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I come from a long line of American patriots, a long line of people who have fought for not only the Independence of this country, but the continued Independence of this country.

Veterans Day in the United States of America is set aside to honor veterans. A veteran is a person who has served and is no longer serving in the armed services.

I don’t have adequate words to express how grateful I am to those men and women who have served this great country in that capacity.

Your bravery, fortitude and sacrifices are not repayable. They are priceless in nature, the selflessness that goes with service is immeasurable.

On our day of remembering and honoring all that you have given so we can enjoy freedom is only a drop in a very large bucket.

So many came home with invisible wounds, those can be the hardest to heal. My brother who was in the Navy during Vietnam had those wounds and scars. He carried them throughout his life.

When you see someone that is clearly a veteran please say thank you and I’m with you.

I stand with you, honor you and humbly thank you for all that you have done for me and my progeny. So we may live a life of freedom in our land of a Constitutional Republic.

My heart swells with pride every time I hear our national anthem, I tear up think of our brave soldiers in every corner of this earth.

May God bless you and keep you all.

I voted today. Its not a day I typically vote, I’m not super keen on voting early. I actually enjoy the voting on the first Tuesday of November process.

But these days voting has become divisive if you don’t vote the way people think you should.

I don’t take voting lightly, you see I possess this ability, it’s called reading, I know what women went through so I could have a say in the way my country is ran.

It is not only our civic duty, it is our responsibility as an American citizen to cast our ballot. It is our, the regular people, opportunity to be heard.

I grew up in a household that took voting seriously, one simply did not walk in blindly on Election Day. No, that would have been completely unacceptable. My dad taught me to educate myself on the issues and the candidates. He never once insinuated his preferences onto me.

To this day I have no idea who my parents voted for, with the exception of Franklin Roosevelt. I know my mom voted for him. She told me, when I called her sobbing at Ronald Reagan’s exit speech.

I digress, I opted to vote early this time due to extraneous events in our nation. I didn’t want to take the chance on Election Day of not being able to get to a polling place.

I still remember the first time I ever voted. It was 1984, it was a presidential election year. I did my research, I watched the debates, I was more than ready.

I went to the fire station in Owasso, I took a book with me. The lines were long, but I didn’t read, instead I talked to those around me. I was so excited I was telling everyone this was my first time. No one tried to influence my vote, or even asked me who I was voting for. It was just perfect, I walked into the booth, yes, it was an actual voting booth, I took a deep breath and made my very first declaration into adulthood.

You see I didn’t feel like a real adult until I voted for the first time. I’ve always loved the process, until now. I try (see what I did there) not to push my political beliefs on to others. I try not to be obnoxious about what I see as right and wrong. Others cannot say the same.

So today I voted, early, I need to be heard.

As usual any comment, questions or criticisms can be left here or sent to me at angie@angieworld.com.

Here’s the thing, and there’s always a thing, I have a type. I have caught against my type almost my entire life.

I like pretty, I am extremely attracted to pretty. Everyone always tells me, Angie don’t be so shallow, you should date someone based o their personality, not their looks. Well, we can see how well that worked out, on so many levels.

I will say my ex-husband doesn’t fall into the non type category. He looked just like Alex P. Keaton when we met. I’d like to say that was disastrous but it wasn’t. We had three beautiful children. So that is in the win column.

I’m done going against type, I’m going for the pretty man. Forget personality, forget brains, I’m going for looks. Does that make me shallow? I don’t care. Going against what I’m attracted to has not worked.

I refuse to go against my natural instincts any more. It’s Dean Cain or no one. Ok, we all know it will be no one, I’m crazy not stupid.

This year has been one of the most trying, tiring, exciting and fulfilling years ever. I honestly cannot wait to see what else God has in store for me.

As usual any comments, criticisms or questions can be left here or sent to me at angie@angieworld.com.

So I was talking to my friend Jose about the whole dating thing. Telling him about instablocking everyone that contacts me for any and all reasons.

