RAPID INN

CHAPTER FIVE

pages 13-15 of 21

Bob had succeeded in breaking my paddle in his enthusiasm for catching frogs. The crack of the handle breaking almost in half had been loud and obvious to us both. We inspected the damage and sat down for a long time I thought everything was lost there was no way to paddle a two man canoe with only one paddle and we were barely past the halfway mark on our map. I cursed myself for travelling so lightly, why hadn’t one of us thought to bring an extra paddle in case of emergency?

Suddenly Bob got up and headed into the forest with his hatchet, I heard chopping and assumed he was blowing off steam. Bob returned with a short round tree limb and proceeded to split it down the middle using one of our kitchen knives and the hatchet. He then attached the split ends over the fractured handle of the paddle creating a splint, he then wrapped the whole handle of the paddle tightly with thick electrician’s tape (which Bob always carried) and then covered it in wrapped copper wire. The result was a paddle that was even stronger than before it was broken. Remember folks you can fix anything with a little tape and a lot of ingenuity.

As we packed up our canoe before setting out again another problem presented itself, we were running low on supplies. Although there was plenty of game along the river I was reluctant to shoot a moose or deer as we would never be able to eat all that meat before it spoiled, the amount of waste would be nothing short of criminal. The only other alternative to three square meals of fish a day was to set up snares for smaller animals. This made sense as we wouldn’t be wasting any meat.

Bob set up camp on a flat stretch of shoreline that was criss crossed with many small animal tracks including rabbit. walking a little inland through heavy shrubs and new growths of narrow trees we decided which type of snare to set up. We would take a tree that was close to the animal trails and strip the top of leaves, we would bury the top half of the tree securely then loop some wire through an arch and place the wire directly in the animal’s path putting obstacles to either side so the animal would have to step in the snare at which point the tree would dislodge and hang the animal as it snapped back to its upright position.

It works almost every time! Provided an animal steps in the snare it’s struggle to get free will dislodge the tree and activate the trap. That night we enjoyed a roast rabbit each. One gets bored of fish every meal quite easily especially if one is cleaver enough  to think up an alternative. Our bellies full we collected from the other traps in the morning and quickly cooked the animals collected for our lunch and dinner saving time as we had many more portages and adventures to come.

We entered a very mountainous region of our voyage. The river was sided by large steep cliffs on both sides. We then spotted a herd of mountain goats, previously I hadn’t thought we had mountain goats in Ontario, but I was clearly proven wrong. They appeared to be almost vertical to us on the sheer cliffs just white dots expertly navigating the mountain side. I remember thinking that if I had my rifle with me I could shoot one and it would roll straight down to us. Of course I’d have to hit it first at a thousand yards straight up.

At our next campsite we set up next to a beaver dam in a marshy area. There were no trees to set up snares but a a beaver made the mistake of swimming by us carrying a large tree limb and needless to say we made a beaver stew that night. After a long boil the meat was edible but still a little tough, we had picked up a large cooking pot at one of our campsites that must have been left behind recently by another camper. We were only able to cook up the beaver because of that find as it was quite large.

                        

There was even some left over for the morning. After we checked our traps we found a rabbit and a fox. I don’t know of anyone else ever eating a fox but we made a stew of it with the leftover beaver and the rabbit, we threw in our last potato, a carrot and an onion and we had ourselves a delicious stew. We put in in a large bottle we had with a sealed top and dragged it behind the canoe attached with wire so the water would keep it cold. It fed us for two portages. Next we came to an abandoned mining camp where we encountered two things we’d never before seen, but that’s a story for another day.

-Dacker Thicke

Dacker’s Thought Of The Moment

King Solomon once said “It is a wise man who knows his own son for certain.” Frankly what does it matter?  It is our feelings that lead us to decide our ultimate actions and determines who we are and who we grow into being. It is our feelings that shape us into the person we end up as and only if one decides to improve upon or change themselves for the better can we then decide to change our feelings. At no time do our eternal souls play a part in determining who we will be as people our souls remain forever pure and perfect the essence of our inner selves. It is our bodily feelings which decide which type of lifestyle to permanently accept as one’s way of life. Frankly I choose to live as close as possible to the dictates of what our conscious minds feel or wish to believe our souls want. In the end though any decision is better than no decision at all, as deciding gives us purpose. Stagnation is certainly a word that should be removed from one’s vocabulary.

