M. Short's Blog, page 15
November 5, 2020
Shell-Shocked-A Pandora’s Box
When another writing friend, doing research, knowing of my military back ground asked me if I knew of someone that had suffered from PTSD and knew the symptoms of PTSD. She of course, was not aware that I had any problems. I have been out of the military for 49 years having secured my Pandora’s box deep inside of me a long time ago, I felt that I could share my experiences one on one with a non-military person without opening my Pandora’s box, but I was wrong. Everything came flooding back. I was able though to finish telling her about PTSD (Shell-Shocked), but it put me back in front of my Pandora’s box once again peering inside finding my nightmares, high anxiety, fears, high alertness for threats perceived or imagined and last but not least my guilt. It took me two days to close the lid on my box and bury it once again.
I struggled for many years with what was referred to then as being SHELL-SHOCKED. It was not something you wanted to admit to or even display the emotions. If you were considered shell-shocked by your peers, let’s just say you were looked at in a different way.
So, the solution for me came from my father who told me in so many words said, “The past was the past. You learn from it but you don’t dwell in it. Your past is behind you. Your future is in front of you.” By doing just that, looking forward not backwards, I did finally get my mind right. I was able to purge those thoughts from my mind and lock them in my Pandora’s box. A box with all my demons, all my darkness and all my guilt. I was able to put them in this box, lock it and bury it very deep inside of myself. Much like Pandora’s box that was buried deep so, deep that it could not be unlocked again. It worked. The dreams started to diminish along with my anxiety, fears and guilt.
I am not writing this for sympathy or any other emotional response that someone my feel towards me. I am writing this for me. My science fiction writing allows me to express my combat experiences, while keeping them in the realm of fiction. If the book is science fiction then it will remain fiction to me, keeping my Pandora’s box deep inside and hopefully entertain my readers while giving them some insight into combat. Just trying to keep it unreal.
November 4, 2020
Life Lesson #20
The Ants & the Grasshopper
One bright day in late autumn a family of Ants were bustling about in the warm sunshine, drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer, when a starving Grasshopper, his fiddle under his arm, came up and humbly begged for a bite to eat.
“What!” cried the Ants in surprise, “haven’t you stored anything away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all last summer?”
“I didn’t have time to store up any food,” whined the Grasshopper; “I was so busy making music that before I knew it the summer was gone.”
The Ants shrugged their shoulders in disgust.
“Making music, were you?” they cried. “Very well; now dance!” And they turned their backs on the Grasshopper and went on with their work.
The Moral of the Story: There’s a time for work and a time for play.
If you are passionate about your work it is no longer work. Work at what you like, not what you think your are relegated to do.
Remember! Follows and Likes keep beans on the table. Thank you all for your support.
November 3, 2020
Life lesson #19
The Fox & the Leopard
A Fox and a Leopard, resting lazily after a generous dinner, amused themselves by disputing about their good looks. The Leopard was very proud of his glossy, spotted coat and made disdainful remarks about the Fox, whose appearance he declared was quite ordinary.
The Fox prided himself on his fine bushy tail with its tip of white, but he was wise enough to see that he could not rival the Leopard in looks. Still he kept up a flow of sarcastic talk, just to exercise his wits and to have the fun of disputing. The Leopard was about to lose his temper when the Fox got up, yawning lazily.
“You may have a very smart coat,” he said, “but you would be a great deal better off if you had a little more smartness inside your head and less on your ribs, the way I am. That’s what I call real beauty.”
The Moral of the story: A fine coat is not always an indication of an attractive mind.
In reading this fable by Aesop, I am reminded of two phrases. “Beauty is only skim deep” and “You can’t judge a book by its cover.”
Have you met anyone that at first glance was very impressive, only to find out once he opened his mouth the first impression quickly dissolved? Share your story in the comments section.
Remember! Follows and Likes keep beans on the table. Thank you all for your support.
November 2, 2020
Life Lesson #18
The Crow & the Pitcher
In a spell of dry weather, when the Birds could find very little to drink, a thirsty Crow found a pitcher with a little water in it. But the pitcher was high and had a narrow neck, and no matter how he tried, the Crow could not reach the water. The poor thing felt as if he must die of thirst.
Then an idea came to him. Picking up some small pebbles, he dropped them into the pitcher one by one. With each pebble the water rose a little higher until at last it was near enough so he could drink.
In a pinch a good use of our wits may help us out.
