What I Learned In A Sandbox of Angels: Outgrew the Hometown Diner or Taken from It?

You were five, your grandparents and parents sat at the Hometown Diner with you on Sunday afternoon asking you what you would like for breakfast, chocolate milk or not, how was school this week they ask and general family conversations are had at this time. Ranging from gossip, to how's so and so, when are those two tying the knot, what do you want to be when you grow up you get asked over eggs and toast. Don't kid yourself each individual family is doing the same thing at this diner, it's the community gathering over food and vintage family time. As American as apple pie.

Time elapses. You grow up at this diner from booster seat on, toddler to adolescent and a young adult you eventually become. A comfort zone at this point it becomes inevitably. And that's a good thing. You took your bikes there with your friends for sodas and baskets of fries talking about sports and crushes you have. Then you become an adolescent and are taking your crush there in your letter jacket from the sport your playing or the band team your apart of. Your elders acknowledge your presence, well aware you are the future of there community. Then at some point things in our generation split in more directions then bird shots coming from a shotgun.

Social media was born in our generation and took off at a rate never before seen. Public propaganda sprouted out of no where like dandelions on an untreated yard. That my friends is truth. "My Space" gave way to Facebook and lines in the sand were drawn over time.

Family Diner conversations slowly became about other things but not your family or community as much. 9/11 happened. The economy started to collapse and truly has yet to rebound. Peoples political stances, failures and opinions were aired out in the open like an American flag flying in the yard on 4th of July. In our generation a picture really does tell a 1,000 words, multiply that by the 100s and thousands of pictures we have posted thru social media apps and think about the shift in culture with that type of information at people's fingertips. That's not even considering the ones put in front of us thru these social apps.  We naturally as humans are wired to judge. Social media just streamlined our ability to do so in a production line manner. Hello Yelp, where novices are experts blasting people's life investments often without merit. How about your news feed? How far can you scroll before you come across something controversial? Not far.

Propaganda and an influx of social medias tools became our country's preferred "community". Did you outgrow your hometown diner or was that way of life and community hijacked from you? Could make the case we are wired to judge and pushed to conform more then ever before in America's proud history.

Believe a saying says the future is best told by the past or something along those lines. Your community needs that family diner, YMCA, Boys and Girls Club, church, or shelter. What it doesn't need is the current state of society. Power of the human spirit has been paralyzed compared to the world our grandparents grew up in....and they know it.

Go ask em'. Listen. 

Those places are the truest "pictures" of life's potential.  Those atmospheres show the power of people to people. Our society is not that. It is the power of social media controlling people or heavily influencing them. Maybe not all people(I know i have at times) but rather society as a whole really has fallen victim to this lifestyle or train of thought and behavior as a result.

This is my pursuit of a happy ending that you or me may never see. But our children will. We saw the world our grandparents grew up in as young kids. It was different in a better way. I salute them for living in a world like that. Evil still existed and the devil was alive and well but he didn't have the outlets that he does now. Time to seal those up. Now is better then never.

It starts with you when you roll out of bed. When you get to work, how you talk to and treat those you work with plays a role. It starts with the street you live on. Starts with your city. Starts with what you WANT for your family. Starts with your attitude. They are your beliefs, develop them. Believe in your ability to respond when things go wrong.  Your desire to be a better person is on you and in your community.

There is a happy ending in life it looks a lot like the family diner you grew up in. The atmosphere created there wasn't a place, it was a lifestyle. We the people...actually...think a famous person said that when trying to create change for the better. I'll end it with that complete the sentence as you please or more importantly with what you truly believe life should be. We the people.....

God Bless & Stay Cool :)
"Your 5 yr old coming full circle"
Joe w/an angels presence directing me (LukeStrong)

P.S.- Sometimes principles are the hand on your brain directing you in the right direction. Luke is the hand on my brain. Go find your source of inspiration and make life better, it's in you. Always be believing.

What I Learned In A Sandbox of Angels: Blogging thru the "Booing" on Amateur Night @ The Apollo

What I Learned In A Sandbox of Angels: Blogging thru the "Booing" on Amateur Night @ The Apollo

I've wondered everyday since I started this blog when the first obstacle would present itself. Now that it has, I've responded differently then I imagined I would. Of course it was criticism and well some was constructive, a majority of it was not. Naturally I was taken back by it, the valid points stuck with me and the negative ones will drive me. The grammar errors I come out and acknowledge from the get go. But to tell me the message doesn't make sense or it made your head hurt because of my lack of ability isn't happening. Nope. This is my boomerang blog; coming back stronger in faith and my belief system alone, then some sent my way. This is the part of my personality that Luke overwhelmed in a positive manner the most. Always be believing. I'll just carry my tune of positivity harder. Blogging thru the booing at Amateur night.

