Blameline Blog

Howard Palm 1922 - 2011

2011-05-04T10:28:00.002-06:00

Reverend Howard William Palm, of Pleasant Hill, Tennessee, has passed away on April 23rd, 2011 at age 88. He lived in Pleasant Hill since 1987, where he resided with his wife, Trudie Palm, who passed away in 2008.

Rev. Palm was born to Carl Gottfrid Jonson Palm and Ima Beda (Swanstrom) Palm on October 19th, 1922 in Essex, Iowa. Growing up on a farm during the Great Depression, Howard took great interest in his schooling and the Lutheran Church he grew up with. He participated in student government and dramatics, graduating from Essex High School in 1939. Following High School, Howard attended Luther Junior College in Wahoo, Nebraska. He participated in a number of activities, including the Men’s' Chorus. His singing voice won numerous accolades and competitions.

In 1943, Howard transferred to Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. This being wartime, Howard worked part-time at the Rock Island Army Arsenal. He also supported himself as a singer, perfecting a talent that he would carry with him for the rest of his life.

Upon his graduation in 1945, Howard attended the Augustana Seminary, and later interned at the First Lutheran Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Summer appointments in Washington State and South Dakota and a Youth Camp Directorship filled the seminary years. He graduated from Seminary in May of 1949 and was ordained on June 12, 1949 at Mt. Olivet Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota and accepted a call to Salem Lutheran Church, Sandwich, Illinois.

While serving at Salem, Howard met Anna Gertrude “Trudie” Wahl, whom he married on July 20th, 1951 at Bethany Lutheran Church in Batavia, Illinois.

In 1958, Howard and Trudie accepted a call to the Augustana Lutheran Church in Hobart, Indiana. They stayed at this parish until early 1961. From there, a call was extended to Howard from Salem Lutheran Church in Peoria, Illinois, a parish he served throughout the 1960s.

In 1970, Howard accepted a position as Vice President of Lutheran Social Services of Illinois. His responsibility involved community development on Chicago’s North Side and church relations throughout the Synod. During his tenure there, the family lived in Naperville, Illinois.

Howard received a call in 1974 to St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Park Ridge, Illinois. He accepted this position, which he continued until throughout the mid 1970s to the 1980s.

In the late 1970s, Howard’s vision deteriorated from an old injury sustained from college sports. In 1979, it became critical, and various surgeries and treatments began over the following four years. In 1984, he chose an early retirement so he could attend the Illinois Visually Handicapped Institute in Chicago. Over the years, he did retain limited vision in his left eye.

Howard and Trudie Palm relocated to Pleasant Hill, Tennessee in 1987. It was in this area of the Cumberland Plateau that Howard felt best to spend retirement. He did continue work on a limited basis; as interim pastor at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oak Ridge, and Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Knoxville.

Howard was active in the Rotary Club chapters in both Illinois and Tennessee. He served the Clubs as recording secretary for a number of years, spending a great deal of time and energy in the Club’s many duties and lived the Rotary motto; Service above Self.

In 2008, Trudie Palm passed away. Howard stayed in Pleasant Hill, and in 2010, he moved out of the home he and Trudie kept for the previous 23 years. As his health failed, he returned to the Uplands Community Homes, where he was well cared for until his end of life.

Howard is preceded in death by his wife, Trudie, and a son, David Palm. Several half-siblings; Carl, Viola, Martin, Blanche, and Tora are all deceased.

Howard is survived by two sons, Dr. Daniel Palm of Rancho Cucamonga, California, and Philip Palm of Colorado Springs, Colorado. He has five grandchildren, Ivan Palm, Christopher Palm, Natalie Palm, Natasha Palm, and Emma Palm.

Visitation will be at the Hood Funeral Home on Thursday, April 28th, 2011 at 5:00 PM. Hood Funeral Home is located at 2371 Highway 127 South, Crossville, Tennessee 38555. A funeral service will be at the Christ Lutheran Church on Friday, April 29th, 2011 at 1:00 PM. Christ Lutheran Church is located at 481 Snead Drive, Fairfield Glade, TN 38558.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the following organizations that benefited Howard during his life:

Lutheran Social Services of Illinois

Administrative Offices
1001 E. Touhy Avenue, Suite 50
Des Plaines, IL 60018

www.lssi.org

Rotary International

One Rotary Center
1560 Sherman Ave.
Evanston, IL 60201

www.rotary.org

Dismantling the Constitution

2010-12-02T07:09:00.017-07:00

There's a fuss going on now about airline security. It appears that the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) has started using some invasive search techniques in order to ensure that no terrorist bearing a weapon may board an aircraft. As aircraft are especially vulnerable to small weapons, this has become necessary. The outcry has come from passengers who are faced with a choice if they are singled out for an enhanced search. The choice is to run through a scanner that creates a virtual naked image of the passenger, or to have their body searched by a TSA screener.

In their defense, the TSA has apparently prevented any airline hijackings or bombings to date. The bad news is that they have effectively trampled on the Constitution of the United States.

This isn't the first time that this has happened. There are documented incidents throughout American history of Constitutional violations. For me, the first time I encountered this was in the early 1980s, while I served in the US Army.

One night, my Military Police unit was alerted for a special mission. We were going to a neighboring Army installation, where we were going to put a stop to drug traffic on the post. We arrived at 2000 hours (8 PM), and we took over the gate and MP station there. We stopped everyone entering the gate, ran drug dogs around their cars, and searched the driver and passengers. No one was exempt.

I have stated before that I can't say too much against the Army's drug policies. I remember the military before drug testing and these searches, and it was very much like living in a prison. Gangs seemed to rule the units, and drug crime, including assaults and murder, were rampant. I was suspected at one point of being an undercover narc in one unit. That was a pretty frightening.

But our actions that night in 1981 didn't stop anything. We did the same actions again and again, and drugs continued to infiltrate the installation. A few years later, the drug testing started. We were required to provide a urine specimen to be searched for use of illegal drugs. It wasn't until then that drug use and crime started slowing down.

Yet, this testing and searches began to irritate me. I was concerned about the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution. That amendment clearly states that no person should be subject to unreasonable search or seizure, and any seizure of property would not happen without due process of law.

In our Military Police training, we were taught that we had to have reasonable suspicion to search a person, and probable cause to apprehend. So, if one were to hear a gunshot, go to the source, and see a dead body with a gunshot wound, and nearby see a person holding a smoking gun, a reasonable person could assume that the person holding the gun would be the one who fired it. There's no guarantee that the assumptions would be correct, but the key words were "reasonable person." So, there would be other things that weren't true to assume. If one heard the sound of glass breaking, and see a teenager standing nearby the window, that in itself would not be probable cause to believe the teenager broke the window, unless there were other elements to add to the situation.

So, in my opinion, we were searching people for the following reasons; they were military people, and they were returning to the installation between the hours of 8 PM and 3 AM.

Although the searches did yield positive results, the negative impact was high if you ask me. The people who were inconvenienced by the searches did not complain when they were cut loose, but the fact that we seemed to violate the Fourth Amendment did bother me.

The gate searches continued on payday weekends, when the probability of drug traffic and drunk drivers was high. I remember reading one legal opinion of the searches, and found that there was little to no consideration of the Fourth Amendment. The concern was to civilians. The opinion was that civilians would have the option to not enter the installation, but military people would be subject to lawful orders by senior officials, so the searches continued.

Within a few years, the mandatory drug testing started. In the military, it was pretty invasive. One would be provided with a cup, and escorted to latrine specific to their gender by a Non-Commissioned Officer. From there, the NCO would observe the soldier urinate into the cup, and would secure the specimen. From there, a number of security steps would be taken to ensure that the specimen was not tampered with and secured.

I was always selected to be a NCO Observer. I grew very tired of this task, and requested to go to the Drug & Alcohol Counselor's course, so I could be the Unit Drug NCO. This took me off of the list to be an Observer, but it did take me to an interesting and rewarding course.

During our class, a military attorney was brought in to answer our questions about drug testing. My only question was about the argument with the Fourth Amendment. We were seizing bodily fluids from soldiers, with the sole intention of convicting them. It appeared to me to be a direct violation of the Constitution.

The attorney explained to me that professionals in all walks of life have to subject themselves to drug testing. Police officers, airline pilots, even subway train engineers have to submit to drug testing, so soldiers shouldn't be any different. I argued that point. If a police officer, pilot, or engineer were to be involved in an incident that could be construed as negligence and drug use, probable cause would be evident to test for drugs. But, if there were no incident; if the drug testing were a condition of employment, as it is in the military, that would be different. The police officer, pilot, or engineer could opt out of the testing, and simply be out of a job. In the military, a soldier who opts out of the drug testing would be committing a crime of violating a lawful order. This could lead to disciplinary action and a record of a Federal Military Offense.

The attorney did not have any answer for this, other than that military people sacrifice their rights to one degree or another when in the military. For example, a soldier does not necessarily have freedom of speech, when an article in the UCMJ makes disloyal statements a crime.

So, the argument I heard was that because the government was able to silence certain rights, the rest were open game as well.

Now, people are subjecting themselves to TSA screenings that are pretty invasive, and if you ask me, completely illegal. This doesn't surprise me that we've gone to this extent. We have given up another piece of another right, and there will soon be more to follow.

The Release of Sarah Shourd

2010-09-24T07:46:00.014-06:00

I was very happy last week to learn some good news. Sarah Shourd has been released from prison.

Some know her story; in July of 2009, Sarah, along with two companions, Josh Fattel and Shane Bauer, were hiking in Iraqi Kurdistan near the Iranian border. They may have wandered into Iran due to an unmarked and undefined border, and there were subsequent reports that the Iranians may have crossed into Iraq to capture the three. In any event, they were detained, and held in the notorious Evin Prison by the Iranians. Sarah was held in solitary confinement with an exception of 2 thirty minute exercise periods in which she, Josh, and Shane were allowed into an exercise yard together.

The three were charged with espionage against Iran. The detention continued on and on, and there were no hearings nor did the case make any progress. They were denied access to an attorney, and kept incommunicado. They were allowed one telephone call to their families; a brief connection lasting less than five minutes. In February of this year, the mothers of the three were granted visas and permission to visit their children; again, a brief respite to the hell they had been experiencing.

Finally, two weeks ago, there were rumors that Sarah would be released due to her health concerns. The rumors circulated, until it was announced that on Saturday, September 11th, she would be released.

The rumors then appeared to be false hope. The 11th came and went, and she remained in custody. Iranian judicial authorities announced that there would need to be a monetary bond for her release of $500,000. It took another three days, but the bond was posted (not US Government money), and Sarah was put on a plane for Oman, and subsequently her home in the US.

Sarah's release was bitter-sweet, with her companions still being held in Evin Prison. Sarah herself, in her first interview, stated that she felt only one-third free, as her companions (she became engaged to Shane Bauer while in prison) are still confined.

After her release, I was really disappointed with the reaction here in the US. We had one of our three back, but the comments left after many of the articles included references to "let them rot," and "how stupid can you be to hike in that area." Many people are really upset that we're giving these three the time of day, despite their being unjustly held in a prison for over a year without trial.

So, I'm looking at some of the complaints that many have about them.

1) They are liberal left-wing zealots who advocate social justice and are against the US. True, they are from the heart of left-wing politics; they are all graduates of the University of California at Berkeley. They are advocates of social justice. I don't think it's a stretch to assume that they are left leaning. They are still Americans. They travel to other countries, they have learned the languages, they respect other cultures. What would the left-leaning person do when she saw all of America behind her release?

2) They were stupid for hiking in Iraqi Kurdistan. I've been to Northern Iraq and Kurdistan. I was there during the 1991 Gulf War, and am familiar with the area. Sure, I was there with a military unit, but after the 2003 War, the area has been the most stable in Iraq. As a comparison, Iraqi Kurdistan has been on par with Thailand during the Vietnam War. There was a little trouble, but nothing that should deter people from travelling to the area.

3) They shouldn't have strayed over the border. The border between Iraqi Kurdistan and Iran is unmarked in that area. They were hiking in a popular tourist destination and had been directed there by the locals. There have also been subsequent reports that the Iranians may have crossed the border into Iraq when the three were caught.

4) They were spies. The three speak the Arabic and/or Farsi, and have been educated at a prestigious university. If they are spies, they are probably the dumbest or the smartest spies in the world, but regardless, they would be American spies.

5) Sarah was released due to health concerns, but she's perfectly healthy now. She was held in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day for over a year. She did not have access to medical attention. Anyone in similar circumstances would have health concerns.

So, I don't buy the arguments that we shouldn't support Sarah, Shane, and Josh. They have been and are currently in an ordeal that we cannot imagine. What does it take to keep them in our prayers?

Bash Bashings!

2010-08-29T20:45:00.007-06:00

I had to separate myself from a Facebook friend recently. I was not happy about it, but I think it had to be done. My one time friend wasn't really a friend; she was an acquaintance I used to work with. We talked a little and I learned some things from her; I can only hope she learned some things from me.

What happened is that she is a liberal agnostic. I have no problem with what her political and religious views are, but some of her statements and assumptions were pretty unjustified. That was why I clicked on the "Remove this Friend" link.

Here's specifically what happened. She posted a link to an article she found about the Restore Honor campaign in Washington DC on August 28th, 2010. The event was hosted by the conservative talk show host Glenn Beck, and featured Sarah Palin as a speaker. She derived through some means that Beck was one who fostered racism and intolerance.

It was obvious to me that she had never listened to Glenn Beck, and only arrived at this conclusion after listening to others who were willing to smear him. I won't go in to the details now, but after listening to Beck for over a year, I don't find any evidence of racism or intolerance.

I was pretty unhappy with removing this friend. This year is an election year, and for an off-year election, in which the Presidency is not up for bids, we are expecting quite a fight on all ends. I did not want to hear my 'ex-Facebook' friend go all out for the next seventy some odd days, bashing politicians who aren't on her side.

On the same manner, I ran in to another friend. This, again wasn't a close friend; he was more of an acquaintance, and I used to work with his wife. He invited me over for a few beers yesterday, and we sat and talked. After the beer was flowing a little too easily, he began in on a racist rant from the right-wing-nut side of things that had me finishing my beer and leaving quickly.

I don't know what it is with the bashing going on. There's mud-slinging, name calling, and extremely poor behavior. I was upset with one friend for jumping to conclusions that aren't supported, and another friend for over-generalizations. I am sick and tired of bashings!

In a way, we are acting like children. We don't know why we don't like something - we only know that we don't like it. I remember one of my kids crying at the dinner table, not willing to eat his vegetables. I asked him if he liked them or not and he didn't, which isn't a surprise (not too many kids like them). Then I asked him what he didn't like about them. He said he didn't like them

because he had never had them before.

Need I say more?

Wow- what a coincidence

2010-07-18T06:11:00.005-06:00

The strangest thing happened last night. To set the stage, I should go back a few weeks though - because a couple of things played in to this.

I close friend of mine just turned 40. Her birthday was yesterday, and her husband planned a large party for her. But, an emergency sprang up, and he had to postpone the big get together.

Well, that cleared the way for me to go to the Blues under the Bridge concert downtown in Colorado Springs. I have been to that concert two of the past three years, and it was really great, but was willing to miss it for the party. There were a couple of problems though. Tickets were $24 per person and beer was $5 a cup, and we still aren't out of this recession. Next, I was working yesterday- both on my lawn and on computers. By the time I was through with everything I had to do, it was 5 PM, and the concert started at 3.

I decided to go to the bookstore, where I could read part of a book and drink a good cup of coffee while I decided what to do with the rest of my evening.

Anyway, I settled down with a new Stephen King book. This new book wasn't one of his horror stories that cause the reader to be short of breath; On Writing is a memoir and his own guide for writing. As one so successful, it's surely good advice.

So I was a few chapters in to the book when I realized that I do want to see the new movie Inception, which is directed by one of my favorites, Christopher Nolan. It's on an Imax screen, so I was really anxious to see it in that environment.

My problem was that I didn't know what time the movie started. I did have my Blackberry, so I hit the web surfer to find the start time.

What happened next is the strange part. I was able to see what was playing at all the other theatres, but every time I tried to find the time of the Imax Inception, I kept getting a server error. It delayed me quite a bit, and I was tempted to interrupt the guy at the next table, who was conveniently surfing the internet on a laptop, to see if he could get the start time for me.

But, a thought entered my mind. "There's a reason for everything."

Those server errors prevented me from leaving the bookstore right away; not quite the story that the people from RIM (who make the Blackberry) want anyone to know.

I did finally get the start time, and saw that I had 20 minutes to make it to the theatre. So, I left the King book (for later), and headed out. When I got there, seating was limited to the front row, so I decided to see the next show at 8 PM.

When I walked in to the lobby, I saw a welcome sight. My friends - the ones originally planning the party, were there taking their son to see The Sorcerer's Apprentice. They were waiting for two more friends and their kids to come, so we sat and talked for a while. I then switched out my ticket to see the Disney flick with my friends, and we spent the rest of the evening together.

I still find it so coincidental. If my Blackberry hadn't had the server errors, I may have made it to the theatre ten minutes earlier. I would have missed my friends, and probably enjoyed the movie, but I was much happier running in to them as it was.

It's hard not to argue with stuff like that, but there's a reason for everything.

Back on the Bicycle Again

2010-06-22T07:11:00.004-06:00

So, the other day, I received a call from my pastor. He asked me to participate in a bicycle rally next month to benefit the local homeless shelter. It was kind of a no-brainer to answer whether or not to participate, except for the fact that I'm pretty much out of shape. When I got the Harley, I sort of let the Raleigh gather dust.

So, it came out and I oiled the chain, aired up the tires, greased the crank, and started it up. I've been at it for over a week now, and my average speed today was 15.1 mph over a little over 11 miles.

Right, it's a long way to go until I'm up to Lance Armstrong standards; average 25 mph over 1800 miles... but I'm working on it.

My Speech to the Graduates

2010-05-24T18:19:00.009-06:00

I have received an invitation to attend the graduation of a friends' daughter. This is one annual event that I always look forward to. Since I probably won't ever actually give a speech to graduates (except maybe for a reform school), I have decided to write one of my own for some school graduation somewhere...

Good afternoon/evening students, staff, friends, and family of the class of 20xx, of the mighty [insert school nickname here] of the [school name]. Congratulations to you for reaching the end of this journey, and the start of your next. I would like to also directly recognize two people; [name of principal or dean] and [class president], you have done a fine job of leading these people to this place, and I commend you for this fine work.

All of you should commend yourselves. As you are well aware, finding your way to this place hasn't been easy, and you know that there were times that it seemed easier to quit than to continue. In this day and age, we're actually seeing a trend in which there is a perceived respect for those who gain rewards without any real strife for success.

I used to laugh at the bumper sticker that reads, "My kid beat up your honor student." I found the humor in such a saying, but soon found that the true message of the sticker was more like "being a brute is good. Studying and working hard to achieve a goal are grounds for a beat-down."

We have come to the point to where we are rewarding failure. Entitlement is a word that finds its way in to more than conversations about human rights. We have found lawsuits that cross the line to the ridiculous: in 1991, a Michigan man sued Budweiser, because he drank a case of beer and failed to see beautiful Bud Girls materialize in front of him, as a Budweiser advertisement suggested. A New York woman was awarded 9 million dollars after she sued the New York Transit Authority after a train hit her. She had been lying on the tracks in a suicide attempt. In 1999, the family of a man killed by a killer whale at Sea World sued, after the man illegally entered the park after hours and climbed in to the tank with the killer whale.

Really, does anyone not know that climbing in to a pool that contains a killer whale may just get you killed?

There are cases - that is, more than one case, in which people sue fast food places because the food made them overweight.

This kind of garbage celebrates stupidity! These people are basically saying that they are too stupid to get through life on their own, and it is not their fault if their stupidity gets them in to trouble.

What makes this all worse is that the courts reward these people by legitimizing in hearing the case, and 9 million dollars at other times.

It is high time to reward those who have worked hard to come to the stage where you are now.

I am reminded of my own graduation from high school over thirty years ago. I took to the US Army after graduation, and shipped out around the same time as my college bound classmates. I remember my first year; I had heard about a school in the Army that taught helicopter combat operations. I decided then that I wanted to go to this school, which taught the capabilities of helicopters, how to handle external loads, and how to rappel from the helicopters while they hovered hundreds of feet above the ground.

The school, known as the US Army Air Assault School, was a demanding course that was akin to the Army's Special Operations courses. I was most anxious to go to this school, so I applied. My application was denied. I applied again the next year, and again was denied acceptance. I soon found that my annual application to the school was met with an annual denial. The reasons were mainly due to military necessity, but I was extremely discouraged.

The school was well known throughout the military, and most of the people who failed did so because of the physical exertion that it required. I first applied when I was 18 years old, and in pretty good shape. After years of applying for the school and being met with a denial, I found my 18 year old self growing older and not as strong as I once was.

Yet one morning, after forgetting about the disappointments, I found that I was accepted to the US Army Air Assault School. I was 31 years old.

I attended the school, and ran in to the obstacles that one would expect, and a few that I didn't expect. I pushed myself further than I had ever before. It was difficult, challenging, and stressful. I wondered, several times throughout the course if I would ever get the reward I sought, to receive the Army Air Assault Wings upon graduation.

One of the more pressing items along the way to graduation, was when we were to rappel from the helicopter. One type of rappelling that I was looking forward to was Australian Style rappelling. This is very close to the popular extreme sport known as bungee jumping. When one normally rappels from a helicopter, he does so by backing out of the helicopter, so he will always face the sky. With Australian rappelling, he would face the ground, and dive from the helicopter like a flying madman.

When one dives from a helicopter face first, there are a few precautions to take, mainly so that one does not dive out with nothing to stop him but the ground. One would take a short rope and tie it tightly around his stomach, and attach that short rope to a long rope that extended from the helicopter to the ground. Then, the connection between the two ropes would provide slight friction to slow a person's fall to the ground enough to prevent any broken bones. Furthermore, to slow a person's descent, the jumper would grasp the rope when he reached the half-way point to the ground. The jumper would breath for a moment, then continue to the ground. This was the safest way to perform an inherently dangerous task.

