BIAS

Everyone, it appears, at one time or another, seems to be looking at international, national and local affairs with biased restrictions.

Everyone, it seems, is narrow-minded, especially that man or woman who, enamored of his or her own superior self, insists they are not so encumbered. We all have a touch of such in-born bias in our makeup and many have learned to deal with it.

A common bit of stuck-up-ology is evident when you find a person who, for some unexplainable reason, takes special pride in having been born in a particular state.

I have, most frequently come upon this ?born-in? badge among people who go out of their way to state their claim to having been born in either Virginia or Massachusetts. It seems, so often, to stem from ?Plymouth Rock? and ?Jamestown 1607? and that sort of background thinking. Being ?first? is, to them, finest. Being first, then, is best in every way and always subservient to perfection.

Men and women found in this condition usually meet with their come-up-ance when quite young as they mixed with people from other areas , but I have known individuals who have carried such a feeling along with them into their adult years, and even a few, unto Death itself. It is usually set aside early in life and one makes reference to it only in one?s prayers of Thanksgiving for having been so richly less blessed and richly endowed right at the start, but you no long mention it when mixing with general society, who, not having been born a-right are, naturally, inferior.

Going off to college or joining the Armed Forces have probably done more to knock down this common ego-bias than any other actions. They rerun into New York hatchees, probably the most provincial people you will even encounter. Then there will also prideful folks ?bawn? in Texas, Iowa, Mississippi, Alabama or the ?K'laanahs.

This ,of course,is just one of many taints we tend to allow to creep into our mind which causes us, at times, to vacillate and veer from common sense thinking. It' s wise to take an honest look at some of the from time to time to see where if we may qualify in the mind of other to be called be called ?narrow -minded?, prejudiced or biased.
It can happen without the person afflicted being fully aware of it. Think across the spectrum of your view on race, religion, education, genealogy,heritage,wealth, blessings,handicaps,preferences,hates and special loves ? all facets of your life which compare in any way with that of others. Look beyond them mirror image of our life and become aware of who you really are rather than what you allow others to think you might be.


A L M June 29, 2004 [c468wds]

 
TIDAL TALK

It's easy to remember when the tide is “in” and when the tide is “out “, or “low “ and “high”, if you are among the lucky individuals who happen to be doing the authentic beach thing on the beautiful tropical island of Tahiti.

That's the serious part of living in such a paradise, I understand. It is the only spot the surface of Earth which enjoys consistent tide times. It is high tide in Tahiti at noon and at midnight of each and every day and it is said to be low tide each day at 6 AM and 6 PM. It is a unique thing with Tahiti where you can count on for such scheduled tidal conditions day-after-day, year-after-year. The tide, measures about one foot so visitors my not even notice the changes.

Some other places are noted for their erratic, flamboyant
and frisky tides such as and extreme depths of incoming waters - such as the let's-brag-about-it Bay of Fundy, up Nova Scotia, which overdoes it with as much as fifty-three feet of water when the tide comes decides to come in.

It is interesting to note that such tidal conditions are commonly blamed, like romance in living, on the Moon. The sun -four hundred times more away than the moon also plays a major role. Other factors may determine the nature and severity of tidal activities in specific areas such a the depth of the body of water concerned or a geographical feature such as a protruding cape of land or a narrow entrance. The Mines Basin area. Near Wolfville, on the Bay of Fundy you can witness the highest tides known with the world's record 52.5 feet (sixteen meters) above low tide level. The flow of sea water in the Minas Channel just north of Blomindon equals the combined flow of all the rivers and streams on planet Earth. It is estimated that the mid-tide flow measures about fourteen billion tons (l.4 cubic kilometers) of sea water flow through the channel each time the tide changes.Geologists can actually measure tilt in the terrain of Nova Scotia when the tide is in and they can tell when it goes out.

Most of us are unaware of the immensity of the world's tides. We can appreciate the bigness of such sites as the Grand Canyon by simply looking at it, but the tides can be deceptive and, when combined with storms, they can be deadly. Six thousand persons dead at Galveston, Texas in 1903 stand as sufficient testimony on that score.

In addition to normal geographic causes, the high tides of the Bay of Fundy are said to be influenced by the resonance from other tidal conditions along the coast of Maine. You can place the cause of tide change s on the Moon, the Sun, on terrain variations and, around the pseudo-fringe of thinking about tidal changes some people are wondering about the possible influence of the planets, black holes and other space “unknowns” on the tidal sequences Earth. Just when we have pretty well cleared up many of the ancient folklore reasons for tide changes, along comes a new hint of some “astral-lore” suppositions.

A.L.M. June 28, 2004 [c539wds]

 
June 28, 2004

THE LONG ROAD

If the transition planned for the citizens of Iraq in the next few days goes along with reasonable smoothness much will have been accomplished in a remarkable short period of time.

This is no small task we have been asked to perform.
In saying Â?weÂ?, I mean both the Iraq and those of the United States. One cannot do it without the full, honest and dedicated participation of the other. This is no time for half-way measures; for complacency, or for any tendencies to let others do what we have promised would be done. It is, perhaps, ironical that the election of a President here in our own country depends, to some extend Â? some would say Â?to a large extentÂ? - on the behavior of our enemies and of our associates.
r
This strange juxtaposition of some rather complex problems puts each of our major political parties in strange and challenging positions. If, at this juncture, one is too critical the other; without a keen sense of close cooperation for the common good of all concerned, each can suffer tremendous harm. In taking up pacifist banners at the last moment,John Kerry might do us all a disservice by thus conceding defeat through abject compromise with opposition around the world. His willingness to place United State's troops under United Nations command is only one of items which makes Americans wonder about his ability to be a leader of our armed force s and the actual it actual Commander-in-Chief while sweaallegiancegence to an entity as shaky as the United Nations leadership has, quite obviously, come to be.

Because of this event taking place within the next few days in Iraq, we are a politically divided camp here at home and along serious lines, this time - not petty political differences. For the contending side to be so strongly critical of any and all actions taken by those currently in charge verges on treason in the mind of many who take the basic tenets of our national being far more seriously than the average one of us.

If Â?moderationÂ? ad Â?toleranceÂ? are still viable terms in American political life today they might wisely apply them in the next few weeks to allow the transition in Iraq to proceed without undue frictions from Americans at war with each on their local political fronts.

We are at a point of real political crisis here at home in one sense. For the first time in many years our political feelings have become intense and, in so doing, have sacrificed many principles of common decency and fair play in favor of advantages gained by any means.

The real danger is that we are,in the mind of many,deciding homeland problems in too close of a relationship to transitory problems of international stress and concern. Such mixtures may prove to be exceptionally volatile it our future.

We would do a wise thing to attempt to keep the two forthcoming events separated in our mind rather than hinging one to the other.


A.L.M. JUNE 26, 2004 [c514wds]

 
CLEAN UP!

Why do so many producers of television shows seem to think we - their audience and ultimate source of income ? want to be entertained and enlightened by an endless series of TV shows founded on filth?

It is only natural, I suppose, that from time-to-time a quiz show format for instance, may chance upon a question which allows or even demands the mention of a male or female body part but it should not be made the main emphasis of the entire show.
Performers who are attempting to endear themselves to viewers certainly must realize that by giving such material front-stage-center with special lighting is like gilding an ailing lily. Filthy terms, street talk, profanity, obscenity, sacrilege, sex-oriented sketches and other lewd treatments have no place in family type entertainment on TV or elsewhere save, perhaps, in the withdrawn art theaters catering to people to who fertilizer is a fared food.

Stars, it seems say that writers are at fault, and that they are only ?reading? that which writers have set down in black and white for them to declaim as directed by professionals who how best to depict it. Producers use the same lame excuse and repeatedly bemoan the fact that it is difficult to find ?good writing? today. They also mention a point which may, perhaps, which seems a bit more valid when they say; ?That;s what the people want!? it is more honest when they say: ?That's what we think some people seem to feel they want.? The well-know 'nattering nabobs' run loose in entertainment production areas, it appears.

Far too often today that which is billed as a ?situation comedy? is, essence, an ?embarrassing situation? comedy. Cleavage and crotch shots are the main camera angles to watch for in judging a film's success at the box of. The so-called ?reality? shows are slice of life segments from yesterday serve with sexy sauces and synthetic sensationalism. Personality interviews are often diary entries at the genres least level.

If TV continues to degrade itself, who knows ? people may even start to read once again!

A.L.M. June 27, 2004 [c000wds]

 

W-C-S FOR IRAQ

Many of us are considering the worst case outline on the situation existing in Iraq this week concerning the turnover of power set for June 30th.

It is not a pleasant thing to think about but the pace and degree of changes has been accelerated in recent weeks and such changes have created a potential for dissent in some areas which did exist to such a degree prior to such modifications.

