Hear, Hear

Where did some of you get a drivers license?

     In the world of the sane people, it seems we have people from other galaxies driving on our streets. Surely you didn’t get a license from anyone born on this planet. No, I’m not being tough or judgmental. The common sense rules of the road do not apply to a great many of the beings that transverse the pavement. It would seem that some of the physical laws also do not apply.
     On my best days, I can probably do as good as any common driver. These others must have been trained on a planet with less gravity, faster time, smaller car lengths, and the ability to read minds. I feel like I’m being forced to drive in the Indy with a 55 Ford. And as I look around, I see I’m not the only one. Lets slow down a bit and learn to wait on each other just a bit more. After all, the red light you run may just speed you to the scene of your next accident. Getting away with it doesn’t make it less of a crime.

Worth doing

I’ve heard it said” Anything worth doing is worth doing well”, but I tell you the key to fulfillment in doing for others is not letting the right hand know what the left hand is doing. Things done anonymously are rewarded many times over. The temptation to tell is sometimes persistent, but it is worthwhile to resist. I have seen things done in secret that were claimed by those who did not do the blessing. Still, the doer of the blessing said nothing. I believe those who take credit for things they have not done, will have to pay many times over. Sometimes without their knowledge. So whenever you are prompted to give of yourself, resist the urge to do it in public. It makes a profound statement when done without regard for oneself. Something we all can puzzle at.

Punk Weed

The onset of the smoking habit is something for everyone who has had that habit to examine. A lesson learned is another mistake that will never cast a shadow on your life.

     I was 6 years old in 1953 and it was the heyday of postwar smokers. Still it was no excuse for starting the habit and it was not encouraged by the elders. As it is today, the main problem was the lack of 24 hour oversight of youngsters bent on trying forbidden things. In rural Washington State, enough leeway was given to the young adventurers to get them out of sight for a half-hour or 45 minutes. Our opportunity came on our little trips to the Okanogan river where the Punk Weed vines grew. We never new the proper name for the vine weed that grew in abundance, but it could be cut to any size desired. It smoked much like we imagined a real cigar or cigarette. I don’t remember the taste except that it was almost manageable for a 6 year old. The 35 year habit that followed is the real lesson of life, of lung capacity never recovered. Also, all three of my children were born before I shed the curse and for that they have the blessing of a smoke-free life. Sometimes the best lesson really is to let others see your mistakes and recovery.

The Cliffs

In 1963, at 16 years old, I was living in Blue Lake, California. One of the weekend pastimes for some friends and I was to hike up the Mad River for a camping trip. On one particular Friday night we started our 5 mile trek about dusk. The favorite swimming hole “The Cliffs”, was about 1 or 2 miles out of town. It was also a popular drinking spot for young partygoers because it was across the river and considered safe. People had to wade the river to get to the beach and bonfire area. It being night by the time we forded the river, we were unobserved even though it was a moonlight night. As we approached the partygoers, we considered making our presence known. As we stood looking around we noticed a string of car approaching on the opposite river bank road, the only path. After a quick discussion, we three crouched out of sight of all parties. Our caution  was rewarded when 5 or 6 police cars pulled up to where the partygoers cars were parked.  The police all got out and started writing down license plate numbers. One officer leaned against the hood of his car with a bullhorn. His plea to come over and surrender was met with a chorus of belly laughs and hooting. These people were obviously ready to spend the night and feeling no pain, but they also knew the police wouldn’t wade the river. It seemed a standoff until our fertile imaginations kicked in. After a hurried consultation with my friends, we shouldered our packs and bedrolls. We were ready to run. At a safe upriver position I turned and yelled” This is the police, we have you surrounded”. We were unprepared for the reaction. People started running in every direction. They sounded like a herd of stampeding cattle. Some were in the river splashing or swimming for who knows where. Others were running through the brush. We three hikers beat a mirthful retreat and continue to laugh 40 years later. It caused a lot of discussion for a while, each side blaming the other.  Nobody ever knew who the culprits were.

