FAST AIR

People who make serious, scientific tests and studies, and who should know about
such things, tell me that when I sneeze . . . just a simple ker-choo, mind you, it could be
that I am expelling air from my insides with true hurricane force . . . anywhere from
seventy-five miles per hour up to a as much as an impressive one hundred. That would
say my sniffle is just a Tropical Depression, I suppose, forming up to become the real thing.

But, you think those speeds are a bit too high, wait until you hear what I am
supposed to be doing when I decide to cough, or cough, because I don’t think many
people sit around deciding if they are going to cough or not. We teach our children to
stifle their cough or sneeze by placing a hand o handkerchief over their mouths and nose,
but that may just be inviting disaster, in one sense, because the force with which a cough
expels air from our lungs might blow that handkerchief back to the cotton fields or break
the kid’s fingers.

When a person coughs, studies indicate, the human body, on average, expels air
from the respiratory system at a rates which vary from up to three hundred miles per hour!

Now, I’m among those clucks who would laugh if a “Flat Earth Believer - yes there
are still quite few of them around - asked a dumb question like: ”If the Earth is a round ball,
how come we don’t fall off?” Right at this point I’m wondering if I should ask those high
speed wind experts: “H’come, if I sneeze at up to a hundred mile so per hour speeds and
cough at up to three hundred miles per hour, as you say we do, h’come we’re not all
plastered up against the wall next to the ceiling somewhere by simple jet expulsion
reaction? Heaven help the person who sneezes while outdoors or coughs several times!
Maybe that what has happened to some of the “missing person” persons on police
blotters all over the country.

Seriously, though, the force with which we expel air in an effort to force out foreign
bits from our respiratory system’s narrow passages is astonishingly high. I doubt if may
sneeze and cough meters record those reaching the upper levels cited for shock value in
writing or talking about it, but it can still prove to e remarkably fast.

We should not ignore a cough or a sneeze because it identifies a problem or a
potential one. I know it should be treated with seriousness, but one of the comedy acts I
remember most is one we used to see, primarily in what were called “Short Subjects” at
our local movie theaters. A fat fellow by the name of Jack Smart used to do a comedy
routine on various types and sizes of sneezes. His waxy little mustache wiggled and helped
out a great deal in his sneezing demonstration which always seemed to get out of hand
and become orgies. Jack Smart was one of the few comedians who, literally, left me rolling
on the floor trying to contain my painful laughter. I have even been driven to leaving the
room to live to tell about it. I thought of Smart’s sneezes when I read about the sneeze
and cough speeds recently. He did little puffs, summer breezes, high, winds, gales,
tornadoes, monsoons, hurricanes - all of them, and each one was funnier than half of any
previous one.

For some strange reason, I tend to associate Jack Smart as being a vocalist with
“Ted Fiorito and His Orchestra.” Can anyone tell me if I am wrong in doing so? He also did
some sneeze-bit parts in several movies, I’m sure.

Pardon me a moment....(Sound effect).

There! That’s better! Much better!

A.L.M. July 28, 2002 [652wds]

 

BUY U.S.A!

Can you actually bring yourself to refuse to buy anything manufactured outside the
United States?

You may do so, if you wish, but have your tried to do so recently? Before you go
making any rash, blanket statements on the matter, check the shelves at your local
merchant’s to see if essentials you want and need are provided with “Made in U.S.A.
labels attached.

Check shoes, for instance. Examine footwear for men, women and children and see
how many you find which are made here in the States. Oh, you may well recognize the
name as being one you remember for many years past, but when you look inside you find
that the firm making them has long since departed these shores.

China produces more shoes, I think, than just about anyone, and I take great pride
in pointing out that a pair of black dress shoes I wear - a well-known brand name shoe -
are not made in China. Of course not! They are, instead, made in India and have been for
some years.

The movement overseas has been a gradual thing but it is becoming quite
noticeable when you shop for the family’s needs.

So many articles of clothing are made in China, Korea, India, Taiwan, and I wear a
plaid sports shirt which was manufactured, not in Scotland, but in Bangladesh, which I
now find I can’t be sure I can even spell correctly. We used to see a lot of things “Made in
Hong Kong” but that was a well-established bit of politically-correct merchandising which
disappeared when Hong Kong reverted to Red China several year ago. It was an open
secret for many years that much, or most, the item we bought “Made in Hong Kong”
were actually made in China and “distributed” through Hong Kong’s established
world-wide trading firms.

Subtle little tricks are commonly used to misguide a trusting and gullible public. One
New York firm which marketed ladies’ gloves imported a line of fancy gloves from Italy.
The gloves where, as far as they knew, actually made in Italy, but before they were
marketed here, a narrow lace trim was stitched to the edge of each glove, bearing the
tiny label which, was, technically quite accurate and true when it attested to the fact
that the lace trim was “Made the U.S.A.”

Much of our electronic products origination moved to Mexico and the Orient many
years ago; to Mexico mainly in the assembly phase, but to the Orient for manufacture of
the television sets, computers, monitors, printers and other such gadgets such a
photographic equipment, supplies and attachments on which we depend so widely
today.

If you think you can get toys and such things for the children come Christmas or
birthday occasions and you expect the toys to be home-made...i.e. in the U. S. of A, you
had best think again!. Even “Lincoln Logs” are made in China these days.

One has to wonder what it might be like once free trade markets really opens up
with China. I wonder, too, if this Chinese merchandise “invasion” has hit European markets
with the same depth that we see here.

A.L.M. July 17, 2002 [c536wds]

 


THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE PATOLA.

If you are among those of us who have wondered where the Dalai Lama calls
“home” when he is not exiled to some strange place elsewhere on Earth, his address is,
normally, “The Patola Palace” It is located high above the Lhasa Valley in Tibet, which is
about as remote as one can get other than Antarctica, I suppose.

The Patola is a old house. It’s been ”in the family” for many years and it has had -
some may say “suffered” - many additions and modifications over the centuries. The first
house to be built on a hill 170-meters above the Valley floor, which is, itself, high enough to
make things come to a boil slower in the kitchen., was finished in 637 A.D. It was palace,
really, but not much of it is evident in the present dwelling. It is said to have been used in
the foundations for subsequent erections. The Emperor Songtsen Gampo built the
dwelling on top of a hill which was said to have within it a sacred cavern. Therein dwelt
Bodhissartva Chenresi, so Emperor Gampol used it as Meditation Retreat. That original
building stood until the seventeenth century, oddly enough, at which time - in 1645,
during the region of the fifth Dalai Lama, it was obliterated. It took only a few years and
the “Potrang Karpo” - or “white house” - was completed. The next addition called the
“red house” or “Potrang Karpo” and it was added between 1690 and 1694.
You may wonder, as I did, how they managed to get their home improvement
work done so rapidly...three or four years ...when others took half a century, or more go get
things for occupancy. The Dalai Lama must have had a rather good relationships with
the labor union local of his time, because he used seven thousand “workers” plus and
one-thousand five hundred “artists” and “craftsmen” to make the place livable.

The latest revisions of any consequence were in 1922 when the 13th Dalai Lama
renovated some of the chapels and assembly halls in the White Palace and added two
more stories to the Red Palace section.

Fortunately, the three in one palace...counting the first house in the foundations...
suffered little damage during Tibetan uprisings again invading Chinese forces in the l960’s
and 70’s. It is said that Chou En Lai intervened personally to see that the relics of the
palace were not harmed. So, the chapels and the artifacts of the palace are reported to
be well preserved, even though the Dalai Lama is not “in residence”.

The multi-level construction called ”The Petola Palace is named after a holy place
in southern India called Mount Patola in southern India said to have been the abode of a
leading religious figure with a name longer than the mountain range It come to an end
with: ”Kuan Yin” for identification purposes herein. The Emperor Gampo, in the 7th
Century was regarded as an incarnation the Indian deity. It is likely it was he who named
his version of the palace “Petola” after the sacred mountain.

When the Dalai Lams ruled Tibet the Palace was a busy place. It’s 130,000 square
meter interior housed the Tibetan Government, the Dalai Lama’s large staff, a training
school for Monks and a special shrine housed in one ot the White Palace’s two impressive
chapels which lured thousands of Tibetan pilgrims to the holy shrine each day.

Photographs of the palace seldom do it justice, I feel. Often the whole
accumulation seems ready to come scudding down the steep mountain side in a mix of
red and white mortar. But, to the Dalai Lama, wherever he may be tonight.... be it ever
so tumbly, there’s no place like Patola.

A.L.M. July 27, 2002 [c635wds]

 

ON BEING A SCOT

Is it true what they say about pixies, the little people, and a host of such
special characters in Irish writings and lore? Well, “yes” and “no.” Facts are
difficult to come by on such subjects.

What about tartans, kilts, and other articles considered to
be natural with the Scot? There is now a fine book available which provides
trustworthy information about these items.

I have always felt these ideas to be too neatly ordered and codified -
overly-documented, if you will, to be “authentic” at all times, and I have
recently met with this remarkable book which set my mind at rest on many
questionable pieces of Celtic lore.

Arthur Herman in his excellent book which is modestly titled: “How The
Scots Invented the Modern World” with a subtitle: ”The True Story of How
Western Europe’s Poorest Nation Created Our World and Everything
In It. ” ...answers many questions.

What about the wearing of kilts?