The decision to go with June 30th may prove to have been unwise. It came about as a result of having mentioned that date as a possible time for such a change over of power to Iraqi rule. American Liberals and pacifist harped on the date until it became established as the time to be set and Bush supporter dare not change it in spite of modifications having taken place. It is held to be a political campaign tool now and for Bush to change it now would be to make it seem to be a sign of weakness and indecision on his part.

If the first days of Iraqi rule prove to be excessively violent the American people may well return to backing Bush; and a strong military. If such possible violence mild or widely scattered through ethnic groups Iraq, it will prove to be far easier and tempting for exploitation by Kerry followers and those favoring weaker military establishments.

At the moment we are in a "wait and see"phase. Few would care to make exact predictions of just how the first day will go when Iraq takes over control of the nation on its own - with, of course the untested and untried mix of US/UN control.

If the change is a moderate success we can expect interest from France, Germany, Russia and other fringe supporters/critics to become concerned about getting what they consider to be their share of return from Iraq. They can cite tremendous debts owed to them by the previous Iraqi government and insist that they have a right to receive payments on those debt from the new nation's oil and other sources of wealth. The role of the United nations is questionable, too. Fifty-nine nations of the U are said to be automatically opposed to any United States actions whatsoever, so it proves difficult for governing councils to come up with any things will keep those fifty-nine members placated. Only count on UN for anything other than platitudes and vague promises of potential paradise somewhere ahead.

Next week we will know, of course, if July 4th is to be a time of special meaning for the Iraqi people. By that time we should know what their immediate suture will hold.

.A..L.M. june 25, 2004 [000wds]

 
RATE OF GROWTH:FAST

I see new cities and towns being born all around me even while the number of towns and cities is said to be declining.

We are in a phase in our particular area in which there are towns in the form of strip - assortments of buildings - strewn along almost every highway near a large city. It doesn't take such a settlement long to evolve into being a part of that nearest town village.

In our particular area, in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, south of Harrisonburg in Rocking ham and Augusta Counties , we have witnessed such filling-in an stabilizing of strip communities. The city of Harrisonburg has been expanding in all directions for the past decade or so and, even new, seems monstrous to anyone who might have been away for a decade or so.

It is on the north-south Interstate 81 corridor, one of the most heavily traveled interstates in the nation, which is now facing urgent needs of modernization and widening plus any other steps required to make it serve existing traffic - much less anticipated needs. Historic destinations run more or less beside I-81 through an area rich with tourist lures.

The city is also athwart the main highways from West Virginia – US 60,US 33 - into the northern Virginia and the Washington-Baltimore markets which s another demanding pressure for commercial traffic. Just to the south it crosses it crosses Interstate 64 which digs into the heart of the mid-west from Tidewater Virginia.

The high range of mountains prevent to much growth toward the West but Harrisonburg is steadily pushing Eastward to ward Elk ton,Va. on Route 33 To the south west on US 42 Bridgewater, Dayton, and Mount Crawford have more or less grown together a one solid unit and all have become appended to Harrisonburg on both the Dayton and the Mt.,Crawford ends of the arc on varied types of construction -new housing and commercial developments. Two Universities, and second four-year college bring the business associated with twenty thousand of so student and relatives beyond exact accounting. These town have already planned for the future by joining in seeking better ways to offer unified government,utilities, transportation, streets,lighting, gas waste management - and other such trade able items which will enable each of them to grow stronger together as they grown larger.

Harrisonburg is stretching south on Route 11 and I-81 to, as well. I live in Weyers Cave, Va which has been oriented toward Harrisonburg for years. Day by day the area between us is filling in as Weyers Cave and Mt.Sidney grown closer to each other.

The area is suffering a slight setback at the moment due to a ban on area poultry in - of all places China - largely because of the world-wide Avian Flu scares of recent years. That will,in time, pass and Valley poultry will again be Asia's favorite.

It is encouraging to see Harrisonburg, Mt.Crawford, Elkton, Weyers Cave, Bridgewater, Dayton,and other area communities working together in associations designed to help provide services with less expense and greater efficiency under central control . The area has had other notable advantages too,as I see it They have long had a stable,consistent and well-managed daily newspaper and a strong radio and TV presence in the Valley area. These, along with an ability to see the need to build a bit ahead of actual times of need – roads, schools and churches, in particular.

Much of America could look at this area and see a example of a good way to to become a better place in which to live and prosper. We are not going to avoid become bigger, so let's do it right as we go along instead of tumbling head over heels in desperate, costly confusion. If, indeed it has to happen, the natural way is so well illustrated here in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

A.L.M. June 25, 2004 [c882 wds]

 
SMILES

During the days of the Great Depression of the 1929 and into the “30's - we used to sing a song which had a theme designed which cataloged all kinds of smiles.
All was not gloom and despair with many people during those years of economic downturn, We had occasion to smile. Some may not remember it exactly that way, but one of the main avenues of recovery for many of us was an ability to smile ...to witness to the lighter side of living.

Looking back we tend to picture the Great Depression and other times of set-back in our national history as lifeless blobs of darkness. It is remarkable how such a simple thing as a popular song could encourage people to endure hardships they might, otherwise, find to be overwhelming.

An important factor about that song of ours was that it was now new to that specific time. It had been written in 1917 during the harsh days of World War I. It was a love song in its day, too. The two verse show that very plainly, but the chorus took on broader meanings. The writer were a J. Will Callahan , who did the words and Lee S. Roberts, who wrote the tune. It has been re-used in Broadway musicals on other occasions, too.

Smiles can be important in many aspects of our lives and especially when we
we realize the variety of smiles which are available. Today, of course, we have thousands of those little “smiley” cartoon stickers to affix to our mail, schoolbooks, notes, and refrigerators. Smiles, you see can be constructed to meet the needs of the moment.
That's good. The song lyrics met our needs in a special way years ago.

Yes, there are “smiles that make us happy. There are also “smiles that make us blue” - because there are times we don't get what we want - “that steal away the tear drops ...and the sunbeams steal away the dew”.
..
We found that some smiles has “a tender meaning” meaning, to establish close associations among us. We learn to gain courage and eagerness from an exchange of smiles with those we respect and often come to love.

A.L.M. June 23, 2004 [c 484wds]

 
9/10'S OF THE TROUBLE

To what extent are gasoline prices controlled? By whom?

The price of fuel for our cars and trucks is a common topic of conversation at the moment, but not as commanding as one might think think it could become. Some of us have been through all of this before and have been convinced that anything we say or do is not going to have much affect on the prices ranging up or down. There is, however, continued discussion about who or what causes such a sudden rise in gas prices.

We need to blame someone for the radical changes especially when signs posting the prices get top heavy. Too many people, I fear, tend to think of such shortages as politically oriented, fully orchestrated composition with bassoons and horns blasting away at full force. Cast most often as the leaders of such price-fixing bands we variety of individuals who,it is claimed, do so to their personal advantage: Presidents - past and present Â? both individuals and groups made up of OPEC people or non-OPEC nations - such as Mexico - who are always messing things up. Another favorite to take the blame is God who is piqued,it seems, by mankinds misuse of natural resources and of the entire environment to cover any possible loop-holer.

I find one thing in just about all of the prices quoted across the nation right now which could be changed in a matter of a moment of attention by the leader of any major oil company. Let's get rid of this silly Â?9/10thÂ? of a cent business!

The oil company which makes it a point to be completely honest with the customer will go with the exact price and none of this 9/10 of a cent foolishness. Who is being fooled by such a childish touch?

With that symbolic piece of economic idiocy out of the way, the desk will be cleared for serious discussions. There must be half dozen or more other rules which are just as silly and can be done away with, semi-technical things which are leftovers from an oil industry which has long since died. A second step should bring about a truce between the hard-headed environmentalist fanatics and the real world people charged with our national defense.


We are,it so often appears, our own worst enemy. In recent decades we have lost the awareness of events of the lessons the history of our nation hold for us.

How much longer can we refuse to recognize dangers we face and take prompt measures to protect ourselves and those with whom we share the blessings of the world about us?

We must start with little things and a honest appraisal of our needs for fuel for our vehicles is a good place to start. Let's start by eliminating that silly Â?9/10th of a centÂ? concept - a symbol of statistical stupidity.

a.l.m. June 22, 2004 [c640wds]

 
INVENTIONS

It has been said that man has learned what he knows largely through accident. I'd be tempted to disagree with that premise. I believe it was not by accident, or even by chance that new discoveries were made, but that they have come about mainly through deliberate, diligent, dedicated and devoted application of curiosity.

So often we are told that the invention came to be because a doctor, chemist, or wild-eyed professor added the wrong ingredient at the right time or the right ingredient at the wrong time and we are using the result of his carelessness today. That's the sort of thing you'd expect to see happen in a Â?Three Stooges ComedyÂ? but inventing, discovering and formulating is not a fun-thing or a joke. Discovery is serious work.