When we practiced the jump, we all lined up in front of the practice tower. There was one soldier who volunteered to go first. He was an anxious go-getter, and I preferred to wait my turn- which was with about 40 soldiers ahead of me. The first soldier took his position. We all watched from the ground as he manipulated his ropes, and launched himself to the ground. He slid along the rope, much too fast for my taste, and then when he hit the half way point, he grasped the rope to stop.

At that point, something happened that alarmed me and my classmates. The weight of the soldier's body came pressing against the rope around his diaphragm. This caused the air in his lungs to be forced out through his mouth suddenly. He made an involuntary noise that could only be described as the distinct sound of a person violently regurgitating. Hearing someone make the noise that one normally makes when "praying to the porcelain god" wasn't anything unusual, but hearing it coming from someone hanging from a rope, while suspended some thirty feet in the air was a little unusual.

It sounded so painful, so disheartening, and so plain awful! What had we signed up for? All at once, there were 75 students watching, and our collective jaws dropped to the ground.

We watched the student finish his Australian rappel to the ground. He loosened himself from his ropes, and stood up. We all expected him to vomit at the moment he opened his mouth, but instead, he smiled at us and said, "You guys have got to try that!"

We were all a little puzzled. This guy had just jumped from a tower face first, made an excruciating noise, and landed on the ground smiling. Well, he was the one who volunteered to jump first, so there may be something wrong with him - in a psychological way. So, we watched as the second soldier made his way to the top of the tower.

The whole thing went almost identically like the first jumper. He made that terrible noise when he braked along the way, only to work his way to the ground smiling. The rest of us were very confused. This made little to no sense. Two soldiers made a noise that was just this side of death, only to come up smiling like they had just enjoyed a thrill of a lifetime. There had to be something to this.

The next 38 some-odd soldiers went as the first two did; sliding face first down a rope, stopping halfway, making a hideous satanic noise, and gaining an ear-to-ear grin upon their landing.

Their comments were all similar as well; "That was amazing!" "Unbelievable!" "That was excellent!" and "I want to go again!" Again, this made little to no sense.

Finally, it was my turn. I secured myself to the ropes as instructed, and peered over the edge of the tower. My friends were all below me, and those who went before me smiled as if they knew a secret that I would soon discover. I worked my way in to the starting position, and the instructor gave me my go-ahead.

The feeling was unimaginable. I was flying down a rope, face first - an action that would normally cause death or serious harm, yet I was doing it with no difficulty at all, and I was certain I looked like the expert instructors who taught me the trick. The feeling was exhilarating. I felt like I was flying without the benefit of an airplane. Gravity was something that was reserved for normal people. Now, I was part of the club that could conquer death.

It wasn't a few moments later that I was on the ground. I had landed, and I knew I was smiling. What I failed to notice was that I had stopped halfway down the rope, and made the same noise as the others. Whatever discomfort I felt, it had disappeared in the world of the action and excitement I felt while flying down the ropes. I hadn't noticed a thing.

It was at that moment that I realized an important lesson in life. It seems to me that when faced with a task that seems insurmountable, the excitement we feel will overshadow the pain we can experience. It's a lesson I don't think I would have learned in another environment. Maybe it took the United States Army, 13 years of denials to my applications, and some unstable students to teach me the value of that horrible sound we all made.

So, graduates, be proud of your intelligence. You will need it as you go forth from here to your next levels. At times, you will feel apprehensive and the objects you face will be daunting. Yet, the thrill of achievement will be invariably stronger than the discomfort associated with this. I'm certain you'll remember this when you are faced with tasks like public speaking, asking that attractive girl out for dinner, playing that championship game, acing that final interview, taking that big final exam, and jumping from that helicopter face first.

You have gone this far, there's nothing you cannot do.

The Real Hikers - who are Sarah, Shane & Josh?

2010-05-19T21:13:00.000-06:00

Who's got the Keys to the Porsche?

2010-03-24T08:32:00.009-06:00

The Health Care Reform Act of 2010 has been signed by President Obama.

This new law institutes a government program to manage health care insurance, makes it illegal for insurance companies to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions, and provides low cost health insurance for the poor.

It also makes it illegal to not purchase health insurance.

I'm absolutely against this law, and am supportive of the subsequent lawsuits by several states, calling this law unconstitutional.

I'm not against health care insurance reform, but this law seems to go too far. I too am one illness away from bankruptcy (as the President has put it), and struggle to figure a way to pay for some treatments - even though I am covered by the Veterans' Administration health coverage. I believe that we could reform health insurance in stages. First, by cleaning up corruption in Medicare and Medicaid. Second, by allowing health insurance companies to compete across state lines. Lastly, by reforming the tort system, so that outrageous lawsuits are prevented in the future.

I'm not convinced that this alone will reform the health care industry, but it's a start. Instead, the government has forced a square peg in to a round hole, by taking over 6% of the US economy, and starting a huge bureaucracy when we already have a federal deficit in the trillions. There's so many things wrong with this law that I really don't know where to start.

What I think describes my opposition to this law is the movie Risky Business from 1983. This was one of the three or four films starring Tom Cruise that I really liked. In that film, the parents of a Chicago suburban teenager leave town on a vacation, leaving the son with the house, the car, the keys to his father's Porsche, the liquor cabinet, money, and the words that "we trust you." As the teenager Joel later says, "If our language had any logic, trust would be a four-letter word." Sure enough, the son dances through the house in his underwear, raids the liquor cabinet, gets involved with a prostitute, is threatened by an armed pimp, smokes marijuana, trashes his father's Porsche, and turns his house into a brothel for all his friends. So, what I'm picturing is us, the people of the United States, acting as Joel's parents. We are saying, "we trust you with our health care." Joel is smiling and saying, "Don't worry - I won't drive your Porsche."

About 10 years ago, the Army decided to take DNA samples of all of the soldiers. It took a lawsuit for the Army to regulate that this DNA would only be used for identification of remains. They would not use it to look for medical conditions that would potentially be genetic, and thus hurt a soldiers' chances for future employment. I should point out- it took a lawsuit to make that regulation possible. The Army had the keys for the Porsche and could have climbed in for a drive before they were taken away.

Sure, the government may be perfectly on the level when it comes to this coverage, but what about the year 2020? What happens when we elect Lush Rimbaugh as President? What happens when the next re-write of the Patriot act decides to access health care data from the government data banks? What will we do when some leadership down the line decides that it's better for us to outlaw tobacco, alcohol, red meat, and trans-fats?

We are giving the keys for the Porsche to the kid with the liquor cabinet. Don't worry Joel, we trust you.

The Best Love Songs

2010-02-13T03:32:00.016-07:00

It's Valentine's Day tomorrow. In light of the holiday in honor of love, here are my favorite love songs...

How Much I Feel by Ambrosia

If I'd been the One by .38 Special

I'm Not in Love by 10cc

You Won't Be There by The Alan Parsons Project

Something by The Beatles

Just the Way You Are by Billy Joel

At This Moment by Billy Vera and the Beaters

Everything I Own by Bread

Breathless by The Corrs

Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad by Def Leppard

White Flag by Dido

Your Song by Elton John

Waiting for a Girl Like You by Foreigner

Against All Odds by Phil Collins

Careless Whispers by George Michael

Words Get in the Way by Gloria Estefan

Love Needs a Heart by Jackson Browne

Fire and Rain by James Taylor

Whenever I Call You Friend by Kenny Loggins

Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis

A Thousand Kisses Deep by Leonard Cohen

You Weren't In Love by Mick Fleetwood

The Way it Always Starts by Mark Knopffler

Signs of Love by Moby

What's Left of Me by Nick Lachey

Amore by Ofra Haza

In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel

Show me Love by Robyn

Angie by The Rolling Stones

You Got It by Roy Orbison

Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers

The Sweetest Taboo by Sade

Get Closer by Seals and Crofts

Breathe Your Name by Sixpence None the Richer

Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover by Sophie B Hawkins

and my absolute favorite...

Persistence of Memory by The Afro Celt Sound System

Modern Warfare 3

2010-02-01T20:23:00.000-07:00

Ultra-Realistic Modern Warfare Game Features Awaiting Orders, Repairing Trucks

More of the Nanny State

2010-01-31T12:19:00.008-07:00

I've been hearing more and more about how the government wants to take more control over our lives, thus turning us in to a "nanny state." To a lot of people, the idea of passing laws that are for our own good is a good idea, but I find it to be a seriously dangerous idea. Sure, someone sending a text message while driving creates a hazard for us all, and I don't have a problem with that being outlawed, but when we go from that to potentially outlawing everything else that presents a hazard to ourselves-let alone other people, that goes too far.

I remember my days in the Army. I got out of the Army for a reason, and one of them was the attitude of the nanny state. I came to the conclusion that if one wants to see what happens in a nanny state, take a good look at the Armed Forces.

In all fairness, things aren't exactly equal between the Army and the rest of the US. In the Army, if a soldier does something stupid and kills himself in the process, his leadership has to take responsibility and relay the details to the surviving next of kin. This can be a painful process, that is not paralleled in the civilian world. I can understand leaders taking extreme and punitive measures, to ensure that they do not end up having to write those letters to a grieving parent.

Yet, while I was in, rules were passed that seemed to boggle the imagination . I remember one rule that I felt was ridiculous. It stated that no one would be permitted to wear stereo headphones, while moving on foot between one place and another. In other words, you couldn't walk while wearing a Walkman*. The reasoning behind this was that there was the potential for someone to be blindly listening to their music, and not hear potential hazards - such as a car horn before the car runs the person over.

I've been thinking this, so I've got to add this... if someone doesn't have the common sense to lower the volume of his stereo headphones enough to hear a car horn, or to at least keep his eyes open, do I really want him carrying an M-60 machine gun in to combat? Maybe being run over by a car would be a good thing.

Another thing that used to bother me about the military was something called a Health and Welfare Inspection. At first glance, this sounded like a good thing. I pictured an inspection to rid the barracks of bare electrical wires or peeling lead paint, but this was never the main intention of this type of inspection. The Health and Welfare Inspection was another name for a search of a living area without a warrant.

Sure, the government did own the living quarters, and did have the right to search the area, but if I had rented the quarters from a civilian landlord, authorities would need probable cause to search my apartment.

The Army used this premise in a number of different areas. There would be gate searches, in which everyone entering a military facility and their vehicles would be searched. Another area that I felt strongly about was mandatory drug testing.

I won't go too far with the drug testing. I remember what the Army was like before and after the drug testing. It did bother me, but the discipline and morale was higher after the drug violators were washed out of the service. I grudgingly complied, and even became a drug and alcohol counselor and screener myself, but I still felt that drug screening was a violation of my 4th Amendment rights.

If one looks far enough, there are rules upon rules that just pull the rug out from under a soldier trying to defend his country and live his life at the same time. There were also cases of officers and non-commissioned officers who abused their power, but it wasn't the norm. The US Army prevails as the greatest fighting force in the world, and that's due to our leadership.

The nanny state in the Army did produce a few side effects that hurt. I remember having a conversation with the rest of my platoon during a training exercise. I discovered that the prevailing attitude amongst the soldiers was that the Army actually "owned" the soldier for the duration of his enlistment. This wasn't a figure of speech or an expression of sorts. They actually felt that the Army had physical ownership over them. The evidence they presented to me were rules such as how a soldier could be punished for getting a sunburn that prevented him from his duties (loosely translated from Article 115 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice); or that the military can dictate where and under what conditions a soldier can live (Article 85); or that the military can dictate what a soldier cannot say (Article 88). Their belief was that these examples constituted ownership over their actual selves.

This was a fallacy, and a military legend. During my time, I encountered a soldier who attempted suicide. His leadership attempted to have the soldier charged with "Attempted destruction to government property." This was quickly shot down by the Army attorneys. Ownership of people is expressly prohibited by the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in December of 1865. I guess the rest of the Army didn't get the memo.

The last problem I found was a serious problem that hit the news in 2004. A prison in Baghdad known as Abu Ghraib became the worst case of prisoner abuse to come out of the Iraqi War. Having served in the Military Police, I was trained in the rules of the Geneva Convention and the American response to prisoner treatment. What I was trained in was nothing like how these prisoners were treated in 2003 and early 2004. The Army's behavior then was shocking, and what I found to be worse, was that only 28 soldiers received any action against them. There were 17 officers that were relieved of their commands, and eleven soldiers convicted of their crimes.

My belief is that there were more officers involved-or more that should have been involved to stop the illegal activities - but in this nanny state, the leadership took away from the soldiers their ability to think for themselves, and to do what was morally right. In the absence of orders, these undisciplined mental defectives went out and did more against us than our enemies could have asked for.

I am positive that the 28 knew that their actions were wrong. I know that they knew better. I also believe that over the many years that the Army has consistently removed the individual's right to think for himself, we could have avoided this problem.

I think we'd better see what went wrong here, before we go at it again on a larger scale.

*A Walkman was what we used to use before there were iPods

You've got to hand it to Vanna White

2010-01-09T14:04:00.005-07:00

The other day, I tuned in to Wheel of Fortune, which I don't think I've done in almost 20 years. It seems strange, but Vanna White looked exactly the same to me as she did the last time I saw her on TV. I've really got to hand it to her. When I first saw her on TV, the first word that came to mind was 'Bimbo.' Now, I have to eat that word. You've got to hand it to Vanna White; because since December of 1982, she's been turning the letters on that show, and avoided controversy, ridicule, and pushed the word Bimbo down our throats.

I kind of doubt that she aspired to be the letter turner on a game show when she was younger, but she took the job and made it in to something special. There were some speed bumps along her career. Her husband was killed in a plane crash in 1986, and she went through a painful divorce in 2002. She was also involved in a lawsuit in 1993 about an electronics company advertisement that featured a robot taking her place on the game show.

But throughout all of this, she's still a pop icon, and I just get this funny feeling that the next time I turn on Wheel of Fortune, she'll still be there.

G__ __ D J __ B V A __ __ A!!

What's Wrong with this Picture?

2009-12-11T17:26:00.005-07:00

So, I heard a news story that the White House Pay Czar, Kenneth Feinberg, has announced that four firms that have taken government bailout money have to limit salaries of mid level executives to $500,000 per year. Well, I can see his point-it's absolutely ridiculous that a company that's too big to fail is driven down by so-called geniuses who make an obscene amount of money for doing so. Something comes to mind about a monkey doing a better job. Still, some of the companies complain that they absolutely need these salaries or else the executives will leave the companies for jobs that pay better, resulting in the companies being too big to fail... failing.

Wow, what a mess. The government has to set a limit for these people, and a czar has to be appointed to make sure that people don't get too much money. There's one "guy" rule; it's okay to take the last beer or the last slice of pizza, but not both-that's just greedy.

So, the next story on the news was about how the government wants to raise the national debt ceiling. That means that we need to borrow more money, 1.8 trillion dollars more, above our current national debt. I'm trying to make an association with my own life: I need to be able to borrow about $175000 for my house, car, motorcycle, and a few other things. Now, I have to make enough money to keep payments up on this debt. If I don't, I will have to figure out another way to make money or reduce that debt. In this case, the government is figuring that instead of reducing the debt, we can just raise the debt amount so that we can keep operating. It's as if I were to say, "I can't pay up on the money I owe for this, so I'll need to borrow more."

What's wrong with this picture?

The same government that says that companies can't pay executives more than what they feel is appropriate is also saying that they can borrow more beyond our debt, just because they can.

I think we need to appoint a Government Debt Czar.

How stupid do they think we are?

2009-11-20T07:00:00.016-07:00

I was at the dentist's office today. While waiting for the Novocaine to set in, we had a conversation on the state of things going on. How the doctor was able to understand my speech when I couldn't feel my tongue was an accomplishment, but we were able to exchange thoughts okay. I'm really glad we weren't using laughing gas.

I mentioned that I felt that the new health care bill was ridiculous. I equated it to constructing a building, moving people and furniture in, and then testing it to see if it is structurally sound. The President and Democrats in Congress have used the term "deficit neutral" to describe how the health care plan will be paid for. My point was that the people in charge must think we're really stupid.

My dentist agreed, but added this point. She told me that since Barack Obama has been elected, she has had patients who have tried to decline paying for their dental care, saying that since Obama has been elected, we don't have to pay medical bills.

I guess it doesn't matter that the proposed health insurance reform act has only passed the House of Representatives; hasn't been through the Senate or a Joint Committee; and hasn't been signed in to law by the President. Even if it is signed in to law, it isn't supposed to take effect until 2013. Yet people don't want to pay their medical bills, assuming that the election solved everything.

I guess that shouldn't surprise me. I frequently find stories about people calling the 911 police emergency line when their order is wrong at a fast food restaurant. I found a story about a criminal who emulated a ninja and impaled himself on a fence. Here's a story about a moron who drove his million dollar car into a marsh when he dropped his cell phone. The point is, one does not have to look hard to find out how stupid we can be.

What bothers me is that the government has taken to pulling stuff over on us. They have passed bills on weekends, thinking that we won't notice. They have stuffed riders deep into big bills hoping that we won't notice. They pass bills that are so complex that even legal professors can't understand them.

My suggestion now is that congress apparently thinks we are stupid.

We have to prove to them that we aren't.

The Best Movie of the Decade: 2000 - 2009

2009-11-14T16:36:00.011-07:00

Gangs of New York (2002)
Directed by Martin Scorsese, with Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Cameron Diaz

In the beginning of the first decade of the 21st Century, the world was shocked by an incident that changed it. September 11th will always be remembered as a date in which everyone recollected their thoughts about what had happened, and how the world would be changed from that date forward. Thoughts and prayers surrounded the city and the people of New York. It was this film that brought the people back to look at their own roots.

The criterion for the best film of the decade is the one film that best represents the ideals or history of this time frame. Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York is an amazing film that brings us back to the time of the American Civil War; not to the front lines, but to the place where the country was born.

The story of the film is not too different than the other stories of crime and revenge, yet this one is against the true backdrops of real people. In our schools, we have learned about the noble lives of people in that time, but we don't go as deeply into the lifestyles of the immigrants in New York's Five Points. The film starts deep in the far reaches of a warehouse where scores of the Irish live. They are preparing for a gang fight over control of the Five Points against the native New Yorkers. As they walk through the dark halls that appear to be cave-like, we see glimpses of a life that is not easy; one of hardship but hope for freedom in the New World. Finally, one character kicks open a door, and the camera sweeps out to the snow covered land they are fighting for. These people know that there is not much to see, but the underlying freedom is what they are truly fighting for.

The enemies are respectful, yet the battle is violent and gory. From this point, the story follows the son of the slain leader seeking revenge against the leader of the native gang. The story follows the life of crime by pickpockets, sneak thieves, police corruption, and most interestingly, the political corruption of the time. This was the time of Tammany Hall. One interesting character is William “Boss” Tweed, the political boss, who realized that the Irish immigrants would be the votes he would need to put whatever politician he wanted into power.

Another prop to this story is the American Civil War. This was the time when many New Yorkers felt that the war was unnecessary and a waste of lives. Abraham Lincoln was not universally liked in the world where people felt that they were risking their lives for others. One stunning scene shows Irish immigrants disembarking from the ships bringing them from Ireland, immediately enlisting in the Army, and boarding another ship to the front lines. The same shot also shows the coffins of the dead soldiers being offloaded back to the docks to be buried.

The most complex character in the film is that of William Cutting, known as Bill the Butcher. He is masterfully portrayed by Daniel Day-Lewis. Bill is obviously villainous, as we meet him early in the film with a glass eye that has an American Eagle in lieu of an iris. Bill's depth is far beyond that glass eye, when he can easily resort to violence to solve a card game or to frighten his protégées, but every year he drinks a flaming toast to the memory of his most formidable enemy. Bill spends one evening, literally wrapped in the American Flag, telling his young aide, about how much he respected this enemy, to the point of mutilating his own eye as a sign of respect.

The film reaches its end point with a little known piece of history, that today would bring shudders to all if it were to happen now. This scene brings us hope that looking back at our history, we have evolved, but we also have a long way to go. The final shot of the film illustrates this fact, as the camera looks over New York City, and dissolves to the city years later, and years after, until we see a completely different place. All we know is that our past is buried far below, and is a true part of the city, and this nation.

The other great films of this decade are:
Children of Men (2006)
Directed by Alfonso Curaron, with Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, and Michael Caine

Team America: World Police (2004)
Directed by Trey Parker

Inside Man (2006)
Directed by Spike Lee, With Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, and Jodie Foster

Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Directed by Danny Boyle and Loveleen Tanden, With Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, and Madhur Mittal

No Country for Old Men (2007)
Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, with Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, and Javier Bardem

21 Grams (2003)
Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, With Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, and Benicio Del Toro

Life as a House (2001)
Directed by Irwin Winkler, with Kevin Kline, Kristen Scott Thomas, and Hayden Christiansen

Lost in Translation (2003)
Directed by Sophia Coppola, with Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, and Giovanni Ribisi

Gran Torino (2009)
Directed by Clint Eastwood

Modern Myths and Real People

2009-10-28T07:50:00.016-06:00

So the Nobel Peace Prize Committee recently awarded the 2009 Prize to Barack Obama.

This was quite remarkable, especially since Obama hasn't been in office for more than a year, and is the third sitting US President to receive the award. What's more remarkable is that in that time, the President hasn't actually done anything to really warrant the award. The committee recognized this shortcoming, and stated that they are honoring Obama for "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."

In my opinion, the committee is not doing the President any favors.

What bothers me about this is that there is now a mythology that seems to surround the President. I think this also surrounded two other figures that were popular in the 1960s.

In 1960, John F. Kennedy was elected as President. During his short time as President, he did do some remarkable things;

In 1961, Kennedy created the Peace Corps
In 1962, Kennedy stood down the Soviets during the Cuban Missile Crisis

Aside from these two items, the things worth noting are that Kennedy was an authentic World War Two hero, and he made some excellent speeches. Yet many believe that Kennedy was one of our absolute best Presidents. Sure, he was good, but what surrounded him was more of a degree of mythology.

There was the feeling that we were in royalty-with a Camelot type of life. Kennedy was young and energetic, while his opponent in 1960, Richard Nixon, was the opposite. John Kennedy appointed his younger brother, Robert, as Attorney General. His wife, Jacqueline, was a beautiful and glamorous woman. He was interesting.

