Best of the Best

When your down and troubled
And you need a helping hand
And nothing, whoa nothing is going right.

Close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there
To brighten up even your darkest nights.

You just call out my name,
And you know where ever I am
I'll come running, oh yeah baby
To see you again.

Winter, spring , summer, or fall,
All you have to do is call
And I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah.
You've got a freind.

If the sky above you
Should turn dark and full of clouds
And that old north wind should begin to blow

Keep your head together and call my name out loud
And soon I will be knocking upon your door.

You just call out my name and you know where ever I am
I'll come running to see you again.

Winter, Spring, summer or fall
All you got to do is call
And I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Hey, ain't it good to know that you've got a friend?
People can be so cold.
They'll hurt you and desert you.
Well they'll take your soul if you let them.
Oh yeah, but don't you let them.

You just call out my name and you know wherever I am
I'll come running to see you again.
Oh babe, don't you know that,
Winter Spring summer or fall,
Hey now, all you've got to do is call.
Lord, I'll be there, yes I will.
You've got a friend.
You've got a friend.
Ain't it good to know you've got a friend.
Ain't it good to know you've got a friend.
You've got a friend.

..............James Taylor.

MIrror, Mirror...

An old episode of the original Star Trek series entitled Mirror, Mirror..showed the crew in an alternate universe. One side being good and the other side being mean and bad!

No this is not another blog about the Keepers view of another episode of Star Trek nor any other science fiction show. I think this blog will be a little about the ole Warehouse Keeper himself!

Possibly regret what I am about to post here but what the hell!! No one but myself actually reads these so I am my only worry! Right? Oh I am sure we will see!

As I scan back down the long list of junkage I have written on this blog site, I am somewhat amazed at what I have read. I wonder at times if I have used certain views of movies or random thoughts to reflect the true essence of who and/or what I, the Keeper, truly am!

Amazed me, as I read, that I relate to so much of what was posted. I think my niece even commented on one old blog posting that she wondered what I was thinking.

Perhaps this blog thing is a good way of venting ones emotions, (although I have never been accused of actually ever having any). But if we can express who we are in forms that can not come back to bite us in the butt one day, whats the harm?

I can relate to much of my blogging! Why? Because these words came from me and no one else!

Now,,here we go with the curve ball!

Movies that I have commented on! We do not know what writers had in mind when they write until we read what was written! Right? Follow me so far? Good?

So how do I know that, what I have commented on is not exactly what the writer of the movie actually had in mind when he or she wrote it? We don't! But, as with all movies in general, we can relate to characters and situations in the movie. See where they are and where they are coming from. Know where they been and possibly how it is going to end up.

But in truth, I see difference in things that not many see. I see myself in a way that no one else wants to see me in. I know the core of the Keeper and what lies buried inside his Warehouse. Things that may never come to surface or be placed on display as his Egyptian collectibles. It is my warehouse filled with dreams, desires, passions and fantasies that no one will ever know of. As I can relate to many of the blogs I have written, they may or may not be a reflection of who I am or what is inside!

Mirror, mirror,,a reflection of two identically same objects placed side by side, but both being so different! We allow ourselves to be ourselves with-in ourselves but never to the outside world!
As Val Kilmer said in Batman, "We all wear a mask!" and indeed we each do. Showing to others what we feel safe in revealing but holding back the things we fear will re-surface in the future to haunt or torment us. Here-in lies the beauty of the blog.

As my photo above represents, the beginning title of the old TV show, "The Incredible Hulk" depicts two individuals, David Banner and his alter ego, the Hulk. Two complete individuals but the same person. The one always trying to hide the other for fear of what people may say or think about this monster that he becomes when angered!

Now I am not saying that I turn green when pee'd but I do get angry as anyone else does. Perhaps my blogging is a way to express what I really feel inside. Perhaps it is a unique way for me to vent my heart and emotions, fears, desires and such in a way that no one really knows it is me. Perhaps I am the Hulk or Darth Vader..! Then again, perhaps it is just the really warped imagination of someone who likes to write about some of the most off the wall crap he can possibly muster out!

