Into the darkness...

Just a few thoughts rattling around in my head tonight.
A friend and I were talking about how we might lose our jobs.. she got to grumbling and went off on a rant about illegal aliens and how they "steal" the jobs that honest hard working Americans would do. OK.. lets be honest with ourselves here. If they were jobs that honest hardworking Americans would do.. than why don't the apply for them?! I'm so tired of hearing that excuse as a reason to hate Illegal Immigrants.. and the whole "they're living off our tax dollars" thing. Granted there are a lot of them that utilize the government programs.. but there are a heck of a lot of them working and paying taxes, and they don't see a dime of their tax money when tax season rolls around because they're working illegally. That's free money for the government. They aren't mooching off the system and making life hell for people.. they're busting their butts trying to make a living and living with the threat of deportation over their head. Yes yes.. I know, they should come here legally. I agree, it would be a much better way for them to come here.. but since not everyone has the money and means to sit and wait for the documents and process they're going to come over anyway they can. Do you blame them? Life is a little better here.. and we take that for granted. The system needs to change and people need to quit whining so much about the illegals and start dealing with the bigger crises we have like the skyrocketing cost of gas, the ever expanding prison population, the environmental problems, the homeless, etc. things that demand our attention NOW. Solve THOSE problems and then you can move on.. and no building a bigger fence or making life hell for them isn't a solution.

I was on Enviro this evening and stupidly opened a thread about a chihuahua that had been dragged behind a SUV. The pictures were heartbreaking.. how can someone do that to something so defenseless? What reason could they have had? People who abuse animals, elderly, children, and people weaker than them make me sick. The poor dog is suffering.. and for no reason at all. It bothers me to know that this little dog may not live because of someones carelessness and stupidity. Life is way to precious and I wish more people could see that.

Mom has plans for a memorial rock garden for dad. She had a flagpole installed and at the base of it there is a plaque that reads "Proud Retired Veteran". We built a diamond with cement edgers and filled it in with white marble chips. We bought 14 rocks (one for each ship and station during his service) and we're going to paint the name of the ship/place he was stationed and the years there on the rocks. When they're done we're going to put some protective sealer over them and then place them in the diamond.. a memorial rock garden with a very personal touch.

A local gallery invited me to be part of their showcase in October. I have to submit 15 photos by the end of the month and they will pick 5-6 of them for the showcase. I'm having a hard time narrowing it down so I've asked my friends for help. So far none of them have chosen the same pictures! Which makes it even harder.. I may recruit some help from acquaintances next. Hrm.

I'm so ready for this week to be over.. it's been a fairly bad one. Bleh!

Click click boom..

Joy is not in things; it is in us. - Richard Wagner

How true.. we tend to look to things to make us happy rather than looking into ourselves for the key to our happiness.

A few things that have been on my mind lately.

Marriage and divorce. Perhaps it's just me, but marriage seems to be somewhat of a joke now-a-days. It used to be people got married and it was a "til death do us part" type thing. Now it seems like people get married more on a whim than because of love. It's insane! People get divorced like it's no big deal.. but it is. Most people can't be bothered with working out the problems in their marriage either. It's like disposable spouses.. this one has something wrong? Get rid of it and get another! Ugh.

People use the word love way to casually. I'm not talking about "I love those shoes" or "I love this pasta salad".. I'm talking about "I love you" or "I love her". It tends to start meaning a whole lot less when you supposedly fall in love over and over and over again. People like the idea of being in love so they try so hard to be. Personally I feel love is a beautiful and powerful thing that shouldn't be treated as carelessly as it is.

You know in life we choose our own paths. The choices we make, the things we do, how we act.. this all points us down our path. Some people choose the wrong paths.. they tend to be very selfish and not care who they hurt. It saddens me to know that there are people out there who get a kick out of hurting someone.. and then put the blame everywhere but on their shoulders. It's a shame that these people don't see what they do to others.. or maybe they do, they just don't care. Whatever the reason.. the path they choose is a dark, narrow, lonely one. It's possible to change paths.. but you have to want to.