___________ 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

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.

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

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-

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.

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?

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!!!