2008

Every year it is a tradition for me to choose a song that reminds me of the year that is passing… as we go into 2009, the song that reminds me of 2008 will have to be Nickleback: If Today Was Your Last Day.

2008 For me personally has been full of many trials and tribulations; I have lost a very dear friend, and reconnected with some other dear ones. I have moved past things that were holding me back, and expanded my Horizons… I have started an adventure that will carry into 2009 and beyond, with someone that is very close to my heart and grows closer every day.

“Against the grain should be a way of life
what's worth the price is always worth the fight,
every second counts 'cause,
there's no second try,
so live like you're never livin’ twice,
don't take the free ride in your own life.

If today was your last day,
and tomorrow was too late.
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past?
Donate every dime you had?
Would you call those friends you've never seen?
Reminisce old memories?
Would you forgive your enemies?
Would you find that one your dreaming of?”

~Nickleback

Spirits

Once, I went riding, I went all the way out to Rosemary Road and the Old Rickety one lane wooden Bridge, over the Pearl River, next to where my mom lives. Well I stopped the truck and got out, and walked across the bridge, it was so beautiful under the moonlight and stars, when I reached the other side I went and walked to the bank over looking the river, its calm water moving slowly under the rays of the Full Moon. You could feel the spirits past, and for me memories past, all moving with the cool breeze, it was one of the most surreal experiences I’ve had in a long time. Well I walked back over to the bridge, and I decided to do something really stupid. I stood up on the railing of the bridge and held onto one of the metal support beams and just looked down, I knew I was ok, I had a good grip… but it was dangerous it’s a long fall to the cold water below, but the view was amazing, and the rush was thrilling, I felt connected to the land, the moon, in a place where I have spent most of my life visiting, and have recently spent time hating, the river and the Rosemary Bridge truly are Magical and I knew that once and this just reminded me, now I know why my mom doesn’t want to leave “the River.”

Photo: The Man in the Photo is my friend Lisa's father, and by default my adopted father, Jim Barfield.

Happy Holidays!

This is the season that the world is supposed to unite and share and good cheer for one another, so many religions have major celebrations at this time of the year… that it truly is the holiday season. This is the season for giving, for showing others that you care… that you think of them even when they are not right in front of you. This is the time where we share our lives with strangers and donate to the less fortunate, and open our hearts like we never even consider doing other times of the year.

Why is that?

I Challenge Everyone that reads my blog to take the joy and love of the holiday season, and carry it with them throughout the entire year…

Happy Holidays… I wish each and everyone a Very Happy Holiday Season and A Happy New Year!

Rendezvous

As I move forward, I can feel time flow by faster and faster… moving me towards a new adventure. I am not sure what the adventure has in store for me, but as it moves closer, and this rendezvous becomes more certain, I know that great things lie ahead… and I am more than ready to embrace what ever is coming.

About the Photo: Rendezvous Famous BBQ Ribs in Memphis, Tennessee just down the alley from Union Street…. Fabulous.

52 South 2nd Street

Memphis, TN 38103-2628

Get Directions

(901) 523-2746

Little Britain USA

Britain… Britain… Britain… That’s how it starts my favorite comedy series, Little Britain, with its American counter part Little Britain USA, the funniest thing was that that Little Britain USA’s very first skit took place in Mississippi. Well I had to share this view of the Lamar Life Building featured in the very funny second Lou and Andy Little Britain USA Skit!!!!! It is really odd when your favorite foreign television show comes to your back yard!

Mississippi Slushie

Winter in Mississippi is not a very wintery event usually, believe me when we found out that it was supposed to snow we were very shocked and surprised. However when a majority of our state turned into a big slush puppie (minus the flavor)… needless to say I am sad. I would have loved to have had the opportunity to have built a rare Mississippi snowman to post on here… but instead y’all will have to handle a bit of wet snow on a trampoline in a flooded back yard. Tonight, we get to have tons of fun… when most of this turns into rare Mississippi Ice!!!!

naïveté

The best things at times are when realizing that you have to face the world around you, and fight the adversity that is thrown at you. These help make you grow into a stronger person, and help shed the naïveté that once clouded your vision, and grow into someone you can be proud of.

Peace Be With You...

