Thursday, December 31, 2009

___________ New Year



Abraham Lincoln said, “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”


That’s true isn’t it? I’ve always been a bit amazed at how I’ve come accustomed to someone “wishing” me a Merry Christmas or a Happy New Year as if it were a guarantee. After all, saying HAPPY NEW YEAR is really just a condensed version of, “I’m hoping you have a Happy New Year.” It’s a hope, not a promise. How merry we make our Christmas or how happy we make our New Year is really up to us isn’t it?

Sure, we can blame our lack of happiness on a death in the family or a divorce or the loss of a job. And it’s normal, in fact healthy, to feel sadness or loss at those things. We SHOULD feel that way. But does that mean we can’t be happy? I don’t think so. Happiness comes from a different place. It isn’t influenced by outside sources. It comes from waaaaaaaaaay down deep inside. It can be most difficult to find sometimes, but it’s there alright.

For some it just bubbles to the top like fizz from a soda. For others it’s more like a bubble escaping from a tar pit……perhaps a bit slower, if you will. But it’s there for everyone. Maybe you need a little help finding your happiness. That is certainly ok. What ISN’T ok is making it someone else’s job to find your happiness for you: to make them responsible for your happiness. That just isn’t fair, and frankly, it just doesn’t work. Those bubbles burst whether from soda or tar.

For some, not being happy is really nothing more than habit. Maybe some low spots in their lives led them to stop looking. Now THAT truly is sad. I believe we’re all here to be happy. So…..ok…..yes I get it. No one said it was going to be easy. In fact at many times it is excruciating, that search to the abyss where happiness lies. But it’s still a choice we each make personally as to whether or not we trudge on……searching, probing, learning, reeeeeeeeeeeeaaching.

As we near the end of a new year, a new decade, let’s support each other in mustering the strength to be happy. (And by the way, for those of you who think this isn’t the end of the decade, explain to me why 1970 wasn’t the last year of the 60’s). I can’t guarantee any of you a Happy New Year, but I can certainly wish you one, hope for one. And although I won’t be Happiness for you, I’ll certainly help you look for yours if you ask nice and I’m not too busy looking for mine.

Let’s do this. Let’s do everything we can to make 2010 a HAPPY year! It doesn’t have to start January 1, you know. Every day is the start of a new year. It all depends on when you start counting.

So raise a glass. Here’s wishing, hoping, and even praying for each and every one of you to have the best year yet. May the best of your past, be the worst of your future.

Matt

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

More Perspective



In the Dallas Morning News yesterday, a front page article entitled Gravity of Failed Bombing Emerges, quoted the following:


“WASHINGTON – A day after Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said there was ‘no indication’ an attempted Christmas Day attack aboard an airliner was connected to a larger plot, there were increasing signs that the failed bombing may have represented one of the most serious terrorist threats in the U.S. since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.”

Let me repeat the last phrase……..”since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001”. If my math is correct, that is just over 8 years. Yet in the wake of the attempted bombing by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, people all over the globe are already screaming that our current screening system isn’t working. But I’ll get back to that.

If you haven’t been keeping up, the above-named “terrorist” made it through airport security, apparently with no passport, with a bomb concealed in his genital area. Obviously it would seem someone dropped the ball here in a big way. But to be fair, this guy couldn’t even detonate a simple bomb that “could”…..COULD have blown a hole in the airplane. Instead, he caught his shorts on fire. I’m sorry, but that just makes me laugh. It doesn’t forgive the apparent TSA slip-up, but obviously this guy was a french fry short of a Happy Meal. It’s comical.

What isn’t so funny is the avalanche of criticism following the event. I can’t tell you how disheartened I feel sometimes at the attitude of a large percentage of Americans. That being said, I think I should share my perspective on our current state of security. Obviously, I’m no security expert, but I am involved in providing emergency services to the general public.

To begin with, unless you are prepared to go through the security check-point naked and are further prepared to be allowed absolutely no luggage, there IS no fool-proof way to catch each and every person that poses a threat to our security. Every time you step on an airplane, or train, or ride the elevator to the top floor of a hi-rise considered a prime target, you’re taking a risk. Every time you attend a sporting event, a concert, or a political event….ditto. Run the numbers. Regardless of how capable the Department of Homeland Security is (or isn’t), there is positively no way whatsoever to guarantee we’ll catch every terrorist. I can assure you, there will be other attacks on and off our soil. Tweak the system any way you’d like. You still won’t catch them all. What you will eventually do is paralyze a nation that expects perfection. Funny, isn’t that what the terrorists want? Even if they fail, they win because we live in fear.

Which brings me to a similar point. Since the attacks of 9/11, I and people like me have been trained in a variety of new skills. Emergency responders all over the country have been trained to spot Weapons of Mass Destruction. There is a brand new nation-wide system of communication called NIMS which allegedly assures that everyone responding to a mass incident is on the same page. Homeland Security has been developed, revamped and revamped again. We spend billions and billions of dollars every year so that NEXT time something like the World Trade Center or a Hurricane Katrina leaves us in ruin, we’ll be more organized and expedient. Our response will be swift and efficient. It breaks my heart to tell you this, but if a disaster of that magnitude strikes again, regardless of all the training and the billions of dollars spent, it’s going to be organized chaos each and every time. Will it be better than 9/11? Sure. Probably. Is it going to be a colossal comedy of errors? You can bet on it. There are things going on logistically at a disaster such as that you can’t even fathom. On top of that, everyone wants to be in charge. OR….NO one wants to be in charge. Politicians are trying to run the show looking for sound bites. Local jurisdictions are immediately overwhelmed so the State steps in and then THEY are immediately overwhelmed. Shortly thereafter FEMA shows up and eventually, things start to achieve some sort of order. Firefighters and police will be trying to save citizens and save their own. Citizens will be trying to help. Trust me on this. It’ll be a nightmare.

I guess what frustrates me most about all this is our unrealistic desire for things to be perfect. People expect that there will never be another terrorist attack or that if there is, the response will be neat and orderly. Neither of those things could be further from reality. Yet since Christmas Day, we’ve already applied shot-gun solutions to a rifle problem. Now, while on a plane, you can’t use a blanket or pillow. You can’t reach into your overhead bin. You can’t use the bathroom the last hour of the flight. I’m sure all that stuff will be a big help. No terrorist in his right mind would ever go to the bathroom in the FIRST hour of the flight.

Remember the shoe bomber? One guy makes it on a plane with a “shoe bomb” and suddenly we’re all barefoot. Another guy has some liquid bomb thingamajig and now we can’t take a water bottle. And your tooth paste had better be in a tube less than 3 oz. in size. It’s all ridiculous, yet we do these little things that won’t help because it pacifies people.

Enough. If you want perfection, leave your shoes and bags at home, strap on a robe and show up at the airport naked. That’s obviously where we’re heading. The system we have IS working. It isn’t perfect, but no system is. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to improve. It just means we need to be reasonable. We’re never going to reach perfection.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Merry Christmas



Tonite, something of a miracle has occurred in the great state of Texas.  It's covered in a blanket of new snow.  And not just icy, nasty snow.  It's actually beautiful, white, drifting snow.  For the first time since 1926, the people of the Dallas area will have a white Christmas. 

I would be willing to gamble, that for most people, this snow is nothing more than a long-awaited childhood dream.  For the first time in two generations, children of all ages will enjoy the soft white blanket of snow on Christmas day.  For me it means much more.  If you keep up with the blog, you've recently read a "poem" I drafted over a year ago regarding just such a snow.  It took me over a year to share that script publicly, and now outside my window is a new blanket of snow.  For me it's a sign of newness, of a fresh start, of a clean slate on which to etch a new trail.  Be careful which step you take first.  Others may follow.

