Greg's General Store

People who know me and know me well would have a hard time believing it but I have a problem with forgiveness. Yes it's true. These days, when someone does something that bothers me I let them know right away and go on with my life. So I am not adding people to “the list” these days even though one of my favorite sayings is; “You just made the list.” (a line from the movie "Stripes") And truth be known, that list is my hate list. Yes I have one and I have always had one even though it is no longer growing. As I matured, I was able to clear my list for the most part but there were a few people who have remained on it. These were people who over my life hurt me deeply, leaving scars that have stayed with me. But I recently realized that keeping this hatred, even tucked deeply away is robbing me of my ability to totally be happy. So I have decided to let it go, to forget and forgive. So let me clear the air and get some things off my chest and put this list behind me...

As are most people here in Charleston, we are very thankful that Irene is going to pass us by. Of course there is always a possibility that she will change directions and come our way. Most people are confident but only God knows for sure so I am keeping an eye out. I am also thankful that I finally took the leap and went to a Yoga class. I was hesitant because I wasn't sure what to expect but I loved it. I have been talking and thinking lately about letting my inner light shine more and wouldn't you know it but that is what the instructor kept saying in the class. So I take it as a message to me and I will do just that. I still have the daily trials and tribulations just like always but I am getting things under control. And yes I am thankful that my blood pressure is down. So what are you thankful for today? Won't you join me in saying thanks. Have a great day, Greg

Well the latest storm track has Ilene missing us. But the bad news is that it has the eye only missing us by 15 miles. That means if it stays on track, it will pass right over us. Just pray that it stays relatively small and that it passes at low tied. The storm surge is what we worry about here in "The Low Country". Our house though is about 15 feet higher than the houses in the City of Charleston so if we flood then Charleston will be under water. I am not too worried about this one but then I was going to ride out Hugo in Ga. if it had hit there. And I was living in a trailer at the time. I know not too smart. Lucky for me it turned at the last minute but not lucky for Charleston. Right now I also have friends in the Bahamas so I am sure they are scrambling to get out. We could use the rain and all but the wine festival at Irvin House Vineyards is supposed to be next Saturday and it is supposed to hit on Saturday. It doesn't look good so if you are here looking ...

Wow I have so much to be thankful for today but let me start with a story. This morning I got to get up late because I had blood-work scheduled around 8 am. Compared to my regular schedule of being at work at 6:30 this was like heaven. I got to sleep in until 5:30, whooo hooo. The only bad part about my morning was that I couldn’t eat before the blood work. But since I had extra time this morning, I made breakfast for my family before I headed out. So there I was on my way to the appointment and I see a big cloud over the ocean with the sun behind it. It would have made an awesome picture if I had my camera with me but I didn’t. As I drove, I kept looking at the cloud from time to time trying to see some kind of shape in it. (maybe a dog, or a face or anything that looked like something other than a cloud) But all I could see was this dark cloud with a bright silver lining. And that is when the thought popped into my mind; If only it looked like “Tater Baby Jesus”. Ok for th...

Through all this budget debate, I kept wondering what could be so difficult about passing a budget? I mean it's dollars and cents, nothing more....or is it? Today I heard that they took the gray wolf off the endangered animal list. Funny, I never heard anything about it. How did something like this get passed without anyone knowing about it? Hmmm here is a hint; Sen. Orrin Hatch expressed, “I couldn’t be more pleased with the inclusion of wolf-delisting language in the budget bill that passed this week. Milkawhat? What did this have to do with the budget? Not much I have to say. Apparently by taking an animal off the endangered list it saves us thousands of dollars. Hmmmm Trillion/Thousand. Sounds like a drop in the bucket to me. Maybe it's time to take senators off the endangered list and save the country millions of dollars. It make me wonder what else was in that bill. I am going to do some research and find out. Enquiring minds want to know. I'm j...

You know I have said it before and I will say it again. I could sit here pouting and complaining about all the things that have gone wrong today, this week, this month and this year but I'm not going to do it. I still have a choice and my choice is to be thankful for the little things in life. Take this afternoon for example. My chipper shreader needs repairs so I spent the entire afternoon, from the moment I got home until it was dark working on it. So what could be the positive side of this? Well just before I began working, I put a pile of pears from my tree out back by the woods. About a half hour later, I saw something brown out there. Ok I didn't have my glasses on which is why I only saw something brown. I picked up my binoculars and guess what I saw? A good sized doe with twin fawns. About a half hour passed and they were joined by another doe and then by a buck. All in my back yard. Take that city folks. :) No it didn't help me fix the chipper shreader but i...

Please allow me to complain but I promise it will be short and to the point. Is it just me or is everyone outsourcing these days? And I have nothing against talking with someone from India or Brazil but when I am trying to communicate with someone about something technical wouldn't it be better to talk to someone who speaks the same language? And I think it should be their primary language not a second language. The other day I called a company that had the word American in the name. So when I called the 800 number I assumed that since it was American XYZ company I would dial through to someone in America. Wrong. The person on the other end was in India and we had trouble communicating. She kept saying; So what you are asking is......and I kept saying no. After about a half hour I gave up. A few months ago I called a company in California and they had a Mexican operator. Now how smart is that? So the first person you talk to in California is from Mexico and doesn't spea...

We didn’t have a lot to be thankful for when we were growing up. We were pretty poor, my parents often fought and to say that our house was neat and tidy would be a gross misrepresentation. One thing we did have, was great grandmothers. Not Great Grandmothers but great “Grandmothers”. You know what I mean. And both of them for the most part raised their families alone. One grandfather left and the other was an alcoholic so the grandmothers did what they had to do. This past weekend I traveled to the town where I was born to attend the funeral of one of my uncles; Russell Cushing. He died at the age of 95 and he lived a good life. He was a great family man and kept himself physically, mentally and spiritually active right up to when he died. Had he not had cancer I am confident he would have lived well past the age of 100. He was the oldest living native of Ormond Beach at the time of his death. Even though he will be missed I am sure he is in Heaven and smiling down on us. I am thankfu...