The New Babbage Election

The New Babbage Election

The Tempest

- Act iv. Sc. 1.
Our revels are now ended.

These our actors,

As I foretold you,

were all spirits and

Are melted into air,

into thin air..

We are such stuff

As dreams are made on,

And our little life

Is rounded with a sleep.
Merrily, merrily shall I live now,

Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.

William Shakespeare

(1564–1616)
(better then war and peace aye)

*grins*
Just some thoughts

Ah the New Babbage Election is over .. Mr Tenk now our Dear Mayor

1001 Congratulations to the Man who that may play a small character but is indeed a Man of Pure substance taking on no small task .. I give him my total support !

Although My dear Friend and Candidate KlausWulfenbach Outlander did not win ..

I can only Hope we are each better for the experiences and the friendships we have made and lessons that we have perhaps learned.

I believe with all my heart all shall last a life time ..

Life is full of Risks and sometimes as painful as each my be we are indeed better persons and richer yet humbled in character ..

For Life goes on .. the gears and ahh "the teeth" continue to turn

I am a most proud yet humble Woman of New Babbage and I love her dearly !!

No one can ever take that away from I ...

To my dear quiet beautiful friend with depth and vision Ms Beq Janus

thank YOU from the center of Heart !!

I would have been lost so many endless night with out your hand ..

To the baron Thank YOU tenfold for your courage and yes brilliant character and calm balance and the pats on the shoulders and endless calming .. words

*warm smile*

This chapter is now closed

On to the next venue and so on and sort forth

The Stories go on

For Indeed Industry Marches Forward

Twirlssssssssssssss and hugssssssssssssss

Most Important Thank YOU to all ....

Breezy Carver

New Port ~The Breakers~

~The Breakers ~

*grins*

There are 11 historic properties I shall start with the Grandest

The Breakers

The Breakers is the grandest of Newport's summer "cottages" and a symbol of the Vanderbilt family's social and financial preeminence in turn of the century America. Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877) established the family fortune in steamships and later in the New York Central Railroad, which was a pivotal development in the industrial growth of the nation during the late 19Th century.

I do have my own personal story of the breakers winter of ahh 1979

on our winter recess vacation from school my mother (( bless her heart )) Packed up my middle sister and I ( cause our eldest sister was so busy with social life as we would always say )) for a two week working living tour of The Breakers ...

For the next two weeks we would stay at a guest house, gate cottage (( no small home ))

and work , hostess and learn the history values manors and ways of The Breakers and the Vanderbilt's first hand !

Where we excited ... oddly enough yes and no .. It was not a cool thing to be doing at the time never mind our ages .. It was a once in life experience and we both knew it as my Mother couldn't help pound it in at the time

(( a little note about my exceptional ((ran a tight ship Mother )) this is a woman that would bundle my two older sisters and I and jump in the car drop us off at private school we went to (( a boarding school as we were day hop)) oh Ms the school is closed .. :my mother " yes yes I know I have some errands just watch them for a few" .. can you imagine ))
The woman had grand game I tell You !!

she and my dad went skiing for the day !!

*laughs*

one of my neatest chores was bringing tea to The Countess (a great grand niece ) she lived there and was a real Vanderbilt . lovely woman she gave me handkerchiefs and a Christmas ornament that I still have .. well the ornament at least . A gold leaf and crystal heart .

She told the most amazing stories of summer dances that started at 11pm and went till noon the next day , alas she was a very young girl in the day . She taught me so much about kindness and giving and just gave so much time to me . It was a whole different life a most sheltered life !!

I remember talking to my sister at night who was having a completely different experience well we were three years apart *grins* she Met a really nice guy .. who was working the carriages and stables . Need I say more there ..

The decorations were amazing , we had been (as a family on our way to and from the cape ) to Newport mansions ie the breakers in past summers also Quite amazing with it's New Port sea view , right on the water .. but at Christmas WoW .. there was a magic in the air from the million tiny white lights to the grand bows everywhere ....

The peaceful quiet and the then the chatter of ohh and ah .. the grand halls and the echos .

goosebumps .. I learned first hand how so many of the mansions where destroyed and lost .Ah the gilded age money was no object but the depression hit so many were hurt .

Donating major parts of land and the homes first seasonal then eventually all is what saved so many of their own private family fortunes for they all would lost everything due to taxes .