Yes, the Scot Highlander had long worn skirt-like garments which was
not at all unusual expect that others worn long robes or tight breeches and
the active Scot living in a country of rugged terrain, liked to have his limbs
free and unencumbered with robes or pantaloons for quick defense
response and for attack. The kilt is a very practical garment. At one time,
when the British tried to forbid the wearing of kilts by Scottish troops, among
the communicaions of disapproval arriving at the Ministry of Defense office,
in London, was a scathing letter in which the author - a military man
speaking bluntly and passionately - pointed out, among other advantages,
that the kilts were easier washed because all that was needed was for the
order to be given to walk the troops through waist high and the flapping of
the skirt would dry the fabric out as they continued the march on dry land.
If the troop was encamped the soldier could wash his kilt, his body and legs
and be ready to move out speedily. That short, shoulder strapped combat
kilt was called the feileadh-beag. There were more formal, longer kilts for
social functions and show, but the warring Scot worn them short and the
fabric used was the common cloth of the realm in those days called woven
in tartan designs.

We have been often deluded with regard to those tartan patterns, as
well. It is quite possible that highlander in a certain clan area might be
wearing kilts of the same plaid design. Many sets of kilts could be fashioned
out of a single bolt of fine wool materials and, since weaving was a local
affair, each area tended to do a certain pattern and seldom tried anything
different.

Wilson’s of Brannockburn, wool manufactures, took orders for tartans,
and before long they offered “setts” of tartans in groups named after
various clans or families. The real mark of identify for the clans was worn on
the hat or arm, a spring of juniper identified the MacLeod; that of heather
marked the MacIntyre. The army started the practice of tartan
classification. The celebrated Black Watch was the first unit to do so in 1739
when they selected a somber blue, green and black plaid. The more formal
kilt consisted of twelve yards of pleated material belted around the waist.
And, comments writer Herman ,“the louder the better.”

This important book about the Scots by Arthur Herman is, I would say,
required reading for everyone with Scottish ancestry. The claims he makes
become more and more acceptable as one reads. It made me proud to
have a Scottish background. In covers not only the good things about
Scottish history but also the less admirable occurrences. My particular family
came into The Minch area around 1050 A. D. from Norway, and when I read
detailed portions of unpleasant things, I’m glad to have an “out” and can
think of my family as sojourners merely passing through Scotland for several
centuries on our way to America in the 1730’s.

A.L.M. July 6, 2002 [c679wds]

 

MAYBE NOT?

I realize it sounds impractical, doubtful and even impossible to many people, but I
still find that what we do for others is often more important than what we do for ourselves.

Much of what you do is done without the realization that you are thinking more of
others than yourself.

If you are a young man, let’s say, fresh out of college halls of learning and seeking a
job in keeping with your training, eager, ambitious and all that you met with in college
days. Several surprises await you in the real world, of course. Among them is the fact that
you will be called upon to choose a lifetime field of employment. You must make
judgments based, not just on the amounts of money the job will bring in and how soon.
You will be, I’ll bet, imagining times just ahead in which you can marry that special girl;
have children and be the one who steadily brings home the bacon in abundance and
working to keep the home fire burning in traditional ways. You will be working for
individuals and groups who do not even exist now, perhaps. Or, you may take the job
thinking of it as an opportunity for you to repay some of the small fortune your parents or
family members spent on your college years. They have been working on your behalf for
many years. Much of what they both did over the years often truncating their own
enjoyments, hobbies, avocations - with our well-being in mind. You can’t just turn your
back on them, although it does happen in hundreds of cases almost daily, I’m sure.

You will be better off if you are doing a job you like, too. So many individuals
condemn themselves to so many years of servitude after which they plan to “take it
easy” and “enjoy living.” It is important that your family respects what you do for a living,
too. This is often a difficult thing to comprehend, when one is young and filled with a zest
for living at higher and higher levels of showy prosperity, and even difficult to understand
when one grows older and it appears that you may have to give something up in order to
work for others. The time will arrive, however, when you see others doing so and you realize
for the first time that you have been doing some of it yourself unknowingly for years.

You are working for others when you create with your hands, mind, guidance and
spiritual influence upon those around you. It is not a matter of physically establishing your
presence among them. Many help from afar and do a commendable job Some like to do
their helping quietly and modestly.

Have you every wondered why people wait until they are dead before the share
their wealth? If you have good fortune, share it with family and friends while you live. Why
deprive yourself of the joy of giving, of sharing, or helping others?

It’s a natural thing to want to do.

A.L.M. July 25, 2002 [c518wds]

 

SPEED

Are we a nation obsessed with speed?.

Even our food has to be “fast”. We prefer “fast” colors in our clothing materials. We
take part in religious observations which including “fasting”. We like elevators which whisk
us up to the upper levels of our buildings at stomach-squeezing speeds. And, most of all,
we like our cars to be “fast.”

What are the highest numbers on your car’s speedometer? I can remember when it
was common to put readings of 150 mph, or more on such meters and many owners tried,
sometimes once too often, to see if the old rigs would do that on the road. We are “sold”
on the speed of the cars we desire. We want the fast ones and can ignore laws which limit
speeds we might use when we drive on public highways.

The people who make the new car commercials for TV know how to produce an
illusion of super speed which seems safe enough. The new cars are often shown traveling
curved highways in mountainous terrain. They are really moving along and, have you ever
noticed their is no oncoming traffic on the strange highways featured on TV commercials.
And, state police are totally absent as well. It may be they do their filming just after dawn
on Sunday mornings, or they get the police to block off a few miles for their use. The roads
are immaculately paved - not a pothole or patch in sight - and shoulders are mowed
and manicured, too, as a rule. The car of your dreams goes whizzing around the curve
and holds to the road beautifully. Another thing, you almost never get a chance to see
who’s driving. The writers and producers want you to feel you are at the wheel for every
tense moment! Often we are shown a rush of scenery slurring by the car windows - a
steady rush of blurred nature. I often wonder at such times if it is the car passing the
scenery or the scenery being rushed past the car window on film. The mighty cars dash off
into the desolate reaches of the mountains and appear again-and-again taking the
sharp curves with ease and assurance... and still no traffic whatsoever. You are doing it!
No people present to distract you!
.
Some spot producers prefer a desert location where their cars can scoot off in a
dramatic spilling of sandy dust into the crisp, clean air. Everything moves in a hurry,
including the talk about special sale prices, reductions, and, far too often, rebates of
many kinds. Special feature on a specific car are mentioned at times, but the main
emphasis is on speed visually and in the manner of presentation. Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!

If future drivers try to move along at the pictured pace, they will get packets of
speeding tickets in record time. Notice, to, that most producers use models with solid
wheels. Spoked wheels - of wood, metal sections or wire - still appear to be going
backward on side shots just like the wagons and buggies in the western movies used to do
when we were kids. One would think they would have learned too overcome that
camera hazard long ago.

It’s more often the speed factor that sells the car on TV, however.

A. L. M. July 26, 2002 [c560wds]

 

WHAT IS NEEDED?

Think about it. What are people going to need in the future?

Make a list of ideas which come to you from time-to-time ... a list of gadgets the
average homemaker of the future will find useful once someone invents them.

Over the years I have kept such a list in these pages and written at length
concerning many such ideas. They occur to you more readily than you might think, too.
Writing them down is a good idea and a worthwhile exercise in writing, as well. Our writing
about an idea may be the spark that is needed to fire up the creative urge in some one
who can take the concept on step forward and make something useful of it.

Don’t be worried about who gets the credit for doing whatever is done, either. So
many inventions are evolved over the years in many minds and through trial and error
thinking and testing which leads to something that may resemble the original quest, but
not exactly. No one person invents anything, I’m convinced. Someone does claim and
get the credit eventually, and the profits from the idea. But the most important thing is
that a useful thing has been created which will enable society to advance and to live a
better life because of it.

Here a few of the things I have listed over the years:

We need custom made footwear. Customer’s visit an office location rather than a
“store”; see samples of the available styles in shoes. Computers then measure the foot of
the customer both standing and seated and provide a reading of the exact dimensions
required. That information, when sent to the actual manufacturing facility, becomes
template which results in a personal set of footwear designed specifically for that person
alone. I have read since setting the idea down ,that the Japanese have done such a
thing but it still demands a marketing promotional effort. I like one idea the Japanese
added. They actually make the buyer wait a full week for the shoes which were available
same or the next day after the order was sent in. They find that anticipation is one of the
most important factors concerning the acquisition of new shoes or of any such personal
item. O.K. I was late on that one...waited too long. There are some quirks to be worked
out before such a process could become readily acceptable in the United States.

Then, I have long had a theory of accumulated light in mind. If we can bend a
beam of light, if we can make a light bean go around a corner. why is it so odd, then, to
consider making a light beam which will pile up, accumulate as a glob or globe of
brilliance at a specific point... especially if it meets another beam coming from the
opposite direction? Imagine a bright glow in the upper center of a room caused by two
small, pencil-like units installed a fool below ceiling level on each side wall of the room to
cause steady, central glow. Or, imagine a football field with a globe of gathered light
above it, or an airport fogged-in but showing globs of light up through the fog at regular
descending levels from small units along the runway below. Think of highway alight from
such globes of accumulated or “stopped” light! We will see it some day.

Another idea has to do with reviving the once fertile Sahara desert in Africa. It’s an
idea which has been around for many years but has lacked the creative spark which will
make it a reality. The idea is to siphon water from he Mediterranean across the Atlas
Mountains. It will seek the lowest levels and form an inland salt sea from which prevailing
winds will take it north to fall as on non Atlas range. Then, in turn, it will
trickle down the slopes to irrigate now useless areas. Not my idea you see, but I have a
part in it and so do you Make your move. Make it work.

