Monday, August 31, 2009

How much we 'ancients' missed.

I'm listening to Vivaldi this morning. Beautiful music. Mandolin concerti. Flute concerti. Basso continuo concerti. And I'm thinking how lucky I am. Because I live in the year 2009. If I had lived when Vivaldi lived, I most likely would never have heard any of his music. Because I would have had to hear it live. Now I have thousands of compact discs. I listen to music daily. Hardly go by a day without wonderful music. The finest music in the world. I hear far more music than the greatest composers ever heard in their lifetimes. But I suppose people living in the future will be reflecting on how much we 'ancients' missed. --Jim Broede

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Profound, isn't it?

I continue to get rid of stuff. Piles and piles. Boxes and boxes. All kinds of stuff I've accumulated over the years. And moreorless stored away. Or added to a burgeoning clutter. But finally, I'm resolved to trim down to bare essentials. Oh, I'll keep some meaningful items. With fond memories attached. As I have less and less, I feel, in a sense, that I have more and more. Because I am more focused inward. I attribute what I'm doing, in part, to love. To a better understanding of love. And what one must do to be truly in love with life. Yes, one must get to the meaningful. And not be diverted by the creature comforts of life. Possessions. Love comes from within. My teachers are people like Nelson Mandela. He endured 17 years in prison. Where he was put unjustly. But he didn't hold a grudge. He made the best of it. By cultivating love. From within. Others may have looked at those 17 years as a victim would -- of having been robbed of a large segment of one's life. Instead, Mandella learned how to love. His fellow man. And life. Profound, isn't it? --Jim Broede

...more loveable losers.

I want the Chicago Cubs to dump most of their high-salaried veteran players and go with young prospects. Maybe I'd make two exceptions. Now the Cubs payroll is around $140 million. One of the highest in baseball. But the team consists of far too many under-achievers. Prima donnas. Players going through motions. The Cubs lack chemistry. They don't play as a team. Rather, as individuals. Of course, there's no guarantee that the Cubs will be winners with a predominance of young, relatively low-salaried players. But I think there'd be more incentive to win. To play as a team. They'd be more fun to watch. It could take years for the team to jell. But I suspect there'd be the cohesiveness that makes them winners. Sooner or later. But if not -- well, it won't be any different than now. They'll still be losers. But more loveable losers. --Jim Broede

Saturday, August 29, 2009

I set attainable goals.

I'm getting organized. Cleaning up. Setting priorities. Avoiding doing too much. And that feels good. Makes me feel organized. I tackle projects. But I break each project into segments. So I don't feel overwhelmed. So that I have a sense of accomplishment. Daily. Some of my projects are mammoth. They take weeks, or even months, to complete. But I don't allow myself to become discouraged. Because I set attainable goals. --Jim Broede

Friday, August 28, 2009

...all the realms of love.

I like being alive and conscious. It feels so good. Just being aware. Able to think. To ponder. To enjoy the moment. Even when I had a bad cold several weeks ago, I still relished the thought of existence. Knowing I'd get better. Always have. Even in moments of sadness, I was able to call up fond memories. And I look forward to each day. Because I never have a totally bad day. Always something meaningful to salvage. For instance, I like to write. To transcribe my thoughts. Gives me a sense of being creative. Of cultivating a craft. Maybe even an art. I never dreamed I would be able to do this when I was a 5-year-old kindergartner. I still wasn't fully conscious, fully aware. That's not to say that I am now. But certainly, moreso than I used to be. I wasn't born with a sense of love. That I've cultivated. I needed time for that. Still do. I'd like to have forever. So that I could explore all the realms of love. --Jim Broede

Thursday, August 27, 2009

In boundless ways.

I have a tendency to do things to excess. For instance, today I lit two scented candles. In the living room and the kitchen. And I mentioned to a friend that I was considering lighting more candles. In every room of the house. She cautioned against that. That I would be doing something to excess again. Like collecting thousands of books and thousands of cassette tapes and thousands of compact discs. Ad infinitum. I think she makes a good point. One can do too many things to excess. To one's detriment. Too much of even a so-called good thing can be a bad thing. Look at some of the winners of lotteries. They suddenly found themselves so rich that they didn't know what to do with it all. And that made them unhappy. Of course, there's still one thing I like in excess. Love. I like to give it. And receive it. In boundless ways. --Jim Broede

It's the right thing to do.

