I wonder, Area 51

I wonder about things sometimes. Not that I am much of a pessimist but on certain occasions my sense of natural order needs an element of doubt.

Why would I take financial advice from a person that went bankrupt and lost everything and probably took down a few other people at the same time and then used the money he took from others to ammass a new fortune?????????????

What type of secret "flexibility" in dealing with other countries does a president need that he can't use or reveal to us until he can't be re-elected????

When it comes to the occupy movement: I think we need the rich. As much as we enjoy the blaming game, in order for everything to work and progress we need people who are able to accumulate money and finance big stuff like buildings, highways, factories and farms. I wonder: do we need any part of the occupy movement??????????

Why, when the news media reports a story concerning a difficult life situation, do they always portray a woman, and most often a single mom? Are there not men, some of whom are single dads who deserve to have their story told???? I mean really, media profiling is so obvious.

I wonder about the government laws concerning what we can and cannot eat. Isn't it the "Communist Manifesto" we were all so appalled by that gets into specific dietary requirements????????

I wonder who came up with the idea for Jane Fonda to play Mrs. Reagen in the upcoming movie? I realize she is a good actress but is it intended as some sort of subliminal slap in the face to that very popular president??????

If all the new teaching methods are all that good, why are so many of our kids getting out of high school unable to speak, write or read proper english or graduating from college without the skills to get a career?????????

I have seen tattoos on people of all ages, from babies up to great grandparents and every age in between. In my ignorance I often wonder why anyone would want to have anything permenant like that???????

And of course ther is always area 51 isn't there?

I often wonder why I wonder about so many things??????????????

You can't be anything you want

I had to laugh at a comment I heard during a public service announcement yesterday: "In America you can be anything you want to be if you want it bad enough!" They were talking about the arts, music, being a politician and even sports. Anything is within your grasp! Yeah, right! The world, let alone this country is filled to overflowing with people that had high aspirations, worked their butt off and wound up disappointed and broke. I think the thought behind the comment is admirable. No doubt a lot of well meaning folks want to inspire our younger generation and prod them into action regarding their future. I admire that part. The truth of the matter is that we can't all be what we want to be, even through hard work and dedication. More accurately, in my humble opinion we all have the opportunity to be the best that we can be in whatever situation we find ourselves in. I once tried to be an insurance salesman. My intentions were admirable, I wanted everyone to provide for their families in the event of premature death. I worked night and day, studied constantly, talked to 5 or 10 prospects a day and wrote hundreds of policies. I went broke! I really, really wanted to be the best insurance salesman in the world. I simply didn't have the talent for it. A guy I worked with at the same agency worked the same hours I did, studied as much as I did, talked to as many prospects as I did, wrote a few less policies than I did and to this day he is one of the most successful and financially well off insurance salesmen in this part of the country. It takes more than desire, dedication and hard work. I firmly believe each of us has a certain set of unique qualities and in order to succeed we have to match those qualities with what we set out to do.

In the mentoring process I was involved in for over 25 years one of the hurdles so many young men had to overcome was false hope based on blindness to their own abilities and limitations. Being young and ambitious is a wonderful thing. Being full of ambition and using it to attain the impossible is quite another. One of my favorite, all time great athletes is Brandon Inge of the Detroit Tigers. When he was on the triple A team, West Michigan White Caps he played as a catcher and did rather well. Enough to get noticed and signed by the Tigers. Then they changed his position to third base. I don't know how Brandon felt about changing positions but soon he became Hall of Fame quality as one of the best third basemen I have ever seen. Not just rather well but extraordinary. He's still played catcher from time to time but he is Mr. Baseball at third base. In a way, his position at third base became what he wanted to be in the first place.

I would like to encourage everyone to excel in something. But that something may not be what they dreamt of. Some of us can live out their dream but all of us can live happily by accepting ourselves and being the best we can be at whatever it is we are doing at the time. I'd like you to think about this: Look at the people living in the public eye. Actors, musicians, politicians and sports figures. If you listen to them they are living a dream. Money, prestige, praise and admiration. They have it all, just like the public service announcement I mentioned earlier. If all that was so great, why are so many of them unhappy, take drugs, cheat on their spouses, spend all their money, go broke and constantly do other stupid stuff. Personally, I think I'd rather utilize my unique qualities to the best of my ability, be happy and maintain a sense of integrity.

