The Sounds of the Season

 Christmas Music

The music of the season with all the happy good feeling tunes of Christmas, maybe with the exception of Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley but its Elvis - its good.

So, here are some good classic Christmas music

Keep Christ in Christmas

Tis the Season

This is the time of the year when the world is focused on the birth of Jesus Christ. It is especially a prayerful time not only for the faithful but even for those who are lukewarm in their faith.

I believe this year especially we all need to re-group and turn our eyes to God and pray for the end of this pandemic. 

This time of the year I will usually rant on about how much people will spend their dollars on Christmas gifts, but this year I'm going to focus more on the good then the negative. The world is in a state of hearing bad news everyday and I will have the good news here.  

Keep Christ in Christmas

Pax

  

Businesses Gone

I work in downtown Nashville and over the pandemic months I have seen many businesses closed their doors forever.

I went to most places for lunch. I got to know many of the people that worked there, not necessarily as friends, but a nice interaction with some kind people.  It is sad in many ways.  People have lost their jobs and businesses that were open for a long time are now closed. 

Hopefully, as time heals the wounds to the city's economy new businesses and people will come back.    

The Battle of Debates in the Political Parties

The battles of the election are in full attack mode.

Some say the election is over, others say its not.

What is the root cause of these battles?

The news is the primary instigator.  We receive are daily information in a wide variety of news formats, television, social media, and actual newspapers, all of these and more are affecting how we choose are battles of the debates about our differences.

Now with that said, some people are more prepared for debate than others.  And what I mean by debate is the discussion of the current political arguments.  I have learned that in any debate one must be able to understand and discuss the opposing viewpoints.

But here is the problem, if the only information received is one-sided you can not begin to understand the opposing viewpoint. And from that point on the battle begins.  People involved positions of government i.e., senate, congress and the presidency all have their opinion on how things should be ran, without giving any thought to the people who opposed them. So, to gather their weapons and to strengthen their armies their opinions are given to the news media or the recruiter's.  

People have a tendency to believe what they constantly hear or read and anything outside of the "normal news" must be wrong. The only way for the battles to end is a simple understanding of ones point of view.  I have had political discussions with those who completely disagree with me, but in the end it usually comes down to respect and a mutual statement of "we agree to disagree".   

   

Is this the Best of Times?

The world has dramatically changed in the last nine months. At some point I think a lot of people thought the COVID virus would have been over by now and life would go back to normal.  But it hasn't, and the future doesn't look any better.  The presidential election has not officially been declared by the electoral college and when that decision is official, I believe the United State will no longer be the same.

So, what is next?

In my opinion, if Biden gets into office we will have a nationwide lockdown and if the states do not agree, Biden will move to influence the mayors to do the lockdowns.  If Trump is elected, the state will have the freedom to either lockdown or open their state. The cites that are on lockdown will have to be influenced by the governors whether to open their cities.

My point here is, depending on who is in office will be the deciding factor on when we will make the recovery process back to the best of times.  

Just my opinion......

Do Not Fear

 

"For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you."

Isaiah 41:13

Coffee

Coffee is a must have

Just to get off the usual topic for awhile, and talk about one of my favorite beverages - Coffee.

It is the perfect drink in the morning particularly when blogging. I like almost all types of roast but almost always I take it black and nothing else.  Coffee has been around for centuries and continues to grow in popularity. 

So, the next your read the blog have a cup.  

Businesses Need Us

 Businesses in America today needs our support.

The business of America is in great need right now.  We have an obligation as citizens to do what we can to buy products, use services, and to pay people to work for us. And to take this a step further, when buying products - to buy American. 

This might seems to be an obvious solution to bring back our economy but when the process of buying an item begins it creates a snowball effect in the supply chain.  

The product has to be made and those materials needed have to be produced which employees even more people and once those materials are created they have to be transported. This begins another process, trucks, trains, air transports, and ships at sea, all of this employees people. And when people are employed they in turn go out and buy products and the cycle of producing a single item starts again.

Buy American     

The Start of a Day

 

An important part of your day should always start with prayer.

The powerful action of prayer is underestimated.  The connection to God should be a normal part of a daily routine just like talking to friends or family. 

