In Spite of Ourselves

John Prine 2011 - photo by Bob Conroy

Debbie and I went to the John Prine with Iris Dement Concert at the Des Moines Civic Center last night. It was a very enjoyable event.  Dement did a 40-minute set and Prine did a non-stop two hours.  

Such talent!  Turns out that Dement is married to Iowa’s Greg Brown and he came on stage for the encore which, of course, was “Paradise”.

We planned to go out to dinner before the concert but did not preset the location so it turned into “Where do you want to go eat ?” followed by the required rejoinder “I don’t care, where do you want to go eat?”  We exchanged this several times, trading roles each time but getting no closer to a final answer.  Finally, we talked ourselves into Jethro’s BBQ by Drake University on the theory that school is out so it would not be too crowded.  Epic fail!  As we pulled into the parking lot there were aging frat boys spilling out into the parking lot, beers in hand. (btw, just when did a punk with a beer get labeled a “Young Professional” or “YP”? )

Iris Dement and John Prine 2011 - photo by Bob Conroy

Jethro’s was too loud for us from the parking lot, never mind going inside, so we headed downtown and figured we would have an extemporaneous dining experience also known as winging it.  After an interesting drive down University Ave to 6th Ave we arrived at the Civic Center.  Where do you want to go eat?” followed by the required rejoinder “I don’t care, where do you want to go eat?” morphed into “Where do you want to park?” followed by the required rejoinder “I don’t care, where do you want to park?”  We ended up parking a block north of the Civic Center after three scoops of the loop.

Ramblin’ Man

No theme to this post, just a bit of stream of consciousness that has been carefully edited to protect the guilty.

She did it… Our big news since my last post is that Debbie retired from her corporate job and is now working full-time at our agency!   Her last few months were hectic as she valiantly tried to transfer years of experience, judgment and wisdom unto half a dozen people, all of whom already had full plates.  Such is the state of the corporate world these days.  Being able to “retire” (defined here as getting retirement benefits) on her 55th birthday was a great reward for her years of planning, budgeting and faithful adherence to our long term goals.  She has jumped into our new agency and is already running quotes, learning our agency management system (AMS 360), and decompressing from the corporate “bends”.

Legos and Waffles… We had a great, albeit hectic, week with the grandkids.  It was the same week Debbie retired and started working in the agency.  There were a lot of “have to’s” and the kids were troopers when required.  Such a delight they are in our lives.

Two years = a lifetime… At least it does to Garmin.  I bought a lifetime subscription for traffic and news on a Garmin GPS a few years ago.   They have discontinued the service and told me that since I had over two years of service they owed me nothing.  I owe them nothing except to tell others the truth about how little they value their customers.

Bakeesh

Photo by Bob Conroy

On one of my trips to Lincoln I caught a postal worker doing a shake down at Culvers in Council Bluffs.  It was after the lunch rush and the counter staff was getting a little break.  I ordered my Butter Burger with fries and a coffee to go and waited while the staff chatted.  

The postal worker, a 50ish man with thin graying hair and an oversized belly, entered the restaurant and announces they had no mail today.  There was no immediate response from the staff so he asked if they had any outgoing mail and they did not.  He just stood there and finally one of the staff asked if he wanted to “try” the flavor of the day.  Two minutes later he was devouring a scoop of free custard.  

No money was exchanged and it had the look of a regular event.

The Best Laid Schemes o’ Mice an’ Men, Gang Aft Agley

I made four trips between Lincoln and Des Moines in four days.  We both were signed up for a three-day insurance class in Lincoln that Debbie needed to do before her birthday.  The original plan was to leave Des Moines early on Tuesday and spend half of the day in Omaha and Lincoln.  When the class ended on Friday we planned to go to Kearny, NE to see the Lanes.  Then Joey’s graduation party got scheduled on Sunday.

No Problem – We could come home early on Sunday.  Then Katie wanted to meet in Omaha on Friday and do the zoo on Saturday.  No Problem – We could stay in Omaha and be closer to home for the party on Sunday.   Then I noticed that my calendars did not sync the Iowa Insurance Hall of Fame Dinner on Wednesday night at Drake University in Des Moines.  As a board member and the official “audiovisual boy” I had to attend.

Be Prepared

I am writing this a few days after a major earthquake and tsunami devastated parts of Japan. How tragic and painful it must be for the millions of people immediately affected.  I cannot wrap my head around the scope of this tragedy. Ultimately it will affect everyone in the world economically, ecologically and geologically.

The price of oil, already under pressure by the unrest in the Middle East, will continue to climb to new highs as nuclear energy will be a less attractive energy source due to a backlash of public opinion.  Ironically what is learned from the aftermath of the Japanese event will allow nuclear plants to be better designed, and eventually more common, because there are few alternatives to them.  Sure we can continue to turn corn into ethanol, creating less energy than used to create it, while millions starve around the world.  (I think I just described a Malthusian-based Ponzi scheme.)  Numerous governments will be destabilized as prices rise and hungry people with no hope rise up against them.

The environmental impact of the reactors that are melting down is yet to play out.  Variables include the length of time before the cores are cooled and the short-term weather patterns.  A northeastern wind would put the fallout over 30+ million people around Tokyo.  Where is the radioactive sea water used to cool the reactors going?  I have yet to see a news report that mentions that nuclear fallout is headed to the United States. With apologies to Frank Zappa: “Watch out where the huskies go and don’t you eat that glowing snow.”

The quake actually moved Japan eight feet and affected the tilt of the earth on its axis. Nothing happens in a vacuum and the shifting plates will have some unknown impact on California’s San Andres Fault and even the giant magma pool under Yellowstone National Park.

There is nothing we can do about stopping any of these events but we can prepare for the aftermath.  Do you have emergency supplies in your home?  This should include water, food, a radio, batteries, a power generator and first aid kits.   Here is a link to a FEMA web site that gives recommendations of what you should have to be ready:  http://www.ready.gov/america/getakit/.

So if you cannot be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent at least be prepared!