People so often look outside themselves to seek peace and understanding from others, sometimes though what they really see is actually within them. The beauty about this is that once they discover just how beautiful they truly are, they can finally open themselves up to those around them that love them.

New Era

I stand at the end of an era, one that for once I had control over… and I prepare to embark on yet another adventure one that requires a little more preparation, that I must have a minor adventure first. I am ready; I am so very ready for what is to come… words can not express adequately how excited I am to embark on the adventure that is my life and to run full speed into the uncertain horizon.

About the photo: I used to work at this very store, Linens ‘N Things at Dogwood Festival Market in Flowood, Mississippi. I was shocked to discover that the company had filed for bankruptcy and all the stores were closing. The people I worked with at this location were among the best people I had ever had the privilege of ever knowing, and I hope they all fair well in this new era in their lives.

Equality

In 1776 when they said that all “All men are created equal,” they may have only meant “all white land owning men are created equal,” but we as a nation have come a long way… we have seen many people die fighting for their freedom, against us (Civil Rights Movements)… the United States. Some of these people have won their freedom, some are still fighting, but we need to actually realize that we will only truly live up to the standard that we project to the world… and we project to ourselves, when we finally live up to our own standards and truly acknowledge that all people are equal no matter what race, religion, sex, sexual preference, national origin, disability, etc. Only then will we truly be a free nation for all.

Thanksgiving

So as another Thanksgiving comes to an end, I take a moment to think of the many things that I have to be thankful for. I know that each of us really do have many things to be thankful for, and if we only took a moment to recognize just one thing, the day would be a little easier. Thanksgiving is perhaps only an United States holiday, but it is one thing that we should do on a daily basis, give thanks for what we know we are lucky to have.

Finally

Through my life I’ve spent time searching for something that stood out, something that makes sense of the mess. I have finally found it, and it compares to nothing that has ever graced my life ever. I know that my life will never be the same, and that is ok, and that is the best thing that could happen…

Finally Now my destiny can begin Though we will have our differences Something strange and new is happening Finally Now my life doesn't seem so badIt's the best that I've ever had Give my love to him finally

~"Finally" By Fergie

Dead End

Life is full of roads that you must travel; unfortunately most of these roads are dead ends. You must not allow yourself to become jaded and start to believe that life is nothing but dead ends… if you come to a dead end you must retrace your steps and try another path; you never know what you may find, you may find your dreams.

This is a view of the Old Mississippi State Capital looking up from Capital Street in Jackson, Mississippi.

Love

I used to be cynical when it came to love, I used to believe that love was a trick that was devised to confuse man and entertain the gods. I was wrong, I truly believe that, I have been shown the error of my ways. I am not sure how or where it has occurred but I now know that love can exist and it can be the purest emotion that can be felt.

Knowledge

Life fills your mind with many different kinds of information; at times it has no choice but to overflow in beautiful waves of knowledge spilling into the world.

New

Everything feels new, I’m not sure how else to describe it. My days are better, my nights are wondrous… and my heart flutters. ..


If I could write the beauty of your eyes,And in fresh numbers number all your graces,The age to come would say 'This poet lies;

~ Shakespeare

Halloween

Mississippi can be an odd place full of odd people, and my personal favorite holiday is Halloween. Halloween definitely allows people to open up and express themselves in a way that they are not able to do other times during the year, it allows them to be creative and at times scary… and beautiful… here is a collection of some Halloween photos I have gathered this season.

Echo In front of a bonfire at a Charli's Famous halloween party.

A Mississippi Deer.

My Front Door.

Not Alone

Sometimes when you feel like you are all alone, you are not really that alone, no matter what you are not really alone. Somewhere out there, someone is waiting… for you to enter into their lives. Suddenly the veil is lifted and the loneliness subsides and suddenly you find yourself adrift in a world that is warmer than the world was before.

The Top

The top is where everything looks different, it all comes into perspective. Suddenly everything that is such a big deal is so small and insignificant. The top takes many forms; it can be the peak of success or just the peak… I have reached a peak and I hope to ride this out for a while. Like sitting atop a Ferris wheel, looking out at the events below.

