"I'm 63 and I’m Tired"

(I found this in the Carteret News Paper. Awesome post.)

"I'm 63 and I’m Tired"
by Robert A. Hall



I'm 63. Except for one semester in college when jobs were scarce and a six-month period when I was between jobs, but job-hunting every day, I've worked, hard, since I was 18. Despite some health challenges, I still put in 50-hour weeks, and haven't called in sick in seven or eight years. I make a good salary, but I didn't inherit my job or my income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, there's no retirement in sight, and I'm tired. Very tired.

I'm tired of being told that I have to "spread the wealth" to people who don't have my work ethic. I'm tired of being told the government will take the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy to earn it.

I'm tired of being told that I have to pay more taxes to "keep people in their homes." Sure, if they lost their jobs or got sick, I'm willing to help. But if they bought McMansions at three times the price of our paid-off, $250,000 condo, on one-third of my salary, then let the left-wing Congress-critters who passed Fannie and Freddie and the Community Reinvestment Act that created the bubble help them with their own money.

I'm tired of being told how bad America is by left-wing millionaires like Michael Moore, George Soros and Hollywood entertainers who live in luxury because of the opportunities America offers. In thirty years, if they get their way, the United States will have the economy of Zimbabwe, the freedom of the press of China, the crime and violence of Mexico, the tolerance for Christian people of Iran, and the freedom of speech of Venezuela.

I'm tired of being told that Islam is a "Religion of Peace," when every day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and daughters for their family "honor"; of Muslims rioting over some slight offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because they aren't "believers"; of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning teenage rape victims to death for "adultery"; of Muslims mutilating the genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qur'an and Shari'a law tells them to.

I'm tired of being told that "race doesn't matter" in the post-racial world of Obama, when it's all that matters in affirmative action jobs, lower college admission and graduation standards for minorities (harming them the most), government contract set-asides, tolerance for the ghetto culture of violence and fatherless children that hurts minorities more than anyone, and in the appointment of U.S. Senators from Illinois.

I think it's very cool that we have a black president and that a black child is doing her homework at the desk where Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation. I just wish the black president was Condi Rice, or someone who believes more in freedom and the individual and less arrogantly of an all-knowing government.

I'm tired of a news media that thinks Bush's fundraising and inaugural expenses were obscene, but that think Obama's, at triple the cost, were wonderful; that thinks Bush exercising daily was a waste of presidential time, but Obama exercising is a great example for the public to control weight and stress; that picked over every line of Bush's military records, but never demanded that Kerry release his; that slammed Palin, with two years as governor, for being too inexperienced for VP, but touted Obama with three years as senator as potentially the best president ever. Wonder why people are dropping their subscriptions or switching to Fox News? Get a clue. I didn't vote for Bush in 2000, but the media and Kerry drove me to his camp in 2004.

I'm tired of being told that out of "tolerance for other cultures" we must let Saudi Arabia use our oil money to fund mosques and madrassa Islamic schools to preach hate in America, while no American group is allowed to fund a church, synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia to teach love and tolerance.

I'm tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global warming, which no one is allowed to debate. My wife and I live in a two-bedroom apartment and carpool together five miles to our jobs. We also own a three-bedroom condo where our daughter and granddaughter live. Our carbon footprint is about 5% of Al Gore's, and if you're greener than Gore, you're green enough.

I'm tired of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses while they tried to fight it off? I don't think Gay people choose to be Gay, but I damn sure think druggies chose to take drugs. And I'm tired of harassment from cool people treating me like a freak when I tell them I never tried marijuana.

I'm tired of illegal aliens being called "undocumented workers," especially the ones who aren't working, but are living on welfare or crime. What's next? Calling drug dealers, "Undocumented Pharmacists"? And, no, I'm not against Hispanics. Most of them are Catholic, and it's been a few hundred years since Catholics wanted to kill me for my religion. I'm willing to fast track for citizenship any Hispanic person, who can speak English, doesn't have a criminal record and who is self-supporting without family on welfare, or who serves honorably for three years in our military.... Those are the citizens we need.

