Remember When

    Do you remember back to times in your life when someone said something to you that reflected poorly on you and it hurt your feelings to hear it. You know, when someone pointed out a behavior or action you had taken that was inappropriate or rude. Maybe you just didn't recognize the hurtful nature of your words because you had grown used to hearing them sent your way as you were growing up and you had drained them of any real meaning long ago. So here you are, embarrassed by a friend who has confronted you about your hurtful actions and you are feeling very defensive all of a sudden and blurt out a long wordy sentence that when boiled down means simply, "Oh ya, well uh-uh" For some reason this seems to move you past the uncomfortable confrontation for the moment and your day continues on. Over the next few days, as the emotion evaporated from the situation and you are left with just the facts of what was said you realize your friend was not only right, but also courageous when he approached you about this. You see that you were in fact in the wrong and that there is an apology waiting to be delivered. You are faced with the fact that you have acted poorly and it hurts but the hurt leaves in its wake a better, more compassionate person who is more ably equipped to deal with people in a more appropriate manner. What has just been described is a normal part of the maturing process. If you've never experienced this, you are either a product of an incredible upbringing or you don't have any real friends. 
    Now, let's say that when you cross that line that your parents or a friend should challenge you on, instead of being met with a challenge you are given an excuse. Instead of that knot in your stomach that will only go away when you have apologized you are told that your behavior is completely understandable and is, in fact, appropriate because of some past situation and some real or perceived injustice that you have endured; although the person you have truly offended and hurt was not directly involved or even aware of this past wrong that has occurred. Instead of maturing into a thoughtful, compassionate and loving individual who is an asset to your family, community and society at large, you become a special case. You are part of a family of "special cases" who are immune from the scrutiny that others are subject to because of your special status. Any attempt to hold you accountable as an equal is quickly attacked by the media due to years of indoctrination by most of society. Think of the incredible athletes who are identified at a young age and who grow up in a very different world than the majority of us due to people's reaction to their abilities. While not precisely the same it is a similar situation. In the interest of brevity I will not explore to what extent the whole of our current society may in fact be less than fully matured, but will leave my comments focused on our precious group of victims who will never have the opportunity to mature because of their value to the ruling class in our country.

Thanks, and have a great day. I mean, if you want to. I'm not trying to tell you what to do because I hate women or anything. No really. Oh well, think what you must.

Default Discrimination

    It would seem victim-hood is as hard to leave behind as entitlements. If you happen to be one of the "elite" minorities in our society, that is to say a woman, a black, a hispanic, or a child, then you are expected to assume a default position of "discrimination" whenever you encounter rude or unthoughtful people. In my opinion our friend, Oprah, has given us a glimpse into this phenomenon with her recent encounter overseas. While this event has become quite the news story, our country is full of similar situations. Unfortunately, there are no sane leaders among our alleged intelligentsia who are willing to try and move us away from this built-in response to any negative event in the life of an "elite" minority. (I use the term "elite" minority to accent the fact that only a handful of the actual minorities in our country benefit from this mindset.) One of the difficulties in working through this ambiguous maze of pseudo-reasoning is the immediate and very negative reaction one gets when trying to engage others in dialogue on the subject. No one wants to have the reputation of being a woman-hater, a racist, or being against the well-being of our children, so one feels a strong intimidation when approaching this subject. For the sake of brevity I would like to try and illustrate my point with a recent experience of my own. As a singer-songwriter I occasionally attend a local singer-songwriter circle. It had been years since I was able to go but decided to check it out again. As I entered the small sandwich-type bar and grill I saw the circle and headed towards it. I stood behind one of the guys in the circle waiting for the current offering of a song to end before entering the circle and taking my chair. I was having difficulty staying out of the waitress's way and eventually the guy I was standing behind scooted his chair over to allow me a chance to be seated. I took a seat adjacent to the young man who was singing one of his songs. The song had a nice rhythm and chords I was familiar with. I began playing my mandolin along with him being careful not to get in the way of his song. After the song, instead of introductions and a welcome from the leader of the circle, all that was offered was a statement of the rule about only playing when invited and an apology from the leader to the singer for my taking a seat during his song. That was it. Nothing else. Then we were on to the next guy in the circle. Looking back at that situation, I believe if I were a black, or a woman for instance that I would have immediately interpreted this cold reception as being sexism or racism. Since I am not a member of either of these "elite" minority groups, I was left with the conclusion that I was the victim of unthoughtful musicians who were too interested in what they were going to play next to concern themselves with this new guy. I honestly believe that true sexism and racism and several other -isms are present at a much lower level than what public perception would indicate. In fact, there are those who fuel the elevated perception of these ostensibly discriminating acts to further enrich and empower themselves. There IS a comfort level that comes with likeness, this is not in question. But a hispanic, or a black or a woman who loves music, for instance, has entered a comfortable place for me.

