My father Omie Wilson who served 20 years in the United States Air force
I enjoy watching the talking heads on Sunday mornings. These are the people who come on the political shows that are on the networks every Sunday morning like Meet the Press. This week I have decided not to listen because today , being Veteran's Day it is a day that we should put out political differences aside and come together as one country and honor our Veterans.
However if I were to turn on Fox,I am sure I would here all sorts of news about Benghazi and the Fiscal Cliff and if I were to turn on NBC I would here about why Romney lost and how the Republican's are not willing to work with our President. In my mind this is not what today is about. We just had that our opportunity to express our opinions by voting last Tuesday. Voting is a freedom that we enjoy because of people who have offered to and have laid down their lives to protect that freedom .
So today I will focus on honoring those who fought to give us and those who fought to protect our freedoms, including freedom of speech. They did so regardless what religion they were or what their political affiliation is. They did it because they believe that The United States of America is the greatest country in the world and they believe that protecting it is worth giving their life for.
God bless all who served and continue to serve the greatest country on Earth .
I fell asleep last night disappointed and woke up the same way. I am not angry, but still concerned about things. America spoke last night and the they made their decision. No changes in the Presidency, the House or the Senate.
Woke up in a very somber mood this morning, I am not angry, I expected this, I am just disappointed in our country's decision last night. I can only hope and pray that we have learned our lesson and that a divided country is a country that will not succeed. Both parties need to do a better job about trying to find a solution, and not coming up with decisions that will help their re-election .
I am not going to give into the doom and gloom , I believe in America and I believe that we can recover. I have to believe that both parties will work together , or when it is time to vote them out we will. I have my views on how things should be, but I know that people don't share them and that I have to listen and respect opposing views, that is how we became the country we are , and that is how we will fix the issues we have. I will pray that this happens, and I believe that it will.
To my friends who voted for Obama , you have the right to celebrate, but please remember that while you won , the Romney supporters ideas and believes were defeated last night. This is a hard thing to take , so please be respectful in your celebration. For the Romney voters, I share your disappointment, but we can not let our disappointment turn us into looking like sore losers. We need to be respectful when voicing our displeasure with the decision.
Enough is enough America, time to work together, although we are Democrats,Republicans, Conservative,Liberals or whatever we believe in..... we are Americans and isn't that what matters most?
Keep it here to find out my election day thoughts. Why should you care ? Because I am NOT Chuck Todd...that is why:
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11:38 am - Went and voted straight republican , came home , went for a run all before 10 am. This will surprise my wife... since on my day off I am not out of my pajamas until noon . I posted some pro Romney/Ryan pictures on my Liberal Friends pages on Facebook,they returned the favor...it is on!
11:43 am - I did not see any Black Panthers at my polling place, but the were having a bake sale. Now I will nap, I will be up late tonight.
1:51 pm- Awoke from nap, looked at Fox News, yep ... many stories about voter fraud , checked MSNBC ... there is stupid Chuck Todd again.... and a story about how women are up for grabs in this election , I guess the Obama people will try anything.
2:36PM - My wife just told me that Obama won the vote they had at our kid's school... I informed her that they will no longer will be able to attend there.
3:50 pm- Family Guy Break:
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6:43pm Checking with MSNBC It looks like Romney takes a VERY EARLY Lead in popular vote, Fox is reporting the same. One of the states reporting in is Indiana, some consider this a swing state....Haven't turned on TV yet...
7:00pm Chuck Todd for your viewing pleasure....He is a mess, they need to clean him up
8:01pm - Both MSNBC and Fox saying 49 to 3 for Romney ... very early. Ohio and North Carolina are close, Obama leading in both. If Romney loses both going to be a long night I think... Obama winning Florida too....
8:19pm- Just turned on FOX and they are pretty Doom and Gloom about Romney's chances.... 8:46pm The 9pm hour will tell a lot , many states closing . Right Now here is the breakdown:
NBC 88-64 Romney Lead
Fox 88-78 Romney
ABC 78-76 Obama
CBS 88-78 Romney
Just opened a Sam Adams...this could get interesting
9:14Pm Not sure why they are not calling Ohio, looks like Obama will win that. Tonight not looking good for Romney. House looks like no change, Senate most likely no change. A lot of money spent on both sides ...for no change.
10:02PM I guess the local Fox station has had enough... they have switched over to Sienfeld... Here are the 5 Network's Break down (I added CNN for my Cousin)
NBC 162-162
Fox 162-157 Romney
ABC 162-157 Romney
CBS 162-157 Romney
CNN 152-143 Romney
Ohio Tightening , Florida Tight... could be a long night
Keeping an eye on everything...getting tired
11:04PM Pretty much a tight rope walk for Romney now. Florida, Ohio and Virgina NEED to fall Romney's way....if any of the 3 fall Obama we will have 4 more years of Obama .
11:18PM Barack Obama is the winner, God help us all.....He won because he knows how to campaign, and is good at that, he didn't win because he is good at his job...he is not so good at that. Good night to everyone and thanks for following me today.
Ugh...... I have to go into work late and stay until late (it is a cleaning night), so there are a few things floating around my head that I feel the need to get out there. So here we go!
In hindsight the cancellation of the Marathon in New York was the right decision . I was against cancelling it at first, my reason was because the financial impact that the marathon has something that I believed that would help New York get back on it's feet. I believed Mayor Bloomberg had a plan that they could run the race and not divert much needed help to those who needed it. I have to admit that, by my own fault, I was misinformed about the severity of the damage in New York. Once I was informed it became obvious that running the race was not the right decision .
