I was priviledged to watch him play. Along with the whole football world, I was saddened to see such talent brought so low, and ultimately die too young.
George, thanks for all you gave me and so many millions.
For those who din't know him; he was our Babe Ruth!
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Friday, November 18, 2005
Chocolate Malt
One of the wonderful things about travelling, is the discovery of things completely outwith your experience and expectations. This is all the more true when the things you are discovering are commonplace in the area you travelled to. The sense of wonder you experience is often quite unknowingly, added to by the wry amusement of those around you, who never looked at *it* that way.
A case in point was my recent post about High School Football. One of Jodie's friends reacted to that post by commenting on how strange it felt to see something that was simply an accepted part of her life being viewed by someone from outside.
Foremost among the new experiences has to be local food.
I could, and one day probably will, go on at length about the food I have tried in the USA. But I just want here to mention one thing ...... Chocolate Malt.
You could see this ...... thing ..... as a milkshake. Oh no! Revisit that. A well made chocolate malt is an *experience*, not simply a drink.
Many of the fast food outlets here have this on the menu. Many have it, very few appear to know how to make it well. One outlet that does is Braums. Braums also knows how to make decent burgers and fries, what they lack is any sense of urgency!
So, having explored the genre, here is my idea of a Chocolate Malt:
4 Scoops good vanilla ice-cream
3 Tbsp Malt Powder
4 Tbsp Chocolate Sauce (I use Hersheys)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Milk
Mix the whole lot in a blender. Whizz until smooth and a decent amount of froth is on top. Serve in a well-chilled glass.
Of prime importance here is that you consume this drink well away from any children in the house. In this house that especially means *any under the age of three*. If you don't, you will have to waste a good deal by giving them some of it. Nothing short of scandalous!
A case in point was my recent post about High School Football. One of Jodie's friends reacted to that post by commenting on how strange it felt to see something that was simply an accepted part of her life being viewed by someone from outside.
Foremost among the new experiences has to be local food.
I could, and one day probably will, go on at length about the food I have tried in the USA. But I just want here to mention one thing ...... Chocolate Malt.
You could see this ...... thing ..... as a milkshake. Oh no! Revisit that. A well made chocolate malt is an *experience*, not simply a drink.
Many of the fast food outlets here have this on the menu. Many have it, very few appear to know how to make it well. One outlet that does is Braums. Braums also knows how to make decent burgers and fries, what they lack is any sense of urgency!
So, having explored the genre, here is my idea of a Chocolate Malt:
4 Scoops good vanilla ice-cream
3 Tbsp Malt Powder
4 Tbsp Chocolate Sauce (I use Hersheys)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Milk
Mix the whole lot in a blender. Whizz until smooth and a decent amount of froth is on top. Serve in a well-chilled glass.
Of prime importance here is that you consume this drink well away from any children in the house. In this house that especially means *any under the age of three*. If you don't, you will have to waste a good deal by giving them some of it. Nothing short of scandalous!
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Homebrew
While we are on the subject of alcohol, and anomolies, here is one:
Homebrewing beer in Oklahoma is illegal. OK is one of the few remaining states yet to incorporate Federal law into State legislation. This means that, according to the relevant law, the brewing of wine or mead is permitted, but not the brewing of beer. In fact the statute expressly forbids the production of any alcoholic beverage not expressly allowed for in the law. The Federal position (now adopted by most states) permits the brewing of up to 100 gallons of beer per adult in the household. This is for home consumption by friends and family, and, I think, you can give it as a gift. The department that regulates these matters has stated it has no intention of attempting ever to enforce this law.
So if anyone asks, we make Beer Wine, ok?
For those who don't know, the US history of alcohol generally, is a pretty chequered one. The effects of Prohibition are still evident all over the place, and nowhere moreso than here.
At risk of serious trouble, I shall mention, very quietly, religion. Some of the Baptists in this state (the Buckle on the Bible Belt), believe that the Communion Wine of the Christian world, which represents the blood of Christ was, in fact, unfermented grape juice! What is interesting about this story, which appears, at first sight to be apropos of absolutely nothing at all, is that this interpretation is new. It is not mentioned in the bible, and was never mentioned by the Southern Baptist Churches until around the time of Prohibition.
