No where is the rule of life more apparent than in the bathroom!
Yeah, I know. It may sound a little goofy but that's the way I see it. There is a popular book out entitled: "Who Moved My Cheese". In the bathroom it is more acurately: "Who used the last of the tissue and didn't replace the roll?" Many people I have listened to spend a lot of time and effort in trying to blame bad stuff on somebody else. Who emptied the peanut butter jar and didn't tell anyone? Who drank the last drop of milk and put the empty carton back in the refrigerator? Who at the bank made a mistake and caused the overdraft in my account? It always seems to be someone elses fault. Or, rather maybe we always want it to be someone elses fault. Does that make it easier to accept? Is it that we believe if it was us we are less of a perfect person? Seldom is it more of a problem than in the bathroom. We simply don't want to be the blame for something so inconsiderate do we? Well, I'm sorry to break our bubble but as often as not, it's us!
The rule of life, as I see it, is: We are responsible for our own actions.
If we find someone else to blame we don't have to look at our own short comings. Many people are uncomfortable with any type of change in their lives. Many people are caught up so much in carrying on and making a living and do things on an as needed basis. Being busy and distracted with the next thing we have to do to get by allows for times when we forget to do something as mundane as replacing an empty roll of toilet tissue. Not on purpose of course, simply too distracted to realize it's empty in the first place. Drinking the loast drop of milk or using the last spoonful of peanut butter can be completely overlooked. I know, I've done those things. But, when I discover what I've done and have forgotten I was the last one to use those things, often the very first thing that goes through my mind is, "Who did this?" "Not me!"
Is that human nature or is that a human failing? It's actually the rule of life. Survival is based on self protection. Self protection is based on our knowledge of protecting ourselves from anything out of the norm. Being prepared is a rule I learned in scouting. Well, probably first from my folks and then reinforced by scouting. I learned it early. When I buy pencils or ink pens, I always buy two so if one doesn't work I've got a back up. For more reasons than I can explain I have issues with running out of things and not having a back up.
I was prepared when the peanut butter was empty. There was more in the cupboard. When the tissue was empty, there was more within reach, but the milk on the other hand, was without back up. I had to drink black coffee. Just wait til I find out who was responsible and they better not have moved my cheese if they know what's good for them. I mean like, it's breaking the rule of life isn't it?
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
The invisible bicycle rider
Riding a bicycle instead of driving a car makes a lot of sense in many situations. Saving gas, no pollution, exercises the body, refreshing to the mind, downright inspirational and eases stress. I enjoy bicycling regularly. Many of my friends ride also. It's a thing with us. I applaud anyone that makes bike riding a part of their life for whatever reason. Except, the invisible guy on the invisible bike.
Doesn't make sense does it? Invisibility is impossible right? Nope, actually invisibility is possible. On a bicycle in the dark hours of the early morning on an unlit road anyway. Most often I drive to work. Biking is impractical sometimes due to weather, health or time restraints. My route to work varies depending on my before work errands. One such route brings me down a rather dark, busy, industrial access street with several commercial businesses scattered along it's curbed pavement. It's wide enough for two vehicles and has several view hampered curves with driveways for each business. Really not much in the way of streetlights. For a long time, perhaps a year or so, a lone figure of a man has either walked or biked down that street in the dark. On the way to work from the bus no doubt. He always wears dark clothes. When he is walking he walks against traffic and a vehicle comes upon him quickly and without warning, often swerving to avoid him. I've seen it many times. When the weather allows, he rides a bike. Now picture this: Dark, no street lights, dark clothes, dark painted bicycle, absolutely no lighting on the bike, not so much as a reflector front or back. After swerving myself to avoid a car swerving to miss him, I stopped one day to explain to him what a danger he was to himself and the vehicles traveling on that road. Evidently he does not understand English. Total conversational confusion. Too bad. English or not, I really wanted to tell him he was an idiot, totally lacking in common sense. After swerving again today, my next step is to call the police to see if there is some way to prevent the inevitable tragedy that will surely come.
