Time To Move On....

One more thing...

I was so glad that Bryans sister posted on his blog & let us know what had happened to him. I remember one conversation Bryan & I had recently when he was particularly down in the dumps. he hinted that he might not be around much longer. I asked him to please be sure I was told if something happened to him. I see he took those steps.
Because of this, if something happens to me I've decided I would make sure my blogging friends were alerted because they deserve the same courtesy as all my other friends.
Oregon State Flower Oregon Grape
Berberis aquifolium

A low growing plant, the Oregon Grape is native to much of the Pacific Coast and found sparsely east of the Cascades. Its year-round foliage of pinnated, waxy green leaves resembles holly. The plant bears dainty yellow flowers in early summer and a dark blue berry that ripens late in the fall. The fruit can be used in cooking.
Yesterday I tried some Oregon Grape flower wine (yes, made from just the flowers) that a friend of mine concocted . It was sweet but pretty tasty if you just sipped it. Nothing I'd want to drink to excess though. The hangover would probably be vicious.

If a person decides to become involved in politics it is guaranteed there will be people in positions of power who will react strongly to anyone challenging their position.
My foray into local politics required learning to deal with the slings & arrows of political opponents & their lackeys & even turning it to my advantage.

There are certain strategies that work best in dealing with people who are "out to get you".
My oldest daughter has a past history of becoming her own worst enemy when dealing with confrontations, like her divorce for instance, which got ugly & out of hand after she took an axe to her ex's truck. (Thank goodness he wasn't in it.) She's still paying the repercussions of that fiasco & it's been 5 years. I've watched her make these kinds of mistakes & rash decisions much of her life. Like when she was a teenager, a bunch of kids were being harassed by one of the local policeman. She got the bright idea to collect a 5 gallon bucket of nasty garbage, sneak up to the cops house & dump it on his cop car in the middle of the night. You'd be surprised at the repercussions a silly thing like that can have.
She's always had a "No ones going to fuck with me & get away with it" attitude that has gained her mostly trouble in the long run.

I pretty much stayed under the radar until a few years ago when I became fed up with the bully tactics of local Law enforcement...that's when i decided to get involved. Anyway, to make a long story short...I found out what happens when you butt heads with the "Good ole Boys" club of local politics.
Not only have I kept my head above water but I've gained ground.

Here's a few things that I think have kept me going in a foreword direction:

1.I got indignant on principle. I realized something was wrong although I couldn't quite articulate it at the time. I knew there was a fundamental problem with Law enforcement & I decided I was going to bring it to light. I still try to always keep sight of my initial indignation.

2. I took a leadership role & made myself a spokesperson, therefore I became publicly responsible for my actions. Being in the public eye at the very least makes a person consider what they are doing.

3. I don't take the bait that my opponents throw at me. The best way to respond is to not swallow the bait. That's how you stop the negative dialogue in it's tracks.

4. Counteract the negative thrown at you with a positive. Your opponents will always accuse you of being a negative influence. Prove them wrong.

That's all I can think of at the moment. Mainly I just want to get on with my life. Selfish as that sounds...