7/30/2026. Stupid Is...as Stupid Does

           My car  I got off my wife a year and a half ago. Her grandson was using it. It had damage on trunk and front bumper and hood. I fixed the head lamp and rear tail light as well as the exhaust pipe brackets. I fixed other things under the hood as parts failed. The car had 200,000 mi on it. I decided to keep it because the motor and transmission were ok I believed. The engine light was always on. Took it to Advance Auto. It was the purge valve. I thought that was in the motor. This is where I made a big mistake. I should've looked it up on my phone first. Didn't do that. Went to the service station and he put one in for 250 dollars. The light went out but came back on the next day. Take it back, this time he said it's the gas cap. Can't use an after market gas cap. So I go to Hyundai and get the last cap they have for 25 dollars. The light still stays on. Go back to the service station, they didn't have an answer. I was going to have to leave it. But my life sped up and I had to put it on hold. Plus I didn't trust them as much. Couldn't get it registered in my name because it had to pass emissions first. So I drove it with a bad plate. Got caught tree times. One ticket. The other cops let me slide. Each cop snuck up on me. After that I kept an eye out constantly and didn't get stopped.

          Every once in awhile, I would try to talk to service stations about my problem. It would be 200 dollars just  for a diagnosis. No way I was paying that. So  I would say to them, what if I put 1000 dollars into it and it still failed. They say well it would cost even more money. So none of the service stations would give me a price. In my mind I was not going to give up til I had my plate. And I was not going to put a lot of money into it as well. I looked into getting it inspected in a county that didn't have the emission requirement. Spent a couple months fiddling around with that. Couldn't make it work. Back to square one. I had more time to try and find a better mechanic. Finally found a guy. I let him inspect it. He says it's the purge valve. And the alternator is putting out too much voltage. Fails on those two things. He fixed the engine light by swapping out the led bulb with another bulb that was working another light function that I didn't need. Back to the alternator, I had my first mechanic put in a new alternator 10 months ago. There is a warranty. I found out what auto parts store he used. I call them up. They don't have the part. Two days to have it transfered from another store. Give him my mechanic's name.  Make the appointment with the mechanic. On way there I stop and buy oil for car at Dollar General. 5.59 per quart, cheaper than the auto parts store. Like 3.00. per quart. Go to auto parts store for filter. At a Jiffy lube It would be 80 dollars.. ten years ago for my pickup it was $25.00 to have someone change the oil. So I get to the mechanics, he's an hr and a half late. Have him change the oil as well as swap out the alternator. Hour later he's done. Cost me $125. The alternator is free but I had to repay the labor cost. So I got the oil changed in that cost. So I had a new purge valve and a new alternator put in and they both failed. Unbelievable!

           Now I'm good with the alternator, he shows me on meter I'm under 15 volts. Wish I knew this earlier. But now you know to make sure to see for yourself that your under 15 volts with your new alternator. I look in the phone about the purge valve. My new mechanic would charge a little over a hundred. I see in the Internet where that valve is, not in the motor but behind it. I look at discount auto parts on the web.  I get one shipped out for 29 dollars. OEM part is what you want. I checked at Advance Auto, they wanted 75 dollars. I use online part sellers as well as the auto part stores. Like for the alternator it is going to be an auto parts store. I put the purge valve in myself and it takes 30 minutes. That first service guy charged me 250f dollars. Got ripped off and it didn't work anyways.

          Back to my new mechanic for the ,2 tests on the car. I saw yesterday that the check engine light was on again. I told the mechanic. He went out to check on car and said light was out. Great I say. Half hour later the car passes. Man I was so happy. I high fived the mechanic. Finally got my plates. A week later that damn check engine light comes on again and has stayed on. Doesn't matter now though. So I was thinking that DS had a hand in getting me through the emission test. The more I think on it the more I believe it. My plates are good for 2 years before it has to get inspected again. Thank-you DS. This was a struggle. I just focused on getting this done and not having to pay a whole lot of money for. Same no matter what is going on in your life. FOCUS on your desired outcome and take action. I was going to get it done no matter how long it was going to take. Now, my car has 208,000 miles on it. Here's a tip as your car gets older get oil changed every 3,000 mi.

