Retail Shuffle

Window shopping was entertainment when I was growing up. We walked downtown streets and gazed through the shop windows at all of their wares. Fancy dress, jewelry, household goods, shoes, toys, and all the rest. It was fun. It was dreaming of days in the future when we might actually go into the stores and buy what we wanted.

Sort of like reading the Sears, Roebuck catalog! The dream book, we called it. I especially liked checking out the Good – Better – Best selections and the price differences of each. Somehow I thought that made me a better consumer! And of course, all young kids in America somehow train to be a good consumer. It’s practically our religion, don’t you know?

Well, as the years passed by shopping became a task, a chore, and a very practical thing to do and accomplish.  Our lives became more and more busy so buying the things we needed on a regular basis became a task to be managed. Grocery shopping was one; and then the shop owner expanded his inventory to contain even more consumer goods related to the household other than groceries.  Pots, pans, kitchen gadgets, cut flowers, greeting cards and a whole bunch more. One stop shopping. Then came drug stores included in the same space. Along with that came glassware, school supplies, cameras, film processing and still more consumer goods. Cosmetics became a huge portion of most drug stores.

Retail shopping evolved. With the rise of drug store emporiums, the Dime Store disappeared. With full service grocery stores, huge mega food stores were introduced. Then Wal-Mart’s and their department store approach. They even included Christmas trees in the winter to replace the full garden store during summer months.

Catalog sales began to slump. Then the internet arrive on the scene and catalogs disappeared entirely except for specialty markets. Even those, however, are hanging by a thread as websites take over catalog shopping.

In the old days (not all that long ago!) we took weekend short trips to suburbs with shopping areas built around themes.  Old Small Town was one such theme. Long Grove, Illinois, is a good example. Old shops, or new ones made to look old, lined several streets. Specialty goods were ever present. Cute merchandising displays made the stores even more attractive. If you closed your eyes, or maybe squinted them, you could feel you were in a small town emporium of 60 years prior!  Fun. Shopping as entertainment.

And boy did we spend. We decorated our homes with such goods, even redesigned the décor. Of course this required more shopping and return trips. Lunches in small dining rooms with precious wines and crockery, heightened the experience. Old ladies abounded. Old guys, too, as they toted the bags of the ladies. Shopping bags and boxes lugged from store to store and finally to the parking lot and to the back seat of the car. Lots of stuff. Lots of fun. Lots of entertainment.

We revisited Long Grove this past Sunday afternoon. When we arrived, plentiful parking greeted us. And empty stores. Sad peeling paint and dirty smudged windows. Weeds in the sidewalk. Very few shoppers. A shoppers’ paradise in full decline. How very sad.

We encountered a local shop keeper and she admitted times had been tough through the recession. She claimed four new stores were coming next week so things might be turning around. Somehow, she lacked the zeal that would make this a true prediction.

The phrase “shopping as entertainment” kept running through my mind. I remember being entertained by the shopping experience. But not recently. No, not recently.

With the recession, aging of my body, and retirement accompanied by restricted income, shopping is very much NOT an entertainment for us. Evidently we are not alone. A lot of people are no longer shopping as entertainment. Thus the Long Groves are disappearing. Perhaps future theme parks will blaze on the scene a la Disneyland? Maybe. Maybe not.

The retail shuffle has eliminated many retailers. Only specialty shops remain, and some thrive in special locales. It is now even more a science and art in selecting retail space if it is to be successful. Most are not. Successful that is.

No, the website/internet/shopping experience has replaced old-time retailers. Consumers have found their new store in the comfort of their home in front of a keyboard connected to a screen. There they explore the full range of goods offered for sale. There they are able to familiarize themselves with all the features of the products. Once selected and purchased, the goods are shipped quickly to the home. If you bought enough in the one visit, shipping might even be free!  What a deal.

For people like me, I often need to see, feel and measure dimensions of the goods before buying. So a visit to a store is likely a future trip for me. Trouble is, where are the stores located? Well, the internet will come to my rescue once again. Perhaps I’ll just buy the thing now over the website? Sure. That will do. Think of the gas I just saved!

July 31, 2015            

TED

TED.com began in 1984. Its mission is to spread ideas that matter. On all kinds of topics with all manner of talented, educated and informed people. TED sponsors public speeches or talks lasting 18 minutes or less. The presentations are in open forum and are available to anyone who wishes to listen and consider the topics.

TED believes spreading the ideas alone will change minds and attitudes. With those changes the world will also change and for the better.

TED is an acronym that stands for – Technology, Education, Design.

Think about those three terms. Wonder what they have in common? I think it is this:

• Open ideas that expand outwards
• Using ideas to create new ones, intentionally and actively
• Connecting ideas in one discipline with another and so on so a chain reaction of discovery occurs
• Effective learning and understanding results spontaneously in the mere sharing of these ideas and concepts
• An explosion of additional discovery happens as well as the ideas swell and shift in and out of additional topics and disciplines
• The future happens anyway, but now the people of the world make it happen more intentionally and productively 

Go to www.ted.com and open the world to thousands of talks freely given. Another level of this movement is the TEDx program. These talks are based in communities throughout the world and enrich interaction of citizenry everywhere by sharing commonsense ideas and actions that empower people in their everyday lives.

TED programs are produced in over 100 languages. The global community is thus welcome and included. We are in this together, all of us. And the future belongs to all of us as well. So we might as well talk about it and share it.

Another element held in common by Technology, Education and Design I think is creativity. If we view these three disciplines with fluidity, we can easily envision how they push, throb, and pull among each other. They begin to create without prodding and new forms of ideas and understanding form. Almost like in their wake. Movement begets movement, ideas beget ideas, and soon we really have something to talk about.

Yes, TED is a phenomenon. But it’s most important feature is its byproduct – brainstorming throughout the meeting places where people of good will and good minds willingly share their time, effort and ideas. Think this is a figment of my imagination? Wonder upon that no longer!

We have had think tanks in the corporate world for many decades. They grew out of university-based think tanks. The corporate ones, however, were for generating ideas that could be sold, used and made into vast profit centers.

University think tanks may have spawned the corporate for-profit think tanks, but school-based think tanks remained to work on technical problems and solutions.

The same has popped up in the non-profit sector, technology arena, and public problems/solutions work groups.

Look on the internet under www.hackerspace.org and you might be surprised what shows up. Geeks and nerds coalescing in work groups throughout the nation connected by internet websites. These are not hacker gangs breaking into computer systems belonging to other organizations. No, these are people attempting to invent, create and collaborate so other things can happen for the good of the universe. Simply that. Some people come together to find help in developing a business idea and making it ready for the market. Others come to determine how best to patch systems together so they can discover optional solutions to common problems. Still others want to merely tinker with what they know and expand that into more exciting thoughts and understanding.

Sound a little like TED? Well, why not?

Sharing ideas expands those same ideas usually. Why not intentionally do so and see where it gets us? Like maybe we will discover solutions to the conundrums others fear? Or shrink from?

Why not try and make a difference? Each day. By working with others. By trusting your own mind and its internal strength and power. And of course trusting others, too. Lordy how refreshing!

Well, don’t just sit there. Get connected! Get started. Now!

July 30, 2015

Make a Joyful Noise!

When I was a little kid my parents dragged me to church. We sat in the pews and watched the grownups follow the rituals of the congregation. We sat and stood at prearranged times. We even sang. And prayed. A lot of the latter!

One of the things I remember is the phrase – “Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord.”