Or, how about a bellows arrangement fitted under my computer chair to exercise
my feet with varied pressures to keep them from going to sleep and to provide fan
advantages as well. I called it a “Robo-chair” when describing it here several years ago.

Or, in the kitchen, a simple rack I made which we used in the house in which we
used to live. Two strips of wood - actually those used in the bottom edge of old window
shades; four 6”x6: 1/4” plywood scraps . Slots are cut in the plywood to allow the stripes to
be inserted ...barely...two at the upper edge and three at the bottom end and one on
the keel area. The no-nail rig was used for storage of plastic lids of all sizes in order so the
proper size could be selected with ease. Tupperware could make the thing.

I have a back scratcher in mind which would be a product sold with a whimsical
touch. It is a bathmat with varied stubble, and suction cups on the back so it can be
fitted against flat surface... a wall, a closet door, a filing cabinet at the office . The chronic
back-itcher, and I find we are numerous, stands against it and scratches up and down, or
sideways, to suit his or her need. It could be made by Rubbermaid and it has a
mandatory shape. It would be sold as humorous novelty, called “An Angel’s Wing”. Ah,
blessed relief!

One more idea then, I’m outta here! And, you are on your own.

I have always liked to eat raw turnips right from the garden. So, I find, do others.
I think a Turni-chips would sell. A company in the potato chip business could blend turnips
and potatoes to a creamy state and press then into tasty new snack treats. Think what
that would do for the hard-pressed turnip growers of America as well!

They sound silly, don’t they? Most inventions are comical in their earliest stage of
development. I’d be interested in hearing about your zany ideas as well. Use the e-mail
link on the TOPIC home page and tell me about some of the things you would like to see
invented or improved.

A.L.M. July 25, 2002 [c1061wds]

 

THE EARLY F.B.I.

I grew up without any knowledge of the F.B.I. So did thousands
of others of my age. I was twenty-years old before I ever heard of the
F.B.I. for the simple reason that it did not exist until that time. It started
to become what it is today in March of 1935.

The investigation of crime was, in those days, largely a local affair.
City, county and state police looked in to such matters and, as I
remember, there were numerous private detectives for hire as well as
associations and agencies which offered, for a fee, often in the form of
a membership payment, protection of groups of the citizenry
from molestation by disreputable persons know as hoodlums and
gangsters.

When we thought of dealing with criminal violence we thought
of depending on individuals - the detective, who was “called in” to
”solve” the mystery or to catch the criminals. In the literature of the
time, the astute individual who could see thorough the Machavialian
meanness of the bad guys, came many sizes, shapes and
configurations. Very often, to keep him or her from being too perfect,
they were given some physical impairment or a quirky attitude which
also helped make them distinctive from others of their ilk. We were still
very much with the Sherlock Holmes, Doctor Watson way of doing
crime solutions.

The seed of the agency came from the fact that some members
of the Secret Service were “moonlighting” a bit and worked for the
Justice Department from time-to-time as special agents. Someone
blew the well-know whistle. We don’t know why or how, but it was
some one with clout, because the Congress quickly passed a routine
Civil Service bill in which it was stated that such agent off-time work
was a no-no. The fine for any such in infraction by a Secret Service man
was “two years suspension”. Then someone, with even heavier
influence, where it mattered most, modified it a bit to allow such
agency work on behalf of the Treasury Department and , then,
fine-tuned the legislation to say ”except in cases of counterfeiting”.

There was a need for a government-wide investigative body.
One was set up in July of 1908. It came to be called the B.O.I. - the
Bureau of Investigation which evolved. Later it became the D.O.I. - the
Division of Investigation. We did not, however, know them with the
familiarity which the acronym “FEB.” quickly acquired.

The B.O.I was not closed allied with crime investigating
authorities throughout the states. They were, to some extent, when
called upon to do so, helpful in a mild forensics sense, because they had
available laboratories and test facilities others lacked locally. Those
were B.O.I men on the scene of the Lindbergh kidnapping case in New
Jersey in 1932. A year later, the Congress set forth the kidnapping
legislation which grew out of that celebrated case and the B.O.I. was
also given a bloated designation, either B.O.I. or the U.S.B.O.I. They
came to be the ones who had to deal with the growing mobster,
gangster and violence which was working havoc in our large cities,
too. And, of numbers rackets, protection schemes, outright con artist
trickery and gambling infesting our small towns, as well. It strikes me as
an amazing fact that the Congress of this nation of ours did not deem
it necessary or proper for these guardian forces to be allowed to
officially arrest troublemakers nor could they bear firearms of any kind.
They could perform only what is called “people’s arrest”, which is a civic
function you and I can do today if we wish to get that involved in a
situation without even a pea-shooter or a sling-shot in our possession at
the time.

Future TV, movies and the print media would have been severely
deprived if someone had not invented the nick-name of “G-Men”
meaning government men or the F.B.I. It is widely said, but contested,
that the originator of that term was none other than “Machine Gun”
Kelly, The story has it that, when besieged by the U.S.B.O.I, he had
called out: “Don’t shoot! G-men, don’t shoot!”. That seems odd to me
since the said besiegers were not allowed to carry guns until a year
later. It is conceded that, since, Kelly was not exactly the
pleading-for-mercy type, that he probably may have used the term
“G-men” in a scathing, derogatory sense when being interrogated by
men of the U.S.B.O.I. or the D.O.I. Accounts differ as to name at that
moment.

‘Way Back in 1921, William J. Burns, head of the famed Burns
Detective Agency, was named Director of the B.O.I. and he took on
board a young man of twenty-two years of age, by the name of Edgar
Hoover, who was to become part and parcel of the department for
many years to come...even forever.

Read up on the history and exploits of our Federal Bureau of
Investigation and its accomplishments. Yes, and of its restraints, as well,
well as it has functioned in a democracy. We can all be very proud of
our G-Men. A.L.M. July 23, 2002 [c858wds]

 
CHOCOLATE, HOT

I have always liked a good mug of hot chocolate, especially in the fall and winter
days when there’s a natural chill about things and places. Air-conditioning hasn’t exactly
helped curb my yen one but, either.

I have gone though cycles over the years because for a time I am told it is good for
me to drink chocolate, then the environmental - health preservation pendulum swings to
the opposite extreme and I’m told drinking chocolate is not good for a person. Win or lose,
I always come back to it as a favorite drink.

Years ago I worked in radio with a mid-morning personality by the name of Russ
Gardner. He preferred the hot chocolate rather than the coffee which was available
from the vending machine . One morning there were cries for help from the corridor in
which the machine was located just outside the control room. “ I need cups! Anybody!
Bring me cups or glasses or anything to hold this hot stuff!” Help came by way of the
kitchenette nearby with a yard long “stick” of plastic cups. The machine had jammed in
some way and it continued to pour out hot chocolate without stopping. Russ had to get
back in the control room because his record onto turntable was finishing. We all had
plenty of hot chocolate that morning! One of the girls got a tray and delivered it to all
offices.

I have, as a rule, prepared hot chocolate by heating water or milk then pouring in a
“scoop” of mix... chocolate, cacao and powdered milk, with sweetener appended. The
scoop is subtle way of refusing to admit that you put at least two tablespoons of the
mixture. Stir a bit. Then, serve.

I have always thought chocolate originated with the Aztec or Mayan cultures.
When the Spanish took it back to Europe it became a fad food favorite among the
royalty of many nations.

I have recently come to know, through National Geographic studies, that I have
been woefully amiss in my preparation of the drink. The Aztec and Mayan peoples had
chocolate and used it, often to excess we are told. It seems to have originated much
earlier among the Olmec people, who preceded the Mayans at about 1500-500 BC. They
lived along the southern rim of the Gulf of Mexico. Both the words “chocolate” and
“cocoa” and “cacao” are Olmec words. Some sources say Nahutal or Uto-Aztecan.

Many early quaffers seem to have preferred their chocolate drinks thick and frothy.
The froth was deemed to be the best part, it seems, so they had a specific way to make
hot chocolate which I’d like try some time when the wife and kids are sure to be away.
The Mayans and others mixed their chocolate in a liquid and heated it. They then poured
a portion of the contents from a vessel held on high. It was poured from as high as
Mayan cook could reach. He or she held the one clay vessel high and poured the
contents down into a bowl on the ground or floor below. This was done, again and again,
aerating it and putting a fine head of it for royal consumption of a quality hot chocolate
drink.

See. We learn something new every day, don’t we? Well, maybe every other day,
perhaps?

A.L.M. July 22, 2002 [c566wds]

 

PAYING THE PIPER

It has been a while, now, since we have had a high school shooting and the lack
therof is somewhat disquieting.

Does the basic evil still lurk out there in our lesser the academic halls or was it all a
series of passing manifestations if a passing fancy for some easily excited individuals who
did their thing and have now been imitated by their peers and largely forgotten?

I have felt, just as many other have, I’m sure, that most of the incidents have
been copy cat versions of the “Columbine” School shootings with each attempting to
“improve” or “ “perfect” some element of the shootings.

The reasons for “Columbine” and others are still varied, of course, and highly
debatable in some cases.

I feel it to be grossly wrong for us to attribute any such actions to specific causes
and in this case many have condemned “television” violence as the cause. It may well
have been a factor in the problems’ growth but it is, by no means, the sole cause of
such emotional social collapse among teen agers. TV is a handy culprit to blame, but in
doing so - or in saying it was the violence movies of recent years - causes us to blame
such obvious elements and to stop looking for the real, underlying and much deeper
causes which might bring about such radical changes in the mind set of young people.

