Stand up and speak out

What are they doing? I never ceased to be amazed at their actions. Do any of them know how to balance a check book? I am speaking of congress of course. Does anybody remember the House banking scandal of 1992? 450 members of congress and other House officials wrote checks on the house bank that they did not have funds to cover. The house bank would honor them with the understanding that the member would pay them - - - sometime. No fees, no penalty, no responsibility. For some it was hundreds of checks that were effectively overdrafts outstanding for Years!

Most of us can not withstand the temptation that comes with the ability to write our own rules. For many generations it was the press who stood as the guardian against abuse. We know longer have the luxury of a press that is a true watchdog. They have become so biased in their own agenda that they can not speak out when they see corruption for fear of harming their own agenda. So it falls to us the citizens of this great country to be vigilant and hold our officials accountable.

The "Government" is out of control and lacks the ability to govern itself. While the rest of us are tightening our belts and our companies are laying off employees, the Government is spending and has added 25,000 new jobs since the first of the year. The only problem is, it's our money, and our children's money and our grand children's money.

The president says "he can not just kick the can down the road". He says that we must address these "problems" now. That sounds all well and good, but we are kicking the bill for all of this down the road. No one who is in congress now, has any expectation of being in congress when we start to pay for this. Think about it they are spending our grand children's money because they know they won't be there to answer for it. They will be at home with generous pensions and benefits guaranteed for life - - -by the rest of us.

Their are countless programs available (many sponsored by the government) that council people on how to get their financial house in order. As far as I know, not one of them, has ever advocated borrowing your way to financial well being. You pay down your debt and then you buy if you have a need.

By the way, for the record, this is not a Democrat or Republican issue, it is a political leadership issue, or lack there of. Our political leaders think we can't handle honesty and reality. I think we can. I think it is the lack of faith that our political leaders have in us that is the crime here. The citizenry is grounded in reality. We must pay our bills every day, we have to make hard choices and set priorities. We are used to it. Most of us shoulder our personal responsibility quite well. Our elected leaders are simply not grounded in the real world. They pander to our base nature, and we let them get away with it.

I think we have lost faith in our leaders. I think that is why we have taken the position that these folks are never going to do the right thing, so I might as well get "mine". We are better than that. We are better than those who seek to lead us!

Stand up, speak out, demand that that congress be responsible for their actions. It is not to late, we can make a difference. Just because congress doesn't get it, doesn't mean we have to act like we don't. Don't let them cower you down with talk of fairness. We cannot make everyone equal. We cannot make life fair for everyone. Where did we ever get that notion, and where does it stop? Everyone deserves a house, everyone deserves healthcare, everyone deserves a Cadillac, every kid deserves $200 Nikes. If we don't have lifeboats for everyone, do we all drown in an attempt to be "fair".

What if it is to late you say, well I would still rather go down swinging. I have to look my grandchildren in the face, and explain why my generation stood by and did nothing to save theirs. I don't want to do that, do you?

Letters

Few of us are fortunate enough to have know a good "letter writer" in our life times. Most of us tend to be better communicators in either the spoken work or the written word, but seldom both. Let's be honest most of us are "talkers". Most really good written communicators tend to come up short on the verbal side, but it appears to me that written communications carry more weight. The era of writing a good letter or memo for that matter have just about passed. We tend to jot a few words in an email or pick up the phone and bam- we are done.

I don't know why I found myself musing about this today, but it was on my mind and I reflected back on people that I have known with a great skill for writing. I don't think I have it by the way, as a matter of fact I know I don't, it is a real gift that few are blessed with.

I have known 2 or 3 really good written communicators in my lifetime. Amazing really, I am nearly 58 years old and have only know 2 or 3. Several years ago there was a regional manager with a company that we worked for that had the "gift". His name was Tom. Tom was a moody guy, whose verbal skills were lacking and he tended to really irate people with his manor whenever he was in the room. In fact he was down right easy not to like. But when he wrote a letter, (we used to do that back then), it was powerful. Every word seemed to have weight and value. It was like he was building something of lasting value with each communication. They were never ambiguous or vague, and no matter what the subject matter, they left you feeling satisfied. You felt as if he had shared something intimate of great value, even if he was dressing you down about something you had failed to do.

There is a good chance that you have never crossed a "writer" in your lifetime, they are rare. If that is the case, then this may all sound a bit strange. There are many sources out there and they are worth finding just so that you can have the experience. When Ken Burns did his epic on the Civil War for public television, it was the letters form soldiers that he laced in, that kept us spellbound for hours. Most were short with amazing clarity and feeling. That kind of communication is hard for us and nearly lost.