It took awhile for me to understand that this was an invitation for us to thank God for the good things in life and make a noise to that effect. At times the noise was prayer spoken out loud. Later we said prayers silently but with as much effect as out loud, or at least so I was told!

We also read words in response to what the minister read. And we recited creeds, prayers and other material often throughout the year. On cue, you know. What we were supposed to do was printed in the program or bulletin. Years later I attended church with Roman Catholics and Episcopalians; their congregations erupted periodically with memorized recitations totally unfamiliar to me. But they were taught well. Long recitations spilled from their mouths many times during the service. Not so in protestant churches!

Anyway, the verbal noise aside, there was music. Hymns, anthems, choral introits and cantered liturgy were very much a part of worship services. I liked the music part. I sang along as best I could and later joined the choirs of many churches over the years. I enjoyed the music. Even more, I enjoyed singing. It made me feel good.

Music with feeling became a part of my life. I learned to play the piano and violin with feeling. I learned to listen to music with a feeling ear. It stirred me. It lifted my spirits and lowered them to reverent places, too. Music was a prime element of my life.

It still is. Humming in the shower, or singing fully out loud in the shower, is a daily expression of joy. Driving down the street and singing in accompaniment to the radio is another joyful time.

Music is more than an art. It is a life force, too. Singing or playing an instrument and just making music in general is an expression from deep within the person. It may be soulful, sad or joyous, but no matter; it is still a joyful noise!

It should be heard often as a celebration of life. Perhaps that is why music is such a constant companion of our lives? If so that is a good thing. We should do more of it!

July 29, 2015

Politics: A Sad State of Affairs

I really want this posting to be positive. Maybe even uplifting. To be that I will need to write about leadership being shown in our midst as we lead up to the 2016 elections. Leadership: the forming of ideas for a nation to focus on; asking others to think on similar themes and resonate a general agreement on them. Leadership in which a public person intentionally asks other citizens to join an effort to fix a major problem, and to support the common good in such matters.

I know I can report that a lot of leadership has been attempted in the past several years. For example, we have been asked to open our minds and hearts in matters dealing with our fellow citizens who are gay. A lot of progress was gained on this issue in the public’s mind in recent years. Not all agree with these happenings, but, the Supreme Court advanced gay rights via marriage equality; congress is even discussing broadening civil rights for gay people that build on the marriage equality decision.

Restoration of US foreign relations with Cuba. It is done. The two nations now will communicate with each other for the first time officially in over 50 years. There are many who do not trust this development. Most of us do welcome this change. It will take time but the two nations, just 90 miles distant, will now rebuild trust and a collaborative relationship. Hopefully.

The fight to keep abortion rights might be cooling off.  The Republican party is attempting to revamp its policy stance to conform more with the mainstream thinking of the public. Women’s rights include having a say in what happens to their bodies – to get pregnant or not, to get pregnant and keep the baby or not, and whether to complete the pregnancy or not. The public generally does not believe these matters are appropriate for government interference or policy. That’s a very new wrinkle in this public debate. Plenty of people still are ready for a bitter fight, but most are not. Perhaps the battle is finally over? Let us see what transpires!

Boy Scouts of America have lost much public favor in recent years as they have pig pigheadedly fought against gay rights. They have felt that being gay is synonymous with pedophilia. Thus they have first claimed no gay person could be a member of the Boy Scouts. They changed that policy. But they did retain the policy that no gay adult could be associated with the BSA. They have recently decided to drop that policy. Now gay scout leaders will be welcome.  Good thing; some scouts grew up, matured, realized they were gay, and remained in the scouting movement without doing it any injury. When fully mature, they wanted to remain as a Scout leader. Once denied now they will be welcomed to remain within the fold of the BSA. An inclusive, American organization with deep and old roots. This is a good and refreshing change.

Inclusivity of the military has expanded to accept women, gays, and minorities. Dealing with religious diversity as well has been a challenge for the military but they are doing it. Not automatically but with forethought and leadership coaxing the rank and file toward a fully diverse military. A difficult task but a rewarding one. Think of it. A military of, for and by the people in all of their diverse backgrounds! That’s an ideal worth fighting for! And very American as well.

Equal access to health care and health insurance is now the law of the land. At long last. There are many who fight this ideal, but they have consistently lost that battle. They are still fighting it but again and again the courts and the public have said Obamacare is for real and should stay. Now to get on with the task of tweaking it to make it stronger and more effective.

Education issues continue to take front and center stage in public discussion. Much is still broken in public education. There is much we can do to improve its effectiveness. It will take leadership at every level of government and education to make this happen. We are a long way from meeting the needs of every student. I have confidence that we will eventually succeed in this mission. But leadership remains in chaos. So many players; so many voices. Is there any wonder why the problems go unaddressed? Not fixing this problem wastes valuable potential of untold numbers of kids.

If we focus on the big picture it might help with such difficult decisions. After all, the big picture holds the hope of the future for us. When we gaze upon it so many small details fade away.

You know, with exploration of space we see the universe with fresh eyes. A lot of hubbub was heard the other day when scientists spotted a planet  in another galaxy that appears to be very much like Earth. So if Earth suffers fatal problems (air, water, soil pollution) we could relocate to another planet. But hold on! What makes us think the people of the other planet would welcome us? Might we have to conquer them first or at least be willing to do so? And who is to say they have room for us there?  Perhaps we ought to save our own planet and remain in place? Seems we should do this anyway?

Leadership looks deep into the future and beholds what ought to be. And then begins preparations to make it happen. For the rest of us it is follow or fight. All too often the fight gets the vote. Why are we so stubborn and fail to look at the promise of other options?

Each of us has to answer that question for ourselves. Time will tell if enough of us support the future and trust one another. That’s what it comes down to, isn’t it?  Trust?

July 28, 2015

Medical Consolidation

Well, it is happening. With profits high, debt loads low, interest rates near zero and an economy on the mend, large corporations have huge stashes of cash. Trillions, you know. So what to do with it? Buy other companies, usually competitors, and then make more money in the same market.

This happens in many industries. None more at this time than in the medical insurance industry. Anthem is the latest corporation to buy a competitor, this time Cigna. Both are very large. The deal alone is worth nearly $55 billion. That’s a B, folks.

Other large deals? Well look at hospitals. In urban areas more and more hospitals are eyeing each other and buying up the competition. Then they partner with major clinics and medical schools with specialty credentials, and competition in urban areas heat up all the more.

In Suburban Chicago little old Glen Ellyn Clinic (Glen Ellyn, Illinois) is now the DuPage Medical Group. It is enormous. Many of its offices are like mini hospitals and able to care for most medical specialties. But if they can’t, wait a moment! Help is just a few miles away at yet another facility they own and operate. The DMG is very good at what it does. I’ve been their patient for nearly 44 years and do not feel like a small bit lost in a large forest.

Currently, the western suburbs of Chicago is served by Cadence Health, Edward Health, and Copley/Rush (another partnership/merger?). Edward is taking the market territory to the southwest of them, and Cadence is taking the market region to the west and marking its brand to the southwest and northwest to fit between competing large market competitors.  The landscape for hospitals is being carved up.

Cadence is now a conglomerate of Central DuPage Hospital, Elmhurst Hospital, and Northwestern Hospital. Children’s Memorial Hospital and the Cleveland Heart Clinic also are partners in the Cadence family of medical practitioners. Amazing medical talent and power combined to serve the public. It is good for patients, too!

