FRIENDS ON FRIDAY PRESENTS: Tom, the Moose, Bobby McGee and the Muslims

Our friend Tamera over at Pentads has really been an inspiration these past weeks as the election tactics have taken a nasty turn. Read her assessment and get motivated. Thanks to her I just went on and voted today to let the McCain/Palin ticket know where I stand!

With that said, let me tell you a bit about how my week went.

It was a hectic, crazy week, but I always like to think that no matter what troubles you happen upon, there is something magnificent to guide you through it.

My beloved truck, having 97,000 miles on it and nearing its ten year mark had to be put down. It ran great but, you know that inner voice, well it said part ways with it now as it is time, so I did.

I take everything as a spiritual journey. I did my research, did my internet search, made calls, and set out on my adventure.

It took me to many dealers and many salesmen. They were all nice, but one in particular will be our Friend On Friday today!

You all know by now how I treasure "Forest Gump" and quote him often, so my take is that car salesmen are like boxes of chocolate, when you walk in, you never know who you're gonna get! Well I met Tom Brennan, and he transitioned me into my next vehicle. It was, as all car deals are, a trip! But, that aside, our experience was one of a love of writing, the world, and getting to know people and learn.

While typically our Friends On Fridays are interviews, this day will be a re-printing of a piece that Tom wrote. It is timely because it coincides with my view on General Colin Powell's assessment of his endorsement of Senator Obama AND also what I have been saying for months! SO WHAT IF SENATOR OBAMA was an ARAB???

I had the chance to locate the photo of the American mother, Elsheba Khan, who lost her American son, Specialist Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, in the Iraq war. Seeing her draped over his tombstone made my soul bleed.

Photographs: Platon

We as Americans have continuously repeated hatred and bigotry upon our fellow man. SHAME on us!!! It needs to STOP, TODAY.


SO, enjoy Mr. Tom Brennan's piece. It will span over a few days...it's pretty long, but enjoyable! THANKS TOM!

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Me and Bobby McGee – and the Muslims
by Thomas M. Brennan


Due to all of the political goings on right now, as well as the scary free fall in the stock markets, both here and abroad, the anniversary of a major event in American history went completely unnoticed last week.

On October 4, 1970, Janis Joplin died in Los Angeles of a drug overdose at the age of 27.

Like two of her contemporaries (Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix, who also died at the age of 27) she left an indelible mark on music in America and throughout the world, even though she had a brief career. Her songs are still played on a very regular basis today, nearly 40 years after her passing.

Out of all the songs that she sang, my all time favorite is “Me and Bobby McGee”, which you can listen to again if you click on the link to the YouTube performance below:



Strange as it may seem, lessons learned from Janice can help us understand a few folks that don’t like us very much, and can also provide some clues on how to live in harmony with them in the future.

One of the lines in “Bobby McGee” is “freedom is just another word for nothin’ left to lose “..

If you click on the link below, you’ll discover that the countries that concern us the most (by and large) are countries that aren’t very well off financially

There are more than 200 countries in the world today.


The GDP rankings of the countries in the “Middle East” (according to the International Monetary Fund) are as follows:

25- Saudi Arabia
39 – Iran
37 – United Arab Emirates
52- Egypt
53 – Kuwait
60 – Qatar
70- Oman
73 – Syria
86 – Yemen
94- Bahrain



VIEW WORLD ECONOMIC OUTLOOK BY CLICKING HERE


If you listen carefully to the words of this song, and watch the visual images, you’ll quickly realize that Janice Joplin was clearly on a “self destruct mode” for most of her career.

If you don’t care what happens to you, or if you truly believe that the next life will be better than this one, than self destructive behavior actually makes a lot of sense.
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MORE TOMORROW!



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I found this guestbook online should anyone want to share a note of condolence

Kareem Rashad Sultan Kahn, Cpl., US Army 2-12-87 ~ 8-6-07

'Assalamu alaikum'