Getting to know Hugh…
August 17, 2010
During the past 10 months I have reestablished my reading habits. From an early age I loved the adventure I found in reading. While, as small children, we may all enjoy snuggling in the arms of a parent or grandparent as we are read our favorite bedtime story; I, on the other hand, had a desire to venture forth on my own. The ability to read on my own inspired me to seek out all the books I could find on the classroom shelves. From the beginning of elementary school I was reading biographies of early 20th century sports legends like Knute Rockne, Red Grange, Jim Thorpe and “The Babe.” I escaped into the old west with the tales of Zane Grey. This would explain why I consider myself a transplanted native of Arizona – Born in Illinois and reassigned to Tucson thanks to Uncle Sam – with my roots in the corn belt of America.
By the time I reached adolescence my tastes ran toward the mystery, fantasy and science-fiction genres. The classics of Asimov and Bradbury provided vast playgrounds for my budding imagination. They allowed me to transport to new worlds and new experiences. The Who-Dunnit provided intrigue and introduced me to the deductive reasoning of the master detective Sherlock Holmes. It was here that I learned new skills of the mind; the ability to reduce things to their core elements and determine cause and effect.
The concept of reading changed for me during the last two decades and devolved into simply news and information gathering. The pleasure of reading diminished as it became subject to a routine of survival and lacked the pride and glory of the historical epic or the excitement of the glamour of fictional realms.
This past summer has allowed me to renew old acquaintances and make new friends. Daniel Suarez is among new talent in the Science Fiction category. He spins a yarn that will keep you on edge. Evan Hunter of Black Board Jungle fame is among my favorites, along with Ed McBain , Hunt Collins and Richard Marsten. Of course they are all one and the same. Born Salvatore Albert Lombino, he also published under the names Curt Cannon, D.A. Addams, Ted Taine and S.A. Lombino. No surprise that with all those aliases that he writes crime novels.
If you don’t have the itch for exploring new worlds through the power of reading, I suggest you click off the remote – better yet, kick in the screen – and take a trip to your public library and look over their vast array of literature. It’s where it’s at!
More on reading for fun coming up…
A word or two from Hugh _ 8/02/2010
It has been awhile since I updated these pages of our site. Since we came up with idea of creating our own website I have explored several ideas regarding what our main function would be. I have also remained committed to the central idea of creating a charitable organization. No joke!
It may have started as a joke when The Chiefie said to me that she felt, with all the subsidies we provide to family and friends, plus the stray animals and other indigent creatures we take in, that perhaps it was time we start a charity. I puzzled for a moment and scratched my head, and then I replied, “We definitely are a Non-Profit Organization.”
Having spent two decades as a Foster Parent, while raising children of her own, The Chiefie had all the experience she needed to voice an opinion on child rearing or just about anything. Both of us had provided personal care for our Mother’s in their decline years and had gained intimate knowledge of aging and illness. I continued to ponder the idea of what are the most worthy and/or needy social causes and questioned each with a adversarial quip. “Who gives a rat’s ass?”
After due consideration we decided that the response to the question of, “Who Cares?” is Hugh Cares! We obtained the domain rights, acquired a Host and with the help of WordPress we launched our little funfest. We have a small group of contributors and always look for new talent. Lords knows, we have none! New voices with opinions of all persuasions are welcome. I’ll provide you more news about our primary causes as events unfold. We will always make an effort to be as absurd as possible in the hopes you’ll have as much fun as we do.
Join us, won’t you?
Hugh may be right, I may be crazy! - circa 1978
What a difference a few years can make.
I stand before you a condemned man. Having reached the awkward age when I am too old for a paper route and too young for Social Security puts me squarely in the “Senior Class.” That tender age when you could take on the world, so long as you have the U.S. Marines backing you up. A time when our minds often drift back to our youth, when not merely drifting off. We tend to have a fondness for our memories of those early days of discovery. Each one an experience of something new and different, something exciting. No matter how hard we tried to pretend that we already “knew it all” we were left awed and mystified by what the world had wrought.
