I went to Lowes, this morning, to purchase screening material. You know the type that goes into a screen door, but in my case it was not for a door. Rather it was for an eve vent to prevent bees from building nests in my attic.
I pride myself on being a fairly decent do-it-yourselfer. I’ve been at this for a good number of years and have developed my skills rather well.
What I find extremely interesting is all the guys wandering around the store like lost children. It is pretty obvious they haven’t a clue about what they need for the job and don’t know where to look for what they need.
I call these guys the Honey Doers. Honey Do this and Honey Do that. It’s a Saturday morning and they’ve been given the Honey Do list for the day or worse for the vacation week. So they wander around trying to figure out exactly why they are here and what they need to get this latest project completed, with some time left for vacation.
But alas they know better than to expect any real time off. After all, why own a house if you’re not going to spend your vacations working on it.
One man needed to fix his garage door. For some reason, it was no longer working with the automatic door opener. He had no clue! The store clerk was asking all the right questions. “Did you check the opener for electric?” “Does the door make any movement at all?” “Does the other door open or is it stuck also?” The poor guy had no answers. He didn’t know how to check for power. Didn’t know if the door had any motion. Never checked the batteries in the car’s door remote either. I felt more for the store clerk than for the customer. But to the clerk’s credit, he was patient and gave his customer a list of things he could do to narrow down the problem.
At that point I remembered I needed a light bulb for my microwave. It is an odd looking bulb, so there I was walking up and down the lighting aisle looking for this one of a kind bulb. A store clerk approached me asking if I needed any help. I told him what I was looking for and he immediately walked to a group of drawers looking for my special bulb. There was a box for this very bulb, but it was empty. He was so upset, more so than I was. “They always do this to us. This box has been empty for a couple of weeks. The computer probably thinks we have two or three in stock so it doesn’t place the order.” I asked if they still do any manual inventories. “Yeah, we do and any empty box should have been noted, but obviously someone isn’t doing their job.”
He assured me that he would get the order placed and the bulbs would be available in a week or less. He apologized and turned to help another lost and searching customer.
As I made my way to the check out area, I could feel the angst and frustration of those who were still trying to figure out how they would get the job done and if there would be time for 9 holes. They really knew better, but a dream …
“I saw my sister’s life, from the inside out. That was something I never expected to see,” my good friend told me the other day.
His sister recently died, suddenly, giving him the ever daunting task of taking care of her home, possesions, financial considerations and, of course, her funeral arrangements. He found himself looking at her donation history, clothing purchases, bills, even her cable television choices, among many other things that most people never see or get to know about a friend or loved one.
The tasks seemed never ending – close out bank accounts, change her mailing address, end subscriptions, turn off the phone, and on and on. It seemed overwhelming, yet it helped him make some very important, personal assessments.
When he finished with the initial efforts to close her life, he decided to look at his own life. He revisited his will to make it easier for his executor. He created a living will and named a medical advocate. He also began to design a program to eliminate waste in his life.
His sister’s death gave him a wake up call. Her sudden death showed him that we are careless and need to become aware of our daily lives and how our lives and our death affect those we leave behind.
Yes, you read the headline correctly. It’s time to ban marriage from the constitution of the United States and the constitutions of all the individual states. Doing that simple yet complex act would save potentially millions of dollars of court costs and eliminate thousands of hours of trials. Yes, removing one word from our constitutions would be tremendously advantageous to the entire country.
Today, the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8, which reversed the court’s previous actions making same sex marriage legal in that state. In it’s ruling, the court said civil unions would have all the same legal rights as marriage, but same sex couples could not use the “Marriage” designation to describe their relationship.
Enough! If civil union and marriage offer the same rights and benefits for those involved, then eliminate the word marriage from the legal process. If two people want the backing, benefits and rights of the legal system, then make one system work for all people. Civil Unions should become the rule of the nation. Marriage could become the wording for religious blessings of a civilly united couple – be that couple same sex or man and woman.
We, as a country, are spending way too much time arguing over a word, when we already have the answer. We should be looking at the country’s future with a broader sense of who and what we are, what we can offer each other and how we can team up to develop a stronger nation.
When we spend time trying to split our country into factions supporting or rejecting civil rights, we functionally undermine the very foundation of this country. It’s time for change, to coin the phrase of the presidential campaigns. It’s time for the people of this country to understand that bickering over the use of a word, such as marriage, takes away from the opportunity for those same people to build a better, safer, more prosperous nation for all of us.
Stop bickering. Stop arguing about the definition of the word marriage. Transform our ideals into a solid philosophy of understanding and partnership.
Last Wednesday, my computer caught a bug. I was very upset that a bug managed to get past the virus protection and spyware software installed in my computer, especially since I am constantly telling my friends they have to keep their protection programs up to date.
