Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Jerry W. Willis Speaking Engagements
April 24, 2007 - Mr. Willis presented the key concepts of his book to the Rogers and Headley Dental Group in Overland Park, KS, one of the top dental practices in the nation.
May 3, 2007 - Mr. Willis presented his proposal for a revolutionary new Summer Camp program based upon Coach John Wooden's principles to members of the Bay Head Speakers Guild.
Mr. Willis is scheduled to make a presentation at the June meeting of the ‘DocVinoDinero's Best of Wine and Travel Club’ on Thursday, June 21, 2007.
May 3, 2007 - Mr. Willis presented his proposal for a revolutionary new Summer Camp program based upon Coach John Wooden's principles to members of the Bay Head Speakers Guild.
Mr. Willis is scheduled to make a presentation at the June meeting of the ‘DocVinoDinero's Best of Wine and Travel Club’ on Thursday, June 21, 2007.
About Jerry W. Willis
New York, March 02, 2007
Jerry W. Willis, ( http://jerrywwillis.com ) is a full-time author and speaker. He resides in Kansas City where he has lived for the last 19 years.
Mr. Willis devotes his time to speaking to different groups around the country about how the Principles and Concepts used by the legendary John Wooden to create outstanding and successful teams can be used to create outstanding and successful families!
Mr. Willis' new book “Coaching the Rest of Us - Applying John Wooden's principles to Your Life” shows how Coach Wooden's principles can be applied to creating a powerful Purpose in your life that leads to greater self-confidence, peace of mind, productivity and Happiness.
Jerry W. Willis, ( http://jerrywwillis.com ) is a full-time author and speaker. He resides in Kansas City where he has lived for the last 19 years.
Mr. Willis devotes his time to speaking to different groups around the country about how the Principles and Concepts used by the legendary John Wooden to create outstanding and successful teams can be used to create outstanding and successful families!
Mr. Willis' new book “Coaching the Rest of Us - Applying John Wooden's principles to Your Life” shows how Coach Wooden's principles can be applied to creating a powerful Purpose in your life that leads to greater self-confidence, peace of mind, productivity and Happiness.
Willis and Shakespeare
jww 11/16/05 - Willis with Shakespeare
This is a note that I wrote to my family in November, 2005.
On a trip to Greenville, S.C., last weekend I bought the book ‘Will in the World’ by Stephen Greenblatt which is about William Shakespeare. Will was born in the town called Stratford-on-Avon (Avon is a river running by or through the town) April 26, 1564 about the time our oldest known ancestor was a young man just beginning his family and career in Wiltshire county an estimated 50 miles to the Southwest.
I have never been interested in reading William Shakespeare plays because the little bit that I read seemed so silly and boring to me. But this book caught my eye as a way to learn about the times when our earliest known ancestors were in that area and at the same time to learn something about the most famous writer in history. I have been enjoying the book very much so far and recommend it to you. And then, to my great surprise and pleasure, I found a reference to one of our relatives in the book. So I am quoting here from the book to show the reference and to give you the pleasure of learning a little about the times and explore whether or not you might want to purchase the book, and to learn a bit about the plays of that time and the likely circumstances of our relatives.
Beginning on Page 30 there is a discussion about Will’s Dad being the equivalent of the Mayor in their home town. As such he had to approve any theatrical groups and their presentation before it could be offered to the public. So there is the probability that Will was introduced to traveling Theatrical groups from an early age.
Page 30 - “In his old age, a man named Willis, born the same year as Will, recalled a play (now lost), called The Cradle of Security, that he saw in Gloucester-thirty-eight miles from Stratford, when he was a child. On arriving in town, the players, Willis wrote, followed the usual routine: they presented themselves to the mayor, informed him what nobleman’s servants they were, and requested a license for performing in public. The mayor granted the license and appointed the company to give their first performance before the aldermen and other officials of the town. ‘At such a play,’ Willis remembered, ‘my father took me with him and made me stand between his legs, as he sat upon one of the benches, where we saw and heard very well.’ The experience was a remarkably intense one for Willis: ‘This sight took such an impression in me,’ he wrote, ‘that when I came towards man’s estate, it was as fresh in my memory as if I had seen it newly acted.’
My thoughts from reading the above:
This Willis was born in 1564 so was probably the son of our oldest known ancestor.
His Dad was probably our oldest known ancestor.
His Dad was a town alderman or other official of the town since he attended the special performance.
This Willis family lived in Gloucester at that time and possibly had for a number of years or even generations.
Willis knows about the routines of obtaining permission and licenses so he was probably taught and learned as a young man.
This Willis must have been well educated to be able to write about his memories.
His Dad was also probably well educated and that is why he was an alderman or town official.
This Willis’ writings must still be available and might contain a lot of additional interesting information!!
As I have thought, our ancestors were probably pretty well-to-do since Henry was able to become a Friend’s church minister in London after the great fire and then to move to Oyster Bay in Long Island for a number of months and then to buy a tract of land and have a family and be a supporter of the Friends religious group.
Shakespeare and his plays were touring the countryside and were probably in our ancestor’s home town and seen by them.
There must have been a playhouse with benches like those of the famous Globe theatre in London.
The theatre must have been full since young Willis had to stand. Plays were very popular during the period especially Shakespeare’s.
Since the experience was so intense for young Willis, he may have been an artistic type person himself.
Page 31 - “For his part, Shakespeare’s contemporary Willis remembered all his life what he had seen at Gloucester: a king lured away from his sober, pious counselors by three seductive ladies. “In the end they got him to lie down in a cradle upon the stage,” he recalled, “where these three ladies, joining in a sweet song, rocked him asleep, that he snorted again; and in the meantime closely conveyed under the cloths wherewithal he was covered, a vizard, like a swine’s snout, upon his face, with three wire chains fastened thereunto, the other end whereof being holden severally by those three ladies, who fall to singing again, and then discovered his face that the spectators might see how they had transformed him.’ The spectators must have found it very exciting. Some of the older ones probably remembered the swinish face of Henry VIII, and all in the audience knew that it was only under special circumstances that they could publicly share the thought that the monarch was a swine.”
My Thoughts on the above:
Willis was a contemporary meaning he lived in the same time and in approximately the same place and circumstances.
Gloucester must have been the home of our relative at the time.
Willis was old enough to remember the play yet small enough to stand between his Dad’s legs as he sat upon the bench. Probably about 1570 when he was 6 years old.
Since Willis said they were able to hear and see very well they must have had seats close to the front. That probably means they were at the higher end of the important men of the town.
It also means that the theatre must have been fairly large and had some seats where one could not see and hear well.
King Henry VIII was the one that formed the Church of England, The Anglican Church, breaking away from the pope and the Roman Catholic church. He was the father of the Queen Bloody Mary who unbelievably viciously tortured and killed all the Protestants she could find.
Bloody Mary was an ancestor of King James who authorized and had printed the King James version of the Holy Bible.
Page 31 - “Young Will is likely to have seen something similar. The plays in repertory in the 1560s and 70s were for the most part ‘morality plays,” or “moral interludes,” secular sermons designed to show the terrible consequences of disobedience, idleness, or dissipation. Typically, a character-an embodied abstraction with a name like Mankind or Youth-turns away from a proper guide such as Honest Recreation or Virtuous Life and begins to spend his time with Ignorance, All-for-Money, or Riot.
‘Huffa, huffa! Who calleth after me?
I am Riot, full of jollity.
My heart is light as the wind,
And all on riot is my mind. ‘
(The Interlude of Youth)
“It is rapidly downhill from here-Riot introduces Youth to his friend Pride; Pride introduces him to his glamorous sister Lechery; Lechery lures him to the tavern-and it looks like it will all end badly. Sometimes it does end badly-in the play Willis saw, the king who is transformed into a swine is later carried away to punishment by wicked spirits-but more typically, something happens to awaken the hero’s slumbering conscience just in time. In The Interlude of Youth, Charity, reminding the sinner of Jesus’ great gift to him, frees him from the influence of Riot and restores him to the company of Humility. In The Castle of Perseverance, Penance touches Mankind’s heart with his lance and saves him from his wicked companions, the Severn Deadly Sins. In Wit and Science, the hero Wit, asleep in the lap of Idleness, is transformed into a fool, complete with cap and bells, but he is saved when he catches sight of himself in a mirror and realizes that he looks ‘like a very ass!’ Only after he is sharply whipped by Shame and taught by a group of strict schoolmasters-Instruction, Study, and Diligence-is Wit restored to his proper appearance and able to celebrate his marriage to Lady Science.”
My thoughts on the above:
Obviously Willis wrote more about the play since it has been lost and yet he quotes here what Willis saw in the play.
So we have an author early in the history of our family that has a body of work we haven’t yet seen!
Since Willis wrote so much about this play he was probably financially secure to be able to devote his time and thought to plays.
That was a sign of a ‘Gentleman’ to have the ability to entertain oneself with plays and idleness.
Actually Shakespeare’s plays might be kind of fun if someone would translate them into modern English since they would give an almost perfect insight into the lifestyles of the times.
The English language is quite changed over the last 500 years and you must know the history of the words and conditions before you can appreciate all that is in the plays.
Religion has been a very significant factor in the history of mankind and our family.
The advent of the Church of England probably began the change in religions by showing that everyone did not have to be subject to the Pope and the Catholic religion.
Protestant religions began to come into being and caused great turmoil for centuries as religious groups have fought.
The Muslim faith had caused great wars prior to the Protestants coming into being.
There was a great need to break free of complete submission to the King and these plays and their acceptance began to show that need.
Our ancestors broke with both of the standard religions of the day and became devoted Friends (later to be called Quakers).
George Fox the founder of the Friends church was in the area and converted our ancestors about 1660.
Our ancestors were leaders in the Friends church.
The more rapid transmission of ideas through plays and the written word changed the world just as it is doing today.
There are a number of Bibliographical notes about source material that will be interesting to research. Here is just a little bit of several pages of them.
L.B.Wright’s Middle-Class Culture in Elizabethan England (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1935) is a classic, if contested, guide to Elizabethan social structures, as is Lawrence Stone’s The Crisis of the Aristocracy: 1558-1641 (London: Oxford University Press, 1986). See also Felicity Heal and Clive Holmes, The Gentry in England and Wales, 1500-1700 (Basingstoke, UK: Macmillan, 1994) and Joyce Youings, Sixteenth Century England: The Penguid Social History of Britain (London: Penguin, 1984). On yeomen, the social class from which Shakespeare descended, see Mildred Campbell, The Enlish Yeoman under Elizabeth and the Early Stuarts (New Haven: Yale University Press
The above points to a map of England that shows Gloucester and not too far away is Devizes where our earliest ancestors lived.
<<>>
Notice Devizes which is due East of Bath about 15-20 miles and it is about
50 miles Southwest of Gloucester.
<<>>
In the above map We can see Westbury just Southwest of Devizes about 10-15 miles.
Henry Willis named the town of Westbury, NY after this town in England which was close to his home of Devizes and probably was his home for a period of years.
The following gives some interesting history of the area:
A BRIEF HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER
By Tim Lambert
ROMAN GLOUCESTER
Gloucester began as a Roman town. It lies at the first point where the river Severn can be easily crossed so it was a natural place to build a town. About 49 AD the Romans built a fort to guard the river crossing at Kingsholm. In 64 AD they built a new fort on the site of Gloucester town centre.
About 75 AD the Roman army moved on but the site of the fort was turned into a town for retired soldiers. The new town was called Glevum. The Roman town was laid out in a grid pattern. In the centre of the town was a forum. This was a market place lined with shops and public buildings. However in the 4th century Roman civilisation went into decline. The last Roman soldiers left Britain in 407 AD. Afterwards most Roman towns were abandoned.
For more information about Roman Britain click here.
SAXON GLOUCESTER
After the Romans left Britain Gloucester was probably abandoned although there may have been a small number of farmers living inside the walls and farming the land outside.
The Saxons captured Gloucester in 577 AD after they won a battle against the native Celts. We do not know if there were people living in Gloucester at that time.
In the late 7th century the Saxons founded a monastery at Gloucester and the town began to revive. Craftsmen and merchants came to live in Gloucester once again. In the early 8th century a writer called Gloucester 'one of the noblest cities in the kingdom'.
In the late 9th century the Saxons created a network of fortified towns called burghs. In the event of a Danish attack all the men in the area would gather in the burgh to fight. Gloucester was made a burgh. In 915 AD men from Gloucestershire gathered in the town then went out to fight the Danes and defeated them in battle.
