I cannot say for sure that pro football has hurt itself by all the goings on this year and last. I’m reasonably sure it did not help itself. There are too many of us veterans who believe in America, the flag and our form of government to mess with our national anthem. You know, black lives do matter. All lives matter. Protesting is just as American as football. But you don’t dishonor our flag and our country by kneeling when it has been understood for years that standing was honoring our nation. Protest before. Protest after. Do not protest during. Tim Tebow was kneeing a few years ago and everyone had a fit, but that wasn’t during the anthem and he was praying. Pray before the game. Pray after the game. Even kneel and pray during the game if you can. Stand during the National Anthem. If you don’t, it may not ruin pro football but I can guarantee you it ain’t gonna help your cause or the cause of pro football ticket sales or TV  advertising. As soon as I saw the players kneeling before the Cowboys/Rams game, I changed channels. As soon as I saw the kneeling before the Bronco’s/Titan game I changed channels.  If there was kneeling at the Saints/Tampa Bay game I did not see it so I watched some of it but not a lot. I have been a Cowboy fan since Eddie LA Baron was quarterback, that’s how far I go back with them. Love the Cowboys….Not more than America. Protest some other way guys.

I did not write about this right away, wanting to think on it a good bit before I did write about it. So, here goes:

I was watering the front yard and while letting the water run on my honeysuckle vine I was sitting on this big rock we have in our front yard. The sky had scattered clouds on a very clear day. One could see thousands of feet into the air. I spotted a reflection, about the size of a dime, east bound but not leaving a contrail as most airliners do this time of year in the New Mexico skies. But the aircraft was tracking eastbound. I figured it’s  destination was Dallas. I watched for a bit and suddenly it darted southbound, no curve in it’s path at all, just a quick ell and almost as quickly as it went southbound, it reversed it course and headed northbound. Then the darn thing just started playing, changing directions many times as I sat watching amazed. I watched it until it was covered by a cloud between it and myself. When the cloud blew away, the darn thing was gone. My first one. I watched the paper for several days hoping someone else would report this…..thing….Just me I reckon, but it appeared to be a “happy” UFO. No harm done. Just entertained a old man for a while…..Ok, I know what you are thinking. This guy is a writer of fiction and now he is writing about UFO’s…Yeah, sure…No, I really did see it folks…I really did…

ps…..I read Revelation Chapter 9, verse one , well most all of chapter nine. The study portion of my bible says the star that falls from the sky with a key to the Abyss is most probably an angel and the Abyss is a subterranean abode of demonic hordes. So something is coming from somewhere up in the sky to the earth carrying at least one person or angel on a mission from God with this key to the Abyss……Now, none of those words are mine as I am reading from the study portion of my Bible. And if the bible says it, I believe it….No, it did not say UFO, it said star, so I want to be clear about that, but it is still carrying someone, ain’t it?

Please don’t do that…..Listen to me people….Some great Redskin people struck fear into the hearts of many of the white eyes as they progressed across America, taking land that the Natives felt belonged to them…Remember your history? Sitting Bull….Cochise….Geronimo…Chief Joseph…Tecumseh…Squanto….What greater honor than to have an NFL football team named after these great leaders…..Don’t you remember paratroopers leaping out of airplanes into battle and shouting “Geronimo” as they jumped? Remember we Americans kept the Apaches as prisoners of war for 27 years after Geronimo surrendered to General Miles. We took them from their homeland in the southwest to Florida, Alabama and Oklahoma….Geronimo is buried in Oklahoma, not in southern Arizona.  Yes, we need to keep an NFL team named for the fierce Redskins and it is only fitting that the team is Washington who directed the war against them was centered…..Why would anyone want to change their name….Remember the Navajo Code Talkers?…..Man, I’m so disappointed that anyone would want to change that name….The Washington Redskins…..That’s special…

ps …If Redskins goes, could consider “Codetalkers”…..One word…Codetalkers

Something is out there…I’m pretty sure of  that, and I am a Bible believer. Do you remember in Revelation where John is viewing the future and writing stuff down and then Jesus speaks and says, “Don’t write that down”, or words to that affect. I’m wondering if that was some of the things John was seeing. I certainly don’t know and I will not add to the Book of Revelation as instructed by our Lord, but I can wonder out loud about what John was seeing that Jesus did not want recorded…..yet, not shared at that time….. I wonder, since they are from somewhere in the heavens, if there are not UFO’s that are Satan followers and UFO’s that are God’s followers and they will be a large part of that great and final battle. Well, you have probably had some thoughts along those lines as well. If so, why don’t you share them with us here in the comment section. Even if you don’t share with us, think on the future some. That big battle is coming….

