Justice An Occasion of 500 Words

Sometimes, as a writer we have nothing to write.  I just finished a 13 hour day at my 'day' job. Now, I sit down exhausted, tired muscles, sore feet.  I know that if I show up to write the muse will take over for me.
She will make sure I get my writing exercise completed.  I am involved in a challenge to write 500 words a day. They do not have to be perfect, or awe-inspiring.  They simply need to be words.
Sometimes I get entire flushed out articles written as a part of the challenge; sometimes I don't.

 +Jeff Goins suggested we write about justice today.  He is the sponsor of the 'My 500 Words' challenge.  I would need to do a little research on Martin Luther King Jr. or Gandhi or Nelson Mandela to truly get a good launch on that subject.  And in all honesty I don't think I have the energy to get behind a post about justice. But I do have my trusty thesaurus here with me.  I keep it on my writing desk for just such an occasion. 

Justice is a sense of fair play, equity, what is right, what is honest or what has a morale.  Justice is one of those big idea words.  When we feel we are not being treated fairly or honestly we get upset, angry, and sometime vengeful. We feel slighted.  We feel as if we have not received our due.  But who is to  measure what we should receive as just?  Two stories come to mind.

Justice a Piece of Cake

A mother has two children close in age a girl and a boy.  They are always fighting over possessions.  If the girl has a doll the boy will want it.  If the boy has a football the girl will want it.  If the boy concedes the possession to the girl the girl will immediately become upset when the boy chooses another possession. 

One day the mom makes a cake.  She knows if she cuts the cake the children will fight over who get which piece. Mom decides to let the children be the measure of justice.  One child is allowed to cut the cake but the second child will be allowed to choose the first piece.  Mom has  allowed one child to be the measure of justice.  One child will be in charge of what is fair and the second child will be partake in the fairness of the offer.  The child who cuts the cake is being taught a genuine lesson in fairness and equity.  

Justice A Child Cut in Two

There is much debate on a this story about a king named Solomon who was considered quite wise and just.  I will recount the story with only the aide of my waning memory.  Two women who were prostitutes came before Solomon fighting over a child.  The two women had a child within days of each other.  One child died and was swapped with the living child.  This occurrence brought the two women before the king to get justice.  There were no witnesses to the incident and neither woman would concede to the other.  The measure of justice was up to King Solomon.  Solomon decided the way to administer justice what to cut the child in two and give a half to each woman. Now that's justice!  The first woman begged that Solomon not cut the child in half and give the living child to the other woman.  The second woman agreed that the child should be cut in half and each be given the (obviously) dead half of the child. Solomon immediately knew that the first woman was the true mother as she pleaded for the life of the child.  

I don't know if that is a story about justice or wisdom.  Maybe it is about both. Maybe, just maybe it is teaches us that it is difficult to have one without the other. 

So there is the 500 words.  I sat down with nothing to write about.  But I showed up.  My muse came along with the help of a prompt from +Jeff Goins and  a little story about justice was created. An occasion of 500 words about nothing or was it about justice? 

You be the judge!

Thanks for reading.

Create - The One Word of the Year

I recently wrote about creativity and the importance of finding ourselves in a creative moment.  I write from a perspective of the late 40's in age.  I don't want to exclude any audience from my writings but I want you, the reader, to know my perspective.

Hopefully we can connect regardless of age or economic situation.

I am 47 and 'somewhat' employed.  I am on my second round of owning a business.  The first was a learning experience in going it alone.  Now I am working with partners on a similar venture.  Both are within the food industry.  I am a general partner in a small BBQ restaurant located in Texas.  Who would of thought someone in Texas would want to eat BBQ.

I write about my first venture and much about my getting to this point in life in this article.  If you want to know how to blow $75,000 in a few months then the above article is a must read.

But back to creativity.  I have chosen the word Create as a focus word for 2014.  I have found a website that has been around since 2009 whose goal is to encourage and keep people accountable who are focused on a single word.   It is an excellent idea and I encourage anyone to check out the website here.

 Being creative has been apart of my life since I was six years old.  My mom tells a story about how I would point at a guitar before I knew the word.  At age six I started to learn the guitar.  In high school I studied the art of singing and continued into early college.  I then learned about the art of recording music, working on albums of some famous and not-so-famous artists.  Late in life I began to draw and paint. I received an amazing amount of support from my family and a few friends.

The only problem I kept having with being creative was paying the bills.  I worked for years in mid-management corporate America.  I became used to bringing the paycheck and paying the bills. I left the career and landed a job in a laundromat.  I worked at the cash register and did the wash and fold service.  I was immersed in a world I had not seen since college.  It was very strange.  I took the job on the premise I would have time to sketch and hone my skill.  I spent all my time washing and drying other people's dirty clothes. It was an amazing learning experience about the human nature.  I will write about that chapter in my life some other time.

So to Create is my continual theme. Now I will write.   I would say I will try to write but I am writing.  I have been writing for some time now.  I have even been paid to write.  Does that make me a professional writer.  I was paid for my drawings and paintings. Does that make me a professional artist?  I honestly don't know the answer to the question.  .

I am just here wanting to connect with an audience.  I want to know that you are there or here; that you are with me.  Maybe you are few steps ahead on the path of create. Maybe you are a few steps behind.  But I am guessing that we are on a similar path.  Are we? Are you?

