Questions and Answers  Now that the election is over I'll consider what the future of our country and our own lives will be in the coming years. One thing we must consider is the possible economic cliff facing 2013 – that as our economy falls to the wayside and life as we know it changes forever. Because of this each of us need to consider what we can do to face the future with the strongest possible resources that we could generate on a limited budget. As the price of food is skyrocketing on a daily basis, the time is now to stockpiled as much long-term stores as we can while considering all options for the creation of new resources to include heirloom seeds as a way to stretch a limited budget. Heirloom seeds are ones that are from a plant that has not been genetically altered or made a hybrid and as such the seeds can be harvested and used to create a new generation of plants. Hybrid seeds are ones that have been genetically altered to produce a much greater return but because of alterations they are not liable after the first year and decrease time after time until nothing returns from planting.  When we consider the need for future generations of plants and animals we must consider the long-term goals of resources needed to support such generation in regard to animal feed and fertilizer and maximizing production. In addition we must consider the power generation, water, and possible you'll supplies will include wood gas generation is a way of supporting transportation and power generation. To support these goals, I will describe the establishment of wind generation, solar panels, and storing?sterilization of water supplies for human use. By acquiring these systems on a budget I can show you that it is possible to be energy independent while enjoying a comfortable lifestyle.

Questions and Answers   Life can be a handful at times and that sure discribes my life for the last year. First was heart issues a year ago that saw 5 stints in my heart. Then because of issues with my left hand turning blue, I was iformed that I may have Polycythemia Vera which is a rare and serious blood disorder that causes too many red blood celss to be formed. This slows the amount oxgen from getting to the cells as the blood is way too thick.. After weeks of blood draws and injections of clot busters in my poor stomach, I am doing better considering that I did not expect to survive my trip to see my grandkids in Texas last month. It was that bad so any change is a good change. I'm still hre so God sure loves me this I know!

Questions and Answers

Sometimes life can be a bear and sometimes it even drops a house on you just when you thought the tornado was over. That has been the case with my wife, Fran, and I as we fought tooth and nail to recover from some severe lung infections. We don't know where this stuff came from but it was a great example of an H1N1 superbug (not really) that nailed us both in the ears with very high fevers over 103 degrees for poor Fran, bad sinus, lungs, and severe pneumonia in both lungs for me that caused me to lose 15 pounds and countless hours of sleep from coughing. So this site is wayyyyy behind!

There has been some good news as it finally started to rain again after going for weeks without a drop and our poor fish pond has lost over 4 feet in depth...not sure how many gallons that is for a 3/4 acre pond!! Thousands for sure!! But it drove us to finally start feeding the fish with floating pellets that the fish just love!! As they look like some kind of feeding fenzy as the catfish, white catfish (yes, 6 pure white catfish), large mouth bass, carp and others sweep through the floating food pile to tank up each day. As soon as we return tomorrow I plan to get some video and post it here so you can see it as it is really neat to watch. And some of the fish are BIG and weigh several pounds so we are already planning a big fishing contest/fish fry later this year for our friends and neighbors.

Because I broke my laptop last month (again, don't ask) I had to move my old desktop to the cabin so I could work out there better on my coursework. Bad part is I cannot get updates to the blog on that system for some dumb reason and I'm just doing updates as I can on other machines until I get a good laptop prior to heading for Minnesota the middle of July. I start one of the doctoral residencies then and I will need to access wifi etc while at the University of Minnesota. I am not looking forward to the traffic up there at all but I will be able to meet alot of other clinical psychologists who will be there too. Many are also in my two current classes as well and that is pretty cool to think about.


RIP

July 2012
Virginia (Franck) Bartel
Sweetest aunt in the world
You will be dearly missed

Questions and Answers

Sorry this has not been up dated for awhile but May has seen some ups and downs. My nice shiny new laptop was destroyed by accident and I've had to spend alot of time at the RV so I could finish my current school quarter (4.0 GPA!!!!!) so I have been working hard on that. Then we ended up potting our friut trees in large contianers as the ground is nothing but gravel with big pieces!

Fran has been working on her shooting skills as she has killed 4 cottonmouths so far at the pond. Talk about watching your step!! I had one tree me on my ATV awhile back but it is fish food now with one possible dead too. Today brought the 4 little dogs over so she could take a shower and clean up alittle and she told me we have at least three monster large mouth bass cruising the shoals for smaller fish as the water level is really getting low. No rain that counted for weeks now. Those Bass are starting to make my mouth water that is for sure!

The other reason this is behind as the wife and I have both been deathly ill and it has really been bad for Fran as she had it worst and still had to care for the dogs, cats, and me too. At one point her fever was 103 degrees and not going down. The stuff dives right to both lungs and infects both ears which causes high fevers and you are constantly coughing abd choking. No fun.

Oh well, tomorrow is another day!

Questions and Answers

After some rain over the weekend we are back to outstanding weather with temps in the 70's every day and clear sunny skies to really get the tree growing. We had to go slow this week as my legs are getting pretty bad and I fell once already. But, we schedule what we plan to get done for that day and everything after that is a bonus. Today we filled the four raised beds in the gardsen across the pond and we plant most of the beds tomorrow so we will still have fresh veggies for this summer and we already have peaches, necterines, sweet cherries, and blue/black berries growing on our fruit trees and bushes. I cannot wait to taste them later this year.

