Saturday, October 01, 2005
SPORTS SAVVY All true-blooded American youth - boys and girls alike; young men and young women - our leaders for Tomorrow should, early in life, select a sport as their favorite special body-builder and stick with it through all of the grim, vicissitudes known, generally as the "thick and thin "of a particular sport until they stand a adored and honored as Grand Champions among athletes of their chosen field of action! It seldom, if ever takes placed with anything nearing perfection in our costly society. The really smart kid in today's world; the wide-awake potential sports star in the future sports whirl learn to live with the idea that he or she had best choose whatever Mom or Dad thought they had wanted to become. In that way you get you get initial start expenses taken care of without any lemonade stand selling or deals of all sorts. The young boy who stands firm and sounds off steadily and with enthusiasm as a pilgrim on his way to Big League Mecca. Dad will applaud. Dad's assistance becomes ; the young girl can choose La Crosses, soccer or basketball and Mom will react in much the same manner. It is, most often, the expense ...the cost - which forbids a young person from by being active in a sport. What about newer sports? How about making a name in Skateboarding, for instance. One young man I know tried golf recently and liked if very much but lost interest when he checked to see what it would cost to get get outfitted and to join a golf club so he would have a place to play. He fount that boards cost from $99.99 to $124.99 and up. You will need an axle arrangement front and rear at $30.00 or so each; wheels will be essential - $12.00 to $20.00 per set of four and you will need more than two or three sets because they do wear rather steadily. A good repair kit is needed which always includes a First Aid Kit. Much of skateboarding expense depends on the climate where you do you ups-and-downs: shoes are forty to $99.99 in one catalog I see pants, shirts, sweats, jackets, hoods, gloves, boots - all around half a hundred - goggles, crash helmets, heel sparklers, and other such goodies. If you tire of simple board skating you can do you thing on ice, too. For less than two hundred dollars you can own a skateboard with four small skis where wheels ought to be or one, long ski. Add all of those costs that up - for several years. Small wonder that we are rapidly becoming a nation of sports watchers rather than active participants on the courts and on the fields. A.L.M October 1, 2005 [c472ds]
Friday, September 30, 2005
LESSONS NOT LEARNED The unusual situations which came to be such an impressive part of the recent flood conditions in southern Louisiana - and, to some extent, - along the Gulf coast port areas- form a daunting challenge for all of us. We can accept or refuse to make use of information provided when then hurricane's Katrina and Rita,and their accompanying rains, dealt the area a severe package of destructive forces men have known in those areas in the past. This time the evil, invading waters flowed across worn and broken levees, walls and canal structures on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain and other inadequately prepared sections of the system - many unidentified or confused with others in like condition. It quickly came to mind that the billions of dollar's requested by and sent to New Orleans for repair and maintenance of the water control systems, were misused to serve other purposes. We can, in our investigations, overlook such "monetary" 'lapse's or take it under consideration and try to roundup those persons found to be guilty of such funds. I am told a definite paper trail e exists in the Washington, D .C. agencies which details the intended use of the funds. None of these federal funds were spent on any of the three most obvious levee and seawalls the most notorious offenders of all causing overflows which flooded New Orleans because no such fund were ever requested during that eight year period. The ever-questing eye of television searched out and showed millions of citizens shocking realities concerning inequities which exist in our society which have not been acknowledged much less confronted and solved. And, there are other wrongs we saw; some we have never really discussed in fair-minded manner. All that awaits our ability to do so. A.L.M. September 30, 2005 [c320wds]
Thursday, September 29, 2005
CLAIM TO FAME Who among us today will be judged to have been famous in his or her own time? Very few. Such a list, if it could be compiled, would be rather short. It has been concluded years ago by unnamed persons who did not, themselves make the grade - names unknown – who decided just what must transpire before anyone could have a real claim to genuine fame. Here, briefly, is their formula. “If, after you have been dead for one hundred years, two people - not relatives or descendants of yours – remember your name and something you did, then you were a famous person in your own time.” Just two people - after one hundred years! Frills have been appended to the original theory, of course. If ,for instance,your deeds had been less than admirable you might have “infamous” rather than honored. Or, worse yet – like the rest of – simply forgotten. Take a few minutes and boggle your brain a bit concerning the untold millions upon millions of eager souls who have populated this Earth for umpteen centuries. Not very encouraging, is it? Makes a person wonder if its such a good idea to aim for fame after all. That may explain how it is that so many people aim for fame as combined with fortune. They aim for fame, but money spends better and, who knows? Any good deeds done with your fortune may be your key to fame. A serious study note: with the fame theory in mind, rethink how it must have been Mark and and a few went into the mid east, and one hundred years after Jesus had lived; searched and found the reasons for his fame for all times. A.L.M. September 29, 2005 [c354wds]
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
WHY THE DELAY? Why did a Texas lawyer, as a prosecuting attorney, wait until, this moment to call for the indictment of Republican Congressman Tom Delay? For many reasons, perhaps, but prime among them but standing prime among them must have been the was the fact that this was grand jury number six who have heard the case presented. The five which have gone before said:”No.”. Number six grand jury six agreed with lawyer Ronnie Pearle, who has specialized in this procedure for many years. No crime has been charged. The grand jury has as its purpose to decide if a trial is needed, based on the the amount and quality of evidence presented before that body. If they feel such a step be taken. The general public does not always understand this step and often think of the individual as being on trial for the commission a crime. In this case Ronnie Earle is asking that Tom Delay be brought to trial for willfully breaking existing State of Texaco which specifies what types of contributed money - individual or corporate - might be spent on party activities as opposed to direct support a specific person;s campaign. Definitions of exactly what constitutes any one of the ultimate recipients are difficulte and who knows how we will find our way out? One has to wonder if this was the work of the aging “partisan fanatic” Ronnie Earle alone, or if party funds from mysterious source might have pushed it all along a bit so it could “happen” at this particular time. Now a Texas court will decide it all A.L.M. September 28, 2005 [c341wds]