Redistribution of wealth. Now there's a concept I could buy into. Making the rich less rich. And giving the excesses to the poor and middle classes. Of course, Republicans abhor such an idea. They would have put Robin Hood into jail. Maybe they'd even have executed him. But it's also the likes of Republicans that favored a slave economy. Yes, the exploitation of the have-nots. Well, anyway, I'm encouraged by a recent report in the New York Times. That for the first time in 30 years, the rich aren't getting richer. I want that trend to continue. Maybe there's less money for everyone in this bad economy. But hey, if we all share the existing wealth in more equal ways, it'll be good for society. For the common good. Maybe my ideas sound radical. They would in a staunch capitalist society. But then, I'm more a socialist than a capitalist. I think democratic socialism will be the wave of the future. Makes sense to me. Not only from a political and social point of view, but also from a religious or spiritual perspective. It's the right thing to do. --Jim Broede

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

I don't want to be reminded.

I'm staying away from newscasts today. Because Ted Kennedy has died. It's that I don't want to be reminded that he's dead. I lament the loss of a true liberal. And a decent human being. I wish he could have lived longer. In good health. To champion liberal causes. Interesting. Kennedy had friends on both sides of the political aisle. You didn't have to agree with him to respect him. Seems to me that Kennedy was evolving. Throughout his life. Learning from his mistakes. He survived quite a bit longer than his brothers. That was a blessing. Because longevity made him what he was. He needed time. And he got it. --Jim Broede

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

And that's no lie. It's the truth.

Too many people are gullible. They'll believe almost anything. Maybe that's another way of saying they are stupid. Politicians are aware that they can tell lies. All the time. And know that their gullible political bases will go along with these falsehoods. And the news media plays right into the hands of liars. Because the lies stir controversy. So the lies are reported. Perpetuated. Given some degree of validity. The media don't label lies as lies. Anyway, many cable channels are highly partisan. Far from objective. People tune in to 'em because they like to hear the lies. Over and over. Makes 'em feel good. Because they want to believe the lies. They really can't stand the truth. They'd rather be deceived. It happens all the time. In Nazi Germany, for instance. They listened to Hitler. And in America, so many of us listened to George Bush and his lies. He lied us into war. That's really the major cause of wars. Festering lies. Really, the whole foundation of America was built on deceptions. On lies. We were told from the beginning that all men are created equal. That was bullshit. The black man wasn't equal. Neither were women. Nowadays, we are told that the American health care system is the best in the world. More bullshit. We spend more than any other nation on health care. But we have 46 million Americans uninsured. And Americans rank 35th in longevity. Yes, if you want to live longer, it's best to not be an American. And that's no lie. It's the truth. --Jim Broede

Monday, August 24, 2009

I must reintroduce myself.

In my vast collection of music CDs, I've just located Arturo Toscanini's and the NBC Symphony Orchestra's rendition of Beethoven's 9th Symphony. It was recorded on March 31 and April 1 in 1952. And one of the first phonograph records I ever purchased was this much ballyhooed recording. That was the way I was introduced to the Ode to Joy. When I was a teen-ager. And now I'm gonna listen to it again. Today. Tomorrow. And the next day. I'll be back in time. A long, long time ago. I can still remember the music that wowed me as a youngster. I spent good money for Rudolph Serkin playing Beethoven's Emperor's Concerto and Pierre Monteaux directing the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra in Beethoven's 2nd Symphony. I was big on Beethoven in those days. Particularly, the symphonies. Now I prefer string quartets. Beethoven. Haydn. Mozart. But I must reintroduce myself to the symphonies. --Jim Broede

Sunday, August 23, 2009

We're just plain stupid.

I've worked in the news business most of my life. And that's taught me something. Don't trust the news media. They get it wrong much of the time. Or incomplete. Oh, so many, many news sources. And so many, many slants. We're ill-informed. We form opinions without the facts. And we don't take the time to become knowledgeable. We're too busy. Living our lives. That's too bad. So many of our opinions are based on sound bites. In essence, we're being told what to believe. In rather shallow terms. But calculated to turn us into robots. We buy products because of 30-second commercials. We even buy a political candidate by judging whether we'd want to sit down and have a beer with him. Issues don't matter. We even vote against our own best interests because we don't know any better. We're just plain stupid. --Jim Broede

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Crazy, isn't it?