Gloucester flourished in the 10th century and it had a mint. A suburb grew up outside the North gate.
In 909 AD the remains of St Oswald were brought to Gloucester. In those days people would go on long journeys called pilgrimages to visit the remains of saints. Many people came to Gloucester to visit the remains of St Oswald and they spent money in the town. In 1153 the church which housed St Oswald's shrine was turned into a priory (a small abbey).
For more information about Saxon England click here.
GLOUCESTER IN THE MIDDLE AGES
William the Conqueror came to Gloucester in 1085 and while he was there he ordered that the Domesday Book be written.
Gloucester may have had a population of about 3,500 in the Middle Ages. By the standards of the time it was a fairly large town. (In those days towns were much smaller than they are today). Gloucester, it was said, ranked 10th in among the towns of England for wealth.
In the late 11th century the Normans built a wooden castle in Gloucester. In the 12th century it was rebuilt in stone. Gloucester was strategically important in the 12th and 13th centuries because there was frequent warfare between the Welsh and the English. The people of Gloucester benefited from the warfare because the garrison of the castle provided a market for their goods.
In 1155 the king gave Gloucester a charter (a document giving the townspeople certain rights).
The main industry in Gloucester was making wool. Raw wool was brought to the town from the Cotswolds. In Gloucester the wool was woven then fulled. That means the wool was cleaned and thickened by pounding it in water and clay. When the wool dried it was dyed.
There was also a large leather industry in Gloucester in the Middle Ages. There were tanners and craftsmen who made things of leather, such as cappers, glovers, shoemakers and glovers. In Gloucester iron was worked to make nails, weapons and tools. Cloth and grain were exported from Gloucester and wine was imported from France. There was also a considerable fishing industry in the Severn.
In towns in the Middle Ages fire was a constant risk since most buildings of wood with thatched roofs. In 1223 a fire destroyed part of Gloucester. As a result thatched roofs were banned.
There was a community of Jews in Gloucester in the 12th century. They were falsely accused of a ritual murder in 1268. In 1275 all Jews were forced to leave Gloucester and go to Bristol.
In the 13th century the friars arrived in Gloucester. Friars were like monks but instead of withdrawing from the world they went out to preach. Franciscan friars arrived in 1231. They were called Grey friars because of the colour of their costumes. Dominican friars, known as Blackfriars, followed in 1239.
In 1327 the body of king Edward II was buried at St Peters Abbey. Afterwards there was a stream of visitors to his tomb, which added to the prosperity of Gloucester.
In the early 15th century the New Inn was built. It was built on the site of an earlier inn, hence the name. However Gloucester declined in the 15th century and the town entered a long economic depression. The main reason was probably increasing competition from other towns in the wool trade. An additional reason may have been the fact that Wales had now been conquered and Gloucester was no longer in a strategic position.
In 1483 Richard III gave Gloucester a new charter. This time the merchants were given the right to elect a mayor and 12 aldermen.
GLOUCESTER IN THE 16th AND 17th CENTURIES
The Fleece Hotel was built as an inn about 1500.
In 1541 Gloucester was given a bishop and the Abbey Church was made the new cathedral. Henry VIII 1509-47 and his son Edward 1547-53 introduced religious changes to England. However Henry's daughter Mary, tried to undo the changes. She burned many Protestants. One of them was John Hooper, Bishop of Gloucester, who was burned for heresy in St Marys Square in 1555.
During the 16th and 17th centuries the wool trade continued to decline. Gloucester also suffered from frequent outbreaks of plague. There were epidemics in 1565, 1573, 1577, 1580, 1593 and 1637.
By the early 17th century Gloucester was less important than it had once been. Nevertheless it was still a fair sized town with a population of about 4,000 in the 16th century.
Gloucester was still a busy port and a market town for the surrounding region. Furthermore although the cloth industry declined pin making boomed in the 17th century.
By the late 17th century the population of Gloucester was probably about 5,000.
In 1540 a grammar school called the Crypt School opened. In 1668 a blue coat charity school opened (it was called that because of the blue school uniforms).
Gloucester suffered severely in the civil war between king and parliament, which lasted from 1642 to 1646. Most of the Southwest supported the king but Gloucester went supported parliament. The people demolished the houses outside the walls to deny cover to the enemy and erected some earthwork defences. In 1643 the king's army laid siege and their cannon fired into Gloucester. Nevertheless Gloucester held out and the royalists withdrew when they heard that a parliamentary army was coming.
Gloucester gained its first fire engine in 1648.
In 1662 the city erected a statue of Charles I to curry favour. King Charles was not impressed however and he ordered the destruction of the city's walls.
GLOUCESTER IN THE 18th CENTURY
Ladybellgate house was built around 1704.
In 1751 the cross which had stood in the town centre for centuries was demolished. An infirmary was opened in 1761. The East gate was demolished in 1778 to make it easier for traffic to enter and leave the town.
In 1768 two new market sites were created to house all the stalls that were impeding traffic and causing congestion. One was in Eastgate, the other in Southgate. In the 1780s North Gate, Outer North Gate and South Gate were all demolished to make way for traffic. In 1791 a new prison was opened on the site of the castle.
In the 18th century the wool industry died out altogether in Gloucester but pin making flourished.
Jerry W. Willis
This is a note that I wrote to my family in November, 2005.
On a trip to Greenville, S.C., last weekend I bought the book ‘Will in the World’ by Stephen Greenblatt which is about William Shakespeare. Will was born in the town called Stratford-on-Avon (Avon is a river running by or through the town) April 26, 1564 about the time our oldest known ancestor was a young man just beginning his family and career in Wiltshire county an estimated 50 miles to the Southwest.
I have never been interested in reading William Shakespeare plays because the little bit that I read seemed so silly and boring to me. But this book caught my eye as a way to learn about the times when our earliest known ancestors were in that area and at the same time to learn something about the most famous writer in history. I have been enjoying the book very much so far and recommend it to you. And then, to my great surprise and pleasure, I found a reference to one of our relatives in the book. So I am quoting here from the book to show the reference and to give you the pleasure of learning a little about the times and explore whether or not you might want to purchase the book, and to learn a bit about the plays of that time and the likely circumstances of our relatives.
Beginning on Page 30 there is a discussion about Will’s Dad being the equivalent of the Mayor in their home town. As such he had to approve any theatrical groups and their presentation before it could be offered to the public. So there is the probability that Will was introduced to traveling Theatrical groups from an early age.
Page 30 - “In his old age, a man named Willis, born the same year as Will, recalled a play (now lost), called The Cradle of Security, that he saw in Gloucester-thirty-eight miles from Stratford, when he was a child. On arriving in town, the players, Willis wrote, followed the usual routine: they presented themselves to the mayor, informed him what nobleman’s servants they were, and requested a license for performing in public. The mayor granted the license and appointed the company to give their first performance before the aldermen and other officials of the town. ‘At such a play,’ Willis remembered, ‘my father took me with him and made me stand between his legs, as he sat upon one of the benches, where we saw and heard very well.’ The experience was a remarkably intense one for Willis: ‘This sight took such an impression in me,’ he wrote, ‘that when I came towards man’s estate, it was as fresh in my memory as if I had seen it newly acted.’
My thoughts from reading the above:
This Willis was born in 1564 so was probably the son of our oldest known ancestor.
His Dad was probably our oldest known ancestor.
His Dad was a town alderman or other official of the town since he attended the special performance.
This Willis family lived in Gloucester at that time and possibly had for a number of years or even generations.
Willis knows about the routines of obtaining permission and licenses so he was probably taught and learned as a young man.
This Willis must have been well educated to be able to write about his memories.
His Dad was also probably well educated and that is why he was an alderman or town official.
This Willis’ writings must still be available and might contain a lot of additional interesting information!!
As I have thought, our ancestors were probably pretty well-to-do since Henry was able to become a Friend’s church minister in London after the great fire and then to move to Oyster Bay in Long Island for a number of months and then to buy a tract of land and have a family and be a supporter of the Friends religious group.
Shakespeare and his plays were touring the countryside and were probably in our ancestor’s home town and seen by them.
There must have been a playhouse with benches like those of the famous Globe theatre in London.
The theatre must have been full since young Willis had to stand. Plays were very popular during the period especially Shakespeare’s.
Since the experience was so intense for young Willis, he may have been an artistic type person himself.
Page 31 - “For his part, Shakespeare’s contemporary Willis remembered all his life what he had seen at Gloucester: a king lured away from his sober, pious counselors by three seductive ladies. “In the end they got him to lie down in a cradle upon the stage,” he recalled, “where these three ladies, joining in a sweet song, rocked him asleep, that he snorted again; and in the meantime closely conveyed under the cloths wherewithal he was covered, a vizard, like a swine’s snout, upon his face, with three wire chains fastened thereunto, the other end whereof being holden severally by those three ladies, who fall to singing again, and then discovered his face that the spectators might see how they had transformed him.’ The spectators must have found it very exciting. Some of the older ones probably remembered the swinish face of Henry VIII, and all in the audience knew that it was only under special circumstances that they could publicly share the thought that the monarch was a swine.”
My Thoughts on the above:
Willis was a contemporary meaning he lived in the same time and in approximately the same place and circumstances.
Gloucester must have been the home of our relative at the time.
Willis was old enough to remember the play yet small enough to stand between his Dad’s legs as he sat upon the bench. Probably about 1570 when he was 6 years old.
Since Willis said they were able to hear and see very well they must have had seats close to the front. That probably means they were at the higher end of the important men of the town.
It also means that the theatre must have been fairly large and had some seats where one could not see and hear well.
King Henry VIII was the one that formed the Church of England, The Anglican Church, breaking away from the pope and the Roman Catholic church. He was the father of the Queen Bloody Mary who unbelievably viciously tortured and killed all the Protestants she could find.
Bloody Mary was an ancestor of King James who authorized and had printed the King James version of the Holy Bible.
Page 31 - “Young Will is likely to have seen something similar. The plays in repertory in the 1560s and 70s were for the most part ‘morality plays,” or “moral interludes,” secular sermons designed to show the terrible consequences of disobedience, idleness, or dissipation. Typically, a character-an embodied abstraction with a name like Mankind or Youth-turns away from a proper guide such as Honest Recreation or Virtuous Life and begins to spend his time with Ignorance, All-for-Money, or Riot.
‘Huffa, huffa! Who calleth after me?
I am Riot, full of jollity.
My heart is light as the wind,
And all on riot is my mind. ‘
(The Interlude of Youth)
“It is rapidly downhill from here-Riot introduces Youth to his friend Pride; Pride introduces him to his glamorous sister Lechery; Lechery lures him to the tavern-and it looks like it will all end badly. Sometimes it does end badly-in the play Willis saw, the king who is transformed into a swine is later carried away to punishment by wicked spirits-but more typically, something happens to awaken the hero’s slumbering conscience just in time. In The Interlude of Youth, Charity, reminding the sinner of Jesus’ great gift to him, frees him from the influence of Riot and restores him to the company of Humility. In The Castle of Perseverance, Penance touches Mankind’s heart with his lance and saves him from his wicked companions, the Severn Deadly Sins. In Wit and Science, the hero Wit, asleep in the lap of Idleness, is transformed into a fool, complete with cap and bells, but he is saved when he catches sight of himself in a mirror and realizes that he looks ‘like a very ass!’ Only after he is sharply whipped by Shame and taught by a group of strict schoolmasters-Instruction, Study, and Diligence-is Wit restored to his proper appearance and able to celebrate his marriage to Lady Science.”
My thoughts on the above:
Obviously Willis wrote more about the play since it has been lost and yet he quotes here what Willis saw in the play.
So we have an author early in the history of our family that has a body of work we haven’t yet seen!
Since Willis wrote so much about this play he was probably financially secure to be able to devote his time and thought to plays.
That was a sign of a ‘Gentleman’ to have the ability to entertain oneself with plays and idleness.
Actually Shakespeare’s plays might be kind of fun if someone would translate them into modern English since they would give an almost perfect insight into the lifestyles of the times.
The English language is quite changed over the last 500 years and you must know the history of the words and conditions before you can appreciate all that is in the plays.
Religion has been a very significant factor in the history of mankind and our family.
The advent of the Church of England probably began the change in religions by showing that everyone did not have to be subject to the Pope and the Catholic religion.
Protestant religions began to come into being and caused great turmoil for centuries as religious groups have fought.
The Muslim faith had caused great wars prior to the Protestants coming into being.
