto and Arugula, or a good Ole Country Ham with all the fixin's, respectively  What's not to like?

While they all sound good upon first blush -- the only thing that keeps us from making a firm decision are the sides. It is the brussel sprouts --  the pairing of a trinity of cubed squash (the way your great aunt ida used to make it, ew...) --  the chunks of blue cheese thrown down on top of a perfectly good saute of green beans --  or the creamed spinach, cheesy grits and cornbread heavy on honey butter, a combination making it appear we have a death wish.

There are biting pitfalls no matter which way we go.

And now to my new year's resolutions real quick.

1. Do no harm    
2. Do good  
3. Be happy  
4. Give everything I got.

It's a narrow list of my own fantastic four -- and yet, it's funny,  the more you look at it, the more expansive it grows.

And now to the final thoughts on this day marking both the beginning of the Year of the Dragon, along with the great joy of the Gthing re-entering the blogosphere:

Let us start by looking more closely into ourselves.
In a manner of speaking, given the times, let us begin this election year vetting ourselves before casting judgment against the fantastic four remaining.

What good am I?  How good are you?  What are WE good for?

How good can America grow?

It all starts with the power of one -- to be the change... to grow the good and be nice...to make the world a better place for all  (I know!  it sounds so Victorian, doesn't it;  so yesterday; as if dripping off the corners of our mouth with old world obsolescence with a splash of Bearnaise).

What can I say?   Pollyanna lives!  I'm baaaaaack.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's a Breedlove Thing

Dear America,

baby steps here we go.

not really back yet.

let's just say, it has been a heavy holiday season.

and what is the G thing gonna do?  go heavier [cue raw, stupid sarcasm...'joy to the world'...sing it with me...].

So, just in case you missed it over the last couple of weeks, a story about just a boy touched my heart.

and so it is only fitting, I think, as we start a new year ...for a wee bit of perspective.  I am choosing to go to a 'digital journal' piece, as told by John Thomas Didymus.  The story is well done; while the video of Ben speaks for itself.


May I recommend that you read the background first, and then click into the two videos in the words of Ben.

So when you are ready to begin, go here. (bring tissues)

Make it a Good Day, G