John Mayer's Opinions, Blog, Quotes and Articles.

The difference between spirituality and religion.

Spirituality is saying, "May the heavens open up and angels bless everyone with a deep awareness of his own light." Religion says only Jesus got the light, you're full of [expletive], and you are in the dark. They are the only ones that got it, and you've gotta go through them to get it. Man, in this life the only thing that's holy is your relationship with your heart, your family and the air you breathe. - Carlos Santana

Success is getting what you want. Happiness is liking what you get. ~ H. Jackson Brown Jr.

"There's very little advice in men's magazines, because men think, 'I know what I'm doing. Just show me somebody naked'." Jerry Seinfeld

"When we see anxiety and alienation manipulated for political gain, and people of all ages losing enthusiasm for democracy, we are moved to do whatever we can to make sure that our children and grandchildren grow and live in a society shaped by the American promise. People For the American Way gives us a way to help realize that promise." - Norman Lear, PFAW Founder
People for the American way http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general

"You say you're supposed to be nice to the Episcopalians and the Presbyterians and the Methodists and this, that, and the other thing. Nonsense. I don't have to be nice to the spirit of the Antichrist. I can love the people who hold false opinions but I don't have to be nice to them."
-- Pat Robertson, The 700 Club television program, January 14, 1991

Love is a canvas furnished by Nature and embroidered by imagination.
~ Voltaire (1694-1778) French philosopher, poet, novelist, playwright.

Love is the answer, but while you're waiting for the answer, sex raises some pretty good questions.
Woody Allen (1935-____) US comedian, actor, film director.

"Without music, life would be one big error message from Microsoft." ~ Surfside Johnny.

Notice in a church bulletin: "The Lord loveth a cheerful giver. He also accepteth from a grouch."

"The greatest religion is to be true to your own nature. Have faith in yourselves!" - Swami Vivekananda (Indian spiritual leader of the Hindu religion. 1863-1902)

"Sex: The thing that takes up the least amount of time and causes the most amount of trouble." ~ John Barrymore

"Life isn’t perfect; there are still hard times and frustrations. But I’ve learned an important lesson: blessings can follow hardships. Writers need to feel in order to write. We have to live life before putting the words on paper. It’s what writers do: we observe ourselves suffering, and sift the pain into sentences." ~ Linda Oatman High

"You don't see much delinquency among kids who have been brought up fishing and spending time in the outdoors!" ~ Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf.

"There's a gullible side to the American people. They can be easily misled. Religion is the best device used to mislead them." ~ Michael Moore (American film director and author, b.1954)

I don't like nature. It's big plants eating little plants, small fish being eaten by big fish, big animals eating each other...it's like an enormous restaurant." - Woody Allen

Can you imagine working for a company that has a
little more than 500 employees and has the following statistics:

* 29 have been accused of spousal abuse
* 7 have been arrested for fraud
* 19 have been accused of writing bad checks
* 117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses
* 3 have done time for assault
* 71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit
* 14 have been arrested on drug-related charges
* 8 have been arrested for shoplifting
* 21 are currently defendants in lawsuits
* 84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year
Can you guess which organization this is?

It's the 535 members of the United States Congress.
The same group of idiots that crank out hundreds of
new laws each year designed to keep the rest of us in line.

When Congressmen and Senators retire, they continue to draw the same pay until they die. Except it may increase from time to time for cost of living adjustments. For example, Senator Byrd and Congressman White and their wives may expect to draw $7,800,000.00 (that's Seven Million, Eight-Hundred Thousand Dollars), with their wives drawing $275,000.00 during the last years of their lives. This is calculated on an average life span for each of those two Dignitaries.

Jerk the Golden Fleece Retirement Plan from under the Senators and Congressmen. Put them into the Social Security plan with the rest of us. Then sit back.....and see how fast they would fix it.

ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older,their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

FOUR. When you say, "I love you", mean it.

FIVE. When you say, "I'm sorry", look the person in the eye.

SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.

EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.

NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.

TEN. In disagreements, fight fairly. Please No name-calling.

ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives.

TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"

FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

FIFTEEN. Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.

SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.

EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

TWENTY ONE. Spend some time alone.

When I come to the end of the road
and the sun has set for me,
I want no rites in a gloom-filled room,
Why cry for a soul set free?
Miss me a little ... but not too long
and not with your head bowed low.
Remember the love that once was shared,
Miss me ... but let me go.
For this is a journey we all must take,
and each must go alone.
It's all part of the Master's plan,
a step on the road to home.
When you are lonely and sick of heart,
go to the friends we know,
And bury your sorrows in good deeds.
...Miss me ... but let me go.

"All I do is act on my passions and they call it sin.
All I do is tell the truth and they call me a hypocrite.
All I feel is pain and sorrow and they call it love.
All I do is pour my heart out to empty pages and they call it poetry."

Virginia "Ginnie" D. Weichsel, a long-time resident of Cape Canaveral, passed away at home on Tuesday, July 18th, 2006.

Mrs. Weichsel was born March 1st, 1929 in the town of Newark, New Jersey to the late Barton and Helen Howes, formerly of Titusville, FL.

She and her late husband, Senior Master Sergeant, Arthur Weichsel, came to Brevard County in 1969 to conclude his Air Force career after 30 years of service. Mr. Weichsel retired from the USAF in 1972 and passed away in 1978 at age 56.

Ginnie volunteered at PAFB Red Cross & Project Emeritus and was a member of the National Association for Uniformed Services, NCO Club and served many years as a volunteer at PAFB legal services offices. She was a member of Grace Bible Presbyterian Church in Cape Canaveral.