So, clinics are merging. Hospitals are merging. And of course medical insurance companies are merging. Soon it may come to a single payer insurance system? One can only hope! Think of the savings, the overhead, the marketing savings, and the re-focus on patient care and delivery of services.

Perhaps we will eventually arrive at a single provider organization, too? Again, we can only hope.

The medical industry is enormous in America. It is the core installation of global health as well, exporting much of its pharmaceuticals and medical equipment to other providers throughout the world community.

Now research continues to be diversified in universities and drug company labs scattered over a broad landscape. Although much is accomplished in North America, so too are gigantic efforts expended throughout Europe, Asia and Australia. We can only hope that their competition is not wasted on duplication but collaborative discovery. If the former, consolidation will occur naturally to save resources.

I know there is serious opposition to single payer health insurance. It smacks of socialism to capitalists. The trouble is that capitalism has proven to be very costly and wasteful. Same with the drug companies. We value their risk-taking and research. But we still wonder what is the proper about of reward for discoveries which benefit mankind but reward a few with unending wealth? What balance in that formula should exist?

In talking with people from other parts of the world, I have learned that their societies are much more interested in quality of life issues than in personal wealth and power that America endorses so dearly.  They argue that what we think about, what we smell, taste and feel are more important than money alone.

I think they have a point we need to understand better. After all, we come into this world one at a time and with no personal wealth whatsoever. We leave this world in the same condition – one at a time and with not wealth whatsoever.

Isn’t it about time that our lives become enriched with what matters than that which doesn’t?  We need to ask ourselves, how much is enough? How much is just right?

The exercise of discussing this might just be worth more than the conclusions gathered by it. Perhaps we should engage in this?

July 27, 2015

Thought for the Day

George Washington provides us with two thoughts to ponder today:

“Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair; the rest is in the hands of God.”

“I have no other view than to promote the public good, and am unambitious of honors not founded in the approbation of my Country.”

Washington was a man of simple and direct purpose. The first quote urges us to do the best we can and leave the rest in the hands of God. Good advice in our own day! Especially encouraging wisdom and honesty in our works.

The second quote admits he is focused on working for the public good and desires no special honors or recognition of such labors. A humble man who understood the purposes of governance.

May we find strength in these words today!

July 25, 2015

Personality Trumps Issues?

Earlier this week I posted a blog that was picked up locally on Facebook. It dealt with the predilection of local citizens squirreling up ‘issues’ based on people, personalities and gossip rather than focusing on the issues that matter.

What has been the result? Mostly good feedback. By far more people (200+) liked the post while 15 or so reacted against the post. Their reactions were typically based on personality characteristics – “I used to respect him, but now…”   “Shame on you for twisting…” – you get the idea. The small number of citizen/readers chose to follow the low road yet again rather than deal with the real issues.

Thank God the vast majority of reactions were positive. This means that most of the readers were focused on the things that matter. They neatly avoid dealing with people who cannot get beyond the meaningless and trivial. Gossip is like that, isn’t it?

Each of our communities have lives that happen because individuals care enough to do something, get involved, read up on an issue, offer their opinion or advice, or even lend their hand to fixing something. In so many small ways we all tend to our villages and towns.  Cities, too. And life is better because of it.

More than that, though, as people become involved in their communities they also become aware of the real issues and do something about them. If enough people see a need, organizing the efforts of others is natural and solutions are discovered and implemented. The result is a healthy community. And satisfied, happy residents.

The same can be true for our county, state and nation. Getting involved results in educating the participants about what is actually happening. They learn the true nature of the issues and are in a better position to do something about them. That’s how it works in most organizations – companies, volunteer groups, churches, charities, etc.

I don’t want to sound Pollyanna-ish, but really, isn’t this how the world functions? We get interested in something close to our hearts, and are moved to take action, do something, and wonder of wonders good things happen!  The opposite is true as well – do nothing, know nothing, nothing gets done.

Trouble is the do-nothing mode allows shallow minds to fiddle around and make trouble. Every community has these people. Every community.

Too bad, because their energy and ability could make a big difference in fixing things that need our attention.  When do you suppose they will wake up to this fact of life?

We can only hope and pray they will do so before they have wasted their lives.

Not all of communal life is a conspiracy. Certainly such life is personal to each of us, but not in a way that keeps us from doing good things.

I think the issues do trump personalities. Evidently so do the vast majority of our fellows!

That’s a good thing. Yes, a very good thing.

July 24, 2015

Violence in America

Reading the news – over the Internet or in print media – one would get the idea that America is a dangerous place in which to live. Shootings, robberies, murder, drive-by killings, parents drugging their kids, dumping them over bridges into rivers, moms driving the family car loaded with the kids into lakes drowning them all, bombers at public events or large government buildings, school shootings, et. al.  The list goes on and on.

Reading the news, however, does not provide the full story. No. The story is much larger than that – ‘Life in America’.

Those of us living here know that. We arise in the morning, dress for work, kiss the family good bye as they go off to their schools or jobs, and make our own commute to our job. We encounter countless people in our daily routine – during the commute, at our office or factory, or behind the wheel of the vehicle we are driving as a primary function of our work. We encounter the public, customers, co-workers. We connect with more people via phone, Skype, internet connections, emails, letters and meetings. We have business lunches, and dinners, and conferences at area hotels and convention centers. We travel to larger meetings and meet hundreds or thousands of our professional cohorts to do business.

When not working we are living normal lives. Reading and relaxing. Mowing the lawn, painting the house, washing the car, planting or weeding gardens. We also clean the house, do the wash, clean the dishes and plan meals. We fix meals and eat them. We relate with family members in a daily fashion. We encourage them with school work, personal hygiene, teaching manners and politeness – civility 101! – and oh so much more.

We also entertain others at home with dinners, cocktail parties, gab fests over dessert, and card games.

We go to concerts and public lectures. We seek the same on TV so we don’t have to brave the local roads and parking lots at in-person venues. We may also take in a class or two at the local university, college or junior college.

In between all of the above we have a chance to stop for coffee at Starbucks, Panera Bread, diners, coffee shops and restaurants. We also grab a Danish, hamburger, sandwich, or another meal on the go.

When finally at home with some time to spend we work on our relationships with our spouse and kids and any other family member who happens by.

America does not have a monopoly on busy families or lifestyles. I bet it is like this all over the globe. As time passes our families spend more and more time just living daily routines. There will be others who spend their time doing something else.

Like crime and violence. That’s why we have police and sheriff departments. It is also why we have the FBI, CSI and countless other law enforcement agencies. And the National Guard!

Of course we must count in the court system and detention/prison facilities in this discussion. In America there are all sorts of activities related to public safety and its enforcement infrastructure.

At some point, however, we must take stock in what is happening.

First of all, is America’s experience with crime and violence out of the ordinary? Do we have too much crime and violence? If so, how much more than ordinary is it? Just how pressing an issue is this?

Second, what are the primary causes or ‘incident leaders’? Is crime mostly petty stuff? Or is it serious violence events? What are the trend lines for either?

Once we have these two items defined, then we need to assess what to do about them. Some options are inevitably on this list:

1. Hire more police and infrastructure personnel
2. Reduce guns on the street
3. Address mental illness as a cause of crime and violence.
4. Categorize all other options

We already spend a vast sum of money on police, crime labs, prisons, courts and other infrastructure. Adding to this sum only accentuates the size of our problem. Perhaps we need to spend more time and resources on stemming the tide of crime and violence?

And this all assumes that our crime and violence rates are well beyond reasonable, expected standards. That has yet to be defined!

