Respect: Honor your mother and father

Pablo Hernandez Vargas
My father

My parents taught me all the basics: survival, respect for all people especially those older than me, the value of family, the value of extended family and friendship, compassion/empathy, justice, equality, and the sanctity of independent ethically driven thinking. They taught me the value of the truth and the principle that knowing the truth but not adhering to it made me guilty and complicit.

These were all principles they learned from their religion and their parents. They weren't simply guidelines, but rules they followed. They didn't follow the crowd; they followed their conscience. My father was a concientious objector (a non combatant medic) during WWII, like Desmond Doss, but he served his country. Through out his life he lost or was refused jobs because he refused to work on his Sabbath, Saturday. Again, he stood by his convictions. 

He was ridiculed for his "broken" English but employers loved his work ethic and his personal ethics. To gain respect, be respectful. My father, however, believed that we also must speak up for the disenfranchised. "Unto to the least of these...", he would quote. Respect is a responsibility that we owe each other.

As I've aged, I have begone to notice how we ignore our seniors as if they are all demented and have no value. Yesterday, I witnessed a group of elderly ladies simply asking if their order could be taken at the bar vs the table where they were sitting and waiting patiently to be served. They were thirsty and it was hot outside. The barkeep rudely repeated that the server said "they would have to wait". No compassion and no respect. The ladies were offended but said nothing.

Well, I said something to the bartender about her rudeness and lack of empathy. Then I went to the lady who was not served and asked her how it made her feel. She and her group said they are frequently ignored as if they don't exist. I told them that I spoke to the bartender about the incident. It bothered me enough to say something and do something.

The incident kept playing over in my head, and when I went home I elected to call the manager and complain about the bartender who had also served me, smile less and without a care about me. I told him it was bad for business and that seniors are folks with lots of disposable income and can pay tips. I let him know the name of the person and added, I left no tip.

People do not respect each other today. We no longer follower the golden rule or even any form of higher power nor conscience. Do what's right. Speak up. Honor your mother and father. Be honorable, practice your ethics, and your faith. Go the extra mile and do what's right. Listen to your conscience.

 

A Little Bird Told Me

Bluebird Waiting to Get Out
Keller, TX

My mother knew how to keep us all in line. She would tell us that she was omniscient because a little bird would tell her everything. My sisters and I believed her omniscience. When I spotted this bluebird on my walk, peering out, and watching my movement, I knew I had found one of her spies. Life has these omniscient little bluebirds. We should heed them.

Female Eastern Bluebird With Meal
Keller, TX

It turns out that there are political bluebirds out there too. Also with omniscient powers. One is tweeting like crazy on social media how the Big Beautiful Bill is a sham and that it along with tariffs will cause a recession as we add more deficits snuff out consumer spending and wreak havoc to industrial supply chains. The other bird, the President, is tweeting back his song of sunshine and that he will retaliate on the doomsday tweeter. Wrong or right, it's not a good time to be a parked car underneath these birds. Both have been rumored to do lots of hyperbolic tweeting. 

As both birds continue to sing and tweet, Congress ignores all economic advice, one thing we know, these tweeting birds have been known to crap on others their entire tweeting lives. I'm going to listen to the little bird that I inherited from my mother. And whether, I like Elon or not, I know that the Big Beautiful Bill is a sham, inflationary, and will slow down growth. Average folks like you and me have already seen the price of everything increase needlessly simply because of the President's loud tariffs tweets, and the tweets of FED economists. We've been warned. The GOP birds are flocking together claiming it will not add to our deficits and tax cuts, tariffs are necessary, one can only hope they migrate and leave us alone. I'm ready for the drama and noise to stop but that would sell less advertising.

Watch Out for Vultures

Black Vulture 
Keller, TX

 Vulture are scavengers that feed on dead carcasses. They serve a purpose but you typically have to be dead.  America is under siege by political vultures preying on the apathetic who might as well be dead. The few are feeding off of those who are not awake. 

Tariffs and the notion that they will pay for tax cuts for the vultures is an example of this feeding frenzy. The fact is that it increases our debt and detracts from our income. This is not new and had been tried and failed before. 

Let me leave you with a quote from Franklin Delano Roosevelt. "Liberty requires opportunity to make a living- a living which gives a man not only enough to live by, but something to live for. For too many of us the political equality we once had won was meaningless in the face of economic inequality. A small group had concentrated into their own hands an almost complete control over other people's property, other people's money, other people's labor- other people's lives. These economic royalists complain that we seek to overthrow the institutions of America. What they really complain of is that we seek to take away their power. In vain they seek to hide behind the Flag and the Constitution."

Don’t Give Up

Juvenile Black-Crested Titmouse 
Colleyville, TX

 It was a difficult week, an emotional roller coaster. Congress is about to add to our debt burden and the bond market doesn’t buy it. Not much I can do, I have prepared my clients for more volatility. I control what I can control. Photography gives me an opportunity to master what I can control in the solace of nature. 

Well I was about to give up yesterday not one bird was out, perhaps it was the heat or maybe they the had gotten DOGED or gotten a memo. Not one wanted to cooperate or was in sight. I was dejected. I was about to give up and head home. 

