Stories about my life and maybe some lessons learned
It’s funny how some images and stories stick in your mind forever. That is what this post is all about. I remember where we lived but not particularly how old I was then this story happened. I think it happened when I was about ten years old. Mom had just abandoned us so that left dad as a single parent. He was still in his … Continue reading Just Stories – A Cheese Sandwich
I remember June 8, 1970 very well. It was the day I joined the working world on a full time basis. I don’t know how that could have been so long ago. I remember it as if it were yesterday. I had graduated from Purdue on Saturday and went to work the following Monday. I hardly had a dollar in my pocket as almost all … Continue reading 50 Years Ago Today…
In 1965 I was a high school senior in a very small-town rural school. The building was built about 80 years before and the creaking stairs and just about everything else showed the wear. The basement used to be the gymnasium but that had sometimes since moved next to the International Harvester repair shop downtown. We were the biggest graduating class in the schools’ history, all sixty-nine of us.
Continue reading “In To The Looking Glass – 1965 – 1980”
Like all of you, I have some regrets in the way I have chosen to live my life. That is what this post is all about.
Continue reading “What I Regret…”
Storytelling is something that is as old as man. Before written languages were developed and taught to the masses storytelling was the only way to pass down history. Why I seem to be obsessed with trying out storytelling is a mystery to me. That is what this post is all about.
Continue reading “Storytelling…”
As I remember it many in the religious community at that time in 1970 thought Jesus Christ Superstar was sacrilegious. But it might just be the primary reason I returned to religion. That is what this post is all about.
Continue reading “Jesus Christ Superstar…”
One thing I seem to be learning lately is the title of this post. I am a septuagenarian so that may seem like a strange lesson to learn at this point in my life. That is what this post is all about.
Continue reading “Plan Your Life As If You Are Going To Live Forever…”
Let’s continue our journey in the Then N’ Now series with a discussion of cars. Anybody that has seen the “Velocity” channel knows that the cars of my era are now worth many times more than their original purchase price. Would I rather have a 1970s car or one made today? That is the topic for this post.
Continue reading “Then N’ Now – Cars”
From my “Introduction to Journalism” class I took in college I learned that the headline is the primary reason most stop and read an article. I learned that lesson well it seems. 😏 I’m not saying that having Aspie traits is awful, in fact I think they have enriched my life in more ways than they have hurt. But I am saying that another condition combined with Aspie traits makes life almost impossible at times. That is what this post is all about.
Continue reading “There Is Only One Thing Worse Than Being An Aspie…”
No, its not raining today, but for some reason the words in the title above popped into my mind and just won’t leave until I have thoroughly absorbed them. That is what this post is all about.
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It seems that Joe Biden is the “fall-back” guy for those who want to take baby steps in recovering from the previous three years. I have serious doubts figuratively and literally on that approach. That is what this post is all about.
Continue reading “Having My Doubts, Figuratively & Literally”
This post is a combination of my topics of Aspies, Philosophy, and Religion, but is centered around the topic of death. Those with Asperger’s just don’t see death as most do. And I kinda think that is a good thing. That is what this post is all about.
Continue reading “Aspies & Grief”
I am writing this on the first day of my 74th year and as I do every year, I am philosophically looking back to where I have come from and looking forward to making my final years the best they can be. That is what this post is going to be about.
Continue reading “A Septuagenarian’s Contemplation On Life”
I know some of you don’t like the idea of a bucket list, but I am kinda fascinated by them. Some of the things on my bucket list are more symbolic than others. But, I thought I would add my bucket list to this blog via the My Life & Times category here at RJsCorner. Here is the first installment:
Continue reading “My Bucket List – I Hope I Live Long Enough…”
I managed to get through twenty years of my work life without cubicles. But then it had to happen. When my job was moved from Indiana to New Jersey in 1996 I went with it. I really didn’t have a choice as I needed four more years of a full pension, so off I went. Our new facilities there used to be a large warehouse … Continue reading Cocoons
I am sorry to say that some of the most respected creators in the car customization field are in the long run just one of the followers of the latest trends. Being a car guy, I am an avid watcher of custom car creators like Dave Kindig. He makes cars that are above and beyond the quality and uniqueness of most of the field. But … Continue reading I’m A Car Guy
This sounds like a pretty grandiose title, I hope the post lives up to it. 🙂 I’m going to clue you in on what I found the ultimate freedom to be. It took me almost seven decades to find it. At first, it seemed more like a prison than freedom but I have found that misconceived view to be the case in more circumstances than … Continue reading The Ultimate Freedom
I am going to tell you a story about when I was growing up in the 1950s and then put a modern twist to it. I don’t have a lot of memories prior to my eighth year of life. I vaguely remember spots here or there before then. But I do remember when we moved into our brand new $14,000 tract house in the suburbs … Continue reading Free Range Kids…
Even after 32 years of marriage being alone is something I still relish. It seems I must have my alone time. That seems to be especially true now that I am in my senior years. But, I have always been pretty much a loner. I just never have seemed to know what to do in a group. I suspect a big part of this is … Continue reading Being Alone…
I’m taking some time off from RJsCorner to do some yard work and other special projects. One of those projects is to bring up a new website for my photo portfolios. Flickr and such just don’t meet my requirements so I am designing a site of my own. My Information Technology (IT) experience comes in handy even in my retirement years. 🙂 I’ll let you … Continue reading On Vacation Until ??
