July 14th 2011

            Has anyone ever thought about how many hours you have spent in your lifetime watching movies? Well, I did. And it’s astonishing. I am 45, so I have had many years to put in for movie watching. Its many thousands of hours that I have spent. Some of those hours I wish I could get back due to the movie being bad! Not too many of those thank goodness. But movies take you to another place. That’s the beauty of it. They take you to a place you will never be. To worlds that we could only dream of. That’s pure entertainment. That’s why movies exist. They allow us to be transported to somewhere we may never have the chance to be.

            One movie series that comes to mind is “Star Wars” I remember 1977 like it was yesterday. That movie changed everything. I spent the next 12 years waiting for the next one to come out. Finally the series was complete, and I turned around a realized I had three kids at the time. You want to know the best part?  My youngest son is 10 years old now, and he is a bigger Star Wars fan than I was. That is the power of movies. If done right, they are timeless.

            If Thomas Edison only knew the power of his invention of the movie projector. He brought a power with many of his inventions. But this one will stand the test of time. It takes us to many places. It makes us laugh and cry. But most of all, it entertains. And isn’t that the magic of it all. And that my friend is why movies are here. And why they will always be here. To take us away from our lives for just a few hours.

July 13th 2011

            Has anyone ever noticed when you are on a road trip, that the way home is always the longest parts of the drive?  I guess it’s the anticipation of getting to where you are going that makes the trip there seem shorter. Everyone is ready to get where you are going, talking about what you are going to do. The ride home is just that back to where you belong. But if you ask me, getting there is only half the fun. I love the fact that when you get home, it’s just that, Home. Your own bed, your own things. It makes you appreciate the smaller things in life.

            You bet that going to different places is fun. It’s great to see different things, do all you can do will you are on a trip. But to me, getting home is just as good. It’s your place. It has your feel, and smell. I guess that’s why they came up with that old saying “home sweet home” because it is. Everywhere you turn; it’s what you have created for your humble abode. It’s your personality.

            Everyone should have a place to call their own. It’s part of the American dream. My house is not a mansion by any means, but it’s mine. And it’s comfortable. Isn’t that what home is supposed to be? I think so. Because in my mind, it’s the richest, it’s the biggest; it’s the nicest in the area. Why, because its mine!   

July 12th 2011

Do you remember family vacations from when you were growing up? I do, and they were always a great time, no matter where we went. Mom and dad always made sure that we had a good time. Even those vacations when everything that could go wrong did! Those memories are some of the best I can recall. Loading up the car, and taking off for somewhere we had never been. The anticipation was always the best part. Sometimes the game plan would change mid trip, and that always was fun. But it always seems to work out for the best.

            I have not been able to do this for my kids as much as I would like to. Why? Gas prices are killing us. The American dream is changing right before our very eyes. We have had to postpone more than 1 trip because we just could not afford the gas to load up and go. This just kills me. But what can I do? Find a better job? Yes, that’s part of it, one of the many reasons I am back in college.  Earning that degree that will help us get to where we need to be. But we as a country need to change things from the way they are now.

            We all need to do our part to get back to the basic values our country was founded on. Everyone should read the constitution again and understand the values and principle we were founded on. We have gotten away from these, and to me, it’s a big part of our problem in this country. We are Americans. We need to find that can do attitude we once possessed.  We don’t seem to have it anymore. It’s still there; underneath all the crap we call a life. But it’s going to take all of us to make it work. You can make the changes we need just like I can. Just do it!

July 11th 2011

            What kind of world are we leaving the next generation of kids? I’m not sure at this point. Not a good one that for sure. I am older, 45, and my father left me a better world that he found it. His father did the same for him as well. At this point, I can honestly say if things keep going the way they are, I will NOT be able to leave my kids a better place than when I arrived. It is so very frustrating, with what is going on today. Our leaders just don’t seem to get it. I think we as a society have reached the point that some hard decisions must be made. This entire world has to step back, take a couple of breaths and change things.

            This is the information age we live in. Sometimes I think it is the greatest thing in the world, other times I stand back in amazement at the stupidity of it all. Its most certainty is part of the problem we face today.  We all what everything now. We have to realize that sometimes the plan calls for us to wait.  Be patient. All good things will come in time. There is a master plan from our maker, and he will reveal it in good time.

            I want nothing more than to leave this world a better place than I found it when my day is done. I want my kids to say, mom and dad left us a better place. At this point, we have so far to go that it sometimes makes my head swim. Will I have time? I don’t know. But I will not stop trying until the day I am called home. I hope that you feel the same way to. Because it’s going to take all of us to make it happen.  