Before I realized the situation, my computer was one of the hacker’s victims. It was a sad death for a long term friend. Yes, my computer was a great friend. It woke up in a wonderful mood each and every day for the past 8 years. Sure it’s had a cold, now and then. I’ve even had to perform minor surgery on it a couple of times. And every time it came back like the trooper it was made to be. I almost said born to be, but we all know that machines are not born, or are they?
My desktop was my mainstay. It held my thousands of picture files, letters, programs and other items of great importance. Now it is silent, waiting for it’s final fate, possibly for it’s final journey to the computer graveyard.
Luckily, for me, I usually back up my data, so I didn’t lose everything. But I did lose things like bookmark files, recently saved emails, and other recently saved information. It is those silly little files that have caused me the most difficulty.
Several of my friends suggested I buy a new computer. ”No, I said. This baby has a lot of life in it and I want to get it working again.” So I installed a new hard drive, operating system and all my favorite software – again.
I booted my companion up for my normal Monday at the office routine. And as in all those days past, my friend woke wup, in a great mood, ready to perform. In fact something good came from this mess – my computer is faster, has less overhead running and feels like a newborn ready to take on the world.
And, yes, I still tell my friends to back up and keep their protection current.
That question is being asked by many children across the country this month.The economic downfall has gotten to our children much the way the depression did so many years ago.The major difference between 1929 and today is that we all know about it as it is happening.Communications, today, is instantaneous where it took days or weeks for the news to hit the citizen in 1929.But, communication speed aside, there is very little difference between the two events.
When families lose one or both income sources, everything changes, starting with simple things like family routines.Mom or dad is home when the little ones get up for school.Normally he or she would be running to get to work, but now mom or dad is sitting at the breakfast table with a coffee mug in hand.There are the whispered conversations, between the parents, about money, school trips, day care, the mortgage payment, car payment, etc. Oh, sure all parents have some whispered conversations, but now there
are more and they are more animated.Money is tight, nerves are stretched, and frustrations are growing.
It’s December and the annual holiday cheer isn’t so cheery this year.Most retail stores are slashing prices to all time lows.Many chains have announced their forthcoming closure after the holidays.Money is tight and the consumer is not spending what little they have, which causes a downward spiral.So what can a parent do to make this a cheery holiday for their family and themselves?
While I don’t have all the answers to that question, I do have a few thoughts about how we treat this economic mess with regard to our children.I’ve raised three wonderful children, put them through college and now have 6 grand kids that are just precious, too.Through all of that, I didn’t have lots of spare money, and have experienced job loss in those years as well.So what I’m about to say comes from experience.
It’s time to sit your kids down and explain things to them.Obviously the younger children won’t get the depth of your discussion so keep it light.But the older guys should be told the truth.Tell them what they should know
and how they should be living in these tough, difficult times.Let them know that mom or dad, or both, have lost their job.Let them know that
Christmas will be lean, this year.Don’t white wash the truth – give it to them and let them chew on it.
Our young people have more smarts than we give them credit for.They see the news headlines.They understand that people are out of work.They see that you and your spouce are whispering about bills.Give them a
chance to be part of this situation and you will be surprised at how they
react.
Sure, they may find it difficult to accept that they are not getting that Xbox or PS3, but they will gladly accept a game for their Nitendo, even if you bought it at the used game store.
Let them be part of the Holiday experience from a different prospective. Give them a chance to grow into this downturn and watch how they can
adapt.The problems we imagine are overblown.We need to show our young folks that life has its ups and downs.Let them learn now, how to conserve and how to work with less.The lessons will be a great education for
their futures.
Have a Happy, Healthy Holiday with smiles on all of your faces.Give your kids the most important gift you can – Love!They’ll return it ten fold – trust me, I know!
Seven years ago terrorists flew planes into several of our
buildings attempting to bring down the world financial system.Back then people said the terrorist failed,
but did they?
Their goal was to bring down the world financial
system.They thought that bringing down
a few buildings would achieve that goal. It didn’t.What it did was to set
wheels in motion that would ultimately achieve their goals.
How?After 9-11,
people were told to fight back by spending money, buying homes and going out on
a limb to prove our financial system is more than a few buildings.We did everything we were told to do.Brokers, traders, dealers all conspired to
build the economy.
We were doing what the terrorists failed to do.Greed, lies, misrepresentations and the
assumption that the housing market had no top allowed everyone to continue
moving down the road to disaster.People
bought homes far above their means. Mortgage brokers and lenders provided loans to people who should never
have been given those loans.Bonds were
issued against those bad loan portfolios. And, insurance was secured against those ill fated bonds.
You might ask how the terrorists achieved their goals.By tapping our egos, the terrorists got us to
show how greedy and devious we really are. Bad mortgages, bad loans, bonds against those bad loans, etc. and that
is only what we presently know.
Seven years and one day later, the world financial market,
indeed, failed.And it failed because of
what we did, not what any terrorist blew up or brought down.Our greed and our ego brought us down.Even Alan Greenspan recently said he was
wrong.He originally stated that the
banking system could police itself.Now
he sees that his assumptions were wrong.
