Faith
A Sketch or Memorandom of Old Mr Thomas Capps
Just a small microcosm of my paternal family history. Only wish it was also audio.
15Apr2022 | Nancy Belle | 8 comments | Continued
Slavery Was Not About Race!
From my Father’s line I have a 5th Great Grandfather John Cooke. He along with Nellie (his future wife) were kidnapped from London, as young teens. Both were promised a fun day aboard a ship sailing down and back again on the Thames River. They never saw London or their families ever again. They were […]
25Jul2021 | Nancy Belle | 2 comments | Continued
Rescue Dogs and Christians
A friend said, “My favorite breed of dog is Rescue”. I have had a couple of rescue dogs; they are like Christians, you never know what you are going to get. Our first rescue dog was in 1971. We called her Pal. She was a pal, snuggling and warm and loving. She had black curly […]
11Jul2021 | Gary Clark | 1 comment | Continued
When It Feels So Right, But Is So Wrong
We begin to understand the indignity of denial. When we continue abrasive, cruel prejudices in denial of the truth we diminish our humanity. It appears that some people enjoy their prejudice. It only appears so. Those people live in fear. They fear opening Pandora’s Box. They fear the evil that will surely befall them if they abandon their sacred values. The real indignity is in holding on to those values which are negative, hurtful, and unjustified.
6Sep2020 | Gary Clark | 2 comments | Continued
Born White
I have lived going on 71 years. Life has been tough with most accomplishments, good or bad, having been a hard row to hoe. I can say, I never thought I would see the day that so many things that people do or claim to be, is because ‘They were born that way’. I’ve always […]
3Aug2019 | Nancy Belle | 1 comment | Continued
Fifty Years Ago July 20, 1969
July 20 1969… I was not yet 21 years old, married, to my Husband David who was not yet 23, with a Son Thomas who was 9 months old. We lived in North St. Louis County, Normandy, MO in a rented house ($100 monthly rent) we shared with my Father in Law Thomas, 61 years […]
20Jul2019 | Nancy Belle | 2 comments | Continued
Formal vs Self Education
Not many days ago… I was engaged in political debate with a person, who was quick to point out their higher learning and acquisition of a Bachelors and Masters, in something or other fields. I’m next to sure this was done to show their opinion was better formed and backed up because of same. I […]
27Jan2019 | Nancy Belle | 5 comments | Continued
Implication vs Assurance
I’m addicted to Facebook, no point in denying it! All my friends and family see me there everyday. Mostly I’m addicted to sharing my thoughts on anything and everything. Social media has given me an opportunity to not leave this world without showing out. I know you think I said that wrong and it should […]
9Jan2019 | Nancy Belle | 2 comments | Continued
Free Ranging Kids
The Clark Station on Mitchell, this was ‘Our Gangs’ pit stop on the way home from playing at Devil’s Backbone. My cousins and I would spend the day playing dirt clod war at ‘Bird Heaven’ or playing at mountain climbing on the 12th street side or sliding down the grassy steep hill on cardboard or […]
10Jun2018 | Nancy Belle | 5 comments | Continued
I Wrote My Own Story
This whole series of essays has explored the nurture and nature of my life. Some attempt to sort out nature and nurture necessarily meant writing less than favorable events in my family. All has been true. Which brings us to a sticking point, a conflict of philosophy – that of individual accountability and responsibility. There […]
20Feb2018 | Thomas Franklin | 2 comments | Continued
Letting Go
Anyone following this trail of essays on mental health might find themselves feeling sorry for this old fool. That is not my intention. About ninety-eight percent of my troubles have been the consequences of my own decisions. Does that make them less painful? No. Becoming aware of consequences directly related to one’s own decisions relieves […]
17Feb2018 | Thomas Franklin | 2 comments | Continued
Not The Good Guy
This chain of essays about behavioral health and mental health is exhausting. Am I talking in circles? Are there any conclusions? The best we can say, based only on these essays, is that we are governed by both nature and nurture. About fifteen years ago I began an intense journey seeking sanity and serenity. A […]
16Feb2018 | Thomas Franklin | 28 comments | Continued
The Individual, Mental Health, and Maturity