Having said all that, I find it interesting that I'm reflecting this year on the meaning of Christmas.  Admittedly, this year has not been without emotional challenges and the fact that I'm writing at my table on Christmas Eve is testimony to those challenges.  I'm not complaining.  I have much to be grateful for.  So again, if you keep up with these meager ramblings, you know by now that I'm no longer a Christian.  I'm Agnostic, or as someone dear to me would argue, I'm Gnostic.  I'm still researching that one.  If you read along you ALSO know that I'm a little opinionated and like a good argument, be it regarding politics or religion.  Tonite, I don't care to argue that.  You see, it really doesn't matter whether you're Christian, or Muslim, or Buddhist, or Atheist.  It doesn't even matter whether or not you believe the story of Christmas.  It is without question, one of the greatest stories ever told.  It's a story of a father's love, of peace, of forgiveness, of redemption.  It's a story of hope. It's a story of one of the greatest teachers of all time:  Jesus, the Christ. Surely we can all agree on that.  Here's my version.

Before the time of Christ, we had the Ten Commandments.  These were essentially Old Testament (or old covenant, old contract if you will) rules.  You remember.  These are amazing guidelines brought down to the people of Israel from Mount Sanai that no one seems to live up to.  I know I never could.  I believe this is where the phrase "etched in stone" probably originated.  But these were God's rules and you had to follow them or atone for your sins by sacrificing a goat, etc.  OR....there was always Hell.  Again I wish to not debate that entire scenario.  Those were the rules......God's rules.  But alas, even God eventually realized his people couldn't abide by these rules.  Everyone was doomed to hell because that's what God had promised.  And since God is perfect, he could not go back on his word.  Quite a dilemma I'd say.

But God developed a plan.  There just weren't enough goats to sacrifice for all the world's sin. God decided then and there to send "Himself" to earth to live as man and be the sacrifice for all sin; past, present and future.  Enter Jesus and the NEW Covenant. 

As great philosphers of ancient time had "predicted", the Savior was born to a young virgin named Mary in Bethlehem.  She gave birth to her Son, surrounded by barn animals.  She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and placed him in a manger.  But that is only the beginning.  A star shined bright above the stable and wise men came from afar to bring gifts to the newborn King.  It truly is a beautiful story filled with wonder.

The short version (surely you know the whole story) is that this baby, Jesus, grew to become a Jewish carpenter who was then labeled the Son of God, King of Kings.  He was both fully God and fully human.  He lived an incredible life as a teacher, healer and leader.  But, as was foretold,  in his early 30's he was branded a heretic and crucified on a cross next to common thieves.  His death is your hope.  His life wasn't taken....it was given so that all might come to know the kingdom of Heaven.

Again, from an historical standpoint this story is full of holes.  I don't believe much of it.  But I don't believe ghosts from baseball past appeared on a baseball diamond cut in the middle of a corn field in Iowa either, yet Field of Dreams is a superb movie filled with great lessons.  You don't have to believe it to reap the benefits of the story.  So during this holiday season, take out your bible and tell your children the story of Jesus.  I can think of no better thing to give your children for Christmas than a story of hope. 

To all my friends, loved one's and faithful readers, have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.  Make a new path on a fresh snow.

Matt

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Poetry in Motion

A little over a year ago, I had the opportunity to go to Nebraska and spend a little time at the orchard. That place is amazing and always gives me some level of peace. One morning, very early, I walked outside to take a stroll along the trees and just take in some cold Nebraska air. As I walked out the door, I was met with a beautiful “dusting” of new snow. During my short walk I met a wandering raccoon who came near enough to almost touch. When I returned from my myopic adventure, I walked inside and what follows is what came out. Don’t ask me when I turned from Philosophy to Poetry. Don’t worry. I’ll be back.





I awaken to a dusting of fresh snow and stand on the walk, pondering my first step, unretraceable.

The snow unmarked, untrodden like the life of a newborn baby having not made his first step.

How shall I leave my mark on the glistening snow? Which direction shall I take? What mark will I leave? Will someone be able to follow my trail or will wind and time erase the prints so that each may leave their own?

The raccoon ponders not his path, which step or direction. Minding only which way leads to peril, becoming prey, not predator. Each step by instinct, not thought.

And as I ponder which step, I start in any direction, following only my heart, leaving my trail, my path, my mark. And looking back see that wind has already covered my footsteps. Having no clear retrace by which to return, my choices remain open in any direction.

Every step a new path, a new adventure. Walk on. Leave a trail. Make a NEW trail. Walk on.


-Matt Leatherwood-

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Robert Frost I Ain't



They say there is peace and serenity in being alone, yet it eludes me.

That there is comfort in the company of close friends, though I have but a few.

That there is nothing like the pride of being a father and dad, yet I only succeed from a distance.

Nothing still like the true love of just one other, yet pain accompanies the risk loving entails.

There is a dark place in me that only I can find, where only I can go, and only I can escape.

True failure only comes from failing to try, yet trying becomes harder with each failure.

Yet try I must, for in three words, IT GOES ON.  Precious life, but one, goes on and on, taking with it only

those who continue to fight, continue to try, continue to love, continue to learn, continue to grow.

Happiness hovers in the shadows still of this life, waiting only for the sunshine of a new day to shed light upon

what is yet to come.

Keep breathing in and out, in and out, in and out.  You never know what the tide may bring. What a new

dawn promises, what a new day envelopes.

Go forth with open eyes, an open heart and an open soul.

With each second the universe gets larger, the world smaller, and I more insignificant yet more unique.

Breathe in, breathe out.  The warmth of a new sun is but hours away.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Grand Theft



Recently my apartment was burglarized. In broad daylight, someone violently kicked in the door of my apartment, as well as the doors of three others. In the moments that ensued, these thieves took only a few electronics, a pistol, a badge, a briefcase and a phone. From me, all that was taken was a television, empty briefcase and a phone. What they left is more puzzling than what they took, but that’s another matter. They managed to open and rummage through every drawer, look under the mattress, and otherwise help themselves to whatever they wished. They just didn’t take much.


It’s the second time this year that I’ve felt “violated”. If you want to know about the other time, check out my blog archives. This time was different. When I got the news that I had been burglarized, I was 600 miles away in another state. I was helpless to really do much, including give the police officer any kind of accurate inventory. Over the phone, we were able to establish that some of my most precious keepsakes were still there. Odd.

At first, I just felt helpless, maybe even a little ill. There truly was little that I could do, so I tried not to let it ruin my mini-vacation. Over the next couple of days I felt some anguish, some anger. I was curious to see what my humble little abode looked like in the aftermath. There were times I was truly angry and disgusted. At other times I tried to go the “they must have needed it worse than I did” route. You know, it’s a bad economy and times are tough. This kind of thing is going to happen. But that just didn’t work for me. Oddly, neither did the anger.

Who among us hasn’t stolen something at one time or another? Bear with me. I’m not talking about material stuff. There have been times in my life where I have barged into a life where I wasn’t necessarily welcome and made a mess of an otherwise peaceful house. Through my words or actions I have stolen or damaged dignity and peace of mind. I have robbed people of their sense of security and safety. I have robbed those closest to me of their confidence, their purpose. I have, at one time or another, left them standing in the door with their mouth open, wondering how on earth I could do this to them.

I wonder if the thieves that made themselves at home in those four apartments, look in the mirror and ask themselves how they could do such a thing. I doubt it. I know I wake up every day and wonder how I can ever give back the things I’ve taken. I can’t. Trust is a commodity not easily replaced. I can’t say I forgive those who burglarized my home. But I understand. I worked hard for my “stuff” and it amazes me that someone would help themselves.

