OK, I watched a world series game. It wasn't my fault. We had a house guest from St. Louis. She wanted to watch, my wife didn't. So, there I was. I watched professionals make errors (St. Louis, mostly). I'm reflecting on the fact that these guys are the one-in-a-zillion players who make it to the show. Literally, every kid playing baseball dreams of making it to the major leagues, and there are millions of them. Yet, they make errors.
Does anyone know how hard it is to even catch a ground ball? at 3rd base? even in American Legion ball? My best man, Denny Michael, played third base in American Legion ball and had a black eye (maybe 2?) in the one summer he played American Legion because the ball came at him so fast. And I thought he was the quickest player I ever knew. Here I am--40 years later and I've lost track of Denny. But I still remember that black eye. With that said, it is amazing that people can catch a grounder, much less a pop-up in all those lights with all those people watching...
Now the Cardinals hung on to win in a truly amazing contest that seemed to be over three times before David Freese hit his 11th-inning home run. But even Freese made an error, dropping an "easy pop-up." Is it pressure? Sure, that has to be part of it. But the pressure these guys have endured to get there was a steady diet anyway. And, they have played 180 games this year and practiced while warming up for all those games. And, in getting there, they fielded enough grounders and pop-ups to get 4,860 outs (roughly, considering a few extra-inning games and rain-shortened games).
But I guess that's why they play the games, nobody's perfect.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
No News Is Good News
This week I have been enjoying satellite radio in my rental car. Nothing but music as I drive--that and the Garmin Lady (with the Australian accent) telling me where to go, which I don't mind, since I have become dependent on my Garmin GPS to go places. But the point is, I have been able to ignore the news for the past several days. I needed the relief after the twin abominations I must have seen a dozen times toward the end of last week. Did you see them?
The video of the still-alive Moamar Ghadafi being beaten moments before some low-life shot him in he head. It was gruesome and offensive.
On one of the shows I allowed myself to be subjected to, the newscaster, moments after showing us that glorious moment, actually remarked upon how amazing it was that even children stood in line to go and see Ghadafi's corpse on the floor of a freezer. This after he subjected all of us, and our children probably, to the spectre of the free Libyans abusing their prisoner as he bled from a head wound.
But that was not all. Fox News (which I usually have a lot of respect for) repeatedly shared video of an ugly incident here at home. Two girls in a brutal fight, being watched and followed around by several adults. Authorities were trying to file charges against the adults for not just failing to stop the fight, but apparently arranging for the two to meet and have their fight. More ugly television and for no other reason than to offend. Whew, I turned away from the TV on Saturday and avoided any TV news. When I am traveling, I rarely turn on the TV, so it has helped that I am on the road. I don't hear radio news, either--thanks to the satellite radio in my car. I listen to jazz on Watercolors, which I guess some would find boring. But it looks as if I will be able to avoid any news until Thursday, and that's a welcome relief.
The video of the still-alive Moamar Ghadafi being beaten moments before some low-life shot him in he head. It was gruesome and offensive.
On one of the shows I allowed myself to be subjected to, the newscaster, moments after showing us that glorious moment, actually remarked upon how amazing it was that even children stood in line to go and see Ghadafi's corpse on the floor of a freezer. This after he subjected all of us, and our children probably, to the spectre of the free Libyans abusing their prisoner as he bled from a head wound.
But that was not all. Fox News (which I usually have a lot of respect for) repeatedly shared video of an ugly incident here at home. Two girls in a brutal fight, being watched and followed around by several adults. Authorities were trying to file charges against the adults for not just failing to stop the fight, but apparently arranging for the two to meet and have their fight. More ugly television and for no other reason than to offend. Whew, I turned away from the TV on Saturday and avoided any TV news. When I am traveling, I rarely turn on the TV, so it has helped that I am on the road. I don't hear radio news, either--thanks to the satellite radio in my car. I listen to jazz on Watercolors, which I guess some would find boring. But it looks as if I will be able to avoid any news until Thursday, and that's a welcome relief.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
The Beginning of The End?
In the dying afternoon
leaves burnt by the sun
tell of winter, nigh too soon.
The light changes and in quiet moments you notice. Where I am it was a magnificent day. There was a moment when it all seemed so fragile and short-lived. Not that seasons are difficult to bear here, I know of worse places.
We humans like to think we are self-aware, and that sets us apart, but we expend a lot of mental energy holding fast to denying the obvious fact of our finite existence. We do this in spite of the current of the seasons that runs around us each year. Who knows, it may be the fact that the seasons cycle back to a new beginning each year that convinces us somehow that we are above this cycle and, therefore, not subject to our own. But look around and there is evidence to the contrary that we ignore seemingly without effort--the deaths of our grandparents and parents, the aging of our bodies and our minds. But that's enough. Back to breathing in and breathing out, it's October and it is splendid.
leaves burnt by the sun
tell of winter, nigh too soon.
The light changes and in quiet moments you notice. Where I am it was a magnificent day. There was a moment when it all seemed so fragile and short-lived. Not that seasons are difficult to bear here, I know of worse places.
