The Best Of The First Year / The Best Of The First 100: Posts 51-99

51. These are the small businesses, the hard workers, which we need to support and keep around. And as we approach Independence Day, I don’t feel like I’m exaggerating when I say that this is the key concept to the American Way of Life…or what I learned that to be:  if you worked hard and treated people with respect, your life would be successful. Somewhere along the way, the message has been lost in all of the rhetoric and politics and greed and politically correctness and other big words, but good ol’ America still exists if you look for it, and when you find it – it needs to be preserved.
52. ...and I was intrigued enough to take a side trip from my side trip.
53. The very nature of being in a rut is deep, complicated, and sometimes paralyzing. Ruts aren’t run-of-the-mill events, blips on the radar, or minor occurrences; they can take over and have a life of their own, gaining control and grinding life to a screeching halt, and it can be a very lonely place to be.
54. But really, it’s too hot to write anything original. Or long.
55. ...sometimes you should appreciate the brightness of where you are right now......not the darkness that is behind you... ...nor the darkness that may lie ahead......but celebrate today, for today, for there will never be another right here, right now......today.
56. …I feel that reflection and review are important. The old adage of “you can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been” is one I particularly believe in. As we all go through life, day in and day out, things happen and plans change and roadblocks pop up and detours are made. Without taking the time to stop and review steps, and determining where you are, and where you want to end up, it’s easy to get lost and start to panic and end up roaming in circles, seemingly more and more out of control. Sometimes a checkpoint is needed to be able to stop, rest, reset, and restart.  
57. …we all owe it to each other to collectively try to get through all of the things life throws at us, all of the hurdles and roadblocks and massive boulders that keep us from where we want to be and who we’d like to be. And we can’t do that if we’re bringing misery along as our co-pilot.
58. Why can’t we…be honest with each other? …be honest with ourselves?
59. “Many a time, I’ll look over, and he’s sitting as his desk, muttering to himself and just shaking his head over and over and over again. It makes me dizzy, and I spend all day swimming in circles, ya know what I’m sayin’?” – my betta fish
60. For whatever psychological reason, I abhor hype. I have an instant negative reaction to hype. I instinctively avoid anything that is hyped; the top movies, TV shows, and other entertainment events, as soon as they’re dubbed the “next big thing”, I instantly decide to not be involved.
61. ...take what you hear, apply some thought, some common sense, filter out the extreme, and chances are everything will be OK.
62. As humans, we are single whole individuals, made up of a collection of experiences and influences, and in my opinion, life is understood by taking the whole of us, breaking it down to that detailed list of events, and then placing those back together to explain each of us. Even the human race, our society, our community, can be viewed as a whole that exists as a collection of many different and unique individuals, whom for some reason have connected in a specific way to form that community.
63. …the general theme of all of these [Labor] movements consists of a large group of disenfranchised people who made individual short-term sacrifices in an attempt to become organized in numbers and in power, to be able to force change.
64. “We consider The Rooster to be very unstable and we advise all citizens that if they do see the Rooster, to not take the law into their own hands. Sightings or other information can be reported through our 9-1-1-1 call center. We want to ensure that the Rooster doesn’t go off half-cocked and turn this into a bigger tragedy than it already is.” – Sgt Beaver
65. “That was their biggest mistake”, the Rat says with a small smile on his face.  “Whoever was responsible for this forgot that we Rats can chew our way through many materials. A rope was easy!” – The Rat
66. “This is, I say, this is a clear case of bird discrimination and if it weren’t for The Rooster organizing this, well, I say, who’s gonna wake up the farmers in the morning? A chicken hawk? Ha!” – Foghorn Leghorn
67. Reach out and thank those who are kind, who may need strength, or a little bit of taken-care-of. Be honest and open. Don’t let a good deed go unpunished. Life is short…don’t wait until it’s too late. 
68. Inherently in a conversation there are questions being answered, whether directly asked or subconscious to the conversation. So...let's keep discussing our lists, our debating, and learning. 
69. It’s very rare to feel a sense of togetherness while feeling alone at the same time…there’s something surreally comforting about it.  
70. Independence as a general concept is something that I think we take for granted at times…freedom. The freedom to do. The freedom to be. The freedom to live and learn and explore. Or even the freedom to be stuck within my four walls…and long as it’s not truly stuck.  
71. The Journey, The Travels, The Road Trip: For all your cliché-weaving needs.
72. And that’s the thing I don’t like about should, could, and would, especially when in past tense. They tend to trap us in the past. I think in a lot of cases, too much time is spent in the worlds of the words should, could, and would.
73. 11 hours of peace and bliss and relaxation and inspiration...couldn't ask for anything more!
74. “Allow your life's metronome to keep your steps in rhythm, but let your inner ear guide the creativity that takes you off the page...” – Keisha Mennefee
75. Our purpose in life is our individual passions; they serve a purpose and we each are just one piece of a giant puzzle, uniquely shaped to fit in a single distinct place. The more we try to bend ourselves, the more out of place we are. And like a puzzle, some pieces fit in early, others fit in later, but all of them fit in at some point. 