What those people did was illegal, at best. But the things I’ve taken over the course of a lifetime are in a category all itself. I can’t go to jail, but in many ways I’ve created my own prison. Be careful what you take. The price of taking what isn’t yours may be far higher than any price tag. Can you even put a price on integrity?

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Andy Rooney



This isn't mine. And although I can't say I completely agree with everything he says, he says it pretty well. Enjoy. -Matt-



Andy Rooney said on '60 Minutes' a few weeks back:


I don't think being a minority makes you a victim of anything except numbers. The only things I can think of that are truly discriminatory are things like the United Negro College Fund, Jet Magazine, Black Entertainment Television, and Miss Black America.. Try to have things like the United Caucasian College Fund, Cloud Magazine, White Entertainment Television, or Miss White America; and see what happens...Jesse Jackson will be knocking down your door.

Guns do not make you a killer. I think killing makes you a killer. You can kill someone with a baseball bat or a car, but no one is trying to ban you from driving to the ball game.

I believe they are called the Boy Scouts for a reason, which is why there are no girls allowed. Girls belong in the Girl Scouts! ARE YOU LISTENING MARTHA BURKE?

I think that if you feel homosexuality is wrong, it is not a phobia, it is an opinion.

I have the right 'NOT' to be tolerant of others because they are different, weird, or tick me off.

When 70% of the people who get arrested are black, in cities where 70% of the population is black , that is not racial profiling; it is the Law of Probability.

I believe that if you are selling me a milkshake, a pack of cigarettes, a newspaper or a hotel room, you must do it in English! As a matter of fact, if you want to be an American citizen, you should have to speak English!

My father and grandfather didn't die in vain so you can leave the countries you were born in to come over and disrespect ours.

I think the police should have every right to shoot you if you threaten them after they tell you to stop. If you can't understand the word 'freeze' or 'stop' in English, see the above lines.

I don't think just because you were not born in this country, you are qualified for any special loan programs, government sponsored bank loans or tax breaks, etc., so you can open a hotel, coffee shop, trinket store, or any other business.

We did not go to the aid of certain foreign countries and risk our lives in wars to defend their freedoms, so that decades later they could come over here and tell us our constitution is a living document; and open to their interpretations.

I don't hate the rich. I don't pity the poor

I know pro wrestling is fake, but so are movies and television. That doesn't stop you from watching them.

I think Bill Gates has every right to keep every penny he made and continue to make more. If it ticks you off, go and invent the next operating system that's better, and put your name on the building.

It doesn't take a whole village to raise a child right, but it does take a parent to stand up to the kid; and smack their little behinds when necessary, and say 'NO!'

I think tattoos and piercing are fine if you want them, but please don't pretend they are a political statement. And, please, stay home until that new lip ring heals. I don't want to look at your ugly infected mouth as you serve me French fries!

I am sick of 'Political Correctness.' I know a lot of black people, and not a single one of them was born in Africa ; so how can they be 'African-Americans'? Besides, Africa is a continent. I don't go around saying I am a European-American because my great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather was from Europe. I am proud to be from America and nowhere else

And if you don't like my point of view, tough...

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG, OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA , AND TO THE REPUBLIC, FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL! And what about CANADIANS-We feel the same. Bravo for the Canadians too!!!

 

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Lets Come Home



The Dallas Morning News reported yesterday that the Commander of the North American Armed Forces is faced with a troubling task. According to this report, this Commander is to determine whether the terroristic threat from the air in these United States warrants continuation of our current level of nation-wide air support. Apparently, since the attacks of 9/11 our armed services have either patrolled our air space or been on stand-by to intercept possible unknown threats. If memory serves, I believe that last year there were 1400 unknown aircraft that warranted going on alert. Of those, 400 required us to be concerned and on 200 occasions we actually launched F18 Fighters to intercept and identify the possible threat.

It should come as no surprise that launching an F18 or keeping a force on call to intercept known threats is an expensive endeavor. To that regard, the Commander is basically being asked to reassess and trim the budget. Is there anyone else out there that finds this a bit odd? Ok, how but insane? The cost of the war in Iraq/Afghanistan is rapidly approaching 1 trillion dollars. Yes, that’s with a T. Our war is costing the U.S. taxpayer around 65 million dollars a day. On average, it costs about 390,000 dollars to deploy ONE soldier. And we’re worried about the budget to patrol our own air space?

Please. I completely understand the battle plan that states it’s better to take the fight to the enemy than for them to take it to us. But here’s my battle plan. If I’m at war, I would much rather hunker down in my own house with food and ammo and a really big fence, and DEFEND my turf than I would roam the streets waiting for the enemy to jump out. Game over. I think maybe it’s time we did the same.

I’ve said before I was the first on the bandwagon that called for Hussein’s head. I was all for going over to Iraq and righting a serious wrong. But let’s face it. It’s time to come home. This is a war we cannot win. We CAN continue to somewhat suppress acts of terrorism by maintaining a presence in the Middle East, but it will never, ever stop. This war has been going on for centuries already. Radical Islamics practice Jihad, from the word Jahada, which means “to strive for” and implies a struggle to overcome some force of adversity. In a nutshell, these radicals believe you should convert or die. AND…they are more than willing to die for that cause. It’s hard to defeat an enemy that isn’t afraid to die.

If I can figure out we can’t “win” an outright war on terror in the Middle East, don’t you think the Commander of the Joint Chiefs knows it? Hell yes he knows. So the conspiracy theorist in me screams that we’re there for another reason, be it oil or huge government defense contracts. If we’re truly serious about ending that fight once and for all, we drop glass cutters in the sand attached to a note. We give our troops a couple days to withdraw, and we turn the Middle East into a giant plate-glass window. I know that’s gross oversimplification, but we’re just dicking around over there and our men and women are dying for it each and every day. Defending our freedom? Sure they are, because they’re under orders. How about we order them home? Let’s spend that 65 million dollars a day patrolling our own shores, watching our own air space, hiring some more CIA spies, etc. etc. etc. I’ll bet we can easily do a better job defending our country against terrorism for a lot less money, by hunkering down right here at home.

Enough is enough. Let’s bring them home.



Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Something A Little "Lighter"



I recently purchased an Apple iPhone. It seemed like the thing to do. My old Palm Treo was acting up. Sometimes it would take a call. Sometimes not. Sometimes you could actually make a call. Sometimes, well…….not so much. It was time. It was time for me to move fully into the 21st century. I needed the latest and greatest gadget so that I, too, could “get an app for that”.

At the store, the sales rep assured me that my iPhone would sync easily with my old Palm software and all my calendar information would be transferred to my new wonderful device. Again, not so much. I really didn’t feel like I was taking much of a risk, because I WAS only paying 99 dollars (with a two year contract) for this most amazing piece of technology. Oh, well it was actually 160 dollars to get out the door because I DID need the latest and greatest hard cover, protector -thingy for my new toy. You can’t actually INSURE an iPhone so you better be able to protect it.

On my first attempt at HotSyncing, I learned quickly that iPhone does NOT actually sync easily with Palm software. In fact, iPhone ONLY syncs with MicroSoft Outlook, OR occasionally with Google Calendar/Contacts, but it isn’t quite that simple. So, I went gingerly off to my local Best Buy and purchased my brand new version of Outlook. It was only 119 dollars after tax, after all. Upon installation, I found that my old Palm phone, which stored all my previous data, would not sync with Outlook because the software version I had was incompatible WITH VISTA!!  After downloading the latest version of PALM software, I could now sync my OLD phone with Outlook so that I could THEN sync Outlook with my new fancy iPhone. It took two hours on the phone with a really nice guy from India to figure all that out.