If you ride a bike, and I hope you do, use some sense and don't be invisible OK?
Doesn't make sense does it? Invisibility is impossible right? Nope, actually invisibility is possible. On a bicycle in the dark hours of the early morning on an unlit road anyway. Most often I drive to work. Biking is impractical sometimes due to weather, health or time restraints. My route to work varies depending on my before work errands. One such route brings me down a rather dark, busy, industrial access street with several commercial businesses scattered along it's curbed pavement. It's wide enough for two vehicles and has several view hampered curves with driveways for each business. Really not much in the way of streetlights. For a long time, perhaps a year or so, a lone figure of a man has either walked or biked down that street in the dark. On the way to work from the bus no doubt. He always wears dark clothes. When he is walking he walks against traffic and a vehicle comes upon him quickly and without warning, often swerving to avoid him. I've seen it many times. When the weather allows, he rides a bike. Now picture this: Dark, no street lights, dark clothes, dark painted bicycle, absolutely no lighting on the bike, not so much as a reflector front or back. After swerving myself to avoid a car swerving to miss him, I stopped one day to explain to him what a danger he was to himself and the vehicles traveling on that road. Evidently he does not understand English. Total conversational confusion. Too bad. English or not, I really wanted to tell him he was an idiot, totally lacking in common sense. After swerving again today, my next step is to call the police to see if there is some way to prevent the inevitable tragedy that will surely come.
If you ride a bike, and I hope you do, use some sense and don't be invisible OK?
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Ozzie and Castro
Every day, hundreds, perhaps thousands of people right here in the United States declare their love for Good Old Fidel Castro. No matter how or why a dictator or general or other totalitarian ruler maintains control, there are people who extol their virtues. It's not against the law, at least not yet to say stuff like that in this country. Ozzie the baseball guy is being suspended, without pay for some things he said in an interview about U.S. citizens and Castro. He's being hung out to dry by the national media too. Does that reason seem right to you? I'm a little uncomfortable with it myself. I think his comments were indicative of his controversial nature anyway. It's not like he hasn';t raised eyebrows in the past with stupid, ill timed and off color statements. Actually he is pretty much a loose canon when it comes to what comes out of his mouth. For those in the know what he said was no real surprise. Never-the-less free speech is, according to our constitution a lawful right. Love it or hate it, he had the right to say what he said. Now he's being punished for it.
Now lets turn to the church members that go to funerals and disrupt the grieving of the family and friends of the deceased with terrible derogatory signs and singing and general disruption. The damage and pain they cause is indescribable. It's legal. They go unpunished.
Occasionally someone is put in jail because they say something derogatory against someone else because it is considered unlawful to say what it is that they said.
I'm just sayin'. Stupid is one thing, chastise the guy for saying something stupid.
We have to be very careful here. The Constitution says we are guaranteed free speech. However, in the few short years I've been around I have seen that there are truly those that wish to impose their power over us in restricting what we say. I have yet to see the part in the constitution that describes just who the speech police are and what their powers are. I'm just sayin'. But Ozzie is still a loose canon.
Now lets turn to the church members that go to funerals and disrupt the grieving of the family and friends of the deceased with terrible derogatory signs and singing and general disruption. The damage and pain they cause is indescribable. It's legal. They go unpunished.
Occasionally someone is put in jail because they say something derogatory against someone else because it is considered unlawful to say what it is that they said.
I'm just sayin'. Stupid is one thing, chastise the guy for saying something stupid.
We have to be very careful here. The Constitution says we are guaranteed free speech. However, in the few short years I've been around I have seen that there are truly those that wish to impose their power over us in restricting what we say. I have yet to see the part in the constitution that describes just who the speech police are and what their powers are. I'm just sayin'. But Ozzie is still a loose canon.
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