I remember, as a kid, being told how Thomas Edison spent years going though thousands of substances searching for the exact material which would serve efficiently and safely as a filament in his new incandescent lamp. No doubt he tired scores of materials many, of which would seem almost laughable today, but which he considered to have the potential to meet the need he had firmly in mind. Certainly was not by chance he ended up where he did, but rather he succeeded because he kept seeking after been disappointed time and time again. He was dedicated to the task he had set for himself, he was devoted to the principles on which the search must be conducted and determined to find the substance needed. Each step in his quest however fruitless it seemed - was taken deliberately.

For us to live and work with the idea that good things will happen if we simply endure whatever is not happening a while longer is a costly error from every angle. True enough, that may be what religious persons as total submission to the will of God. It is often called Â?blind faithÂ?, but it strikes me that those seeking blessings from the utmost Power do so in relation to their own ideas what they need. We seek gain; not wait for it. We invent things because we see, or sense, a need that such a thing become a reality.

The door is being held wide open at all times. What is your idea of something that is needed into today's seemingly Â?over-thing-edÂ? world?

If you simply sit around and wait for that idea to become a reality, you will have a long wait, but if you get busy and form some ideas of how it may be made a reality, you are inventing. Inventors are not a special breed.

Curiosity makes inventors of all of us.

A.L.M. June 21, 2004 c550wds]

 
AH, TO BE!

It must be that those men and women who aspire to run for public office are born, basically, of the same stuff of which explorers and adventurous souls are made. They don't need a reason for doing what the what they intend to do. They are a lot like Hillary, who,when asked why he climbed Mt. Everest said because it was there.?

When you see two grown up men seeking to become President of the United States with all of its many built-in headaches and body pains beyond telling, you wonder what reason each of them might give for wanting to do so. I mean the deep down, real-stuff, sequestered reason for doing so, not the formal press conference recitation.

Bush should have good reason. After all his Daddy was President and the kid must have seen or heard something that impressed him about the job. Kerry in his youth concentrated on what was wrong with however it was being done at the time. Ill bet you even money neither one of them ever thought seriously trying to do what they are both doing today. Bill Clinton blamed it all flat out on JFK whom he met once when he was a kid - Clinton, the kid, not Kennedy ...then he had a sharp set of reasons why he wanted to be President.

The stated reasons are not, I dare say, the real ones.

All say in one form or another that they even as youngsters they felt driven to perform public service projects and not to expect compensation, or that the country had been good to them, and to their parents, and they felt a deep obligation to return the favors, or that their ?pioneering predecessors worshiped here in absolute freedom on these beautiful shores and that they had a duty to see to it that the opportunities might exist for our descendants as well. It was the endless sort of sweet sentiments which made post cards enduring favorites for half a century or better.

What drives a man or woman to desire to be president of this nation? Pride... genuine or false? Greed, of some sort? A longing for power and dominion over others?
Or , could it be a subtle combination of those things and others, perhaps? I have long had the feeling that such persons are adventurers at heart and truly want to find if they can do whatever it is they strive to do ? to get to whatever heights they must climb against often unknowable odds under critical handicaps.

Look at them one-by-one, if you like.

What common traits can we possibly find in such diverse personalities as, let's say? George Washington and Calvin Coolidge? Or, compare Theodore Roosevelt with Jimmy Carter, perhaps Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses Grant - picking more or less at random. The simple truth of the matter seems to be that, in spite of all the intimate details of political campaigns and the goldfish bowl awareness of the president's life we commonly have, we never truly get to know what a man is, or will be, until history tells us what he turned out to be... that which he really was.

A.L.M. June 20, 2004 [c662wds]

 
MATERIAL CHANGE

Brace yourself! Ready? The entertainment star you knew last week as “Madonna” is now to be addressed as “Esther”.She is changing her name.

That should be easy enough for us to do. Just remember, every time you come across the name “Madonna”, cross it out and scribble in the name “Esther.” Same girl. No real change – improvements or otherwise – same person but just a bit more sure of herself because this because this Esther, who used to be Madonna, has just announced she has hit the pseudo-sawdust trail in the biggest way for her religious faith?

For some years she has “practiced” the cult beliefs of Kaballah . It appears she has now practiced enough, having been credited with - or blamed for - leading a number of Hollywood stars to the mystic faith which is a cult long detested by Orthodox Jews. It used the be spelled Cabala when I was young and reading about such magical versions of Judaism.

Among the “stars” said to be her converts are Elizabeth Taylor, Brittney Spears, Jerry Hall, Courtney Love and Rossanne Barr. I find that list to be flexible, however, because other lists of Madonna/Esther's alleged changeovers include: another Brittany - Brittany Murphy, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Rosie O'Donnell, Diane Ladd, Sandra Bernhard, and Monica Lewinsky is also list as a “star”, but it does not say of which entertainment field she might be of stellar stature.. Such lists, I feel, are highly suspect and should be treated with special care, if at all.

The sudden turn by Madonna becoming Esther – not unlike Cassius Clay becoming Mohamed Ali- explains why Madonna/Esther's planned and well ballyhooed concert tour of Israel has been canceled at the last minute. It's out. Erased completely. No make-up dates later. The Jewish populace is not a group given to being quiet about their religious views. Their outspoken criticisms of the religious views tenets of the Cabala crowd is well established. Any attempt to present an on-stage versions of any such erratic ideas would kill such a tour at the very start, so M/E has widely canceled it all

Just this past week week Madonna/E won a lawsuit in the courts of the English judicial system which clearly shows she has successfully barred trespassers from using any portion off her 1300-acres-plus estate near London. She seems to be doing everything possible to alienate potential record buyers and show goers. Any day now we may expect to see an album titled “The Tree of Life” or ”Four Worlds”- terms which symbolize basis teachings of her newly found, but ancient Jewish mysticism cult of Kaballah.

Goodbye, Madonna. Hello, Esther.

A.L.M. June 19, 2004 . [c613wds]

 
AMERICANS ALL!

During the recent days marking the funeral of our 40th President Ronald Reagan, I felt a strange sense of inner security and found myself hoping we were making some progress in overcoming the dangers of the tremendous burden of mistrust we bear concerning each other.

For a time, it appeared we knew more of our basic oneness than we had for a long time.

One might say that we experienced a phase of that sort of mutual understanding during “The 9-11 Crisis” but that was centered on rather eminent and obvious fears for our well-being and survival. That's different from the feeling I knew during the Reagan State Funeral. I remember having the same sort of feeling during the ceremonies which laid JFK to rest, as well. Is it possible, I found myself wondering for us the set aside all the rather petty misunderstandings we nourish ands sustain -often by questionable means - which keep us on edge, suspicious and at odds with each other in so many areas?

During the funeral and the night following, I thought rather positively along such lines of national unity, hoping for a day when clouds would clear a bit and we could get along better in the public forum. Then, when the funeral was over and gone, we returned to our daily routines. The bright hopes dimmed quickly and have been fading ever since. We reverted quickly to our back-biting, inconsiderate and costly mannerisms of hate and distrust, held at bay, it seems, for who know how much longer by threads of fear concerning possible national dissolution.

It is not wise to even try to live under such a sodden cloud of deceit and trickery such as we now consider to be “normal” for our political phases of living.

The media has long been held accountable for many of our difficulties. It came about long before the printing press was discovered and it has caused trouble mix with blessings ever since. It was not uncommon for men of old to execute the messenger who brought bad new to their attention. After all, had he not told them evil existed, they could have ignored it. The media, today, in all its many forms, brings us a great deal of bad news and gets blamed for the transmission of such information.

Some of them are guiltless; others, however, deserve such judgment.

In recent weeks we have seen repeated distortion of the news presented to us in some of our leading newspapers. It seems unlikely that such widespread dissemination of obviously incomplete of edited stories would appear in papers in such varied sections of the nation. The inconsistent qualities closely related to our national election campaign. As such, any and all such lapses of truth telling are committed with criminal intent. Those who stretch the truth, or color it to their own advantage, are cheating the public and undermining the legitimacy of our election procedures. It is not the purpose of the media to lead the nation, but to report factually on how it is being led. At times, some feel the media has the gift of prophecy. It is in such times that it sheds creditability and invites distrust and questioning concerning its existence.

Ask yourself some questions about all of this.

Do we still elect”our officials? Or, do we accept those the media tells us have been selected as being the best?

Do we have genuine concern about civic problems, or do we merely follow through on suggestions from an editor or one of TV-radio's talking heads ?

Do we still “read” newspapers.,..or merely “scan”one now and then? Magazines?

Do we really “watch” TV? Listen to radio? Or, do we just let it all wash over us as we move from place to place, cell phone in hand, seeking we know not what?

