Author Archives: LastFullMeasure

For Him Who Done Did It

Political Social No Comments

Was It You?

And who, may I ask, is responsible for this?

You might hear the question but I would be willing to bet that you will be waiting some time to get an answer.  A very long time.

Seems that these days no one, anywhere, at any time is responsible for anything.  Ever.

Slight correction.  Someone is of course responsible but no one admits responsibility and no one, for damn sure, is ever held responsible.  Ever.

I hear it all the time on TV and more so on radio commercials:  “It’s not your fault.”

All the time parents seem to find ways and reasons to dismiss the clear evidence that clearly implicates their child in something that often is not very serious at all.  It is as if by assigning blame to their children they are admitting some sort of flaw or shortcoming in themselves.  God forbid they are ever held to account either.  Not ever.  Neither.

I wonder what type of society we have created with all this re-assignment of blame and this abdication of responsibility.  Actually I really don’t need to wonder.

Some young adults seem absolutely floored when they finally hit the real world and someone, a co-worker, a boss, a (gad!) customer holds them responsible for some action.  They really don’t seem able to process the thought that something they did 1) caused a problem and 2) um, they were the ones who did it.  Cause and effect is hard to outrun.

I blame parents and I blame teachers and schools and I blame sports coaches and teams and leagues and I blame youth leaders and groups and I blame the government.  Yes, I said it and you heard it- the government.  Especially the current administration but maybe they are just the crest of the wave.

In the sixth year of this administration I cannot really recall a single time when the president of this country has admitted responsibility and then also carried through on that admission in terms of making it right or fixing it or doing something differently in the future because of something that has been done wrong in the past.  That used to be commonplace when families were as well.

Seriously, it seems to me that with the dissolution of the family so came the abdication of responsibility.

In terms of blame or responsibility it’s easier to allow than correct; to dismiss than to address; to deflect than accept; to deny than admit; to run than to stand.

To stand and admit that it was me, that I was responsible, and that I am ready to make it right.

I wonder what type of society we would create then with such a resurgence of the acceptance of personal responsibility.

It’s kind of hard the first time that you do it, no doubt.  That is a great reason to start with your kids when they are young.  Let them know that actions have consequences and that those actions and their consequences have an owner.  Own it, learn from it, grow from it, and be a much better person in the long run.  Simple enough right?

Imagine if we had a whole slew of such young folks that we could send to Washington to take over the leadership of this country.

I wonder what kind of country we would have then.

All from just a simple childhood lesson that seems to have disappeared somewhere back in the late sixties.

Imagine.

Who Took the Dogs Out?

Personal No Comments

Believe in Retrievers

It’s raining out this morning.  I suppose that is better than the massive amounts of snow we received this passing winter so for that I am of course very grateful.  I don’t have to get all bundled up and go outside and shovel rain and that is good.

But I do have to take the dogs out.  Out there.

The kids are on Spring Break and my wife is getting ready for work so they will not be available to take the dogs out when the dogs need taking out.  Dogs can be patient for some things but they need to be taken out after a long night of hard sleeping.  In a moment one of them will begin to let me know that it is time.  The other will be watching, listening, watching…waiting.

If it was the weekend then, well, it would still be up to me to take the dogs out.  I think they like me.  You see, I am usually the first one up and besides no one else in our house seems to be very interested in taking the dogs out early in the morning.  In the snow.  In the cold.  In the rain or in the darkness.

I think that everyone else who could do it see taking the dogs out as a real hassle.  Especially when it is raining.  Like this morning.  And even more so when it is cold, or snowing, or both.  Like most of the last 120 mornings or so.

The dogs see it as a good thing because they won’t get themselves into trouble by having an accident inside the house.  It would be okay if they cleaned up after themselves but they really don’t do that much.  Unless it’s cleaning up some rare remnant of food in each other’s bowls.  They work really hard to leave none in their own. They know how to do that; they actually seem to enjoy it very much.  And I am fine with them doing it as it makes cleaning their bowls a lot easier.

