OpEdNews - Articles - Author's Page for PeterJ

I was born in 1951. I had the benefit of experiencing the na�vet� of the 50', The Ozzie and Harriet years, when Dad went to work in a suit and tie and Mom stayed home in
high heals and an apron. Yea, that was life for me. I lived in a predominantly Irish neighborhood in South Boston. My Grandmother and Grandfather came to America from Sicily in the early 1900's and finally settled in "Southie", opening one of the many corner markets, a grocery and butcher shop. They learned English and made sure that it was the first language of their 7 children, 3 sons, my father the oldest of all of the children and 4 daughters. My Grandfather died with throat cancer in 1943, which brought my Father home from Panama, where he was stationed with the Army, to run the family business, as the others were still children. My Dad basically took on the role of Father to his brothers and sisters and along with my Grandmother, kept the family going. When my Father met my Mother he was 29 and she,20.They married in 1950 and when I was born in 51 they moved into the 3rd floor flat above the store where my Grandmother occupied the 2nd floor. I had one great advantage while growing up in the 50s. My cousin Janet, who was several years my elder, kept me attuned to the music and the lifestyle of teens of the era.I was also very sensitive to politics at a very young age. When Kennedy ran for president in 60 I actually helped campaign by passing out flyers and buttons at rallies. When he was murdered in 63, even at my young age, I felt a twinge of distrust of the government, as though something wasn't being said.That feeling stayed and amplified throughout every other assassination and demonstration and by the late 60s I was a full blown radical.Not in the sense that I was for peace and love but that I was against war and propaganda.In 1970 I moved to Florida. I met a "hippie" girl, got married and had a beautiful daughter. I now had to support a family so I put aside (as much as I could) my nonconformist ways and worked hard to advance myself into a career position with a New York based car rental co. As time went on my "hippie" wife came to love the material world which for me was just a means of survival. When the firm filed chapter 11 and sold all assets to another company (which turned out to be the largest car rental co. in the country)I lost my job. My no longer hippie wife divorced me, I filed bankruptcy, my house foreclosed and what was left went to her.I learned a great lesson in corporate loyalty and would never give myself over to a conglomerate again. Losing my daughter was devastating and I turned back to my old ways of drinking and drugs. Although I was responsible and worked and paid bills I sank deeper into a dangerous lifestyle.This continued until the late 80s when I met my current wife,Cindy. She helped me change my ways and things were great until the late 90s when I began developing symptoms which dr.s had a difficult time diagnosing. Through several years of excruciating pain,tests,scans and surgeries finally left me out of work and disabled with a multitude of problems.Now, I keep busy reading,writing, playing my guitar, taking care of my Lhasa Apso, Dusty, Cocker Spaniel named Lady, 19 yr old kitten,Chloe and my Green Cheek Conure named Sarge who is my constant companion. My wife, Cindy, saved my life in many ways and I'll never figure out why she keeps me around. Most times I even annoy myself. I love her dearly. She's my life. We share interests in collecting US coins and stamps, an occasional game of pool(she always destroys me)and when we can afford it,which isn't often,travel. After all we've been through I feel fortunate for what we have and though we don't have much what infuriates me is that we are better off than 70% of the people in this country. Any person who is willing to work should be able to live a comfortable life in this country. Me? As long as I have her I don't need much else, except maybe, to change the world.

http://1bigdragon.blogspot.com/

OpEdNews Member for 91 week(s) and 1 day(s)

16 Articles, 3 Quick Links, 235 Comments, 3 Diaries, 5 Polls

16 Articles

Tuesday, April 7, 2009
If It's Necessary To Give Handouts, Such As Obama Is Doing, Why Not Give It To The Victims To Balance Out Their Mortgage
(7 comments) I'm generally not the kind of person who looks to get something for nothing and I never did prescribe to the theory that life is fair but under certain controlled conditions, when the deliberate, knowledgeable actions of certain people lead to conditions where certain adjustments must be made, supposedly for the good of all I firmly believe that those adjustments be made taking into consideration...to beginning of article...

Sunday, January 11, 2009
Thank You For The Sept 11 Attacks
(12 comments) We are not led by our president or our congress, not the senate or the supreme court. They act the part, sometimes not too well but when it all comes down to it they just do as they're told. They run for office and take an oath to serve the country and the people with so much pomp and ceremony but you have been deceived. You're surprised?......

Monday, December 15, 2008
Is It Really Change We Need Or What?
(2 comments) Where's the change? Christ, give the guy a chance to take off his coat and hat,will'ya? He's not even been sworn in yet.If he happens to be an honest man with the right intentions he just may be the man we need to prevent a full scale revolution. Or not. But what else did we have to chose from? I don't think there's much doubt that the alternative was a train wreck looking for a place to happen.

Saturday, November 8, 2008
Now It's Time To Clean Up The Mess Left Behind. The First Thing To Dispose Of Are The Criminals Who Made The Mess.
(15 comments) For almost eight years we have survived the regime of what many would call, myself included, a dictatorship. A man and his accomplices has taken this country and used and abused the majority for the benefits of a few. This is the crime of treason. It is one of the many crimes committed by the Bush White House, crimes against it's people. Now, it's time to pay the price.