-Dacker Thicke

           

RAPID INN

CHAPTER FOUR

pages 10-13 of 21

As I related in the last chapter we were paddling down a river when we saw a large wolf pack gorging themselves on a fresh deer kill, there were several pups getting in on the action which meant that the den was surely close-by.  In my reasoning it followed that since the wolves were able to hunt so close to their den there must be an abundance of game in the area.

I noticed all manner of other animals waiting in the wings for the wolves to leave scraps behind, there were foxes and hawks waiting and of course the crows always waiting for their share. The wolf meal meant good eating for the scavengers as well. As we paddled along the river we saw other wolf packs ranging along the calmer pools obviously waiting for some unlucky animal to pause and have a drink.

I turned to Bob and asked him if he’d ever seen as many wolves in the forest. Bob replied that he surely hadn’t and the abundance of wolves probably meant that the hunting wasn’t going to be very good for the first nations people as there also a great many reservations in the area. We decided to report the over abundance of wolves to the ranger station at the end of our journey. Although sometimes scary the sight of wolves seemed to excite a primal part of the human subconscious mind and was very thrilling.

Much to my relief the wolves seemed uninterested in us as they had plenty of deer and moose to hunt. We continued on the river, the current making so we hardly had to paddle. I took the time to make myself a neck rest out of my paddle and lazily enjoy the view as I was in the front of the canoe with Bob navigating from the rear, every so often he would turn us to follow the winding of the river.

I even fell asleep once. I woke to the sound of Bob yelling at me. He told me to not be so lazy and fall asleep as we never knew what would be around the next bend there may be a wolf ready to pounce or some unexpected rapids. I undid my neck rest and had hardly gotten my paddle back into the water when we hit some rapids that were unmarked on Bob’s map.

The rapids stretched for a half mile and might have been easy for accomplished canoe paddlers, which is why they were probably unmarked on the map as avoiding them would make for a rather long portage over land to the next lake. For Bob and I it was a serious trial to keep from capsizing our canoe and we barely escaped with our lives. Our canoe was almost filled to the brim with water as we re-entered calmer waters we had to disembark and guide the canoe along the shore line until we found a suitable place to land it and tip the water out.

We continued on the river until Bob saw a notation for a series of larger rapids. We could hear the roar of the white water already so we pulled the canoe over to the bank and decided to portage around these rapids. It was later in the afternoon and we desired a change of scenery anyways. We pulled the canoe over our heads and started walking. The area was more marshy and we passed a few ponds where moose and deer were partially submerged sometimes with only their antlers sticking out of the water as they duncked their heads in search of lake weed the freshwater equivalent of seaweed to eat. They were not particularly interested in a canoe with four legs so we continued on until Bob steered us to a rise of dry land and directed us to lower the canoe.

I din’t understand at first why Bob had us stop as it was only late afternoon and we could have gone on much longer without having to set up camp. I saw Bob pick up a number of baseball sized rocks and head towards a pond as I followed him it became apparent why he had stopped us. He must have heard the chorus of frogs croaking as we got to a pond where a number of the largest bullfrogs I had ever seen were hanging out on lily pads. Bob threw the rocks and expertly hit a frog with each one. When Bob fished the frogs out of the water I swear they were each about the size of a small cat. Bob cut off the giant legs with parts of the sides and cooked them up.  An old french recipe passed down from his mother, needless to say they were delicious.

This was a relief to me as for a moment I thought he was going to tell me to go shoot one of the moose or deer we had seen in the marsh. Which would have been a waste as we wouldn’t be able to eat much of the meat before it would spoil as we had no way to smoke the meat to preserve it. The legs were most delectable and Bob promised to recover several more in the morning for our noon hour treat.

