Here are some old blogs from the archives. A note that might help make more sense of these posts: The primary audience was my mother. She was living in Arizona and this was before she was on Facebook. My sister Deb or Mom’s neighbors would print the posts for her to read. Also, note that none of the links from the original posts are active.
December 2006
Debbie and I volunteered to help at the “Jolly Holiday Lights” display. It is a fundraising event for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. I ended up doing two shifts collecting money while Debbie handed out programs and encouraged them to enjoy the lights. I collected money from about 180 cars.
The difference in how people interacted with their cars was a fascinating study in human nature. Out of this group of 180 drivers most handled the money transaction as a routine unworthy of any significance. It was as if they were in a foggy dream at a Walmart checkout counter.
Several others seemed confused, one was obnoxious, and less than ten actually “connected”. By connected I mean they made a conscious effort to establish a “personal” connection with Debbie and me. These people turned the money transaction, which most others deemed unworthy of any significance, into an opportunity to connect, learn, and grow. What is it that separates them from the people going through the motions or the confused and the obnoxious?
I used to lecture my son Bill about staying “above the “fog”, i.e., living an examined life where one is always growing in knowledge and positively engaged in people and events. Some people just seem to be “above the fog”. If you are “above the fog” you know what I mean, if not, just ignore this as the ramblings of a crackpot.
The previous paragraph implies that I consider myself to be “above the fog”. Yet I recognize that I will always be incapable of knowing if it is a true statement or not. However, I am hopeful that a person cognizant of levels of consciousness that I am not will let me mercifully maintain my artificial sense of well-being. Ignorance can be bliss!
November 2006
We drove to Detroit to see the Krasicky Family and the Detroit-based Conroy’s. They say “you can’t go back” and it is true. The old neighborhoods look a little worn at the edges, even the ones that are still “fashionable” today. I couldn’t help but reflect on how small my life experiences would have been had I not left the area. Not that there is anything particularly bad about Detroit but without a physical move it is easy to get into a comfortable routine that extends from the cradle to the grave. By moving to Des Moines in 1979, on to California in 1989, and then back to Des Moines in 1993, I have had the incredible good fortune to travel to 46 states and nine countries. I once estimated I have met over 275,000 people. I even like a few of them.
October 2006
Word Up to our children, nieces, and nephews: Okay, we are old and stupid but we have something to say and please listen as the stakes are very high. We know that your generation is under incredible peer pressure fueled by advertisers, merchandisers, and “lifestyle mavens”. Many in your generation are bounced like a pinball with peer pressure as the flippers. The people pushing the buttons have no concern or responsibility for the long-term consequences of your subsequent behavior. They are only interested in separating you from your money today. The market today is the fine art of making you feel unhappy, insecure, inadequate, unloved, and left out because you do not have the product or service being hawked.
We were young once and had to deal with it too but you are attacked from all sides in many new forms. The new “social network” websites are a good example of the crap you have to deal with every day. The peer pressure is great to be different to be outrageous to be linked to others. However, most of you need to reconsider the content you are putting on sites like MySpace. The subjects of your blogs, the profanity of your language, and the nature of your photographs are going to haunt you for the rest of your lives. You can secure your sites to “friends” but every keystroke you ever publish will somehow come back to haunt you. (This includes e-mails and IMs.)
You are compromising your chances for good employment and at least one of you may be jeopardizing a political career. Most of you will have children someday. Do you really want them to see the crap you are putting on MySpace, FaceBook, et. al.? End of the sermon- have a nice day!
The South will fall again! After a week in Georgia on business, I was amazed at how many Civil War-era icons continue to be pervasively entrenched in the culture. The most incredible was Stone Mountain Park. This is a state park containing one of the world’s largest granite monoliths. On one face of the mountain, there is a carving of three Southern Civil War heroes, Jefferson Davis, Stonewall Jackson, and Robert E. Lee. The scale is immense as the figures are larger than Mount Rushmore. The only thing missing was the white sheets and hoods and I think they were for sale in the gift shop.
September 2006
It just occurred to me that all of our children are paying their own way including medical insurance. This may be the ultimate test for declaring an empty nest. We are proud of them for the success each is finding in their own way.
