The Coltons Point Times

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Do You Do What You Do Do Well? Is it What You Dreamed of Doing?

Did you ever wonder if you just spent your entire life living your back up plan? Here you are, however old you might be or however young you might think you are at a good time in life to think about serendipitous and sentimental stuff.

If you did get stuck doing what was expected of you, or sacrificed your dreams to help other people with theirs', then you know what I am talking about.

Somewhere in the attic of your upstairs playground your dreams patiently wait. Way back in the cobwebs of your mind can be found the innocence of youth, your first dreams of what you wanted to do with your life. Then you had to go out and face life.

Over the years I have explored those attics in a whole lot of people's minds and most people seem to be living the back up plan - not their own true dreams.

That's okay. It was what you thought was the best decision for you at the time. As time went by you found yourself giving up more and more of your first dreams for others.

To me the result is you eventually are spending most of your time living the back up plan. Now in spite of this rather negative perspective on my part I am a card carrying member of the eternal optimists "hall of fame".

I figure if we are as young as I think I am, there is still time to get those first dreams out of the attic and live them. If we do we can feel a sense of fulfillment that might otherwise have never been felt in your life.

Most likely the biggest dreams you gave up were being a star or hero. Instead you chose to lead a life of ambiguity and obscurity.

Come on, admit it, there was a time you wanted to be recognized, for doing something really heroic.

I wanted to do a lot of heroic things. First I was going to be a famous writer influencing people like Mark Twain who actually grew up about 80 miles from where I lived. Close enough for me to immerse myself during numerous visits to his home, cave and Mighty Mississippi River in Hannibal, Missouri.

Then I was going to be the next Sherlock Holmes dazzling Scotland Yard with my deductive reasoning while solving the most dastardly of cases.

Next I was going to be a star of the New York Yankees with my statue in Yankees Monument Park next to Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Yogi Berra and the gang.

After winning a few state baseball championships that was replaced by being the next Buddy Holly, a new icon in rock 'n roll music, and sharing my stories with people through music. Maybe one like Aristotle or Plato, whose influence is still being felt this day, 2,500 years since they taught in Greece.

There was a point when I changed course completely and decided on life as a dedicated Monk, a teacher and scholar who discovers amazing new insights from Divine Providence.

Then came my materialism era when I thought I was a prodigy of the powerful House of Rothschild in England and just about every where else. I dismissed the fact I was living in a small town in Iowa and figured there was a mistake at birth, I was sent to the wrong place and the wrong parents.

This influenced my next dream or obsession of attending Yale in the Ivy League, a place I just knew I belonged, but after visiting Yale and meeting the kids and feeling the pressure they lived under I opted for the University of Arizona in Tucson.

There were a lot of other dreams as well but you get the idea. In time, I came to the conclusion that I just wanted to do a lot of things, experience a lot of life, and help people along the way.

Years later I realized I blew it. Once upon a time in high school I did have a really good rock 'n roll band that had a lot of future promise. But I gave up my Buddy Holly dream for another dream at the time.

Now that I am older and wiser, take that with a grain of salt, I intend to finish what I started so long ago. I've written many songs, recorded rough cuts of them, went to Nashville and recorded really good versions of some, and realized I could have been doing that all my life.

Back in high school one of the reasons I gave up the Buddy Holly dream was I did not want to play cover songs, songs other artists released, but wanted to do my own stuff. My own stories were just as poignant as anything other people were recording. Then I took stock in my life and decided I must be crazy, I haven't lived long enough to have many interesting stories to tell. I decided to collect the material for the songs before I worried about the career in music. Been doing that ever since.

My point is this. It is never too late to go back and pursue your first dreams. The biggest regret people have shared with me was never being able to do what they really wanted to do in life. They feared going to their grave wondering what might have been.

So don't, especially if your dreams might have helped people. Do the things you always wanted to do with no guilt about giving it a try. You may very well find that you were given gifts that you never shared but by now sharing you can help other people with their lives.