The Beatty Street Grocery

South Jackson is known for many things, most of them not so good things. The Beatty Street Grocery is one of the few good things that South Jackson is known for. Beatty Street is a throw back to the old general stores that used to dot the Mississippi landscapes until the Wal-Mart’s moved in. Beatty Street has been around as long as most people can remember, and it has a deli attached that can serve food that can rival most store chains. Now I need to warn you, the store does not look like much inside or out, but over all it is a jewel in the heart of a city that needs as many jewels as it can get.

101 Beatty St
Jackson, MS 39201

(601) 355-0514

A Tad Political

I try not to be very political on my posts but recently the government did something that was not the best course of action. They voted to give 700 BILLION dollars to the fat pigs that got our economy into this terrible mess anyway. To me it makes no logical sense to give the irresponsible people money, especially money that is going to end up coming from the pockets of people that need it. This is how economic depressions are born, when we have political leaders that are so corrupt that they give the pigs on Wall Street more money when the people that need it can barely put food on the table, it makes NO SENSE. We all thought for a little while that maybe the politicians were smart and would not pass a bill as irresponsible as that, but alas after adding some selfish sweeteners and more pork than in a BBQ resultant, they passed it. We the PEOPLE of the United States of America do not have to stand up for corrupt politicians that think that they do not have to answer to the people; we can stand up and make our voices heard!

http://votenoconfidence.orgfree.com/
http://ni4d.us/

Mississippi State Fair

The Mississippi State Fair is one of the events that people throughout the state look forward to every year in October. Held in Jackson, Mississippi at the state fairgrounds, it is full of games and food that people usually just experience once a year, I know that I personally prefer to go at least once. I have many fond memories through my childhood of trips to the fair, some of my earliest memories actually are from the fair. The fair is more than just rides and food, they have judging for the best of the best in Mississippi. From Cars to Jam and everything in between… it gets judged and awarded, it really is one of the best traditions in the state, and after all it has lasted 149 years.

Some Crazies

I work for tech support for a major corporation in their phone and Internet repair department. I hear some really crazy things, and I write some of these down… just for kicks.

“The Internet is all I have to live for right now!”
(Oh Really! Don’t worry, I don’t have a life either.)

“Honey, I don’t think there is a modem here, I think they are fucking around with my brain, excuse the language.”
(Well isn’t that special!... EVERYONE with our services has a modem!)

“That’s goofy! OH WOW, It works!”
(Oh Wow! I know what I am talking about!)

“You know, people can’t live without internet.”
(Is that why the suicide level jumps when the internet goes out?)

“I have gotten my big computer out of the pawn shop.”
(Interesting… was it next to the big guns?)

“Hello… I’m calling about my phone…. Apparently I don’t have any tones… in my phone.”
(Have some happy pills this morning?)

“We don’t have any high speed in our house today.”
(So everyone is rrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllyyyyyyyy slow?)

“I am an illiterate computer.”
(I believe you!)

“I should unscrew the cable from the outback?”
(Let’s go outback tonight!)

Cingular

Cingular has been dead and gone a while now, at least since AT&T took over. With the death of the orange Cingular logo, one of the most unique mobile phone characters in history died with it, I think that was sadder than the fact that suddenly I was with AT&T. I liked the Cingular Guy and I kinda miss him. This building is part of what was once the Jackson Light Company on Highway 80 just across from Battlefield Park in South Jackson, it is now part of the Jackson Enterprise Center home to many up and coming businesses in the area. I am not certain of the original intent of the odd shape of the roof, but it always reminds me of the Cingular Guy, and now it makes me wish that AT&T would find a way to revive him… maybe blue rather than orange. You know my very first cell phone came in a box that had him on it that said “I’m Cingular and I think you are too!” Oh how I miss the little guy… you know, I am Cingular, and I always will be.

Seasons Change

October is the month that contains the most interesting holiday in modern history, Halloween. This holiday gives people the chance to portray themselves in a manner not normally seen; they can be anyone or anything they choose. Most social conventions are thrown out the door, and the world slips into a controlled Macabre of dark fantasies from the deepest darkest corners of the mind… but just for one day, after all it is in good fun.

Cloning

Cloning is one of those subjects that I have debated in my head over and over again, and through that process I have been able to see many different sides of the issue. I personally tend to place myself among those that do not believe that cloning is necessarily a bad thing. I do know that many people will disagree with me on this, however I do understand and respect the right to their opinion and I believe that there are many moral and ethical questions that are raised with this issue that can make it wrong.

