Ahhhhh yes…These fingers are made for writing.
Mmmnnn…Jessica Simpson all up in my head singing, “These boots are made for walking, and that’s just what…” kind of excites me.

But what I really want to say is that: These words are made for seeking, and that’s just what they’re gonna do. One of these days these words are gonna spell the truth right out of you. That’s right, my friend. Seeker Dude John Lucio here in your house. A Truth Seeker: Seeking truth and spelling it out through the inner beauty, or lack thereof, of one’s own inherent true nature. That’s how I write: dispelling myth, removing BS, and making manifest one’s true desire, intent, and resolve. Why? Because it is in that very manifestation where fundamental truth resides, awaiting discovery. No, not in the information placed before an individual to see with his/her eyes and/or to hear with his/her ears. Nor in the transformation of data from the instant it reaches one’s eyes and/or ears until it arrives at a location in one’s mind for final processing a second later.

Accepting The Limits...
I like to keep abreast of all the news—local, national, and the world over. Not because, I am the Editor of a local community newspaper, but because I’m like most Americans: A concerned citizen. We like to know what’s going on, even if there’s nothing we can do about it. Most of it is just painful to watch or to read about. I find myself thinking, Whew…I’m glad that’s not happening here. My life is great—I love it!

Still, I see all those other communities around the world under famine and disease; some, under siege of rebels, terrorists, druglords, thugs, racist bloodthirsty mobs, or a totalitarian government regime. Gunfire. Explosions. Innocent civilians suffering immensely as bullets and shrapnel rip through their flesh. Their screams drowning in the echoes of explosions, as terror becomes the order of the day. Rage instills desire for vengeance so intense that even the stench of death clinging to the hair of one’s nostrils might begin feeling as bittersweet as salt on a wound. Anger begets anger, and the vicious cycle continues. Thank God to be living here in the beautiful, peaceful, friendly Massena—in the USA!

Make A Difference...
The Massena News is very thankful and appreciative for all its advertisers. They make it possible for this newspaper to be in print, to bring you all the good news you can use, with a heavy dose of positive energy. More profoundly, the Massena News is in print to inspire our little community with big hope to dream big, and to motivate everyone with positive energy. So you should mention to our advertisers, whenever you see them, that you have seen their advertisement in the Massena News! That way they know they are not paying just to keep this newspaper in print distribution but also getting something in return for their money: Your Attention.  After all, that is primarily what any business seriously intent on surviving a recession needs to do: Get the consumer’s attention. Without the consumer’s attention, they’re out of the picture. They can hope all they want that a passerby might drop in, but hope materializes into success mainly for those making a concerted effort to captivate the interest of the consumer—and not just sitting around hoping. Hope must be shouldered by dedication, hard work and a whole lot of effort. Hope is not for those who want a hand-out. Hope is for those who are willing to earn what they are rewarded for their labors. I’m sorry, but The Massena News is not going to lie to you: it’s a cold hard world. And you’ve got to earn it, my friend! “The worst thing one can do is not to try, to be aware of what one wants and not give in to it, to spend years in silent hurt wondering if something could have materialized - and never knowing”—David Viscott.

Theodore Roosevelt said that “It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things”. But people need to also work smart, not just hard. The Massena News is providing an extremely great service for an extremely competitive price. So low, we’re practically giving it away. Now that’s an opportunity to take advantage of! And we strongly encourage businesses to take advantage of this opportunity, because as Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “Ability is of little account without opportunity.” And one’s business will be of little consequence if consumers aren’t continually reminded of its presence.

Change and Challenge...
Well, I’m back. I spent Christmas in NYC. That was my first Christmas in Manhattan—I didn’t think it would be as crowded as usual, but I definitely wasn’t the only one with that idea. All those people on the streets, yet the incessant screaming from my babies just blended right in with the hustle & bustle of the City. Millions on the street all communicating in different languages, dialects and accents, horns honking to communicate urgency, and my babies yelling that they want to get out of their stroller and commence to walking like everyone else. And no one is perturbed in the least by their screaming—even indoors. That’s ‘The City’. You could literally stand on the street and yell at the top of your breath “I Love You, New York!” and those words flow away like the most natural thing on earth, mixing in with all the noise and scents of the city. No passive aggressive stares, only assertiveness. Very positive. Pulsating with energy. Very upbeat. I love it! Oh I love NYC soooo much!