He said I don’t think you really want to date, he then said that I don’t think like a woman. I thought about what he said and came to the conclusion he was probably right.

Then I talked to my friend Monty and he said that Jose and Shay are both wrong. I do think like a woman just not a needy woman. He then went on to say his thought  the thing was I really don’t want to date I just want someone to do things with.

I said hmmmm you are probably right about that. You see I am incredibly happy in my life and I don’t even believe in happiness. Oh I believe it is our inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness, but in that pursuit we shouldn’t discount what give us joy. And when we do find happiness we shouldn’t become complacent in said happiness.

We should also remember that when we do experience sublime happiness we turn into a vampire. Oh wait, no, that was a plot on Buffy. We should remember that complacency turns into stagnation and stagnation turns to death. Whether it is an actual death or metaphorical one. Never take your happiness nor joy for granted.

I will say this God bless the honest men out there. The one that wants a woman who has no strong opinions, the one that wants a tiny blond woman and the one who wants one within 5 pounds of her goal weight. Yes that was actually stated. God bless all of them because it makes my decision so much easier.

I do know that I seriously love my life, I love coming home every day to my dog and Fat Catstard. I love my family an inordinate amount and I have the best friends ever.

I do have to tell you all if Dean Cain comes to town I’m ditching all of you to run away with him.

Much love and happiness to all of you, may your pursuit of happiness land you in great joy. I leave you with this thought. Fire bad, tree pretty.

As usual you can leave a comment here or send me a message at angie@angieworld.com.

Ok, so, my friend Shay has been telling me for a while I need to start dating. I told her if I didn’t meet and marry Dean Cain in Austin, TX then I would allow her to download a dating app on my phone and fill out the profile and choose the pictures.

When we were on our trip to Montana I kept my word, I let her download one and fill out the profile and pick the pics.

I have become the master at instablocking any and all men who contact me. I can find fault with all of them, head too big, too short, bad speller, you name it, I can instablock for it.

I also block for untoward handles, I don’t even open those messages, I just block.

Shay told me I am a dude with breasts, I don’t think like a female, I think more like a man. I believe I think logically, I know what I am attracted to and why should I settle for less than that. Men are allowed to say what they want, and God bless the honest ones.

The ones that flat out state they only date blond, petite and skinny women. God bless that kind of honesty, it is rare, I am equally as honest.

Shay is left shaking her head in exasperation, so I thought I would just put my list of requirements here and you all can tell me if I am being too picky:

First and foremost a Christian, it thought that would be a given but I am not sure.

1.) 6ft or taller, but not taller than 6’3”, too tall freaks me out.

2.) I like dark hair, no red heads, obvious reasons.

3.) dark eyes, soulful eyes, or dark blue, or green, oh green with dark hair would be really pretty.

4.) I do like the pretty boys, I am a sucker for a boy band pretty man.

5.) can work with his hands, like do handy work and knows about cars.

6.) slightly nerdy, too nerdy is too much, I am already super nerdy so some balance is needed.

7.) well read, I do like a reader, I’m a reader so it would be nice to have that.

8.) has to be funny, I’m funny so it is only fair he be funny as well.

9.) loyal, like a dog, not a husky but a real dog, like German Shepherd loyal.

10.) that loyalty is not only applied to me, but loyalty to his favorite team, I seriously HATE fair weather fans. Donkeys.

11.) Has to love movies and television. I do, I cannot be with someone who says oh I never watch television. WHAT?

12.) music lover, music is what feeds my soul.

13.) speaking of, snow, cold, ice, rain, he has to love all of that as well.

I think that is a start, 13 is a good luck number in my family, so I will end the list there. If anyone thinks I am being unreasonable, please, educate me on myself.

As usual, any and all comments or questions can be left here or sent to me at angie@angieworld.com

It seems lately no one is allowed to have opinions that differ from others. This is rampant on social media, where everyone’s opinion matters more than everyone else’s. It is disheartening indeed that the days of polite discourse are gone with the way of Christmas decorations coming out after Thanksgiving.

