Embracing Change at RJsCorner

Embracing Change at RJsCorner

RJ Walters

My Mexican friends take the end of the year to seriously look for needed change for the new year. It is a time when they change to jobs with brighter futures for themselves and their families. In that light, I took the time to look at my digital world and found several changes that I want to do to make them better in this new year.

  • I am shutting down my photo oriented blogs and returning to Flickr as the primary tool for my photo portfolio. If you read a previous post you know that my attempt at separating them into a stand-alone thing has not proven successful. It is time to admit that and try a different approach. I plan to get seriously involved in the Flickr community going forward. If you are interested in seeing the photographs of my travels around America, you can now access them through Flickr via the “Photo Portfolio” button at the top of each page.
  • I am bringing up yet another blog, this one focused on creativity. Its title is CrackingCreativity and it will focus on my 2019 year long project of trying to become a more creative person. I am excited to finally get this project underway as it has been on my bucket list forever. I am a methodological guy so it will include a preliminary approach along with much reading on the subject. It may be embarrassing but I will also be publicly challenging myself with many exercises. I hope I see a definite improvement as the year progresses. If you have the courage to follow this new blog I think you might glean some info about maybe becoming more creative yourself. See a link to Cracking Creativity on the right side of your screen.
  • I am bringing my RedLetterLiving blog out of hiatus. I have not posted there in almost five years now but, I am proud to say it still gets a good number of daily views in spite of that fact. I think it is time to continue where I left off and to also add a new, more encompassing spin to it. Being a follower of Jesus has remained a high priority in my life but I have been somewhat reluctant to put much attention to it here. Given the ugliness of our times, I believe even more sincerely than ever that politics and religion should be separated. That is what will happen here. But then again, it does deserve a site of its own and can be accessed via the icon on the right side of your screen.
  • Filling the Saturday hole in my blogging schedule – Since Saturday and Sunday topics have been moved to their own sites my blogging schedule here will change. Saturday will become “Tech Review” day. I am a techie and have been since the invention of the Mac. Since I know that many of my viewers are senior citizens I thought I could help you out by keeping you abreast with the gadgets of the world or at least enough to have an idea what your grandchildren are talking about.
  • Filling the Sunday hole – To fill the Sunday vacancy created by moving religious things to RedLetterLiving, I will be adding a “This & That“ category which will basically be my-week-in-review type thing. It will also include snippets from the scribbled notes I have collected during the week that just don’t deserve a post of their own. In other words, it will be a mishmash, much like my constantly churning and cluttered mind. 🙂

I hope you enjoy all these changes, I know I will enjoy embracing change and trying to improve myself and the blogs.

May we all have a prosperous, creative and happy 2019.

Already Started

Already Started

RJ Walters

I’m going to make this Monday talk of politics short and sweet (if that is even possible) 🙂 I see that Elizabeth Warren has already kicked off the 2020 political season with her announcement that she will likely seek the Oval Office. I am ready to start dreaming of a “qualified” person residing in that round room once again.

Given the current occupant, the bar is so dreadfully low for who are qualified, I image dozens of others will likely put their name in for consideration soon. I would also be willing to bet that the Republican party will also have multiple options even if the current occupant should happen to survive to that time.

I like Elizabeth Warren, she has always been about the average guy against the corporate elite. She reminds me of Teddy Roosevelt in that regard. Another person I would like to see run is Michael Bloomberg. We can never have too many choices. We learned that the last time around.

What do you think?

We The People…

We The People…

RJ Walters

I hope that there is no American over 8 year old that doesn’t know where the title words come from. For this Artsy Saturday I give you the words in shoe laces! They were found at the Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville Arkansas.

Not Appreciated…

RJ Walters

One of the things that bothered me much when I was in the corporate world was that I often felt unappreciated. I put in more hours and produced more output than most of my fellow employees but seldom got any praise from my bosses. All of us need a pat on the back once in a while. Most of my bosses just seemed incapable of giving me that, at least to the extent expected.

So, when I came across this post from my friends over at the Drabble it got my attention.

We live in a new age, but old unspoken traditions trail us like a snake. Your smile disappears when your boss approaches her instead of you. They share a giggle about nothing. His touch on her arm lasted longer than it should. He praises her work as yours receives none.

You try to stow the fire raging inside knowing your seventy hours a week meant nothing to him. The money you earned for the company meant nothing compared to short skirts and tight blouses. You nearly boil over and unleash your anger when he announces your name. You made partner.

It’s nice that the story above ended up on a happy note. Not all of them do. I’m sure all of us have workplace stories we could give as examples of being unappreciated in the workplace. Many probably include sexual harassment.

I know things have changed pretty rapidly in the last decade when it comes to the workplace, so maybe I have no idea of the conditions. But, there are some things that just don’t change due to time. Appreciation is one thing and reward is another. It seems that what has changed is the very creative job titles around today. No one is just a secretary, factory worker, or office worker anymore. One of the TV shows I watch on a regular basis, the people hunting for a new house always give their job titles when they describle themselves. It takes a few seconds to translate the “double-speak” into job description from my work days. 🙂

The Wisdom of Jefferson & His Contempt For Stonewall Jackson

RJ Walters
Thomas Jefferson Statue at Monticello

I have let it be know many times here at RJsCorner that Thomas Jefferson is one of my main heroes in life. He, and Will Rogers, are who I chose many years ago to how to cope in the best of times and in the worst of times.

Jefferson had a love of words from a very early age. When it came to the written word he was probably the most prolific of all the founding fathers. He was also recognized, even by himself, to be no better than an average speaker. He seldom spoke extemporaneously. In his time in the Continental Congress, he seldom spoke more than a few words. But when given the time to dream, write, edit and then edit some more he was a master of eloquence. It is a fact that even Lincoln used Jefferson’s writing as a pillar for his own.

I have been looking over his words as found in the book “The Quotable Jefferson” as I seem to do on a regular basis and ran across his thoughts about Andy Jackson. Before I get to them I want to re-iterate my contempt for our 17th President. I simply cannot fathom how the Democratic Party can celebrate him as their founder. I admit that I haven’t read a full-length biography but I have read many things about him and have visited his estate the Heritage and read most of the info there. I know from that that he was a threat to our young democracy due to his rash and boastful bravado.

I also know that a picture of Jackson is now hung in the Oval Office as it’s current occupant thinks himself able to compete with Jackson’s legacy.

Before this gets too long I have to give you the quote from Jefferson on his thoughts of Jackson as recorded in 1824, two years before his death and five years before Jackson occupied the Presidency:

I feel much alarmed at the prospect of seeing General Jackson, President. He is one of the most unfit men, I know of for such a place. He has had very little respect for laws or Constitutions, -& is in fact an able military chief. His passions are terrible. When I was president of the Senate, he was a Senator; & he could never speak for the rashness of his feelings. I have seen him attempt it repeatably, & as often chock with rage. His passions are no doubt cooler now; -he has been tried much since I knew him- but he is a dangerous man.

I don’t doubt that Jefferson rolls over in his grave every time his name is mentioned Jackson.