In NYC everyone’s voice is welcome into its melting pot, respected and appreciated for its presence in the world. Absolutely, me and my family had a wonderful Christmas time. Nothing short of a perfectly beautiful experience. But that’s because we can adapt and overcome. That’s how we raise our children. I don’t get away from here just to get away. I get away for the experience and impact it has on my children, to raise them to be able to adapt to change in climates, atmosphere, ambience, cultures, and attitudes. Life is all about change and challenge.

A Platitude For Every Occasion...
Is it just me, or does the Facebook Status Feed sometimes seem saturated with platitudes? Life is this, life is that, life is grand. Oh, and my favorite, “Life is a box of chocolates.” What does that mean, anyway? Is that just something Forest Gump said?—a guy who was…uh…oh, no offense…well…never mind.  I’m just asking: Is there something deeply profound to this message that I’m not getting? Sorry, that platitude has never resonated well with me—although I did enjoy the movie, don’t get me wrong! No, I’m not a complete idiot—I get the metaphor, in that you never know what you are going to getin life. However, that metaphor also suggests that whatever you get, it is going to be sweet. Well, I disagree with that message—because, whereas life may be like a box of chocolates for some people all of the time, sweet, it certainly is not like that for everyone any of the time. In fact, a huge percentage of humanity is in famine and disease; myriad others are victims of rape and brutality; countless women and children have been smuggled into America as slaves; myriad American citizens are slaves to addiction. The main struggle for most Americans is just to survive—to put food on their table, to pay their bills, to have a roof over their head, and to stay warm over the winter. People are lucky just to have a job—even if it only pays minimum wage. Americans are not asking for much—just the basic necessities. Nothing sweet about that, let’s be honest here. Nothing could be further from the truth than to say that Life is like a box of chocolates. You want a platitude?—How about some ocean front property in Arizona, which can be yours for just $100,000. Anyone buying that too? Didn’t think so.

Seriously, we must worry for citizens who can barely afford an internet connection reading platitudes on Facebook that life is about this or about that. Because it’s just not that simple. Moreover, platitudes are a perpetual reminder of a corrupt and unjust system. Too many Americans have been gypped out of a decent living, and platitudes are a bittersweet reminder of empty promises and false hopes from a democracy that’s been manipulated to disenfranchise the financially weakest citizens and sabotage even their dreams.

Laughter: The Anti-Virus Application...
Tis the season to be jolly. Sigh, and here I am, starting it off, sick as a dog. So, please forgive me if my words come across as a bit incoherent. Just try to descramble my words in your head and you’ll get the gist of it. You know, that’s all reading is—like assimilating binary code. Let’s say your mind is like a computer and your fists are like steel; well, code enters your CPU (Central Processing Unit—your brain), gets decompiled & decoded and then processed. Now you get to see your fist at work combating the enemy—that evil virus in your head that’s trying to take over, and beating it to a pulp, for instance. That’s what reading is! It’s no small wonder your email box gets filled with so many hoaxes—lies, propaganda, from deceptive campaigns meant to reprogram your way of thinking, and to get you to forward that message as gospel to all your friends. So, please, accept my code as a patch—yes, like a Windows Update—to help protect your system against any new upcoming attacks against your operating system.

You see, basically, what the demented organizations running hoax propaganda campaigns are trying to do is remove the present operating system in your head and replace it with another. More profoundly, replace your ability to formulate rational responses based on truth, with an ability to formulate irrational responses based on deception—and to believe in the lie!—because the truth just wasn’t good enough for you. All this so that you may process thoughts differently and become more susceptible to believing more lies, because you refused to believe in the truth and would rather believe in lies (if that’s the case, of course). Hence, entire cultures get rewritten on a national level, and an entire civilization suddenly finds itself on the brink of total collapse—because they would rather believe in a lie than in the truth. And all because people failed to realize the power in their thinking!  My friend, YOU have the power over your own thoughts!  “I think; therefore I am.”—Rene Descartes.

