Experts

My self-esteem has always been a little high, so has my ego. But here lately both seem to have taken a beating. So, I am really glad yesterday happened.

I, and several other people, showed up for a meeting. For twenty minutes we sat there drinking coffee making idle chit-chat only to be informed that the so-called ‘communication’ expert failed to tell us the meeting had been canceled. This made me smile.

The meeting was not a total waste however. One of the people was an attorney. He had just been served papers informing him he was being sued. He couldn’t understand why anyone would want to sue him. This made me chuckle.

Then that evening I met with two accountants both from the same firm. They had each received the forms I sent them, yet they had different answers. Answers that were far different from mine. As it turns out when we “did the math” my answer was two dollars off, I thought a 7 was a 9. One was off by several hundred dollars, the other never told us stating it really didn’t matter. Both blamed it on computer error. This made we laugh.

We go through life with all these self-proclaimed experts, putting a great deal of faith in them because they “know what they are doing”. The lesson here is simple - trust yourself first, ‘experts’ should be somewhere down the list. Way down the list.

Where's Mom

Every family is different. I don’t believe there is a “right” or “wrong” way to run a household. It’s whatever works for you and your family.

In our house, as long as I can remember, whenever there was a problem, a life changing dilemma, or even a perceived situation our kids would take it to their Mother rather than to me. While she does handle change and problems in a good way, I have always wondered why the kids went to her. She doesn’t have the dramatic flare I bring to the table. She can rant and rave - but rarely does. Then, while she is a very smart lady, she has never mastered the effective use of adjectives.

It happened again last night. The front door flew up and our son came in. The first words out of his mouth were, “Where’s Mom?”

“What’s up Nate?” I countered.

“Not much. Where’s Mom?” He was on a mission.

After he went upstairs and had a few minutes to chat with his mother, I decided it was time to see what was going on. I entered the room and asked in a casual voice (okay, it wasn’t so casual) what was going on. Nate looked at me, and then looked at his mom, then back again at me before he took it to the next level with the statement – “Mom, should I tell him?” Fortunately, everything was fine.

Unfortunately, it now seems like I have to ‘get permission’ to know what is going on. Oh well, I guess it works for us.

An Update on Vic

Vic, my eighty-six year old father in law, is still in rehabilitation. He has been there for over a month. Plans to move him to assisted living have been made then cancelled. A couple of days ago, I asked my wife how he was really doing. The truth is he is not doing well. His body is shutting down. She ended the conversation with a statement, “He doesn’t feel he is strong enough to leave rehabilitation yet”.

Vic is making the best of it. He is not strong enough to leave. I think he made the right decision. Then another thought occurred to me. He has a nurse a third his age that really likes and pampers him, he gets two meals a day delivered that makes everyone in the dining room envious, and I think he is kind of sweet on a little lady who is also there. What's the rush in leaving?

The Question of the Night

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, I have this uncanny ability to make myself laugh at the stupidest things. One day, alone in the car, I had to pull off the interstate I was laughing so hard.

Yesterday I was traveling, so last night in the hotel room I was tossing and turning trying everything to get to some sleep. I never sleep well in hotels, at least for the first couple of nights. I had the television on. This usually puts me to sleep in minutes – but not in a hotel. I also tried reading in bed. While this rarely works, I was hoping it would. No such luck.

Then a question that would consume my thoughts, the question that would make me chuckle throughout the night, popped into my head. Why at five foot six do I always request a king size bed?

If you can’t sleep, you might as well laugh.

State Budget

Our state budget is in a great deal of trouble right now. It seems that because of spending caps and amendments that must be funded, a lot of hard decisions have to be made. This is going to impact a lot of programs and services. As a cost saving measure, I propose we quit making and posting highway signs. At least here, speed limit signs are very outdated. Very few people drive the speed limit, most drive so fast those signs are just a blur.

Then there is the other side of the spectrum, the people that are in the left hand lane driving 45 miles per hour on a 75 mile per hour interstate. We can do away with the, ‘Slow Traffic Keep Right’ signs as well. Those people are slow, in more ways than one.

‘Yield’ signs can definitely go. People come flying down the entrance ramp, give you the one finger salute because you cannot get over, stick their foot in the accelerator, zoom past you and give you another “wave”.

The, ‘Right Lane Ends In 2,000 Feet’ signs have outlived their usefulness as well. Most drivers never took the time to learn, or have forgotten, their right from their left. The only value of these signs is to let you know there is going to be a traffic jam ahead as everyone tries to merge.