People have cloned plants for centuries, and animals have cloned themselves for just as long. The resulting offspring from these cloning may have the same genetic material as the original donor, but it is by far anything similar to the original. Genetic Makeup does not make the person; we can see that with twins, it is the personal experiences that make the person unique and different, not necessarily genetics.

I believe the real moral issues for human cloning should come from the reasons behind the person’s reason to clone. Cloning a dead loved one is all well and good, but as I stated earlier this will not bring the person back, and at the most it may serve to do nothing more than constantly remind the person of the lost loved one, or worse yet cause an unhealthy fixation with the cloned child. This unhealthy psychological aspect could cause some negative family interactions especially with how the “parents” respond to the other children who are not clones. However cloning someone you love or even yourself to create a child that is related to you for the benefit of having a child is another story all together. This I personally have no problem with, I could see many opportunities for people who for no fault of their own: illness, accident, rape, etc that are unable to conceive or have children to carry on their own genetic code, especially since their inability to have children is not due to genetics, so their “Grandchildren” would in effect be their true next generation. This is itself creates an entirely new family structure, not just on the aspect of what generation is what, but what would the structure of such a family be like… what would it be like to raise your identical twin from birth?

Many people cite religious reasons for cloning to be wring, but like all technology it is a double edged sword. God gave us the ability to grow in knowledge and experience, if he did not intend for humans to ever be able to learn to clone, then he could simply make it impossible to clone a person. (This may actually be the case since the Clonaid claims have never been proven.) I believe personally that a life is a life from the very moment of conception, and I believe that a cloned child is no different, just because the genetic material is the same does not mean that it lacks a soul, God would love it as a unique person. I believe like with all technology the ability to clone is a double edged sword and can create many issues in the future, what is to stop people from enslaving clones as secondary citizens because they were not conceived in a normal way?

My main issue with cloning is on the fact that people and other species tend to weed out genetic shortcomings over time due to selective breeding, if we become a species that reproduces asexually then we keep the same genetic material, we do not evolve and grow as a species.

Ike

Ike… How we loathe you! To quote a political slogan from years past, “We Don’t like Ike!” Of course I am talking about the hurricane that is currently taking aim on the Texas coast with Katrina-like consequences for the southeast, and hopefully none of the Katrina-like damage or any further loss of life for those in its path. Ike has not yet made landfall as of this post, and yet already gas stations are experiencing a shortage, and this particular gas station is forced to ration gas at $40.00 a person. With Ike already having far reaching results, I sincerely hope that he is not as bad as people tend to think he is going to be. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone in the path of this dangerous deadly storm.

Pearl Pirate

Many years have passed since I graduated all the way back in 2003, and yet those years still have a profound effect on me. I had a chance today to go back to the hallowed grounds of my former high school, and while I was there I had an encounter with my past. I was never one for football or any other sport for that matter, but I had to make my way out to the football field, and while I was there I was faced with the realization that I knew over half of the people on the Honor Board, and I realized how lucky I was to be a Fighting Pirate.

Scarlet's Web

Spiders are fascinating creatures that receive a relatively bad rep, much like snakes, alligators, crocodiles, or pretty much anything else that humans do not deem “warm and fuzzy.” Spiders occupy a special place for me, as do most creepy-crawlies; that does not mean that I like them particularly, but I do hold an intense respect and admiration for the creatures. This may be surprising considering a year ago I was stung by a scorpion that had crawled in my bed, but it was doing what it does. This particular spider is in my back yard, not sure what type it is but it is about an inch long, hairy and grey. In these videos it is having a small feast of Horsefly that had found its way into her web. I have christened her Scarlet… not to be confused with Charlotte.