Time is running out. We had best seek to sustain our remaining freedoms.

A.L.M. June 18, 2004 [c523wds]

 
BLANKS

The final statement has been made and shown clearly on the television screen. That’s the moment for a panic to begin, because you realize your do not know the right question?

It’s considered “trivia” by many and you are without the required information needed to connect properly. You make special efforts, attempting to dredge up any hint which might led to the proper response, but it’s not there. Ten seconds remain. They go by as one!

You are , at that moment chagrined to become another unsuccessful watcher of Alex Trebec’s regular TV series called “Jeopardy”. It is on of my continuing favorites on all of TV – then and now. Jeopardy has been around for two decades and getting stronger than ever now with a recent adjusted rule which allows the winner to return day after day ...week after week ... month after month until he or she is defeated by a challenger. The current stayee on the Jeopardy set right now is a young man from Salt Lake City, Utah. His name is Ken Jennings. He is in to software. If he continues his nightly “take” of somewhere around the thirty-thousand dollar mark, he will hit the half-million area before this month of June wanes.

The “Jeopardy” format was devised by Merv Griffin and it has been in steady use for twenty years or so. It can be confusing to newcomers at first, until you realize that Jeopardy reverses the usual quiz show format by making statements and asking the contestant to ask the proper question. All replies must be stated in the form of a question, and this little quirk has clipped many an all-too-eager participant.

Ken Jennings, with a warm, boyish manner, appears to have taking up residence on the show in recent weeks and interest in “Jeopardy” is growing steadily with each repeated win. One of the strongest lures in television is, as it has always been, the sight of money in motion.

Television producers, one would think, would see this change taking place and realize that it is not new, startling TV program we have been importing recently in lo-budget hunks. A creative touch, applied to established shows, can engage the new generation of viewers while retaining the old. American television has been suffering a senseless depletion of established favorites due to this lack of any means of change and growth.

In you are considering changing to a new line of work, consider boning up on your trivia information skills. It is amazing how often you, or a member of your family, know the proper response “Final Jeopardy” when all three contestants draw blanks! And think about this we are often far to hard on ourselves when we grade our at-home “Jeopardy” test-runs. You are not expected to reply perfectly to all statements: just a bit over one- third of them makes you a winner.

A.L.M. June 18, 2004 [c666wd]

 
MY “H” CAR?

Every now and then we hear some talk about the forthcoming ”H” or hydrogen powered automobile, but it never gets here. Not even in a prototype form. What's all the delay about?

I have been told repeatedly that the hydrogen-powered vehicle is to be our car of the future, but it never gets any closer than glowing articles about it's economy, efficiency and safety. What, pray tell, is holding up the process?

The talk has gone farther than one might think because just this past week I heard it said that the very same thing that has been blamed for holding up scores of other potential blessings, is now being singled out as being the sole factor in forbidding our enjoyment of the newest hydrogen-powered vehicles. Just who would you think that may be? Who keeps us from having this latest advance in automotive efficiency and economy?

Right. The accused, in the view of chronic blame-placers, is the “automotive and fuel producers” of our own nation - that's who have been blamed for buying up and destroying any and all improved carburetor inventions for most of the past century and have destroyed any and all vestiges of them! They didn't want any such economy item on the market to endanger their own production of cars and fuel supplies. Somebody's uncle, or someone he used to know, always got paid off generously by the oil companies and the car manufacturers to keep such wonder-working inventions off the market.

I have known people otherwise sensible people who believed such tales and, just this past week, I came across it when I was told – confidentially, of course - by people who passionately believe such stories, that it is all happened once again - this time to prevent hydrogen-powered cars off the market. The story told, confidentially, of course “because there is some hush-hush investigation and possibly some legislative preparations being undertaken by citizen's groups to meet the conspirators head on this time!”
I thought you'd like to know the name of hose who are preventing you from buying a gleaming new hydrogen-powered car. No, you haven't seen any printed brochures and spec sheets detail the many features of the new economy “H” cars. They sell themselves. No dealerships locations yet, because production can't stay far enough ahead to stock showrooms and street corners. You'll just have to wait until until you meet the right persons, and, in the meantime, blame any delays on the maker of gas-guzzling cars and on those who make and sell the gas with which the they are enguzzled.


A.L.M., June 16, 2004 [578wds]

 
CURES

We are continually beset with illness and for centuries we have honored and respected those people who could avert such problems. The Medicine Man was a highly respected figure in tribal lore and whatever his or her title in any particular tribe, they were special persons who were set apart and granted special benefits for the important work they did.

There certainly must have been some worthy individuals who distrusted the many people who undertook this role. Some who chose to do so, may have felt a religious power driving them to serve their fellow creatures in times of pain and suffering. And, in addition to the genuine medicine man there must have been charlatans who practiced a deceitful type of magic and fooled their fellow without mercy in exchange for better living conditions that those afforded the ordinary person.

Today, many are critical of the work done by the professional doctors or health care workers. It, at times, is matter of abrasive personalities and a marked inability to get along with ones fellows, but many do develop both those who respect their special abilities and those who find fault with their actions.
When we hear the “snake oil” stories of generations past; stories of how venom and other deadly potents were used to combat illness and evil among humans. We read of of gross ignorance being the direct cause of the death of thousands. We hear tales about weird concoctions devised by witches and worst used as medicines to bring about cures from various maladies. We read about the use and misuse of such power as hyptnoism, mesmerism, electric belts, pins, combs, buttons, footwear; magnetic pain removers in every size, shape and texture; self cures, religious cures, psychotic cures,tonics, brews, potents and doses without number.

I thought about all of this dismal background today as I sat in a sturdy chair and rested by jaw on a parallel bar; l placed my forehead against a plastic barrier and sat and stared into a focused beam of red-spotted light which loomed in my sight -”both eyes open, please!”. I sat there undergoing what doctor's call a “YAG Posterior Capsulotomy” which is a simple, five minutes, or less procedure which restores light to the back of the eye to improve vision.
It wondered what the patient of centuries ago might have been thinking, had he been in my place.. less than that, really. Imagine what the patient of long ago might have been thinking. Certainly it would invite voodoo images and would seem far out and impractical in relation to knowledge of that time. We live and we learn. Or, at least many of us do so. Some people never learn which is why the 21st Century Medicine Men and Women are still held suspect, by some, of being in cahoots with the Devil.


A.L.M. June 15, 2004 [c646wds]

 
BOOK BATTLE

If one bruises easily it may be wise for that person to avoid direct contact with moving objects. Or, your friend who fancies himself or herself to be a paramedic may suggest that you take a few less aspirin than they seem to know you consume each day/

Actually, a few such bruises are not going to harm you a great deal. Some hard-hearted souls out there may openly allude to the fact that they think you are simply clumsy, running into furniture and other such obstacles most people can go around.

I find myself interested in author Bill Clinton's forthcoming book tour as a time of exceptional bruising for himself - which he can take – and now for presidential candidate John Kerry, as well, who has experienced several award winning bruises in the past.

It has come about that we are to think of the month-early publication of Clinton's “My Life” syncs so well with the final weeks of the presidential election.

` Every one agrees, of course, that it is purely a coincidence that bio-tome-tome happened to hit at such a moment so it will sync well with the final weeks of the election.. Bill Clinton's publisher has announced that former pre4sident will be speaking and selling books in the very cities where Kerry might be... well, let's say “brink-ish”. Officially, it is stated the other way around . He has to be selling books as a main occupational interest and concern during those campaign weeks and only secondly commenting on how perfect a friend of his is to be our next president. Publisher Knopf, whom I would imagine keep a pretty stalwart stable of lawyers, seems to think that will keep the twin tour “legal”. Push book sales first and foremost; then mention Kerry. Never the other way around.

What actually may take place in this unusual juxrtiposition? Unless Bill Clinton turns out to be a better book salesperson than he is a Tenor Sax sideman – nothing much, If he had access top more raw material when helping to compile events, incidents and memorable moments and step by mis-step accounts of “My Life” it might hold promise but,thus far, I have seen no lurid previews or sample passages indicating that it is going to better Baedecker even for the most dedicated devotee

Certainly, candidate John Kerry is not depending on this book to win many new followers . At best, it will bring out the steadfast “Clinton Clique”, but it will also arouse the ever-present crowd of “Clinton Crushers” who are just getting over the wild idea that Kerry was considering asking fellow war veteran Republican McCain up from Arizona to take the shot gun seat for a ride through the nation's heartland.

The potential harm which may come to John Kerry has to do with the obvious fact that if Bill Clinton really goes at the selling of books and tries to outdo wife Hillary's sales totals which were impressive stage the main act is Kerry for top slot.