Saturday, November 1, 2008
As Election Day Closes In I'm Getting Tired, Frustrated And Maybe Just A Little Bit Frightened.
(21 comments) It's almost the day and even though I've already cast my votes I'm holding my breath to an array of emotions ranging from frustration to incredulity to fear. As the day closes in I find myself researching all of the anti-Obama literature coming my way,curious to see what these people hate so much about this man and just where this animosity comes from.What I've seen is chilling.I never realized such ignorant people could vote.

Sunday, October 5, 2008
I Think We're Turning Chinese, I Really Think So.
(8 comments) I thought that we had a decent, viable candidate who would pull us out of the big Bush funk we've endured for the past eight years.When he joined congress in shooting down the bailout I was convinced that we we're going to see change.Little did I know that it was Obama who was going to change.All of my hope went down the toilet the next day when he signed the bill through with the senate.I've had enough of this crap.Have you?

Thursday, October 2, 2008
There Are A Number Of People Who Have Allowed Their Beliefs To Be Infuenced By The Church And The Government.
There are a good many people in this country who have allowed their beliefs to be heavily influenced by the government and the church. Is this "brainwashing" or "mind control"? To some degree, some of them, yes. But who's responsible for your beliefs? Or are some people more succeptable to outside influences due to their faith or moral upbringing? Is it wrong to take advantage of these people based on their morals?

Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Today You Have An Opportunity To Make Them Pay The Price
This is the most important thing you can do, possibly, this year. You have an opportunity to effect whether your own future will be bleak or prosperous. The Bailout Bill trying to get through congress is not anything which will affect 'us' in a positive manner. When you hear all of these people pleading their case for this bill to pass and they say why "we" need this bill they mean "they"! Remember always, "we" is "they".

Saturday, September 27, 2008
No Matter Who Wins This Election Americans Must Remain Vigilant Against The Efforts Of The Far Right.
No matter who wins the election we have a government made up of powerful people who still want a government of the rich, by the rich and for the rich. No one man can change that, especially when we have democrats like Nancy Pelosi who seem to favor their actions. If Obama wins the neo-cons will harass him through his entire term. Remember Bill Clinton. We need strong democrats in congress and the senate and they'll need us.

Thursday, August 21, 2008
We Can Take The Bush Administration Out Of Power!
(1 comments) Someone, somewhere, has a solution. A reasonable, safe approach to take this administration out of office. Bush and Cheney, in the very least, need not only impeachment but prosecution for treason, conspiracy and mass murder. There needs to be authentic investigations into every illegal move they've made and we are not going to get it by constitutional means. Lot's of attention in the right direction may be the only answer.

Thursday, August 14, 2008
It's Distractions That Are Destroying Us And We're Allowing It!
Look over here, it's Terri Schiavo! No, look over there, it's a terrorist attack, no, it's people eating live worms, it's John Edwards cheating on his wife. Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain! Why, you silly munchkins you, you don't really want to know what's on his mind. That's what will really scare you and we wouldn't want that. We'll tell you when to be afraid and who to be afraid of. You silly Munchkins you!

Saturday, July 26, 2008
Recognize Our True Problem And Question The Government.
(1 comments) Many of us are now feeling the frustration of knowing what out true problem is but not being able to get through to others. We don't believe that we're smarter, we just got past the fear. The fear of ostracism, ridicule or even possible retribution. Revelation is not for the squeamish but there are far worst things than being ridiculed. Knowing what the future holds for our children and ggrandchildren compels me to this.

Thursday, July 17, 2008
Is Oil Blood Or Is It Just Crap?
Should we be concerned about more than just our energy resources if we actually 'run out' of oil? Could we be burning our house down? I'm just curious.

Friday, May 16, 2008
Is John Edwards Back In The Game? For Our Sake, I Hope So.
(1 comments) In what should have been an historic moment in history, one for future generations to reflect upon with somber respect, the first Black and the first Woman to be considered for the nomination to the presidency of the United States the democrats have reduced the status of the occassion to the comming of the circus.Will John Edwards endorsement of Barack Obama knock Hillary out and save the occassion and hopefully, the country?

Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Is Hillary Really A Republican And Are We Really Smart Enough To Vote??
(4 comments) In my opinion,we,who turn to media like OED for news and opinions,who exhibit common sense,social clarity and demonstrate an awareness of the problems and their sources which are tearing down our society have a responsibility to do everything in our power to force our elected officials to do their jobs and motivate like minded people to do the same.So,why are we so ineffectual?What more can we do?I'm feeling hopeless lately.

Thursday, April 10, 2008
Are We Just Dreaming?
(3 comments) I wish we were but this is no dream. It's as real as the fact that you will die some day but you have a chance to turn it around but only if you really want it.Oh,you think it will fix itself?That's just what millions of Jews thought when Hitler wizzed through Germany.Oh,they won't let that happen,we're civilized people.I wonder if that was the last thought as they stood naked in line for the ovens. We KNOW bush will torture!

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