Assuming we have a crime and violence problem, there are two root causes that we should attend to: mental illness and number of guns in our society.

Although I think the enormity of the gun population is a problem, that is my personal view. I think the number of guns available to the public is far too large and should be reduced significantly. Guns are simply too available for use. Responsible owners control access to the guns and use their weapons sensibly. They are not the problem.

It is the rest of the gun owning population that poses the problem. Why? Because their weapons are not well controlled, are not minded well enough, and thus are available for others to misuse and abuse.

And that’s where the problem lies. Violent people and criminals suffer from mental illnesses that are dangerous to themselves and others. Have we done enough to address these mental health issues? Are we stemming the tide of new persons with disturbed behavior? Are we holding our own on this matter? Or is the trend line one of growth and expected future mayhem?

I suspect we have a lot to do in America to understand what the problem is and how to manage it. But I do think we have a problem with crime and violence and would like to see it managed to much lower incidence levels. Focusing on mental health is probably the primary issue here. Gun population is only a weak secondary issue.

Meanwhile, who is watching over this issue in the first place?  Anyone? Perhaps this is a new growth industry opportunity?

July 23, 2015

Idea Creation

When do meaningful ideas come to your mind? What activities are you engaging in at the time when ideas of worth pop up? Or maybe these gems come to your awareness while asleep?

I can think of a few circumstances that are conducive to idea generation – the kind that pop to mind seemingly unassisted.  Here are a few examples of that:

• Doing a boring routine over and over again; think of painting the house, a seemingly endless task with hours and hours spent on a long succession of days. There you are on a ladder dipping the damn paint brush into the damn paint can over and over again until your arm’s reach is exhausted; then down the ladder with the bucket and brush, move the ladder to a new reach, climb the ladder and dip the damn brush into the damn… You get the idea! What else are you to think about at a time like that? Useful ideas naturally come to mind then.
• Driving hundreds of miles in a day on an Interstate highway. Beautiful road way. Expanding vista passing by the windows. Endless trucks passing and being passed. Mile after mile. What’s an inquiring mind to do? Think! And then re-think! Until interesting ideas come to mind and provide hours of entertainment! Some of my best thinking happened behind the windshield.
• Middle of the night awakening. Usually between 1 and 3 am. Silence. Darkness. Body at rest. Mind kicks into gear. Simple ideas form. Basic ideas. The best kind. And then logic takes the bait and works it for another hour or so until sleep takes over. If I’m lucky I remember this mid-slumber episode and write about it in the morning. 

There are other circumstances in which ideas begin to pop. For me it usually happens in a group setting where several minds are at work attempting to define issues, interrelate those same issues, and then struggle to find a means to handle the issues so they don’t pose an operating problem. This is group problem solving. Mostly ideas are aired and tossed into the conversational pot. At times like these one person can make stunning discoveries by allowing all the comments and terms float through his consciousness until a phrase or defining moment occurs. With a scribbling on the white board the listener attracts attention, conversation calms then turns to silence.

As the group focuses on his scribbling they begin to see how their ideas have coalesced. Now there is order. Now a path forward becomes evident. And an action plan is written in the next few minutes.

Collaboration like this is broadly available if the right minds come together, discuss, expose their doubts and fears together, and then allow matters to settle into new relatedness. Ideas often pop to view at these times. And what fun!

Think tanks work to accomplish this process. It is not easily available. Some people have to put their feet on the table and lean back in their chair. Others have to crawl on top of the table with marker in hand to scribble on large paper pads. Still others write on the walls that have been outfitted with white board material from floor to ceiling and wall to wall. The room is a think room, an idea room. It is a place where minds are allowed to roam until they are snagged by something meaningful. All sorts of good things happen then.

None of this can happen without trust, cooperation and intentional collaboration. The group must want to work together. Don’t assign it a specific task; that might jinx the process! Allow the creative juices to have their own way and stand back and watch what happens.

This is fun. This is the joy of creativity. Cutting-edge organizations know this. They work at it. It is something that must be consciously allowed.

Think about that and then see how you can capture some of it in your own life. And family.

Wow!

July 22, 2015

Wasting Our Time

A small item shared locally over Facebook focused on the local park board beginning its meetings with a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance and standing for it. One of the board members disagreed with this added ritual as unnecessary. All board members take an oath to support the constitutions of both the nation and the state of Illinois.

Seems there are those in the community that take umbrage at this stance. Seems that one of the new board members pressed the pledge on the board and being polite they accommodated her request. When the lone board member resisted, she took to the public via Facebook and her hot headed father.

Now the agenda gets murky at this point. But her dad once was a major troublemaker on the city council of the same city. He has a short temper and has trouble containing it. And he loves to spark controversy, especially where there isn’t any.

Instead of discussing issues of importance, he distracts with topics of non-importance. If you don’t agree with him you are a traitor, or worse. Of course most of his distractions are based on personal attacks.

All a colossal waste of time.

After he left the city council, a lot of good work was accomplished. Good solid organization work, organizational development, economic development, etc. It takes an open mind, cooperation and collaboration with others to make good things happen. 

Think about this: does your city have…

            -excellent road surfaces

            -good street lighting

            -timely and professional police services

            -excellent fire protection

            -park district that continually reinvents itself and its services to meet the public’s

 needs

            -effective flood controls with those who have authority to control storm water

            -excellent public school system

            -open and transparent local government units

            -broad involvement of citizens in every step of local governance

            -continual work on social and cultural issues of importance

            -continual work on economic development within our borders

If you think most or all of the above are working pretty damn well, then, stop complaining and work on topics that need our attention. That’s the way effective government works.

It begins with you. Dealing with issues that really matter.

Pledging allegiance to the flag is not a local concern. Or agreeing that God belongs in the pledge. Or any of a dozen other knee jerk issues that you can come up with.

What matters is if the governing board is paying attention to the needs of the people and addressing them within a timely manner with the resources available.

Now that’s governance. Last time I checks, Warrenville is in very good hands.

Thanks to those willing to step forward and do the work. And put up with nonsense from the politically ignorant. And thanks to the voters who do right in the ballot box.

We are all stronger because of them.

July 21, 2015

Death Penalty?

The status of the death penalty in America continues to be under question. I'm a proponent of the policy. These cases are my reason why.

Boston Bomber

He took innocent lives. Of children and adults. People died who were totally non-political, had nothing whatever to do with the terrorist’s views of the world. But still he killed them. And did it in such a manner as to horrify bystanders, many of them injured as well, and to destroy public trust and serenity. 

That was his objective after all is said and done. He was out to destroy American serenity.

In some ways he succeeded. But in the end his brother died in the attempt, and so will he die by execution following the court case that found him guilty and eligible for the death penalty.

That is well and good in my book. There is no doubt about the crime. No doubt who committed it. No doubt about the terrorist’s guilt. It’s done and over with. Now it is his turn to face life’s end because of what he did by his own hand.

Mexican Drug Lord

This case is different. The Drug Lord (DL) killed countless people by his own hand in his country and in the nations where he spread his drugs. By the hand of his own crew under his orders, still hundreds more died in Mexico and the United States. Yet more thousands died because of their use of the DL’s product. How many deaths are on his hands?  There is no way of fully knowing the toll. But thousands of lives ended is a sufficient assessment.

Then there is the toll of tens of thousands of lives negatively affected by his products trafficked over a huge swath of landscape encompassing several nations. He was found guilty of his crimes and sentenced to a long term in prison. He bought his way out of prison and is now free to continue his crime spree. His wealth is in the billions, so he could well afford buying his way out of prison.