Prohibition was bad law. There is no doubt about this, and it was rightly repealed. I do find it a little curious tho, that, at the same time as referring to the laws of God, as determined in the Old Testament, we are also told that the Church's response to being denied their Communion Wine is, in some way an indication now that ALL alcohol should be avoided. The *turning of water into wine* parable must be a little ... ahem ... inconvenient!
Anyway .... homebrew.
We do it, allthough if anyone asks, Jodie does it!
We were due to *do it* last Saturday. We had the ingredients and, for the first time *Stateside*, I was going to attempt an All-Grain brew. We specifically chose a brew designed to be the all-grain version of the partial mash recipe we tried last time. The end result of the last batch was great, and this one ought to turn out a little more complex, but essentially the same. If it doesn't, either the technique isn't working well, or the recipe is formulated wrongly. We shall see.
The last couple of weeks have been spent trying to convert a 5 gallon Rubbermaid drinks cooler into a mash tun. You knew we were close to achieving this when the last couple of trips to Home Depot cost under about $3 a time. I have been trying to get a cooler for weeks, and was determined to find one for $10. Just when I had resigned myself to spending $20 at Target, I found one, brand spanking new, at the local flea-market ... it seemed somehow, providential. So, various plumbing fittings later, I had replaced the tap with a ball-valve and fitted a mesh-screen on the inside. In the end, the screen failed .... more later!
Our friend Rick was keen to see how it all came together, so brewing was fixed for 12 noon last Saturday.
We ran a little late. Rick arrived at about 12.30, just in time to consume a large, and very welcome, fried breakfast, but the fateful hour couldn't be put off.
My brewing equipment is an odd collection of stuff put together with no money, but lots of imagination. I have two 100 cup West Bend coffee percolators each capable of heating 4 gallons of water to 180F. They came from Jodie's sister's house. They had been left in the garage by the previous owner along with a bunch of stuff that made the place look like a *meth lab*. Anyway, the relevant authorities declared it safe and I inherited these two machines, both brand new and unused. At my best I can't drink that much coffee, so we will use them as HLTs (Hot Liquor Tanks). Also from the same source is a borrowed turkey fryer. The last batch required only a three gallon boil. We can do this in the kitchen, but this time I wanted to boil six gallons, and the 54k btu burner is ideal.
Add this lot to the previous equipment for making *partial mash* brews, and we have what is needed to brew *all-grain*.
All went well until the sparge (rinsing the sugar from the grain). The strike water temp hadn't quite been sufficient for 154F, but future batches will be easier. Two quarts of boiling water added gave a mash for 45 mins at 152F, and I could live with that. Incidentally, at the end of the mash, the temp had held at 152F .... well done Rubbermaid!
The first few quarts were returned to the tun, and then the worst happened .... it stuck and no amount of *jiggling* was gonna make that wort flow again. After a few minutes swearing and poking around, I dumped the entire mash into the handily placed bottling bucket, and removed the completely collapsed mesh screen. I poked around the kitchen for something to use, and found one of those loose-mesh pan plastic scrubbers. Jamming this around the outlet, we dumped the mash back into the tun and proceeded to sparge. I was not hopeful, but it worked.
The rest of the process went to plan, but I was worried about the extraction we had achieved with our, less than textbook, method! Still, the colour in the boil kettle was good, and it smelled great.
At this point (just before the boil) I wondered was the specific gravity was going to be, so I measured it. This was a pretty stupid thing to do or, if not stupid, then at least pointless at this point however .... 1022 .... you are kidding me right? Jeez! ... even BudMillCoors starts out better than that! It was probably one of the lowest moments of my brewing career.
Jodie was serene, Rick was still eating breakfast .... so ... I engaged my brain.
Hang on .... there is over six gallons in the kettle, and it's very hot. Quick check with brewing software suggested that cooled, and reduce to five gallons, we might be ok (it suggested 1048, but I didn't put too much store by this).
