Friday, the 31st day of August, 2012

T.S. Isaac, as of this writing, seems to be another dandy… Hit Haiti (like kicking a downed man), Cuba, the FL Keys, the South end of the FL Mainland and now will threaten LA, AL, and MS. Then, once a hurricane Cat 1, it was ironic that Isaac hit New Orleans and the SE end of Louisiana precisely seven years to the day from when Katrina did it. Here is hoping the damage is not comparable, but it sounds like déjà vu…

The Fall Creek Falls State Park Mountaineer Festival is coming up on September 7, 8 and 9. The Leadership Van Buren Class of 2012 is having a booth where we are serving a one of a kind culinary experience: BBQ in a Jar! This is a multi-leveled savory journey delivered to you in a mason jar that you get to keep… The Class of 2012 is sponsoring this offering (and working it!) along with LVB Alumni, as a fund raiser for our 2012 class project which is the creation of a scholarship, LVB Scholarship, to benefit Van Buren County High School Seniors who are qualified to attend dual enrollment college classes but not able to afford the costs on their own… So, if you go to the festival and get a little hungry or curious (or both) come by for a treat! 100% of the revenues go to the fund, which is a non-profit organization. Supply is limited and we are there only on Saturday until closing or until we run out of food, whichever comes first!…

RNC: a couple of summary points, from where I sit:

(a)   Ann Romney made a good account of herself on her quest to become a first lady.

(b)   Paul Ryan is a very smart, creative and now imaginative guy; Fox News agrees.

(c)    Clint Eastwood still can make a lot of people’s day.

(d)   We all have gotten the message already – loud and clear, seriously – that it is all Obama’s fault; got it! So, now I need to hear from somebody, anybody, preferably Mitt, how – precisely; no more generalities – he will solve the problems, as identified ad nauseam at the RNC:

a.      Sputtering Economy

b.      High unemployment

c.       Toxic tax codes

d.      Insurmountable public debt & deficits

e.      Crumbling infrastructures

f.        Inadequate/underfunded Armed Forces

g.      Broken health care system

h.      Inadequate education system

i.        Unaffordable Social Welfare systems (Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security);

By the way, all that is to be accomplished with, as promised and pledged during the Primaries, lower taxes and higher quality of life for all Americans (not just a segment of the 300+ millions).

I need to hear SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time bound) propositions!

I hope that my next topic does not stir up a semantics storm; it is only a small difference in colloquialism depending on the origins of your English roots… It has to do with the difference between the use of the prefixes “this” and “next” in date sequences. Some people use ‘this’ instead of ‘next’ to identify the next occurrence of a day; when they say ‘this Monday’ they mean the one coming up next. Some other folks, do not necessarily process this semantics variation, and they protest. These other folks believe that the only time you may say ‘this’ Monday is if today were Monday; otherwise you are expected to say ‘this past’ Monday for the one just past, or ‘this next’ Monday for the upcoming one. Furthermore, when you say ‘next’ Monday, you are referring to the upcoming one and not two over as the other side think… At any rate, as long as they are talking in the same terms and meaning the same thing with the same terms, there should be no problems, right? Yeah, right…

And now food for thoughts:

“I wish you health, love and wealth, and enough time to enjoy them!”

 - Old Spanish toast

So, be generous with your wishes, my friends.

Monday, the 27th day of August, 2012

I know there have always been cuckoos out there, but this one may be a combination of politics and Texas… Take a look:  An elected county judge in Texas is warning that the nation could descend into civil war if President Barack Obama is re-elected, and is calling for a trained, well-equipped force to battle the United Nations troops he says Obama would bring in. He said "...regardless of whether the Republicans take over the Senate, which I hope they do, he is going to make the United States Congress and he's going to make the Constitution irrelevant. He's got his czars in place that don't answer to anybody." Obama, the judge continued, will "try to give the sovereignty of the United States away to the United Nations. What do you think the public's going to do when that happens? We are talking civil unrest, civil disobedience, possibly, possibly civil war ... I'm not talking just talking riots here and there. I'm talking Lexington, Concord, take up arms, get rid of the dictator. OK, what do you think he is going to do when that happens? He is going to call in the U.N. troops, personnel carriers, tanks and whatever." You may ask, is this for real? Sadly, yes! So, please folks, if you have loved ones who are under doctor supervision, ensure that either they take their meds or they stay at home; don’t let them fall to this level of embarrassment!

Now, to something really painful: Lance Armstrong seems to have been just another cheater; I can’t believe it! Another hero, this time a super-hero in the eyes of many including me, has fallen due to being false; he was accused (and decided not to defend himself) of cheating throughout his career; now he’ll be stripped from his seven (7!) Tour de France titles and banned from cycling forever. When I first heard some months ago that the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) was again investigating him, I thought to myself: here they go again; leave him alone; he’s never tested positive for anything; he’s the real deal. Now I find myself asking: were his battles with cancer also faked??  I guess this is another evidence of the sociological mantra that has dominated our culture for the last few decades: results is what counts and it really does not matter how you get there. In times gone by - and still alive somewhere, I hope - talent, efforts, discipline, consistency, hard work and knowledge is what used to matter; results were merely a byproduct of all that… Are we really that rotten? Thank God for the likes of Michael Phelps, Alison Felix and Missy Franklin among others who still seem to be doing it the right way… and God help us.

