Revelations

No, I'm not going to start quoting text from the Bible here. From time to time though, I plan on revealing a little more about me. About how I've come to love and appreciate the world that we all live in.
I find the spam comments that I know we all get to be annoying. Blogger does a great job of keeping most of them from ever hitting the comment section. But still, daily I am checking a few of them just to make sure that my readers do not have to be subjected to them. It's so annoying that I've even contemplated eliminating the blog.
I'll publish some of my thoughts and get bombarded again with more spam comments. It really makes me want to stop. But then I think of the great readers and commenters that are honestly reading and commenting  their true opinions. I love to inspire thought. And I enjoy being able to use this format for sharing my life with friends and total strangers. But a couple of days will go by and I won't have posted anything. It's not that I don't have entertaining things to say. It's just a matter of forming new habits. Habits that don't include sitting down and typing.
 As Albert Einstein once said, "Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving."  This is the time of year when many of us in the Northern Hemisphere, find ourselves with a touch of cabin fever. It's rare that we get to go outside and do the things we love. And even inside, we tend to find ourselves curled up with a favorite blanket and a remote rather than doing something productive. These writing exercises are more productive and challenging than many of you may even know because I have been affected by dyslexia since I was a child. So when I start getting into one of those habits of not blogging, it seems to perpetuate.

I start to notice in my everyday life that words and numbers start to look more like what you see here....

So you see, writing to you all and even reading your blogs, is a challenge for me. A challenge that I accept with open arms. I see my condition as a gift. I am able to overcome this challenge by doing some simple exercises with my eyes and brain. Things that I know the average person never has to deal with. And by simply reading things on a daily basis, I know that I have accomplished more than most. That makes me feel pretty darn good.
And you all know that I love to share all the crazy things that happen here.
I plan to keep moving. Moving forward, expanding the content and opening up more about the world that I see. The world that I live in. The world that I appreciate probably more than I should.
So spammers or not, this blog lives on. Lives on, on The Brighter Side, of the Grave.

Triumph !

On my mind today is the people stranded on the Carnival Cruise ship, Triumph, in the Gulf of Mexico. With limited power on board and many luxury services  halted, these poor people are stuck out on the seas. Food is being rationed and there are lines at the restrooms. One woman reports having to eat an onion and cucumber sandwich. People with cabins that do not open onto the sea air, are pitching tents on the top deck to avoid the sweltering heat down below.
The problem started with an engine fire that was quickly extinguished. It did however, cause a loss of power and the ship is operating on emergency generators and is virtually dead in the water. Drifting slowly to the North, it was decided to continue that path with the help of a couple of tow boats to get it to port in Alabama. The situation is far from ideal. For some, this vacation is something that they have saved for years to be able to afford. Now, being stranded at sea, they will have to change travel plans and possibly be late returning to work. No one would ever want to be in their shoes.
As I plan my big vacation this year, I have to recognize that I am booked on a Carnival Cruise. On the ship that replaced the one that is stranded at sea.
This year, my Eddy is celebrating a rather large birthday. A milestone, without a doubt. So in celebration of reaching this point in life, we decided to take yet another cruise. This time, we will be starting our trip in Boston, Massachusetts. We'll be visiting ports north of there in Maine, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. I won't give too many details at this point, just to keep you in suspense. But I must say that we are both looking forward to the trip. Along the way we will be meeting up with new friends and old. And putting faces and voices to some Internet friends too. We'll experience some thrills and get some much needed rest.
To relate that to the ill-fated ship in the Gulf, no matter what happens, I know we'll make the best of our trip. I also recognize that we will be traveling in the same waters that the SS Titanic was traversing back in 1912. And I am confident in modern technology to get me home safely. I know that if anyone on that ship was in real danger, the US Navy and Coast Guard would be there in an instant to save them. Is it uncomfortable? Yes, I think it must be. Is anyone in any danger? NO! Only inconvenienced. I hope that they arrive in Alabama sooner than expected and all in good spirits. And a note to anyone on that ship; if any of you don't want your free travel vouchers, email me and we'll work out a trade.

Haunting Fog

Last week, we had one of those mid-winter days,

 when suddenly it went from sub-zero temperatures to the mid fifties in a matter of hours. 

When that happens, the snow melts

The fog rises.

And the rain begins to fall.

And Stew runs outside with his camera.

This is what I found......

The Blue Water Bridges
Canada in the distance.
Icy waters flowing from Lake Huron into the Saint Clair River.

A place to sit and take it all in.

Wander for a while.

Port Huron is the childhood home of Thomas Alva Edison.
He worked the rails that ran from Port Huron
 ( Eddy's hometown) to Mount Clemens further south (My hometown).

These ducks seemed to love this weather

A visit to the cemetery down the road from my home revealed this gem as the fog started to recede.

Brighter News

As I stood in the snow today for several hours lining up cars as they arrived for the funeral,

I contemplated the mysteries of the universe.
I thought about the snow.
I thought about the cold.
I thought about summer.
I miss summer.

As the wind blew and the direction of the weather vane changed again, the snow started to fall even heavier and wetter.
I thought about the bleak, colorlessness of winter.
I miss summer.

Then when the service was over and the casket had been buried in the frozen earth, I headed back across the marsh to my nice warm home.

That's when I realized that unless you are a follower of mine on facebook, then you don't know the big news yet.



This last year, sales have been very good for us in the hearse leasing business.

So, just before Christmas, we made the huge decision to add to our fleet. I've been waiting to tell you about it because I can't seem to get a good day to take pictures of my Christmas present to myself. So you'll have to make due with these from a wet, snowy day.

You may have noticed that our hearse in the side-bar is navy blue. Our largest client requested the blue hearse to set his funeral home apart from others in town. Since I like the look of the blue, I've always had a blue hearse.

Our latest addition is black and has been named....
"The Black Pearl". Since sales were already increasing with other funeral homes, the addition of a black coach enables us to service more traditional businesses. Already we have picked up an account that we had years ago that left us over the issue of color. And we are looking forward to adding more funeral homes to our roster.

Of course with the addition of another vehicle, comes the addition of another employee. My Eddy works a full time job already and can not help every day. The work is unsteady with no schedule. So the search has been hard, but I think I may have found a keeper. It turns out that someone that worked for me in my Pizza store is enjoying the funeral business as much as I do.

This brings our fleet to include  two hearses and a limousine. So if you find yourself in need of such a vehicle, please don't hesitate to call me because the bank wants the car payments every month, you know.

But, here on the Brighter Side, we like to think positive. I know deep in my heart that we are running a top quality business representing top quality funeral homes around the area. It is my pleasure every day to work with some of the industries finest professionals and to call them friends. I've said it before, Death is never easy. We are here to help those left behind start a new life. A life that does not include someone that they have loved. We always want the last memories of that person to be good memories.

And that brings me to my thought of the day. The contemplation from the beginning of this post. As I stood for hours in the snow and freezing temperatures, I thought............. " I can make myself miserable, or I can make myself happy. The amount of work I put into either is the same."
I chose each day to think thoughts, make choices and take actions that make me feel good. By doing so, I hope to help others feel good.


And finally, I've always saved facebook for close friends and family. But I've now decided to open it up to anyone that's more curious about the mind behind the Brighter Side. So feel free to look up Stewart Adams. I'd love to know more about those that follow me as well.