So many people love to hate. I know that sounds like a contradiction. But more and more in America, I'm seeing haters. Devout haters. They hate with a passion. I'm thinking of rednecks. And conservatives. I mean far, far right wing conservatives. Politically. And socially. Many of 'em hate Barack Obama. They think he's a socialist. An agent of the devil. And it doesn't help that he's black. They hate black people in general. They hate Muslims, too. Actually, just about anyone who doesn't share their point of view. Some of 'em are convinced that Obama isn't even an American citizen. And therefore, he shouldn't be president. Some of 'em come to town hall meetings armed. With firearms. Even AK-47s. Because they claim to have the gawd-given American right to bear arms. They think Obama wants that right taken away. Wouldn't surprise me if one of 'em tried to shoot Obama some day. And he'd boast that gawd made him do it. They'd say that Obama got his just deserts. Because they allege that he favors death panels. To determine when grandma should die. In order to save money. I know all this stuff is preposterous. But we have wackos walking around believing it. They're probably insane. But they're ultra conservatives. And they believe they have a right to believe whatever they want to believe. Crazy, isn't it? --Jim Broede

I've created a new world.

I’m redecorating the house. In a major way. Making it look far less cluttered. And making it easier to clean. I’ve almost completed the interior. Oh, there’s still fine-tuning to do. Maybe that phase of it will never end. It’s been a mammoth project. I’ve still got to get rid of stuff. Possessions. Things I’ve accumulated over the years. Far too many books. Too many compact discs. Too many cassette tapes. I mean thousands. Incredible numbers. I had become a collector. Of more books than I could ever read. And more recorded music than I could ever listen to. More clothes too, than I could ever wear. Strange, isn’t it? I castigate people for becoming obscenely rich. Monetarily. But I practiced a similar pursuit. An obscenely number of possessions. I’d buy books and CDs off the clearance racks. Many times for $1. Or less. And then I’d need some place to put ‘em. And finally, I recognized that it was becoming a clutter. A dust-collector. I was being closed in. Surrounded by possessions. Rather than openness. Rather than by light and white spaces. I’ve discovered that less is more. I’m feeling more relaxed. More at ease. With a simple change in my environs. In my attitude. I’ve created a new world. –Jim Broede

Friday, August 21, 2009

Time to tell GOP to go to hell.

Hey, Democrats, you won the last election. You have big majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate. But the minority Republicans are acting like they're the majority. And that they should be allowed to call the shots on health care and other matters. And even President Obama seems ready to kiss GOP asses. Makes me wonder what's going on here. Seems to me it's time for Democrats to tell Republicans to go to hell. --Jim Broede

Has he hocked his soul?

Politics. It's a mean-spirited game. At least that's the way I see it. One doesn't tend to go into politics with an open mind. But rather to defeat one's opponent. To think of the opposition as the enemy. To do anythihg to win. To even lie and cheat. To distort. No such thing as an honest politician. I've written a lot about politics. Over the years. Met lots of politicians. The good people --well, they quit early. They get out of politics. Because they don't want to play the game. I respect some politicians. To a degree. Such as Barack Obama. But fact of the matter is that Obama can't help put be corrupted by politics. He has to play the game. In order to survive as a politician. Eventually, Obama has to sacrifice principle. To get to the top. To achieve power. Maybe he even has to sell his soul. He has to choose between getting downright dirty or getting out of politics. It's one or the other. Looks to me like Obama has chosen to stay. In politics. I wonder if that means he's hocked his soul. --Jim Broede

Thursday, August 20, 2009

I tend to sink. Like a rock.

I wonder if I was abducted by aliens overnight. I'd like to be. But instead, it was probably just a weird dream. I had a sense that I was being examined. Made well, maybe. And then I was released. In a life raft. On the high seas. On the assumption that I would be found. And returned to where I belong. I was never frightened during the ordeal. Actually, it wasn't an ordeal. It was rather pleasant. Maybe I was being implanted. With a relaxation gene. I've been trying to learn to relax enough to float on my back. On water, of course. I'm told one needs to relax in order to accomplish such a feat. My goal is to float for an hour. Which means I have to achieve total relaxation. In a sense, I must lose my mind. Divorce my mind from my physical being. When I think, I tend to sink. Like a rock. --Jim Broede

Screw 'em.