But here’s the really good news. This phone is amazing. Today, I downloaded a new “app” which is called “virtual lighter.” It’s a must-have for concert-goers. You open the app and a “lighter” pops up on your screen. Using only your finger, you can open the lighter and actually strike it like the real thing, at which time a flame appears which actually BLOWS IN THE WIND!!!! I know, right?! If you want to share information with another iPhone owner, you need only open the information you need, and bump phones. POOF!! Like magic the phones share selected data. How that works is WAY beyond my shallow mind. But of course, all this has me thinking.

Anyone over the age of 40 must easily remember Dick Tracy. You know, he was the famous comic book detective that used a two-way wrist radio. It was the stuff of fantasy land. How could someone just talk on his wristwatch? That kind of technology was reserved for someone from outer space or some vast frontier. Certainly not something we’d see in our lifetime. Boy, were we ever wrong in a very, very, very big way.

Consider how technology has evolved in only the last 120 years or so. Only 200 years ago we didn’t have things like the internal combustion engine. Electricity, the telephone, cell technology, the internet, micro-chips, ad infinitum. My girlfriend in High School had a party line at her country home. Are you KIDDING ME? Today, I can take a small device from my hip and make a call, send a text message, surf the internet, play on Facebook, check my email and calendar, read my horoscope and get a tarot reading. The things I can do on my “phone” would have taken an acre of computer hardware to handle only 30 years ago. 30 years before that a “computer” was something of science fiction. Imagine all this in only 100 years or so.

Now consider that our earth/universe is billions and billions of years old. Mankind has only been part of that picture a fraction of that time; a very SMALL fraction of that time. We’ve only been around a few million years. It took millions and millions and MILLIONS of years to get to the beginning of where we are technologically today.

Now ponder this. If we’ve developed this much in only 100 years, imagine what will happen in the next 1000!!! We’ve already mapped human DNA. We have the technology to clone actual human beings although it hasn’t been done yet…..at least to our knowledge. Quantum physics is in its infancy. Things that once were thought impossible are now, well…….likely. How about time travel, worm holes, quantum leaps? You’d have to be living in a cave to disbelieve that we’ll someday be traveling on little spaceships. I’d say it’s only a matter of a generation or two before we’re actually considering things like time travel, or literally transponding from one location to another…instantaneously. This of course can all be true if we don’t self-destruct first. We may actually be able to travel to, and explore new galaxies.

Nothing is impossible. Dream big. Imagine the unimaginable. Consider the impossible. I only wish I could live to see the amazing things mankind has yet to invent. If you still don’t believe any of this can happen, you should come take a look at my new “virtual shotgun” app. Amazing……..simply amazing.








Monday, November 16, 2009

The Great Lakes Swimmers




I posted these lyrics previously on my old blog, but thought they deserved another look. Enjoy.




I was lost in the lakes

And the shape that your body makes,

That your body makes.


And the mountains said I could find you here,

They whisper the snow and the leaves in my ear.

I traced my finger along your trails.

Your body was the map.

I was lost in there.


Floating over your rocky spine,

The glaciers made you and now you’re mine.

I was moving across your frozen veneer.

The sky was dark,

But you were clear.

Could you feel my footsteps?

And would you shatter, would you shatter?

Would you?


Your soft fingers between my claws,

Like purity against resolve.

I could tell then there that we were formed from the clay,

And came from the rocks for earth to display.



They told me to be careful up there,

Where the wind rages through your hair.


-The Great Lakes Swimmers-

Freedom Isn't Free




Recently, a lone gunman, who just happened to be a Major in the United States Army and a practicing Muslim, killed 13 military and civilian people and seriously injured 31 others at Fort Hood, Texas. Miraculously, the gunman, although seriously injured himself, survived. How that man came out alive in a room full of military personnel and MP’s is a mystery to me, but that’s another topic for another time.

Once again, we’re left to ponder how such a ruthless act could take place inside our borders. How could someone from a radical Islamic background rise to such a high level in our military and be allowed to carry out a premeditated plot? This man was a psychiatrist for crying out loud. Well, I’ll tell you how it happened. It’s called Freedom, and it’s what our brave men and women in the military have fought and died for in this country and abroad for centuries.

People all around me are shouting from the rooftops about this man moving around freely in our country with the background he has. There is already evidence that he emailed people with known terrorist ties, yet nothing was done to thwart his efforts. I can’t help but agree that perhaps something more could have been done. But then again, haven’t we all been guilty of arm-chair-quarterbacking and looking the other way? As humans, I believe we’re largely preprogrammed to look for and expect the best from people. Maybe those closest to Hasan were simply doing the same thing. It’s a mentality that tells us, “It can’t happen to me.” Or better yet, “This guy would never do something like that. I’ve known him for years.” You hear it every time someone commits suicide. “I should have seen the signs.” “I should have done something.” Hind sight, as they say, is always 20/20.

In the movie, American President, Michael Douglas, who is playing President Andrew Sheppard makes a speech that has always stuck with me (yes, I know it’s a movie). In that speech, Michael Douglas says, “America is advanced citizenship. You’ve gotta want it bad, ‘cause it’s gonna put up a fight.” What does that mean exactly? He goes on to say that freedom isn’t just being able to display the flag. It also has to be allowing people to burn that flag in protest. Before you hang me for treason, please know that I abhor someone that would burn our symbol of freedom. However, like it or not, that is EXACTLY what being free involves.

When our founding fathers penned the phrase, One Nation Under God, and established freedom of religion through our constitution, they didn’t mean Christianity. Sure, all of those men were from Christian decent, but they were trying to escape the stronghold of a Monarchy that said they HAD to be. What that means, dear reader, is that in the United States of America, we are free to practice whatever religion we prefer….OR….none at all. That is our constitutional right. It does NOT allow us the freedom to kill innocent people in the name of that religion. That is a matter of law.

By now you’re probably waiting on some point to this entry. It’s simply this. Major Hasan should be taken before a Military Tribunal, and if found guilty, hung from the highest rope, and then shot. Nothing is too bad for what he did. But if he’s guilty (and he obviously is), he’s guilty of murder and nothing more. As much as we’d like to, we can’t hold his feet to the fire for following Islam. Agree or not, it’s his constitutional right as a citizen of these United States. Freedom isn’t easy…..and it certainly isn’t free.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Old Dogs




An excerpt from the book, 50 Things That Really Matter. And no, I didn’t ask permission. I’m not gaining anything, just thought this was worth passing on. It will be relevant in a future blog.

OLD DOGS
“When my old golden retriever developed major health problems, I knew that watching him fail would be painful, but I wasn’t prepared for the powerful lessons he’d offer in the last year of his life.

Chance was 14 when the problems started. First, he developed a thyroid tumor that collapsed his throat and left him whistling for breath. Then came cataracts in both eyes, arthritis in his hips, and a series of ministrokes that threw off his balance. Any one of these setbacks would have left me pleading for relief, but Chance became more serene as the disabilities piled up - seemingly seizing each problem as an opportunity to demonstrate how to face aging with dignity and grace.

When hip pain left him frozen on the floor, unable to rise for a quick pet as I came home, he didn’t complain. He just lay there patiently, beckoning me with his thumping tail, each stroke spelling out the value of waiting for the things you want.

When his cataracts made navigating difficult after dark, he’d stand calmly until I could guide him inside, proving how easy it is to find contentment if you let go of your pride and insecurities and learn to lean on those who love you.

When ministrokes had him staggering like a drunk, he taught the value of persistence. For days after each attack, he’d lurch and fall as he moved about. Yet again and again he’d try to walk, each day moving a few more steps until finally he was able to get outside and back by himself.