Time Theory

Have you ever thought about how time moves, and brings us along with it? I think of time as a piece of growing paper, right now we are on the edge of the paper, nothing in front of us… it just grows and makes a path before us as we move forward through time. Everything and everyone that came before us still exists, they go through all their lives just like normal… up until the point that they no longer need time, and after that they move on leaving part of themselves behind that exists where they once did… back in 1988 or 1388 B.C.E., of course living people do the same. Now Einstein said that time travel forward was possible, and that past travel was impossible… I disagree.I believe that the only way we can travel into the future is by traveling close to the speed of light and allowing time dilation to occur, this would in fact give the traveler the sense that they have traveled through time, when all they really did was just wait for time to pass around them. Now travel into the past I believe is possible, and has been done at many points through history, its just that many travelers are smart enough to know that interfering with a timeline would only create a paradox that has already been created. Take the ole “Dead Grandfather” paradox… Ok You go back in time and kill your grandfather before he has a chance to father your dad, therefore giving you no possible way to exist. So how could you have gone back in time and killed your grandfather? OK… Well lets say you wanted to go back in time and kill your grandfather, so you went back… You know what!? Your going to fail, and I can prove that by your existence. So perhaps even though we live on the edge of time, whose to say that were not already re living our lives and part of us hasn’t already moved on? Who’s to say that the edge of time isn’t already at 2063 and some of us are already long dead? And Who’s to say that some of the random people you see on the streets that look at you aren’t really time travelers? Just something to think about…..

(Flashback... Originally Written Jan. 29th, 2006 at 12:34 PM

The photo is a restored, as best as possible, photo of my grand mother and my aunt and uncle... aprox 1960.)

<3 Bird

Birds are fascinating creatures, especially when they spend most of their lives around humans. [Enter Kaley] Kaley belongs to one of my best friends; she shares a cage with Garret who can hold a conversation. But Kaley is cold, and distant, always has been… except when you sing to her. She and I have developed an unusual interspecies friendship, mainly because when I visit I take the time to sing to her and Garret, they love it, they usually sing back… I love it to!

Perseverance

Humanity has many flaws, but we also have a great strong point… through the greatest disaster’s we will persevere. This is the Gulfport Yacht club, destroyed in 1969 by Hurricane Camille, and once again in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina… No longer does it lie in ruins, it is a symbol of the Coastal communities ability to rise up from the ashes, stronger and better than before!!!

800 East Pier

Gulfport, MS 39501

Get Directions

(228) 867-6796

Fort Massachusetts

Fort Massachusetts on Ship Island (Offically known as the Fort on Ship Island) is part of the interesting history of the fascinating barrier island. It was originally built after the war of 1812, and only saw actual battle once when confederate solders on the island engaged the Union Ship Massachusetts in the civil war. It is home to a mortar oven that was used by solders to heat cannon balls to red hot temperature and fire them at enemy ships in hopes of catching them on fire. The fort had once been the center of many military buildings that were once on the island, including a hospital barracks, and mess hall, all of those have since disappeared, and for a time all that remained were the fort and a replica of the Ship Island light house, Hurricane Katrina took care of the light house in 2005. The Fort has been out of service since 1903 and most cannons were removed in 1908. It is currently maintained by the National Park Service.

One thing that really fascinates me is that barrier islands grow longer and not wider, when the fort was originally built, it was in the middle of the island, and now it is on the edge of the water, and the National Park Service has the Army Corps of Engineers pump in sand when they have to dredge shipping channels, just to keep the waves from hitting the fort. But the island is a mile longer than when the fort was originally built.

