Has Christmas lost some of its mystic to the tech age and hussle bussle of the modern life? Now stores are open even as I write, and will be open late for those shoppers who just can not seem to find the time to shop before the last minute.

As a kid I remember that on Christmas eve most stores would be closeing early, resturants would be too. Allowing employees to get home and be with thier families. Of coarse there would always be the dinner that would be open and the waitress to meet you with a smile and refill your coffee without asking.

It was a big deal the day after Thanksgiving as this marked the day civil servants got out and started decorating the town. Main street would get the hollyu and wreaths hoisted up the light poles. Certain trees would get the lights wrapped around them. Now this all happens at the start of November. WAY TO SOON IN MY BOOK.

Remeber the start of Christmas vacation? Now its winter break or some other silly political correct name.

I wonder if they will ban hot cocoa on a winters day because to many people enjoy it. They have already banned most sleding and tubbing. But then again there are a lot of idiots who push the envelope on this as well. I remember as a kid the local sledding area. Boy what god times, till some idiots decided that a jump had to be installed alll the way across the hill. Thats when the accidents started to happen.
Extreme athletes my butt. (another topic for another time).

I wonder how many families are truely going to be together for the holidays this year. Not on some ski trip , or to the islands. But truely together. All in the same house , sharing the two bathrooms among 17 people and then more show up in time for the dinner tomorrow afternoon. Where the t.v. trays are dug out from the garage and used in the family room in front of the television because there is no more room in the dinning room for anyone. This type of togetherness.

Where you keep cousin Phil away from Uncle Jake because they have seperate political views on the NFL.

Then the mass misdirection of all the grandkids and children to have then not lookking as you sneak all the presents Santa left in the garage under the old boating tarp.


I could go on and on but won't.


MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Well to any one out there who may be wondering where I have been. LOL, currently I am blogging from my hospitol bed.

The warning signs. You here the medical proffesion talk about them all the time, but untill it hits you square in the chest do you really play attention.

For me it is not paying close enough attention to my diabetits. This inturn has lead to a very painful case of pancrentitis.

I am rather lucky I suppose because I did break down and allowed my family to be much smarter then myself. They brought me to the hospitol. That is after I was found laying on the floor curled up in the fetal position praying for a swift end. The pain was unbearable. It did double me over and drop me to the floor. The dry heaves and dehydration, dizziness. What a mess I was.

For a couple of months now I havent been up to snuff. Just not feeling right. Well All of this was the SIGNS. I should have headed to the doctor immediately.

I have had some extremely high blood readings before but this was off the charts. Lipoface of 10,000, glucose of 500, triglycerides in the 7000s. Just unGodly high.

Well I am recooperating now. A diet of ice chips, not even water. Any nutrients coming in on the IV drip. Now this does not even look at the finacial bind I created for myself with this stay in the hospitol.

All I can tell you folks is take care of yourself. Pay attention. When you have an ache or a booboo. Go have a doctor look at it. Those so called hunger pains may be something completely different. The cold sensaion in your feet, no that isn'tjusta draft.

Oh great time to give more blood .... I swear I have none left for them to test.

Take care people.

Its an old topic. Who has the right to dicisipline the child. Is it the parents right to or is the state the final decider.

Many believe that punishing a child period is wrong. Yet how do we teach a child then , right from wrong, moral values, and compasion for thier fellow man (p.c. human).

Punishment for a child is in the eye of the punisher. For many any show of authority is wrong. A child needs to discover things on thier own. Ok good theory, but full of holes and lack of parental responsibility. A double edge sword for many in the progresive camp. The lack of oversight for the child leads to trouble in many cases.

Forms of punishment for a child include but are not limited to talking about what has happened, to spanking (see where this is going?). My brother uses the timeout method. Sitting my nieces down and letting them think about what they have done and reasoning with them. So far this has worked. However is it the only way? No, for many children the manipulation process is learned at an extremely ealry age.

This manipulation is reinforced with the lack of some sort of corporal punishment. When a child learns that crying and throwing a tantrum results in only a time out and no negative response they will continue to throw fits.

One can punish a child with out forms of physical reinforcment. Such as having the child sit in a chair at the table and not able to leave untill they finish thier broccalli. Or you can have the child stand with thier nose in the corner. (this one seemed to be a favorite of my fathers. I got to be pretty knowledgeable about the texture and finish in our home ... lol).

The n there is the old stand by. A spanking. This to many is child abuse. Ok I can see that if it gets out of hand, yes it is child abuse. However a simple swat on the bottom is not abuse. Ones posterior is, even for those with less robust bottoms, is quit padded. It is the mental thought that this will hurt more than it does, which causes or reinforces the "don't do it again" atmosphere.

A spanking by many is nothing more then an extension of Pavlovs theory on behavior.
By giving a negative reinforcment to an action, we learn not to do it again. Or at least this is the thought process behind it.

Yet in many places that are top heavy with progressive enlightened thinkers this is unthinkable. Laying of hands on a child is inexcusable. (This could answer the question as to why thier kids are generally the ones who are acting like brats and simply out of control most of the time).

Now I will argue that the problem with many troubled youths, is the fact they do not understand right from wrong clearly enough. I hold thier parents , or lack there of for this. With out reinforcement of the negative side to ones actions they do not learn not to do some things. This is not an endorcement for spankings but for more then a timeout.

In the state of Massachusetts spanking is to be outlawed. Considered barbaric and child abusive. Now this is the state (a few) pressing thier views on the majority.

Child psychologist Theresa Whitehurst said, "When a husband does it to a wife, the very same act is considered domestic violence. And when you hit a child, what's the difference?"

Fair question but her logic is flawed. Equateing spousel abuse to diciplining a child is not the same. It is not even close. Teaching a child roght from wrong, then saying in a domestic abuse situation the same thing is going on is , well, assinine.

But this is the moral equivalance that progressives see. They see no differance. Something tellls me that they are not so enlightened.

Massachusetts is mnoving foward on thie banning. So soon it will be illegal to discipline your child there. Not only in public but in your private home/residance. A slam on individual/parental rights. The village/state taking over the task of raising children.