There was a great need to break free of complete submission to the King and these plays and their acceptance began to show that need.
Our ancestors broke with both of the standard religions of the day and became devoted Friends (later to be called Quakers).
George Fox the founder of the Friends church was in the area and converted our ancestors about 1660.
Our ancestors were leaders in the Friends church.
The more rapid transmission of ideas through plays and the written word changed the world just as it is doing today.
There are a number of Bibliographical notes about source material that will be interesting to research. Here is just a little bit of several pages of them.
L.B.Wright’s Middle-Class Culture in Elizabethan England (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1935) is a classic, if contested, guide to Elizabethan social structures, as is Lawrence Stone’s The Crisis of the Aristocracy: 1558-1641 (London: Oxford University Press, 1986). See also Felicity Heal and Clive Holmes, The Gentry in England and Wales, 1500-1700 (Basingstoke, UK: Macmillan, 1994) and Joyce Youings, Sixteenth Century England: The Penguid Social History of Britain (London: Penguin, 1984). On yeomen, the social class from which Shakespeare descended, see Mildred Campbell, The Enlish Yeoman under Elizabeth and the Early Stuarts (New Haven: Yale University Press
The above points to a map of England that shows Gloucester and not too far away is Devizes where our earliest ancestors lived.
<<>>
Notice Devizes which is due East of Bath about 15-20 miles and it is about
50 miles Southwest of Gloucester.
<<>>
In the above map We can see Westbury just Southwest of Devizes about 10-15 miles.
Henry Willis named the town of Westbury, NY after this town in England which was close to his home of Devizes and probably was his home for a period of years.
The following gives some interesting history of the area:
A BRIEF HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER
By Tim Lambert
ROMAN GLOUCESTER
Gloucester began as a Roman town. It lies at the first point where the river Severn can be easily crossed so it was a natural place to build a town. About 49 AD the Romans built a fort to guard the river crossing at Kingsholm. In 64 AD they built a new fort on the site of Gloucester town centre.
About 75 AD the Roman army moved on but the site of the fort was turned into a town for retired soldiers. The new town was called Glevum. The Roman town was laid out in a grid pattern. In the centre of the town was a forum. This was a market place lined with shops and public buildings. However in the 4th century Roman civilisation went into decline. The last Roman soldiers left Britain in 407 AD. Afterwards most Roman towns were abandoned.
For more information about Roman Britain click here.
SAXON GLOUCESTER
After the Romans left Britain Gloucester was probably abandoned although there may have been a small number of farmers living inside the walls and farming the land outside.
The Saxons captured Gloucester in 577 AD after they won a battle against the native Celts. We do not know if there were people living in Gloucester at that time.
In the late 7th century the Saxons founded a monastery at Gloucester and the town began to revive. Craftsmen and merchants came to live in Gloucester once again. In the early 8th century a writer called Gloucester 'one of the noblest cities in the kingdom'.
In the late 9th century the Saxons created a network of fortified towns called burghs. In the event of a Danish attack all the men in the area would gather in the burgh to fight. Gloucester was made a burgh. In 915 AD men from Gloucestershire gathered in the town then went out to fight the Danes and defeated them in battle.
Gloucester flourished in the 10th century and it had a mint. A suburb grew up outside the North gate.
In 909 AD the remains of St Oswald were brought to Gloucester. In those days people would go on long journeys called pilgrimages to visit the remains of saints. Many people came to Gloucester to visit the remains of St Oswald and they spent money in the town. In 1153 the church which housed St Oswald's shrine was turned into a priory (a small abbey).
For more information about Saxon England click here.
GLOUCESTER IN THE MIDDLE AGES
William the Conqueror came to Gloucester in 1085 and while he was there he ordered that the Domesday Book be written.
Gloucester may have had a population of about 3,500 in the Middle Ages. By the standards of the time it was a fairly large town. (In those days towns were much smaller than they are today). Gloucester, it was said, ranked 10th in among the towns of England for wealth.
In the late 11th century the Normans built a wooden castle in Gloucester. In the 12th century it was rebuilt in stone. Gloucester was strategically important in the 12th and 13th centuries because there was frequent warfare between the Welsh and the English. The people of Gloucester benefited from the warfare because the garrison of the castle provided a market for their goods.
In 1155 the king gave Gloucester a charter (a document giving the townspeople certain rights).
The main industry in Gloucester was making wool. Raw wool was brought to the town from the Cotswolds. In Gloucester the wool was woven then fulled. That means the wool was cleaned and thickened by pounding it in water and clay. When the wool dried it was dyed.
There was also a large leather industry in Gloucester in the Middle Ages. There were tanners and craftsmen who made things of leather, such as cappers, glovers, shoemakers and glovers. In Gloucester iron was worked to make nails, weapons and tools. Cloth and grain were exported from Gloucester and wine was imported from France. There was also a considerable fishing industry in the Severn.
In towns in the Middle Ages fire was a constant risk since most buildings of wood with thatched roofs. In 1223 a fire destroyed part of Gloucester. As a result thatched roofs were banned.
There was a community of Jews in Gloucester in the 12th century. They were falsely accused of a ritual murder in 1268. In 1275 all Jews were forced to leave Gloucester and go to Bristol.
In the 13th century the friars arrived in Gloucester. Friars were like monks but instead of withdrawing from the world they went out to preach. Franciscan friars arrived in 1231. They were called Grey friars because of the colour of their costumes. Dominican friars, known as Blackfriars, followed in 1239.
In 1327 the body of king Edward II was buried at St Peters Abbey. Afterwards there was a stream of visitors to his tomb, which added to the prosperity of Gloucester.
In the early 15th century the New Inn was built. It was built on the site of an earlier inn, hence the name. However Gloucester declined in the 15th century and the town entered a long economic depression. The main reason was probably increasing competition from other towns in the wool trade. An additional reason may have been the fact that Wales had now been conquered and Gloucester was no longer in a strategic position.
In 1483 Richard III gave Gloucester a new charter. This time the merchants were given the right to elect a mayor and 12 aldermen.
GLOUCESTER IN THE 16th AND 17th CENTURIES
The Fleece Hotel was built as an inn about 1500.
In 1541 Gloucester was given a bishop and the Abbey Church was made the new cathedral. Henry VIII 1509-47 and his son Edward 1547-53 introduced religious changes to England. However Henry's daughter Mary, tried to undo the changes. She burned many Protestants. One of them was John Hooper, Bishop of Gloucester, who was burned for heresy in St Marys Square in 1555.
During the 16th and 17th centuries the wool trade continued to decline. Gloucester also suffered from frequent outbreaks of plague. There were epidemics in 1565, 1573, 1577, 1580, 1593 and 1637.
By the early 17th century Gloucester was less important than it had once been. Nevertheless it was still a fair sized town with a population of about 4,000 in the 16th century.
Gloucester was still a busy port and a market town for the surrounding region. Furthermore although the cloth industry declined pin making boomed in the 17th century.
By the late 17th century the population of Gloucester was probably about 5,000.
In 1540 a grammar school called the Crypt School opened. In 1668 a blue coat charity school opened (it was called that because of the blue school uniforms).
Gloucester suffered severely in the civil war between king and parliament, which lasted from 1642 to 1646. Most of the Southwest supported the king but Gloucester went supported parliament. The people demolished the houses outside the walls to deny cover to the enemy and erected some earthwork defences. In 1643 the king's army laid siege and their cannon fired into Gloucester. Nevertheless Gloucester held out and the royalists withdrew when they heard that a parliamentary army was coming.
Gloucester gained its first fire engine in 1648.
In 1662 the city erected a statue of Charles I to curry favour. King Charles was not impressed however and he ordered the destruction of the city's walls.
GLOUCESTER IN THE 18th CENTURY
Ladybellgate house was built around 1704.
In 1751 the cross which had stood in the town centre for centuries was demolished. An infirmary was opened in 1761. The East gate was demolished in 1778 to make it easier for traffic to enter and leave the town.
In 1768 two new market sites were created to house all the stalls that were impeding traffic and causing congestion. One was in Eastgate, the other in Southgate. In the 1780s North Gate, Outer North Gate and South Gate were all demolished to make way for traffic. In 1791 a new prison was opened on the site of the castle.
In the 18th century the wool industry died out altogether in Gloucester but pin making flourished.
Jerry W. Willis
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
My Road to Happiness/Understanding
MY ROAD TO HAPPINESS - by Jerry W. Willis
http://www.jerrywwillis.com/
I find much happiness in reading certain types of material because it stimulates all the really good feelings and thoughts within me. So the following is maybe the perfect way for me to introduce myself and the type of message that I am sharing with you in this book.
THE FOLLOWING WRITING by Wil Wheaton (of StarTrek - The Next Generation) IS SOMEWHAT RAMBLING BUT IT IS VERY INTERESTING! IT TOUCHES ON THE MEANING AND IMPORTANCE OF WORK AND THE CONCEPT OF WORKING ON THE THINGS YOU LOVE AND OF BEING BRUTALLY HONEST WITH YOURSELF. SO I HAVE INSERTED MY COMMENTS SO THAT YOU CAN SEE TWO PEOPLE'S UNDERSTANDINGS OF THE SAME THINGS IN LIFE.
FACE IT!! YOU AREN'T THE SUCCESS YOU DREAMED OF. YOU AREN'T AS RICH AND SUCCESSFUL AS YOU HOPED. YOU AREN'T MAKING AS MUCH PROGRESS LATELY AS YOU WANT. BUT WHEN YOU ARE ON THE RIGHT ROAD; WHEN YOU ARE ON YOUR ROAD, THAT IS OK. YOU CAN BE "TOTALLY COOL WITH THAT".
IT SEEMS THAT MANY PEOPLE, IF NOT MOST EVERYONE, GETS TO SIMILAR PLACES IN THEIR LIVES. I KNOW I HAVE. AND THE INTERESTING THING IS THAT THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE IN TURNING DISAPPOINTMENT AND CONFUSION AND FRUSTRATION INTO A DELIGHTFUL STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE AND A HAPPY, SHINING OUTLOOK ABOUT TODAY AND TOMORROW, IS FACING THE BRUTAL FACTS ABOUT YOURSELF. JUST LOOKING AT YOURSELF AND YOUR SITUATION HONESTLY AND OPENLY WITH ABSOLUTELY NO COVERUP AND NO PROTECTION FROM OTHERS ABUSING AND EMBARASSING YOU. OF COURSE YOU CAN DO IT IN SECRET BUT JUST BE SO OPEN AND HONEST WITH YOURSELF THAT EVEN YOU COULD MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE A DUMMY AND A LOSER.
THEN, A FUNNY THING HAPPENS. WHEN YOU ARE TOTALLY OPEN AND HONEST WITH YOURSELF, THEN YOU JUST NATURALLY GO FOR AND KNOW WHAT YOUR ROAD IS AND WHERE IT IS GOING AND WHERE IT HAS BEEN. THEN A WONDERFUL SENSE OF SELF-SATISFACTION, OF SELF-CONFIDENCE, OF PEACE OF MIND AND, YES, HAPPINESS, SETTLES IN.
MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!!
THE FOLLOWING IS FROM WIL WHEATON WHO PLAYED Wesley Crusher ON THE 'STAR TREK -THE NEXT GENERATION' TV SERIES:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wesley_Crusher
Wikipedia: “Wesley Crusher is a character on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. He was played by actor Wil Wheaton, and was a regular for the first four seasons. He made sporadic guest appearances after this.â€
http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/2006/03/climb_so_high_a.html
climb so high and gain so low
"May the road rise with you." -PiL
]All this week, Shane Nickerson is publishing older blog entries that never made the cut for one reason or another. He introduces each entry with a brief comment about it, then shares some wonderful writing that clearly deserved to make it past the internal censor who often paralyzes guys like us.
This one, in particular, hit me where I live:
If you want the secret, I have it.
It's about the work. Regardless of your chosen profession or station in life, the work is what matters. Skip it and you will be caught. Slack off, and others will catch up to you. Cut corners and you will have to answer to yourself at some point.
Of course, that said, the hardest question to answer once it is assumed that hard work is part of the equation is, "Now, what do I work on?" Whatever you love. Work on whatever you love and don't think about the payoff, but instead the road. If part of your road is a continual hunt for a payoff, so be it, but pick a life and career that makes you happy even in the very pursuit of the thing you've chosen.
MY MESSAGE EXACTLY! There is real wisdom that came from experiences that resulted in the above message!