I need a wort chiller. Four bags of ice in the bathtub cooled the kettle to 75F in 30 mins. That's pretty good, but ice isn't cheap, and it's not convenient either. The rest went to plan, and at around five o'clock just shy of five gallons of wort was in the fermentor, pitched with Wyeast 1968 at 75F, and at an original gravity of 1052. The target OG in the recipe is 1051.
Bingo!
As I type this, it has just been moved into a glass secondary and is in my brewing fridge at 65F. The specific gravity is 1012.
And hey Jodie .... As you will read this before you get home tonight. It tastes great!
BudMillCoors
The alcohol laws here are, to say the least, confusing; and lead to strange anomolies.
In Oklahoma, outwith liquor stores, beer can only be a maximum of 3.2% ABV (alcohol by volume). Liquor stores may sell beer of any strength they want, but if the ABV exceeds 3.2%, they have to sell it at *room temperature*. Nowhere, however, am I able to find a definition of *room temperature*. References in the laws to *not chilled* exist, but everywhere here is chilled most of the year, air conditioning sees to that. So, either that *chilling* is unlawful, or the law is so badly framed it's virtually un-enforceable.
Notwithstanding any concerns about refridgeration, the big three brewers here (Budweiser, Miller and Coors), all brew a special batch for distribution in Oklahoma and, I think, one other State. Their normal brew, tasteless thought it might be, still has a decent amount of alcohol (around 5%), but here it is 3.2%. Due to crazy distribution arrangements, the full strength product is not even available in liquor stores ..... you can get any number of micro-brews, or imported beers, but if you want BMC you have to go to Arkansas, or Texas ......
I'll pause for a moment to explain *tasteless*.
This is not meant to be a cheap shot at BMC beers, although I believe they deserve it, but a simple question about how the big brewers view their target customer base. Quite simply, they ALL TASTE THE SAME !!! Yes they do! Quit arguing. And the silly people who say they prefer one over the other (and thus pretend to know something about beer) simply demonstrate the fact that they know very little about beer!
I wouldn't mind, but the big companies have a vast depth of experience in brewing, employ some of the most skilled brewers and have access to equipment most breweries can only dream of. So why do they do it? Simple. I'll tell you .....
They do it because the marketeers and accountants run the brewery, and not the brewers. They do not set out to brew beer that will please most of their customers, they brew so as to offend the fewest! They all do it, and the result is that they are all brewing beer designed to be served so damned cold, and so lack definable character, that even if there were any differences between them (and there aren't), then you wouldn't be able to tell.
Did the Americans learn nothing from the UK in the seventies?
Our breweries tried that approach. It didn't work. CAMRA was born, and so began one of the most successful consumer pressure groups in UK history. They managed to persuade the major brewers that they would broaden their appeal, and please their customers by continuing to give them beer that was the envy of the world. They have largely remained true to this principle ever since. Sure the major brewers produce pretty cheap and cheerful *session* beers, but they also offer a range of high quality products that the US major brewers don't even come close to.
To be fair, when we are at our local Karaoke Bar, we drink Michelob Amberbok. This is a dark lager brewed by Budweiser, and it's not bad. It's not that good either, and Jodie has recently been heard to mutter something about supplying our homebrew to the bar ....
It's possible that the BMC group of brewers have it right. There are plenty of folk around here who actually LIKE their BudMillCoor beers.
Education of our friends continues. It may take some time.
Friday, September 16, 2005
Sear's *Promotions* Department
I am sitting at home, it's 9.30 am. We were due to go to Okmulgee today, but Natalie has been a little off-colour this week, and she is asleep on the sofa. I am doing laundry. I am doing it because a) If I don't, Jodie will come home from work and try to do it herself and ... b) I am an *all-round jolly good husband!*
The phone rings. This is not unusual, but normally, if anything but a name I recognise pops up in the caller display, then I just send it to voice-mail. However, starved as I am of adult conversation, I answered it, not knowing that after the call I would still be very hungry indeed:
Lady: May I speak to Mr M***** please?