The creepy part of all this voluntary, last-minute “We care about Kerry” has to come from the fact that so many conservative voices have been prominently proclaiming that the Clinton plan has been to do all they can to prevent Hillary Clinton from having to go up against anything other than a Republican four years from now. If there is to be any validity to such an idea, then it may well be that they have just tossed Kerry a lead life jacket.

Gather 'round, ye bookworms! We may have another Best Smeller on our inky stands.

A.L.M. June 14, 2004 [c601ds]

 
A PROPER FIT

“One size fits all” Don't you believe it brother!

It may feel comfortable enough, but, in time, the contents will grow to fit the contours allowed by the encasement. Try wearing shoes one half size too large, You'll find you have plenty of room to move about in them and wiggle your toes. For a time,you will like that, but when you try to go back to your former half-size smaller shoes, they will be uncomfortable. They will feel far too tight because your feet have modified to fit the area you made available with larger shoes. Or ,try a larger size of anything worn around the waist and because it seems to be better you feel you can eat more or richer foods. You gain weight and no longer fit the former clothing. Sizes remained static, You modified to fit them.

All of this is so very evident in clothing and footwear but the same concept applies to other aspects of living as well.

Consider the matter of education.

It is becoming more and more obvious that none of our educational programming fits everyone. We are overdue for some drastic changes in the fundamental ideas of what an education means in view of the continuing growth of overall economic system and the demands it places on participants. We must plan to educate our children so they can meet the challenges of the future and compete in the world of other competent, well-trained, quasi-experienced and eager men and women for what will be felt to be important in living at that time. Yet, we are steadfastly adhering to programs designed to make everyone an executive with no workers' too many chiefs and not enough Indians;, enough chefs to spoil anyone's broth but no cooks, and we allow butcher, bakers and candlestick makers to come into second-rated being though chance, bad luck, social leveling experiments, academic accidents and other such trivia to get at career potential is each of us.

We heart a lot of yakking and ranting on “ talk” radio and fringe TV at times. Bortz, a strong radio voice out of Atlanta, Ga., uses the term ”government schools” as he derides the manner in which our children are being short-changed in today's educational market centers. More people need to be paying attention to what is being said in regard to our current neglect and malignantly festering mis-handling of a politically be-deviled system and the lack of purpose which is becoming more evident as the ultimate day of reckoning comes nearer.

It is becoming more and more evident that the push for change will not come from the political side. The Social side of our culture is more or less paralyzed by past excesses and overwhelmed with far too many ”isms” of many types, to work with uniform intent toward any ideal. The Religious side of many nations is intent on cleaning its own house and in re-aligning what it is they hope to be some day to Mankind.

To whom must we turn today to get some interest going to attempt to re-establish the basic principles of education for the benefit of all rather than for the few. We have our “Town Criers” in the form of a few radio talk shows hosts – some of whom are aware of the need because they are in daily contact with the heart and soul of the American people day after day, hour after hour.. Now and then a “patriot” of the cause steps out of the crowd - or, is pushed forward ; is “honored” for a time as an example of what can be done, but the cause needs leadership.

A brilliant resurgence of education awaits us all. Each day we delay, the risks become greater; the costs higher. What individual, or group will guide us toward such a worthy goal?

A.L.M. June 14, 2004 [c633wds]

 
THE DATE

Many people on many lands are waiting to see what the date June 30, 2004 is going to man in their lives.

Some will view it as a potential moment of blessing and a time when a new era of freedom will begin in their homeland. The people of Iraq will be in this group - or some of them, at least. There is no assurance that all the people will welcome the coming of self-ruler ship by an Iraqi government, and there will be others who are going to oppose the concept violently.

Here in the United States we are divided in opinions concerning what the day may bring, as well. We do not have the violent fringe to worry about in a primary sense, although opposition can assume some injurious roles among our citizens which could harm our nation well-being and sense of unity.

We all recall the mixed opinions we expressed so loudly when the new century loomed and we faced the mystery of events to take place at the exact turn of the century. The dire predictions for that moment were a varied lot and none of the worst ones proved not to be true. Some people face the current problem date with the same doubt, distrust and confusion. Many are ignorant of the potential of Iraq as a new, free and independent nation among many. The entire system is at stake if the mind of many and a failure in Iraq would result, they insist, on weaknesses becoming more evident here at home.

I do feel we must curb our evident enthusiasm to see the trial working out s planned. The conception of a democratic society is a totally new concept for the Iraqi subject and many fail to grasp any sound reason for making such drastic changes.. They are used to the older methods and they have lived well in their view and prospered in their old system which they feel has served their needs. To try a new and foreign system of government does not go well with many local citizens and we need to be aware of this and to try to understand their resistance to change.

To us, it seems to be a logical,sensible path to take, but that is not, of necessity, the view of the very people who have been selected to bring home rule to the land. The opposition has already attempted to thwart the start of the democratically-oriented regime. Two of the new national leadership have been assassinated and other such incidents are to be expected in the few days remaining until the end of the month. June 30th is not to be seen as a magic moment. It is a convenient deadline which was established, I fear, largely though pressures from the United Nation faction in this equation. That element, itself, through erratic actions of a weak, inefficient and self-serving loyalty standard, may prove to be a major part of any future difficulties we meet with in Iraq and other eastern areas. We face our greatest danger of defeat, not from the Iraqi people, but from those factions which have been so long in power and who still exist in modified forms which are both alien and indigenous among us.

A.L.M. June 13, 2004 [554wds]

 
LOGISTICS LESSON

From a logistical standpoint, the events of the day of June 11, 2004 in memory of Ronald Wilson Reagan, our 40th President, were an example of absolute perfection in planning and in the execution of a complex series of precise, intended, poignant and meaningful actions involving events in four time zones.

I must admit that I was not is sitting around looking for mistakes, errors, misjudgment, or anything faulty in the proceedings, so I may well have missed something but I - at the end of the day, felt that all had gone well and that the overall purposes of the special day will be regarded as a remarkable tribute to a truly worthy man. Some qualities of excellence were, even, at times, exceeded, I felt.

It is of special importance to our nation at this time that we examine carefully the means by which this observance was so well prepared and accomplished. There are among us today people who decry the inability, they claim, of America to contend with its enemies. They deride the abilities of our leaders to meet the common demands of good government. We are subject, as a result, to potentially hazardous disunities.

The ceremonies marking the passing of former President Reagan were impressive in size and the nature of the subject matter undertaken. I think we can look at it now, in retrospect, and be proud. I was impressed by the orderliness of the people. They gathered along the highways in large numbers and there were crowds beyond capacity at both the California site and at the rotunda of the capital. Some thought it odd that the bystanders cheered and waved when the hearse passed through the streets and that was the only hint sot criticism I heard concerning the conduct and demeanor of the people. It seemed to be a last-minute expression of goodbye to a friend.

The much castigated media deserves praise in regard to their part in the occasions, too. They did their part with skill and presented a straight-forward.account of the events. There will be some who will insist there was some Â?overkillÂ?, but, if so, it came about because of viewer narrowness of vision. The networks wisely pooled a lot of the TV coverage which is commendable to avoid clutter. Comment and criticism are in the offing, I dare say, but the media did not impinge on the meaning of the tribute to our fallen leader.
In fact, when one considers the number of sites covered on a strict schedule and the trying circumstances under which they had to work in bringing viewers a wide variety of music alone, they did especially well. One the whole the programing was especially well balanced, which is most unusual.

To us all this day's event could prove to me a much needed watershed of feelings. It was a good thing to see former presidents and their wives seated in the same area it was a good thing to see competing politicians speaking with each other; it was good to see crowds of people along the streets and not know which was a Democrat, Republican or whatever. It was good thing some speakers chose to center on the Reagan sense of humor as they reviewed his life and accomplishments. People will be watching videotapes of these events someday in the future and they will marvel at the at the variety of of viewpoints and of music heard during the ceremonies touching so intimately upon much of America' s religious thought and basic character.

It all went along so smoothly, in spite of its highly complex make-up. It demonstrates again that we Americans can and do work with purpose and amazing unity when properly led by ideals that are basis to the intent of our forefathers and of the founders of our truly unique nation.

A.L.M. June 12, 2004 [c650wds]

 
SKY HIGH

Even after a rather stern lesson concerning the fate of some of our finest, are
we are still a nation enamored of tall buildings.

For some time the desire to build the Â?biggest in the worldÂ? has been placed behind the back burner and we have, for many years we have not been at the head of the lists of the world's builders of the tallest structures. That situation is being viewed as a improper place for us to be among the nations. A shameful place,it seems to some, which reflects poorly on our ability to advance steadily as constructors of large projects, and we keep hearing mumblings about tentative plans to outdo everyone with a super-tall structure.