We also had some new neighbors (human this time!) stop by today and we stop by their place just up the private road from us. Its alittle sad as they had a fire burn them out not long ago and they are living in tents without a strong roof over them. So we hope to help them out as best we can to get them on their feet. The little girl is as cute as a button and very friend so her and Fran got along fine! It will be nice to have more neighbors out here in the boonies!

I have pictures to post coming up! Here is a new family member, his name is Audie Murphy and he is a Min Pin that we took in from the local shelter. Audie and I are the best of buds and he was hunting tiny frogs next to the pond in this photo.

Questions and Answers

The weather here has been beautiful and sunny for nearly a week so the wife and I have been busy buying garden soil, fruit trees, and building the raised beds for the veggies that we hope to get planted thisa weeken or so. It is still awesome to walk ovder the dam and come within inches of the beaver as he suns himself on the shore. And we get a big kick out of the loud "pop-splash" sound of the beaver issuing his warning using his tail. But he is also pretty laid back as the dogs don't seem to bvug him too much.

We put up our big 20 foot by 10 foot portable building next to the dog kennel and we plan to use it for a storage/workshop for now. With the big generator running just up the hill we have all the power we could want and are already looking into wiring up the cabins for a power.

To say that we are busy is somewhat of an understatement as thew wife and I are both suffering from thje amount of work we have completed so far. And we are praying for rain as the pond is down nearly two feet since the last one and we have planned on using pond water to water the garden. Lacking that we would have to bring in water and install a large water tank. Fingers crossed!

Questions and Answers

We sometimes forget how close to nature we really are until they show up right in your front yard. We had been hearing splashes in the fish pond for a few days but we thought it was the big bull frog so imagine our surprise when we photographed this little guy yesterday!

Meet the Beav!!!

Sprucing up before Dinner!!

Taking in some rays before lunch!



So we see that nature finds a way to survive as the nearest body of water is miles away from here and we have no plans on trying to move this one. So just call them the BEAV!!!



Questions and Answers

Sorry I have not updated this for awhile. My desktop has "issues" and I had left my laptop at the ranch but I'm here now and I can get caught up over the next few days. The weather here has been beautiful today with clear skies and about 75 degrees with a light wind. This has made the dogs happy as they played in the fish pond for a few hours and then crashed in the kennel to rest up for doing at all over again tomorrow!! I have a new lap puppy named Audie Murphy and he is part Min Pin so he is even smaller than Mojo which make him just prefect for crashing on my lap when I watch TV and such. He really loves playing with the big dogs but we worry he may get hurt as he is so tiny but just try to stop him!!

Our neighbor brush hogged (mowed) most of our available open meadow and tree line to clean the place up and to help keep down the tall grass and weeds from being a fire danger. Today I found a new spring in the meadow which may help us to water the fruit trees we will be planting next week. We are looking at peaches, apples, sweet cherries, black cherries, pawapaws, necrerines(?), blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, gooseberries, and raspberries! We may not see any this year but we should be really set next year for fruit, jam, and canning them all. Gee, my own peach trees!!

It was really neat to see turtles in the fish pond today but I hope they are not eating all of my fish! But, it should be alright as I stocked the pond pretty good last fall and I hope to do so again this month or so. I will also check on getting a few rabbits and laying hens to add to the daily menu as I have tons of room to expand after I get used to raising just a few to start. Oh well, the generator is running so I am getting ready to fire up some chili and rest up for the rest of the day!  Cheers!

Questions and Answers

Lots of changes and lots of updates as spring is coming early here in the Missouri Ozarks. Some of the changes came within the last week as I had a 500 gallon propane tank installed and two propanes heaters added to our two cabins so we now have heat!! I also was able to get my big Ford Excusion in the shop for some much needed TLC so I have wheels again! And with the weather being so nice (we hit 80 degrees a few days ago) and with the addition of a industrial 9000 Watt generator, I am now living full time in the main cabin. Right now I can look out my window and see bright red cardinals flying from tree to tree as the annual dance has started here and many other birds are starting to come through on the flyway. So we should see some really good sights ths year!!

The dogs have also been enjoying their time on the ranch as they run and chase each other around the big pond. And I've started to break out my fishing gear as I've seen some big shapes moving around in there. I mean, what more could a poerson wish for!!

I've also feeling alot better as I was very ill for a long time after New Year's and my doctor put me on oxygen 12 hours a day so things got interestingn there for awhile. but I feel great right now and my heart is feeling better than it has in months. But its a bear for my legs as they are shutting down fairly quickly now and I'm trying to do as much as possible before I'm back into the "chair".

But god it is so nice to be here and alive to enjoy it!!

Questions and Answers

Well, I have pretty much finished my classes for this quarter and I can take some time off to work on the farm now that the weather is getting so nice. The wife informed me that the notice on ordering chicks and fish for this spring will be coming up soon for a March delivery. So, I need to start buying lumber, wire, and other things so they will be there for my building projects. Hopefully everything will be drier than last spring as we really got flooding on the access roads to our place. And I am alittle concerned on the amount of water in my ponds already as the big pond will overrun the dam at a certain point and I don't want it to cut the dam. Busy...busy...busy!!

Questions and Answers

As a gradutate student I am required to write reports on a number of issues related to psychology. This paper is my report on the second President of the United States. I felt that while a book/movie was made of his life, no one had worked up a light profile of his cognitive, physical, and social-emotional state.