True to his promise the next morning he prepared his arsenal to stone a few more bullfrogs. My paddle was lying flat on the ground close to our canoe, ironically one of the frogs jumped and landed directly across my paddle and in his frog killing frenzy Bob let fly his rock and managed a direct hit on the frog and my paddle beneath it. The sound of the wood snapping was obvious to us both. Bob had cracked the paddle in half down the middle. If you can imagine what the use of a canoe is without a paddle than you can imagine a grown man crying and that would have been me.

What will happen now will we be able to complete the trip with one paddle between two men? Tune in next time for the Fifth Chapter of Rapid Inn.

-Dacker Thicke

RAPID INN

CHAPTER THREE

pages 9-13 0f 21

As I was relating in my last installment Bob and I had paddled to an Island to set up camp, as he was cooking our fish for supper I had slunk off to have my nightly movement and had concealed myself quite well. I had just finished and was covering up the hole I had made for this purpose when I saw a large trader canoe, much larger than ours with three burly, scruffy looking gentlemen aboard. I saw the men pull up to the island and disembark, they were even bigger than I thought as I looked closer I saw they were deerskin garbed and carried huge bowie knives on their belts.

They proceeded to unload three large canvas wrapped packages onto the shore from their canoe, then they spotted Bob and stopped. They were eyeing Bob and whispering amongst themselves as they fingered the handles of their bowie knives, which made me very nervous. I couldn’t tell what language they were speaking or what they were saying but they kept whispering and caressing their knives looking back and forth to Bob.

Bob ignored them he kept stoking the fire and turning the fish as if the men weren’t even there. The men started getting louder and it seemed to me they were getting ready to jump Bob, this is when I became convinced they were the enemy and my army training took over. I took out my german luger taking the safety off and began calculating my battle plan.

First off my training told me to take out the surest threat and make certain they cannot escape and get behind you. I calculated that the man to the right could quickly slip into cover and come up on my rear, the man on the left could overcome Bob in one quick movement and take him hostage. The centre man could in the confusion dive into the canoe and grab whatever firearm they might have available.

Plan one take out the man on the right with a body shot, then the man on the left another body shot the man in the centre another body shot. The main problem with the plan was that I had fourteen rounds in the luger, should I fire one round for each man or do I take the time to get two into each man to be sure? During the time it took to make my mental calculation Bob hadn’t even looked up at the men and continued with his cooking.

Plan two then presented itself, I spotted a metal cracker container and quickly made my decision. I fired three shots in quick succession bouncing the metal cracker tin three times making quite a racket. The men froze, then they quickly reloaded their canvas wrapped parcels into their canoe before jumping in and paddling off like crazy. I fired one shot  beside their canoe as they retreated and they paddled even faster.

Bob then walked to the canoe took out our dishes and began portioning out the fish for supper. He seemed so calm that I had to mention to him what he had thought of the whole situation that had just occurred. He said casually that he believed I was going to kill those men and that he was completely fucking terrified so he decided to try to keep his cool by acting like the men weren’t there.

He then passed me a tea bag and we started talking about what we should do. We decided that rather spend the night on the island as the men could come back as we slept we would wait until dark then proceed to the next river over as indicated by the map. As we paddled under cover of darkness we saw a campfire on the opposing bank of the lake which must have been where the men had set up camp.

I must confess that neither Bob or myself would soon forget the immediate scare we had suffered but as we paddled on past daybreak the beautiful scenery and wonderful natural settings changed our mood and we began to relax again. As we paddled we came to a large clearing where there were many animal tracks we detected a large number of wolf tracks and got back into our canoe quickly. Paddling further on we quite soon saw a large pack of wolves on the bank of the river gorging themselves on a fresh deer kill there we even little pups getting in on the action, but that’s a story for another day!

Stay tuned for the next instalment of Rapid Inn and feel free to leave any comments below.

