Writers are important but so are readers. Readers and writers need each other. Writers provide their audiences with news, valuable information as well as entertainment.
I think that I have achieved a lot of personal goals in my lifetime. Some were easy goals and some were hard goals. But with determination and a little support from family I achieved the goals I set.
I first completed my goals of going back to school while raising my children. The boys were older but still in school. They often times did not get along or got in trouble when left on their own. With my sister’s help I managed to complete a computer programming course. I still couldn’t program but I graduated. Never got a job in computer programming and programming has completely changed now.
After I moved to Florida, I also went back to school for something different. I got an associate degree in accounting. Education is never lost even if you don’t go into the field you studied. Today everyone is expected to know how to use a computer. Accounting is used everyday as we manage our finances.
Beautiful Colonial Home Similar To Mine WhisperToMe
My biggest goal, perhaps not the hardest goal, has been buying my own house as a single woman. The hardest part of buying the house was getting through the mortgage process. Banks and government regulation can make things harder. I bought my house ten years ago and I love being a homeowner on my own. I don’t like renting although I have done that. When you rent the owner gets to keep all the equity in the house. Meanwhile, all you get is a stack of receipts. Owning my own house, the equity if I ever have to sale the house, the equity will allow me a good retirement. Owning a house is a smart investment.
So I have met several of the goals I set for myself over the years. Now my goal is to continue making improvements to my house. My final goal is to have something to pass on to my children. I guess I will never achieve my goal of becoming filthy rich.
Daily writing prompt
What was the hardest personal goal you’ve set for yourself?
First, I an not much of an art expert. Some art just really goes over my head and I wonder what some paintings are supposed to be. To be honest, I know of two artists for only one reason. Their work has been made into puzzles and I do enjoy their puzzles. Those artists are Charles Wysocki and Thomas Kinaide.
My favorite artists are ones who do realistic paintings. I like pictures of old times. Old buildings, bridges, farms etc. I like beach pictures and cabins in the woods in the fall.
George Losch is one of those that have captured scenes like I described. Not only that but George Losch was a local artist. Before his death, George Losch owned Heartland Galleries in Juniata County. He displayed his own art there and encouraged other artists. He has done many paintings of local bridges, railroad stations, covered bridges and farms. Two of his works I would like to have are “The Rockville Bridge,” or “Evening at the Station.” I don’t own any of his works yet but perhaps someday.
Charles Wysocki is another favorite for the reason that he also does realistic paintings of another era. His paintings depict life as we will never know it again. That’s why I enjoy doing his puzzles so much.
I also like Thomas Kinaide. His works are also usually a country time setting. His art shows cottages or other buildings and outdoor themes. They often times also show running water of some type. I believe, he has been referred to as the painter of light. I enjoy his puzzles also.
My last artist was a lady I took care of before her passing. When she was younger she did a lot of painting and had her artwork on her walls. She never pursued a career in art because she was a farmers wife and mother of several children. Her work was showcased in a few local fairs and she usually won the best of the show. No one will ever know her name but I admired her talent.
These are the artists I like. They paint outdoor buildings and scenery. I love cabins in the woods, old houses, barns, covered bridges and flowing water. These artists give me that sense of peace and a remembrance of times gone by.
I have so many hobbies I enjoy that it’s hard to choose.
I enjoy reading, writing, playing cards, quilting and puzzles. So which one do I choose as my favorite.
I spend more time reading than any of the others. So, I will say reading is my favorite pastime. When the weather is nice, not too hot or cold, I will be sitting on my porch with a good book and a cool glass of lemonade. When winter comes I will be sitting on my sofa all bundled up with a good book. Television programming is rather lousy these days. So thank goodness for authors and great books.
Some of my favorite authors include:
John Grishman
Mary Higgins Clark Never pass one of those up
Tami Hoag Just finished her latest one
Johanna Lindsey
Jude Deveraux
Nora Roberts
Sandra Brown
Linda Castillo
That’s just a short list. I keep adding other authors I like to the list.
Thank goodness for the library and it’s book sales. I can get as many books as I can fit into a bag for a small fee. They keep my shelves full so I always have a book handy.
I belong to a local book club in my area. We each buy one book and in two weeks we pass the book on to the next member. This is a very old book club. It was started before cars and libraries existed. The members of the first book club actually took out loans to buy a book. We have come a long ways from that first book club.
I picked reading as my favorite pastime but I enjoy all my hobbies. I am so glad to have hobbies so that I am never complaining about being bored.
Just about my whole life, I have felt out of place. I have never liked parties or groups of people I don’t know well.