So what happens now? How does the world’s financial system get back on track?How much government intervention is
necessary?And, how much government control
will be necessary to prevent this from happening again?That, no one knows.It’s time for you and me to police ourselves.It’s time for us to wake up
and realize what our own greed did to us. We have no one to yell at; but ourselves.
Living in a quiet neighborhood along a forested utility right of way, has given me some fascinating things to see.I often have deer grazing or relaxing in my
yard.Other animals come and go at ease, knowing that they are safe from human predators.
Yesterday I spotted a couple of small birds wondering across my front lawn.Looking more closely, I realized they were newly born turkeys.Yes, young turkeys hobbling along without a care in the world.Well to my surprise I counted a full dozen of them.Then out of the corner of my eye I spotted mom and dad, who had stayed behind giving their little ones freedom to roam and play.
Well the picture was definitely worth the proverbial thousand words when I watched the young ones move toward my neighbors play apparatus.My mind saw visions of the sign “Children At Play”
My camera always at the ready, I snapped a few shots before the family decided to continue their afternoon stroll through our yards.Oh how nice it was when I was a kid and enjoyed the freedom to take a leisurely afternoon of play.
For the second year running, my quiet street was hit with a major storm cell.Last year in May, the storm was declared a tornado.The damage
was tremendous.I had first hand experience understanding the feelings of those who lose their homes and possessions to a freak storm.My home
sustained thousands of dollars of damage and I was the lucky one.Others came home, from work, to find a tree in their living room.We had no power
for a week as the utilities bantered their responsibilities back and forth.
Luckily, for me, I know some contractors who were very willing to get to work on our homes that very day.We came through it and look back in awe when we chat about how people can just pick up and start again after losing everything.
This year, the storm was not as powerful – only causing tree damage to my property.It leveled trees onto our main drag causing the state route to be closed for hours for clean up.Power was out, too.
We’ve moved on, again.My quiet, little neighborhood rarely sees anything interesting to report about, but two damaging storms in as many years has given us something to include in our family scrap books and blogs. Life goes on.
Today I heard about the California fires destroying dozens of homes.Those interviewed said they would rebuild.I now understand.Life moves on.
On June 12, 1967
the US Supreme Court struck down state laws prohibiting marriage between
inter-racial couples.It was a landmark
decision since those laws were state laws and the ruling stated “There can
be no doubt that restricting the freedom to marry solely because of racial
classifications violates the central meaning of the equal protection
clause,” of the US
constitution.
Today, June 16,
2008, the state of California
will be only the second state in this country to permit same sex marriage.On Thursday
May 15, 2008 the Supreme Court of California overturned the state’s
ban on same sex marriage.While there
are factions attempting to put a referendum on the ballot declaring marriage
only be legal between a man and woman, the state will begin handing out
marriage licenses this afternoon.
Our country, however, does not seem to agree that same sex
marriage and inter-racial marriage deserve the same treatment.Christian groups, some law makers, and
president Bush all seem to think that they can force the agenda against same
sex marriage.And, they may just pull it
off – at least for a while.As the
pendulum is swinging on the issue of same sex marriage, more and more Americans
polled are voicing their opinions in favor of marital equal rights.Two states have now overturned bans on same
sex marriage.New
York, recently decided that same sex marriages
performed in other states must be recognized as legal in that state.
Countries all over the world are looking at the US
and its Victorian beliefs about marriage. The people and governments of our foreign friends wonder why Americans
have such limitations on freedom and civil rights.Yet, as I’ve said before, I consider America
the best place to live and raise a family. My point in all of this is to remind everyone that the world is
looking.Not only are they looking at
our laws, they are looking at how we handle change.
We, as part of the GLBT community, have a responsibility to
maintain a level of respect that reaches higher than any other community of
people.Why?Because everyone is watching and wondering if
the American dream can withstand the attack it is receiving.Will same sex marriage be another civil
liberty issue that draws party and people lines?Will father and son battle about their
rights?Will states fight the federal system?Should the US Supreme Court be brought into
the fight and if so, will the populous agree to follow their ruling?
As has been said in the past, With privilege comes responsibilities.Are we ready to take on both?
When we think we are about to die from cabin fever, nature
lets us know she has something for us – a gift, if you will.Its called spring and it comes with splendid
color bursts all around us.The view
from my front window is spectacular no matter the season.In winter the snow covered ground and shrubs
look like a Norman Rockwell painting.In
spring and summer when everything is in bloom, I am always in awe.
Nature has a way of letting us know that “This Too Shall
Pass” with a splendor that no human can duplicate.Whether she is dumping snow, rain, winds, or
any other weather condition, Nature is pure. She listens to no politician or official from any bureaucracy.She is her own boss and answers to her own
majesty only.
As I stood under this beautiful umbrella of pink, I looked
into the branches to see the sun streaming down.It certainly was a picture worth taking.
I always marvel at nature’s mighty splendor and power.She can reek havoc and provide wonderful
beauty.Enjoy it as it comes.