It is a sad day indeed when a person states their opinions and are vilified on social media and in the press. Shame on every single person who does this. There are many opinions I don’t agree with, however you will never see me bash the person who said them. Sometimes (ok a lot of times) I wish I could have a robust discussion with people regarding their opinions and why they believe the way they do, or why they see things the way they do. What colored their opinions, what happened to them or what have they seen in their life that has made them see things a certain way.

Unfortunately we do not live in a world that is conduce to that type of discussion and this saddens me. So very much. I was raised in a house where differing opinions were encouraged and educating ones self on the days events were mandatory.

Growing up in my house we used to have robust discussions, my dad insisted that if I wanted to participate I would need to do research and educate myself. I did, even if my opinions were different from his, he never belittled me or tore me down. You see he wanted to make sure I could stand on my own two feet, do my due diligence and make decisions for myself. My children are very good at this as well, I encouraged them to do their research, do not go by what the news tells you. Soundbites do not tell the whole story, find out what someone actually said before forming your opinion. So much of todays culture is centered around soundbites and he said she said.

I don’t want my progeny to grow up in that kind of society, so can we please go back to civilized discourse. Can we go back to a time where we valued differing opinions and respecting each other.

I miss those days, I miss Walter Cronkite and I miss Ronald Reagan. I will say that until the day I die, I miss those days. I am horrified by what I see in todays world, in our country, in the United States of America, guilty until proven innocent and when proven innocent still guilty. Seriously this has to end. Due Diligence. It’s a thing people, google it, you more than likely have a smart phone.

I am of the firm belief that we have way more in common that we have different. We all want a better life for our children and their children than we have had. We want them to grow up healthy, joyous and with a firm belief in right and wrong.

I will tell you this a firm belief in God and Jesus Christ has instilled a great deal of my belief system and how I view the world. My mom, dad, grandpa, grandma and great Aunt Effie rounded that out. What did they all have in common you ask, I am so glad you did, they had strong morals and a great sense of right and wrong. They all had a simple way of doing things, treat people the right way, the way they wanted to be treated and that will come back to you.

I leave you with this thought if you are one of millions who do not read anything or go by soundbites or what social media and the mainstream media tells you, turn off everything. Go out into the world, socialize with people who are not like you, have a conversation. Conversation, not argument, not fight, not with an attitude of you are right and they are wrong. I do believe you might be pleasantly surprised at how much you have in common. As usual any comments, complaints or suggestions can be left here or sent to me at angie@angieworld.com

This is the day we went into Yellowstone Park on foot, I have never felt more at home in my entire life. Being surrounded by the trees and the sky, I felt incredibly close to God at that moment. His work is nothing short of amazing, I felt as if I could reach out and touch the sky, the clouds. I cannot say this enough, if you have the opportunity going to Montana and seeing this magnificence for yourself is a must do.

Before went into the park we actually met a park ranger, a woman ranger, who was originally from, are you sitting down, Texas! Yes she was from the same area in Texas that we are from.

We walked into the park and decided to of course take pictures, then we walked. Surrounded by the trees and the wildlife, no bears, and it was amazing.

Then I hear footsteps, I think this is it, this is the part where the bear sneaks up on me and eats my entrails.

I turn to confront said bear and it was just a park ranger, this time a man, a very short skinny man. Shorter than I am, which is saying a lot. I thought there is no way he is going to be able to protect us from a bear.

Perhaps I should back up, getting ready for our hike, I put on full makeup, Shay says why are you putting on makeup to hike in Yellowstone. I reply, in case a bear attacks, in all the movies I’ve ever seen the bears only eat the entrails and leave the face alone. i want to look good for the park rangers, upon seeing the short skinny park ranger I knew I had wasted my time.

We never saw any bears but we did experience incredible beauty and amazing peace.