She is survived by her daughters, Joanne Ancona and Marla Weichsel, grand-daughter Katherine Ancona, and her brother Barton "Bud" Howes of Indialantic, FL. No services are scheduled. Beckman-Williamson Funeral Home in Cocoa Beach is in charge of arrangements. You may sign Ginnie’s guest book at www.beckmanwilliamson.com.

Charlie has passed away and we all feel the loss of a good friend and wonderful person. How can you replace a one of a kind, fantastic guy? He was an original dancer on Baltimore Bandstand in the fifties.

Saying goodbye to a friend amid Canadian thunder, lightning and flaming spirits. A good man, Charlie "Brown" Walker has left the building and Florida's Space Coast will never be the same.

A thunder crash bolted me upright at 3:00 A.M. while a storm raged outside the cottage on Lake Katchewanooka, Ontario. The power was out and it was a completely black September night except for lightning strikes. After groping my way to the flashlight, I lit some candles, started a fire and looked out the window to watch the light show reflecting on the water. Without a trace of the moon, nature’s fury seemed even more intense as thunder shook the floor.

Denied my computer, microwave, toaster and T.V., I opened a beer and reached for my guitar. At least that worked without power. The fire was crackling while I strummed a few favorites by Neil Young, The Eagles and Cat Stevens with the storm providing thunderous applause. It was time to put another log on the fire. Charlie "Brown" Walker's "Flintstone bowling ball" stared up at me from the shelf by the woodpile. It was basically a twelve inch log with three finger holes drilled into it and he had painted “Surfside Johnny, Christmas 1995” on it. That was my stage name in those years. He must have made hundreds of these things and gave them out as gag gifts to his friends and neighbors in Florida.

Charlie was a practical joker and crowd pleaser. You could always depend on him to get people excited. His favorite expression was "Somebody Help Me!" and he could rock and roll, jitterbug and jive all over the dance floor with four ladies at once. Every Friday he would make a "personal appearance" at Bumper's Lounge and yell "Charlie Brown has left the building" as he went out the door.

It was now 4:30 A.M. and the wind still whipped the trees outside. I reached for another piece of wood from the pile and then picked up Charlie's log instead. I carefully placed it on the fire and sat down to watch it burn. Charlie passed away in June of 2004 and the Cree say you can see spirits in the flames. I waited for a "personal appearance".

Baltimore Bandstand’s 1950’s dancers twirled and twisted on the log with "Crazy Legs" Charlie getting everybody excited. An original dancer on the show, he never lost his touch even though he slowed down a bit in his sixties. A loud crack and burst of flame revealed a solemn soul sitting in his screened porch at 6:00 A.M. on Sunday morning, drinking beer and smoking cigarettes. He was talking to his beloved wife Shirley whose ashes were just outside the door. The same CD's, including mine were playing as part of his "church service" and they rarely changed over the years. Charlie was never the same after Shirley died even though he had plenty of friends and projects to keep him busy. He was always building something or helping someone.

Blue flames were all over the log now and shaping themselves into "Blue Suede Shoes". I picked up my guitar and played one of Charlie's favorites, Proud Mary very softly. The storm had subsided and the log was almost gone. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Goodbye my friend. It’s just your time to rock and roll on a higher dance floor. The Space Coast will never be the same without you.

Over the years I have enjoyed reading John McAleenan's column in Florida Today Newspaper. He took the time to read my writing and offer the honest opinions and help I needed. This poem was written before he passed away on Sunday, Aug. 26, 2002.

A Poem for John
By John Mayer

The surf is up and Mac is down
But only for a while.
He's waiting for a gentle wave
The one that suits his style.

Water lines and suntans fade
Strong spirits never do.
Keep fighting for the cause that's right
The beach will wait for you.

johnmcaleenan.jpg (12126 bytes)

John McAleenan (1933-2002)

He didn't look the part of a modern journalist: no button-down collar or conservative tie. Instead, his hair was long and sun-streaked, his mustache flowing and unruly. The impression was more Wild Bill Hickock than Bob Woodward. Even so, John McAleenan was an exceptional reporter and a fine story-teller. His death Sunday at age 69 was a loss to journalism and Brevard County, where his many friends are mourning his passing.
They have much to remember. McAleenan worked for Florida Today for many years, and more recently wrote a column for local weekly newspapers. He was a strong presence wherever he went, and his enthusiasm for life was apparent in everything he did. He loved the ocean and life on the Florida coast.
He once staged a sit-in atop a tower to protest a drought, and the tactic must have worked because the rain eventually returned. On another occasion he took a roadside stroll dressed in a spacesuit to see how people would react.
Weeks before he died, McAleenan wrote a column to announce a project: He would travel around Florida with his beloved dog Roxy to talk to people and gather stories.
He never got to make that trip, but instead embarked on an even longer journey.

Go gently on your way, John.

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Stop the Cash Flow, Kill the Spam: The entertainment industry manages to locate movie pirates, even overseas. The government supposedly tracks terrorists' conversations over the Internet. The IRS will find you if it wants to. So why the heck can't we track down spammers? Most spam experts say we don't have to -- not directly. The experts don't agree on how spamming might end, but most say the answer isn't in sophisticated tracking technology. It's in what's dear to the hearts of spammers and the people who hate them: money. http://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,62177,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_2

The SWIPE Toolkit is a collection of web-based tools that sheds light on personal data collection and usage practices in the United States. The tools demonstrate the value of personal information on the open market and enable people to access information encoded on a driver's license or stored in some of the many commercial data warehouses. http://turbulence.org/Works/swipe/main.html

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