-Dacker Thicke

RAPID INN

CHAPTER TWO

pages 5-9 of 21

After our ordeal with the inexperienced float plane pilot we were eager to set up camp and get to catching our supper. We set out on the lake and all it took was one quick cruise before each of us had caught a 2 pound speckled trout which we cooked up for our supper. Now that we had gotten to our destination in one piece, speed was not our top priority. We bedded down that night and the following morning we set off at a leisurely pace. Breaking down camp we packed everything into our canoe and set off to take in all the  beautiful scenery that this northern wilderness revealed to us. Each new section of the geography of our country provided us with breathtaking views, waterways and lowland marshes, rivers and lakes, mountains each had a constantly changing but none the less beautiful species of flora and fauna. I remember thanking God to have allowed me to the survive the complete horror of senseless violence I had witnessed in the war. To be able to live and see and smell all that is available to to the human senses as many of the soldiers and friends I had fought with had lost life and limb, sometimes sight and smell. How lucky I was to still be whole and have the mental capacity to experience and enjoy all the bounty that nature can provide. Paddling across river that fed into the wide expanse of lakes did not prepare us for the back breaking woodlands we had to cross. Rough tree and rock strewn narrow forest trails hardly wider that a deer track that seemed to never end all while portaging our canoe, which means carrying it over our shoulders balanced on paddles across our shoulders, our muscles were not prepared for this strenuous task and I wished it had come nearer the end.

As we rounded the end of the trail and saw water coming to greet us again I felt relieved but thoroughly exhausted we had no energy to catch our supper that night and hurriedly set up camp and fell directly to sleep.

Paddling constantly for the next few days, I learned Bob had a delightful singing voice, he taught me many beautiful songs in french which he had learned in Catholic school we had been forced to attend while most of his anglophone friends attended english public schools. I learned to accompany him fairly well and so we passed our time canoeing on those still lakes on summer afternoons singing and also took the time to fish. We had no need of rods, they took up too much space. Bob paddling in the back of the canoe would let a length of copper wire trail behind us and every so often he would catch a fish. Most of the time he would release it as it was too small, you see we were particularly on the lookout for Pickerel, which the Americans call Walleye. When Bob would catch a particularly  large pickerel he would hand me the reel and I would bring it in, we caught two five pound pickerels one day.

Pickerel / Walleye

Bob steered us towards an island the lake for the night we set up camp and rolled rocks into a circle to place our round grill on we loaded the underside with firewood and placed our frying pan and water pot on to start cooking our supper. I slinked off for my evening movement. As I had deftly hidden myself I observed another canoe filled with three burly foul mouthed men approach the island. You’ll never guess what happened next, so you’ll have to come back and check my blog for the next installment of RAPID INN.

-Dacker Thicke

 

NOTHING IS FOREVER

All of our problems will eventually disappear

There is nothing new under the sun

The vast majority of all problems never actually materialize

Both males and females have identical fantasies, neither unique

We are not what we appear, we are what we have created cosmetically

Our reproductive sexual activities are similar to other species, in our case the variety and excessiveness are self creative

Many western people do not believe our minds are our own worst enemy also they do not realize we control our own minds

Of all our physical pleasures if forced to with hold our urine for up to 12 hours then when able to release, there is no physical long lasting pleasure in comparison

There is no recorded incidence in marine history of any pirate ship forcing anyone to walk the plank into the ocean

If you would like to really feel good, give comfort to a perfect stranger, who you can see are really troubled.

I could be mistaken aren’t we all sometimes?

Shortly after I completing my military service in WWII I returned to my hometown of Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada. I’ve included the photo you see as I looked very much the same when I returned minus the soldier’s uniform of course. Over the course of my service in Europe I had grown from a boy of sixteen to a young man of twenty-one. I was discharged two weeks after the end of the war in Europe for long service so I was one of the first men to return to Kirkland Lake after the war. My dear friend Bob Lapointe hired me to work in his beer parlour and we decided to go on an eight day fishing trip through rough wilderness with only our canoe and our wits to guide us back. This is the story of that fateful trip, it is a long and eventful tale filled with adventures so I will be writing it in instalments and posting them here on my blog three times a week so please check back for the next instalment they will be titled Rapid Inn and numbered so today I will start with:

 

RAPID INN

CHAPTER ONE:

Pages 1-5 of 21

I had just returned from the Western Front of WWII after five and a half years overseas. I was discharged earlier than other soldiers for having served over five years active duty. For a brief period of time I like many other returnies was treated like a celebrity. I mention this so you can relate my appearance to the photo displayed above.