Speaking of the marathon,, I think runners got a bad rap from alot of people. I do not understand why the runners were being bashed about their decision to run the race. When you participate in a marathon , there is many sacrifices that you make. There is the 4 to 5 months of training ,where you put in countless hours and miles to get ready for the race. There is the money that you invest in the event (registration fees, hotel, travel , food, etc.) , much of it is not refundable. Every runner that I knew that was running the race was disappointed, but understood why the race was cancelled. Then you heard about runners who still ran the distance either in their hometowns or in NY, just to raise money to help with the relief efforts, there were many who went to NY and didn't run , but helped people to get back on their feet . They put their time to good use. If you want to be mad at anyone be mad at the NYRR or Bloomberg for wanting carry on with event.
Tomorrow we go to the polls and cast our votes for President and many other offices, I believe that Barack Obama will win (hope I am wrong). I also believe he will have a mess on his hands that he will have to clean up. I have been following politics since I was pretty young and this is the most polarized that I have ever seen the country . Mr. Obama and all other elected officials need to work together and find common ground to get this country moving again . We also need to listen to the other sides opinion as well, as a country we need to lose the blinders we have placed on when it comes to others opinions and realize that what made our country great is the fact it was built on people from different cultures, backgrounds and opinions, let's get back there.
I have made up my mind , I have decided to run two marathons in 2013 with the hope to run 2 major marathons in 2014. Here is the plan;
In 2011 I had a similar plan that was derailed by the Buffalo Marathon , if you remember I dropped out after the halfway mark with stomach cramps. I have run two marathons since then and have been pleased with both performances. In 2013 I am going back to Buffalo with a goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. I have to run under 3 hours and 15 minutes. If I make my goal I think the demons of the 2011 Buffalo marathon will finally be exercised.
After Buffalo I have a decision to make, if I don't qualify for the 2014 Boston Marathon , then I will be participating in the Erie Marathon in September . I have ran this twice , it is fast and flat and I am familiar with the route. I have ran my fastest Marathon there in 2011. My goal is to break 3 hours and not only qualify for 2014 Boston, but 2014 New York as well.
If I qualify for Boston after Buffalo , then I am going back to where I ran my first Marathon in Corning,N.Y. The Wineglass Marathon was one of the best days of my life , running with My sister and brother. I want to extend those positive vibes by running a sub 3 hour marathon and qualifying for the 2014 New York City Marathon.
If all goes right in 2013, I should have a memorable 2014!
For those of you who may know me , you know I am a chess nut. I am not really good at it though. My rating on Chess.com is currently is a 1206 which is the highest it has been in quite some time. I usually hover around the mid 1100's . So if you are looking for an easy game go to Chess.com and look me up . I have learned a lot about myself from the game of Chess.
For one thing when I have too many games going on I tend to rush my moves so I can get to the next game faster and rush my moves there . I tend to make many mistakes and get myself into trouble . This makes for many of my games to end in lopsided losses . When I slow down and take my time ,think about my moves, plan ahead (yes even take notes) I tend to be more competitive.
There is many things that can be learned from Chess. This is why I feel that it should be taught in school. I think our kids should learn some of the lessons that can be learned from Chess such as problem solving, concentration, planning, logical thinking and learning how to learn from your mistakes.
Kids( I guess adults too) can learn problem solving from chess because every move that they make or their opponent makes the game change. After the move the board changes and a new puzzle is created. It is very difficult at the beginning of the game because there are so many options that you and your opponent can make. The goal is to limit your opponents options to move the way they want and to increase the options for you . We all face problems in real life , the more that we train our brain in problem solving games or exercises like Chess the better we are to overcome those problems
I am sorry , the concentration that it takes to play a video game fails in comparison to the concentration . As I mentioned in the opening of this piece if I have too many games going on and I rush my moves . When I am concentrating on my moves, I do better and am more competitive. I wish I would applied this to my schoolwork back in the day, I might have done better in school,who knows where I would be if that happened, oh well....
If are just playing the game making up as you go along , then you will lose. Any chess player worth anything will plan their moves well ahead of time and adjust their plan according to what your opponent does. This is how life is, if you plan and are willing to adjust your plan chances are you will succeed .
Thinking logical and weighing the options in your life helps you make better decisions, in turn should help you succeed and increase your well being. as well. Before you move in chess you should weigh all your options and try to determine what your opponent will do in response to your intended move, before you make your move.
Final Point is learning from mistakes. We make mistakes in life and if we do not want to repeat those mistakes then we need to learn from them . Too many time people get into a viscouscycle of disappointments or failures. They don't look at the reasons why they fail, if they change some of the reasons why they fail, maybe the cycle can be stopped. If you make the wrong move in chess and leave your Queen exposed early in the game it will be very hard to overcome.
So why isn't chess taught in school? My guess is that is it isn't cost effective or that people see the advantages of teaching it. I think the lessons learned would be beneficial to our kids.
Last night I didn't want to go to bed, because I feared waking up and having to deal with today. I can not really tell you why I felt that way, but I have been feeling that way frequently .Lately it seems like I just can not handle it anymore.
I don't want to bore you with the specifics, and I know that most people have it harder than me. I am truly blessed with a wonderful wife and two kids . These three people are the reason I don't curl up into the fetal position and suck my thumb while waving the white flag , they are my reasons to keep moving forward.
Usually when I write an entry in my blog there is something I want to accomplish, today I am rambling. Sorry.