Another figure from the time whose mythology lives today was Che Guevara. Before I go any further, I should point out that I am not comparing Che Guevara with Barack Obama other than the mythology that surrounds both of them.

Ernesto 'Che' Guevara was a guerrilla revolutionary who was a contemporary of Fidel Castro. He was trained as a physician, but shook off all the wealth and status of his education in lieu of a life in the jungle with soldiers, fighting against the government.

I have no quarrel with Guevara for his struggle against aristocracy, and I absolutely respect his turning his back to his own place and education; but Guevara did more to promote violence against not only the government, but regular people as well. He started the first labor camps in Cuba. He regarded religion, jazz music, and free speech as enemies of the state. Paradoxically, his anti-capitalist image now is an icon on t-shirts that are purchased for top dollar.

These three figures strike me as very similar to mythological figures of the past: Hercules, Zeus, Athena, Odin, Thor, Apollo, and many more were all part of their own respective culture's heritage. Why is it that we have surrounded these people with mythology in our modern times?

I look at the ancient civilizations, and realize that the people of the times needed explanations of things they couldn't explain. Why did some people fail while others prospered? Why did invisible forces seem to favor one side over another? There were no obvious explanations, so a god's intervention would have been just as reasonable an explanation as anything else.

So today, we surround Barack Obama, John F. Kennedy, Che Guevara and others, like Chuck Norris, Arnold Schwartzenegger, J. Edgar Hoover, and hundreds more with stories that support their status in the world. We have to ask ourselves-will future generations look back at us with the same questions that we have for those in the past?

It seems that today, we need a hero to lead us from the depths of war to a new beginning. People want to believe that Barack Obama is the one to do this. We have to think carefully, because when we set someone up to do grand and wonderful things for us, we don't usually get what we ask for. Human beings are not capable to provide 100% reliability for 100% of the people. We are only human. We can't put a bunch of myths and expectations on a person, even if he is President of the United States, and hope for everything to work out the way we want them.

Actually, the only way to do this is to believe in the myths.

The Best Sports Movies

2009-09-08T13:26:00.017-06:00

I was flipping through the channels last night, and came across one of, what I consider to be, the best sports movies ever.

Defining a sports movie isn't really easy; a friend of mine once defined On the Waterfront as a boxing movie, which I could see his point, but didn't agree to. So, here's my definition of a Sports Movie: This must be a feature film that has characters and a story that focuses on the sport while using the lessons learned from the sport to direct every day lives.

Using this definition, I have brought together the top five:

Rudy (1993); Directed by David Anspaugh
With Sean Astin, Jon Favreau, Charles S. Dutton, and Ned Beatty

Rudy had a dream, and had the courage to chase it. He wanted to attend Notre Dame University so he could play on the football team. What he had against him was that he did not have an academic background, and was physically small. Still, he took the steps necessary to go from a bus stop to the playing field, and few would disagree that his road was a difficult one.

Seabiscuit (2003); Directed by Gary Ross
With Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper, and Tobey MaGuire

The Depression hurt everyone, and a horse was no exception. Seabiscuit was a horse trained to lose while training other horses, but he had the ability to win. The horse exhibited human emotions, when he saw that he could win, he did. This did more for the human beings around the horse. They too, drove themselves against all odds.

Hoosiers (1986); Directed by David Anspaugh
With Gene Hackman, Barbara Hershey, and Dennis Hopper

The 1954 Hickory Huskers became the Indiana State champions after a rough season. Based on the real life Milan Indians, the team had a new coach, who thought out of the box, and taught teamwork over an individual's strive for glory. It was no easy task, involving a coach versus his own team and the town that lived for the glory.

Rocky (1976); Directed by John G. Alvidsen
With Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, and Burgess Meredith

Rocky was a small time fighter, who worked a side job as muscle for a loan shark. He didn't see his life going anywhere. Yet, when he's given a million to one shot at the boxing championship, he doesn't set unrealistic expectations. His dream is to not break his nose, and to go the distance with the champion. One of those dreams comes true.

A League of their Own (1992); Directed by Penny Marshall
With Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, and Lori Petty

During World War II, professional baseball introduced the Professional Girls' Baseball League. This is the story of how these teams took to the field during a trying time in American history. The best moment comes when the coach tells a story that supports his rule that there's no crying in baseball.

A proud moment

2009-08-25T20:55:00.004-06:00

I was on my way home today when I received a call from my son.

What seems to me to be spur of the moment, he decided to climb Pikes Peak. I have to say, I wish he would have planned it out more, but I'm glad he did it. He had been wanting to climb the mountain for a while, but this was his first time.

It reminded me of another time years ago. In 1987, I took Ivan and his mom to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. It was a cold day in February. His mother and I weren't married yet, and I remember being uncertain about our future. We were leaving, so I ran out to get the car, and pick Ivan and his mom at the front door. It took me forever to get to the car, start it up, and head it back to pick up the two. Along the way, I was thinking about how these two depended upon me, and I had a duty to be responsible to them, any way I could.

When I pulled up in front of the museum, I saw Ivan and his mother, standing and waiting for me. Ivan was wearing his snowsuit, cap, mittens, boots, and some 3D glasses that we had obtained for him earlier in the day. He was three years old, and was ready to protect his mother for anything that would threaten them. He stood as if he was her personal bodyguard.

I knew then that I loved this boy.

We lived on the west side of Chicago. The neighborhood wasn't very good, and in the 1980s, street gangs were prevalent. I knew he had to get out of the neighborhood, or his life would be threatened more than how I could protect him. From there, I re-enlisted in the Army, and moved my family to Colorado Springs.

I wasn't able to keep him immune from trouble, but today, he's 25 years old and he called me from the summit of the mountain, that has overlooked his life for the past 20 some odd years.

I am so proud of him.

If I ever forget

2009-08-22T22:50:00.003-06:00

We all have memories, and we have all forgotten things. I know that I have forgotten some precious memories, but there are a few that I want to hold on to if I forget everything else.

1) What I felt when my kids were born, and carrying them from the nursery to see their mother.
2) The book of Luke chapter 23 verse 43
3) The last time I took a walk with my mother
4) The feelings I had around a woman I was in love with
5) Stepping out into the grandstands of Wrigley Field and gazing out on to the playing field
6) Riding a Harley down Ute Pass on a hot summer night

Who's in charge here?

2009-08-08T08:46:00.005-06:00

Back when I was in the Army, I took a course to make me an Equal Opportunity Counselor. It was an interesting course, dedicated to help me recognize and react to incidents of discrimination based on race, sex, religion, and national origin. It was one of the most interesting courses I ever took, and taught me a lot. One part of the training that was its highest point, was when we took an afternoon to play a game called Star Power.

This was a game that separated the class in to three groups. These groups represented a small upper class, larger middle class, and largest lower class. We each had a series of poker chips which represented currency. We could trade chips back and forth and try to move up to a different class, but that didn't happen too often. The kicker was after so many turns in the game, the upper class could start making and changing the rules of the game.

What happened then was a lesson I hope never to forget. The upper class, which consisted of three people, made rules that would keep them in the upper class and would prevent others from finding their way in to the upper class. I found it increasingly strange, because these were students who had just been through a battery of courses teaching us the dangers of class warfare. Here they were-locking themselves in place and amusing themselves at everyone else's scurrying around, trying to inch our way up a ladder.

I was in the lowest class. When I saw what happened, I presented a game plan to the rest of my group. I proposed that we only trade amongst ourselves, so that our little wealth would stay within our own circle. We all agreed, and went about playing the game. Soon, a new rule was established by the ruling class. All people had to trade outside of their class, so that my rebellion was crushed before it could cause any damage to the economy.

At that point, the game was stopped. We had fallen for the exact ploy the game was set to show. The ruling class would abuse power, and the rest of us would rebel.

I think of that game these days a lot, because we have what seems to me to be an abuse of power, and a lot of people are rebelling. Politics as usual doesn't seem to be very usual.

Sure, the Democrats won the elections last year, and they took over many seats from Republicans. But I don't see this as a Democrat vs. Republican issue. I really think this is a Government vs. People issue. The Government seems to make all the rules to keep themselves in charge, and dictate to us what we have to do. It really makes me angry.

I am not in favor of insurrection and sedition, but if that Star Power game went on much longer, I don't know what would have happened...

Read about the Star Power Game

Two Coolest Fictional Heroes

2009-07-22T20:08:00.012-06:00

I recently saw a movie that I was looking forward to. It was called The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3. This movie was a remake of a movie with the same name from 1974. I had seen the original movie, but am sorry to say that I was disappointed by the remake.

I was reminded of another movie from the early '70s that was remade in the '90s, called The Day of the Jackal (remade as The Jackal). I didn't care for that remake either. So, as these two movies and their remakes had their time frame in common, I wondered what I liked so much about the original stories, and realized that they had a lot in common.

The original Taking of Pelham One Two Three is about a group of criminals who hijack a New York subway train, and demand one million dollars in exchange for the safe release of their hostages. The story was believable and tense, at times serious yet still funny. It was entertaining from start to finish. What made it convincing to me were the characters.

The leading criminal was Mr. Blue, played by Robert Shaw. He's a calculating criminal, who planned his crime down to the final details. He even planned how his accomplices will dispose of their disguises. I admire his organization, but his nemisis is the Transit Policeman, Lt Garber, played by Walter Mattheu. Lt Garber is not a dashing and dazzling policeman. He's got a great sense of humor, and isn't entirely enthusiastic about his job, but he pursues Mr. Blue relentlessly. What I really admire about him is that he's even willing to admit that he was wrong, and his admission leads him back on the trail of the crooks. I absolutely admire his brains and guts.

Lt Garber is a lot like Inspector Lebel in 1973's The Day of the Jackal. Lebel, played by Michael Lonsdale, is not a glamorous type who is dashing in a fancy sports car. That part was left to the Jackal, a code name for an assassin roaming through Europe, plotting to kill the French President. Lebel is very much like the Jackal, except that the Jackal makes mistakes. Lebel is quick to pounce when the mistakes are made, as he exploits those weaknesses.

I guess I appreciate these movies because they bring down the calculating criminal a notch. It also brings notice to people who normally wouldn't get a second glance from us, because they are normal people like the rest of us.

Maybe that's why I like these two movies. The heroes seem to be real people.

Me as Doctor House

2009-07-10T20:56:00.013-06:00

My favorite TV show right now is called House. It's an unusual drama about a doctor who is head of the Infectious Disease Division at a fictional major university hospital on the east coast. The drama would be pretty boring if it weren't for the title character, Doctor Gregory House, played by the English actor (without a trace of English accent) Hugh Laurie.

Dr. House had suffered a painful affliction to his leg, which left him walking only with the aid of a cane and demanding painkilling drugs. His use or abuse of Vicodin has arguably saved the lives of patients, who suffer from bizarre illnesses and allergies, ranging from environmental allergies to a staph infection. He also reads in to his medical colleague's and patient's personal lives. Their actions, right down to their food or clothing, reveal something to him that helps solve a mystery.

On the other hand, Dr. House has absolute zero bedside manner. He is uncouth, rude, insensitive, and arrogant. As one patient put it, "he has to be the best doctor here, otherwise he'd get fired for talking like he does!"

So, I respect Dr. House, even though he's a fictional character. In my line of work, I sometimes feel like I have puzzles similar to his. I am a computer technician, so people come to me with problems. I do enjoy the ones that are more difficult, especially when it is a problem that the normal layman would not be able to figure out on his own. When I solve the trouble, I tend to feel a little kinship to the doctor from the TV show, and want to exhibit the same behavior as he does.

To be honest, I don't think I could ever be as rude as the character of Dr. House, but I'd like to try, just for a day. I imagine that the day would be something like this:

Staff member: Oh Phil, I know you're busy but...
Phil: You don't care.
Staff member: What?
Phil: You don't care.
Staff member: What do you mean?
Phil: I mean, you started out a conversation with 'I know you're busy but,' and you're going to ask me a question anyway, meaning that you don't care that I'm busy. Plus, if you did care, you wouldn't bother to tell me that you know that I'm busy, because that would waste both of our time. So, you don't care that I'm busy, because you think your issue is much more important than the thing that is keeping me busy. So, in a nutshell, you don't care that I'm busy.

Or-at a convenience store:
Phil: I'll have this cup of coffee and a donut.
Clerk: OK-that'll be $1.95.
Phil: Here you go. Thank you.
Clerk: Not a problem.
Phil: Well, I certainly hope it's not a problem. But, what you've said implies that it will be a problem some time in the future. So, next time it's a problem, tell me when I walk in the door so I won't be the source of any of your problems. I know it is a pain to work day in and day out, but it is a job, and you are getting paid for it, and since I'm not asking for anything above and beyond what you're getting paid for, I assume that it shouldn't be a problem ever. So maybe, instead of saying 'Not a Problem,' maybe you should reply with 'You're Welcome.'

Finally, while walking to the men's room:
Staff member: Oh Phil, I have a question.
Phil: says nothing
Staff member: I was working at a computer today. Can you tell me how to make it do something I want it to do?
Phil: Oh, you have a question, and you want me to answer it.
Staff member: Yes
Phil: Oh, I see. Just because I'm walking to the men's room and you announce to me that you have a question, that means that I'm obliged to stop for you and to answer your question. You apparently don't need to do anything more than just declare that fact, that you have a question, and then that means that I have to answer it for you, no matter what is going on. That's amazing, that your words don't even have to be preceded with a 'pardon me, may I ask you a question,' or 'excuse me, may I have a moment of your time.'

By the way, 'I was working at a computer today' is a statement, not a question.

Where were you when that happened?

2009-06-25T21:36:00.008-06:00

I think it's a little strange:

It was 1980. In November, I was serving in the Army, and was temporarily deployed to Ft Chaffee, Arkansas, to support security of the Cuban refugees that Fidel Castro sent out to the US. We were working the midnight shift, but before we came on duty, we had a late night meal at the mess hall. On my way out, I was stopped by a guy in my unit. He told me, "I just heard the news. John Lennon has been shot and killed."

I was bummed, and kind of freaked out. I had just read the Playboy interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono just days earlier. I remember Barbara Bach being on the cover of the magazine. I remember the barracks I was living in at the time. I remember my sergeant, my lieutenant, and my captain. Most of all, when it comes to the death of John Lennon, I remember Bob Lewis*, who broke the news to me that the former Beatle was dead.

I didn't particularily like Bob Lewis. He was kind of a ham who in reality didn't know as much as he professed to. He wasn't very interesting, and not a lot of fun to hang around with. But, for the rest of my life, I have Bob Lewis associated along with John Lennon, Yoko Ono, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, Peter Brown, Barbara Bach, and JD Salinger.

I also have my mother associated with the Space Shuttle Disaster of 1986 for the same reason; Mrs. Anderson*, my friend's mother, associated with the death of Elvis Presley in 1977, Drew Franklin* associated with the death of Princess Diana in 1997; Scott Weber* associated with 9-11; and my son associated with the capture of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

I'm thinking about this today, because Michael Jackson has passed away. I wasn't a really big fan of the King of Pop (in fact, I only liked three of his songs), but it sure was an interesting life. Mr. Jackson was three years older than I am, so I did kind of grow up along side of him. He was from Gary; I am from Chicago. Our lives were as different as fish and birds, but it was still interesting to watch.

So, today, I was working on a computer at a hair salon when I heard the news that Michael Jackson was dead. I was just getting used to Farrah Fawcett having died early in the day, but at least, that wasn't unexpected. So, there I was, trying to decipher an email setup, when the word came out. I don't know exactly who said it, but I'll always remember that moment.

I guess it's kind of good to remember these moments. We have so many other times in our lives that have disappeared from our memories, that I think it's good to have these associations, even if they are sad.

I think it's even better that even though I didn't like Bob Lewis, he'll always be a part of my life.

*Not their real names....

99 Balloons in Honor of Eliot

2009-06-22T18:48:00.000-06:00

Bailouts should take a lesson from Television

2009-05-23T08:30:00.016-06:00

I saw a news report today, in which the debate was whether or not the government should bail out the newspaper industry. Their arguments for saving the industry were the same arguments I give to people arriving at my door trying to sell me a newspaper subscription: "I get my news for free from the internet."

It is a little sad to think of the newspapers disappearing. My first job that got me an actual paycheck was delivering newspapers. Every night at about 3 AM, the news truck would drop off a stack of Chicago Tribunes on my doorstep, with a number of inserts and advertising flyers. I also had bags of green rubber bands and plastic bags to wrap the paper in. I had a bicycle with a huge basket on the handlebars that would keep all the Tuesday newspapers, but Thursdays' were a much more difficult. I remember getting up at 5 AM and finishing by 6:30, right in time to get ready to clean up and get to school.

I remember buying the Chicago Sun-Times for many years because it was easy to read, it had columnists like Mike Royko, Roger SImon, and even the famous Ann Landers. It was in 1984 that the paper turned crappy, when Rupert Murdoch bought it out.

Nowadays, the papers aren't bad, but I really don't go out of my way to read them. If my local paper shuts down, I'll miss it, because I do tend to miss the local issues in Colorado Springs in lieu of national news. I do pick up the news on the internet, and prefer that because I can get news from a variety of sources. So, my habits are very much in line with the rest of the country. I like free stuff, and news is no exception. I like to check out a wide variety of sources. I like to research things further. I like to get multiple sides to every story. I also want the news as soon as possible.

With the newspapers asking for a bailout, I've got to call a time-out. The newspapers may be struggling, but I think they need to take a look at another medium that also had trouble.

In the 1980s, television was having a similar bout with a new technology. In the late 1970s, home viewers were introduced to Sony's BetaMax. This machine could allow a viewer to record programs and play them back when he wanted. It could also allow the viewer to rent or purchase pre-recorded tapes of movies and shows, again for viewing on his or her own schedule. It was a great invention! At the time, it was pretty expensive; I remember a friend of mine paying $950 for one, but it meant that we didn't have to stand in long lines for an uncomfortable seat to watch a movie that may or may not be any good.

The television industry hated this. It meant that the TV industry couldn't dictate to us when or what we had to watch things. They couldn't make us watch commercials. They were afraid that we would turn on the television, and make our own decisions. At the time, television programming was terrible, in my humble opinion. The 80s saw the end of M*A*S*H and the beginning of Full House, but overall, with the exception of Hill Street Blues, TV in the 80s was awful.

So here was television, worried about its future. I think they needed to worry.

Yet television persevered. The three networks survived, having been joined by a fourth, and cable TV hasn't stopped them. Even public television is still around. I think this had something to do with this wakeup call. What happened was simple: television got better.

Now, people are back watching TV, when there are shows like Lost, 24, Prison Break, or my favorite, House. Some of these shows, I simply cannot watch because I'm afraid that I'll get hooked on them!

This all happened and it didn't take a government bailout to do it. Go figure.

My New Hero: Alan Abel

2009-05-22T08:30:00.003-06:00

I'm interested to hear what you think of Alan Abel. This film is Rated R for the normal reasons one would rate a film R (except for violence). 1 hour and 22 minutes!
Thanks
P.

Police in the Nanny State

2009-05-18T15:06:00.040-06:00

I remember my time in the Army. In the early '90s, I walked in the mess hall for breakfast. I don't know why, but that morning I wanted to have an omelet. I stood in front of the eggs to order grill, and the cook told me that there weren't any eggs that morning. For all my eleven years in the military, I had never seen a mess hall that didn't have eggs. Even in the Honduran mountains, some fifty miles from a paved road, we had eggs. I was disappointed, but settled for some fried potatoes and bacon.

I found out later that there wouldn't be any eggs served on Tuesdays, Thursdays, or Saturdays. That was really surprising to me. There had to be some method to the madness, so I searched, and found out that there were too many soldiers coming up with high cholesterol in their blood. Many of these soldiers were eating eggs five or more times a week. It did not matter that I happened to want the eggs that morning; it was too bad.

This is an example of what is happening in the rest of the world now. Laws are being passed that revolve around food, smoking, drinking, seat belts, and text messaging. In all fairness, I think that some of these laws are common sense. I wouldn't think of riding my motorcycle without a helmet, but in many places, it's the law. I'm wondering though if we really need so many laws that dictate common sense?

In San Francisco, an ordinance has been introduced that would require kids in day-care centers to have vegetables to eat, and limits on their television and computer time. In Illinois, a bill is being debated about public school children being required to wash their hands before they eat. In Missouri, a measure to protect people against drunk drivers is attempting to prohibit the sale of cold beer.

I am curious about what will happen next. Will I be arrested for buying a package of Triscuits (with 30mg of sodium per cracker)? What if I stand outside in the rain without a raincoat? Will that be an offense? These laws are making Jerry Seinfeld's Soup Nazi a reality. They're making us more stupid.

Why do these laws happen? I believe that there are a number of reasons, ranging from people who sue for dumb reasons, to people who hurt themselves doing something stupid. I also believe there's another reason.

We are living in complex times, and have many things going on that we cannot control. We turn to the elected officials for answers, and they are just as confused and bewildered as we are. They want to do something, so I think they want us to see them doing something, even if it is ridiculous. Thus, when we enter the voting booths, we'll see a politician's name, and only know that he did something, even if he sponsored a stupid bill.

I wonder how we could prevent this stuff from happening. One way I know of is to stop encouraging politicians from wasting their time with nanny state bills. When we go into a voting booth, we need to remember what these morons are doing, and vote against them. Next, we probably should look at ourselves a little more. I think we should watch our bad habits a little so that the people in charge won't find them to be offensive.

I think I'll start with eggs.

Drew Carey and Reason TV talk about the Nanny State

Afghanistan and Cambodia

2009-05-18T14:12:00.024-06:00

In the news, US Troops pursue militants into the frontier, where the enemy slips over a border to an allied nation. This nation is technically an ally to the US, but is headed up by a weak government. A rebellious faction is prying to take over the country, and the cross-border actions lead to such instability, that a civil war starts.

I am referring to Afghanistan, but I could easily change the setting from South Central Asia to Southeast Asia, and the Vietcong crossing the border into Cambodia.