There were lessons in so much of what he did, but the key one surely was the importance of living in the moment – of extracting all the joy possible from each experience – whether it’s a day lazing under a warm sun or a few minutes savoring a favorite meal.

For most of our life together, Chance was always rushing ahead, searching out new adventures, then circling back to let me know what lay around the next bend. As an old dog, he did the same thing, using his attitude, instead of his once-fast legs, to show the way. For this, I’ll be forever grateful.”

- Kevin Ireland -

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Obama's Peace Prize


By now I'm sure everyone has heard the news. Our President of the United States, this week, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace. Like many on either side of the liberal/conservative platform, I too, was surprized. It's difficult to imagine that the leader of the free world and Commander-in-Chief of the largest arsenol on the planet, at war no less, could be awarded a prize for peace. I'll have to agree that the nomination and the award seem a little "soon" in his administration. However, like most opinion I put to print, I try to do a little homework before I hit the Enter Key.
As you might guess, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh were having a hayday with this. Their conservative talk radio platform was overloaded with calls from both sides. More on that later, but for now, lets look at the Nobel Prize and it's origin.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which selects the Laureate (or recipient) of the Peace Prize, is appointed by the Norwegian Parliament. That committee is presently chaired by Thorbjorn Jagland. There are, in fact, five members of the committee and here they are:
Thorbjørn Jagland
Kaci Kullmann Five
Sissel Marie Rønbeck
Inger-Marie Ytterhorn
Ã…got Valle
The Last Will and Testament of Albert Nobel (for whom the prize is named) states that the prize should go, "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."[1] Alfred Nobel's will stated that the prize should be awarded by a committee of five people elected by the Norwegian Parliament.
Remember, this was Nobel's wish, but he died in 1896 and the committee had some ideas of their own. These are the basic criteria by which they select the Laureate:
"The AFSC Nobel Committee has formulated its own criteria, without expecting the AFSC
nominee to have a perfect score on each one: 1) commitment to nonviolent methods; 2) quality as a person and sustained contributions to peace in such areas as justice, human dignity, and the
integrity of the environment; and 3) possession of a world view rather than a parochial concern,
with potential for a global rather than a limited impact. In its search for nominees, the committee is expected to include all parts of the world, noting critical areas of conflict, and to consider how a Nobel Prize could further a peaceful result, as well as the relevance of a candidate's work to AFSC or other Quaker experience."
Although you may not see Barack Obama in Nobel's criteria, I think he rings pretty true in the eyes of the Committee. He's liberal, more socialistic. He's committed to the environment and possesses much more of a "World View". I realize all of those points can be argued, but on the world stage, with the exception of the Taliban, the guy can do no wrong. Oddly, in some of my readings, I learned that the Committee doesn't necessarily have to consider a nominees progress in the area of peace. A candidate need only have potential for furthering the peace process. Kinda makes you think maybe the committee has an agenda.
Which brings me back to the conservative media. I actually heard Sean Hannity say that he didn't view peace as the absence of conflict. Rather he saw peace as a strong military and lethal arsenal. In my little world, that seems a little frightening. In today's world, having a strong defense certainly helps promote peace by acting as a form of intimidation, but having nuclear weapons and mass quantities of destructive power certainly ISN'T peace.
I'm convinced that the committee may have had something a little more underhanded in mind. What better way to nudge the Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces away from an increase in troops in the Middle East, etc. than to award him a prize for peace. I don't think it was so much a reward as it was a carrot. "Please, Mr. President, help us become a peaceful world". That's just a theory, but for me it holds water.
It may seem a little like an answer to a question for Miss America, but don't we all want world peace? Wouldn't it be nice if we didn't have to have nuclear weapons, chemical warfare and hundreds of thousands of troops? Wouldn't it be nice if we actually COULD set the example by laying down our weapons and saying to the world, "see what we've done, now you can do the same"? I'm not naive enough to believe that will happen, but wouldn't it be nice?
In the overall scheme of things, this is just an award. Sure, it comes with a 1.4 million dollar paycheck, but it's still just an award. I don't think it will influence Obama's decisions regarding our national defense. But maybe, just maybe, it will make everyone think before they order another strike or push the big red button. Can't we all just get along?
I swear, sometimes this stuff just writes itself.


Sunday, October 4, 2009

Water, Water Everywhere...............






"Water water everywhere! Nor any drop to drink!" The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Sooner or later I was gonna have to talk about this. I was going to have to rationally address our world's water shortage. I hate to slap you in the face with this, but there isn't one. There are simply too many people.
Our planet has a finite amount of water. It comes in many forms. In liquid form we have oceans, lakes, rivers, streams, springs, etc etc. All of those forms of liquid evaporate into gas particles which attach themselves to small particles of dust in the sky and become clouds. They get full and we get rain or snow or hail and whalla!!, we have liquid again. And then of course, we have ice. The ice is what has everyone in an uproar. The bottom line is, that the amount of water we DO have gets recycled in various stages, but worldwide, we ALWAYS have the same amount. There IS no shortage of water. You can't make more.
But, you may say, "I'm having a drought!" Look again my friend. Check any world weather map and I promise you that someone else is having a flood. Nature has a way of putting water where it wants it or NEEDS it. The problem is, we think it oughta go where WE want it. Seems a little short-sighted doesn't it? At the risk of sounding Obama-like, we have to start thinking more globally.
Ok, so maybe what we're really worried about is USEABLE water.....you know, the stuff we can drink! Thats a horse of a different color. There is little doubt that the water we have available to drink or use for consumption is at risk. Please tell me this doesn't surprise you. As our population continues to grow, there will be more competition for consumable water. And since there is a FINITE amount of water, we have to think about how it gets used, and by whom.
I'm going to ask you to think about something that most people avoid. Consider every other species on our planet. It doesn't matter whether it's amoeba or white-tailed deer. What happens when the habitat they depend on for survival becomes overcrowded? In other words, what happens when they've exhausted their resources? There are too many deer for this corn field or that meadow or whatever. I'll tell you what happens. The herd moves or the population starts to die off to adjust to available habitat. Moving is a short-term solution because ALL the herds move to a place of plenty and before long you have the same problem.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the same goes for humans. Our earth has finite resources whether it be water or oil or coal. Once it's gone, it's gone. We can prolong the agony some by moving to say, Mars, but eventually, we're gonna run out. I know I know. It's probably millions of years......maybe. My point is this. We're going to eventually have to die out in order to compete for those resources. Sure, not in my lifetime, but it's coming. We can drink less, irrigate less, build electric cars (which are ultimately powered by coal), or a hundred other things that will make it all last a little longer, but in general, we aren't going to put a dent in it. Not if you look at the big picture.
There are countries on this planet that actually try to control population by placing limits on the amount of children people have. In America we cry at the injustice of all that. I too, think it's wrong, but you have to admit it's at least something that should come up in a brainstorming session. Basically, controlling our population isn't gonna happen. Even if we had some success, it wouldn't matter in the long run. Besides, nature will take care of it.
But lets get back to that ice everyone is so worried about. Our glaciers are melting at an alarming rate. The rate at which they are melting is accelerating. Of course it is. Put an ice cube on your counter top. The more of it that melts, the FASTER it melts. It's physics. There is less "ice" to keep it frozen and so it melts faster and faster until it's water. Not a hard concept. It's the same with our glaciers. The one we all hear about all the time actually covered Kansas as little as 11,000 years ago. It didn't start melting yesterday. It's been melting for centuries and the more of it that melts the faster it's gonna melt. Go ahead and try to stop it. You can't. Put every PhD on the planet to work on this problem and they'll fail. I wonder if it ever occurred to anyone that the glaciers are melting to provide more fresh water to a growing population. It's Mother Nature at work.
Ok, so all this melting is going to raise sea level and huge quantities of land mass are going to disappear. In addition to that land mass, densely populated areas will be lost. The "herd" is going to have to move inland. And now that "herd" of people is going to be competing for the same resources in a yet smaller area until those resources are gone. You know what happens next. Mother Nature will introduce a disease or bug of some kind to thin the herd. I'd love to hear someone try to prove me wrong on this. In fact I'm kinda counting on it.
If we had unlimited resources this would all be a mute point. But even land is finite. If you had all the water and oil and food you could ever dream of, we'd still be at war over where to live within a million years or so. We aren't gonna win this one......not in the long run.
Take a good long drink of cool water. Irrigate your crops and share what you have with a friend. Lets make sure everyone has enough to drink while we still have some left. All the technology on the planet won't cure this problem. Generations from now it'll all be over. It has to be.
Don't hate me for this. If I'm wrong, why is NASA looking for other planets to inhabit?