The upkeep of this amazing build . The furniture . the textures . the floors . The woods !!

The Commodore's grandson, Cornelius Vanderbilt II, became Chairman and President of the New York Central Railroad system in 1885, and purchased a wooden house called The Breakers in Newport during that same year.
In 1893, he commissioned architect Richard Morris Hunt to design a villa to replace the earlier wood-framed house which was destroyed by fire the previous year. Hunt directed an international team of craftsmen and artisans to create a 70 room Italian Renaissance- style palazzo inspired by the 16th century palaces of Genoa and Turin. Allard and Sons of Paris assisted Hunt with furnishings and fixtures, Austro-American sculptor Karl Bitter designed relief sculpture, and Boston architect Ogden Codman decorated the family quarters.
The Vanderbilts had seven children. Their youngest daughter, Gladys, who married Count Laszlo Szechenyi of Hungary, inherited the house on her mother's death in 1934.

The family Trees of this Family is amazing ..as they all had childrens grins ..

That's a series of blogs in themselves lets try and get thru the New Port Mansions First !

a few of the children's play house ...

Industry

New Babbage and Industry ... Really ...

With so much going on in so many Places I thought I would take a moment for a review here
My topic Industry and New Babbage ... being it has become one of the places I have spent a great deal of time for the past almost nine months now ..

Let me state here it was the people that caught my heart mind and spirit next the builds!!
Let me also state I was raised in a small town on the east coast .. Perhaps thru history and legends some have heard of it Tarrytown New York along the Hudson river ..I did not just pass thru but my childhood home was there and kept for over 30 years .. I do know something of the rich history and the surrounding area . In fact it has been a deep passion of mine as I have made a point to not only support it but work for and with it over decades .. so what some might think .. well please take the time and read on please ...

I got a kick when I learned that Jay Gould was an icon and some what of a hero to the Mayor . When I tried to share information and converse on the topic I was always shunned .. smile.. and that's alright funny thing about real Jay Gould he really wasn't a very nice man .. It has taken historians to clean up the said tails about him .. Alas the only real quote of said value that has been noted by him is and I quote ... (( You decide *grins* what kind of man he was ))

"I can hire one half of the working class to kill the other half". Jay Gould

Nice guy Aye !!


Rather then me ramble let me share some Jay Gould facts .. Rail road Man .. and American Financier .. Robber Baron !!

Jason "Jay" Gould (May 27, 1836 – December 2, 1892) was an American financier who became a leading American railroad developer and speculator. Although he was long vilified as an archetypal robber baron, modern historians have discounted various myths about him and evaluated his career more positively.

He married and had six children !

In his lifetime and for a century after, Gould had a firm reputation as the most unscrupulous of the 19th century American businessmen known as robber barons. Many times he allowed his rivals to believe that he was beaten, then sprang some legal or contractual loophole on them that completely reversed the situation and gave him the advantage. He had no scruples about using stock manipulation and insider trading (which were then legal but frowned upon) to build capital and to execute or prevent hostile takeovers. As a result, many contemporary businessmen did not trust Gould and often expressed contempt for his approach to business. Even so, John D. Rockefeller named him as the most skilled businessman he ever encountered.
The New York City press published many rumors about Gould that biographers passed on as fact. For example, they alleged that Gould's dealings in the tanning business drove his partner Charles Leupp to suicide. In fact, Leupp had episodes of mania and depression that psychiatrists would now recognize as indications of bipolar disorder, and his family knew that this, not his business dealings, caused his death. These biographers portrayed Gould as a parasite who extracted money from businesses and took no interest in improving them. He was often suspected of being Jewish due to his name and business acumen as well as his large nose, and was depicted in anti-semitic caricatures, even though he was born a Presbyterian and married an Episcopalian.
More recent biographers, including Maury Klein and Edward Renehan, have reexamined Gould's career with more attention to primary sources. They have concluded that fiction often overwhelmed fact in previous accounts, and that despite his methods, Gould's objectives were usually constructive.In his lifetime and for a century after, Gould had a firm reputation as the most unscrupulous of the 19th century American businessmen known as robber barons. Many times he allowed his rivals to believe that he was beaten, then sprang some legal or contractual loophole on them that completely reversed the situation and gave him the advantage. He had no scruples about using stock manipulation and insider trading (which were then legal but frowned upon) to build capital and to execute or prevent hostile takeovers. As a result, many contemporary businessmen did not trust Gould and often expressed contempt for his approach to business. Even so, John D. Rockefeller named him as the most skilled businessman he ever encountered. (( But I could do another whole Blog post on John D Rockefeller and his clan *smiles* ))