When such incidents occurred in times we think of as being long gone, the same
group of knee-jerk, self-appointed judges placed the blame on the dime novels the
youngster were reading. Each generation seems to have its favorite whipping boy on
which to blame shortcomings of their own which should be taken more to heart.

Think about it for a moment. Isn’t there a common thread through most of the
violent displays which points, again and again, to the area of parental negligence?
The failure of unified mother and father need to guide their children into socially
acceptable paths. Instead we see parents rearing their children haphazardly and, in
many cases, in accordance with changeable rules set by existing social cliques which
may be compared readily with crude improvisations so evident replacing diplomacy,
tact and conscientious dedication to service found so frequently in present-day politics
which are said to be “politically correct”. Such “socially correct” upbringing ideas often
emphasizes the wrong themes upon which children are expected to build their lives.

We can, if we wish, view it all as passing phase and make remarks about having
to pay the fiddler now and then if we wish to continue to trip the light fantastic. For
true solutions we must examine ourselves and make some changes in the manner in
which children are trained to be worthy of a place in adult living. We need to be
prepared to be shocked in doing so, at times, even hurt, but, in the long run, it should
work to our mutual advantage if we can make such alterations...soon.

A.L.M. May 27, 2002 [c513wds]

 

MAY POLE

When did “May Pole Dances” go out of style?

I’ve just missed them, but I can remember when it was a great event of every
Spring time. It resembled the concept of debutantes being introduced to society with a
strictly controlled “Debutante’s Ball” held at the town finest facility.

As I remember it, the city actually installed several twelve or fourteen-foot used
telephone poles in the park area and at the various school grounds each spring to meet
the forthcoming need. All the young girls - pre-debs, I suppose they might be called - had
to have new, fluffy, long dresses made for the occasion and the bounds of color were
ignored. The May Pole dance was to be a bright, cheerful, gay dance and sometimes
they trucked in a piano which, with violin, at times provided the music. Most of the time,
however, the music was from a scratchy phonograph record with gaps of silence every
two to three minutes as the record was changed or reset at the beginning with a special
spine-tingling sideways scrr-aa-ttch!

The girls danced gracefully around the pole, each holding in hand a colorful band
of artificial paper, as we then called it, of a bright color. As they moved around the pole
the pole itself became then center of attention as a pattern began to appear when the
strands of colored paper were interwoven. School color predominated when it was
danced on school premises, but civic displays were a more colorful show. It was not as
easy at the might appear to have been, either. Everyone had to move exactly as
planned, weaving and interweaving - or the whole thing would be messed up beyond
fixing. In earlier times it involved both men and women and, often as teams of seven
couples, who took the steps needed, passing in front of or in back of the ladies as the
deign demanded. Many such shows completed the festive pole, then reversed the steps
and unwound the entire thing... all in celebration of the “Feast of Flora” as it was called in
England where it was all dedicated to the Goddess of Flowers.

Prior to the Roman occupation of the country the English contented themselves
with simple decorating tall poles with flowers and greenery of all kinds in elaborate designs
, but after the Romans left they became a dancing people at Pole time. The same sort of
thing grew in other nations as well usually among rural folk. The people in Switzerland
made it a three times per day affair. There was a staid, quiet version at sunrise, a less
formal show at noon and the evening consisted of dancing and merry making. A Robin
Hood character play an major role in some May Pole dances in England, as well.

Strict rules used to apply. The number of ribbons used must be divisible by four, for
instance. Try to do with less or more, and you’ve got yourself a badly botched May Pole
design.

A.L.M July 20, 2002 [c508wds]

 


TAKE THE SONIC ROUTE

Many people today, I find, seem to think of their life as extremely dull. They long for a
time when they can have things and do things that will , they think, bring them happiness
beyond measure.

Do you have such feelings at times?

Much of our life is what we make it. You’ve heard that said and you believe it up to
a point. It is, no doubt true - quite true that we are, or become, what we think we want
to be or might be someday. We all work to such a goal in mind and one of the biggest
and most common mistakes, I think, is that, in so doing, we tend to eliminate other
people.

It is a gradual process and as we exclude others we achieve elements of loneliness
that come with selfishness and, in time, perhaps greed.

I read recently that research has been made which concludes that the first sound
a child ever “hears” is the steady, pom-pom of his or her mother’s heart beat. That’s why
in the weeks that follow birth the child readily responds to double-toned sounds such as
ma-ma, da-da and even nonsense sounds such as goo-goo.

It can be said that the truly happy life begins with attention to basics.

We are socially oriented groups. You like to be among happy people and others like
to be around you when you smile, and exchange banter and laugh freely and honestly at
the antics of others. Those sounds of cheerfulness with become treasures guiding you to
the possession of others like them or better. Learn to listen to other people when they talk
and do so wholeheartedly as they express themselves. There is , too, the sound of that
inner voice we all have - call it “conscious” or by any fancy name you like, knowing it to
be there regardless. We all have it - a sense of right or wrong, a sense of do-it or don’t-do-it
and when we think of such a quality in relation to our own conduct and yearnings for
happiness it become plain that we often find such success only as we do for others in an
almost motherly manner.

Just as the sound of the mother’s heart beat forms so much of the future of the
child, so - this hidden “sound” within each of us is always with us - most often unknown - to
bring us happiness and good cheer. When there is goodness in our lives we must share it
with others. In traveling through life, be good to yourself and others - take the sonic route.

A.L.M. Jul y 12, 2002 [c452wds]

 


FALSE NUMBERS GAME

The Social Security System here in the United States is being misused by untold
thousands of people who possess false Social Security numbers.

The political people who should be doing something about this gross
misapplication of the system seem to be spending most of their time insisting the other
party is trying to kill the entire Society Security system. If anything, our Social Security
system is being eliminated from within. Increasing numbers of people are using bogus
Social Security numbers to get and hold employment and to gain other such acceptance
into our society.

No one that I have heard of, has denied that the nineteen Al Quida men who
committed the September 11th tragedy all possessed illegal Social Security numbers.
Workers all over the country, particularly in the poultry processing businesses, farming -
especially migrant types of farm operation, and others are guilty of knowingly accepting
false numbers. We are told that the departments computer are old and out-of-date often
and this is supposed to explain the whole miscarriage away, it seems.

Employers do not check Social Security numbers to determine if they are valid. I
can understand why this may happen when the employment market is tight, but I am
still waiting for some explanation of what becomes of funds which they, then, withhold
from the worker’s paycheck and forward to the federal government. Is it all stacking up
in some building in the district of Columbia, or ending up in a slush fund because no one
knows to whom it might belong?

I’ve never tried, but I’d be willing to wager that, if I, purposely used an incorrect
social security number on important papers or concerning a purchase, I would hear about
it. Yet, it seems we have no means of tracking down fake numbers and safeguarding such
funds as are being place in those accounts.

What about duplicate accounts? I’ve heard people brag about having a second
account or more. As lax as the system seems to be I cannot deny that some such
duplications do ,indeed, exist.

Before we succumb to political talk about “changes in Social Security” let’s police
the system we now have to see that the fake number accounts are eliminated and all
funds accounts for and properly applied to true, existing legal accounts.

I have been with the Social Security System since the day it started. I still use my
original card which is getting worn and discolored with the years, but it has served me
well and I can find no fault with the entire plan when we see it for what it really was and is
intended to be.

Methinks, the “rottenness “ is not all in Denmark. Much of it is to be found right here
at home.
A.L.M. July 7, 2002 [c471wds]

 
CHANGES

Are we counting the (years)(months) and ignoring the (hours) (minutes) into
today’s rush into tomorrow?

Circumstances do not seem to stay around long enough for them to become
valid memories and future bits of nostalgia. Are we, perhaps, moving ahead so fast
that we don’t have time to truly absorb and appreciate the present moments and to
reflect on how well-off we truly are in this nation right now?

I am old enough to think of fifty-sixty years from now as compared to half-century
ago or more. I have witnessed changes, many of which evolved slowly over the years
and even decades of time, but current progress is quicker and less deeply concerned
with the way we live. Ever step we take to live better seems to be predicated on what
it is going to mean in the future rather than today’s possible use.

And rightly so, I would agree.

The faster tempo of today is in tune with the nature of our findings. Much of it is
an improvement or addition to things we now have and processes we now use, and
they change rapidly. The computer you bought just few years ago is obsolete today.
The car you thought of as once-in-a-lifetime purchase, perhaps, certainly a long-term
possession, is now long gone in favor for a newer models. The house you want to buy is a
two-car garage with living quarters attached, behind and above, on a narrow lot.
From almost any corner in any new development, look down the street for as far as you
can see. There are endless lines of garage doors opening and closing and either
swallowing up or spilling out vehicles of every description to keep the community on the
community on the move. The front door of the home is around one side of the garage
and it is an architectural formality. It is rarely used. All family members arrive and depart
by car and seek out passageways cut to assure quick access to the central garage
area. Front doors are, primarily for use by wandering house-to-house salespersons and
the like. Face it. Housing has changed radically in recent years and more such
modifications -some of them will, no doubt, infringe on what we think of as being the
“right” way to do things.

So much depends, to a large extent, on our willingness to accept change. The
point to be concerned about, when a change is eminent, is to realize how you fit into
the planned modification. By taking up a stubborn stance of opposition to a change
will only delay it, not forestall it, in most cases. Look for, and seriously seek out
advantages which can come your way with projected changes.

A.L.M. July 14, 2002 [c482wds]

 


COMMOTION

If you are going to conduct meetings of almost any kind it is wise to become
acquainted with Robert’s “Rules of Order.”