If I'm Barack Obama, I'm hatching a plan to screw the Republicans. Royally. On health care insurance reform. After all, I've worked with the GOP. To try to concoct a bipartisan plan. With give and take. But the Republicans appear to want to sabotage any plan. Purely for partisan gain. And in a mean-spirited manner. So, I'd say, let's in the end stick it to the Republicans. Let's give 'em a taste of their own medicine. Let's start to act like the late Lyndon B. Johnson. When he worked to pass civil rights legislation. Even over the protests of Dixiecrats in his own party. He twisted arms. Offered political favors. Anything to get their votes. Maybe even legally quetionable bribes. Well, I'd do what it takes to get a public health care alternative. I could justify my actions because 57 percent of the American people seem to favor a public option. It's the profit-minded insurance and phamaceutical companies and Republicans that oppose what most Americans really want. So, Obama, find the votes you need. In your own party. Offer ambassadorships. Or posts in your own cabinet. Or cushy jobs. Anything. Yes, to do the right thing. Do the common good. Give Americans what they deserve. And better yet -- Republicans exactly what they deserve. The shaft. Screw 'em. --Jim Broede

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

...out of whack.

Interesting. New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristoff noted that we incarcerate a prisoner in America at a cost of $49,000 a year. And that at the same time, we have 46 million Americans without health insurance. Another sign that America's priorities are out of whack. We spend a small fortune to put more people in prison than any other country in the world. At the same time that we deny many of our citizens adequate health care. --Jim Broede

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Until we finally get pissed.

American government is corrupt. I’m resigned to that fact. And there’s nothing I can do about it. I have to live with it. In that sense, I’m ashamed to be an American. But I don’t move to another country. Because most every government is corrupt. It’s just a matter of degree. But American government is about as corrupt as it gets. It’s gawd-awful corrupt. Designed to benefit the fat cats. It’s always been that way. Our founders were corrupt. And immoral. Giving privilege to people with money. To the rich. And the common good be damned. Oh, we pride ourselves in having a ‘democratic’ government. We elect our representatives. But that’s a sham. Our representatives generally cater to the rich. Because they’re bribed. The rich pay for the campaigns. And for access. That’s why, for instance, we’ll never get a single-payer health care system. There’s obscene profit to be made by private interests, mainly the insurance and pharmaceutical companies. Barack Obama gave us momentary hope. That maybe he was a knight in shining armor. And he’d use the bully pulpit to bring us universal public health care. But Obama miscalculated. He’d fight fair. And use the power of persuasion to convince congress to adopt a plan that serves the common good. But that won’t happen. Because big money speaks louder than Obama's words . We common Americans will get screwed again and again and again. Until we finally get pissed. And we take to the streets and overthrow our corrupt government. –Jim Broede

Thinking ahead.

I'm looking ahead. A little bit. To winter. Not because of the snow and cold in Minnesota. Instead, I expect to travel. For a few weeks. Maybe to Portugal. But I'm also thinking about the island of Sardinia. In the Mediterranean. Then I'll return to Minnesota. To worship winter. Until the Chicago Cubs open spring training and start playing exhibition games. Then I'll go to Arizona. To welcome in springtime. --Jim Broede

I'm always learning.

I'm feeling good about life. In general. Maybe because I've finally learned to take life one day at a time. And to make the most of each day. By finding something to savor. I'm no perfectionist. I don't ever expect everything to go perfectly. Sometimes, things go wrong. But hey, that's all right. Of course, it helps that I'm in love. But even if I weren't, I'd find ample reason to be happy. Because I've been in love before. And that has a residual effect. Makes me aware that life has been worthwhile. Seems that my cup is always full. But that often it runneth over. And I'm always learning. I have a tutor. Yes, my own personal teacher. She teaches me a lot. Mostly, to think. To keep an open mind. And to be a decent human being. --Jim Broede

Let's riot.