 ..................................................................................................................................................

Final Project: John Adams

Second President of the United States of America

                                                                    Donald R. Franck

                                                                         PSYC 8215

                                                                   Walden University

 

                                                         Abstract

During a time of struggle and war, a man came forward to serve his country in a time of its great need and that man was John Adams of Braintree Massachusetts. And he was to become a leader in the future of the American colonies, its place in world affairs, and as the leaders of freedom around the world. He was to become the first Vice-President and later the second President of the United States. This discussion will address his life from early childhood to his death to include his cognitive, physical, and social-emotional development during this period.

John Adams, Second President of the United States of America

John Adams (1735-1836) was born on October 30, 1735 in Braintree, Massachusetts as the son of a local farmer but who later was to become one of the founding fathers of our nation at a time when the new world fought the old world for a right to be free of British rule. Raised in a culture rich in family values and with the understanding of sacrifice and hard work, John Adams developed a strong cognitive sense and by age 15 was highly educated and with a well founded understanding of the law. His background as a Quaker and his sense of self-worth were strong indicators of his early development of mental and social skills that were to greatly aid him in his later life and he strived to excel in everything he did. Berk (2010, p.65) said that cultures shape family interactions and community setting beyond the home, in short, all aspects of daily life. This could be used to describe John Adams from his early beginnings to his death as his family and his country was everything to him to which he sacrificed all to give them the best future possible.

Biological and Environmental Foundations

The makeup of each person is based on the foundation of both their genetic code and their environment during and after birth. This involves a number of factors that affect the growth of the fetus in the womb such as the mother’s dietary intake and his medical condition. In the case of John Adams, there is little known of this period leading up to his birth but as his mother was a farmer’s wife, we must consider that she was strong and healthy from helping work on the farm as was common for this period. With his birth, John became the first of the three sons of Deacon John Adams and Susanna Boylston of Braintree, Massachusetts. His father was only a farmer and shoemaker, but the Adams family could trace its lineage back to the first generation of Puritan settlers in New England (Biography, 2012).

Early Cognitive Development

Adams would have gone through a number of developmental stage in his first years of life, such as walking and self-recognition by age 2, and developing his course motor skills (later his fine motor skills) during Piaget’s preoperative stage (Berk, p.227) of his development. His interaction with his environment would have allowed him to hear and develop skills in the English language along with Dutch of which many colonies had been founded by. While little was known of the social makeup that he might have been exposed to in colonial Braintree, there would have been family friends, lay deacons and church members from his church, and neighborhood children by which to aid in his social interactions which will become a significant portion of his skill sets in dealing with others.

Middle Social Development

John’s father had wished his son to join the ministry when he came of age and encouraged John to learn to read and write at a very early age. While the socio-economic status (SES) (Berk, 2010, p. 60) of his father may have been low by our current standard, John might have been raised feeling a sense of powerlessness but this was not the case as his father talked to him, encouraged him to study the classics, and involved himself in John’s education as much as possible. When John wished to become a farmer instead of continuing in a school he did not like, his father had him work hard on farming tasks to see if this was really his wish (McCullough, 2001, p.34). John found this environment to his liking but his father did not and sent him back to school. John was able to receive instruction in languages, poetry, and mathematics while attending school in Braintree which gave him his long standing love of Latin that was to long his lifetime. It is during this period in his life that John Adams was also exposed to the Quaker faith which was to form a basis by which he was to judge the moral character of local and international society. Working hard, being truthful, and being faithful to God and family were to be the corner stone of the personality that was to develop in later years. Also to be considered is the individualistic social order that developed in the early founding of the American colonies as they sought out a location in the Americas from which they could express their beliefs. This forming based on the individual could be considered the beginnings of the individualistic societies were to later become.

Adolescent Development: Cognitive, Physical, and Social-Emotional

By the time John Adams was 14 years old, he had become a product of his environment and his genetic makeup as he would be considered short his entire life which could have also been a result of the local farming diet at that time that may have relied on cornmeal mash, limited milk, bread, bacon, and assorted roots like potatoes.  The familial environment may also have been somewhat lacking as his mother was a stern and harsh woman and was little given to performing a kindness to her husband and children. This often drove young Adams to retreat into his room to read his Latin texts to shut out the world and this may have caused John to develop a low self-esteem, be withdrawn, and have a somewhat depressed personality. In addition, this may also have driven him to strive harder in everything he did to try and please his mother as he was known to be one of the hardest workers to ever sit in Congress in his later years.

John Adams entered Harvard University in 1751 and began his higher education that allowed him to advance his cognitive and social development by the influence of the leading minds in Boston at that period of time. This would be considered as part of Piaget’s hypothetico-deductive reasoning period (Berk, p.383) by which the adolescent will form a hypothesis to a problem, weigh and balance different solutions and variable, and consider the results that best fit the problem.