A couple of days ago, I had an epiphany: Around the time I came to Exile, I drove right off my Road. I started to take an interesting little side trip, (mostly to Prove To Everyone that I could do it) but I lost my map and couldn't find my way back. I was so thoroughly off my road, I didn't even realize I was driving around in circles and down dead end paths until it was way too late, and I was running out of gas.
Set phasers to Ramble, Mr. Worf:
When I went to the Grand Slam convention last weekend, I kept expecting to feel bad about it. I kept expecting to feel like I was a loser for going without anything new to show off and I really worked myself up about it. I really felt like I was in exactly the same place I was five years ago, and that seriously bummed me out.
But when I got there, that anticipated feeling never arrived. Despite my best initial efforts to really feel like a jerk, I really had a good time. I didn't feel bad; I felt like I was at home. I felt like I was surrounded by like-minded people who all wanted to celebrate this stuff that we all love, and I felt like I had something unique and interesting to share with them. I loved how good and how right that felt, and at some point over the weekend, I realized that even though I was hanging out at a con, I'm not in the same place I was five years ago. I've grown as a writer, I've grown as a husband, and I've grown as a father. I'm smarter and wiser than I was five years ago, even if I haven't accomplished as much as I'd hoped. There is no denying that I haven't done what I'd hoped to do with acting or writing, but in all the other areas that truly matter, I've rolled several critical successes.
THE ABOVE REALLY RESONATES WITH ME. BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN DISAPPOINTED IN MY CAREER AND THE LEVELS THAT I DIDN'T ACHIEVE IN MY WORK LIFE; BECAUSE I AM DISAPPOINTED THAT I HAVE SO LITTLE MONEY IN SAVINGS AT THIS POINT IN MY LIFE AND THE WORRY IN THE BACKGROUND THAT I/WE MAY NOT HAVE ENOUGH TO CONTINUE TO LIVE 'THE GOOD LIFE'.
YET AS I HAVE WRITTEN AND THOUGHT TO MYSELF OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS I HAVE COME TO SOME OF THE SAME CONCLUSIONS. I HAVE GROWN AND IMPROVED MYSELF. NOW I AM A WRITER!! I HAVE SOMETHING UNIQUE AND INTERESTING TO SHARE WITH LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE! I HAVE GROWN AS A HUSBAND, AS A FATHER AND AS A GRANDFATHER. I'M SMARTER AND WISER THAN I WAS FIVE YEARS AGO, EVEN IF I HAVEN'T ACCOMPLISHED AS MUCH AS I'D HOPED.
THERE IS NO DENYING THAT I HAVEN'T DONE WHAT I'D HOPED TO DO WITH MY JOBS OR WITH MY INVESTMENTS AND OTHER AREAS OF MY LIFE, BUT IN ALL THE AREAS THAT TRULY MATTER, I'VE ROLLED IN SEVERAL CRITICAL SUCCESSES.
AND I HAVE FOUND MY ROAD FOR NOW; THE ROAD THAT I WANT TO BE ON; THE ROAD THAT BRINGS UP POSSIBILITIES IN ME THAT I AM EXCITED ABOUT. AND FOR NOW THAT IS MY CLEAR BLUE SKY; THAT IS WHAT I AM LOOKING AT AND DREAMING ABOUT AND, WHILE I AM AT IT, I AM ENJOYING THE SCENERY ALONG MY ROAD!
You know how everything happens for a reason? If I hadn't gone to that convention and simply enjoyed the celebration of Sci-Fi and Sci-Fi fandom, if I hadn't realized, accepted, and acknowledged that I really have grown and succeeded in the last five years, I wouldn't have found the map back to my Road. Without it, I never would have been in the right place to have so much fun with the hosting audition, and I wouldn't be waiting right now to hopefully hear good news about that job.
WHEN I ACCEPTED THAT THINGS HAPPEN FOR A REASON, IT BECAME EASIER TO LOOK AT MY DISAPPOINTMENTS JUST AS SOMETHING I AM GOING TO NEED IN MY FUTURE.
THEN WHEN I BEGAN TO REALIZE AND ACCEPT AND ACKNOWLEDGE MY SUCCESSES, I BEGAN TO LOOK WITH OPTIMISM FOR INTERESTING NEW THINGS AND NEW POSSIBILITIES. THERE ARE ALWAYS OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUR TALENTS NO MATTER HOW FAR-FETCHED AND UNLIKELY THEY SEEM AT THE MOMENT.
FOR ME, THE IDEA OF BECOMING AN AUTHOR HAD NOT REALLY EVER CROSSED MY MIND EVEN THOUGH I GUESS I HAD SOMEWHAT DREAMED OF IT INDIRECTLY FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS. BUT THEN, TIME AND CIRCUMSTANCES AND ALL THE EXPLORATION AND THINKING (RESEARCH) I HAD DONE JUST CAME TOGETHER. IT IS LIKE A RECIPE COMBINING ALL THE RIGHT INGREDIENTS TO MAKE SOMETHING ENTIRELY NEW. I AM NOW MAKING MY FAVORITE; A RICH, MOIST CHOCOLATE CAKE, THAT I HAVE SUCH HIGH HOPES FOR! I THINK I'LL HAVE SOME VANILLA ICE CREAM WITH THAT TOO!!! COME JOIN ME, PLEASE!
I thought about the last line of Just A Geek the other day, which I thought went something like, "I'm finally cool with all the Star Trek and Sci-Fi stuff, and I'm happy about that."
I just looked it up, and that's not what it says. It actually says that I'm doing something that really makes me happy, which at the time was writing. It says a lot about my current state of mind, (and the unvarnished truth about myself at this moment) that I thought it said I was happy about my work on Star Trek and I was cool with all that stuff, though, doesn't it?
WHEN I LOOKED AT THE UNVARNISHED TRUTH ABOUT MYSELF I SAW LOTS OF DISAPPOINTMENT WITH NOT ACHIEVING BIG PROMOTIONS AND POSITIONS AT A MAJOR CORPORATION. BUT I ALSO RECOGNIZED THAT I HAD BEEN GIVEN OPPORTUNITIES AND HAD BEEN FOUND LACKING IN THE SKILLS TO REALLY DO THOSE JOBS WELL. I KNEW THAT IT WAS BETTER TO NOT HAVE THOSE JOBS THAN TO BE LOUSY AT THEM.
SO I WAS CONFUSED. WHAT THEN SHOULD BE MY DIRECTION AND EMPHASIS? WAS I TO SPEND THE REST OF MY LIFE BEING DISAPPOINTED EVEN THOUGH I KNEW THAT I WOULD HAVE PROBABLY BEEN EVEN MORE DISAPPOINTED HAD I GOTTEN WHAT I THOUGHT I WANTED?
WHAT I WAS MOST HAPPY ABOUT WAS RESEARCHING AND GATHERING ARTICLES AND SPEECHES THAT MOTIVATED AND INSPIRED ME AND OTHERS. I SPENT MY SPARE TIME ENJOYING WRITING MY THOUGHTS AND DREAMS AND IDEAS.
OF COURSE I WAS SLOW TO RECOGNIZE THAT THERE WERE EVEN MORE WONDERFUL POSSIBILITIES IN MY WORK DISAPPOINTMENTS AND RESEARCH HAPPINESSES. THERE ARE POSSIBILITIES OF EVEN MORE ENJOYMENT AND HAPPINESS AND ALSO OF MAKING A CONTRIBUTION TO MY FAMILY AND OTHERS.
THAT WAS ANOTHER OF MY DILUSSIONAL DREAMS. BUT I HAD LONG AGO CONCLUDED THAT IT WAS TOO BOLD AND TOO BIG TO BE EVEN A POSSIBILITY EVEN FOR ME, ESPECIALLY IN VIEW OF MY LACK OF SUCCESS IN BUSINESS.
IN MY DREAMS THAT BUSINESS SUCCESS WAS TO BE THE PLATFORM FROM WHICH I WOULD MAKE MY EVEN BIGGER CONTRIBUTIONS TO MY FAMILY AND OUR COUNTRY THROUGH POLITICS!
When I watch TNG on G4, (and I do, almost every night,) no matter how hard I try to feel sad, or maudlin, or regretful, I just can't do it. I see my friends, and I have fond memories of working with them. I see my work, and I feel proud (when I'm not laughing at the Ugly Grey Spacesuit) of a lot of the things I did with what I was given to work with. As a bonus, watching lots of TNG has brought back happy, lucid memories of of all sosrts of things I did when I was a teenager: I get flashes of painting 40K armies in my dressing room, going to Depeche Mode concerts with my friends, watching movies like The Hidden and Alien Nation and Prince of Darkness at the AMC in Burbank with Darin when it was just 10 theatres (and 10 was HUGE back then), and going to different conventions all over the country to celebrate Star Trek. Of course, as I described in Just A Geek, there came a time where I didn't have fun at the cons, and I started to resent them, but even those memories are hard to pull up as I watch these shows from the second and third seasons. Is it selective memory? Of course it is, and I'm totally fine with that.
AS A TEENAGER, I WAS SO LACKING IN A BIG PICTURE UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WAS GOING ON AND SO LACKING IN SELF-CONFIDENCE THAT IN LATER YEARS I COULD HARDLY THINK OF THOSE DAYS WITHOUT RUNNING INTO MEMORIES THAT MADE ME CRINGE WITH DISAPPOINTMENT IN MYSELF AND MY PERFORMANCE. SO I AVOIDED THEM EXCEPT IN OCCASIONAL FLASHBACKS OF DISAPPOINTMENT.
BUT NOW, AS I WRITE THE BIG PICTURE UNDERSTANDING THAT I NEEDED AS A YOUTH; AS I DOCUMENT THE WISDOM OF THE AGES AND WISDOM FROM ALL OF MY RESEARCH, I FIND THAT I DO ENJOY CALLING BACK MANY OF THOSE MEMORIES AND I CAN RELIVE THEM WITHOUT THE DISAPPOINTING THOUGHTS. IS IT SELECTIVE MEMORY OR JUST A BETTER PERSPECTIVE? I THINK THE LATTER. BUT IN ANY CASE I'M TOTALLY FINE WITH IT AND I'M VERY HAPPY WITH THAT!!
I know I went over this in Just A Geek and Dancing Barefoot, but it's worth it for me to go over it one more time: I don't have to avoid or run away from science fiction because I was a big part of a huge science fiction franchise, and I didn't have the acting success I'd hoped for when I quit. I was a science fiction geek long before I was Wesley Crusher, and I'll be a science fiction geek for the rest of my life. I can't run away from fandom, because I can't run away from myself. I can't run away from who I am. Resistance is futile.
I LOVE THE WISDOM AND THE HUMOR IN THE ABOVE. TO PUT IT IN TERMS OF MY LIFE, I DON'T HAVE TO AVOID OR RUN AWAY FROM THE FACTS ABOUT MY LIFE. I WAS RAISED IN A NEAR IDEALIC TIME (THE 1950s) AND WAY (LEFT TO MAKE MY OWN DECISIONS AND FIND MY OWN WAY) EVEN THOUGH I NEVER UNDERSTOOD IT. I DIDN'T HAVE THE SUCCESS IN BUSINESS AND POLITICAL LEADERSHIP THAT I HAD HOPED FOR WHEN I GRADUATED FROM OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY.
BUT I WAS A DREAMER THEN AND I'LL BE A DREAMER FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. I CAN'T RUN AWAY FROM MY HOPES AND DREAMS BECAUSE I CAN'T RUN AWAY FROM MYSELF. I CAN'T RUN AWAY FROM WHO I AM.
RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!
When I read Shane's post earlier this week, I initially responded to what he said about the work. But as I reflected on it, I kept thinking about the Road. When I knew what my Road was, I knew where my Road was, and I knew how to get back on it. I wasn't as far off it as I
thought, in fact. I just had to turn the wheel and step on the gas. It also helped to drive with my eyes open for a change.
AS I REFLECT ON MY ROAD, MY NEW ROAD OF BEING AN AUTHOR AND A PUBLIC SPEAKER; OF TRYING TO HELP MY FAMILY AND MY COUNTRY, I FIND THAT I NEVER WAS VERY FAR OFF OF THAT ROAD. I WASN'T AS FAR OFF AS I THOUGHT. NOW I KNOW WHAT MY ROAD IS. TIME AND MY INTERESTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES HAVE OPENED UP NEW POSSIBILITIES. THIS TIME I FOUND MY ROAD WITH MY EYES OPENED BY EXPERIENCE AND WITH HONEST AND REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS ABOUT MYSELF!
