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Are we under attack?

What I mean is, are we under attack and we do not even know it? The inspiration to write this blog just came from a movie I just saw, The 5th Wave.

About a week ago, I was having a conversation with somebody and we got on the topic of meditation and relationships. I brought up the question of how can a person feel love for somebody if they are in a numb emotional state? Meditation is a way of clearing your mind and bringing yourself to a more emotional calmness state. Yoga and meditation are very commonly practiced today and being promoted more than anytime if recent history.

The divorce rate today is at all time highs, at least that I know of. The following of religion is in decline at recent historical times....perhaps at its highest level dating back to the inception of it? Again, I do not know. But, it is at a major decline today. It seems as if the demise of loving relationships with each other and with God is the outcome.

Mass shootings litter the news and hate-type speech from presidential candidates are becoming the norm. Narcissism is becoming widely talked about. We are all becoming informed on what it means. The selfie might very well be the most important picture many people need to take. Superficial qualities dictate what sort of person you are. Take care of #1 is the belief of many. People talking behind other people's back to shoot them down is common practice. I am sure I am missing many more but just off of the top of my head, these are some that I thought of.

As I previously stated, I was talking to somebody about our capacity to love. The interesting thing about this movie I seen, that exact point was one of the main messages in it. The movie portrayed it as some sort of entity who was trying to take over our planet. Yes, that is Hollywood...but it is interesting how the message matches with the reality of our world.

Is our capacity to love under attack?

As a side note, I liked that recent blog that dabbled with the concept of sex and love...with the two being distinctly different.
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The Open Mind

One of my drive induced thoughts while listening to a song. There was a line, "you don't see what I see." It kinda hit home with me after talking with my brother about business strategy. He has a different perspective than I do. None of us is right nor wrong.

Let me give an example of how somebody or many people may not see exactly the same as the next person.

I want to use a baseball card as an example. Any baseball card will do, but I will be more specific and say a 1956 Topps Mickey Mantle card.

Person 1. may see it as just a Mickey Mantle card.
Person 2. may see it as a worthless piece of cardboard.
Person 3. may see it as a perfect gift for grampa.
Person 4. may see it as a great addition to his personal coll.
Person 5. may see it as a great future investment.
Person 6. may see it as a potential profit.
Person 7. may see it as a huge profit.
Person 8. may see it as something to start a fire with.
Person 9. may see it as garbage or junk. lol

The point here is, none of these 9 people are wrong but it shows how the same object can be perceived in different ways. Therefore, there are times we might be looking at the same thing, but it existence can be different depending on who is interpreting its being. It ties into the line, "you don't see what I see."

Okay....who gives a crap....right?laugh

Well, it might be important for us people who are looking to add somebody into our lives to know how that potential partner perceives the world. A person's perception has a correlation with who they become. The more open your mind is, the wider the scope of perception you have.

My 2 pennies....again, just some thought. :)

I have some stuff to do and should be on later on to makes some comments. Enjoy your weekend folks.
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Flint, Michigan

I live about 60 miles from this city. A few months ago I heard about the lead problem they had with their water. In 2014 they switched over from getting their water through Detroit, which came from the Great Lakes, to getting their water through the Flint River. Because the water was different from the new Flint River source, it needed to be treated. However, the city never treated it. What happen was this Flint River water began to erode the lead in the city infrastructure's pipes and in the pipes of homes who have not updated their pipes from lead, usually homes that were built in the 1960's and older.

About 4 to 6 months after the water source was switched, residents of Flint started to complain about the discolored water coming out of their faucets and the bad smell. There were doctors and other water professionals who had actual tests that showed the water contained high levels of lead in it. Some people's blood was tested showing that they had 3x the toxic level of blood in their system. This was all brought to the government's attention which lead to nothing being done about it. In fact, there were high level state government officials, in mid-2015, that held meetings telling the Flint residents to "calm down" there is nothing wrong with your water.

When hearing about this on my local radio station, it was a highly frustrating situation to hear. Who was going to be held responsible for this? Why did this go on for so long before anything is being done about it? How could this happen in the first place? How is this problem going to get fixed?

Now this is a national story....THANKFULLY! Essentially, the whole city of Flint's water supply is unusable. When questioning our Republican governor when he first heard about the lead problem, he says he cannot remember. Even to this day, the governor is still dragging his feet on correcting this problem. Many people have no source of clean water to drink.

con't in comments
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How well did you know?

I cannot help but wonder, what sort of person was I really with for 13 years? Not that I really care but if they are completely a different person, ...like I said, it makes me wonder.