I first posted this on Aug. 12, 2012….My cousin Alan Bonner wrote it while in prison for murder done while drinking and drugged heavily. He admitted his actions….He accepted Jesus Christ as his savior and wrote from his heart. I have saved all his letters to me during his incarceration and posted several articles he wrote for this web site. This is one of my favorites and is still read by many of our readers.   I think it is worth sharing with you folks again as this article is just as applicable today as it was then. Alan passed away Dec. 22, 2014….I posted this article again on Aug. 12, 2016. And today, Dec. 6, 2019 I feel led to repost it again. Thank you for reading words from the heart of a Christian man.

A Life of Peace by Alan Bonne

First, I would like to thank Cousin Pete for inviting me back for another posting on his web site and secondly, I would like to thank those of you who will take the time to read this posting. Pete gave me the green light to write on the subject of my choice as long as it had nothing to do with politics. I feel the same way that he does about that. We have had enough politics this election year. What I am going to write about is, however, somewhat the results of politics, men’s policies and how they coincide with God’s policies.

Jesus the Messiah said that He would be coming back to earth someday and His disciples asked Him what would be a sign of His second coming. Jesus told them that many would come and claim to be the Messiah. In doing so, they would deceive many. He said that there would be wars and rumors of war, pestilence, famine, and earthquakes in various places. He said that many people would betray and hate one another.

Jesus spoke of a “tribulation period”. The prophets Daniel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Amos, Joel, Hosea, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zechariah, Haggai, Zephaniah and John also wrote about this period as God gave them the words to write. All of these prophets, except for John, were given these prophecies by the Lord God prior to Jesus’ birth.

The world stage is currently moving toward a setting that will soon begin the seven year tribulation period. The Books of Matthew, Luke and Revelation go into detail about the signs. In the Book of Revelation it tells of these things taking place just before and soon after the second coming of the Lord.

As we all know, the world is in a mess. There have been wars, conflicts and rumors of war for hundred of years. Countries in the past have fallen apart as a result of disobeying God, and depending on man rather than God, to solve their problems. It seems that history has not taught us a thing about living an abundant life. History repeats itself because, we do not learn from it and make the necessary changes to avoid it happening again.

We have always had earthquakes, foul weather, famine and pestilence throughout years past, but not in the large quantity and intensity as we are having today. Every year there are floods in places, droughts in other places, wildfires, disasters  from earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and other natural and man made catastrophes, that cause death, food shortages, injuries to people and wildlife and food prices to rise. The loss of personal and real property causes insurance companies to pay out million of dollars for repairs and replacement of such property forcing the price of insurances to increase and so on. It seems to have a domino effect as it causes insurance companies, banks, households and families to fail. People have to relocate, find jobs and bury their loved ones. When things of this nature happens, like Hurricane Katrina, the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, etc, on a large scale and in intensive proportions, many people are effected in an extremely bad way and many never recover. All of these things result in more government spending, more expenditures that we and other governments around the world, do not have to spend.

These “birth pains” that Jesus called them are coming more and more regular, closer together and much more intense. This tells me that we are getting close to the tribulation period, or the 70 weeks of Daniel.

Every country in the world, with some exceptions, hates Israel and the United States. Iran has threatened Israel more than once with nuclear war. The parts and the uranium for these weapons are supplied by Russia and China, communist countries that hate Christianity. The Muslin countries that are devoted to Islam border Israel on every side. Israel has a large supply of oil it owns, as well as a sea full of minerals and elements that the rest of the world is running out of. I am speaking of the Dead Sea as the source of those elements and minerals.

The only ally that Israel has is the US and a portion of Europe. Australia and some others are hardly worth mentioning due to their geographic location, the size and strength of their military and money to spend in helping a country or countries win a war. Israel has one other ally, the most powerful force of all, Jesus Christ. At the very end Jesus will be there along with his angels and saints to destroy those attempting to take Israel over.

Between now and then, however, there are going to be some very hard times. Consider the time of Jacob’s (Israel) troubles; the world is moving very quickly toward that time now. In those times, in the latter days, the Day of the Lord, as God the Father and His Son describe the end time with these phrases throughout the Bible. Jesus said at that time, and then the end time is near, even at the door.