That reminds me of another reason they like to go out in the morning.  Food.

Never, ever, do anything nice or special for a dog unless you plan on doing it again.  And again.  And again.  Do they like to remind you?  Well, it’s more like they never, ever let you forget.  They will stand and wait for something good or fun or special for a very, very long time.  If it’s a treat then they will wait forever.  Be careful on this.

The dog understands that after it finally gets to go out in the morning and take care of the necessary business at hand then it is time to eat.  She knows it and you also know it.

Our dogs will break through a stone wall to go out in the morning because, for them, relieving themselves in the morning really means it is almost time to eat.  It’s an interesting connection.  Maybe they know they have just rid themselves of something they need to replace.

So they go out.  I take them.  Then they eat.  I feed them.  Then they seem to get very tired and want to lie down again and rest.  It is a difficult and tiring life they lead.

In the end it is all done because of love.  Not just love for our dogs but love of the kids and my wife and family.  I never had a dog when I was growing up and I never realized how much a part of the family they can become.  I only have to see my kids playing with them on the floor or in the yard to realize how important and loving these bonds are for the kids and, for sure, for the dogs.  In the end, for all of us; all of the family.

Would they let anyone take them out?  Sure.  Feed them?  Sure.  But would they love anyone else like they love us?  Gosh, I hope not but they are very friendly.

It’s hard to stay mad at a dog, especially a Retriever (in my opinion the best dogs in the history of the world along with Labs), and it’s sure hard to not be a nicer person after you’ve been around them for a while.  They are all about just being happy, having fun, and enjoying life.  But they don’t like to do it alone.  They want to do it with you.

We could all learn a lot from dogs.  And I keep trying and learning and if that means taking them out in the mornings and getting their food ready and, yes, even scooping up the mess they leave in the yard then I am fine with that.  I do it for them and I do it for my family.

Come to think of it, I guess I also do it for myself because I think that in the end it makes me a bit better of a person when I live a few happy, carefree moments.

Just like a dog.

Another Switch

Thought Exercises No Comments

Mr. G-Man Goes to Wall Street

 

I finally dove right in, full body and skinny-dippered, to Facebook.  I had held back from the social media front for some time but my kids chided me into getting into the new century.  Tough to hear for a technology guy but I have sucked it up and submersed myself.

I joined a few groups that are basically of an alumni nature- old schools, neighborhoods, workplaces, etc.  All good and actually fun if an amazing time sink.  Great memories that often serve to highlight how much life has gone by.  Sad in a way but, hey, get ready for it- that’s life!

The issue that I have is that on the SM sites (feel free to use that by the way) the kimonos fly open to reveal the true nature of people- some just a little, others quite a lot.  I guess they feel that they are older or they are safe behind the keyboard (like me, here) or maybe they have always secretly wanted to incite a hyperspace riot.  Dunno, but it is all that I can do to refrain from responding in kind.

This morning, by way of a perfect example, an old acquaintance who I used to have a good deal more respect for shared a piece from his liberal armory that basically decried the compensation of corporate CEO’s.  This is fair enough as I tend to agree but I also happen to think that the system should be allowed to correct itself.  Stockholders have to get more active in terms of voting for the board and the board needs to set more reasonable compensation plans for the top execs.  If they get paid a ton and the company does well and we continue to hold or buy the stock then who is to say it should be changed?  What really irks me is the generous release packages (the so-called “golden parachutes”) that are rewarded even in the aftermath of total failure.  This is the real problem.  I am fine with pay for performance as part of a generous incentive package.  Pay for performance…and whatever…I am not so okay with.

The issue I have with this guy’s posting is that he implies the government helps big biz at the expense of the poor.  Really?  Who “creates or saves” more jobs?  Who helps to achieve (I used that word on purpose) more wealth for invested individuals and also for working folks who have things like pensions and 401k’s tied to the performance of that company and the market?  How does the government compare here?