We humans like to think we are self-aware, and that sets us apart, but we expend a lot of mental energy holding fast to denying the obvious fact of our finite existence. We do this in spite of the current of the seasons that runs around us each year. Who knows, it may be the fact that the seasons cycle back to a new beginning each year that convinces us somehow that we are above this cycle and, therefore, not subject to our own. But look around and there is evidence to the contrary that we ignore seemingly without effort--the deaths of our grandparents and parents, the aging of our bodies and our minds. But that's enough. Back to breathing in and breathing out, it's October and it is splendid.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Honesty
Honesty is such a lonely word.
Everyone is so untrue.
Honesty is hardly ever heard.
And mostly what I need from you.
Billy Joel's lyric--or did he write it or just sing it? I just checked. He wrote it himself. Do people really expect honesty? Do you consider yourself a straight arrow? How straight? To tell you the truth, I didn't expect honesty from Billy Joel--to believe the lyrics were his own. Covering another's composition is a compliment after all, but we only refer to it as "covering" another's song if they made a hit of it, right?
According to Wikipedia, a cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song. It can sometimes have a pejorative meaning implying that the original recording should be regarded as the definitive or "authentic" version, and all others merely lesser competitors, alternatives or tributes (no matter how popular).
So, is what you are living a "cover" of an act or lifestyle you have seen others perform? Oops, was that a little too profound? Has someone else already made a hit of it? Was the other a true original, definitive or authentic version?
I think it's like a friend of mine said this morning. It's just the best you can do, whether it's perfect or not. You prepare (or not) to the extent you can and then you show up. Some days, no matter how hard you prepare, it doesn't come off as you would have liked. But, that may still be plenty good. Some other days, you have no choice but to wing it and it comes off as perfect to those who hear it. But, of course, the little voice inside you calls you an impostor. So what? Ignore the little voice, and be what you are.
So, why does Billy Joel want honesty? Everyone is so untrue, even to themselves (Impostor!). Well, the whole source of this little post is that I was less than honest in something I did today. My sense is that the organization I am dealing with has been less than perfect with me, so I am justified in being a little less than truthful with them. Atop the slippery slope, I am. But I'll forge ahead and do what I can, and I'll guess Billy Joel was just talking to himself--mostly what he needs he must get from himself, then he will succeed.
Everyone is so untrue.
Honesty is hardly ever heard.
And mostly what I need from you.
Billy Joel's lyric--or did he write it or just sing it? I just checked. He wrote it himself. Do people really expect honesty? Do you consider yourself a straight arrow? How straight? To tell you the truth, I didn't expect honesty from Billy Joel--to believe the lyrics were his own. Covering another's composition is a compliment after all, but we only refer to it as "covering" another's song if they made a hit of it, right?
According to Wikipedia, a cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song. It can sometimes have a pejorative meaning implying that the original recording should be regarded as the definitive or "authentic" version, and all others merely lesser competitors, alternatives or tributes (no matter how popular).
So, is what you are living a "cover" of an act or lifestyle you have seen others perform? Oops, was that a little too profound? Has someone else already made a hit of it? Was the other a true original, definitive or authentic version?
I think it's like a friend of mine said this morning. It's just the best you can do, whether it's perfect or not. You prepare (or not) to the extent you can and then you show up. Some days, no matter how hard you prepare, it doesn't come off as you would have liked. But, that may still be plenty good. Some other days, you have no choice but to wing it and it comes off as perfect to those who hear it. But, of course, the little voice inside you calls you an impostor. So what? Ignore the little voice, and be what you are.
So, why does Billy Joel want honesty? Everyone is so untrue, even to themselves (Impostor!). Well, the whole source of this little post is that I was less than honest in something I did today. My sense is that the organization I am dealing with has been less than perfect with me, so I am justified in being a little less than truthful with them. Atop the slippery slope, I am. But I'll forge ahead and do what I can, and I'll guess Billy Joel was just talking to himself--mostly what he needs he must get from himself, then he will succeed.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Fixing Stupid
"You can't fix stupid." Sounds kind of arrogant, but my friend is not that way. He was just making a point, Some people just don't think and there's nothing you can do to make them. Or is there? What seems so obvious to me, isn't necessarily as obvious to everyone is it? Do drivers who stop when they have the right of way just not notice their surroundings on purpose? Well, no... Did the assistant my friend was talking about really not know that a sample kit for a marketing campaign should include samples? Do flashes of just "not being there" strike everyone at some time or another? I hope they do, since it happens to me more than I'd care to admit.
I looked up the source and it turns out to be the raunchy comic, Ron White. In context, his remark was about marrying for looks. Briefly, he points out while plastic surgery can fix defects to a degree and offset the effects of aging or excessive weight gain, you can't, etc.
But it was a week for stupid, it turns out. I went to a play in Atlanta called Gray Area. The setup for the story is a long-time critic takes a shot at Civil War re-enactors, and three unusual re-enactors from somewhere in the South decide to do something about it. They kidnap the critic, not for ransom, but to engage him in a debate about the far-ranging topics of Civil War re-enactors, the War of Northern Agression, racism and the Confederate flag. It's a farce, but it makes you wonder if the only way to get someone to sit down and listen is to kidnap him and take him into the woods.
