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My Sporadic Journal

by PlannerDan

Rated: 13+ · Book · Other · #865259

A sporadic account of my reaction to life.

Over the years I have sporadically attempted to keep a journal. Each attempt has failed miserably. I think they expired because I established rules that were too ridgid for them. So, this attempt will bring with it very few rules.

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There are many incredibly kind and thoughtful people in WDC. One of them is zwisis. Out of the blue she sent me this flower gift. It reminds me of the Bluebonnets of Texas. Thanks, Sarah. And, I must not forget the very talented katherine76 who created the flower...thank you.

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Well, it appears that my blog is going to the dogs. It aslo seems as if folks have gotten me pegged as a dog lover....they're right. Our very own Anyea

has gifted me with this Valentine card. Now I ask you, "How sweet is that?" Thanks, Anyea

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I have been fortunate to encounter many generous and kind people during my tenure in WDC. Debi Wharton

is one of them. She gifted me with the following sig. It shows how sensitive and caring she is. It also shows that she read some my entries. She'll never know how much I appreciate the gift and the attention to my blog.

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Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

Nada

Jan 5, 2019 at 11:14am
In response to "Invalid Entry"

I draw trucks!

Legerdemain

Dec 27, 2018 at 11:41am
In response to "Invalid Entry"

Perhaps chasing down the license and the make of the vehicle would at least get you in the right direction.

I love old stuff like this!

Happy holidays!

Eric Wharton

Dec 23, 2018 at 5:33pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

I have a box of photos just like the one you have. Unfortunately mine may have to remain unidentified since I have so few cousins I can ask. The generation that are the subject of those photos have now all passed away. I did try to take due diligence to my genealogy research by one day sitting down with my mother and going through the box of old photos. She identified a few but probably 99 percent got the response "Oh, I don't know, Ruth would know." Ruth was my aunt (my mother's sister) who had passed away a few years earlier. So I still kick myself for not having the foresight to sit down with my aunt while she was still alive.

If I were to advise anyone just beginning to take the path deep into the forest of their family history, I would suggest going over photos from everyone they know in that older generation because, sadly, once that treasure trove is gone, its gone for good.

The Literary Penguin

Dec 22, 2018 at 10:37pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

When I lived in Alberta I had a truck. 4x4 for those brutal Canadian winters. And yes, I had many friends too.

The Literary Penguin

Dec 22, 2018 at 10:36pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

If I were to classify myself as a photographer, my favourite subject would be wildlife. It's fairly easy to recognise an elephant and since it's all digital now, I will have a date/time stamp to let me know which trip I was on when the photo was taken.

But that really is an intriguing photo ... so many stories between the edges there.

vivacious

Dec 21, 2018 at 8:26pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

That’s why I take pictures of nature. They’re timeless and always recognizable: “Oh, look, yet another sunset!”

Chewie Kittie

Dec 18, 2018 at 12:50pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

I agree with Voxxy. I purposely don't leave feedback for people I know, because you never know how it will affect your friendship. I totally get that indie publishers rely almost 100% on word of mouth and feedback algorithms, but if I enjoy our friendship? I'm not falling down that rabbit hole with you.

If something really really speaks to me on a visceral level? I will give you more than a thumbs up like. I will tell you how it spoke to me. But know that the thumbs up like means...I appreciate your writing this, but I have nothing cogent to add to this discussion/topic. However, I still want you to know that you reached this audience of one, so keep on keepin' on.

David McClain

Dec 18, 2018 at 12:34pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

A truck AND a Z-mower? Dang buddy, you have gone Full-Metal-Country on us! Kinda like those things myself.

Voxxylady

Dec 17, 2018 at 8:54pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

It used to bother me that of all of the people who call themselves a friend or even friendly acquaintance, only about .009 percent of them have even READ any of my books. Okay, not all genres are for everyone. I get it. However, as you say, there are the blog posts (my public ones) that I advertise on my sites. Of those who have read some of my work, well, I guess it wasn't their cup of tea. A few have left some comments/reviews, but very few.

