1 Rescue Truck! REALLY!?

Yesterday I decided to finally read the August 6th, 2014 issue of the Kokomo Perspective.  I became very concerned about our city and it's goals after reading the article titled "Fire department  mothballs rescue truck" on the first page.

The bullet points from the article:

• The rescue trucks are specially equipped to handle extreme auto accidents, such as flipped (inverted) cars.
• Our city has had 2 for about 50 years.
• Much of the equipment of 1 has been put on Fire Engines, which still doesn't make them capable of handling flipped cars.
• We are now down to only one fully capable rescue truck.
• This is due to overtime budget cuts.  $277,500 was spent on overtime last year and this year it is budgeted to $180,000 (277,500-180,000=97,500).

The thing that disturbs me is that there are way more cars on the road than there ever has been but the capability to handle auto accidents have been reduced.  I agree with the President of the Fire Fighters Local 396 when he said that a $180,000 price tag had been put on our safety.

The article raises the question of why we have to reduce the budget of the Fire Station when we apparently have plenty of money in the budget for a downtown parking garage and a new soft ball diamond which total in $17 million dollars.  I agree that the $97,500 dollars to keep our fire department manned, at the level it was manned last year, is chump change by comparison.

How ever being a Navy Veteran I do understand program funding and funds allocation.  Basically meaning that certain funds can only be used for certain things and are not allowed to be used for others.  Unless you find some creative thinking/writing way to connect the 2.  I just don't understand how our city could allocate funds for one and not the other.

I haven't researched it much yet but on what I know, think I know, or have an assumption of I do have a few opinions.  The parking garage is a good thing.  Parking downtown is crowded and many people avoid shopping there because of this.  Sooo the parking garage could aid the economy of down town.  Ease of parking may attract more people to shop the stores, bistros, and bars of downtown.  Lord knows it needs it.  The only shops that has seemed to survive are the food services (due to lawyer traffic and such) and those who have generational patrons like Sound of Music and Palmers who offer the experience of fond memories of shopping there with family as a kid.  I will research the parking garage further.  Chances are I am not going to argue the parking garage.  The baseball diamond I think is a bit over board.  We have baseball diamonds all over town.  Why do we need another?  The sad thing is that $11 million of that $17 is for the baseball diamond.  That is a lot.  Mostly to buy the properties that were sitting in that area being flooded all the time.  The other chunk is probably for all the dirt they hauled in to build it up.  Now why the heck are they building it up?  All this is going to accomplish is creating another flood plane somewhere else!  REALLY!?  The only way I can see this being a benefit is if money was being taken out of the local government budget to pay out insurance and flood relief claims.  Now they wouldn't have that cost.  Unless of course they just caused it to flood elsewhere.  Otherwise I think it's a colossal waste of money and we should have tried to figure out how to spend that $11million on the Fire Department.  This requires more research to see why the funds were spent on the ball diamond instead.  What funding was used and if there was any way of creative budgeting that would have put some into the fire department for the safety of the whole city.

 I also have to wonder if they increased the budget for the highway department.   Last winter was horrible.  According to the Farmer's Almanac we can expect 4 more winters just like it if not worse.  The fact that the trees out in the county started changing colors in July further reinforces this possibility.  I sure hope they allocated the funds to handle all that snow and ice we are going to get.  I mean the high for today is only 71 and this is supposed to be the hottest month of the year!  Reality check!  GET PREPARED!

Anyway that is all I have for now.  I will keep you posted on anything that I find out. 

August 2014 2nd Quarter Moon

I haven't blogged on anything in a while.  I was looking for a new house, packing, then moving, and now I have been unpacking.  It has been a busy couple of months.  I have been having a hard time finding the box I packed my favorite books in.  All week I have really been wanting to take some time out to read, study and  write.  Since I haven't been able to find my usual books I blog about I decided to read some articles posted by friends and groups on Facebook and various other places, while taking breaks.