My Road is paved with d20s and TRON DVDs and Atari 2600 games. It's lit by the glow of TNG and BSG episodes and the soundtrack is by Vangelis. It's patrolled by Rover and they sell Soylent Green in the rest stop vending machines. The speed limit is 42, but if you flash your Bavarian Illuminati card, you can use the FTL drive to make it to Milliways in time for dinner.
I'm back on my Road, and nobody can take the sky from me.
I'M BACK ON MY ROAD, THIS TIME WITH A COMPASS AND A MAP! THIS TIME I KNOW THE DIRECTION I AM TO GO AND I KNOW MY OBJECTIVE IS THE RIGHT ONE FOR ME; TO HAVE A WONDERFUL JOURNEY WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND TO TRY TO MAKE THE WORLD A LITTLE BETTER BECAUSE I WAS HERE!!
I STILL DREAM REALLY BIG. I STILL HAVE A MARVELOUS DREAM OF THE POSSIBILITIES FOR ME, MY FAMILY AND MY LOVED ONES AND I BELIEVE IT IS GOING TO COME TRUE!!
MAY SATISFACTION AND PEACE OF MIND AND EXCITEMENT IN THE POSSIBILITIES FOR YOUR LIFE BE WITH YOU.
MAY YOU AWAKE EACH DAY WITH A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR PURPOSE IN LIFE.
MAY YOU AWAKE EACH DAY WITH A MISSION IN LIFE INSTEAD OF A TO-DO LIST.
MAY YOU SHARE DEEP AND ABIDING LOVE WITH YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!!
With love,
Granddad/Dad/Husband/Brother/Uncle and Friend,
Jerry W. Willis
4/10/2007
see www.jerrywwillis.com
http://www.jerrywwillis.com/
I find much happiness in reading certain types of material because it stimulates all the really good feelings and thoughts within me. So the following is maybe the perfect way for me to introduce myself and the type of message that I am sharing with you in this book.
THE FOLLOWING WRITING by Wil Wheaton (of StarTrek - The Next Generation) IS SOMEWHAT RAMBLING BUT IT IS VERY INTERESTING! IT TOUCHES ON THE MEANING AND IMPORTANCE OF WORK AND THE CONCEPT OF WORKING ON THE THINGS YOU LOVE AND OF BEING BRUTALLY HONEST WITH YOURSELF. SO I HAVE INSERTED MY COMMENTS SO THAT YOU CAN SEE TWO PEOPLE'S UNDERSTANDINGS OF THE SAME THINGS IN LIFE.
FACE IT!! YOU AREN'T THE SUCCESS YOU DREAMED OF. YOU AREN'T AS RICH AND SUCCESSFUL AS YOU HOPED. YOU AREN'T MAKING AS MUCH PROGRESS LATELY AS YOU WANT. BUT WHEN YOU ARE ON THE RIGHT ROAD; WHEN YOU ARE ON YOUR ROAD, THAT IS OK. YOU CAN BE "TOTALLY COOL WITH THAT".
IT SEEMS THAT MANY PEOPLE, IF NOT MOST EVERYONE, GETS TO SIMILAR PLACES IN THEIR LIVES. I KNOW I HAVE. AND THE INTERESTING THING IS THAT THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE IN TURNING DISAPPOINTMENT AND CONFUSION AND FRUSTRATION INTO A DELIGHTFUL STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE AND A HAPPY, SHINING OUTLOOK ABOUT TODAY AND TOMORROW, IS FACING THE BRUTAL FACTS ABOUT YOURSELF. JUST LOOKING AT YOURSELF AND YOUR SITUATION HONESTLY AND OPENLY WITH ABSOLUTELY NO COVERUP AND NO PROTECTION FROM OTHERS ABUSING AND EMBARASSING YOU. OF COURSE YOU CAN DO IT IN SECRET BUT JUST BE SO OPEN AND HONEST WITH YOURSELF THAT EVEN YOU COULD MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE A DUMMY AND A LOSER.
THEN, A FUNNY THING HAPPENS. WHEN YOU ARE TOTALLY OPEN AND HONEST WITH YOURSELF, THEN YOU JUST NATURALLY GO FOR AND KNOW WHAT YOUR ROAD IS AND WHERE IT IS GOING AND WHERE IT HAS BEEN. THEN A WONDERFUL SENSE OF SELF-SATISFACTION, OF SELF-CONFIDENCE, OF PEACE OF MIND AND, YES, HAPPINESS, SETTLES IN.
MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!!
THE FOLLOWING IS FROM WIL WHEATON WHO PLAYED Wesley Crusher ON THE 'STAR TREK -THE NEXT GENERATION' TV SERIES:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wesley_Crusher
Wikipedia: “Wesley Crusher is a character on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. He was played by actor Wil Wheaton, and was a regular for the first four seasons. He made sporadic guest appearances after this.â€
http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/2006/03/climb_so_high_a.html
climb so high and gain so low
"May the road rise with you." -PiL
]All this week, Shane Nickerson is publishing older blog entries that never made the cut for one reason or another. He introduces each entry with a brief comment about it, then shares some wonderful writing that clearly deserved to make it past the internal censor who often paralyzes guys like us.
This one, in particular, hit me where I live:
If you want the secret, I have it.
It's about the work. Regardless of your chosen profession or station in life, the work is what matters. Skip it and you will be caught. Slack off, and others will catch up to you. Cut corners and you will have to answer to yourself at some point.
Of course, that said, the hardest question to answer once it is assumed that hard work is part of the equation is, "Now, what do I work on?" Whatever you love. Work on whatever you love and don't think about the payoff, but instead the road. If part of your road is a continual hunt for a payoff, so be it, but pick a life and career that makes you happy even in the very pursuit of the thing you've chosen.
MY MESSAGE EXACTLY! There is real wisdom that came from experiences that resulted in the above message!
A couple of days ago, I had an epiphany: Around the time I came to Exile, I drove right off my Road. I started to take an interesting little side trip, (mostly to Prove To Everyone that I could do it) but I lost my map and couldn't find my way back. I was so thoroughly off my road, I didn't even realize I was driving around in circles and down dead end paths until it was way too late, and I was running out of gas.
Set phasers to Ramble, Mr. Worf:
When I went to the Grand Slam convention last weekend, I kept expecting to feel bad about it. I kept expecting to feel like I was a loser for going without anything new to show off and I really worked myself up about it. I really felt like I was in exactly the same place I was five years ago, and that seriously bummed me out.
But when I got there, that anticipated feeling never arrived. Despite my best initial efforts to really feel like a jerk, I really had a good time. I didn't feel bad; I felt like I was at home. I felt like I was surrounded by like-minded people who all wanted to celebrate this stuff that we all love, and I felt like I had something unique and interesting to share with them. I loved how good and how right that felt, and at some point over the weekend, I realized that even though I was hanging out at a con, I'm not in the same place I was five years ago. I've grown as a writer, I've grown as a husband, and I've grown as a father. I'm smarter and wiser than I was five years ago, even if I haven't accomplished as much as I'd hoped. There is no denying that I haven't done what I'd hoped to do with acting or writing, but in all the other areas that truly matter, I've rolled several critical successes.
THE ABOVE REALLY RESONATES WITH ME. BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN DISAPPOINTED IN MY CAREER AND THE LEVELS THAT I DIDN'T ACHIEVE IN MY WORK LIFE; BECAUSE I AM DISAPPOINTED THAT I HAVE SO LITTLE MONEY IN SAVINGS AT THIS POINT IN MY LIFE AND THE WORRY IN THE BACKGROUND THAT I/WE MAY NOT HAVE ENOUGH TO CONTINUE TO LIVE 'THE GOOD LIFE'.
YET AS I HAVE WRITTEN AND THOUGHT TO MYSELF OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS I HAVE COME TO SOME OF THE SAME CONCLUSIONS. I HAVE GROWN AND IMPROVED MYSELF. NOW I AM A WRITER!! I HAVE SOMETHING UNIQUE AND INTERESTING TO SHARE WITH LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE! I HAVE GROWN AS A HUSBAND, AS A FATHER AND AS A GRANDFATHER. I'M SMARTER AND WISER THAN I WAS FIVE YEARS AGO, EVEN IF I HAVEN'T ACCOMPLISHED AS MUCH AS I'D HOPED.
THERE IS NO DENYING THAT I HAVEN'T DONE WHAT I'D HOPED TO DO WITH MY JOBS OR WITH MY INVESTMENTS AND OTHER AREAS OF MY LIFE, BUT IN ALL THE AREAS THAT TRULY MATTER, I'VE ROLLED IN SEVERAL CRITICAL SUCCESSES.
AND I HAVE FOUND MY ROAD FOR NOW; THE ROAD THAT I WANT TO BE ON; THE ROAD THAT BRINGS UP POSSIBILITIES IN ME THAT I AM EXCITED ABOUT. AND FOR NOW THAT IS MY CLEAR BLUE SKY; THAT IS WHAT I AM LOOKING AT AND DREAMING ABOUT AND, WHILE I AM AT IT, I AM ENJOYING THE SCENERY ALONG MY ROAD!
You know how everything happens for a reason? If I hadn't gone to that convention and simply enjoyed the celebration of Sci-Fi and Sci-Fi fandom, if I hadn't realized, accepted, and acknowledged that I really have grown and succeeded in the last five years, I wouldn't have found the map back to my Road. Without it, I never would have been in the right place to have so much fun with the hosting audition, and I wouldn't be waiting right now to hopefully hear good news about that job.
WHEN I ACCEPTED THAT THINGS HAPPEN FOR A REASON, IT BECAME EASIER TO LOOK AT MY DISAPPOINTMENTS JUST AS SOMETHING I AM GOING TO NEED IN MY FUTURE.
THEN WHEN I BEGAN TO REALIZE AND ACCEPT AND ACKNOWLEDGE MY SUCCESSES, I BEGAN TO LOOK WITH OPTIMISM FOR INTERESTING NEW THINGS AND NEW POSSIBILITIES. THERE ARE ALWAYS OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUR TALENTS NO MATTER HOW FAR-FETCHED AND UNLIKELY THEY SEEM AT THE MOMENT.
FOR ME, THE IDEA OF BECOMING AN AUTHOR HAD NOT REALLY EVER CROSSED MY MIND EVEN THOUGH I GUESS I HAD SOMEWHAT DREAMED OF IT INDIRECTLY FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS. BUT THEN, TIME AND CIRCUMSTANCES AND ALL THE EXPLORATION AND THINKING (RESEARCH) I HAD DONE JUST CAME TOGETHER. IT IS LIKE A RECIPE COMBINING ALL THE RIGHT INGREDIENTS TO MAKE SOMETHING ENTIRELY NEW. I AM NOW MAKING MY FAVORITE; A RICH, MOIST CHOCOLATE CAKE, THAT I HAVE SUCH HIGH HOPES FOR! I THINK I'LL HAVE SOME VANILLA ICE CREAM WITH THAT TOO!!! COME JOIN ME, PLEASE!
I thought about the last line of Just A Geek the other day, which I thought went something like, "I'm finally cool with all the Star Trek and Sci-Fi stuff, and I'm happy about that."
I just looked it up, and that's not what it says. It actually says that I'm doing something that really makes me happy, which at the time was writing. It says a lot about my current state of mind, (and the unvarnished truth about myself at this moment) that I thought it said I was happy about my work on Star Trek and I was cool with all that stuff, though, doesn't it?
WHEN I LOOKED AT THE UNVARNISHED TRUTH ABOUT MYSELF I SAW LOTS OF DISAPPOINTMENT WITH NOT ACHIEVING BIG PROMOTIONS AND POSITIONS AT A MAJOR CORPORATION. BUT I ALSO RECOGNIZED THAT I HAD BEEN GIVEN OPPORTUNITIES AND HAD BEEN FOUND LACKING IN THE SKILLS TO REALLY DO THOSE JOBS WELL. I KNEW THAT IT WAS BETTER TO NOT HAVE THOSE JOBS THAN TO BE LOUSY AT THEM.
SO I WAS CONFUSED. WHAT THEN SHOULD BE MY DIRECTION AND EMPHASIS? WAS I TO SPEND THE REST OF MY LIFE BEING DISAPPOINTED EVEN THOUGH I KNEW THAT I WOULD HAVE PROBABLY BEEN EVEN MORE DISAPPOINTED HAD I GOTTEN WHAT I THOUGHT I WANTED?
