It's the thought that counts

Out to eat the other day, I was waiting for my party to leave the restaurant. While I waited, a group of young adults exited. One woman had a crumpled wrapper in her hand. She passed by a trashcan and threw the wrapper towards the trash can opening. The wind caught the paper and it landed 8 inches away from the can. She paused for a second, and then kept on going, not missing a syllable of her conversation and leaving the litter where it lay. I have seen countless trash receptacles with trash bits around nearby.

I now believe those pieces of paper represent people who were willing to do the right thing as long as it didn’t cost them too much. I’ve seen people intentionally litter the ground with their waste. The ones that just missed the receptacle are attempting to do their part. If the trashcan is missed, “it’s the thought that counts” works well to soothe our troubled hearts. “I tried. It just didn’t work out.”

Now when I pass littered trashcans, I see good intentions. A lot of them! It has been said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. If that is true, I guess one way we might recognize that road is by all the trash scattered around.

Give me Tamiflu or give me dealth

Tamiflu, salvation to the world. Tamiflu, the vaccine that will protect humans against Bird Flu.

The last couple days the focus of health officials has been to threaten the halting of Tamiflu vaccine because people are hoarding it. There is even frustration over America with its rich resources hoarding it from the world.

My only question is, what the hell did they think people would do? Did they really think that if death was on the line, people would share? I have just been told that millions of people will die a horrible death from Bird Flu. My first response will be “hopefully there will be enough to go around, but I’ll make sure others are vaccinated first”. Yeah right!

On the other side of the coin are those who are hoarding. With hoarding comes the belief that Tamiflu can save them. Anyone who understands how flu vaccines work understand that each year flu vaccine is based on a best guess as to which strain of flu is going to break out. If the Bird Flu strain is mutating, good luck!

Medical science has done some spectacular things. What it has not done is given us 100% cure rate. So hoard away! I really hope it saves you! You just might have more faith in this than I do.

Harry, we hardly knew ye!

Boy, am I disappointed! I was hoping for TV as riveting as Katrina coverage. I couldn't wait for the confirmation hearings for Harriet Meirs. I figured fur would fly, as senators pummeled her with questions that required insanely intelligent answers. Instead she ducked the fight.

I watched with amusement how John Roberts deftly sidestepped his questioners. Everyone knew he was avoiding troublesome topics, but no one could trick him into giving some enough information to logically reject him.

If Harri is the feisty cat the president said she was, I couldn't wait for round two!

Nope, she stepped down. I think the woman’s movement might have taken a hit here. What Harri demonstrated is that if it’s too tough she will bolt. Or is it that she will do whatever it takes to protect her man? Harriet, if you couldn’t stand the heat, why did you ever volunteer for the kitchen?

Let’s all sing it together… “Stand by your man”…

Shut the cluck up!

Breaking news. Bird flu! Pandemic! Millions of people will die! The world is overdue for death and destruction of this magnitude! We are monitoring chickens, ducks, geese and parrots, but we are powerless to stop the spread of this horrible disease! This on the shirttails of hurricane distruction, earthquakes, mudslides, tsunamis. Will it ever end?

Then today I read: Despite increasing public nervousness, Margaret Chan, assistant director-general of the World Health Organization, said the general population should remember it is relatively hard to catch bird flu.

"We are not in a pandemic yet and I don't want the community to have unnecessary anxiety," she told Reuters Television in an interview.

Oh isn't that helpful! First you tell me that millions will die, but now I find out it's "relatively" hard to catch. And can you let me know what necessary anxiety is?

It seems to me that the news has found a lot of success in wall-to-wall coverage of disasters. 911 gave us video footage that looked like it came from a Hollywood set. We saw mind-numbing coverage of the gulf coast states devistation. We haven't seen much footage from Pakistan, most likely because we can't find enough people with their own video cameras (but that's another issue).

Now along comes bird flu. H5N1 is its real name. It has been touted to have the potential to kill millions of people. Remember last year? There was a shortage of flu vaccine. People were in a panic. A crisis over what was going to happen. If any people died from last year's breakout, it wasn't enough to merit wall-to-wall breaking news coverage. I don't even think I saw anything in the news crawl at the bottom of any news channel.