July 10th 2011

                Money. It really is the root of all evil. One of our fellow classmates had written this and really got me to thinking about it. It’s true. We never seem to have enough of it, and we spend every waking moment trying to figure out how to get more of it and how to spend what little we do have! There never seems to be enough of it either.  At least in my case. Our budget at my house gets constant revisions all the time. We have become masters at the revision! My wife and I had learned how to stretch that dollar so far I think it will snap sometimes. We always seem to make it right to the wire.

                Everything in this economy has gone through the roof. It’s all a trickle effect. Gas has gone up again, that in turn causes everything to skyrocket up. It costs more to transport goods, so we then pay more. Groceries are on example of goods gone crazy! I have 3 kids at home that eat like wildfire. (Teenagers) my grocery budget is way out of hand, and we shop with coupons all the time! But what can you do. You just have to adjust, and go on and hope you will see it through the end of the month.

                Our President just now released oil reserves. This is something that should have happened long ago. That is what they are there for. Now it’s all political in motivation.  All it did was drive up Gas cost again. The opposite effect of what was intended. The Republicans and Democrats can’t seem to get it through their heads what it is going to take to revive this economy.  I never thought I would see a day like we are living in now. What am I leaving my kids?

July 9th 2011

What is going on with the price of gas again? It’s just driving me nuts. You almost have to take out a small loan to fill up your car these days. The government is wondering why we are still in an economic downturn, why we are not recovering fast enough, well, just look at gas prices. No one can afford to take a long trip, let alone just your normal everyday driving to get back and forth to work! I am old enough to remember when gas was less than 90 cents a gallon. You could afford to take a trip and still have gas left over to get to work!       

            Why is gas so high you ask? One word. GREED! The oil companies have been working for years to inch that price up slowly but surely to squeeze every last one of us dry. They know we depend on gas for everything we do. It’s been united effort on the parts of all the major oil companies to do this. They have us programmed now to feel that gas at $3.00 a gallon is a good deal! I never thought I would see gas prices elevated to the level that they are today.

            I used to work for an Oil company back in the late 70s and 80s. I know how they think. I know what the game plan has always been. I quit working the oilfields just because of this mentality. I did not want to be part of such a grandiose scheme. They have been working towards this for years, and now they have us over a barrel. And I’m not talking about a barrel of oil!

            What can we do? How about nationally we pick one day, and everyone in the US does not drive or buy gas. The millions of dollars they would lose could send a message. And that message is we have had enough!

July 8th 2011

Oh, to be a pilot. It’s been a dream of mine for years. I was unable in my younger years to continue pursuing this dream due to my eyesight. Back in the 70s, they had not yet come out with corrective laser surgery like today. To me, there would be no better job in the world that sitting in the cockpit of any plane at about 36,000 feet, seeing the whole world in front of you. I have about 20 hours logged of flight time so far, and I have had to scale back due to cost. Someday, I will earn my private pilots license, I just don’t know when that will be.  

            It’s hard to explain the feeling you get when you are in control of a plane. It’s the feeling that you are on top of the world. To see the clouds below you, the curve of the earth in front of you, to hear the rush of wind around the cockpit window, it’s just a feeling you cannot experience anywhere else. I had the opportunity back when I was 16 years old to fly in the cockpit of a 747 jumbo jet from Singapore to London. About an 8 hour trip. My family was good friends with a captain of Singapore airlines. He arranged to be the pilot on our flight that day, and invited me up for the whole flight takeoff and landings! I sat in the jump seat. Now, this would never happen today due to restriction in place for security issues. Needless to say, it is one of those moments that will stay with me till the day I die! Half way across the ocean, the copilot got up to walk around for about 20 min. and the Capt. invited me to sit in the right hand seat while he was gone. I got the opportunity to take the wheel for about 10 min under the captains. supervision. I flew a 747 with over 400 people on board! Something I will never forget! 

July 7th 2011

I just heard on the news the story about the Texas Ranger fan who was trying to catch a foul ball for his son, when he fell over the railing and was killed. Wow. How can something like this happen? My heart goes out to his family, especially his son who was with him at the time of the accident. What can you say to this boy that will make things better? There’s not much you can say. He will have years of issues over this. The bottom line is he no longer has a father who will be there for him as he grows up. And all of this was over a baseball. That’s just one of the tragedies in this story.

            For years I have thought that trying to catch foul balls was OK. I never dreamed that something like this would happen. I take my own son to the Springfield Cardinals games all the time. We stay in the outfield so we can catch balls. It’s almost a rite of passage between a father and a son. I don’t think I can ever look at it the same way again. I’m sure that the players in the minors and majors will be thinking twice about tossing a ball up to the stands as well.