Silence is Golden


Several years ago I was visiting my parents in Nebraska. I went to see them in the house where I was raised. It's nestled inside the boundaries of a small town, but only a stone's throw from open fields of soy beans and wheat. Those fields are where I spent a large percentage of my childhood. But I digress.

This particular visit was in the dead of winter and it was extremely cold. One night, well after dark, we lost all power for no apparent reason. Everyone on the block was blanketed in darkness. There were no porch lights. The street lights were out. There was no humming of transformers or flourescent lights. It was dark....and it was quiet................very quiet.
I don't remember the exact reason I decided to wander outside in such a bitter cold (probably to find out why the power might be out), but what I do remember is this; it was a clear night, not a cloud in the sky. You could see stars beyond your wildest imagination because the sky wasn't littered with artificial light. It was wonderful.
I took in a deep breath of the bitter cold, gazed into the sky and listened. I didn't hear a sound. It was deathly quiet. I can remember thinking about what a rare opportunity this was. I was truly enjoying the moment, when my ears picked up something I hadn't first noticed. From a distance, nearly 5 or 6 miles, I could hear the faint sound of cars and trucks rolling down Interstate 80. As much as I tried not to be, I was instantly saddened to realize how really difficult it is to find true quiet in a world full of noise. Sure, it wasn't loud or overbearing, but it pierced the quiet blanket of night all the same.
Being in absolute quiet is difficult even if you can find it. Without the distraction of music or television or video games or honking cars, you're left to listen to whats going on inside. That can be disquieting in itself. Sometimes I don't like the thoughts racing through my brain. Sometimes I just want whatever is in there drowned by 10 decibels of ZZ Top or Cooder Graw. But other times, more often than not, I prefer to listen to those thoughts. The time I have in my truck with the radio off is sometimes the only opportunity I have to listen to what's going on with me. It's important that I listen even when it isn't comfortable.
I think we all need quiet time. I only wish we had ways of finding absolute quiet. Sadly, I think those days are mostly gone in an overpopulated society. Sure, you can find it. But it may take a noisy jet airplane ride to get close to a place of solitude. All I'm really saying is this. Take time to enjoy the quiet. If you don't have a quiet place, just do the best you can.
I'll bet your brain and spirit have a lot of great things to say. Take time to give them a voice without distraction. You might like what you hear.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Mass Hysteria


"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it." Dr. Adrian Rogers (Special thanks to my buddy Rod in Nebraska for the quote).
Let me clear up a couple things. I'm basically a Conservative. I lean to the Moderate side, but certainly no where NEAR liberal. Yes, I voted for Obama, but if you've kept up with earlier blogs you'll know why. Now lets clear something else up.....please. Take a really good, looooooooooong look at the picture above. That is your president; love him or hate him, it's a free country. He is NOT the anti-christ, a socialist nutcase or Karl Marx. Some of his views are somewhat more "socialistic", but guess what. HE'S A DEMOCRAT!!! That....is......what......Democrats......DO!!!!!!!!! People are scaring me......really.
The latest in the conservative radio voice of mass hysteria is about Obama's speech to school children regarding the value of a good education, staying in school, studying hard, making something of yourself. People on the far right and every talk show I listen to, say that the President's agenda is about brainwashing our children into some kind of socialist mindset. Are you kidding me? Listen to me.......ARE YOU F'IN KIDDING ME??? The President of the United States and the leader of the free world wants to tell our kids to stay in school. Someone PLEASE explain to me how that is a partisan agenda where he wants to make our kids socialist robots.
I've heard recordings and seen publications quoting parents saying stuff about separation of school and politics..........."We'll teach our own kids, thank-you." What better role model FOR A CHILD who as yet has no political savvy is there than the president? I heard one parent state that it's the teachers job to deliver this message. No it isn't. It's a teachers job to teach. And I'm sorry, if the teachers were doing a good job of inpiring kids, there wouldn't be a 30% dropout rate. Don't get me wrong. Teaching is a thankless job that pays too little and there are many wonderful, inspiring teachers out there. I'm just talking about the system in general. It's broken. It's broken just like health care is broken.  Finally..........FINALLY.............someone is at least trying to fix it. You don't have to like how he's doing it, but at least support the fact that someone is finally trying.

All I'm saying is this......just like the health care reform bill, don't listen to propoganda. Do your own homework. At least see a copy of Obama's speech before you bash it. To my knowledge, no one but Obama and his speech writer have even seen it. Please, please, please!!! I'm begging you! Stop shooting from the hip without the facts. Sean Hannity wants you to be a Republican. There's nothing wrong with that....just be a Republican for the right reason.
You can't cure stupid, but you can sure do something about ignorance. Stop being ignorant.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Stella Awards


None of these are mine, but I just couldn't avoid passing them on. I don't even think comment is necessary. Start scratching. Matt
Stella Awards. It's time again for the annual 'Stella Awards'! For those unfamiliar with these awards, they are named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued the McDonald's in New Mexico , where she purchased coffee. You remember, she took the lid off the coffee and put it between her knees while she was driving. Who would ever think one could get burned doing that, right? That's right; these are awards for the most outlandish lawsuits and verdicts in the U.S. You know, the kinds of cases that make you scratch your head. So keep your head scratcher handy.Here are the Stellas for the past year:
*SEVENTH PLACE* Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas was awarded $80,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The store owners were understandably surprised by the verdict, considering the running toddler was her own son. Start scratching!
* SIXTH PLACE * Carl Truman, 19, of Los Angeles , California won $74,000 plus medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hubcaps. Scratch some more...
* FIFTH PLACE * Terrence Dickson, of Bristol , Pennsylvania , who was leaving a house he had just burglarized by way of the garage Unfortunately for Dickson, the automatic garage door opener malfunctioned and he could not get the garage door to open. Worse, he couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the garage to the house locked when Dickson pulled it shut. Forced to sit for eight, count 'em, EIGHT days and survive on a case of Pepsi and a large bag of dry dog food, he sued the homeowner's insurance company claiming undue mental Anguish. Amazingly, the jury said the insurance company must pay Dickson $500,000 for his anguish. We should all have this kind of anguish. Keep scratching. There are > > more.... Double hand scratching after this one..
*FOURTH PLACE* Jerry Williams, of Little Rock, Arkansas, garnered 4th Place in the Stella's when he was awarded $14,500 plus medical expenses after being bitten on the butt by his next door neighbor's beagle - even though the beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard. Williams did not get as much as he asked for because the jury believed the beagle might have been provoked at the time of the butt bite because Williams had climbed over the fence into the yard and repeatedly shot the dog with a pellet gun 20 times! Pick a new spot to scratch, you're getting a bald spot..
* THIRD PLACE * Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania because a jury ordered a Philadelphia restaurant to pay her $113,500 after she slipped on a spilled soft drink and broke her tailbone. The reason the soft drink was on the floor: Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument. What ever happened to people being responsible for their own actions? Only two more so ease up on the scratching...
*SECOND PLACE* Kara Walton, of Claymont , Delaware sued the owner of a night club in a nearby city because she fell from the bathroom window to the floor, knocking out her two front teeth. Even though Ms. Walton was trying to sneak through the ladies room window to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge, the jury said the night club had to pay her $12,000...oh, yeah, plus dental expenses. Go figure. Ok. Here we go!!
* FIRST PLACE * This year's runaway First Place Stella Award winner was: Mrs. Merv Grazinski, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, who purchased new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On her first trip home, from an OU football game, having driven on to the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver's seat to go to the back of the Winnebago to make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the motor home left the freeway, crashed and overturned Also not surprisingly, Mrs.. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not putting in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually leave the driver's seat while the cruise control was set. The Oklahoma jury awarded her, are you sitting down? $1,750,000 PLUS a new motor home. Winnebago actually changed their manuals as a result of this suit, just in case Mrs. Grazinski has any relatives who might also buy a motor home.
Are we, as a society, getting more stupid.... or are more members of Congress serving on juries these days?

