With apologies to Gene Autry, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" should be banned.
Have you ever listened to the words? I mean really listened?
It's about this reindeer who has been bullied all his life by the other reindeer because he's different...he has a red nose.
His employer, Santa Claus, has ignored the taunts of the other reindeer and, in effect, has turned his back on the abuse, thus condoning it.
Then, when Santa gets his ass in a sling and needs some help delivering packages he calls upon this outcast, this abused entity, this maligned hoofer to save his own keister.
To add insult to injury, the other reindeer follow Santa's lead and befriend Rudolph and encourage him to save the day. Why this sudden turn of events? Simple. So they get a paycheck on Christmas morning. What a bunch of hypocrites!
And, we're teaching this song to our kids! And we wonder why there are bullies in school. We wonder why those who are different are tormented. We excuse hypocrisy in the name of expediency. And we wonder why our children are materialistic, egocentric young twits.
Send the song to Tin Pan Alley's morgue. Ban its play on the airways.
And to those of you who say, "it's only a Christmas song" and doesn't hurt anyone, my response to you is a loud, "BAH HUMBUG!"
Sunday, December 6, 2009
A letter to the White House
October 30, 2009
Dear Mr. President:
I thought "The Amazing Race" on CBS was the only entity putting up roadblocks these days. How wrong can I be?
My wife and I own a men's clothing store and for the past years making a living has been challenging.
I know you meant well when you proposed restrictions on credit card companies but you gave them too much time to implement the regulations. They are totally sticking it to the cardholders.
I received a notice from Visa/Mastercard which told me I had to affirm the credit card receipts from my customers were secure to protect them from identity theft. To do this I had to become PCI compliant by filling out an on-line form. They made it clear if I didn't become compliant I would no longer be able to accept their credit card for purchases.
I filled out the form, was "rewarded" with a nice certificate of compliance and I thought that was the end of it. On my monthly bank statement I was notified that because I was compliant I was going to be charged a $7 monthly fee.
I called my credit card company to complain and was told by my representative, "the credit card companies control everything," and there was nothing they could do.
My personal credit card, which I also use for business, increased my annual percentage rate from 5% to 10% even though I have excellent credit with them.
Obviously, I'm not alone and I'm sure you've heard other, more horrifying stories. These credit card companies, in reality, banks, are adding annual fees, increasing APR's, making all APR's variable and doing everything they can to increase the "bottom line" before new regulations take effect next year.
These credit cards are issued by banks. My tax dollars bailed out many of them and since then they still refuse to issue loans, some are buying smaller banks and the CEO's are still getting huge salaries and bigger bonuses.
I understand, I think, why the government had to bail out the banks and insurance companies first. The lives of millions of Americans were affected. Unfortunately, when they once again became solvent they slapped us all in the face and upper management continued to pocket outrageous bonuses.
You have called small business, "The engine of the economy." I call us the "backbone of the nation." Small business employs more workers and adds more to the economy than do any large corporation and yet we're threatened with extinction daily. Three of my suppliers have already gone out of business.
If the government used the money in the stimulus package to give every small business nationwide $100,000 in cash we would have immediately spent it to restock our shelves, hire more workers, upgrade our stores: in essence putting that cash back into the economy. My customers would benefit as would my suppliers. I understand you might be looking to help us with a tax incentive. For those of us who have lost money, a tax incentive is worthless since taxes are collected on profits. For the past few years the only prophets I've seen are Moses and Jesus.
October has been the deadliest in Afghanistan for American troops. Why are we there alone?
Terrorism and extremism are a world-wide problem, not just an American one. There are 192 member states in the United Nations. At least 58 of them owe their freedom or their very existence to the United States. It's encouraging that you have overcome the intransigence and stupidity of the Bush administration in dealing with our allies abroad. It's now time for them to step to the plate and help us defeat radicalism and extremism.
Many European countries have felt terrorism first hand. Others have been blackmailed into sitting on the sidelines. Terrorism isn't going away. As long as there are religious fantics and criminals who blow up women and children in the name of their misguided beliefs no one is safe. It's time for the rest of the world to see what's happening in Iraq, Iran, North Korea and Afghanistan as the third world war and they've got to do their part to stop the mayhem.
