I have not seen Sister Helen in about two years, thought I had thought about going up to Manchester for a visit a few times during that period. You know how things get....life gets in the way.

But I didn't go, and now I feel bad because although there was nothing I could probably have done to help her with her cancer, a visit might have helped her know how special she was to me.

Well, she is in a better place today....without pain and hopefully sitting with God and conversing once again with Cheryl. But like my own mother, I am sure Sister Helen isn't just "hanging around", for she spent her entire life happily in the service of others, and I expect she has asked to be put right back into service, even in heaven.

To me, she was a wonderful role model. She certainly knew math, and taught that for quite some time....but she morphed into the PMA computer teacher, and computers were not something someone who grew up back when she did had any experience with. Trust me when I say that other teachers back then were taken back by he fact that their students often knew more about the computers in the class than the teacher themselves, but this never bothered Sister Helen. She bravely moved forward with her knowledge and was truly THRILLED when a student of hers excelled with them.....even if they ended up teaching her things too.

None of this stopped her desire to give the students the best Math and Computer education she could.

Oh, and she was wonderful and supportive if here parent volunteers. She accepted advice and encouraged ideas that made the over all class outcomes better. She knew this was all being done for the kids, and it didn't matter to her who's ideas were being used to make things better. She loved her students, and like all the classes at PMA, she taught with love and the love of God in her heart.

Sister Helen passed away on December 24th, 2012.....the day before Christmas. I suppose is is fitting that a person who committed her entire life to God and serving as the hands of God helping mankind would be taken at the time we celebrate the birth of Christ.

She is no longer in pain.....but as I felt with my own mother, I suspect her meeting with God was one where she asked to continue her work of prayer and helping of those who are still here on earth. She was a wonderful person, and I hope you will say a prayer for her soul in heaven.

God Bless you Sister Helen.....

Current Mood: sad

Quentin J Lewis
Oracle Corporation
95 Network Drive

It is always refreshing to see people from the entertainment world who go against what must be the typical Hollywood mindset. Good work Chuck!

Today I attended a 2nd Amendment rally in front of the State House in Boston. I am very bad at sizing up crowds, but the crowd was huge....much large than I expected. Someone estimated it at about 2000.....I have no clue.



The issue at hand is the wave of gun control legislation being proposed at the state and federal level. The proponents of this legislation don't seem to be actually concerned with the issue at hand, that is how to respond to the terrible violence by a person with mental health issues who was able to secure firearms. (in this case, from his mother who paid the ultimate price for her doing so)

If you look at the proposed state Legislation, you will see that very little of the proposed changes would have had ANY effect on any of the recent tragedies. They are simply meant to "put the squeeze" on law abiding gun owners in an attempt to further marginalize them and making it more difficult (read that to mean expensive with more hoop jumping) to be a firearms owner.

I think the average person is essentially told that firearms owners are dangerous, paranoid, skinheads who need to be controlled. This seems to be how the press paints us, and this is the only way I can explain the sort of legislation coming forward.

But gun owners are just regular, average people. We are calm, caring parents and grand parents. We are teachers, engineers, plumbers, firefighters, accountants, doctors....we are just a regular cross section of America...not so scary.



The 2nd Amendment is important.....and the founding fathers probably understood that better than we do now, but that does not change the fact that it is. (that is too deep of a subject for this short post, but I might cover it later.....GOOGLE it if you can't wait :-)

So, while at the event....I can honestly say that I was moved to try and get even more involved. I was moved to write the letter below, which I forwarded off to the Worcester paper, as well as the Boston Globe and Herald. I urge you to get involved too! (come to the next rally!)

Current Mood: cheerful

OPINION (and worth every penny you paid for it :-)):

I am happy to see the attention and interest in firearms rights, ownership and the 2nd Amendment. I am also very happy to see people organizing to make a public display of their support for this and against the onrushing tidal wave of gun control legislation. But I also believe our success is going to come from a "laser focus" on our 2nd Amendment rights, and it must NOT be diluted by the injection of so many other issues and aspects of what you might call the liberty movement.


For a time, the Occupy Wall-street people attracted quite a crowd to their protests, but IMHO they were *NOT* particularly successful in affecting change or swaying the masses because their message was so diluted. They did not have a single message.....they did not have a single focus.

