Good Luck, Bob

I’m sure everything will be okay.
Everything will be okay.

.

Dear World…

To everyone:

I’m working on your job right now. Whatever it is I’m doing for you, I’ll get it done just as soon as I possibly can. Your job is important to me, and is my number one priority. I promise, I’ll finish it as soon as I can.

Please note, calling me every ten minutes to ask the status of your job really isn’t helping. In fact, it’s slowing me down considerably. I’m working on your job right now, so every minute I spend on the phone explaining that to you is just one more minute’s delay in your job.

I’m working on it right now.

Thank you for your patience and understanding in this matter.

I’ve been tagged…

Hmmm… I’ve been tagged by Steakbellie to write about certain topics in blocks of eight. ‘Tis an interesting assignment. I’ll give it a try…

Eight Passions In My Life

1. My Alpine Snowflake, beloved bride of mine, Dagmar. I’ve often said that I never really grew up, never really knew who I was, and never knew how to be happy until I met her. Just today I kissed her on the forehead and said, “Thanks for taking my anger away.” She’s my very favorite.
2. Family. My family is getting more and more important to me every year. The older I get the more I need to spend time with the clan.
3. Photography? To be honest, I’m not sure that any of the last six are going to be in any particular order… But I’ve been enjoying photography the past few years, and I’m starting to make a little money at it. It’s nice to make money doing something you enjoy!
4. Music. I don’t play bass in any organized band any more (not that any of my previous bands could be called “organized,” really) but I still enjoy listening to music, and when I do play in jam sessions or whatnot I truly enjoy it when I can sink into a song and forget myself for a while, floating on the notes, being timeless (often in more ways than one).
5. Motorcycling. While I enjoy “the call of the road,” the rumble of a V-twin and the wind in my hair, I enjoy the combination of solitude and brotherhood just as much. The solitude comes when you’re riding — you can’t talk to anyone, and no one can talk to you. There are no cell phones, no TV’s, no distractions. It’s the perfect way to sort through the day’s problems… And once the problems are sorted, you often find yourself in some really pretty country to enjoy. The brotherhood is something I’ve found relatively recently. I’ve found some good people to ride with the past four or five years, and it makes the whole experience seem “whole.”
6. Friends. Make ’em. Keep ’em. They’re important, especially when you need bail money.
7. Helping in the community. It’s important to me to help out wherever I can. I’ve known that all along but never seemed to do much about it until recently. I hope to do more.
8. Whining about my day job.

Eight Things to Do Before I Die

1. Kiss my wife.
2. Make a will.
3. Buy more life insurance.
4. See the American Tricentennial.
5. Visit Germany and Austria and drink their beer.
6. See a palm tree (and NOT a potted palm, a real one, like in the Corona Beer commercials).
7. Swim in a warm ocean.
8. Ride my motorcycle down Highway 1 from Jacksonville to the Florida Keys. (Hey, that’d get me the “palm tree” AND “the ocean” all in one if I played my cards right!)

Eight Things I Often Say

1. “…and we’ll take it from there.”
2. “Do you know what I mean? I mean, did I explain that right?”
3. “Sure, I’ll have another.”
4. “Oh for gosh sakes.” (I actually do say that.)
5. “Geeze, I didn’t sleep at all last night.”
6. “What key was that supposed to be in?”
7. “What’s this button for?”
8. “Sure, I’ll have another.”

Eight Books I Read Recently

1. “Analog Science Fiction and Fact” magazine. I know, I know, it’s not a book, but I read these magazines a lot. I’ve got a library that goes from 2005 back to the 1960’s or so, with a few going back to the 50’s. It’s not a complete library, but it’s not bad.
2. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Robert A. Heinlein, 1966. A great treatise on political theory.
3. Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement, 1953. Imagine how a planet with wildly varying gravitational fields (an oblong, spindle shaped planet with a large mascon could do the trick) could mold not only a species, but a society.
4. Man of Earth, Algis Budrys, 1958. Give a sick old man a healthy body and a new start in a foreign army and see what happens.
5. Cat’s Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., 1963. I don’t think I understood this book. I probably should read it again…
6. Esperanto: A Complete Grammar. This book had the weakest plot I’ve ever read, and I’ve read winners like “Fish Men from Pluto.” I got to page 30 and lost the book. Now I’ll never know if Rikardo donis libron al Maria.
7. The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, Robert A. Heinlein, 1985. A fun action/adventure story set in outer space. A bit too cheeky for my taste at times, but fun to read.
8. Old Man’s War, John Scalzi, 2005. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Science fiction (of course) — rejuvenation with a twist.
9. I know, there’s only supposed to be eight. But go out and read Spider Robinson’s stuff. Intelligent humor wrapped around a love of wordplay mixed with dabs of science with a dollop of cool ideas.