WHAT I WAS MOST HAPPY ABOUT WAS RESEARCHING AND GATHERING ARTICLES AND SPEECHES THAT MOTIVATED AND INSPIRED ME AND OTHERS. I SPENT MY SPARE TIME ENJOYING WRITING MY THOUGHTS AND DREAMS AND IDEAS.
OF COURSE I WAS SLOW TO RECOGNIZE THAT THERE WERE EVEN MORE WONDERFUL POSSIBILITIES IN MY WORK DISAPPOINTMENTS AND RESEARCH HAPPINESSES. THERE ARE POSSIBILITIES OF EVEN MORE ENJOYMENT AND HAPPINESS AND ALSO OF MAKING A CONTRIBUTION TO MY FAMILY AND OTHERS.
THAT WAS ANOTHER OF MY DILUSSIONAL DREAMS. BUT I HAD LONG AGO CONCLUDED THAT IT WAS TOO BOLD AND TOO BIG TO BE EVEN A POSSIBILITY EVEN FOR ME, ESPECIALLY IN VIEW OF MY LACK OF SUCCESS IN BUSINESS.
IN MY DREAMS THAT BUSINESS SUCCESS WAS TO BE THE PLATFORM FROM WHICH I WOULD MAKE MY EVEN BIGGER CONTRIBUTIONS TO MY FAMILY AND OUR COUNTRY THROUGH POLITICS!
When I watch TNG on G4, (and I do, almost every night,) no matter how hard I try to feel sad, or maudlin, or regretful, I just can't do it. I see my friends, and I have fond memories of working with them. I see my work, and I feel proud (when I'm not laughing at the Ugly Grey Spacesuit) of a lot of the things I did with what I was given to work with. As a bonus, watching lots of TNG has brought back happy, lucid memories of of all sosrts of things I did when I was a teenager: I get flashes of painting 40K armies in my dressing room, going to Depeche Mode concerts with my friends, watching movies like The Hidden and Alien Nation and Prince of Darkness at the AMC in Burbank with Darin when it was just 10 theatres (and 10 was HUGE back then), and going to different conventions all over the country to celebrate Star Trek. Of course, as I described in Just A Geek, there came a time where I didn't have fun at the cons, and I started to resent them, but even those memories are hard to pull up as I watch these shows from the second and third seasons. Is it selective memory? Of course it is, and I'm totally fine with that.
AS A TEENAGER, I WAS SO LACKING IN A BIG PICTURE UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WAS GOING ON AND SO LACKING IN SELF-CONFIDENCE THAT IN LATER YEARS I COULD HARDLY THINK OF THOSE DAYS WITHOUT RUNNING INTO MEMORIES THAT MADE ME CRINGE WITH DISAPPOINTMENT IN MYSELF AND MY PERFORMANCE. SO I AVOIDED THEM EXCEPT IN OCCASIONAL FLASHBACKS OF DISAPPOINTMENT.
BUT NOW, AS I WRITE THE BIG PICTURE UNDERSTANDING THAT I NEEDED AS A YOUTH; AS I DOCUMENT THE WISDOM OF THE AGES AND WISDOM FROM ALL OF MY RESEARCH, I FIND THAT I DO ENJOY CALLING BACK MANY OF THOSE MEMORIES AND I CAN RELIVE THEM WITHOUT THE DISAPPOINTING THOUGHTS. IS IT SELECTIVE MEMORY OR JUST A BETTER PERSPECTIVE? I THINK THE LATTER. BUT IN ANY CASE I'M TOTALLY FINE WITH IT AND I'M VERY HAPPY WITH THAT!!
I know I went over this in Just A Geek and Dancing Barefoot, but it's worth it for me to go over it one more time: I don't have to avoid or run away from science fiction because I was a big part of a huge science fiction franchise, and I didn't have the acting success I'd hoped for when I quit. I was a science fiction geek long before I was Wesley Crusher, and I'll be a science fiction geek for the rest of my life. I can't run away from fandom, because I can't run away from myself. I can't run away from who I am. Resistance is futile.
I LOVE THE WISDOM AND THE HUMOR IN THE ABOVE. TO PUT IT IN TERMS OF MY LIFE, I DON'T HAVE TO AVOID OR RUN AWAY FROM THE FACTS ABOUT MY LIFE. I WAS RAISED IN A NEAR IDEALIC TIME (THE 1950s) AND WAY (LEFT TO MAKE MY OWN DECISIONS AND FIND MY OWN WAY) EVEN THOUGH I NEVER UNDERSTOOD IT. I DIDN'T HAVE THE SUCCESS IN BUSINESS AND POLITICAL LEADERSHIP THAT I HAD HOPED FOR WHEN I GRADUATED FROM OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY.
BUT I WAS A DREAMER THEN AND I'LL BE A DREAMER FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. I CAN'T RUN AWAY FROM MY HOPES AND DREAMS BECAUSE I CAN'T RUN AWAY FROM MYSELF. I CAN'T RUN AWAY FROM WHO I AM.
RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!
When I read Shane's post earlier this week, I initially responded to what he said about the work. But as I reflected on it, I kept thinking about the Road. When I knew what my Road was, I knew where my Road was, and I knew how to get back on it. I wasn't as far off it as I
thought, in fact. I just had to turn the wheel and step on the gas. It also helped to drive with my eyes open for a change.
AS I REFLECT ON MY ROAD, MY NEW ROAD OF BEING AN AUTHOR AND A PUBLIC SPEAKER; OF TRYING TO HELP MY FAMILY AND MY COUNTRY, I FIND THAT I NEVER WAS VERY FAR OFF OF THAT ROAD. I WASN'T AS FAR OFF AS I THOUGHT. NOW I KNOW WHAT MY ROAD IS. TIME AND MY INTERESTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES HAVE OPENED UP NEW POSSIBILITIES. THIS TIME I FOUND MY ROAD WITH MY EYES OPENED BY EXPERIENCE AND WITH HONEST AND REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS ABOUT MYSELF!
My Road is paved with d20s and TRON DVDs and Atari 2600 games. It's lit by the glow of TNG and BSG episodes and the soundtrack is by Vangelis. It's patrolled by Rover and they sell Soylent Green in the rest stop vending machines. The speed limit is 42, but if you flash your Bavarian Illuminati card, you can use the FTL drive to make it to Milliways in time for dinner.
I'm back on my Road, and nobody can take the sky from me.
I'M BACK ON MY ROAD, THIS TIME WITH A COMPASS AND A MAP! THIS TIME I KNOW THE DIRECTION I AM TO GO AND I KNOW MY OBJECTIVE IS THE RIGHT ONE FOR ME; TO HAVE A WONDERFUL JOURNEY WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND TO TRY TO MAKE THE WORLD A LITTLE BETTER BECAUSE I WAS HERE!!
I STILL DREAM REALLY BIG. I STILL HAVE A MARVELOUS DREAM OF THE POSSIBILITIES FOR ME, MY FAMILY AND MY LOVED ONES AND I BELIEVE IT IS GOING TO COME TRUE!!
MAY SATISFACTION AND PEACE OF MIND AND EXCITEMENT IN THE POSSIBILITIES FOR YOUR LIFE BE WITH YOU.
MAY YOU AWAKE EACH DAY WITH A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR PURPOSE IN LIFE.
MAY YOU AWAKE EACH DAY WITH A MISSION IN LIFE INSTEAD OF A TO-DO LIST.
MAY YOU SHARE DEEP AND ABIDING LOVE WITH YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!!
With love,
Granddad/Dad/Husband/Brother/Uncle and Friend,
Jerry W. Willis
4/10/2007
see www.jerrywwillis.com
Monday, April 2, 2007
Abuse of the Eminent Domain Powers
Eminent Domain Position Paper – April 2, 2007
‘’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more,
Or close the wall up with our English dead!
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility;
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger:
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood.
"Henry V" (5.3.44-51)
I implore you fellow Noted Speakers and Writers of the Bay Head Speakers Guild and my fellow Americans; do not 'sully' the great work of our forefathers who established this wonderful land of freedom and justice! Do not ignore the abuses that erode the very freedoms and rights that they and all of our ancestors have thus far so nobly advanced!
Now is the time; now is YOUR time; "once more unto the Breach!!"
Jerry W. Willis
http://www.jerrywwillis.com
To: Ri Warren and the Bay Head Speakers Guild Members
From: Jerry W. Willis
Date: 4/2/07
Subject: Our Fight against the Abuse of the Eminent Domain Provisions of our government!!
My Dear Ri,
I have been as busy as a cat (you know) since we got back and it seems that many of us have been! And, I am RETIRED!! No wonder I was feeling overwhelmed with all I wanted to do when I was still working!!
Here are some links and copied information and some notes that I will put together better one of these days – but I wanted to send them to you so you would have them for your fight. Sandra Day O’Conner would be able to use these and I know that Erin Brockovich(?) or some other high profile name would be terrific if we could get them to join the fight. Sandra would have the best ideas about who would be best. Have you sent her an email yet? Get with it Girl and copy me!! I want to meet her and discuss this with her too!!
I am working everyday trying to get my message together but I just can’t stand to stop gathering information and studying and writing thoughts to organize my Message: Your Purpose in Life is to identify and utilize your Talents in their Highest and Best Use for your Happiness and the Happiness of your loved ones.
Note that I have taken on the ‘Highest and Best Use’ language of the Eminent Domain power (Inherent power to seize private property to devote it to “public uses” ) . Note that it is an inherent power and not a law that is to be interpreted by the Supreme Court to give different meanings of ‘public uses’.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eminent_domain
Eminent domain (U.S.), compulsory purchase (United Kingdom, New Zealand, Ireland), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Australia) or expropriation (Canada, South Africa) in common law legal systems is the inherent power of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate private property, or rights in private property, without the owner's consent. The property is taken either for government use or by delegation to third parties who will devote it to "public uses."
Condemnation via eminent domain indicates the government is taking the property or an interest in it, such as an easement. In most cases the only thing that remains to be decided when a condemnation action is filed is the amount of just compensation, although in some cases the right to take may be challenged by the property owner on the grounds that the attempted taking is not for a public use, or has not been authorized by the legislature, or because the condemnor has not followed the proper procedure required by law.
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
“We hold these truths to be (changed by BF to) self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights (note that it is capitalized), that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. – That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, - that when any form of government becomes destructive of these ends it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence indeed will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes, and accordingly all experience has shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations … it is their right; it is their duty to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.”
This form of government has become destructive of those ends when it allows the abuse of the Eminent Domain powers designed for legitimate purposes!!
The Bill of Rights also restricts Congress's power by prohibiting it from making any law respecting establishment of religion and by prohibiting the federal government from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.
"Note that there is a big difference between “public uses" and “the public good” which is the concept approved by our Supreme Court and being used by governments around this country to abuse this inherent power for public uses!!
But was THIS ( the Eminent Domain Power being abused ) the intended law of our congress and our people? NOOOO!!! It is a new law created and enabled by Judges, including our Supreme Court justices!! This is the very thing the Republicans have stood against – activists judges creating law instead of enforcing what Congress has passed and ensuring JUSTICE!!!
This form of government which allows and encourages this abuse must be altered!! It is our RIGHT – it is our DUTY!! “…when any form of government becomes destructive of these ends it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.”
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/09/26/60minutes/main575343.shtml
July 4, 2004
(CBS) Just about everyone knows that under a process called eminent domain, the government can (and does) seize private property for public use - to build a road, a school or a courthouse.
But did you know the government can also seize your land for private use if they can prove that doing it will serve what's called "the public good"?
Cities across the country have been using eminent domain to force people off their land, so private developers can build more expensive homes and offices that will pay more in property taxes than the buildings they're replacing.
Under eminent domain, the government buys your property, paying you what's determined to be fair market value.
But now, people who don't want to sell their homes at any price - just to see their land go to another private owner - are fighting back. Correspondent Mike Wallace reports on this story, which first aired last fall.
‘’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’
Patrick Henry famous speech
“It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! “
MY PASSION – THAT THINKing THAT SENDS CHLLS UP MY SPINE AND MAKES MY SCALP TINGLE AND TEARS WELL UP IN MY EYES HAPPENED WHEN I READ THE ABOVE BECAUSE I AM SO PASSIONATE ABOUT THE ABUSE of the “RIGHT” of Imminent Domain!! But also because I love the passion that he had that helped create this government of freedom and Justice!
I always thought he said “as for me and my house, give me liberty or give me death!”
To Hell with Healing; Give Me Justice!!
