The Life In Decatur

I was in the Army a grand total of two years and seventeen weeks.  I had the luxury of having an older brother who was already in the Army on recruiting duty and told me the exact things to ask for because, he told me, the recruiter would not volunteer that information.  I got in.  I got out. Training was intense, but aside from the Oklahoma City Bombing on April 19, 1995, there was never any thought that I would be going anywhere further than Ft. Carson, Colorado. That morning for about an hour, we thought the world was coming to get us; that we were under attack and I was ready to go.  That was as close to combat as I ever got. My father was in the Navy, two of my brothers and one of my sisters went into the Navy also.  My oldest brother and I chose the Army.  So did his son and daughter. Spouses, nieces, nephews, cousins...suffice it to say, I come from a big military family. When people say, "Thank you for your service." it makes me ponder what ...

I am not trying to call anyone out.  They are trying to run a business.  Perhaps you recognize the packaging and maybe want to do something about it but in the picture is a bag (one of two) full of cake.  I watched the guy throw it in the dumpster as they were closing up for the night. Let me be the first to say that cake in large amounts is not good for you.  This is good cake from a great bakery.  Rich creamy frosting.  Soft cake.  Good ingredients.  They just didn't sell a lot that day and they are left with two bags of cake. The question to be asked is, what do we do with all this cake?  Seriously, I am asking. A bad diet can make other health issues even worse.  Future blog posts will talk about the aging homeless population and how many people are dealing with health issues, both mental and physical and I cannot stress enough that cake, in large amounts, is not good for you.  I want to believe that we, as a society, can ...

It has been a while since I have done and there have been some changes, but there are still certain truths and inevitable realities to this world.  The thing you need is somewhere it just depends on what you are willing to do to get it.  Tonight I am going dumpster diving. I remember a decade ago when I did this the first time.  There was a young man who was trying to give me advice because it was obvious I was new.  He was a wealth of information and told me lots of things I will never forget and that I wish I had never heard.  Food is the key for many and he was telling me where I could get it.  He was telling me about local shelters and when they "feed".  I tend to lock on to certain words and the way they are said. The way he said "feed" was so animal-like. "This place feeds at 5 p.m." "You get good feed at such and such a place" He even told me about a local pastor who would trade oral sex for a place to sleep and some food. In any ...