I'm tired of latte liberals and journalists, who would never wear the uniform of the Republic themselves, or let their entitlement-handicapped kids near a recruiting station, trashing our military. They and their kids can sit at home, never having to make split-second decisions under life and death circumstances, and bad mouth better people than themselves. Do bad things happen in war? You bet. Do our troops sometimes misbehave? Sure. Does this compare with the atrocities that were the policy of our enemies for the last fifty years and still are? Not even close. So here's the deal. I'll let myself be subjected to all the humiliation and abuse that was heaped on terrorists at Abu Ghraib or Gitmo, and the critics can let themselves be subject to captivity by the Muslims, who tortured and beheaded Daniel Pearl in Pakistan, or the Muslims who tortured and murdered Marine Lt. Col. William Higgins in Lebanon, or the Muslims who ran the blood-spattered Al Qaeda torture rooms our troops found in Iraq, or the Muslims who cut off the heads of schoolgirls in Indonesia, because the girls were Christian. Then we'll compare notes. British and American soldiers are the only troops in history that civilians came to for help and handouts, instead of hiding from in fear.

I'm tired of people telling me that their party has a corner on virtue and the other party has a corner on corruption. Read the papers; bums are bipartisan. And I'm tired of people telling me we need bipartisanship. I live in Illinois, where the "Illinois Combine" of Democrats has worked to loot the public for years. Not to mention the tax cheats in Obama's cabinet.

I'm tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of both parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting caught. I'm tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor.

Speaking of poor, I'm tired of hearing people with air-conditioned homes, color TVs and two cars called poor. The majority of Americans didn't have that in 1970, but we didn't know we were "poor." The poverty pimps have to keep changing the definition of poor to keep the dollars flowing.

I'm real tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and actions. I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination or big-whatever for their problems.

Yes, I'm damn tired. But I'm also glad to be 63. Because, mostly, I'm not going to have to see the world these people are making. I'm just sorry for my granddaughter.

Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam veteran who served five terms in the Massachusetts State Senate.

He lost his leg....

My grandfather, a decorated Vietnam veteran, has had many health issues throughout his life after the war. As he got older, his health problems progressed, as did his smoking. I'm someone who supports smokers. What I mean by that is, I'm not someone who is against smokers and smoking. I know that smoking is a harmful habit; I've felt this way about smoking even before I started smoking mainly because, all of my family smokes. So, when someone says that people shouldn't be allowed to smoke in certain places, it irks me. Private businesses I understand. I live in North Carolina and they just passed a law that prohibits people from smoking in bars. It also prohibits smoking in any area where food is served. I'm not a bar junkie, I never will be. But I am still against this law. I think it should be up to the bar owners or restaurant owners whether there should be smoking in their store. I'm more for freedom, not socialism/communism.

That being said, my grandfather has smoked nearly his entire life. I've known him to have heart attacks, bypasses, and many other surgeries because of his smoking habit. A few years ago, his leg began to severely hurt him. When the doctors told him that if he didn't quit smoking, he was going to lose his leg, he set into motion a plan to quit smoking. Before his major health problems, my grandfather was in the pre-contemplation stage. Once he had his heart attack and bypass, he entered into the contemplation stage, aware of the problem but unwilling to do anything about it. Then, when he was told he would lose his leg, a fear of his since the war, he quickly and eagerly hopped into the preparation stage. He was given a good deal of advice on how to wane from the cigarette, from smoking less and less every day, to even rearranging his furniture in the house. This would have been the action stage. He actually maintained this and the only ways or times he relapsed was when he would beg someone for just one cigarette or look through the ash tray for unfinished cigarettes. Either way, he did well. Sadly, as time progressed, his leg never got better, it only got worse. A year or so after having initially quit smoking, he had to get his leg amputated. Therefore, my grandfather, a decorated Vietnam veteran, lost his leg to smoking, and regrets every living day he spent with a cigarette in his mouth. Now, when he talks to his children or his grandchildren who smoke, like me, he pleadingly tries to convince them to stop while it's not too late.

Witnessing to a Stranger

This conversation I had with a stranger on the website, www.omegle.com. Names, email addresses, or websites have been either changed or omitted.  The discussion begins when we began to discuss God.

You: How'd you hear of this site?

Stranger: A close friend of mine told me someone on this site may help me find my way

You: Find your way? Are you searching for something?

Stranger: I'm wondering about certain things. I may be the peppy cheerleader but... lets say that the cheer uniforms have long sleeves.. if you understand that.

You: Hmm. I'm not sure that I understand that to be honest.

Stranger: what would a certain currupt teen hide beneath sleeves

Stranger: ?

You: Oooh. I understand I think.

You: It's interesting though, that your friend would suggest this site for that. Most of the people on this site are searching for sexual gratification. Sometimes, you get decent people not looking for that.

Stranger: she found someone here and that person talked to her about things that she has not explained to me and she seemed to hope the same would happen for me

You: Ooh I see. Hmm.

