Reflections of a Freaking Genius

'Tis the season...already.  I can accept the Christmas music, the advertising, the decorations and the rest of the Christmas stuff now that Thanksgiving has past, and we have entered the month of December.  I've already been to my first Christmas party of the season, helped my son and daughter-in-law decorate the roof lines of their house, helped unload a Christmas tree and bought a couple of presents.  For those of you who know me well...to have already purchased two gifts at this point is no less than a new land speed record! It's also time for the holiday/Christmas wars.  Sheesh!  Those Ebenezer Grinch types out there who have a problem with the word Christmas has everyone on the planet changing their parties to 'holiday parties'...trees to 'holiday trees' (are you freakin' kidding me??), Christmas season to the 'holiday season'...wow!  What's next?  Renaming the newborn messiah "Jesus Holiday"?  The relocation of nativity scen

Mornings suck.  They always start out about the same for me.  My iPhone in the iHome dock starts plays whatever music I've selected the night before from my iTunes that will not irritate me to the point of iThrowing my iPhone across the room.  Yep, it's just about that bad.  It helps me wake up happy.  Well...happier anyway.  Those alarm clocks that sound like a blaring alarm on a nuclear reactor that is about ready to melt down don't work too well for me.  I'm sure I've destroyed a few alarm clocks over that riduculousness.  FYI: Don't hit the bar on your iHome...it's not a snooze button.  You'll snooze alright.  You'll snooze right past the time you ought to be leaving for work Rolling out of bed, I'm bleary eyed, stumbling to the kitchen to hit the start button on the coffee grinder.  I waddle over to the pantry and get my coffee filter and fit it neatly into the basket on the coffee maker, then pour the proper amount of water in.  I wip

Kind of has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?  Freakin' Grandgenius...mmm hmmm.  I seriously doubt that I'm going to get any of my sons to agree to that name.  My boys all have their own unique and endearing names for me now, most of which aren't repeatable or flattering.  No...I'm not going to be a grandpa.  Yet.  My oldest son and his wife are working on adopting their first.  They've been through a very long a gruelling process so far.  I think it's easier to gain US citizenship than to adopt a kid.  Oh yeah...we don't require citizenship in the US any more.  Guess I'll have to come up with a different analogy!  Regardless, it has been quite the journey for them to date.  Applications, forms, background checks,  health screenings, background checks on parents...sheesh...I seriously almost screwed it up for them.  Seems as if there were some issues with my background check.  Some of you probably aren't shocked...but before you start thinking

Every good novel begins with a gripping sentence in chapter one, line one..."It was a dark and stormy night...".   Kids, don't try that at home, it's typically frowned upon in composition classes as being as overused and droll.  The point being, there is something interesting to draw the reader into the rest of the story. When my kids started making their entrance into the world, I started becoming more curious about my own beginning.  It may sound strange to for me to say that, but you see, I was adopted at birth.  There are so many thoughts and emotions that surround having been adopted. Most folks who were raised by their biological families don't really understand those issues...understandably, they don't make sense.  After all, my parents CHOSE me, and you had to take what you got, right?  Those thoughts and feelings, though well meaning, don't really help salve the heart of the adoptee.  What goes hand-in-hand with being 'chosen' by a coupl

It's the end of the Thanksgiving weekend.  My overstuffed body is on my overstuffed couch.  Seems like the perfect combination.  I probably should be taking my overstuffed body to the understuffed gym instead.  No....tomorrow is probably going to be a much better day for the gym anyway.  Our country did a good job yet again making Black Friday even darker.  Maybe a new book?  "50 Shades of Black"?  There was a disagreement over a 'primo' parking spot at a Walmart.  Two people were shot...yep, over a parking spot.  Sheesh.  In a Victoria's Secret in Northern California, a fist fight broke out between two women and then the dudes started duking it out over....women's underwear.  Although it's still ridiculous, it's easier to understand the females getting into a fight over the last couple of on sale skivvies...I don't know what to say about the guys.  Were they upset because THEY wanted the black lacy thongs?  Was it the only pair left in t