Early Adulthood

Erikson (Berk, p.402) was the first to define identity as a major part of adolescence and it performs an active role in the forming of an adult personality as the teenager moves from adolescence to young adulthood. John Adams was somewhat confused as to his role in future society when he graduated from Harvard University in 1755. While his father had wished that he go on to study the ministry, John instead became a grammar school teacher in rural Worchester, Massachusetts. He eventually chose law rather than the ministry and in 1758 moved back to Braintree and soon began practicing law in nearby Boston (Biography, 2012). Eccles stated that (Eccles,1993) age changes may reflect the cumulative impact of the changes in school environment and puberty, or different academic expectations of the educational settings or both which can help explain the great changes one sees as you compare each school grade level with the next higher. Each level will show greater physical development and stronger and more intense emotional response to emotional issues related to a male/female pair bonding that is starting to take place. So that at around 20 years of age, John Adams would have been at his peak of physical, cognitive, and social-emotional growth. His years of teaching and his apprenticeship during which he studied the law were key facets to his understanding of human nature and the course of work needed to resolve conflicts. As time moved on Adams sought out a mate to which he could share his dreams and ambitions with and in 1764 (Biography, 2012) Adams married Abigail Smith, a minister's daughter from neighboring Weymouth. Intelligent, well-read, vivacious, and just as fiercely independent as her new husband, Abigail Adams became a confidante and political partner who helped to stabilize and sustain the ever-irascible and highly volatile Adams throughout his long career. This match was to become one of the turning points in John Adams life as he was now able to discuss issues and topics with Abigail as an equal partner in his career and his thoughts on independence for the American colonies. Adams by this point had developed a positive self-esteem, good conflict resolution strategies, s strong personal sense of responsibilities for others, a very strong moral character from his Quaker roots, and a strong and lifelong positive relationship with his peers, extended family, business associates, teacher, and mentors that was to stay with him throughout his entire life (Berk, p.468). These factors also enabled Adams to reach out during time of distress or troubles for advice and support that he was not receiving locally. Adams said “Friendship is the distinguishing glories of man…from this I expect to receive the chief happiness of my future life” (McCullough, p.47).

Social-Emotional Factors in Adulthood

John Adams marriage to Abigail allowed John finally to experience the enjoyment of having children and to give and receive love and affection during a very trying period in his life. Following the trial of the British soldiers involved in what was termed the “Boston Massacre” in which he was successful in defending the soldiers against a murder charge (no one else would take the case); his law practice became also non-existent and he was discouraged by his loss of clients. He was depressed saddened for some time but he also found support in his own moral character when he said that” Reputation ought to be the perpetual subject of my thoughts and aim of my behavior” (McCullough, p.46). But soon after Adams law practice picked up again as a recognition of his fairness and equality and he would reflect in later life that it was one of  the most gallant, generous, manly, and disinterested actions of his entire life (McCullough, p. 68).

Leading the Way: To Congress and Freedom

Not long after this in 1774, John Adams was chosen to serve as a member of the Massachusetts delegation to take part in the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia which was to decide the fate of the American colonies during what was to lead up to the American Revolution. His reputation was a key factor in his selection as was his passion in supporting the independence of America from the current suppression that was taking place by the British Stamp Act. This act stated that anything made in Briton or by Briton was to carry a tax stamp and that nothing could be imported from other countries. This meant that American and International shipping could not unload goods from France and other ports without first being unloaded and taxed in England. This interfered with American businesses and was to have a negative influence on how the British were received. As not long after the British brought in troops to support the tax and housed them in houses belonging to the people of Boston.

All of this lay heavy on John Adams as he travel through the countryside on his way to Philadelphia and this may have caused him to be very depressed over the trials and troubles his countrymen were enduring. This would have been a period of time when Adams had to reevaluate the situation around him and he would have been considering different solutions to the problems they faced. It is known that he excised daily by taking a 10 mile walk around the city to take in the fresh air, which continued even in France, Denmark, and England in later years.  As time passed, Adams was able to contribute to the delegation of assembled public leaders in numerous ways and was appointed to head the War Office which controlled supplying both the young Continental Army and the formation of a Continental Navy. Combined with Thomas Jefferson, Adams was one of the writers of the Declaration of Independence which he also became a signer of in 1776. This alone would have secured his name in American history but which was only the beginning of his long career as a statesman and scholar. Being selected to the Court of France, John Adams became one of three ambassadors who were tasked with developing a treaty with France to support the American struggle and also to develop a trade agreement by which America could enjoy trading rights with France for material and supplies. This proved to be a depressing affair for Adams as when he arrived he was informed that the treaty was already completed and that he was not needed to support Benjamin Franklin who had become the fancy of all Paris by this time. Try as he would, John Adams played a losing game of trying to expand the activities of the French by their Navy so that support for the beleaguered Continental Army could take place. This action was not supported by Franklin and the French counsel would have none of it. After nearly a year away from home, Adams role in France was cancelled without explanation which resulted in his feeling deeply depressed, ashamed of being kicked aside, and angry by the Congress’s lack of respect for his hard years of service and sacrifice by both himself and his family. This could be seen as his high level of conscientiousness (Berk, Table 16.1, p.542) which states that an individual, who has high level in conscientious concern for others, is hard-working, well-organized, punctual, ambitious, and persevering.  To which John Adams fit perfectly as his Quaker faith and moral upbringings had raised him to be and rejecting depression, in 1779 he returned to Braintree, Massachusetts and his farm and family and took up his lifestyle as a lawyer and farmer to which he was very happy. But this happiness was short lived as he was soon busy writing and participated in the framing of a state constitution for Massachusetts (in which he was the sole writer!) and from where he was further appointed Minister plenipotentiary to negotiate a peace, and form a commercial treaty, with England.  John Adams stated in his diary on his second voyage to France, “My habitation, how disconsolate it looks. My table I sit down to. But I cannot swallow my food…my hopes and fears rise alternately. I cannot resign more than I do, unless life is called for” (McCullough, p. 227). This would seem to show that he was in a black depression over his appointment and the long years he expected to be away from his family and friends. Again he faced serious infighting with Benjamin Franklin who sided with the French on nearly everything which in the end caused the French counsel to reject his opinions and he was not allowed in the French court. This made his position in France bleak to say the least so Adams took it upon himself to approach the Dutch for a $10 Million dollar loan to support the war effort in the Americas. Because of setbacks in the war, the Dutch refused to agree to see him and he spent a year in writing articles and letters to the Dutch people to help sway the Dutch people to support America hard fought battles against the British Armies. During this time, the location and climate in Amsterdam caused him to become very depressed and he took on a sickness that may have been Malaria as his housing was right next the foul sweltering canals. For weeks he laid near death and his recovery could only be because he was given amounts of the South America bark containing Quinine which is a standard treatment for this disease. And time he recovered. This again showed his resolve to continue against terrible odds that were then taking place and his dedication to his duties finally lead to his securing a $5 Million dollar from the Dutch Merchants. Untrained in diplomacy and by temperament seemingly so unsuited, he had successes brilliantly as others and history would attest (McCullough, p. 272). Finally returning to France, John Adams continued onward to his tasks in France and in 1781 he participated with Benjamin Franklin, John Jay of New York, and Henry Laurens, in development of the Treaty of Peace with the British and was a signer of that treaty, the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War, in 1783. In writing to Thomas Jefferson, he was to state “we have lived in serious times” (McCullough, p.285), which well explained the years of internal and external struggle that Adams and the country had endured.