You need to be aware of things Mr. Robert’s said about how you should tend to
your own business in this little book. Sooner or later - usually sooner - someone is going to
quote what Oracle Bobby said, or did not say, concerning some “Point of Order.” You
must be ready to quote back.

Most of his rules are common sense and it is a good path to follow to get things
done at most meetings. It comes in handy.

I recall one incident I happened to be involved in years ago when a grown man in
our church congregation today was just a toddler ... maybe three or four, I suppose. Our
committee was meeting around a long table set in the corner of the Fellowship Hall of the
church. It was not the ideal spot in which to hold such meetings because the
passageway from the church and to the outdoors was in constant use.

The boy, who’s mother was in another committee meeting somewhere in the
church, decided it was a good time to make use of his freedom and location to do
something he had enjoyed in the past. He ran off toward the far end of the long hall;
broke into a fast run in our direction and, halfway down the long hall, purposely squatted
or knelt or took some sort of position only boys that age can take and skidded the rest of
the way on the hardwood, waxed floor! He had done it before and was an expert at the
art, it appeared. He did it again and again and sprawled against the wall beside us, in a
manner which was, shall we say, “noticeable”

As chairman I went on with our meeting, pretending not to notice the floor skiing
feats Here he comes again!

But, this time the lady on the end of the table leaned out a bit, extended her arms
and he slid right into her grasp. She picked the tiny kid up and plopped him down on his
bottom on the table right in front of her chair and cuddled him a bit in her arms. Everyone
at the table watched the capture and I’ll never believe what I said promptly as the
unflappable chairperson:

“Now that the motion has been tabled, let’s get back to this idea of...”

In moments such as that we are left strictly on our own. I don’t think Mr. Robert’s
covers that situation, exactly, in his “Rules of Order”. It is good to read the book and to
become acquainted with the subtle meanings of expression he sets forth which will keep
a meeting moving right along.

Memorize the book and you can become one of the most erudite, tiresome and
tedious persons who “hits the floor” at the slightest infraction of one of Robert’s “rules.”

I’ve never found the rule to be used to rid yourself of such parliamentary pests.
Count yourself blessed indeed if you happen to have two such characters. If so, set them
against each other, and get on with the business at hand.

Remember: Robert is Right. Always.

A.L.M. July 16, 2002 [c551wds]

 
VEEP

Who was Vice-President of these United States of America the year you were born?

Do you know?

Do you care?

It occurs to me that few couples - if any - ever name their newborn child after our
Vice-presidents. Do they? That sees an insensitive slight to a person who had to take second
place so often in his career. Many couples name their child after the President and some live
to rue the day, after post-administration revelations show the man to have been human
after all.

The Vice President in office when I was born was a man named Thomas R.
Marshall. Of course, that infant-naming idea would not have worked well, because I already
had an uncle, just a few years my senior, named Thomas.

Until recently, I had absolutely no idea who Thomas R. Marshall might have been if
anyone had asked me. We should honor of Vice-presidents more than we do. They seem go
unrecognized far too often. Second fiddle helps give the orchestral melody depth, quality
and meaning which makes it something worthy of attention.

So after seeing the name in a list of our thirty-two Vice-presidents, I decided to do a
little nosing around to see why he was chosen for the job. According to some accounts he is
said to have been our 28th Vice-Predidentxient indent, but I count only nineteen before him.
Anyone who attains to that office has something on the ball, you can be sure, and a reason
for being where he was at that time. Regardless of the official count, he was Vice-president
from 1912-1921. And, there were good reasons for his being there, too.

Woodrow Wilson was President in 1916 , the year I was born in Norfolk, Virginia
and it so happens I have lived a few minutes away from Wilson’s birthplace in Staunton,
Virginia ever since pre-World War II days - not counting four years or so except for those Army
and Air Force years I spent re-saving the world for Democracy. I have heard, talked and seen
a great deal about Wilson but I don’t recall hearing the name Thomas R. Marshall even
mentioned.

The very first thing which popped out when I started reading about my man Marshall
was that he is held accountable as the man who coined the expression: ”What this country
needs if a good five-cent cigar.” So, that alone, puts him in a class of much-quoted persons! It
also shows him to be a regular guy in many folksy ways , a cigar smoker, no doubt, and a
candidate for an early grave because of that filthy habit which has come into disrepute in
recent decades... and wisely so, I might add. Tom Marshall said that during a serious
discussion of the nation’s economic needs in the U.S. Senate. Tom Marshall spoke, you come
to feel , on behalf of the common man of his era.

My Dad smoked cigars, for instance, and he was a Democrat, too so I’m pretty certain
he voted for cigar-smoking, cigar-praising Thomas R. Marshal. Cigars prices, at
that mid-war time, must have been spiraling upward noticeably, so Marshals’ remark
was a timely economic comment. It strikes me that Marshall may well have been the
all-important connection with the people which Woodrow, with his academic background,
rather staid appearance and mien, and the heritage of stern Presbyterianism, may have
lacked. I can see Tom Marshall being the man who added the common touch, a genuine
connection with the people in the streets, during the Wilson-Marshall campaigns of 1911-12
and when they were re-elected in 1916.

Marshall was born in North Manchester, Indiana on March 14, 1854. He graduated from
Wabash College in 1873, studied law and was admitted to the Indiana bar in 1875. He
started his law practice in Columbia City, Indiana and was elected Governor of Indiana in
1908. His administration as governor was said to have been “progressive, resulting in new
labor laws for Indiana including new child labor legislation. He fell short of getting a new state
constitution adopted.

At the Democratic National Convention in Baltimore in 1912 was he was the favorite
son candidate of Indiana. When Woodrow Wilson was nominated for the office of the
President, Marshall was chose for the Vice-Presidential slot. They were reelected in 1916 and
he served as Vice President until 1921, acting also, of course, as presiding officer of the
Senate at which time he made the famous cigar statement.

` When President Wilson attended the peace conferences in Europe, Marshall presided
over the cabinet meetings. He was the first vice-president to do so, and during Wilson’s serious
illness, beginning in late 1919, Marshall considered the possibility of declaring himself Acting
President. He decided not to do so, partly because he feared such an action would divide
the country. Marshall died in Washington, D.C. June 1, 1925 which must have given him
sufficient time he to think and re-think his 1919 decision.

All of which makes me wonder if legislation has been put in place which would clarify
the proper passage of powers if the president were incapacitated. Certainly such an
important decision should not be left for the Vice-president to decide!

Check out your VEEP. You too will learn a few things, I’ll bet.

A.L.M. July 15, 2002 [c-888]

 
WAITING ROOM

Recently I was waiting in the patient’s lounge at a leading hospital in the area.
That’s a place where patients and their families may gather apart from everyone in the
Main Lobby area prior to being called to actual procedures somewhere in the giant
central core of the hospital.

We were told we would have a three hour wait the way things looked at that
moment, so we settled down to do just that - wait for several hours. We had all eaten
breakfast and it was still early so that did not interest anyone.

I had experienced that type of holdover before. I am told I actually caused one of
several hours for some people by overstaying my use of the operating tables and staff by
several hours during my aorta repair visit. Someone else had to wait several hours
because of me , so found t easy to put myself in an acceptance mode; picked up a
magazine and started to read.

It occurs to me that much of living the Christian life in the troubled world of today
has to do with this type of waiting. The scriptural reference using the words “wait upon
the Lord”, of course, has a totally different connotation that tells us we have a duty to
“serve” Him. I see another type of “waiting patiently”, in one sense, in a room set apart
from the main waiting areas and surrounded by others in need who are also awaiting a
time when they are to be called to something special being done on their behalf by
dedicated doctors, nurses and technicians of various configurations.

No doubt the room in which I sat contained people who were praying for
themselves, and family members praying on behalf of each other in moments ahead
when their name would be called.

I did not notice anyone being particular agitated or nervous. Some were reading
even though the magazines were old. Two small children sat for a few moments at the
pair of computers at one side for amusement, but nether seemed interested in the games
those machines offered so they sat and fidgeted as children will do, but they we
well-mannered for the most part.

We were racially different, but our purpose was the same - survival.

I had no way of knowing how different we may have been...black, white, some of
Hispanic heritage and several with Asiatic features. Yet, intent on our purpose in being
there, we sat quietly; exchanged magazines and newspapers from time-to-time, some
were watching a TV set in one end of the long room. but the point is that, in our time of
mutual need, we got along very well. Some of us were reading about racial and
nationalistic excesses in the magazines we held in our hands, but there was an overall
aura of understanding among us in our mutual time of waiting to be called.

Waiting room stays need not be dull at all, I find. By observing others we see
ourselves in a new, more appreciative light because there is always someone there who is
worse off than we.

A.L.M. March 22, 2002 [c530wds]

 
HC

In times of national stress it is not unusual for people who, otherwise never thought
of the subject - to fear for their “rights.”

When talk concening rights comes up, sooner or later some one will mention the
Latin term habeas corpus. Being in Latin it has a legal ring about it which seems to
demand hushed respect when it is mentioned.

Quite often, too, the actual sayer has no idea of what the term means. It just
seemed like a good time to introduce it into the conversation to push it to new levels of
concern - exactly what being unknown.

Someone will comment that Abraham Lincoln abolished the right of habeas corpus
for the duration of the Civil War. Congress approved his action and only one opponent
disagreed. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who held that such a suspension was not
within the powers of the president.

