I’m not sure why but I felt the urge to write a blog about getting older. I turned 47 in July and am well aware of the big 50 right around the corner. I’m not really dreading that age but I am aware of it. I guess I may be feeling a little unsettled about the age thing because I lost my Dad at what I considered a young age and really miss him as I have gotten older and my kids have grown. Age has brought a lot of positive changes in my opinion like stability, lower auto-insurance rates, …. Ok so I can’t think of much else! Other than the health issues that come with age I can say I feel pretty good mentally and ok physically although I could stand to lose about 30 or 40 pounds. I do have to say my wife is more beautiful now than ever and that I must have done something really good in a past life to deserve her. My kids are also becoming great adults and I’m happy to see them growing up but also miss them as babies and wish I would have spent more quality time with them when they were little. I’ve not had a crisis here in my middle age and think I went through one earlier in years getting a few tattoos etc…. but no major falling off the edge of the earth issues. Now I’m just happy to be alive and have a great family around to share all life’s ups and downs and I have certainly had my share of both. All in all I can honestly say getting older so far isn’t all that bad

Hello friends and neighbors. Now it’s time for me to Rant AGAIN….I wasn’t involved last year but I can honestly say it was the most STUPID thing I have ever seen happen in a community. Take a lifelong county basketball tournament to not only another county……to another F’n State….. Somebody has their head up their butt and is listening to their severe case of gas…. C’mon people let’s lay it on the table and fix it don’t do this crap one more year. I understand the issue of NOT ENOUGH SPACE. I personally have seen so much bs government waste in this county that it would be easy to pool resources to have a UAFS / Greenwood type Basketball Arena here in Poteau. Quit worrying about your own little budget and let’s look at the income for the entire community and county from this Tournament staying here in Poteau and/or other town in the county and what it brings financially to us and even more the pride of the teams.  Here’s a fact:

Every time money changes hands within a community, it boosts the community’s overall income and level of economic activity, and fuels the creation of jobs. The more times money changes hands within the community before heading elsewhere, the better off the community is. And spending money at a locally-owned business has a greater multiplier effect because they are more likely to re-spend their dollars locally. In most cases money turns over in a community 5 to 7 times.  That’s good business people….

So to get the Ball rolling I’ll post my Rant on my blog and on the forums and the rest of you jump in and help me out with support or completely disagree. Step up and let your voices be heard. DON’T BE SCARED!!!!!

I’ve always thought Poteau had great potential to be the best small town in America. However, after all these years here I’m having my doubts. It has it pros and cons so I’ll go through a few here “in my opinion”.
Like most towns in America (and probably around the world) Poteau is still and probably always will be ruled by those few that have a big bank roll.  Most of those with the large sums of money ended up with the money because their parents or grandparents either had big insurance policies or worked their butts off and held on to every last penny until they died and left that to their kids.  I see it all the time in this town where the high rollers throw around their money just to show they got it and 90% don’t know what it’s like to dig a ditch, shovel asphalt or roof a house other than driving up long enough to see other people workin’ their ass off for minimum wage (a few pay better than that). Not to say this means everyone that has money is like that. There are a few that I’ve seen/known get right in the middle of it all and work right down in the mud and heat. I’ve stood elbow to elbow with Bill Hoffman throwing asphalt and dirt and I promise I was young back then and he’d work me under the table and probably still can.  There are several others that I personally know and not only do they work their butts off they treat you with respect no matter what you have.