You can't exactly blame any individual in that movement though, because the issue was not so plain and focused. They simply could not come together on a single focus.

But in our case, we have that focus.....it is the 2nd Amendment, and all we have to do is educate (remind really) the masses on the lessons of the founding fathers. We HAVE a connection to all citizens in the country....gun owner or not, and that connection is our 2nd Amendment and our freedoms defined by our Constitution.

I hear people say that the gun control people are "not letting a good crisis go to waste" in their rush to use the tragic school murders by a disturbed individual to push gun control. Well, we must *NOT* do the same by trying to use these 2nd Amendment demonstrations to embark on other issues or agendas. (as attractive as they might seem)

I believe the purpose of our demonstration is to win the hearts of the average American and to bring them into the fold as a lover of the 2nd Amendment, and giving them a larger appreciation for the Constitution. Bringing in other messages, other problems, other agenda is a form of mission creep that will in the end be harmful and make our message as diluted and in-affective as the Occupy group.

Once again.....I think we need to make America see that firearms owners are not scary, not paranoid and in fact are their neighbors....regular people. I think we need to encourage people to think of firearms ownership as normal, and a strong positive to society. (good people with guns)

So I urge people to keep the focus, in signs, shirts and message to the press. We have a focal point that groups like Occupy Wall street only wished they had....we have the 2nd Amendment, and it is a rallying cry with a lot of history and our freedom is something all American's can be proud of.

Current Mood: calm

The REAL RUSSIA VIDEO BLOG (VLOG)



I love YOUTUBE, and I have a few videos there myself, but I also find so many people making so many excellent videos......creative, funny.....well, here a pair of guys (Sergey Baklykov and Sergey Pichugin) in Russia who have created a reality VLOG about real Russian life!

They have made about 21 videos so far, and each one of them really does give you a fantastic look at what Russian life is like.

The VLOG above is about Russian Cemeteries and I find it quite interesting how the customs for burial are so different. I actually "like" how the Russian people treat their burial places.

So check out their VLOG....I recommend you skip their first video, and start with the second or any of the later one's as I think their first one was a little too crude (language) and does NOT represent the great work done in their subsequent works!

Really excellent!

Current Mood: cheerful

Better late than never I suppose.....but really....it has been a long time since I have posted, so being two or so weeks late isn't a biggie.

The world is a different place in 2013.....hopefully a better place, but I think things are still just sort of hanging on.

I am thinking mostly about the economy and the state of our countries debut. I worry about that because I think we are mortgaging the future for small comforts today, and it WILL catch up with us. (but more on that in my FINANCE BLOG)

For this year I want to get more involved with my community. I want to get more involved in town and perhaps in getting things done at the state or local level. I am tired of how people in Massachusetts think, and I want to find some way to get people to consider freedom and personal responsibility more. These seem like work, but I don't think people appreciate the value of FREEDOM.....we seem to take it for granted.

Onward and upward!

Current Mood: bouncy

Well, today was Chick-Fil-A Appreciation day across the country and I went to the Chick-Fil-A at the Burlington Mall in Burlington Massachusetts.

When I got there, I was absolutely shocked! There were many hundreds of people patiently standing in line to support an organization.

I didn't speak to many people, just those around me and they all talked about how the Mayor had no right or authority to throw them out of Boston because he doesn't agree with the opinion of the President of the organization. It was noted that the original people on the Freedom trail would have appreciated the freedom that the first amendment granted people to think and day what they feel.

Now, no one ever claimed that Chick-Fil-A broke any discrimination laws.....so the people I spoke to felt that when the Government can step up and push someone around because they don't agree with what they think....well, when might they decide the same of any of us?

As for the supporters in line....it was a slice of America....every age, race, and nationality. No one really said a word....they didn't chant "anti-this" or even any "pro-that" slogans.....they didn't carry signs....they didn't wear shirts with messages. (at least I saw none) They were just quietly and patiently standing in line to buy a chicken sandwich....yet that long wait and the non-complaining patience of EVERYONE in that line spoke volumes for the depth of their beliefs.

I was quite moved by it all.....As I stood there I felt it was a protest for "regular, average people".

Very cool!

Current Mood: cheerful