A Reservoir Of Happiness...
Massena is a lovely town. Rambunctious at times, like anywhere, but lovely nonetheless—which is why I wonder Why would anyone here badmouth it as if imprisoned by it? Uh…this is America, isn’t it? ‘Land of the Free, Home of the Brave!’ Ahhhh…brave, right. Free to leave or stay. I’m incredulous of any adult who has the audacity to act like he doesn’t have the freedom to leave the community he claims to detest. Fact is: it can be quite frightening in other areas of the nation. Harsh. Unforgiving. Not at all Massena. Perhaps, this ominous realization can lead a person to feel trapped between a rock and a hard place. Absolutely. I get it.

Yes, it’s hard here. But it’s hard everywhere. Always has been; always will be. There are certain constants on our planet, like the earth's North magnetic pole for instance, and the magnetic field. Life here on earth is somewhere between heaven and hell. Through all its polarization and polarity, there are forces opposing one another as a matter of sheer nature. Not unlike the magnetic North arrow on a compass, the pull that ultimately determines one’s direction in life comes from the very direction one’s attitude leans towards. This typically determines the direction to which one’s life is headed, heaven or hell; and we go in that direction, of our own choosing, whether aware or not. Massena is beautiful and perfect. As with any location on the map, one merely needs to get one’s bearings and stay on course. Of course that’s not easy; the terrain and climate, notwithstanding.

The Reckless...
Imagine the following scenario, okay?--in some random parking lot. Mr. Reckless racing through a parking lot, can’t see child running. Doesn’t take a genius to predict the outcome! Yet, that’s exactly the way many people go about their daily lives, with total reckless disregard for their basic human common sense. And what happens? Tragedy! And then the reckless blame society, their parents, and God. Everyone but themselves. Sorry, friend. But that image scares me. Because that could be my child, and I know, God forgive me, I would not be able to forgive. But I’m just preaching to the choir here, because that’s not you! If, in this emotional state, you allow me to make a generalization, they don’t READ!

Yet, somehow, they know everything.

Teamwork...
Back in the day, in the wee hours of a cold winter morning, I was running through the Virginia backwoods, loaded down carrying an M60 Machine Gun, ammo, LBE, and rucksack, when suddenly the ground below me shattered and I plunged down into freezing water. Moments earlier, my body had been hot and sweating; now, so cold. Suddenly, strands of my muscles were tightening up around me like sinuous tentacles from some phantom creature pulling me down into its godforsaken lake. I kicked and squabbled my way up to a ceiling of ice. A few feet away I felt waves and swam that way. I grasped M16 barrels, and was pulled up to safety. My team helped me out of my gear and uniform, into dry clothes, and rubbed the circulation back into my body profusely. All this, and we were back on the move in under 3 minutes—with very few words exchanged in whisper. Teamwork is awesome.