I do not follow what my ex does. I only wish her the best in life. However, I do talk to her from time to time (primarily around special events like birthdays and holidays) and we are still friends. So I hear a little about her life that way. In addition, I am originally from a small town where everyone knows what color crap you did and at what time. laugh

When my ex and I were together, we raised her son, visited the families, and did vacations. I think that is what most normal families do. She seemed like a nice lady throughout those years.

She did come from a broken family where it seems that she was the least liked. Her only other sibling was a sister whom was spoiled. Not to get into too many details, my ex was kicked out of her home by her mother and step-father. But today, they have overcome those differences are now on a friends level.

Now to the part where I wonder what sort of person I was with. I remember her telling me that she could not understand why people would get tattoos and she would never get any. Well, today, she has tattoos. When we were together, if we drank once or twice a year, that was heavy drinking. Now she drinks every weekend. To top it off, she is now good friends with a biker gang and hangs out with them on a weekly basis.
I also heard from friends of mine that she has a restaining order out against her from the father of her second child.

Hmmm.....what???....who?? I never would have guessed she was that type of woman.

anyway...

I bring this up because I just heard another story that is similar to mine. I had a close friend who was a cop. He caught his wife texting several different men and that was the extent of the information he wanted to tell me. They ended up getting a divorce. I know a friend of his and we met up when I was on vacation. He told me that the cop's ex-wife is now dating an ex-prisoner. The ex-prisoner was recently caught stealing people's lunch boxes at work for their prescription pills. I guess people put their pills in their lunch boxes.

But anyway....I thought it was interesting. How well did you know the person you spent a lot of time with and found out different after you broke up?
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IT IS THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN...B-DAY TIME!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROBERT!....may your day be wonderful and full of all your wishes coming true.

Not only has Robert graced us with his witty humor and wonderful stories, but he has been a very close and honorable friend of mine and to so many here.

Now I would love to have a birthday today. You get to celebrate non-stop for days on end.

Dec 24th....Christmas eve

Dec 25th....Christmas

Dec 26th....Your Birtday

Dec 27th....The day you met your woman

Dec 28th....Your wedding anniversary

Dec 29th....Your first child's birthday

Dec 30th....Your second child's birtday

Dec 31th....New Year's eve

Jan 1st.....New Year's Day.


No wonder you look very young for your age Robert....life does not get any better for you. Now...you just need to stay with us here so you can make the 27th,28th,29th, and 30th become a reality. grin applause
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I wonder...

I do not like getting involved in the middle of politics because, in general, people will have opposing views. With our government becoming so divided between the right and the left, the idea of agreeing to disagree seems to be a thing of the past. With the divide so wide, one person cannot do a thing right because they are either a democrat or a republic...according to the opposing party supporter. I mean, who cares if their idea is good for the country...they are democrat (according to the Republican)....or they are a republican (according to the Democrat).

But, I got to doing some thinking. So, I am going to just share this thought here.

I was watching MSNBC (yes, known to be more on the democratic side of things) the other night. The Rachel Maddow show had an interesting segment about the latest Republican debate.

She started out by saying that some mysterious buyer bought the Nevada's largest newspaper, just days before the Republican debate, for a lot more than what it was worth. They bought it with cash and wanted to remain anonymous.

She went on by saying a very wealthy casino owner met with all of the Republican candidates just before the debate.

Then she said that the debate was held at this very wealthy casino owner's casino.

After that, they showed a video clip of the debate where a moderator asked Trump a question and started clapping when he give his answer.

Maddow then pointed out that was very strange how that moderator was clapping about Trump's answer.

Then Rachael mentioned it was reported that this elite rich casino owner was involved with buying the largest Nevada paper.

hmmmmm.

I am not the quickest thinking person out in the world because I had to take some time to put this all together and try to make sense of it. At least, make sense out of what I believe what MSNBC's Rachael Maddow was trying to say.
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IT IS SOMEBODY'S B-DAY TO-DAY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CH! She is another year older today and another year wiser. thumbs up thumbs up party party party balloons balloons balloons balloons danceline danceline danceline danceline dancing teddy cake party hat happy birthday

This is your special day CH.

laugh Crap....that is right. I am suppose to have a gift in a bag for you. rolling on the floor laughing Let me think about that one.

To a lady who has brought great fun to the blog and who has done so much for so many on here. You are a great women....with a crazy heart. head banger


HAPPY B-DAY!!
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perspective taking

Reflecting back a little, when I was much younger, I once did odd jobs around our small town to make a few extra bucks...cut grass, shovel snow, etc. I think I was around 10 years old...give or take. There was this one older man. Since our town was small, everyone knew everyone and this older man had a reputation of being crazy.