It has been a relatively quiet campaign because the vast majority of citizens do not,
as yet, realize that we have not led the world with the tallest buildings, for some years. Right now, honors for having built the world's tallest office building go Taipe,Taiwan.

Let's refrain from getting into listing confusing sets of statistics, because so much depends on what your, and others, think a proper building ought to be. The number of floors or stories is one way to count. The height of the ceilings between those floors is to be considered, and there is a matter of Â?usable: office floor space which
is ultimately available. Artists decorations can be used to push the up-end ever higher without adding any usable areas.

Many factors enter into the intricate matter of statistical descriptions - counting the number of floors, too but just what can be added in the way of communications towers can become a high tech way of adding needed footage. The two building in Kuala Lam pour which l held the world record until Tiawan outdid them, were twins Â? but one is now taller than the other because radio and TV towers have been added to the pinnicile. So, one of them is now Number 2 and the other Number 3 among tallest buildings.

u The new Taiwan champion dwarfs the Koala Lampur title-holders and all of them are higher than anything we have to show in tall buildings. I assume that they National Tower. Toronto,Canada, remains the tallest man made structure.

Some people were tempted to create a new 'world's tallest office buildingÂ? on the e Ground Zero site in New York city. But, if present plans are realized, common sense has warned us that such a building may well invite terrorist attack. There are other objection to building such monster. Not only do they offer tempting targets for those who would be jealous of our attainments, but they , by and large, they have, only rarely, been financially profitable.. I believe; the Empire State Building has showed its first profits just recently.
.If you want to see how poor such buildings can be, notice how hugh center portions of them a are lighted at night by floodlights inside the open, steel framework. Floors and rooms will be added when enters state their preferences.
To see such emptiness of tall buildings discourages business investment.. Figures concerning management, mainternce and marketing such large ,towering buildings more than one person has been discouraged.

New super -buildings, will, no doubt, incorporate a number of floors designed to generate their own electric power with entire floors give over to wind rotor installations.

A.L.M June 19, 2004 [c566wds]

 

June 11, 2004

REMINDER

One fact was beaten to the very edge of finality during the recent extended Memorial Day week-end and D-Day observances.
All of the media - radio, TV , print and Internet - seemed especially obligated and intent on reporting again-and-again that the total number of World War II veterans Â? those still more or less upright - is around four million and that we are, furthermore, dying off at a rate of a thousand a day - give or take a score or so.
This cheerful bit of news was set forth with suitable fanfare and commercial supposed to brighten our holiday and to allow us to expand our memories of D-Day and other times best set aside rather than relived.
I thought of this rather odd treatment of a minor news item this week when I[paid my quarterly visit to the Veteran's Hospital at Salem,Virginia. I'm a relative newcomer to the facility having avoided VA help as long as I could do with such aid. The World War II veterans are still evident there, in the corridors , clinics and resident areas, for a wide variety of obvious reasons, many of them harsh realities which cannot be explained away by statistics or body counts. We' re very obvious. After all, the majority of us are in our eighties or more, we are more or less -mobile in a loose sense of the term. I have found the VAserving g this area to be very helpful in the past year since I discovered what I should have looked into years ago.
I did some GI Bill bits while I was in the college years ago. I was about five years - more or less - behind time in everything and while the non dollars a month help in college, it never quite made up for the lost years. So many Worldwarr I veterans share that time-loss...evenn those who lived in states where a token Bonus veteran's bonus payment was made . Some turned to the helping hand offered by the Veteran's Administration. Others seemed be content simply to do the best they could Â?on their ownÂ?,so to speak. In time, many of those holdouts, too, found the veteran of our wars have not been forgotten and these most of all, seem to appreciateate what the VA has done for them.
It may be prop or for us to remember, when Memorial Day rolls around again and again, the true purpose of the special day of remembrance.
A.L.M. JUNE 9, 2004 [c429wds]

 
NAME CALLING

Among your treasured musical memories, I would think you might find an awareness of a time when musical groups had sensible names.

We called them “orchestras,” or “dance bands” or so-and-so’ “Trio,” “Quintet”, or “Combo” if they were smaller units. They were, most often, named for the instrumentalist, vocalist or composer who led them. Oh, yes – we had a few genial “stick wavers”, as we called them, who were not musicians all in a true sense. They fronted a group of musicians. They were usually movie stars at various levels of stardom on their way up or down, with an occasional Hollywood “had-been” seeking a new career in a promising field.

Today’s musical groups suffer needlessly under an unmerited burden of strange, often derogatory names, which, purposely, I’m sure, have little or nothing to do with music in any way. They are chosen for shock value which is thought to create a following among others who like to be different just the be different. I have often wondered for a long time how much longer they can keep digging up such degrading designations.

Do you remember when we used to speak of “Guy Lombardo and the Orchestra.” and most people around you knew who you meant and thought, immediately, of the ultra-sweet, soft, melodic tunes that group featured. You may or may not remember they were also known as “The Royal Canadians” but that was not their salient banner.

What about a band called “Barney Rapp and His Orchestra? They were a popular band for college proms and featured a bright girl by the name of Ruby Wright. I remember so well her singing of a song called “Rain” and did well in the movie “shorts: name bands made for theater use in those days. That band was also known by another name but it was kept in the background and used to give the group a regional identification. You may remember seeing posters advertising “Barney Rapp and His New Englanders.”

The “Big Band Era” brought scores of such bands and here was amazing variety among them. Some offered sweet music, but it was easily to identify the difference. Dancers knew how the Lombardo Brothers, Jan Garber, Jan Pearce, and Wayne King – also sweet music, differed and was subtitled “The Waltz King”
There were other bands which featured loud, faster music but they could all do what the other did on occasions if demanded. For the most part they refrained from using nasty names to designate what they did musically.
One of my troubles in not being ready to give total acceptance to today’s pop music may be that all of it seems to be so much alike. It offers echoes primarily. One pressing of noise is pretty much the same as the next. The only distinction is to be found in the strange name on the record label, so they,I suppose,to be considered as a necessary evil.

A.L.M. June 8, 2004 [c501wds]

 

POUUFF!
Yes, I do remember when photographers used explosive light sticks when they shot poorly lit subjects... indoors and out of doors.

That would be about seventy some years ago. I have distinct memory of posing for a Sixth Grade group picture at Radford,Virginia's Central School in which the professional picture taker of that day fired off a yard long wooden stick containing what we all thought was simply gun powder on a electric wire.

There was an older photographic firm in the area then, and for some reason he had the contract for doing the Class Pictures. He may well have possessed some of Matthew Brady's civil war cameras potted at a yard sale, because his equipment made quite a boxy showing at our Â?Yearly Pitcher Takin'sÂ? .The equipment was, I'm sure, even then, getting into the antique or collector items stage. It was beautiful. Made of contrasting dark and light woods with fine grain and all keep clean and bright. The units had special care, on could see. The photographer was a spry littlegreyey-bearded man who could have played a role easily in any Irish fable with ease. He radiated good cheer by his very presence and we kids were eager to do as he instructed when it came time to take our pictures.

We always looked forward to that time of the school year when pictures were to be taken. Parent were told because the who plan hinged on parents, grandparents and other relatives agreeing to buy so many prints of the class pictures. That could become a major expense if a family had children in several class levels. They were, in effect, the Â?:Year Books:Â? of yesterday and deemed to b e a natural part of educational expense. Parent, grandparents, Aunts, great-Aunts and other relatives running right down to removed cousins - anyone who could scrape up a spare dollar - was sought out diligently

The picture were all made in one location . The school auditorium which consisted of two classroom with the center wall removed forming one, larger area. Lines of miss-matched wooden chairs formed the seating area. The Â?stageÂ? was a platform
raised eighteen inches above the level of the floor across the inside wall area of the double room made one.

Each class took its turn upon the stage.

The aged photographer had set up his equipment in advance, probably ten feet from the edge of the stage and it was uncovered so we could watch him getting ready to Â?shootÂ?.:. In one sense he doing just that, because we knew he would make use of the device which was still being used at that time Â? a yard long g stick which he would hold in the on a broom-pole extended. The old man powdered the top of the yard long bar which was, to us, literally gun powder and handed it to a young girl Â? his granddaughter who held it gingerly aloft until he had need of it.. She held it while he busied himself with the black hood he was to place over his head and camera.

We were instructed to stand perfectly still and to look at a specific place marked on the far wall. A breathless moment, then he reached out and took possession of the pre-powdered light stick He held it aloft in one hand and after a special, longest-second-ever time, until we heard the command Â?SmileÂ? from under the hood. At that instant, as we stared in amazement the bar of the stick exploded in to a sudden mass of light and gave a mighty Â? Pooouff!Â? .A cloud of white smoke filled the room above the stick an d the cameraman emerged from his hood to say the picture was a success. He thanked
us for being there to pose for him and he expressed hope that the next group might be as polite and attentive. He know how to work a crowd of youngsters

The main attraction for us was the light device, of course. We found later it was coated with potassium nitrate mixed with other components. Oddly enough much of the lore is now associated with the making of home-made bombs and is avoided when children are listening or reading. In our Civil war era other chemical substances were used to provide a blue light which was helpful in some photography.