It's a commentary on the state of civil discoursse in this world. In the program, the producer points out that many otherwise intelligent people simply shut down when faced with a diffferent opinion. Instead of discourse, people resort to name-calling. He writes "...I see people attacking each other and, more often than not, regarding the other person as stupid. Stupid has never been a conversation enhancer. Stupid has never mended a bridge. Stupid is a conversation ender. Actually, stupid becomes an argument escalator."
So, let's make a stab at "fixing stupid." Exercise a bit of patience, even some empathy, and don't even think stupid.
I looked up the source and it turns out to be the raunchy comic, Ron White. In context, his remark was about marrying for looks. Briefly, he points out while plastic surgery can fix defects to a degree and offset the effects of aging or excessive weight gain, you can't, etc.
But it was a week for stupid, it turns out. I went to a play in Atlanta called Gray Area. The setup for the story is a long-time critic takes a shot at Civil War re-enactors, and three unusual re-enactors from somewhere in the South decide to do something about it. They kidnap the critic, not for ransom, but to engage him in a debate about the far-ranging topics of Civil War re-enactors, the War of Northern Agression, racism and the Confederate flag. It's a farce, but it makes you wonder if the only way to get someone to sit down and listen is to kidnap him and take him into the woods.
It's a commentary on the state of civil discoursse in this world. In the program, the producer points out that many otherwise intelligent people simply shut down when faced with a diffferent opinion. Instead of discourse, people resort to name-calling. He writes "...I see people attacking each other and, more often than not, regarding the other person as stupid. Stupid has never been a conversation enhancer. Stupid has never mended a bridge. Stupid is a conversation ender. Actually, stupid becomes an argument escalator."
So, let's make a stab at "fixing stupid." Exercise a bit of patience, even some empathy, and don't even think stupid.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
When Is An Opinion A Conviction?
At dinner with some friends, we were talking about interacting with people who didn't back the same politician or movement that we as individuals do. We were not necessarily all on the same side, but we were all able to summon up examples of people we would not want to talk with about--fill in the blank--religion, politics, elections. I observed that I have a hard time disliking people for opinions they held and I did not share. It's true, I can engage them and hear them out, but I can't get angry, upset or aggravated about it anymore. On the other hand, I encounter lots of people who feel the need to change me or my mind, even to the point of trying to provoke a reaction from me.
I run into so many people who are that way that I have concluded it is something in the way I was brought up. I am never inclined to proselytize or force my opinion on others and am careful about where I express them, although my wife probably wouldn't agree, she thinks I like to say things for shock value. As if my opinions are shocking...
One of my dinner companions observed that she feels the same way, but there is one exception in her mind, and that was abortion. She said she feels so strongly about it that she could never be close friends with anyone who did not agree with her on the subject. She then adroitly avoided pursuing the subject by restraining her impulse to ask us our position on the matter. Even as strongly as she felt on the subject, she didn't chase it down among friends.
Evidently, she is still more closely aligned with me on the whole matter, but it did make me wonder if distinction was as simple as the difference between opinion and conviction. Here's what Merriam-Webster had to say: an opinion is a belief stronger than impression and less strong than positive knowledge, and a conviction is the act of convincing a person of error or of compelling the admission of a truth.
Sooooo, I guess I just have opinions and all these others have convictions. I kind of like my spot--my opinions evolve as I see more of the world and listen to what others can tell me. If I were carrying around a load of convictions, I don't think I'd be as happy, somehow.
I run into so many people who are that way that I have concluded it is something in the way I was brought up. I am never inclined to proselytize or force my opinion on others and am careful about where I express them, although my wife probably wouldn't agree, she thinks I like to say things for shock value. As if my opinions are shocking...
One of my dinner companions observed that she feels the same way, but there is one exception in her mind, and that was abortion. She said she feels so strongly about it that she could never be close friends with anyone who did not agree with her on the subject. She then adroitly avoided pursuing the subject by restraining her impulse to ask us our position on the matter. Even as strongly as she felt on the subject, she didn't chase it down among friends.
Evidently, she is still more closely aligned with me on the whole matter, but it did make me wonder if distinction was as simple as the difference between opinion and conviction. Here's what Merriam-Webster had to say: an opinion is a belief stronger than impression and less strong than positive knowledge, and a conviction is the act of convincing a person of error or of compelling the admission of a truth.
Sooooo, I guess I just have opinions and all these others have convictions. I kind of like my spot--my opinions evolve as I see more of the world and listen to what others can tell me. If I were carrying around a load of convictions, I don't think I'd be as happy, somehow.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Wynton Marsalis and Eric Clapton--It took a moment
OK, I have loved almost everything Eric Clapton has done as he has grown up, or older, if you prefer. The one project that never took for me was Clapton and Steve Winwood. I always liked Winwood as a solo performer and Traffic was truly an experience for me, but I guess I never did earn my hard rock stripes. Most of Clapton and Winwood was way off for me.
But set that aside--Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, Riding With the King and more--were all finds for me, and I still listen to them. I saw a brief piece on the title collaboration and I was sold. But I wasn't prepared for what sounded to me like Dixieland Band stuff and it was a tad off-putting. About the 4th cut, "The Last Time" was the turning point for me and I never looked back. It is a ride not everybody may be ready for, but just try it and don't give up until you have heard at least five cuts.