The eighteenth century philosopher Edmund Burke said, "Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it." So, I think we should take a look at the Vietnam War and the subsequent fall of Cambodia.

In 1970, Cambodia had a coups, which brought a US backed government in to place. Meanwhile, the US was fighting a difficult war in neighboring Vietnam, and their efforts were frustrated by guerrilla fighters known as the Vietcong fleeing across the border into Cambodia. The US then tried to bomb the Vietcong in their hiding places using a series of bombing sorties known as Operation Breakfast. This was described by the monologist Spaulding Gray in his Obie Award winning play, Swimming to Cambodia:

But instead of driving the Vietcong back, Operation Breakfast had the opposite effect. It drove them further into the Cambodian jungles where they hitched up with this weird bunch of rednecks called the Khmer Rouge, run by Pol Pot along with Kheiu Samphan and Leng Sary. They had been educated in Paris in the strict Maoist doctrine, except someone threw a perverse little bit of Rousseau into the soup.

The heavy bombardment and distrust of the Lon Nol government in Cambodia sent thousands to the ranks of the Khmer Rouge. In 1975, when the US fled the Embassy in Saigon, Lon Nol's government fell to the Khmer Rouge.

What happened next was genocide. Pol Pot tried to reconstruct the country using an extreme Maoist philosophy. This meant that all people had to be "re-educated" as a peasant. Those with a higher education were considered to be enemies. Soon, doctors, lawyers, the multi-lingual, teachers, engineers, and even Buddhist monks were murdered. The philosophy indicated that those without callouses on their hands, or those with fillings in their teeth, or needing corrective lenses to see were enemies. People were relocated to communes, where they were forced to work for minimal rations.

The Khmer Rouge kept photographs of many of their victims.

In 1978, the Khmer Rouge were defeated by the neighboring Vietnamese. The one-time ally to Pol Pot couldn't even stand by and watch what was happening. The final toll to the madness was approximately 2 million civilians killed by genocide.

So this year, we've seen US drones attacking Al Quida terrorist groups operating inside of Afghanistan, who flee over the border into Pakistan. The Pakistani civilians are not supportive of the attacks, and even worse, the terrorist groups seem to feel free to intimidate the civilians into supporting them. I have three words for our government: "Please be careful."

I don't mean to be alarmist, but I'm getting the strangest feeling of Deja Vu.

Our FInest Hour

2009-04-26T13:38:00.008-06:00

Yesterday, I saw a new threat in the news. It turns out that there's an outbreak of Swine Flu in Mexico, that could make its way to the US and elsewhere. It already has hit Australia.

As if we haven't got enough to worry about now. Over the past ten years, we've endured Y2K, the attacks of 9/11, the Afghan war, the Iraq war, more terrorism, the DC Sniper, Enron and corporate greed, two ugly presidential elections, the current recession, mass murder, and the police just caught an alleged "Craig's List Killer." Isn't it true that it's not enough with all this that is going on? I guess we need just one more thing to go wrong.

Back in the 90s, I saw a movie that I thought was the best of the decade. The movie was called Apollo 13, and it was directed by Ron Howard. The movie was about the space mission from 1971 of the same name, that was supposed to go to the moon and back. A disaster in space prevented the moon landing, and almost lost our astronauts in space. The movie was exciting and intense. Even though I remember the actual incident and how it ended, I still was on the edge of my seat while I watched it.

There was one scene that stands out in that movie. Near the end, as the crippled space capsule is headed back to earth, a senior Nasa official comments to another that if the ship is lost, it will be the most devastating thing that will or has ever happened to the space organization. Nearby, the flight director overhears this conversation. Ed Harris played the flight director, Gene Krantz, who turned to the two officials and responded with, "With all due respect sir, I believe this will be our finest hour."

That guy had some guts. I hate to admit this, but if I had been in a position of responsibility for that time, I'm not sure I would appear to be so brave or strong. I half believe that I'd be in the bathroom for a lot of it, throwing up. Yet Gene Krantz was able to say that even if the mission did end in disaster, they would still rise up and be the strong people that America needed at that time. Even if the three astronauts died or were lost in space, we would persevere as great people. It would be our finest hour.

So now with all the garbage flying our way, all the mishaps, all the despair, and all the fear, this could spell itself out to be something better. We need people like Gene Krantz. We could make this our finest hour.

Nineteen Eighty Four plus 25

2009-04-20T21:48:00.010-06:00

It was in 1948 that George Orwell wrote one of the most interesting novels ever. Nineteen Eighty Four was about a society in the future in which the government would control how people would think. They did this by controlling the language, and watching the people everywhere they went, including their own homes. The government wanted the people under control, so that they could direct them any way they wanted. It turned the population in to slaves.

So, 25 years ago, the real 1984 came and went. I remember it well, because there were a number of people forecasting that Orwell's prophecies came true. Sure, at the time, Ronald Reagan was President of the US, and there was a lot of controversy going on about him. There was a recession that was behind us, and secret conflicts were going on in Central America. 1985 seemed like a long way away.

At the time, I didn't really feel that Nineteen Eighty Four was coming true, but I realized that there was a huge potential for that to happen. I was, and still am, suspicious of the government. I realized that politicians were mostly people who knew how to run government, and frequently did not care about the people they governed. The government was a little uneasy when people started thinking on their own, but they've dealt with it quite a bit. I think they're used to it.

So recently, I realized that there's another branch of government that's fulfilling the straight up policies of Big Brother and Nineteen Eighty Four. Technically, this branch of government is not a branch of government, but it sure wields the power of a political party. The news and entertainment media has gone out of its way to tell us how to think.

On April 15th of this year, there were a number of anti-government Tea Parties across the country. They were directed against the current administration, because of the economic problems and the government's method of solving these problems. I felt that the press coverage of these demonstrations was disgraceful.

I think this happens when the media feels threatened. Today, we can get our news from a number of places, ranging from big networks to private bloggers. Even a radio station that 20 years ago could only reach a five mile radius from its antenna, can now reach around the world with the internet. The small papers can be published, and brought together on sites like the Drudge Report. I personally like The Smoking Gun website, which digs up little seen news reports from all around, and provides the papers to prove them.

I also get news from two other distinct sources. National Public Radio and Fox News are considered as extremes on either side, but I really believe that I'm hearing the actual news with these sources.

The news media is after us to think the way they want us to. What we don't seem to realize is that reporters and newscasters aren't really journalists at all-when you get down to it. They have a different job than to tell us the news.

Their biggest job is to sell soap.

Road Trip: April 5, 2009

2009-04-05T20:19:00.014-06:00

It's a Sunday, and I have to work. I can think of worse things. My job today takes me to Canon City, to install a printer. Since the weather will be getting warmer soon, I wanted to take a ride with my dog, Andy, who hasn't yet gotten used to the motorcycle. The weather this weekend has been flirting with a snowstorm, but the Spring storm that we're used to turned out to be a dusting. The higher elevations seemed to get it all, so I decided to take the drive in to the mountains.

I loaded the dog and the printer into the car, and headed out to Canon City. I spent an hour beating it up, and then started on the journey into uncharted territory. OK-not exactly uncharted, but I'd never been there.

The turnoff to the road to Victor is clearly marked, so I couldn't miss it. Within three miles, I was within Phantom Canyon-an area I knew from the air, having flown over it when I was skydiving a few years ago, but hadn't ever seen it from the ground. I also knew the name, because there's a popular Colorado Micro-brewery that named its beer after the area. I was anxious to see what it was about.

I guess the area took its name from the haunting looks that the trees gave. They were growing near the road, with a great deal of branches, making them look like those I would expect outside of a haunted house. The walls of the canyon were very steep, and I estimated that the cliffs were probably 300 feet high.

I found a draw near a place to park the car, and decided to climb a little. I took Andy out, and led him up the side of the hill, so we could take in the view. The climb was pretty treacherous, with loose rock and cacti, so Andy and I decided to climb about 80 to 100 feet up and stop. The climb made me realize that Andy isn't a mountain dog, no more than I am a mountain man. We descended back down to the car.

Our drive took us through two tunnels, and deeper into the mountains. The snow started falling, and I thought about my predicament. I was driving on a dirt road, far from any civilization, on a road that wasn't well travelled, and snow was coming in. I did, however, have a well-tuned Suzuki with four wheel drive and good tires, and a full tank of gas. What was the worst that would happen? I could be stranded and be forced to eat my dog? Well, there have been days where I wasn't stranded anywhere, and I wanted to eat my dog.

OK-just kidding. I won't eat my dog.

The road started ascending higher into the mountains. The road had a washboard characteristic, making me wish for better shocks, but even better shocks wouldn't have saved me from the bumps and ruts. At several points through this road, I stopped to take a look at the area. It reminded me of the roads my father used to drive through when we vacationed in Colorado. We used to go days without seeing a paved road. Back then, Colorado was the wild west, and I was a little kid. (No, I'm not talking about 1872, I'm talking about 1972).

I finally found myself on the south side of Victor. When I started pulling in to town, I actually thought that I had somehow missed Victor and was in Cripple Creek. The town looked similar, with mining towers and 100 year old buildings, but I didn't see the casinos that have pulled Cripple Creek into the 21st Century, so it didn't take me long to discover that I was in Victor.

This town was beautiful. I felt that I had taken a step back in time, to an area that was untarnished by present day fixtures. I drove in to the center of town, and took pictures while standing in the middle of the main street. I wasn't the only one there taking pictures. I saw another woman there who had the same idea that I did. I was grateful to have a digital camera with good batteries.

I explored around the old school, which was not in use any longer, and found some old painted signs on buildings that were another trip back in time.

I couldn't stay much longer, because my church service was at 6:30 in the evening. It was 5:30, and the drive back to Colorado Springs took over an hour. Andy and I hit the road and flew.

We made it to church in that time, and I didn't have to eat the dog.

The Sean Penn Boycott

2009-03-31T21:48:00.012-06:00

Some may have seen that one of my favorite TV commentators, Bill O'Reilly, has a personal boycott against Sean Penn. Mr. O'Reilly has added that he believes that Sean Penn is a good actor, and he is not calling for everyone to follow suit. His point is that Sean Penn has a habit of cozying up to Hugo Chavez, Saddam Hussein, and Fidel Castro. Mr. O'Reilly does not want his
admission payment to go towards Sean Penn's pockets.

I understand exactly what the Fox News commentator is saying. I recently ended my personal boycott against the actor and director George Clooney, for a similar situation.

In January of 2003, George Clooney made a tastless joke about Charlton Heston, who had previously announced that he was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Clooney's joke was directed at Charlton Heston, the President of the National Rifle Association, but it came out as a stab against the countless people world-wide, who suffer from a terrible illness. To make matters worse, a reporter asked Clooney if he realized that his joke was tasteless, and if he wished to withdrawl his comment. He refused, and the reporter put the comment in to history.

So many things made me angry about this comment. I felt that Clooney had a right to be opposed to the National Rifle Association if he wanted, and he could even dislike Charlton Heston. I am a member of the NRA, but realize that not everyone shares my position. But I don't believe that joking about Alzheimer's disease is an effective way to direct a dislike. I would have been happier if Clooney had simply said, "Charlton Heston is a jerk." I would have disagreed, but would have maintained my respect for Clooney.

Since that time, I have boycotted all films directed by or starring George Clooney. To be honest, I feel that I was getting the short end of the stick, because I remember his films as being very enjoyable. I even went so far as to consider "The Peacemaker" and "Out of Sight" as two of the best films of the 1990s. Still, my position was that I didn't want any of my money ending up in Clooney's pocket, even if it was one tenth of one percent of a box office ticket.

Late last year after the death of Charlton Heston, I noticed that Clooney had been taking a serious stand against the government of Sudan, and on behalf of the refugees of the region of Darfur. He narrated a documentary film, but aside from using his voice, he took time out of his schedule to rally support for this cause. I do wish that Clooney would apologize for his remark-not as much to Heston, but to all the people suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Yet, his work with the refugees of Darfur has overshadowed the tasteless joke.

For that reason, I have ended my boycott of George Clooney. I recently saw the film "Good Night and Good Luck," about the work of Edward R. Murrow. This was a film that was directed by George Clooney. I thought it was very well directed and acted.

So, in regards to Bill O'Reilly's boycott of Sean Penn, I absolutely respect that. I haven't decided to follow suit or not-but to be honest, I haven't heard of many Sean Penn films of late that are worth watching.

I think it is quite silly of us some times. Actors got their start being the servants of the kings, who needed entertainment after eating in their great halls. Since then, we have elevated actors to a position to where we believe that they are the characters that they play! It may be high time that we start thinking about this.

Actors pretend to be other people. The rest of us are Real People.

Who's at fault?

2009-03-21T09:22:00.006-06:00

It was 1993. I was in the Army, and my section had just received a new Sergeant Major. The Sergeant Major's reputation preceeded him. He was known as a holy terror. We were not anxious to meet him.

One of our first operations with the Sergeant Major was a training exercise. I was driving a military pickup truck, and was ordered to drive the new Sergeant Major to the site. The Friday before the exercise, the motor pool sergeant called me to tell me that he had just finished the repairs on my truck. Knowing that I had about two drops of gasoline available, I ran to the motor pool immediately to fill up the truck. I was dismayed to find that the fuel point was closed for the weekend. To make a long story short, I told my boss that I didn't have any fuel, and word reached everyone who needed to know. Eventually, through problems and assumptions, the Sergeant Major and I ended up at a civilian gas station, where he shoveled out the money from his own pocket to fill the gas tank.

Everyone else in the unit was fearing for my life. I think if anyone had been offered a million dollars to trade places with me, there would be no takers. If I'm not mistaken, someone even checked to see if anyone had a razor blade or cyanide to donate to me.

As I feared, the Sergeant Major was angry, and it was me he was angry with, among others. But, after a few minutes, he lightened up, and gave me some free wisdom. "In looking at the problem, I believe there are a great many factors at fault, but you need to find your own."

He also said that by next year we would be laughing about this incident. It was even better than what he predicted, because two days later, we were laughing about it.

So I looked for my fault in the incident. I did tell my boss about the problem, and saw it run up the chain, but also watched helplessly as nothing was done to fix it.

Then, I found my fault in the matter. I watched helplessly. The truth is that I wasn't helpless in the issue. I simply sat back instead of pushing harder.

So I'm thinking about this because I watched an interview with the President on The Tonight Show, from this past Wednesday night. Barack Obama said that there is an attitude in Washington to point the finger, and place the blame as opposed to fixing the problem.

I not a fan of Barack Obama, but I'll give credit where credit is due. Right now, we're really messed up with our economy. We're blaming everybody, from the President, to the former Presidents, to the rich cats on Wall Street, to executives who have golden parachutes and bazillion dollar bonuses.

We really have to find our own fault in all of this. Whether it was irresponsible borrowing or voting without concern for the consequences, we all own some blame for things we're trying to pin on others. I think we need to really look for and seek out our own fault with everything. Then, hopefully, we'll learn from it.

A Bill O'Reilly Shout Out

2009-03-16T11:48:00.004-06:00

From The O'Reilly Factor- 1/22/09:

The most Evil Characters in Movies

2009-03-11T14:44:00.024-06:00

I don't know why, but I enjoy watching some movie villains. I think it goes to show us to what level people will go to-and how far they can go to pursue their evil means.

Immediately, one would think of Darth Vadar or Ming the Merciless when thinking of villains, but they are, like others, unlimited at what they can do. Their evil has few consequences to their way of life. I prefer to watch the fictional characters, knowing that they have motivation for being evil, and limitations to what they can or will do. Watching them is sometimes difficult, because I know that there are people in the world like them.

Frank Booth
(Dennis Hopper)
Blue Velvet (1984) Directed by David Lynch
If you've ever met someone like Frank Booth, you would do all you could to stay away from him. He is a person who believes he is greater than he is, to the point of controlling people through violence. Because so many fear him, they aren't willing to stand up to him.

Hans Gruber
(Alan Rickman)
Die Hard (1988) Directed by John McTiernan
Hans Gruber is very organized, and even has a day timer with him while he announces to his hostages that he has taken them as prisoners. He seems to have all under control, even when he slips in to an American accent and almost takes the hero by surprise. He's ruthless and cunning, and when he loses control, he's the most fearsome.

Col Nathan Jessup
(Jack Nicholson)
A Few Good Men (1992) Directed by Rob Reiner
Most villains realize that what they are doing is wrong. Many justify it for one reason or another, but Colonel Jessup uses his senior position in the US Military as justification for murder. He's one who knows how untouchable he is, and that even a Court-Martial is not a reason to be alarmed. Even those who follow him are touch-either they are forced to emulate him, or disappear.

Alan Raimy
(John Glover)
52 Pick-Up (1986) Directed by John Frankenheimer
When a blackmailer's plot derails, the blackmailer is determined to derail everyone else's life around him. Alan Raimy is that blackmailer, and he's willing to go to extreme measures to get what he wants, when most people would walk away from such a plot.

Mrs. Robinson
(Ann Bancroft)

The Graduate (1967) Directed by Mike Nichols

Mrs. Robinson's needs come before everyone else's. She is willing to hurt her husband, daughter, and lover in order to keep all the attention for herself. She's self-centered and demanding, and hurting another person means very little to her.

Brad Whitewood, Sr.
(Christopher Walken)
At Close Range (1986) Directed by James Foley
A leader of a crime syndicate will often kill people who work for him to prevent their betrayal. Not only would Brad Whitewood kill his own son, but he would kill his son's friends to keep his gang out of trouble. What makes him scarier is that his story is true.

Norman Stansfield

(Gary Oldman)
Leon: The Professional (1994) Directed by Luc Besson
One never should steal from a drug dealer. When the drug dealer also works as an agent for the DEA, that adds a degree of instability to him. When the drug dealer who also works as an agent for the DEA is also hyped up on the drugs that he steals, he is a pressure cooker waiting to explode. Stansfield has no trouble shifting from serene to explosive in short moments.

Glen Whitehouse
(James Coburn)
Affliction (1997) Directed by Paul Schrader
A drunk can appear to be harmless at times. This drunk does more than stumble around and do foolish things. His addiction to alcohol brings about such abusive behavior, that it is not enough to emotionally torture those around him. It seems that his goal is to destroy as many lives as he can, even after those around him have fled.

For more, see http://www.movievillains.com/

On God's Side

2009-03-03T15:04:00.004-07:00

I recently ran across a column in an independent newspaper, which was run by a website that supported independent thinking. I'm always in favor of independent thinking and maybe going against the grain a little, so I took a look at the site. I found, through a number of postings on the site's blog, that the organization supports the separation of church and state.

Many times, I can agree with the separation of church and government, as they can be pretty much exclusive. I think church and state would agree with each other more if they could get more from each other. I think though, that either side can go too far.

So what is it that people have against the church?

The church was invented long before the time of Christ, back when we worshiped gods and idols. It soon transformed to the church of the Old Testament God, which we still worship today. The Muslims and Jews and Christians all believe in the same God, but we interpret his will in many different ways. Throughout history, that will has led to wars, revolutions, torture, crimes against humanity- all in the name of God. Many believe that the church maintains too much power over our lives, influencing law and our government. That could be true, but that's not for me to judge.

The church was created by man, to worship God. As early man tried to explain all that happened around him, he realized that as a child will succumb to the will of a parent, man should bid the tidings of God, in order to avoid punishment and reap the rewards.

This is where I need to get off the train. Many times, this belief has led to actions that are more harm than good. I often wonder what God's thoughts are when he hears someone cry out to him,

"Look God-I blew up that abortion clinic, killing five people-all in your name!"

"Look God-I just killed my daughter to save my family's honor - all in your name!"

"Look God-I just threw these heathens off your holy ground and shot them with rubber bullets - all in your name!"

Where does it end?

I think that there are a lot of misunderstandings about what God wants us to do and not to do.

My belief is that maybe people have turned away from the church because of misunderstandings. They believe that the church has directed them to do things that they abhor, or that the church has made them feel inadequate because of past sins, or that they have felt the church is promising them something that cannot be delivered.

Here's what I believe. God isn't here to make our lives comfortable. We aren't here to hurt each other in his name. We aren't put here to make each other look bad, so we look good by comparison to God. God loves us, and will hear each of our prayers. That's all that's promised to us.

I think of the crucifixion, in which Jesus was placed upon a cross and executed along with two criminals. One turned to Jesus and asked that if he was so powerful, why couldn't he save himself and the two of them. The other turned him aside and said, “Don't you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

I think we all need to think of ourselves as that criminal alongside of Jesus.

Road Trip-Jan 19th 2009

2009-01-31T08:59:00.010-07:00

It had been a few hours since I left my son at his new home in Texas. He was settling in, and was getting ready for his 21st birthday. He had four days off, and light duties for the next few weeks. Following 15 months in a combat zone, it's the least we can offer him.

I had to be at work in a little over 32 hours, and had 850 miles to drive. I was looking at a 14 hour drive marathon.

I started out at 3:30 AM, checking out of my tiny motel room by dropping off my key and pulling in to the street. There weren't any other people out, except a few who were undoubtedly going home to bed. I felt pretty good, despite the early hours. The roads were clear, and it looked like smooth sailing back to Colorado from Central Texas.

Since I had such a long way to go in such a short time, I decided not stop for photographs like I usually do. After I had been on the road for five hours, I had to change my mind. I was driving through the wind generator fields north of Sweetwater south of Snyder, and I found an old farmhouse, looking like it had been picked up by the same tornado that picked up Dorothy's house and sailed it off to the Land of Oz, but instead deposited this home on the edge of a Texas cotton field. The sun was not above the horizon yet, but the glow of daylight was beginning to squeeze out the darkness.

I continued on, stopping only for gas, and around lunchtime, to take a 30 minute power nap. Along the Texas Panhandle, the winds became pretty aggressive, and I was surprised to see a motorcyclist riding as though there were no problems, giving me ideas for my next motorcycle road trip.

I crossed over into Colorado around 2 PM, stopping to take pictures of the Little Fishers Peak Mesa just south of Trinidad. I made it home by 4 PM, exhausted, but having plenty of time to rest up before starting the work week on Tuesday.

The Kerouac lifestyle really looks more and more attractive to me.