Mirror, mirror on the wall, are my blogs my own reflection after all?

Doubtfully possible! But I enjoy it when I feel the passion to write. Enjoy, if I do, sharing or rather showing a little about who I really am from time to time in words that need to be deciphered! Perhaps I love the way I can write things in blog form, which may or many not be a reflection of who I am inside. Perhaps I do this because no one really takes the time to care about who the Keeper is inside. The core of his being. As a good friend of mine points out from time to time,,"People see the outside, and immediately see what they want. And their fantasy is secure. But never wanting to see the inside, the part of the person that truly matters and truly reflects who they actually are!"

Here-in lies the words of the Warehouse Keeper! Random words and thoughts of some weird guy in some obscured part of the world posted to amuse two or three people or reflections of who he is? You decide! But keep your decisions to yourself after all, you may be wrong in your assumption of the ole Keeper! So far, everyone else has.

But then again, this new posting may just be another of the Keepers random attempts to keep his blog readers at arms length, allowing to think he is writing about himself but actually not! Is he Darth Vader inside? Does he feel like the Hulk lurks at his core, himself fighting to hold the monster inside for fear of being seen? We, my blog friends, may never truly know! And this blog may be removed!!

Mirror, mirror!!! Two identical images but two completely different individuals! Two mask that are worn each for different occasions! Self protection? Possible!

Mirror, mirror.....

A Disturbance...

For the few who read the ramblings of the Warehouse Keeper, which by the way is coming along well and should be finished with-in the next few weeks, you realize how he enjoys looking deep into old movies. Looking for hidden meanings with his ability to unravel the whole movie, swearing the writers of the movie really had another plot in mind when they wrote it. There are no hidden meanings in the ramblings of the Keeper, just life and or movies the way he see's it.

In 1977 Star Wars or later retitled Episode IV a New Hope, premiered. Awesome special effects and storyline. Great characters who blew our mind away and one's we would love to have been in real life. One of the characters, the villain, Darth Vader, became the stuff of numerous children nightmares!

The evil black leather or plastic look, his, "I don't give a crap you gonna die" attitude and that deep, asthmatic breathing,,knew this dude was coming around the corner long before he even got there! Topped with that ominous voice of James Earl Jones, you knew you didn't want to fornicate with the Dark Lord of the Sith!!

All we knew in the first 3 installments of Star Wars was, Vader was bad, the rebellion was eventually going to win and all would be peaceful and wonderful in the cosmos! Little did we know that Vader was actually Anaken Skywalker, father of Luke and Leah, twin brother and sister, who kissed in the first movie and didn't feel funky about it!

Pure and simple,,Darth Vader/ Anakin Skywalker was evil to the freakin core!! He didn't care about anything or anyone and really wouldn't stop at anything as long as it benefited the Empire and his dark master, The Emperor! Dude would have choked you as to breathe on you! Stomp you in the ground and blow up your planet and be home in time for corn flakes! Everyone hated him for his evilness! He had his own agenda and his own way to handle things. If you didn't jive with him,,you suffered surgery, deadly surgery with a light saber!!

Then thirty years later they came out with Star Wars, The Phantom Menace, followed by two more. I thought it was stupid to show me three movies, which started in the middle of the book leading to the end, then thirty years later, back up and tell me how it all started. I didn't care really, I already knew Vader dies, the rebellion lives and all the hero's survive!!

But the Phantom Menace began telling a different story. It told the humble beginnings of poor ole Darth Vader. A sweet little kid born into slavery, hoping and wishing for a better way of life for himself and his mother. He loved his mom as most kids do,,even future Dark Lords, he loved momma!

As he was traded off, yep traded off to a bunch of Jedi Knights, he became friends with Queen Amidalia, cute chick and the surprise of getting the hots for her when he grew up, amazed even me!

Long story short here, cause I can go on and on longer than the energizer bunny, Anakin grew into a powerful Jedi, fell in love with Amidalia, experienced the death of his mom by the hands of the Sand People, which he flew off the handle and slaughtered! Thus beginning his journey to the dark side!