You: So what are you wondering about? The certain things you mentioned before.

Stranger: I really dont know.

You: Do you believe in anything?

Stranger: In what sense.

You: God, heaven, hell, the Bible, afterlife, etc. Morals, values, etc.

Stranger: I believe in God. and his son our savior. heaven and hell are kind of "iffy" to me.

Stranger: My moral and values are kind of too many to name

You: heheh. Okay. You believe in God and His Son, our Savior. And who is His Son?

Stranger: Jesus Christ.

You: :-) And heaven and hell are iffy to you. Why is that?

Stranger: I don't see any life after death

Stranger: And, as those are the homes for the dead, i am not completely sure of them

You: Well, Heaven, as I'm sure you know, is the place where God dwells with Jesus. And this is the place God has prepared for His children. Hell is the place where those who rebel against God, go. People, when they die, will end up in one of these two places for eternity. If you think about it, Jesus is the Savior, but if there is no heaven or hell, then what was His purpose?

Stranger: I've never really thought like that

You: You see, God created hell only for the sole purpose to send the angels who rebelled against Him. I.e. Lucifer (Satan) and his followers.

You: God never wanted to send His most precious creation, us humans, to hell. But when we fell, when Adam sinned against God, we rebelled.

You: And because God is perfect, and no sin can enter into Heaven, He was left no choice but to send those who rebelled against Him, to hell.

Stranger: But those of us whom love God and cherish him shall exit this world and enter a perfect one?

You: This of course broke His heart. So, in order to save His creation, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth, in the form of a human. Jesus took our punishment for sin upon Himself, so that we wouldn't have to pay the debt.

You: Honestly, being one who goes to heaven is rather simple. All you have to do is, A) Confess that you're a sinner, B.) Repent (turn away) from your sins, and C.) Admit that Jesus is Lord.

You: You see, being a good person and doing good things won't get someone into heaven. Works alone basically.

You: One must have faith.

You: It's kind of like this:

You: Let's say you were driving down the road. The speed limit was 25 mph, and you were going 60 mph. You got stopped and got a ticket for $60,000. You could not pay this debt. And of course, you can't look at the judge and say to him, "Judge, you're a good man. I don't think you will make me pay this fine because you're a good man." The judge would say, "Actually, it is because I'm a good man that I must make you pay this fine or I have to send you to jail."

You: Then suddenly, a man you don't even know walks into the court room with you, and pays your fine.

You: That's what Jesus did. You see, God is good, and because He is good, the breaking of His law must not go unpunished. Someone must pay that fine. Jesus paid it in full for all. He died upon the cross, took our punishment for our sin, so that we would be debt free.

You: Then, because we would be cleansed of our sin and debt to God, we could live happily in eternity with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

You: Does this make any sense to you?

Stranger: Actually, this is so clear that I am beginning to understand what I have been overlooking

Stranger: Faith and Hope are key, correct? As well as belief and repentance.

You: Right. Faith hope and love remain, but the greatest of these is Love.

You: Repentance is turning away from your sinful ways and turning to God, and following Him. Letting Him lead and guide you through life.

Stranger: I have a ring that says Hope and my friend had one that says Faith. I never understood what made me buy them. It's almost like i had the need to. It wasn't beauty, it wasnt price. I just loved them, they had an unknown meaning to me

You: Faith is important. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. It is by faith that we understand that the universe was formed at God's command so that what is seen was not made out of what was known.

Stranger: Well, Jimmy Wells, I believe im going to get off now. You have given me a new outlook and I thank u with my everything for it.

You: Of course. One last thing:

You: Meditate on this deeply: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. So that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

You: And insert your name personally into it.

Stranger: John 3:16

You: And Stranger, if ever you want to talk, discuss, email me. jim41088@gmail.com.

You: yes John 3:16. It's a common verse indeed, but once you meditate on it, it's deep.

Stranger: it have it written on my wall.

Stranger: i love it.

You: :-) awesome.

Stranger: i have it memorized.

You: :-D me too!

You: Well I won't keep you longer, but I would be pleased to hear from you in an email sometime.

You: There is a path for you Stranger. God loves you and He wants you. He died for you and wants you with Him in eternity someday.

You: Grace and peace be with you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, our King and Savior.

Stranger: Jimmy, i do believe God put u in this world to save and educate

Stranger: May he be with you every step of the way.

You: I hope He did.

You: Thank you. :-)

Stranger: Goodbye my friend

You: God bless.

Feel free to leave comments.