Eight Songs that Mean Something To Me

1. “Cat’s in the Cradle” by Harry Chapin.
2. “For What It’s Worth,” by Buffalo Springfield. (For years I thought the name of the song was “Stop Children, What’s That Sound”.)
3. “Scarborough Fair/Canticle” by Simon and Garfunkle. The intricacies of the song fascinated me when I was a kid. I loved the opposing themes, both musical and lyrical, though it was the music that truly intrigued me. They pulled this trick off again with a version of “Silent Night” an album or two later, incidentally. I haven’t heard the song in years. I wonder if I still enjoy it? Mayhap.
4. Gosh, there are so many. I cry sometimes when I hear “Walk Don’t Run” by the three-piece band The Ventures. The simple elegance and sheer coolness of the song was years ahead of its time. I think they influenced rock and roll more than people realize.
5. “Fugue for Organ in G Minor” by Bach. Just plain cool.
6. “Moondance” by Van Morrison.
7. “Third Stone from the Sun” by Hendrix. You can do that with a guitar? Whoa…
8. “Kiko and the Lavender Moon” by Los Lobos. Nice memories of dancing in the living room at midnight.

Eight Qualities I Look For in a Friend

1. Kindness.
2. Respect.
3. Must treat old ladies, small children and dogs as human beings.
4. Honesty.
5. Trustworthiness.
6. Responsibility.
7. Dignity.
8. The ability to communicate clearly.

Eight People I’m Passing This On To

1. Pistols at Dawn
2. The Guv’nor
3. Dad Andersen
4. Leoness (shoot, she’s already been tagged)
5. Kat (dagnabbit, Steakbellie tagged her too)
6. Pixie
7. I’m running out of people. I’m only listing people I think would participate — no use picking on someone who hates this sort of thing… Um… The Lady Who Doesn’t Lunch
8. Aunt V?

It Should Oughta Be a Law

Sitting here just now, I was thinking of all my friends who are veterans. (It is Veterans’ Day, after all.) Oddly enough, I can only think of two of them who don’t have to work today. All the rest of them are at work right now. Isn’t this supposed to be their day? Why are they working while the mailman is sitting at home?

Shouldn’t it be a law that veterans get a paid holiday on Veterans’ Day? My employer doesn’t honor Veterans’ Day, even though it’s a federal holiday, but wouldn’t it be great if they gave our delivery guy (a Vietnam Vet) the day off with pay? Hasn’t he earned it?

Chilly Morning

I got home after work yesterday (I know, yesterday was both a Sunday and a holiday, but it’s been a long weekend) just in time to see one of the local homeless guys park his grocery cart beside a bush and sit down on the neighbor’s porch steps for a few minutes. He saw me and waved. “Sure is a nice day!” he said. I waved back. “Yep!”

This morning I left the house at ten after six to head to work. I stood quietly on my front porch for a minute or two to let my other neighbor finish going through the trash can across the street in privacy. He pulled an empty pop can out of the garbage, looked around to see if anyone caught him, and walked up the street to his pickup truck, dropping the can in the back. He lived in the same house, just two houses up the street from me, for over fifty years, faithfully paying his homeowners’ insurance. Sadly, an arsonist hit his house a week or two ago. His family is scattered about the neighborhood now, living wherever they can — they won’t let the family move back into their home until the damage is repaired. Unfortunately his homeowners’ insurance is only covering a third of the cost, so no one’s sure if they can get the house repaired before the city condemns the property and tears it down. Just one more homeless family… Hopefully it’s not a permanent situation for them. There aren’t enough empty pop cans in the neighborhood any more.