If he is found in America I hope all law enforcement officers are ordered to shoot to kill the man. He has cost Mexico and America many lives and an enormous amount of money and resources to enforce laws, protect the public, and manage prisons. All in his name. Those public resources are spent and gone. Now we will spend many more dollars and resources to capture the jerk.

He did not provide mercy to his victims. We should not extend that mercy to him, either. Shoot to kill. This man should not be returned to prison or to the court system. Only to a coffin.

This is not revenge. It is practical action in the name and memory of tens of thousands of innocent lives he has destroyed.

Timothy McVeigh

The Oklahoma City Bombing ended with McVeigh’s execution. It took many years to process his case through the courts to protect his rights and presumption of innocence. Then in prison, the legal skirmishes continued until exhausted and the execution made the result final.

The death penalty in this case was appropriate. He killed 158 people. He maimed and harmed the lives of hundreds more. The families and friends of all of those people will live out their lives in a completely different manner because of what McVeigh did.

There was no doubt whatsoever as to his guilt or premeditation. The only doubt is who helped him with this heinous crime. All in the name of politics. All in the name of super patriotism. All in the name of a twisted religious idea. Home grown and domestic. Not foreign terrorism. Our own, from inside.

Yes, Tim got what he deserved.

9/11 Terrorists

Yet to be fully addressed but the terrorists who were aboard the planes crashed into their final resting places took them to death as well. But the network of terrorists supporting them is mostly at large.

We have found Bin Laden. We have killed him. We have killed many lieutenants, majors and captains in Al Qaeda; maybe some generals as well. The Al Qaeda organization is in disarray and scattered. Its financial network is mostly disabled as well. Yet they exist and they have morphed into various forms of mujaheddin, Taliban, and ISIS. And Hamas as well as other terrorist organizations in the Middle East hell bent on destroying anyone and anything that doesn’t support their political agenda or religious beliefs.

We have many players in all of this imprisoned in Guantanamo. For some reason we are unable to execute these players let alone process them through a court trial. In other nations and cultures these slugs would be dead by mysterious means. Not in America. We tend to hang on to our enemies endlessly and pay their perverted expenses forever.

Seems to me the death penalty is needed in egregious cases of terror, inhumanity to others, and stark premeditation and evil. If we know these folks are guilty beyond all reasonable doubt, then put them out of their misery and ours. If not, we only turn them into heroes of victimhood. And in my mind they are not heroes of any kind.

Be certain, execute them, and then forgive them. But continue our vigilance against evil and press forward. We owe our own people that respect and peace of mind.

Harsh? Much less so than the treatment they afforded us.

July 20, 2015

Thought for the Day

Imagine the qualities you would like to see in a presidential candidate for 2016. Just the qualities, please. Then, compare those with what you see among the candidates so far eager to get your vote.

How do they compare? If poorly, think long and hard about who might be available in the country to fill your qualifications list.

This is an exercise. It wasn’t meant to be easy! Just do it and share what you come up with.

July 18, 2015

Congress to Set Interest Rates?

Honestly, I thought I had heard just about everything! But today’s news stunned me with the announcement that Senator Pat Toomey, Republican from Pennsylvania, believes the Federal Reserve has lost its credibility. He specifically feels that interest rates in our economy are much too low and the Fed has not done enough to raise the rates.

Evidently, Mr. Toomey feels rates are set by fiat at the Fed. He faults the Federal Reserve for allowing the rates to languish too long at near zero %. Sen. Toomey stated he thinks Congress should set the rates. Apparently Toomey doesn't understand economics and money and banking!

There are a few problems with his suggestion.  First, Congress can’t make budgets so why should anyone trust them to set interest rates for the market place?  Second, interest rates are a function of supply and demand of available cash, not a function of one person or a committee to decide the rate and so declare it. Third, the US Constitution provides for separation of powers in the federal government. The Executive Branch embraces the Federal Reserve System. The Federal Reserve System is governed by a very arcane, complicated set of rules and regulations not made entirely by Congress. Fourth, Mr. Toomey demonstrates his ignorance of the subject matter with every breath.

For instance, supply and demand of cash in the American economy is not tight. Cash abounds. Unused balances in savings, checking and short term accounts are enormous. Perhaps as high as $7 trillion. That’s Trillion with a T, Sen. Toomey. Because cash  liquidity is so high, interest rates are low. Tight liquidity would dictate higher interest rates – you know, use of the dollars chasing too few dollars will push interest rates higher. The opposite is true – too little use of the money means low interest rates. And lots of idle cash. 

Interest rates also are a function of risk. If a person wants to borrow funds for a project, the interest rate will follow risk. High risk means high interest rates if the loan is even granted. But if the risk is low – let us say collateral is available to guarantee repayment of the loan should the project fail, then the interest rate would be much lower. If the collateral will require a lot of time to convert the asset value to cash to pay off the loan, then the interest rate will be higher. If a borrower has a poor track record on repaying loans in a timely manner, the interest rate will be much higher; if the credit of the borrow is too poor, the loan will not be granted.

Risk is an important indicator of loss potential. Thus interest rates will be higher with more risk. Simple concept; difficult to measure at times, so calculating a specific interest rate is tedious and complex. That's why market forces are always part of the calculation.

Congress has a difficult time discussing simple topics and making decisions on them. Policy decisions are even more complex for Congress to handle. The whole idea that Congress could even approach setting interest rates is down right laughable.

More disturbing is the fact that a Senator came up with this poor idea. It demonstrates his total lack of understanding. His sheer ignorance is on full display.

My bet is he is not alone.

This is just another example of why Americans have so little respect for Congress and its poor performance. They have earned such ratings from the public. Shame on you, Senator Toomey!

July 17, 2015

  

Miscellany

Senior Care:

Over the past few years I am increasingly aware of the need for senior care. Not for myself although a person my age ought to have plans for this if at all possible! No, it is for friends or acquaintances of mine that need the help. Most of them have crimped financial ability to pay for senior care, so hodge podge arrangements are made that work. In time social welfare programs do take over near end times, but what to do in the meanwhile? Especially for quality of life?

I’m working on a case right now where friends are attempting to pull together a care program for a couple who wish to remain in their own home. They have the money to make this happen; that’s not a problem for them. No, the problem is their unwillingness to make decisions. Some steps they are willing to take; just not a lot of them. Piecemeal solutions rarely work well, and certainly are not very efficient of resources. Furthermore, truly professional services are available and ought to be secured for the couple. Getting them to make the necessary decisions in the proper order and on a timely basis, however, is the critical issue.

I think senior care is very much an issue for our society to grapple with sooner rather than later. We all need this support. All of us. Wouldn’t it make sense to make some meaningful progress on this topic soon? Especially given the fact that we have an army of Boomers marching steadily toward retirement and senior care needs?

Nuke Agreement with Iran:

Like many in the world, I’m not convinced the agreement is a good deal for global peace. Too many last minute ‘issues’ were raised to be included in the deal. And those issues were raised mostly by Iran.

Iran has been a ‘bad boy’ in the global community for several decades now. They earned global sanctions for goading peace lovers over and over again. They called it national pride, and even gave the religion angle a try as well. But not! It didn’t work and thus a nation endowed with a grand culture, good people, and intelligent abilities, was held down by economic sanctions that crippled Iran.

Meanwhile, they helped equip other bad boy nations in the Middle East with weapons. They fanned the flames of discord in several nations. And they allowed their religion to be misused to further international adventurism by Russia and others. Their brand of bad boy expanded for more than 20 years.