A Semi-sweet Ending

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     As his shaky finger moved unsurely toward the ENTER key on his laptop he closed his eyes. Then with a shallow but intentional certainty he pressed it. This will relieve my suffering. This will release the world from the burden of my existence. The next few moments were filled with a swell of chaos and noise eventually subsiding to reveal his lifeless body, completely unnoticed, lying just in front of the trash-strewn table. This is how he had always figured he would go, and if he were here to see how well his plan had worked he would have been pleased.

     The plan was hatched months earlier after someone had poisoned his little puppy dog, removing the only bit of joy in his life. Now, the only question was how to move himself into the next stage of existence. "To launch oneself wholly into the spiritual realm from the physical would most appropriately be achieved by a wholly physical act of undisciplined lust for something in this material world", he thought.

    

Rewind to an hour ago as Harold, who is ostensibly ill today, is in the break room of the huge Caterpiller manufacturing facility in Illinois where he has worked for years. He is arranging the room to make retreat impossible once the flow of people has begun. With a company wide email invitation completed now and only the SEND command left to accomplish he takes a box from the large plastic bag and sets it on the table just behind him. Now, all that is left is to send the notice of the free donuts in the break room.
 

Look Out Rusty Eck Ford

It's a done deal now. The state of Kansas has successfully slipped its foot in the door of a room any government would love to have access to. With relatively little commotion in the local media and with the usual vagueness that comes with the ostensibly compelling arguments offered by politicians the state has laid claim to KTA resources. Now comes the easy job of misusing the language to demonstrate how much money the state will save over the next couple of years to go along with the misuse of language they used to get the bill passed. "No KTA fares will go to state projects". Give me a break. Fares are, in fact, what give the turnpike its very life. If you use KTA equipment and personnel on state projects you are using money from KTA patrons. Where do you think the money comes from to buy the truck and pay the salary of the workers? What money the Turnpike gleans from selling ads or fibers from their private computer network are of minimal substance financially and simply help keep our fares among the lowest, (if not "the" lowest), in the turnpike world. Can the state find some "savings" by using KTA resources? Gosh, I hope so. Could I save money if someone else paid my electric bills? Using the state's logic the next step will likely be to pass a law requiring Rusty Eck Ford's repair shop to start servicing 20 state vehicles a month. It seems to me that could save the state some money too. And don't worry, the state wouldn't think of taking money from the patrons already using their services. No, really.

Why I quit Facebook

Silly subject for a post I suppose, but I thought it might be good to go through my thoughts on the wildly popular internet site called Facebook. As most of my followers know, I was once a Facebook user and would occasionally peruse the various sites of friends and family. This would result in a bit of entertainment as well as being informative as to what various people were up to. Of course the pictures of the latest vacation or a young one's first steps were always fun to check out and I would take the chance to post a cleverly crafted caption for a pic if the opportunity arose. I think when I began questioning my Facebook visits was when people became so anxious to share their displeasure with each other's political views. I actually enjoy a dialogue with someone about various social and political topics, but Facebook only seemed to lend itself to a bumper sticker sort of approach. A quick comment here and there sandwiched in between all the other conversations. This easily leads to misunderstandings on both sides and leaves one turning the Facebook experience into a political forum. People with whom I have never had a political discussion with in person are anxious to offer opinions on whatever is in the news at the time. I know some people grew up with these discussions taking place over dinner and other family gathering but not our family. At least not until Facebook offered whatever it is that it offers to us to make us want to jump in with both feet to discussions we are hesitant to have in person. I mean when someone chooses a picture or icon to represent them online that is tied directly to a political or social issue it immediately says to me that there is a bent, or a filter in place. An agenda, if you will, that is not limited to updating folks on the latest family activities but is rather positioning oneself on a variety of "important issues". Yes I can, and do, interact with people daily who have a very different view of our country and the world than I have. And yes, we can interact in a civil manner. But when people you have known your whole life and with whom you have never engaged in political dialogue, decide Facebook is just the right tool for expressing such opinions it seems, I guess, a bit odd and maybe inappropriate. So there you go. If I thought "posting" my objections to abortion would stop the wanton slaughter of innocent children; or my hope that the social and political winds may be changing in favor of another shot at Prohibition to at least lessen to 10's of thousands of lives we seem willing to sacrifice so we can have that oh-so-great feeling of not feeling; or how about the government forcing all swimming pool owners to fill their pools in with concrete, which would save far more children's lives then a gun-less United States would; or how about bringing back DDT so we can significantly reduce the number of deaths due to malaria. No, I think I would rather just see that new grandbaby take his or her first steps. I'm just not willing to wade through all the crap to get there. Sorry.

