They never sell crayons with just one color in the box.
And the rainbow is not just  the color blue
Think how boring the world would be if everything was gray
Think about how this would effect me and you.
Do you think you would notice the beauty of a glade
Or the puffiness of the clouds up above.
Do you think that people would like to live in gray?
Do you think that it would still be filled with love.
How lucky we are to have all the colors
All the colors of the world for us to see
I'm so glad that they sell more than just one color
With no colors how boring would the world be?

                                                    Jim Green...
                                                     7-3-09


poem inspired by my friend Elly

A single thread is only as strong as the material it's made of.
Given enough stress and pull, it will eventually break under the pressure.
But added to other threads, it gains strength and durability
And becomes something greater than it's lowly self.
It becomes a fabric.
When left to itself though,
the single thread is usually discarded and thrown away
For it is of little use
Being just a single thread.

                                                                     Jim Green...
                                                                        7-1-09

Did you ever notice
how the ripples of rain drops look on a body of water?
How the ripples collide into one another and over run each other.
They are all connected somehow
And yet each one is independent of it self.
That is you and I my friend.
The ripples are our life's
And how we all connect to one another,
And yet, we are all independent at the same time.

                                                            Jim Green...
                                                              6-30-09

"The sand pebble"...

For a while it lay on the beach
nestled among others
where it felt safe
where it felt it belonged.
Then a wave came up and caught it
And swept it out to sea.
Tossed and tumbled among the surf
It had lost control of its own direction.
It floated aimlessly for what seemed eternity.
All the while hoping
Hoping to be set back onto that beach
Where it wouldn't feel so alone.
And yet it wasn't really
For caught in the surf with it
Were so many other pebbles of sand
Floating aimlessly.
Each one hoping,
Hoping to reach that beach again
And be home.

Are you in that surf
or are you on that beach?

                            Jim Green...
                              6-28-09

Here's a short list of 25 random things you may or may not know about me.  I'm not sure who reads these things but I felt compelled to put it out there "just in case". 

1) Both my mother and I almost died during my child birth. They brought in a priest to say "Last Rites" for us both

2) I'm left handed, was born with flat feet and my left eye is two toned. (half blue/half brown. I was the youngest of 4 kids.  2 brothers and a sister.

3) I was a child prodigy. My I.Q. has been recorded between 177 to 183 (according to   which test you rely on).

4) I started drawing at the age of 3 by drawing a moose head and proclaimed I would be an artist by the age of 4. I started painting in oils by the age of 13

5) I use to sleep walk as a kid.
6) I saved my neighbor's life once from drowning when she fell into a ditch full of water when I was 8 years old.
7) I was "discovered" by a University professor of art in the 7th grade, where one of my drawings was used for his art classes. I would later be invited to attend art classes at the University of Texas in the 7th and 8th grades.

8) I was in a truck wreck where we hit a cow. Totaled the truck and killed the cow.
9) I once lived with a top less dancer named Miss Kitty when I was 20 and she was 28.
10) I hitch-hiked with a girl friend once from Austin Texas to Battle Creek Michigan. It took us 3 days to get there.

11) I play guitar and key board (both self taught) and also write music and lyrics.

12) I was in a motor cycle wreck once.
13) I was homeless once for 6 weeks and lived under a bridge.
14) I played with my brother's band when I lived out in California.

15) I road a train for 3 days once from Austin Texas to Seattle Washington and lived up there for a while.
16) My mother died in my arms after suffering a fatal heart attack and would die a second time 5 days later in the hospital on mother's day.  I would write my comic book "Sophe and Spuds" within 30 days to deal with the stress.

17) I've been married twice, divorced once. No kids.
18) I worked as a docent for the San Antonio Museum of Art where I wrote and illustrated a book on Ancient Egypt for the docent program there.

19) To support myself during the leans times of my artist career, I have been a bill board painter, a jeweler, a construction worker,a cook,a dish washer, a cab driver, a warehouse manager, and a pizza delivery driver.
20) My brother died on his 40th birthday.
21) I would have neck surgery and my father would suffer a massive stroke the same day and end up in the same hospital on the same floor and I wouldn't find out until the next day. He would die 3 days later on Super Bowl Sunday of that year.
22) I use to be a cigarette smoker from high school until I had neck surgery. Now I don't smoke.  And only drink on rare occasions. My favorite beverage now is coffee, tea or Dr.Pepper.
23) I've taught people how to draw and had an on going art class at a "Michael's Art's & Crafts" once.
24) I'm a big animal lover but I hate "crawly things".  I have 5 dogs and 2 hamsters

25) My art has been seen world wide (literally) on my other website where it has been view by people in 75 countries across the globe.

Before anyone  sends me nasty messages, emails, or comments on the following blog let me assure you this is in no way my bashing Michael Jackson (or any other celebrity mentioned) or their fans. I am not judging the guy. I respect his music, his career and so forth.  I am as shocked as the rest of you.
Please read with an open mind, and think if this isn't the truth?

"The death of a pop icon."

With the passing of Michael Jackson and the media coverage and the amount of comments about the guy after his death I can't help think about some other iconic figures and their untimely deaths, including Elvis, John Lennon and Anna Nicole Smith (the list of course is much longer).

