That Burning Ring Of Fire….
I have always had a fascination for burning bushes so I have four of them in my yard. And it is that time of year for them to “burn”. Continue reading That Burning Ring Of Fire….
Author: RJ Walters
I am an Independent thinking, highly functional person who is deaf and has some unique views and challenges in life.
Like all of us, I am a person who is composed of all my life experiences and that is what I write about here.
America's Scenic Beauty
Ouray, CO – Now those are mountains… Ouray is probably the most picturesque town in the most picturesque State. It was originally settled by miners working the nearby mountains. We came across Ouray a few years ago while on our … Continue reading America's Scenic Beauty
Youngstown – Re-visited
Youngstown, OH – The time clock Most workers in the Youngstown mills likely worked six days a week and lived in company provided housing. I don’t think anyone of today in American would begin to put up with the conditions … Continue reading Youngstown – Re-visited
No end in sight for America’s Mideast war duties
Thirteen years after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, this was supposed to be a season of relief, with Iraq managing on its own and most U.S. troops finally ending their combat duty in Afghanistan. Instead, Americans are bracing for another upsurge of military engagement in a region where one war blurs into another. Across the world, a generation has now grown up amid this continuous conflict, and there’s no end in sight. AP SOURCE: No end in sight for America’s Mideast war duties. I hadn’t really thought about it much as 13 years seems a small part of my life … Continue reading No end in sight for America’s Mideast war duties
Youngstown – Re-visited
Youngstown, OH – Steel Mill Safety While they were much more dangerous than today the steel mills of the Youngstown days were not without concerns for safety. Continue reading Youngstown – Re-visited
Buying a Thousand Pillows…
Yeah. So it is true that rich people can spend more money than middle class people, but there’s this upper limit on what we can spend. I drive a very nice car, but it’s only one car. I don’t own a thousand, even though I earn a thousand times the median wage. I have a few jackets, not a few thousand. My family can afford to go out to eat more than most American families, but not more than three times a day. We can’t go out 3,000 times a day. So if you concentrate wealth in the hands of … Continue reading Buying a Thousand Pillows…
Youngstown – Revisited…
Youngstown, OH – Steel Mill They were dirty places to be but they provided a job for the locals. Continue reading Youngstown – Revisited…
Freestyle School….
As the new school year approaches, teachers have come to expect that many of their students will have forgotten some of what they learned earlier. It’s called summer learning loss, and some teachers believe it’s inevitable. Are they right?… The traditional educator’s remedy for summer learning loss is more of the same, more hours and more days of classes and, of course, summer school. What if schools enlisted family members as partners to help teach the children? But suppose there is another solution. That’s what’s happening here at Russell Byers Charter School in Philadelphia. For five weeks this summer, Sarah … Continue reading Freestyle School….
Steel…
Youngstown, OH – Steel Anybody with much study of America knows that Youngstown was one of the premiere cities for steel production back a century ago. The “Ohio Historical Society Youngstown Center of Industry and Labor” does and excellent job … Continue reading Steel…
Check Your Intelligence At The Door…
Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear. –Thomas Jefferson’s Letter, 10 Aug. 1787 I am going to combine my usual Sunday post on things inspiring/spiritual with my usual Thursday quotes. Thomas Jefferson, like most of the founding fathers was a Deist. That is he believed in a God who was in control of the universe but not so much into our daily lives. His quote above is very contrary to many religious communities today. Questioning the existence of God … Continue reading Check Your Intelligence At The Door…
Bedford Hoosiers….
Bedford, IN – Limestone workers I am going to visit Bedford Indiana for a second time today to show you a picture of many of the workers from 1910. One of my favorite things to do while we travel is … Continue reading Bedford Hoosiers….
Home Away From Home…
We have a few very old maple trees on our property. The one shown here is pretty well hollowed out and that is where our cat Dexter likes to spend time. He climbs trees like a professional. This hole is about 15 feet off the ground which is no problem for him. Several times a year someone will stop and give us a quote to take down the tree but I always so “its time has not come yet”. I am old and not so pretty anymore but I don’t want someone to “take me down” so I treat this … Continue reading Home Away From Home…
Bedford Limestone
Bedford, IN – Limestone My roots are now firmly planted in southwest Indiana and that is limestone territory. Bedford claims to be the limestone capital of the world. There has been a lot of limestone shipped out of that small … Continue reading Bedford Limestone
Falling By The Wayside…
It seems that many of my blog friends are falling by the wayside lately. They are slowly disappearing from cyberspace. I used to read a dozen or so blog posts every day, now I read less than a handful. Some who seem to have maybe a thousand followers or more are calling it quits. I wonder what is happening? Many of these past blogging friends say it is just time to move on to other things. Some I imagine expected to make spending money from their writing and that just didn’t happen to any degree. Some maybe had grandiose thoughts … Continue reading Falling By The Wayside…
American Food…
Cleveland, OH – Guarinos I know the hot dog is supposedly very American but I kind of think our food, like our population, is a melting pot of different ethnic varieties. In reality I don’t think of our population so … Continue reading American Food…
Banking Establishments…
I sincerely believe . . . that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale. Thomas Jefferson in a letter 12 June 1815 Anyone that has studied Jefferson to any degree knows that he was an agrarian. That is he believed in power to the people, particularly the farmers who were the majority of the population in his day. He seemed to have a standing feud with Hamilton about this topic. I, like Jefferson, believe … Continue reading Banking Establishments…
Hoosier Cabinets…
Dearborn, MI – Henry Ford Museum The Hoosier Cabinet was an essential baking center for the early twentieth century. I had the pleasure of making several reproduction Hoosier in my cabinet business in the early 2000s. Continue reading Hoosier Cabinets…
To Face The Future…
The future is a scary place for many of us. We primarily see things that are out to get us and hurt us. We cling to the past as the good old days. The thing about that is that the past was simply not the good old days as we remember them. We seem to have an abject fear of letting our children out of our view for fear that they will be abducted. But the fact it that these are safer times in that regard than they were twenty, thirty, or even forty years ago. We as a country … Continue reading To Face The Future…
Mark Twain
Hannibal, MO – Mark Twain Samuel Clemons, otherwise know as Mark Twain was perhaps the first truly well-known American writer. While I was not particularly impressed with Tom Sawyer it was a popular book. If you are ever in Hannibal … Continue reading Mark Twain
7 Out Of 10….
Nearly all of 2014’s best-paying jobs require an advanced degree, according to a new ranking from the job portal Careercast.com. Seven of the 10 most lucrative positions are in the health-care industry. SOURCE: The 10 best-paying jobs of 2014 – Yahoo Finance. It is interesting to see that seven of the ten highest paying jobs are in our unsustainable healthcare sector. I doubt that this relation is coincidental. Note that the numbers above are the average. Many make much more than this. We seem to always knock the lawyers but they are pretty far down on the list. The guy … Continue reading 7 Out Of 10….
Like It Or Not…
Norfolk, VA – USS Wisconsin Like it our not the mighty guns of the battleship USS Wisconsin is part of what it means to be American. Those guns wreaked havoc when they were fired. About the only good thing I … Continue reading Like It Or Not…
RJ's Corner - Having My Say 