I have a bad feeling about pending health care reform. It really ain't gonna be reform. Because we might not have a public insurance option. It's sounding more and more like we'll have private options only. And I don't trust private insurers. As usual, they'll be out to reap obscene profits. I had hoped that Democrats would unite and ram through a public option. But President Barack Obama and too many Democrats have been overly polite to private interests and Republicans. Yes, far too nice. In an effort to come up with a bipartisan plan. Well, Obama and Democrats are giving too much. And Republicans are giving virtually nothing. So, we'll get watered-down reform. A sham. Our politicians, as usual, are being bought off by private insurers. Bribed, in a real sense. Money buys votes. That's the way the system has always worked, and continues to work. And most of us sit idly by, and let it happen. If we had any gumption, we'd take to the streets. And riot, if necessary. And demand a single-payer health care system run by the government. --Jim Broede

Monday, August 17, 2009

The gun-toters start young.

I'm leery of 10- and 11-year-old kids wandering through my yard with pellet guns. Shooting at birds. I'd like to kick their asses. If not the asses of their parents. Maybe that makes me a grouchy old man. Now, I have found another reason to be grouchy. I washed my windows for the first time in the long time, and I've discovered two of my windows have been damaged by their mis-fired pellets. I'm sure it wasn't intentional. They just missed the birds, and the pellets hit the windows instead. The parents have agreed to pay for the damages. But I wish they'd take away the air pistols and rifles. But it won't happen. Because we live in a gun-toting society. --Jim Broede

Equivalent to walking on water.

Maybe Barack Obama is as much a pragmatist as an idealist. The more I watch Obama, the more I think he gets ahead because he's practical. He allows situations to play out. And to make the best of practical reality. Politically. Such as overhaul of the health care insurance system. He'd prefer a single-payer public health system. But that may not pass in the Senate. So Obama will settle for less. Much to the disappointment of liberals in his own party. Obama learned to navigate successully as a black man in a white supremacy society. Without losing his cool. Think of it. He's black. And got himself elected president of the United States. I think that's equivalent to walking on water. --Jim Broede

Better to be lucky than good.

My Chicago Cubs have become bottom-feeders. They win lots of baseball games against teams with losing records. But they haven't won a series against a team with a winning record since April. So, it's little wonder that the Cubs will have difficulty making the play-offs this summer. But I ain't giving up. Sometimes, mediocre teams go all the way to the World Series. The best teams have been known to falter. Maybe from over-confidence. That's something the Cubs don't have to worry about. They have no reason to be confident. The Cubs are in second place in a relatively weak division. And hey, they have lots of games left with teams with losing records. Now, the task is to reach the play-offs. Sometimes, it's better to be lucky than good. --Jim Broede

Sunday, August 16, 2009

In love again.

Thank gawd for the women I've had in my life. They've really been life-savers. I've had man-friends, too. But women have been the most meaningful. Three, in particular. But still others for whom I am grateful. And they know it. Of course, the first to happen along was my mother. A very strong and determined woman. She kept the family together after my dad committed suicide. I was only 13 at the time, older than my brother and sister. Mother went to work. And so did I. And it was always understood that I'd get a college education. Mother made that abundantly clear. My mother married again, and went on to a successful career as an interior decorator. And she was my confidante right up to the end of her long life. Albeit, it's a little sad that she battled depression in the last 20 years. Next, I was blessed with Jeanne. My wife for 38 years, until she died in 2007, after a 13-year battle with Alzheimer's. It was a wonderful loving relationship, which came with a ready-made family, a step son and a step daughter. I couldn't have asked for more. But I have more. I am blessed for a third time. In love again. --Jim Broede

Friday, August 14, 2009

They ain't even in nut houses.

The conservative political discourse in America has become farcical. I can't take it seriously. Such as Barack Obama not being an American. Yet there are conservatives that have convinced themselves that his birth certificate is fake. That he wasn't born in this country. And now we have conservatives such as Sarah Palin saying that Obama favors establishing 'death panels' to decide whether sick old folks should live or die. Yet, some people believe it. An indication that they have IQs that qualify them as full-fledged idiots. And some of this stuff is even spouted by pundits on the Fox News channel. Yes, we've reached the point where the preposterous often is reported as fact. And a goodly number of walking, breathing Americans believe it. And they ain't even in nut houses. --Jim Broede

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Wouldn't it be nice if...

Doctors at the Mayo Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic work for a straight, fixed salary. Doesn't matter how many treatments or procedures they do. I like that. Does a lot to contain the cost of medical care. Seems to me that those doctors do their work because that's their job, their vocation, their craft, their art, their purpose in life. They don't have to get obscenely rich. Little wonder that the Mayo Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic have outstanding reputations. Wouldn't it be nice if the entire health care system in the U.S. followed the examples of Mayo and Cleveland? --Jim Broede

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

I want an orderly life.