Witnessing to Strangers

This conversation I had with a stranger on the website, www.omegle.com.


You: hi

Stranger: hi

You: Do you think you're a good person?

Stranger: well sorta to people at least but i dont think i make any great contributions or anything

Stranger: i just dont act mean

You: So, if you died, where do you think you would go, heaven or hell? (Let's assume they exist)

Stranger: hell

You: Why?

Stranger: because im nice to people i know

Stranger: but when i t comes to other things im not

Stranger: such as i i somtimes have taken things from stores

Stranger: and i hop the train

You: So you haven't kept say the Ten Commandments?

Stranger: are asking if i follow them?

You: Asking if you've broken them.

Stranger: ofcourse ive broken them and im pretty sure every one in the world has broken them

You: I agree.

You: The Ten Commandments are God's Law. And if His law is broken, there is punishment. You've already said you've broken them, and that you feel you're going to hell. Does that concern you at all?

Stranger: well not exactly im in that stage were im not sure if any of that is real im in between deciding between any religion or atheism i think its called agnostic or somthing..

You: Right. Agnostic.

Stranger: ive started breaking more commandments ever since i questioned it

You: But as an agnostic, you entertain the idea that God might be real. That the Bible is true. You're seeking God while at the same time, running from Him.

Stranger: well im not seeking him but im not sure if hes real or not cause there arnt really any explinations

Stranger: its like im just waiting for somthing to happen

You: I have broken every commandment of the Ten. I've lied, stolen, blasphemed, murdered, commited adultery, envied, dishonored my parents, forgot the sabbath, had idols, and I've not loved God first and foremost.

Stranger: well everythingg else in my eyes is fine except murder

You: In the eyes of God, none of those things are fine.

Stranger: unless it was slef defence its alright

Stranger: if it was i mean

You: But, you said you're waiting to see if God reveals Himself to you. but I tell you, for those who seek, shall find.

Stranger: well im gonna seek and i really dont want to if he truly exist and loves every one of his people he shall seek me

Stranger: im not*

You: Oh He is seeking you. Have you ever heard of heart's door?

Stranger: no

You: It's basically a metaphore speaking the Truth that God as at your heart's door, knocking.

You: But the thing about this is,

You: He can't open the door.

You: You have to be the one opening that door to allow Him entrance.

You: God is a gentlemen. If He knocks, and you tell Him to go away, He will. He may come back later on and knock, but after so many times in your life of you telling Him to go away, He will.

You: God is seeking you. It says in the Bible that a sherpherd will leave His entire flock to find the lost sheep.

You: You, to God, are the lost sheep.

You: This conversation right now, stranger, is a knock on your door.

Stranger: well if im the lost sheep he should come and if he truly wants me he should try even harder becuase if i did beleive in him would you still be the knock on my door?

You: If you weren't right with God, and yet you still believed in Him, then yes, this would be, and is, your knock.

You: As I said, God is a gentlemen. He does want you very badly. He allowed His Son to die on the cross, He allowed His Son to take your punishment, the breaking of the Law, upon Himself, so that you wouldn't have to. If that is not God trying hard enough, then I don't know what is.

You: Do you know what I'm referring to when I mention God's Son?

Stranger: jesus if im not mistaken

You: You are correct. Do you know who Jesus is and what He did?

Stranger: i know who he is and know a bit about him

Sadly, it was at this point that the stranger disconnected our conversation.

Pro Life!

