Taxes

 Another day, another dollar..... minus taxes! That's the way I've  always heard it. It didn't mean much as a child. When your most expensive purchase is a few pieces of penny bubble gum, not only do you not THINK of taxes, you didn't pay any either! I can still feel the cool concrete floor of Mr. Ralph McDade's store on my bare feet, bringing instant relief from the hot pavement of Magnolia Avenue and Pennington Road. Ah, the good old days.
 Fast forward....I hardly ever go barefooted, and certainly never in a store of any kind, but I digress. Now not only do I pay taxes on bubble gum (no such thing as "penny" gum anymore), I get to watch those taxes get higher and higher...AND I get to watch them go to causes I don't support. That's not much different from stealing, in my book. I see perfectly healthy young men and women living on "the government cheese" every day. "I can't find no job," is what I hear them say. Really?? I'm almost 49 years old, I've ALWAYS had a job, and I currently have two! Take your sorry butt to work and pitch in, damn it! This little outburst sponsored by the IRS and State of GA because I just sent them both a large check....again, Damn it!
 But, welfare and food stamps and Medicare/Medicaid are not bad ideas in themselves.... they are just now simply overrun and very poorly governed. What's the answer?? I don't know. However, we pay a lot of people with our tax money to come up with answers to questions like these.... they work in D.C. and Atlanta. Are we getting our money's worth from these people as a group.... I think not. So we're being taxed to pay these lawmakers, who in turn are not fixing the problems we need fixed. Taxation without representation???/  Isn't there a law against that??  I know that's a stretch.... just venting a lttle bit.
 You know what, though? I bet a cool concrete floor, some penny bubble gum, and a hot Magnolia Avenue in the 70's would make me feel better...

Yesterday....Yesteryear

I saw a kid's picture on Facebook earlier and it took me back to when the Miller boys used to go fishing with their Daddy. Of course, we've all fished with Wiley many times since we've grown up, but it all seems different now. Back when we were kids, Dad would pile us up in the Jeep and off we would go. A quick stop at the Market Basket for bait, corks, Vienna sausages, soda crackers, RC colas and MoonPies and, of course, a healthy dose of fish tales, and we were back on the road.
 There were several places we would go... Jones' Pond, Mr. Jesse's Pond (where you could fish from his back porch), Mr. McDade's Pond, Black Lake, and of course, the Oconee River. My dad has a special relationship with the Oconee River... there is no place on earth he would rather be. He knows every curve, every snag, and every fishing hole between here and Dublin. He loves the river... he even built his home on the banks of the Oconee, not a stone's throw away from the very sandbar we played on as kids in the 70's.
 As boys, we learned how to fish and hunt from watching and listening to Dad. We never realized all the other stuff we were learning with every trip. Patience, perseverence, a love for the outdoors, and even how to get along with one another, were just some of the extra lessons we received while hangin' out with Wiley. I can never repay Dad for those lessons, nor for the many other things the Miller boys gleaned from their outstanding parents. I can only be eternally grateful and try to raise my kids to the best of my ability.
 I don't know how Bobbie Sue and Wiley did it.... there are days when I just place my head in my hands as a parent and wonder how I'm gonna get my two grown. I just hope I can be half the parent that either of my parents are. Thanks guys... for all you do even today... but especially for a great childhood.

Daddy's baby

Wow... my "little" girl is 16. My pretty little, curly-headed, three year old is 16. How in the world did that happen?! Yesterday, I was her world. Everywhere I went, there she was... holding my finger as we walked, asking questions as she looked up at me with that precious little smile. Her inquisitiveness was surpassed only by her boundless energy and vivid imagination.
 Today, she is still MY world, but I have dropped somewhat in her world ranking... I smile as I write this, because that's what we Daddy's do... we teach them to drive towards their dreams and goals, which, all the while, drives them away from us a little more each day. One day, hopefully(and sadly at the same time), I will be much further down the list, as she becomes the wonderful adult I know she can be. My dream is for her to be the very best at whatever it is she wants to be... and for her to live that dream where ever she wants to live it. Fighting back the tears as I write that one...the selfish Daddy wants his baby girl to be right here, all the time.... Walking beside me, holding my finger, and smiling at her very proud father as we walk into McDonald's to get her that Happy Meal she's been talking about since she woke up and ran to me from her toddler bed. Dry my eyes...
 I write this today, because this afternoon, she sets sail on a cruise to the Bahamas.... my little girl will be out of the country for the first time... and without her Daddy! I don't worry for her, because she is smart and surrounded by chaperones with the BHS Jazz band. I worry for me..... how much longer before my dream for her, which is for her to live her own dream, comes true? What does a Daddy do when his little girl is all grown up and capable of taking care of herself? Who do I dream for then? Oh Yes! Grandchildren! :)

Sacrifice

 The news is full these days with stories, horror stories, about law enforcement officers being killed in the line of duty. It is hard to read, hard to believe, and even harder to understand how someone would kill a man, or woman, who has sworn to protect people. I know you have heard or read the stories, but let's put a little more thought into it.
 These officers, hereafter referred to as Heroes, face uncertainty and danger EVERY day in an effort to keep us all safe. They usually have a family that worries over them when they leave and breathes a sigh of relief when they return. These Heroes risk it all because they know that someone HAS to risk it all. Long shifts, anxious moments, massive adrenaline dumps, abused children, fatal crashes, and yes, sometimes, kill or be killed. Did I mention that these Heroes do this job for ridiculously low pay? How much would you want to get paid for leaving your family, knowing that you may never return? How much money to help you wash away the things you've seen that no one should see?
 They told us in mandate school that if we were getting into police work to get rich, then we were barking up the wrong tree. They were right! Law enforcement officers do this job because it has to be done. They sacrifice family time, social gatherings, friendships ( not all of your friends want to hang out with a cop), sleep. and even their health, to make their community a safer place to live.
 Now we have people killing our Heroes...well over 50 already this year. Think of the damage... think of the sacrifice... think of the family and friends left behind. Now it is their turn to sacrifice... as if they haven't been sacrificing their cop all along. Moms and Dads that couldn't make the big game because they had to work the street... Christmases missed or postponed because "the job" came first. But now, they can only wish for the worry they once felt while waiting for their Hero to come home. Now, all they have is a flag, tri-folded in a glass box. Their Hero is never coming home... their Hero will never share another Christmas.... their Hero will never again hug them when he comes through the door. How's that for sacrifice?
 Pray for the families of the Heroes we have lost.... most recently, the Athens-Clarke County police officer's family this week. Pray for them.... and pat a cop on the back once in a while...we appreciate it!