7/27/2026 Update

          I waited a week to resume with the dumbbell. This time I do 20 lifts with each arm, 25 pounder. Then I do  lift over head to a count of 30 each arm. That's one rep. Then do again for the second rep. So far so good. For you you do the weight that is comfortable to you even if it's a 2 pounder wt. So a couple months ago I was thinking to going to 30 pounder in October. Now that is put off. I still do dips into an open doorway for my back by holding on to the door frame and leaning into the open door way.

           Yesterday marked one month since I started my diet. I don't have a scale yet. Will get one soon. So I lost my love handles. Happy about that. My guess I lost close to 20 lbs. I will soon give an update on what I eat to make this diet work. So, I've been on diets in the past. Eventually they fail. But it is I that failed. These failures make you stronger. You are not the same as you were. You're a wee bit smarter. Those little smarts are like ladder rungs up to get where you want to be. Eventually, one day you will rely on these little footholds to get you over the top. It comes down to, how bad do you really want it. It's like with everything else. How bad do you want a new car or how bad do you want God. It's time for me to get over the top this time. And I'm going to get er done. Up until 23 I could eat anything drink beer and not gain weight. Those were great times because I was a foody. Well around 23 things started to change. It started to stick. Not so good. But I continued with my ways. My first diet started because I walked by a mirror in my house and saw how fat I was. I wasn't wearing a shirt. I saw it out of the corner of my eye. I walked back holy cow I'm a cow. Went to the bathroom got on the scale. 260 holy molly. Diet started that night. Next day down to 258.  After months I got down to 240. Then I stayed between 240 & 250 lbs plateaued here a couple decades. Once I got down to 220 but eventually 240 again. It's been many years that I was in the 190s. This year though for sure.

          Finally got the car registered after 18 mos. That will be another blog.

          The last place I was going to move to fell through, so still dealing with this issue as well.

          I am greatful for everything too. Always be greatful. It's good to look back on what we have to be greatful for.

7/23)2026. Nick. Bostick

            Four years ago Nick was driving nighttime in Lafayette IN, after a fight with his girlfriend. He usually delivers pizza. He was driving to clear his head after the fight. 

             Now,  that fight was for a reason. A negative event set the stage for Nick. He's coming down the road and is passing what appears to be a campfire in the front yard of a house. He backs up to get a better looksie. That's not a campfire. The house is on fire. He parks and runs into the house. In the first floor An 18 yr old girl is bringing the girls downstairs. He ushers them out to the yard. The 18 yr old says there is still one more. Back up to the second floor he goes. Pulling closet doors and looking under beds. Nothing, he runs back to the first floor. He puts shirt in front of his face, the smoke is thick. He uses his hands to feel around . Nothing, he's moving faster as the fire ramps it up. Poking and poking and hits pay dirt. The  6 year old girl he grabs but front door is blocked with fire and smoke . He remembers the window when he first went up. He tried to break it, his arm bounces off it. Second time he breaks it. As he is trying to get the girl out her foot and leg gets caught up in the blind cord. Has to set her down to fix it. He grabs her and holds her tight to his left side jumps out and lands on his left side. This is his last remembrance  The cops tell him that he brought the kid to the street and handed her off.  She only had a minor wound. Then he collapsed on the curb. They treated him for hand and arm injuries and burns and smoke inhalation. When he was upstairs at first he thought he just might not survive this one.

          This happened around this time 4 years ago. He recuperated. Once he got out of the hospital. And he also got the Carnegie Medal of Honor. Excellent actions Nick,! Kudos, a genuine hero. 

           So, it starts off as a negative event with his fight with his gal. He's stewing and driving. And he his right where DS wants him to be. Nick does the rest.  When Nick is downstairs talking to the 18 yr old about the missing child. He could of asked God where she is. Say something like is she on the first or second floor. The first answer in your head you go with. This probably would of saved him the real bad Injuries. He did good though. No one knows God's plan but we can get a heads up to a part of that plan. It can and does bleed through. With dreams and the waking dream we can privy ourselves into knowing a wee bit, what that plan is. In my opinion it is better with the heads up. Try to stay calm when chaos is about. It is through the calm that DS will reveal to you what the best course of action is. It is harder for DS to come through when the mind is jumbled up. Like looking into a shallow pond with calm waters. You can clearly see the bottom. Drop a 5 pound rock in there and you can't see the bottom anymore. Keep clarity of mind and you will see clearly. Do this in all aspects of your life.