Road trip: 15 - 18 January 2009

2009-01-19T19:01:00.016-07:00

My youngest son is due to return from Iraq, having served for about 15 months, minus his mid tour leave last February. I wasn't sure I could get away from the job long enough to meet him when he got here, but as long as there's internet access, I can work from nearly anywhere. My son had sent three large boxes to me to bring to him, and had ordered a computer for me to shake down and bring to him when he got back. So, on Friday morning, I loaded up my car with the boxes, and started out for Fort Hood in Texas. It's my son's first duty station, and it was my first duty station, 29 years ago.

I started out by headed to New Mexico. The expressway was pretty clear, so it was me and a cup of coffee on our way. There would be several legs on this trip, and the first leg along I-25 was not the longest. It was still a beautiful drive, and along the way, I like to think that I am seeing the country much like people saw it 300 to 400 years ago. South of Pueblo was Walsenburg, home of a couple of beautiful mountains. Following that, was Trinidad, a classic city in Colorado. I was sorry that I didn't take the time to explore these cities, but I didn't have a lot of time.

In New Mexico, I crossed over to Highway 87. This was an easy drive. The last time I had taken this road, it was under construction, which slowed me down quite a bit. Back then, I also stopped in a village called Grenville. This village had maybe twenty homes and buildings at one time, but anything from bad economic times to changing conditions led to most of them being abandoned. For some reason, I have found the abandoned buildings there to have an appealing beauty to them. Again, I couldn't take the time to stop and look at them again.

I crossed over in to Texas, and received a call from my boss that there was a problem at work. I found my way to a McDonald's restaurant with wireless internet access, and had lunch with my computer. So, it may be a good thing or not, that I was able to fix a problem in Denver from Dalhart, Texas.

I proceeded on to Dumas, Amarillo, and Lubbock. I passed by a number of wind power generators, which were topped by red beacon lights, all of which were blinking in unison. I was kind of sad to only see glimpses of them in the dark, because I believe that wind power generators are the most beautiful things of modern technology. I wish there were more of them.

My last stretch for the day took me to a town called Sweetwater. This town is known as the home for the world's largest rattlesnake roundup. I didn't see any rattlesnakes, partly because I was too tired. It was after 6 PM. I spotted a motel that advertised a free breakfast with a room, so I decided to call it a night. I checked in, and tested out the TV in the room for about an hour. After that, I headed out to find a sit down dinner.

There was a barbecue place next door. The smell from the kitchen drew me past the parking lot, that looked like there was a pickup truck convention going on inside, so I poked my head inside to see if it looked good. The look was that every male in the place was wearing a ball cap, like I was, so I knew I wouldn't be out of place, even though I have this habit of removing my hat when I sit down to eat. I ordered salmon, a baked potato, and corn while I read the local paper.

I woke up at 6 on Saturday, and retrieved my free breakfast. The best part was the friendly waitress, and the coffee. I took off and enjoyed the light traffic and early morning darkness.

I had to stop in a town called Putnam, when I saw an abandoned building that had the classic look to it, of the late 1930s or early 40s when it was built. I took several pictures, and drove through the small town, finding abandoned homes that appeared to have their own history about them. I still feel for these homes. They were once built to represent a dream, and as dreams fade, the homes stand, and represent a failed dream. I feel the need to photograph these buildings while the dream is still fresh in its memory.

I left I-20 a few minutes later, and headed south towards Lampasas. Within a few minutes, I had my low gas light pop up on my dashboard. Suddenly, I felt pretty stupid. In Texas, it's not like there are convenience stores on every block. But, I was fortunate that the town of Rising Star was within 20 miles of me. I pulled in to the town, and gassed up. While I was there, I took a few pictures, and was impressed with the stone houses that may have been built 60 to 70 years ago.

The rest of the drive took me from a direct southbound route along highway 183 to a southeast route in Early, Texas, and not long after, the highway merged with highway 190, which is the main drag outside of Fort Hood. I made it to Killeen Texas by a lunchtime.

I decided to get a hotel. I remembered back to New Years' Day 1981, when some friends and I rented a room at a Ramada Inn. I remembered that I especially liked the hotel's bar, so I was glad to see a vacancy sign up outside the office. It had since changed hands, and the latest owner had a Grand Opening sign above the door next to the vacancy sign. The price appeared to be right, so I stepped in to talk to the desk clerk. To my dismay, I found that there was no hot water, and wouldn't be for the foreseeable future. So much for that hotel. I ended up in a motel that could easily be classified as a flophouse, but it had hot water.

I drove on to Ft Hood, and found my son's Squadron. There, I learned that the unit would return on Sunday, and I found out where I could see my son. That gave me about 30 hours to bum around Killeen, and try to refresh some old memories.

Killeen is a town that probably wouldn't be on the map if it weren't for Fort Hood. It is not a truly exciting town, and my biggest complaint about it was that it took me a serious conscious effort to get away from the Army when moving through the town. It is crowded with used furniture stores, dry cleaners specializing in uniforms, a huge support system for the large Korean population, and probably more tattoo parlors per capita than Stugis during motorcycle season. I think that to people who measure such, Killeen would appear to be unsophisticated. I agree that it would be difficult to confuse it with Monaco.

I wandered around, and watched a movie later in the evening. I wanted to buy a small bottle of liquor for my son. He's returning from Iraq following 15 months of combat duty, and unlike most conflicts before this one, he was not able to have a drink for the duration. That isn't entirely a bad thing, as far as I'm concerned, but since he'll be turning 21 on January 22nd, I did not see the harm of letting him celebrate a little early. Besides, I wanted to be the one responsible for his first legal drink. Unfortunately, Killeen is a semi-dry city. I couldn't buy a carry out bottle at that time. On the upside, I could buy a six pack of Samuel Adams beer for him. I figured the patriotic theme would add to his return to the US.

Sunday at 3 PM, I was seated in the Stacker Gym on Fort Hood, holding a sign that I made up that read “Welcome Home SPC Chris Palm Brave Rifles.” I had spent the earlier part of the day putting the sign together with poster board, scrap wood, and duct tape. I was one of a half a dozen people in the gym. I wouldn't be so alone for much longer.

Over the next hour or so, the gym crowded with family members, more signs, and soldiers that were there to usher and assist. An Army Vet DJ began to spin some classic records. This worked for the kids, who took advantage of the space and music to have an impromptu afternoon dance.
I met with a member of the family support staff. She mentioned that if Chris or any of his friends needed some counseling assistance, or even if they wanted to talk without calling it counseling, they were welcome. We've come a long way since the days of Vietnam era, when vets were returned home with little to no support.

Finally, at 5:30 PM, two Squadrons of the 3rd ACR were marched in to the gym. The cheers were what I would expect if I saw the actual Elvis walk on to a stage. We were raising the roof, and the soldiers were rightly called heroes. Within a minute after the dismissal, Chris spotted my sign, and found his way to me.

I remember 29 years ago, when I returned from Panama after spending four months there as part of Joint Task Force South. An 11 month old Chris met me with tears and screams. Today, it was my turn to let loose with the tears for my son.

We had dinner, and moved him in to his new quarters, and drank a beer together. Since I had an early drive, I left him alone at 8 PM, to enjoy his time back in the USA.

[you may want to turn down the volume on your computer speakers for this video clip]

Living as John the Baptist

2009-01-06T11:21:00.003-07:00

One of my favorite people in history is John the Baptist. I suppose I like his fiery approach, his minimalist lifestyle, and his knowledge and admission that he was nothing, and Christ was everything. I really admire and respect that. I wish I could be more like him.

John led a pretty interesting life. He was a high priest, but lived not like other priests. He wore goatskins, and ate locusts and honey. From that description alone, I imagine that he didn't have a really flashy home. He probably did not have a lot of money, if any at all. I kind of imagine that he must have lived in a cave, with very few belongings, and spent his life devoted to God.

That's really cool. I'd like to live a life like that. But, I think I'd have to have a few changes along with that. What if one of my goatskins was in the wash? I'd need a few, plus one to act as a bedroll, because cave floors are pretty cold and uncomfortable. Next, I'd be able to live off the locusts and honey. I heard that locusts contain a lot of protein and not a lot of calories. The honey would make them taste pretty good. But then I'd want a Diet Coke or a donut every so often, and once in a while, I really like the Village Inn skillets. I'd also like to live a life with few possessions. One that I think I'd have a very hard time without would be a computer with internet access. Talking to God is easy. But God doesn't like to help when I'm watching late night TV and I need to know what other movie I've seen that actor in! So, it gets complicated.

I'm in the process of minimalizing my life. I recently went around my house and did a mental count of all my stuff. I have way too much. I have shelves of books. Some of them, I haven't read. Some of them I have read once, and will probably not read them again. That's the same with DVDs and Videocasettes. Why am I keeping them? Am I keeping this stuff so people will be impressed with me? Will they think highly of me if I have a Dosteyevesky book on my coffee table? Geez, I've never even read Dosteyevesky. I'm not even sure if I spelled his name right!

I've decided that the stuff in my life is nothing but one prop or another. I've got some heirlooms, but they need to be in the possession of my kids, so they can pass them down to their kids. I'd like to create some heirlooms of my own, but I can see that in my imagination... 100 years from now, my grandkids will hand over to their kids a little piece of my history, "Here son, this belonged to my grandfather, back in 2009. It's called a 'Pez' dispenser! See how it looks like Yogi Bear?"

Well, at least that won't smell as bad as my goatskins.

Faith, Shaken

2008-12-23T20:29:00.008-07:00

The strangest thing happened to me today. I was thinking of a movie I saw several years ago. It had an interesting story that was also very touching. When I came home, I saw that it was being aired on a channel that I don't usually watch.

The film was called Awakenings, released in 1990 and directed by Penny Marshall. It stars Robin Williams and Robert DeNiro. The story is based on true events involving Dr. Oliver Sachs in the late 1960s. At that time, Dr. Sachs was treating a group of catatonic patients in a Brooklyn Psychatriatic Hospital, who had suffered from encephalitis, or inflamation of the brain. The treatment was notable because it had not been tried before, and the results brought good things not only to the patients, but also to those around them.

There is a scene that I was thinking about today from that movie. In the scene, a young doctor consults with an older physician who had treated encephalitis patients many years earlier. The older doctor stated that the patients were in a constant unconscious state. The young doctor then asked how he knew that fact. The older man replied that "The alternative is unthinkable."

That thought was quite horrifying to me. I couldn't imagine what life would be like to be trapped inside a body and not being able to communicate, or what it would be like to be immobile, and only being able to watch the world and not be a part of it. What frightened me worse was that the older doctor was placing his faith in something only because the alternative was unthinkable.

Faith is a great feeling. But this doctor's faith had me questioning my own. Did I have faith in God, only because the alternative was unthinkable? I was horrified by my suspicions that I did not really know my faith.

I eventually proved my faith to myself and settled down. What made me feel better was one thing that I also believe. Faith isn't broken down by reasons. I'll keep my faith in God, on the same level as those who believe because they don't want to consider the alternative.

I have considered the alternative. It is unthinkable.

Do you Really want to get Married?

2008-12-18T18:06:00.008-07:00

So today, there's a huge debate about gay marriage. It's so big that it has reached the upcoming Presidential Inauguration. President-Elect Barack Obama has asked Rev. Rick Warren to provide the invocation at the Inauguration. Rev. Warren is not a supporter of gay marriage. Gays supported Barack Obama.

So I've got a position, but I'm not going to go in to it right now. I'm instead going to suggest that maybe we should ask the question of people who want to get married, "Are you sure you really want to?"

In the interest of full disclosure, I have been married and divorced twice. I will not comment about my spouses; I will say that I was a full half of the marriages, so I own a full half of the reasons for the divorces. But what I found so surprising was how easy it was to get married. The missus and I walked in to the County Clerk's office, threw down a ten dollar bill, swore that we were in no way already related, and suddenly we had a marriage license. We didn't even have to wait in any line. Geesh, getting a driver's license was more difficult than getting a marriage license.

I make that comparison because the results of a bad license in either way are really stinking bad. For example, a bad driver can kill people, including himself. A bad husband or wife can do the same. A bad driver can cause property damage. A bad husband or wife can do the same. A bad driver can cost thousands of dollars. A bad marriage can cost millions. A bad driver will need expensive insurance in case of an accident. A bad husband or wife will need an expensive lawyer to draw up a prenump.

My point is this. Maybe we should require a test before a marriage license is issued. This test should include a psychological profile and risk assessment. There should be a "Temptation Island" scenario as well- and those who resist temptation would pass. Prosepctive marriage partners should be forced to sit through 8 hours of divorce court. They should all learn that everyone in divorce court was once madly in love. I know plenty of marriages that would have been spared a great deal of pain should they have had an objective view of what they were really like.

Marriage is tough. I've met people who have considered marriage no more than prolonged dating. I've met people who have looked at marriage as little more than legal cohabitation. Some feel that marriage is like picking up a pair of pants, putting them on, and saying "these are the best pants I've ever worn. I'm never taking them off. I will wear them every day for the rest of my life." What they don't realize is that their butt will get bigger, their waistline won't stay at 29", holes will wear through the knees, and a flying glob of green paint may create an ugly stain. If a marriage is going to work, the pants need to change along with the person wearing them. That could be very difficult.

But what do I know about marriage? Admittedly: not much. I do know a lot about divorce. So, what do marriages need? I think that they need to have knowledge and respect, among other things. Knowledge about the other person, most importantly, about his or her goals, and how he or she intends to get to them. What I mean by that is if a spouse wants financial independence (a fine goal to have), but intends to get to that goal by robbing banks, there may be a problem. Also, a spouse has to have respect for the other's values. If one spouse values the furniture more than the well being of the other, then something's amis.

I do know several people who have had successful marriages. I believe their success had something to do with the first marriage blunder in human history. In the Gospel of John, the second chapter, there was a wedding in which Jesus Christ was present. The host had the audacity to not have enough wine for the reception. In those days, the entertainment would have been a live band with no electronics, so having enough wine was a huge necessity. So the head waiter approached Jesus with this problem. His response was simple; pour water into the guest's cups. The waiter was no dummy, and he knew that the crowd wasn't drunk enough to think that water was wine, but he did as he was told. In the process, a fine vintage wine made its way into the guest's cups. This led to the second wedding blunder in history. The tradition at that time was to serve the good wine first, and after the guests had too much to drink, they'd bring out the poor-vintage wine and the guests wouldn't know the difference. In this case, the guests found the late-night wine to be far superior to the stuff they had been drinking.

In this wedding reception blunder, we find the source of what makes a good marriage.

I think that in this day and age, we're all too quick to send the guests home and try to work things on our own. Thus, many marriages fail miserably.

But then again, maybe I'm just bitter.

Ride on 12-7-08

2008-12-08T14:42:00.012-07:00

On Sunday mornings in December, one would expect cold weather. On this Sunday, it's pretty warm. It was the perfect temperature for a ride, so I decided to run out and grab the day early. Knowing that things can change pretty quickly, I dressed in all my snivel gear; my warmest leather jacket, thick boots and all that stuff, so that I felt kind of like Randy from "A Christmas Story," wearing so much stuff that I was having trouble moving. I felt even more stupid, when I pulled up to a stoplight, and another motorcycle pulled up next to me. The rider wasn't wearing anything more than jeans and a sweatshirt.

I decided then to get out of town a little. That way, I wouldn't feel so stupid wearing as much as I was, so I decided to head up north through Elbert, to Kiowa. From there, back through Elizabeth and Franktown, back to Colorado Springs. Since that was heading north towards Denver, I would need the extra clothing.

My first leg of the journey was along Woodman Road in Colorado Springs. That took me through a construction area, which slowed me down, but made me aware of the loose sand on the pavement. As any biker will attest to, loose sand can be as treacherous as black ice, causing a bike to lose traction in an instant. I would have to be extra careful on this ride.

I hit Highway 24, heading out to the northeast. This was a road I was familiar with, having taken my bicycle along this route, as well as drives last Winter to see abandoned homes along the way. It was an interesting route. I hit the Elbert Road, and was able to open up a little. There isn't much traffic here, if any at all, so I was able to see for miles ahead and all around.

Rougly five miles into the Elbert Road, I passed the Monument turn off, and headed into some small rolling hills. These hills were topped with Evergreens making them look like little hairy topped heads sticking out of the ground. In these woods were ranches, a Boy Scout camp, and even a tiny airstrip, adjacent to a metal hangar and a wind sock.

The tiny town of Elbert sits just within Elbert County. I suppose that makes it the County Seat, but I could be mistaken. There was a school there, along with a football field, and a classic old country church. It seemed to be the most well kept building in town, so I stopped to take its picture.

My next landmark was Kiowa. I had never been there, but a few months earlier had found a photo on Google maps. The photo was descriptive, showing a crossroads and a couple of buildings off in the distance. The photo did not lie. I decided to head out west, on my next leg of the trip.

This took me through Elizabeth. This town does have a historic district, so I felt obliged to stop and see what it was all about. I found a few buildings that were about a hundred years old, and one that caught my attention was the old Railroad Section house. I didn't know that there was a railroad here, but apparently there was, but this house was the last remaining bit of it.

From there, it was on to Franktown. This is a spread out area, so not too much of a town. I do know that the actress Pamela Grier has a ranch here, so I brought an extra helmet, just in case I should find her hitchhiking for a ride. As I really expected, I had no such luck.

My last turn was back to Colorado Springs along highway 83. There was an uncharacteristic breeze from the South, slowing me down and finally making me glad that I had all the extra layers on. I fell in behind a few vehicles, and kept my speed reasonable. The sun was still out- it would be up for another five hours- and I still had time to fulfill my plans for the rest of the day. I wanted to get lunch at my daughter's restaurant, and get my dog into the dog park.

I made it home by 2 PM.

There I go but for the Grace of God

2008-12-04T11:11:00.004-07:00

A few years ago, I was driving with a friend, and saw a man begging by the side of the road. I said out loud, "There I go but for the Grace of God." I wanted to say that I could be that person, if it hadn't been for my taking the road that I did as opposed to another. I could easily be the man at the side of the road hoping to score some one's spare change. It was at that time that my friend pointed out to me how insensitive that remark was. "Are you saying that you have the Grace of God, while he doesn't? What makes you so much better than him," she asked me.

It dawned on me then. I wasn't any better than the guy on the street. The only difference was that I had a job and money, clean clothes, and a car. Sure, I had all the things that put me into the "I got stuff" club, but what do you have to do to earn the Grace of God? Better question yet, what did I do to get the Grace of God?

We have this belief that misfortune has been brought down by our own actions or in-actions. To a degree, that is correct. If I take a lot of illegal drugs, gamble recklessly, behave poorly, and fail to learn, I should expect problems. But just because I do all of the right stuff, I'm not immune to problems. What problems am I immune to?

There are stories out there about innocent people wrongly convicted of a crime. There are stories of people who live a healthy lifestyle but get sick. There are stories of people who lose everything due to no real fault of their own. So what am I immune to? The answer is pretty simple. Not much.

I am, as a Christian, immune to one problem. I will never be forgotten as a child of God. God will never stop loving me, and my prayers will never be unheard.

My beliefs lead me to the guy on the side of the road. What do I have that he doesn't have? When it comes to Christian beliefs, we could very well believe the same thing. Therefore, he has the Grace of God.

I have the same problems as everyone else. I worry when I open my bank statements, I hate to get up in the morning, there are people I avoid because I don't particularly like them, I get sick like everyone else, my job could dry up and blow away tomorrow. Is this what the Grace of God has to offer me?

I think the Grace of God has nothing to do with these issues here on earth. Poor health, poverty, despair, depression, loneliness are all hard things to deal with, but they don't mean that God as abandoned us.

There we go, with the Grace of God.

Christmas Shopping!

2008-12-02T20:08:00.003-07:00

The Christmas Shopping season has started. It's about time to start up with something other than the stresses of the Dow Jones Industrial Average roller coaster ride throughout the months of October and November.

There's so much bad news going on: We're officially in a recession; the Big 3 automakers are asking for a bailout; every other day there's another bank going under; job layoffs are as common as high gas prices. Oh wait- there's some good news; the gas prices are down to $1.54 in town here.

So, we need some good news. The day after Thanksgiving is known as Black Friday, meaning that so many people shop for Christmas presents that businesses find that day is the one time all year that their books go in to the black. So, since the economy is so bad, the businesses have done all they can to increase sales on November 28th. So, sales were great on Black Friday. The following Monday, known as Cyber Monday, was also good for business.

Things were looking good, but were we looking in the wrong direction?

In New York, a man was trampled to death by a crowd running into a Wal-Mart to get Black Friday sales. This was the worst example of what's gone wrong with the Christmas season. The marketing barrage has started. I'm absolutely sick of hearing Christmas Carols being butchered with lyrics that include the word "buy."

Oh sure, I give and receive Christmas gifts like everyone else. I sometimes even go so far as to buy myself something for Christmas. With the direction things are going this year, I do believe that it is time for a change.

I recently found out about an organization called the Advent Conspiracy. The Advent Conspiracy is an effort to give at Christmas more fully, through four steps: Worship Fully; Spend Less; Give More; and Love All. Their site is worth a look. http://www.adventconspiracy.org/.

I had a boss several years ago who made us memorize his mantra; work smarter, not harder. Now, with our economy struggling, employment being a gift in itself, and people being trampled at the stores, I'm in favor of celebrating Christmas smarter, not harder.

The Disease of the Month

2008-11-24T22:30:00.009-07:00

You may find this interesting. Last month was Breast Cancer Awareness month. This month saw the Great American Smoke-out. Ten years ago, it was chic to wear a red ribbon to promote Aids awareness. I used to wear a Lance Armstrong yellow bracelet.

I get a litte concerned about what I call, the disease of the month. It seems that there's a promotion of some kind to show awareness of the illness, and then when the month is over, we go on to our normal lives. I think it's better that we commit.

Why was it that 10 years ago, Aids was such an issue, and today it is a side note? I think it is because we seem to have HIV and Aids under control in the United States. Education and awareness have paid off, and people took control of their lives. But, it still exists and we cannot forget about it. In the African continent, it is estimated that there are 28 million people who are HIV positive. Now I don't want to insult anyone's intelligence, but 28 million is the equivilant of the population of the top 15 US cities. So why aren't we still wearing red ribbons?

