It Makes a Person Wonder 

   Our democracy is based on each person having one vote to use in determining who they will send off to govern us. In actuality that means that we have given that individual either 2, 4, or 6 years to lay the ground work for getting re-elected. And in today’s environment that means laying the groundwork for destroying the reputation of anyone who might run against them in an upcoming election. 
   The whole country might be crumbling down around our ears, but our elected officials seem to be only able to concentrate on making sure they are part of the winning majority come next election. They think nothing of creating hate between the haves and the have nots, or between immigrants who have been here several generations, and those immigrants who have only been here a short time, and those who would like to become immigrants. Why would anyone want to live in the United States is the big question? It just goes to show you how messed up other parts of the world are. But as a famous person once said, “Just because the other guy is an asshole, doesn’t mean you have to be one also.” 
   But back to the one vote issue. Having worked as a precinct-judge on election days for several years in Kentucky, I know that a lot of care goes into feeding the precinct-voting-workers the right information so they can hopefully keep it one person, one vote.  
   We moved out of Kentucky about seven years ago. For the past several weeks we have been getting politically motivated phone calls, you know, vote for me, to the tune of about a dozen a day. And these are all from Kentucky politicians. And we have been getting literature also. An example is one we got today, November 6th, from the Americans for Prosperity, urging us to vote on November 5th. This was addressed to us in Oregon. 
   Now this piece of literature does not represent a great deal of money, and the phone calls are automated; [I guess the politicians are trying to reach the same high standards as the telemarketers.] But the expense of all this does represent the donation from some little old person who worked hard for the money to send me that pamphlet. Or, again, the money might have come from some large distillery. 
   My question is this: if my name is on the rolls in Kentucky and in Oregon, would Kentucky let me vote if I showed up there yesterday?

WHAT ARE THEY TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH? 

     Two days ago, I spent six hours with a ten-year-old patient. This is a smart kid who was not feeling any physical pain. He was however having a problem with boredom. To help pass the time we played some video games, then he watched several hours of TV. I was able to catch enough of the programing for kids his age to get a taste of what they have available to them in the name of entertainment. Man, oh man, I’d hate to be hiring people who had had a diet of this junk while they were growing up. 
     Some of it was cartoons and some of it was live actors. Most of the plots revolved around conflicts of some kind or another. In nearly every case the kids worked out the situations despite the bumbling efforts of the adults. Mostly the male adults. 
     Some of the programs featured black families or black communities with a few clownish people of other ethnic origins thrown in. I was surprised at the black on black racist content. The dialogue was mostly mind-sapping clichés – it certainly didn’t show black people, or anyone else, as being anywhere near smart, articulate, or respectful of anyone who was any of those things. 
     Whatever happened to good old Wile E Coyote, who would encounter at least thirty life-ending encounters per thirty-minute show and be alive tomorrow at 3:00.

TELEMARKETERS ARE GETTING DESPERATE 

     Between my cellphone and my landline phone I get at least several telemarketing calls each day. I’ve signed up for whatever don’t-call-this-number sites and services that are available and I call-block all numbers from callers that get past that. The problem is that I will get a call from the same telemarketing entity several times per week and each call will come from a different number. 
    It is somewhat interesting. To start with I am listening to a recorded voice, or a real person following a specific script. If it is a real person anything that forces them away from their script discombobulates them to the point of not being able to answer a simple question. 
    Occasionally, if my life is lacking in entertainment at that moment, I will lead one of these callers on until I get to a real person, where I will ask some questions as would any sane buyer. This is not appreciated, and here again, the caller will only be able to respond to whatever fits into their script. 
     But yesterday telemarketing reached a new low. I got a call and the whole pitch was in Chinese, or some other oriental language. No English at all. I would like to talk to the originator of this marketing strategy. Whoever it is, they don’t mind playing the long odds. 
     I’m now wondering how soon before I start getting calls in Swahili or somesuch.

Decorum, Where Did It Go 

     While recently attending a high school graduation ceremony I was again reminded of the lack of decorum on the part of a small minority. I’m not talking about some jumped-up version of decorum, but just plain thoughtfulness and curtesy.  