There's nothing quite like a Ben Franklin variety store. Narrow aisle ways. Merchandise stacked to the ceiling. Not a place for someone with claustrophobia. Recently, I was in a Ben Franklin store. In Grand Marais. On the north shore of Lake Superior. It gave me a sense of how I've lived for too many years. Amidst clutter. Now, I'm changing my ways. Learning to live with the basic necessities of life. I don't need 100 sweaters. Or 5,000 books. Or 3,000 CDs. Or 200 birdhouses. I've been a collector. Of things. Strange, isn't it? I wonder if it's an illness. Anyway, if one has too much, it's a burden. Just keeping everything clean and in order. I want an orderly life. And I've concluded that's best accomplished with fewer and fewer material things. --Jim Broede

The old-fashioned way.

Life is full of surprises. Pleasant little surprises. Like the bed and breakfast place we stumbled across in Bayfield. In Wisconsin. On the south shore of Lake Superior. It was called the Cooper Hill Bed & Breakfast. In a home built in 1888. And run by the Bayfield mayor Larry MacDonald. And his charming wife, Julie. We stayed in a room dubbed the Captain's Quarters. I allowed my companion to be the captain. While I assumed the role of admiral. As we sailed off on a boat tour of the Apostle Islands. Very nice, indeed. To be the unexpected guests of the mayor. I learned that 21 years ago, the MacDonalds got tired of the helter-skelter grind of the corporate world, and decided to move to Paradise. To pursue dreams. Of a slow and wonderful life. Larry is a sailor. He has a 38-foot sailboat. Anyway, we had blueberry muffins for breakfast. Made with home-grown blueberries. And I noticed that outside, the bed sheets and other laundry was being hung out to dry in the fresh air. Rather than in a clothes dryer. That tells me a lot about people that insist on doing things the old-fashioned way. --Jim Broede

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

...a bomb hidden in a shoe.

I've been away. For three weeks. Even to a 'foreign' country. To Canada. When I returned to the U.S. at the point of entry, it felt more like entering the real foreign country. The way I was treated by American border guards. They were annoyed with me. Because I didn't have my passport with me. Never had to have a passport before. Just to visit Canada. Anyway, the Canadians welcomed me. Told me to have a nice time. And I did. Didn't even think of it as a foreign country. My mistake. But now as a U.S. citizen I'm supposed to think of Canadians as foreigners. But I think they are Americans. North Americans. Like the rest of us. And I feel more at home in Canada than I would in gawd-forsaken Texas, for instance. I'm told at the Texas border, "Don't mess with Texas.' Rather ominous. Yes, I know it's merely an anti-litter campaign. But still, I think it carries a double meaning. Don't mess with the U.S. Carry your passport. That is, if you want to return to the U.S. I do. Yes, in order to deal with our widespread national paranoia. I feel as if I've lost my freedom. To travel. Out and about in the world. I must have proper documentation. And ample reason to travel. After all, I could be a terrorist. We're all under suspicion. Even the elderly grandma who's required to take her shoes off as she barefoots her way through airport security. She might have a bomb hidden in a shoe. --Jim Broede

Monday, August 10, 2009

And I see once again.

It's a little thing. But a big thing. Like a magical stroke. The angel of light is an interior decorator. She sees that I am living in darkness. Relatively speaking. A dark environs. Walls of books. Dim lights. Dark paintings. Maybe the kind of clutter one finds in a Ben Franklin variety store. Merchandise. Stuff stacked high. Creating narrow corridors. Just the opposite of what I seek from inside. I wish for Scandinavian design. White space. Openness. Yes, boundless light. It takes the angel of light to make me aware. She removes the blindfold. And I see once again. --Jim Broede

...the true essence of love.

I have spent three weeks living with the angel of light. Indeed, a wonderful experience. She has brought light into my life. Always, there has been light. But this light is brighter than sunshine. And it comes from inside. And outside. From everywhere. Light that permeates the soul and the spirit and one's physical being. The whole package. She has taught me much. That I don't need stuff. Don't need things. I am beginning to understand the true essence of love. --Jim Broede