It's upon us.  That OTHER most wonderful time of the year.  We'll not talk about that other holiday just yet...Target stores has that covered for me...sheesh...one holiday at a time, people!  I feel like I'm a little behind the eight ball with this guide because I've already had two Thanksgiving meals.  My oldest son and his wife has already had 3.  And we're not finished yet.  I'm sitting here in my sleep clothes, laying on the couch with my laptop on my lap (clever name for a computer), barely able to see over my dinner filled belly so that I might see the characters flowing so fluidly out of my fingertips onto the screen.  Getting past the mountainous obstacle of my midsection is only the first challenge.  The next one is my slowly-going-blind eyes that almost can't distinguish one letter from another.  Any typos I'll blame on autoconnect...autoneglect...dang it, on Karen (you're welcome, Karen!).  That was for you, Juli. I've always wa

It's that time of year again.  The time when friends and family gather together and ideally reflect on all of the things that we have to be thankful for in our great nation.  Although President Lincoln was credited with establishing the third Thursday of the month as a national day of thanksgiving, it was President George Washington who proclaimed the first national day of Thanksgiving on November 26, 1789.  His words reflect the intention of such a day: [T]hen unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (es

I read a story that seemed appropriate for my thoughts today: A young man named Jon received a parrot as a gift. Unfortunately, the parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary. Every word out of the bird's mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity. Jon tried and tried to change the bird's attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music, reading scripture to the bird, and anything else he could think of to "clean up" the bird's vocabulary, but it continued to spew profanities at a remarkable rate. Finally Jon was fed up. He yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back. Jon shook the parrot and the parrot got even angrier and more rude. In desperation, Jon finally grabbed the bird and shut him in the freezer. For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed. Then, suddenly there was total quiet, not a peep was heard. Fearing he had killed the foul-mouthed bird, Jon quickly opened the

So I like to brush my teeth, shower, wear cologne, use deodorant, keep my hair cut and styled, trim excess hair from nose, ears, face and brows daily.  As I grow older, some of those things are a much larger chore than they used to be. So what?  Does that make me metro??  My boys seem to think so. So I don't mind shopping, and I've helped women pick out shoes and outfits (and done a great job doing so, if I do say so myself).  I like nice clothes and shoes, and want things to match.  So I may have more shoes than the typical guy does...so what?  I love to cook too...lots of guys like to cook, right??  Does that make me metro?  I don't think so! I was raised on a farm, as I've said before.  Not just a farm, a hog farm.  Yep, that's right, pigs.  Lots of pigs.  Around 1,000 pigs at a time.  Do you know what goes with the pig territory?  Lots of feed.  We ground our own feed for our persnickety and spoiled pigs.  At times it seemed like they got more attention than

It was a year ago this month when I began the blogging journey.  I suppose I'm no worse for the wear.  I've enjoyed a venue to express the many creepy, insane, thoughtful, spiritual, angst creating thoughts that roll around in this oft confusing brain I own.  Try as I might to destroy them throughout my life, the synapses still fire like the cylinders of a well tuned Model T engine.  Every now and again, there is a nugget there that is worth exploring upon which to expound.  Thanks to those who have been faithful readers of the insane reflections of a freaking genius! I've learned a few things over the course of the last year.  I've learned that some of my frustrations really look petty when I barf them out on the word processor.  I suppose the more passionate you feel about something, with emotion injected into the topic, the more opportunity one has to look totally ridiculous!  On the other hand, some of the things I thought I was passionate about, I was more

I'm about as green as Marvin the Martian.  If you came here looking for a treatise on global warming, you'd probably be happier on Al Gore's blog site.  Does that mean I don't care about the planet?  Of course it doesn't!  I care deeply...I do have to occupy this place for a few more years, hopefully, and I'd like that existence to be somewhat enjoyable.  I do think that God gave us this mud ball to inhabit and to manage it well, utilizing the resources available to us.  I also believe that we should take care of it, keep it clean, and not abuse that with which we've been entrusted.  This has nothing to do with cow farts and invisible holes in invisible ozone layers.  It has nothing to do with carbon emissions and coal plants.  I love my gas guzzling Mustang! That being said, I do hate cold weather.  I realize that hate is a very strong word.  I MEANT to use a very strong word.  If I could think of a stronger word, I would have used it!  I hate it!  I wrot