There is no higher purpose than helping others. But sometimes you must help yourself before you can help others. Take a chance. Have a little faith and self-confidence and the world may still be waiting for you. You really can get through life without wondering might have been.

If you do, I hope you will write and share the experiences with me so I can share them with others. Never forget that we are all in this together.

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Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Histories Mysteries - The Landing at St. Clement's Island in 1634

In the past five years I have heard and seen many different versions of what happened when the colonists to Maryland arrived in 1634 and it is time that historical societies and historians finally get the record straight. With the arrival of Lord Baltimore's colonists in the new world and the unique grant that gave him unprecedented powers to colonize America including the power to establish religious freedom, it was one of the most significant colonies in our history.

First of all, in 1628 George Calvert, the 1st Lord Baltimore, traveled the Potomac River on a trip to Virginia to scout locations for his Mary Land settlement as soon as King Charles approved his grant. The grant was approved by the King shortly after George died in 1632 and his son, the 2nd Lord Baltimore was determined to complete his father's dream of a colony grounded in religious freedom.

The expedition left England in late 1633 and arrived at St. Clement's Island in the Potomac River just a few miles from the Chesapeake Bay about March 3-5, 1634. The approximately 315 passengers and crew used a barge or skiff they brought with them to move supplies to the island and immediately began building a fort. It was to serve as a fortress to prohibit foreigners from illegal trade on the river for it was the narrowest point for crossing the Potomac River.

On March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, a ceremony with all members of the expedition was held on the Island to read the official grant, celebrate the first Roman Catholic Mass in English speaking America, and conduct the first Eucharist ceremony in the colonies. A huge cross was made from downed trees and carried by the Catholics to the site of the Mass where it was erected. The Stations of the Cross were also part of the ceremony. Also the new colony was first dedicated to the Holy Mother Mary.

A couple of days later the Ark and Dove took many of the colonists to the future site of St. Mary's City. St. Clement's Island and the Manor that evolved under the guidance of the Gerard family remained a settlement and to this day remains the oldest continuously occupied chartered settlement in America.

By the end of March some of the colonists moved to the present site of St. Mary's City to establish permanent quarters while others remained at St. Clements and White Neck Creek. Soon additional settlements were at Inigoes downriver from St. Mary's City, and at a site along the Patuxent River. By 1637 another settlement was underway across St. Clements Bay in Newtown.

Also in 1637 the population of the Maryland colony was recorded as about 350 in Maryland with 90 in St. Mary's City, 60 in St. Clements Manor, and the balance throughout other Maryland plantations. The Manor grant to the Gerard family was promised before the expedition left England and was formally made in 1638 with the survey completed in 1639.

In terms of historical accuracy, the following should be used.

While the 1st Lord Baltimore died before the first expedition, he did visit Maryland in 1628 and traveled the Potomac River following the Captain John Smith explorations documented earlier by the Governor of Virginia.

The Ark and the Dove carried about 322 passengers and crew on the voyage including the loyalists who left from Gravesend, England and the Catholics who boarded at the Isle of Wight. Twelve people died crossing the ocean.

The expedition first landed at St. Clement's Island about March 5, 1634, not at St. Mary's City as often mentioned in speeches.

While Governor Leonard Calvert traveled the Potomac to meet with Indian leaders the remaining colonists built a fort on St. Clement's Island and on March 25 a ceremony on the Island, now celebrated as Maryland Day, was held.

During the ceremony the charter to the Calvert family was read and made Maryland the first colony in the world to guarantee religious freedom to all residents.

Around March 27, 1634 some of the colonists remained at St. Clements while others went to establish St. Mary's City.

While St. Clement's Manor was chartered in 1638 and the Manor House finished the same year St. Mary's City was not chartered until 1668 and ceased to exist in 1699. Both English settlements in Jamestown, VA and Plymouth, MA ceased to exist in the 1690's as well.

The St. Clement's Manor House under Lord Thomas Gerard was completed in 1638 on the mainland overlooking St. Clement's Island (currently Coltons Point).

