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.

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?

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.

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.

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

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.

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 -