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

A Little Perspective


The department that I work for is currently part of a nation-wide study to determine if chest compressions combined with a new device for administering rescue breathing improves the outcome of CPR. It specifically is looking to see if a higher percentage of people who actually stop breathing and lose a heartbeat eventually leave the hospital alive. We already know that the national "save" rate when someone is a CPR is somewhere between 2 and 4 percent. In other words.......usually.....dead is dead. We're trying to see if we can improve on that statistic.
Even though our record-keeping hasn't been so good, the data that HAS been collected indicates that our save rate is up a whopping 40 PERCENT using these new CPR methods. That's incredible isn't it? ISN'T IT?? Well, ok it IS an improvement, but let me share a little math with you. If, on average, we save two out of every 100 patients who is in cardiac and respiratory arrest, a 40 percent increase means now we save three. 3-2=1. 1 divided by 3 is about 33 percent. So it's probably more like 3.5. Don't get me wrong. If you're one of the 1.5 people who are saved by these methods, you're happy for the change. My point is this. Don't get caught up in the hype.
Which of course, brings me to the larger topic. What I'm really trying to address is our current administration (Obama) and our newly proposed health care plan. Here's what I think about it. I haven't a clue. Do you know why? I haven't even READ THE BILL! Every day of every week I hear common folk and conservative talk radio on a rampage about the Democrats and Obamacare. I'd like to let you in on a little secret. Most of what you hear is propaganda. Is some of it true? Sure it is. Is ALL of it true? Please. You're smarter than that, right?
I guess what I'm really trying to encourage you to do is, learn before you criticize. It's no different than religion. If you want to argue your religious stance with me, study first. If you want to argue politics and healthcare, study first. Problem is, I haven't studied yet, so give me time. For the love of God, don't assume this bill or that bill or this plan or that plan is bad just because Mark Levin or Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh SAYS it is. That makes you look ignorant. Their job is to make you believe the Republicans have it right. And maybe they do, just don't take their word for it.
If you think I'm wrong, consider when Bush was president. The Democrats were screaming from the rooftops that Bush and his administration was an idiot. Were the Democrats right? Probably no more so than the Republicans are now. The beauty of all this is that it is EXACTLY the way our founding fathers intended it. It's called checks and balances. Two parties duking it out is precisely what keeps us somewhere in the middle.
To be more precise, I don't think there is any way on earth that the new health care plan can be ALL bad. There has to be some good ideas wrapped up in the thousands of pages somewhere. What I wish is what I've always wished. I long for a day when we stop calling it a bad idea in general because it came from a Democrat......or a Republican. I'll bet there is some good stuff in there. And I'll bet the Republicans have some good ideas that might fit too. Maybe we could actually merge the ideas from both sides and come up with a plan that works for everyone. Face it.....Bush had eight years to do it and he didn't get it done.
It's time we stopped calling Obama a liar because he said this or that in his campaign. He's a politician. Please, please, PLEASE tell me you know Bush or even Reagan didn't keep every promise and probably went the opposite direction on a few. It's called politics. It ain't pretty, but in the long run it seems to work. Obama has paid off special interests with tax money. So did Clinton and Bush and Reagan and blah blah blah.
It's time we got off our high horse and worked together. We're still one country, one people. Maybe we should start acting like it. And for crying out loud......read before you get angry. You might actually learn something.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Keep the Change


Last night, shortly before the full moon began to arrive in the eastern sky, I was sitting on my patio at my apartment. Just to the south I saw one of the apartment managers preparing to show an apartment to a young couple. It was hard to tell from the heighth and distance, but they couldn't have been older than 20 or so. Like a flashback that they so eloquently display in movies, I was taken back through my life to when I was that age.

I can remember the excitement of "getting started". I was fresh out of college, married, and had my "eye on the ball". I had the most amazing plan for career, family.............just life in general. I had a plan. You'll laugh, but at one point my goal in life was to own the Interfirst Tower in downtown Dallas. I don't know what you call it now, but it's the one outlined in green neon. Then the most incredible thing happened right in the middle of "getting a new apartment and setting out on my illustrious career"........................change.

I think it's safe to say that almost nothing of my original plan has come to fruition. I don't live where I thought I would. I have a career that didn't even cross my mind as a child. I don't have a yellow house with shutters and a white picket fence. I live in an apartment. I don't have a dog. I DO have two wonderful children, but it's an "extended" family so to speak. I didn't stay married for 50 years. I even had a health scare in my early 40's that truly threatened to REALLY change things.

It's cliche, but the only thing for certain in this life, is that it will change. It may not be tomorrow or next week or even next month, but trust me on this. Change is coming like a mile of locomotives and you can't stop it. The real question is, how are you going to handle it? I was so happy for that young couple yesterday, yet life experience made me want to scream at them to hold on tight because it wasn't always going to be this perfect.

I've handled all my changes in life with varied success. Some were not my fault. Some were entirely my fault. Some I embraced with child-like enthusiasm. Some made me cower in a corner, sleeping, never wanting to come out. In the end, it seems it's always been about acceptance. It's been about accepting the fact that this is how things are right now, this minute. I have very little control over what happens next. The universe seems to align to arrange things to It's will. God's will, if you entertain that concept.

So here's my suggestion. Reflect on your life and take a moment to enjoy all that you've done. If it weren't for all my "changes" there are tons of wonderful things I might never have accomplished. Sure, I'm not a billionaire and I didn't cure cancer or make world peace a reality. But I have saved a life or two, seen the Grand Canyon, taken a great motorcycle trip and helped raise two amazing daughters. Success is what you make it.

Is it divorce? Death of a loved one? Career change? You moving? Fear not. Rejoice in the moment, because it's really all we have to hold on to. Right this minute is all that's guaranteed. Enjoy it.

This too, shall pass.

Friday, July 31, 2009

Thanks for Nothing


Some of you, although not many, may have noticed that there have been no new blog entries as of late, and public access to the site has been restricted. There’s a reason. It may not be the best of reasons, but good enough for me. I take full responsibility for the fact that I retreated from public domain. However, there is someone to thank for my retreat and I’d like to address this to that person.