Stars

I look up at the sky sometimes and I see the stars so far above me, and I just drift away. My thoughts usually drift into some place that makes me think about what it is that has brought me to this physical place, but I wonder if the stars had something to do with it. Some people say that the stars actually control our lives… I believe that to a degree, but not completely. We make our own decisions and I never looked up and asked a star to guide me in making the correct decision, lest one fall on my head. But that is neither here nor there… but everywhere. I’m here because someone or something so far back in time that it is but a mere memory etched in the forbidden reaches of the cosmos, made a decision… Very similar to the decision that my great grandparents made one lonely night, or my grandparents or my parents on their honeymoon. The fact is my life, the life I cherish and value, was the random effect caused by decisions made many years before I even came into the picture. I would never have existed had my Mother not have decided to go to a party one night where she met my father, it was random. God, The Stars, Fate, Karma, all of these are answers to the question, “what happened that brought me here?” But the reality is that the exact opposite was just as mathematically possible at the time. Who is to say that making the decision to use your debit card to pay for gas at the store will not change your life? Ok… So I had my card out to pay for gas… You following me? And then I decided I wanted a Tropicana Pure Premium OJ, The best in the world, so I put my card back in my wallet and I walk into the store. I get ready to pay when this nice looking young man with a nice big black handgun walks into the store; he demands that the clerk and I give him all our cash. The clerk decides to be a hero, the gun goes off…. And now I am a quadriplegic. I would still be able to walk had I just used my card, but that is over there somewhere… not sure where, but what does that have to do with anything. The stars, they are real, decisions we make, they are real… me I know I am real… I think. What is reality? I once read that everything is energy, the molecules that hold everything together is energy, the stars are energy, and I am energy… I’m not sure if I really like that thought, but it still fascinates me, if all we are is energy, than everything that exists only does so because we perceive the energy in certain manners. We touch the surface creating vibrations, we smell vibrations, we taste them, see light waves, and hear sound waves, so we can only perceive our surroundings by sensing the energy in separate ways… this is odd that means that in reality nothing is really solid unless we perceive it in some manner. So who is to say what the office looks like? Or what we really look like, we only see the simulations that our body has set up for us based on the input of several sensory organs that sense energy… nothing more… and the only reason we have those sensory organs to sense the nothingness is because our great-great-great grandparents made a decision one morning to get out of bed, that changed the world. So when people say don’t sweat the small stuff… Stop and think… is it really that small… and when you walk out of a room, stop and ask… does that room exist now that no one is there to perceive it? Or better yet stop and ask yourself if your maternal descendant that lived all the way back in 16 BC thought that when he met that beautiful young girl that it would cause this discussion to take place. Is that the big dipper? You know, the stars are beautiful?

(c) 2008 J. Grant Blakeney

Ancient Beach

Brandon is the county seat of Rankin County in Mississippi; it is located approximately 130 miles from the Mississippi Gulf Coast. However during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods this was not true, Mississippi was part of a warm shallow sea, and they speculate that the Jackson Volcano was actually an island much like Hawaii. However Brandon Park just off highway 80, located just behind the Brandon Library is one of the few places in Rankin County where the sandstone breaks the surface. If you look closely the ground is littered with cockle shells all millions of years old, most of them are broken, but you can occasionally find whole ones. It is truly a unique place, I have heard and seen fossil sand dollars, sharks teeth, crabs, and lobsters from the area around what may have been Jackson Island. I would have loved to have seen it!

I Can Still Recall...

Although it has been a long time, thoughts of you still flood my mind,
I still feel as I have committed a crime, but only because It is you I want to find.
I’m trapped in this maze I call life, hoping to catch a glimpse of you.
Suffering through the pain and strife, waiting for something new.
I can still recall what it was like, to have you near.
And now when I like awake, I know that I have nothing to fear.
Memories of us may fade as time goes on, but I will always have you in my heart.
And I know that now you are gone, but we are never truly apart.

The Mightiest

The sea is king, all life sprang from the sea… and it still keeps us in its wave of influence. Even the mightiest of trees can fall to the sea, man can build the largest most unsinkable ships… but if the sea wants it, she will take it.

This tree is either a remnant of Hurricane Katrina from one of the other barrier islands (as there are no trees on East Ship Island), or it washed the 11 miles from the mainland to Ship Island the old fashioned way.

The Ruby Gensolen

Oceans, Rivers, Lakes all attract me, I love the water… and I love being on the water. Ships and boats all hold a special place in my heart, there is something calming about being on the open water… granted I would want to do it in the lap of luxury and not Titanic style. Needless to say when I went to Ship Island, I was in heaven… I loved the boat ride, and I thought it was awesome when we stopped and passed the Ruby Gensolen (Read the name from a distance, not sure of the spelling.) on its way to ports unknown. One thing about Gulfport it is home to one of the most important Ports in the United States, and brings in ships from throughout the world.

Ship Island

Ship Island is one of my favorite places to visit in Mississippi; it has History, a calm beach… and a wavy beach not unlike those in Gulf Shores or the Florida Panhandle. I spent a good deal of today on the island, it gave me a chance to reflect, and relax… plus the boat ride out on the SS Captain Pete was fun. The waves and wind were strong from Hurricane Dolly several hundred miles away, but the weather was bright and sunny for us on the island, and over all it was a wonderful, beautiful trip.

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