                                                      Middle Age

By this time, John Adams was nearly 50 years old and many of the better years of his marriage had been missed as at one point Abigail told him that they had been married for 14 years but and only been together a total of 7 years. For by the time Adams had signed the Treaty of Paris in 1783, he had been away from his family for another 4 years and only the time he was able to spend with his son, John Quincy, had allowed him any touch of a home life. It was time to correct that problem and he asked Abigail to come to France to be with him as she have stayed behind at the request of her father the Reverend William Smith but he had passed away in September 1783 and now she was free to do so. The middle adulthood phrase of family life cycle is often referred to as “launching the children and moving on” (Berk, p. 543) and this could be applied to the condition of the Adams family as John Quincy was now a tall young man, and Abigail (Nanny) was a young woman with a suitor at her heals. This was very common during this period in the parent’s life as children would still live with their parents until they were married which could be well into their adulthood. While some of their children would remain in Massachusetts, the rest were to live with the John and Abigail outside Paris for some time to come. This portion of time would have allowed John Adams to regain his family support and he enjoyed traveling and showing his wife and daughter French society, which was a great shock to Abigail when compared to Quaker society of that time.

No one, of course, can deny the importance of learning and culture in all aspects of human life. But cognitive science has shown that there must be complex innate mechanisms for learning and culture to be possible in the first place (Pinker, 2004). This interaction with an older and possibly more advanced French culture had shaped John Adams world view and would have been a powerful influence in what he considered to be important in his life and he endeavored to pass this on to his family. This education would include the theater, Abigail and Nanny fell in love with, but also the rich food and wine to be had. But John Adams must have had some interesting talks with his wife as she gained control over the household duties of a very large French estate in the country outside Paris. This had to do with the hiring of servant to staff the estate, work on the gardens and grounds, the coachman, and chamber maids and cooks to care and feed them. As the staff would only perform their “duties” they could not be found to assist the cook or other things that Abigail wanted them to do. This would have caused considerable stress between husband and wife as each servant had to be paid by John’s salary and was not part of the government’s economic budget so Abigail fought necessity every step of the way. This issue was to continue for many years to come until in 1788, John and Abigail finally returned to America after having served in the French, British, Spanish, and the Dutch court as ambassador and trade counsel. Now it was said that he was to become the first Vice-President of the United States while George Washington was to become the first President of the United States. John Adams was to later state that “Our obligations to our country never cease but with our lives” (McCullough, p. 387). This remark can be considered a testament to the courage and honor shown by this man for his country and he was to continue serving for nearly the rest of his long life. On June 17, 1788, John and Abigail returned home to as thundering roar of cannons and cheers as the country welcomed them back after the long ten years they had been away and John must have been very heartened by this welcome as many time he had felt depressed, unappreciated, and forgotten by the people and the Congress. Whereas, he came home as a conquering hero who had shaped the future of America sometimes single-handedly and while he stood in awe, he found that he had been mistaken. His current duties done, Adams soon returned to the life of a farmer that he loved and his family and children (now grown tall) as he relaxed. A French author, J.P. Brissot de Warville on stopping by Adams Braintree farm stated that Adams was “like one of the generals and ambassadors of the golden age of Rome and Greece…forgetful of his books and royal courts” (McCullough, p. 391). This could be taken as an example which few men of that time could match and says much of how John Adams appeared after the long years of toil and trouble upon his return to civilian life. Other remarked that Adams was very approachable, most pleasing benevolence, deep thinking, and of unbending integrity (McCullough, 393) which also support the opinion that John Adams had reached the peak of his maturity, had grown to understand and control his behavior as needed, built a solid foundation within his career and marriage, and was unafraid of what the future might hold. And on April 13, 1789, John Adams made his way to New York to take on the position of the first Vice-President of the United States which may have been a flattering trip as he was surrounded by US Cavalry and there continued all along the roads were crowds to welcome, cheer, and support him in this important position.

