It’s time.

Hey, do you know that the night only becomes a night when the day fades away

Do you realize that when the days turn to years that the days have more to say

Would you believe that the words of your thoughts create the story of your life

Imagine the power of your thoughts having the power to make choices wrong, or right

Well, it was a good run. My Husqvarna 150BT finally “retired” after fourteen years of dedicated lawn service. I am grateful for its dedication and loyalty as it was my second piece of outdoor equipment after purchasing my then new home. Thank you old friend. So….

To new beginnings. Pictured above is my new leaf blower, the Husqvarna 580BTS. Wasn’t expecting to put out the money but I’m already reaping the benefits. This model has more power and helps me finish my yard in half the time. At my age anything that adds time to my life is worth it’s weight in gold baby.

So far so good. Hopefully it will last as long as the 150BT.

Money. For the love of it. The song says, “Some people would steal from their mother or rob their own brother”. Sad but true.

In a country as wealthy as America with enough riches for any and all who seek, why anyone would feel the need to take from another is disheartening. Nonetheless, thievery in all facets of society is commonplace in our country. 

Which brings me to this point: America is not a God-fearing country. American citizens in general lack a true spiritual connection to a Higher calling. And among those of us who claim to be true believers too many of us “talk the talk” but fail to consistently “walk the walk” myself included.  Collectively we have made our country fertile ground for Godless people. Hence the state of the United States.

Let me ask this: do you believe that any of our elected or appointed officials even consider Godliness as they govern? Based on their actions spirituality doesn’t even appear to a part of their subconscious. I do realize that money rules in a capitalistic society, but does that fact alone justify a lack of spiritual accountability to ourselves? It should not.

Based on his politcal and public ACTIONS you could say that Donald Trump is a Godless  person who worships money over God and chooses wealth over humanity. Where there is any part of humanity that is good, Donald Trump intentionally chooses the lesser alternative. He thrives on tapping into the lowest common denominator of our human intelligence, our human emotions and our human tolerance while unsuccessfully trying to convince us that we are as soulless as he is. That is not Godly. But put a dollar bill in front of him and he is all-to-willing to worship and sell out. I am of the belief that Donald Trump would do ANYTHING for money if no one was watching…….

Those who were appointed by Trump and/or those who blindly and willingly accept his lies, divisiveness and shameful attacks on anyone who thinks independently of him need to question their own lack of spirituality.

For us citizens, we need to make certain that we do not become desensitized to our own humanity. Our actions should affirm our spiritual walk more so than any self-proclaimed religious beliefs that we ascribe to.

I get it. This is America and we all need money to survive. But just because our leadership chooses to be Godless People doesn’t mean that we all have to.

I know, I know. I can be obsessive at times. This motorcycle just had its press release on October 28, 2025. It will not be available until March 2026. I cannot even think about it until December 2026.  But……might my family grant me an early Christmas wish…….?

Timing can be a funny thing. In life, love, relationships and money the timing of events can change the course of history, could affect wealth or happiness, ultimately could change your life.

I bet any one of us could look at an event from our respective pasts and recall how the timing of a situation altered some aspect of our lives. For sure I can.

Shortly after I bought my first house my wife was expecting our first child. As these two budget-altering events would happen within six months of each other my bank account decided to curb my leisure spending. Basically no more toys.  I initially agreed with my bank account.

October 1999. Go to settlement. Money. Move into house. Money.  New furniture. Money. Everything else. More money. Baby is due on Christmas Day. ALL OF THE MONEY! So now comes November 1999. My coworker shows me a brochure of a new digital recorder that did  not exist until after I bought the house. Guess when it would be available to purchase? Yep. December. Guess how much it cost? MO’ MONEY, MO’ MONEY MO’ MONEY!  But I HAD to have it. I bought it just after Thanksgiving and sneaked it into my basement until I could find a way to explain to my very pregnant and not-able-to-understand wife. Timing.

It happened again. I have been blessed with the opportunity to buy my sons new cars. I know, I know but buying them their first cars was part of the plan to Jumpstart their financial planning. The cars came with financial goals and expectations. So, I promised myself a new motorcycle once the cars were paid for. Guess what? Three months before the last car was paid off a new bike came out. Timing. Well, the car was paid off in April 2023 and the new bike was, um, “delivered” in May 2023. I was good. Until…..

Timing. I made a promise to myself. No new motorcycles until I complete a long awaited personal goal. That damn Timing. You see the picture above? It’s a new bike that will be available in March 2026. I may not reach my personal goal until December 2026. I like this new bike. A lot. I CANNOT BUY A NEW BIKE UNTIL I REACH MY PERSONAL GOAL.

Timing. My marriage (and thankfully my bank account) survived the previous undisclosed purchases. But you know what they say about the third time……..Well, guess I’ll take my time and wait ’til December 2026.

Full disclaimer: I do not know every word or detail of the U.S. Constitution. In fact it has been some time since I’ve read any part of the document. But…..nonetheless…..we need a Constitutional Amendment.

It is my understanding that a sitting President cannot be sued or be subjected to legal action while in office, right? Well then, why does a sitting President have the ability to sue or take legal action while in office? Seems to me that a person with immunity to the judicial system should not be able to use said judicial system to leverage the law in his or her favor whether Democrat or Republican. Is it me or…….just saying.

This needs to change.

I am a person who has a positive outlook on life. With so much negative news and uncertainty in society these days it may seem that there is not much positivity to go around. Not true.