He loved Amidalia with all his heart, with the fiercest passion possible! Worrying about losing her one day as he did his mother. Worried that she would die with dreams and premonitions he had for-telling impending doom. Anakin searched for ways to protect her, he, of course, did not want to lose her and the only love he had in his life. Feeling betrayed by the Jedi order, he was tempted by the dark side with promises of gaining power which would enable him to do what he wanted and protect whom he wanted form any type of future doom.

Last of the three new movies shows Anakin turning himself to the dark side because he felt alone, alienated and so driven to protect the one he loved. This also turned him against his friends leading up to one massive fight between himself and Obi-Wan Kenobi on some type of fire planet. Obi-wan cutting his legs off and leaving him burned, almost to death. Anakin was saved by the Emperor and encased in this robotic iron lung now familiar with the character of Darth Vader.

It all made sense now! Perfect sense! Star Wars was an intergalactic story of the ultimate dysfunctional family!!

I understood now why Vader was the mad, angry hate filled man that he was. He had witnessed the death of the only women he ever loved. His mother and told later by the Emperor that, he himself, had killed his beloved wife! This drove him into a frenzy which would be used in his journey through the dark side, governing the empire with an iron fist. Destroying everything and anyone who got in his way. He was the Dark Lord!!!

In A new Hope, when the mush older Obi-Wan came on board the Death Star, Vader sensed his presence, "There's a disturbance in the force..a presence I haven't felt since...!" He knew who it was and I honestly believe he knew his reign of galactic terror was nearing an end!

I believe he felt it, sensed it's end and mentally prepared for it. All those years of letting past regrets and remorse eat at him and control him was nearing its climax!

I believe also that we, if we listen, can feel that disturbance in our own force. I think we can pick up on things that linger in the life force and know that things are about to change.

It is such a shame that Anakin allowed his emotions to drive him over the edge. A shame that, he would give up his humanity just to have what his heart wanted or needed! Instead of seeing him as the ultimate villain, I now felt sorry for him, sympathy because he lost all he ever loved and gained nothing but the torment inside his mind which kept him alive and determined. Unsure what that determination was, but sure his hatred and regret drove him!

What did his soul feel after all he loved was taken from him? Why did he not return back to the side of good? No one knows and I am certain I can scarcely imagine why he stayed. Hmm, perhaps he stayed with the dark side because it helped him relive all his mistakes. The memories were his companions and his heart desired no new ones in his life. He wanted no new love nor did he choose to feel. Feel anything but the cancerous hate he had inside. Wanted nothing to do with any type of emotions which could lure another tragedy into his life!

I am sure he wanted to love again, but seen the monster which he had become. Knowing no one could ever love what he had allowed himself to be. The monster which haunted him all his life! This was his monster, and no one could ever release him from the regrets of his past life.

I think Vader knew,,the disturbance in the force was always there! He knew that one day, his past would finally catch up with him and all would be lost forever! Living to the very last, his only friend being the much more evil Emperor! The omnipotent presence which continued to drive him into the dark side, never giving him a second to stop and think about any possibility of good left inside of his soul.

I wonder if Darth Vader ever stopped long enough to look at the man he once was and see who he has become. I wonder if he ever fully regretted being in love so deeply that he was willing to surrender all he could have possibly been, just to hold onto it? I wonder, if he had, if it would have been worth it?

I feel a disturbance in the force..an end? Who knows! We are what others have made us but usually of our own choice! We have the right to either change or stay true to ourselves forbidding ourselves to change simply to win someone or something. This would only be a false victory and we would honestly have nothing worth holding onto! We shouldn't mold ourselves falsely in order to keep what really wasn't ours to begin with. If Anakin had resisted the desire to control those emotions and resisted his desire to protect what his heart hungered for, would he still be Anakin Skywalker? Perhaps!

My take on Star Wars? A seriously dysfunctional family! The love of a lonely boy turned powerful Jedi. A lover or passion, desire and the need to feel such from others as well. Wanting to fit in and feel like the man he always wanted to be. But never once realizing he was ok the way he was. He was loved and lost that love. He should have held onto that memory and cherish it instead of trying to control it. He lost!