Andria, the young woman, who helps me edit my novels is forever pushing me to write stories of my youth that I have no intention of including in any of my future novels as to me they are just memories of the past, though I have decided to include them in this blog. I hope you find the following exploits interesting.

My neighbour and friend Bob Lapointe owned the local beer parlour and when I returned from WWII he gave me my first civilian job as a waiter slinging trays of beer at his establishment. Just after the war there was still separate bars for men and women, it was only later that they started permitting people of the opposite sex to drink in the same room.

Bob Lapointe was a qualified pilot, he had acquired a pilot’s license before the war but when he applied for the air force he was rejected because of a liver condition. He used to take me out flying quite often, it is because of him that I got hooked on flying and later also got my pilot’s license. I also paid for the required gas, he sometimes allowed me to take over the flying controls briefly in gratitude.

I was also able to buy an old model A ford cheaply because of the job Bob had given me. We started taking many hunting trips together me with my  410 shotgun and Bob with his 22 repeater rifle, we drove along the old logging roads for partridge and rabbits of which there were both plenty as most of the other hunters were working in the war plants or in the army. The game had plenty of opportunity to thrive and multiply.

This over abundance of game did not last forever. When the rest of the men returned from war you took your life in your hands walking through any forest as you might be mistaken for a deer, so great was the number of hunters roaming the area. A whole new attitude returned from the war with the men and within a year you were hard pressed to find any roadsign that was shot through with buckshot holes.

The difference was staggering, when I first returned we were over run with deer and moose a couple of years later you had to hire a pilot to bring you far away enough to find an unspoiled hunting ground. It was the same with the fishing when the men came back from the war some of them would run nets across rivers and catch all the fish that swan in them until the rivers and ponds were practically empty of fish. That is the reason you now need a licence to fish or hunt and they have only certain seasons to hunt whichever species of game and quotas for how many fish one can catch. Needless to say the story I am about to relay to you took place before the rest of the men returned.

Bob showed me a map that indicated all the places where rivers joined and traced the paths where we would have to portage, which consists of carrying the canoe on your shoulders, including all the packs with our gear and cooking pots ect and walking across land to meet the next river or lake. I was surprised Bob picked me as his companion as I was inexperienced with travelling by putting  paddles across our shoulders and balancing the canoe on them though I was always ready for a challenge and a new experience at that age.

My Model A Ford was to carry the canoe and all our gear to Sudbury, one of Bob’s waiters would drive us there and take the car back to Kirkland Lake to await our call and come pick us up at our destination when our 300 mile journey would be at an end.

Our journey commenced, Bob having attended to all the details. I came prepared with a box of 9mm shells and my favourite German luger pistol. I had taken it off a German Sargent Major who was given no alternative than to drop it or I would of dropped him, he didn’t argue and I was a little disappointed he didn’t put up a fight, but I was different person then.

I was pleasantly surprised that my Model A made it all the way to Sudbury without any problems.  Bob then took me to a dock where a float plane was tied up a young pilot came up and introduced himself, I was looking around for his mother because he looked so young, but Bob just started telling him to load our stuff up and tie the canoe to the pontoon, I reluctantly got on board and we took off towards our destination.

For a brief moment as we were descending towards the lake Bob and I thought we might not survive. The inexperienced pilot took a sharp turn wing down I swear the edge of the wing scrapped the water, he was almost at stalling speed though he straightened out in time, thank God! He landed down wind which you should never do and we bounced twice hard off the water. I thought Bob was going to wring the pilot’s neck from the look on his face but he just told him off and we didn’t give him the customary tip. We offloaded everything in silence as Bob’s face turned from red back to it’s usual colour. Later apologized as he felt bad for almost killing me hiring that twerp of a pilot.

Stay tuned for the next instalment!