Common sense is the least common of the senses.
Remember! Follows and Likes keep beans on the table. Thank you all for your support.
November 1, 2020
Daylight Savings Time! What is that about?
Daylight savings time has had its ups and downs since 1918. It became the law of the land starting on March 31st 1918. After the first world war was over Daylight savings time became so unpopular that it was repealed by congress and overturned a veto by President Wilson. Another swipe was taken at the daylight saving piñata by President Roosevelt in 1942 calling it “War Time” from February 9th 1942 to September 30th 1945. After 1945 until January 9th 1974 daylight savings was only observed by a few cities. In 1974 President Nixon signed into law the Daylight Saving Time Energy Act of 1973.
Since that time parents have been suffering from lack of sleep when the clocks would leap forward and suffered the frustration of telling their children it was time to go to bed when it was still light outside. This soon turned children’s rooms into what would be reminiscent of the black-out curtains used in Britain during the Nazi’s bombing of London on a nightly basis.
My Grandfather would use the analogy of cutting off one end of your rug and sewing it on to the other end to make it longer. He would say, “There are only 24 hours in a day. Daylight saving time doesn’t make the day any longer. You still have to get up at sunrise to feed the chickens, no matter what the clock says.”
Remember! Follows and likes keep beans on the table. Thank you all for your support.
Life Lesson #17
An Aesop Fable from the Library of Congress
The Plane Tree
Two Travellers, walking in the noonday sun, sought the shade of a widespreading tree to rest. As they lay looking up among the pleasant leaves, they saw that it was a Plane Tree.
“How useless is the Plane!” said one of them. “It bears no fruit whatever, and only serves to litter the ground with leaves.”
“Ungrateful creatures!” said a voice from the Plane Tree. “You lie here in my cooling shade, and yet you say I am useless! Thus ungratefully, O Jupiter, do men receive their blessings!”
Our best blessings are often the least appreciated.
Common blessings come in many forms for me. There are blessings of Grace, GOD’S willingness to forgive us of our sins against HIM, even though we don’t deserve forgiveness. There is the blessing of Chastisement from the Holy Spirit in the form of correction to be observed in one’s life that will bring us closer to our GOD. Then here is the blessing of Love. I think it is best described as the love of Christ that was shown on the cross as he gave up his life so we may live.
Prayer while common place in Christian beliefs, many have said that GOD doesn’t always answer prayer. I believe that there is no such thing as unanswered prayer. I believe that every prayer is answered in accordance with HIS will, it just may not be the answer you are looking for, but it is the right answer for you if you follow GOD’s will.
Remember! Follows and likes keep beans on the table. Thank you all for your support.
October 31, 2020
The Mind can be a Horrible Thing!
From the website snopes.com
[Collected via e-mail, 2002]
The year 2002, a man finds himself locked in a walk in freezer. He is convinced he will die and begins writing letters. His letters end with a final passage where he is saying he can not write anymore because his fingers are beginning to freeze. When they find him dead, not only do they find the letters but they discover that the freezer’s temperature never dropped below 50 degrees. Thus, the man pretty much psyched himself to death.
[Van Ekeren, 1988]
The expression “worried to death” has more truth to it than you might think.
There is a story about Nick Sitzman, a strong, young bull-of-a-man, who worked on a train crew. It seemed Nick had everything: a strong healthy body, ambition, a wife and two children, and many friends. However, Nick had one fault. He was a notorious worrier. He worried about everything and usually feared the worst.
One midsummer day, the train crew were informed that they could quit an hour early in honor of the foreman’s birthday. Accidentally, Nick was locked in a refrigerator boxcar, and the rest of the workmen left the site. Nice panicked.
He banged and shouted until his fists were bloody and his voice was hoarse. No one heard him. “If I can’t get out, I’ll freeze to death in here,” he thought. Wanting to let his wife and family know exactly what had happened to him, Nick found a knife and began to etch words on the wooden floor. He wrote, “It’s so cold, my body is getting numb. If I could just go to sleep. These may be my last words.”
The next morning the crew slid open the heavy doors of the boxcar and found Nick dead. An autopsy revealed that every physical sign of his body indicated he had frozen to death. And yet the refrigeration unit of the car was inoperative, and the temperature inside indicated fifty-five degrees. Nick had killed himself by the power of worry.