The lowly citizens of this city really don’t have a say in the community anymore. If you want change you must run for office so you too can be a two faced politician like most of them or have money to back said politician! I’ve been involved in many things in the community over the years where a group of people tried to change or prevent something from happening and as usual the money people always win. This goes for our Government as well. If a large group of people get together to change something about an upcoming neighborhood re-zoning and show up in force at all meetings what ends up happening is that the planning commission gets together and decides that the city can make more money even if it makes all those citizens/voters that have lived in that neighborhood mad has hell. I can promise that those 40 people will vote differently in the next election. I would like to see a more caring, understanding, moral and honest government. We know you can’t please everyone so do what’s right and make a few people mad even if it doesn’t make the city more money and you look better in the next election. When I’m on my death bed I’d like to know I did what is right not what was good to make the city some money. I would also like to see calls returned and follow-up emails and phone calls. Email is a great way for politicians to communicate. The problem is then you have whatever they say in writing (I think that scares them). Then they have to stick to the agreement. Technology is awesome in these times.Technology has come a long way over the last 15 years. In fact it’s changed my life and my entire career path. I know it’s affected our community because I was a part of the beginning of the technology change in Poteau being the first ISP providing Internet Access to anybody that wanted it. About 70% of all Poteau households were on Cyberlink in its heyday. Now I just want the people to have great very high speed access and better access to our local government. Here are some examples:
1. Pay Water Bills Online (this just takes a couple of hours for any business to set up and in some cases just a few minutes).
2. Open a problem ticket online such as road repair, sewer repair, trash pickup etc…..
3.Complaints (which would be funneled to the proper people and be posted online like a software bugtraq so the citizens can see day by day hour by hour what’s being done with their complaint.
4. Fiber Optic to the Home (FTTH) to be able to keep up with the rest of the world. ( see this article: http://www.iptv-news.com/iptv_news/june_2010/chattanooga_to_launch_150_mbps_internet_connections )
4. Have all meetings in city hall streamed live over the Internet so we can all be there even when we can’t. This can be setup for a couple of hundred dollars and (that will be high quality) and setup in just a few hours when you have the equipment handy. (a few camcorders and maybe a good laptop or desktop and Internet connection.)I’ll stop here and rant some other time….Let me know what you think by commenting …..

Facebook? What the heck is Facebook? Why would I need or want it? Well!!!!! Facebook is a social networking website. The website’s name stems from the colloquial name of books given at the start of the academic year by university administrations with the intention of helping students to get to know each other better.

Why? Because everybody needs to be on Facebook! It allows users to add friends, send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves.

For example: I graduated in 1981 and haven’t seen many of my classmates since the graduation party (that had way too much everade) at the end of the year….. Facebook has allowed many of us to at least connect again after all these years, share pictures of our families and even organize a multi-class renunion (I didn’t attend but the pictures shared from it were really nice to see). It also allows people to find old college friends, neighborhood friends that might have moved way in the 5th grade and even family members that you may not have seen in years. Once the connection is made you can stay in touch, share pictures, videos and chat in real time or leave post on other friends and members walls (page). Additionally, users can join networks organized by city, workplace, and school or college.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you don’t have a Facebook page go sign up. It’s quick, simple and may help you connect with people you have completely forgotten about. http://www.facebook.com

I have to say that over the past 35 or so years I have always made some type of New Year Resolution. It may have been to become a Rock Star (lol), Quit Smoking, Get Rich, Lose Weight, Get Healthy or All of the above. I can honestly say that I never kept one single resolution completely. Sure I quit smoking 5 or 6 years ago but it wasn’t because of a resolution and I’m very proud of that fact. But, if it wouldn’t kill me I really enjoyed that nasty habit! As for a Resolution this year!? NO WAY! I’m gonna let life come at me one day at a time and do what’s necessary to live that day to the best of my ability. I still see the economy as bad and not getting better anytime soon. Health care will still be CRAP even if we have a brand new reformed system. Jobs will still be lost and people will still struggle.
MY HOPE ,however, is for the economy to rebound, get a new healthcare system, for medical cost to go down, have more money left in our pockets at the end of the month so we can REALLY start saving for retirement and more jobs to be created and companies to stay or come back to America.
I have to say that I am really thankful this year for my family, friends and great people that keep me employed. I look forward to the New Year and all the challenges and blessings it may bring. To all of you:

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Yeah, Bah Friggin’ Humbug. Not because it’s almost Christmas but because of the crazy people this time of the year creates. You try to make one of those short grocery runs to Wal-Mart late in the evening and it seems that every Christmas nutted lunatic decides to show up at the same time. They all think your there to buy the thing they want and are willing to fight to get it. I wish I could get shopping cart insurance for the damage to the cart as these rude people decide to slam into you while you’re just trying to make it to the bread isle. Don’t get me wrong here I really love Christmas and enjoy this time of the year in general. What I don’t like is the complete idiots it brings out. I’m sure some will agree and some will disagree. Feel free to leave your comments below. Merry Christmas!

I think it’s really sad when a newspaper that has the choice chooses to publish things such as foreclosures, civil suits etc…. I know its public information but why the hell do they have to publish it. These people are going through enough already and really don’t deserve to have their names printed in the paper just to add more hurt to their already bad situation.….I know there are those nosy bodies that just gotta know but let them go to the courthouse and look it up. If that’s what it takes to sell a paper maybe I’ll just cancel my subscription. Does anybody else see it this way…..