Dagmar and I are participating in a charity event for the local homeless population on Friday — we’re taking pledges and sleeping out in the park with a bunch of other people. If anyone wants to donate a few dollars, that’d be great! Just click on the button below to e-send a donation if you want. To learn more about the Siouxland Sleepout, please visit their Web site — www.siouxlandsleepout.com.

Go Pack Go!

The Green Bay Packers have won 7 games and only lost one. I’m a happy hippie! Man, the game against Kansas City was close. If the Packers keep waiting till the last minute to win their games I’m gonna end up popping a vessel or something.

I love my jammies.

“What do you want to do this weekend,” I asked my happy little Austrian Snickerdoodle, Dagmar. “We could go to the park. Or we could go to Le Mars on Sunday to watch the Mighty Mighty Packers beat the woeful Kansas City Chefs. Or we could…”

“Or ve could stay home.”

I looked at her in surprise. “What?”

“Quit looking at me,” she said. “Stop staring.”

“What do you mean, ‘stay home?’ We could go ride our bicycles on the trails,” I continued. “Or we could go watch a band. Or we could…”

“Ve will stay home.”

I looked at her again. She coughed. I put my hands on my hips and prepared to get stentorian. She coughed again, and sniffled, staring at me, waiting. You know, she looked decidedly peaked. Kinda pale, with a sniffle around the edges. I deflated. “Oh,” I said. “You’re not feeling well.” I’m smart that way. I can tell these things.

So we’re staying home.

And, you know, I’m kinda looking forward to it… There are no photos to take, no meetings to attend, no fund raisers to plan, the shopping is done. There is no reason for me to leave the house this weekend at all, unless I need to make an emergency Ny-Quill run or something. All I have to do this weekend is catch up on household errands (which translates into updating web sites and categorizing photos, along with laundry) and pay attention to my beloved vife.

You know, forget the household errands.

City Elections

For the first time in over 50 years Sioux City is going to elect a Mayor this fall. Since the 1950s we’ve been going with some odd system where one of the City Council members gets appointed Mayor by the other City Council members in some sort of slimy political-insider love-fest. It was a system that produced odd results from time to time. But now we get to elect someone of our very own choosing!

So who’s running? Well, most of the City Council members threw their hat into the ring, feeling, evidently, that it’s their birthright as City Council members to hold the Mayoral post. Eleven percent of the registered voters in the city turned out to vote in the primary, so now we’re down to two finalists.

Current City Council member Brent Hoffman is going against political outsider Mike Hobart. I’m voting for Hobart. Not for any mystical political reason, but rather because I think the city has been headed the wrong direction lately. So I’m voting for the guy who wasn’t there when bad decisions were made.

There is one City Council position open this election cycle as well. Incumbent Jason Geary is being challenged by Aaron Rochester. Again, I have no idea what their political leanings are, but I’m voting for Rochester — simply because I’d like to see change in my neighborhood.

If you want change, vote for Hobart and Rochester next Tuesday.

Art at it’s Finest

I doodle sometimes when I’m on the phone. The other day I started doodling a duck. But, really, it looked more like a nice horsey than a duck, so I put a tail on it and called it a horse. A few minutes later someone walked past. “Nice rocket ship,” they said.

Have I mentioned I’m the Art Director at the print shop? How sad is that?

Format of the Day

Things are hectic, but I’ve got too many odd thoughts floating around in my bean to wait for a good time to blog. So this entry may be a bit scattered.

Updates

Black Flag

A while ago I mentioned a college some 40 miles from here (Northwestern College in Orange City, IA to be exact) that hung some artwork done by an alumnus in a public space, causing some controversy. The artwork was a replica of an American flag, dyed black, with a pretty scathing (and poorly written) explanation below. Many of the veterans in the area took offense to the art and raised quite a ruckus, wanting the art to be removed.

I asked around, and got comments ranging from “we should go tear it down, I don’t care if I go to jail, I’m defending our flag,” to “it’s only art, lighten up.” A few people had thoughts along the lines of “veterans shouldn’t wrap themselves in the flag so much — what the artist did was disgraceful, but there’s no need to get up in arms about the issue.”