            This just makes me think even more that you never know when your number will be called. It can happen at anytime, anyplace, anywhere. And like this gentleman, when you least expect it. I just hope his boy will be able to understand all of this one day. He is the one I am most concerned about. To have that image in your mind, I can’t even begin to understand what may be going through his mind at this time. I am praying for this family as we speak.

July 6th 2011

I was speaking yesterday about choices. It is very apparent to me this fact at where I work. I work at Hotels.com, and we find the lowest priced hotel rooms for our customers anywhere in the world. We have a guarantee that if you find the same hotel room, same night stay, same hotel advertised on any website at a lower price, we will match it or refund your money. It’s a great guarantee. But what is amazing is the different prices of hotel rooms around the world. I have booked rooms as low as $18.00 for the night, all the way up to an astounding $27.000.00 per night for a Suite in Dubai at the Al Burj Hotel! The average price of a standard hotel room in New York City is now well over $380.00 per night.

            For me, with three kids when we travel I like to stay in a room that runs about $80.00 to $100.00 max per night. As long as it is clean, safe, and is in the area I’m looking for this works. What do you need a hotel room for anyway? Well, it’s to sleep and freshen up. I usually stay at La Quinta hotels because they are clean and safe. You know what you get every time no matter what city you are in. they include a good breakfast for the family, what more do I need?

            But this is not what a lot of people need. They want more. They fell they need more. I used to be nervous when the price would exceed $500.00 per night in how to tell the customer this. Then I realized that my $80.00 per night is someone else’s $500.00 per night! It’s all relative to what you have. I routinely book customers for stays all over the world that exceed $3000.00 for their stay. I guess it’s the same old story. The have and the have not’s!

July 5th 2011

It’s the day after the 4^th of July; cleanup is going on all around from all the festivities.  I saw 2 good firework shows that most defiantly show our American spirit is still alive and well here in the great Midwest. There is something about sitting out in a park, a good local live band playing great American music, the smell of hotdogs and hamburgers cooking on a grill, that just makes you proud to be an American. Every time I see a firework show, I just thank god that I was lucky enough to be from a country such as this.

            What drove this home this year for me was buying a small amount of fireworks for my kids. We always buy about $20-30 dollars worth of fireworks every year for the kids to have some fun with. We usually end up with a large brown sac full for our money. As we were getting ready to check out, the guy in front of us was buying fireworks at an insane pace. Buy the time he was done, he had spent over $450.00 dollars worth! Wow! I can’t imagine doing this, as I just don’t have that kind of money to drop on fireworks. But, this is America. We have freedom of choice. I almost asked him where he was going so we could watch the show!

            It also made me realize that money is a relative thing. This guy obviously had money, and his $450.00 was my $20.00. I just think that in America, everyone has a choice. Now, I personally would not spend that kind of money on fireworks. To me, you might as well take your money and just set fire to it. I work way too hard for my money to spend it in that manner. But again, this is what makes America what it is. A place of choice. A place of freedom. God bless the USA!

My Credo - by Robert Oliver

I believe that anyone can achieve their dreams, if you work hard enough

                This statement is something that I truly do believe at this juncture in my life. I am working towards my goal of video editing at the ripe old age of 45. It’s something that I have always wanted to do as technology has become so advanced and I was able to realize that I didn’t have to be in Hollywood to do this! Oh, my dream of working on movies has been put to the side; I think editing commercials and product videos does have a chance to be real.  

                I put my dreams away years ago and kept them locked in a vault way back in my mind. I went to work. I had to earn a paycheck like everyone else. A few years ago, I was able to unlock that box, and start working towards that dream again. I do think that anyone can achieve their dream, but you must work towards that goal in steps. It has to be realistic, and others may try to steer you away, so be diligent everyday! Life is hard, but that doesn’t mean that you have to give up on what you truly want to do. If you can dream it, you can do it!

                My Kids see me working hard, going to college, and I try everyday to help them towards their dream. Some of them still do not have an idea about that yet, but it’s up to me to help them cultivate that dream. That’s my job. And I’m glad that I am here to help them get started with their dreams.

Journal Entry

July 4^th 2011

            Happy 4^th of July to everyone! You may have noticed in the last few entry’s that I have been on a bit of a patriotic run. It’s just that time of year. I love my country, and I just want everyone to know that. Despite rumors to the contrary, we still live in the greatest country in the world! July 4^th just seems to bring that out in me every year. Why you may ask? Well, just spend a little time reading about how we founded this great country of ours and you will gain some insight. We cannot forget the founding principles on which we formed this great nation. We have been and still are one nation, under god. I have a unique outlook on this as I spent my first 21 years living in other countries around the world.