One of my favorite shows on TV has always been Seinfeld.  What a great cast was put together for this amazing series.  Jerry was frustrated with his dentist in one episode...Kramer comes back with the memorable line: "Jerry, you're an anti-dentite...a raging anti-dentite!"  There are racists, homophobes (which I think is a stupid label in and of itself), anti-Semites...  Hi, I'm Mark, I'm an anti-stupidite.  I have an aversion to stupidity. Perhaps it's more of an indictment on myself...a reflection of the things that irritate me about me...I'm certain there is something to this theory about my anti-stupidite condition.  Being a Freaking Genius is not a full time job...I do, in fact, in my spare time, dabble in stupidity.  I've become quite good at it too.  Some of the lowlights of my life have been as a result of my best work in that trade.  I just spent the last hour trying to get to work.  Why, you ask?  Well, I'm glad you asked, because I r

Wow!  It's hard to believe that today marks 52 years on this mud ball spinning in the universe!  I'm actually amazed I've made it this far.  Those of you who knew me in my early years are probably as amazed as I am!  Those of you who have come to know me since are probably equally surprised.  I've continued to test the limits of my mortality it seems.  So far, so good! I look back over my life thus far, and I'd have to say that overall, it's been a very good life.  Sure, it's had some amazingly difficult challenges, but I see those as part of making me who I am today.  Good is meaningless without bad.  Being adopted at birth creates a unique set of challenges that one is really not aware of until life continues to unfold.  I've begun to appreciate that part of my life more as time goes on.  It's not that I had any real problems with the fact that I was adopted, but there are issues that are uncovered by time.  I'm grateful for my parents who ra

Samuel Rowbotham sounds like he was a very interesting guy.  Maybe not someone you'd want to go out with and have fun, but someone who would make you think.  He's not speaking much now, nor is he being invited to many parties.  He died in 1884. You seriously don't know Sam?  He's the founder of the 'Flat Earth Society'.  That's right.  He believed that the earth is flat and that the north pole is at the center of this frisbee we call earth.  The stars, he believed were only a few hundred miles above this disk. The amazing thing is that the society exists to this day!  It has a few thousand members, with forums for discussing the um....flatness of the earth, and other related topics like "The Risks of a 'around the world flight or cruise'".  I'm sure the discussions are quite interesting. My reason for bringing Flat Sammy into this conversation is because he really illustrates so well the truth of the statement, "Perception is

I know that I am way past due hammering out a post.  It's been a while.  Sometimes even a freaking genius must take adequate time to reflect before he has any hope of posting reflections with any sort of value.  Life gets crazy sometimes.  One of my best friends told me once, "Crazy is normal, normal is crazy".  The longer I live my life, the more that statement rings true.  I just seem to be a little more "normal" than others! I used to long for a 'normal' or 'average' life.  We always seem to have something in our mind which we hold up as THE standard of normal or average.  Maybe we've idealized the life of a celebrity, or an athlete, an extended family member, a friend....how crazy!  The time I spent being a church leader taught me among other things: every single person on this planet is jacked up.  I'm sorry for using technical psychological jargon with you, but it had to be done.  Statements that are bold and blunt are what we n

I’ve been threatening the launch of the school for quite some time.   Probably because of my history.   Growing up on a Kansas farm typically means you learn at a young age how to drive something.   I don’t remember what it was I began driving first.   It could have been the go kart my Dad built for us, or the minibike he built for us (Dad was really good at building things).   It could have been one of the tractors that we worked the fields with.   Whatever it was, what began on the long gravel driveways soon went on the road.    I remember learning to drive Dad’s 66 GMC pickup around the farm.   It had no power steering, no power brakes, and a “3 on the column” transmission.   Most people under about 35 probably don’t even have a clue what that is.   Grandpa had a farm on West Street in Wichita, and as he grew older and wasn’t able to continue to work the ground, we would drive one of our tractors up from Clearwater to do it for him.   Those of you who are old enough and