On the other side of that coin, I've read a LOT of local author books and some by friends here and I've quit reviewing them because I don't do all 5 stars Perfection kind of reviews. I'm politely honest. I don't think they really appreciate it. I would, but I think they don't. So, I think a lot of people are afraid to say the wrong thing since so many are touchy.

And I'll just say I am interested in your book that I recently asked you about, but I don't buy from Amazon, so that leaves me in a conundrum. I've been known to make a rare exception, and since I've enjoyed everything of yours I've read here, I might. After the holidays. I'm overwhelmed at the moment and need to get back to working on handmade gifts.

People have their reasons, although, yes, it's a pretty hard pill to swallow.

1 Like

David McClain

Dec 17, 2018 at 2:00pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

To be more specific Dan, I have had the same thing done to me many times...people I thought were friends online and even in real life not even bothering to leave a comment to support what is a surprisingly hard task...crafting a blog entry. They just throw a "Like" at it and move on. It seems to be worse now than it use to be on this site, but as I told you the other day, you have to push through this. Keep writing for yourself and the readers will find you, the real readers, not the fair weather hypocrites, but people who really do like what you write.

Another thing to consider is that you will never know who will be touched by your words. Not long ago I got an email from someone I'd never heard of who had read my blog on Medium and wanted to tell me how much my blog had helped them deal with the loss of their own spouse. That blew me away.

December 9, 2018 at 2:10pm

#947181

Double Jeopardy--United States vs. Robert Boutwell

I was reading the news today and ran across an article on Terrance Gamble, who is currently serving a sentence in prison for using a gun during a burglary. The interesting thing about this case is that Terrance was tried twice for the same crime—once in an Alabama Court and once by a Federal Court. It seems his attorneys feel that is unconstitutional and places him in double jeopardy, which for untold years the courts have said is unconstitutional. I mean, the guy is guilty as hell and deserves the punishment doled out to him. But, do the authorities have the right to try him twice for the same crime?
Well the question is before the US Supreme Court now and should be heard in the next week or so. This would usually be of little interest to me if it were not for the political implications it bears on todays volatile climate in Washington DC. With Paul Manafort being due for sentencing for his part in Mueller’s investigation of all things collusion and Trump, the question looms to the foreground if Trump were to give Manafort a Presidential pardon, could another State Court try Manafort again and send him to prison. I don’t know and will have to watch like the rest of you to find out.
The question of double jeopardy is of interest to me for another reason. It has historical basis in my family. Yup, it happened to us. Well it was a long time ago in 1889; and was chronicled in United States vs. Robert Boutwell as heard by the US Supreme court. Robert W. Boutwell was my second cousin twice removed. Millard Ball, John Ball, and Robert Boutwell were arrested for the murder of an old man named Tom Box. There is no doubt about it; they did the dastardly deed. A Texas newspaper gave this account 129 years ago:
…
[the three men] are charged with the assassination of an old farmer, 75 years of age, named Tom Box in his own cornfield near his home, which is also near Burneyville, some time late Tuesday night. Box was a citizen of [the Chickasaw] nation by right of marriage, he having married a Chickasaw woman, and thereby was the possessor of a large tract of valuable property. A short time ago, Filmore [Millard] Ball, a young [man] of that section, married a daughter of Box, which made him a citizen of the Chickasaw nation also. Ball, it is claimed, did the deed to get possession of Box’s property. The three narrowly escaped lynching.

According to the researchers the men were arrested and tried in the Federal Court, in Paris, Texas, where they were found guilty and sentenced to death. However it took two trials to get the job done and created an abundance of confusion and a quick appeal afterward. This case is significant in that it set legal precedent upon its appeal to the US Supreme Court. As a result of the Court’s decision, Millard Ball was found not guilty and released because of a technicality related to double jeopardy status. John Ball and Robert Boutwell were found not to share the same status and were found guilty and remanded to custody to await sentencing. The court record does not stipulate the sentences given the two men; however, the original sentences of death were overturned and jail time was given. Thirty years later, Robert was released from prison. He returned to Oklahoma to live a quiet life until his death in 1931.
I sit today reflecting on the fact that in some small way, the tragic actions of my ancestor helped to define the laws of this land, which are again being examined for further refinement.

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