Previous posts have explored my personal mental health from both nature and nurture. Clearly it is difficult to sort out cause and effect. How might we look at any adult and determine cause of poor behavior? Individual humans throw a curve ball at stereotypes. We do not know why two soldiers experiencing the same trauma […]
7Feb2018 | Thomas Franklin | 1 comment | Continued
Family As A Barometer – The Highs and Lows of Life
Most of us do not like to talk publicly about our families. When we do we are praising someone for a public accomplishment, like being on the honor role at school or getting a promotion at work. The underbelly of family life generally is taboo. And why not? It is nobody’s business what our family […]
1Feb2018 | Thomas Franklin | 1 comment | Continued
Almost a Certainty
William Merritt Scotton, Sr. and Genevieve (Clark) Scotton, were married Wednesday, August 24, 1938 in St. Joseph, MO. She was a few months from 18 years and he was a couple of months into 21 years. They met by chance because he and Dorothy Castile were cousins and Genevieve and Dorothy were best friends. Merritt […]
23Jan2018 | Nancy Belle | 1 comment | Continued
Serenity and Social Justice
I like the idea of social justice. Probably because there are many opportunities to challenge society, to fight with others, to maintain the moral high ground, to bask in the righteousness of being right all the time. Social Justice has been a ball and chain in my life. Check this out: I just googled who […]
6Jan2018 | Thomas Franklin | 2 comments | Continued
When We Are Filled With Hate And Fear
What are the common denominators with people who are filled with hate and fear? What are the symptoms? What are their political views? What is wrong with them??? They were abused as children. That is the one common feature of the hateful and fearful. Their parents tried to beat them into respectful adults. Or the […]
27Dec2017 | Thomas Franklin | 2 comments | Continued
Name Your Demons – Remove Their Power
The title of this article is not an original thought. My understanding of the concept is new, fresh, and enlightening. It took a horrendously emotional event to break the barrier of denial that held my life captive. Denial is not a bad thing. Denial is an emotional regulator – denying reality the power to destroy. […]
18Dec2017 | Thomas Franklin | 1 comment | Continued
Twoness, The Paradox of Parenthood
I am a young Senior citizen. As such one might deduce that my parents were part of “the greatest generation”. That would be correct. My parents grew up during the depression. My father fought in World War Two. Have I mentioned that there were seven children in my family? My mother stayed home to raise […]
7Dec2017 | Thomas Franklin | 0 comments | Continued
No Yellow Ribbons Here
What are some words used to describe me? Intense, forceful, resolute, aggressive, difficult, stubborn, unyielding, Aries – You get the idea – My history is one of confrontation and unforgiving in-your-face anger. There are regular videos on facebook of soldiers returning home unannounced to reunite with their families. The families choke up and well with […]
5Dec2017 | Thomas Franklin | 1 comment | Continued
Equality Is Not Tangible
I am all for equality between the sexes. Always have been, I guess. As a Baby Boomer, I have seen a whole lot of it not being that way. Equality is easily defined on paper and somehow in life it gets spread out, the lines get blurred and more difficult to find the easy divisions […]
16Nov2017 | Nancy Belle | 0 comments | Continued
Who Pulled Your Chain
Pardon my OCD a moment please. Sometimes I get intrigued (my chain gets pulled) by words and/or phrases I hear or read. The phrase in question “Shut your mouth your mind is hanging out” was spoken by one cowboy to another in a movie my husband was watching yesterday evening and I, by consequence, was […]
25Oct2017 | Nancy Belle | 0 comments | Continued
Curiosity is Not Alone in Killing the Cat
A curiosity moment led me to wonder, “Just what are the most probable causes of the Apocalypse and if any, the percentages of certainty?” I found many articles and many opinions on the subject and very little speculation or mathematics on how to rate each catastrophe with a percentage of ‘Most Likely’ to happen. What […]
12Oct2017 | Nancy Belle | 1 comment | Continued
It’s a Cat’s Life
I have a barn/porch cat, her name is Skeeter aka Trouble, who would dearly love to be an indoor/outdoor cat. Especially on cold days, 60 degrees appears to be her cue to want in. She is in this predicament, because after being in the house for several months, or a year, I forget, she became […]
10Sep2017 | Nancy Belle | 1 comment | Continued
The Moderate White American, Shameful Acts of Cowardly Comfort.