The process of a partial birth abortion begins when the doctor places the woman before him. He gently inserts forceps into the womb and turns the baby so that the feet will exit the birth canal first. The doctor expertly delivers the entire body of the baby save for the head, and as he holds the squirming baby in one hand, he deftly stabs a pair of scissors into the base of the innocent baby’s skull. Studies by AGI show that only forty days after conception, the developing baby can sense touch. At four and one half months, when a partial birth abortion commonly takes place, a baby can experience pain. With the scissors inserted in the skull of the baby, the doctor then widens the scissors to broaden the opening. When the cavity expands enough, the doctor enters a suction catheter, which immediately sucks out the brains causing the skull to collapse. The doctor continues to remove the remainder of the baby from the former mother’s womb.
On July 11, 1995, AMA’s official journal submitted a tape-recorded interview with abortionist Dr. Martin Haskell, in which he states, “…The majority of fetuses aborted this way are alive until the end of the procedure.” This type of abortion, performed many thousands of times a year, victimizes babies in their trimester or ninth month. According to Merrian-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus. At the moment of conception, an entire life begins, and to abort this innocent life is murder.
You may argue about the child with a lifelong disease who will die a slow death or live his life as a burden to his family? He will have no friends. He will not go to college. He will not lead a successful life. Some argue that the population boom can lead to problems such as not being able to feed the people we have now. Or in cases such as rape or incest, trauma closes in on the sanity of the woman. How can she possibly give birth to a child conceived like that?
To answer a question with a question, in response to the diseased child, should we end the life of all the people with disabilities who burden loved ones? Are we to say that these children will not experience the love of someone else who cares? Are we to say that when an elderly mother, who raised her children from birth with the utmost care, falls ill, we are to abort her life? Are we to say that people who long to care and provide and love these disabled ones lead a meaningless and pointless life of sympathy for the sick? If these statements speak truth, then why do we have doctors? Why not hire more executioners?
I do not believe that we will have much of a problem with feeding the population of America. The population growth of the world grows one percent a year, however, statistics on www.census.gov show that the population in America declines annually, not including immigration. The population growth equaling the current number of reproductive age individuals over the number of babies being born results in the American population decent.
The trauma from rape or incest will live forever with the woman whether she decides to murder her newly conceived baby or not. Why return the violence of killing a baby for the violence of rape? Legalizing abortion due to rape and/or incest provides the mother with an emotional screen, which in the end will not have erased the past.
On January 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion in the famous Roe v. Wade decision. By a vote of seven to two, the U.S. Supreme Court held that until a child in the womb can sustain his own life, the mother’s wish for an abortion should take authority over the baby’s right to life. The state can protect the unborn unless the mother’s physical, emotional, or psychological health, life, age, marital status, or the babies’ probability of a distressful life and/or future provides a way of escape for the mother. Basically the court granted the mother permission to legally kill her children up to the time of birth. If abortion isn’t murder, then why can someone murder a pregnant woman and suffer two murder charges? The murderer wronged the woman; shouldn’t that mean that a woman wrongs a child that she aborts?
According to former Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Koop, abortion provides a pathway to convenience. Only three to five percent of the reasons for abortions include rape, incest, the possibility of a deformed or disabled child, and the possible threat of a mother’s life.
Between the years of 1973, where 744,600 abortions were performed, to 1996, where 1, 400,000 abortions were performed; a stunning 35,273,792 babies have been killed without the right to life. Scientists have proven that the heartbeat of the fetus begins twenty-one days after conception and that the brain can function as early as forty days after conception.
For one to say, “Pro-family, pro-child, pro-choice,” states that they advocate the choice to kill innocent unborn children. Portraying such a thing is as logical as saying “Pro-women, Pro-rape.” The whole ordeal reeks with absurdity.
In closing, one cannot prohibit the issue of abortion from moral standards. To eliminate abortion from any form of morality excludes it from decency. We have laws in the United States that forbids anyone to murder, steal from, rape, or molest anyone else. These laws stem from morality, as does the movement to stop abortion. We live in a democracy, which means we, the people, have a voice. Our voice can put an end to abortion to provide an opportunity for life. With the voice of the people we can change the choice of those who desire to abort a life not yet lived.

Broken Heart

Broken and shattered
Fallen to the ground
Cracked and splintered
Spread all around

Failing adhesives
Tape, glue, and nails
Strained attachments
Blind infidels

Very few things
Exist today
That can surgically fix
Cold hearts of clay

A bludgeoned heart
Torn by sins
Can be healed
When Jesus wins

Not in front of the kids!

I think it is awesome that fighting, arguments, and anger in a relationship/marriage isn't something we're supposed to ignore, cover up, or dismiss. Although anger and conflict in a marriage is not pleasant, it can be helpful. We sometimes have a tendency, no matter how open a relationship is, to bottle things up. These can sometimes range from thoughts or annoyances between the couple or even events or people outside of the marriage. For instance, the best friend of the husband dies, it's natural for him to close himself up, or distance himself from everyone, including his wife. And although that is understandable, it still affects the wife in a negative way, which can lead to conflict on down the road. Of course, this is where communication can be helpful. Sometimes, I feel, forcing communication within a relationship is necessary. To point, a conflict, if handled properly, can make someone open up. The wife will complain to her husband that she feels alone. He may lash out because he feels convicted of that fact, however, when he does, he will also be opening up.
When conflict within a marriage occurs, I think the best course of action is communication, paying attention, and learning. Sadly, when a couple gets into a fight, the last person on their mind to please or sympathize with is their spouse. Perhaps that is the very best thing to do.