Where Do I Start?

I have had an abundance of thoughts running through my head for so long, now that I have a platform to express them, I don't know where to start. Right now, I am putting together a list of upcoming topics I will be sharing, some will be brief while others will be more in-depth.



First let me say that I am male. I would say that I am middle aged if I live to be 100 (if I only make it to 80, I'm on the down slope), have been married for 21 years and have two beautiful daughters. I also have three older sisters, whom I have always thought are just gorgeous. My wife is the most wonderful and giving person I have ever met and God has cursed her with me (poor thing). My parents are still alive and have been married for 54 years. As you can surmise, I am living a typical American life; or what used to be considered typical.



I don't know if the word "typical" can be applied to anyone's life any more. With the divorce rate escalating, couples choosing not to get married but having children any way, single people adopting children to "complete" themselves, and, my favorite, homosexuals and lesbians adopting other peoples' children or having children of their own from a heterosexual marriage/relationship before they "discovered" they are "gay". What is typical, I've lost sight of that one.



I come from a different time and sometimes feel like a throw-back. When I was a child, seeing people with holes in their jeans meant that they were poor. Now, having holes in your jeans means you're rich; I don't get it. I grew watching reruns of "Father Knows Best" (hence the pseudonym Bud Anderson), and "Leave it to Beaver." In those days parents set a positive example for their children and they in turn received respected from their children, or at least they received obedience. Kids dealt with issues like making friends and being satisfied with the blessings life had given them. Now they commit suicide because of teasing or because they aren't in the "In Crowd." They now deal with teen pregnancy, drugs, school shootings, & sexual identification to name a few.



I don't have all the answers and I don't profess to, but I do know that I have an innate ability to see through the fog. For example, I've noticed that in online news articles (I don't read newspapers) they say things like, "We always knew that Tom was homosexual by the way he carried himself," instead of saying, "We always knew that Tom was a homosexual by the way he carried himself." The distinction here is very subtle so let me use another example to make it more clear; " We always knew that Tom was black by the way he carried himself." As opposed to, "We always knew that Tom was a black by the way he carried himself." See it now? Saying "he is A homosexual" implies that he is defined by his actions (he is A race car driver, he is A doctor, he is A TV anchorman). By saying, "he IS homosexual" implies it is WHO he is and not WHAT he does. They are making the case that his homosexuality is an inherent characteristic of his make-up.

So, there you have it. This is just the beginning but I plan to stand on this soap box for quite a while.

The Bandit Has Spoken