That title represents bold words for a one-eyed-fat-man. I have two eyes. I am also the alter-ego of an old white man – and my fellow white people, intelligent political moderates, have come up short in the advancing civilized struggle for morality and justice. People throughout my life have been weary of any direct confrontation […]
3Sep2017 | Ohg Rea Tone | 2 comments | Continued
A Facebook discussion on Drug Addiction
Ron Taylor shared Jordan Rice‘s post. May 5 at 11:09pm · Jordan Rice April 23 at 12:21pm · Thank you. Edit: I didn’t explain why I agree with this or any experiences I have which left people opinion to make a bunch of dumb ass opinions about my logic. I don’t have the time to […]
8May2017 | Ohg Rea Tone | 0 comments | Continued
The Homosexual Paradigm – Personal Experience
(Originally posted May 1, 2012. Re-posted out of a sense of need for the current discussion). There is no universal homosexual paradigm – but there are strong paradigms that drive our society. Previous generations of Americans often ignored the Gay community – you stay in your closet, I’ll stay in mine. Today we find the […]
1Mar2017 | Ohg Rea Tone | 8 comments | Continued
The Pain of Awareness
Awareness is generally thought to be a good thing. Certainly we advocate being aware of one’s personal budget, of politics, of education, of science (Climate Change), of job opportunities, of our health, and even an awareness of our ignorance on various topics. I think it is useful to be aware of proper use of the […]
24Feb2017 | Gary Clark | 6 comments | Continued
Truth Versus Faith
Truth, belief, and faith – three legs on the stool of human endeavor. We seem to require all three but only truth can be measured and verified. Some people will get all up in arms about at that statement. They will say that I am challenging their faith. I am not. I am only saying […]
2Jan2017 | Gary Clark | 3 comments | Continued
A 1964 Christmas Story
It was 1964. Life hadn’t been great. This particular year had been mostly a nightmare. My Mother and Stepfather had separated. Finances were next to non-existent. Me being able to attend school became a burden for my Mother. At only fifteen, I was resigned to possibly, never finishing high school. I was the oldest of, […]
12Dec2016 | Nancy Belle | 1 comment | Continued
My First Tattoo
Oceanside, California, is located on the border of Camp Pendleton, that really big Marine base. I was there. Not Camp Pendleton, Oceanside. It was 1969 and I was doing what I would later learn was called a ‘walkabout’. I was drifting with the wind, facing the draft, Vietnam, adulthood, and ultimately responsibility. Oceanside was […]
26Sep2016 | Gary Clark | 1 comment | Continued
Oh Lord Won’t You Give Me?
I loved and love Janis Joplin. I like the song she sang, Mercedes Benz, because it reminds me of a Church I attended with a friend when I was about 16. It was located in South St. Joseph. There was a neon sign outside proclaiming PENTECOSTAL SOMETHING OR OTHER CHURCH. A bright white two story […]
31Jul2016 | Nancy Belle | 0 comments | Continued
Karma and Life Lessons
Shorthand, I know what it is, but can’t read it. Many years ago at Lowy Enterprises. I received a promotion to work with Dave in Accounts Receivable. At high school I refused typing and shorthand because I didn’t plan on being any man’s secretary, Hah. So, one of my new jobs was to take dictation […]
5Apr2016 | Nancy Belle | 1 comment | Continued
Anger Disguised As Political and Religious Reasoning
Most of the extremist people I know, left or right, have troubled backgrounds. There is no other way to say it. Today I am going to use a dear troubled friend as an example. Of course, the name has been changed. Some will argue that this is mere anecdotal reasoning and thus not comprehensive enough […]
7Mar2016 | Gary Clark | Comments Off on Anger Disguised As Political and Religious Reasoning | Continued
Another Senseless Death from Drug Addiction
Another young man from St. Joseph died this past weekend – apparently from long term drug addiction. I knew him. I knew him when he was about seven years old. I also knew his family. He was second generation drug addict. Not his parents, as far as I know, but many of his aunts and […]
2Mar2016 | Gary Clark | 1 comment | Continued
Does Race Really Matter?
Transcript from Walla Walla Union Bulletin, Walla Walla, Washington December 20, 1950 Seattle (AP) – A blow on the head with a baseball bat in a neighborhood altercation was fatal Tuesday to Merritt Scotten, 33 year old Seattle pipe fitter. He died of a skull fracture Saturday night. Leon W. Venson 28 a neighbor has […]
25Nov2015 | Nancy Belle | 1 comment | Continued
There is No Such Thing As Christianity – Only Christians
al-Qaeda, ISIS, ISIL, Sunni, Shiite, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Mosque in St. Joseph, Missouri – all seen as representative of Islam. Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Jehovah Witness, 7th Day Adventist, Presbyterian, Clarksdale Missouri Baptist, Mormon, and United Methodist – all seen as representative of Christianity. These diverse religious organizations claim the mantel of their respective […]
16Nov2015 | Gary Clark | Comments Off on There is No Such Thing As Christianity – Only Christians | Continued
Terrorism – Let Go and Let God?