I blog for a variety of reasons. First, it’s therapeutic. I enjoy writing and I find it relaxing and fulfilling. It’s my way of bringing the thoughts in my head to a place of rest. It puts things in perspective and I find that calming. Second, and this may be the most important for me. I blog to provide entertainment. I like the fact that people may read a particular piece and find something in there that they can relate to. Maybe it angers them. Maybe it makes them laugh. Maybe it just makes them think. And maybe, just maybe, it helps someone. That’s the third reason for the blog. Some part of me hopes it may provide help or hope to someone thinking about the same thing. It’s a long shot, but you just never know. It’s like radio. If you like it, keep listening. If you don’t, turn it off.

At one point in my writing I started an offshoot of my original blog called Diary of a Divorced Dad. Maybe you’ve seen it. It wasn’t actually intended for public viewing, but I wasn’t smart enough to know that it showed up on my profile so some of you read it. And that’s ok. There were no secrets there. It was just something that belonged outside my usual genre. And again, it was an area where I thought someone might relate and be helped. Or maybe even a dialogue would be started……maybe even a friendship. You just never know in cyber space.

Then one day, I received an email from someone that read Diary of a Divorced Dad. He was a divorced dad of one who had been divorced for a year and he stated that he had “stumbled upon” my blog. I assumed he had done a Google Search for “divorce” or something and that’s how he had come across my writing. Although I really hadn’t done a lot of writing for that piece, I was still flattered that someone found it interesting enough to start a dialogue with someone in a similar situation. It wasn’t an exact situation, but similar enough that I thought we may actually be support for each other. Through a series of emails we exchanged some information regarding our situation. I truly believed that maybe, just maybe, something I wrote might help someone. I was wrong.

As it turns out, this person was merely probing me for information that he thought he might actually use against me. And he tried. Only this time, HE was wrong. He assumed that a person I care about was unaware of my current situation and he felt it necessary to contact HER to give her details. As it turns out, I had already offered full disclosure of all that information and there were no secrets. The joke was on him. But if that HE is reading this, let me tell you what you actually accomplished. THIS is just for you.

You violated the sanctity of my writing and left me feeling betrayed. You’re a “brother” from the strictest of brotherhoods and you violated that code.

You made yourself look like a fool.

You ruined an opportunity you might have actually had to discuss issues you might really have. If you’d have come to me like a man, and ASKED if the person I care about knew the details, I would have told you. What you did was the lowest of lows and believe me, I know low.

You caused friction between two people where none was necessary. You thought it might damage things to the point where you, yourself would have an opportunity, and as near as I can tell, you ruined any chance of that EVER happening. You probably even ruined a friendship and violated her trust as well.

You exposed yourself as an underhanded, sneaky, low life and it makes me ashamed to be part of our profession.

You (and I realize this is my own doing) caused me to shut down access to a site that many other people actually read and enjoyed. What you did created a level of mistrust in me that drove me underground to write strictly for me. How long that will go on is up to me, but at least a dozen people have asked about not being able to access the site.

There’s really not much point in beleaguering the issue further. You get the point. At least I hope you do. If you had truly cared about the person you shared all this information with, you’d have come to me first. And then you’d have stayed out of a situation that was none of your business. You weren’t a heroic savior. You’re pathetic. Unfortunately, we share one other thing that I won’t disclose lest I give you away and fit in your category, but let me be clear. I’m also ashamed we share it.

Now to the rest of you. I apologize that, for the moment, I’ve let this person “win”. I can only say it feels a lot like what it must feel like to have someone burglarize your home. My writing is ME and to have someone actually attempt to use it against me in the way HE did, has momentarily killed my enthusiasm for anyone finding entertainment value in what I write. I’m back to writing strictly for me. How long that will last is still unanswered territory. I’ve opened the space for now just to get this piece out. I guess it’s my way of venting.

So, please be patient with me while I sort this out. I still have plenty to write about. And I hope that sometime soon those that enjoy the blog can revisit it. I realize fully that making my personal feelings public domain comes with risk, but I always trusted the general good in people. I hope I can continue to expect that from my few faithful followers. Enjoy.

Matt

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Cynical? Me?


cyn⋅ic 
1.
a person who believes that only selfishness motivates human actions and who disbelieves in or minimizes selfless acts or disinterested points of view.
Just last week, someone very near and dear to me......well ok the nearest and dearest to me, actually called me a cynic. At first I thought she was joking. Then I realized, she wasn't. There's more to that conversation, but it doesn't matter really. Just a few months ago, while on an Urban Search and Rescue deployment for Hurricane Ike, one of my team that I had attended Rookie School with said, "What the heck happened to you?" They went on to tell me I'd gone from super-softie to major grouch. The first event I shrugged off, but after last week, I realize there is a degree of truth to both observations. It's caused me to pause and take a look and I don't care for what I see.
It just kinda sneaks up on you doesn't it? Sixteen years ago I became a fireman and paramedic. I knew nothing about inner city life or life on the street in general. Then I got a first hand look for over 10 years riding one of the busiest ambulances in the city. My situation is NOT unique, so don't think I'm bragging. Quite the contrary. When I became a fireman, I was truly a soft and kind-hearted soul. I acted like it too. Today, I'm still that same person inside, but it doesn't show on the outside to the people I meet or the people I love. That is something I'm going to need to change.
The men and women I share this career with already know what I'm talking about. In our line of work, we generally only see people at their worst. Every person you run into for 24 to 48 hours at a time is having a rotten day. They all want something from you. Some people actually NEED help, but not many. Most just call 911 because they feel it's owed them. What happens after seeing only the bad side of folks for such a long time is, you start to look for the bad in everyone, because you come to expect it. Pretty soon, all you see is bad. It becomes habit. Then one day you wake up, and you're a cynic. All you see is what people want from you and you see their selfish motivations. And before you know it, you ARE those people. At least that's how it's happened to me.
It happens in the smallest ways. You say something snide about a person at Walmart (see earlier entry), you cuss every person on the highway that isn't driving at your speed or in the correct lane. You learn to keep your head down while you're out for a jog because you've learned to think the person running in your direction is going to ask you for loose change. Or worse yet, you figure they're not going to say anything so why should you! It's a viscious cycle. How many of you have a privacy fence in your back yard? We're all building little bubbles around us as a protection mechanism and it's ruining us.
So today, I'm going to thank that amazing person for having the courage to speak the truth. And then I'm going to do this. I'm going to do my best to look for a reason the guy in front of me is driving like an idiot. Perhaps HE'S having a bad day. Instead of cussing him, I'm going to send a message to the universe to look out for him. I'm going to say nice things about people and I'm going to say hello and good morning and good job! I won't bat 1000, but I'm going to try and do better. I need to remember that I'm not the only person on the planet and there is good in everyone. I just need to look for it. Thats what I used to do.
And besides....I don't want my cynicism to cost me someone dear. Life is too short.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Just Because


"Though still in bed, my thoughts go out to you, my Immortal Beloved, now and then joyfully, then sadly, waiting to learn whether or not fate will hear us - I can live only wholly with you or not at all - Yes, I am resolved to wander so long away from you until I can fly to your arms and say that I am really at home with you, and can send my soul enwrapped in you into the land of spirits - Yes, unhappily it must be so - You will be the more contained since you know my fidelity to you. No one else can ever possess my heart - never - never - Oh God, why must one be parted from one whom one so loves. And yet my life in V is now a wretched life - Your love makes me at once the happiest and the unhappiest of men - At my age I need a steady, quiet life - can that be so in our connection? My angel, I have just been told that the mailcoach goes every day - therefore I must close at once so that you may receive the letter at once - Be calm, only by a calm consideration of our existence can we achieve our purpose to live together - Be calm - love me - today - yesterday - what tearful longings for you - you - you - my life - my all - farewell. Oh continue to love me - never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved.ever thineever mineever ours" - Ludwig von Beethoven -