It has set me to thinking about people and things I found off-putting at first. I have a friend or two that I have known for twenty, thirty or forty years or so that I didn't appreciate the way I do now. Truth be told, they probably exhibited more patience getting to know me more than I had to for them. Give people a chance to grow on you is one lesson I have learned. Am I ready to do it again?
What else is there in my life today that I had a hard time with a first? I remember distinctly a year or so when I dreaded Sunday nights--I had to face going to work on Monday and I was deeply depressed on those nights. But we had a newborn baby and I had a wife who made a leap of faith marrying me and moving twice to follow my career, so I just had to make it work. Not more than two years later, I was hooked. I loved what I did. Go figure, just give it some time and you will learn and grow and take great satisfaction from the most surprising things. Am I prepared to do it again?
I hope so....
But set that aside--Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, Riding With the King and more--were all finds for me, and I still listen to them. I saw a brief piece on the title collaboration and I was sold. But I wasn't prepared for what sounded to me like Dixieland Band stuff and it was a tad off-putting. About the 4th cut, "The Last Time" was the turning point for me and I never looked back. It is a ride not everybody may be ready for, but just try it and don't give up until you have heard at least five cuts.
It has set me to thinking about people and things I found off-putting at first. I have a friend or two that I have known for twenty, thirty or forty years or so that I didn't appreciate the way I do now. Truth be told, they probably exhibited more patience getting to know me more than I had to for them. Give people a chance to grow on you is one lesson I have learned. Am I ready to do it again?
What else is there in my life today that I had a hard time with a first? I remember distinctly a year or so when I dreaded Sunday nights--I had to face going to work on Monday and I was deeply depressed on those nights. But we had a newborn baby and I had a wife who made a leap of faith marrying me and moving twice to follow my career, so I just had to make it work. Not more than two years later, I was hooked. I loved what I did. Go figure, just give it some time and you will learn and grow and take great satisfaction from the most surprising things. Am I prepared to do it again?
I hope so....
Monday, October 10, 2011
Occupying My Mind
You know, I just can't help myself. "Occupy Wall Street" is a topic I should probably avoid, but it keeps intruding on my mental space. In part because the media keeps spending its time bubbling over "the movement." Now they are comparing it to the "Arab Spring," and I think the comparison bears some examination, but I'll get back to that.
This movement is getting a lot of attention, but its lack of a clear message bothers me. Not because I am in favor of "corporate greed," whatever that is, it sounds like something bad. And it's not because I favor increasing he gap between the richest of the rich and the poorest, I understand opportunity for everyone is the cornerstone of our society. I just think people ought to be clear about their goals.
Nothing about this occupation in Manhattan, which is now spreading to other places, tells me their purpose. What about clarity? Can anyone bring forth in a few simple sentences what these folks are for? I just hear about what they are against and I don't hear what they want us to do. Do you know what happens to a movement that has a lot of energy and no clear purpose? Their movement gets co-opted. Just today I heard (for the first time) that these people are protesting labor laws in the U.S. Where did that come from? Well, the AFL-CIO and a few of its largest member unions have endorsed the movement, so now you hear the media report they are occupying spaces to protest corporate greed, super-rich people and bad labor laws. For a month, these folks have been out there occupying and they didn't even know they were protesting bad labor laws until this week. Oh, and the President and former House Speaker have endorsed the movement, too. I guess the movement will be picking up some more purpose pretty soon.
I promised to get back to the "Arab Spring" comparison, so here goes. There is growing unrest in Egypt again. Leaders of the spring time revolution there have found the leading generals in the military have quietly strengthened their hold on power in Egypt. The movement that only knew it was against Mubarak has been co-opted. Mubarak is out, but no gain for the people of Egypt.
I find a funny kind of parallel here between the occupying movement and an article I picked up yesterday. I ran across the author in my effort to become a better writer. Her name is Suzette Martinez Standring, and she has a web site (www.readsuzettecom) where she offers help to people who want to write. She has spent a great deal of time interviewing award-winning columnists about how to write well. Distilling their advice, she talks about half a dozen qualities of good writing. They are:
- Focus (What is your entral message or goal?)
- Clarity (establish your premise and build your message, cutting out anything that fails to move your point forward)
- Connection (Evoke emotion and compel interest)
- Fixes (don't complain about issues without offering solutions)
- Vitality (be aware of the impact rhythm and cadence of words you use)
- Integrity (be accurate and truthful)
While you have all that time on your hands, how about taking Suzette's advice and creating a message while you still have people's attention?
This movement is getting a lot of attention, but its lack of a clear message bothers me. Not because I am in favor of "corporate greed," whatever that is, it sounds like something bad. And it's not because I favor increasing he gap between the richest of the rich and the poorest, I understand opportunity for everyone is the cornerstone of our society. I just think people ought to be clear about their goals.