I think over the last twenty years I have been feeling that more. It probably has to do with my hearing disability which has gotten worse over the years. It’s hard to be in a noisy group when you can only hear parts of the conversation. At most gatherings I am the one standing or sitting alone. I don’t care much for idle conversation. Now if there’s card games or board games to entertain me that makes a difference. Otherwise, I am usually the first out the door heading home.
I usually feel out of place in groups of people who are dressed well. I really have no fashion sense. This is everywhere I go with others. Weddings, funerals, dinners, whatever, I always feel like I have the wrong clothes on. I compare myself to how others are dressed and I generally feel inadequate.
I feel that I am getting better at social situations. Or maybe I am just finding more excuses not to be involved in those situations where I feel so out of place.
How quickly our world has become accustomed to using computers in our daily lives. They have changed communication, shopping, reading, games and so much else since computers early days.
Without my computer, it would be much harder to get information. I am constantly telling people, “just let me look it up on the computer”. A computer has become what a set of encyclopedia used to be a generation or so ago. We can even use our voices to ask questions and get an answers.
Using the computer has changed my shopping habits. I do a lot of my shopping online now. Now most brick and mortar stores also have an online store. At the moment I am waiting for my latest order from Amazon. I also buy pet food online. It’s delivered right to my porch without me having to go to the store then drag it home. Without the use of a computer, I would be spending more time shopping. I don’t do all my shopping online. It’s hard to find clothes that fit without going into a store. Groceries can now be ordered online and delivered. I prefer doing my own grocery shopping and picking out what I want myself.
I would be using a typewriter or even a pencil and paper if I didn’t have a computer to do my writing. I would be spending a lot of time sitting in a library doing research. Letters and cards would still have to be handwritten and mailed through the unreliable post office. Now with a computer, I can send an email and get a reply within minutes.
Using my computer, I communicate with people all over the world. Social media helps to keep us in touch with near and faraway friends and family. I get a lot of news and information from those social media sites.
With the use of my computer games, music and movies all entertain me. Not that I do much of those but they are a nice diversion at times. Computers can do so many things in our lives today.
So what would my world look like without a computer? Honestly, my world would look a lot like the simple life I grew up with. Reading would require trips to the library. Writing would be done on typewriters. Information would come from books and other sources. Letters would be handwritten and sent through snail mail. I would be getting together with friends and family more often. I would be using a house type of telephone instead of a smart phone. And I would still be lugging home big bags of pet food and cat litter from the store.
All my life I have been coming up with new skills I would like to learn. It’s a long list because I never have enough time to pursue learning new skills.
Woman During The Depression Time Quilting Dorothea Lange
List of skills I am interested in learning:
Writing
Pottery
Candle Making
Soap Making
Weaving
Quilting
Learning new languages
Organization
I am not the most organized person although I try to be. So top of the list of skills I would like to learn is how to be more organized. That could give me more time for writing and learning some of those new skills. Learning to clean my house in an organized manner would help. It would give me more time for all those other hobbies I would enjoy learning.
The Horseshoe Curve located near Altoona, Pennsylvania was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1967. The Horseshoe Curve draws thousands of visitors daily to view the engineering achievement of John Edgar Thomson. It’s history as well as it’s breath taking scenery, makes it a popular tourist attraction. It is especially beautiful in the fall. That’s when the mountains are showing off their trees with leaves of colorful red and gold.
In the mid 19th century, railroads were beginning to provide easy fast transportation. The railroads were becoming valuable to business and industry as a way to move people and products. Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Railroad were looking for a way to ship those products and supplies west. However, the Allegheny Mountains stood tall and was impassable for trains.
On February 15, 1854, the Horseshoe Curve opened for travel. It solved the problem of the Allegheny Mountains. It allowed passage from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh in both directions. This allowed passengers and goods faster transportation. From 1854, the Horseshoe Curve was a bustling, busy place. Freight and passengers could now travel quickly to the west or the east coast.
In fact, the HorseShoe Curve became a major, important railway system for supplying troops in World War II. it carried supplies, heavy equipment and troops to the east coast. From there, the supplies and troops were sent to Europe on ships. The Horseshoe Curve gained Hitler’s attention and he planned to sabotage several vital areas in the United States. Destroying this major transportation hub would help to cripple the flow of troops and supplies to Europe. The Horseshoe Curve was just one of Hitler’s targets.
Hitler gave orders to recruit young men who spoke English and were possibly familiar with areas of the United States. These young men were sent to a training camp near Berlin on an estate named Quentz Lake. They were taught various sabotage tactics, shooting, fighting, explosives and throwing hand grenades.