-Dacker Thicke

Being an old man I’ve come across many sayings about life over the years, some of them are more true than others. Do you use any of these expressions, if so which ones and why?  Don’t be afraid to leave a comment!

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

When it rains, it pours.

It’s raining cats and dogs.

Knock on wood. (to avoid bad luck)

Blonds have more fun.

Nothing ventured nothing gained.

A stitch in time saves nine.

There’s nothing new under the sun.

Once bitten twice shy.

Don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it.

When life closes a door it opens another.

Work like you don’t need the money, love like you’ve never been hurt and dance like nobody’s looking.

If you have other sayings please  add them in the comments.

-Dacker Thicke

As a man of ninety years I have much knowledge to impart though some of it is what some people would call “colourful” so please take the following with a grain of salt and perhaps also a wink.

Now that I am of very advanced years I can tell you that if a woman were to come onto me now I would surely take off like a comet as it would be certain that she has no taste in men.

Here is a helpful hint for ladies to tell their men: If your man is an unadventurous lover buy him a roll of his favourite candies and have him place one in the side of his mouth as he kisses you,  ect. You will taste of his favourite flavour.

An active woman has a legitimate excuse, she wants to prove conclusively that some things cannot be worn out, wink!

It is unfortunate that some celebrities who are in real life known for their undesirable conduct couldn’t adopt permanently one of the pleasant and adorable characters they convincingly portray.  I’m definetly not including anyone who shares my last name in this statement.

-From the mind of Dacker Thicke

It seems to me we are a sometimes duplicitous (of two minds/nature) species. On one hand no other member of the world’s living species is documented to be as violent, cruel, merciless and unforgiving as some of the members of the human race of this there are countless examples that I need not list here. Despite this cold cruel fact, as a species we are also known for our ability to have compassion, emotions of love in the extreme, the ability to forgive no matter the trespass committed upon us, the ability to achieve domestic bliss as well as coveting strong friendships and ties to other people. As   humans we have the strength to be generous and not only to the member of our own species but to the many other flora and fauna on earth. It is a shame that more of us do not exercise the better part of our dual natures or the world would certainly be a far better place to live.

PS If you agree or disagree with this post please feel free to comment.

-Dacker Thicke

Hello Everyone,

here are some useful health tips as everyone is always asking what the secret to my longevity I don’t want to give too much away but here’s a few tips:

Ever had any aches and pains but can’t find that pesky heating pad?

You can always fill a sock with long  grain rice, tie it in a knot so the rice won’t fall out and heat it in the microwave for a few minutes. Then use it like a heating pad.

Ever wonder which vitamins are the best for you?

I’ve always loved eating spinach and many people tell me I look great for being 90 the pictures are above so see for yourself. It turns out spinach is full of vitamin A which is good for youthful looking skin.

Do you get a lot of sunburns?

You can use green tea to soothe sunburns it works better than aloe vera just make tea and cool it in the fridge then soak it up with a towel and put it on your sunburn.

That’s all for now

-Dacker Thicke

Some people do!

I’m 90 years old so I have heard a lot of these sayings over the years, read the list below for your own education or entertainment:

Friday the thirteenth is considered by some to be an unlucky day

A rabbit’s foot can bring good luck

An apple a day keeps the doctor away

Finding a four-leaf clover brings the finder good luck

Don’t walk under a ladder, it will give you bad luck

If a black cat crosses your path you’ll have bad luck

Breaking a mirror will bring you seven years bad luck

Opening an umbrella in the house brings bad luck

Hanging a horseshoe in your home brings good luck

Step on a crack, break your mother’s back

To break a bad luck spell turn seven times in a clockwise circle

Garlic can protect from evil spirits and vampires

Fate is written in the stars

At the end of every rainbow is a pot of gold

Clothes worn inside out will bring good luck

Wearing your birthstone will bring you good luck

Blowing out all of the candles on your birthday cake  will get you whatever you wish for