A wee bit more ........
After being forced out of the Erie Railroad, Gould started, in 1879, to build up a system of railroads in the Midwest by gaining control of four western railroads, including the Union Pacific and the Missouri Pacific Railroad. In 1880, he was in control of 10,000 miles (16,000 km) of railway, about one-ninth of the length of rail in the United States at that time, and, by 1882, he had controlling interest in 15% of the country's tracks. Gould withdrew from management of the UP in 1883 amidst political controversy over its debts to the federal government, realizing a large profit for himself.
Gould also obtained a controlling interest in the Western Union telegraph company, and, after 1881, in the elevated railways in New York City. Ultimately, he was connected with many of the largest railway financial operations in the United States from 1868-1888. During the Great Southwest Railroad Strike of 1886 he hired strikebreakers; according to labor unionists, he said at the time, "I can hire one half of the working class to kill the other half."

Death

The mausoleum of Jay Gould
Gould died of tuberculosis on December 2, 1892 and was interred in the Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York. His fortune was conservatively estimated to be $72 million for tax purposes. Although a donor to charity from the 1870s onward, he willed all of his fortune to his family. At the time of his death, Gould was a benefactor in the reconstruction of the Reformed Church of Roxbury, now the Jay Gould Memorial Reformed Church. The family mausoleum was designed by Francis O'Hara (1830-1900) of Ireland. Gould's mausoleum contains no external identification. (( Now that is ...Interesting isn't it !! ))

Now we come to Industry ...
lets look at the meaning of it first shall we ??

An industry (from Latin industrius, "diligent, industrious") is the manufacturing of a good or service within a category.[1] Although industry is a broad term for any kind of economic production, in economics and urban planning industry is a synonym for the secondary sector, which is a type of economic activity involved in the manufacturing of raw materials into goods and products.[1]

There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction, and manufacturing; the tertiary sector, which deals with services (such as law and medicine) and distribution of manufactured goods; and the quaternary sector, a relatively new type of knowledge industry focusing on technological research, design and development such as computer programming, and biochemistry. A fifth quinary sector has been proposed encompassing nonprofit activities. The economy is also broadly separated into public sector and private sector, with industry generally categorized as private.
Industry in the sense of manufacturing became a key sector of production in European and North American countries during the Industrial Revolution, which upset previous mercantile and feudal economies through many successive rapid advances in technology, such as the steel and coal production. It is aided by technological advances, and has continued to develop into new types and sectors to this day. Industrial countries then assumed a capitalist economic policy. Railroads and steam-powered ships began speedily establishing links with previously unreachable world markets, enabling private companies to develop to then-unheard of size and wealth. Following the Industrial Revolution, perhaps a third of the world's economic output is derived from manufacturing industries—more than agriculture's share.

What's the Point ?? Industry is not just factories . People are quick to forget the importance of a rail road .. (( blows my mind )) but carry on About the passion about industry ..
What the industrial revolution did for we as a people was provide so much .. Indeed Industry moves forward but if you drive around these old east coast towns .. and New England and you see the empty factories it is quite sad .. it is like toys were left as lives moved on ..

Charity is so important .. Give of your selves your hearts mind and spirits and yes lindens too !!
Care about what you believe in but don't tear down what was nor what can be in theme and spirit because when we start tearing down characters and spirits then we hurt not only an info structure but a heart and No one has the right to do this !!
Ah there might not be a law for it but there is proof of the damage it causes ..
For a broken Spirit is with out a doubt one of the saddest and heartbreaking forms of destruction there is .. Trust me I know ............................

Left Handed Soldiers

This is little something I live by .. in any life or world ..

Lefthanded Soldiers * not for the shallow at all *

For those that don't get it ... It's really Not a Game at all .................none of it ....