I cannot reiterate enough how this was my dream trip and I am so happy my friend Shay said she would go with me and followed through. I would have gone alone, but it was so much better having a friend there.

I told her when she decides to get married I get to give the toast, since I now have a lot to say. Like her giving a wooden Indian a kiss, literally a wooden Indian like you see in the old westerns. Her putting me on blast when I rapped to a wooden bear and the many conversations we had on the way up and back from Montana.

I really do want to go back, I want to explore more of the state and stay for a lot longer, maybe a month. I can see me staying for a month in the winter, I am the opposite of a snow bird, those fly south for the winter. I want to fly north for the winter, I want to be snowed in with my books and my Netflix and Hulu and Amazon Prime. Me the dog and the cat, what a great way to spend some snowed in time, perhaps a little Lois and Clark, the New Adventures of Superman thrown in.

We decided to leave a day early as it was going to drop to freezing temperatures and rain, creating ice and closing down highways. I really wanted to stay for that but Shay was the voice of reason and we left.

We obviously made it home in one piece, safe and sound, no bears attacks and no ice on the road. As usual you can leave a comment here or email me at angie@angieworld.com.

As we left Colorado and headed to Wyoming we realized how flat Wyoming is, seriously, west Texas is more interesting. But we pressed on, I do believe the landscape began to fray on Shay (see what I did there).

We were leaving a gas station and she grabbed my arm and gasps did you see that. I said see what! She said the writing in the trees! I turned and looked at her and said what did they do to you in that gas station?

It was pretty funny, fortunately nothing had been done, I did ask if she had accepted any candy from strangers in the gas station. She had not. She says she is going to phone a life line and gets one of her friends on the line. When she heard what had just transpired she said she was worried about the both of us. The whole office was waiting to hear that we had gotten arrested for some antic or another. With me they figured it would be a Dean Cain incident, with Shay it would be a keeping me from a Dean Cain incident.

We drove onward, to Montana, we hit the edge of Yellowstone Park at dusk. We had to go through Yellowstone to get to the city of West Yellowstone. The longer we drove the darker it became, it was a more than a little daunting.

It was soon pitch black, trees on one side and a sheer drop off on the other. Shay said you need to talk to me to take my mind off of this drive. So I said what is all of the office gossip that I don’t know. Well, let me tell you, that earned me a look and a half.

She then said well did you hear and I said What, no! Because I really don’t pay attention, I stay in my world at work and no one tells me anything. So now I am all caught up, I have to be honest, I didn’t retain any of the gossip. So I still don’t know anything that is happening. Probably for the best, this way if I am tortured I can’t reveal anything.

As we are driving along the car in front of us stops, just stops, I yell, get the knives! Shay does not, but we are very cautious, because, well, the hills have eyes.

The man got out and we very cautiously went around him, I think he may have hit something because he was looking at the front of his car. During this time we had no cell service, at all, thank God the man wasn’t a member of the hills have eyes gang.

We finally come to the edge of the forest, I now know exactly what Hansel and Gretel felt, found our way to our hotel.

The hotel was an older one, it was really nice and lived up to my expectations of what a rustic hotel in Montana should look like.

We climbed the stairs and started walking to our room, it was at the end of the hall. The light started flickering, we looked around for twins, thankfully there were none.

We decided to walk and forage for food, we had been in a vehicle way too long. The town was the epitome of an older town in the North, at least to me, it was everything I have been dreaming of since I was a kid.

We even managed to find gluten free pizza for Shay, total win.

We made an agreement to sleep until we woke, no alarms, no agenda the next day, except for exploring the town.

The next day was spent walking around the town and seeing all of the shops.

Bears were everywhere, not live ones, wooden ones, maybe plastic, I’m not sure. But they were perfect for the environment we were in. I even sang to one of them and danced with one. I rapped to one, yes, I can rap, it is a little know skill I possess.

The next day was hiking in Yellowstone, you will read about that in the next entry.