Looking Back

If you want to get somewhere, you need look forward, keeping the course. Looking back can sometimes

I had never seen this photo until recently. On the back,

in my mother's handwriting, it says "Bill." I have to

assume this is the first picture of me. 

slow you down.

Today, I am looking back.

Back at the past 18,994 days and wondering, "where did they go?"

As a kid, we all wished time away when we "couldn't wait for [insert exciting event here]."

Then, as we grow older, somewhere after college, we realize that time has somehow sped up. Some days may seem to drag, but suddenly a month, a season, a year has past.

Sometimes time is going so fast I want to be Fred Flintstone and use my feet to put on the brakes.

But I can't slow it down, so I'll just enjoy the ride and smile at the highlights of the last 18,994 days.

What will the next 18,994 days bring me?  Most likely I won't see that many more.

But I will keep looking ahead and moving forward, because tomorrow is another day.

BareNakedBill.blogspot.com

NAKED AGAIN!

Here I am. Trying to be Naked Again.

You know, bearing my soul and writing from the heart.  It's going to be tough, because I have a lot of turmoil  going on in my head.

Several months ago, someone tried to use my writing against me.  It made me cover up and resist the exposure.

Kama sucks, cause their life isn't the happiest right now and their ability to do damage to me was greatly reduced.

But I was still afraid to open up.

Now, I'm on the edge of truly flinging off the coverings that hide my essence and get free and naked once again.

Stay tuned!

Scared

Today, many of us are scared.

For many of us, the terrorist bombing in Boston yesterday brought back memories of September 11, 2001.

This morning before I boarded an airplane, I had to remove my shoes and coat, put my laptop, Kindle and mobile phone into plastic tubs along with my quart-sized zip-lock bag that contained a minimal amount of liquids I need to carry with me on this trip.

That is the price we now pay to feel safe when flying.

But how can we as a society ever feel safe when we're out in the open?  How can we feel safe when we're inside a baseball park or wandering a shopping mall or standing on the street watching a marathon?

I don't know either.

But I do know, I refuse to be scared.  I refuse to live my life sheltered by threats from outside forces like crazy Korean Dictators or cowardly terrorist hiding in the shadows.

Today, I will not be scared!

BareNakedBill.blogspot.com

Regret

Webster will tell you regret is a negative conscious and emotional reaction to personal past acts and behaviors, often expressed by the term "sorry."


Regret can describe not only the dislike for an action that has been committed, but also, importantly, regret of inaction. Many people find themselves wishing that they had done something in a past situation.

I have many regrets in my life.

I regret not doing a lot of things I should have done when I had the opportunity.  I regret some of the choices I have made in my life.

I regret my inability to convince others to learn from my mistakes and listen to my advice.

Regret is often a feeling of sadness, shame, embarrassment, depression, annoyance, or guilt.

Regret is also about living in a place that none of us belong -- the past.

So live everyday to the fullest, so you have no regrets.

BareNakedBill.blogspot.com

A Novel Idea

From time to time, I think about writing a book. A work of fiction, perhaps, with interesting characters.

It's in my head already. I just need to move it through my fingers into my computer.

But then, I realize that I'm not that kind of writer. Nor do I have a huge desire to be one.

I have found, however, that you can write a book about nearly any subject and sell it on Amazon.com.

If I could make money writing a book about how to sharpen pencils, I would do it.

BareNakedBill.blogspot.com

I feel old

I had hair in the mid-1960s.

The other day I was looking through a box of old photos and ran across the one of the right.  I think it's my first or second grade school picture.

As I looked at it, I felt old.

Where has my life gone?

That young child in the photo had his whole life ahead of him.  There were so many things to be learned, so may new inventions to be discovered and utilized.  So many adventures to cherish forever.

This morning, as I looked in the mirror, shaving cream on my face, I felt old.

I noticed more wrinkles around by eyes and less hair on my head.

And it's no consolation that I have more hair in my ears.

I've always said that age is just a number.  I don't think I feel like I'm pushing 52 years old, mostly because I don't know what a 52 year old is suppose to feel like.

My age really isn't a factor in my feeling old.

Maybe it's a mid-life crisis.

But mid-life at 52 means living to 104 years old.

I think I would feel really old then.

BareNakedBill.blogspot.com

Graffiti Art

Over the weekend I spotted these train cars on a railroad siding here in Pigeon. There isn't anything overwhelmingly special about the graffiti, yet I find it interesting.

Creative "artwork" such as this often catches my eye.  I'm fascinated at how someone takes cans of spray paint and places their vision on a canvas.  Even when that canvas is a train car or side of a building.

If nothing else, it adds an interesting view as we wait for the train to make its way over the crossing in front of us.

BareNakedBill.blogspot.com