I didn't care. I would stop at his place to see if any work needed to be done. There were times where he had odd jobs for me. Helping him with roofing, cutting grass, and helping out in his garden. Now don't get me wrong. When I was younger, there were some pretty unusual words that came from his mouth and he seemed to have an anger problem. He lived an isolated life.

I remember hearing countless times how he would say the world was against him. There were only a very small handful of people who would visit with him, mostly family. However, his family was not the most upstanding characters of society. From what I know of them, they disrespected him and stole from him.

When I was younger, I always thought, how could he say the world was against him? The world is huge with many people in it. How can that many people be against him? At that age, I just thought that maybe everyone is right, maybe he is crazy.

Today, after talking with somebody who lives a fairly isolated life himself, a lot of what he was talking about, I have never really heard too many people talking about in day to day life. He actually had me sort of stumped as to what to think.

But just pondering I started to think. In reference to the older guy I did work for when I was younger, well, if he lives an isolated lifestyle, he only knows a small handful of people who disrespected him. So, his world only consists of this small population. Maybe he wasn't so crazy after all.

confused dunno

Just a thought I recently had.

Also....I think as we all become more and more depended on our technology, we will all become more and more isolated from real life interactions. Who knows where that will lead us.
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Should I sue?

I do not buy a whole lot of cold cereal. But, I know I remember one time or another where I bought a box and poured that healthy stuff in my bowl waiting for those little dried fruit pieces to soften. mmmmmmm

I just bought a box of cold cereal. On the cover, it showed blueberries in there....strawberries. Yeah....this is what I want. I just poured myself a bowl....the dirty rats screwed me. There is no fruit in there.

Now I know why I need a woman....preferably a woman lawyer....preferably a woman lawyer named Sue. rolling on the floor laughing

A woman would not have fallen for that fake bait...she would have known there was no fruit in that box. laugh Right?
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An interesting experience

Just getting back from the club. I wasn't going to go after doing my walk but very glad I did. I learned something interesting and thought it was worth sharing here...given all this talk about "refugees."

A black friend of mine approached me today. I can call him black because I asked him what he preferred. He said he would take offense being called African American. He explains to me that absolutely none of of family, going all the way back to his grand parents, have no association with Africa. He also went on to explain how he was terrified of the police. The way he explained it to me was like this. He says to me, you know how if you are walking around the city and you enter a neighborhood where you get this feeling that eyes are looking at you and you get the notion to leave it as soon as you can. He tells me, that is how he feels everywhere.

He mentioned to me that he tells his black friends that you need to start talking more with people. The insinuation was...he was telling his black friends that not all white people are bad. But, he says it is difficult though. Because, you don't know who is racist and who is not. He explains that he has been "conditioned" to believe that most white people are bad. He also brought up slavery. He realizes that it happened a long time ago. But, the impression I got from him bringing it up in the first place is that deep down inside it bothers him. All I could do is apologize. I couldn't imagine living a life like that...constantly feeling that people are looking down on you. Or, feeling that some white person or cop is going to do harm to you just for no reason. I later on addressed him and I as "us." Us, as in one people....both human. He was so elated by that statement.

Now, I bring this up also in reference to the Syrian immigrants. In Europe, there are third generation Muslim immigrants who are still not legal citizens of the country they are in. There are minimal to no Muslims in higher government positions. On the radio, they were having a discussion (BBC)...which is from Europe. They were saying how Muslims are so discriminated against, that some may feel jealous about other accepted citizens going out and enjoying life at bars and concerts. That is what one of the guest on the radio interview stated.

The funny thing. Before I was done talking to my black friend. Another guy, whom I never seen before in my life, came up to me with lit up face showing a huge smile. I am not sure if he overheard our conversation or not, but him and I talked for at least 10 minutes. He was treating me like I was a somebody famous. dunno He said next May I graduate from MSU and can either go to California in the wine industry or go to Chicago for a consultant. Next, he asked me to guess his ethnicity...I told him what I thought. I said, I thought he was Asian at first and then later thought he was Mexican. He told me he was 100% Native American. He asked me where he should go. Well, he was wearing a Chicago Black Hawks hat...so I said, you should go there. He tells me, I have to listen to my elders and thanked me for my insight.

Bottom line....maybe we should put aside...black, white, Asian, African, Native American, etc......and start respecting people as "people".....as "equals" to everyone else.

Somebody recently asked me..."should we let the refugees in?" I am changing my response somewhat...I said let them in after they are checked out.....but now I say....yes, let those "people" in.
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Man-ism

Hello Men. I want to start out by saying....don't look down on yourself as a person. You are a great person. Unless you physically beat women. Any man who has to resort to physically harm a woman, needs to get help. Any woman who is with a man of this sort, needs to call the police ASAP. No exceptions! She needs to get away from him.

