Saturday, July 20, 2002
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]
Friday, July 19, 2002
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]
Thursday, July 18, 2002
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]
Wednesday, July 17, 2002
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]
Monday, July 15, 2002
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]
Sunday, July 14, 2002
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]
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