Playing in the waterfall - circa 40 - 50 's (fictional)

Playing in the Waterfalls - reminiscing my imagination circa 1947 - 50's

As a child, I was always terrified of playing in the deep oceanic waters not too far from our house. Perhaps it was the unexpected depth of the ocean reef that scared me most or the shark infested waters. Headed for the jungle was a favorite pastime for us as we avoided the bustling traffic of the city and headed for the tropical rain forest nearby and within walking distance of the city limits.
The fact that the deep blue ocean, surrounded by white tropical beaches was more than a busy tourist attraction to those not native to visiting our islands, our little village was a very popular spot, and made us look for other places to hide and play away from the crowed as we headed into the deeply colored green landscape and fresh water streams and rivers.
On the island, we had our own mystical sights of some well-hidden wonders of the world deep inside our shameless pristine and virgin emerald green tropical rain forests. A light mist formed the leaved trees hiding the lagoon from the general view of passersby who happen to travel the remote areas outside the city bustling with merchants and tourists.
The crystal clear waterfalls located high upon the volcanic rock cliffs encircling the blue lagoon, filled with swift moving water, resonated a deafening sound that was music to our ears as it signaled the natural sounds of the jungle. The water, clear down to about five feet deep, was moving rapidly around the protruding volcanic rocks embedded thousands of years ago by the local volcanic eruptions.
Rushing from the top of the cliff, the waterfall created a rustling sound that invited you to take off your clothes and skinny dip or just bathe your body bare and clean.
The glass sharp pulverized volcanic rock made walking bare footed risky as we all wore sandals made out of discarded tires.
Hardened ash turned into soft stone covered the edges of the pool that was shaped in bizarre shapes resembling erosion and weathered pieces of landscape material. Carved out by the monsoon rains this lagoon was a hidden paradise not known to many except those who lived here.
In this enclave of peace and tranquility, nothing was terrifying or frightening to us. We felt completely safe within our circle of innocence as we shared precious moments of joy and happiness in this secret appealingly rare and serene waterfall reserve.
Perplexed why nobody knew of this place, few dared speak out loud of this hiding place where you could meditate and connect your soul with nature and the animals that lived there. Hiding in the trees, there were monkeys jumping and screeching out loudly.
From a distance, these waterfalls were viciously perilous to travel and to journey within these pits of sharp rocks filled with poisonous pit vipers and tree hugging animals took courage only the native people possessed and endured. No stranger could endure or be prepared to survive such a setting or environment without the proper care and vigilance required to remain safe.
Dwelling in the shadows of these waterfalls gave us security and peaceful feelings. until the rest of the world was ready for you to meet this miraculous setting of tranquility.
For the most part, the jungle was quiet except for the waterfalls singing loudly in the background as the height of the two-hundred-foot descent slammed the water to the ground, crashing and splashing the wetness violently onto the rocks and surrounding waters.
One could tell, that once upon a time the pumice, or chunks of solidified lava, rained from the sky littering the landscape with lusciously green forest and tall green grass that was fertilized by the rich ash and minerals spewed by the local volcanoes.
While full of expressible delight and splendor, these hidden crevices of Mother Nature’s beauty can be deadly as it is filled with creatures infested in these jungles. Every cave, every hidden corner and every tree lurked danger but as children, we were oblivious to such risks as this was a place of pleasure and not considered perilous or daring.

Reflections in a wishing well

For every new year comes a whole list of dreams; If you would throw me a penny for every wish, I have made
I’d be sitting under a rainbow and sipping lemonade in the shade.
And although life is unreal at times, it seems to make me scream; So throw me a penny in the wishing well, and it will make you a dream
Life is a cycle of ups and downs, a wheel that goes around and around; Unlike the stars in the heavens above, it is real and never ending story ...
A never ending wheel, with lessons learned so often unreal; But in the end gives you pleasure that seem to make your life seem surreal
If only it was just a dream, a dream that will make it come true and come real

A penny or nickel or even a quarter will do, the magic you wish to make a dream come true
Look deep into the clear water, do not stir it up and make it black like tar
Unlike the stars in heaven, making a wish upon that falling star
Reflections of life and what life has given me so far; Is not even close to what I had wished upon a star
So I find myself looking for a wishing well that works and gives me hope; It isn’t the money, the glamour or the fame that I am looking for
But rather a wishing well that lets me see and tells me who I am; While giving me a long and never ending journey without an end
No tears, no swearing and no bad thoughts to bear - Looking into the water and hoping it is clear
I threw a penny, a nickel and a quarter to make sure I was heard; I did it with a positive tone and tossed it into the water, passing over the dime
To give me a sign that my dreams will come true, that life will not bring me moods of blue
And that I can fill my wishes over and over again, never forgetting who I am, what I want and where I have been.

A new Logic - A new Normal?

Terrorism Domestic or Foreign = A new Normal

Our history of experiencing mass shootings from Islamic terrorism is still new, however, not rare as there is a record being established and breaking down the difference between domestic terrorism and Islamic terrorism in America.