T.S. Isaac, as of this writing, seems to be another dandy… Hit Haiti (like kicking a downed man), Cuba, the FL Keys, the South end of the FL Mainland and now will threaten LA, AL, and MS. It seems to be an irony that Isaac is scheduled to hit New Orleans and the SE end of Louisiana precisely seven years to the day from when Katrina did it.

Staying with hurricanes, 20 years go this past August 24^th hurricane Andrew hit South Florida (south Dade county to be precise) as a Cat 5! The devastation as shown on papers and TV was unbelievable, but it was nothing compared with what one saw in reality. I had the duty and the privilege to go and verify some people who worked for me and lived down there were OK and the devastation was simply indescribable!

Anybody’s got any good news, please?!?!?!?!?

And now food for thoughts:

“A clear expression of virtuosity is to appear to be ignorant in front of an idiot who’s pretending to be smart.”

 - Dr. Louis Pasteur

So, watch out for pretenders, my friends.

Tuesday, the 21st day of August, 2012

The ‘mystery’ mower the first time was Hank Douglas… Hank lives across the street from Hawks Bluff Phase I and is an honorary member of the Hawks Bluff family. He does random acts of kindness. This was one of them… THANK YOU, HANK! Now, there’s been more mowing, this time further inside Phase I and, according to Danny, it is being done my the gentleman who owns the old Suarez house… We were introduced once in the last Halloween party, but (apologies!) I forgot his name…

This past Tuesday Jan and I were trying to weed out the key hole in front of the house, and as I was grabbing a weed between some rocks we have there, a snake came out and latched on to the index finger of my right hand… It took me about ½ second to realize I had been bitten, and then it took another ½ second to become aware that it had been a snake… In the following two seconds, which seemed a lot longer than that, I was able to understand that (a) I was not hurting; (b) I was a little bloody but it was a scratch instead of punctures; (c) upon closer observation, because it was still out like strutting its stuff and looking for business, it was a black non-poisonous snake. Then, and only then, I told Jan. I retreated and it retreated back to the rocks; I came closer to see if there were more, and the snake came out aggressively, and lunged forward to bite again. I retreated and this time it did not; instead it came forward about six feet trying to bite me again.  It was then when either the poison it got from me took effect, or it had a heart attack due to all the excitement because, the next thing I know, the snake is dead! I hope the news is out already on the daily Snake Tribune, that if you bite the big guy on Horseshoe Drive, you die! A little Neosporin took care of business.

Sunday, August 19^th 2012, marked 24 years of marriage for Jan and me... It was a Friday night then, and we were married on the Miami River aboard a vessel owned by Augie Barone, who was a justice of the peace and as such performed the ceremony. In attendance were Augie and his wife and first mate Lee, Nick and Betty Mayer, and us!

Recommended book (getting a little serious): “Games People Play” by Eric Berne, M.D. The basic handbook for transactional analysis, or a study on the Psychology of Human Relationships… You will enjoy it if you’re attracted (as I am) to the dynamics and intricacies of human behavior. Needs to be read twice, at least, to understand certain concepts and the relationships between them.

And now food for thoughts:

“Procedures may be successful, rituals effective, pastimes profitable and, by definition, they are all candid; games, on the other hand, are basically dishonest and the outcome always dramatic.”

 - Dr. Eric Berne

So, stay honest and true to yourselves (don’t play games), my friends.

Tuesday, the 14th day of August, 2012

The XXX Olympiads were magnificent in all respects… London put up a display of originality, innovation, safety and organization second to none. They also did pretty well in their medals count. And the US was the overall champions… again!  I am looking forward to the summer of 2016, to the XXXI Olympiads in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil!

32 years ago this past Wednesday, August 8^th, my first born, Clarissa, made me a father; Happy Birthday, my love! She will also make me a grandfather this coming November…!

Someone mowed the entrance to Hawks Bluff, Phase I; I don’t know if it was a paid effort, or by whom, or if it was someone’s personal initiative, and who that someone may be… Regardless, it looks pretty good… THANKS!

…and they’re off! The real race has just begun between the incumbents (Obama/Biden) and the challengers (Romney/Ryan)… The choice seems to be simple and it is also big; and it all has to do with how to move this country forward and continue to be the standard by which all other countries are judged… Unless there is something atrocious/outrageous happening between now and the elections, I will not make any other comments on this subject until then.