I truly wish I had a week to ponder and research the issues and morality behind free speech, imagery, loyalty, art, symbology, etc. But I don’t…

When I heard of the “Black Flag” my first reaction was surprise. “Art? In this part of the country? Really?” My second reaction was, “Oh man… Some 18-year-old freshman art student did this simply to create controversy and get attention. What a cheap ploy.” Was I upset that the American flag was desecrated? You betcha! The flag is an important symbol to me, one that’s not easily defined.

My actions in the matter? I wrote an e-mail to the president of the college. I told him I found the exhibit to be disrespectful, and asked that it be removed. I received an e-mail from him later in the day (it was a form letter, by the way) thanking me for my opinion, stating that the artwork was there to spark debate and open discourse amongst the students. I was happy with that, to be honest. I saw a situation I didn’t agree with, I voiced my disagreement, let’s move on. In other words, the flag bothered me, but I understand free speech and the “campus environment.”

In the end, quite a few other people wrote letters to Northwestern as well, and rumor has it that some major donors were threatening to pull funding. The college finally put the “Black Flag” in a locked room in their art hall; to see it you had to ask for a key.

Note: Turns out the artist who designed the “Black Flag” wasn’t an 18-year-old freshman after all. He was a 50-something alum of the school who graduated in the 1970s. He made the flag for the FIRST Gulf War, and recycled it when the Iraq War came along… In a statement to the press he said he was pleased with his work.

Taser

I haven’t been watching the local news much lately, but I did catch one addition to the taser story. The day after the news hit the streets that a security guard (who is also a police officer) had used his taser on a 13-year-old girl to stop a violent confrontation, a local TV station interviewed a lady who said, in effect, “I was there, I saw the whole thing, and I can’t believe the officer waited that long before he used his taser.”

Some people in the community, and some of the people who commented on my blog, think it’s unconscionable for an officer to use physical force on a minor. Other people think he was well within his authority to do so. Personally, I tend to agree with the latter — if someone trained in law enforcement and crowd control deems it necessary to use a taser, he’s probably right… A 13-year-old girl should know enough that when an officer tells her to quit fighting, she should quit fighting — NOT attack the officer.

The lady being interviewed continued to say that the two girls who ended up arrested (the tasered girl and her 14-year-old sister) were out of control, biting people, crawling on the floor, hitting, kicking, and wouldn’t stop. The lady held up her thumb, which had a very visible bite mark, and said the girls were out of control.

Sadly, the girls’ mother did NOT discipline the girls for fighting, attacking a police officer, biting strangers, kicking and screaming and eventually getting arrested. Instead she demanded the City Council look into the matter, saying the officer used force because (and I didn’t mention this in my last post) the girls are Native American. Now the Native American community in the area is actively defending the two girls as well, and is demanding a full accounting of how the local police use force in regard to minorities. (Turns out the police around here taser people on an average of twice a week. How many Native Americans have been tased in the past year? The phrase I heard was, “a couple.”)

To me, it’s still a simple issue. Every parent wants to defend their children against spurious accusations and unfair situations, but every parent should realize that their children are not infallible, and that sometimes their children need to learn to be responsible for themselves. The children attacked a police officer, causing the officer to use non-lethal (though painful, from what I hear) means to subdue them. What made the girls think it was proper behavior to brawl and attack an officer? Why did they think they were going to get away with it? Because they knew they would. And that’s sad.

As a side note from this issue, many people around here are now talking about getting tasers for personal protection. I was trained in the use of various firearms as well as very basic hand-to-hand and bladed weapon combat, and I’d personally rather have a taser in my house than a handgun or a knife.

Random Thoughts

1. “Hmmm… Our nation’s vice president has somehow managed to put the ‘ick’ in ‘Dick.'” (I stole that one from a comment I left on Leonesse’s blog. Is that plagiarism?)

2. I overheard someone say, “I can’t afford to get my medicine because I have to pay my insurance bill. Too bad my insurance won’t cover my medicine.” That made me sad. Then I petted a puppy and I was happy again.

3. Speaking of insurance, my neighbor has lived in his house for over 50 years. He’s paid homeowners’ insurance the whole time. Fifty years. A few days ago an arsonist hit his house (his son’s girlfriend got mad and lit a bed on fire in the middle of the night). They estimate the damage at $15,000. The man’s insurance will give him $5,500. That just ain’t right. Fifty years of paying premiums should get you a bit more than that. We need more governmental oversight on just how much profit the insurance companies can legally take. We’re getting bled to death here.