What is a blog? Someone fill me in because I honestly don't know? To me this is a platform to get a message across, that changed not just the person I am or will become but also my intent and vision for life. I love sports so let's use Quarterback vision as a way to get my point across. Do you see the whole field or just a fraction of it? Meaning do you see the big picture in life or you just worried about your corner only. The latter is most assuredly the most common. America- Land of the Selfish. This blog is my platform to give back what's been given to me. I don't need anyone to think like me...But think with me at least. How do we make our world a better place? First by changing how we think. To create change you must first see opportunity. Change is as much awareness as effort or time consumed in creating the desired change. I came to the awareness that due to what was given to me by an angel I'll forever remember as Luke I owed it to my belief system to just do this. So I'm not looking for "readers" necessarily,  I'm looking for people that "hear me" and also see change as a necessary opportunity worth seizing.

Luke is a friend that passed away far too soon but was the most prevalent influence in a sandbox of angels and blessings that is the driving force in this blog. He changed my vision while he was fighting for his life. Pretty sure he had every right to worry about his corner only, who wouldn't?! Here we are in 2015, our country's problems have grown to levels I've never witnessed in my life. Selfish we are, finger pointing and offending each other in general as a society. Divided society? Let's not sugar coat it. So this is my platform to get a more positive message across because it's in all of us to be better on our own merit. Happiness is a choice and your actions are under your direct control more times then not. We are humans after all. But Luke if you hear me from Heavens gates this is for you my man. Passion in its truest and most authentic forms is most beautiful thing in life. Luke was a human soul on fire. This is whole blog idea is a reflection of that memory.

Grammar errors huh? I pick one of the most open to criticism topics(society and our direction) this side of politics and I get messages from people talking about grammar? Allen Iversons famous quote I think applies here, just insert grammar in place of practice("Man we are talking about grammar(instead of practice), grammar man".) I know I have grammar errors I even acknowledge it. But is it so bad the goal of the message can't get across at all? That I find hard to believe and if so, someone please help me then! Insult me for not being successful in making you think at all, even once, about what you/we can do to make our world better. But grammar?! Come on people, really?! With that being said I'll pay more attention to it.

The other criticism I came across was , "what exactly are you trying to achieve?" Which really isn't criticism,  it's more of a loaded question and a fair one. I can't and won't address that past this simple statement. I'm in pursuit of making a positive impact in this world. If I can't do it writing, I'll move on to the next avenue.

I have no shame. If I fail here, I'll pursue public speaking. If I fail there I'll pursue the next opportunity. If I fail after I fail, awesome, I'll get back up.

Failure really is my greatest ally. I became positive thru the most torturous times in my life. Bad luck builds character. Banging rocks together until I figure out how to take this spark of passion and nurture it from flame to fire to out an all out blaze. All in the name of a better world, starting with our individual corners of the world. I'll be the electricity to your outlet.

I'm not wired to let up, the intial support was all I needed to carry on thru the constructive(warranted) & unconstructive criticism(fuel for the fire). Nearly a month has elapsed since the pursuit of this idea came to life. Now I can say it has a heartbeat that will resonate far longer then any negative opinions or references that insinuate I sound uneducated ever will.

We all have dreams, wants, needs and factors that drive us. My dream was born in a torrential downpour. This is it. I want to do what was given to me. I need to do it, after all I promised Luke I would. A decade later I'm still trying. And no outside factors will likely change that. When you want or believe in something, keep on keeping on. Life is a time trial and it goes to those that never quit not really the swift.

So ill keep blogging thru the booing until further notice. Doubters, you to should keep on keeping on. I'll keep carrying my tune until I burn out or achieve my goal.

Anyone that reads this wants or needs something. Enjoy the journey of getting where your going and don't dwell in the end result. You WILL get there if you don't let up. Booing thru the blogging now, but I'll carry the tune until the booing drowns out and the message has a home in as many corners of the world as negativity does. Let's take back our population one day at a time.

My fingers race across the screen of my Android swiftly as I race the clock to finish this on my lunch break. Fortunately the message isn't on the clock so it won't let up. So keep bringing it Debbie downers, keep booing, telling me it's wasted energy and I'll keep carrying the tune on Amateur Night @ The Apollo.

Carry on Good People :)
Deuces
"A 5 year olds passion"
Joe Timreck