How come these liberals don’t complain against the uber-rich like Gates & Soros & Buffet?  Did they somehow work harder for their billions than some of the current big-time CEOs worked for their millions?  How about the Hollywood actors and pro athletes?  How about The Oprah?  C’mon.

Ok so here is a new experiment.

Let’s make our political leaders, who mostly have no business experience, take rather-permanent leave from their very challenging jobs of glad-handing, practicing patronage, and otherwise working hard to just stay in office.  Take 50% of their salaries and put it into an interest-bearing account in some socialist country like France- just to keep it safe from the evil, capitalist money-horders and baby-killers (oops, got that last one backwards but you get the point) running roughshod in the good ole USA.

Take your pick of top corp execs so that the numbers are equal.  Do likewise with their salaries.

Now, have the biz guys move into the government and have the DC guys and gals move in the business world.  Sit back and then hit the GO button.  Let’s watch.

How long before the DC folks screw up their companies and send the market into a downward spiral nothing like has ever been seen before?  And with that goes the wealth of all those nasty capital investment barons, the group investment capital for numerous company and school and even government retirement investment plans like pensions funds and 401ks, the jobs associated with those companies (maybe just a few million or so) and the lives and livelihoods of all those people…and their spouses…and their children…and their favorite charities,,,.  My oh my, who will save them Dudley?

How long before the business guys manage to get the government into better shape given that their pay is to be a LOT lower than anything they had seen since maybe their early twenties AND (I forgot to say this) given that they are on an incentive plan that will allow them to moderately enhance their take-home pay if they do good.

I would think this could all be accomplished in 1-2 years tops.

Oh yeah, the final part.

Once big biz and the markets are sunk and millions upon millions have seen their savings and investments go poof and their jobs go poof as well; once the government becomes more effective and efficient (not hard given where it is at now); once that is all in place the Man can then step in and really take over everything and everyone once and for all.

We will then have managed to reach that socialist nirvana that these progressive liberals have worked so diligently behind their keyboards, inside their condos and penthouses within their gated communes of like-thinkers, to achieve.

Way to go!  We are all socialist paupers then.  But at least all that nasty capitalism is gone and we have a government that will take care of us, provide our bread and water, for ever and ever and ever.

Amen.

Just Get In Line Ok?

Commentary Political No Comments

 

I was getting an entry per day done here at one point but not so often as of late.  I’ve been busy elsewhere but will try to get on schedule again.  Daily entries are important to me.  Especially with so many people not reading.

It’s okay that so many don’t read because there are also so many out there who don’t listen either.  Do you listen?  Can you hear the drumbeat?  I’m not so sure that I can hear it very clearly any longer.  The ringing in my ears is sometimes deafening and manages to block everything else out.

It’s quite interesting.  It seems that in the polls (gotta love those polls!) the administration is fast losing favor even as more and more of you continue to get in line.  Why are you doing that?  Do you like what you see or are you just closing your eyes and hoping it won’t hurt too badly?

I see now, here in the once-great-state of Illinois, that everyone seems to be out in force to get folks signed up for Obamascare.  We are, after all, the state that so proudly produced the sitting monarch.  Yes, I said monarch because we might as well get used to that term if this is the way our elected officials are going to be allowed to execute their offices.  There are no longer many checks or balances in effect as the march to the sea continues.  I don’t really even understand why they are asking us to sign up for this agitprop.  In the end, I truly fear, this is the shooting pit into which we are all being driven.

Illinois.  This state is really a joke and all but the hordes of public whores living in Cook County and Chicago know it.  Money and people are leaving the state and being replaced by, by what?  By whom?  Can we just please annex Cook County to maybe Michigan?  What kind of state do you think we might have then?

 

No, the once-great-state of Illinois must help to lead the way.

I see that some of the local sports organizations and faces are coming on the tube to push the sign-up.  All that I hear from them is the “blem-blem-blem” you might expect to hear from an unintelligent machine.  Robot. That is what they want you to be so many thanks for making it easy.  No heart, no soul, no spine.  No blood and no life, no not really.