If we just correct these errors in historical records we can begin the process of accurately documenting all the historical records of this most sacred and significant time in American history.

Today in History - Abraham Lincoln Shot in Ford's Theater!

"I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts."

It was 145 years ago today, just five days after Generals Grant and Lee signed the documents at the old Appomattox Court House ending the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theater by John Wilkes Booth.

"Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up, and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better. This is a most valuable - a most sacred right - a right, which we hope and believe, is to liberate the world."

The most beloved president in our history, Lincoln's was a difficult and painful presidency that began in 1861 when several states had already withdrawn from the Union. For the next 4 years he led the nation through some of the most trying times ever as he fought to preserve the Republic while freeing the slaves and ending the European influence on America's domestic affairs.

"I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end."

There were times the nation was on the brink of self-destruction like just before the Battle of Gettysburg when the Southern Armies were routing the Union pushing them farther and farther north. At Gettysburg July 1-3, 1863, the Union generals did what Lincoln wanted and in one of the bloodiest conflicts in the history of American wars, when there were over 50,000 causalities and nearly 5000 killed, the Union army prevailed.

"Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties."

Lincoln also secretly secured the help of Tsar Alexander II of Russia, who sailed Russian fleets into the harbors of New York and San Francisco when the Union was at it's weakest, and send messages to England and France that if they sent troops into the American Civil War to help the Confederates that the Russian Empire would consider it an act of war on Russia and attack.

"If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it."

At the time England had troops posted in Canada while France had troops posted in Mexico ready to come to the aid of the Southern states in a last desperate attempt to preserve the European trade with the South. The action by the Tsar stopped England and France from attacking.

"The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew."

While Lincoln was considered the great Liberator in America for freeing the slaves Alexander was considered the great Liberator in Russia for ending the feudal system. The Tsar, like his friend Lincoln, was assassinated in 1881 by those opposed to his efforts in human rights making Lincoln and Alexander both human rights martyrs.

"Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail. Without it, nothing can succeed."

Lincoln had premonitions of his death. His speeches and correspondence rank among the greatest writing of all time and his love of God and country were such as to help him finish what he started, saving the Union, before his untimely death.

Everyone should study the works and words of Lincoln as masterpieces in politics and human relations and a model of what a president should be in America.

On March 4, 1865, Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address, his favorite of all his speeches. At this time, a victory over the rebels was at hand, slavery was dead, and Lincoln was looking to the future.

"Fondly do we hope — fervently do we pray — that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether." With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan — to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations."
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Tuesday, April 13, 2010

No Inflation? Do You Really Believe the Government or FED?

I hope not. Thanks to the politicians heading our government the spin doctors have gotten so good at twisting information and stretching the story, that it is almost impossible to tell the truth from the lies. Then there is the ideology influence meaning both sides of an issue give absolutely opposite analysis and supposed truth about every issue.

For every subject there are both sides. Democrats and Republicans, the House versus the Senate, liberals versus conservatives. president versus congress, working class versus the elite, intellectuals versus Tea Party members, well you see what I'm saying.

But that is not the end of the confusion. For on top of all that, there are so many special interests, again on both sides, that we are also bombarded by them. All this is a rather long segue into the story I am writing which concerns government credibility.

Take inflation. For the last several years we have been repeatedly told by the government and the media, surrogate mouthpiece for the government, that our inflation rate is practically non-existent. But these past few years of extremely low interest rates resulting from very low inflation rates don't seem to have reduced credit card interest, bank fees, the price of gasoline or even the cost of everything else.

Maybe I just don't understand. I mean how could inflation be insignificant if health care costs are rising by anywhere from 16-33% a year depending on who you listened to. Even Obama says the cost of health insurance premiums were up by 40% this year? Those claims were why we now have health care reform.

