"I Don't Need No..."

Steenkin' New Year's Resolutions...

Happy New Year to all of you...

I can't believe that 

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 

2014

is gone.

Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'...

Into the future...

What is it about the past that we each remember so?

Are the memories of good and wonderful things?

... or do we remain haunted by what went amiss?

... things that just didn't turn out the way we wanted?

Is there some form of 'Pre-destination' 

that we follow through Life???

Or, are our Lives and our ultimate ends/destinations 

more determined by Karma??

Are the events that we experience directly related

to how we have lived our lives and treated others?

Is there really a difference between the two?

I wonder why I selected 'Calvin and Hobbes'cartoons for a post that asks rather serious questions?

What makes a good cartoon be a 'good cartoon?'

I always have enjoyed the messages from comic strips like 'Calvin and Hobbes,' or 'The Far Side'...  Some of the creators of such strips have such a wonderful insight into the  psyches of our souls, it seems. They seem to capture those fleeting moments and thoughts that we have all experienced...

A counselor that I was seeing after the death of my Dad and during my divorce suggested that I hide a great deal of hurt and pain behind humor... I do suppose that there is a great deal of truth to such a statement.

I fear that my direction has been determined

by the method indicated in the cartoon above...

... that I have just let things happen and I've drifted along with the flow.

Like clouds in the sky...

Like a limb in the river...

Like a fart in a whirl wind...

In 2014, I would like to be more direct in what I desire for the rest of my Life.

I will be more pro-active.

I need to get out and see my friends...

I will take some of my own  advice that I talked about at the 

commencement address I gave in December, 2012...

__________

2014 was a great deal like the beginning of the 'Tale of Two Cities'...

"It was the best of times... it was the worst of times..."

My friend, Scooter died...

I made a trip out West to scatter his ashes as per his request.

I didn't have a choice... he was my friend.

In April of 2014, I received the 

College of Business 'Bell South' Award for being the 

Outstanding Professor in the College of Business.

In November of 2014, I was told by the same people that 

congratulated me for receiving the teaching award... 

that I was no longer needed.

In the next few months, I will decide what

changes I am going to allow to happen in my life career-wise.

I did NOT like...

I did NOT appreciate...

the manner in which this was handled by the administration.

Having said that, I am going to be pro-active on when I leave.

It is possible that I could be teaching at

a different university in the Fall...

I would be open to that.

I have had health issues.

It's not like I haven't seen them coming,

I hadn't felt well for some time.

I've had conflicting diagnoses... 

I have finally crossed paths with a doctor with whom 

I have great confidence.  We will see what progresses.

There are going to be some great changes in my Life over the next 12 months.

In so many ways...

In so many areas...

So...

What are your goals, desires, aims for

the upcoming

2015?

I love these guys...

Happy New Year!!!

~Jim~

"Christmas, 2014..."

We, Three Kings Of Orient Are...

I think my favorite Christmas Story is that of the Christmas Star and the Three Wise Men...  at least that's what we called them back then... today we know them as the Magi...

According to the Gospel of Matthew, The Three Wise Men found the Baby Jesus by following A Star...  whch later became known as the Star of Bethlehem...

History makes allowances for many names for the Magi, but Western Christianity recognizes them as being Balthazar, from Arabia, Melchior, from Persia, and Gaspar, from India.

Each of the Magi brought a gift for the Baby Jesus... Gold, frankincense, and myrrh...
Myrrh was the most ominous of the gifts... Myrrh was an embalming lotion and was symbolic of Death.

Luke 2:10-14

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

By no stretch of the imagination do I profess to be a very religious person, but this Bible passage, for some reason, gives me great hope...

Merry Christmas to All...

And to All a Good Night!!!

~shoes~