Nothing about this occupation in Manhattan, which is now spreading to other places, tells me their purpose. What about clarity? Can anyone bring forth in a few simple sentences what these folks are for? I just hear about what they are against and I don't hear what they want us to do. Do you know what happens to a movement that has a lot of energy and no clear purpose? Their movement gets co-opted. Just today I heard (for the first time) that these people are protesting labor laws in the U.S. Where did that come from? Well, the AFL-CIO and a few of its largest member unions have endorsed the movement, so now you hear the media report they are occupying spaces to protest corporate greed, super-rich people and bad labor laws. For a month, these folks have been out there occupying and they didn't even know they were protesting bad labor laws until this week. Oh, and the President and former House Speaker have endorsed the movement, too. I guess the movement will be picking up some more purpose pretty soon.
I promised to get back to the "Arab Spring" comparison, so here goes. There is growing unrest in Egypt again. Leaders of the spring time revolution there have found the leading generals in the military have quietly strengthened their hold on power in Egypt. The movement that only knew it was against Mubarak has been co-opted. Mubarak is out, but no gain for the people of Egypt.
I find a funny kind of parallel here between the occupying movement and an article I picked up yesterday. I ran across the author in my effort to become a better writer. Her name is Suzette Martinez Standring, and she has a web site (www.readsuzettecom) where she offers help to people who want to write. She has spent a great deal of time interviewing award-winning columnists about how to write well. Distilling their advice, she talks about half a dozen qualities of good writing. They are:
- Focus (What is your entral message or goal?)
- Clarity (establish your premise and build your message, cutting out anything that fails to move your point forward)
- Connection (Evoke emotion and compel interest)
- Fixes (don't complain about issues without offering solutions)
- Vitality (be aware of the impact rhythm and cadence of words you use)
- Integrity (be accurate and truthful)
While you have all that time on your hands, how about taking Suzette's advice and creating a message while you still have people's attention?
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Tomorrow, We Could Be Yesterday
Christopher McDonald, who plays Tommy Jefferson on the TV series Harry's Law,uttered those words on an episode I watched the other night. It's not a program I watch much, but his words struck a chord with me. His point, aimed squarely at people in their 50's and beyond, is that when you're in the midst of things in your current occupation, feeling stressed and not having much fun, you need to remember to savor this moment.
Soon enough, I will be the guy who used to be me. But today, I am in the middle of it, in the game, and I don't want to wake up 15 years from now asking why didn't I really make it fun, live in the moment and savor it? So when challenges are laid before you, jump in and have some fun. It won't last forever, but you might just miss it when the ride is over.
The real gift is to learn to apply that thinking and habit to every new challenge you run across, whether it's plying your present trade or tackling something new in your second half of life. Have fun making the attempt and don't focus on the stress or the difficulty. Savor the lessons you learn and thank God you got off your behind and reached for your dream, whatever it is.
But, what if you take on some kind of ordinary work to pile up a little money to visit someplace you always wanted to take? Do you just put up with it, or do you look through the prism of savoring all of it? If you have learned the gift of habitually savoring it, you won't be wasting time, you will be full of the present, on the verge of arriving at that destination you set out for when you tackled the work to get there.
So, beyond thinking it, how do I make this a part of me? What is my normal reaction to the stressors in my world? Worry, frowning at the world, snapping at people around me, feeling the urge to walk out? What have I taught myself to do about these reactions? Some are good (taking a deep breath, taking a walk, getting a good night's sleep, getting some exercise), some less so (having a good stiff drink--or two, blaming others, escaping into some other wasteful activity, tears). What if I try a twist on the expression I have used sarcastically in times of stress--"Are we having fun yet?" Having fun is another way to savor the good and the bad, to make what's heavy and dragging you down just part of the experience today, because tomorrow, we could be yesterday.
Soon enough, I will be the guy who used to be me. But today, I am in the middle of it, in the game, and I don't want to wake up 15 years from now asking why didn't I really make it fun, live in the moment and savor it? So when challenges are laid before you, jump in and have some fun. It won't last forever, but you might just miss it when the ride is over.
The real gift is to learn to apply that thinking and habit to every new challenge you run across, whether it's plying your present trade or tackling something new in your second half of life. Have fun making the attempt and don't focus on the stress or the difficulty. Savor the lessons you learn and thank God you got off your behind and reached for your dream, whatever it is.
But, what if you take on some kind of ordinary work to pile up a little money to visit someplace you always wanted to take? Do you just put up with it, or do you look through the prism of savoring all of it? If you have learned the gift of habitually savoring it, you won't be wasting time, you will be full of the present, on the verge of arriving at that destination you set out for when you tackled the work to get there.
So, beyond thinking it, how do I make this a part of me? What is my normal reaction to the stressors in my world? Worry, frowning at the world, snapping at people around me, feeling the urge to walk out? What have I taught myself to do about these reactions? Some are good (taking a deep breath, taking a walk, getting a good night's sleep, getting some exercise), some less so (having a good stiff drink--or two, blaming others, escaping into some other wasteful activity, tears). What if I try a twist on the expression I have used sarcastically in times of stress--"Are we having fun yet?" Having fun is another way to savor the good and the bad, to make what's heavy and dragging you down just part of the experience today, because tomorrow, we could be yesterday.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Friday, October 7, 2011
Friday at Five
Have I mentioned I work from home? :>) Now stop that, it really doesn't become you. It's not all the time, and I travel a great deal, so there is some compensating aspect to the overall picture. It's not all fun. Let's have a show of hands from all of you who think travel (on business, mind you) is a lot of fun. Not these days. But let's get back to the work-at-home experience.