Here's the process... think... then speak! I believe that we need to make our words sweet... just in case we have to eat them! Work, Bond , Friendship If YOU posess Passion really own it

please know it all Matters !!!!! check yourself and if ya can do so ( not an easy task) ahhh what a grand and better Life ..............Gosh for those that try ... its not easy ....and thank YOU !!!!
The words of your mouth are a creative force. They play a big part in predestining your future. Your words are the architects of your life. The tongue is like a tool. We need to use our tools of the present to build our future we desire. It is really not so much about YOUR SELF it is all about your dellings and interactions with others ah Yes and most important :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::It's about persistence and NEVER giving up!oh ya and Liking yourself is just the place where to start ....... ♥

The Highwaymen - Highwayman

The Highwaymen - Highwayman

Point .........It's a mindset

that's all

"I fly a star ship across the Universe divide
And when I reach the other side
I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can
Perhaps I may become a highwayman again
Or I may simply be a single drop of rain
But I will remain
And I'll be back again, and again and again and again and again.."

*chuckles*

"Highwayman"

I was a highwayman.

Along the coach roads I did ride

With sword and pistol by my side

Many a young maid lost her baubles to my trade

Many a soldier shed his lifeblood on my blade

The bastards hung me in the spring of twenty-five

But I am still alive.

I was a sailor.

I was born upon the tide

And with the sea I did abide

.I sailed a schooner round the Horn to Mexico

I went aloft and furled the mainsail in a blow

And when the yards broke off they said that I got killed

But I am living still

.I was a dam builder across the river deep and wide

Where steel and water did collide

A place called Boulder on the wild Colorado

I slipped and fell into the wet concrete below

They buried me in that great tomb that knows no sound

But I am still around..

I'll always be around..and around and around and around and around

I fly a star ship across the Universe divide

And when I reach the other side

I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can

Perhaps I may become a highwayman again

Or I may simply be a single drop of rain

But I will remain

And I'll be back again, and again and again and again and again..

A Visit Here

A Visit Here

Its January 14 2009 , so many thoughts go thru my head !

Time for A Visit Here

I am back to writing in my own private journal for now . My thoughts are far too deep to expose to all

I am at the cross hairs once again .. in this game of real life as in the world of second life

When YOU take risks one turns it up a bit more and does put the heat on !!

Thats part of the deal a given You put yourself into and on the fire each and every time with every Risk

To be honest I have made a life of risk taking ..

I have made a point to feel and be thru everyone of them ..

.Ah that brings me to the pain of late as it has been a bit much ..

I am taking a big risk with some very special dear people ..two of them I am trusting with a very deep part

of my own heart

Imagine pure strangers I trust with my own heart

smiles that's the easy part as I have so much heart to give !!

But this is not only put my words heart and being in any world with them

We each are investing so very much and people question this .

Instead it is to be judged and that's alright but what hurt is the slander and negative anger

I knew it would a bumpy ride I knew this we each knew this

I did not know the hurt .. it will be ok .. but I have to make note of it

I have lost so much in my life and one would think one could master pain by now ..

Nope .. it still hurts cause it hurts when YOU care

You see the anger and the assumtions of another hurt

the most when others are trying so hard to do the right thing

in many areas .. in many degrees .. The heat is indeed on ..

Its sort of exciting . It is very intense .. It is alright ..

We can shall and will get thru this

I hope each and all are better people (( gosh including me )) for it all ..

I hope this is not all for not

You see we are putting something very personal and valuable to each of us on the line here

something we each have worked on and live to achieve

Its call character

we each are doing the same here

Be it cash time or thoughts . efforts are being made in so many degrees to help

Three Faceless Friends

Each one fills a full side of the puzzle to make a solid form
We form a bond a Triangle if YOU Please

no its not the Bermuda Triangle
*grins*

but a very strong tight alliance that can not will not nor shall not be broken

for if it is .. we loose one important thing

the most more important thing of all

the Goal we care about the success of it

Two sides and a Leader

The life of it

Integrity Character and Guts

How do you put a price on them

Righteousness Humility and Dignity

Imagine a safe place A place away from all the hurt , all the struggles all the hardships we grin and bare in real life .. For no matter how hard one tries or cares or really really gives ..
There will always be another to heart stab you in back sure ..

But watch out for the ones your thought cared for they will stab right into a your heart because

when one cares that's how it feels trust me I know

My word to myself and my Partners

I will not go cold .I will not be a someone or something I am not ..

I will and shall Hurt .. Sometimes its good to hurt .. to quote a good friend.. A special friend of my heart

"Ride the Pain "

I believe all can endure for No one is really alone on this We are not alone ..