           The father who was not home at the time was talking to a reporter and said the family lost everything except each other. And,  then he said one real good thing though, was we gained another member of the family.

7/21/2026 Exercise Injury

           About 2 days ago I felt a little dime size  ache in the right shoulder. Where the arm intersects the shoulder. In an hour I forgot about it. Now 2 days later in the afternoon, the ache is stronger. I didn't do anything, like lift anything. So I screwed up. Not thinking that dime size ache could get worse. Now,  I will lay off the exercise for a week. So don't do what I did. Which is ignore it. I think it was the 55 pushups I do on the bathroom sink. Should have stuck to 25 pushups instead. So you have to make adjustments with your exercises. 

          I adjusted to 25 lifts with the dumbbell instead of 50 lifts for 1 rep. This I find works better. In 1 sitting I do 25lifts of 25 lb dumbbell on one arm. Then I lift that weight over my head and hold it the for 50 count. Same for the other arm. I do that exercise twice in under 15 minutes.  So take a week off if you feel that dime size ache in your workouts.

7)18/2026 Life on Hold

          Basically it's been on hold for almost 7 months because of one thing after the other. As all this started, I saw the waking dream sign... Chill ,...in big letters on a truck. Well that's what I've been doing. Not that successful as of now. So I've been thinking on this. Time to take the chill off.  Today I'm scrolling the phone and there is an ad in the phone. But first this morning I see a picture on the phone of a cardinal lifting off a branch and the photo catches the bird with wings out stretched. Excellent photo. This registers to me as a soon to be jumping off point for me. Eh maybe. Later in morning in the phone, I see the ad.

            Purple box with words. The calm of everything going to plan.  Another waking dream?  Perhaps.  So my guess here is...relax it's my ( creator ) plan. So he's reminding me to be patient. But I have to admit my patience is wearing real thin.

7/15/2026. Dr Ahmed

           He's an emergency doctor in ithe United Kingdom doing his nightly rounds. He sees a nuse struggling with a bed sheet. The patient has 12 hrs left to live. He holds her hand and he hears her say thank-you,  But in a weak voice. He squeezes her hand and is about to step out of the room. Nope. She grabs his hand with strength. This takes him aback. She says  I have visitors here and they say you're good un. He says oh your family. She says not my family. The visitors that are now in this room are the ones that said it. He's getting creeped out now.  Then he feels the nurse step in the room behind him. He turns to greet her but no one is in the room but him and the patient. The room is dark. Finally he bolts. 

           If I'm in his shoes, I'm going to be asking the visitors some questions. People who are about to move on can become like their 30s again. Total strength & clarity. For a brief period of time, anyway.

7/14/2026 Weight Gain

           Last couple years I was lax with the eating.  So I bloomed up to 242 pounds on a 5' 10 frame ( Xtra large shirt) usually. Now a 1 X shirt would be better. This Sunday will be 3 weeks on the diet. I was on my last notch in the belt. And the belt comes under the belly. So the belt doesn't go over the belly button.  Not good, not good at all. Hence, the diet.

           Around 28 I was in a 7/11 getting lunch. I don't remember the circumstances but I was talking to a stranger and we got to talking about weight gain. He said that when he loosened  his belt one notch he would go on a no white diet. No sugar, bread,salt ice cream or milk. Once his weight came down he'd eat what he wanted I said Wow.  Did I follow his advice. Stupid me did not. Do I regret it yes. But I was a foody, then and now. I could eat whatever I wanted, up until I was 23,  then it started to stick. Back in my late 49s I walked by the hall mirror one day and I say, who is that?  Jumped on scale 260 the heaviest of all time. I've stayed around 240 for decades. Gave it more years  and got down to 215. But I eventually went back to 240. Got to drop 42 pounds to get to 200. I'm starting to get there. 

