The People I Know…I Think.

by | Aug 29, 2011 | 0 comments

An old Washington hand told me, “it’s all about relationships.  You have to know a lot of people.”  He went on to say, “you’ll meet a lot of people who will want to impress you with who they know.”   When they say, “of course I know Senator Foghorn”, you should say, “yes, but does he know you.”  I’ve used this technique and it often results in much squirming and dissembling. In business we hear people talk about their bulging rolodex…which implies they can call any of the people in their file.  As in Washington, another standard is necessary.  I call it the “but will he return your call” standard.  I guess today, it’s also “will he return your email...

Take This Job and…!

by | Jul 27, 2011 | 0 comments

Any time a group of older guys are hanging around with time on their hands, the conversation, sooner or later, will turn to work.  Work we used to do…in the good, old days.  It’s in this game that he who goes first has no chance.  The stories get grander as the conversational baton is passed.  And no one ever wants to go after me.  Let me tell you why. In no particular order or weight are listed the jobs I’ve had:  Lawn mower/flower bed weeder, carpenters assistant, computer programmer, grocery store bag boy, gas station attendant, door to door spudnut salesman, produce warehouseman, soda fountain clerk, sheep ranch hand (dauber and notcher), corporate...

Another Stinky Subject

by | Apr 15, 2011 | 0 comments

On January 16, 2008 I posted Part 1 of What’s That Smell not knowing there would be a Part  2.  Part 1 was about our encounters with members of the Pepe LaPew family who were keeping house under our manse at the farm.  Subsequently I’ve written about June Bugs, stinkbait eating dogs, goat head stickers, and dragonflies copulating in mid-air.  As you can see, I have a very low standard when it comes to selecting topics for my attention, but I am always alert to the eccentricities of the natural world.  I do this, of course, on your behalf. Recently my attention was drawn to a member of the Pentatomidae family (for those of you not in the know,that’s in the...

Apostasy, Blasphemy, Heresy

by | Feb 9, 2011 | 0 comments

This subject entered my consciousness by stages.  I’d become vaguely aware of the application of laws regarding apostasy, blasphemy and heresy in many of the Islamic states over the past several years.  Visions of women being stoned, men being put to death or imprisoned for various offenses come to mind.  Then the fatwa issued by Ayatollah Khomeini calling for the death of Salman Rushdie for having the temerity to publish Satanic Verses, which is presumed to have blasphemed Allah, in some fashion, further framed the issue in my mind.  I thought it strange, even a little “other worldly”, but paid it little heed because I thought Salman would advisably lay low,...

The Father I Didn’t Know

by | Jan 15, 2011 | 0 comments

My father died on the day my first grandchild was born.  His death and her birth are all of a piece. He had always been in my life, but I didn’t know him well, at least not as a son should know a father.  Throughout most of my adult life I more or less ignored him.  Of course, I did the obligatory things that one does, but with little interest or feeling.  His gentle nature and lack of apparent drive or ambition had caused me to conclude that he was, at his core, a weak person.  I, on the other hand, had already achieved things that he could never understand (or so I thought).  We had no basis to relate, except that biology and my mother had conspired to...

The Truth That Everyone Knows

by | Sep 12, 2010 | 0 comments

One of the enduring questions of our time is “what caused our current financial crisis/meltdown/catastrophe/snafu/disaster”.  No one seems to know for sure, but everyone has a lot to say on the subject. It probably won’t surprise you, but I know the answer, and I’m going to tell you, but not right away.  First, you’re gonna have to suffer through a little erudite discourse before I get to the bottom line. Let me start by asking rhetorically if there really is a problem?  You may think it odd that I spend any energy on this question, but given the fact that we live in a society wherein some still think that Neil Armstrong didn’t really walk on the moon, that...