Mr Cummings, who taught me English at school was an almost registered “Odd Man.” You could see even then, and I was about eleven when he taught me, that most of his conversations were with himself, which he engaged you in if you were in his room or class, but they were not quiet conversations. He was always urgent, engaged, non-conformist and anxious not to waste a breath on just getting by…. He made me realize that troubled people are often the bravest and most determined people you will meet. That for them to wake up and live an unexceptional … Continue reading Troubled Souls….

OK, I think the title probably got your attention. Maybe I should have said it is not totally or even mostly about race. Prejudices and discrimination in this country come from a myriad of sources.  With this post I won’t try to convince you that any particular one is greater magnitude than the others but only that it exists on many different arenas. I will give you several different examples but will say that I believe there is one cause for most of it. It’s about physical differences and handicaps — As a deaf man for almost thirty years I … Continue reading It’s Not About Race….

I have been playing around with the header of RJ’sCorner for a few days now. I hope at least a few of you guys notice the improvements.  The saying above is new to the header. It is about wisdom and how it is only accomplished through years of experiencing the dichotomies of life. I am one who appreciates the wisdom of those who have lived a long time on this earth. They have probably experienced things that I have not. They have lessons to teach.  One of my favorite books is Having Our Say – The Delaney Sister’ First 100 … Continue reading To Be Old and Wise….

The War on Christmas has been going on for a decade or so now, and though it may not rage with quite the fury it once did, it still serves everyone’s interests. The conservative Christians who gear up for the war every year get to feed their sense of persecution and the belief that their lives are a righteous struggle against the large and sinister forces working to destroy them. Conservative media get something to shake their fists at them for a couple of months. And the rest of us get to feel superior and mock them for being so … Continue reading I Am Sick Of People Saying “I’m Not Allowed To Say Merry Chritsmas”!!

I recently discovered that the Indiana Historical Society of which I am a member is in the process of digitizing their photo library.   Here is one of the celebration at the Memorial Circle in Indianapolis at the end of World War 1. Click on the picture to see a larger view…. Continue reading Indiana History…

    Continue reading Happy Thanksgiving

One of my friends who is also a camera buff sent me some photos of antique cars on a Brown County street.  I kind of antiqued this one and it now resides on my desktop. Thanks Max….. Click on the pic if you want to see a larger version…. Continue reading Old Time Brown County

I don’t know which GOP rally the picture to the right was from but I know it was from one of them. This guy is seen to represent the supposed base of the GOP. (Why do all those guys holding signs like this one look the same?) They seem to be deathly afraid of someone, anyone, getting something they don’t deserve.  In that regard they just seem to hate the refugees almost as much as ISIS. When I say “supposed base” it is not without an underlying feeling. Outside of Fox News I don’t see much of the phobia happening. … Continue reading About Those Refugees…

I have been digging pretty deeply into my photo archives lately and ran across this Maui Sunset taken in April 1986 while I was on my honeymoon. Continue reading Maui Sunset

I embrace change, it is what keeps life interesting and challenging for me.  To that end I am adding yet another subcategory to RJsCorner. It is called “Streaks Of Inspiration” and is found under the”About Life” category header above. I am approaching almost 3,000 posts here. Most are about my observations of daily life around this planet earth. But then there are some where an idea hit me almost like a streak of lighting. It suddenly appeared in my consciousness, often when I am in the show and allow myself to fully contemplate life. :) Many of the posts that … Continue reading Streaks Of Inspiration…

I don’t know how many of you are like me but I just don’t buy into the latest gourmet trends of chefs stacking all my food on top of each other on my plate. It tends to taint the meal before I even start eating.  I end up spend minutes getting the mashed potatoes out of my asparagus and the entrée cleaned off before I can get my initial taste.  It just starts the meal out on the wrong foot for me.  To try to eliminate that added task I have made up the following card that I will insist … Continue reading Deserving Its Own Real Estate…