Doing It In The Park Oh Yeah!

Remember the song by Donald Byrd and the Black Byrds? If you are over 30, you might. It went something like this: "Doing it the dark, doing it in the park oh yeah Rock Creek Park." I like the song and it has taken on new meaning. I am not talking about doing "it" in the park for all of you that have your minds in the gutter. I am talking about going to the park to unwind.

It is now fall and the leaves are turning and it is nice time to be outdoors. At least 3-4 times a week I am out in the park. There is a park that is not too far from where I live called Westwood Park. It is nice. They have just added a circular sidewalk. I use that to run and walk. During this time I reflect on my day or the the things that I want to accomplish during the day. I use this time to talk with God and tell him my concerns and give him thanks. I also use this time to read and reflect, and sometimes write. Let me tell you, I have gotten so many creative ideas from running in the park. I weed out everything else and just focus. It very freeing. I walk around, sometimes I run and do both.

I have definitely felt more at ease since I have started this process. I would highly suggest the park to anyone. It is definitely something worth while to help in our hectic days. Sometimes you may see other people in the park with their children, running, or playing. When you see the people, they are usually happy. The park is definitely a place to help you unwind. Every one of us has a park that we can go to that is nearby to help us. If you are looking for some creative energy or suffering from writers block, I suggest you go there. You never know what God will reveal to you during that time.

Try doing it in the park. (Again, get your mind out of the gutter). :-)

One Love. De stress! Go to the park!

Come On November!!

Enough With The Freaking Ads

My name is Chris Gilrath  and I approved this message:


Right about now, I cannot wait for November. No, not for Thanksgiving with Turkey, Sweet Potatoes, and my mamma's broccoli rice casserole, no not for the biggest shopping day of the year where I can get an I-pod for $15, but it will finally be the END OF THE POLITICAL CAMPAIGN ADS.
Here I am trying to watch my favorite television show and every time a commercial comes on it is one of those ridiculous political ads. How much do these commercials cost? It is funny how all of the candidates talk about useless spending when they debut new campaign ad commercials every week like they are Kanye West or Lady GaGa. It makes me long for ESPN, HBO, Showtime, and FX where I do not have to be subjected to these annoying commercials. Here is why they are shameless:

• Focus Is Not On The Right Person: OK. You are are spending truckloads of money to not talk about you, and amazingly enough not even about the other candidate. A huge percentage of these commercials are about President Obama. Its funny I thought Obama was in the office until 2012? Yet all the commercials are "Obama This, Obama That." The candidate responsible for the ad spends little to no time at all taking about the issues at hand, their political record, and their position on particular hot button issues that interest me the voter.
• Mudslinging/Name Calling Propaganda: The candidate responsible for the ad or the organization responsible spends 90% of the commercial talking about or attacking the other candidate to a point where it is totally shameless. It is all about what they have done in their past or their association to the current or past presidents. After the commercial is over, I am confused as to what the message really is. The candidate said nothing about themselves. To me these commercials are a big insult to my intelligence as a voter. Most of us have a pretty good idea of the other candidates track record. The goal is to get me to vote for you based off what you can do for me, not for what the other person has done.
• Propaganda Using Fear: The candidate or organization responsible for the ad using some type of scare tactic such as using our fear of terrorism, unemployment, or something that hits close to home for most of us to try and scare us from voting for the other candidate. Then they sometimes finds some "Average Joe" hardworking American factory worker who is out of work and they use them to sphew the words instead of having some unknown narrator to do it. The person is really emotional and really trying hard to play on our sympathies and fears.

This is an issue I talk about quite often, and 9 of 10 times, the people I talk to on both sides of the coin agree that the ads have gotten to be a bit much. Does this mean that I will not vote? No of course not. People have fought and died for me to be able to vote, so I do not take that for granted. But what about those skeptics who always find an issue with voting and are very cynical about the process? These name-calling, fear propaganda commercials do not help.
At this stage in the game, it is time to stop all this "us" (democrats) vs. "them" (republicans). Is it too difficult to to try and figure out solutions together? Can we at least try? I am so tired of the constant criticism of our current government. Well, the critiques come with the territory but when we get to a point where we are insulting each other, it has gotten too far.
This is an appeal to all the people running for an elected office this year: FOCUS ON YOU! As Chaka Khan would say, "What Cha Gonna Do For Me?" Come on lets get it together.