I think it's because we've got a funny attitude. I heard a comedian talk once about the politics of Aids. He said that Aids is political. Why? Because back in the early 1980s when it first surfaced, someone went to Congress and said, "there's a disease, and it's killing gay men, Hatians, and intravenous drug users." Everyone said, "Hmmm, that's too bad. Well, back to business as usual." Then, a few months later, that someone went back to Congress and said, "Oh yeah, that disease also kills men who sleep with prostitiutes." Congress suddenly jumped, "WE GOTTA DO SOMETHING!"

Well, Aids still kills us. There are still people here in the US who are suffering from the complications of HIV and Aids. It isn't going away. What I think went away was our compassion. We seem to be under the belief that those suffering from this terrible disease brought about their own demise.

So last month, there were a number of events bringing awareness to Breast Cancer. I think that Breast Cancer is a serious illness. It is estimated to kill 40000 women and men in the US. That is terribly serious, and cannot be ignored.

What I also found is that lung cancer is estimated to kill 161000 people in the US.

So why aren't we having a lung cancer awareness month? Why aren't we wearing ribbons to show awareness of lung cancer?

I believe that we are ignoring this statistic is because of that same attitude. Some of us think that people with lung cancer bring it on themselves.

That really bugs me. We get this attitude in place that we need to think about a serious problem while the rest of the world is watching, and when the hype is over, we forget about those who are suffering. I think we had better watch out. We're starting to look like Congressmen.

Cancer Statistics

HIV Statistics

November and Thanksgiving

2008-11-22T07:13:00.005-07:00

So here's what I'm thinking...

I'm a Christian. I chose my faith after it chose me. That's the best I can really say about why I keep with it, despite my doubts, my struggles, and my shortcomings.

What I find interesting is that in many cases, I believe Christianity becomes something of sales. I'd love to say that the words "Christianity" and "sales" are mutually exclusive, but think about it. We hear the people of God say things like joy and love and happiness. These are all positive words that have a sincere place in my faith. Those words also sell quite a bit.

What I believe is a little different.

Follow this for a moment. God is our creator and higher power. For all accounts and purposes, God is the boss man-the head guy in charge-the big kahuna... so if God says it, to put it short, we gotta do it. That was an early lesson in the Old Testament; Adam & Eve didn't listen; all of humanity was wiped out except for Noah and his family and two of every species; Jacob's brothers had to eat a lot of crow; Jonah was swallowed by a whale... boy-what lessons those were. Don't disobey the Lord, or you'll live to regret it. So, what has God told us? We have heard that we should believe in him, and live a life that is accepting and loving. That's all in a nutshell-there are other places in the Bible that we can say God tells us to do something, but when it comes down to it, I think that really covers it. In return, God promises us redemption after death and happiness in a sinless, timeless place. OK-to be quite honest, I think we're getting the better end of that deal, especially when forgiveness of our shortcomings comes in to play, but that's the real root of our faith.

Now, try this. What if God said, in so many words, Believe in me, and live an accepting and loving life, and here's what you'll get in return. You'll get despair, unhappiness, sleepless nights, people will turn on you, disease, depression, and at the end of your life, you'll cease to exist. But, I'm God and it's my way or the highway...

So, how many people would lovingly embrace Christianity under these circumstances? I bet there would be a "fringe" following.

That's where I have trouble. There was a time when Christianity meant being hunted like an animal, being coated with oil and burned like a torch. Not a pleasant time to take a stand. I have to admit- if I were faced with that kind of dilemma, of worshiping God and meeting a painful end, or worshiping a statue and hanging out in the atrium eating grapes... there would have to be some stunning arguments on behalf of Christianity.

Someone would have to really sell it to me!

My point is that I think it's easy for people to have faith when things are good. It's easy to be grateful to God when you've got happiness, security, food on the table, and no one is trying to burn you at the stake. It's easy to attribute our place in the world to our faith in God. We still forget one important fact. History tells us, and our faith should remind us, that these things that we are grateful for are temporary! All that we are thankful for could be gone in a minute.

When things are lousy, we have to turn to something for strength. Many of us turn to a number of remedies, ranging from drugs to skydiving. We also turn to God for strength. God becomes an alternative to other temporary fixes, even if we ignored God all those times when times were good. How insensitive is that? I do not believe that God punishes us with bad times to get us to turn to him, but I believe there is a reason for the times that we suffer. It's not up to me to determine the reason. Still, I believe there's a good reason to turn to God no matter the circumstances.

So here's what I believe. It is easy to worship God and be thankful when things are good. When things are bad, it's essential to worship God and be thankful.

Right-next week is Thanksgiving. We'd better think about that over our turkey and potatos.

Father Barry On the Waterfront

2008-11-14T20:49:00.004-07:00

One of my favorite movies is On the Waterfront, directed by Elia Kazan. Many people remember this movie because of Marlon Brando's famous "I coulda been a contender" speech. That was an extremely touching part of the movie, and there were others - many others that make that movie to be, in my opinion, the best movie of the 1950s. Its message still stands today, that we should all stand up for what is right, even if it means standing up against those things that are strong and popular.

The character I admire in that film is Father Barry, played by Karl Malden. He plays a priest who sees the corruption in the Union that controls the docks, and agrees to stand along side of those who would turn against the mob. It's dangerous, because the Union bosses seem to have no trouble at all with killing someone to keep them D&D, or as it is explained: deaf and dumb.

There is one scene in the film in which a worker who agrees to testify against the Union finds himself being killed in an "accident" in a ship's hold. Father Barry is brought in to say last rights for the man. In the process, he finds the opportunity to give a sermon to the Union workers and corrupt bosses who are in the ship with him.

FATHER BARRY: I came down here to keep a promise. I gave Kayo my word that if he stood up to the Mob...I'd stand up with him all the way.

And now Kayo Dugan is dead. He was one of those fellows who had the gift for standing up. This time they fixed him. They fixed him for good this time, unless it was an accident...like Big Mac says.

Some people think the Crucifixion only took place on Calvary. They better wise up. Taking Joey Doyle's life to stop him from testifying is a crucifixion. Dropping a sling on Kayo Dugan...because he was ready to spill his guts tomorrow...that's a crucifixion. Every time the mob puts the crusher on a good man...tries to stop him from doing his duty as a citizen, it's a crucifixion. And anybody who sits around and lets it happen...keeps silent about something he knows has happened, shares the guilt of it...just as much as the Roman soldier who pierced the flesh of Our Lord to see if He was dead.

UNION WORKER: Go back to your church, Father.

FATHER BARRY: Boys, this is my church. If you don't think Christ is down here on the waterfront...you've got another guess coming!

Every morning...when the hiring boss blows his whistle...Jesus stands alongside you in the shape-up. He sees why some of you get picked and some of you get passed over. He sees the family men worrying about getting their rent...and getting food for the wife and kids. He sees you selling your souls to the mob for a day's pay.

POP DOYLE: The next bum that throws something deals with me! I don't care if he's twice my size!

FATHER BARRY: What does Christ think of the easy-money boys...who do none of the work and take all the gravy? How does he feel about the fellows who wear $400 suits...and diamond rings on your union dues and your kickback money? And how does He, who spoke up without fear against every evil...feel about your silence?

You want to know what's wrong with our waterfront? It's the love of a lousy buck. It's making love of a buck, the cushy job...more important than the love of man. It's forgetting that every fellow down here is your brother in Christ. But remember, Christ is always with you.

Christ's in the shape-up, in the hatch, in the union hall. He's kneeling right here beside Dugan and He's saying with all of you: "If you do it to the least of mine, you do it to me." What they did to Joey and to Dugan...they're doing to you and you. All of you! And only you, only you with God's help...have the power to knock them out for good.
Amen.

We could all use this speech at any given time in our lives.

The Data Sheet

2008-11-12T08:50:00.005-07:00

I remember as a kid, times that I would find magazines with excellent pictures in them, especially the large photo in the center of the magazine that would fold out to three pages... I'm sure that you know what magazines had this feature! We found out later in life that the real thing didn't always look the same, but was a thousand times better than any photo.

On the back of those photos was a "playmate data sheet." This was a hand written form written by the form on the opposite side of the page, that described a number of things that were supposed to provide a glimpse into her personality. Today, we may look at those and think of "bubblehead" as a personality trait. The turn-ons were always the same. She liked long walks on the beach, candlelit dinners, and puppies and kittens.

Now, I'm old enough for these women to be my daughters. Still, I often categorize things in my own life, and try to complete my own data sheet. You know that I wouldn't dare include my measurements - that's just embarrasing for a guy! Yet I do want to consider one thing. Instead of turn ons; these are the things that make me feel alive:

1) Playing a practical joke on someone (never lasting more than a minute)
2) Riding my motorcycle anywhere I want to
3) Skydiving
4) Kissing an attractive woman
5) Doing something artistic
6) Watching a baseball game from the stands while drinking a beer and eating a hot dog
7) Telling a joke
8) Seeing a child eat a meal

I'd be interested to hear of others things that make people feel alive...

The fun of employment

2008-11-11T16:25:00.003-07:00

So the next time you apply for a job, keep your eyes on the Employee Rules. You know what kind of place you'll be working at, if you consider that some employee in the past, provided a reason for these rules...

WORKPLACE RULES

I, ____________________________ agree to adhere to the following rules for this workplace. By signing below, and initialing next to each rule, I affirm that I understand each rule, and will abide them. Failure to follow these rules is grounds for termination.

____1. I will not ask any client if he or she has ever received a face-lift.

____2. If my desired attire is a Scottish kilt, I will wear underwear.

____3. I will not bring farm animals to the workplace. Farm animals include, but are not limited to pigs, horses, chickens, and cattle.

____4. I will not refer to any supervisor as “Skippy.”

____5. I will not place advertisements on billboards for Office Space for Rent, when the office space in question is the CEO's office.

____6. I will not keep pet birds at my desk.

____7. I will not place mousetraps in the client waiting rooms.

____8. I will not place chemical hazard signs in the employee break room.

____9. I will not bring a sun-lamp into the office, for the purposes of sunbathing during breaks, while at my desk.

____10. I will not organize or participate in any office betting pools, including but not limited to: basketball, football, women's beach volleyball, synchronized swimming, horse racing, or employee terminations.

____11. I will not cut photos of the personnel manager's face and paste them over the body of a centerfold.

____12. I agree that my office cubicle is not to be used as a barber shop or hair salon.

____13. I will not trim my toenails outside of respective washrooms.

My Political Post

2008-11-06T11:50:00.007-07:00

So now that the big election is over, I guess it is now time for me to talk politics. I usually like to steer clear of this subject in a public forum, but since there’s little at stake now, I think I can do this safely.

First off, in the interest of full disclosure, I am pretty conservative, but would like to think of myself as “middle of the road.” Living in a military town and having a number of friends who are vets make it pretty easy to keep this view, but it hasn’t always been that way. In the mid 1980s, I lived in Chicago, where there’s one political party, the Democrats. Supporting Reagan during that time led to several arguments on the street, so I don’t want to go there now.

So, I did support John McCain for President, but he wasn’t my first choice. My first choice was Fred D. Thompson, but when he went on TV looking like he was just this side of the morgue; sheesh – he made John McCain at 72 years old look like John Edwards!

The Presidency is an interesting office, because it is so technical and so important; we need leadership there, and someone who can correctly muscle the rest of the huge Washington establishment. What we need is not usually what we get.

This election does appear to be a referendum on the Bush administration. I, like many others, have been seriously disappointed in the current President. It is quite amazing how such a person could go from such a high approval rating after September 11th 2001, to his current rating which is so low. To look back at what happened, I think I know what went wrong, and having the gift of hindsight, now know what should have happened.

The Bush administration began falling after the invasion of Iraq in March of 2003. This was preceded by reports of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Iraq’s expulsion of UN weapons inspectors. These reasons support our country to build a coalition to invade Iraq, and replace its government with one that was democratically elected. The things that went wrong from there were numerous. The administration assumed that the troops would be met by cheering civilians, seeing them as liberators. Then they failed to locate any weapons of mass destruction. The embarrassing treatment of prisoners by US soldiers seemed to just push things deeper.

I think this could have been avoided, by going back to President Bush’s speech to the combined House and Senate on September 20th, 2001. During that speech, which I believe was one of the finest speeches in US history, he said,

Now, this war will not be like the war against Iraq a decade ago, with a decisive liberation of territory and a swift conclusion. It will not look like the air war above Kosovo two years ago, where no ground troops were used and not a single American was lost in combat.
Our response involves far more than instant retaliation and isolated strikes.

Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign unlike any other we have ever seen. It may include dramatic strikes visible on TV and covert operations secret even in success.

We will starve terrorists of funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to place until there is no refuge or no rest. And we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism.

Every nation in every region now has a decision to make: Either you are with us
or you are with the terrorists.

After this speech and our firm resolve, we took down the Taliban in Afghanistan. I think that when Bush felt the need to take on Iraq, he should not have built up the reasoning of weapons of mass destruction, nor should he have sent Colin Powell to the UN to give a speech with half-baked evidence. I think he should have made a speech similar to this:

Good evening. My fellow Americans, we have taken on the Taliban in Afghanistan, and uncovered and captured many of those Al-Quida operatives who would like to kill us. We are in the first few chapters of a huge undertaking. I would like to remind you of what I said in 2001,
immediately after the attacks in New York, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania.

We do not believe that the nation of Iraq was directly involved in the attacks of 9-11. We do believe, however, that now that Al-Quida is on the run, they will run to the safety of Saddam Hussein. We also believe that they will seek comfort from Iran, but to be quite honest, we shouldn’t take them on just yet. Our direction is to go
in to Iraq, remove the Ba’ath Party, Saddam Hussein, and his sons from power. From there, we intend to keep the war on terror away from US soil. We would prefer that Saddam Hussein and his sons step away from power, and allow us to pursue this operation without shots fired, but we do not anticipate his cooperation.

We hope this will send a message to Iran, North Korea, and anyone else that they should not harbor terrorists. We also intend to rebuild these countries that we move in to, so that there will not be a need anyone to reach for extremists who would resort to such drastic action as what we have seen.

We respect human life; all human life. It is our intention to live along side of those who don’t share our political ideology, as long as there is no one hurt in the process. We understand that there are those who feel differently about us. We will not tolerate those who would strap on explosives on to human beings, or crash vehicles laden with explosives into unarmed civilians. That is terrorism. We are against terrorism.

But, we all know what happened. It was all down hill from there. Somehow though, I don’t think that Bush could have given my idea of a speech. Communication requires three basic things; a communicator, a message, and a recipient. In our case, I think Bush could have communicated this message, but he did not think we would have accepted that message.

Whose fault is that? We have a habit of hearing what we want to hear. We have a habit of rewarding those who tell us what we want to hear, and not listening to what we need to hear. Any parent that’s worth a darn knows that kids do not want to eat broccoli, and would prefer to eat ice cream. That’s kind of like us as Americans. We want to hear good news, and want to hear that we’re doing well, and all things right. But we cannot accept it when someone gives us the awful truth.

I think that’s why we like to elect personalities to the presidency. In 1992, Bill Clinton beat George H.W. Bush to the office of the President. I think that happened because Bush was boring, and Clinton played saxophone on The Arsenio Hall Show. Then in 1996, Bob Dole ran against Clinton on the “Mean Republican” ticket. Again, we voted for personality. In 2000, Clinton’s second term seemed to haunt Al Gore, who had as much personality as a department store mannequin, against George W. Bush, the Texas Cowboy. In 2004, John Kerry seemed to generate disinterest by being just another government guy with a rich wife. Now, Barack Obama has won the election, and I think that he scored his winning touch when he danced with Ellen DeGeneres on daytime TV.

I will support Barack Obama’s Presidency as an American. I did not agree with his international or tax policies, but that’s something I’ll live with. He’s facing a number of issues that for all our sake, I hope he succeeds.

Just, in my humble opinion, I believe we should maybe someday we should elect a person not for personality, but for his or her skill at running this nation.

George Bush's Speech transcript September 20, 2001

Ride on 11-2-08

2008-11-03T20:45:00.009-07:00

It's one of my favorite days of the year. It's the day after Daylight Savings Time ends, bringing back the one hour of sleep that I lost last Spring. Sure, it gets dark earlier now, but I'm kind of a night hawk anyway. I really like the "extra" hour of sleep. I also heard that a recent doctor's study found that people suffer fewer heart attacks on the day after Daylight Savings Time ends. Somehow, that doesn't surprise me.

So there is a Colorado Patriot Guard Riders mission going on today. The good news that it is not for a hero returning to the States after being killed or wounded. The bad news is that it is for a hero on his way over to Afghanistan. Army Chief Warrant Officer James Henry recently found himself in receipt of orders sending him and his family to another installation away from Fort Carson where he has been stationed for the past several years. The timing was typical of the US Army. Mr. Henry's daughter was about to turn 16, and his son was six months away from graduating from high school. Mr. Henry approached the Army about what he could do to prevent moving his family. He had one other option, and that was to volunteer for another tour in Afghanistan. Thus his family could stay in their home. Mr. Henry is a hero.

The PGR volunteered to escort Mr. Henry from his home to the Colorado Springs Airport. Considering his sacrifice for his family and his country, it is the least we could do.

Our mission was short, but well worth it. There were about 30 riders, and CW3 Henry in the middle, driving with his family. We had a number of people stop and wave to the impromptu parade ushering the soldier to his deployment. We took the liberty to park in the loading zone at the airport, and cheer Mr. Henry on his way. From there, we left him with his family, and went our own seperate ways.

I went to have a late breakfast/early lunch at my daughter's restaurant. It was pretty crowded, but I managed to get a seat in Natalie's section. We talked a little about stuff, and I left my customary $5.00 tip, which was about 35% of my bill. My daughters are the only ones who get that gratuity rate.

From there, I was on my way out on the road. I decided to head out west, because the roads are much more interesting that way. I hadn't decided on a ending point, but I wanted to get back soon enough to take my dog to the dog park. I was in Manitou Springs, when I looked up at Pikes Peak. I realized that I had not taken Steve McQueen to the summit, and it was probably my last opportunity until next Spring to do so.

I was about to take the turn to the Pikes Peak Highway, but had a couple of obstacles to overcome. First was that I had just below a half a tank of gas. At higher altitudes, Steve tends to cough a little, so I should really go with a full tank, and even though the temperatures were in the 70s in Manitou Springs, at a loss of ten degrees for every 5000 feet, I was looking at a cool summit. I figured that I would get gasoline in Woodland Park, and if the temperature didn't bother me there, I'd give the summit a shot.

I dropped the idea in Woodland Park, when the temperature was cool; not enough to stop my ride, but enough to tell me that it would be cooler at 14000 feet at the top of Pikes Peak. I tabled the idea until next year.

So I decided to go to Deckers. That ride is always beautiful. The road is in
good condition, the curves and hills always keep the thrill of motorcycling alive, and the views of the mountains are beautiful. This time of year allows for a view that's much different than the rest of the year, but now for over five years, the scars of the Hayman Fire of 2003 are still there. I never thought this devastation would last this long.

I made it to Deckers, and stopped for a Coke. I spoke with another rider about the bike he did not take on the ride that day. He had a 1965 Moto Guzzi. I don't know a lot about that make of bike, but vintage stuff is so cool visualize. I'd like to think that my Harley would some day be vintage.

I checked my map and figured that I could take a back road from Deckers back to Lake George. I was not in the mood to take any unpaved roads. I decided to give it a shot, but the minute I saw any gravel, I would turn around.

The highway from Deckers headed to the northwest. It was a well paved road, and was just as interesting as the rest of highway 67. It went up a pretty nice hill, and right over the top was a scenic overlook. It was worth stopping for, but not right then. I kept going, passing a few trucks stopped so that hunters could get out and bag a deer.

I made it to a small town called Buffalo Creek. I saw a number of cabins and homes that were settled into the woods looking absolutely natural. I wasn't going the right way to get to Lake George; I had missed the turn-off. I'm glad I missed it, because finding this town was worth the ride. It was hidden in the woods like a secret place, a hideout from the rest of the world. I liked that route.

I used Buffalo Creek as a turn around point, and stopped at the scenic overlook on the way back. I did not have any problems or stops on the way back, and made my way back home. There, my dog, Andy stood anxiously awaiting to see his friends at the dog park.

Ride on 10/26/08

2008-10-28T19:32:00.012-06:00

It's a clear Sunday, and I'm not working. What a great excuse for a ride, this late in the season. I didn't know exactly where to go, but I've got a schedule to keep. I usually have lunch on Sunday at the restaurant where my daughter works, and Sunday is also the day I take my dog to the dog park to see his friends. Since I had a little time for a ride, I decided to go south. I packed up at around 10 AM, and figured that I'd take almost a reverse route from one I had taken a few months earlier around Bishop's Castle. The big difference was that I decided that I wouldn't ride on any unpaved roads.

My ride started out excellent, with my MP3 player randomly selecting the Afro Celt Sound System's Mojave, a piece I could listen to every day. At 10 AM, riding through the central part of Colorado Springs, Mojave was a perfect listen while the streets were cool and quiet.

I headed down south on Highway 115, stopping at the gas station to top off. I took a quick bathroom and breakfast break there, while I talked with a few other bikers who were doing the same while I was there. One of them was riding a Valkyrie, which is a purely beautiful bike. If I didn't have a Harley, I'd probably lean toward the Valkyrie.

I hit the road shortly thereafter, and was still grateful to have a Harley - a respectable bike in its own right. Within a few minutes, I found the temperature dropping quite a bit. The forecast called for temps in the mid 60s, but at the speed I was travelling, I was getting cold. Still, I continued on.

The route was familiar; Highway 115 along the western edge of Fort Carson, down to Penrose. I was familiar with Fort Carson on the other side of the fence. Back in 1987 when I was first stationed there, I spent a week on a field exercise just to the northeast of Turkey Creek Ranch, and another three days just east of the May Bug Museum. I even remember a few of the old tank trails that me and my friends used to hide out on during weekly training days. Ah, the good old days!

