Reflection on Pets

Willow, our dog, died this past Monday evening. We decided to euthanize her in the vet’s office after three days of dicey health condition. Clearly she was not self-sustaining and old age finally caught up with her. We did not want her to suffer. That decision was easy.


Not easy was knowing the empty space in our hearts and home would be huge. I had prepared for this over the last 3 or 4 months. I noticed Willow’s struggle from time to time and wondered if this were signs of the end. They were. But we gave her time, and us.


We needed that time.


Her absence is felt keenly. Today we will clean up the house a bit. Throw out unused food, treats and toys. Remove her queen pillow in the office. Wash blankets she frequented for nesting. You know the type of things we are talking about. Many of these we eye during the day and remember her. A catch of breath tells us we are healing.


I’ll never forget the peace on her face before she drifted off. Furry. Eyes partly closed. Snuggled into our arms. A prayer with the Vet masterly performed by Pam our neighbor and great friend. I’ll remember the peace of that moment. At other times I’ll recall the alert stare, the wagging tail with pompom end, and her questioning look for a treat or a hug.


In recent years Willow was losing eyesight in both eyes and hearing. She had difficulty judging distance and avoided heights, beds or sofas. She wanted to nestle close to us but feared the descent later. We usually helped her down to ease her trepidation.


On walks she barked ahead of us, warning others she was our protector. With failing eyesight there was normally no one there to warn! But she lived her role to the end. Small, wiry, alert and responsible. She was our pack leader.


As much as we were part of her life, she was very much a part of ours. We were not complete without her. When we left social gatherings with the assertion that we ‘had a dog at home in need of a walk,’ that was true.


Now it is we who need the walk. And the protection. And gentle lift.


Such are the phases of our creation. And endless joy.


October 17, 2019

Value of Simpler Lifestyle

Downsizing is a common thread for many families. Besides emergency downsizing due to storms, fire or earthquake disasters, economic necessity often causes families to downsize their living arrangements. Life phases, too, will determine decisions leading to downsizing. Aging requires less space, less housework, and the desire for more freedom from things.


The Tiny House Movement is a symbol of downsizing. Monthly living expense is reduced. Independence is increased. Appreciation of lesser complexity is a benefit of the Tiny House. The challenge of living tiny forces the individual in each of us to focus more on what is important in life.

Community is one. Family relations is another. Independence on one hand and interdependence on community is a surprise realization.

Fresh out of college, I was anxious to have a place to live that was simple and easy to take care of. And small enough to furnish cheaply. Of more importance were the amenities: ease of commute, parking, ready connection with neighbors, and close to church and town shopping. Social interaction in my new town and surroundings was the aim then. I needed it to feel rooted. I needed to feel 'place' as home.

Later life phases required neighborhood for family life, nearness of schools, shopping, church and friends. Commuting needs, too, were high on the requirement list. And doctors, hospitals and other public institutions. Libraries were a constant 'need' for us.

As the family grew we added on to the house, and had larger dreams. But then a divorce and division into two households. Later still, when the kids were out of college, space was not the need. Less of it, and ease of maintenance was. And fewer things to take the mind off of important things.

Community life became a more important element in life. Involvement in relationships, organizations, purpose and values expanded to fill interests and cravings for belonging.

Think about that. Take a moment to realize how life changes throughout its many phases. Focus on what is the central need in each of those phases. Space is merely a functional concern. Things as well. It is the relationships and connections that become much more important.

And community. Belonging to something larger than self and family. Community grows in importance in each of our lives. Community becomes the well from which we draw sustenance, and into which we pour our gifts to enrich the community.

That community is ours to have and to hold. And to maintain and nurture. So it will nurture us in return. All of that revolves around the simpler things. And we rejoice in it.

October 16, 2019

Middle East Peace

I’ve said this many times before – Get off the oil standard; eliminate the power of the Middle East.


The logic is clear on many levels:

·        As long as the world energy demand relies on oil, the Middle East remains a bargaining chip for no other reason than its source of oil

·        A tinderbox already of multi-culturalism, and warring religious sects, oil is a perfect combustible of power struggles

·        International thugs like Russia and Turkey love exercising their macho military to wrest influence on the world’s stage

·       Reducing the sheer volume of fossil fuel use will save Earth’s ecology for future generations

What most galling is the ready availability and ingenuity of creating huge sources of renewable energy. That energy is clean, healthy, portable and economical. Couple that with engineering advances that reduce the need for energy in the first place, and we arrive at a self-sustaining model for future community living.

On or off the grid, new power sources are less hackable because entire communities can exist off the grid. Even individual homes can survive well off the grid.


