The year 1891 saw the first few newspaper advertisements. "Ouija the wonderful talking board." The board landed in a Pittsburg toy and novelty shop, describing it's amazing capabilities. Through the stream of time since the 19th century, the board has held the fascination of many and scaring the wits out of countless others. The board has given many thousands a reason to play. Many claim messages from long lost loved ones who have passed on. Others have told about unfortunate experiences with the board. Hauntings, possessions, and more.

None of the men who came together to invent the board were spiritualists, but they were businessmen who had perhaps found a niche. It seems that they knew what would fill their pockets. Whether we believe it can connect us with the dead or not. It is fun to play with admittedly. I myself have had a couple of strange experiences playing with the board. Whether it was my mind, or whether it was a real spiritual experience is still puzzling to this day.

Christmas 2018

Can you believe in less than a month now it is going to be 2019? I love this holiday every year! The magic, the lights, the decorations, and so on. I think it is just great! I love it. I think it is fun to drive along and see all of the holiday themes, and lights, and the glitter. Gazing at Christmas trees. I just love it all. Don't you? We remember our Christmases of times past. Many of us hang old decorations on our tree. Many of us have decorations made by family and friends, and we get them out every year. Some of you hang that one decoration of your children when they were little on your tree. How special is that? At the Christmas gathering haven't you heard it?  "Steven was such a good little boy." "yes, he sure was, his son is just like him." You know what I mean? It's magical.

Families grow, and new people are here. " This is Sarah, she is almost 8 months now."  Gasp,...it's just wonderful. People travel from other States, drive long distances, or fly on planes. Have the hot chocolate ready for them when they arrive.  the fresh loaves of bread that have just come out of the oven. The laughter. The sound of a teacup as it is placed back on its saucer after that delicious sip. The smell of cinnamon. Apple pies, cookies,...and the gathering. The people, and joy. How many times have you stood at the window above your kitchen sink, and gazed out at the children playing in the snow?

It is the time to be together. I think. Some have big families, some have small ones, be together. Make it memorable. Make it a legacy. Some people can't be with us anymore,...but they're not forgotten.  Wherever you are this Holiday Season, be safe. Be well, and have a great Christmas.

None of us are perfect- Just choose to do good.

I will start right off by admitting to you that I am not perfect. I don't have a lot of money either, but that is beside the point. I have never claimed to be perfect, I have tried,...oh I have tried. I have learned that I just exhaust myself trying to be perfect. So, I do the best that I can do in this life. I have decided that I will try to leave my mark on the world just by trying to good things. I want to try to be a good person. I plan on always being a poor person, but I'll try like all heck to be just a good person.

Now, make no mistake! I have done some bad things. I have! I have done some things that I really do regret. I have just learned that you can't change what has been done but you can control what you can do, most of the time. I really don't hold myself on to high of a pedestal. Mostly because I am afraid of heights. (Joke) But I have done my share of being a bad person. I will tell you right now. I have been a bad boy sometimes. The consequences are not always pleasant to swallow,...but it is all part of taking responsibility for our actions. Everything we do in this life has a result or a consequence. I overslept, so now I will be late getting to work. You went to the store but forgot the sugar, so now you have to go back to the store. I stayed up past two o'clock am and I know I have to be into work at seven am. Have a nice day. Drink that coffee. You see? Or some positive examples would be, I decided that I wanted to bake a cake and take it over to my neighbour. I saw an elderly lady trying to cross a busy street, I decided to help her across. See?

None of us can make the whole world a better place. But we can make a difference in our little world. Say good morning to someone in your local community. Compliment someone's dress. "I really like that tie your wearing today sir." When you decided to be positive, people will want to be around you. When we decided to be negative? We're going to be alone. Maybe not,...but chances are good. We all have the power to be good. Now, I'm not trying to approach my audience here like a father, pointing his finger. Not at all. I am just offering an option. Isn't it a nice option? I am no one to be pointing my finger anyhow. I am just a fellow who has learned from his mistakes. I am just passing it forward. If we choose to do good things, we can feel better about ourselves at the end of each day. We always have the power to be good to people. Even when someone may do a bad thing to us, we don't want to return the favour with a bad thing either. Because then are we not being just like them? Two wrongs don't make a right. This is just me speaking from my own experiences. I have returned bad for a bad. I have, it didn't make me feel good.