Chevy Volt/Writing stories

I had a real treat yesterday, I drove a Chevy Volt. You know, the new electric car from the New General Motors. I hadn't yet seen one up close and personal yet but have been very interested and hoped to inspect one at a dealership sometime this spring. Geez! What a neat car. Nice styling similar to the Chevy Cruze, interior roomy enough to be comfortable, really cool instrumentation resembling the inside of a small airplane cockpit, quiet of course what with an electric motor and all, but the most pleasant surprise was the snappy acceleration. I've driven dozens of electric cars since back in the 1960's and my experience was they were all rather sluggish when it came to getting up to traffic speed. Not this time! In a matter of seconds I was cruising at 65MPH with power to spare. Actually faster than some of the so called economy cars I've driven and owned in the past. If a person goes electric they don't have to give up much in the way of performance with the Volt. Now that I have first hand experience I can see a future for the Volt or similar vehicles. I believe the price has to come down about 30% or 40% though and I'd really like to see the distance you can travel on a charge go way beyond the 40 mile limit it has now. Sure, it has a backup gasoline motor and well it should but the whole purpose is to use the electric motor right? Perhaps those two little ideas of mine are the reason they have stopped production for a month or so because buyers aren't rushing through the door to purchase a Volt. I'm not an engineer but to me, price and distance mean a lot. If you want a real driving experience stop by a dealership and take a Volt for a spin. You'll be glad you did. No, I am not selling cars now. Just reaching out to the future. I'm sure you saw the price of gas at the pump today: $4.19 a gallon and it's looking to go up. We have two viable options at the moment. Electric or natural gas. You might as well give them a try.

When it comes to my writing there never quite seems to be enough time to my stories published. If the truth be known it's not really the time. It's my basic fear that if a real editor gets their hands on my stories they will ruin the essence of them. Talk about arrogance huh? I am not a writer. I do spin some pretty good stories though. In the right hands those stories would become perhaps epic. Maybe not. But I'll never ever know if I don't start doing something soon. One of them dates back to 1969. I guess I don't like to rush things do I? Or, do I sense a bit of procrastination here?.............Spring is in the air. Let's see what happens this year.

"Hunger Games"

Listening to a couple friends this morning talk about their midnight viewing of the new movie "Hunger Games" was a real treat. They have followed the trilogy in book form and now hope to do the same in video form. "Excited" is so far under their radar in describing their exuberance it's not funny. Maybe ecstatic and downright giddy would be closer. They don't care though how you describe them. A trip into fantasy is what they were after and a trip into fantasy is what they got. A theater owner, back in the day told me the reason so many people liked horror movies is because they wanted to be literally scared out of their wits with something that couldn't happen in real life so they were better prepared when something real and frightening did happen. In listening to the hunger games fans I wondered what they were searching for. Also while listening to them I was sort of envious of their total interest, knowledge and enjoyment of the whole thing.

Funny thing, this business of entertainment. Does it actually create a culture or does it simply cater to an existing culture. Of late it's been "Star Wars" "Transformers" "Harry Potter", all those vampires and werewolves and even angels and centaurs coming together to give us fright, wizardry and the battle between good and evil. Oh, what fun it is too. From my youth visions of Davey Crocket fighting river pirates and grizzly bears was a huge thrill and "Monster from the Black Lagoon" in 3D "The War of the Worlds" and "The Thing" were enough to scare the begeebies out of an entire generation. In going over old archives I have to say that "The Murder's of the Moulon Rouge" and "Count Dracula" in Black and white were two of the scariest ever.

I've never found enough interest to buy advance tickets or wait in line at midnight just to be the first to see a movie. But that's just me. The people I listened to this morning couldn't have been more thrilled if they'd of won the lottery. It was fun just being around them. I wish you a fun day also...................Joe

Being happy is good for you.

It's good to be back! This year's treasure hunt required a lot of attention due to the increased frequency of the clues and all the new participants. What a blast! I am currently working on a riddle game for a local retirement community. This is very enjoyable as working with limited criteria is always a challenge. Everyone has their own idea of fun don't they?

The world has gone on very well without my complete attention. What a delight! Not being responsible for the entire population is a relief. The presidential candidates are hard at it, or rather each other. The president himself is enjoying a resurgence of employment for whatever reason. I seriously doubt however that it has anything to do with what the government is doing. After all, the American people are very resilient and even if we do complain loudly we usually get on with what needs to be done and get back to work. I am proud of us. Many people of other countries grouse about us but where is the first place they want to migrate to? Then when they get here, they want to change the place into the image of where they came from. Huh! I guess maybe we do that to by judging other countries by our standards, not theirs. Same O', Same '. As I said, I'm happy to say I'm not responsible for what goes on in the world.