     It seems that for this small minority, taking photos of their loved ones walking down the aisle, or getting handed a diploma seems to be the end game at these affairs, at least for a certain portion of the attendees. [It could be that Johnny or Susie’s making it through the 12th grade has them in such a state of surprise and euphoria as to override their good sense.] 

     They push, shove, stand on the feet of, or right in front of someone who would also like to see the ceremony, to get their pictures. They don’t seem to give any thought to the feelings of anyone but themselves. 

     I know things have changed over the years, but I was taught that in an assembly of this kind, if someone is performing, or praying, you stay in your seat, or stand in place, or wait at the door until that part of the program is over in deference and respect to the person performing, or praying. And so that the audience could concentrate on the performance or prayer, and not be distracted by you parading yourself up and down the aisles, or climbing over your neighbors to get in or out. But not to this small minority. They come and go at will, regardless what is being done, and showing a blatant disrespect to the performer or the one praying. 

     The epitome of this lack of consideration for anyone else around them was one man who wanted to take pictures of certain graduates as they came down the aisle. I later learned that he was not hired by the school or anyone else to do this, but he was there laden down with camera bags, extra lenses, and what not, planted right in the middle of the aisle so that graduates had to step around him to get where they were going. 

     Now what goes through the mind of this person: does he feel that his needs supersede a well-run ceremony, or is he oblivious to the inconvenience he is causing the graduates. I’m sure the mental health professionals have a name for this condition.

    Part way through this occasion I decided; I can take away from this experience the memory of disgust I felt at this small minority or I can take away a memory of the pride I felt in my grandson for what he has accomplished in the first eighteen years of his life, only part of which had to do with getting a diploma. I chose the grandson, despite what the above rant may lead you to believe.

Once Again, We’ve Been Saved 

     Once again we can all sleep better knowing that officialdom is standing guard, protecting us all from ourselves. In a remote Alaskan general store there is, or was, in residence a cat named Stormy. 
     Stormy would lounge around the store, entertaining customers. People would stop by the store just to say hello to the popular feline. Keep in mind that this store is out in the boondocks of Alaska, servicing a hardy bunch of Alaskans who don’t freak out at the sight of a cat under the same roof as their source of groceries. 
     The store owners felt that the presence of Stormy even added to the sanitary conditions of the establishment, by diminishing the rodent population. (Now, if the health people needed something to do, the rodents might have been a better target for their concentration.) 
     Someone filed a complaint with the Alaska Food Safety and Sanitation Program about Stormy and the powers that be have now banned the cat from the store. I hope y’all feel as relieved as I do that this menace has been faced and conquered.

One Way to Do It 

     A man in Mississippi had his drug paraphernalia stolen. He wanted to file a complaint, but for some reason didn’t think the police would take him seriously. So, to get their attention he crashed his truck into the courthouse. 
    That did get the attention of the police, enough so that they’ve arrested him and charged him with malicious mischief and, oh, here we go, driving while intoxicated. That explains a lot. 
    But even so, you’d think that self-preservation would keep a person from doing something this drastic. 
    The reporter did not deem it necessary to let us know if this man ever found his paraphernalia or if the police were a help with that.

Thank God for First Responders

    Recently I’ve been in a position to observe members of the local city police force from two different cities, fire and rescue personnel from these same areas, plus several smaller outlying communities, and members of the local sheriff’s department deliver people to a medical institution for care and observation. These are usually people who have harmed themselves and/or threatened to harm themselves or others. 
    Some of these people are docile, but others are anywhere from mildly upset to violently opposed to being placed somewhere not of their choosing. These people are acting out their unhappiness with both verbal and physical abuse toward those people listed above plus the medical staff people who are receiving them. 
     The one thing that continually amazes me is the compassion and tenderness shown toward the people being admitted for medical care and observation. The ones being admitted are sometimes doing their utmost to be uncooperative and abusive, but they are handled in the same calm and compassionate way as those who are willing or even happy to be admitted. 
     My hat goes off to these public servants.