If you find this post valuable. If it speaks to you in some capacity please let me know.  Leave a comment or follow me on Twitter.

I look forward to hearing from you soon. 

Thank you for your readership.  

 

Dennis Rodman in N. Korea, Monica Spear Killed, Lindsey Vonn No Olympics

2014 has begun in an odd and unexpected way my friends.

Dennis Rodman, the madman of basketball, has traveled to North Korea with an all-star basketball team to play for the ruthless dictator's birthday.  North Korean Dictator Kim Jong Un will receive a birthday present of famous ballers such as Kenny Anderson, Vin Baker and ex-Knick Charles D. Smith. This is the same Kim Jong Un who just recently had his uncle executed for political reasons.  Uncle Jang Song Thaek was executed and thrown into a cage of wild dogs that feasted on his body, so reports say.  Rodman and team will play on.

Then there was the shocking news of Miss Venezuela, Monica Spear and her ex-husband, found shot dead on the side of the road in what appeared to be an armed robbery in South America.  Spear ,29, was educated in Florida and was a famous soap opera star. Not a good start to a new year for her family and friends.

And then the news of USA gold medalist Lindsey Vonn who will not be participating in this years' Olympics. She was hoping to defend her gold medal in down hill skiing but a bad knee that requires surgery will keep her away.

These are the trending headlines for Jan. 07, 2014.  A scant 7 days into the year and we have some tough news on the horizon.

I didn't even touch on Falluja and the downfall of everything our American soldiers died for in Iraq.  The same cities we fought to secure are falling into the hands of anti-Iraq government militants. By some reports it was expected and warranted.  The USA protected the Sunni, while placing power in the Shiite hands.  Now those hands are turning hell fire missiles on the Sunni.  That's some tough politics.

2014 is only 7 days old and things are heading south in a hurry.

Blogger Means Business

I've been blogging for a while. I used the blogger.com platform years ago. I didn't realize the large numbers of readers associated with the site. I am starting a project on this site called Sticky Messages. Let's talk about current events the strange and the mundane. Join me, won't you?

What current event is sticky with you?

Weather Vortex Hits U.S.

Weather Jet Stream Model

The weather in the U.S. and other parts of the world is a little off the mark. Many are calling it a Weather Vortex. Winter does bring cold weather but not like what the U.S. is experiencing in the early month of 2014. Cities throughout the mid-west are reporting temperatures of  20 below zero with wind chill factors creating a 50 below zero feel.

This is wicked weather.  These weather patterns have not been seen in decades and many communities in the southern U.S. are not prepared for the effects of these sub zero temperatures.  Schools and other community building have closed.  People are staying home instead of venturing into the life threatening weather.

St. Louis and Chicago are setting all time records for low temperatures.  The frosty feel is even pushing into the south where Texans are looking strangely at the cattle.  (You gotta stay warm some how, you know.)

The large area of cold weather has affected over 100 million U.S. citizens as this pattern moves in behind a first pattern that dumped large amounts of snow and ice.  The new frontal push is worsening the situation causing dangerous situations for truckers and the cancellation of thousands of flights.  The storm comes at the end of a major U.S. holiday season as people are trying to return home to begin the new year.

While the Weather Vortex grinds out over the U.S. some wonder how this will affect fuel and food prices.  If shipping is strangled by bad weather prices in the grocery market are soon to feel the effects.  Many items will become depleted on the shelves as suppliers are unable to deliver product.

Fuel used for heating will surely see a spike as well as demand increases and perhaps exceeds capacity.  The state and city governments will continue to close non-essential facilities to keep heating fuels available to the communities.

How long will the Weather Vortex vex the U.S.? Some view it as a polar hurricane and as such it will blow through hard but fast.  So bundle up and keep from overexposure.

How is the weather where you are?  Leave us comment. Report the weather news from your area in the comment section.

Russian Billionaire Heads to Switzerland

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, former Russian oil tycoon, was recently released from prison after a 10 year term for tax evasion and fraud. Khodorkovsky was pardoned on Dec. 20, 2013 by Russian president Vladimir Putin. 

Khodorkovsky,  his wife and two children have recently arrived in Switzerland. The government says that the family arrived to return their twin boys to school.  It is not immediately apparent if the Khodorkovsky family will be remaining in Switzerland.  

The Russian government has received criticism over the years concerning the case and ultimate imprisonment of Khodorkovsky and some state that Putins' pardon came suspiciously ahead of world attention as the Olympics come to Russia.  Putin is obviously concerned over recent bomb blasts that have surfaced the word boycott in recent media reports.  Russia is being closely watched by the world audience. 



  

The U.S. military left Iraq in 2011.  Baghdad appears to be under attack by the very one's who we removed from power.  What did we accomplish? How many other countries will we 'occupy' to apparently reach our goals, disengage, and then watch it fall back into the powers that we removed.

Sunni led rebel groups are fighting along the highway to Baghdad.  They have taken Ramadi the capital of the Anbar province and Falluja. What have we accomplished? Years of warfare and thousands of dead American soldiers.  Are their deaths justified? Is there stability in Iraq or is another ruler oppressing an ethnic group? The Sunni tribe looked to America for protection from the Shiite. Now they look to militant rebels for that protection.

What have we accomplished?