It is hard to believe that once there was a solid bond between Iran and the US. We shared their younger generation here in their pursuit of higher education and acquisition of business know-how. We came to understand their culture and they ours. Back in the 1950’s and 1960’s, Iran and America were a golden couple. But now? Is there really a chance to return to those good old days?

I think not. Too much bad blood and skullduggery has occurred. That is a major roadblock to rebuilding trust. No, another kind of relationship will need to be built. What exactly that will look like is anyone’s guess. For now, we will need to monitor the relationship closely and determine when, if ever, Iran will be trustworthy in the grand project of global peace. For now, the new agreement with Iran is all we have to work with. Let's see if it works to fill the promise!

Greece and the Eurozone:

Well finally another agreement is in place. Greece’s deal with the Eurozone will hopefully allow enough time for both European leaders and Greece to build a workable relationship that will strengthen Greece’s ability to manage its own financial affairs without sinking the banking system of Europe. Greece has not been a willing or easy partner in this business. They have lacked the resolve and discipline to do the right things at the right times. For a nation that for thousands of years provided the basis of logic, education and ethos, Greece has become a major disappointment. Perhaps now they will repair their reputation?

One can only hope so. Perhaps they might be interested in a partnership with Disney? I’d give it a try if I were in their shoes.

July 16, 2015

Mrwmff

She nestled close. The nose led her efforts to find the sweet spot – warm, pliant, secure. I reached to touch the breast. I ran my hand flat down her flank massaging the ache where I thought the suffering originated. The limp was pronounced one day and not the next. But painful it was for all to see.

She gave in to the touch. Flaccid body, pressing into my leg, she was ready to be comforted. So I did. Gently rubbing the shoulders, caressing the chest area, and finally massaging her back on both sides of the spine.

A moan was uttered. She pushed her face deep into the crook of my arm. She was limp and totally relaxed. Twenty minutes later she moved slightly, changed position, rested a few more minutes. Then without warning she rose and jumped off the bed and returned to her own bed.

Such was the midnight visit of Willow our 10 year old Lhasa Apso. Aging slowly but surely, Willow is accumulating the aches and pains we all feel. Her search for solace is a personal massage from me. Usually at 1 or 2 am. It’s OK by me. I’m glad to be of service. And to make her feel comfortable.

I’m normally awake at that time and thinking of what next to write. Today it was easy! The only hard thing was deciding how to spell ‘mrwmff’.

How’s that for a title?

July 15, 2015

Border Racism

I think I finally understand this issue about borders. Our southern border is with Mexico where there is land – terra firma – on the other side of the border. The rest of our southern border is ocean. No landed barriers to erect. No one to stop unless they are in boats or swimmers. Even then, if they are immigrants they must be mostly Mexican or South or Central American peoples seeking refuge in our land. Hispanics, you know. Evidently we don’t want them? Really? If you go by what’s on TV and radio newscast, you’d think the scourge of illegal immigration is only focused on the south of our nation. Right?

After all, we have one other land border related to the USA. That would be Canada. You know, the huge land mass to our north inhabited by people who look just like us?

Well you know where I’m going with this don’t you. You are the clever one!

Yes, to the north its OK to have an unguarded, unwalled, unfenced border. With white people. People like you and I.

To the south it is not OK.

Well, let’s expand this border thing to the west and the east. Oceans. You know, very large oceans. The Pacific on the west. The Atlantic to the east. Lots of water. No dikes. No walls. No fences.

Why is that? Why do California, Arizona, and Texas have a problem with our border? Is it really about their land lying in peril of trespassers? Is it the lawlessness they don’t like? Is it the principle of the thing? What exactly are they afraid of?

Seems to me illegal immigrants are everywhere in America. They live in my town of West Chicago, Illinois. They are in Warrenville and Wheaton as well. Yes, for 44 years I’ve lived with illegal immigrants. They don’t only reside in Texas and Arizona. They don’t kill, rob or rape me or my family or my neighbors. They are perfectly law abiding, cultural enriched people with excellent minds and wonderful spirit.

Illegal immigrants are among us because they want to be here – in the land of opportunity and freedom. They left nations that did not offer them that. Or security. Jobs, too. But freedom most of all to be themselves with a long term future. The same for their families.

I like immigrants. They make me understand that I am living in a desired nation. I see that as a good reflection on us. It is not something to be afraid of. Why exactly are we afraid? Tell me about it. I need to know what this is all about. So far I don’t get it.

If illegal immigration truly represents a problem, then why isn’t someone doing something about it? Seems to be that task would belong to Congress, but because they haven’t decided to call this a problem, no wonder nothing has been done about it.

Interesting!  Perhaps the issue is only a make believe issue?  I wonder why? Is this a border issue or a racist issue? Are we finally willing to face that ugly fact?

July 14, 2015

Hank’s Story Continues

It’s been a while since Hank last visited us. What has he been up to?

For one Hank has been struggling with reading his newspaper. Used to be he awoke with the thumping of newspaper deliveries in his neighborhood. Around 4:30 am the muffled sound of a worn engine began its circuitous rounds of the neighboring blocks accompanied by a soft whump of a newspaper landing on the driveway or front walk. As the sound grew nearer, Hank knew his paper was about to arrive.

So he’d climb out of bed, grab a shirt and shorts, stumble to the bathroom, then to the kitchen to begin the coffee, and on to the front walk to retrieve his paper.

Returning to the kitchen, he laid out cup, saucer, spoon and sugar for his daily brew. He settled at the dinette and spread out the paper. The coffee finished its last rumbles of preparation and was ready to fill a steaming cup.

With that poured and some sugar stirred in (3 heaping teaspoons!), Hank surveyed the front page of the paper. He followed each of the stories as they jumped to later pages and was finally satisfied that he had read the leading stories of the day and related side bars.

He then turned to the back page. Sports were not his thing so he quickly paged backwards toward the front of the paper. He eliminated all the junk he didn’t want to read, separated the crossword puzzles and comics and then continued his backward scan toward the opinion page. This was his last stop of his morning read. He quickly read his favorite writers, skipped those he knew as idiots, and then cast a jaundiced eye over the letters to the editor. These he read very quickly. Most were ideological buzz bombs he detested.

Finally he was done. Accomplished in just under 44 minutes. Now to the comics and puzzles. Those ate up another 11 minutes. Three cups of coffee (and nine teaspoons of sugar) plus the paper all in less than one hour!

Hank slowly cleaned up the kitchen and moved to the office and computer. There he cleared his incoming emails, then scanned his favorite websites for news focused on his interests. Twenty minutes later he was ready for the shower and shave.

In the shower Hank contemplated his daily routine. He wondered about spending an hour with the newspaper. Increasingly he noted how time spent in this activity was declining. So, too, the paper’s size. It was now narrower, shorter and fewer pages. The slimmed down format also came with slimmed down content. More and more he was noticing his internet routine replacing his newspaper routine. With a shudder he knew, he just knew, that one day he would cancel his newspaper and turn exclusively to the internet for his news.

Hank already had reduced his following of TV news programs unless they were panel discussions of topics he was interested in covered in more detail. Those were thought provoking programs, but so too were documentaries. Newscasts, however, were either too bland or too suggestive of point of view. Clearly his network of choice was churning the news to sustain its market following. With another shudder Hank knew he would eventually avoid TV news programming in favor of his own internet scan.