While the reason for each passing is different (just like the individuals) one thing is common in all of them and that is how the media and the general public has switched from one extreme to the other concerning these people before and after their deaths.  Case in point:

Elvis (again, no hate mail- I'm a fan) before he had died had gained a lot of weight and the media and the public alike made fun of the guy, He was the butt of many jokes including the late night shows,  until after he died, and then everyone wanted to jump on the band wagon and sing him praises of how wonderful he was almost to the point of trying to portray him like a Saint.

Same thing with John Lennon (I'm a huge Lennon/Beatles fan, so no hate mail).  Not that people trashed him that much before he died, he was well liked and was making a come back of sorts out of semi retirement raising his kid.  But after he died the public and the media made him out to be a Saint.  And yet a few years before the media were asking if maybe he wasn't washed up because he hadn't made a record in a few years and they were questioning his career choices. 

And poor Anna Nicole Smith. How people and the media poked fun at her on her weight gain and the way she behaved in public when she was loopy on something. Party girl extreme.  Remember the coverage before her death and then after wards?  Suddenly she is being compared to Marilyn Monroe.  The legal battles after ward made for fascinating television and lots of magazines sprang up telling every little detail of her life leading up to her death.  A whole little industry in fact of magazines, books, etc sprang up after wards.  You couldn't pass a grocery store line without seeing countless things plastered about her on countless magazines. And yet I remember a time when she sort of fell off the map and no one care a hoot about her. And other times when she was just a big joke for marring some rich old guy. Remember that?

And now Michael Jackson is all over the news. I won't go into the guys life and am certainly not judging him on his personal choices (because that is not my place or job).  But lets face it, some pretty nasty stuff has been said about the guy in recent years by the public and media both.  And much like Elvis and Anna Nicole Smith he became the butt of many jokes over the years.

But now that he has died, suddenly everyone is coming out of the wood works and praising him and saying he's this great guy and that great guy and so forth.  (Again, no hate mail...just making an observation here).
I loved his music (especially the early stuff) and even have tried to moon walk like everyone else and like everyone else have done the "hehehe" in the mock Michael voice.

Now this blog is not about the hard core fans who have stood by their "star" over the years through the good times and bad. (Like I say, I respect the work of all of these people).  I'm just talking about how society in general can trash talk someone one moment and then try to make them out to be a saint the next.  And why? Simply because the person in question died.  Strangely enough Elvis and John Lennon (and now Michael Jackson, I'm sure) record sales went up after their deaths.  And the same for anything related to Anna Nicole Smith.

So why do we do this? And when I say "we", I mean the collective "Us".  Why does society so often trash our celebrities while they are alive and then turn around and want to sing praises after their passing?

The tragic way that these stars died and the dramatic life they lived before hand reminds me of a line from an Eagles song in which "there's a price to be paid  for ever form of refuge"

Maybe that also applies to fame. 

I have noticed for a while how so many parents do not watch their kids out in public and actually put them in danger.  It makes me really wonder.  It's bad enough that if you go shopping (especially on a holiday or during summer when they are out of school) that you might get ran over by some little kid or kids running up and down some aisle like it's a play ground, or how they seem to just run amuck throwing stuff around and just making a mess.  That is one thing. It puts more unneeded work on the retailers but that's another blog.
  What I'm talking about is how parents (or someone who is suppose to be a parent) is letting their kids stand up in a shopping cart. Think about it? How many times have you seen this when you are out shopping.  There's little Johnny or Susie standing up in a shopping cart while the parent (term uses loosely here) is pushing them around or worse, not paying them any attention.  Don't these parents realize how hard most retailer's floors are and how much damage can be done in a split second when little Johnny or Susie fall out of the cart and land on their heads. I can't remember the exact numbers but children have died from this and it's preventable.
  Most people will say they would stop a child if they saw them playing with a gun, by simply taking the gun away from them. Most people would take away a knife. Most people would take away harmful chemicals, pesticides or any other harmful thing that a child might get a hold of.  Most people.... But then why is it so acceptable to simply walk by and not say something to these parents when they let their kids stand up in a cart.
  Everyone would say something if they saw a child left in a parked car with the windows rolled up in the heat of summer, or even a person's pet? And yet they don't with this and it makes me wonder???
  A shopping cart has wheels and rolls doesn't it?  And does not gravity work? And if a child's head falls any length and hit upon a very hard surface like cement or tiles on cement doesn't it follow that that would be a bad thing? (And what is the height of most carts???)
So why do parents let it happen (by letting their kids stand up) and why do others who see it, simply walk by without saying something?
  I actually over heard one lady tell a very caring store clerk when he approached her and pointed out that her kid was at risk, her answer was that she knew her kid would throw a fit because they always wanted to stand in the cart, and she just  wanted to make them happy.  Can you believe that? She  was willing to put her kid in harm's way because it was easier that way than listening to him whine.  Who is the parent in that relationship and who is the child? Who is in control here?  The child or the parent?
 She did make him sit down in the presence of the store clerk who also pointed out it was an insurance liability and against store policy and as soon as he went off around the corner she let her kid stand up again.  And who do you think the parent would blame for her kid if he did fall unto the floor and get hurt? Who do you think they would try to sue? 
  Another time I was shopping at a Solo Serve looking at shirts and this guy had one of those 25 foot ladders in the middle of the store and he was changing out those 15 foot light bulbs in their ceiling. And below him was some kid playing around in the clothes racks directly beneath the guy. Another smart clerk went over and alerted his mom of the dangers and she was actually surprise because she didn't notice her kid was some where else, or the 25 foot ladder or the guy above with a 15 foot light bulb. She was too preoccupied looking for sales to watch her own kid.  Imagine what would have happened had the little one ran into the ladder or the guy above drop the light bulb on him? I still don't know how anyone could not see a 25 foot ladder in the middle of a sales floor with a guy on it or not notice her kid playing around under neath it.  Again, a parent putting her child at risk and someone else stepping in and pointing out the obvious.  And yet they didn't see it themselves and put their own kid in harms way.
  The point is that more people need to take responsibility over this next generation of young people.  They are our future. Young children can not tell the difference between what is safe behavior and what is not simply because they haven't been taught that yet. I don't want to place all the blame on the parent but obviously something is wrong if the parent doesn't think about what COULD happen.  Life is shaky at best and it's an never ending balancing act much like dominoes. And you know what happens with dominoes when they are stacked up next to each other and one falls over. It creates a whole sequence of events that sometimes are not pleasant.
  But we are ALL responsible for children if they are out in public (with us) and we see them in harms way.  So what if little Johnny does gets upset cause you tell him to sit down and he begins to whine? Is'nt a few moments of whining better than an a visit to the hospital or worse? 
I pose the question in the title of this blog: Who's watching the children? Unfortunately too often it is no one.
Think about it the next time you are out in public .....