With no interruptions from people showing up at the door, or stopping to chat at the coffee pot, you can get swallowed up by work. Happened to me today--I started writing an outline for a little talk I have to give soon, and the next time I looked at my watch the day was almost gone. It gives me pause, when things like that happen. What's going to engage my attention like that in a few years? Reading a book? Playing a word game? Not likely.
I don't find myself looking forward to the day when I don't remember what day it is. Life has had a shape for all these years that I have been working. I once thought working from home would be a form of transition to my second half of life. I would get used to a life without commuting (it's true I have, but it has been replaced by travel to some extent and travel doesn't have the rhythm that commuting has--books on tape for the drive or a favorite radio show at drive time). When I commuted 60 miles eah way, I could have those things. when I took a bus downtown, I did homework for graduate school. I haven't been able to make travel work out that way.
Anyway, I missed commuting in a few small ways, but having the time back overwhelmed those misgivings. The thing is I have found I could get absorbed just as easily as when I was in the office, and I had fewer interruptions. So what happens is that Friday at Five sneaks up on you. How do I get that kind of absorption in my life after I leave the first half?
With no interruptions from people showing up at the door, or stopping to chat at the coffee pot, you can get swallowed up by work. Happened to me today--I started writing an outline for a little talk I have to give soon, and the next time I looked at my watch the day was almost gone. It gives me pause, when things like that happen. What's going to engage my attention like that in a few years? Reading a book? Playing a word game? Not likely.
I don't find myself looking forward to the day when I don't remember what day it is. Life has had a shape for all these years that I have been working. I once thought working from home would be a form of transition to my second half of life. I would get used to a life without commuting (it's true I have, but it has been replaced by travel to some extent and travel doesn't have the rhythm that commuting has--books on tape for the drive or a favorite radio show at drive time). When I commuted 60 miles eah way, I could have those things. when I took a bus downtown, I did homework for graduate school. I haven't been able to make travel work out that way.
Anyway, I missed commuting in a few small ways, but having the time back overwhelmed those misgivings. The thing is I have found I could get absorbed just as easily as when I was in the office, and I had fewer interruptions. So what happens is that Friday at Five sneaks up on you. How do I get that kind of absorption in my life after I leave the first half?
Thursday, October 6, 2011
A Declaration of War
Some of us have seen Caddyshack a few too many times, but Bill Murray just keeps me coming back (Later, he made an unforgettable tribute to coming back in Groundhog Day, but that's another story). Back to Caddyshack and Bill Murray's lunatic groundskeeper, you will remember his campaign against the groundhogs at the Country Club. In the end, he blows up half the golf course, yet fails to get his man, er, groundhog.
Well, with that in mind, I ignored the invasion of a groundhog in my yard the first spring after we moved in. I knew I did not have the time to do battle. By midsummer he had disappeared, driven further underground by the heat? Only to return in the Fall, By Spring, he had invited his whole family to move in, and I started to reconsider peaceful co-existence as a policy of governance in my yard. I learned that they feed off lawn insects, so I treated the lawn for bugs a couple of times, it couldn't hurt.
In the mean time, I took to checking the lawn and garden aisles at Lowe's for weapons in my border skirmishes. I learned about the small poison pellets. You used the cone-shaped plastic bottle the pellets came in to create access to a tunnel, then dropped in a few pellets. Doing this, you could imagine your adversaries dropping dead as they feverishly burrowed around looking for a bug to take the awful taste out of their mouths. It's more pleasant than hand-to-hand combat with the little critters. In the end no real deterrence came as a result. The groundhogs were thriving.
I saw, but just didn't feel I wanted to try, the traps. A spring-loaded kind of mechanism you are supposed to push into one of the tunnels and catch the enemy walking along unsuspecting---and wham, the steel trap chops him in two. A yard warrior can then count coup over his fallen enemy when he pulls the trap from the ground.
"Wouldn't work for me," I said, I now had a whole tribe living under my lawn. "Knocking off one or two just won't cut it, I need a weapon of mass destruction." This Spring, I invested several hundred dollars in some sod (along with several hundred dollars a month in water to get it to stay alive. My yard has looked fine all summer, but the weather is cooling, and the early signs are that Groundhog Nation has returned. The good news is I have declared war with a modern weapon at my disposal. So, this afternoon I put on my best Bill Murray camo outfit and deployed my secret weapons--SONIC SPIKES. They are solar-powered, giant spikes that emit sonic pulses that are probably ear-splitting to groundhogs. They are said to drive out the enemy within 7 to 14 days. Stay tuned--War has been declared.
Well, with that in mind, I ignored the invasion of a groundhog in my yard the first spring after we moved in. I knew I did not have the time to do battle. By midsummer he had disappeared, driven further underground by the heat? Only to return in the Fall, By Spring, he had invited his whole family to move in, and I started to reconsider peaceful co-existence as a policy of governance in my yard. I learned that they feed off lawn insects, so I treated the lawn for bugs a couple of times, it couldn't hurt.