Another will point to the imprisonment of all Japanese American citizen by FDR for
the duration of World War II as another infringement on the right of habeas corpus, and
others, will, no doubt, cite other moments when the right was ignored, at least in their
view.

The words habeas corpus mean “you should have the body” Some people hesitate
to say it. The pronouncing guide gives us: hA’bEus kor’-pus and it should be considered as
a term we have integrated into our language and not just a high-sounding foreign
expression used for show off purposes.

In more recent times, during the fifties and sixties, The Supreme Court’s liberal decisions
caused many prisoners to seek release through habeas corpus proceedings. The present
court has limited sucn habeas corpus filings, especially from prisoners on Death Row.

State plainly the writ asks only if the prisoner has been accorded due process, not if
he is guilty. The sole purpose of the write is to free those unlawfully imprisoned. The
Constitution of the United States provides that ”The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus
shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion Invasion the Public Safety may
require it.”

It is not a new idea. Habeas Corpus was first mentioned in the 15th Century in
England and it was formalized in the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679.

One may wonder why the term is used so freely when its application is so limited. I
think the very term is held dear, as it was in Revolutionary times, as a sort of symbol of all
freedoms we enjoy, rather than just one precise area.

A.L.M. June 24, 2002 [c 434wds}

 
STRANGE LIGHTS

Anytime seems to be “UFO Time,” now-a-days.

We used to have a “season” for such sightings - in October, I believe, but that
restriction has gradually faded away.

If you feel left out because you haven’t yet experienced the sighting a flying
objects from outer space in your locality, here is how you can do something about such
an unseemly deficiency.

Find a bedroom window from which there is a view of a portion of town, a lighted
area. Forget about the trees between you and the places you see. This calls for
advance planning because you must make your choice when leaves are not on the
trees ...mid-winter would be best. Then, some dark night, look from the window and into
the blackness of the sky and suddenly a tiny light will appear, flicker for a moment,
establish itself, then move suddenly to another area of the sky, so fast you can’t follow it.
It appears to be round, maybe a bit flat across the top as you watch it, and glowing
brightly!. Then, it just disappears; as quickly as it appeared!. It is gone!

What you have been watching are several, high-mounted lights in the parking lot
of a small industrial plant not too far away, but you have been seeing them through the
unsteady filter of leaves on one of the trees you have ignored. Sharp gusts of wind
moved the leaves and gave you intermittent views of several of the lights in the area. It
took very little imagination on your part, backed by popular folklore about unidentified
flying objects, for you to become a “believer” , at least for a few moments. Right?

You can see other ghostly lights in, of all places, your local cemetery.

Walk among the stones by yourself some dark night, or along the road on the
hillside where the cemetery is located if you are that “chicken”, and you will be amazed
at the eerie flashing of lights, you sense rather than see, on all sides at intervals. You will
find you are looking at the reflections of city lights and those of moving highway traffic
nearby. The glossy surfaces of varied sized, and shaped memorials cast a fearful
network of silent reflections about, responding to lights shining afar. Imagination and
willful ignorance can do a great deal with such basics.

If you have worn glasses for some time, you know the experience of suddenly,
becoming aware of a fact that someone was standing at one side or the other as you
read or type. You turn to see and there is no one there! Check out the side rim of your
glasses in relation to the room’s lighting or look up and realize that you can glimpse the
rotating blades of the ventilation fan even as either read or type. Or, it could have
been a piece of paper or cloth at the far end of your desk which moved when caught,
momentarily, in the downdraft of the fan.

I have found such unwelcome visitors looking over my shoulder as I write to be so
real and present that have spoken to them; finished the line I was concerned with;
turned and found no one there.
They are called: “ Unidentified ... Prying ...whatever the ”o” might stand for!” I
hate ‘em. “Gee whiz! I wish they’d go away.”
A.L.M. July 11, 2002 [c570wds]

 

“Little Theater

A “little” theater experience looms large in my life.

It all happened many years ago in Radford, Virginia where a group of people
interested in doing plays got together and formed a “Little Theater” group to produce
plays locally. I don’t recall if we did that before or after Robert Porterfield’s “Barter Theater
”found marked success not too far away in Abingdon, Va. southwest on Route 11 toward
Bristol, Va-Tn. I am sure we were influenced by the Barter Players in one way or another
because that was a primary dramatic event of our era.

Our group lasted about three or four years, I’d say, as members moved away, grew
up, found employment elsewhere - not an uncommon reason for change in those
Depression and Post-Depression years. Some areas recovered faster than others, so young
people, in particular, moved where the jobs seemed to be more plentiful. Oldsters were
more “sot” in their ways and not quite so ready for change.

We had oldsters in our group, too. By that I do not mean “old” in the sense of years,
necessarily, but older and more mature than those found in many such groups. I have
long held the view that they brought a sense of maturity to the venture which t would
not have had, otherwise. Such groups have a tendency to wax and wane, and I would
imagine the Radford “Little Theater” has been resurrected several times during the
intervening years since my experiences there.

I often think of what being in those plays meant to me later on. They gave me new
confidence in myself, for one thing, even though I never played anything more than
supporting characters. I came to know the “feel” of working before audiences and in a
special way, too, because the old Colonial Theater, in which we did all of our plays, was
build for theater use rather than for motion pictures. There was a real stage, elaborate
though somewhat worn curtains, four imposing boxes - two on each side of the stage, a
balcony and stage equipment albeit of another time, plus dressing rooms. It was not, of
course, in the best of condition, but few old theaters were or are even today. It was an
“authentic” setting for young drama students and I remember so much of it in bits and
pieces and usually as a good , warm feeling. It had enough of yesteryears about it to
encourage anyone who has a dramatic flare at all, to join such a group as ours.

It provided a testing ground for things in which we believed, or thought we did at
the time. We learned much about living there, too, as we pretended to be someone we
were not as a character in a play. You discovered how to make it all seem real enough so
that other people, paying customers, would accept it as such. What better way to study
of those elements which make people tick? For a time, you are that person you
pretended to be - real or fictional - and you come away from such a week of doing that
character over-and-over again, you will find that you, yourself, have changed.

We did all plays for one full week, which is unusual, or was, then. Most groups did a
play one night and that was it We did three per year and a set of three One Act plays in
mid-summer to give everybody a chance at playing lead stronger roles. Every member
did not act in every play. We were a large enough group so the many off-stage jobs -
lights, sound, props, makeup, tickets sales, advertising and promotion and other such
chores were assigned. You learned from that ,too, that theater was not such a glamorous
thing after all.

Doing those plays meant so much to us that I can recall characters becoming - for
a time - the person they were pretending to be. I can remember how lovers on stage
actually came to feel something special for each other, how people who were detested
in their stage role because somewhat like that in group relationships, and right on through
the list: silly on stage - silly in real life; sad...suspicious...sly...cocky...downright mean. Of
course, when the one month of rehearsals started for the next play, all that would fade
away as you tried on a new emotional wardrobe.

I have always been glad I did not get shifted into the theatrical life completely,
however. I never really had enough of that inner talent that develops into excellence in
the theater. I also have observed one had to become especially good at what he or she
did because there is only one person in this world who is more miserable than more
miserable than a theatrical “has been” and that is a “never was!”
A.L.M. July 12, 2002 [c819wds]

 
OLE FACE-FULL ET AL

You already know, of course, that many offices have a malfunctioning drinking
fountains known affectionately among employees as “Old Face-full!”, but I’ll bet you did
not know that we have hundreds of real geysers we haven’t even used yet!

My youngest sister, who lives at Sumter, South Carolina - far removed from geyser
country - recently visited her daughter and son-in-law at their self-built log cabin in the
mountains of Colorado. They “did” Yellowstone National Park as a part of her visit and she
brought back taped evidence that geysers out number tourists in some areas.

I did not realize there were so many active geysers in the world, much less that
many in Yellowstone alone!

It’s quite possible that my sister got more than the usual serving of geysers because
her son-in-law is a University geology professor gregariously fascinated by gushing geysers
others never heard about. Their tapes of the geysers are proof that much is to be made
known about the oversupply of geysers we have available.
The best known geyser, beyond doubt, is the one designated “Old Faithful”
because it has a schedule with never varies of gushing skyward in a fantastic display
every of water and steam every seventy minutes, I think it is. We , as mere mortals,
understand and appreciate this tendency on the part of this one geyser to show some
sense of purpose through being aware of time which is the same thing we talk so much
about “saving.”

Yellowstone’s geysers have been using time rather extensively for centuries and as
a result we can see beautiful, extended displays of formations on rock, rills and anything
else which got in its path in times past. Some are silent, except when gushing, other are
noisy in a Niagara sense with intense murmurs of rushing, roiling water overcoming voiced
commentary on the tapes with their steady rush to get to wherever such waters end up.

As you look at the fantastic creations of water in motion carrying minerals for
deposit at exactly the right spot in the formation of the displays we marvel at the
complex variations.

There is no end to it, and no beginning that we can see ... it simply “is”. The changes
themselves, are so slowly made that we are not aware of them as we see them
happening. They will be seen and enjoyed by “tomorrow’s” visitors.

One cannot help but be impressed with the majesty of it all; with the intense
feeling of creative evolvement which haunts every such location. It is easy to see how the
early residents of the general area are said to have made it special thing to either avoid
the entire area completely as a taboo Holy area of magic and mystery. Try to imagine
their feelings when geysers rose up from the very core of the Earth and reached for
heavens above in a futile but unending quest.