I Googled "How to write a letter" and got 57,300,000 hits. Must be tough if there are that many results on how to do it. Next time you get the chance pick up a book of letters. It helps if they were written at least 50 years ago. (more people knew how back then) Read a few, and I think you will agree we have lost a lot when it comes to communicating with our fellow man.

Maybe we can do better.

Bubbles

I was in Cracker Barrel Saturday morning and they were having a porch sale. It is really hard for me to pass up a sale, especially a porch sale! I spotted some children's battery powered bubble blowers, and decided I could not pass them up. I was filling a small hand basket when the smooth talking sales lady saddled up to me and said "Hey buddy, I got 3 or 4 cases of those in the back if you want." She obviously spotted me as a man with vision or as an easy mark! I told her I would take 2 cases, and a man standing behind me piped up and said "I will take 2 cases as well". He wife immediately called him out on that and said "What are you going to do with 2 cases of bubble blowers?" He pulled himself up and in his best man tone said; " Oh yea, what do you think he is going to do with 2 cases of bubble blowers." Made perfect sense to me!

As we were waiting at the check out with our bubble machines, we caused quite a stir. His wife was still questioning the wisdom of his purchase, meanwhile folks were trying to get close enough to see what was so great that these 2 old dudes were buying them by the case. Needless to say Cracker Barrel sold out of bubble machines in record time - - -and all the customers were men like myself who saw the vision.

I raced home to award my neighbors on the river from my new found larder. They all acted excited, but the trail of bubbles I expected to see floating down the river never really materialized that lazy Saturday afternoon.

I guess some people just outgrow bubbles. I hope I never do! I choose to believe that the other guy had better luck. I bet somewhere there was a whole neighborhood awash in bubbles. I bet his wife was even telling people it was her idea - - and that would be OK. I think I will try again next week!

Chapter 2

I went for my official pre-op (that's doctor talk) consult this past Thursday. I still have not made up my mind as yet, but all signs still point that way. There are a few roadblocks in the way yet. One big one is my insurance does not cover the surgery. Turns out, Blue Cross offers 5 different plans in the State of Alabama. Apparently 4 of them cover the surgery. Guess which one we have! I guess we don't have one of those "Cadillac" plans Obama is always taking about. The insurance-rep was very nice, but just to make sure I understand, she said I will be getting a letter from a Blue Cross attorney. No joke a letter from their attorney - - -I guess they want to make sure there is no misunderstanding. I am pretty sure I get it already. The good news is that since Barb is one of those retired Chrysler employees, I may be covered under her Blue Cross plan. Maybe being the key word here. I think it is one of those "Dodge" or "Ford" plans but again no "Cadillac" plan here. We will see.

At any rate I am proceeding with all the formalities to get myself prepared. Barb went with me for moral support, and the first think she noticed in the smallish waiting room was that it was furnished with small settees. I was standing since the room was full and I could not fit on her "settee" with her. I explained, as quietly as I could, that these were bariatric chairs. It was then that she realized we weren't in Kansas any more Toto. She eventually had to leave for another appointment, and I was left to bond with my own kind.

We laughed, we cried, we told stories. Big people bond well! Turns out 2 of the small group had gotten this far before only to decide to do it on their own. It was amazing, between the 2 of them they had lost 150 pounds, at least before they gained 175 pounds back. Two of the folks had already had the surgery and were back for check-ups. They had lost a lot of weight, but were not there yet. (their words) I took a little informal pole as post surgery patients came and went. (They were easy to spot) They all said without exception that they were glad they did it and would do it over again in a heart beat. I will confess I did not see anyone with "six pack" abs, but they may use a different door.

After 2 hours I finally got in to see the doctor. I got my official BMI number on a print out suitable for framing. The doctor is very matter of fact, but I was impressed with his demeanor. He said I would be a difficult surgery since I have previously had a colon resection. He said he was up for it if I was. They gave me 10 pages of instructions on things I needed to get done before surgery. Number one on their list - - find out about that insurance! They said they would do all they could to help. Number two - - no more cigars, none, nada, zip. He said I would be tested for nicotine, and he would not do the surgery if I tested positive. I did not have my customary stogie this weekend, but I choose to consider this a negotiation tactic on his part for now.

I asked if he thought it would be easier if I waited for "Obama Care". I got the distinct impression that if "Obama Care" does go through he will become an auto mechanic. ( BMW and Mercedes only) He said he had practiced in India and England, and that Americans will be very unhappy under those systems.

His office emailed me an 80 page PDF file on life after surgery. Now that my friends is a fun read! Can you say pureed peas - - -yum! That is just until I can handle pureed potatoes. In no time I will be up to a thimble of food that I chew on my own - - -60 times.

Next week I wrestle with Blue Cross of Michigan and go to the Heart Center for a stress test. I hope skinny is worth all this!