Almost all the Hollywood disaster movies start out with someone who knows what disaster is going to happen to end the world, Then there are those who shut the doomsayer down because the higher-ups don't want the general public to panic on their watch. Where are these higher-ups here? Who let the cat, sorry, I mean duck out of the bag? I don't see a hook coming out to snag the necks of the WHO officials claiming pandemic and pull them off stage.

This plague doesn't even have the panic sex appeal of "Mad Cow Disease". Most of us have gotten the flu, but most of us have not gone crazy. Most. Bird Flu doesn't sound scary.

I can't say we shouldn't be concerned. I'm just not willing to get my heart rate up for that. I'm not getting vaccinated this year. I'm not afraid. I'm going to live on the edge. I've been living with the potential of doomsday since 911. After all, the car next to me might be packed with explosives and will blow soon. The person on the street next to me might be a terrorist with a dirty bomb that will make me really sick before I die a horrible death. The person walkng into my building may detonate his backpack when he is in the middle of a crowd. I am going to take precautions like washing my hands and staying away from sick people with flu-like symptoms, but I won't live my life in fear. So kindly shut the cluck up unless it's heading my way. Oh wait, don't worry, I'll get my alerts from the freaking wall-to-wall news coverage. I will see it coming miles off.

In the mean time "that was a chicken sandwich, hold the mayo. Oh, and by the way, do you know how this chicken died?"

A true humanitarian

The other day I was watching my daily fix of news TV. I watched on CNN as a businessman named Joe Francis was interviewed on national TV. He wanted to do his part to help the devistation in New Orleans along with thousands of other. He stated that he was giving 100% of the earnings of one of his products.

What products? Funny you should ask. He is the CEO and producer of those ever popular "Girls gone wild" video series that advertizes on late night TV. That's right boys and girls. While he is not giving away all his profits he is planning to donate 100% of the proceeds from the sale of Mardi Gras-themed videos to the Red Cross to help Katrina victims. The Mardi Gras-themed videos include such titles as "Mardi Gras 3-Pack," "Mardi Gras 2K4," and "Girls Gone Wild Doggystyle" with rapper Snoop Dogg.

"Year after year the city of New Orleans and its citizens have welcomed us with open arms, and we have looked forward to our yearly trip to the Big Easy. The utter destruction of New Orleans and many parts of the Gulf coast truly saddens us," said Joe Francis, founder and CEO of Girls Gone Wild, in a statement." A truly moving remark, but I don't think it is open arms they are filming.

Bill Horn of Mantra Films, the company behind "Girls gone wild" ( I won't go there) said that "Doggystyle" has been one of the most profitable videos in the history of the company. The estimate for the donations are in the ten thousands.

Joe Francis, America salutes you for being a true humanitarian. This just demonstrates that it doesn't matter what role you play in this country, Lady Liberty lifts her toga,,,sorry, I mean raises her torch to you. God bless us everyone!

The punishment of evildoers

Katrina's force barely clipped New Orleans. Everyone felt relieved that they had been spared. One person was recorded as saying that God was on their side. I thought to myself "Who is he kidding!" God delivering that hotbed of godlessness? The next day the levies broke and New Orleans took a bath. I didn't hear the same sentiment. All was quiet. Mr. "God on our side" would have to say publicly "I was wrong. We are really getting a spanking for our godless ways."

Some Muslims were quick to point out God's judgement of evil America as illustrated by the New Orleans disaster. Then an earthquake hit Pakistan. Oops. Let's not talk about what that meant.

You can't have it both ways. It is tempting to talk about God pouring out judgement of the evildoer. When it happens to us we want to be able to say that this is different. We are so enticed to state what we think God is doing to someone else. When it happens to us we ask, what did we do?

I choose to look at it like this. In the bible Matthew 5:45 says " For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and on the unjust, too." We can't know the mind of God and who he chooses to bless and who he chooses to punish. So let's not guess. God sends sun and rain to people regardless of who they are.