 

In the meantime, America struggles with gun control and hype that semi-automatic weapons should be bans. This propaganda or hysteria is mainly based on those two San Bernardino Islamic terrorists armed with “assault weapons” and outfitted with extra-capacity magazines which were bought in California, a state with some of the strictest gun laws in the nation.

 

We cannot forget the terror act Army Major Nidal Hasan who attacked fellow officers and enlisted men in a massacre on Fort Hood military grounds. We cannot forget the two Muslim refugees who attacked the participants in the Boston Marathon and we cannot forget the Muslim shootings on the Chattanooga naval bases and other individually carried out attacks on persons by those radicalized or influenced by Islam in our country.

 

Comparing such attacks has the nation vigilant for more acts while at the same time, worried that there may be more mass shootings carried out by Islamic terrorists within the borders of our country.

 

Rejecting the fact that if a shooter, a murderer or a terrorist want to get their hands on a semi-auto type of weapon to kill, they will have no problem doing so if they have the money to buy one either legally or illegally. Historically, the black market thrives on prohibition and bans of alcohol, marijuana, medicines and now guns. Tougher gun laws are not the answer.

 

Blaming Congress is not the answer either as they refuse to give in to political pressures to restrict gun-ownership based on the no-fly list which may be embellished randomly and arbitrarily to restrict gun ownership to those who are not terrorists, mentally disabled or convicted of domestic violence related type of crimes. It could in fact be expanded by adding veterans to this list who have taken an oath to protect our nation against domestic or foreign threats.

 

In our world, tragedies such as mass shootings, there usually is a call for many Americans to buy more guns for self-defense or protection against such acts and other crimes. This has been the nature of the beast for decades and is not going to change no matter what Washington DC writes in their gun laws.

The sadness is the tragic death of our children who are defenseless and vulnerable in free-gun zones designed to keep guns out but when an armed intruder steps on these grounds, there is little defense and survival becomes futile when faced with an armed person.

 

The San Bernardino attack may mark the inflection point where the nation’s response on guns go head to head. Terrorists are, it turns out, just as able to buy and use assault weapons as other shooters who live in our country. This would mean regulating gun sales to try to avoid repetition and that regulation would logically target all purchasers, not just those on the spotty and incomplete no-fly list. It is my opinion that such an action is unconstitutional.

 

Modifying or eliminating the Second Amendment would bring in the National Rifle Association which as a lobby group, shows no inclination to soften its stance on assault weapons since the term assault weapon is vague and unenforceable unless one bans all kinds of weapons that are not single action, single shot designed or factory-made. The cure is not the type of weapons made or sold, but the manner such weapons are delivered and who buys them.

 

Given the political economy of the gun-rights movement, it seems unlikely that even after the tragic San Bernardino attack, this would not give gun reformers any further support or leverage as it appears they failed to achieve their goals even after Newtown Sandy Hook massacre.

 

This leaves America with three alternatives: none acceptable to all and many acceptable to some. Applying the current trend of mass shootings in America, the availability of guns by shooters, we can discourage rapid fire weapons as a choice but not legally prevent the purchase of such a firearm.

 

We can strengthen the means to purchase such weapons e.g. background checks, waiting periods, create a gun owner registration list etc. but nothing can be done to acquire them in the long run. This kind of legislation serves no purpose other an allowing the guns to be accessible to those who are already criminally minded and radical in their mindset which includes domestic and foreign individuals or groups.

 

The confiscation of guns is another alternative but unlike to be successful and viewed as a tyrannical act of war against the people of America. It would in fact, inspire, invoke and incite the American people into a civil war with horrible results.

 

The other alternative is to do what America has done in cases where death is caused by drivers under the influence of alcohol, fatal wounds inflicted by knife or blunt trauma wounds and deaths related to serious illness, cancers, auto or aircraft accidents or industrial mishaps. We could add Mother Nature’s wrath of tornadoes and hurricanes, floods and fires to the list. We, as a nation, could consider these kinds of deaths as normal and move on with our lives.

 

This would bring our nation into an assimilation process familiar in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Israel and many more foreign countries who live with the fear of domestic and foreign Islamic terror attacks as well as their own domestic terror threats.

 

The major difference is that most of these countries have unarmed their citizens and leave them for prey as the police or militia responds to these attacks after the fact. We, as a people of this country would be a little less safe than before but still well ahead of the curve to defend ourselves when we possess a defensive weapon of some kind to protect family and lives.

 

Of course, we have no defense against bomb makers or explosive devices created to take life and limb but to my knowledge the only way to reduce threat to such an attack is to have a bomb sniffing dog in every house or property. Surely an impractical alternative to consider.

 

The bottom line is gun laws will not reduce deaths related to firearms used to kill people, either in singular form or mass shootings. People will kill – our job is to avoid their opportunities to such acts and prevent and intervene their actions.

 

Imminent dangers are exponentially created in gun-free zones where the victims are easy unarmed targets. Welcome to the new normal, where mass shootings and terrorist attacks aren’t so different after all from the gang killings or other sporadic violence created by gun-toting persons.