As “Baby Boomers” we were perhaps the most observed and studied generation in our country’s history. Now we have been displaced by the new demographics of Gen X, Y & Z and whatever comes next. We have been relegated to the backwaters of Senior Citizendom (I made that up). The biggest rewards this dubious honor has to offer are the “Senior Discount” and being allowed to say whatever the Hell you choose. Including telling people to “piss off” if they get too lippy.
It is within this frame of mind that I have decided to re-invent myself as both self-styled blogger and entrepreneur extraordinaire. I have hinted at an additional purpose for creating this website that is yet unrealized. That chapter will have to wait for now.
It has been my attempt in these last few weeks to awaken a spirit in myself and others that will motivate us to think and begin to interact with one another in a greater spirit of brotherhood and understanding. To think, to grow, to re-invent ourselves and be released from the chrysalis of an “Old World Order”. Let’s discard the paradigms of the past and emerge empowered with our own being.
“WHOOOOOOOOAAAA! Hugh, you lost me back back there. Back it up a bit.”
Okay, I gotcha. Let’s just say I’m looking for a few good readers. Anyone who is interested in seeking enlightenment or self discovery and exploring the limits of the mind. I’m finding my voice and seeking an audience who can share my views ans sense of humor. I’m like Susan Boyle, “I Dreamed a Dream.”
Oh, Hugh! Your are so full of Bullshit! I just read “The Holographic Universe” by Michael Talbot. It gets into the nature of reality and matter over matter/quantum physics kind of stuff. Looks like it spilled over into my reality. Anyway, I hope you enjoy getting to know Hugh and I’ll keep you up to date on what’s for supper or what I’m driving and who got kissed.
Vaya con Dios, mi Amigos
– Hugh “Alejandro Gomez Alfredo Hernandez” Betcha
“Attempting to plead ignorance in the Court of Public Opinion
has resulted in my conviction on multiple counts.”
– Hugh “scarface” Betcha 02/25/2010
You Little Angel, Hugh! - circa 1958
It’s time to get to know Hugh
At the end of this year, 2010, the first decade of the 21st Century will be closing. The next 12 months will be a time when we see change everywhere. During this period we will reflect upon the old as the new emerges. We will abandon the obsolete as we adopt and embrace change. Some changes will come at a high cost and others may be painful in one way or the other.
Now is the age of historic firsts. It is the first time since the start of the Baby-Boom generation that we have experienced an economic crisis of such magnitude. The election of Barack Obama was another paramount event that proclaimed a new era of change. These events and many others which coincide with the dawning of the internet age have brought about an information explosion and created a need. It is a need for clarity and transparency. The need has never been greater and never has an opportunity been more favorable than this. Now is the time; a time for YOU. Take the time; take the time to get to know HUGH. HUGH Betcha!
It is time for YOU to take control of YOUR life. And who better to help you in that goal than HUGH. He experiences many of the same frustrations as you. He shares many of the same values and many of the same joys in life as you. See what you have in common with Hugh and discover the Hugh in You.
Hugh has insight and answers for today’s problematic times. Hugh is pragmatic in his approach to solving problems and living in the 21st Century. Learn more, it’s up to Hugh.
If you are wondering what’s in it for Hugh? Or what’s it to Hugh? This is where to look. Interested in what’s new with Hugh or finding out what they say about Hugh? Look no further. Hugh will entertain and enlighten you. He wants you to laugh and learn as you travel along your daily path.
Quite simply, it’s All about Hugh. Thanks for visiting. And here’s a musical tribute to Hugh that dates back to his coming of age in the 60s. The lyrics were changed and Hugh was written out, but you get the idea.
Sincerely,
Hugh Betcha
Before you go check out the following video for a quick solution to those Post-Holiday Blues!
Themocracy
I like the wizard of oz!
We all did, except Toto! Stay off the peyote, Bill.