Maybe I’m being a bit harsh and premature.  Maybe there is still a drumbeat for people who simply wish to be Americans.  Once again, to become what it is that made this country what it had become before the progressives and socialists gained such a tightening grip on our culture, our politics, our government, our society.  Maybe it is now a death grip.  Are you still out there Americans?

How often is intelligence revived from stupidity?  How many times can we wind up making the same mistake and still manage to survive?  For how long must we suffer all that we know to be wrong with who and what rule us?

Just get in line and shut your mouth boy.  You had your chance to speak even though we weren’t listening anyway.  You had time to get your affairs in order.  Everything that has happened has happened in front of you, in spite of you, and because of you.  Don’t worry, the government will take care of things and will take care of you.  After all, they have always done a great job in all that they take over or create and propagate.  You will have no worries.  Just shut up and get in line.

Just get in line, you know you want to and you know you will.  And so do they my friend, so do they.

When I Becomes Us

Commentary Political Social No Comments

 

The collective.  It is indeed great fodder for elections.  Who would run as someone who does not express total support for the greater, common good?  It’s about us and not about just you.

The collective.  If you don’t believe then you are selfish and narrow-minded and do not deserve the good things this country, and this government can give you.  Even if you don’t really want anything anyhow.  In the collective everything is given and everything has to be accepted.  As is.

Ah, the mighty collective.  It worked so well in the Soviet Union.  It was just great in China.  And Cuba.  And Venezuela.  They smoothed it over and made is fashionable in Europe for we all know that the Europeans have such flair for just about everything and their version of the socialist collective, even though it’s not really in the end a collective, is far superior to any that had existed before.  It has to be; it’s European.  And it appears to be working really, really, um, well.  So well in fact that we seem to want to do something similar here ourselves.  Only better because we are America damnit!

And so it goes.  The collective lives, it breathes, it rises to rule.  Time and time and time again.

We had a group of folks a little over a couple hundred years ago that turned the tables and rather than the collective the focus was for the first time placed squarely on the individual.

The individual.  That means you and me.  But not together.  Apart, as individuals.  For the first time ever it wasn’t about the king, or the queen, or the tyrant, or who had the most money or the largest army or the most land or could get together the most people and rule by mob.  Not unless those people were collected to vote, in a democratic fashion (though through a decidedly different set of rules) for the leadership and legislators as members of a specifically and purposely limited type of government.  A representative republic.  Radical but workable.  And genius.  Pure genius.  And more than just bold, it was radical.

And it worked and then worked again.  It survived attack after attack and war after war, even internal ones.  It survived but will it still?

The collective has returned.  And the individual has seemingly run away, retreated, headed to the hills.  And the collective will devour if it is not stopped.  Just check your history.

It has happened, time and again.  Only once really was it stopped dead in its tracks and that was done by those sad old white men all those years ago who had the genius to see that only the individual could defeat the collective.  It could free us from the bindings of England and also the chains of slavery; from the outside control of other nations and from the inside control of merchants or legislators or soldiers; from a government that might grow so large as to be even more fearsome than the collective.  It uses but will then go beyond the collective and it seeks only to achieve complete control over all and over each.  And what is controlled can be used at will and it can also be discarded in an instant.  Just wait and see.  Or look back and see.

All that we have to fight this new foe is, again, the individual.  That is, that means, you and me.

You and me, brother; you and me, sister.  Us together but much more so us alone.  Stand and fight.  Rise up America.  Rise up and be counted- one blessed individual after another until the collective can be no more.

She Taught You What?

Observations Social No Comments

What I Learned in School Today

 

It’s amazing to me when my kids come home from school and tell me what they learned at school during the day.

Some things are as they have always been.