Mr. President, you have an obligation to form a true coalition of countries willing to send their troops into harms way to stamp out world-wide terrorism. General McCrystal wants 40,000 more troops. How about sending him 100,000 soldiers from Spain, France, Germany, Bosnia, Japan, Korea and 52 other countries and finally stamp out the world-wide extremist movements? Doing so will benefit every country on Earth.
We've also got to take renewable sources of energy seriously. There's no reason every automobile on the road shouldn't have a solar panel on the roof providing power to the vehicle. In South Carolina we're exploring hydrogen technology. In the west, they're looking at wind energy. If Congress had listened to Jimmy Carter in the 1970's we wouldn't still be held hostage by oil producing nations.
In the 1700's America was an agrarian society. We grew our own food and even exported some. Then came the industrial revolution and we built factories and constructed buildings and bridges and methods of transportation. The textile industry dominated the south. In the 1980's we outsourced the textile industry and developed computers and became a technological nation. When we outsourced the technology we became a service nation providing the answers to computer problems. Now we've outsourced even that and America is nothing more than a consuming nation, producing little and dependent upon others for our very survival.
We import products assembled in Taiwan and finished in China. I thought those two nations were at odds with each other? What about Quimoy and Matsu? We're importing shirts from Vietnam. I guess the war I fought in is finally over. Even tiny Bangladesh is producing more than we are.
I remember a few years ago when the government went after Microsoft accusing it of becoming a monopoly. Where was the Federal Trade Commission when companies began merging with each other or buying up competitors? The cry then was, "we have to be bigger in order to compete." Hogwash! As we've seen, the old saying "the bigger they are, the harder they fall" is true. When these giants fall they take everyone along for the ride, like a meteor falling into a lake. If they remained smaller and failed the ripple effect would be like a pebble thrown into the ocean.
The "bigness" is continuing unabated. Look at AT&T. In the 1980's they were forced to divest itself of much of their assets. In the past ten years they have been buying up smaller companies and are probably as big today as they were in 1984. Are the Sherman Anti-Trust laws still on the books? Why aren't they being enforced? As companies eat up their competition, the consumer suffers with higher prices, questionable practices, hidden and not-so-hidden fees and nowhere to turn for relief or justice. Just look at how Chase Bank is exploiting its credit card companies.
It's way past time to restore government of the people, by the people and for the people before we as a people perish from this Earth.
I hope you and your administration can successfully address the concerns expressed in this letter.
Thank you.
I certainly didn't expect a reply but I got one.
It came in a @%$&#(* form letter addressed to me with the salutory line saying, "Dear Friend," followed by the usual political claptrap I'd expect, and have received, from my local politicians. I would have preferred no response to what I got.
They could have forwarded parts of the letter to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Hillary Clinton at the State Department and Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy. Instead I got a lousy form letter.
For you Republicans out there who are gloating about this administration's response, the Bush administration and Reagan administration weren't any better. They favored form letters also.
Perhaps one of these days our leadership in their ivory towers will listen to the people they represent. After all, it's you and me who can solve every problem facing this country and our state. We do it every day at the card game, during halftime at the football game or just talking about it between courses at the restaurant. The major problem is that more of you aren't writing your congressman, senator or president. And our major failing is that we return the incompetents to Congress to fix the problems they created and we expect a different result. I've addressed that issue in an older blog.
Dear Mr. President:
I thought "The Amazing Race" on CBS was the only entity putting up roadblocks these days. How wrong can I be?
My wife and I own a men's clothing store and for the past years making a living has been challenging.
I know you meant well when you proposed restrictions on credit card companies but you gave them too much time to implement the regulations. They are totally sticking it to the cardholders.
I received a notice from Visa/Mastercard which told me I had to affirm the credit card receipts from my customers were secure to protect them from identity theft. To do this I had to become PCI compliant by filling out an on-line form. They made it clear if I didn't become compliant I would no longer be able to accept their credit card for purchases.
I filled out the form, was "rewarded" with a nice certificate of compliance and I thought that was the end of it. On my monthly bank statement I was notified that because I was compliant I was going to be charged a $7 monthly fee.
I called my credit card company to complain and was told by my representative, "the credit card companies control everything," and there was nothing they could do.