To Hell with Consolation!! As for me and my HOUSE – give me justice or give me a new form of government that will!
I demand that our elected representatives and our government correct this injustice or I demand that a new form of government be established that will!! This is wrong; this is an injustice; this is a violation of the fundamental rights established by our forefathers; THIS will not stand!!
Love,
Jerry
Jerry W. Willis
www.jerrywwillis.com
‘’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more,
Or close the wall up with our English dead!
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility;
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger:
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood.
"Henry V" (5.3.44-51)
I implore you fellow Noted Speakers and Writers of the Bay Head Speakers Guild and my fellow Americans; do not 'sully' the great work of our forefathers who established this wonderful land of freedom and justice! Do not ignore the abuses that erode the very freedoms and rights that they and all of our ancestors have thus far so nobly advanced!
Now is the time; now is YOUR time; "once more unto the Breach!!"
Jerry W. Willis
http://www.jerrywwillis.com
To: Ri Warren and the Bay Head Speakers Guild Members
From: Jerry W. Willis
Date: 4/2/07
Subject: Our Fight against the Abuse of the Eminent Domain Provisions of our government!!
My Dear Ri,
I have been as busy as a cat (you know) since we got back and it seems that many of us have been! And, I am RETIRED!! No wonder I was feeling overwhelmed with all I wanted to do when I was still working!!
Here are some links and copied information and some notes that I will put together better one of these days – but I wanted to send them to you so you would have them for your fight. Sandra Day O’Conner would be able to use these and I know that Erin Brockovich(?) or some other high profile name would be terrific if we could get them to join the fight. Sandra would have the best ideas about who would be best. Have you sent her an email yet? Get with it Girl and copy me!! I want to meet her and discuss this with her too!!
I am working everyday trying to get my message together but I just can’t stand to stop gathering information and studying and writing thoughts to organize my Message: Your Purpose in Life is to identify and utilize your Talents in their Highest and Best Use for your Happiness and the Happiness of your loved ones.
Note that I have taken on the ‘Highest and Best Use’ language of the Eminent Domain power (Inherent power to seize private property to devote it to “public uses” ) . Note that it is an inherent power and not a law that is to be interpreted by the Supreme Court to give different meanings of ‘public uses’.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eminent_domain
Eminent domain (U.S.), compulsory purchase (United Kingdom, New Zealand, Ireland), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Australia) or expropriation (Canada, South Africa) in common law legal systems is the inherent power of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate private property, or rights in private property, without the owner's consent. The property is taken either for government use or by delegation to third parties who will devote it to "public uses."
Condemnation via eminent domain indicates the government is taking the property or an interest in it, such as an easement. In most cases the only thing that remains to be decided when a condemnation action is filed is the amount of just compensation, although in some cases the right to take may be challenged by the property owner on the grounds that the attempted taking is not for a public use, or has not been authorized by the legislature, or because the condemnor has not followed the proper procedure required by law.
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
“We hold these truths to be (changed by BF to) self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights (note that it is capitalized), that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. – That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, - that when any form of government becomes destructive of these ends it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence indeed will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes, and accordingly all experience has shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations … it is their right; it is their duty to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.”
This form of government has become destructive of those ends when it allows the abuse of the Eminent Domain powers designed for legitimate purposes!!
The Bill of Rights also restricts Congress's power by prohibiting it from making any law respecting establishment of religion and by prohibiting the federal government from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.
"Note that there is a big difference between “public uses" and “the public good” which is the concept approved by our Supreme Court and being used by governments around this country to abuse this inherent power for public uses!!
But was THIS ( the Eminent Domain Power being abused ) the intended law of our congress and our people? NOOOO!!! It is a new law created and enabled by Judges, including our Supreme Court justices!! This is the very thing the Republicans have stood against – activists judges creating law instead of enforcing what Congress has passed and ensuring JUSTICE!!!
This form of government which allows and encourages this abuse must be altered!! It is our RIGHT – it is our DUTY!! “…when any form of government becomes destructive of these ends it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.”
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/09/26/60minutes/main575343.shtml
July 4, 2004
(CBS) Just about everyone knows that under a process called eminent domain, the government can (and does) seize private property for public use - to build a road, a school or a courthouse.
But did you know the government can also seize your land for private use if they can prove that doing it will serve what's called "the public good"?
Cities across the country have been using eminent domain to force people off their land, so private developers can build more expensive homes and offices that will pay more in property taxes than the buildings they're replacing.
Under eminent domain, the government buys your property, paying you what's determined to be fair market value.
But now, people who don't want to sell their homes at any price - just to see their land go to another private owner - are fighting back. Correspondent Mike Wallace reports on this story, which first aired last fall.
‘’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’
Patrick Henry famous speech
“It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! “
MY PASSION – THAT THINKing THAT SENDS CHLLS UP MY SPINE AND MAKES MY SCALP TINGLE AND TEARS WELL UP IN MY EYES HAPPENED WHEN I READ THE ABOVE BECAUSE I AM SO PASSIONATE ABOUT THE ABUSE of the “RIGHT” of Imminent Domain!! But also because I love the passion that he had that helped create this government of freedom and Justice!
I always thought he said “as for me and my house, give me liberty or give me death!”
To Hell with Healing; Give Me Justice!!
To Hell with Consolation!! As for me and my HOUSE – give me justice or give me a new form of government that will!
I demand that our elected representatives and our government correct this injustice or I demand that a new form of government be established that will!! This is wrong; this is an injustice; this is a violation of the fundamental rights established by our forefathers; THIS will not stand!!
Love,
Jerry
Jerry W. Willis
www.jerrywwillis.com
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Finding My Message
In our Write/Speak program Barbara Sher gave us some exercises to assist us in uncovering our message to the world. First was the exercise to be the little Orphan that you were when you were little and write what you feel. Here is mine:
"What is my true problem as a little orphan boy? I continue to remember incidents where I did and didn’t do things in a way that I wish I had and it makes me cringe with disappointment in my performance. And I relate a lot of that to the fact that I just didn’t have a good understanding of the overview of things – I didn’t have any real good explanations, if any explanations at all – I didn’t have any support that I knew I could count on to be there for me and with me.
I knew Dad would let the bigger neighbor boy beat the heck out of me just to see if I would get mad enough and hurt enough to fight and hurt him back. I knew he would only stop another neighbor boy from jumping in to help the bigger one – who of course wouldn’t have needed any help.
Dad said he was going to bat for me when we broke into that deserted house and took those war medals but he really wasn’t he was just trying to scare us to teach us a lesson. Mom was too timid to do any standing up for me or any of us.
So it was that I was a little orphan boy who had parents that supported me financially and who I knew loved me but there was a giant missing bit of support and training and explanation and assistance.
My little orphan wants someone to assure him/her that he/she is loved and supported and that this grownup knows the way and understands what she needs to know and understand and is going to sit right there and hold her hand and help her and make SURE that she is happy and self-confident and knows how to deal with the issues of other kids and that I am not going to let anyone hurt her. She needs explanations – comfort – security of love and support.
And that support and love; that help is needed by a lot of people. A lot of people have the same kind of issues. A lot of people need to know that it is OK that their parents didn’t know and didn’t give them what they needed or did bad things; that their parents were just people who were trying to balance their lives between all the demands and teachings that they had but generally were really clueless themselves.
We all need to understand that it is OK – it is OK that our parents – that my parents - didn’t know. No wonder they didn’t know; they were traumatized themselves!!
They had all the lack of understanding, the pressures of religion and making a living; the standards of society to deal with, and then the additional pressures of Mother Nature giving them children to take care of.
They were getting older, and trying to keep a job and plan for the future, and trying to enjoy life while they were at it. They needed an understanding too!!
So here is the understanding – here is the love and explanation and training and the big picture about what life is all about, where you are now and where you are going and what you need to do and understand and know. And here is how to handle defeats and tough times; how to understand where you stand in the world and in every aspect of your self and your performance.
And the giant bonus is that these understandings will help you get that wonderful self-confidence that will make you completely comfortable with who you are, what you have, where you are, where you are going and how to handle yourself. That kind of self-confidence makes you comfortable with yourself and makes you beautiful to others. It attracts people; it creates love and a warm, loving person that attracts other warm and loving people.
Yes that is my story – that is my ache - to be able to provide that to others – and it isn’t limited to my family – I always knew that it wasn’t; that I just wasn’t bold enough to go for my real dream and to hell with how it is received!
If I can do a really good job of making the above case – of making it full of love and humor and touching emotions – some people will relate to it and it will be a very positive thing for them and I will be proud of it. And some of my family, now, or mine and my sisters' posterity, will recognize it and benefit from it. And my purpose in life – the best uses of my Attributes - bringing forth my highest potential in service to my Loved Ones - will be fulfilled!! I will feel the satisfaction and the Happiness that I do right now as the knot in my throat grows and aches and tears well up in my eyes.
And that, my friends, is what it is all about. That is when I know, and that is when you will know, that you are putting your Attributes to their best possible uses for the moment, when the passion you feel tells you you are.
That is when I can feel that glowing of my face begin to happen again – the tears coming to my eyes – feeling the connection to that light from above – like when I was a little boy in that field.
I had ridden my bike out there to be alone and pray. I knew for sure what my blessings were. I prayed and cried and prayed until I had presented myself openly and honestly, with perfect intentions and had completely cleared my mind. I felt I had a connection to the higher power and that a beam of light began to shine down on me. I had exposed my needs and desires and been grateful for all the blessings I had.
I felt then, 50+ years ago, so strongly that I can remember it vividly even now, that my face was glowing a brilliant white. That it came from a heavenly beam; that the Lord had blessed me. And, my most important dreams have come true!! I have a wonderful family with good possibilities. I love and am loved. I am active and healthy and making a positive contribution.
Here I am a 65 year old man with two kids and two grandkids who have good possibilities for their lives! I am in a position to help all of them with these writings and I am going to give it my all. I have lived my life with good moral values and good intentions and free from pain and suffering. I have suffered through some tough times and situations but came out the other side a strong man – someone I am proud of – someone that convinces me that I always was strong but just didn’t know it and had never been taught.
When I was young my Mom had what the doctor called a ‘Nervous Breakdown’ which I now completely understand. But at the time I thought it might be a weakness in the family that I had inherited and I lost confidence in myself that I would be able to withstand pressure.
Through the years I have had really tough pressures like most people have. I have not always been on top of everything but I have handled every situation and I have made generally good decisions. I have maintained my dignity in most every situation and made myself really proud in some. I have not embarrassed or defamed my family. I have stood for what seemed right to me.
And now I stand to try to make this world a better place to live so people don’t have to get put in those situations; so that we have well functioning governmental agencies that make life safe and comfortable and provide peace and security so that we can all pursue our own happiness. And now I can contribute my understandings and experiences to help others to make good progress in their pursuit of happiness!! Excellent!'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Then the next exercise was to be the SuperHero and write what you want to say to your little orphan and here is mine. I substituted my Granddaughter for myself since I am positioning myself to help my Loved Ones with the support that I needed. Olivia is such a wonderful, bright, happy child that I know she doesn't need this support right now and hopefully she never will. But this is for anyone who does need it:
"Hello little Miss Olivia (my Granddaughter). I am so sorry that you are having some confusion here. But trust me, My Little Love (my nickname for her), it is just a little confusion. I did the same thing and felt the same way and a lot of people do. So this is just a normal thing and I am here to help you.
The first thing to understand is that you are just a normal little girl and you are feeling normal things and you have this wonderful loving family here to help you and guide you to grow into a self-confident, comfortable and very Happy person. And you Will!!
And that self-confidence that comes from knowing you come from a really good and strong family that has and shares a lot of love, will make you a beautiful person inside and out. The right kind of self-confidence that you will gain, I promise, will shine from you and people will see it in your demeanor and your posture and your speaking and your attitude and it will make you feel really good and comfortable!
The next thing to understand is that you have been born with certain very unique interests and capabilities and understandings. I call them “Attributes”. And you have a Purpose in Life; to understand your Attributes and to put them to their best possible uses. Everyone and everything has unique attributes.
When a scientist develops a new material they immediately want to know all about it; is it heavy or light; will it bend?; is it gas or metal or liquid?; so they begin testing it and they learn and note those Attributes.Now if the new material is a metal they aren’t going to be disappointed if it isn’t as strong as steel or as light weight as aluminum, they just want to know what its attributes are. Then they will figure out the best possible use of this new material. And that is exactly what you and your family are going to do with you and your Attributes.