Despite what you may see, hear or read via television, social media or radio (do people still listen to the radio….?), THERE IS ALWAYS MORE GOOD THAN BAD IN THE WORLD. ALWAYS! Good news isn’t good for ratings though…..  But don’t ever forget that there are more good than bad people and more good than bad deeds.

I am not a fan of the current administration as you may well know. The appointed Cabinet members have proven to be mostly unworthy. That being said, I’d like share this message: What YOU do in YOUR  “house” is far more important than what happens in the White House, the House of Representatives, the State House or the penthouse for that matter.

Instead of wasting energy worrying about things I cannot control I make choices to help me be a better father, husband, son, brother, nephew and son-in-law. Hopefully this makes my “house” better for my family.

Speaking of houses, we all are part of our respective neighborhoods. Being good neighbors makes our neighborhoods better. We can be accountable TO each other  without having to be accountable FOR one another. Think about it. We have far more in common with those in our  communities than we do with those in Congress or the White House in spite of our Democratic or Republican differences. They know and believe this and that is why they govern in the manner in which they do.

As for the current leadership, the  main reason why I disapprove of them is more so for their “practices” than their “policies”.  This administration not only chooses money OVER people, it chooses money INSTEAD of people. Very dangerous for a country that is built upon the principles of capitalism and Social Security and which relies on them simultaneously. How does the people’s vote truly represent the people if money ultimately decides their freedom? Choose wisely……

Let’s start by being better people. Let us also be better members of our communities. And let’s make the most important “houses” in America better. Our houses.

How powerful is a leafblower?  Well, it depends.  Manufacturers usually advertise the units’ power in miles per hour.  The faster the speed, the more leaves you can move in a certain amount of time.  There are a lot of different brands and models to choose from. 

The model you see above is the Husqvarna 150.  It’s a decent consumer grade leafblower that fits my needs.  It happens to have  a 2-stroke motor as opposed to a 4-stroke.  In simple terms it just means that you mix the gas and oil together to fuel the engine. Which is where this story begins.

2-stroke motors have a very distinctive high-pitched sound and aromatic exhaust smell.  Especially in dirt bike form.  More on that later.  Those of us who have experienced this know how intoxicating and thrilling it is. The immediate response, the urgent power and hyper personality make 2-stroke machines a lot fun. 

Back to the dirt bikes.  I have a cousin named Herb. We were introduced when I was four years old.  Herb was the older brother I never had and our bond grew stronger even as our lives chose different paths.. His mother, whom we called Dee Dee, and his father, whom we called Sparky, share a special place in my heart and mind.  As a young child I spent summers at their home hanging out with Herb, falling in love with motorcycles, especially 2-stroke dirtbikes.

Now Herb, Dee Dee and Sparky were cool enough as it is, but the fact that they owned MOTORCYCLES made them even more so to a kid like me.  I loved hangin’ out with Herb, being spoiled by Aunt Dee Dee and being taught “how to be a man” by Uncle Sparky.  I don’t see them much nowadays as Aunt Dee Dee and Uncle Sparky have since passed and Herb and I leading separate lives.  But you know, something strange happens every time I start my leaf blower. 

I pull the cord.  I hear the sound.  I smell the “Bel Ray” 2-stroke fumes.  At once I’m traveling through time, back to days long ago.  I hear my aunt telling us to comb our hair, treating us to McDonald’s and allowing her slightly over weight nephew to have “anything he wants” (“he can have 2 Big Macs if he wants to!”).  I’m riding along with Uncle Sparky as we head to the next dirt racing track for the weekend. Mostly though, I am transported instantly into the mischief that Herb and I got into on a daily basis. I could go on and on.  I love and miss them more as life goes on.

So as you can see, my leaf blower is pretty powerful.  Yea, yea it moves leaves with ease and all, but it’s more to it than that.  When I purchased it I had no idea that it could travel through time. And take me with it.  I’m glad it does.  RIP Aunt and Uncle.  What’s up Herb?  Hope all is good.  If you ever have the time, stop by and check out my leaf blower.  You won’t be disappointed. 

Fall is here. So too are the no longer green leaves that have lost their proper place and are now gathering on lawns everywhere.

Pictured above is the Husqvarna  150BT leaf blower. When we moved into our current home fifteen years ago the backyard was about thirty feet from the woods. Many different types of trees, many different types of leaves. As I had previously lived in a home with a much smaller yard my leaf blower at that time was a handheld electric model. It was no match for the first Fall in the house.

It was time for a more powerful model. I initially bought a handheld gas unit but it couldn’t keep up the the sheer volume of leaves  falling on a weekly basis. Enter the 150BT. Problem solved.

The 150BT has served me well for the past 14 Fall seasons. However its beginning to show its age. It has occasional gas leaks and burns through spark plugs more frequently than expected. It takes a little more muscle to start and it coughs and hiccups while drinking the required gas/oil fuel mix. All in all though, it still works. And I’m grateful for that.

Yesterday I attempted to start the leaf lower without success. I did the obligatory spark plug and air filter check, cleaned all connections and tried again. After about fifty string pulls it fired up. YES!  To be safe I left it running between uses as I was finishing up. And then it just stopped running. Luckily I was almost done. Fortunately for me I grew up at a time when using a  broom to sweep was a required household skill (and I didn’t need GPS to find a location to get one if needed….).

Hopefully the 150BT will last through  Fall  number 14 and be around for Fall 15.  I’ll find out soon as the leaves are back just 24 hours later.