The truth and something like it.

The solution to the "Big Spill" must be authored by one of the people in this world who know how to do it. It seems the smartest people in the room may not be capable of earning those big salaries when the chips are down, and they are down now. Unfortunately, the climate in industry is that only the chosen are deemed worthy of giving the solution. All others must give their knowledge for free, it's the law of corporate America. There are thousands, maybe millions of people whose ideas could be used to solve and prevent these tragedies. But because of the teaching of big business through highest profit and secret practices, untrustworthiness has become the sound of working relationships. I'm sorry for the disaster in the gulf, but the truth is there, and it doesn't have any use for the  5th.

People Mutts

      Do you think we are the great and generous family of mutts that our ancestors raised us to be? No matter what your perceived bloodline is, or lack of, you may be sure that your legacy in the U.S.A. is one of a great tradition. Whether or not you give it much thought or time, it is one of our great freedoms. We cannot judge those we  perceive to be doing less than their share. How are we to know just what is being done to support this nation on a personal level? Only God knows. Those who don’t support the things that this country was founded on and have helped to make her great, know who they are. Doesn’t matter if they have been in the country 100 years or 100 minutes. Sad to say, some newcomers are much better citizens than those of us who were born here. Some are much worse, or the enemy.  Over the last 50 years there has been a decline in our civic responsibility to each other. When I was young, all adults took their rights much more seriously. No youthful mistakes were overlooked by neighbor or stranger on the street. This is the involvement in each others lives that we lack. We are no longer ready to put forth the effort or time to say we care what is going on around us. This effort is particularly important with children and strangers, even when it is done in private, maybe even more so. That is where new relationships are made, barriers are crossed. It’s where an old man of one race or ethnic group can pick up a young child of another group and be reminded of his own children. It’s where that old man doesn’t think twice about giving his life for that child, as if it were his own. It’s where his children celebrate that act as one of love and favor. They know he has given all, even for the least of them.

     Let us be the people who believe in the greatness of life. Not just for ourselves, but for all others as well. Those who want to tear this country down are hard at work. They won’t ever quit. It has to be a very personal decision to be the kind of person who wants the best for all and is willing  to stand for that view in public and private. Our battle is most often in the little things we say and the way we say them. Our opportunities come everyday and we must all use them for the good of us all, because we will survive, but at what level. Lets make it one, those who come after can be proud to build on.

More guns for the sane

Just a few words on guns. I have one but don't carry it around. I take it sometimes when going into the woods but never shoot it for the sake of shooting. And I taught my children as much. This is pretty much my definition of sane gun ownership.

That being said, I believe most of the population would look out for our safety and can be trusted with arms, concealed or otherwise. It just ups the odds that someone sane is in the crowd with armed felons. If we authorize the police and armed forces and in the same breath say we are not willing to accept the same risk for others, we are unworthy of their sacrifices. This is all proven out by watching all the bystanders accept the risk during the recent plane wreck downtown. All the best to them; I would hope we would all do the same.

basketbull with todd

I’ve always had my questions about the status of sports, even though I’ve been good at a few. When working with a younger man who was a University of Alaska M.V.P. in basketball, I asked him why it was such a status thing. He replied, “It’s about doing something few people can do”.  His suspicion that I was jealous because I was 6 ft. tall and couldn’t dunk, was incorrect. I proposed a game that included him and 4 others of his size (6 ft. 5 in.) and 5(under 4 ft.) people. The court would be roughly 40 sq. ft. The baskets would be near the floor and the points would have to be made from the bottom. I guess my reasoning is, Your ability is in direct relation to the rules of the sport. They can be skewed to fit a certain physical type. Sports are devised to reward and advance the physical types we admire.

Rememory

   I’ve heard of people who cannot remember or memorize anything. They are thought by some to be either lazy or liars, or both. I’ve been around more than a half century and it has begun to dawn on me that I don’t know as much as I did last year. Am I getting smarter about the previous state of things or am I just aging, or both. I can see and hear the truth about things much better when I’m not talking. So, is the mute person the smartest one around, maybe? It certainly doesn’t hurt to be quite. Talking is not all it’s cracked up to be. One can get in all kinds of trouble by running off at the mouth. I know, I’m a past master and less frequently a present master. The real trouble with not having a good memory is the habit of repeating ones mistakes. That and having to remember all your lies, if one is a prevaricator. Learning by rote is not fast, but sometimes the lessons are absorbed better and retained longer. It’s unfortunate that lifes grades are given for our ability to remember and not our ability to grow. Many in command of the things of this world are admired for doing what is easy for them. They have never struggled with anything. Others have struggled plenty for them. Those who persevere in the face of many hardships and struggles are ones most admirable. But even those, are not doing anything that we are not all put here to do. It’s in our nature.

        At least I think it is, I can’t remember.  

Hoodah at the Omak Stampede

As a youngster at the Omak Stampede rodeo (about 1955), I heard this story while listening to the old men in my family and their friends.

    Some city dudes came to visit the Colville Indian Reservation. They were dresses for the city and not the ranch. While touring they stopped often to comment on the goings on and were rewarded with a chorus of “Hoodahs” from the Indian hosts. They took this word to mean their comments were being well received. This continued on for the entire tour until they finally came to the cow pasture leading back to the parking lot. As they stepped carefully onto the grass, the Indians warned with a point down at the cow pies and spoke the familiar words, Hoodah, Hoodah.