For all have something something special that no one can take away from YOU

ever

No one can ever take away your humanity Your dignity or one's character

The deeper the hurt The richer the reward in character I imagine

I am still trying aye !!

Nahh I am far from perfect if I was perfect heck I wouldn't be hurt now would I ..

Hurt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmVAWKfJ4Go

I hurt myself today

To see if I still feel

I focus on the pain

The only thing that's real

The needle tears a hole

The old familiar sting

Try to kill it all away

But I remember everything

[Chorus:]

What have I become My sweetest friend

Everyone I know goes away In the end

And you could have it all My empire of dirt

I will let you down I will make you hurt

I wear this crown of thorns

Upon my liar's chair Full of broken thoughts

I cannot repair Beneath the stains of time

The feelings disappear You are someone else

I am still right here

[Chorus:]

What have I become My sweetest friend

Everyone I know goes away In the end

And you could have it all My empire of dirt

I will let you down I will make you hurt

If I could start again

A million miles away

I would keep myself

I would find a way

Nine Inch Nails

The Secret !

Whatever feelings you have within you are attracting your tomarrow.

Worry attracts more worry. Anxiety attracts more anxiety.

Unhappiness attracts more unhappiness.

Dissatisfaction attracts more dissatisfaction

And

Joy Attracts more Joy. Happiness attracts more happiness .

Peace attracts more peace.

Gratitude attracts more Gratitude . Kindness attracts more Kindness .

Love attracts more Love .

Your Job is an inside one. To change your world all YOU have to do is change the way you feel inside..

How Easy is That ?

*Grins*

My Own First Mainland Sail

My very Own First Mainland Sail

So with the bitter cold windy days and nights of late ,Breezy decided to take a little Private mainland sail .. This is Hattori a private place breezy calls home ..

What better place to break in her very own new sail boat *warm smile*

as people get to know me two things are really important !

(1) being humble

(2) do like yourself ..

sometimes the best way to achieve these things are not only be kind to all alas but spending some good quality time with Yourself .. sure Family time is most important , alas something special about some good all alone time to think things Thur ...

these are the little things that can make all the difference in the world .. I think we each know enough blow harts in real life, that the idea to run into one in the privacy of our own homes on a computer .. sigh.. it happens .. and simply put one must just make a mental note, step back and yes turn the page .. In time it will come out and show to all .. in time (not always ours) the truth does always reveal its dear self !

The Sail boat a dream in itself .. a gift from Santa himself on Christmas Day !!

Now being a SeaBreeze from the heart I did break right into her Christmas Morning but really had not made the time to really let her rip !!1

WoW !!!! she handles like a dream !!

Weeeeeeeeeeeeee and she took the waves everyone and turned and maneuvered so well !!

The Trudeau Cat Racers -HUD and Craft are brilliant indeed !!!

Not one challenge upset her it was no pun intended a pure breeze to sail her and it felt good and was a great deal of fun !!! I started out slow and picked up a bit with practice on turns and the such .. i did take her out later on the open linden sea .. She rides so fast and slick ..

It really did feel like a real life Sail !!!!

The animations and the glide was a delight and the feelings that came over me *grins* not a care in the world .. it was a remarkable experience .. and I highly recommend her to and for all !!

but what made her extra special was that she was a gift .. and What a delightful perfect selection . In no time I lost an hour .. hence time sure does fly when one is having fun again !!

After a bit of practice , The tight turn were mastered well .. and the breeze was on her merry way !

*grins*
Thank YOU for taking the time to read about my little adventure

This was fun and perhaps I shall more .. sigh .. it all depends where the wind blows me

ah home sweet home !!1

Two Sides of Every Coin

2 Sides to Every Coin

Here is an example of what My Side is ..

*grins* one of my ponds and my little moody darling umbrella gal *grins*

No matter where you are no matter how difficult things might appear to be
You are always being moved to magnificence.
Always.

There are two words that when spoken have the most unfathomable power to completely change your life. Two words that, when they pass your lips, will be the cause of bringing absolute joy and happiness to you. Two words that will create Miracles in your life , wipe out negativity and bring you abundance in all things. Two words that, when uttered and sincerely felt, will summon all the forces in the universe to move all things for you.