Went for a wonderful, and too short, visit to Michigan, Jan’s native land! Landed in Detroit at about 2 PM on Thursday the 9^th and spent the afternoon, and had lunch, with Uncle Buck, a 93-years old relative of Jan’s that is as dexterous with the computer as anybody 40 years younger! Lots of old family pictures and films; many memories for Jan. From there we went to Rick’s house (Jan’s brother) in Southfield, a western suburb of Detroit, and spent the evening, overnight and the following morning with Rick & Pam, their pups Brandy & Metro, and cat Bazooka; good family time; too short! On Friday mid-morning we headed up to Gaylord, MI, about 215 miles north on I-75, to Gary & Dawn Hill’s cottage in Michaywe. There we met with the rest of the ‘high school’ gang and spent a wonderful evening and overnight. On Saturday morning we all saddled up for a ride of about 90 miles going East through beautiful country roads, to Greenbush, MI, on the shores of Lake Huron, to Chuck & Nancy Burk’s cottage; weather was a little wet so we played indoor games (Mexican Train) and ate and drank and watched Olympics. Sunday was sunny and crisp, about 75 degrees; so, several brave souls decided to go swimming in the lake… I’ve never been in water so cold in my life! The water was allegedly 62 degrees; I swear to you it felt not a degree warmer than 30! I cannot describe the eternity that it was to walk into the lake and feel that ice cold water inexorably come up your thighs to eventually freeze your soul! More eating, drinking, and playing ensued until exhaustion! On Monday we drove to the airport and, on our way there, I shared with Jan that, for the first time in years, I was not ready to come home; she agreed! Landed in Nashville at about 6:30 PM. Made it home before 9PM on Monday the 13^th; all pups were well; another successful trip! Many thanks to all out Michigan hosts for their hospitality and for a great time!

Recommended book: “The art of racing in the rain” by Garth Stein. Enzo, a family dog, tells us his story, and that of his master, as seen through Enzo’s eyes…  This is a must-read for known dog lovers, and also for dog lovers who do not know they are yet…!

And now food for thoughts:

“As human beings, our greatness lays not so much in being able to remake the world... as in being able to remake ourselves.”

 - Mahatma Gandhi

So, keep improving, my friends.

Tuesday, the 7th day ff August, 2012

Brian Lochte… What a flop! First, on the 4x100 freestyle, he was given the lead entering his leg, the last one, the gold medal on a platter, and he got passed and beat by the French. Second, on his marquee event, the 200 freestyle, he didn’t show any heart at all and did not medal… My two younger daughters like him because he is handsome and he is a Gator, but he appears ‘yellow’ to me…

OK, what the hell is wrong with us people? We seem to be on our way to become so sectarian and inflexible that we are irresponsibly willing to ignore and put aside – at the first opportunity we have - one the most defining characteristic of who we are: the 1^st Amendment to the US Constitution (a.k.a. freedom of speech)! It started out some years ago when, if you agreed with the doings of certain political party you were a patriot; if you disagreed, you were un-American… The latest installment consuming the National news is this: the owner of a business expressed his personal opinion about a particular social issue in a radio show; let me repeat: his personal opinion! What he did is done daily by many others, as we all have the right to do, publicly and privately. Last month, the President of the US publicly said that he supports gay marriage; last week, a fast-food business owner publicly said he does not; so what? Now, and because we may, or may not, agree with what the business owner said some of us want to condemn and/or outcast him and his business; some of us want to willfully castigate and punish him because we disagree with his opinion/position… What are we, late 1940s USSR (Stalin’s Russia) or 1960s PRC (Mao’s China)? Sit back; take a deep breath; look around and soak it in, and understand that, the moment we punish anybody for expressing their opinion, we are encouraging punishment upon us when we express ours. And we don’t want that!

I asked some weeks ago about opinions regarding the 2^nd amendment and the right to bear arms. I got several; here’s the summary: “There is a reasonable limit to everything. Possession of weapons by civilians for purposes of hunting, sports, self defense are the rights granted in the 2^nd Amendment. Possession of Military-intended weapons by civilians (whether they consider themselves, in a delusional way, the state Militia or not), could not be wrapped inside the 2^nd Amendment envelope.”

It was Jan’s birthday this past Thursday, August 2^nd. She decided to take it easy and we stayed indoors; I cooked her a nice dinner with a little bit of wine and it all turned out just fine… I had bought a cake but she was too full; so we decided to save it for Friday because Alex, her first born (and my 3^rd daughter) came to visit. We had some fine and quiet family time; ate cake, went to the 127 yard sale (got good buys) and she left on Sunday… But before leaving, she managed to lock her car keys inside the car… Called AAA at about 4PM; they showed up at bout 6PM; unlocked the car; and she was finally on her way home, safe and sound!

Food for thought:

Father: “Take the plate and let it drop to the floor”. Son: “Are you sure?”

Father: “Yes… Did it brake?” Son: “Yes.”

Father: “Now apologize to it.” Son: “Apologize?”

Father: “Yes.” Son: “OK; I did it.”

Father: “Is it like before you dropped it?” Son: “No.”

Father: “Get it?”

So, think twice before you speak (or write), my friends…