Would You Like To Carve?

Sometimes I wonder if we use our perception to make order out of chaos, or if chaos is ordered on our behalf, shaped according to our will and desires. I believe that each persons present and future, is a nebulous entity that is shaped by thought, action, and inaction, as well. We all come from helpless, humble beginnings to occupy our place in the universe, a place that only we can occupy. A place carved out of the granite of time by the chisel of every captive thought.

Do You Want to Hit the Mop?

"Do you want to hit the mop?" Don't hear that very much do you? How about, "How would you like to wash the dishes?"? No, we don't hear this very much, we usually have enough money to pay the bill, don't we? Well, we heard it one day, here is the story.....

On most days, Chris and I would journey to the party store to buy pre-packaged submarine sandwiches and a beverage for lunch, as is our custom. We had not been doing for very long, on this particular day it was raining and the floor in the party store was wet.

As we approached the counter Chris was counting out his change for the purchase when the proprietor asks, "Do you want to hit the mop?"

Chris became somewhat annoyed and offended by the inference wrapped up in the question.

"No, I don't want to hit the mop, I got the money right here, give me a second."

Well, we thought it quite odd that the clerk would have addressed us in such a manner. Until it dawned on us. He was asking if we wanted "to heat them up", the sandwiches, of course,... the sandwiches. The microwave was on the counter at the back of the store where the cashier was gesturing. Near the back room where the mop was clearly visible.

Amazing the way that an accent can change the sound, and therefore, the meaning, of some words if you are not paying close attention.

That party store is now known to us as the "hit the mop".

You can call me Charlie

About 25 years ago in Milan there was a man named Charlie. Charlie owned a golf driving range, with batting cages, and various other recreational games. Charlie wore a brown hardhat with his name on the front. "CHARLIE", it said, in uppercase letters written with a black magic marker on a background of white tape.

Charlie, liked to be addressed by his name. And, only by his name, no filler, just "Charlie". If one were to say "Hey" or "Hey, Charlie", Charlie would reach under the counter and produce a miniature bail of hay. The hay, was about the size of a brick. It had a paper on the front that read, "$1.00". Charlie would say, "Hay, that will be one dollar!", as he held out his hand for payment.

The patron, would be somewhat confused by these events. Charlie would seize this opportunity to explain, "See this hat? My name is Charlie!", adding, "Don't ask for hay, unless you want hay."

We used to go to travel to Milan often in those days to hit baseballs and softballs in the batting cages. We enjoyed being there when someone would "Hey, Charlie", we enjoyed the "theater" of the event, even though we had seen the show many times. I miss those days.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention,...It happened to me, twice, early on, because I'm a slow learner. I should have bought the hay the second time, but I apologized instead.

So you don't get the wrong idea about Charlie; I remember him as a gruff but sweet man, with a heart of gold. Although, I must confess, I didn't really know him at all.

He just wanted to be "Charlie", can't blame him for that.

Motorcycle Kick Start Horn Beep Beep

Motorcycle, Kick Start, Horn, Beep, Beep. Well, there it is with punctuation, haha. I hope this blog is searchable because that phrase needs to be out there in cyberspace. Now for a little story about how this phrase came to be:

Long ago we were a group of Airmen, we were friends, serving our country on a nameless northern tier Air Force Base. Well, now it's nameless, but back then it went by the name "Kincheloe".

During that time, our friend Sammy had suspected that the entries in his personal development plan were not being reviewed sufficiently. Sammy would turn in his workbook, sometime later it would be returned, with generic verbal comment, "Keep up the good work Sammy". The hours spent working on our development plans were expended after a full days work in the shop, or on weekends. We all desired meaningful feedback for all of our hard work. We discussed this one day in the shop, could Sammy be right? Certainly Ssgt McCoy was reviewing the entries.

Anyway, Sammy came up with an idea to test his theory. In one of the entries in his workbook he simply wrote, "Motorcycle, kick start, horn, beep, beep. When the workbook was returned without notation and another "Good work Sammy".

Sammy had his answer,... and so did we.

Buy American?

America needs you! Buy American, it's the patriotic thing to do! Is it? What's American? Let's look at cars. Are there any American cars? GM? Ford? Chrysler? The BIG THREE? American? No, these companies are not American, these companies are GLOBAL.