My personal credit card, which I also use for business, increased my annual percentage rate from 5% to 10% even though I have excellent credit with them.
Obviously, I'm not alone and I'm sure you've heard other, more horrifying stories. These credit card companies, in reality, banks, are adding annual fees, increasing APR's, making all APR's variable and doing everything they can to increase the "bottom line" before new regulations take effect next year.
These credit cards are issued by banks. My tax dollars bailed out many of them and since then they still refuse to issue loans, some are buying smaller banks and the CEO's are still getting huge salaries and bigger bonuses.
I understand, I think, why the government had to bail out the banks and insurance companies first. The lives of millions of Americans were affected. Unfortunately, when they once again became solvent they slapped us all in the face and upper management continued to pocket outrageous bonuses.
You have called small business, "The engine of the economy." I call us the "backbone of the nation." Small business employs more workers and adds more to the economy than do any large corporation and yet we're threatened with extinction daily. Three of my suppliers have already gone out of business.
If the government used the money in the stimulus package to give every small business nationwide $100,000 in cash we would have immediately spent it to restock our shelves, hire more workers, upgrade our stores: in essence putting that cash back into the economy. My customers would benefit as would my suppliers. I understand you might be looking to help us with a tax incentive. For those of us who have lost money, a tax incentive is worthless since taxes are collected on profits. For the past few years the only prophets I've seen are Moses and Jesus.
October has been the deadliest in Afghanistan for American troops. Why are we there alone?
Terrorism and extremism are a world-wide problem, not just an American one. There are 192 member states in the United Nations. At least 58 of them owe their freedom or their very existence to the United States. It's encouraging that you have overcome the intransigence and stupidity of the Bush administration in dealing with our allies abroad. It's now time for them to step to the plate and help us defeat radicalism and extremism.
Many European countries have felt terrorism first hand. Others have been blackmailed into sitting on the sidelines. Terrorism isn't going away. As long as there are religious fantics and criminals who blow up women and children in the name of their misguided beliefs no one is safe. It's time for the rest of the world to see what's happening in Iraq, Iran, North Korea and Afghanistan as the third world war and they've got to do their part to stop the mayhem.
Mr. President, you have an obligation to form a true coalition of countries willing to send their troops into harms way to stamp out world-wide terrorism. General McCrystal wants 40,000 more troops. How about sending him 100,000 soldiers from Spain, France, Germany, Bosnia, Japan, Korea and 52 other countries and finally stamp out the world-wide extremist movements? Doing so will benefit every country on Earth.
We've also got to take renewable sources of energy seriously. There's no reason every automobile on the road shouldn't have a solar panel on the roof providing power to the vehicle. In South Carolina we're exploring hydrogen technology. In the west, they're looking at wind energy. If Congress had listened to Jimmy Carter in the 1970's we wouldn't still be held hostage by oil producing nations.
In the 1700's America was an agrarian society. We grew our own food and even exported some. Then came the industrial revolution and we built factories and constructed buildings and bridges and methods of transportation. The textile industry dominated the south. In the 1980's we outsourced the textile industry and developed computers and became a technological nation. When we outsourced the technology we became a service nation providing the answers to computer problems. Now we've outsourced even that and America is nothing more than a consuming nation, producing little and dependent upon others for our very survival.
We import products assembled in Taiwan and finished in China. I thought those two nations were at odds with each other? What about Quimoy and Matsu? We're importing shirts from Vietnam. I guess the war I fought in is finally over. Even tiny Bangladesh is producing more than we are.
I remember a few years ago when the government went after Microsoft accusing it of becoming a monopoly. Where was the Federal Trade Commission when companies began merging with each other or buying up competitors? The cry then was, "we have to be bigger in order to compete." Hogwash! As we've seen, the old saying "the bigger they are, the harder they fall" is true. When these giants fall they take everyone along for the ride, like a meteor falling into a lake. If they remained smaller and failed the ripple effect would be like a pebble thrown into the ocean.