Wait wait wait before you judge!!!! I am a 46 year old who has not touched the drug in many many years. In my past there may have been a time that it was in my hand, I may have taken a hit…..or two…..and possibly inhaled…..deeeeply…….There’s even a possibility that I enjoyed it at the time. There’s also a very good chance that I was drinking legalized Beer at the time increasing the tax income for the city, county and state. With that said and now being older and more responsible I seldom drink and no smoking Marijuana (Pot) at all and not sure how many years it’s been since I last did and it really doesn’t matter.
Let’s get down to business now. And business is gaining tax revenue from the Billions (yes Billions with a “B”) marijuana trade in the US as well as the trade between other countries that are currently smuggling it in. I know there’s a downside to drugs as there is in anything similar including alcohol, guns, food (yes food), cigarettes, and prescription medications. Anything can be abused.
If Marijuana were legalized and controlled similar to alcohol it would cause no more social issues than alcohol and I agree those are bad enough but most of those issues can be helped by education and needs to start and run K through 12 . The main advantage of legalization would be the tax revenue that the government would gain which could pay for social security, Medicare and health care. I think an individual should be able to grow their own for their own personal use maybe pay a yearly license and then buy a different license to be a retailer or wholesaler. The same rules and regulations that apply to alcohol should apply to marijuana. There are many things that would have to be worked out to make this work and stop the billions in spending on the drug war. I do think that it could help the country’s economy in many ways. This is just an opinion…..what’s yours?

What would you do if the dream came true and you won the Lottery? Here’s how I think I would handle it.
So my numbers matched and I’ve found myself millions of dollars richer in a matter of minutes. The first thing I would do is KEEP IT QUIET! I think if you immediately announce it to the world you’ll end up with relatives and friends you never knew you had. I would then immediately contact a Lawyer and Accountant. I have a few friends that are Attorneys and Accountants that I think I could trust to them to help me through the next few months or year of the life changing event. Now it’s off to contact the lottery commission to let them know I’ve won and eventually pay the taxes and take possession of a large sum of money. Before I help a single person I would get a chunk of the money setup in some type of long term annuity or investment for my family’s future. Now it’s time to take care of business. I would quietly gather my families (mine and my wife’s) together and let them know what’s happened. I would also let them know that they will all receive a nice bit of the winnings and what they get is what they get…..in other words don’t just take it and blow it. It could change their lives. I think I would give each of them equal amounts so that nobody can complain that someone got more. I’ve thought about this a bit and think that I would just pay off everyone’s bills but that wouldn’t be fair if one family member didn’t have any debt they wouldn’t get anything. Then I thought, “pay off the family member’s debt then give them a gift of x amount of thousands of dollars”. Yes, someone is going to get more but they should all just be happy and use it to prepare for their future and retirement (and maybe spend just a little). I would make sure all kids and grand kids in the family had an opportunity to get a college education. They don’t get the cash they just get their education paid for as long as they are going to school and making the grade. Yes they would have to make the grades! After all of our families are taken care of I would want my wife to choose what charity organizations (if any) or other people she wants to help. I wouldn’t want any attention for helping but would just want to help. I would probably live similar to how I live now but would work for myself doing something I really enjoyed as would Stacy (actually it would be nice for her to not work : ) ). Most likely we’d build a new house and replace a few old cars. I wouldn’t blow it on big boats or expensive cars just to have the toys I’d just get what I need. The main thing is to prepare for the future because we never know what tomorrow might bring.

I have to say I am quite frustrated with our health insurance as I am sure many millions of other people are. I am one of the lucky people whose employer, or actually my spouse’s employer provide us the ability to pay a chunk of her pay check to have family healthcare. Did I say healthcare….I meant to say Pain in the ass! Yes our quality insurance is a pain in the backside. It doesn’t pay for the things it is supposed to such as preventative care and it fights with medical facilities and does its very best to not pay anything for months and months. The medical facility becomes angry with us and we get angrier with the insurance company. In the end they finally decide they need to pay and send them a check……not all of what they owe but just enough for the clinic to send us more letters to say you still owe us…..then we go back and argue with the insurance company for several more weeks to finally have them pay all of their part 6, 8 or 12 months later……I know this happens to people all over the country every day. Just read a few forums online or watch the news…..Do we need a public healthcare system? I don’t know but I sure as hell do know that the current Insurance companies need to be controlled by some entity so that this kind of crap isn’t allowed. No more of the “we’re not covering your health problem because it’s too expensive or this is a pre-existing condition even though you may have been born with the condition”……Healthcare in this country could be good if the Insurance companies were forced to do what they are supposed to do instead of hanging on to your money as long as they can to earn as much profit as they can with it. Yes we all need healthcare but insurance is a different story!