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
PRIZED PRE-CEPTS
Certainly, events along our Gulf coast during the past few weeks should help us to overcome some of our deeply set prejudices. These changes are most urgently needed in the very areas where senseless restrictions and selfish favoritisms are models of operation. Landmarks of proper conduct are easy enough to see, to post, print, preach and pontificate upon in endless stream of pallid platitudes, and even book of laws which remain, by and large, unenforced. We are in need of some further studies of our present situation in regard the stability of our faith and trust in our own government as a basic form of civic rule. During recent weeks we have all heard some rather harsh criticism of both the government of the State of Louisiana and of the City of New Orleans. It was specific in nature and mentioned leaders by name, departments, functions and failures and accusations claiming they had failed to meet the needs -or a least, the expectations of the people. Time after timed they hesitated in uncertainty, and it was “time” which took value out of any plans they may have had in mind. Quite often comments compared what was happening during the old days of Huey Long's rule of the area. Far too frequently the talk concerned the corruption and illegal actions of Long's reign with conditions today in state and city. The political cleanup will be done eventually and may be that it will rival the real estate changes. Other discussions overheard compared the plight of New Orleans to that of Chicago in its darkest moments years ago and I found criticism of the patchwork New Orleans' police department to be beyond comprehension. All of this devious complicity evolves from individual wrongdoing. It is far easier and better if it can be curbed at the starting end than at the “end” end. Let's school ourselves as individuals against avarice, greed, against hate and distrust and prejudices and falseness. As individuals, we become our nation. A.L.M. September 27, 2005 [c368wds]
Monday, September 26, 2005
HOLLOW DAYS Does seem to you that we are gradually reworking our national holidays to make sure they are centered on gastronomic extravagance! We are heading into the season called “Thanksgiving” a special time for consuming huge quantities of food. It is a kind of dietary preview of how much we plan to eat when Christmas arrives. The day dedicated to dining has a rather uncertain history. It is well-established hearsay tradition which started during the earliest days of the settlement of New England by Pilgrims from various points in the U.K. area of Europe. The 1620's celebration of gratitude by Pilgrim for a good initial harvest from newly cleared fields in a vast land of forests. Down half-way south in Virginia colonists had been been had experienced both good and bad harvests of their portion of the newly cleared lands, game from the forests, fish and related treats river and nearby sea. Both settlements probably received more essential help from friendly Indians than we admit. It is an interesting sidelight that they did not put on a Thanksgiving show the second year but spoke of poor harvests. Historians delving into the records concerning the first Thanksgiving Day observance in New England indicated that it seems to have been far from the solemn occasion we laud. It was a three- day festival and included drinking, gambling, athletic contests and target shooting to show the Indians how effective the musket could be. Another reason for calling it off the second year, might well have been the arrival of as new shipload Pilgrims to be fed and housed during the coming winter. For us to pretend that today's Thanksgiving menu items are caloric echoes from wherever it may have been held. At best they were smörgåsbord's – a wide swath of limited quantities - whatever was available from the woods, waterways and wigwams, hogans or long house dwellings - Indian corn, pumpkins, melons, greens of every shade and critter parts beyond our imagination. The latest addition I have heard about as being from the original Pilgrim version: pop corn! Are you ready? It's about eight weeks away. To get prepared you need go on a crash diet right away. A.L.M. September 26 , 2005 [c401wds]
Sunday, September 25, 2005
CHANGES IN PROGRESS Perhaps too often a favorite a subject which comes to the top when good folks get together, or are forced by circumstances beyond their control is: how much better “things” and “times”used to be than they are now. Recent floods in the United States have caused countless numbers of people to be transported into locations with other people not of their own choosing. They feel they have been“stranded”in a modern sense - without electricity, without their cars, truck and other means of travel, without oil, gas, grease, goop and goo preparations and a withdrawal phase on being set apart from free-will purchases of food we call “fast”and a possible threat of no food at all. A mixed bunch of humans suddenly found themselves to be in a strange world. Many, no doubt, felt themselves to be alone. It may be that this will have a long range affect on American styles of living. When things dry out a bit more, maybe those people who write books about what makes people do what we do under stress of any kind will be concocted and we will know why we acted back in 2005. And, I purposely say “we” because all of us have, are or will be changed because of events which have marked this year as a turning point marking changes in our personalities which will affect how we grow as citizens in a nation grown to a new level of maturity. Some simple principles need to be re-studied and fitted to the way we live our daily lives - now. We, for instance, have come very close to being unable to speak with each other as equal citizens pledging loyalty and understanding one to the other. I know that sounds harsh, but think back over you own, personal statements and unsaid judgments made concerning individuals who as elected, chosen, or simply named to be ”leaders” in circumstances which redefine the real nature of such terms. Have your critical views been justified? Only the future can tell us if we have been right or wrong in our decisions. A.L.M. September 25, 2005 [c366wds]
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