Hugh,
the other day I was refueling at a chain gas station, let’s call is “Schmexico”. Anywho, I decided to make the most of the stop and use the restroom. While sitting in the only available stall, I noticed a trend in the graffitti. Without being too graphic, the messages centered on an anonymous hot man-on-man action. Well I’ve heard these sorts of things happen, but to each his own. I wasn’t overly concerned, until I caught a glimpse of the stall partitions glistening from the flourescent overhead light. In short, there was a significant amount of “residue” from untold encounters, in the very stall where my pristine white booty was resting. Needless to say, I made my exit hasty. Herein is my deliimma. Should I wash my hands or just kick my way the f#%! out of there. While I admit I suffer from OCD, which manifests primarily as hand washing and stacking random items in a tetris like fashion, I was compelled to leave this restroom with imperceptible bits of my own feces on my hands, lest I find myself in the ironic position of contracting who knows what from the faucet. What would Hugh do?
First let me say, Jay Que, that I would not want to carpool with you. I hope that you at least dipped your nasty-ass hands in the windshield washer bucket before driving out of the “Schmexico.” And what makes you so sure about the origin of those bodily fluids. Me thinks thou dost have a great deal of experience with such secretions. So, to get to the point. What would Hugh do if he were you? (Which he is definitely not) Use that prehensile tail, you primate pile of poop! And one more thing dingle-berry breathe; did you remember to flush?
Right on Hugh.
OK, I am very sorry to have to, once again, correct you. While the century starts on the first day of year 1 and ends on the last day of year 0 (i.e., 1/1/1901 through 12/31/2000), decades start with year 0 and end with year 9. The first decade of this century started on 1/1/2000–one year before the start of the century–and ended on 12/31/2009. That’s why we call them the 20′s, the 30′s, the 40′s, etc. Hence, 2010 is the first year of the 10′s, not the last year of the 00′s (a.k.a. the “aught’s”). It might be helpful to remember that the “Roaring 20′s” embraced 1920-1929.
Tony, we will have to agree to disagree. How do you account for the first decade of the first cenrtury, unless there was a year ZERO. I’m sure you will disagree with even that! I’ve tried to put it in terms that someone who rides a “Gold Wing” could understand.
Sorry, Hugh, I’m not ready to do that… I think we need to agree to agree.
First of all, what is a century? I looked up that word in the dictionary, but couldn’t find it.
Secondly, while it is true that there was no year zero (which, as you know, is why Y2K was not the start of the century, and, as you also know, why the 20th century is so-called because it ends at the end of the year 2000), decades are treated differently. We don’t refer to the “first decade” or the “second decade”, but, as I pointed out previously, “the 20′s” or “the 30′s”. As a reference, here is something from Wikipedia: “Although any period of ten years is a decade, a convenient and frequently referenced interval is based on the tens digit of the calendar year, as in using 1960s to represent the decade from 1960 to 1969. Often, for brevity, only the tens part is mentioned (60s or sixties), although this may leave it uncertain which century is meant. These references are frequently used to encapsulate pop culture or other widespread phenomena that dominated such a decade, as in The Great Depression of the 1930s.”
I will be glad to cite many more references, if you like–articles like “12 things that became obsolete this decade”, “The 20th Century, Decade by Decade”, or even this reference in the Free Online Dictionary: “a period of ten years the first decade of this century (= 1900–09)”. Just let me know!
Regarding Phil the Hog, yes, there will be 6 more weeks of winter in Pennsylvania, but we have a much more reliable groundhog, who is able to predict the weather any place in the country. Joe Mama Betcha, the groundhog whose birthday is today, says that in Illinois we will have an early Spring, albeit a somewhat stormy one…
I surrender! I have given myself a severe flogging for the aforementioned transgression of ignorance. BTW, is it flagellation or flatuletion. I often get the two mixed up. It can make things uncomfortable when company drops in. Don’t bother to tell me that there is not such a word. I know that.
Regarding your missive on “Why Dogs Fart”, I would say stick with cats–they don’t fart. Either that, or they go somewhere and do it privately. Having had cats for over 40 years, I can attest to this.