"A watercolor in the rain"

My thoughts do not give solace,
Nor the answers, do I  to find
But vague glimpse of some mystery
In the dark recesses of my mind
I know that there is something
Just beyond my grasp it seems
For a brief moment I once held it,
But no captor am I to be.
Now it's only in this memory
That I find my world remains
The thing that I call "inspiration"
Is but a watercolor in the rain.
Yet how ironic even now
As I write these words of plight
How the details may be gone
But the colors still  bear light
Yes it's not as clear as it once was
But it's echo still remains
And inspired me enough to write
Of a watercolor in the rain
 
                        Jim Green...
                       June 24, 2009

Hey with it being Father's Day I thought I'd give a shout out there to all the Father's in this world and a special shout out to my very own Dad.  I love ya Dad. You gave me more than I can ever repay. Thanks.

I often hear people talk about other people who talk to themselves.  And the one common remark that they all make is that it is okay to talk to yourself, but it's not okay to answer.
Well, guess what folks, whether you want to admit it or not, we all talk to ourselves at one point or another and I'll give you some prime examples.
   How many times have you ever watched a sporting event, especially football and yelled at the Television set when your player dropped the ball or the ref. made a bad call. Now admit it, how many times?  Do you really think the television set could hear you, or the player or the ref? 
   How many times have you watched a scary movie and the person (usually a woman) walks back into the house or the dark room, attic, cellar or where ever only to be sliced by the serial killer or attacked by the monster/alien/whatever and how many times have you yelled at them to not "go in there" or a comment about how stupid they were?  It is just a movie and the person can't hear you through the television set.   Again be honest.
  We do tend to give our possession a personality though, like cars for instance when it is either a male or female and give it a nick name.  And the same applies to a lesser extend to our television sets and radios so it's like talking to a friend.
   How many times have you commented about things you hear on the radio in your car as well when you are driving alone?  Or complained about the guy in front of you cutting you off, or any other number of things concerning other people on the road???  Now be honest. Do you think the radio, or DJ can hear you?
   We don't voice those things in our head, instead we speak them out loud with our mouths.  But to who?  So who are we really talking to no one but our self.
  The truth is we ALL speak to our selves at one point or another.  (I freely admit that I yell at the television set on bad calls, or when my guy drops the ball). It is actually human nature. We love to comment on things, we love to voice our opinion on everything under the sun.
  Sometimes its simply to formulate our thoughts or what we have to do next, like "Okay, that entrance is locked, lets try this other one" , etc.  It's just a way of thinking out loud, truth be told.
  I think it is only a problem when a person "grumbles" to themselves.  When they stare off into space and "grumble" to themselves, that is when it is a problem.  There is a clear difference between grumbling while you stare off into space and simply remarking to yourself about something going on around you.  More times than not, you are simply reacting to whatever is happening around you and near you, whether that is a television set, radio, bad driver, etc.
  Hopefully most people can tell the difference and will admit  (at least to themselves) that what I've observed is true and that everyone does it.
  So the next time someone catches you talking to yourself and tries to make you feel bad about it just ask them if they ever commented on a game, or movie and see what they say.
 Or you could simply laugh and tell them you talk to yourself cause you're a really good listener and you also find yourself really interesting.
:)
No grumbling here, I assure you.