Gym teachers (I still don’t call them PE teachers- habit I guess) still join with the jocks in mocking the smart kids or the ones who participate in the band or the drama club or other non-jockey activities.  My kids happen to belong to all of these groups.  But they are not classic jocks though they do play a lot of sports and play them pretty well.  They just don’t do that clique and I couldn’t be more proud of the stands they have had to take and have actually taken.

Some math teachers appear to not have a deep background in math.  I happen to have done a lot of math during my academic and professional voyages so know a few things about math.  Some of these teachers do okay but the schools could do a lot to improve the way that kids understand math.  Not just be able to do it but also understand it.

History?  Usually buried within the subject called Social Studies.  My boys have been lucky enough to have had a couple good SS teachers but still, now in 7th grade, they have learned precious little about the Constitution other than what they have been taught at home or learned on their own (which is a good bit I might add).  Why do they learn about diversity, and immigration, and civil rights, and slavery, and other such deep and more adult topics long before anyone even bothers to mention anything about our founding documents?  Wouldn’t it make sense to start with why people first came to this land and then what they did to found this country and then move on from there?  Every vector has a starting point yes?

Perhaps because it is easier to cultivate-for-purpose young minds when you present to them a simple good-bad, right-wrong, black-white scenario and then use their only possible answer to sell your own wares.  Not possible?  Not the plan?  Okay, believe what you will, it’s still a free country.

ELA?  For those uninformed (and I have a solid foot still in that group) that means “English Language Arts” (http://www.corestandards.org/other-resources/key-shifts-in-english-language-arts).  I suppose we now need to differentiate between English Language Arts and what may be coming later on.  Dunno.  I only know that since my kids have started down this enhanced path their use of the language has degraded and their desire to read has faded.  We work hard to fix that at home and will only have to work harder in the future I’m sure.  Maybe it’s the local implementation of these so-called standards within our school district.  Dunno.  Just know what they are learning seems far removed from English and from what I would call Language Arts.

Maybe it really stands for Enhanced Liberal Arts.  Dunno.  Just sayin’.

Add in things like flipping the classroom (the way I read this is that the onus of actually teaching kids is flipped to where it needs to be done by them at home, maybe with help from mom and dad, so that the teachers can be “free” to provide individual attention to specific students during class- great concept and a rather clever way to shirk any responsibility for being able to teach a class; hell, folks could just have their kids try to learn online and then hire a tutor to fill in the gaps; I wonder though how many kids get left behind when the teacher needs to spend so much one-to-one time during the 50 minutes they have over twenty kids in class?) and I think we finally have the recipe for vaulting the U.S. over the twenty or thirty countries that are ahead of us in too many areas.

How about this.  Get rid of the frickin unions that are about everything except for the students and a quality education (if this bothers you then here is a challenge- make Karen Lewis take a 7th grad ISAT test and see how she does- if she does well then you can call her an educator and then I will believe she is all about the poor kids); break the teacher-union-democratic party-progressive policy circle and just hire and reward the best teachers;  hold teachers responsible for results, fire the bad ones quickly, but hold the administrations even more so; pay only for performance especially at the admin levels; interview and survey the parents AND the kids.  You’d be surprised how many kids know what’s what and are more than willing to share their thoughts.  In the end they are the real customers and they are the ones most helped- or hurt- by the system.

Get real. And get aware of some of the crap they are feeding your kids and I don’t mean greasy potato chips Mrs. President.

I plan to have a lot more to say on all this.  To me there is not really a more critical need in this country then to educate our kids properly- in ALL areas.  More on that to come…

 

Owned & Owin’

Commentary Political Social No Comments

 

Got debt?  It’s not your fault.

Got bills?  It’s not your fault.

Don’t want to work?  Don’t worry; it’s not your fault.

Fat but still hungry?  Don’t worry; it’s not your fault.  We can help you!

Feeling sick?  Need a doctor?  We can help!  (You just might have to wait a bit and travel a ways..)