Toweling off from his shower, Hank now catalogued the news items he felt were more important for the day. Which ones should be important in the mind of the public, and which ones were of particular interest to him? And how closely aligned were the two lists? Interesting. More and more the two lists simply didn’t match.

Hank wondered what was happening in the news industry. Was there intentional manipulation present? The fact that he even asked the question gave him a strong clue that it was. Interesting.

Hank resolved to develop a daily routine that relied more on the internet as his source of news rather than public programming and newspapers. The first challenge was identifying the reliable sources for factual news. Associated Press items were trustworthy in Hank’s mind. So too were specific publishers and news gathering organizations. These outlets researched news events and wrote about them using old journalism methods: what, who, where, when. The why and how were for later analysis when the facts were known to be complete or nearly so. Time would help settle some aspects of the story, but the how and why were clearly for careful consideration later. Meanwhile the what, when and where were filed away in the mind for recall and later analysis.

Developing the list of sources was not an easy chore. But in a few months Hank had what he felt comfortable with. Now to implement it and allow his curiosity to expand his read as needed to the side stories.

Hank’s process is not fail-safe. It is important, however, that he felt it necessary to do it in the first place. Perhaps the rest of us need to follow suit?

We'll follow Hank's progress from time to time. Stay tuned!

July 13, 2015

Thought for the Day

From Abraham Lincoln I offer these two quotes to think about this weekend:

“Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.

  No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar.”

Both of these are separate and unrelated to the other. However, there is an interesting parallel here!

July 11, 2015

Guns and Illegal Immigrants

A 31-year-old woman, beautiful and in her prime, strolled down a popular tourist attraction in San Francisco and was gunned down randomly by an illegal immigrant. Now it turns out the gun used was one lost by a federal agent and somehow procured by the immigrant. He says he found it wrapped in a cloth.

Why he used the gun is a mystery. Why the gun was ‘lost’ and wrapped in a cloth to be found is another mystery. The fact that the shooter was an ‘illegal immigrant’ is yet another mystery.

Which of the mysteries is the controlling item in the tragedy has yet to be discovered. One thing remains quite evident: the young woman was doing what she was supposed to be doing and at the right time. She was enjoying life and freedom and a magical place.

Perhaps the three mysteries had to occur as they did all together for the tragedy to have happened. But some things need to be separated from the mix.

First off, being an illegal immigrant – whatever that means in this case – has really nothing to do with it.

Second, the gun’s presence was vital to the tragedy.

Third, the mental circumstances of the shooter seem to be of paramount importance. Why did he pick up the gun? Why did he choose to use it as he did? What social norms and mental health conditioning were operating within him to let loose a bullet, let alone aim it at an innocent person at random? What propelled him to act in this manner?

Now, with that said, let’s focus attention on that key question.  We’ll let the other authorities track down the gun and learn when it was lost, under what circumstances it went missing, and how it became found and wrapped and stashed so the shooter ultimately came to discover it? That whole scenario really is separate from the tragedy, but a piece of it in need of understanding.

The immigrant piece is not a part of the tragedy. It is a happenstance. No amount of political nonsense can make it otherwise. Oh sure, if he had been confined by the border and not been present in San Francisco, he would not have been a player in this incident. No, this tragedy has nothing to do with the immigration debacle both political parties continue to knock heads over, and created in the first place!

The fact that a gun was available is issue number one. Unsupervised, uncontrolled, the gun was where it was available for use.

The mental faculty of the shooter is an important consideration in the incident. How do we protect ourselves from such people? How many of these folks walk among us every day? How do we recognize them? How do we treat them? Who has responsibility for this element of our communal life? Do we really understand this challenge?

I think not. The proof is that we don’t talk about the gun. We do talk about the shooter’s immigration status. And that has nothing really to do with the incident.

Come on America! Are we going to do the hard work of managing our risks? Or are we going to give in to the baseness of our prejudices? The issue here is mental stability. And uncontrolled guns in our society.

We have more guns per person in America than anywhere else on the globe. And we have more gun deaths here than anywhere else on the globe. The relationship is clear. We need to focus on that issue and fix it. There are options to do so without cancelling out the Second Amendment. Look for solutions folks, not reasons to avoid solutions.

Now back on the real challenge: what do we do about mental illness in this country? We cannot execute them all. We need to treat them and heal them. For their sake and ours.

Suggestions?

July 10, 2015

Boring

Sit right down and… You finish that statement. Go ahead! It’s your turn to offer up some wisdom.

Years ago, I’d sit right down and write you a letter!  On the portable typewriter no less. Pounding away and mostly getting the strikes right without too many erasures or strike-overs. Of course typing a letter was saved for times when the clackety noise wouldn’t disturb anyone, at home or in the dorm. Computers make this a silent task and much more quick. Speedy and with spell check no less.

Google helps today’s writing assignments as well. You know the topic, even some of its terminology but lordy not all of the pieces are there. A Google peek straightens that out in a flash. Not only that, but Google will give us more factoids and environmental flesh to spice up our original written piece.

So, I’ve sat down and written the letters now. You didn’t have to! And I even attempted writing other essays, blogs, articles, think pieces and, yes, even a few sermons! The latter were the most difficult. Too much thinking on display. And it had to mean something to everyone listening. Even those who didn’t want to listen, and there are always some of those around.

The writing is in place. The check book is balanced. Other assignments are prepared and ready to go on the appointment day and hour. So here I sit. Not a lot to do. The mind ranges to other thoughts easily, but the return trip doesn’t always settle easily. I have wanderlust. It is summer. No snow or ice storms to impede travel. Just thunder storms and heat, and lots of sunshine. Yes, it is that time of year our minds yearn to wander to other places. The places are fun destinations, or at least interesting ones. But for me it is the journey that is most important. Movement down the road, you know! Stopping for gas in little out of the way places. Finding a diner or family restaurant for basic meals. Maybe a meal with a classic cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate milk shake? Even a place with wobbly stools and a counter to eat at? Aromas of grilling fat and aerosols of grease? Yum. Just like the old days where every eatery was a surprise because they were not a part of a chain operation.

And the roads. Some were bumpy, twisty, fast and slow. Narrow, of course, with shoulders right there next to the pavement. Trees and vistas of rivers, rocks and mountains. And willows, and cottonwood trees.

I remember going through small western towns on family vacations when I was a kid. Some of those villages had imposing, two storey brick schools with snaky pipes leading out of second floor windows. And mom told us those were fire escapes, or storm escapes! As a Minnesota farm girl mom tended to think in terms of tornadoes. But as westerners we could only think of fires and earthquakes.

Little towns with quaint downtowns, sidewalks and shops, and a bit of bustle to the locals making the rounds of their errands. The smell of cooking food was never far away until we headed out of town on the way to the next spot on our itinerary.

We have a theme of travel at our church this summer. The sermons are focused on journeys to other places and we are asked to return home with a refrigerator magnet of our travels. Those magnets we will post on a banner at the front of the sanctuary. And I think of my past travels when such magnets were not at all available.

Come to think of it, there are no magnets for us because we are not going anywhere this summer. After all there are no magnets for what we call home. Just he glue of everyday life. That’s magnet enough. At least for us these days.

So, with no where on our itinerary, and the letters and blogs posted, what is there to do? What will we fill our time with?

Huh? Any suggestions? We’ve read books. We’ve watched enough TV. Naps no longer refresh.

We need something else to spice us up!