Pulling on a wish bone will bring luck if you come away with the larger piece

Having an itchy palm means money will come your way

Beginner’s luck

A cat has nine lives

Eating fish makes you smarter

Touching toads causes warts

A cricket in the house brings good luck

Crossing your fingers helps  avoid bad luck and can help a wish come true

It’s bad luck to sing at the table

Eating on the toilet feeds the devil

It can be bad luck to sleep on a table

A lock of hair from a baby’s first haircut is good luck

A bird that flies in your window brings bad luck with it

Refusing a kiss under mistletoe brings bad luck

Wearing new clothes on Easter is good luck

An acorn on the window sill keeps lightning from striking a  house

If the bottom of your feet itch, you will take a trip

When a dog howls, the grim reaper is near

It’s bad luck to chase someone with a broom

A sailor wearing an earring will not drown

Findind a penny heads up, brings good luck

Rub a sty with a gold wedding band to make it go away

Animals can talk at midnight on Christmas Eve

A drowned woman floats face up, a drowned man floats face down

Dropping a fork means a woman will visit

Dropping a knife means a man will visit

Dropping a spoon means a child will visit

Shivering means someone is walking on your grave in the future

For a happy marriage, the bride must wear: something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue

A wedding veil protects the bride from the evil eye

Washing a car will make it rain

You have to get out of bed on the same side you got in

Evil spirits can’t harm you when you are standing in a circle

A cat will try to take the breath from a baby

Warm hands, cold heart

Cold hands, warm heart

It’s unlucky to rock an empty rocking chair

Killing an albatross causes bad luck to the ship and all upon it

Wearing an opal when it is not your birthstone is bad luck

To smell dandelions will make you wet the bed

Giving someone a purse or wallet without money in it will bring that person bad luck

A forked branch will help someone divine where water is underground.

The examples above are meant only for fuel for your fantasies. Many people believe these sayings and more there are different beliefs in every country, If you know of any I have missed please comment below and I will add it to my list, if I get many more I will add them to a new post.

-Dacker Thicke

What is normal? If I disbelieve 50% of what a “truthful” and well trained salesperson tries to sell me. Does that make me a skeptic? If I’m reluctant to believe  50% of the written word as seen on product packaging or 50% of television advertisements displaying the latest product does that make me different?

I have developed a doubting philosophy over the years as in the past I have found that I’ve been taken advantage of and swindled. Since implementing my 50% doubting theory I have found that I have been made a fool half as many times in the present. If I take advertisements with a large grain of salt is that normal? If so I would counsel you that caution is a product of my longevity and always remember that the buyer should beware. As I like to say a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush but remember also be cautious with the one bird in hand, dear reader.

-Dacker Thicke

 

It is unfortunate that we cannot give out medals for the successful way we are eliminating all the wonderful animals, waterfowl and fish species  in this beautiful world of ours.  Everyone would surely deserve a medal for their contribution.  We are now  extending our great success to eliminating other human beings as well. How long do we have until this extinction reaches ourselves?

-Dacker Thicke

We human beings both male and female have similar and consistent disturbing thoughts that often plague us, thoughts that have originated in the past for various reasons. In my case I often dwell on instances where another person has committed an injury against me or taken advantage of my good will or acts that I have committed against others that I regret and cannot forget. The past is the past just a fading memory,  it is better to forgive than to dwell on events that you cannot change but I continue to relive these past events and to be tormented by past actions.

My purpose in writing about this subject is that I wish to tell of a man I met who very much impressed me by his manner and attitude. I spoke to him about my recurring  distressing thoughts and he informed me that I posses the solution to gaining inner peace.  He told me that to some extent our minds are our own worst enemy if not kept under control. He said that he had been advised of a simple way to silence troublesome thoughts. One should confine themselves to a room where there is a large mirror and look at their own reflection very seriously and intently and discuss outloud all the disturbing incidents in detail several times looking deeply at one’s reflection and then exclaim over and over I have willingly and seriously now and forevermore forgiven myself and all others involved. You will be surprised how quickly you will diminish having those recurring  distressing thoughts. One must always forgive oneself and others as dwelling on unpleasant past occurrences only harms yourself and serves nothing but prolonging one’s own pain.

-Dacker Thicke