The anti-Christ will be coming on the scene, along with the false prophet in  short time, I believe. I also believe that the anti-Christ  and false prophet are alive today. They have not yet received their power from Satan, but they are probably already known and prosperous people. One man, whose book I read believes that the Anti-Christ is Prince Charles of Wales. He has the money and is well known. He is a politician and has pushed for a New World Order. It does not matter who the man turns out to be because his power to do miracles and wonders will come from Satan himself.

He will take the world that is in economic turmoil, war torn and beaten by natural disasters and immediately bring about peace, repair the damage, feed the famine victims, heal the sick, and mislead many people into following him and worshiping him. He will say that he is the Messiah and deceive many. He will cause large numbers of people to take on the “mark of the beast”. Then he will turn on them and kill and destroy.

Please do not worry about the world and let all these things put you in fear. There is a way out of all this. Jesus said that He is the way, the truth and the life. He is the only way out of this mess. I believe that I will be alive at the beginning of the seven years. If not, I am sure that the next generation, our children, will be.

I have no fear of this. I have no fear of dying. I used to fear these things, especially eternal hell, but not anymore. I gave my life to the Lord Jesus. I confessed that He is Lord, that He died on the cross and that He arose from the dead, He is here and He is alive and well sitting on His throne at the right hand of His Father, God. See Romans Chapter 10.

You can also put aside your fear of death and dying. You can accept Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life. Your fears will leave you and you can have peace of mind as I do. Dump that load of bricks off your back and walk around peaceful and fear nothing.

Jesus won a victory over death, hell and the grave. The victory is ours as a free gift from God.

I have included the scripture where that which I have written of can be found in the Bible so that you can read about these things. The truth shall set you free.

Matthew, Chapter 24, Luke, Chapter 21, Mark, Chapter 13, The Book of Revelation, Isaiah, Chapter 24 and Chapter 26, verses 19 – 21, Chapter 40, verses 15 – 17, Chapter 46, verses 8 – 13, Chapter 53, Chapter 55, verses 6 – 13, Chapter 66, verses 22 – 24, Jeremiah, Chapter 7, Chapter 10, Chapter 15, Chapter 25,, verses 12 – 16 and 30 – 38, The Book of Daniel, 1 Thessalonians, Chapter 4, verses 14 – 18 and Chapter 5, 2^nd Thessalonians, Romans, Chapter 10.

Note from Pete. Alan’s letter to me was hand written and while I tried my very best to write the article exactly as he had send it to me, there were times when I had to guess about what was said. So you can mark any errors up to my reading and not to Alan’s writing. (Any comments you leave at the end of the posting will be forwarded to Alan…. (No longer applicable but we will appreciate them.)

We are grateful to Alan for his contribution of this article and I hope you will let us know about your thoughts.

Published in hesterbooks.com, May 8, 2012:

The Western River Cooter is one of the least known turtles in North America. It lives in the Pecos River drainage system in southeastern New Mexico and portions of West Texas. It’s upper shell is olive to brown with whorls , circles and long furrows of yellowish or light Add Media brown on each of the plates. The head, neck, legs and tail are greenish with yellow lines and scrawls. Broad yellow blotch behind each eye. It can reach up to 16 inches in size. It is listed as threatened with the primary threats being recreationists and anglers who use them for target practice. Also they are used as bait for other species. The habitat for the Western River Cooter is streams with deep pools, clear water and rocky or sandy bottoms. It feeds on plants and aquatic insects. The Western River Cooter lays between 7 and 19 eggs in sandy soil that hatch out in August and September. Under favorable conditions the Western River Cooter can live up to 40 years.

New Mexico Wildlife,  winter 2018, Tale of the Cooter by Virginia “Ginny’ Seamster, Ph.D

She reported that based on data from the past two years, this turtle is relatively abundant at two survey areas. There are many hatchlings, which is potentially good news in terms of the sustainability of the population on the Black River. …..She reports that multiple years of data is needed to determine real success in the real growth of the species.

Exciting news from the 2018 survey performed by Dr. Ivana Mali and students from Eastern New Mexico University, funded by Share With Wildlife program, determined that not only was the Western River Cooters doing well, but that the cooters had been sighted as far north as Chaves County north of Brantley Dam on the Pecos River  and had confirmed the sighting.

The Western Cooter is currently undergoing review by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife to determine whether it should be listed as threatened or endangered at the federal level reports Ginny Seamster.

Share With Wildlife is a New Mexico Dept. of Game and Fish program initiated in 1981 that depends on donations from the public. It’s mission is to help those species that do not receive funding from any other source. To learn more, visit: www.wildlife.state.nm.us/conservation/share-with-wildlife/

Visit New Mexico….