The "bigness" is continuing unabated. Look at AT&T. In the 1980's they were forced to divest itself of much of their assets. In the past ten years they have been buying up smaller companies and are probably as big today as they were in 1984. Are the Sherman Anti-Trust laws still on the books? Why aren't they being enforced? As companies eat up their competition, the consumer suffers with higher prices, questionable practices, hidden and not-so-hidden fees and nowhere to turn for relief or justice. Just look at how Chase Bank is exploiting its credit card companies.
It's way past time to restore government of the people, by the people and for the people before we as a people perish from this Earth.
I hope you and your administration can successfully address the concerns expressed in this letter.
Thank you.
I certainly didn't expect a reply but I got one.
It came in a @%$&#(* form letter addressed to me with the salutory line saying, "Dear Friend," followed by the usual political claptrap I'd expect, and have received, from my local politicians. I would have preferred no response to what I got.
They could have forwarded parts of the letter to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Hillary Clinton at the State Department and Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy. Instead I got a lousy form letter.
For you Republicans out there who are gloating about this administration's response, the Bush administration and Reagan administration weren't any better. They favored form letters also.
Perhaps one of these days our leadership in their ivory towers will listen to the people they represent. After all, it's you and me who can solve every problem facing this country and our state. We do it every day at the card game, during halftime at the football game or just talking about it between courses at the restaurant. The major problem is that more of you aren't writing your congressman, senator or president. And our major failing is that we return the incompetents to Congress to fix the problems they created and we expect a different result. I've addressed that issue in an older blog.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Black Friday
Are we all fools or are we just easily manipulated?
Black Friday, supposedly the biggest retail day comes along and we collectively salivate at the "fantastic bargains" the chain retailers are offering.
We get up at 4 a.m. or we spend all night camped in front of the store waiting to burst through the doors to claim the television set or the computer, the jewelry or designer dress.
It doesn't matter there are only five or 10 of those items in stock, nor does it matter you're the sixth or 11th person on line, it's all in the hype.
And when you're disappointed and upset because you didn't get that "bargain," you blame the store for not having enough inventory...and you make plans to get there earlier next year only to be flimflammed again and again.
Why not get some sleep in your own bed, ease the stress, lower your blood pressure, reduce the risk of getting trampled or of getting into a fight over a blouse or MP3 player and shop at your leisure at the multitude of family-owned and smaller retailers in town who have some true bargains, adequate inventory and attentive and helpful salespeople?
Black Friday, supposedly the biggest retail day comes along and we collectively salivate at the "fantastic bargains" the chain retailers are offering.
We get up at 4 a.m. or we spend all night camped in front of the store waiting to burst through the doors to claim the television set or the computer, the jewelry or designer dress.
It doesn't matter there are only five or 10 of those items in stock, nor does it matter you're the sixth or 11th person on line, it's all in the hype.
And when you're disappointed and upset because you didn't get that "bargain," you blame the store for not having enough inventory...and you make plans to get there earlier next year only to be flimflammed again and again.
Why not get some sleep in your own bed, ease the stress, lower your blood pressure, reduce the risk of getting trampled or of getting into a fight over a blouse or MP3 player and shop at your leisure at the multitude of family-owned and smaller retailers in town who have some true bargains, adequate inventory and attentive and helpful salespeople?
Friday, October 30, 2009
Think you've stopped working?
I've got a couple of friends and some customers who have retired. They mean they've stopped working in their chosen profession.
Thanks to the English language, I really don't know what they're doing.
When you buy a tire that's a retread you're buying one that has had more rubber added to an existing tire. When you retire you obviously...you obviously...hmmmm,I wonder what you do?
How can you re-tire if you haven't already "tired?" According to the dictionary the letters, "re" means "go back to an original or former state." Therefore if you haven't tired, how can you re-tire?
That's not the only word which poses a problem. If you haven't already "acted," how can you re-act? How many of you have "bated?" You haven't? Then return your re-bate. How many of you are about to "buttal" in court? The opposing side then can't stage a "re-buttal," can they?
Ahh, the English language. Not the easiest to understand.
For all of you who think you're retired...go back to work...you haven't "tired" yet!
Thanks to the English language, I really don't know what they're doing.
When you buy a tire that's a retread you're buying one that has had more rubber added to an existing tire. When you retire you obviously...you obviously...hmmmm,I wonder what you do?
How can you re-tire if you haven't already "tired?" According to the dictionary the letters, "re" means "go back to an original or former state." Therefore if you haven't tired, how can you re-tire?