Can’t afford to go to college and drop out or get a worthless degree provided by professors who used their own worthless education and degrees to never face the real world but chose instead to train young minds to follow the same worthless path?  Don’t worry!  Don’t worry!  We can for sure help you with something called a loan that you don’t even have to pay back right away- you can just owe us for a long time.  A very long time.  But don’t worry.  Really.

It’s not your fault.  None of this is your fault.  You can definitely have your cake and eat it too!  But you would have had to actually go to college and gotten a fine liberal arts degree to understand that historical reference.  Don’t worry though if you don’t get it.  That’s not your fault either.

From the moment you were born and we began to take care of you there was really never any responsibility required.  Just your loyalty, boy.  Or girl.  Nothing that you ever decided was really ever your fault because none of it was ever really your choice.  Did you really ever think that it was?  Well, that mistake is not your fault either.

Sounds like being at fault is not your fault.  And I know it’s not mine either so there is such a thing as no-fault.  But not really anything like a free lunch.  Not really.

We take.  We take from thems that got it because thems don’t deserve it.  Don’t care nothin bout anythin like workin hard and sayin you earned it.  You didn’t.  But now we wants it.  And there ain’t nothin you can do about it.

Earning ain’t owning.  Owning is owning.

So keep on owin’.  Owe us for everything you need to live and, well, I guess that means we, like, have  control.  Totally.

Total control.  Kind of sounds like owning- y’know, kinda like slavery or at least a very strong serf system.  Serfs?  Oh yeah, I forgot.  Just go look it up.

So we are taking from those who have it but didn’t really earn it.  We then give some of that unearned stuff to others who also didn’t earn it.  We do manage to keep a little for ourselves because, well, we like to say we earned it but we really just know that we deserve it.  You agree right?  Who else would have taken the trouble to go get and then take something that isn’t theirs and give it out for free to others to whom it don’t belong?  We definitely deserve it.  Oh yeah.

And it isn’t completely free but the price is pretty small.  Just take it and don’t complain.  And give us your vote when we need it.  Just need to mention that.

While we still need it that is.

Someday soon we won’t because, well, the elections will be slightly changed to be more like selections.    Don’t worry though; it’ll still all be okay.  We’re really good at selecting.  You’ll still get your stuff.  We’ll take care of you even though we really won’t need you much anymore.

Until then though you just keep owin’ us ok?  Simple enough?

Let me explain it a bit better.  We’ll take from those who have, while they have it, and give to those who don’t, and make sure they need it and want it more and more and more.  Supply and demand.  We’ll raise the demand.  And as the supply dwindles, as it surely must and surely will, the demand will go up and the value of the exchange will go up and up and up.  You’ll owe and we’ll own.  Got it now?  It’s a simple trade system.  And we set the rules; how cool is that!

Sooner or later the supply will run out and then we will get rid of that side of our initial economic equation.  And while the demand side rises we will have less and less to give.  Those people, while becoming less and less important to us, may become upset at all that owin’ to those of us who own (us being then really no different from that other group who had what we took away- but none of you simpletons saw that sleight of hand did you now?) and you might try to rise up.

But you’ll have no guns.  And you’ll have no money.  And the only things you have will be what we have given to you and, well, we will just have to take that away.

And when you come after it all with just your bare hands?  Let me think.

Okay.  Let’s look at history again.  Communism seems to work really well in that particular situation so maybe we’ll try that again.

Ain’t tough to see it folks.  Can’t happen here though right?

Sure.  Whatever…

Who the Heck Cares?

Political No Comments

 

I mean, really.  Who really does care and why the heck should I?

They would have us believe that although they have held power things are headed in the wrong direction.  The economy is okay but not really.  Our position in the world is sliding but not really.  The globe is warming or at least the climate is changing- really.  The gap between haves and have-nots is widening; income and academic inequalities are just increasing.  Really, really, really.  And there is more but not just now.  Really, trust me.

So who caused all this?  It is always them.   Even when you run across the line to join them you still have to blame it on them.  You can never be fast enough to point a finger that will point back at any us.  There never really seems to be any us until election day.  Elect us.  We will do more with more power.  If you think there are problems it is because of them or the fact that while we do have some power we do not have enough.