Take GM first, according to Wikipedia, a global company selling the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling.

How about Ford? According to Wikipedia, an American multi-national corporation selling: Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, also owns Volvo, has a small stake in Mazda and Aston Martin, and until just recently Jaguar and Land Rover were also subsidiaries.

Chrysler? Chrysler is listed in the Wikipedia as an American automobile manufacturer. Well, that is, if you don't include the years from 1998 through 2007 when it was owned by Mercedes Benz. It sells products under the following nameplates: Chrysler, Dodge, ENVI, Jeep, and soon to be Fiat, if the company survives. Subsidiaries are listed as: Chrysler Canada, Chrysler Australia, and GEM. The company has used drivetrain components from Mitsubishi, Sunbeam, Renault, VM Motori, Mercedes-Benz, Cummins, and Volkswagen.

Where do the BIG THREE manufacture the bulk of their products, America? The U.S.? North America? South America? I could list the factories and countries that they are located in, but you can look that up, it's here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_GM_factories
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ford_factories
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chrysler_factories

Are these automobile companies American? I think not. These companies are GLOBAL (or, multi-national). There's nothing wrong with being a global automotive company, but there is something wrong with deception.

Constitutional Protections and Political Activism

Does the U.S. Constititution guarantee "The right to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"?

Many Americans would do well to read the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence to determine what is contained in each document. It may not say what you think it does.

For instance, the existence of Self-evident truths, and certain unalienable Rights, were outlined in first few paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence. The unalienable right to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness is presented as guaranteed by Providence, by the creator, God. While people may often disagree as to existence and the guarantor the source of these Rights; the rights themselves, are generally not in question.

The document further states that Governments are instituted among Men to secure these rights deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Therefore, the political activism of good citizens is vital for our representative form Government is to work properly. Clear spoken consent is necessary. Unspoken, or tacit consent, will never secure, or long keep, the Liberty that a free and just people deserve.

The U.S. Constitution begins with the following words:

"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

What? Where is "The right to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"?

It's not there.

However, the Constitution also contains the people's "Bill of Rights" including Amendment IX,

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

So, while the U.S. Constitution was written to protect the people from an over-reaching government, it is up to the people to insure that the Government follows the basic tenets contained therein. Otherwise, we lapse toward tyranny.

Does the U.S. Constititution guarantee "The right to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"?

No, it does not. Neither does it deny it.

You are free to say what you will, but I say that:
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Awesomeness, is everyone's God given right.

Leading By Example

I don't like "Leading by Example" the concept looks good on paper, but is not often put into practice. Has anyone noticed who always gets in trouble for breaking the rules? It's me. It could be anything, taking a long lunch, making personal calls or checking personal e-mail at work,.. you get the picture. I'm not trying to "get away" with anything, I just feel that I should be able to do what others, especially supervisors, have been allowed to do with impunity. "Rank Has Its Privileges", I am told. Yeah, the problem may be that I catch on too late, yep, it could be my timing. Perhaps I join in on the rule breaking at the saturation point, when curbs must be instituted to stop the epidemic. I can understand that. All I know is, every time someone needs to be "made an example of", it is usually me. Not every time, but of all my fellow rule breakers, I am leading. I am the one "Leading by Example", and I shouldn't be.

Earth Hour

Symbolism is one thing, people acting in concert to create changes for the good, no matter how small, this is how generations have always left their mark on history. Where freedom is not infringed, collaborative efforts of large groups of people for a common good will always produce lasting change. The power is in consensus. I support earth hour, it's my choice.

Cliche's

The most important thing that I have learned from cliche's is:
Don't burn your bridges until you get to them.

The Air is My Canvas.

I like to paint pictures with words, it saves me a lot of money that would have otherwise been spent on art supplies.

I'm Just Sayin'

Anyone that writes an article on writers block does not have it. I'm just sayin'.

Accidental Argyle

The wall calendar at a reception desk had a month of days, each crossed off with either a pink or a blue highlighter. Looking at the calendar I could see the way the X's within the squares also created triangles between the squares. These triangles between the squares made me think of an argyle pattern. This pattern was not created intentionally or with any purpose, yet it was created. I hope I can live up to the promise of Accidental Argyle as I explore the world of what may be revealed if we would only look with a different focus.