Well, a few days ago, I took my boat on the St. Lawrence River to Lucio’s Cove (our little family cottage my wife owns on some leased land on a little island). The water was super shallow as I approached, and being extra careful to not damage my props—and raising them up too soon!—I ended up off shooting my dock. The strong current took my boat along the shoreline, as I couldn’t lower my props to gain control, because the water was too shallow. Long story short, I had to jump into the river, and pull my boat out deeper—water rising to my hips. OMGoodness it was cold. Then I had to pull it for at least 25 Meters against a strong, very cold current, towards the dock. From the waist down, I was completely numb. I yelled out to my God in the sky for strength and circulation, because I was not going to let that boat go! Finally, I got to dock, secured the boat to it, ran to the cottage, only to realize I forgot the key. Ran back to the boat, got the key, and ran back to the cottage. Once inside, it seemed like it was taking forever to get out of my jeans and tightly laced running shoes—and it was cold in the house! I noticed I was exhibiting many of the symptoms of hypothermia—significant numbness in my limbs, muscle stiffness, weak, sleepy, low pulse, and I even felt like I was quickly losing the ability to stand up. But I rose up, and started slapping myself on the face profusely. You will NOT fall asleep! Sleep is for the weak, the dead, I reprimanded myself, and forced myself to run in place. Another symptom: I may’ve been a bit confused, to say the least. I didn’t have any clothes in that house—not even a pair of socks! Fortunately, I wouldn’t have to start a fire outside, naked to the world, since I had one of those little $20 heating fans from Wal-Mart. I turned it on pointing at my legs as I ran in place for around 20 minutes, thawing my legs out and getting the circulation back. Still cold and without clothes, but very much ALIVE. God bless America!

Don't Get Trapped By Dogma
I’m at the head of a traditional family: 1 husband, 1 wife, and 5 children. Oftentimes my children are informed “Don’t argue with me! There’s no debate! I didn’t ask for a vote—what do you think this is, a democracy? What I say goes, and that’s it/that’s all. Go bicker amongst yourselves!” I’m the head, but together my wife and I decide the direction our family takes.

Our children range from ages 17, 10, 7, 3, to our youngest (Ezekiel), 19 months. They’re all good kids. However, if our family was run like a democracy, their votes would lead our family straight to hell. And I, taking full responsibility, would be to blame for it. But, because I take responsibility and because I’m not stupid enough to not realize the implications of making wrong decisions, that’s not going to happen. My children are impressionable and unwise to the ways of the world, and everything influences them, and ultimately would influence their vote. If I ran my family like a democracy, we’d be confused, divided, and damned. Yes, we’d be hell bound.

Fortunately, my wife’s sole purpose in life is, like mine, for the health & welfare, and ultimately for the betterment of our children. It’s our love, loyalty, and dedication to family that determines our decisions and defines who and what we are, not dogma, and especially not any self-serving interest. Unlike Republicans & Democrats in Washington DC, my wife & I are one team; we’re neither divided nor mutually exclusive. We’re 1 team comprised of 2 distinct individual leaderships, each with our own opinions, visions, and way of thinking. Like any two people, we often disagree. But we manage to work out our differences—because it’s not about winning arguments, but about the betterment of the family—the team! My wife, Julia, once said to me "Just because I can’t visualize your idea doesn’t mean it's not a good one", and it has always been in that respect and awareness that we treat one another when we disagree.  It is amazing what an effect a little respect can have upon a team. Respect, notwithstanding, imagine what my family would look like if the wife and I were intent on division perpetuated by dogma, and our family was run like a democracy...

Well, if I could convince 2 kids to vote with me, my wife and the other 3 kids would out vote me. My wife would jump into bed with everyone from whom she could profit, then come to the table the next morning solely to complain about anything and everything I say. She’d continually express disdain. Not surprisingly, a slew of her girlfriends and boyfriends would be appealing to our children like a 3 ring circus with side shows and distractions, trying to get me to pander to ridiculous assertions that I’m not qualified to be the head of this family. Without overtly mentioning that my skin is darker than everyone else in the family, some would question my legitimacy. My children, with their low attention spans, wouldn’t be able to focus on the real issues, nor would they make the effort to pursue any facts for themselves. I would continually try to appeal to them through wisdom and intelligence in a genuine effort to convey my love and loyalty to our family, and explain why tough choices must be made. Then my wife and her 3 ring circus would spin everything I said. Big problem.

That’s what’s wrong in our nation. The Democrat and the Republican are more like mortal enemies bent on destroying one another at any cost than a husband & wife in love with their family willing to make necessary sacrifices.

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma--which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”—Steve Jobs.

What can YOU do to help our nation? Remember always that we are all one team—The American People!—and don’t get trapped by dogma. That’s today’s news in The Massena News!