There are just two words standing between you, happiness and the life of your dreams…

THANK YOU

Drive

Just some thoughts

I am thinking ...If I am such a bad me .. gosh I don't know ..

If everyone else is so grand .. heck .. as someone kept saying

Why am I here .. my Reply thought to myself .. "I have no clue"

Look the way I see it .. simply put ..

I know why I am here .. At this stage in my life I have a clue and purpose ..

I interact and not , no never take the easy page .. out !!

Sorry I am not an under wire person ..

I am in the room

I am present !

I make a point to be so !!

If there is one thing I am not it is a follower .

I believe in taking risks and I believe in extending my heart over and over

because when it comes to YOU anyone of YOU , everything I do Everything I try I do with a bit of me and that includes my heart

This is the main reason at this stage in life ..

I will not be taken or made a fool in any world at any time ..

I really make a point not talk behind people's back .. I confront you front and center ..

The way I see it if your talking about me it just became my business

what you do and how you treat people and others is your business

but just remember what goes around comes around

I am not here to hate and be angry !!!!

Nor am I here to be taken for a fool ..

When When will people get "Life is so Short"

It really is fleeing .. gosh ..it really is ..

Embrace it and feel it ..

The Good The Bad and The Ugly and before I lock out .. and walk away

I am so not perfect . so not even close ..But I still try and work it out even with ass holes

...I try to work it out .. thats what living is ..

And I will be present again tomarrow

Maybe not in your world but in mine each and everyday ..

and then hell .. if it don't work out it at this stage of my life it simply put was never meant to be .

Grins .. ah yes .. then there nothing better then a real good

Drive

Sometimes, I feel the fear of...

Uncertainty stinging clear.

And I can't help but ask myself how much

I'll let the fear take the wheel and steer.

It's driven me before,and it seems to have a vague,

haunting mass appeal.But lately

I'm beginning to find that I,should be the one behind the wheel.

Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there

With open arms and open eyes.Whatever tomorrow brings,

I'll be there I'll be there.

So if I decide to waiver my chance to be one of the hive

Will I choose water over wine

and hold my own and drive?

Ohh-oh-oohh

It's driven me before and it seems to be the way that everyone else gets around.

But lately I'm beginning to find that when I drive myself my light is found.

Whatever tomorrow brings,

I'll be there With open arms and open eyes, yeah

Whatever tomorrow brings,

I'll be there

I'll be there.

Would you choose water over wine...

Hold the wheel and drive?

Whatever tomorrow brings,

I'll be there With open arms and open eyes,

yeah Whatever tomorrow brings,

I'll be there I'll be there.
Incubus

Recipes For Happiness

Recipes For Happiness

" I have a little recipe that isn't hard to make

But you must always start as soon as you awake.

Take a great big mixing bowl and fill it with a smile

Mix half a cup of sunshine with good deeds to last a while.

Add a pinch of work and play, a pinch of thoughtfulness and care

But don't bake it in the oven, just spread it around everywhere."

2 Heaping cups of patience

1 Heart full of love

2 Hands full of generosity

Dash of laughter

1 Head full of understanding

Sprinkle generously with kindness

Add plenty of faith and mix well.

Spread over a period of a lifetime

And serve everyone you meet.

Happiness
We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married,

have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough

and we'll be more content when they are. After that,

we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with.

We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage.

We tell ourselves that our life will be complete

when our spouse gets his or her act together,

when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation, when we retire.

The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now.

If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges.

It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway.

One of my favorite quotes comes from Alfred D Souza.

He said, "For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life.

But there was always some obstacle in the way,

Something to be gotten through first,

some unfinished business, time still to be served, or a debt to be paid.

Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my "life".

This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness.

Happiness is the way. So, treasure every moment that you have and treasure it more because you shared it with someone special,

special enough to spend your time...

and remember that time waits for no one.

So, stop waiting until you finish school, until you go back to school,

until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds,

until you have kids, until your kids leave the house,

until you start work, until you retire, until you get married,

until you get divorced, until Friday night,

until Sunday morning, until you get a new car or home,

until your car or home is paid off,

until spring, until summer, until fall, until winter,

until you are off welfare, until the first or fifteenth,

until your song comes on, until you've had a drink,

until you've sobered up, until you die,

until you are born again to decide

that there is no better time than right now to be happy.

Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
"Author Unknown"