          I start with breakfast. I swap out 2 things. One day it will be cereal and the next 1 jumbo egg and one cooked piece of bacon. I also take 3 small mini potatoes from a bag from Wallmart. I slice them and put them in pan with bacon strip. Then pepper, hot sauce and ketchup. And One cup of instant de- cafe sleeve with a little bit of real sugar and half & half.

          Lunch.... 2 mini croissants toasted not the ones that say butter found at Wallmart. In that I put a little grape jelly then cream cheese on top of that. When out and about I go to Taco Bell and get the chicken stacker for 2.99. plus I use 7-8 hot sauce packets. Sometimes I buy discount yogurts and use them as snacks.

         Dinner......I fry up turkey or chicken in a tube. Half a palm of meat. Brown them up and add it to instant mash potato or macaroni. With a little bit of cheese from the included packets..  I add stone ground mustard from Wallmart and hot sauce. Also I shake some basil into it. For macaroni I add a little  bit of olive oil or grape oil. It's good. I will add raw carrots and radishes.  Also frozen cauliflower. I will have a salad 3 times a week. And boiled corn for 10 min. One ear. A little salt and a little butter.

          Desert...,....1 Vortman fudge choc chip cookie sugar free. And a pudding cup sugar free. Sometimes I swap a sugar free ice cream sandwich instead of a pudding cup. You have to take them out of the box and stick them in the freezer. After 2 mons of that I think I won't be getting them even though they're sugar free. They don't taste that great.

        I don't have a scale. But my belt is now on the 4th notch in. From 1 to 4 in less than 3 weeks. I see the stomach shrinking. This is where I store it. When I get to 200 I will try for 195. Then stay there. I will need alot of diligence this time around. I will get it done!

7/13/2026. Cobra

           It's a name of a military helicopter. 2 guys are in it, Jim the gunner and his pilot. Place Vietnam. The VC have shot it and it's on it's way down. The blade tears itself up on the ground. Jim thinks his leg is broken plus the fire has burnt his face up. Next thing he remembers being totally messed up spatially. Then he's out of his body, he's about 100 ft up in the air looking down. He sees the destroyed helicopter and VC working their way toward them.  They are a mile away.To his left he notices a hooded man. He tells him you are not dead yet. The pilot was running from the gun ship and looked back and saw his gunner move. He ran back to him saying you didn't move you looked dead. He tells his pilot from his position up in air which direction to run to. There was a small allied base off to the northwest. The pilot didn't know that.  US soldiers return to the craft and get Jim.

          He lived. So, when you're out of your body you rise above and have your faculties intact. I have done this a couple times. Some people call this the astral body. It connects to you via a silver 'cord'.  This allowed those 2 men to have less trauma as their life progressed. Jim saw that there was more to life than he understood it to be. By being in a difficult position you too  can say to DS, I'd like to see the problem from above or the 360 position. This is available to everyone. Always ask questions of DS. Push the envelope.

7/12/2026 Beep

          I drive up next to sidewalk to pickup my wife from store. The parking lot is to my left. I see this woman backing up but there is a car backing up as well that is further into the lane.  I beep my horn as a warning. It did no good, she it's him. She was only doing 5mph. I was shocked as the suv she hit rocked to the right so hard. After the hit they both retreated back into their parking spaces. So, if you hear a horn, stop what your doing and look around. No matter where you think that beep came from. So this was Saturday. It didn't appear to be too much damage. But I saw how the suv high center of gravity worked to it's disadvantage. If that vehicle gets hit harder then it is going over it's side. It's more of a busy time at the stores, on the weekend. Parking near the store doors, is what people like to do. It's a more dangerous area to be at. Maybe park a little further away. The walk can benefit you. This is why I like to park with my nose facing into the lane. I try to do this most times. After seeing the accident, I will be doing it even more. Learning from others can be a benefit to you.

          The other night I had a dream I'm on a fast  mid sized motorcycle. Getting to a turn to the right . The tires start to lose grip, start heading for the grass. I tilt my body down low and avoid the crash righting the bike back up as bike comes to a near stop. A voice behind me says  good job. I enter 2nd and 3rd turn more cautiously.  During the day I'm parked at a Wallmart, I walk back to my car later and there is a motorcycle parked close by me a ,750 version.  Seeing the bike re,-reinforced the dream. Now, that's Important. Maybe it means that my life is about to be sped up. Oh and by the way I don't drive motorcycles.