I remember the Â?swoosh!Â? by the gadget and the anticipation which excited us in awaiting the Â?es-ploshun!Â? Small wonder that so many of the subjects had expressions of amazement on their pictured faces.

A.L.M. June 8, 2004 [c772wds]

 
THE SOUNDS OF MUSIC

Am I asking too much of today's singers that I might be made aware of what their song means?

Today's pop song fans seem to have given up any idea of knowing what the song they are going to hear or, are listening to, has as a subject.

True art forms have dimensions, bounds, limits, and it for the artist to stay within those bounds, or conversely, to demonstrate his ability to work beyond conventional bounds with precise exactness and purpose. An example of that might be the poet who writes a strict sonnet and the one who does his best work by avoiding the very limitations the first poet thinks are essential.

In that case, it makes sense, doesn't? Both of them are artists in their own right. So why can't I listen to a pop song in that double-faced way? Do I have to have words. Are lyrics essential to Â?meaning?Â?

Have I missed something along the way, perhaps? I find myself enjoying music less than I did years ago and I have a feeling it has so, something to do with the manner of presentation rather than with the music itself. The manner in which we allow an artist to present a musical work to us and also our tendencies to be rather permissive in regard to set of such presentation of musical art forms.

We are required to respond to music physically more than we have in the past. We used to view singers or instrumentalists at a distance, but now with videos much more intimate revelations are part of the presentation and new are Â?at oneÂ? with his or her actions. We are the ones who have changed rather than the performers, to a great extent. The listener today sees and hears the artist in a much more intimate association than ever before. We think close up camera presence as we watch a person perform very closely. No longer are we a stage-width away. We can be, visually, in our minds, within the area occupied by the artist we are watching and to whom we are listening.

I like to hear words and respectable patterns of form must be apparent for me to appreciate a song, and only by forcing myself set such guides aside can I find pleasure in so much or the much being generated today.

It may be that I have chanced upon another reason why so many of today's music seems less satisfying to me. .I used the term Â?generateÂ?instead of create and it strikes me that so much of today's music is generated, turned out almost mechanically, far removed from the traditional spontaneity of creative evp;vements of musical ideas of past times. Today's music is, so often, Â?turned outÂ? as if some one is extruding perfect bubbles from pin-pricked, soap-stuffed spool. Much of today's music is Â?put togetherÂ? rather than created in ways demanding talent and skills blended with a touch of esoteric character to help parts to meld. Many of today's creations join by accident and if they can be categorized they will sell. There is always someone there seeking whatever concoction may be formulated by accident or on purpose, it seems. The fact that today's music comes to us in so many ways is not at all helpful in making it readily understandable and acceptable.

We have as treasure in our creative ability whatever it might produce. Time will tell which was worth the trouble. I fear the present era is a time of such testing in which the absolute dregs are being screened, reviewed and judged. Not much of it will endure, I fear except for some fundamental pieces which will endure out of sheer audacity and because they illustrate transition which is, even now, taking place. Good music earns it place in our society through serving a genuine need. The best endures.

We shall see, or, hear, what is, left for tomorrow to judge.

A.L.M. June 6, 2004 [c671wds]

 
ENTHUSIASM

There are quite a few case histories which plainly show we can overdo our enthusiasm concerning projects we undertake. Failure can be ?built in? if the will to get it done is exaggerated.

So, when you describe the term enthusiasm, think of it in several degrees. It can be, as it most often is made to be, something not commonly thought of or considered. Your project arouses your feelings and infects others with the intend desire to help you get a thing done. It seems to offer a special opportunity for you to escape the mediocre or the unpleasant as did Tom Sawyer when he described the joys of fence painting to his friends. Such enthusiasm enables many people to step confidently into a new world of freshly altered facts, figures and potentials.. You can escape the mediocre or commonplace and advance to new levels of innovative attainment you might not have even attempted to attain before.

Having that sort of positive drive and a profound sense of ?do?ism? is pretty much what most people think of when the term enthusiasm is used. The mood can be exaggerated especially if it entails work to be done by others. Be aware of such tendencies is you are on the listening end of such a bubbling bundle of promises and pleasant prospects for others.

You will be taking a wise step, however, when you consider that type of such enthusiasm as being very much the same as the energy expended which causes the contents of a boiling pot to overflow and well flow down the sides of the pot in to the burner or other structure and needlessly complicate cleanup work required. Proper enthusiasm is scaled to fit the size of the task rather than a dreamers estimate of what it might entail.

Embellishing one's dream is a dangerous thing because ,being dreams to start with, any extra weight may cause them to collapse. Right now, as we are thinking of democracy taking root and becoming a part of Mid-East governmental thinking... Take it easy. Back off a bit; put it all in proper perspective and examine more closely that which you are anticipating. Dreams, remember, are fragile and not intended for everyone. They are almost the sole property of the dreamer whereby you are driven to do that which you might well have done anyway had you garnered up the gumption required to do so.

A.L.M. June 4, 2004 [c412wds].

 
ON BEING CHEATED

I feel it, and I wonder if you do so as well.

I feel, in some strange way, the stupid, obscene actions of a few individuals in the current prison scandals in Iraq and, vaguely, are of more concern to me than I like for them to be. After all, those individuals represent us as a nation to millions of people around the world. They conducts reflects upon us.

In this past few weeks, I have had this feeling of having been, both cheated and humiliated by the thoughtless actions of these few people many of whom wear the uniform which marks them as being one of us - a guise I would gladly wear again if the occasion demanded that I do so. Their strangely immature and evil-oriented conduct leaves me with a teasing idea that we at home might have found some way to have prevented such a lapse of basic morality rules as the prison excesses bring so vividly into our daily lives.
A great many Americans have a somewhat odd concept of patriotism. It is not to be noised about with horns or cymbals and paraded on display for others to see. It is aroused only when America is made to appear be weak, irresolute, unsteady, or ruthless. One of the better ways to arouse patriotic feeling in the Punted States is to make the nation appear to be potential subject for ridicule or satire.

Do not feel any guilt because of this feeling that the lewd conduct of those charged with guarding the captives. I realize there are plenty of people around who still think it logical to exact information by the use of threats of physical violence. - some or them severe and permanent. When information is extracted through violent threats and torture, it is, far too often, inaccurate because victims will say anything they feel they think are they are expected to say. It is a losing proposition regardless of how elaborate cover-up schemes may be devised. I have heard this view expressed often in recent weeks and it seems valid to me.


We might, as some suggest, contend that we all share some of the reponsability for such conditions because we have opposed or failed to support various portions of our defense budgets which you widely educated the mass of the national military-age population. One of the common criticisms of the National Selective Service idea was that it drew up the so=-called Ã?ƒ‚“dregsÃ?ƒ‚” of our society in so faeducaionalal averages were concerned.. That resulted in a military force which was markedly ignorant. The present system of depending on volunteers and on National Guard systems as the sole source of replacements should be somewhat higher educational levels.

If we bear any blame for such weaknesses it appears to all such educational insufficiencies. Take that thinking a bit deeper and we become someone to blame for all sorts of meanness and depravity. That portion of blame we might be said to share all started back way back in our neglect of general educational needs for all citizens many years ago. It is not of recent vintage.

It, perhaps,, may well be that we need a brisk kick in the pants from time-to-time just to remind us that such unseemly conduct is a part of civilian life may well seep into military as well.


a.l.m. June 4, 2004 [c573wds]

 
CELL TAX

It may not be a common occurrence, but it is possible to say: Â?GoodbyeÂ? on a cell phone.

The usual television commercial shows people saying Â?HelloÂ? and seemingly amazed that they are in touch with each other at all!

We see doubtful users asking:Â?Can you hear me now?Â? as they wander about for just a few feet. Novelty is still there when using any using any thing wireless, it seems. The confused situation is now being cloud by the fact that civic leaders are finding cell phone to be a new source of tax revenue. This threaten the innovation seriously.

Now that we are finally catching up with European natTheys. who have been using the cell phones widely for years, it seems that our governmental bodies are now discovering the cell phone is taxable. One small city nearby us has just this week announced a forthcoming new tax of $l.25 per phone. I assume that's per month, but I haven't seen that in print. When cellphones are mixed with increasing taxation some users as talking about going back to blanket-made smoke signals to keep in touch with friends. Others are signing up for Â?tom-tom thumpingÂ? training.

With the arrival of this anticipated tax. We can expect a nasty cloud of static from phone owners, but the Â?tax everythingÂ? idea is here,and doing well.