Some random calendar entries

    This is my annual random calendar entry blog. Thought it might be nice to get it done before my taxes are due knowing how busy we all get around April 15. I haven't thought through this so I will be flying by the seat of my britches. So here we go.
These are not in any particular order:
1) Mental Insolvency ( a by-product of aging)
2) Allow markets to tell the truth. (If the government were not actively skewing the markets trying to "fix" inequities we would not be in our current financial mess and we would all, including those who were targeted by their good intentions, be better off.
3) A robin was spotted by Rick on Jan 5. (I've decided they don't all leave town for the winter)
4) "Sales of automobiles were up last quarter but growth was held in check by the biggest government cutbacks in years." (If you don't see the lunacy in this news report then you are most certainly a liberal)
5) Treadle Doc input 1 is the light curtain. Input 2 is the loop.
6) I've always relied on my good looks and the kindness of others to get by. Unfortunately, as I have gotten old people have become less kind.
7) An "ideological pose" is something every successful politician strikes as an election nears.
8) A loop is a proximity device. A light curtain is a precision device.
9) The left believes in cradle to grave entitlements, it's getting to the cradle that can be tricky.
10) Paying your own way is the essence of freedom.
11) I'll take your secret to my grave or the break room which ever comes first.
12) The commercial said, "take Progene and be the man you want to be" so I sent them an order stating that I wanted to be Robert Redford.
13) Hope is not deceptive when we are not deceived.
14) We should make politicians speak through a deFIBrillator.
15) 70 percent of Utah is government land.
16) A motorcyclist received jail time for going 171 in a 60 mph zone. He also lost his license. I'm thinking he should have kept it in his front pocket.
17) Incentivising non-work if not a waste of money is certainly a waste of people. (I think this is a loose translation of a Mark Styne quote)
18) Would speaking on her and my behalf be a bewhole?
19) Did you go to Occidental on purpose?
20) I was in my turnpike uniform one day when I asked an attractive young lady if it was true women swoon over a man in unform. She said, "probably".
21) (Weds. Sept. 5) Chris and Joan arrive.
22) The weatherman says, "part your hair to the south today".
23) Half of the states general fund goes to K-12 schools.
24) Globally, obesity is the cause of more deaths than mal-nutrition.
25) Regualatory agencies have the power of law.
26) Why do tax cuts have time limits but not tax increases?
27) Healthcare administration under the new healthcare law will increase over 2 fold from 28 billion to 71 billion.
28) People who rudely interject themselves in others conversations are Jaytalking.
    Hope you enjoyed reading this more than I enjoyed entering it on my eye pad :-)

I Just Don't Get It

So anyway, I'm sitting in Cracker Barrel, head bowed, wondering if; hoping that; my Heavenly Father is catching a whiff of this wonderful meal I'm about to eat. My goodness! The smell of the chicken-fried steak giving way to the fresh green beans then the odor of the mashed potatoes makes an appearance in my nostrils. It was after 10 pm so I was pretty hungry too. I'm amazed at this world God has made. We invent something and then embark on an endless path of revisions and modifications to try to get it right. God made something and pronounced that it was good. Man oh man am I in agreement with Him on that.

Today there was a story in the news here in Wichita about a newborn's body that was found in a dumpster. These stories just tear at our hearts as we consider the poor baby left there to die in a dumpster. Heartbreaking. As I have continued considering this event a bizarre thought wandered into my head. If the teenager who left the baby there had walked into an abortion clinic and had a late term abortion of this same child there would have been millions rushing to her side to defend her "right" to a safe and sterile abortion. A legal procedure that would have gone virtually unnoticed. It would have been another act that everyone says they want to be rare and safe and yet it is neither. Are there no tears for a life that is only devalued by our legal system, not by any moral or ethical measure? Is this any different than the law Barack Obama voted for in Illinois to allow doctors to simply abandon a newborn if the mothers intent was to abort the child? If that child were to be deposited in the dumpster by a doctor does that make it OK? You begin to see why our nation is coming apart at the seams. The thread that holds our nation together is weak and breaking in places and there is no government that can rule a nation of amoral people and continue to offer the freedoms that were intended by our founders. May we all consider our own lives and consider turning back to Jesus. His forgiveness can bring our country back to a place of freedom and hope. But that will only happen as a by-product of a spiritual awakening of those who make up the country.
Spread the news. Jesus saves and His arms are open wide.