We should quit making and posting highway signs and use the money saved to support services we truly need, like ambulances and Flight for Life helicopters.

Thanks Marty

I just read Marty Morrow’s blog (see link) and was shocked and sadden, until I read it again. I had the privilege of meeting Marty and his family. His Uncle Cliff tried to explain to me what his business, Quovix, was - but I think we ended up talking about Dutch Oven cooking.

I am still sad about Quovix. But, Marty has taught us or at least reinforced some lessons. Marty demonstrates the American Spirit. He had a dream and he pursued it. Marty’s statements, “I have no regrets” and “I’d do it again”, says it all. I have a feeling he has more and even bigger dreams than Quovix. He is also a high - class guy, it’s in his statements, “amazing privilege”, “obligations will be paid”, and meeting “fantastic people”. That and the fact he is spending time helping others. Then through all his posts, he has shown what is truly important God, family, and friends.

Thanks Marty and best wishes. I have a feeling your future will be bright.

Question of the Day

It was an exceptional day in February. With blue sky and warm weather, it was the perfect day to wash the car. By doing so, I was also hoping to remove not only the dirt but also the memories of last week’s snowstorm. Heading home, I stopped at the store and found a space in the crowded parking lot. That’s when the question came up. How did the three geese flying overhead know that my car had just been washed?

Fortunately, I was on the sidewalk – clear of the drop zone.

Carriers

Last night on television, was a movie about a virus that was rapidly spreading. It was spreading because several people, termed carriers, were unknowingly transmitting it. Unless stopped, it would eliminate the entire world population. Fortunately, they found a way to stop the virus. If they didn’t no one would be around to watch the movie.

We are having a cold/flu epidemic right now. About eighty-five percent of the people I know have it or have had it, including me. When I was sick, it was just like the movie – this is the end. Fortunately, like in the movie, I survived.

This cold and flu is spreading fast. We have been told to wash our hands frequently and to limit contact with people who might potentially be sick.

Here’s a little tip, watch where and what you eat. I walked into a local store that has a soup stand. It has been there for years, I have bought soup there. It is a self-service stand where you can buy a small, medium, or large container of soup. They usually have three and sometime four different types. All their soups are high in salt and high in fat – just the way I like them. On this particular evening, there were three children all standing around the pots, Mom or Dad were nowhere in sight. The kids were coughing and wiping their noses with their hands. That’s bad enough but it gets worse. They were “tasting” the different soups directly from the pots with the same spoon. They would taste one soup then with the same spoon stick it into another pot of soup and taste it. They had to be spreading a lot of germs but more importantly, it was gross just watching it. For our purpose here, let's just refer to them as them carriers.

Fortunately, the store manager saw the same thing. He said he would dump those pots of soups and replace them. That explains one way we are spreading the crud that is going around and, if he did dump the soup, why we have to pay $2.79 for a small bowl.

Self-Conscious

With the exception of writing, I have never been self-conscious about anything. At just a smidge over five foot six inches tall I know I am not the tallest guy in the world. But, I’m all right with it; I mean my feet touch the ground – that’s all I need. With each passing day, I am losing more hair. It doesn’t bother me but if it bothers you just say so – I’ll turn my head so the glare doesn’t hit you directly in the eye. Then there is the weight thing. As people age they tend to “put on a few pounds”. I am no exception. Please don’t call it a beer belly, let’s refer to as a liquid grain storage bin. But, the tennis shoes I bought a couple of days ago are making me revisit this whole self-conscious thing.

These tennis shoes are white. I am not talking about just white, they are amazingly white, and they might even glow in the dark. Walking down the halls at my office, at the airport terminal, has caused me a little stress. When people are looking down, as they often do, I am sure they are staring at these tennis shoes. Now, I am thinking I need to leave the office before it gets dark. I mean, if the lights go out they might want me to stand by the runway so approaching planes can stay on course.

I think I’ll leave early and go shoe shopping.

Pet Peeve

One week this month, I drove 1,900 miles. That is a lot for me. This gave me a lot of time to think. I don’t like to criticize people. Nor, do I like to tell them how to live their life. However, I wish people would spend more money when they buy a vehicle. It seems like these days people are buying cars with just the standard equipment. I wish they would consider getting some of the accessories – like turn signals.