This is a game changer for the Middle East. They are politically important only as long as their oil deposits are in high demand. Already Russia feels the squeeze of low demand for her oil. Natural gas demand remains high, but so does its supply, lowering the market value evermore. Russia is pursuing power and influence based on a dying fuel demand. Even if they win territorial influence, the reward will be high military costs without any economic gain. Their economy will continue to be strapped.


Turkey has become a regional power because of her geographical location. Period. History demonstrated that for thousands of years. It is still true. But not for military or economic power. If Turkey continues to seek influence and power by teaming up with Russia and China, they will have a dark and unhappy future. Using American military equipment for generations while building an attitude of spoiled child will not serve them well with Russia and China. That’s a lesson still to be learned.


Oil is the key ingredient for all of this. Russia needs access and power over oil supplies to make their own supplies more valuable. China needs access to more oil to power their economy. Turkey stands in the middle between both Russia and China and the Middle East oil pool.


Getting off oil energy will reduce tensions, greed and power lust.


Syria, Turkey, Russia. Not a good mix. Not a humanitarian combination. Without oil, what would they be fighting for?

And who enabled Turkey to be the turncoat? And the Kurds to run to the embrace of Syria's tyrant?

Only one guess allowed!


October 15, 2019

Chaos

Spittle leaps from his lips. Nasty words vomit from his mouth. Swagger approaching the podium. Facial sneers and snarling mouth. Agitated body language.


This is the presence of a despot, propagandist, pot stirrer.


And yes, this is the supposed president of the United States.


He may occupy the White House, but he isn’t a person of trust, knowledge, judgment or temperament of a leader. He is a thug and bully. He is the embodiment of a crime boss.


I don’t care what he thinks of baseball, the MLB, or the NFL. I couldn’t care less about his opinion on women’s wear, or the outcome of a prize fight. But we do know, don’t we? He shares his opinion on unimportant matters via tweet.


Of course we hear his tweeted messages on matters of global importance, too. To him it is one and the same.


And his nasty, personal opinions of those he does not agree with him. He denigrates those folks. Nasty personality. Nasty mindset. Potty mouth. Disagreeable.


We were told by behavioral experts these were the signs of a narcissist. We didn’t listen. But those experts were right on target. Now we know.


We also know that chaos in financial markets, international trade markets, energy markets, military expeditions and deaths of innocents abroad are a mark of a narcissist. His personality is a behavioral disorder. His actions are a disaster.


He is a clear and present danger to himself, his fellow citizens and to the nation at large.


We have a Constitutional process available to address this problem. It is quick, surgical and effective. It is not impeachment. That approach is cumbersome and politically charged. The 25^th Amendment to the Constitution is available.


Why is it not in use?


October 14, 2019

Fading Benefits

Today’s posting is a reflection on disappearing employee benefits.  


This week’s announcement that General Electric is freezing pensions for current workers is yet another ominous sign that retirement programs are disappearing from the employer’s career offering. This has become a trend in the last ten years. The trend actually began earlier as large employers filed for bankruptcy protection and walked away from their pension liabilities.


A federal pension guarantee program exists to cover those failed plans, but only a portion of the value is guaranteed. Most likely pensioners will find the program well below expected benefits under the original plan.


401k plans were originally created to motivate individuals to fund their own retirement dreams. This was supposed to be a marginal effort to improve standards of living during retirement funded by the employee’s own self-interest. However, another objective was in the design: attract people into the investment market and share a stake in America’s economy.


Many people did just that. investments soared, the kind that were left alone for long periods of time. this added bulk and stability to the investment market. A good thing but of questionable value given the wild swings of market values in recent years.


Another objective was not shared with the public. Employers were increasingly concerned with the large and growing pension liability carried on their books. They considered ways and means of reducing that liability, or at least controlling it toward lower levels. The 401k program was a handy means of doing that. The result: pension plans were slowly modified to cap payouts and cost of living adjustments.


A few years later and pension plans were being replaced with skeleton plans compared with the older programs. Corporate bankruptcies sealed the fate of many pensions by being completely erased from existence. The federal pension guarantee program picked up a modest portion of the slack. However, the American taxpayer paid for this one way or another.


Careers today are less and less focused on one employer. Loyalty to one long-time employer is disappearing as careerist follow opportunity wherever it takes them. Cycles of careers have shortened with technology shifts and global economic forces. Portability of benefits became a term in the early 2000’s. Today it is a feature of benefit plans.


To be clear, pensions will continue to exist and motivate employers to attract the best employees. However, it is in their interest to limit their forward liability and they will do so. That leaves employees on their own to manage their own benefit and security plans.