In Penrose, I decided to take a side journey through the actual town. I had never actually been there, but I have a soft spot for small towns. This one was small; it's "business district" consisted of a few buildings along one block. As I rode around the corner, I saw two young men, one of whom was disassembling an AR-15 rifle. I guess there is really no need for a Police Department here.

I headed south across highway 50, and saw an abandoned home there that I had never seen before. It did not seem to have much time left as an assembled home, so I decided to photograph it while it was still in place. It still had some beauty to it. I can only imagine what it was like when it was occupied.

I headed into Florence, and passed a few old homes. Highway 67 was my next turn, which headed straight down to Wetmore. There was lot of wide open space, as I saw the Wet Mountains straight ahead of me. It looked like a lot of fun to ride into them, but it was getting cooler, and I wanted to meet my daughter for lunch. Instead of heading south, I cut to the east, heading out to Pueblo.

The last time I went from Penrose to Pueblo, I took highway 50, and rode right into a headwind that nearly took my head off. Today felt about the same; a headwind that pressed against me like I was standing in a hurricane.

I found my way into Pueblo, and stopped to top off my gas tank. After that, I hit the expressway and started north. I veered off in Fountain, and bounced around until I hit Powers Boulevard. From there, it was a straight shot to my daughter's restaurant.

I arrived at 1 PM, right as she was off signing off duty. We had lunch together, something we hadn't been able to do for months.

That's why I never argue with fate. I'm glad it was too cool for a long ride.

Logical Approach to Religion

2008-10-23T15:14:00.004-06:00

So there’s a movie that came out a couple of weeks ago called Religulous, directed by Larry Charles and written by Bill Maher. I’m not a big fan of Maher, and I am not planning on seeing the movie, so I don’t plan on reviewing it here. I am a huge fan of satire. I love making fun of things, especially those things that we hold in high regard – that is, as long as the fun poking does not hurt anyone. So I am not planning on seeing this movie, partly because I don’t care much for Bill Maher, and mostly because I don’t feel like parting with two hours of my time and $7.00.

I am bringing up this film because the commercials for it open a few points to ponder. From the previews, I can see that Bill Maher posts several questions to religious leaders, hoping to explain the existence of God.

There are great logical questions that need to be asked when pondering God’s place here. Where is God? Why did he create us? When will we know the answers to these questions?

I am Christian, and have strong faith in God, but don’t think that we haven’t had our struggles. I had a number of questions for God; namely about his miracles throughout history. He was able to part the Red Sea; a feat that even Cecil B. DeMille and Charlton Heston could imitate but not duplicate. He was able to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah quickly while saving Lot and his family (sorry about that Mrs. Lot). God was able to bring children to Abraham and Sarah despite their being older than most grandparents. There’s a whole history of miracles – fully attributed to God. So why doesn’t God simply end the problems that we’ve been having here on earth with a simple miracle? According to the Judea-Christian beliefs, God is all powerful. So performing a miracle would not be more than a twitch of his eye. In that twitch, God could put out a message in unmistakable language, that he is God, that he loves us, and that he wants us to do things his way. If God can write the 10 Commandments on tablets of stone, why can’t he send a loud and clear message to the world?

From what I understand, that’s the argument that Bill Maher sends out. By asking this question, he questions the existence of God.

It’s a good question.

Logic is a good way to argue these things. Why, if God loves us, does he allow bad things to happen to us? Why is there pain, death, and destruction of all this that God has created?

The French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal had a very pragmatic approach to the belief of God, called Pascal’s Wager. This said that we cannot prove or disprove the existence of God. We should base our beliefs on self-interest, because the existence is incomprehensible. Self-interest dictates that we should believe in God. If God exists, then it is important to him that we believe in him. If he does not exist, then it doesn’t really matter. Therefore, we should play things safe and believe in God and live out a Christian life.

I have had my doubts over time. There have been many sleepless nights when I have woken from a horrible nightmare, thinking that maybe my faith is all a lie. The emptiness is unbearable. The feeling of being alone is worse than suffocating. My fears disappeared though, when I proved God to myself. My faith is intact.

I realized that God promises me two things. Looking at life in general, there are only two things that I can absolutely guarantee without a doubt.

God will always love us. God will hear every one of our prayers.

I don’t mean to discourage Bill Maher’s satire, but faith is something that we cannot look at with human logic.

Philosophy of Religion
Religulous

The Phil/Work Index

2008-10-06T18:39:00.003-06:00

So today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped over 300 points. It's a really severe drop, but it could have been worse.

I was having an especially busy workday myself. As the one tech guy in my company, I find that my services are frequently relied upon. Many of my clients have "laundry lists" for me to take care of. Sure, it's job security, but what a pain!!! So during my workday, while everyone wanted everything right then and there, I found time to check the stock ticker on my computer. At my busiest point in the day, the Dow was down over 700 points. As the day lightened up, the Dow went up.

I began to wonder if there was a direct relation between my workload and the Dow.

So, just in case, I'm starting the Phil/Work index. I figure that the Dow Jones Industrial Average will go up, if I'm not working so hard.

I think I should propose this to my boss. It's for the good of the economy!!!

Ride on Sept 20th

2008-09-21T00:12:00.009-06:00

So this week, I’ve been recovering from a cold, and I’ve finally got the upper hand over it. I don’t really need an excuse to ride, but the fresh air does my sinuses well, so there’s my excuse.

I started late, by going out to lunch at my daughter’s restaurant, and time to hatch my route. I was planning on heading out east of the city, which is a pretty boring ride, but I was looking for fresh air-not interesting views. I remembered that I had suggested a ride to Breckenridge this past week, so I decided to go west, which is a ride filled with great views and good roads. The air was just as clear out west as it was to the east.

I left town at about 1 PM. The sky is mostly cloudy, but there is enough blue to keep me clear. The air felt great. I rode up Ute Pass along side of two other bikers, and some surprisingly heavy traffic. I discovered later that there was an Oktoberfest going on in Woodland Park.

I rode through Woodland Park and stopped at a custom bike shop there to stretch my legs and look at new stuff. There wasn't too much there that interested me, so I rode onward. The route was pretty familiar, and easy to look at. In between Divide and Florissant are a great deal of trees and rock formations that look down on the biker zipping by.

Clouds were growing on the western horizon, and the unmistakable vertical gray of rain coming down was ahead of me. I didn’t want to get wet, seeing as I’ve got this upper hand on my cold-and I hadn’t sneezed once during the ride so far. I figured that I would stop at the Wilkerson Pass ranger station to re-evaluate the ride and put on my rain suit, if necessary. That meant that I had about 7 miles to ride in a light rain.

What bothered me the most wasn’t that my pant legs were getting wet, but that the drops were stinging my neck. The rain felt like tiny beestings, and I needed to get out of the rain pretty quick. The ranger station appeared in time, at the western edge of the Front Range.

I went in to the book store at the ranger station, and spent a great deal of time looking at the tour books. There were maps that I wanted, and a huge relief map on the wall that gathered my interest. The route to Breckenridge looked close to where I was at the time, and the clouds were clearing. I bought another map at the station, and headed out again.

I considered headed back in to town just in case the rain started up again. It was a little after 3 PM, and the sky was pretty clear, so held a quick vote when I exited the parking lot. Breckenridge won, and I started out again headed west. The next leg of this journey was down the western slope, and in to South Park. This open area of land is a straight shot out west towards the Sawatch Range.

I went through Hartsel, a small town nestled next to one small hill which looks to be like a bump on a huge putting green. There were a couple of buildings and two abandoned gas stations to pass by, before I turned off of Highway 24 and north on Highway 9.

I never took this road before. It darted up along the side of a ridgeline that became a wall along the eastern side of the road. It wasn’t more than 20 or so minutes before I reached the town of Fairplay.

I turned off of Highway 9 and on to Highway 285 for a few moments when I came to a gas station. While I topped off, I looked off into the distance to where I was headed. It was not looking good. As much as I wanted to go to Breckenridge, I didn’t want to screw up my fight with the cold. I examined the map and looked at the distance I was headed back over. Suddenly, I had another idea. Instead of heading back to Colorado Springs the same way, I decided to head up to the northeast along Highway 285. This went straight in to Denver, and I would hit C470 outside of Denver that would take me back home.

This was also a new route for me. I was patting myself on the back for this route. I didn’t want to take any more gravel roads and wanted to stay close to civilization. Highway 285 would meet that criteria. I headed up northeast. The road took me up a hill that overlooked the northern edge of South Park, just south of Red Hill Pass. I would go through this pass, then more; Kenosha Pass, Crow Hill, and Deer Creek Pass.

There were small towns to go through, such as Webster, Singleton, Glenisle, and Pine Junction. It was in Glenisle where I found a hot dog stand in the shape of an actual
Coney Island dog. It was one classic building similar to the giant covered wagon building along Interstate 70 or the world’s largest rocking chair in Penrose. I love those buildings, and it was strange to see it out in the Rocky Mountains.

I stopped down the road at a gas station for an apple and a Coke. While I was there, I noticed on the map that another road would take me right down to Deckers. Deckers would take me right back to the Springs, and cut off an hour on my ride. My only problem was that the map didn’t tell me what condition the road was in.

I learned a long time ago to not argue with certain fates, and my risk was high. If the road was not paved, I may knock off some time from the ride, but if I had any problems, I would be in trouble. Fate told me to continue on my route toward Denver. The view was excellent while I skirted along south of Mount Evans. I did not argue with my route.

At about 6 PM, the Denver skyline appeared in front of me. I had no trouble finding C470. I really enjoyed riding on 285, and decided to do it again sometime. After a quick ride on 470, I found Highway 85 and headed south. It had rained earlier, and the air was still cool with the moisture. I was anxious to get home, and was happy that I hadn’t sneezed once during my ride. The fresh air did me a lot of good.

One way to get ahead this November!

2008-09-19T15:20:00.004-06:00

With all the political mud-slinging, promises, threats, and ugly stuff, I think we all should get together and work at making a buck after the election. One thing's for sure, our day jobs probably won't make us wealthy.

What I'm planning is to market bumper stickers that say, "Don't Blame Me, I voted for _______!" We can fill in the loser's name later.

Who's with me?

Remembering Staff Sergeant Kenneth Mayne

2008-09-14T19:51:00.015-06:00

The opinions reflected in this blog do not necessarily reflect those of the Patriot Guard Riders, its members or affiliates.

On September 4th 2008, Staff Sergeant Kenneth W. Mayne was killed by an enemy explosive during combat operations in Baghdad, Iraq. Sergeant Mayne lived in Arvada, Colorado and was an 11 year Army veteran. He was originally assigned to the 101st Airborne Division, but transferred to the 4th Infantry Division, so that he could be stationed at Fort Carson; close to home. After his passing, his mother,
Michelle Benevidez, told a news station in Denver that he felt strongly about his mission in Iraq, and that he knew he was helping the people of Iraq,
regardless of why the US went to war. She went on to say that he enjoyed helping the children in Baghdad’s Sadr City slum. Benevidez recounted that her son said that if we can change an Iraqi child’s view of Americans, we won’t need to be there in 20 years. Sergeant Mayne was a patriot.

The Patriot Guard Riders were formed in response to protests at military funerals by a group from a church in Kansas. The Kansas group used their First Amendment rights to suggest that the American casualties in Iraq were brought about by our own moral lapses. The Patriot Guard was formed to provide a way to respectfully shield the family of the fallen service member from these protests with lines of its members bearing American flags.

Earlier this year I joined the Patriot Guard Riders. On Saturday, September 13th, SSG Mayne was put to rest. I was honored to participate in this ceremony, by being a part of the Patriot Guard Riders.

We met at 8:00 AM at a Denny’s restaurant. I had never met the other riders before, but they were easy to spot. The Patriot Guard Riders are usually clad in black leather jackets emblazoned with military and ride patches. Like me, many have gray(ing) beards. I was welcomed to the organization by the local captain, and presented with a first time riders’ pin. When we took off and headed north on I-25, my only regret was that I had a third cup of coffee at Denny’s.

We stopped at the Newcomer Funeral Home in Denver. There, we met up with the rest of the Colorado Chapter of the Patriot Guard Riders. There were probably a hundred of us, give or take a few. The state captain, Steve “Road Dog” Deboer, briefed us about our mission for the day. We weren’t expecting any protesters, but we really did not need that reason to honor Sergeant Mayne. At 10:30 AM we lined the parking lot of the funeral home with riders holding flags.

From there, we travelled to Fort Logan National Cemetery. This was a place where, as one rider described to me, the price for freedom is visible. Grave markers, lined with military precision, covered acres of Colorado land. This was where my children’s Godfather, Raymond DeWitt was buried.

We lined the route with flags. The horse drawn caisson pulled the remains of Sergeant Mayne to Pavilion A at Fort Logan. The family and friends followed. Many were wearing Hawaiian shirts – part of Sergeant Mayne’s own request. He did not want mourning at his passing. He preferred a festive atmosphere, and music by Jimmy Buffett.

We stood for close to two hours holding flags at this funeral. It was the least we could do in respect of the sacrifice that Staff Sergeant Kenneth Mayne gave for us.

It was an honor to participate.

Rocky Mountain News September 5th 2008

The Patriot Guard Riders website

Courage and Good Deeds

2008-09-08T17:06:00.005-06:00

It’s rare in the news that we hear of someone doing a good thing. Years ago, we heard about a boy scout who helped an old lady across the street. When she asked why he would do such a thing, he replied that it was his duty as a scout.

That’s a great story, and I wish I heard more things like that.

In the book of Titus, chapter 2, there’s a verse that reads “we wait for the blessed hope–the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”

This tells me that we should all be doing good things, not because we’re good scouts or anything like that, but because we should reflect the good of Jesus.

I have a theory, and it isn’t a pleasant one. I believe that people do good deeds for one of three reasons: 1) To atone for some guilt; 2) In expectation of some reward; or 3) To glorify God.

I would love to say that everything that I do is for reason number three, but I have to be honest. Reasons one and two are all too prominent in my life.

I really wonder what would happen if we could change the course of human existence for a while. I wonder what would happen if the Bible promised us no reward for good deeds. What if the Bible had a verse that said “Do good deeds but don’t expect anything in return, in fact, expect your good deeds to bring you trouble, pain, and dishonor from those around you.” In many times, this was the reward that people gathered for doing a good deed.

It’s easy to perform good deeds when there aren’t any severe consequences for doing so. Helping an old lady across the street would be met with approval by almost every culture. When it comes to standing up against a standard or norm in society, we sometimes have to look hard for our courage. That’s where things get flighty. Courage is sometimes like a policeman. It’s never around when you really need it.

I believe it takes a special kind of courage to do a good deed when it’s going to come back to hurt you. I think the only place to find that courage is with reason number three.

Ride on 9-6-08

2008-09-07T15:50:00.007-06:00

We’re back in the saddle on Saturday, and our ride is a routine ride up to Deckers. It’s one we’ve taken before, and it never (at least so far) gets old. We started out at about 8:30 AM.

Our route took us south along Powers to Fountain Boulevard. This was maybe the wrong day to take that route, although it wasn’t as bad as I had imagined. On Sept 6th, John McCain and his VP candidate Sarah Palin were speaking at an event center, not far from the intersection of Powers and Fountain. There was a lot of traffic in the area; most of it going the other way.

We trekked up the Ute Pass, feeling the early morning cool air. We were pretty much prepared for the cold, especially at the higher altitudes, but most of us did not expect our hands to get as cold as they did. I was wearing full finger bicycle gloves which are lined with Gor-tex, but that didn’t really seem to matter. If we were riding further than Deckers, I may have stopped to put on my heavier gloves.

We rode in to Woodland Park, and turned on to Highway 67. Not stopping to take a quick break at all, we continued on. The route travels in such a manner as to go every different direction. The twists add to the fun of the ride, coupled with the smell of the trees and morning air.

We reached Deckers at about 9:45. We took a long break to drink a cup of hot cocoa or coffee, and collectively mourn the passing of the warm weather. Sad as it was, we knew it would happen.

The ride back was pretty good, in that we decided to ride past the Garden of the Gods on 31st street, rather than continue on Highway 24. This route took us through a construction site, which brought us a little laughter when a couple of guys hit and knocked down some rubber construction zone cones. It was there that a couple of construction workers shouted out to our riders on Suzukis that they should get a Harley.

After the ride, I had a couple of errands to run, including having lunch at the Village Inn where my daughter is a waitress. One thing I had to do was to pay my utility bill, which I had sealed in an envelope but had neglected to buy a stamp for it. I figured I would stop at the utility company to drop it off.

During my lunch, I examined a map that would lead me on my afternoon expedition. This one would be on my own, and I didn’t have any time frames to work with, except I did want to make it home before midnight. I decided to take a route to Pueblo that looked good on the map, and then find my way down to Bishop’s Castle along Highway 165. The route seemed easy enough once I got to Pueblo. Hit Highway 50, then 45 south, 78 to the southwest, and then 165.

One thing that I learned in the Army was to never trust a map. Put a great deal of faith into it, but don’t bet your life on it. This ride would remind me of that fact.

I found my way south along the Old Pueblo Road. After it started heading west, I ran in to Meridian Road, which promised to take me to Pueblo. It didn’t tell me that the road was gravel and hard packed dirt.

I take it slower on the gravel because the traction on the motorcycle is decreased quite a bit. I worked it okay, and had to slow down quite a bit where some new gravel had been dropped. It made the ride at that part a bit like walking through deep sand. The land along this route was almost completely devoid of any signs of human life, save for the road itself, and the barbed wire fence that lined either side. There were cattle ranches along this route. But I stopped at one point and stood, and did not see any animal except for one bird flying overhead.

As I got closer to Pueblo, the road magically turned to pavement. I was happy to see that, and figured that I wouldn’t have to deal with that again for the rest of the day.

As sure as my navigation, the road intersected with Highway 50. I made my right turn, and started out west. The time was about 4:30 PM, so I had plenty of time.

Highway 45 did not stand out. I turned where I figured it should be, but ended up in a neighborhood. No problem, I thought. Pueblo isn’t a bad town to get lost in. I’ll be able to find my way out. About ten minutes later, I had found my way into downtown Pueblo. This was one part of town I had never stopped to explore. I had seen it from the expressway in the past, but never knew that they had a Riverwalk or some really classic buildings. They had an event finishing up; I believe it was some kind of swap meet, so there were a lot of people in the area, having just picked up that piece of junk they were looking for, and now headed out for something to eat.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay. I had a highway to find. I found Northern Avenue, which I remember when I was part of the Colorado National Guard. Our drill hall was just off of Northern Avenue, and I remember it from many Saturdays and Sundays. I followed it out to the drill hall. The last time I had been there was in 2001, when I dropped off my Christmas Tree at the nearby fairgrounds for recycling. I dropped in then to see some old friends that I haven’t seen since. On this day, it was empty. Something about National Guard drill centers. They never really seem to change. This one was no exception.

I took the next major street south, and got lost in another neighborhood. After making several U turns and going around many blocks, I decided to hit a major street, and follow it until I found a landmark. Strangely enough, the next major street I found was Highway 45.

I did not realize that I had found it until I found Highway 78. Even more amusing to me was that Highway 78 was also known by a more traditional name, Northern Avenue.

This road took me directly out of town. Within a minute or so, I was past the cross streets and Valhalla Memorial Park, which I did not stop to look at. The next thing I knew, I was on an open road, with very little traffic. I was also on a hilltop, looking down on a straight shot. The map told me that it was 22 miles to my next landmark, a small town called Beulah.

I opened up the bike to 85 miles an hour. There was no one ahead of me to pass, and no one behind me. I encountered a few people coming back my direction, but that was it. The land around me was all grassland. There were a few trees and a couple of homes along the way. The area was a large valley surrounded by moderate hills, on Pueblo’s western slope.

Finally, I entered a grove of trees, and slowed down to enjoy the area. I finally saw the signs indicating that I was approaching Beulah. My plan was not to stop there, so I continued on until I saw a road sign. The sign led me to the right for Beulah, and to the left to hit Highway 165. Well, I was planning to go to Highway 165, so I found my route.

This leg of the journey was to be 12 miles. It looked good to me; I could ride 12 miles standing on my head. It also took me through the San Isabel National Forest, which added another landmark to add to my ride, so I was more than happy to take it. What the map did not tell me, nor did I realize it; was the next sign that I encountered. Next 9 miles were unpaved.

How ridiculous this is, I thought to myself. This is a State Highway, and it isn’t even paved! I still continued onward. My earlier run with an unpaved road took me over mostly hard packed dirt, and only a few spots of loose gravel. I shouldn’t worry too much.

The road did take me to some very scenic places. I was just a little concerned that the sharp rocks would cause damage to my bike. Then, another concern came to mind. I filled up my gas tank in Fountain over two hours earlier. Since then, I had traveled quite a few miles, so I wasn’t too sure how much fuel I had left. My tank has a bag strapped on it concealing my gas gauge. I hate to admit, I was a little afraid to look. So, I ran on as little gas as I could. I shut down the engine and coasted down hills where it was safe to do so, and didn’t accelerate too much. All I could think was how stupid I would feel, calling up my son to pick me up in the San Isabel National Forest, somewhere! There was very little civilization there. I did encounter a few hunters and one guy driving the other way, but it was just me and the forest creatures out there.

When the road finally overlooked the paved road, I knew I was close. It was getting cooler, with the sun dropping behind the mountains, so I was glad to have something familiar to look at. I found the asphalt, and headed north.

Highway 165 went north, past Bishop’s Castle, for about 20 miles from where I turned on to it. It was a great ride, with a few twists, and a lot of downhill travel. I passed Bishop’s Castle without stopping. It looked about the same as it did the last time I was there, but the temperature and light dropping made me drive onward.

I reached McKenzie Junction, a small crossroads without any services, and started on toward Wetmore. It was there that I stopped to put on my leather jacket over my sweatshirt, and gathered the nerve to look at my gas gauge. I had over a half a tank full. I had more than enough gas to get me where I wanted, but decided to play it safe and stop at the next station.

I passed the Federal Prison in Florence, and found a convenience store in town. I stopped there, and took a quick break.