I have seen bumper stickers that express that same idea, not necessarily found in the bible. It simply states "IT HAPPENS!"

The end of the world

This has been a really good year for the doom sayers. Wilma is about to come ashore after Katrina, Rita, and Stan. Those are some big acts to follow. You better have something that makes you stand out in the crowd. At the present time this is the most intense storm ever measured. That has gotten Wilma some exposure.

Not only do we have a quartet of hurricanes, let's not leave out the earthquakes, and the deadly tsunami. All of these catastrophies have taken a significant amount of human life.

It's natural to ask what has changed to cause this. The environmentalists trumpet global warming, that in the years to come it's only going to get worse unless we stop using fossil fuels. (I know I'm overstating.) At the same time the people who are waiting for the second coming of Christ say that this signals the end of the world before Jesus comes back. Both parties can point to the events and proclaim their doomsday senario.

To be honest I don't know what it is. I do know that when we see an increase we are inclined to percieve a pattern, to search for the deeper meaning, that what these all are, are the warning signs that the end is near.

Makes you wonder what these folks do on non-eventful days. It must just ruin their day when nothing happens.

The American way

I was at a department store today and as I wandered the isles I came across this sight, an Emergency Greeting Card Kit. It looks like it could have been dropped from a FEMA vehicle, (if any were around). As I thought it through I wondered if those whose lives had been ruined by natural disasters would be on the plethera of TV interviews telling the reporter through sobs that the thing they missed most were their greeting cards! Hell, where are you going to mail it? The post office is that pile of rubble at the other end of the block.

What I concluded was that this is just another example of American ingenuity. The next new thing waiting to be discovered. Apparently there was a putz who got an idea together, pitched to others, who liked it and bought in as well, and with the speed of George Bush decending on New Orleans, brought it to the American consumer. Let's not worry that people are offended or that we cheapen these tragedies! We are making money!

The thing that gives me hope is that they were all sitting on an end cap with clearance stickers on them. Apparently they didn't sell. This is the other side of American consumers. They vote with their pocketbook.

You just never know

I had a repair person over today to look at something in the house. He talked about the problem and ways to avoid it in the future. He was on hold for 15 minutes with the main company. I innocently shared that I had been on hold for 50 minutes before I even talked to a person. As the repair person was leaving he asked again about my experience with Microsoft. I shared it dismissively. I then spent the next 20 minutes as he told me how he had ramped up his computer to be able to game. Things like NASCAR and the like. He went into great detain about the money he had spent and all the new features that he installed.

The simple fact is that I didn't care. I don't understand spending $1800 so you can play a video game. We all have our own priorites. What struck me is that the man used something that I shared to launch into his passion. I realized that we are looking for anything to allow us to share our passion with others. Even if it is a trap.

Whose life is it anyway

I'm a raging extrovert. I don't mind talking about the things I think and feel. I'm married to an introvert who would rather not have the world know what she thinks. If I talk about something that happened to the two of us I have to tread very carefully as to not reveal what she thinks and feels.

We all dance a thin line about what is best for us and what is best for others. I have to remain true to what I believe and desire, but it's difficult to disregard the wishes of someone I care about. A balance has to be struck.

If you see me walking with my arms waving on either side, it's just me walking the razor's edge. Yea, it's okay honey, I didn't say anything too revealing. I promise.

Sacrifice

One powerful action has marked the landscape in the Gulf States in recent weeks. Sacrifice. People have poored out their money prayers and time to help those who are in dire need. It is heartwarming to see the goodness of people pouring of their resources.

Washington has opened its heart as well. In the spirit of generosity that defines us as a nation they have stepped up to the plate as well. Many have decided to give up their special little projects to give that money to the needy as well. Bridges, highway projects, special land use, and the list goes on. The outpouring of their hearts are truly moving. Only one problem; IT'S NOT THEIR MONEY! I have heard it said that a liberal is a person who is willing to spend someone else's money. I think this moves across party lines. I think the staement should change. I think it should read, a politician is a person who is willing to spend someone else's money. And lets tack this on as well... and take the credit for it.

You have some spare money I could donate? I wouldn't mind looking generous as well.