7/11/2026. Grabbing a Door

           The other day, I'm getting into my  car. My focus is on something else. I reach behind me grabbing the door to close it. I grab it from the top. No good. The door closes on my hand as I try to let it go. The car is on a  slight tilt due to the parking lot. It catches my knuckle and not real hard. So, I still feel it today, it's not broken. But it is a lesson on focus.  Trying to stay in the  present is not easy!  By not doing it leads to potentially big problems. 

          Last week, I'm driving in the fast lane. In the center of road is the turning lane. Eventually I'll be entering that lane. Doing about 30mph. The guy in slow lane jerks his car into my lane. I know I can't get over too much to the left due to an Suv being there in the turning lane.  Had to miss guy on my left and the idiot in front of me on right. Missed both, by literally inches to spare. No time for horn. The guy no signal no looking just do what he wants. If my focus was not there, accident. Things can change in a split second. I am greatful that I didn't have to have that experience.

         I see people going over 80 in the fast lane all the time. Think people, is getting there 5 or 10 minutes quicker really worth putting others and yourself in danger. One accident will mess you up in time spent in getting car fixed or worse. It is good to think ahead. I see car carriers carting a loads of damaged vehicles all the time. Doing Door Dash, I've seen bad accidents about 6 in a years time. If  I see an aggressiv driver tailgating me, I pull over onto the shoulder and let him fly on by. I slow my vehicle before a stop light making sure guy in back is slowing down as well. Stay Focused. It will give you a better life.

7,/9/2026 Dumbell Work

           I adjusted my dumbell routine. Now, I do minimum 25 lifts in sitting position for each hand. The left hand I do 28. My right is dominant . My left arm is stronger than right since I was doing about 20 more lifts than the right. Now I want to do 100 lifts for each arm, with each rep being 25 lifts. I also do pushups against a sink counter that is three and a half ft high. 1 rep is 50. My feet aret 21/2 ft from the sink. Make sure your sink is sturdy. Or use the kitchen counter. While sitting in the chair I lift my 25 pond dumbell over my head and keep it there to count of 50. You can do way less weight right here. I do it for each arm. Each set is a 50 count. I will do 2 sets eventually.

           Never exercise through pain or discomfort. Your body will warn you.  Stick with the low weights. As you get stronger you can raise the wt 4 lbs more. Then stay with that for 6 mos. After 3 years I have toned my  arms which was my goal.  I took it slow and steady. At least once a year do a blood test so you know what's going on as well.

7/4/2026. The Fourth

            250 years ago,  56 men affixed their signatures to a piece of vellum proclaiming our independence. What these guys did was sign their death warrants.  Many of them had families. They risked everything to the cause and I mean everything. Britain was the number 1 world power at that time. So this mob of upstarts of unruly men with no army was going to take it to the British. These 56 put their necks on the line in that belief of freedom. I think the events 1 year earlier on Breeds Hill gave them that degree of hopefulness. If Breeds Hill turned into a fiasco there would have been no signing on this day 250 years ago. That's  why I write about Breeds Hill every year in June.

           Freedom is not free. You have to fight for it. It might not be convenient  to you. But it may come down to what your values are.  It's good to look at them every once in awhile. Remember what occured on this day. These guys put it on the line. They walked the talk.

             Ben Franklin lost his son. He tried to talk him over to the rebel side but it did not work. His son moved to England. Benjamin visited his son one time in 1785. To discuss business matters. He wanted his son to apologize for not coming over to the rebel cause. He refused. That was the last time they saw each other. In his will, Benjamin did not leave anything to his son in England. His was one of many heartbreaks that affected the signers the Declaration. Hard times led to hard choices. Which they had to live with til they died. It's always about the choices.

              Five generations back and where back before the revolution.  That is not so long ago. So me and my father take the time line back almost a hundred years. That's almost halfway there to 1776. This generation, I call the takes guts generation. To have freedom was so important to that generation as it was for future generations to come. It is very precious. Let us protect it in this generation as well.  The money we handle everyday tells us to trust in God. It's there as a constant reminder. It's what we should be focused on when making our choices on a daily basis.

            May God  Bless  America

            So we can make 500 years