On Saturday, June 13. 1942 a submarine coasted underwater and landed just a hundred miles from New York. George John Dasch and three other men left the submarine on a beach with instructions on specific targets to sabotage. Horseshoe Curve was on the list of targets. The plan was to make it to New York where the Hell Gate Bridge was also a target. The list of targets also included the New York Water Supply and Newark Penn Station.
George John Dasch
Unfortunately, for Dasch they landed near a United States Coast Guard station. Although they were not apprehended at that time, the coast guard was suspicious and started a search of the beach. They quickly came across tracks that led them to where the Nazis had buried their supplies in the sand. Those supplies included explosives and other sabotage related materials. They promptly notified the FBI and other authorities.
Dasch and his three other saboteurs, Ernest Peter Burger, Heinrich Heinch and Richard Quirin all made it to New York. Dasch was having cold feet and so was Burger. There equipment had been found and was of no use to them now. Just two days after landing in the United States, Dasch made a phone call to the New York FBI. He then went to Washington, DC where he was arrested and questioned. Dasch agreed to work with the FBI and supplied them with information about the others he had come ashore with. He also supplied information about another group of Nazis who had landed in Florida. On June 20th, the other seven saboteurs were arrested through the information he provided.
Trail of the eight men accused of sabotage CREATOR: gd-jpeg v1.0 (using IJG JPEG v62), quality = 98
Military Trial
On July 2, 1942, President Roosevelt ordered a military tribunal. The court was to try all eight men who had planned sabotage against the United States. Attorney General Francis Biddle and Judge Advocate General Cramer presided over the trial. They were assisted by seven military officers.
August 3, 1942 all eight men were found guilty. Six were sentenced to death. Dasch and Berger were given life sentences due to their assistance with the FBI. The military insisted on using these six men as examples. They wanted to ensure that Hitler and his Germans would not be eager to try sabotage against the United States again.
August 8,1942 Six of the Nazi plotters were put to death in the electric chair. All were buried at Potters Field, Blue Plains, D.C. In 1948 George John Dasch and Ernest Peter Burger were released from prison and returned to Germany.
Thus the death of these six men ended Hitler’s plans of invading and blowing up critical manufacturing, transportation and water systems in the United States.
First and most important, I should be paying a lot more attention to my relationship with God. I am working on that but it’s so hard. It would be easier if I had a good church I belonged to. I am not criticizing any church, but I am not comfortable in many new churches. I tried one with a friend but I didn’t find peace there. The music was like going to a concert. I prefer the old hymns, pianos and organ music. And many churches are going that way with the modern Christian music. I simply don’t find peace or Christ in that music. I am glad that so many are going to these newer churches but it’s not for me.
The second area I need to be paying more attention to is my health. This includes eating better and exercising more. I love sweets and don’t care much for vegetables. I do eat a healthy amount of fruit. Being a single person, it’s hard to cook proper meals for just one person. I should also be spending more time either going to the gym or walking. Alternatively, I could follow a good exercise program at home.
Another area that needs attention in my life would be my family and friends. Lately I seem to be spending the majority of my time sitting at my computer. But writing is also a part of my life. To become a decent writer requires writing every day. It takes dedication to research and work on my writing projects.
If only I were a more organized person. I would have the ability to manage to pay more attention to my faith, health and writing.
Daily writing prompt
What details of your life could you pay more attention to?
Tomorrow morning my first priority will be to get up and use the bathroom. Same priority as every other morning. Sarcasm! Really isn’t that everyone’s first priority every day?
I have no plans or priorities for the day. It will be another ordinary day. I can do whatever I want the rest of the day. I will let it up to God how the rest of my day goes.
I will probably do the usual boring things I usually do. Cleaning my house, reading, writing and researching for my next writing project. My life is boring but I am alive and enjoying the boredom. I don’t need or want drama or excitement in my life.
Hard work does not make me feel fulfilled. It makes me feel tired and grumpy. It makes me hurt and that doesn’t feel good at all.
But the rewards that come with working hard make me feel happy and satisfied. The last fifteen years I have spent working long hours, but not working real hard. I enjoy the house that I was able to buy. I enjoyed the vacations I was able to afford. I enjoyed the projects and improvements to my house that I had money for.
So I guess that hard work made me feel happy. Now I am ready to enjoy sleeping late and working on crafts and hobbies. I will continue to work hard at writing. Writing does make me feel fulfilled.
Daily writing prompt
In what ways does hard work make you feel fulfilled?
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