Artie Goes For A Walk In The Woods

Artie Bloo says: Our Uncle Terry took me and mom out for a car ride and a walk in The Ledges.

I got to eat French Fries!

Most of the time, I just dragged my leash.  There were two dogs and I got pretty excited and weird about that.  Mom left the fries in the car.  She should have brought them.

We had fun, even though I had to stick around while they took pictures.

Sometimes Mom leaned on my back so she could get down from steep places.  "Help, Mom," she'd say!

Uncle Terry was surprised that I stuck around so good.  Except for chasing that chipmunk.  But I came back when Mom called.

There was no swimming at this place.  Bummer!

Mom said I was a good boy!  But I REALLY need to get out more!! Thank you Uncle Terry for letting me go with you.

And I didn't puke in the car either!

Elke says: They left me at home.

The Charleston Church Tragedy and Stupidity

Stupid is as stupid does.  Just sayin'

Here is a great article, hopefully you can see the Link: anti-intellectualis is killing america

The Dumbing Down of America has been happening for quite a while.  I will always maintain my opinion that Fundamentalism is a dangerous thing, especially when it affects politics and education.  "Keep 'em stupid," is becoming the norm.  Many aspects of Big Business and many politicians want people to be stupid, scared and reactionary.  We've certainly seen that in fundamental Muslim groups and we see it in America.  It's easier to control a herd of frightened, angry, lost people.

Charleston is just the latest example of fear and blind ignorance.  My heart bleeds for those people.

It's one of the reasons I might have a really hard time living in the South.  I'm too smart for most places.  I am well-educated.  I use Big Words.  I appreciate the arts and have respect for science as well as loving nature.

I believe that God's time is not necessarily human time.  How long could God's day be?  A nano-second or millennium.  Do you know?  No, you don't, now do you?

As for the Confederate flag flying over a state building, I have to ask why?  That is NOT the state flag or North Carolina or Georgia or any place else in the South.  The Civil War ended in 1865.  That is 150 YEARS ago!!  You don't see Germany flying the Swastika, now do you?   Their losses and bosses were much more horrific than the Civil War.  Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.

I hate to say it because the North was the winning side but I will exclaim, "Get over it.  Move on with your lives!  Stop drinking the Kool-aid"

We are 50 UNITED states, and so far, succession hasn't happened.  Instead of moaning on about it and reliving a tragic part of American history, why not join  together in brotherhood, with loving kindness and tolerance? That might be a much better, healthier option. People of all colors, denominations, sexual preferences are still human beings.  We all bleed red.  We all want a safe home filled with love and joy.  We want food on our tables and a place to sleep.

If you are going to quote your Bible as a justification for violence, perhaps you need to take Jesus as your example. He suffered the little children to come to him.  (I'm not a Christian but I have read the Bible cover to cover many times.)  Are we not all children of the Universe?  Do we not all share this Blue Planet together?  Are we not made of the same things: blood, bone and sinew?  Are we all not children of the Divine?

I for one, am so damn tired of ignorance and fear.  Fear within, fear without.  I think taking the wise words of my friend's English mum, "You're dead if you worry, you're dead if you don't.  So why worry?"  to heart is not a bad thing at all.

Wouldn't all this energy be better spent learning things?  Things like science, art, what makes the flowers grow?  It seems we've lost curiosity.  It seems we accept being fed whatever crap Fox News (for example) and the hate/fear-mongers are dishing out. It's like Germany in pre-war times and if you don't know about that, well, damnit you should.

Since when did worshiping in your place of faith (whether it be church or synagogue, a temple or underneath God's sky) become a shooting ground?
Truly, "Verily I say unto you: Love thy neighbor as THYSELF.  Do unto others as you would have others do unto you."  If you want to follow the Christ's teachings, that's a pretty fine place to start.  Your Christ would no more have taken a spear and gone into a Roman temple and killed everyone.