Per your request, here’s my interpretation of your dream. And let me start by saying that there is a LOT to consider here. Therefore, I will simply hit the high points, without going into too much detail.
First of all, let me tell you what the various characters and items in your dream represent:
Hometown – represents the place where you grew up
USAF – represents a branch of the military service
Paperwork error – represents mistakes made while filling
out papers
Dad – serves as a father figure
Harley-Davidson T-shirt and fatigues – represents
camouflaged and motorcycle clothing
Flightline – represents two words being incorrectly merged
into one by removing the space
Female handler – represents a person to whom you report
Fanantical tyrant – while there is no such word as
“fanantical”, I believe this word hides another
Power plant – represents a place where power is generated
Small stature of men in community – represents short men in
the area
The john – represents a bathroom, most likely a public
restroom
As you can see, it is sometimes surprising what these different symbols represent, although I’m sure your brother would not be at all surprised.
Anyway, it appears to me that you were dreaming about being back where you lived at an earlier time in your life and being in some sort of military setting, dressed in a totally inappropriate fashion and, not surprisingly, getting in trouble for it. It’s almost as though you dressed that way in order to get your father’s attention, while at the same time, hoping that the motorcycle t-shirt would make him think twice about messing with you. This, combined with the effect of making it look as though you were floating above the ground, without any legs (due to the camouflaged pants) demonstrates that you are confident in this approach, since your father drove you to where you would be disciplined instead of giving you a richly-deserved beating himself.
While you would like to think that the paperwork was responsible for your situation, in all likelihood it was YOU who filled it out incorrectly, perhaps by misspelling some of the words. This is evident from your use of the words “flightline” and “fanantical”. The space is removed from “flight line”, disguised as the letter “n” and then placed in the word “fanatical”. That gives you justification for the incorrect words. It’s as though you are saying: “See—all the letters are there. One of them just got mixed up and misplaced”. Obviously, you knew, eventually, someone would actually read the paperwork and would naturally assume that “flightline” was a misspelling of “fligatini”, a little-know Italian noodle, and “fanantical” was that feeling you get when you get goose bumps from a fan blowing on you, known as “fan tickle”. It’s almost as though you were setting yourself up to be recalled to active duty, and subsequently disciplined. You knew there would be questions. After all, why would you be eating pasta in front of a fan? That would make it cool down too quickly! No wonder you were recalled—they’d have to get an answer to that question!
But if they’d had any training, they would have known why. It’s because in childhood, your parents made you eat pasta when you didn’t want too. You probably told them it was too cold to eat to try and get out of eating it, and it probably worked. But YOU knew that was wrong and now it is coming back to haunt you. The female handler is there because your mother wound up having to be the disciplinarian, either because your father was so easily fooled by your tricks or because he though you were weird. The tyrant is reminiscent of the boogie men your mother used to threaten you when you wouldn’t obey. The power plant shows the power struggle between you and your mother. As for the small men, this has a double meaning. First, it reflects the tendency of your mother (the female handler) to build you up beyond your actual capabilities; secondly you apparently feel you are too tall. Why else would your camouflaged disguise make you look like you were only half there? Finally, the dream ended in the john because after having to deal with all the above in a single dream, you just wanted to get rid of all that crap, as further evidenced by the fact that you referred to yourself as “an old poop”. Well, it apparently worked, because you woke up. However, it is unclear if you actually resolved these issues or not, because you don’t remember whether or not you used the john.
So, in a nutshell, that’s it. I’m sure your brother’s interpretation, while it might differ in a few minor details, would be essentially the same.
Tony – Oh, Hugh! I mean you. I corrected the typos. I will be more diligent in proof reading in the future. I have given myself a pants down spanking. It was kind of fun, actually.
I made a terrible mistake in my last comment. When I wrote “…because he though you were weird” I really meant “…because he thought you were weird”.
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now. Keep it up!
And according to this article, I totally agree with your opinion, but only this time!
You have to express more your opinion to attract more readers, because just a video or plain text without any personal approach is not that valuable. But it is just form my point of view
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