I stumbled upon an astrology page that one of my dear friends shared in one of my favorite groups.  This has been the best astrology page I have seen for a while.  I love their article "Introduction to Astrology" which can be found here http://www.astrology.com.tr/astrology.asp .  It was the most beautiful explanation I had ever heard.  It was very informative as well as insightful.  It just felt right.  So I decided to continue reading the articles on this site and stumbled across one I want to work with and see if I can find any insights. 

I will probably be doing my blog like this more often.  Going with what I feel is right, what I feel a need or want to research on any given day.  Living in the now, going with my intuition and instincts; rather than pushing towards something I may have lost interest in or just may simply not have the time to do on that particular day.

Back to the topic at hand.  I found this article that I want to work with in my blog.  It is on lunar cycles and you can find it here http://www.astrology.com.tr/lunar-astrology.asp .  I have known for a while now that the New Moon is a great time to set your intentions but I didn't know about the different quarters.  Also I am a stay at home Mom who just happens to do a lot of stuff in her spare time.  Lots of things have interested me (Gemini) so pin pointing actual goals I actually want to accomplish (aside from selling my house, buying a new one, and moving) has been difficult.  I'm hoping that astrology will help me figure out a possible life path that I can follow that will enable me to thrive both materially and spiritually.  This kind of astrology, really understanding where you fit in it all, takes a lot of reading, studying, practicing, time, and patience.  One day I will get there.  Until then as I read something I think I can work with I am going to try…practice makes perfect, right!?

I looked at a lunar calendar and it appears we are in the second quarter of the lunar cycle.  "The second quarter is the time of growth, development, and articulation of things that already exist."  What needs to grow?  What can I develop?  What already exists that needs expressed?   The second quarter started on the 3rd and ends on the 9th.  So I am going to look and see where the moon was transiting on my birth-chart on the 3rd.  Maybe it will give me some hints. 

The Moon was at 28 Libra on the third of August which places it in my 9th house.  Since the Libra part applies to all I will look at what this site says about it first. 

Libra is an Air sign.   "Air Signs are correlated with the mind's sensation, perception, and expression, especially related to personal interaction and to geometrical thought forms and abstract ideas." http://www.astrology.com.tr/elements.asp.  My thoughts on this are that we need to grow what ever stimulates our minds.  Develop how we perceive things.  Wow we have a double whammy on expressing ourselves.  More specifically how we personally interact with others while expressing ourselves.  It's time to express, develop and grow and abstract ideas or geometrical thought forms we have.  So anything that you have been thing of that seems way out there, now may be the time to express those thoughts, develop them into something real and watch it grow.

 Libra is a Cardinal sign "The Cardinal Signs correlate with the principle of action and symbolize initiating movements of energy in a definite direction." http://www.astrology.com.tr/elements.asp I think this cardinal energy is telling us to do more than just think about things.  Start making goals that will move your thoughts into a real direction.  Giving a path and focus.

So my thoughts on this 2nd quarter Moon in Cardinal Air.  Is that it is time to put our fear aside.  No matter how abstract the ideas you have are it is time to express and develop them.  Making real goals that will allow for your idea to grow into something sensational.  Setting a path to move your ideas in what ever direction you want to go.  It is time to act on all those great ideas you have.  If you lead a busy life like me and have multiple ideas at least write them down and look and see what you can do with them while you have some down time.

You can let me know what you think about my interpretations if you like.  I am basically finding keywords in the article and intuitively combining them.  I am a beginner in astrology and have never really looked at anyone else's chart but mine.

Now let's see what the article says about the sign of Libra.  "It's Libra's job to restore balance, create harmony, and cooperate with all—not just the easy jobs. Both balance and harmony require an entity to give and take equally." "No sign is more charming, social, and able to coax the same out of another. Libra is cardinal air, so it wants to start conversations. Libra planets are experts at behavior that's pleasing to others. They’re Venus-ruled, so they specialize in manners, courtesy, and small talk. Libra planets fit into any social situation and get along with just about everyone. They don't want to be alone, and, because they're gifted with the ability to pacify, they may sell out their own needs or the truth to buy momentary peace and a companion. Their real work is to see both sides of a situation, weigh the options, and keep their inner balance by remaining honest. "  http://www.astrology.com.tr/air-signs.asp

Now combining their information on Libra with their information on the 2nd quarter Moon I think this is about developing our honesty with ourselves.  Developing and growing our inner balance.  Remaining true to our own needs while interacting with others.  Taking action to create balance and harmony within ourselves and the world around us.