Vice-President of the United States and President of the Senate

Now 53 years of age, John Adams began his next career at a time and period when most men would have retired and settled down on the farm porch, but John was still driven to contribute everything he could to the country whose freedom he had created over the many years. Berk stated (Berk, p. 556) that midlife career changes were seldom radical; they typically involved leaving one type of work and moving to one that was related. This was the case for John Adams as he moved from being a career diplomat to one of career politician and was work he was familiar with because of his many years working on trade issues and state boundaries.  Again the issues of his personal finance were in the forefront as he was now required to rent a home in New York, outfit it, and pay for moving and household expenses at a time when he had no idea of his salary or even if he had one! This was to prove a very stressful time for Adams and his wife as they had just spent a large amount of money in remodeling their current home and could not rely on his future alary, again if any. (It was later known that George Washington had to secure a loan for his own move to New York.) On taking his seat as the President of the Senate, John told the assembly “A trust of the greatest magnitude is committed to this legislature and the eyes of the world are upon you” (McCullough, p. 402). As was the norm, Adams took his job in the Senate very seriously and was soon an object of debate as the Senate took up the issues of titles and how the President etc. was to be addressed. And Adams debated hotly at a time when he should have been a controlling voice and allowed the Senators to decide the right.  This issue was to plague him for many years to come as his opinion had become odious to the people. This would also be a time when his depression and despair over his own and the actions of others about him when luxury become the norm for members of Congress as he did not support this issue and rallied against it. In the end he again felt battered and unappreciated in his position and this may have been true as he had seriously damaged his career and had become a laughing stock of Congress at a time when great issues were still to be seen to. One of which was the formation of the Supreme Court, how many judges would sit on it and for how long, but another was to become the dreaded French Revolution which was announced on September 19, 1789 in the New York Daily Gazette. This set off a firestorm as everyone took sides on the issues of freedom for the people of France. This was a trying time for Adams as he was very concerned that the people of France would be easily swayed so that the majority of the few could cause great damage to the welfare and structure that was France. And this was to be seen as a true statement when hundreds of nobles where beheaded with nothing but a show trial and the treasures of centuries were stolen and broken down to buy bread to feed the hungry.

Moving Again

In the fall of 1790 Congress voted to re-locate to Philadelphia for 10 years while a new capital was being built on the Potomac River, this in later years would be named Washington after our first President. So John Adams and his wife Abigail were uprooted and they moved to Philadelphia and finding a house on what was known as Bush Hill overlooking the city. Again there was stress related issues as Adams again had to cover the cost of the move and all the related problems that come with it.

At this point in his career, Adams would have been facing a number of issues in which he struggled with family matters as his daughter Nanny had just had her third child and her husband had gone to England to speculate on trade matters and was not providing support for his family. And his issues over the question of titles would cause him great concern as his former friend, Thomas Jefferson, had now turned on him and stated that Adams supported a monarchy which John Adams strongly disagreed to. Thereby destroying a friendship which had lasted for over 14 years and would have left John weak and confused over the turn of events at a time when he greatly needed his support. By 1793, George Washington had accepted a second term and John Adams was again elected as the Vice-President which was somewhat surprising to him considered the bad press he received in the local newspapers. It was at this same time that France and Briton were again at war and numerous factors tried hard to draw the young country back into the fighting on the side of France. But Washington was able to publish a Proclamation of Neutrality which kept the country out of this current conflict while alienating thousands of Americans who actively wanted to support the French. To combat his feeling of frustration, John Adams would continue his long walks and stated to his son Charles “Move or die is the language of our Maker in the constitution of our bodies” (McCullough, p. 452) and he would excel at this activity for many years yet to come. America had taken a giant step back from the struggles of war but the British were to cause America trouble in any case by blockading any American trade and taking sailors off of US shipping and forcing them to serve the British Crown. While the Jay Treaty with Briton gave the US some breathing room it was the last event for President George Washington and for John Adams as Vice President. In 1796, John Adams became the second President of the United States.

                                             President John Adams

John Adams by this time was well into middle to late adulthood and had to be facing a number of issues related to Abigail and his own health as Abigail had become very ill just before his election and had elected stay in their home in Massachusetts for some time to recover her strength. When we consider the effects of aging we must first consider the negative influences among age, self-regulation of possible selves, and goal pursuit on well-being were offset by the positive influences among age, goal adjustment, and optimization on well-being. The net effect is that with advancing age, well-being is protected in the face of age-related declines in self- and developmental goals (Frazier, 2007). And this statement may well have been true for Adams as he had continued his daily walks and worked hard on his farm in the months leading up to his next career as President. The Congress was still located in Philadelphia waiting for the new capital to be built and Adams walked into the Federal Building housing the Congress with his own level of determination and self-worth and worked to address the serious issues then facing the country. This he accomplished during his presidency when he re-built the Navy and Army which has literally melted away after the war with the British was over. During this same period, John and Abigail were delighted to hear that their oldest son, John Quincy, had been married in London in July while serving as ambassador to the British court. This continuation of his family line would have been welcome news for Adams as was the success that John Quincy had accomplished at such a young age (the early 30’s) to be in such a lofty position. This delight was quickly lost when former president George Washington died at Mount Vernon on December 14, 1799. This event was to cause Adams to fall into a deep depression “we have lost our most esteemed, beloved, and admired citizen…I feel myself alone, bereaved of my last brother” (McCullough, p. 533). While John Adams recovered from this shock there were to be many more as it was turn for the President to take up residence in the President’s House which was later known as the White House. This situation would have been difficult for the aging Adams and his wife as all the fireplaces had to be kept burning brightly or else everything would become damp and cold. And example was the great audience room which had a dirt floor and in which Abigail was forced to hang and dry her laundry.  But as time passed other issues took place, to include the loss of their son, Charles, from “dopsey” and alcohol. One function President John Adams completed prior to his retirement was to appoint John Marshall as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court which was to be one of the crowning accomplishments in court history. Finally Adams lost the next election and returned to his estate in Massachusetts for the remainder of his years.