From there, I was on Highway 115; a road I am pretty familiar with. It took me over Highway 50, through Penrose, and back on my way into Colorado Springs. I made it back in to town without any other events, and stopped off at the utility company, where I dropped off my bill that I had been carrying around with me all day.

When I got home, I tallied up my miles for the day: 320. Not as many as last Sunday, but a good chunk nonetheless.

This will fly

2008-09-03T18:18:00.002-06:00

I've decided to change my name. From now on, I will be referred to as "For the Record." That way, if I ever have to testify in court, they'll say, "Please state your name for the record," and I'll say "Yes."

From there, it'll be all downhill.

Ride on 8-31-08

2008-09-01T13:06:00.009-06:00

My friends and I had planned this ride for several days, and still, our plans were not entirely final. It’s Labor Day Weekend, known around Colorado Springs as the time for the annual Hot Air Balloon Festival. I always liked this event, as balloonists from all around converge on the park in the center of town, and weather permitting, launch all at once to a great view. This morning, as I rode over to my friends, I could see the balloons off in the distance. We would be going the other way.

I stopped to fill up my gas tank, and since I was early, I bought a cup of coffee to drink while I watched the balloons off in the distance. While I waited there, another motorcycle rider stopped in to top off his tanks. I said hello, and admired his bike, a souped up Harley with flames painted on his gas tank. The rider himself was a nice enough guy who resembled the actor Billy Bob Thornton. I asked him were he was riding to today, and he told me that he was waiting for his brother to arrive there and that his brother was making the decision on where to ride. I told him our plans, to ride north to Estes Park, a good 185 miles away. Before I left, he stopped me and picked up something off the ground. “I found a penny on the ground,” he told me. “I understand I should give the found penny to a friend for good luck, so there you are.” I shook his hand and was on my way.

This ride was also an experiment to see if I could add another aspect to this record of rides. I found a cheap camera tripod, and managed to affix it to my handlebars. Then, I attached the camera to the tripod. Now I had a way to film parts of the ride. I don’t think that Martin Scorsese really has anything to worry about with my filmmaking.

We started out at about 8:15, heading north on Highway 83. We had taken that route many times before so it was nothing unusual. The weather was still a little cool from the night before, but by the time we reached Sedalia, it was too warm for jackets. After a quick break, we flipped over to Highway 85, which took us north to C470, an expressway that does a three quarter circle around Denver. Our route took us along C470 to Golden.

I was pretty familiar with the route, having taken it last Sunday, and a few weeks earlier when I rode to Blackhawk. I was offered the position of group leader, but deferred to Steve, because he has a lot of experience leading groups, while I have an exhaust pipe that kicks out black smoke. It’s probably better for me to ride closer to the back. As we approached Golden, I had the uneasy job of trying to signal to Steve when to turn and what lane we should be in. Good news is that Steve was pretty much acquainted with the route, and didn’t have any problem getting us on the right path.
From Golden, we took US 6, which morphed into Highway 119. This would take us through the mountains and canyons.

We rode through tunnels. As we all have discovered from our childhood playing with cardboard paper towel tubes and vacuum cleaner hoses, making noises through these things can be fun. Riding loud Harley Davidson motorcycles through tunnels just expands on that idea. We rode through the tunnels, and accelerated our engines just to hear the noise. It was loud.

We stopped for gas just south of Blackhawk, and then on into the gambling town to get some lunch. I discouraged our group (easily) away from the buffet that charged me an arm and a leg last time I was here, in lieu of a smaller casino and restaurant up the street. I was only ticked that the sink in the men’s room didn’t work.

After lunch, we hit the road, heading north again on 119. We took the switchbacks going up okay, but coming down, we all were a little uneasy. Slowing down on those tight turns was hard sometimes, but we got through okay.

We hit the town of Nederland, where I had taken a wrong turn last week. In the middle of town, there’s a traffic circle. Since the roads kind of spoke out from this hub in unusual directions, it’s pretty easy to take a wrong turn. Steve circled past our turn off, but knew traffic circles. If you miss your turn, there’s no problem making another circle.

From there it was 44 miles to Estes Park. We continued on our route, past Ward where I finally ended up last week, and through the roads traveling at an altitude of 9100 feet. The clouds started forming overhead, but the rain wasn’t enough to interrupt us to get the rain suit on. We did stop about 15 miles south of our destination for a quick breather and to put on any jackets we needed, but we were doing okay.

At about 2 PM, we pulled in to Estes. My camera had been working most of the time. I found that I couldn’t really see the display to know if my camera was recording or not. I found out later that many times when I hit the record button to start recording, I was actually stopping the recording! It was something I’d have to work on.

Estes Park is known for its beauty in the mountains, and wildlife that will wander through the town as if they own the place. It’s also known for a beautiful hotel, the Stanley, which was allegedly the inspiration for Stephen King’s book The Shining. The hotel is prominent in the town, and looks the way King described it, except of course, for the town that is within shouting distance of the hotel.

We wandered up to a restaurant, where we could grab a beer and some chips before we headed back down. While we were there, the ladies went to a shop two doors down that sold exquisite chocolates. They came back to our beer chips and salsa with a bag of designer candy, which I will admit, did taste quite good.

At 3 PM, we started up again, and headed down to Loveland along highway 36. A few years ago, I drove up here, and was stopped along that road when a herd of elk decided that the roadway was a good place to stop and look at the cars trying to get through. Fortunately for us, we did not run into any of the larger beasts, and our ride down the hill was pretty quiet.

In Loveland, we tried to find the Thunder in the Rockies motorcycle festival which was going on. It was around; we could tell by all the motorcycles in town; but hard to find. Besides that, we saw some dark clouds to the south of us, and felt it best to just head on home. Before we hit the expressway, we tanked up, and started out.

We decided to take the expressway home as it would be quicker, but much less scenic. The clouds were making a number of our decisions, and we had been riding for about 8 hours. We did hit some rain, but the clouds were telling us that it wouldn’t be long before we were out of it, so we just drove on through it. By the time we hit Denver, the rain had stopped, except for a few stray drops hitting us.

When we got to Castle Rock, we jumped off the expressway in lieu of Highway 83 again, this time southbound. By the time we hit our first red light in Colorado Springs, we had gone about 119 miles. All of us were a little sore from that long a stretch.

I made it home at about 7:30, and calculated out that we rode 342 miles. I now have about 18 minutes of video evidence to support that claim!

Rides on 8-24 and 8-25-08

2008-08-25T22:41:00.016-06:00

It’s a busy weekend, but what a better way than to start it with a ride on Saturday. Our plan was to shoot out highway 24, past Florissant, to the eastern edge of South Park. I had been on that road two weeks earlier, but I was going east instead of west. It was about a 100 mile round trip, and gave us enough time to get out and back in time for lunch.

There were seven of us, and we started at about 8:30. Our route took us through town and then on to Highway 24. The weather was clear, and I really couldn’t see a single cloud in the sky. Knowing Colorado, one only has to wait a few minutes for the weather to change.

We didn’t have any problems at all going up the pass. We had to pass a few people who were just travelling too slowly for the ride, but nothing was too hazardous. We rode through Woodland Park, which was having a Biker’s rally that day, and rather than participate, we continued on to our destination. After another half hour, we ended up at the ranger station on the east side of Mineral Spring Road at highway 24.

This was a rest area and nature center that overlooked the South Park basin. The area was pretty clear, giving us the ability to see Mount Princeton, Columbia, and Harvard, but I couldn’t see Shavano way off to the southwest. After our time there to stop and drink a coke, we headed back east.

It turned out that all the bikers from Woodland Park seemed to be headed out west from there. We probably encountered 150 motorcyclists heading west. As is the tradition amongst bikers, everyone gets a casual wave with the left hand as you pass each other, low so as to not confuse someone behind you as being a right turn signal. There were so many bikers that we just held out our left hand for miles at a time!

We got back to the Springs at around 12 noon, in time for the barbecue for the rest of the afternoon.

On Sunday, I was planning on a much longer ride. This one was to see my cousin’s cabin up in Ward, Colorado, which is a small town about 20 miles northwest of Boulder. The 20 mile distance is through the mountains along the winding roads. This makes the 20 miles seem much more like 40. Last summer, I tried that road on my bicycle. Since it was all up hill on a hot July day, I only managed to go about seven miles before I called it a day.

I decided to travel the back route-from Golden to Blackhawk, and then on to Nederland. From there, it would be a straight shot to the top of Ward. Unfortunately, I took a wrong turn at Nederland, and ended up in Boulder-adding about 25 miles to my trip up to Ward.

Ward sits on a hillside. It’s just east of the Continental Divide. Established when Colorado was part of the Nebraska Territory, it was originally a mining town. It’s over 9000 feet above sea level, and several degrees cooler than the rest of the state. In 1900 a huge fire burned 50 buildings, but it didn’t close the town down. In the 60s and 70s, Ward was known as a haven for counter-culture youth, or a polite way of saying drug using hippies. Now, it still is a home for older people who still wear sandals and hemp shirts. It has quite a history.

My aunt’s family had a couple of cabins there, but they were anything but counter-culture. They still enjoyed the mountains and its area. As a child, my parents took vacations out to the area and we spent many times in Ward. I vaguely remember taking a vacation there at one point, probably in the mid 1960s.

Since then, the cabin fell into disrepair, so my cousin, Rick, has been working for the past couple of years restoring it to a usable state. It’s a ton of work, but it looks so rewarding. The cabin was built around the 1920s maybe… and some of the items seem to be from those days. Rick finally built a bathroom in the cabin within the past few years. Up until then, it had an outhouse near the back door.

I spent Sunday with my cousins Rick, his older sister Betty Ann, and brother Pat. We had another half a dozen relatives there, all of whom I was meeting for the first time. It was a great time, and I hope to keep in touch over the next several years better than I have over the last few.

At 6:30, I had to leave, in order to get back to town within the same calendar date. I headed down the hill back to Boulder. The hill wound around, and my safest speed was about 35 MPH. I made it in to Denver at 7:30, a full hour after I left Ward.

In Denver, I was interested to see the preparation for the Democratic National Convention, starting Monday. Invesco Field was surrounded by security people, and the hotels were all lit up. It looked like an exciting week.

There had been some rain, so I expected that in had passed over without worry. I was slightly mistaken. When the interstate took its southerly direction, I saw some very dark clouds and lightning over southern Colorado. I knew I’d have to stop and put on the rain suit. At Castle Pines, I stopped for gas. When I was through, I donned the suit. Another driver called over to me, and said that the rain wasn’t too bad south of where we were. He also told me that the rain stopped at around Monument Hill. I thanked him for the report, and he wished me good luck.

In Castle Rock, the rain started. It was pretty convenient, because the road went through a construction zone, reducing the top legal speed. I managed okay, but worried about the visibility, traction, and wind. The only way to counter this was to ride slower, but that increased the risk of getting into a collision with someone who was also having problems with visibility. Good luck for me followed: I fell in behind a recreational vehicle that ran at a steady 50 MPH. I found that pretty strange that there were times when I was driving in a big hurry, and frequently swore at the RV drivers who travelled slower than the flow of traffic. Tonight, I needed this guy right in front of me.

We drove at our steady 50 MPH all through Castle Rock, Tomah, Larkspur, Monument, and to the Air Force Academy, where the RV pulled off. Throughout that time, I stayed behind the vehicle, keeping close enough to stay out of the way of faster moving traffic. The only thing that impressed me was that there were two other bikers who passed me like I was in reverse. Either they were really dumb, or really experienced. I gave them the benefit of the doubt, that they had more than my eight months of riding experience.

Only when I got home at 9:00 PM did I discover that there had been four tornados that had touched down in that area where I was riding. That was pretty crazy. It felt really good to be back home.

My motorcycle, (named Steve McQueen) had put 293 more miles onto its odometer.

Information on Ward

Snappy Comback to Stupid Comments

2008-08-21T18:09:00.003-06:00

A few years ago, I heard a radio talk show host speak with a Postal Worker. This guy mentioned that he would deliver mail to hundreds of homes. One thing that frequently happened would be that he would deliver mail directly to the recipient. The person would usually thank him, and then say, “You can keep the bills!” The Postal Worker would always smile, laugh politely, and move on. The customer was oblivious to the fact that every other customer on the postal route used the same joke, thinking that they were so clever, having made up such an ironic comment.

The radio host wanted to know then, what is it that people say that drives everyone else crazy in their world of employment? I remember working at a gas station, I had a number of people come in and complain to me about gas prices. They were high, I had to agree, but there wasn’t anything I could do about the prices working behind the cash register. I did come up with one comeback that I was very proud of. Here’s how the exchange went:

Customer: These prices are terrible! You should be ashamed of yourself, charging over two dollars a gallon for gas! That’s outrageous!
Me: Well sir, we have to charge that amount. How else are they going to pay my EIGHTY THOUSAND DOLLAR A YEAR SALARY?

Now, I work as a computer technician. There’s one thing that happens that drives me up a wall. If anyone can think of a come-back, I’d appreciate it. Frequently, I have to sit at someone else’s desk to fix their computer. Let’s say I’m sitting at Betty’s desk. Now Betty is in her upper sixties, has gray hair, and stands about five and a half feet tall. She’s a beautiful woman, and wears beautiful clothes, frequently has a sweater draped over her shoulders. I, on the other hand, am over six feet tall, weigh two and a quarter (on good days), have a beard, and short hair. People will walk by, see me working on Betty’s computer, and comment, “Wow Betty, you sure have changed!”

Ha ha. I’m laughing. Be glad that I won't go Postal...

No Ride on 8-16-08

2008-08-16T20:14:00.010-06:00

It’s raining outside, so I am not riding today. This rain is bothering me now, because it makes my xeriscaped front yard look stupid, now that it’s growing grass. The rain does give me an excuse to do some housework that I’ve put off for a while. One of these jobs is to scan a stack of papers into my computer that have been sitting around. Some of these papers are my homeowner’s insurance policy. I had never read this before. I don’t think I’m alone-quick show of hands: who has actually read their homeowner’s insurance policy? Anyway, I discovered that my home is not covered in the event of accidental or deliberate nuclear weapon detonation, whether as a result of war or not. Somehow, I believe if this occurs, I won’t really be concerned with my homeowner’s insurance policy. This did lead me to another silly question. The movie monster Godzilla was spawned as a result of a nuclear detonation. Would my home be covered if Godzilla left a big old footprint in my xeriscaped front yard?

My weekends are the best times of the week. Why is that? I think it has to do with taking back our lives. We usually work five days out of seven, and this tends to make us feel like we live our jobs. Yes, I need money to buy food; to support our kids; to ensure our survival. I think we also work to do more.

I can hardly meet someone from Chicago without saying that I used to manage a major movie theatre on the north side. It’s not important that now that movie theatre is a 24 hour workout gym. A couple of years after I left there, I had doubts as to whether or not I did any good as manager. I had poured my life into that job, and was wondering if I had any impact. So, I called the place, identifying myself as a government employee who had to locate current and former employees. I named off a few, and the person I spoke to hadn’t even heard of me.

Sometimes, I’ll read movie reviews. They usually start by saying, “Clint Eastwood plays a boxing coach,” or “Frances McDormand plays a small town police chief.” That prompts this question, who is going to play you in the movie of your life story, and how will the review begin?

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell had a list of sayings that he kept prominently in his office. One of these sayings was “Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.” We work all through the week, and hope we’re making an impact. I just don’t believe any more that we make an impact out of simple employment.

So imagine the impact I’d make if I wrote homeowner’s insurance policies, and I were the first to add a Godzilla clause…

Seen between Colorado Springs and Denver: 8-12-08

2008-08-14T11:05:00.006-06:00

While driving back from Denver on Tuesday, I saw this vertical rainbow that I had to stop and take a picture of... Something you just don't see every day

Ride on 8-9-08

2008-08-10T11:18:00.015-06:00

I had a free Saturday, so there was a pretty good excuse again for a ride. I had an idea that I cooked up a few days earlier, so I was anxious to give it a shot.

My route was from Colorado Springs to Penrose; from there I would travel west to Salida, then north to Buena Vista. My home stretch was eastbound back to Colorado Springs. When I mapped it out on the computer, the distance came out to 220 miles. I think I planned this route because I really enjoy highway 50, which travels adjacent to the Arkansas River through a canyon, and parallel to a railroad track, which was an active passenger rail for many years. The railway was home to the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad, which started its leg in Pueblo and ended in Grand Junction, connecting to the Rio Grande Western Railroad. The railroad was completed in 1883, and was an active passenger line until it eventually became a tourist trap.

I started a little later than I wanted to, because I had new saddle bags on my motorcycle that I had to make sure were secure. To say ‘new’ is a bit of an overstatement-they were new to me, because I bought them at a used motorcycle part store. I did hit the road at about 10 AM, taking my familiar route along highway 115 to Penrose. I enjoy this area, because I believe that little about it has changed over the past two or three hundred years, except-most notably, the asphalt of the road that has been paved through it.

From there, I headed out west, passing the Fremont County Airport. This airport is familiar to me, because I have been skydiving and landing at this place. As I rode by, I saw a couple of parachutes overhead. One of the skydivers was enjoying his dive by performing some very wide spins. I remember a jump that I did last year, when I also did a wide spin. It scared me when I did it, because it meant that my body and the parachute were horizontal. What scared me appeared to be nothing but fun to the guy doing the jumping. I was envious.

The road took me in to Canon City, and beyond to the Royal Gorge area. After that, I was along side of the Arkansas River on one side, and a steep canyon wall on the other. I stopped along the way to watch the whitewater rafting. There were hundreds of people out on the inflatable rafts, each enjoying the adventure of an extreme sport.

I reached Salida after an hour and a half on the road. I had driven past Salida a few years ago, but I have never stopped in the town to have a look. I had been missing this. The town has been in Colorado since 1880, when the Denver & Rio Grande railroad made it a stopping point. It then became a hub for the expansive mining and farming in the area. The old buildings that are still standing captured my attention. On the keystone of most of the buildings, there is a year of construction, and on some, a name of the builder. I’m certain they built these structures hoping that they would last forever, but did they seriously think that the buildings would be standing over a hundred years later?

I was also interested in the signs on the sides of buildings. These had been painted, and in some cases, painted over. It was kind of funny to look at the Snow Drift sign that had been covered with a Coca Cola advertisement.

After I ate a hot dog and chatted with an antique shop owner, I headed back out. Highway 121 went from Salida to 285, which was my next leg. This road ran along the east side of the Sawatch Range, home of Mount Shavano, Antero, Princeton, and others. In this valley, there were more whitewater rafters out, and little traffic to compete with.
I did have to stop to capture another piece of history, with an old schoolhouse that was still standing. I didn’t get too close to the building because of the it did look like it had been transformed in to someone's home, but would have liked to. The swing set next to the building did not look to be older than 50 or so years, leading me to believe that it may have been put there by the school when it was active. I’d like to know for sure.
My final leg took me from just south of Buena Vista back to the Springs. I passed a couple of motorcyclists who had stopped to put on their rain suits. I didn’t think that was necessary, so I did not bother with mine. In five miles, I stopped to do the same. The rain wasn’t hard, but it penetrated my jeans, and the cool wind felt amplified. I started traversing the basin between the Sawatch mountain range and the western side of the Front Range.

I stopped to photograph an old home that had been abandoned at some time.
I also passed areas so desolate, that I wondered: given any random square yard out in this vast area, how many humans throughout history had actually stepped in that spot? A dozen? Fewer? Even more haunting: would someone in two or three hundred years fly over that area in his space ship and think the same thought?

I made it back to town at 3:30 PM, and finally pulled off my rain suit. I had traveled 229 miles.

Real Artificial Intelligence

2008-08-08T12:06:00.007-06:00

As a computer tech, I often get philosophical questions concerning man and technology. I do have an interest in the future of technology, but I have to caveat, I am a technician-not a philosopher. From what I understand, technology pays better.

One of the most interesting things about technology is the advancement of artificial intelligence. We are a little uneasy about robots as strong as Arnold Schwartzenegger who are able to recite Hamlet’s speech from Act III scene I in ancient Samarian all while simultaneously adding prime numbers larger than 100,000 and less than 5 million. It’s scary, and more science than fiction in many cases. We are able to regenerate limbs with prosthetics, and the thought of working limbs is not far off, so why not artificial intelligence? I rely on my calendar to remember dates for me; isn’t that a form of artificial intelligence?

A computer can do a lot, but when you strip away all the external stuff having to do with computers, they only do a few things. Computers can add; computers can sort; computers can remember; computers can communicate. It’s the degree to these simple tasks that make us all go “Gee Whiz.” For example, you may say that your computer can subtract and multiply as well as find the square root of 144… but isn’t subtraction just adding a negative? Isn’t multiplication simply adding many times over? It’s that “Gee Whiz” factor that has us consider that these simple tasks equal actual intelligence.

When I work with computers, I like to think of them as employees. Indeed, I have been able to understand computers better when I apply human emotions and feelings to them, such as, “This computer needs a break;” or “This computer doesn’t like to behave himself.” I feel sometimes like a day care provider who doesn’t have to change diapers.

At the same time, I also like to solve human problems by scaling them down to the easiest question. When faced with a dilemma, if there’s an easy question to answer, I’ll answer that one, and usually the rest of the dilemma follows suit.

I find it sometimes strange that I will solve computer problems with human terms, and human problems with computer terms.

In 1996, there was a famous chess match between the Russian Chess Master Garry Kasparov, and an IBM computer named “Deep Blue.” I read about this in Time Magazine. It was an interesting match, because Deep Blue could analyze 200 million different positions every second. As Time Magazine put it, the match was like Muhammad Ali trying to box a steam roller.

What interested me even further was another article I found in the same magazine. The article was about a set of twin girls, who were conjoined-so closely that they actually were more of a two headed girl. The Hensel twin girls were unique in that they shared several of the same body organs, but each controlled their own half of their shared body. One simple task had me captured. They were able to clap their hands together.

Try that sometime. Stand next to someone you know, and using one of your hands and one of the other person’s, try clapping your hands. That thought convinced me.

Artificial intelligence will always be artificial.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,984175,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,984307-1,00.html