It’s never enough.

If we control all the branches then things will greatly improve.  And if they don’t then we can just blame it on them- big business (God they are evil) and not unions; Asia and not our trade policies; conservatives and not our progressive agendas; an unfair share and not unfairly sharing; up and not down; right and not left; legacy and not policy; them and not us.  Never us.  Never.

I am so tired of no one doing much of anything in our federal government.  When will it stop?

I am tired this morning and a bit negative can you tell?

I guess the one bright spot I see is what is happening at the state levels.  And why is that, have you ever asked yourself?  Have you ever looked into some of the reasons why some states are doing well and what they might all have in common?

Does California or Illinois or New York scare you?  How about de Blasio?  Reid?  Pelosi?  How about your president?

No?  They sure should as far as I’m concerned.

Or was it yes?  In that case what have you done in the last six months to do something about it?  Just wishing and hoping it will all go away?

Maybe I should just go back to that way of thinking.  Maybe I should be more like those who just sit back and say “it’ll get better and, besides, I don’t really care about that stuff.”  That was me years ago.  I changed, but not enough.

Now, I’m back to wanting not to care.  I mean, why not, why not not give a damn?  It’s so easy- at least it’s much easier and I assume that’s why so many people go that way.

Nah, who the heck cares.  Who the heck should?  None of this crap is going to make that much of an impact to my life per se- I may be too old but who knows.

I only have two reasons to care.  Guess I had best let that drive me.

God willing.

Not the Good Parent Heir

Personal No Comments

 

It’s morning again.

It snowed last night.  Again.

The temperature will remain below freezing again.

I had a not-so-pleasant set of exchanges with my kids.  Again.

Sometimes I wonder if I was cracked up to be a good parent.  My mom died when I was young (11) and my dad worked and was away so much that I pretty much brought myself up with the help of my older sisters.  I always got along fine with my dad- I loved my dad- but ours was not really the most openly warm relationship.  While that is probably not uncommon I did decide to make it somewhat better and different with my own children.

We have been close most of the time (would they agree I wonder?) but there are a few things I do regret.

I played a lot with my kids but did not spend enough time “down on the floor” and just forgetting about the clock with them.  No rules, no expectations, no strict time limits.  I always seemed to be in a hurry to finish as I look back.  Even today, as they have become teenagers, I do not spend time playing video games with them.  While that may be a good thing given the nature of some of the games (we do try to regulate as much as possible) and the time it takes to play (wasted life time in my view but that is my view and not necessarily theirs) it would still be a chance to just hang.  The teenage version of “floor time.”

I always said that the mark of a close friend is one that you can just hang with even when nothing is being said.  Watching a movie; reading a comic book; checking out a basketball game on TV; just hanging.  I know that it is sometimes dangerous to make your kids your friends but still…

I find that I have so very little patience with my kids.  They fight and I react.  We react (I have to include my wife in this as we are a team) and it is often a knee-jerk reaction.  We impulsively react to their impulsive behavior and the hypocrisy of that just drips off the situation.

Siblings bicker and fight.  I know that; we know that.  But it often gets out of hand and rather than smartly shutting it down we manage to help it build to the bursting point.  Speaking for myself I have to admit here that I am as much to blame as either of them.  And it is of course much more so me who should know better.

Maybe I don’t get enough sleep or maybe I am just stressed out or maybe I just waited too long to have kids and I am simply now just a grumpy old man.  No matter the excuse there is no excuse.  I am supposed to know better; I am supposed to be a good example; I am supposed to be looked up to.  I am supposed to be a good parent.

And, too often, I am not.

And, immediately after not being that good parent, I so much to God wish that I could be.  Maybe if I just don’t give up there is still yet time for me…and for them.

God willing.

The Madness of Reefer

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Um, what did I come here to say..  Oh yeah, now I remember.