Retired

One factor that was known was that Adams worried about the effects of his slowing down from the active pace he had always had until now.  He said that “a life of journeys and distant voyages (so that the stillness) may shake my old frame as rapid motion ought not to be succeeded by sudden rest” (McCullough, p. 568). He didn’t know what to do with his time after so long in constant motion ad I think this greatly depressed him. His focus in life was ended and nothing remained to press him into action again and feelings of despair and rejection weighed heavy on his mind when almost no one came to call on the former President and almost no letters were received. This was to be the standard for Adams for many years to come as Thomas Jefferson was elected to the Presidency and John Quincy became a Senator. In later years, Adams again began to write to his old friends and restart a dialog so as to optimize what time remained in his life. As happens still today the Adams had placed their entire savings in a bank only to lose it all when the bank collapsed and left them without any saving to draw on. And it was John Quincy who sold his own home and bought the Adams estate so that they could live there the rest of their life. Soon there was more sadness when Nanny developed cancer and came home to die, as at the same time Charles wife, Sally was in the next room also very ill. Abigail (Nanny) died on August 15^th, 1813 surrounded by her parents and children. Abigail Adams, age 74, herself later fell ill from typhoid fever and died on October 28, 1818, and so the light of John Adams life had gone out.

Final Days

Death comes to all of us in time and it has been said that it is more important how we die than in the death itself and I would have to agree with this. John Adams lived to be nearly 90 years old and as did Thomas Jefferson, he died on Tuesday, July 4^th in 1826 and as he lay dying was noted to have said “It is a great day. It is a good day.”(McCullough, p. 646).

                                         Concluding Remarks

We were tasked with developing a psychological profile of a person we had selected for our case history. During which we were required to discuss the effects of nature/nurture influences, and analysis of the person’s cognitive, physical, and social-emotional development. Along the way I discovered a person of very high honor and respect who at a time of great personal danger and conflict, lead the call to make America free. In grade school we learned that John Adams was the second President of the United States at a time just after we had finally won our freedom from Great Britain through the Treaty of Paris in 1783. But I never learned that it was John Adams who was the writer of that treaty, that he founded our Army and Navy after the war was over but while conflict still rang around the world and that John Adams gave his entire adult life to securing our continued freedom in the conflicts that followed. John Adams became a living person to me while I wrote these pages and it is that viewpoint of which you have just read. They say the Tree of Liberty must be refreshed by the blood of patriots; John Adams was such a man. I was honored to know him.

 

References

Berk, L. E. (2010). Development through the lifespan (5^th Ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Biography Channel, (2012). John Adams. http://www.biography.com/people/john-adams-37967

Eccles, J., Wigfield, A., Harold, R. D., & Blumfeld, P. (1993). Age and gender differences in children's self and task perceptions during elementary school. Child Development, 64, 830-847.

Frazier, L. D., Newman, F. L., & Jaccard, J. (2007). Psychosocial outcomes in later life: A multivariate model. Psychology and Aging, 22(4), 676-689. doi:10.1037/0882-7974.22.4.676

McCullough, D., (2001). John Adams. Simon and Schuster, Publishers, Rockefeller Center, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York. 10020.

Pinker, S. (2004). Why nature & nurture won’t go away. Daedalus, 133(4), 1–13.

Questions and Answers

I hope everyone is feeling well right now as I sure am not. You may have seen it on the news or the internet that a novovirus is running loose and making people ill. Well, even someone who doesn't get out much got nailed the other day. It hard to get excited over seed catalogs when you feel terrible but this is more of a 24 hour bug so I should be up and about soon.  ; )

Questions and Answers

When we watch the nightly news, we see protesters being gassed by police because the protecters had over stepped their 1st amendment rights of free speech by throwing rocks and lighting fires. We are supported to feel bad about them getting hurt and I don't believe main stream Americans feel anything but a little pissed off by the protesters. Hundreds of thousands of city dollars are going into repairing the damage and cleaning up the mess, tax payer dollars that are badly needed for police and fire support which is busy babysitting these lazy adults. First get a life and then get a job!

Getting down off soapbox!