That's not the only word which poses a problem. If you haven't already "acted," how can you re-act? How many of you have "bated?" You haven't? Then return your re-bate. How many of you are about to "buttal" in court? The opposing side then can't stage a "re-buttal," can they?
Ahh, the English language. Not the easiest to understand.
For all of you who think you're retired...go back to work...you haven't "tired" yet!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Ironclads in the harbor
A couple of years ago I took a cameraman from WACH-TV in Columbia to Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina to finally film a television documentary I've been procrastinating over for at least six years.
April 7, 1863 a fleet of nine Union ironclads sailed into Charleston harbor with the intention of demanding the surrender of the city. What followed during the battle was utter chaos.
Admiral Samuel DuPont didn't think he could sail into the harbor without first eliminating any resistance from Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie so he attacked the forts first.
One of the ships in DuPont's fleet was the "Keokuk," an experimental ironclad which was launched from the Dry Dock Iron Works at the foot of 11th Street in New York City in early December 1862. On board the "Keokuk" was my great-grandfather, Lt. Jonathan Manly Emanuel, an engineer.
I had written a script based upon research done at the South Carolina Archives where I found letters from and to DuPont from many of the ships captains and others.
Coincidentally, author Clive Cussler published the novel, "Sahara" in 1992 which told the story of a Confederate ironclad, the "Texas," which snuck past the Union blockade and wound up in the Sahara desert. In the book he mentioned two ships, the "Nahant" and the "New Ironsides." Those two ships were in the fleet of nine which sailed into Charleston that fateful day. The "New Ironsides" was Admiral DuPont's flagship.
I wrote to Cussler telling him the story of my great-grandfather. He wrote back telling me the "Keokuk," which sank a day after the 1863 battle, was still in the harbor, 1,400 yards off Morris Island under four feet of silt. He further said he'd excavated the ship a few years earlier.
With script in hand, and a boat ride to Fort Sumter by the National Park Service rangers, we filmed in different areas of the fort and took some video while on board the boat.
Before the program was completed the cameraman moved out of state and it was a couple of months later I asked one of the cameramen at WLTX-TV to finish the project with me. Not wanting to return to Fort Sumter, we completed the filming at Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island across the harbor from Fort Sumter.
The finished product was just shy of 10 minutes long and gave a detailed account of the events of April 7, 1863.
I originally did this program for my own pleasure but wound up giving copies to my family and friends.
Each year students at the elementary school where my wife worked visited Charleston and each year I was asked to tell the story of Jonathan and his exploits. I figured if I videotaped my talk for times I might be unavailable to do the presentation in person the students would at least be able to learn some history prior to their visit to the Port City.
If one school could use the program to teach, perhaps many others could as well. To date there are schools in Chester, S. C. and others in the upstate who have bought the program.
It's available on DVD or VHS for $29.95. If your school or district could use a copy, let me know.
April 7, 1863 a fleet of nine Union ironclads sailed into Charleston harbor with the intention of demanding the surrender of the city. What followed during the battle was utter chaos.
Admiral Samuel DuPont didn't think he could sail into the harbor without first eliminating any resistance from Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie so he attacked the forts first.
One of the ships in DuPont's fleet was the "Keokuk," an experimental ironclad which was launched from the Dry Dock Iron Works at the foot of 11th Street in New York City in early December 1862. On board the "Keokuk" was my great-grandfather, Lt. Jonathan Manly Emanuel, an engineer.
I had written a script based upon research done at the South Carolina Archives where I found letters from and to DuPont from many of the ships captains and others.
Coincidentally, author Clive Cussler published the novel, "Sahara" in 1992 which told the story of a Confederate ironclad, the "Texas," which snuck past the Union blockade and wound up in the Sahara desert. In the book he mentioned two ships, the "Nahant" and the "New Ironsides." Those two ships were in the fleet of nine which sailed into Charleston that fateful day. The "New Ironsides" was Admiral DuPont's flagship.
I wrote to Cussler telling him the story of my great-grandfather. He wrote back telling me the "Keokuk," which sank a day after the 1863 battle, was still in the harbor, 1,400 yards off Morris Island under four feet of silt. He further said he'd excavated the ship a few years earlier.