In the mean time, I took to checking the lawn and garden aisles at Lowe's for weapons in my border skirmishes. I learned about the small poison pellets. You used the cone-shaped plastic bottle the pellets came in to create access to a tunnel, then dropped in a few pellets. Doing this, you could imagine your adversaries dropping dead as they feverishly burrowed around looking for a bug to take the awful taste out of their mouths. It's more pleasant than hand-to-hand combat with the little critters. In the end no real deterrence came as a result. The groundhogs were thriving.
I saw, but just didn't feel I wanted to try, the traps. A spring-loaded kind of mechanism you are supposed to push into one of the tunnels and catch the enemy walking along unsuspecting---and wham, the steel trap chops him in two. A yard warrior can then count coup over his fallen enemy when he pulls the trap from the ground.
"Wouldn't work for me," I said, I now had a whole tribe living under my lawn. "Knocking off one or two just won't cut it, I need a weapon of mass destruction." This Spring, I invested several hundred dollars in some sod (along with several hundred dollars a month in water to get it to stay alive. My yard has looked fine all summer, but the weather is cooling, and the early signs are that Groundhog Nation has returned. The good news is I have declared war with a modern weapon at my disposal. So, this afternoon I put on my best Bill Murray camo outfit and deployed my secret weapons--SONIC SPIKES. They are solar-powered, giant spikes that emit sonic pulses that are probably ear-splitting to groundhogs. They are said to drive out the enemy within 7 to 14 days. Stay tuned--War has been declared.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
It's About the Beach
I worked from home today, and thank heavens! I would have missed the visit from the Census Bureau, and our federal government would have had to spend another several hundred dollars it doesn't have to complete its American Community Survey. It seems the "U.S. Census Bureau chose my address, not me personally, as part of a randomly selected sample." I was "required by U.S. law to respond to this survey."
Yes, a U.S. Census Bureau worker appeared at my door and handed me a letter to this effect. I had twice received forms in the mail with a notation in bold print, all caps, "YOUR RESPONSE IS REQUIRED BY LAW. I didn't ignore them exactly, I picked the second edition up and put it in my computer bag and carried it to Manitowoc, Wisconsin and twice to Rockford, Illinois. I had picked it out of my computer bag the day before, winced and told myself--"You have to put this on your to-do list, and get it done, this week, at least."
But my wife came home and said, "can you take an hour off and walk on the beach with me? I need the exercise." So we drove over, parked the car and walked past the beach grill and bar to our walk. After our 45 minutes on the beach, as we walked past the grill, we decided to stop for a grilled grouper sandwich. Sitting in the afternoon sun on a crisp October afternoon, I was all about the beach. By the time we arrived home, my to-do list was not in the picture. The next morning, shortly after I had finished answering my emails and a couple of expense reports (and updating that to-do list), here was the U.S. government at my door, in the person of a pleasant middle-aged woman with her hair tied up in an officious-looking bun handing me a letter. The letter went on "to emphasize that any information you give our representative will be kept confidential. By law, the Census Bureau cannot publish or release to anyone any information that would identify you or your household." Whew!
Her first question--"do you remember getting two letters in the mail?" After apologizing profusely, I invited her in and answered a few questions. As she left, I apologized again. She just said, "oh, if it weren't for this, I might not have a job anyway." So, there it is, in miniature, the federal deficit and I am in the middle of it. It's all about the beach.
Yes, a U.S. Census Bureau worker appeared at my door and handed me a letter to this effect. I had twice received forms in the mail with a notation in bold print, all caps, "YOUR RESPONSE IS REQUIRED BY LAW. I didn't ignore them exactly, I picked the second edition up and put it in my computer bag and carried it to Manitowoc, Wisconsin and twice to Rockford, Illinois. I had picked it out of my computer bag the day before, winced and told myself--"You have to put this on your to-do list, and get it done, this week, at least."
But my wife came home and said, "can you take an hour off and walk on the beach with me? I need the exercise." So we drove over, parked the car and walked past the beach grill and bar to our walk. After our 45 minutes on the beach, as we walked past the grill, we decided to stop for a grilled grouper sandwich. Sitting in the afternoon sun on a crisp October afternoon, I was all about the beach. By the time we arrived home, my to-do list was not in the picture. The next morning, shortly after I had finished answering my emails and a couple of expense reports (and updating that to-do list), here was the U.S. government at my door, in the person of a pleasant middle-aged woman with her hair tied up in an officious-looking bun handing me a letter. The letter went on "to emphasize that any information you give our representative will be kept confidential. By law, the Census Bureau cannot publish or release to anyone any information that would identify you or your household." Whew!
Her first question--"do you remember getting two letters in the mail?" After apologizing profusely, I invited her in and answered a few questions. As she left, I apologized again. She just said, "oh, if it weren't for this, I might not have a job anyway." So, there it is, in miniature, the federal deficit and I am in the middle of it. It's all about the beach.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Craig's List and Today's Economy
Did you see the USA Today article today about desperately unemployed advertising services via the free classifieds on Craig's List. It's almost like the roadside "will work for food" sign holders. A step above, but just another data point on how upside-down our world has become. USA Today calls the free classifieds a portal into the misery of people trying to find jobs, especially the people approaching three years without a regular job. These are people willing to do an sort of work or odd job for money, and they have turned to Craig's list to make contact.