oh yea oh yea

Please do not think me a kook or know- it- all. I’m just the average Merican. That is “I’m

the boss.” Not the person in charge, not the judge who sits and decides, not the head of one of the many government offices I’ve voted for, but rather one of the many with good average thought who decide how we should be governed. My thoughts and words are for my many fellows, men and women, who decide with me how we should conduct our lives. Are we not bound to the roots of this country and the thoughts of those who have come before? We should change only those things that have been a detriment to our ability to live together, but not to the fundamentals that are the foundation of our country. If those are not protected, we will run the risk of losing all our freedoms and the loss of one is the loss of all. Those who would whittle at our freedoms are not our friends. They are the threat to those things that make this a great country, but not the only great country. Citizens of the U.S., lets look around and discover what a great place we’ve been born into. Is this not the place we would choose, if given the choice? I believe the problem we experience with anti-Americanism stems from the inability of other nations peoples to gain the freedoms we take for granted. If they can’t have it themselves, they must destroy those who do. Yes, I’m talking to those who have seventy Virginians waiting in their heaven. I thank my God I have nothing of this world waiting for me. I believe it will be so much more than I can imagine and that is plenty. So what about the women, is it seventy virgins for them also. Or don’t they get to go to heaven. I really am “up with people”, but not at the expense of a nation who only wants the best for others, and continues to prove it. Let’s not spend or time and money convincing people or nations to be our friends. I’ve never had a friendship worth beans that has been established on those grounds, and don’t want any.   

God is the choice of many and the choice of most of the founders of this country. If we remove the God they believe in, do we not harm the basic idea on which this nation was founded. And not just any God, but a certain God. That is the One who is above all our thoughts, words, and deeds. The One who says when I become a man I am to put away childish things. The worst of those things is,[ if you can get away with something and no one knows, it is O.K.].  We all pay for bad thinking, in everyone, many times over. Sometimes to the third and fourth generation.

             Let’s be aware of our responsibilities to each other and to the God of our ancestors. If you have none or no opinion, perhaps you are part of the problem, not part of the solution. If you make it easy for other peoples gods to influence or change the wonderful things our forefathers have lived and died for, you are the worst kind of freeloader. One not willing to stand up for the very life you enjoy. We must never take the powers that be at their word or they us.    When we are truthful with each other, this examination is a great blessing and encouragement, a thing that makes great people and people great. This is my wish for all Americans, great people wanting the best for others.

             Those who don’t wish to walk  this path will be condemned to the path that is wide and heavily traveled.   

Turn signals for others

     The problem in not turn signals, red lights, speeding, or any of the other infractions people commit on the road. The problem most certainly is the thinking behind those acts. We are not a perfect people to be sure, but at some point those who take the most advantage of the system should realize it is not their toy. Those who have learned this lesson are the most forgiving of the mistakes of others. I see them every day. They let strangers into traffic. They yield to the unyielding and forgive the unforgiving. They let others get by with the most unforgettable acts and get nothing but a rude gesture in return. No matter what is taught in the everyday world, the real power does not lay in committing acts uncivil to others. The real power, the one defining thing of America, is in the power of forgiving. Those who know this should hold it close for all the country. Those who don’t should study on it quickly, for the fate of our nation will show through in the way you handle yourself in private when no one is looking. Even in your own car.

Advertiseforme

Yeah,sure, Give me a present with the corporate name or logo on it. What am I, your billboard? When I give presents they are for the person intended and the inscription reflects that. Are we so money oriented as to make even those things we give to others pay an advertising premium. That’s not truly giving, that’s not even giving a little. To give with pure motive is to give with no thought of recognition or return. A thought that may be troubling for corporate America, but nonetheless reflects their thinking for all the world to see. Perhaps that is what some want, but it is not a good thing to all those who are the recipients of such things. Those who receive such things are insulted that the company they give their lives to, has such a low opinion of them. The corporation can give anything it wishes as a reward or recognition of service or deed. It can be inexpensive or not. The one thing it should always say. This is yours, for recognition. It should say it with no pretension, no reward. The beauty of this is in the retelling of the event, which has been understated. This is when the giver gets his great reward, not from something that nobody will wear and is not looked upon as a treasure. Give things that ask for the telling of the story but do not demand it. Bottoms of drawers and second hand stores hide many a corporate gift.  

In support of Pete Rose for the Hall of Fame

As only a minor fan of baseball, I am in the perfect place to comment on Pete Rose. I know Pete has some records on the books and has played some of the great baseball we have come to love. Because of that alone he should not be kept out of  the baseball hall of fame in Cooperstown. I may or may not agree with all the things he did off the field, but that level of play, on the field, cannot be trod upon by those of us who can not and never could do such things. On the other hand, those things that Pete has been guilty of, off the field, are the things that life lessons are made of. These things most of us are tempted with and can comment on. Best told father to son, not on the walls of baseball fame. I believe banning Pete from baseball should not keep him from the hall of fame. It should be punishment enough for him to never know the joy of an oldtimers game and knowing he can never meet a son without knowing all his story will be told later by the father.  No amount of regret, remorse, or forgiveness will change these facts.