With script in hand, and a boat ride to Fort Sumter by the National Park Service rangers, we filmed in different areas of the fort and took some video while on board the boat.
Before the program was completed the cameraman moved out of state and it was a couple of months later I asked one of the cameramen at WLTX-TV to finish the project with me. Not wanting to return to Fort Sumter, we completed the filming at Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island across the harbor from Fort Sumter.
The finished product was just shy of 10 minutes long and gave a detailed account of the events of April 7, 1863.
I originally did this program for my own pleasure but wound up giving copies to my family and friends.
Each year students at the elementary school where my wife worked visited Charleston and each year I was asked to tell the story of Jonathan and his exploits. I figured if I videotaped my talk for times I might be unavailable to do the presentation in person the students would at least be able to learn some history prior to their visit to the Port City.
If one school could use the program to teach, perhaps many others could as well. To date there are schools in Chester, S. C. and others in the upstate who have bought the program.
It's available on DVD or VHS for $29.95. If your school or district could use a copy, let me know.
Monday, July 27, 2009
I just returned from a buying trip to Atlanta. I am close to re-evaluating my criticism of New Jersey drivers as the worst in the world.
Don't get me wrong. If a Jersey driver signals a left turn there's still a 90% chance he'll turn right. They're still lousy drivers, although as a resident of South Carolina, I shouldn't be too critical.
Yeah, I know...I was on the floor of the taxicab in Tokyo more than once and I still don't know how anyone exits the Etoile, the circle around the Arch de Triumph in Paris, but these guys and gals heading east and west on I-20 take their NASCAR much too seriously.
You really don't want to check your rear-view mirror too often because you might see a vehicle traveling 20 mph faster than you zip into the left lane squeezing between that tractor-trailer truck and the Volkswagon Beetle and then zipping in front of you missing your front bumper by mere inches. Then he does it again and again as you watch the car disappear in the distance.
Maybe we're all in a movie and these crazies are really stunt drivers and we're just a prop. If that's the case, I expect at least scale wages.
Hey! Who's producing the chase scene in this movie anyhow?
Don't get me wrong. If a Jersey driver signals a left turn there's still a 90% chance he'll turn right. They're still lousy drivers, although as a resident of South Carolina, I shouldn't be too critical.
Yeah, I know...I was on the floor of the taxicab in Tokyo more than once and I still don't know how anyone exits the Etoile, the circle around the Arch de Triumph in Paris, but these guys and gals heading east and west on I-20 take their NASCAR much too seriously.
You really don't want to check your rear-view mirror too often because you might see a vehicle traveling 20 mph faster than you zip into the left lane squeezing between that tractor-trailer truck and the Volkswagon Beetle and then zipping in front of you missing your front bumper by mere inches. Then he does it again and again as you watch the car disappear in the distance.
Maybe we're all in a movie and these crazies are really stunt drivers and we're just a prop. If that's the case, I expect at least scale wages.
Hey! Who's producing the chase scene in this movie anyhow?
Thursday, July 9, 2009
On Death
"The newspaper said the entertainer, so and so, died today," she said.
"Oh, really?" he said, "that's sad. Pass the peas, please."
That's how many of us react upon hearing about the death of a celebrity. Michael Jackson's passing, however, is having a more profound effect on me than usual and I'm not sure why.
Maybe it's because I remember the 10-year old lead singer of the Jackson Five or because Michael has been a presence on center stage for 40 years or that his music is so good, the lyrics and melodies so sharp and meaningful, that I already miss what would have been more chartbusters. For whatever reason, I'm sorry he's gone.
I've never been very good with death. My first experience was the death of my great-grandmother, at 102. I was watching a Charlie Chan movie when my grandmother called my mother with the news. When my uncle Stan died I was watching a Charlie Chan movie. Needless to say, I have never since watched a Charlie Chan movie.
My grandmother died at 92 twenty days after my wedding. Hers was my first funeral.