This fellow must have sensed my desperation. He suddenly flitted in front of me and went out on a limb. It was not an easy shot, lots of contrast, but it was a chance that I couldn’t pass. It looked like a Tufted Titmouse but it actually was a surprise. It was an Oak Titmouse not even on my list. 

There’s more than a few of us who want to give up. We are tired at times depressed and anxious, but don’t give up, the answer may very well show up when you least expect it. Press on. We are on this journey together. 

What's Your Occupation?

Blooming Mimosa Hold the Champagne
Colleyville, TX

 It's not uncommon for folks meeting for the first time to inquire, "so what do you do for a living?" Besides all the hats I wear on any given day, my list includes: husband, grandfather, financial advisor, friend, counselor, minister, and photographer. If you were to ask what defines me, I would reply, I think.

Although thinking is not a vocation, I would say that for me it is. I process all of the information that I am receiving through all of my senses and I absorb the details. They affect me. Sometimes good and sometime I'm anxious and troubled. In fact, I am troubled by that folks who should know better and were raised in religious homes like me are not bothered to either speak up or do something. In fact, they are reluctant to stand up for me and my rights.

Female Cardinal at Day Spa
Colleyville, TX

As a creative person working in a financial capacity, I notice details, trends, and history. Then I process this information and prepare a baseline strategy in real time. Details are the catalyst to form my strategy and subsequent reactions. At my age, I depend on my experience and judgment to guide me. I've seen this before. I know how to react. I have a voice.

It's time to wake up and think and process all that is happening around us. There's a beautiful world out there and it requires our participation. Many things are happening some good and some quite depressing. You have to be willing to open up your eyes and your senses to fully appreciate what exactly is going on. 

Some folks are ok with accepting things as they are and to let others take on the responsibility. They are voyeurs. I choose to think independently and as free as the birds I photograph or the nature, I experience. We live here. We live now. We must be awake and listen to our conscience. This is my vocation, thinker. I hope I can encourage others to THINK. Think about what you are doing to me (Aretha), think about what you are doing to others, think about your neighbor, think about our future, our environment. Think about that "reconstruction" still even after the Civil War taken hold in some parts of our country, it's not so grand for women, people of color, and the handicapped. Think about how we are impacting the people who have the most financial insecurity. Think about what we are doing to provide tax cuts for the wealthiest at the expense of those who have the least. All of this at whose expense? Think about the American Dream. Tell me what it looks like for you, your children, and grandchildren. Look in the mirror and tell me who you are and are your proud of yourself.

Nature tells me life will go on. And Jesus said to behold nature. So I think...If I'm lucky, perhaps, I've done the same for you. So today, I think. We can change. It's a thinking choice. It's a decision.

Imagine There's No Heaven

Eastern Phoebe
Keller, TX

 For the sake of argument, imagine there is no heaven. How would that impact your behavior? Would you just go wild live like there's no tomorrow, with reckless abandon? Or would you live deliberately and make every moment count knowing there are no second chances? Would you give up or would you choose to act? What changes would you make personally?

Immature Eastern Phoebe
Keller, TX

Let's assume there are no second chances and this is it; your home is earth. Think carefully about the choices left. I choose to assume there possibly might be heaven, but I am agnostic and pragmatic, so I am not going to take any chances. This means, I am going to take care of this earth as much as I can and the people surrounding me. I've made a choice to enjoy every wake moment I have and absorb the last drop of life I have, in case, just what if there's no heaven. I choose to improve my mental health and add balance to my life. You see I live here now, this is my home and I want to make it better not only for me and my family but for those who live here with me. We share this home. While the streets aren't paved with gold there's plenty to absorb and appreciate today.

Nature adds balance to our lives. There's a teaming life out there going on and transacting every day. We need to learn its lessons. Get along and live. While heaven may appeal to many, the idea of living a millennium with intolerant judgemental people and a perpetual HOA doesn't appeal to me. I choose to carve out heaven here and make life here, now, better. I live now in the present. We can do better, if we choose to see this is our home. Make a difference. Say something. Do something. Don't wait. Don't postpone.

Moments

Parque Chipinque,
Monterrey, MX

What makes a movie? It's a series of still frames (images) woven together by time at a credible fixed speed. The content you control from start to finish. If you don't like a particular movie you have the choice to select a different one that has subject matters that you care about. You have a choice. 

Lately, I've not enjoyed the political movies being played in this country. They make me anxious and fearful. We've seen them played before in our history and in Europe; the endings have not been good. I cannot control their historical outcomes. Those movies have already been made.

Bluebird with Pensive Future
Keller, TX

I am one lone person. I didn't choose the cast of the movie being played, but I know it doesn't end well. People I trusted have let me down. People who profess to be Christian should know better. I feel very confused, angry, distraught. Betrayal does that you know. In the interim, I look at the beauty which surrounds me and I am grateful that I am able to see it. Life goes on and I focus my camera lens on the beautiful things I still see and find. It requires effort and focus on my part.

Times are turbulent and chaotic. There's a real lack of empathy and compassion. We are self absorbed and greedy. The movie is not over. The script may very well change. The characters will have to do their part. One thing I know is that most viewers share common hopes and dreams. We should focus on creating a new movie with that theme: the renewal of dreams and hope. We should call it the American Dream. Let's make a new movie together.