So don’t worry if you are not the best athlete or the prettiest or the smartest person in your class. When you fulfill your mission in life, to put your Attributes to their best possible uses, you will be extremely happy and lucky and you will love life and your family and friends and be loved by all those you care about the most!! It truly is and will be a wonderful life! So this is just the first day in our journey of discovery!
I love you My Little Love! Your Mom and Dad and Grandparents all love you! We are going to have this wonderful life together and we are having it right now! I LOVE our life and our family and we all love you!!
Granddad Willis1/27/2007
"Now ask this question –Who do you want to rescue? "
A certain group that has it wrong and I know how to help them.My family – my sisters and their families – my kids and their kids – our posterity
Second question –What do you wish they knew that would fix things if they knew it. Might be similar to the orphan –
I wish they understood the reality of the world and people and attributes – and looking internally to uses your attributes to their Highest and Best use.
I wish they wouldn’t be confused by religion stuff like I was; that they understand that they have an obligation to make themselves and others Happy – ‘to have life and have it more abundantly’!!
Third question –What insight and special Attributes do I have to best present this message? What is it in me that what kinds of things that are within me that I could help others with.
The fact that I have experienced these things and studied a lot of really good authors and writings looking for the answers and understandings. The fact that I experienced a strong lack of self-confidence, fears and doubts, yet found that I was strong; much stronger than I thought and that I now understand; much more than I thought I would be able to understand.
The fact that I like to explain things and present good ideas and have good discussions with objective people makes me a good person to be a public speaker - a presenter - an Author.
What am I capable of doing and seeing that is unusual that I can help people with?
I see that religion has caused a lot of confusion among me and my family [and the world!!] and I know it is a very touchy subject.
I see that there are taboo subjects in our society where we aren't allowed to have objective discussions and evaluations - where we are teaching our children as we were taught that you 'just have faith'; don't look at or talk about the facts; pray and everything will be alright.
I need to help them all to focus on being objective, making decisions for themselves using facts; separate religion from the real you that is living in this modern and wonderful society. Just focus on these things and life will open up for you and you will make yourself happy.
Here is a summary of what I learned from my Orphan story:I feel that I was never able to realize my full potential and be my happiest as a young person partly because my parents were too busy making a living for us. In addition they didn’t understand a lot about the world so to a certain extent they used religion as a crutch.
I want to rescue other members of my family, especially my children and grandchildren from this problem.
I want them to:-
Know and feel the love of their family.- Understand the realities of the world and of people and of their own attributes.
Be focused on using their attributes to their best purposes instead of what others say or think.
Understand that they have a real purpose in life; to use their Attributes to make themselves and their Loved Ones Happy – ‘to have life and have it more abundantly’!!
Understand an get a good education in the things you like and the things you do best.
Keep studying and listening to yourself and the things that attract you because as Barbara Sher says that is where your Genius lies – and as I say, that is where your Attributes can be used in the best possible way.
"What is my true problem as a little orphan boy? I continue to remember incidents where I did and didn’t do things in a way that I wish I had and it makes me cringe with disappointment in my performance. And I relate a lot of that to the fact that I just didn’t have a good understanding of the overview of things – I didn’t have any real good explanations, if any explanations at all – I didn’t have any support that I knew I could count on to be there for me and with me.
I knew Dad would let the bigger neighbor boy beat the heck out of me just to see if I would get mad enough and hurt enough to fight and hurt him back. I knew he would only stop another neighbor boy from jumping in to help the bigger one – who of course wouldn’t have needed any help.
Dad said he was going to bat for me when we broke into that deserted house and took those war medals but he really wasn’t he was just trying to scare us to teach us a lesson. Mom was too timid to do any standing up for me or any of us.
So it was that I was a little orphan boy who had parents that supported me financially and who I knew loved me but there was a giant missing bit of support and training and explanation and assistance.
My little orphan wants someone to assure him/her that he/she is loved and supported and that this grownup knows the way and understands what she needs to know and understand and is going to sit right there and hold her hand and help her and make SURE that she is happy and self-confident and knows how to deal with the issues of other kids and that I am not going to let anyone hurt her. She needs explanations – comfort – security of love and support.
And that support and love; that help is needed by a lot of people. A lot of people have the same kind of issues. A lot of people need to know that it is OK that their parents didn’t know and didn’t give them what they needed or did bad things; that their parents were just people who were trying to balance their lives between all the demands and teachings that they had but generally were really clueless themselves.
We all need to understand that it is OK – it is OK that our parents – that my parents - didn’t know. No wonder they didn’t know; they were traumatized themselves!!
They had all the lack of understanding, the pressures of religion and making a living; the standards of society to deal with, and then the additional pressures of Mother Nature giving them children to take care of.
They were getting older, and trying to keep a job and plan for the future, and trying to enjoy life while they were at it. They needed an understanding too!!
So here is the understanding – here is the love and explanation and training and the big picture about what life is all about, where you are now and where you are going and what you need to do and understand and know. And here is how to handle defeats and tough times; how to understand where you stand in the world and in every aspect of your self and your performance.
And the giant bonus is that these understandings will help you get that wonderful self-confidence that will make you completely comfortable with who you are, what you have, where you are, where you are going and how to handle yourself. That kind of self-confidence makes you comfortable with yourself and makes you beautiful to others. It attracts people; it creates love and a warm, loving person that attracts other warm and loving people.
Yes that is my story – that is my ache - to be able to provide that to others – and it isn’t limited to my family – I always knew that it wasn’t; that I just wasn’t bold enough to go for my real dream and to hell with how it is received!
If I can do a really good job of making the above case – of making it full of love and humor and touching emotions – some people will relate to it and it will be a very positive thing for them and I will be proud of it. And some of my family, now, or mine and my sisters' posterity, will recognize it and benefit from it. And my purpose in life – the best uses of my Attributes - bringing forth my highest potential in service to my Loved Ones - will be fulfilled!! I will feel the satisfaction and the Happiness that I do right now as the knot in my throat grows and aches and tears well up in my eyes.
And that, my friends, is what it is all about. That is when I know, and that is when you will know, that you are putting your Attributes to their best possible uses for the moment, when the passion you feel tells you you are.
That is when I can feel that glowing of my face begin to happen again – the tears coming to my eyes – feeling the connection to that light from above – like when I was a little boy in that field.
I had ridden my bike out there to be alone and pray. I knew for sure what my blessings were. I prayed and cried and prayed until I had presented myself openly and honestly, with perfect intentions and had completely cleared my mind. I felt I had a connection to the higher power and that a beam of light began to shine down on me. I had exposed my needs and desires and been grateful for all the blessings I had.
I felt then, 50+ years ago, so strongly that I can remember it vividly even now, that my face was glowing a brilliant white. That it came from a heavenly beam; that the Lord had blessed me. And, my most important dreams have come true!! I have a wonderful family with good possibilities. I love and am loved. I am active and healthy and making a positive contribution.
Here I am a 65 year old man with two kids and two grandkids who have good possibilities for their lives! I am in a position to help all of them with these writings and I am going to give it my all. I have lived my life with good moral values and good intentions and free from pain and suffering. I have suffered through some tough times and situations but came out the other side a strong man – someone I am proud of – someone that convinces me that I always was strong but just didn’t know it and had never been taught.
When I was young my Mom had what the doctor called a ‘Nervous Breakdown’ which I now completely understand. But at the time I thought it might be a weakness in the family that I had inherited and I lost confidence in myself that I would be able to withstand pressure.
Through the years I have had really tough pressures like most people have. I have not always been on top of everything but I have handled every situation and I have made generally good decisions. I have maintained my dignity in most every situation and made myself really proud in some. I have not embarrassed or defamed my family. I have stood for what seemed right to me.
And now I stand to try to make this world a better place to live so people don’t have to get put in those situations; so that we have well functioning governmental agencies that make life safe and comfortable and provide peace and security so that we can all pursue our own happiness. And now I can contribute my understandings and experiences to help others to make good progress in their pursuit of happiness!! Excellent!'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Then the next exercise was to be the SuperHero and write what you want to say to your little orphan and here is mine. I substituted my Granddaughter for myself since I am positioning myself to help my Loved Ones with the support that I needed. Olivia is such a wonderful, bright, happy child that I know she doesn't need this support right now and hopefully she never will. But this is for anyone who does need it:
"Hello little Miss Olivia (my Granddaughter). I am so sorry that you are having some confusion here. But trust me, My Little Love (my nickname for her), it is just a little confusion. I did the same thing and felt the same way and a lot of people do. So this is just a normal thing and I am here to help you.
The first thing to understand is that you are just a normal little girl and you are feeling normal things and you have this wonderful loving family here to help you and guide you to grow into a self-confident, comfortable and very Happy person. And you Will!!
And that self-confidence that comes from knowing you come from a really good and strong family that has and shares a lot of love, will make you a beautiful person inside and out. The right kind of self-confidence that you will gain, I promise, will shine from you and people will see it in your demeanor and your posture and your speaking and your attitude and it will make you feel really good and comfortable!
The next thing to understand is that you have been born with certain very unique interests and capabilities and understandings. I call them “Attributes”. And you have a Purpose in Life; to understand your Attributes and to put them to their best possible uses. Everyone and everything has unique attributes.
When a scientist develops a new material they immediately want to know all about it; is it heavy or light; will it bend?; is it gas or metal or liquid?; so they begin testing it and they learn and note those Attributes.Now if the new material is a metal they aren’t going to be disappointed if it isn’t as strong as steel or as light weight as aluminum, they just want to know what its attributes are. Then they will figure out the best possible use of this new material. And that is exactly what you and your family are going to do with you and your Attributes.
So don’t worry if you are not the best athlete or the prettiest or the smartest person in your class. When you fulfill your mission in life, to put your Attributes to their best possible uses, you will be extremely happy and lucky and you will love life and your family and friends and be loved by all those you care about the most!! It truly is and will be a wonderful life! So this is just the first day in our journey of discovery!
I love you My Little Love! Your Mom and Dad and Grandparents all love you! We are going to have this wonderful life together and we are having it right now! I LOVE our life and our family and we all love you!!
Granddad Willis1/27/2007
"Now ask this question –Who do you want to rescue? "
A certain group that has it wrong and I know how to help them.My family – my sisters and their families – my kids and their kids – our posterity
Second question –What do you wish they knew that would fix things if they knew it. Might be similar to the orphan –
I wish they understood the reality of the world and people and attributes – and looking internally to uses your attributes to their Highest and Best use.
I wish they wouldn’t be confused by religion stuff like I was; that they understand that they have an obligation to make themselves and others Happy – ‘to have life and have it more abundantly’!!
Third question –What insight and special Attributes do I have to best present this message? What is it in me that what kinds of things that are within me that I could help others with.
The fact that I have experienced these things and studied a lot of really good authors and writings looking for the answers and understandings. The fact that I experienced a strong lack of self-confidence, fears and doubts, yet found that I was strong; much stronger than I thought and that I now understand; much more than I thought I would be able to understand.
The fact that I like to explain things and present good ideas and have good discussions with objective people makes me a good person to be a public speaker - a presenter - an Author.
What am I capable of doing and seeing that is unusual that I can help people with?
I see that religion has caused a lot of confusion among me and my family [and the world!!] and I know it is a very touchy subject.
I see that there are taboo subjects in our society where we aren't allowed to have objective discussions and evaluations - where we are teaching our children as we were taught that you 'just have faith'; don't look at or talk about the facts; pray and everything will be alright.
I need to help them all to focus on being objective, making decisions for themselves using facts; separate religion from the real you that is living in this modern and wonderful society. Just focus on these things and life will open up for you and you will make yourself happy.
Here is a summary of what I learned from my Orphan story:I feel that I was never able to realize my full potential and be my happiest as a young person partly because my parents were too busy making a living for us. In addition they didn’t understand a lot about the world so to a certain extent they used religion as a crutch.
I want to rescue other members of my family, especially my children and grandchildren from this problem.
I want them to:-
Know and feel the love of their family.- Understand the realities of the world and of people and of their own attributes.
Be focused on using their attributes to their best purposes instead of what others say or think.
Understand that they have a real purpose in life; to use their Attributes to make themselves and their Loved Ones Happy – ‘to have life and have it more abundantly’!!
Understand an get a good education in the things you like and the things you do best.
Keep studying and listening to yourself and the things that attract you because as Barbara Sher says that is where your Genius lies – and as I say, that is where your Attributes can be used in the best possible way.
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