Here I am 67 years old, feeling like 40 but realizing there are many more years behind me than ahead of me. I just can't picture myself not being here. I wanted to ask my father, "are you afraid of dying?" but how do you ask that question of a parent? When we looked into his "little black book,"...no, not that one, this one listed the contents of his safety deposit box, his disposition of personal property and other "final" information, he wrote he wasn't afraid of death. For me, I try not to think about it. Despite some hardships, disappointments and problems, overall life has been good and, quite frankly, I don't want it to end.
I've had some regrets in my life but most of them have been things I didn't do through naivete, ignorance or missed opportunity. Except for one instance, one insane moment in time when my brain shut down but allowed my mouth to continue to jabber, the end result being the loss of a treasured friendship, I don't regret anything I ever did.
It's really a miracle I reached 67 years. As a teen Alex Walker and I switched bicycles for a ride down a hill. We met at the bottom after reaching speeds exceeding 40 miles an hour. When I took a close look at Alex's bike I saw the front tire had a huge bubble which, had it burst, would have sent me hurtling down the hill and on to the hospital or morgue. Of course we weren't wearing helmets. No one wore them then.
I was stopped at a traffic light leaving college one afternoon. When the light turned green I started to make a left turn only to get hit by a car running the red light. His car slammed into my right headlight and took out the fender. Had I entered the intersection two seconds later he would have hit me broadside on the driver's side.
Then there's the incident at Mount Washington where our car almost went off a cliff and another incident in Vietnam, all discussed in my book.
My mother died at 72. That's just five years away. To think I might have but five more years is depressing. Dad died at 80. As I age, the concept of "old" becomes older.
My youth group kids know not to use that three-letter word when refering to me and as long as I can keep up with them, playing full court basketball with these 15 and 16 year old kids, I can only hope my demise is decades away.
"Oh, really?" he said, "that's sad. Pass the peas, please."
That's how many of us react upon hearing about the death of a celebrity. Michael Jackson's passing, however, is having a more profound effect on me than usual and I'm not sure why.
Maybe it's because I remember the 10-year old lead singer of the Jackson Five or because Michael has been a presence on center stage for 40 years or that his music is so good, the lyrics and melodies so sharp and meaningful, that I already miss what would have been more chartbusters. For whatever reason, I'm sorry he's gone.
I've never been very good with death. My first experience was the death of my great-grandmother, at 102. I was watching a Charlie Chan movie when my grandmother called my mother with the news. When my uncle Stan died I was watching a Charlie Chan movie. Needless to say, I have never since watched a Charlie Chan movie.
My grandmother died at 92 twenty days after my wedding. Hers was my first funeral.
Here I am 67 years old, feeling like 40 but realizing there are many more years behind me than ahead of me. I just can't picture myself not being here. I wanted to ask my father, "are you afraid of dying?" but how do you ask that question of a parent? When we looked into his "little black book,"...no, not that one, this one listed the contents of his safety deposit box, his disposition of personal property and other "final" information, he wrote he wasn't afraid of death. For me, I try not to think about it. Despite some hardships, disappointments and problems, overall life has been good and, quite frankly, I don't want it to end.
I've had some regrets in my life but most of them have been things I didn't do through naivete, ignorance or missed opportunity. Except for one instance, one insane moment in time when my brain shut down but allowed my mouth to continue to jabber, the end result being the loss of a treasured friendship, I don't regret anything I ever did.
It's really a miracle I reached 67 years. As a teen Alex Walker and I switched bicycles for a ride down a hill. We met at the bottom after reaching speeds exceeding 40 miles an hour. When I took a close look at Alex's bike I saw the front tire had a huge bubble which, had it burst, would have sent me hurtling down the hill and on to the hospital or morgue. Of course we weren't wearing helmets. No one wore them then.
I was stopped at a traffic light leaving college one afternoon. When the light turned green I started to make a left turn only to get hit by a car running the red light. His car slammed into my right headlight and took out the fender. Had I entered the intersection two seconds later he would have hit me broadside on the driver's side.
Then there's the incident at Mount Washington where our car almost went off a cliff and another incident in Vietnam, all discussed in my book.
My mother died at 72. That's just five years away. To think I might have but five more years is depressing. Dad died at 80. As I age, the concept of "old" becomes older.
My youth group kids know not to use that three-letter word when refering to me and as long as I can keep up with them, playing full court basketball with these 15 and 16 year old kids, I can only hope my demise is decades away.
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