We had a great time in Durango. Great scenery and it was good to catch up with Debbie’s family members who live there. But like many other tourist places I have visited in the mountains or on the coast the place just reeked of narcissism fueled by trust funds and inheritances. Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is a form of pathological narcissism acknowledged in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and described as a maladaptive, rigid, and persistent condition that may cause significant distress and functional impairment. The World Health Organization regards NPD as “a personality disorder that fits none of the specific rubrics” and relegates it to the category known as “Other specific personality disorders”, which includes eccentric, immature, passive-aggressive, and psychoneurotic personality disorders. I would wager that even if a person admitted they had NPD they would just blame it on somebody else.
April 2006
As we were driving into work one day we drove by the cemetery at 18th and Ashworth Rd. There was a truck pouring concrete into a form on the ground near the middle of the cemetery. The concrete workers were lined up on both sides of the chute with heads bowed as if in quiet reverence for the occasion. I said to Debbie: “Looks like they’re having a mob burial with full honors!”
Our bodies are made up of over 25 trillion cells each of them containing an instruction and assembly manual in the form of DNA. What a great design that allows us the gift of consciousness without the necessity to be aware of the myriad of microscopic processes that keep us alive. Of course, all bets are off when we have “gas”.
This Army thing is good for Bill. He treats me like an officer and it is about time!
March 2006
March Madness is over and I couldn’t name more than a few teams that made it to the top brackets in any of the various levels and conferences. I also can’t name the teams in that were in the Super Bowl or World Series last year. I am not stupid, just not interested and avoid the subject of sports with a pathological passion.
January 2006
I was walking through the Toys R Us store in West Des Moines with Debbie. I noticed that a few piñatas were for sale. One of the piñatas was “Dora The Explorer”. I said to Debbie: “This may be the root cause of most domestic violence as it is teaching boys to beat a girl with a stick.”
I don’t get the sports thing–it bores me to a state just shy of unconsciousness. I just caught an episode of South Park the other day and I am still laughing. The plot had the boys winning little league baseball games. They didn’t want to win – they all hated the game (couldn’t tell their parents) as it was boring and kept them away from their video games. The kids on the other teams felt the same and it was comical to watch how they competed to lose to each other with the “loser” winning the game and the burden of playing again. It was complete with some obnoxious parents in the stands getting into fights.
Bill scored very high on his exam for entrance into the Army. The recruiter told Bill he would have his choice of jobs. I told Bill that they don’t usually get scores like his because most people as smart as him usually stay out of the Army unless they get offered a commission.
December 2006
Debbie and I volunteered to help at the “Jolly Holiday Lights” display. It is a fundraising event for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. I ended up doing two shifts collecting money while Debbie handed out programs and encouraged them to enjoy the lights. I collected money from about 180 cars.
The difference in how people interacted with their cars was a fascinating study in human nature. Out of this group of 180 drivers most handled the money transaction as a routine unworthy of any significance. It was as if they were in a foggy dream at a Walmart checkout counter.
Several others seemed confused, one was obnoxious, and less than ten actually “connected”. By connected I mean they made a conscious effort to establish a “personal” connection with Debbie and me. These people turned the money transaction, which most others deemed unworthy of any significance, into an opportunity to connect, learn, and grow. What is it that separates them from the people going through the motions or the confused and the obnoxious?
I used to lecture my son Bill about staying “above the “fog”, i.e., living an examined life where one is always growing in knowledge and positively engaged in people and events. Some people just seem to be “above the fog”. If you are “above the fog” you know what I mean, if not, just ignore this as the ramblings of a crackpot.
The previous paragraph implies that I consider myself to be “above the fog”. Yet I recognize that I will always be incapable of knowing if it is a true statement or not. However, I am hopeful that a person cognizant of levels of consciousness that I am not will let me mercifully maintain my artificial sense of well-being. Ignorance can be bliss!
November 2006
We drove to Detroit to see the Krasicky Family and the Detroit-based Conroy’s. They say “you can’t go back” and it is true. The old neighborhoods look a little worn at the edges, even the ones that are still “fashionable” today. I couldn’t help but reflect on how small my life experiences would have been had I not left the area. Not that there is anything particularly bad about Detroit but without a physical move it is easy to get into a comfortable routine that extends from the cradle to the grave. By moving to Des Moines in 1979, on to California in 1989, and then back to Des Moines in 1993, I have had the incredible good fortune to travel to 46 states and nine countries. I once estimated I have met over 275,000 people. I even like a few of them.