I wonder, as he lay there maskless, his son Luke holding him near, his own mortality staring him in the face, if he thought back? I wonder if he thought, why did I screw up my life so much? Why did I hurt so many and be hated by so many more? Why did I not just settle for what I was given instead of trying to make the ignorant feelings and desires of a human heart manifest into reality? We may never know my blog reading friends!

Do you believe in the force? Believe that we can sense things that are going to happen before they happen? Can you dig where I am coming from? Are you a believer? Are you? If not, "you will be...you will be!"

Life's a Beach!!!

I took a trip back in July to the North Carolina coast. One that I honestly did not think I would have ever taken since I am not a huge fan of the sun, heat, humidity or sand in my shorts!!

Found that I honestly enjoyed this rather brief trip to the ocean. Now do not get me wrong, I love the ocean and the sound of the waves. Love watching the seagulls glide on the wind currents and looking out on the horizon wondering what lies at the other end.

I find peace and solitude in the sea. Maybe I share some deep relation with old sailors. Maybe, if I had been a sailor, I would have spent the first part of my 3 hour tour bent over the bow. Not enjoying the view of the dolphins as they swam in the wake of the boat. But throwing my guts up!!! Yea be my luck I would end up seasick as hell!!

But one thing that captured my attention was the tide. Like snowflakes, no two waves are the same. They are larger, smaller, more fiercer or less than the previous one. But they always continue, never stopping!

I think its like life, always continuing and always changing, no two days are ever the same. Each day brings with it things that are different than the previous day. As with a job, we may seem to be in a rut, same ole same ole every day the same routine, but in truth, each day is different!

One new thing I saw on this trip, as I took a walk down the pier, and for those of you who do not like me,,this walk wasn't a long one off a short pier! I happened to stop to look off the side and in the ocean I saw a school of stingrays. That was an awesome thing to see! I have never seen these creatures in their natural habitat.

As I enjoyed watching these animals, I soon watched them scatter as a 9 foot reef shark came swimming by!

As with life, there are those rare times that, we can enjoy a leisurely swim. Taking each day in stride and comfort until the enemy comes swimming by. It is then that we are aware of our own mortality and how the comfort zone we have erected around us can become "uncomfortable". But, just as with the stingrays, we regroup and resume our normality once the trouble or danger has passed by. Enjoying what life has to offer.

Recently, well maybe not that recently, I went back to work in the coal industry. Not a glamorous job by any means but one I never thought I would ever do again after eleven years of retirement from it due to an injury.

Once I started underground that first day, I noticed how the sights, sounds, smells and general familiarity of what the coal mine once was came flooding rapidly back to my mind.

I was once again in familiar waters, facing the dangers I had long since forgotten about. Knowing at any given moment, my life could be taken from me. But life is like a beach! Roll with the tide and ebb and flow of the current. I had made a change and needed to understand the change I made in my life. So far, so good!

I have heard the old expression, "Life's a Beach!" never fully understanding the meaning behind it. I suppose the beach can be used as a metaphor to describe life. As my rare trips to the coast has shown me. Most people head to the water to swim or lie in the sun. Most find the sights and shops a wonderful place to spend a vacation. Not me!! I see the ocean in a way that few see it. I look at this magnificent creation of God and wonder, allowing my mind to imagine, to drift away.

Life's a Beach, never knowing how it is formed, why it is the way it is or how it will be after so many storms. But always being a beach afterward. Regardless of how hard it get's or how hot it may seem. The beach will always be the beach. Perfect creation and full of many mysteries! To be cherished and enjoyed each and every day. Never knowing what the tide may wash in or take away. But always be enjoyed and loved.

"Life's a Beach"!!! Enjoy it, accept its storms and random heat waves that test and try us! Enjoy it and always look for the beauty that lies deep with-in its foaming edges. Although your life may get eroded and become uncertain, it still remains a beautiful experience! Cherish it, learn and grow!

"Life's A Beach"