The world walks a fine line between revenge and justice, discrimination and acceptance, fear and love. There will be no justice until we all stop acting out of fear. Promoting Islamophobia is an act of fear – not faith. These are serious times for serious people. Clearly religious wackiness on both sides only serves to […]
15Nov2015 | Gary Clark | Comments Off on Terrorism – Let Go and Let God? | Continued
The Cost of Illegal Immigration
Sometimes, I think with my heart and project my motherly instincts and experiences in an effort to understand others. In the case of illegal immigrants, I have often thought, if I were a Mexican mother living in the deplorable poverty and enduring the crimes that, reportedly, occur in Mexico. If the opportunity came, I would […]
13Nov2015 | Nancy Belle | 1 comment | Continued
Starbucks vs Christmas Cheer or Lack of
OK, here’s my tilt on the subject. I don’t recall Starbucks declaring an affinity to any religion. Not that they haven’t, I just haven’t heard anything about it. They are a business in the business to make money by making coffee. I have never had a Starbucks product. Probably never will, I find spending more […]
12Nov2015 | Nancy Belle | 0 comments | Continued
Stop Fighting
Most of us do not know how to fight. Sadly, most of us think we do know. We are proud of our wit, our sarcasm, our humor at the expense of others. If not, then we act as if we are in control – proudly and falsely saying that we would not ‘stoop to that […]
9Oct2015 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Stop Fighting | Continued
When Sadness Overwhelms Us
All of us experience grief. As children we see our grand parents pass. We lose our pets, great aunts and uncles. We lose games of school sports. We fail to make the team. These are the experiences that help prepare us for the more grave loss of parents, siblings, spouses. Sadly some of lose our […]
11Jun2015 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on When Sadness Overwhelms Us | Continued
When Seniors Look For Love
OK – right off I have to admit that I am a senior. That is the demilitarized zone between middle age and elderly. This is but one account of love in a life well lived, and the hope for love yet to come. Life has bestowed many blessings on this old man. Good women have […]
10Jun2015 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued
“Let It Begin With Me”
Occasionally we hear quotes, slogans, sayings, something that seems innocuous on the surface, but resonates with wisdom upon further inspection. Al-Anon, a program for the families and friends of Alcoholics, has official slogans which are raised to the level of proverb, of wisdom, of scripture in the program. One such saying is “Let It Begin […]
8Dec2014 | Gary Clark | 4 comments | Continued
Just One More Alcoholic Story
Note from Ohg Tone – I am just passing this story along. I changed the names to protect all. By-line: Tommy C. Last January we started a new Al-Ann group at our Alano Club in St. Joseph, Missouri. We have just finished restoring the room. http://alanostjoe.com/2014/08/09/new-hope-al-anon-has-a-fresh-look/ About a month ago, while working on that room, […]
26Aug2014 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Just One More Alcoholic Story | Continued
Emotional Disturbances of a Friend
My friend is having emotional disturbances in his live – again. I recognize this as his problem – but still I feel sadness. He has lost his family over bitter disagreements about child raising. He attends a therapy group where he can talk about what happened. He reports his findings. There are several in the […]
28Jul2014 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Emotional Disturbances of a Friend | Continued
A Man With No Peer
I am an odd sort of person. Raised in most humble circumstances, self educated by fondness for reading and natural curiosity, disturbed by the cruelty of a humble upbringing, unprepared for adult life, anxious over fear of failure, self medicated, weary of responsibility, responsible out of necessity, driven by undisciplined intellect, possessed by a moral […]
24Apr2014 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on A Man With No Peer | Continued
When My Mind is Racing
Most of the folks who read my posts recognize my natural inclination toward self-righteous sarcasm. I know that sarcasm is toxic – Mr. Clark (the Editor) tells me almost every day. Sarcasm does serve to drive home a point. But there is a cost to being the negative reflection of the world around us. And […]
24Mar2014 | Ohg Rea Tone | 2 comments | Continued
Founding Fathers Commentary on Religion
“If I could conceive that the general government might ever be so administered as to render the liberty of conscience insecure, I beg you will be persuaded, that no one would be more zealous than myself to establish effectual barriers against the horrors of spiritual tyranny, and every species of religious persecution.” – George […]
18Mar2014 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Founding Fathers Commentary on Religion | Continued
The Irony of Ohg Rea Tone – the Conflict of Ideology
Ohg Rea Tone struggles, like others who believe wholeheartedly in their own point of view. The simple twist of fate put Mr. Tone on the left side of most issues. Had the shoe of the other foot fallen a few millimeters to the right, Mr. Tone would sound the same, look the same, feel the […]
10Mar2014 | Gary Clark | Comments Off on The Irony of Ohg Rea Tone – the Conflict of Ideology | Continued