The cell phone was slow to catch on here in the United States and part of the delay may have been due to the opposition which did very well waving a Grim Reaper banner protesting the use of wireless gadgetry. They were said to be dangerous and users would go deaf or sort-of X-ray the other side of their brain by holding the transmitter too close to their jaw. Now, just a few year later, millions of people are talking and staying alive. The former critics have good jobs selling cell phones or service systems contracts. Yesterday's serious warnings are being ignored or ridiculed. Notice the number of motorists who now use their cars as telephone booths where driving is a secondary obligation. You see others talking feverishly on their c-phone while pumping gas at the self-service stall as if their home town petrol point is going to continue to be there forever and not blown up.

Other forces are working against the use of the cell phone. It has come about largely because of indiscriminate use, perhaps. And has become a social problem in some areas. You may disagree,but there are now people who feel that talking on one's cell phone while in church is not permissible. Other think it to be impolite to engage in conversation while waiting in line at the supermarket, or watching for a load to finish at the coin operated laundry. Others think it improper for you to cell talk on elevators, or while watching a movie at the theater even if you keep it under the popcorn munching level. Some don't like to see them at sports events and other objects to phoners who watch TV shows with friends at one ear or the other. Fewer people now watch television show alone.

Be warned ahead of time. Next tax time you may see a new item on your Tax Bill: so much per cell phone in your household.

Very convenient,too., You can call someone to complain about it right there beside your mail box .

A.L.M June 3, 2004 [c577wds].

 
BRIDGE BUILDERS

When you look at magnificent bridge you wonder, I'm sure. You see the overwhelming immensity of the task and of the mighty stress exerted upon the supporting pillars or that massive collection of cables holding it all securely aloft, and you wonder how it ever became the reality you are observing. How did such a fantasy become real? What brings to physical manifestation a man's dreamed-of accomplishments?

I have known men who were bridge builders by occupation, and they have
been an interesting lot to me , indeed, in special ways.

They strike me as being rather independent people. From the very start, they have a feeling, it seems, that they are questing for a distant goal; seeking to hone in on a special gleam they alone can see, which demands that they be attentive to that which will take place in the future rather than the moment. That one thing makes them want to build ways of arriving at special, far-off goals through devising the means of getting there, The bridge they have in mind will enable them, and others, to cross over into a braver, newer and perhaps, better world. With such strong, positive goals always in mind, true bridge builders are not an easily discouraged lot.

The very nature of such men may, at times, seems to set them at odds with members of their own families, but such has not been the cases I have known. It is not the question which come, quite naturally, to the surface of family life, when the father is absent for long periods of time....”Away from home “- apart from them all – and, some say, thinking only of the new bridge itself. He thinks of it as their bridge, not just his. This is the bridge which will, through the money it brings to them and through the new, oft refreshing opportunities received by those to arrive arrival at the other side . Children of bridge building fathers are eager to see a bridge completed,; to see another started... especailly against unusually severe natural conditions. The future is always new. Their bridge-building father is not a routine nine- to-fiver at an office. He works with tomorrow in mind; with his and their futures.

These men have a special type of co-worker relationships, too. They have second-family ties in a sense; often younger hands, newer at the job and in the extra moments of real danger they become aware of working as a team. Very often, I find, it is the very same qualities which make for good work which
engenders deeply held concepts of brotherhood . If one of them should fall– not a totally unanticipated hazard of the trade which does happen when bridges are built. Bereavement among bridge workers is deep seated, long-lasting and very personal.. The recall previous comrades who suffered death or bone-crushing injuries in falls from the advancing span. They remember co-workers up and down the labor listings,.as a special fellowship without grades, classifications and other such artificial designations. All were simply bridge builders.

The very nature of the work undertaken is a stern challenge to a young man. The workers come to share special, complex dangers and they are aware of it every time they step out on a cable, or when the when they are at work underground in the sweltering caverns in which the roots of the bridge are “planted” to support the towering weight above. Both men and women, working under such compelling pressures, feeling all of the harshness of Nature often working against them. Bridges are in constant battle with the elements. They are not just long strands of masonry artfully cast across from one shore to another, but ,once built, a portion of the Earth about them.

Mankind took many years observing Nature before he learned to build a span across a stream so he could walk, run or ride to the other side. He learned, too, that bridge building is not as simple seem to be to many. Bridge builders are dreamers. A bridge across a body of water was, or a deep canyon or chasm is flexible - responsive to Natures worst storms. It is not a static thing at all. In one sense is can be said to “live”.

We have come a long way since primitive man found he could crawl or walk across a tree which the passing storm had left athwart a stream of rushing water.

A.L.M. June 2, 2004 [c752ds]

 
NOW, BUTT OUT!

Our time is now!

The rather sudden appearance of the group who are to be the new government of the re-constituted nation of Iraq sets the natural point at which the United States might - and should - withdraw.

It presents the best opportunity we will ever have of getting our military might out of Iraq and it will fulfill our announced intention of withdrawing when a new government is ready to take over the reigns of ruling..

Perfection is not expected. There will be some snarls in the skein as the lengths of individual colors are placed in their proper position to bring about the intended pattern after much warping and woofing thereof. Do not on hold out for your favorite little political, social, religious or busy-body quirk. Refrain from being too aggressive in your individual desires. Such aggressive actions lead to needless acrumoiny and backlash.

There will be understandably, opposition to much that the new government favors.
That is par for the oriental course of events. Some opposition will come from within Iraq where pockets of die-hard religious divisions continue to plague the populace. There will be some holdovers from the former government and there will be, sadly enough, open opposition to the re-born nation here in the United States which will hamper the growth of the new nation.

Not only will there be petty political party opposition to the new government here at home, but our media still needs to learn lessons from its recent experiences concerning taking sides in disagreements. A biased report is a weapon used to benefit the enemy. Exaggeration breeds vilification; lies - more lies.

We hold the key to starting the new governmental machine working to the betterment of the Iraqi people. If we let our own narrow animosity encumber their already tedious path to a better life, we are contributing to our own downfall as the future pages of history will record.

A.L.M. June 1, 2004 [c423wds]

 





IN TOUCH

For many good, sound, sensible reasons our modern

society makes up quite a package of points detailing why it is of vital

importance for us to "keep in touch" with each other at all times.

Along with such logical reason, we are now gathering

gangs of not-so-vital "why's" for wiring everything within sight for some

sort of sound, even as we burn the midnight oil trying to learn how to make

all such things wireless. The maze of communication gear into which we

have ensnared is, in itself, sufficient cause for wonder.

Are we "in touch" with our fellow humans? Are we over

doing it correctly" Are we, becoming involved in things which are none of

our business? Are we "in control" of others, or are we being held in hand

to do as others wish us to do? Over the recent holiday week-end ( I left

that hanging their unidentified so you can switch it to your favorite days

off time.) Maybe you can check yours out as I did: I made a survey of
our facilities for keeping in touch with each other.

I was led to question the validity of our enhanced

communications abilities. Are we up to date, or are we lagging behind

other nations which had the foresight to start making and using cell

phones years ago. We are just catching with the others and it has already

become a burden to many. Do we want to be ahead?

I think most U.S.citizens will agree that we have

lagged behind much of the world in this concept of cell phone usage and

with HDTV, as well..Finland, Denmark, and other nations have been well

ahead of us. You are old-fashioned if you do not have a Made in Finland

cell phone for steady use - or ringing away lustily wherever you left it.

The situation in our house surprised me in several

ways. Look around your family digs and let me know if we are

"average"."Typical" or whatever.

At our house we have four television sets - all color,

three with VCR add-add ons - and they are located on the average of about

twelve feet of each other with remote bars at hand. No walking required.

Radio - said to be from a by-gone era - runs about the

same. Three bedside radios plus a stereo set-up next to one of the TV sets.

duplicates in the family cars, too. along with three tape players and

recorders.
We have two standard phones, two cordless sets, and

two cell phones in family. I don' t have one yet, and, at times, I feel

slighted and I am driven to pick up any remote device lying nearby; hold it

to my ear and talk away so I won't appear to be the odd one in our family.

As a truly mod family, we, We have two old-fashioned 35-mm cameras, I

think. We have one good set of binoculars form keeping in touch with

Mother Nature, the mountains in the distance and the planes taking off and

landing at the nearby airport.

We have TV cable service featuring seventy-plus stations. We

have two computers ten-feet from each other and make good use of the

Internet.
We have outdoor motion-activated lights on a shed to keep in

touch with any invited or uninvited guests by night. They also come on

from raindrops in front of them; birds, bugs, bees and beasts of any kind

both day and night.

I'd probably find some others if I could think of them.

How does that compare to "in touch" mechanisms which clutter

your house?

a.l.m. May 31, 2004 [c577wds]

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