            I spent 17 years living in the Middle East, In Libya and Dubai. Then 4 more years living in Asia, in Singapore and China. Needless to say, I have seen many different cultures and countries. I know firsthand that this country, the U.S.A, is by far the greatest place to be anywhere in the world! Don’t get me wrong, I loved living overseas for all those years, but coming home once a year was always a highlight. I have traveled the world, and yes, America is still the greatest! We must not ever forget that we are leaders, trendsetters, and we still show the rest of the world what they too could accomplish. I think in the last few years, we have somehow strayed away from these believes. It’s easy to become complacent in the world we live in today. I say do NOT let this happen. Remember, we are still the greatest country in the world. Take it from me, I know. God Bless America!

             

Journal Entry

July 3^rd 2011

            In my last entry we had spoke about my oldest son Adam who is in the Army. He wanted to join the Army from the time I can remember him talking about what he would do with his life. He has never wavered in this choice. After basic training, he went to advanced training for E.O.D. These are words that any sane parent would not want to hear. Explosive Ordinance Demolition. He trained for about 5 months in this field, and was not quite able to master everything that this demanding job required. Much to my happiness he was reassigned as a Patriot Missile Operator instead.  As he explained to me, he just did not have the attention to detail required to be in EOD. Glad they figured that out now and not later! As much as he wanted to be in EOD, he understood that he might not make it. They have a 90% dropout rate due to the high demands of the job.

            Its guys like Adam who gives us all the freedoms we enjoy today. I have met a few of his army buddies as well, and I feel we are in good hands. He seems very happy with the Army; in fact, if all goes well he may just stay in for a 20 year career. In this day and age, not a bad choice for a young person to make. He and his friends all seem to understand that freedom is not free, and its folks like them that are helping to provide us the liberties we all enjoy. Every time I talk or see anyone who is in the military, I am sure to thank them for their service to our country. Make sure you do as well, no matter what branch of service. It will make you feel good, and most important, makes them feel like a million bucks!  

Journal entry

July 2^nd 2011

                In my last entry, I was speaking about freedom, and what does it mean to you. I asked my kids this question, and the response I got was surprising. One said (the Youngest) he gets to go and shoot fireworks. I asked him if that’s all it means and he said no, he gets good hot dogs and hamburgers too! It looks like I have some work to do with him! My oldest daughter said it means that we celebrate our independence from England, that we became our own country. While this holds some truth, it’s not complete. Why did we want our freedom from English tyranny to begin with? It was because we had no freedoms to practice what religion we chose, it was because we got tired of being told we must pay taxes to a King 1000,s of miles away who had no idea what we needed. It was for many reasons, but the bottom line is many good Americans to be gave their life so we could have freedoms. The freedom to choose. The freedom to be who we can be, without the persecution that results in not having freedoms.

                I just want my kids to understand we did not gain these freedoms we enjoy for free. Many have paid the ultimate sacrifice to gain us these freedoms. Many more will sacrifice to continue our liberties. My oldest son is in the Army, and has been for over a year now. He is not in harm’s way at this time, but that could change tomorrow. He understands better than I do what sacrifice he may have to pay one day. He and I had a long talk before he joined the military as to what could happen. He has the best attitude of any young man I know. Needless to say, I am one proud father. I hope that he never has to pay that ultimate sacrifice, but if that’s what happens, I know that he went with the full understanding of what it may cost. He is willing to pay that price if called upon. My hat is off to everyone in our military. It’s one of the things that make our country as great as it is!

Journal Entry July 1st 2011

Journal Entry July 1^st 2011

By Robert Oliver

                What does July the 4^th mean to you? What would our founding fathers think about how we celebrate our freedom today? I’m not sure they would all agree with the way things have become. I think we as a Society have forgotten the basics of what our freedom is all about. We celebrate today, but do we all understand what we are celebrating? I don’t think so.  Many Americans take for granted the freedoms we all enjoy as a right. It is NOT a right, but something many have given their lives for. It is something that we enjoy in this country, and not something that many other countries have. We should never take for granted the liberties and freedoms we enjoy. Stop for a moment and think about all the different countries in the world who dream about the liberties we enjoy. One prime example is Libya. I know about Libya due to the fact that I lived there from 1966 to 1974. I was their when Col. Kaddafi took over in a coup. At first he seemed ok, the kind of change the country needed.  But very quickly that changed. When we left in 1974 it was because we had absolutely no freedoms at all. It was a military dictator state.

                So what does this tell you? It says that people around the world are fighting for their freedoms, that what we enjoy every day and take for granted, many are giving their lives for.   They are trying to become like this still great country of ours. We must NEVER take for granted the freedoms and liberties we enjoy daily here in the U.S.A. Remember, what we enjoy today are the results of great sacrifice by many individuals throughout our history.