The date time and place that you were born determines the house that this 2nd quarter Moon would be transiting.  Many of you have this 2nd quarter Moon transiting other houses, so the following more specific to me, although there may be some one out there experiencing this transit in their 9th house as well.

What does this site say about the 9th house?  "The cadent houses (3, 6, 9, 12) are areas where there is input, exchange, and distribution of thoughts and observations. The keyword for these houses is LEARNING."  http://www.astrology.com.tr/houses.asp

So I need to learn about inner balance and being true to myself in my dealings with others.  Feeling free to express my thoughts and ideas.  Allowing myself to set goals accordingly to move my life in a specific direction.

"Fire Houses ("THE TRINITY OF LIFE"—1, 5, 9)

These houses are associated with one's attitude toward life and the experience of being alive. They represent an out pouring of energy into the world and aspirations that motivate us to do so. The person with an emphasis on these houses lives in his or her enthusiasms, ideals, and dreams for the future. Faith and confidence (or the marked lack of it) and the need to see an effect on the world at large through one's initiatives dominate much of the person's life activity. The person experiences self most immediately through projecting dreams into the world and seeing them manifested as reality. Planets in the fire houses affect the individual's ATTITUDE TOWARD LIFE ITSELF and the person's entire sense of faith and confidence in self. The keyword that sums up the essential meaning of the fire houses is IDENTITY; for our sense of identity, our sense of being, determines our attitude toward life in general." http://www.astrology.com.tr/houses.asp

Socializing this quarter will inspire and motivate me.  I need to act on my enthusiasms, ideals, and dreams for the future.   Focusing on how these actions affect the world around me will have an affect on my actions.  I need to express myself by projecting my dreams into the world and watch them manifest in reality.  Learning about my inner-self, my true self and balancing my needs with the needs of others will help my faith and confidence in the world.   Watching my dreams come into fruitation will affect my attitude toward life, my faith in myself and my self-confidence.  It's time to get a sense of my identity and act on my dreams.

"The Ninth House

The ninth house covers long journeys and religion (the longest journey of all). Here is what remains of the purification that takes place in the eighth house -- the seed, or essence, of an entire cycle of experience. Religion comes from a Latin word that means to bind back, and thus refers to all things that last or endure, such as the truth. Essential ideas, philosophy, and all that is the very heart of things belong here." http://www.astrology.com.tr/houses.asp

Long journeys…yea how this action will affect the world around me and those who depend on me definitely affects the action of taking a long journey.  Quite literally there is not enough money in the budget to take care of my family and take a long journey.  I don't have enough to cover a ticket for myself.  Not to mention the backlash of if my husband and child could not go, and oh how they would suffer if that money was taken out of the budget.  So yes I take spiritual journeys.  This is where it is starting to come together.  I love to learn about the religions of the world.  I have not picked a faith other than following what feels right in my heart based on the research I have done in spirituality and the religions of the world.  I do search to learn the truth in all things.  I love sharing my insights on such topics of spirituality, religion, and philosophy to all.  That is part of why I created this blog, to share my insights and express my thoughts on various topics.  I have joined communities and groups hoping to add a social aspect to it all.  Maybe this is telling me that all of this is already there and that it is time  start expressing it again.  Yup I think that's what this 2nd quarter moon is telling me.  Also maybe trying to find some locals that share the similar interests.  Maybe I'll start my own local group to meet regularly if I can't find one that already exists.  Hopefully this is telling me it already exists and all I need to do is simply join.  This would cover all the aspects, self expression, socialization, already existing, developing, growing, philosophy, spirituality, and religion.  Hmmm funny how things come together and are reflected in the cosmos above.  Please feel free to interact.  Tell me what you think of this 2nd quarter moon.  Do you have your own insights?  Do you think mine need tweeked?

Well that's all for tonight.  Love, Light, and Blessings to all!