I've written before about how many jobs are filled each month, even in these times of no job growth. Some number of people are leaving jobs and being replaced, even in the worst of times. Don't believe me? Go to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and see for yourself, Even in the worst months of this recession, there are literally millions of jobs available. But, those jobs are not available to the long-term unemployed and to those who failed to graduate from high school.
Feel sorry for yourself, go read this article Copy and paste he following into your web browser:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/story/2011-10-03/jobs-craigslist-unemployed-economy-classified-ads/50647040/1
These are some folks that need work to feed themselves and their families. instead of just feeling sorry for themselves, they are doing something. You can't help but admire them.
I've written before about how many jobs are filled each month, even in these times of no job growth. Some number of people are leaving jobs and being replaced, even in the worst of times. Don't believe me? Go to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and see for yourself, Even in the worst months of this recession, there are literally millions of jobs available. But, those jobs are not available to the long-term unemployed and to those who failed to graduate from high school.
Feel sorry for yourself, go read this article Copy and paste he following into your web browser:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/story/2011-10-03/jobs-craigslist-unemployed-economy-classified-ads/50647040/1
These are some folks that need work to feed themselves and their families. instead of just feeling sorry for themselves, they are doing something. You can't help but admire them.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Antebellum Homes, Fried Shrimp and Convertible Rides
Yesterday we drove the 2-seater convertible up to Beaufort, SC to see the Beaufort Shrimp Fest. It was the first cool sunny day of Fall, and it was October first. the only problem--they just invited too many people. Everybody and his uncle was there. Getting to a booth to have some shrimp looked like an ordeal. We walked through the park and it was shoulder-to-shoulder all the way. People would just stop to talk to someone or decide on a booth to try and everything would grind to a halt. There was no way around them. You just had to stand there. Now I like shrimp well enough and there was the promise of some cold beer to wash it down. The waterfront has a fine view of the Beaufort River (which isn't a river at all, it is a tidal strait, full of Atlantic seawater, plain and simple. More about that later). But it was a little ridiculous. We toured a shrimp boat, but it was packed with people and you could hardly get near the boat's captain, who was there to explain a little about a shrimper's life. In short, the fest was trying our patience.
Then we saw it--The Prince of Tides--a tour boat with a dozen or so people sitting on the benches taking it all in from offshore. We went and got some tickets, and I bought a beer and we were on board for the 90 minute tour of the river. I had to share the beer because we could not find a place in that crowd to buy herself a soda.
We had a fine boat ride, we saw many of the antebellum homes from the ocean side, heard about The Great Skeedaddle-when the city's residents all ran away when the Union forces overwhelmed the fort at St. Helena Island and sailed in to occupy the City of Beaufort. With the residents gone, the Union army turned many of these homes into hospitals as many as 14 were hospitals. In post-bellum days, Beaufort boomed. Because of the Union occupation it was largely intact, and it was a center for all sorts of trade and exports of farm products. Most all of that was wiped out when the Great Storm of 1893 submerged nearly all of South Carolina.
Soon we ran out of land and homes to talk about and our crew turned to the lively eco-system of the Beaufort River. We saw both the top and bottom of the food chain. The top of the food chain are the dolphins, which consume 25 lbs of fish daily. At the bottom are the microbes that live on the detritus from seasonal comings and goings of spartina grass that grows on the tidal waters.
Later, we went to the Wren, a restaurant with unique interior design and an in-between menu for people who (like us) are too late for lunch and too early for dinner. It was tasty. All in all, a very special day.
Then we saw it--The Prince of Tides--a tour boat with a dozen or so people sitting on the benches taking it all in from offshore. We went and got some tickets, and I bought a beer and we were on board for the 90 minute tour of the river. I had to share the beer because we could not find a place in that crowd to buy herself a soda.
We had a fine boat ride, we saw many of the antebellum homes from the ocean side, heard about The Great Skeedaddle-when the city's residents all ran away when the Union forces overwhelmed the fort at St. Helena Island and sailed in to occupy the City of Beaufort. With the residents gone, the Union army turned many of these homes into hospitals as many as 14 were hospitals. In post-bellum days, Beaufort boomed. Because of the Union occupation it was largely intact, and it was a center for all sorts of trade and exports of farm products. Most all of that was wiped out when the Great Storm of 1893 submerged nearly all of South Carolina.
Soon we ran out of land and homes to talk about and our crew turned to the lively eco-system of the Beaufort River. We saw both the top and bottom of the food chain. The top of the food chain are the dolphins, which consume 25 lbs of fish daily. At the bottom are the microbes that live on the detritus from seasonal comings and goings of spartina grass that grows on the tidal waters.
Later, we went to the Wren, a restaurant with unique interior design and an in-between menu for people who (like us) are too late for lunch and too early for dinner. It was tasty. All in all, a very special day.
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