Actually Obama and the Democrats in Congress said there would be no increase in insurance premiums, no increase in medical costs, no increase in taxes yet they said it would cost about a trillion dollars to implement. If we are saving a trillion dollars by cutting Medicare and Medicaid and eliminating all that fraud, then why does it still cost a trillion dollars? Shouldn't the cost be paid from the savings? Of course the increases in fees and taxes start right away, while major changes don't take effect until 2013, the first year after Obama is re-elected if he is re-elected.

Another thing about our lack of inflation. Why is it the same banks charging us 20% interest on credit cards get the money for free from our Federal Reserve? Right now banks can borrow from the Fed at 0% to one-quarter of one percent. We pay 20%, they pay nothing and they get their money from us?

As near as I can figure, a bank can borrow money at no interest from our government, then charge the people who pay for the government, namely us, 20% on the money we spend, meaning the bank can make a 20% gross profit on money they borrow from the government if they do nothing but process credit card transactions. No wonder no one's making loans, that car and home sales are miserable.

But that is still not my only beef with inflation reported by the government. Gasoline is way up the past few years yet consumption is down and per capita use is way down. Still makes no sense unless it is a scam to keep the big banks in business.

I do a lot of shopping, and prices keep going up. The alternative to prices going up is to shrink the size of packaging which everyone seems to have done. Keep the price the same, reduce the amount of food they get. Now that sure sounds inflationary to me but not to the government bean counters.

Finally there is the Wal-Mart approach to being successful when the economy sucks. Just force a reduction in the cost of goods, this is a big advantage for Wal-Mart with the buying power of about 8,400 stores. Wal-Mart demands such low prices from suppliers because they sell more stuff than anyone else. Of course this sends the jobs overseas because American companies cannot cut prices anymore. And it reduces the quality of products because "Made in America" labeling is no longer true.

The quality of the products gets reduced in order for even foreign suppliers to get a Wal-Mart contract. I noticed how cheap materials have become commonplace, or how thin packaging is getting. What I buy breaks down faster, like scouring pads that are shot after one or two good pot scrubs. Ten or twenty years ago they cleaned many pots and pans. My laundry detergent says it does x2 or x3 the loads yet I get half the loads from what I got ten years ago.

So Wal-Mart can save me money but only if I give up American jobs and American quality control and accept inferior materials and much shorter product life. Now selling that should have required a great spin job but it didn't. Americans flock to Wal-Mart, jobs flock overseas and quality sinks even lower. This is the bill of goods we are being sold by the spin doctors.

I think inflation is going up a lot faster than reported by the government and media. As I just explained, there are a lot of ways to hide the cost of inflation and none of them do much to help the consumer. What pennies the Wal-Mart way saves us in groceries and goods, we pay in increased interest and fees on our bank and credit cards.

So why write this article? Because if the economy is still being built on a house of cards then more of the house of cards may still collapse. Oh yes, and about that Wall Street manipulation that nearly destroyed the world economy two years ago, the one Obama promised to fix, not even the new and highly spun Financial Reform program Obama wants will fix those problems.

The crucial rules will remain the same and the same crooks are handling the money. Maybe one day our president and congress will take care of us instead of all their more special interests. That is as good as I can spin this story right now.

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Monday, April 12, 2010

136th Kentucky Derby Preview - The Colt Eskendereya

Exciting colt Eskendereya (3c Giant’s Causeway x Aldebran Light, by Seattle Slew) took another step on the trail to the Kentucky Derby with a scintillating win in the Group One Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on the weekend.

A dominant winner of the Group Two Fountain of Youth Stakes on February 20, the Todd Pletcher trained colt stepped it up another notch in the Wood Memorial, bolting away down the stretch to win the 1 1/8 mile contest by nine and three-quarter lengths.

"The horse is amazing,'' said trainer Todd Pletcher, who appears to have an outstanding prospect to secure his first Derby win.

"The further he goes the stronger he gets. The horse has natural stamina. It would be big to win the Derby. We’ll try to make that happen.”

Eskendereya settled off the pace for Johhny Velaazquez and chimed in with a big run from the top of the straight, coasting to the line as he pleased.