All across the country people are talking about getting stoned and doing it legally.  Those most happy would seem to be those who did it before and did it therefore illegally.  I would imagine that legalizing it for someone who did it illegally would not in any way prompt them to increase usage right?

And I also suppose that legalizing it would in no way encourage or entice someone who has never tried it to actually try it.  Maybe on their own or more likely at a party or somewhere else completely out in the open and no longer considered taboo.  Doubt that would happen, no way.

Legalization makes it much easier for me as a parent to keep drugs away from my kids.  Or, perhaps more correctly stated, to keep my kids away from drugs.  Those parties that they will inevitably attend in which alcohol is illegally provided and consumed will, I’m sure, block the provision and consumption of the weed.  And once they have consumed alcohol and tried pot I’m sure they will immediately become better people, citizens, and members of society.  It’s a natural transition.

Gateway drug?  Ah, c’mon.  Anyone who has ever smoked dope in a social setting, where a number of other like-minded folks are present (and especially those wonderful friends of friends), absolutely know that no other drugs are ever introduced at those get-togethers.  Ask those who have ever done coke or crack how it was introduced to them?  I’ll bet it was the very first time they were in the presence of drugs and also the very first drug that they ever tried.  Yep.

I would never say that alcohol or cigarettes were good for people, especially for kids.  Yet reefer seems to me to be a combination of those two.  I would never condemn someone who smoked a joint here and there but it seems to me that casual use when it is legalized would be far from the norm.  I would not so easily believe how much a simple drug could completely control a life if I had not seen it time and time again.

I guess that cigarettes are worse for you than marijuana.  And they are definitely addictive.

I guess that alcohol is no better or worse than marijuana and it is in no way addictive.

I guess the only truly addictive drugs then are the ones that smoking pot in no way leads to.  And legalizing reefer would not in any way make that access easier.  After all, you get to choose who you hang out with don’t you?  Buy it legally.  Learn how to roll a joint and then, while sitting all alone in your house or apartment, smoke it.  Don’t forget to hangout the “No Other Drugs Allowed Here” sign on your front door.  And ignore the doorbell when it rings.

Look at these hangouts in the states that have already pursued the legalization path.  If you are young look at the older smokers and talk to them and try to fairly gauge what they have done with their lives.  Ask them if they smoke every day.  Ask if they have ever done any other drugs.  Can you even recognize an old stoner or might you already be a bit too stoned?

Take a look while you’re at it at the younger folks at the same hangout and tell yourself these will be the most successful or otherwise outstanding patrons of our society.  Do you really believe that?  Like, wow.

Making it legal will drive away the illegal trade.  Right.  Not unless you also legalize the next-step drugs that it will surely expose new (and old) users to.  Oh, that’s right, we don’t believe it is a gateway drug.

Making it legal will generate revenue for the state.  It will be taxed but not so heavily as to make it too expensive.  Not like gasoline, alcohol, or cigarettes.  Trust those who tell you that and take another hit.

Making it legal and not taxing it too heavily as time goes on and people get inevitably hooked (note that I did not say addicted) will in no way increase the illegal trafficking of lower-cost alternatives and it will not drive more illegal trade to younger users.  That would be simple economics which we no longer believe in anyhow.

It does not and will not lead to the trying or using of other narcotics.  Not a gateway drug, not a gateway drug, not a gateway drug, not a….

It will allow you to free your mind to think great thoughts.  You can always hire someone who is not stoned to actually put those ideas into some sort of motion.

It is not harmful to your health in any way, shape or form.

It, like all of the other social exceptions we have made the last 50 years, has only led to a better country in any way that you care to measure it.

If it’s legal then I guess we had all better tell our kids it’s okay to do it.  At least when they are old enough.

Who knows, rather than having that “first beer” (right!) with dad at your high school graduation party you can share a bong or two.

And, while you’re at it, fill a bowl and pass it on to grandma- after all, it is a special occasion.

Party on!