Iceland, I think it might be, has learned to put thermal power to work heating their
homes. Considering distances involved, I don’t think we can look forward to such a use
here. Pipelines would be prohibitive in many ways and there is also the probability that
some might be saying: “Uh, oh! The geyser bill has gone up again!”, or “It’s an OPEC
conspiracy, I’ll bet!”

We may not know exactly what to do with them, but we should be thankful for our
plentiful supply of geysers, none the less. They remind us of so many basic factors in our
being.

They remain a mystery and mankind needs something he has to wonder about.
a.l.m. July 6, 2002 [c613wds]

 
PUSH


The discrete use of pressure is one of the mainstays of diplomacy.

There are certain moments within the process of arriving at any agreement when
this quality appears, however, and when it does so it might seem subtle at the moment.
even deceptively so. The comes a time when one party sets forth the concept that you
must do so-and-so unless you want such-and-such to take place.

That’s “pressure” even though it is nothing more than a hint or suggestion.

There is a scientific study being conducted right now by NASA and related research
groups to try to determine what and why “shear” occurs in certain liquids and not in
others. You have experienced this bit of wonder yourself if you have ever had a catsup
bottle which would not give a little; then, suddenly, spat forth much more catsup than
you wanted. The same thing occurs with some paints, plastics, blood, and other
substances and we don’t know why or how. It is suspected that tiny particles within the
mix start moving at individual rates as compared to the larger ones in its presence and
when shaken or given a good knock with your hand the fluid is stirred up and there is a
marked imbalance of pressure hence the fluid so treated becomes looser and far more
fluid than the rest.

The analogy is obvious. There is a certain factor -call it ”shear “ if you wish, which ,
when a concept is set forth for study seems to go contrary to set rules; takes its own way.
It can drag the main body of material along with it , too. This bit of “push” and “shove”
from the more aggressive portions of the mixture exert a tremendous influence o all
ingredients and all to flow forth in a sudden spurt. This element of “force” when used in
relation to behind to an idea under discussion can cause the basic premise to be
modified, even changed, if set forth properly. The tests being conducted in space allow
the contents of the test container to remain in place the than being allowed to settle to
the bottom of the bottle. They remain suspended and - we shall see what happens in
that area as the in-space conditions continue. You may remember how “wind shear” has
been the cause of aircraft accidents, too so the tests have wide applications.

They could give us some guidelines concerning the altering of our troublesome
egocentric ideas for the better, as well.

A.L.M. June 22, 2002 [c 427wds]

 
TIME WISE

Are we counting the (the hours)(the years) and ignoring (the minutes)(the days and months)
in what seems to be our mad rush into the future?

Are we moving so rapidly into tomorrow that we don't have time to take note of the surroundings at any given
moment along the way?
.
As we witness the crunch in so many of the workplaces of today, we can only agree that there is some truth in
such accusations.We do not, as we have been urged: "take time to smell the roses". So often , far too often, I dare say,
the emphasis has been on speed rather than quality in so much of what we produce - both in products and in services.

The fast food concept, as an example, does bring us food in record times but with definite limits as well. The fast
food diet has fattened the nation the last decade and will continue to make us wider and heavier if it allowed to grow
without more care given to nutritional values and quality. If it is fast it is not, necessarily good as many people seem to
have been led to think.Chances are exactly the opposite, in fact, and better, slower care in preparing foods to be served
might be more healthful in many ways. You might say that haste makes "waist" and we have sufficiently rotund abdominal
areas as it is without adding any more inches.

We have become a nation of clock watchers. Almost everything we undertake to do has time limits fore and aft.
We expect fast service in department stores; we cannot wait in line at the banks or airline ticket offices without nervous
agitation’s and loud complaining and there is a special urgency about shopping for foods and household needs at the local
supermarket. They are also expected to stock everything because we don't have time to visit specialty stores which
feature appliances, wallpaper, paint or gardening equipment and that sort of thing.. Hundreds of such items must be
stocked where you buy them when you buy your foods.One must save time at all times!

Saving time is a national mania with millions and must be undertaken on a daily basis even if it takes longer to do
it
On our highways speed is essential. Few people observe the set speed standards on any of our highways,
including those who will insist they do. I have been one of them and I have ridden with drivers who insisted they drove
slowly at all times. "Except when..." has to be inserted in their line of talk about driving, however, because they too join
the rush to everywhere more than they will admit. TV commecialsl for new cars feature speed above all advantages, too.
Every now and then some "kook" points out that we don't make good use of the time we claim we are saving.
Such helpful guidance usually occurs in printed materials as filler inserted to keep the ads apart a bit but the writers never
seem to have time to develop the idea about what might be done to alleviate the condition.

It is true.We do waste lot of our valuable moments, but the answer is not to be found in new strivings to fill such
vacant spots. Rather, we need to refer to past experiences and earnestly try to revive the concept of doing creating
things ourselves...on our own and without the intercession of electronic gadgetry or other such aides to creativity and
excellence in the management of parts, pieces and placement of things. An idea conceived while swinging in a hammock
was much more valued far mess stressful than the identical concept arrived at by the gadgetry route.

The manner in which we do things today is not always the best. It may be fast, but that does not make it good. In
needs to savor ideas just as one does good foods.

A.L.M. June 30, 2002 [c540wds]

 

DARKNESS WITHIN

I find it is easy to start an argument anywhere at almost anytime simply by asking: ”
What color is the inside of a watermelon before it is cut?”

Most people, confronted with that question, want to answer “Red, of course!!” but
many tend to move back from me a bit, wondering what kind of nut is running loose and
conversing with, and they usually let someone else blurt out the very words words they were
going to say.

“Red, of course!”

Others echo with the same reply and more than one of them is thinking about my
sanity and obvious lack of basic knowledge about such things as common as watermelons.

They decide that, although my elevator may be running , it simply does not go to the
top floor. And, I let them stew in those juices until the moment arrives when I explain calmly
and deliberately that color does not become what it is until it is in the presence of light.

“That’s right!,” someone pipes up in a sudden show of support for our side. “A
watermelon’s insides, before it was sliced are without sunlight, therefore they would appear,
if you could see them, as being black, maybe grey or colorless.”

It can become a vegetarian’s stampede as other vegetable after another is
mentioned ... beets, carrots, peas, squash.... avocados, cabbage, rutabagas, okra,
cantaloupe relations, and creshaws and zucinnae in addition. It’s endless as are the colors
and tints of the rainbow.
A few are not convinced at all. But they will worry about it later on and, eventually
they will come around - with reservtions and exceptions duly noted.

Or, if that doesn’t click this one next time: “Deer grow new antlers every year, and drop
them in the forest after mating season. They get new ones in the spring.”

I find a few hunters who can’t go along with that statement who ask: ”How come, if
what you say is true, that deer shed their antlers every year, then how come it is I don’t go
walk-in’ ‘round knee-deep in old deer anthers?”

Yet another argument starter question is: “How high is up?”

As my mother used to say: “A-dell”..she always abbreviated me when she was a bit
irked with my conduct. When I would talk like I’ve been for the past page or so, she would
look at me intently and say quietly: “A-dell, don’t be so silly!”
A.L.M. July 9, 2002 [c415wds]

 

BROAD BRUSHES

There can be little doubt but that what we sometimes call
“common business practices” have been violated by some
business firms in recent years.

Such opinions may vary, of course, and it would seem wise
that we do not try to use the same broad brush to mark them all in
one thoughtless condemnation.

Some critics will leap to condemn The Media which has
happen far too often in recent times, saying they exaggerate such
issues and do an instant overkill when covering them as news.
Certainly the Media - all arms, wings, tangents and levels of it -
have a journalistic duty to compelling them to observe and report
not only what is actually happening , but also the underlying
current which seems to be taking place, as well. Care must be
taken to isolate those element of business which are in poor
condition from those which are hearty and striving. They ,too,
cannot apply to same size brushes to all. The path of wrongdoing is
usually narrow and it is duty of the Media to protect those firms
who abide by the generally accepted rules even while they are
exposing the actions of those few who do not. There is real danger
lurking in any methods which allow innocent firms to become
“suspect” - so often of imaginary transgressions - in the minds of
readers and hearers.

We must refrain from pre-judging all firms because of the
wayward actions of a few,
Just because one company’s officers chose to guide their
company into the wrong road does not mean other are doing the
same thing. Before we even consider throwing the entire barrel of
good apples away, we go through the contents carefully and
patiently to remove the obviously bad ones. Then, we keep a
closer eye on what is left for a time to make sure we got all the
bad ‘uns.

I think it can be said that it is doubly important at this time in
our national history, when we are a nation at war against a
somewhat “unseen” power called “Terrorism”. This is a time which
calls for complete honesty in what we are doing and thinking. If
there are elements of the business community who are proved to
be not keeping faith with the public and their peer groups, we
must root them out carefully and individually not with one, swirling
harvest of any segments of our economy.