My Personal Experiences:
When I returned from Vietnam, I had feelings of guilt and the memories of combat that haunted my mind daily. I would awaken after hitting a wall running from my demons. I was not in a good place then , but with the help of my faith, wife and family I started to focus my mind on the good things in life. My Father told me once that the past was for life lessons, but if you are always looking back you will miss all the wonderful things life has to offer in the present.
My darkest demons are now locked in my emotional Pandora’s box deep inside myself. They will stay there so I can enjoy my present and my future. No more ‘Stinking Thinking’ for me, my mind is now under my control, I am no longer under its control.
Moral of the story: You can control your response to a situation. Don’t let the situation control you.
Remember! Likes and Follows keeps beans on the table. Thank you all for your support.
Life Lesson # 16
The Æsop for Children Library of Congress
The Frogs & the Ox
An Ox came down to a reedy pool to drink. As he splashed heavily into the water, he crushed a young Frog into the mud.
The old Frog soon missed the little one and asked his brothers and sisters what had become of him.
“A great big monster,” said one of them, “stepped on little brother with one of his huge feet!”
“Big, was he!” said the old Frog, puffing herself up. “Was he as big as this?”
“Oh, much bigger!” they cried.
The Frog puffed up still more.
“He could not have been bigger than this,” she said. But the little Frogs all declared that the monster was much, much bigger and the old Frog kept puffing herself out more and more until, all at once, she burst.
The Moral on the Story: Do not attempt the impossible.
Always know your limits physically, mentally and emotionally. Don’t let your mind talk you into anything. You can control your mind, don’t let it control you.
If you are a science fiction author them you can let you mind run rampant. That is how you are able to write good sci-fi books.
October 30, 2020
Life Lesson #15
The Æsop for Children Library of Congress
The Stag & His Reflection
A Stag, drinking from a crystal spring, saw himself mirrored in the clear water. He greatly admired the graceful arch of his antlers, but he was very much ashamed of his spindling legs.
“How can it be,” he sighed, “that I should be cursed with such legs when I have so magnificent a crown.”
At that moment he scented a panther and in an instant was bounding away through the forest. But as he ran his wide-spreading antlers caught in the branches of the trees, and soon the Panther overtook him. Then the Stag perceived that the legs of which he was so ashamed would have saved him had it not been for the useless ornaments on his head.
We often make much of the ornamental and despise the useful.
Antlers also look good on the den wall.
Remember! Follows and likes keep beans on the table. Thank you all for your support.
SCI-FI Series A Saga of Dogs of War-A Story Mercenaries.
[image error]https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B08JQRR122
[image error]https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B08JQRR122
[image error]https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B08JQRR122
The Earth, after the collapse of its one world government, came under the control of six corporations. These six corporations, soon to be referred to as the Big Six employed over half of the worlds populations. Because of the blatant disregard for the environment the Earth was thrown into a cataclysmic event that eventually engulfed Earth.
The Big Six evacuated Earth to settle on Mars and its two moons. Cry Havoc’s story starts in 2235 to tell the story of a Warrior Clan ‘The Dogs of War’ and their conflicts while reclaiming territory for resettlement of Earth 60 years after the Big Six had left Earth.
Once the Continent of Australia was claimed by the Dogs of War for their corporate sponsor XTECH, XTECH wanted more territory. XTECH in their efforts to claim more territory would need a Protective Force to keep their claim of Australia. My second book ‘The GRiM Clan’ tells the story of how the GRiM Clan came into existence and the challenges they faced as the Protective Force of Australia.
My third book ‘The Vendetta Against Vendetta’ reveals a plot that was contrived in the first book Cry Havoc, but executed in this book. Vendetta in Cry Havoc was known as Beacon Boy. Vendetta considered by many a genius in signal and electrical engineering field, started to conduct his rein of terror with his network of spies, causing mayhem and mass killings on Earth and Mars.
My fourth book ‘One’s Evil Desire’ tells the story treachery, deceit, and murder. Space Exploration, finding new civilizations and hostile Empires bent on their destruction.
I will be running an Advance Sale promotion for One’s Evil Desire eBook starting on November 1st through November 15th the official launch date at https://books2read.com/b/4Dglpg for just .99 cents. Paperback advanced sales will be at https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B08JQRR122 starting November 1st through the 15th. Links to the rest of my science fiction series can be found under each book shown above. I hope you enjoy the series.
Remember! Follows and Likes keep beans on the table. Thank you all for your support.