July 9, 2015

Missing the Teens

You may recall that I have worked with teenagers on Friday evenings for about 2 years now. The kids are aged 13 to 17 and have been enrolled in a rehabilitation program for problem abusers of alcohol and drugs. Mostly drugs. Group size has varied widely throughout the years from 5 to 20. The optimum size seems to be about 10, but that depends on the personalities involved and how difficult some of them can be. Especially when they find cohorts within the group!

We have taken a summer furlough from this activity to shorten the day for the kids and let them enjoy the summer months without being tied down to a Friday evening session. That frees the two volunteers who work with them on those evenings, including me.

I do enjoy not having to battle rush hour traffic, especially on a Friday evening. And I appreciate relaxing at home with a pizza and some entertaining reading or TV. But the other day I was thinking back on our sessions with the kids. It was then I realized I missed our interaction. I missed them.

I hope my work with the kids is helpful to them. Meaningful and effective. I don’t know this is true so I must continue to hope it is so. The other part of that equation is I miss their influence on my life. You see they challenged me in ways I had long forgotten about. Seeing life through the eyes of youth is one challenge I had forgotten. Another is the prism of expanding life experience and personal understanding that coming of age years bring to consciousness.

Remember those days in your own life? Recall the confusion, chaos and truly weird feelings you had? One question on my mind back then is – ‘Is this normal?’  I constantly compared by experiences with other experiences to test their realness, elasticity, conformability, whatever. With a little gumption and a whole lot of trust/courage, I asked friends about the same things and we compared notes!

That’s how I grew up. Same for you I’ll bet! This is not rocket science, but it is more important to us individuals than rocket science isn’t it? So too for the teens on Friday evenings. They are transforming from childhood to adulthood with the extra added attraction of drugs and alcohol suffused with sexual awakening and sexual performance. Zounds! And Egad!! I can relate to the sexual awakening but not the performance part. And I can’t relate to the drugs and alcohol. In fact, never drugs; only a mild curiosity.

My mind was on other matters. Education was one. Music was another – classical forms, not pop! And reading, science, study; the more I think about those days the more I now realize I was trying to make intellectual sense about the world and my life. It was how I was built. It made me a nerd back in those days. And it was OK. Nerd-dom provided me cover for other struggles I couldn’t get my head around. One, of course, was a growing awareness that I must be gay. That term was not in use back then, homosexual was the term then. And it was mightily mysterious. In my mind it was also forbidden because no one talked of it. That was my cue to keep my mouth shut.

And I did. For many, many years.

In that environment I was alone. In the solitude I thought, wrote, studied, read. I delved into music on a serious plane. I observed relationships from afar. I took walks in the rich nature of the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. I took long bike rides in the woods and along less traveled back roads. It was a magical place. It helped me focus on expansive thoughts. It allowed me a means to acculturate to the real world.

It did not make me a social butterfly! Not by a long shot. I was so out in left field that my contemporaries left me alone. Some of the girls thought I was cute (so they said) and they protected me from the jocks and greasers of the day. So I had space from the bullies as my grades and class work excelled. They left me alone to be me.

Oh, I feared being bullied. It was never far from my mind. So I learned to have cover and be less a target. These chameleon-like skills served me well as I proceeded into adulthood via college and university life. Unfortunately the cover shielded me from honestly facing my gayness and dealing with it. That’s how marriage and fatherhood came into my life. More on that at another time.

For now, this piece is about the teens. They help me remember what it was like being a teen. The memories of clammy palms, nervous twitches and self doubt come flooding back! With that recall I can relate with them better.

At least I hope so! If correct I will listen to them acutely and hear their yearnings and doubts. Those I can address. Those I can help them with.

For now I must wait for September to resume our work together. And surprisingly I find myself looking forward to it.

July 8, 2015

DUH!

I tend to do a lot of thinking in two places – in bed in the early morning (between 1 and 3 am) and while driving. I recall countless times I worried some idea to the ground and then came up with a short tag line that summed it up. In my morning computer session I’d save these tag lines to a small desktop file (if I could remember them!). Days later I’d scan the list of tag lines. My reaction then was not wondrous. More like – ‘well, duh, that makes no sense,’ or ‘too obvious to have value!’

Here are two: “Life is intensely personal;” “Hope is in the eye of the beholder.”

I know it seems so clear to you as a reader. You are probably wondering what I was thinking when I came up with the lines. But then you hadn’t experienced the long, complex logic chain I dealt with to finally arrive at an end point. That’s when the tag line emerges, normally. After all the strain and work of thinking through a complex train of thought. Of course this thinking took place in the dark of night, in bed, when tired. Most likely I fell asleep a few times and the ‘long train of thought’ seemed even longer!

It these lines were intended to be funny then I would understand them better. But I know they were not funny. They were very serious. Of course hind sight makes that even funnier! And I am laughing as I write this.

On to other matters. Perhaps I can shake the DUHs?

So Greeks voted overwhelmingly to authorize its government leaders to seek easier terms with Eurozone decision makers with regard to reworking their debt agreement. The world community awaits how this crisis will be worked out but I return to my recommendation that the Disney Corporation be contracted to turn the nation into a tourist destination and entertainment park. Magic Mountain of the Gods would be a no brainer attraction. The Odyssey Adventure ride would be another. For the underage group Plato’s Play Dough Kingdom might be fun. Of course there would be gambling and other adult entertainment available for the parents. What fun to think what entrepreneurs can come up with to balance the budget! Especially from a group of Disney class wizards.

International Threats to America: Let’s see, how many are there?  Global warming counts as one, at least. So too non-potable water for billions of Earth’s inhabitants. Drought prolonged for California and the Southwest in general. ISIS surely is on our list of threats. And of course Putin and his silly war games. Even if he means them as games to test our readiness and resolve, Putin surely knows that the game is dangerous; one of his forays could go terribly wrong – a crash of a jet fighter, a malfunction on one of the bombers, even a stray bullet or missile firing. Should that happen, the game is over. War would be on, you can be sure of that. And so wasteful of spirit, mind, and resources.

Russia needs to focus on its own ship of state. It has serious economic problems. Although infrastructure has been repaired somewhat, there is still much to do. Same here in America. And Russia didn’t do that to America; we did it to ourselves while focusing on Afghanistan, Iraq, the Middle East and the simpering of Israel’s leaders (Netanyahu, mostly). 

Focus. It is an important aspect of all organizations be it a corporation, family or nation. Or charity. The organization needs to continually focus on its mission to be certain it is spending its resources on THE key purpose for its existence. And then more focus on operations so that the long-term vision of the organization is served well and sustainably.

Yes, focus. It takes a lot of focus to do the right things, and to do them right.

That is a simple statement. But apply it to a city’s government, a library’s governing board, a park district’s functioning, or a church’s organization. Each must struggle with what is most important for it. Should they apply the filter lens of mission and vision to their operations, they might find help in staying on course.

Same with nations. Is America truly focused on its mission of freedom, equality, pursuit of happiness for all? Of course we only focus on our own internal mission and vision, but we are also a witness to the world on the same topics. And our history has assisted those who have asked for our help. And we have shared with them to ensure their peace and prosperity. We don’t do this for them; we only help. The hard lifting they must still do themselves from within their own borders.

Russia as well must do this. A proud nation with an ancient history, Russia has still received help from others from time to time. Their focus was clouded by yearnings of empire like so many world powers. It usually spelled a downfall for each of them, including Russia. It might well be the time for Putin to turn his focus on his own people and their welfare. That is a mighty focus and mission.

Perhaps then the world community could focus as well on peace and well being of its peoples.

Well, duh!

July 7, 2015