Podcastaway

Podcasts. What a trendy new way to view the world. I consider myself a pretty techy guy. I thought I would get into the new technology and explore them. So I clicked on the link. A whole world opened up to me. It was like entering a library without the ability to view the spines of the books. I scrolled and scrolled and scrolled. I switched categories and scrolled and scrolled and scrolled. The only thing that broke up the landscape was the red box with the word explicit in it. My mind went blank and rather than feeling trendy I felt numb.

No wonder we are heading to destruction without a care in the world. We have too much to choose from. Our exposure to the world is getting larger and larger with no end in sight. I feel like a shipwrecked fool on a sea of information that threatens to swamp me at a moment's notice. We have more information at our fingertips than we know what to do with. Is there a plank from this shipwreck that I can swim to? Oh wait there are thousands. Choose or drown.

The interupter

I took my daughter, Bugsy, to the orthodontist. I was focused on asking questions about proceedures and cost. Bugsy kept interupting to ask questions that she thought were important.

Dentist: We will be installing the spreaders on the molars and what you...
Bugsy: Are these teeth here real?
Dentist: No that is just a model.
Me: Now how often will we have to adjust the...
Bugsy: Where did you get that Bison picture on your computer?
Dentist: I took that picture when I was in South Dakota.
And on the conversation went.

I realize that we have raised a very confident daughter! Maybe a little too confident. I stopped and told her to let the dentist talk. Then I thought I might have looked mean to the dentist, that I would shut down her inquisitive nature. I looked sheepishly at the dentist. He continued on without betraying a single thought.

The other problem with her interuptions is it is sometimes hard for me to stay on track. I can go off on tangents as many of my students know. When she changes the subject I forget what I am saying and I may drift a while. I guess the doctor could say I'm scatterbrained as well.

Maybe with all that metal in her mouth some of her questions will go unasked. We'll see

Life in Christ Pork Chop Dinner

Walking through town the other day I came across this sign. Life in Christ Pork Chop Dinner. It got me thinking. I assumed the meal was being served in a church for a social funtion. Why not think outside the box. Why not have a line of frozen foods.? "Hi, do you have the Life in Christ Spaghetti and meatballs?" "How about the Life in Christ fried chicken meal?" "Yeah, that would be in isle 6 next to the Uncle Ben's." Would they sell Life in Christ Man-size meals?

Why not a restaurant? "Hi, welcome to the Life in Christ Diner. Did you want to sit in the saints or heathen section?" Obviously if Christ did come to the Life in Christ Diner, He would sit in the heathen section. Those were the ones he hung around with when he was here.

Last time I checked Life in Christ was an existence, not an event or a destination.

Differences in crisis management

The world has dealt humanity another blow, to a far away region. The earth crust shifted and lives were ended. I found out about it on Google. There was no disruption in the force, as a thousand life forces were extinguished. No, it was just a double take at an Internet headline.

As I listened to the reports coming in from the other side of the world I am struck that there is no chanting from any convention center of “HELP! HELP! HELP!” I don't think there is FEMA reporting in. There are soldiers. There are pleas to the soldiers that go unheeded. The victims complain that the soldiers don’t listen, but it doesn’t sound like they are surprised that their pleas are ignored. Grief makes them pushy, but I don’t think there will be any federal investigation into the handling of this tragedy.

In Guatemala they are just proclaiming whole areas of mudslides as mass graves. In this country we were doing DNA tests on charred bits of flesh after the Twin Towers collaped.

We live in an imperfect country, but it does have its advantages. Like accountability. No matter how people dance, the truth will come out. And while the punishments may not be as harsh as we would like them to be, they do suffer some.

Call me!

A phenonenon that I have been experiencing lately is a lack of response from companies. I'm sick to death of these insurance ads that promote how well people listen and respond to meet needs. If I get behind in a payment it is amazing how quickly I get a letter threatening to cut me off if I don't get the money to them immediately. It seems like when I need something I am calling many times before I can get anyone to respond.

Its not just the insurance industry. Other areas that I have needed service in as well as sending resumes for potential jobs. It too hard to send me a reply e-mail telling me that others are better qualified? I'm tired of not being contacted.