We have a limited time in our earthly bodies.  If you believe in Hell, Purgatory or Limbo, do you really want your soul to end up there?  Because being an ignoramus is sure as hell a great place to start.

Instead of expending your energies sowing hate, why don't you learn something new everyday?  A new word, a new song, a new way to build something?  Why not ask questions of people you don't know and find out about their humanity?
I am blessed to have many friends with many different belief systems: Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Pagan, Muslims and even those who don't necessarily believe in a a form of the Creator.  I don't get people that say science and faith are incompatible.  That's just well, ignorant.

A Dream Come True

Dreams do come true! I have always been a huge fan of Dale McKenzie's. He such a talented guy and his wife Paula McKenzie is such a cool, darling lady. They came over to our house tonight for grub and an impromptu music session happened. (I think it was Dale getting his hands on Marty Hess' lovely guitar).

I'm a beginner uke player and I have always wanted to sing with just Dale and a guitar. I've known he's a really gifted musician and to have to opportunity to play and sing with him the few songs I (kind of) know on the uke was a terrifying joy. I was a wreck! Marty played the drums too!!

We sang "Misty" and played "Dream A Little Dream Of Me",(which will be in my show on August. 29th...shameless plug) "Moon River", "You Always Hurt The One You Love" and "I'll See You In My Dreams" together. What an honor! I can't begin to tell you how much this meant to me and how encouraging Dale was! What a great team the McKenzies' are!

Now I gotta get good!

My Dad, Steve Knerly (Father's Day 2015)

Thinking of you, Fa.  I miss you.

My father loved to get dressed up; he was always very proud to wear his medals!  He always yell at us to "Hurry up, I'm WAITING!  Why in the hell am I always waiting for you all to get ready!" and he'd disappear and we'd wait for him to make an entrance He smelled like Old Spice and then Christian Dior for men.  And wool.

He'd use big words and when you'd give him the "Huh?" look he'd make you look it up in the dictionary.  (Thus our predilection for using Big Words!  He pretended he didn't speak Hungarian (his childhood in the old West Side Hungarian neighborhood was crappy) but he would listen to the Hungarian Hour on the radio and spoke it fluently.  He started most sentences with "God Damnit," when he was on the phone and then later, as we got older, in person.

He would 'conduct' classical music while driving, which used to scare me to death.  I finally figured out he was driving with his knee.  He loved convertibles! He loved music and singing especially, "I'm Glad I'm Not Young any More" from GIGI.  He loved roller coasters.

I think he lived to yell at other lawyers and I don't know how many phones he destroyed banging the receiver instead of hanging up.

His way of "fixing" things was to wack it with a hammer.  (Thus the ceiling radiator crashing to the floor and breaking his leg).

He was charming as all get out. All eyes would gravitate to him when he entered a room.

He could be very difficult and challenging to live with: his standards were very high.  He wasn't afraid to wack you if you deserved it.  But he'd go to the mat for you, taking on anyone, including the Lakewood School Board and my materanl grandmother (I don't know which was worse).

He called me My Schloukie Kid (don't ask me why) and Miachka.  He and his needs came first (typical Aries) but I know he loved us fiercely.

Rufus & Ellie: Two Crankies

The other morning, I woke up and Rufus and Ellie were laying at the end of our bed, spines touching.  I tried to get a picture of this but of course they moved.  (Naturally). When I told a friend about this, she asked, "How old is Rufus now?"

"Oh, lord," I said, "He's got to be at LEAST 10.  I think he's more like 12."  (Ellie is probably 9 or 10 herself).

"Well, they've established a relationship," my friend said.

"Yeah, it's a weird one.  Half the time, she lays, sprawled out in the sunny window and he's huddled on the stair below.  You can almost hear him thinking 'Gee, I'd like to sit in the sunny window too but she's taking up all the room.'"

My friend laughed and said, "Poor Rufus!  They remind of me two cranky folks in the senior home.  They might screw now and then and they'll eat dinner side by side but the rest of the time, they ignore each other!"

Yep, that's Rufus and Ellie all right!