Questions and Answers


Many preppers feel that depending on electric devices are a mistake if things go south of us and they do have some good points. But for devices like the Kindle and the IPad, I feel we are not thinking far enough ahead. My retreat already has a fully charged + 700 amp battery pack with 400 watts running into it daily. While not a big load is on it yet, it is there 24/7 for me to charge things without having to worry about losing the mains. Currently my Kindle DX (b/w) has over 700 books and manual on board it at all times and its battery is good for about 6-8 WEEKS on standby and about 3 weeks on daily usage. Recharging it using a USB port uses about 5 volts- 10 volts depending and about 5-10 watts total. So even a very small solar panel will charge it for years of use.

My IPad is the first generation one but has all the features of the IPad 2 except the cameras and works really well for everything that I do online plus it is my main Kindle reader because of the color screen and ease of use. Again it charges at 5 to 10 volts and about 10 watts but does have to be re-charged every day or so because of heavy use.

I have a new laptop and a desktop as well for everything else, mainly school work as I am a doctoral student in Psychology, and I have mostly written this blog on the laptop. But, even so I feel that in an emergency I can run a small refrigerator, my laptop and IPad, and lights on a daily basis without running low on electric power. And while I have already planned in 2-4 more 200 watt solar panels, it is the battery backup I am most concerned about long term because they are normal 12 volt deep cycle batteries and not good solar ones. This I do hope to correct this spring as we spend more time at the retreat.

Questions and Answers

The question always comes up about what prepping did you do this week?

For the wife and I it was a quick trip to Wallyworld to get some milk and eggs. We had just seen the movie THE GREY with Liam Neelson, great movie by the way, and I wanted to look for some lamp oil and some additional lamps for both the RV and the two cabins at the retreat. Well, I had just gotten a small windfall and we ended an in-and-out run $220 poorer but very happy. Being in the Ozarks, we have to deal with more ice storms than snow storms and the first thing to go is the power and lights. This day last winter, we had an ice storm that dumped almost a foot of snow and 2 inches of ice in one shot. So, we picked up 5 gallons of kerosene for the cabin heater and lantrens, 3 oil lamps, 3 bottles of oil, 10 new wicks, and 7 new lamp tops for additional lamps or replacements...wife pick picked up a new bread knife, and a gallons of milk. At the checkout, I stopped and picked up lighter fuel for the WWII lighters I had picked up while the wife was spending my money at the checkout.

We came home happy to have gotten the lamps and oil...but never did get the eggs!!!!

Questions and Answers

Surviving the Day after Tomorrow

Part 1

When we consider what life would be like if society broke down when we watch the nightly news and see anarchy murder and death that shocks the heart and causes us to wonder literally what the world is coming to. Do we sit in terror shaking in our bones and wonder what are we to do when the only one that can save us is ourselves! And that is what I would like to discuss with you as others are doing we take small steps gathering as we go and preparing for a future that we hope will never happen.

One way to start to do a little reading checking and seeing what others are doing and weighing our options on the can afford and we cannot afford. Many times we can do things that we did not consider like buying a few extra cases of pork and beans and tomato soup and we can still use at home but also make it that extra meal we can eat cold. Another thing you can do is buy a bunch of little Bic lighters and you can place them everywhere in your car and your home and in a little bag to keep with you. You will never believe how awful it is soon a cold house or cabin or car and shiver in the cold. Not just for an hour in traffic or broke down on the side of the road but for days and weeks because you could not start the fire. Simple advice, right?

Another piece of cheap advice is buying a case of water and keeping it in your car. You have it when you’re thirsty and when you’re sitting in that breakdown lane. But best of all can save your life in an emergency as we can live in 30 days without food but only three days without water. The nice thing about it is you can usually get flat for fewer than five dollars which is cheap and you can possibly add some of the additive electrolyte solutions to and help sustain yourself. Another thing you can do is to have that small bag place the lighters in it along with a small flashlight and some granola bars or energy bars. Check around some of the sporting-goods areas in Wal-Mart you can find emergency blankets which can keep you warm and cost only pennies on the dollar.

On the home front you could consider a solar oven uses no electricity and only requires the heat of the sun to cook a meal when there is no electricity or propane for the stove. Nowadays many people buy them but it is possible to make one with the box some aluminum foil and a piece of glass. As you can see from the example below they are not that complicated, maybe not as efficient homemade one would work just as well. If you want to consider making one start with a medium-sized box and cover the entire inside and the flaps with aluminum foil, buy a piece of glass lightly larger than the opening so that you can seal it but still let the light in, and take a small piece of wood or heavy cardboard and paint them black. This’ll be the shelf at the pot sits on needs be slightly longer than the side of the box. Place the shelf on an angle so that it is flat when the box tipped on its side and pointed at the sun. At this point of brick or piece of wood can hold the box at an angle facing the sun.

If you have a question or a topic you would like to talk about, let me know!

Getting Started

Dr D on Starlight Ranch Survival:

I have been a number of things in my life to include USAF Security Police, Photo Intelligence Specialist, Targeteer, and Amatuer Radio Emergency Services (ARES) Section Emergency Cooridinator (SEC) State of Minnesota, American Red Cross Disaster Services Instructor/Mass Care specialist, NRA Firearms Instructor and BCA Minnesota Permit to Carry Instructor to name just a few.

But through all of this I have been a survivalist and a prepper and I have used my skill sets to exactly survive life challenging situations where my only hope of survival was saving myself.

Having said that I hope to build up this site with blogs, free ebooks, and stories of how you too can survive with alittle luck and learning not to panic.


                                                          Starlight Ranch Front Yard