4. You’ll never regret doing the right thing. That concept often surprises me. I’m happy Ma and Pa taught me that.

A Pleasant Surprise and a Small Disappointment

The pleasant surprise was a phone call from one of the candidates. Living in Iowa, I get a fair number of these calls. “Hello, I represent so-and-so’s campaign, and we’d like to know who you’re planning to vote for…” They usually lead into a ten-minute long spiel that I don’t want to listen to (I know, for the most part, what the candidates have done).

This time, however, the conversation was much different.

“Hello, I’m from Governor Bill Richardson’s campaign. Do you have a few minutes?” asked the nice young man on the phone.

“Sure,” I replied, looking around for a place to sit down. “What’s up? Anything I can help you with?”

“Well, I was wondering who you’re going to caucus for in the upcoming primary.”

“Richardson, actually,” I said. I like Richardson. I think he’s got more real-world experience than the other candidates (he’s negotiated hostage releases from some very nasty places overseas, and has experience both at the state and federal level, including Ambassador to the United Nations), and his commercials show a sense of humor. Seeing as how I’ve pretty much lost my sense of humor altogether, I live vicariously on others’.

“Well, that’s great,” said the voice. “May I ask what your top issues are in the election?” I had the impression the person behind the voice had a military background. Very matter-of-fact.

“Sure…” I paused to think. There are a helluva lotta issues, you know. “Environment, Iraq, and veterans’ rights,” I said.

“Do you know the Governor’s position on those issues?” (Richardson was Secretary of Energy. That’s important to me. We’re going into an energy crisis — we need someone in office who’s NOT catering to the oil cartel, and understands the issues from political, economic and environmental standpoints.)

“Yes, actually. I do research.”

“Very well then,” said the voice. “Thank you for your time. If you need any more information, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Have a good evening, sir.”

Well, how nice! I wasn’t bludgeoned with unwanted information, the phone call was short and pleasant, the caller was not pushy, nor did he sound desperate… Nice! Unusual.

Now, on to the disappointment.

I’ve heard a lot about Republican Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee lately. People seem to be impressed with his honest approach, and from what I’d seen, I agreed. Seems like a nice guy. Be great if the race came down to the Democratic Richardson vs. Huckabee. Two nice guys, vying for the top job… Then I heard Mr. Huckabee speak on television this morning.

The interviewer asked the Governor what he thought of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton’s positions on several issues. Governor Huckabee disappointed me by resorting to party rhetoric and outright misinformation, slamming Clinton’s campaign pretty unfairly. (Remember, I’m supporting Richardson, not Clinton.) The thing that stuck in my craw most was when he said something akin to “Mrs. Clinton supports more government controlling your life, and she won’t protect you from terrorists.” That’s quite simply incorrect and misleading.

Let’s get this straight — neither party supports the terrorists. Both parties want to squish their little heads. The Republicans do not have a patent on hating terrorists. (Nor have Republicans patented the words “Moral” and “Values,” and they do not have exclusive rights to this “Christian” thing, by the way.) Both parties are American, and people of both parties can belong to the military, can support the military, and can dislike the war.

To answer Governor Huckabee’s charge, a bit more specifically, I cannot think of any presidential administration in United States history that has imposed more governmental control over citizens than the current Bush administration. At the moment, the Democratic candidates, one and all of them, have agendas that will reverse this trend, actually lessening governmental control over individuals.

I honestly think that if Americans could put away the bitterness and hatred, we’d probably find that most of us are closer to Libertarians than we are to either of the main parties. Ah well.

Dirty Nasty Bikers

The American Legion Riders held a fundraiser for a local Iraq War veteran who was sent home with leukemia. It was a soup and pie supper, with an auction and a dance afterwards. We estimated there might be 350 people at the event, but just over halfway through the supper we’d already gone through 500 bowls of soup. We raised a lot of money for Joe’s medical bills! (If anyone wants to donate, by the way, we’re still taking donations for a few more days, just e-mail me for details. Or you can stop in at Vantus Bank in Le Mars.)

I bought Dagmar a rose. We danced, too. Well, she danced. I jiggled.