THE OTHER WAY We are, being American, often accused of somewhat piously claiming that we always give fair and equal treatment to everyone concerning our political differences.
Most individuals who have never taken a meaningful role in a major election would, I think, agree with that statement and see our participation in political affairs more as if it were a sportsmanlike interlude in our normal activities, rather than a dog-eat-dog , life-or-death confrontation.
I have been in a foreign country during a major election period and I can be pursued ed to agree it is not a pleasant time to be around persons who, otherwise, meet average criteria for being worthy friends and associates.
I witnessed to people to be understanding, fair, loving, appreciative human beings upon which one might depend in social and in business affairs. In politics? No.
With us, I thing, we are convinced we are willing participants in a series of meetings, demonstrations, innings, quarters or turns or whatever terms we might wish to use to describe our actions as to both quality and quantity, a time.
I have never, really, come to understand how an individual ,of his desires, so places the finer elements of living at jeopardy by entering into a political confrontation of any large size or scope. Certainly sufficient evidence exists at ,or near, the point of entrance for such an extravagant departure from saner pathways. To put all that one has gained at such risk is not exactly a recommendation concerning personal management, much less , any attempt to do so for an entire nation of people such as yourself.
The affirmative view can take over if you promise to run a clean campaign in the race ahead. You feel that, if you are proper, an opponent will be forced to accept such a level of conduct for his own actions. Anyone who believes that could be
the case is far to busy tracking down astronauts asking why they brought back moon
dust and rocks from the Moon rather than some of that good, usable green cheese!
We have many possible candidates in the field at the moment. Dark Horses" are reported to be stomping around in the backwoods, too. All - save one - will be going home. Years from now a few of them will insist they could have made it had they just been given give half a chance. Some will tell of how much better they could have done than he actual winner had done. In their view, that's where our future candidates come from - because some people believe events which never happened can be those of our future.
Andrew McCaskey Sr amccsr@comcast.net 2-10-07 [c455wds]
Wanton Winds It does not seem proper to speak of "high" winds when we are viewing the intense devastation wrought by malicious, uncontrolled tornado- style winds which pounded the middle portion of the State of Florida this past week-end.
We tend to associate tornado type storms exclusively to Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma and other parts of what we call "Tornado or Cyclone Alley." There are many types of such storms, too. They do not follow set p;patterns or put on the same wild stunts a every place they choose to visit. The can come in complex packages too. A number of vicious storms can be grouped within a large 'some times rather slow-moving cover cloud.. We have witnessed such a compound set of storms - each pounding away on its own hellish course under, over, beside, within or wrapped around others of the same style.
The usual rule books can be set aside. As each such storm descends it may well impede one already in place or it can assist in the destruction under way. The path of the cannot be estimated; torn, as it may be, between two or more dominant influences.
Such combination storms can be even more devastating than Single ones. The debris you see after the storms have passed will have, literally, been torn to shreds and smaller pieces will have been thrown far from their original placement. Such storms afford less time for study and evaluation. They have some characteristics of single storm but when they do move their path is even more erratic.
Due to the warmer climate found in Florida it is only natural they might favor architecture which, many of us in other geographic areas might call "flimsy". The house trailer as been a favorite mode of household for a long time from a simple box-with-mattress on wheels, to elaborate exaggerations of the same concept today. Not all of Florida , however, is sub-standard. Builders have learned a great deal from hurricane studies of the past, and much progress has been made. I noticed one church pictured on TV this last week built thirty years ago to "withstand winds up to 150 m.p.h.". The only comment was a super-imposed card showing that the official wind velocity the previous Friday night had been "155 m.p.h!
Very little of the church remained.
Right now, at a time when large areas of Central Florida are available for new construction we have a special oppotunity to see that the building which is done are in tune with tempests which are likely to strike at any time. The prospects of a steady real estate growth here are different from those we encountered along the Gulf coast. Many of these were "second" homes and retirement "Get-a-ways. One such owner when interviewed concerning his rather complete loss said: "I've got another one just as good, or better on a lake
in Michigan!" He, and others, are looking for profitable real estate opportunity rather than new homes in which to live. They are going to be constructing home to sell to thousands of people - such as you and me - people who have never lived in Florida and think they could enjoy years of serene retirement in "The
Sunshine State!"
Andrew McCaskey Sr amccsr@comcast.net 2-6-07 [c590wds]