I have an oven problem now. I called the repair company and was told that they would call me within the day. That was a week ago. I thought the company was to provide follow up calls, not me.

I'm beginning to believe that the only people who are going to contact me are auto-responders, telemarketers, and spammers. I can't seem to stop them. Maybe the dirty secret is that if I buy from them I won't hear from them either. A tempting thought.

Nah, I'm not that rich.

The meaning of stuff

As I slapped though the large puddles all over our basement and surveyed the damage, we got to work sorting out what got ruined from what was able to be salvaged. Tabletops, the tops of plastic tubs and anything else that would keep the boxes dry were employed to not ruin any more of our possessions.

Then the sorting began. As the "wet" boxes were opened there were decisions to be made about whether something was able to be salvaged or not. If it could be saved we put it into a box. If it could not be saved, it was thrown in a garbage bag.

What amazed me was how a things value could change from its exposure to water. Something that was valued before, had no value now if it was soaking wet. We are so tempted to hang on to possessions and value them. It takes a crisis of some kind to allow us to get a glimpse of how important they really are in fabric of our lives. The blinders fall away from our eyes and we see possessions for what they really are. Just junk.

After the Deluge

We moved in the last two months to a new house. Since the move we have survived several pretty outrageous storms. Last night it RAINED! Three inches were recorded in our area. This morning lakes appeared where there were only fields yesterday. As the rain fell during the night, I thought smugly about how if I had been in my old house I would have had to deal with water in the basement. In our new house we have a sump pump.

What I was unaware of was that sometime during the night the sump pump stopped. When we got up this morning and surveyed the aftermath of the storm, we had a very shallow lake in our basement. Boxes yet unpacked sat soaking up the rainwater like thirsty sponges. I spent the day cleaning up, throwing out and repackaging.

When my first son was born I remember him sleeping in bed with us. As he slept I put my hand on his chest and could feel his heart working hard to deliver vital blood to the rest of his body. I realized that I could take some responsibility in his safety, but there were other forces at work that I had no control over. Just like my sump pump.

I'm tempted to think that I have a lot of control over my life, that I'm resilient and responsible. What is hard to realize is that I'm much more fragile than I want to accept, and that the homeostasis of my life runs on systems that I count on but stay strangely unaware of.

Harriet Miers

What a system of government we have here. Bush playing the consumate politician is betting he knows the game. Get someone who doesn't have a paper trail, and a woman to boot. It will be hard to "beat up" on a woman. And with what? At this time there seems to be little information. Bush played Roberts and won. Let's see how he does with Miers.

I have stopped looking at who has the moral high ground in politics. I believe that it is all about naked ambition. The Dems have been spoiling for a fight with the replacement of O'Connor. There is a saying, that someone has been "Borked" The dems in 1987 came out swinging with Robert Bork, a nominee by Reagan, armed with his paper trail and savaged him. I have no doubt that the republicans would do the same if the shoe was on the other foot.

Increasingly we are getting less paper trail, so there is less to hit someone with. Hence Harriet. Who is she? We don't know. My guess is that it is going to be difficult to beat her up because the dems are going to have to find the clubs first.

Aging

Yesterday in the car I looked down at my hands. To my surprise I saw my grandfather's hands. I know my beard and my hair are increasingly gray. As I stared at my hands they had a tissue thin leathery parchment look. It was disconcerting. It is no big secret we are all aging and someday we will die, but I'm not sure I believe it. There was a sense of dread that came over me.

Today while driving my daughter to school we saw the leaves starting to change in preparation for winter. There were trees that had given in to the dying process and were the first to change. As I saw those trees I thought of winter approaching. There were some fleeting unpleasant thoughts, but at the same time there was a looking forward to cooler weather and a change of scenery.


Why couldn't I look at my hands like that?

Context

We moved out of the city. The day is brilliant and luscious. A slight breeze is blowing and I feel at peace. Somewhere to the south of us, gun shots are hammering at what I think is a nearby farm. I'm not worried. I would have been worried if we still lived in the city.