Went to a casino the other week. Came back with $5.00 more than I left with and spent 4 hours there. Cheap entertainment. However, sat next to a woman that spent $800 and she was only there for an hour and a half. They don't build those fancy buildings on the winners do they? The warm weather advanced my annual walk to pick pussy-willows up two weeks. I went, picked a few and came home. The bounty was almost finished by the time I was there, even as early as I went. Only a few sprigs and they are close to spent already. I can't remember that happening before. It's always been the best blooms on the 15th of March. This year it must have been closer to the 15th of February. The times they are a changin'.

In my almost weekly meetings with the guys the conversation is leaning towards explaining who is responsible for a lot of our cultural and societal changes lately. We haven't settled on a complete answer yet. I'll get back to that another day. Meanwhile, think about it. I prefer to concentrate on how to live a happy life that spills over onto those around me. Far more enjoyable if you care to ask me. Laughing is a lot more fun than complaining don't you think?

I wish you a happy day. By the way: I've gotten it from a very reliable source that laughing is good for what ails you and strengthens the heart to boot. So there!

Treasure hunt wrap up

Saturday was a terrific day to award the prize for the annual silver treasure hunt to Steve and Julie. We met at the telephone pole they found the medallion on for a picture fest. The sun was shining down on us but the wind was blowing at about 15 miles an hour and the temperature was struggling to get above 20*. We were not dismayed though and the picture taking was accomplished without delay and we proceeded to Russell&Ballards Jewelry showroom for the prize itself: A box of money and other accessories to accompany the engraved winner's mug everyone wants to have sitting on their mantle. Steve and Julie brought their entire family along and I have to say that I have not met a more enjoyable group of people. Smart, supportive, fun and friendly pretty much sums them up. I can certainly see why they were able to persevere and win the game. It was my great pleasure to join them in their celebration. Good job guys!

According to all the mail and comments I've received: The new, faster pace of the clue announcements seem to be a hit as well as beginning the hunt after the holiday season. A large, younger crowd joined in using some of the new technology they are so familiar with and sped up the transmission of ideas back and forth almost instantaneously. As it was, at least this time, the tried and true method of trial and error on foot proved to be effective. It is fascinating to observe the use of things not even in existence only a few short years ago. To me it is fascinating, to those that grew up with that stuff it is simply commonplace and will probably be outdated in less than a decade.

I had fun, a lot of other people had fun and the 31st silver treasure hunt is in the history books. I look forward to seeing and hearing from you all next year. I have to learn more about the passing on of information because the newspapers and other audio or video media are changing by the day and aren't a reliable source for the riddle and clues any more. Matt VandeBunte from the press did an excellent job this year and the Advance newspaper did too until their printing schedule changed. Like I said, I have to learn more as time goes on. We used to be able to count the participants by the amount of riddle requests we received in the mail because it was not published in the papers but it got so popular I couldn't keep up with it and the papers and TV announced them. Our highest count has been over 40,000 hunters. With the news exposure even more are aware of it. I take satisfaction from that fact because each person that becomes acquainted with the treasure hunt has an opportunity to learn more about the danger of Carbon Monoxide poisoning. A subject many people don't want to talk about. Kind of like a ghost: You can't see it, you can't smell it, you can't taste it so it's scary to discuss. The game makes it more fun than scary. We all win!

Later...............................Joe

Invitation to you to see the prize awarded

This year's winners, Steve Kreiner and his sister Julie Jacomel will be claiming their hard won prize on Saturday February 18th at 10:30 am at Russell& Ballards Jewelry showroom: 5715-Byron Center Ave. S.W. Wyoming Michigan just across the street from Metro Hospital. Anyone wishing to see and participate is welcome. Steve and Julie deserve a little congratulations don't you think? They will exchange the metal medallion at that time and be off with their reward to do what they please.

The coveted, priceless, engraved silver winner's Mug
A box overflowing with money
Two votive table candle lights
Three sparkling bracelets
Other stuff

They persevered where others did not and tracked down the medallion through good weather and bad. Veterans of the annual hunt for over 23 years they knew it was not an easy task and still they left the warmth and comfort of home to carry on their efforts. Hundreds and thousands of others competed against each other and I applaud them all. Each and every one has had the opportunity to learn more about the danger of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning and had some fun and mental as well as physical challenges while being a part of this decades old community event.

Thank you to every one that makes this a worth while story...............Joe