Because once prayer stops then the evil moves in sometimes unnoticed with small temptations and eventually you are not praying at all which would accomplish what the evil one wants, to separate you from God.  Battles for your soul take place every minute of every day. 

Prayer is the best weapon. A powerful prayer weapon, is the Rosary.  All throughout history the rosary has defeated the enemy many times and continues to do so today.

If you haven't been praying, start today, because it will save your soul.    

Forever Changed ?

The pandemic will change the way we live our lives forever.

I believe even after a vaccine for the virus has been implemented somethings will still stay the same and other parts of our lives will change drastically.  There will be people that will continue to wear mask. Some businesses will continue to require a mask before entering their establishment and they will have the right to refuse service. And to take this a step further, some cities will continue to have mandates to be enforced.  Businesses will give up office space and end their lease agreements to have employees work from home.

And the entertainment industry, will change venues, to a virtual concept instead of live events in a auditorium. Sports will be greatly be effected, the large gathering of fans that once filled stadiums will no longer exist. Again going to a virtual viewing of a game.  

Shopping will continue to expand to more online orders. Shopping Malls will close.  Grocery stores will become warehouse type buildings that will function as distribution points for the online orders.  Delivery drivers will become an expanding industry.

This can be an opportunity or an eventual end to an industry.   

COVID-19 Thoughts

 The first news story this morning - The President has the virus.

Some thoughts on the virus.  

I believe it is real and people are dying from it and there is no vaccine at this time.

Next, the day to day activities, people who are high-risk should wear a mask.  If you are healthy and maintain distancing you should have the option not to wear one. 

The mask could have always been worn in the past even during flu season along with the vaccine. But what make this so different in my opinion, is this is political.  

An example, the mayor of Nashville has fabricated the virus numbers to shut the city down plus he has included the prison population into factor in with the overall numbers to keep the city closed. I believe this is to receive federal dollars for the pandemic. I say open all the cities.  If you are at risk, stay home.

My point is at anytime we could die.  People die everyday from disease, flu, pneumonia and the list goes on and we try to prevent those types of illness. We should live everyday as if it was our last. Live your life.  

Election Time

 In 36 days we will have an election for President.  This I believe will be the most important election in my lifetime. So, just a small rant about a statement that some people will make when asked who are they are voting for and why.  They will say "I'm voting for the man" (or woman).  What these people are not realizing is that person represents a party - democrat or republican.  Those parties represent a set of values and principles they follow. But if you ask any question to the folks that vote for the person about what they represent, they could not tell you. It just amazes me that there are people who vote this way.  

The Current State of Our Country

I can't remember a time when I've seen our country so divided. When you look at the Presidential polls for the election, it is almost split down the middle. In the past, the two main political parties have dominated at one time or another.  But this year is different. I believe the people who will decide the next President will be the independents, which on a side note truly belong to one of the two parties, a topic for another time.  Anyway, the election this year is very different from years past. The parties have clearly redefined their platforms, which makes the independents a voting factor.  Also, another voter that you will not hear about - the silent voter.  They do not participate in polls or talk about politics to anyone.  Our country is split, there is turmoil in the cities and both sides have strong opinions and will not sway their point of view. In 42 days America will vote and when the results are tallied and we have our President for the next four years this country will not be the same as it was before the pandemic.      

 

Andrew Jackson

The American Flag - War Memorial Building - Downtown Nashville

The American Flag - War Memorial Building - Downtown Nashville

The American Flag - Church Street Downtown Nashville

Church Street Downtown Nashville

The American Flag - St. Mary's Catholic Church

The American Flag - St. Mary's Catholic Church

Dusk - the American Flag and Moon

Legislative Plaza Flag

In Legislative Plaza in Downtown Nashville

Something Else

During the 4th of July my wife and I decided to take a break from all the craziness and travel the Natchez Trace for the day.  We wanted to do something else, not watching TV or staying update with the latest news. We wanted to escape.

The Natchez Trace is a National Park - watch and you'll understand why this was the place to go, an easy access to our history, no real planning to go and do something else.

Watch

Natchez Trace Parkway 

https://www.nps.gov/natr/index.htm