October 2006
Word Up to our children, nieces, and nephews: Okay, we are old and stupid but we have something to say and please listen as the stakes are very high. We know that your generation is under incredible peer pressure fueled by advertisers, merchandisers, and “lifestyle mavens”. Many in your generation are bounced like a pinball with peer pressure as the flippers. The people pushing the buttons have no concern or responsibility for the long-term consequences of your subsequent behavior. They are only interested in separating you from your money today. The market today is the fine art of making you feel unhappy, insecure, inadequate, unloved, and left out because you do not have the product or service being hawked.
We were young once and had to deal with it too but you are attacked from all sides in many new forms. The new “social network” websites are a good example of the crap you have to deal with every day. The peer pressure is great to be different to be outrageous to be linked to others. However, most of you need to reconsider the content you are putting on sites like MySpace. The subjects of your blogs, the profanity of your language, and the nature of your photographs are going to haunt you for the rest of your lives. You can secure your sites to “friends” but every keystroke you ever publish will somehow come back to haunt you. (This includes e-mails and IMs.)
You are compromising your chances for good employment and at least one of you may be jeopardizing a political career. Most of you will have children someday. Do you really want them to see the crap you are putting on MySpace, FaceBook, et. al.? End of the sermon- have a nice day!
The South will fall again! After a week in Georgia on business, I was amazed at how many Civil War-era icons continue to be pervasively entrenched in the culture. The most incredible was Stone Mountain Park. This is a state park containing one of the world’s largest granite monoliths. On one face of the mountain, there is a carving of three Southern Civil War heroes, Jefferson Davis, Stonewall Jackson, and Robert E. Lee. The scale is immense as the figures are larger than Mount Rushmore. The only thing missing was the white sheets and hoods and I think they were for sale in the gift shop.
September 2006
It just occurred to me that all of our children are paying their own way including medical insurance. This may be the ultimate test for declaring an empty nest. We are proud of them for the success each is finding in their own way.
We had a great time in Durango. Great scenery and it was good to catch up with Debbie’s family members who live there. But like many other tourist places I have visited in the mountains or on the coast the place just reeked of narcissism fueled by trust funds and inheritances. Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is a form of pathological narcissism acknowledged in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and described as a maladaptive, rigid, and persistent condition that may cause significant distress and functional impairment. The World Health Organization regards NPD as “a personality disorder that fits none of the specific rubrics” and relegates it to the category known as “Other specific personality disorders”, which includes eccentric, immature, passive-aggressive, and psychoneurotic personality disorders. I would wager that even if a person admitted they had NPD they would just blame it on somebody else.April 2006
As we were driving into work one day we drove by the cemetery at 18th and Ashworth Rd. There was a truck pouring concrete into a form on the ground near the middle of the cemetery. The concrete workers were lined up on both sides of the chute with heads bowed as if in quiet reverence for the occasion. I said to Debbie: “Looks like they’re having a mob burial with full honors!”
Our bodies are made up of over 25 trillion cells each of them containing an instruction and assembly manual in the form of DNA. What a great design that allows us the gift of consciousness without the necessity to be aware of the myriad of microscopic processes that keep us alive. Of course, all bets are off when we have “gas”.
This Army thing is good for Bill. He treats me like an officer and it is about time!
March 2006
March Madness is over and I couldn’t name more than a few teams that made it to the top brackets in any of the various levels and conferences. I also can’t name the teams in that were in the Super Bowl or World Series last year. I am not stupid, just not interested and avoid the subject of sports with a pathological passion.
January 2006
I was walking through the Toys R Us store in West Des Moines with Debbie. I noticed that a few piñatas were for sale. One of the piñatas was “Dora The Explorer”. I said to Debbie: “This may be the root cause of most domestic violence as it is teaching boys to beat a girl with a stick.”
I don’t get the sports thing–it bores me to a state just shy of unconsciousness. I just caught an episode of South Park the other day and I am still laughing. The plot had the boys winning little league baseball games. They didn’t want to win – they all hated the game (couldn’t tell their parents) as it was boring and kept them away from their video games. The kids on the other teams felt the same and it was comical to watch how they competed to lose to each other with the “loser” winning the game and the burden of playing again. It was complete with some obnoxious parents in the stands getting into fights.
Bill scored very high on his exam for entrance into the Army. The recruiter told Bill he would have his choice of jobs. I told Bill that they don’t usually get scores like his because most people as smart as him usually stay out of the Army unless they get offered a commission.