The picture here from my Facebook friend The Idealist brought back some rather pleasant memories. In the past and to a much lesser degree even today I have often sat out on a starry night and talked to myself about life. These were often times where I was approaching meltdown due to having so many people around me. One of the main purposes was to … Continue reading Thinking About Life
My father was one of those people who could not deal with his own mortality. When a discussion was about death issues, he would say “this is too gruesome” and leave the room. He just didn’t want to think about it. I, on the other hand, have no qualms about discussing my own death. In fact, I am ready to accept it as each day … Continue reading About Our Personal Mortality…
I suppose the title of this post has different meanings to different people. From recent comments, it is used to describe the “post-truth” era that many seem to think we are in. To many, the hardest years are the ones that they are currently living in. Being a history guy I have a longer view than that. But this is not at all what this … Continue reading The Hardest Years…
Being a person with some strong Aspie traits, I just don’t handle stressful situations well. Fortunately, I don’t totally lose it as the word meltdown infers but I quit acting like an adult and instead am a panicked kid. In autism studies, these episodes are called meltdowns so I will call them that for the purposes of this post. One of my most prominent stressors … Continue reading Autism and Meltdown
“You are not alone” is one of my Ten Pillars of life. The thought is that no matter what adversities you face, there is always someone who has had them before you and they can help you learn how to cope. Asking for help is a hard thing to do for many of us. We just don’t want to admit to ourselves that we sometimes … Continue reading The Cutting Room Floor
I think just about all of us can pretty quickly recall some of our worst times in our lives. For me, one of those times was the damage done to my wife when the small Evangelical congregation we belonged revoked my membership due to my failure to align with the belief that, among other things, the earth is only 6,000 year old and any seeming … Continue reading The Best Thing About The Worst Time…
Since I was a teenager in the 1960s, one of my favorite musical groups was Simon & Garfunkel. One of their most popular songs was “I am a Rock”. Due to my Aspie traits, I was somewhat of a loner back then so this song just “spoke” to me. My mother had abandoned me a few years before, so that probably had something to do … Continue reading I Am A Rock…
I have never been a person who patiently waits in a line. It has always seemed like a total waste to me. I will most often do anything to keep from having to stand behind other people. Now that I have taken the “One day at a time” approach to life, I want to live what I have left of life as fully as I can. Waiting in … Continue reading Waiting In Line…
Since this is my “aging week” here on RJsCorner, I will flat out tell you that I am thoroughly enjoying my “golden years” and yes they are proving to be golden. All my life I have fretted about the future. What will I be when I grow up? Is there some other occupation that I was really built for? Since I am a weird person, should … Continue reading A Nice Change…
I like old cars and I am kinda proud of passing on some of my experiences in life here on RJsCorner. Yeah, there are things, actually quite a few, that I would like to have been different but even the undesired things are an important part of my life’s experiences, that looking back have made me who I am. If I hadn’t been deaf I … Continue reading Turning Back the Odometer…
I don’t know why I seem to be so fixated on sounds lately let alone poultry stuff. My daily and weekly posts here are RJsCorner are now named after sounds (cackle and squawk) that chickens make. I need to get to the underlying reason for this. 🙂 I lost my hearing thirty years ago, and since then my brain has forgotten what many sounds sound like. … Continue reading A Lot Of Noise Goin On…
Ok, I will admit it for at least the argument of this post, I am old. I don’t mean to get morbid but I am likely in the last decade of my life. Being old, besides all the aches and pains, is kind of freeing. We just don’t care as much about what people think of us than we used to. Our image is pretty … Continue reading I Am Old…
It is important to take stock in all the good things we have had. But it is also worthwhile to recognize the opportunities we might have missed. In the past I have told many stories about how, after very humble beginnings, I have had a pretty privileged life. This post is about the things I might have missed. So, here is that story. The bible … Continue reading Lost Dreams..
I am going to do a little ‘explainin’ on this post about the foundations for RJsCorner. Everyone knows that a good house has to have a good foundation in order to survive. Since RJsCorner has been going on for almost nine years now and has over 3,000 posts it must have a pretty good foundation, even if it is not mentioned very often. I started … Continue reading Tongue In Cheek..
I truly believe that I am an optimist at heart but being one is down right depressing at times, especially these times. I have been thinking a lot about this lately and I have come to the conclusion that looking back ony seven plus decades on this earth can maybe be summed up by one word. I know at first thought that is kind of … Continue reading Getting My Hopes Up…
I have been fascinated by gardens just about all of my life. I think it started with Mrs. Forester when I was six years old. She was a very old lady, at least in six year old terms, who lived next to us in urban Indianapolis. I don’t know if she was widowed or just a spinster but she was always nice to me even … Continue reading A Gardening I Will Go…
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