I really enjoy discussing politics and religion. It stimulates the brain and causes you to seriously give other people’s ideas some deep thought. Whether I agree or disagree with other people’s opinions about both it really gets me thinking about what I’ve been taught and things I have learned and decided to accept as truth. As with most families we learn most political and religious views from whatever our parents and families believe. I think this is great and I’m happy to see that most people, as adults, decide to take it a step further and actually learn something on their own by research and faith. BUT! There are the many hundreds of thousands of people that when you even attempt to discuss politics or religion it QUICKLY becomes “Their Way Or The Highway” !!!! To those who don’t even have the slightest of open minds GROW the “F” UP! If your best friend decides they are now atheist not Christian instead of arguing and turning a friendship into a hateship learn to say “hey that’s cool whatever you decide”. If you think they are going to Hell for their decision then “so be it”. If your mom decides to switch to Republican from Democrat then just let it be. You can’t rule the world nor can you “Force” them to go the other way. They will make that decision on their own and who knows where life will take you. I think it’s awesome that people have different beliefs and political views and it’s great to debate whatever it is you and they believe. Just remember that it’s a friendly discussion/debate not a conversation that should lead to trying to “DRIVE” your ideas into someone’s head and make them believe they way you do. I love it when a friend says “hey have you ever thought about?” and whatever they say just makes me think. I hate when someone says “hey the way you think is stupid and if you don’t agree with me then you’re wrong”.  So how about we start taking the time to listen to others and just let what they say sink in and then express your opinion and let those who hear what you have to say go on to later let it sink in and maybe even change their mind or for that matter their life. People don’t need to head off to public meetings and SHOUT their opinion at whoever is holding the discussion and telling them they are WRONG and only your party or religion is right. Maybe it’s time to just LISTEN and then when you get home do some research on what you’ve heard and if you don’t like what’s being said run for office or start your own religious organization and change it. The main thing here is to JUST LISTEN!

There was a time when I was young and stupid. Not much has changed except I’m not young anymore. I grew up in Poteau and me and my friendly neighborhood buddies terrorized the whole Hospital Hill area on our bicycles, walking etc…. We were never in the house before dark and normally just when home long enough to eat and off we went again. I think it’s sad that our kids can no longer do that without the fear of being kidnapped. Well I’m glad both of my kids are almost grown and I have none of those issues to worry about….BUT both kids are driving (my baby boy just got his license last week)  ….on the city streets….OMG….. Hopefully they were taught well. I think they both drive good.
As I grew up on the hill I taught myself to play guitar and decided at a young age to become a rock star.  Most music around the house was country which I liked but Rock was my thing. Kiss, Aerosmith, Stones, Beatles and many other bands from way back. Thanks to Diamond Don Barnes for keeping it Rockin at KLCO back in the day.
Anyway music has taken me many places in my life over all these years. I met my Beautiful Wife Stacy with music. Both Kids can sing Blake plays a mean guitar already and he just started a year ago. Thank God he also has an ear for the classics as well as his modern day music. Ashton just loves to sing and is dang good at it. Stacy is a musicholic. She has numerous playlist on Playlist.com and MySpace and she loves to just sit with headphones and rock out. She too loves all types of music and was also a Diamond Don fan growing up. It does tend to get noisy around the house sometimes and I enjoy all the music styles everybody is jamming to. I’m no longer into the bars and clubs like we played in my younger rockstar days .
During that time though hundreds of songs were written by myself and sometimes with many friends. I have created a site of many of those old songs for you guys to check out. The site is free and you don’t even have to register if you don’t want. You must remember that most of these recordings are OLD and were recently digitized from old cassettes, 8Track Tapes and Reel to Reel tapes. Tons of them were recorded on crude equipment and quality is poor. Most haven’t been heard in 15 years or more. For all the ups and downs in life you can hear some  in song. You can also hear Love on the First Strike band songs that I wrote 8 of the songs about my then Girlfriend Stacy who is now my married-for-23-years love of my life wife Anyway here is the site and you are welcome to register and comment as you like. Songs can’t be downloaded but there is no limit to listening. http://www.tonymorganmusic.com I hope you enjoy this and it spreads a little bit cheer and maybe even laughter (I’m sure about the laughter).

I’m sorry I haven’t posted anything recently I’ve just been really busy….I will get some free time soon and post a more meaningful blog that this