I have been a big Frank Lloyd Wright fan for many years now. One of my early dreams that was too quickly abandoned was to be an architect. I have visited numerous FLW houses and am seriously contemplating making it my 2023 vacation theme. The picture above was one of his Chicago houses that I visited in 2008. I only regret that they don’t allow … Continue reading I Am A Frank Loyd Wright Fan
In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes Both these things have been on my mind lately. I have been trying to decide if I should find a place to rent that is twice the size but half the expensive of my RetCom for months now. It just bothers my blue-collar soul to spend so much of the money I worked so hard … Continue reading Nothing Is Certain Except…
I just happened to come across this photo that I took six years ago, today. It was down in the teens today, and I have been dreaming of warm weather that will surely come in the next couple of weeks. This pic is a nice reminder that it is not officially Spring until tomorrow. BTW… sorry to those who got just a glimpse of tomorrow’s … Continue reading Six Years Ago, Today…
We were only there for four years, but the New Jersey homestead contained many pleasant memories. This was in the front entryway. Continue reading Memories of the NJ Homestead
In 2019, I spent my traveling time dedicated to reenactments. It was very enjoyable. Perhaps this was the best picture of the bunch? 🥸 Continue reading Locust Grove Reenactment
When my wife died eighteen months ago, I moved from a 2400 SF century old farmhouse and a 1500 SF barn, into an 850 SF apartment here in my RetCom (retirement community). That was quite a shock for me, but since I now had no one to fall back on, it made the most sense, and it still does. But, what I miss the most … Continue reading I Love Puttering…
I am not going to “preach” to you, but every Sunday going forward I am going to give you some thoughts from those wiser than me, about what it means to be a Christian. I promise I won’t add any more of my own words than is necessary to get the point across. Today’s post is a Facebook from Stephen Mattson Continue reading A Few Thoughts About Christianity – Stephen Mattson
I have often proclaimed that I am a writer, but why do I write? I think all writers often ask this question many times over the years. I like to remind myself of the reasons regularly. This is one of those times. I believe the primary reason I write, at least publicly, is to help people who may read my words, understand that they are … Continue reading Don’t Judge
During my years in a Lutheran Bible study group, I can’t tell you how many times the word “humanist” got snarls and sneers whenever it was mentioned. It was as if we were somehow inviting Satan among our midst. There was absolutely nothing even approaching good, said about those despised people. It wouldn’t be until later that I studied humanism to any degree, and discovered … Continue reading Why Are Religious People So Afraid Of Humanists
If it works for frozen waffles, the title above oughta work for Lego too. 🥸 I have been toying with Lego blocks for a while now. I think maybe I am going to include it in my Ambitions Turned Inward project. I got started with them some years ago and found the time building projects to be enjoyable, but then other (external things) took over … Continue reading Lego Of My Lego
This series is turning out to be deeper than I imagined, so I think it deserves its place among my “Special Projects” and has its own logo. For this, Ambition Turned Inward post, I want to concentrate on the past. Well, sort of. So much of my life’s ambitions were outward. It was all about being successful at helping others. I just didn’t think much … Continue reading ATI Part 3 – Forget the Past…
I was a single guy of 30 years when I took this adventure. It was on a mountain top in western Colorado, although I don’t remember exactly where now. I spent the year before outfitting my recently purchased Chevy van as a camper. My freshly minted roommate and I left Indiana one morning and were at the 10,000 ft elevation twenty-four hours later. That same … Continue reading The Adventures Of Youth… Colorado Mountain Top
This is the second installment about turning inward with my life’s ambitions as suggested by a comment from a recent post. The first post in this series was about wrapping my mind around the concept of inward ambition. This post is about just how to personally do that. Since this series is more than a short-term thing, future posts, however many there are, will be … Continue reading Ambitions Turned Inward – Part 2
This is one of my favorite pictures looking out the front window at the homestead (stylized of course 🙃). The silo in the background was never used as a silo, but it did function as a place to store junk and certain garden tools. My view out the front window now looks out at the assisted-living wing of my RetCom. Maybe I can get this … Continue reading One Of My Favorites
My recent post about ambition got numerous views and several helpful comments. Thanks for that. Perhaps the most valuable was from my friend Bob Lowry about turning my ambition inward. Bob and I have been friends for more than a decade now, and he has given my invaluable advice over the years. Thanks to my Arizona visit last year, we are no longer just “virtual” … Continue reading Ambitions Turned Inward – Part 1
Faith should not be a static thing in today’s world, especially since there are so many who are using their version of God to try to shut off your mind to other possibilities. Many very intelligent people have come to view faith as something they don’t want to have any part of because so often it becomes an excuse for lack of thinking or it … Continue reading Faith Should Not Be A Static Thing
I can’t count the number of times I had walked the halls of this place. It was the hospital that my wife had innumerable surgeries while lived in our rural homestead. It has been replaced by a much larger super modern facility that is only a mile or so from where I now live. Continue reading Walking The Halls…
