Travis Smith: my resume, bio and photos back to the main blog page

There was a large fire in the De Luz Canyon area few months ago.  It destroyed some homes.  The L.A. Times sent out a reporter to get a quote from the locals, and he met an old fellow who lost his house to the fire.  The paper reported him saying this:

“First came the smoke and then the flames down the canyon that chased us out,” said Gaynor Bean, 85, whose home was destroyed. “All I got out with was my wallet. Sometimes life isn’t very good.”

I think that should be one of the mantras of a good system of belief: “Sometimes life isn’t very good.”  Period.  He’s 85, and he’s got that figured out.

* * * *

There was a headline I read while in Calgary that said “Armed Forces Report a High Rate of Stress,” about a study done that says that many people in the military have a higher amount of stress in their lives because of the constant moves, the demands of the job, and, oh, maybe the fact that THE ENEMY IS TRYING TO KILL YOU?  I don’t blame the people who did the study though—it’s the reporter who did such a bad job of explaining why the report was relevant and productive.

* * * *

I also include this brief snippet from Clint, the Canadian, about his trip back North on the Grayhound bus:

Hi, I just wanted you guys to know that I have arrived in Vancouver hale and hearty. The food you sent me off with was an absolute life saver!

I got to see the state capitol in Sacremento, and some of Portland. We had some stopover time. Portland was really nice.

My only complaint is that the bathrooms in the stations were unspeakably evil. And I dropped one of the pop cans on the bus and heard it roll up to the front; I was going to go retreive it but I heard it get picked up and immediately opened and consumed. It’s jungle law in there…

Be Wickbag, Clint

Overheard

“The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.”

...who said it?

“Almost every American I know does trade large portions of his life for entertainment, hour by weeknight hour, binge by Saturday binge, Facebook check by Facebook check. I’m one of them. In the course of writing this I’ve watched all 13 episodes of House of Cards and who knows how many more West Wing episodes, and I’ve spent any number of blurred hours falling down internet rabbit holes. All instead of reading, or writing, or working, or spending real time with people I love.”

...who said it?

“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.”

...who said it?

“I play with variables constantly.”

...who said it?

“Only the person who has learned Continual Love coming from a heart of Gratitude/Worship can effectively deal with the problem of loneliness.”

...who said it?

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