"He allowed me to get him back off the slow pace, and once I did that I got into the clear on the backstretch and he settled really, really well until (Awesome Act) came to him on the outside on the backstretch," Velazquez said.

"I gave him his head a little bit then, and he settled. Once we got to three-eighths pole he got on the bridle pretty strong, and when I gave him his head he just went up and up and up from the horses. He was just galloping. It was a good feeling.”

Eskendereya is now considered the horse to beat in the Kentucky Derby, his rate of improvement and ability to adapt to varying race conditions stamping him a rising star.

“He’s not at the mercy of anyone’s pace. He sets his own pace. We just wanted him in his rhythm,” said Pletcher.

“I said to (owner Ahmed) Zayat (last summer at Saratoga), this horse literally improves every week. A lot of times they improve to a certain point and then level off. He keeps doing it."

A $250,000 Keeneland purchase for the Zayat Stables, Eskendereya was thought good enough to run in the Group One Breeders Cup Juvenile last year, but disappointed connections with a ninth place finish.

He has since bounced back in top form this year, his overall record now four wins and a second from six starts with prizemoney of $725,700.

Eskendereya is a half-brother to Group One Newmarket Middle Park Stakes winner Balmont being from the Seattle Slew mare Aldebaran Light.

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Phil Mickelson Shows Tiger True Meaning of Family - Wins Masters for Wife Amy

One of the most watched and most fascinating Master's tournaments in history came to a conclusion Sunday and it was not the surly Tiger Woods who dominated attention but the somewhat unheralded Phil Mickelson.

You see while Tiger was trying to overcome infidelity problems with his wife Michelson was dedicating the exciting victory to his wife Amy.

Fighting off challenges from two Englishmen, a Korean-American, a Korean, another fan favorite Fred Couples and Tiger Woods, Michelson won his third Masters for mothers, wives and women facing the difficulty of breast cancer.

In fact, both his mother and wife have suffered breast cancer and his wife, whose doctors would not let her walk the course with her husband, did get to greet him at the 18th green. It was a fairytale ending to a terrific championship in which he swept her into his arms and kissed her, long and passionate, while the fans in the gallery and millions of television viewers were wiping tears from their own eyes.

First staged in 1934, it has been a long time since the Masters has given us a great human interest story. Even longer since the tournament has given us the feel good stories that seem to surround the champions like Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Tom Watson and many others.

To know Mickelson, who has been pushed from the golf stories since the Tiger Woods dynasty began, just check out the following that appeared in the Los Angeles Times. These are the characteristics that make for real champions.

Los Angeles Times

April 10, 2010|Bill Plaschke

With a giant clink, the ball disappeared into the mass of people crowding the left side of the 18th green.

Everyone but Crystal Hodges scattered. The young medical worker from Myrtle Beach, S.C., was not allowed to move. The ball had landed directly under her green folding chair. She was ordered to sit still until her hero arrived.

"Hey, how are you doing?" said Phil Mickelson, approaching with a smile.

"Um, good," she said. "How are you doing?"

How is he doing? Hodges spends her days working with cancer patients. She came to Augusta National for her first Masters on Saturday to cheer Mickelson because he is helping his wife and mother battle cancer. Out of nowhere, her chair had just stopped his ball from further trouble.

How do you think Phil Mickelson is doing? The chair was moved, Hodges was resettled, Mickelson calmly chipped onto the green and saved par to appropriately finish perhaps the most fortuitous round of his life.

"All that he's going through, and he asks how I'm doing?" Hodges said later. "How could anybody not cheer for him?"

Phil Mickelson has made a major contribution to helping golf overcome the Tiger problems and turning attention to what makes sports in America so fascinating. There are a lot of good guys in sports doing a lot for family values, charitable causes, and genuine concern for their fellow man. Thank you Phil for reminding us of that.

Here were the wives of Phil and Tiger together at the last Ryder Cup meet.

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