Social security, 401k plans, personal investments and savings will become the primary foundation for retirement security. Corporate and union pension plans will be important components for guaranteeing retiree standards of living.


I think it is in the interests of both employee and employer to be clear on their integrated interests. Promising a future benefit is a contractual duty to perform. If the intent is to be believed and valued, the employer will need to put up and show up. If they don’t wish to do this, then their attractiveness in the labor market will be zero and they will fail.


Pensions are a hidden value of employment. Most people don’t think about pensions until much later in their career. That’s a problem. There truly is no guarantee that employer pensions will continue to exist. Like group health benefits, many employers are shirking their once prized benefit programs and sticking it to their employees.


Along with favorable tax treatments of recent years, it appears employers are getting their wealth protected at the expense of the employee. That’s you and I, folks. All of us.


Just when will the lights go out in the Human Resources Benefits Office? And at what cost?


October 11, 2019

Nexus

Latin word for connection, or hub, a place where things and minds come together and function.

Readers will remember we have a group called Nexus. We came together in April of this year and meet monthly. We discuss issues of importance. Issues that matter to all of us, even though we disagree. That’s the purpose of Nexus: find purpose and value in the issues so we can carry forward. Not to change minds, but to help each understand the issues better so we can go forth confident in our knowing.


This month we discussed Medicare For All. The 9 brave souls gathered were not in 100% agreement. But we agreed on terms and their definitions. Not sure any decisions or conclusions were formed, but we had fun and enjoyed each other as we muddled forward.


Clearly, Medicare For All is an issues that zeroes in on a common denominator of functionality. Who will do this, with what resources, and to what end? Huge issue, huge operation, huge cost. Only one party big enough to handle this with fairness and justice. That would be the federal government.


That’s where the discussion stutters to a close for a time.


The crux of many social issues is the wherewithal needed to solve or manage the issues. An all-knowing partner is needed. An argument is made that private industry is not the right partner because it would become a monopoly, unfair, and profit oriented, running up the costs that would exclude the very people it promises otherwise to help.


That line of thinking quickly arrives on the doorstep of government. But then the issue becomes: What is the role of government? Ought it be large, small, or somewhere in between? And if not large, how do we achieve the desired outcomes we know are necessary for the commonweal?


There you have our next Nexus discussion. It will be held Tuesday, November 5^th. Al’s Pizza’s front room, at 6:30 pm. Buy a pizza, have a beer from Towne Tap next door, and enjoy the conversation. That's in Warrneville, 30 miles due west of Chicago. We don’t promise results, but we do examine many ideas. Together we get to know each other and enjoy each other.


This process is so much better than yelling at the TV during the news hour! Join us?


October 10, 2019

And Then There Was None

Dreams of cohesive society. Pulling together in the same direction. Leaders and followers in synchronization. Logical and synergized. The possibilities clear and very doable.


One by one the leaders fade away. Some were lauded by others, not me; but still they led the way to build a better day for us all. The method was not mine, but the outcomes were still acceptable. Leaders leading. Forging ahead with others researching and engineering the more technical aspects of the way forward.


Then those leaders retire, die or step aside. New ones emerge and carry on. We follow together yet forward. More years added to the momentum. The future is sparkling and bright. It holds much promise of good things for the many.


In recent decades, however, leaders faltered. They picked sides and became more partisan. Their followers became associated with particular ideas. Ideologies. They scrambled for more support from others, parsing arguments narrowly here, and again there. New voices supported the older ones and soon issues have issues and outcomes become blurred. Outcomes not yet happening, but in the offing. Blurred to the point of shifting shapes and meaning. And values. Remember the values.


Soon the objectives are mush. Players begin to lose focus on what they were aiming for, who they are, and why they do what they do. They curry support, votes, numbers. The why loses space for reasoning. Only who is winning, and who is losing.


Confusion strips one leader from the pact, then another. One by one they disappear. Others step up to take their places but soon they too, are gone. Swept away by innuendo, suspicion, yes, even bigotry.

The chorus is now supporters only without leaders. A cacophony of talk, conjecture and blather. Talking heads on media platforms take up the chorus. The noise grows. Still without meaning.


Without meaning, but not without consequence. Oh, consequences always appear; we just don’t know them well to understand their genesis. Or their worth, or damage. Soon enough it will be known, but only when the noise abates just enough for us to think clearly and regain our balance.


Impeachment will provide a time to think. But only then on one person with all his supporters. They will renew the noise. Smart people will focus on the future and our values. New leaders will find a way forward away from the pack of noisemakers. Then – and only then – will our path become clear.


I’m betting the majority of Americans want this nightmare over so we can get back to work. And our values.


October 9, 2019