All my life I have been stuck between two worlds. As a youth, I didn’t fit in with the in-crowd, but I didn’t fit in with the out-crowd either When I went deaf, I distinctly chose not to be part of the Deaf Culture, but instead, be a deaf man in the hearing world. When I started earning a sizable income from my career, I … Continue reading “American Aristocracy” Vs “Adversity Builds Character”
(click the pic to see a larger view) For this “A Picture Is A Poem Without Words” I give you the mighty warrior. I’m not exactly sure what museum it was located, but I’m pretty sure it was in St. Petersburg, Florida. I did some manipulation of the original to make the shadows more prominent, but that is about it. Continue reading Mighty Warrior
I have finally realized that I have been chasing rainbows all my life. I was always looking down the road when I could have an exciting adventure of one sort or another. I did actually manage to make some of those dreams come true, but they were never as satisfying as I had hoped. I seem to always been disappointed at some level or another. … Continue reading Chasing Rainbows
(click to open a larger version) For the last 36 years, I have spent at least 2 – 3 days every year visiting northern Lake Michigan around the Green Bay Area. That’s paper country, for those of you who don’t know it. My late wife’s clan, and there are many of them, all reside in that area. I will be going back sometime this summer … Continue reading Lake Michigan
Oxymoron is a strange word. I really don’t know how it is pronounced, since I didn’t learn it until after I was deaf. I have been collecting some of these type things, and thought I would put them together here as some brain teasers. Just thought you might need something to think about 🙃 Continue reading Oxymorons And Other Such Things To Think About
Politics is today’s “Golden Calf”! Continue reading Today’s Golden Calf…
I saw this package on the reception desk in my retirement community recently, and it reminded me that snail mail art probably won’t exist too much longer. Continue reading Snail Mail Art
The expected life span of men born in the U.S. is 76.4 years I knew this day would come, or at least I hoped it would. I am now 76.4 years old, so at least I have lived at as long as expected. I kinda look at it now as I am living on borrowed time and should make the most of each day as … Continue reading Living On Borrowed Time…
— Horace I have tried numerous attempts to bring up photo/art posts here on RJsCorner. Most of those attempts have not proved as successful as I would like. So, here we go again. I think this one has a fair chance of being THE One. It might seem weird to add a new category here at RJsCorner based on a guy who was born on … Continue reading A Picture Is A Poem Without Words
This post is primarily meant for all you neurotypicals out there. Most of us Aspies don’t have much of a problem with focus. In fact, we have it in spades, and simply can’t understand why you struggle with keeping focused. I recently read an article in the New York Times (click here if you want to see it) on how to maintain focus in your … Continue reading How To Increase Focus and Productivity
(Click to see a larger view) If you are fortunate enough to see one of these guys at your bird feeder, you are a lucky person. They are very reclusive critters. At the homestead we fed about 100 lbs of seed a month, and this young guy stopped about one day a month to give us a view Continue reading A Rare Sight…Pileated Woodpecker
This post will be a personal story about ambition, but I kinda think some of you might be dealing with the same issues. Most of my life has been driven by ambition. From an early age, I believed that my life was meant to be lived with a purpose. I wasn’t just put here to suck air for a number of years and then become … Continue reading Lost Ambition…
There are now over 40,000 different versions of Christianity around today. To this “Avowed follower of the teachings of Jesus”, Stephen Mattson’s version is perhaps my favorite. He concentrates on Jesus as a divine teacher who tells us how to live every day of our lives. Following those instructions is a 24/7 task, not just a couple of hours on Sunday. Continue reading Couldn’t Have Said It Better…
Just thinking about the 2011 roadtrip through Eastern Canada. It was one of the most pleasant trips we took. Quebec is such an artsy place, I had to do a little tweaking of this photo 😎 Continue reading Quebec 2011
Before I go any further, I should probably tell some of you that Neurodivergence means is that we don’t think or perceive the world as “normal” people do. Our brains are just wired differently than most. But, then again, what is “normal”, really? Being a neurodivergent person, normal, or neurotypical, is being like most other people. Why would I want to be like everyone else? … Continue reading Why I Talk About Neurodivergents
I grew up in the 1950s and 60s. Therefore, I have a different view of the world than Millennials & Gen Z. So, I am going to give you an old geezer’s view of these younger generations. That is what this post is about. First, let me tell you a little about us Boomers who started in the 1940s We lived through the idea that … Continue reading A Boomer View Of Millennials & Gen Zs
This is a short post about my wandering mind. I kinda think I frequently get distracted because whatever I am doing is just not challenging enough for my brain. In other words, it is boring. My brain would rather be thinking about something else, almost anything else. So, it wanders into other thoughts. But, I believe that is an asset rather than a liability. Whatever … Continue reading Why We Get Distracted…
I need a break from the world today, so it’s time to put out a post about my past and current TV viewing habits, and give you an extensive list of what I now watch. For the current generations, the Internet and particularly social media is the proclaimed to be a vast wasteland that has mesmerized young people. When they are home, they are glued … Continue reading The Vast Wasteland… Past & Present Versions
When I was very young, I was told that the church was a crucial thing in my life. But, at the same time, my parents seldom went there themselves. Instead, they dropped us off at the front door. I was, for a while, an altar boy in a Catholic Church. The first seven grades I was taught by Franciscan Nuns. Being part of church, I … Continue reading What Happened When I Finally Gave Up Church?
RJ's Corner 