I can only recall one thing about George W. Bush that I liked. laugh (Yeah...he was not my favorite). But, even though he could not get it out of his mouth correctly...when he said: FOOL ME ONCE, SHAME ON YOU. FOOL ME TWICE, SHAME ON ME. I think those are some pretty logical words to live by.

I love all people. I know not ALL women are like this. I am only sharing some stories that I have personally experienced in life, I personally witnessed in life, and that I have personally heard in life. For the men reading this, you make up your mind on what you read and if anything pertains to your personal life. BTW....just because I love all people, that does not mean I do not have any people that I would rather keep my distance with.

As usual, on my walk and on my drive home, my mind was constantly running...especially about this whole female movement we face today as men. I thought of a lot of similarities that I found common with many relationships I know about.

Here are some:

Firstly, I already mentioned the barber story. But, I would like to repeat it. I consider myself a fairly logical thinking person who likes to make decisions based on somewhat realistic/reality-type events. My barber lady told me that her lady friend was seeing this guy while she was married. Both the barber lady and her friend thought....since her husband travels for work, he is probably cheating. So, it is okay for her friend to cheat. confused

In a long-term relationship, it was told to the man, you are a control freak. Toward the end of the relationship, the woman wants to go out to the bars with her sister. The man thinking he is a control freak, does not agree with that move but lets her go. She waits out in the driveway a couple of minutes before she drives off for the night and not comes home until the next afternoon. Two years after they broke up, the woman tells the guy, "You know, when I waited in the drive way that night, I was waiting for you to come out and stop me." confused

Another story from the same couple. I cheated on you....for you. confused It took me awhile to figure out the logic behind that statement, but she was right. grin

A couple of friends of mine...both are with a woman. The women WERE friends. One of them was a hairstylist and the other one just got a job at a salon. The lady who got a job at the salon had to get her hair cut there to display what sort of work the salon can do. Her hairstylist friend got pissed off. Not only do the women not talk to each other...but the men are not allowed to talk to each other. confused

Another man I know...he used to be a disco dj in Detroit. I am talking in the past couple of years. Obviously, you have to be somewhat outgoing to be a dj. Now, after he got divorced, he walks around with his head down, just goes out to walk his dog, and hardly says two words.

Another man I know...he is currently with a very attractive girl. All I hear from them is her constantly critizing him. When ever I see him around....I have yet to hear him say one word. To get a woman of that quality, I am guessing he had to be a pretty good talker....now? confused

You know the old saying, "happy wife...happy life" Really? What about happy wife and happy husband?

Happy wife...happy life, I get it. You keep her happy she will give you some. Hmmm. I question that with the way things are going in this day and age. But, maybe. confused
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"DTA Frank, DTA"

That line from Sylvester Stalone's Lockup movie. It stands for, don't trust anyone. I just got back from seeing a movie and Vin Diesel lives over 800 years. Through all that time of living, he remains a single man. Near the end of the movie, he states that he has never met anyone who he could trust.

Which leads me to the subject of this blog. Does 100% trust exists? Or, does trust exist enough for us to confide in another person worry-free?

Perhaps this is why so many of us are single? Perhaps this is why the divorce rate is so high? Perhaps this is why some of us feel we will never meet another?

I believe "everyone" has a price. It may not be a monetary figure that steers us off of the straight narrow, but it may be something else. I also think, each and everyone of of us knows this and is afraid to admit it. I could be wrong here...wouldn't be the first time. But deep down inside...we believe it.

Now, of course, people do have to trust others. After all, there is only so much one person can do on their own. I have to trust that the gas station burger I am eating is not going to get me sick. Or, I have to trust that the person I am giving money to at the bank window is going to deposit my cash. I have to trust that the oncoming car is going to stay on their side of the road. Of course we have to trust. If we are to advance ourselves within society and in life, we need to trust.

However, I find trusting somebody with my heart the most difficult. Having it ripped from my body once in life was the most painful thing I have experienced. Needless to say, I have had my femur bone shattered....and I would gladly experience that again over having the person I truly loved walk on me.

The funny thing....it seems as if she still loves me. I know when we broke up, that was one of the few times I have ever seen her cry. She said she made a mistake. Yes, she did. But, a mistake that cut me too deep.

Which leads me to my second question, can we even trust ourselves?

and a third question for giggles...

Are we expecting too much from another person to trust them?

I believe I will see a lot of responses where we claim to be trustworthy individuals....but, I would ask to really think deep down and hard about yourself....and maybe some time in the past that you regretted doing something you did.

Anyway...cheers. :)
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