Let’s not be too quick to condemn the wrong folks,
especially with vague, unsustainable insinuations. A.L.M.
JULY 8, 2002 [c430wds]

 
BACK TO BEING


I have had a strange feeling, ever since the current
Administration took the helm in Washington, D.C. That rather vague
realization has grown, as the weeks and months have gone by, and I
feel I can, at last, put the sensation into words. I feel that we can now
think of ourselves as have gone “back to being”. We have had good
reason, in recent months, to be proud of our national leadership
instead of being a bit ashamed of it with scandal and chicaneryrunning rife.
I look back on the past few years and see how” adrift” we seem
to have been; how we lacked confidence in our national leadership
and, hence, in all levels of authority to which we are subject.
We have evidence of our having rediscovered purpose and
direction in our national life. We are free of having to be on guard in the
presence of policy makers of foreign powers and that we can now
speak out with confidence and assurance that our word will be the
bond which establishes true and enduring associations with othernations.
In a musical setting, it may now be said that we are no longer
playing in an ad lib fashion. We are attentive to the exact notations of
the score, exhibiting much more appreciation of the intentions of the
composers of our destiny among nations. We are no longer playing by
ear, winging it, jamming - and certainly not faking it! It is becoming
increasing obvious that other national leaders are listening with
greater understanding of our intended role in events which concern all
of us. They are showing greater respect for our conduct, by and large,
and our enemies of the Terroriost types must also have realized we
have changed dramatically and can no longer be viewed as apushover.
Some of our recovery has been slowed, perhaps, by uncertainies
which might follow coming out of a bad dream, or a recovery from a
time of ill health or withdrawal.
As I have seen the type of associates President George W. Bush
has chosen to assist him, I have grow more and more confident that
we are ,indeed, back on track and now moving toward worthy goals
once more. Even more impressive is the fact that he appears to have
let them do their assigned jobs without petty bickering from
headquarters. He is ,at the moment, a war time president operating
without an official Declaration of War and thus without some of the
authority which is usually accepted as “Presidential” by factions within
our government, segments of the much accused media, and even
among large groups of citizens-in-name-only.
It’s still too early, perhaps, to evaluate the present
administration. A hasty judgment can create questionable results, but I
do think we have early indications that we are free of a burden we
carried for eight years and ready, now, to regain and hold our proper
place among the nations. A.L.M. June 6, 2002 {c503wds]

 

REMEMBER?

In 1941, when our nation experienced a surprise attack on our Pearl Harbor
Installations in Hawaii, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked for and got a Declaration of
War from Congress. With that Declaration much that has “always” been considered
basic to or way of government changed.
Now, in 2002, we have been the victims of another surprise attack which took
thousands of lives at two locations - at the World Trade Center Towers in New York City
and at the Pentagon Building in northern Virginia. This attack - on September 11, 2001,too,
came from the air in the form of hi-jacked commercial airliners loaded with jet fuel and
piloted by members of suicide teams trained by El Quida located mainly in Afghanistan...
but not by a specific nation, as such. No declaration of war has been issued now at
almost six months after the two disasters.
This, in effect, means that President George W. Bush does not have the same,
special powers granted to FDR in 1941.
There is a special breed of politician and a corresponding group of egg-headed
critics in the private area, who rejoice in this sort of thing and make it their prime, lifework
to “defend the Constitution of this Great Nation” by publicly demeaning everything
President Bush might even consider doing to protect our country from this world-wide
menace of such a strange configuration as we have ever faced. Bush has made it very
plain that this is an unusual type of war , one which is totally different for any we have
been engaged within the past and that tactics to gain victory must also be different, as
well. Very often the critics fail to hear this view at all. War is war to them, it seems,
regardless of reality.
We are a “democracy” they are muttering now but the term has meanings for
them that the avenge American citizen does not see as being so absolute. President
Roosevelt infringed on the idea of habeas corpus when he decreed that all
Japanese-Americans be interred in prison camps until the war was over. He, no doubt,
cited the fact that when the Civil War got underway President Abraham Lincoln had
done him one better - the made the rule of habeas corpus illegal for all. When that
happens critics start using the word “dictatorship” without realizing they are contributing
to just that sort of impasse by refusing to accept the rule of duty elected officials.
There can be little doubt but that the French Revolution serves as a good example
of a proper American-style revolution gone wrong. We have been exceptionally fortunate
in this country in that, as we have adapted some of the socialist-oriented legislation of the
WWII emergency times to our normal, democraticlly-oiented peace time living, we have
been able to avoid excess. We accomplished much simply by using different terminology.
Instead of having a compulsory national insurance program, we have a Social Security
System. Most people do not even realize they pay a compulsory insurance premium - mine
happens to be in the $60.00 range each month, automatically and quietly removed from
my monthly Social Security “earnings”. The majority of recipients of Medicare think of it as
a “free” handout thing and do not realize they pay a monthly premium just as they would
to a privately-owned insurance underwriter. Those who are still working and not
“drawing” Social Security are unaware, for the most part, that they will someday be
buying such a health insurance “policy” and be charged a monthly fee - as a mandatory
exaction.
A person who has been, or is on any form of the welfare state relief program comes
to view the national entity in a different light than that in which he saw it before he or she
“benefited” from the system; started “drawing on their lifetime savings” as many would
put it.
We must keep these rather subtle changes in mind when we get involved in
fighting a “war” in any part of the world today. In order to exercise the need forcefulness
will be required. We are going to have to make sure we are strong at home - in all ways -
not just in superior armaments. Right now we are bickering about combining a hundred
government, often conflicting agencies, into one Cabinet level position. We are dwelling
on minor points and ignoring major ones, it seems, in favor of “political correctness”
We could well be writing our own ticket to Hell by failing to face up to realities and
pretending “things a pretty much the same as they have always been.” They are not.
A.L.M. June 2, 2002 [c781wds)

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02/27/2005 - 03/06/2005
03/06/2005 - 03/13/2005
03/13/2005 - 03/20/2005
03/20/2005 - 03/27/2005
03/27/2005 - 04/03/2005
04/03/2005 - 04/10/2005
04/10/2005 - 04/17/2005
04/17/2005 - 04/24/2005
04/24/2005 - 05/01/2005
05/01/2005 - 05/08/2005
05/08/2005 - 05/15/2005
05/15/2005 - 05/22/2005
05/22/2005 - 05/29/2005
05/29/2005 - 06/05/2005
06/05/2005 - 06/12/2005
06/12/2005 - 06/19/2005
06/19/2005 - 06/26/2005
06/26/2005 - 07/03/2005
07/03/2005 - 07/10/2005
07/10/2005 - 07/17/2005
07/17/2005 - 07/24/2005
07/24/2005 - 07/31/2005
07/31/2005 - 08/07/2005
08/07/2005 - 08/14/2005
08/14/2005 - 08/21/2005
08/21/2005 - 08/28/2005
08/28/2005 - 09/04/2005
09/04/2005 - 09/11/2005
09/11/2005 - 09/18/2005
09/18/2005 - 09/25/2005
09/25/2005 - 10/02/2005
10/02/2005 - 10/09/2005
10/09/2005 - 10/16/2005
10/16/2005 - 10/23/2005
10/23/2005 - 10/30/2005
10/30/2005 - 11/06/2005
11/06/2005 - 11/13/2005
11/13/2005 - 11/20/2005
11/20/2005 - 11/27/2005
11/27/2005 - 12/04/2005
12/04/2005 - 12/11/2005
12/11/2005 - 12/18/2005
12/18/2005 - 12/25/2005
12/25/2005 - 01/01/2006
01/01/2006 - 01/08/2006
01/08/2006 - 01/15/2006
01/15/2006 - 01/22/2006
01/22/2006 - 01/29/2006
01/29/2006 - 02/05/2006
02/05/2006 - 02/12/2006
02/12/2006 - 02/19/2006
02/19/2006 - 02/26/2006
02/26/2006 - 03/05/2006
03/05/2006 - 03/12/2006
03/12/2006 - 03/19/2006
03/19/2006 - 03/26/2006
03/26/2006 - 04/02/2006
04/02/2006 - 04/09/2006
04/09/2006 - 04/16/2006
04/16/2006 - 04/23/2006
04/23/2006 - 04/30/2006
04/30/2006 - 05/07/2006
05/07/2006 - 05/14/2006
05/14/2006 - 05/21/2006
05/21/2006 - 05/28/2006
05/28/2006 - 06/04/2006
06/04/2006 - 06/11/2006
06/11/2006 - 06/18/2006
06/18/2006 - 06/25/2006
06/25/2006 - 07/02/2006
07/02/2006 - 07/09/2006
07/09/2006 - 07/16/2006
07/16/2006 - 07/23/2006
07/23/2006 - 07/30/2006
07/30/2006 - 08/06/2006
08/06/2006 - 08/13/2006
08/13/2006 - 08/20/2006
08/20/2006 - 08/27/2006
08/27/2006 - 09/03/2006
09/03/2006 - 09/10/2006
09/10/2006 - 09/17/2006
09/17/2006 - 09/24/2006
09/24/2006 - 10/01/2006
10/01/2006 - 10/08/2006
10/08/2006 - 10/15/2006
10/15/2006 - 10/22/2006
10/22/2006 - 10/29/2006
10/29/2006 - 11/05/2006
11/05/2006 - 11/12/2006
11/12/2006 - 11/19/2006
11/19/2006 - 11/26/2006
11/26/2006 - 12/03/2006
12/03/2006 - 12/10/2006
12/10/2006 - 12/17/2006
12/17/2006 - 12/24/2006
12/24/2006 - 12/31/2006
12/31/2006 - 01/07/2007
01/07/2007 - 01/14/2007
01/14/2007 - 01/21/2007
01/21/2007 - 01/28/2007
01/28/2007 - 02/04/2007
02/04/2007 - 02/11/2007
02/11/2007 - 02/18/2007
02/18/2007 - 02/25/2007
03/25/2007 - 04/01/2007
04/01/2007 - 04/08/2007
08/05/2007 - 08/12/2007
08/26/2007 - 09/02/2007
11/18/2007 - 11/25/2007
12/09/2007 - 12/16/2007
12/21/2008 - 12/28/2008
01/04/2009 - 01/11/2009
07/26/2009 - 08/02/2009