I think it is just a matter of thinking thing's through before we act. And it's not just thinking about how we respond to people either. Every aspect of our life is based on the decisions we make. Where you live, what kind of a job you have, do you drive a car or a truck? Is the sofa you sit on leather or fabric? See? If the sofa serves you well, then you did a good thing. We all each and every one of us has our triumphs, our struggles, our failures, our disappointments. Just try to do your best. I don't believe that life is a contest. I don't believe that one has to be better than the next. Just do the best that you can. Just try to do good and do the best that you can.

Peace to all.

Let people talk. Because sometimes they actually have no idea what they are talking about.

You know the well-known painting by Norman Rockwell? "The Gossips"? We all know how gossip is a past time for the myriads. Really, no one is innocent of this. I've done it. You have done it. Our friends have done it. We see members of our family doing it. Heck, I think I have seen sitting hens doing it. Have you ever walked by a hen house and heard all of the commotions? The cackling, and carrying on? Makes me wonder what they were talking about sometimes.

People have gossiped about you too. You know it. I know it. We can't stop gossip, it is a part of life. It is annoying, it makes us mad. Sometimes gossip even hurts us or can damage our reputation. But always remember. We know the truth about ourselves inside, no matter what someone else might say. Unless we are completely insane, or psychotic, we know what we ourselves do. We know what we have done or not done. We know what we have said or not said, and so on. We can't control or are responsible for what someone else might say. People are responsible for what they say themselves. If you tell someone on a Monday that you went to the store with your mother and by Friday it gets back to you that you were with someone else's wife it's not your fault. It's not! All that matters is that you know what you said to someone on Monday.

Gossip happens to all of us. It does. Just remember. If you get caught up in gossip, it can come to bite you in the behind. Always be careful about what you say about someone else. Because there are some people who will gladly confront you later on the matter. Gossip if that is your will, just be prepared and ready to own it.

Just because someone tells you that your their friend, still,....be careful!

It's hard to determine just who people really are anymore. Or maybe it's always been that way. The golden rule is that actions speak much louder than words. But we all like to ignore that rule for some reason. I don't know if it's because we try to be smarter than the rule, but I have been hurt many times over because I forget this rule. How many times have you been hurt by someone claiming to be a friend? Some people in this world make up their own rules for friendship. They think that they can act any way they please towards you, and can still be a friend at the end of the day. Right? No! A friend has to treat you the way that you want to be treated. Not the way that they have decided to treat you!

As long as your alive on this earth, you have a right to make boundaries, limits, and expectations. You have the right to say yes when you want to, and you have the right to say no when you want to. No one can control you unless you allow that control. If they get mad at you, that's fine. Let them be mad. But now, if a year passes and they are still mad, or seem to be holding a grudge towards you. Let them go! They have the problem, not you. You will see exactly who they are as time goes on.

Try to learn the art of uncovering the wolves in sheep's clothing. It is an art that I have not mastered yet myself. But I believe that it can be mastered! I believe if this world were a world full of Judge Judy's, this world would be a different place. I happen to love Judge Judy. Some people think she is a bitch. Those people who think she is a bitch, however, are they the ones that try to get away with underhanded deeds? Maybe we should all ask ourselves that question. People will tell on themselves a lot when they speak. You just have to learn how to listen.

Don't let friends influence your thinking pattern. Don't let friends tell you how you feel. Because these people are red flags in my own opinion. There are some things nobody has the ability to know unless they have some otherworldly power granted to them by some God. When people feel comfortable enough to start telling you what's going on in your head,...they will soon be trying to tell you when you can change your underwear too.  I am being serious! Some people will trade in an inch for a mile if you allow it.

Trust! Never allow anyone to tell you when you trust them! They have to earn it! I don't care if they work hard to earn your trust for 35 years. Make them do it anyway! Those that really don't care if you ever trust them will act accordingly. The ones who are sincere about earning your trust will again act accordingly. The keyword here-"act" Back to the golden rule. Actions speak much louder than words. The last life lesson is this. The world has billions of people on it. I don't know most of the people in my community, and it's a fairly small town. The world is full of associates, or acquaintances.  But friends are far and in between. I'm serious. I know the world is all social media now. Twitter, Instagram, etc. Don't be fooled by the one thousand friends you may have on Facebook. At best, you may have five real friends. You're doing good if you have three friends.