Various Random Thoughts

Well, it's past midnight, but I haven't gone to sleep yet...so, to me, it is still Sunday, December 16.

December 16 is the 234th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party; Ron Paul supporters used this day to explode another money bomb by skyrocketing Paul's donations from over 11 million to over 18 million in 24 hours! This freedom revolution is no joke, and it is no small matter to those of you who might be skeptical. Listen to Alex Jones (AND verify what he says by looking up for yourself the documents and proof he gives for what he says); research Ron Paul and watch videos on YouTube (links below):

Ron Paul: A New Hope
PBS Documentary on Ron Paul

Visit his website: www.ronpaul2008.com and get SERIOUS about this upcoming election! Well I almost went on another surge about Ron Paul, but I decided not to here because I have plenty else to say right now. Besides, I'm not sure I can help anyone who's not smart enough to recognize that our country is in grave danger and so is each individual who lives in America and the only candidate who is consistently true to his word and has principled values and cares about the American people is RON PAUL. wow...I think that was a run-on sentence, but I'm too tired to fix it, so hopefully it made sense.

Okay, so December 16, 2007 is also the first day in my life that I -- Letisha Beachy -- fired a real gun. I fired a Glock 19 (9 mm bullets) at a bowling pin four times; I hit the pin twice out of the four times I shot and the second time I hit it, I knocked it completely off the fence. Seems a little ironic (coincidental?) that I shot a gun for the first time on December 16, 2007, the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, the day of the second revolutionary money bomb by Ron Paul supporters, a day of supporting a candidate who very strongly supports and believes in our Second Amendment right to bear arms. Interesting...
Anyway, I attended my first gun show on Saturday, December 15 and it was, to say the least, an experience to be had. Perhaps I will write more on this later.

Another thing I'd like to note about today is that as I drove home from Tom's house tonight, I thought about the fact that today was the first time I've ever shot a real gun. Tom gave me a one- to two-minute lesson on gun safety, how the gun works, and how to aim and fire. I did not grow up around guns and I admit to always being afraid of them for various reasons aside from the obvious fact that I knew that they were deadly if you are on the "business end of the gun," as Tom puts it. I was nervous at the gun show; I was nervous when I heard Tom target practicing, and I was fearful when I went to try it. I did it because it is a fear that I know I must overcome in this world. So, as I drove home from Tom's house tonight, I tried to think back to doublecheck my memory if this was indeed the first time I've ever fired a real gun. I fired toy guns when I was a young tom boy; I fired water guns; I fired a paintball gun a few times in the woods; and I've played Lazer Tag. So, as far as I can remember, I have never fired a real gun until today. Then I wondered, why can't I remember something like this for certain? You'd think that shooting a gun for the first time would be something you'd remember...then that got me to thinking about major events that Tom has asked me about my past that I cannot answer because I don't remember. When and how did this failure in my memory come about? I'm pretty sure I didn't used to be as uncertain about such things before. See? "I'm pretty sure." I can't even say "I'm certain" very often. What's happened to my memory? I've heard (Tom, Alex Jones, articles) that various chemicals can result in memory loss, and these chemicals can be found in the fluoride that the city puts in our tap water, in various medicines (perhaps including anti-depressants?), and possibly in fluids that are injected into our systems when we get various "protocol" shots. I have to do some research to find out how much of this is true and what might be causing my memory loss, but let's hope I can get that done before I forget why I'm doing the research in the first place! I don't want people or chemicals messing with my body unless I consent to it and know exactly what something is going to do to my body. This is a similar frustration as I mentioned in a recent blog about the anti-depressants that I stopped taking.

Another note regarding the gun thing: I was happy to see/hear that some children are taught very well about gun safety. Tom's neice, Hayleigh, is one such young lady. As Cindy (Hayleigh's mom) and I discussed how this gun was Tom's new "toy" and that he'd be giving it a lot of attention for awhile, Hayleigh jumped in and said "but it's not a toy!" :)

This is random (watch out from left field!): I saw one of the funniest things this weekend. It was a plinko Santa. You seen the Plinko game on The Price is Right?? Everyone loves plinko! Well, this toy is a Plinko Santa, except there is only one whole that the Santa can land in and it is a chimney! The Sparks' dog, Charley, was quite intrigued with the toy too!

Here's one from right field: I heard a song by a band that I'd never head of before and it was quite good. The band is an old rock band called Golden Earring and the song was called...umm, sorry I don't remember.

Speaking of songs and artists...I realized recently just how stupid I've become since I left college. This thought came about as I played Taboo with friends from church at a Christmas party a couple weeks ago. I did very poorly on much of it because I am so unfamiliar with pop culture! When I was in college, I was like a neverending sponge that constantly got fed. Now I'm like a neverending sponge that is often dry and leaving much to be desired, I mean, learned. At Virginia Tech, I was surrounded by students seeking knowledge, professors researching, my own copious amounts of homework, teaching fellow students, and just a general sense of academic-hood. Whenever I didn't know something or understand something, I'd go Google it and find out (hence "newsflash" that I received from the Lord a few nights ago that I blogged about recently). Now, life is...well, I'm not sure what life is now or what exactly happened, but I must get it back! I think should include me keeping up with my languages, the instruments I've learned or am learning, becoming more familiar with pop culture as well as history, and finding more time to read. Is it possible for me to do all that when I can barely find time to do anything for myself as it is right now? It seems that the past few years have been largely spent battling constant emotional roller coasters and/or depression, as well as trying to figure out where the heck my life is going. Meanwhile, my search for knowledge has starved; I want to know things for good, use them for good...and ultimately use them for creativity. I know for sure that I must engage in more scholarly conversations and cannot expose myself to things that make me feel like my brain cells are dissipating or disolving into a big mass of nothingness.

I have been working on a children's book lately. Goodness! I sure did choose a complicated hobby/career path! Tom has been trying to help me figure out how to put this complicated baby book together (it has to be sturdy to endure baby handling). Who was to know that it was going to be so difficult? I hope it gets published after all this trouble!

I have so many things to write about...I hope I have plenty of opportunities to write this week since (I'm pretty sure) I don't have to tutor again until after Christmas. Perhaps I will blog again tomorrow...

Oh, and my sister returns from Kenya, Africa on Tuesday, December 18, 2007.

Old Time Cartoons = Good Ole Memories

Here are some YouTube videos of old cartoons that I used to love and watch. Enjoy!

INSPECTOR GADGET




GUMMY BEARS




FRAGGLE ROCK




MAPLE TOWN




STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE
* this video has some tracking problems




CARE BEARS