Remember Fenn’s poem: “As I have gone alone in there, and with my treasure bold, I can keep my secret where, and hint of riches new and old, Begin it where warm waters halt and take it in the canyon down, not far, but to far to walk, put in below the home of Brown, From there no place for the meek….” and on and on it goes….but lets stop there:

It has been a while since I have mentioned the millions hidden, er, well, somewhere above 5000 feet in elevation, somewhere north of Santa Fe, NM, not buried and not in a graveyard…..In Mr. Fenn’s poem he says, “Began where the warm waters halts”,  which implies to me it  is near a hot springs that dumps into a canyon that runs into a fast cold water stream, say like the Rio Grande north of Santa Fe and south of Taos, which probably is “home to a few brown trout”…. “No place for the meek”, so I’m pretty sure it is not right there on the river which is bordered by a nice paved road….Probably up some canyon around that area with a road that a four wheel drive can travel over. “Mr. Fenn is no spring chicken, so he is not walking, carrying that chest to bury it and he would not want to be seen.” No doubt he is off the beaten path by a good ways…..Then look for a waterfall, not a lot of water most of the time, but enough to cover a opening to a cave of sorts and behold, and not to far  off that little road and there sitting on the ground, high and dry away from the water, is the chest full of treasure. Just waiting for you and me to pick up…….Well, no, I don’t know exactly where it is, but I’m pretty sure it’s in that general area. So, why don’t I go look. I’m older than Mr. Fenn. …..I don’t have a four wheel drive vehicle….. And I don’t need all that excitement in my life….Otherwise I’d go looking….I think I could find it in two or three outings…well, ok, maybe four or five outing….well, I think I could….listen, I’m a writer of fiction so I know what you are thinking…..But, really folks, this is no bull….ok, a little guess work, maybe

Trump can get no respect from the politicians  in Washington….Nor does he get any respect or good air time from the media. No one wants to go to The White House to be honored or have a meeting with the President of the United States. When Obama was in office people were stumbling all over them selves trying to have a meeting or get to see him, even to the point of crashing parties….Everyone seemed to love Obama, but he did nothing and was pushed around by all the world powers. His motto seemed to be, “let the slick end slide and the rough end drag”. No one ever kicked at him because he was so good at waving, smiling, and greeting that no one wanted to.

Now, President Trump, tough on everything that comes up. NATO, he told them to pay their fair share, something that should have been said and acted on many years ago. Aid to other countries….told them that they did not have to like us, but they had to show us respect to continue getting aid, the way that it should be. Immigration…come through the front door and be welcomed, come through the back door and be sent home. And I think he will get tougher still. Illegal immigrants….lets build a wall and keep them out. Moved the United States Embassy to Jerusalem, Israel as he should do and as Presidents since 1999 should have, only they did not have the guts to move it. Amen?…..He has trouble getting anyone to listen in Washington which tells us even more that he is an outsider. Pushes states to act on federal laws as they should. It is outrageous the way some of our states and citizens of some states treat the Office of the President of the United States. They don’t care….He’s an outsider.

He is an outsider…Ask NBC. Ask CNN. Ask CBS. Ask ABC and even FOX…..He’s an outsider, though they call him many other things but it all comes down to HE IS AN OUTSIDER.  All of them think he does not deserve to be in that office and they make it as difficult as they can for him. Even if he wins 2020 by a landslide, they will figure he cheated….Some how, they don’t know how, but he cheated to win 2020….Believe me, he is an outsider today and tomorrow.

To some of us he is the President of The United States of America. The leader of our great country. Not all of his ideas are the greatest, but most of them are good and have the welfare of the American citizen at heart. I don’t think he hates women nor any minorities and serves us all. He needs a chance to become an insider. Who knows, it could happen, but I don’t think so. He does not think or act like a politician….That’s what most of us like about him. He’s an outsider…

Computer life sucks anymore. It is getting where a person cannot save his information to his own computer. You have a picture, sent by a friend, that you want to use on a web site or social media and you have all kinds of problems getting it to work.

I get so discouraged trying to make sense of computers, I was never very good with one and the new computers are not helping….Clouds…..Storage in Clouds…..pay to store in clouds…save to a file and then you cannot find the file on your own computer….It is a rip off if you ask me. Someone, anyone needs to come up with a “new” system where one can store ones information on ones own computer……what a novel idea, huh….invent a computer where you can store stuff from the internet on your own computer with no clouds involved.

Hey, I would buy one…..Someone, Anyone, a college type real sharp on computers….How about it Mr. College Man? You can probably make a fortune…..Really, I would buy one…..