76. If there is one protest we all need to fight for; if there is one battle we need to march to, if there is one war that needs to be won – we need to fight for ourselves. 
77. We need to slow down…before we break down, fall down, crash down. Before we check out, burn out, zone out, or act out. Too much is happening too fast and we owe it to ourselves, our loved ones, and those around us to take a break and take care of ourselves periodically. We weren’t meant to be this way...
78. I’m not asking anyone to change their opinion[s]. All I’m asking is that we stop and think before we jump to conclusions. If the people who are accused of wrong doing are found to be guilty of said wrong doing, then if it makes you feel better to unleash all sorts of hatred and persecution, go right ahead. But when we jump to conclusions and call from someone’s head, and then we find out that in fact, it wasn’t what we thought, then it’s too late to undo the harm our premature persecution caused. 
79. There is a lot out there to deal with, but if we keep walking forward, and we keep moving, anything is possible, as long as we live.
80. I've always found Penn's Landing to be a combination of many things - separated from the hustle and bustle of the city, but still part of it; a place of concerts and festivals and excitement; tranquil water but industrial as well.
81. [To The Occupiers]:  I wish you luck. Get organized and head to DC. Fight for democracy. Control your message. Specify your message. Be careful and deliberate. Be PR savvy. Be patient and persistent. You’re our best hope. 
82. Time, as exact and specific and consistent as it is, is really a fluid concept. Time…is what you make of it. There is no single answer…it’s all in the perspective. Our perspective. The perspective we choose. So, as consistent as time is, we control it. We control how fast it seems, or how slow it feels. We control how much of time we look at, or how little of time we let go past. And yet, we can’t control the past and we can’t control the future. What’s done is done, what may be is not yet. 
83. …I urge everyone to take a minute from the material gift shopping, find the people in your lives who mean something to you, whether they’ve helped out in some way; look out for you, been there for you, whatever; and tell them how much they’re appreciated, as often as possible. It will mean the world to them. 
84. Be careful of how, and where, and with whom you spend your time. Prevent yourself from getting into a situation you know you shouldn’t, even if it’s hard to prevent. Or, confront a situation which turns into a bad or damaging use of your time.  
85. No one knows what is at the top, and everyone has a different idea of what the ultimate search is for. For 5 billion plus people, that uncertainty is directly or indirectly the driving force behind the climb.
86. What do all of those [holidays] have in common? They are all celebrations of life, of love, of freedom, of happiness, of fun, of thanks. And though it is good to have these annual reminders, shouldn't these be celebrated as often as possible? Every day? 
87. 0 = regrets. 0 = things I would change
88. (moment of silence for all those who have passed away)
89. Even the toughest court case can be solved in less than a half-hour. With commercials.
90. "Good morning Wind...yes, I know you're here again, stinging my face. Yes, I know you won last week, even though I covered all of my face except my eyes, you still made them tear up, and made my nose run. So go ahead, blast my face with your little ice shards. See if I care."
91. Has anyone ever seen an actual milestone? I think I know where one is; I should find it and take a pic. That will be a milestone worth achieving - finding a milestone.  
92. “Now the first thing that we must do is to develop within ourselves a deep sense of somebodiness. Don’t let anybody make you feel that you are nobody. Because the minute one feels that way, he is incapable of rising to his full maturity as a person.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
93.  I know there will still, and always, be times and weeks where I slip up, knowingly or unknowingly. But life isn’t about perfection, and it’s not about being rigid. Make realistic goals. Be flexible. Be honest with yourself. Be kind to yourself. Know where you’re coming from and know the general direction of where you want to go. Don’t treat setbacks as lost ground, treat them as learning opportunities.
94. … the legacy of what we bring, the legacy of our purpose, is what lives on infinitely.
95. It seemed as if the whole world had come to a stop. There were no sounds at all. The blanket of snow covered everything, and muted everything, in a strange and odd sense of peace.
96. If [Punxsutawney Phil] comes out and runs away, then the Mayan-Calendar-Ends-In-2012-So-The-World-Is-Ending prediction must be true, and we all need to run and save ourselves.
97. The more we acknowledge, highlight, and celebrate the struggles humans have had to endure and overcome, and the more we move forward, the more we can ensure that we don’t need to keep adding to the list of groups [suffering from oppression].
98. “I know that there are many “experts” seem to have a “God” complex, like they just can’t be wrong. They go by what they have been taught and seen. Change is a hard thing to accept but honestly each person is an individual and should be evaluated accordingly…”  -Tracy DiNezza
99. SO…where does the road lead me? What does year two bring? Answer:  more of the same. I still have no specific plans; no set route. Wherever the road leads me, that’s where I’ll be. Life doesn’t stop and time keeps on moving.