Me: Who's calling?
Lady: My name is Juanita. I am calling from Sears.
Me: Are you trying to sell me something?
Lady: No Sir, I am not with the Sales Department or the Credit Card Department. I am with the Promotions Department.
Me: Are you promoting goods or services supplied by Sears?
Lady: Yes
Me: Could you explain to me how *Promoting* differs from *Selling*?
Lady: Well the Sales department does the selling, we do the promoting.
Me: *Insert dumbfounded noise here*
Me: I'd like not to be promoted to today, thank you.
Lady: Very good Sir, have a nice day.
I am at a total loss ... oh well, the sun came out so maybe the day will be slightly less surreal from here on ....
The phone rings. This is not unusual, but normally, if anything but a name I recognise pops up in the caller display, then I just send it to voice-mail. However, starved as I am of adult conversation, I answered it, not knowing that after the call I would still be very hungry indeed:
Lady: May I speak to Mr M***** please?
Me: Who's calling?
Lady: My name is Juanita. I am calling from Sears.
Me: Are you trying to sell me something?
Lady: No Sir, I am not with the Sales Department or the Credit Card Department. I am with the Promotions Department.
Me: Are you promoting goods or services supplied by Sears?
Lady: Yes
Me: Could you explain to me how *Promoting* differs from *Selling*?
Lady: Well the Sales department does the selling, we do the promoting.
Me: *Insert dumbfounded noise here*
Me: I'd like not to be promoted to today, thank you.
Lady: Very good Sir, have a nice day.
I am at a total loss ... oh well, the sun came out so maybe the day will be slightly less surreal from here on ....
Saturday, September 10, 2005
High School Football
Last week, the High School football matches started for the season. They will be done by Thanksgiving, when the best teams will go forward to the State Play-Offs.
Nothing in my previous life prepared me for the *big deal* that is High School football. Sure I know that schools have football teams, so do UK schools, and they at least play with the right shaped ball. So I was a little bemused by two incidents.
The first was my Mother-in-law asking if we wanted *season tickets* for Okmulgee High .... oh, and a parking lot pass .... yeah sure Judy, why not? We can go along with the other half dozen parents and stand, freezing, on the touchline, while little Johnny, Bubba or whoever run up and down needlessly for an hour. Anyways, it's a family tradition and, more than that, two happened ....
This was Sister-in-law Jennifer, for it is she, calling to ask if we would be at the game because Ashley (niece ... probably niece-in-law, not sure) was er *Flag Twirling*!!! I mean, it's not like there aren't enough flags around this country ... do they really need to *Twirl* them at a football game?
This attitude simply draws pitying looks from assorted in-laws, and they don't even tell me about the *Marching Band* :)
So, the big day dawns and Steve finds the occasional hint that he might need to rethink his position on school sporting events. I turned on the TV news first thing, to hear the sports section giving a run-down on the local High School games that coming night .... My ears perked up, and I begin to get the teensiest feeling that I might be missing something here. The BBC never do this for our High Schools. They mention Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, etcetera ... I have yet to hear them dicuss the prospects of even the most celebrated of our High Schools. *Tonights eagerly awaited showdown between the Snarling Tigers of Eton College, and the Destroying Dynamos of Rugby* is not the staple of BBC sports journalists! Tom's school, Homewood, has never, to my knowledge, crossed the radar of ANY sports correspondent.
So, hearing that the big game is a clash between Broken Arrow (Jodie's school district) and Union, has me wondering what is in store in downtown Okmulgee.
Okmulgee are playing McAlester. We get there, and I am not kidding, there must be about 2000 in the crowd. There are marching bands (1 per side), twirly girls (1 set per side, and Ashley is comfortably the best looking out there) and Cheerleaders yes, you guessed it, one set per side. There are more people involved in producing this game than yer average soccer international ... and the teams haven't come out yet!!!
Just as I am begining to get used to this and, actually enjoy it immensely, the helicopter arrives. I kid you not ... News Channel 8 in Tulsa has sent it's helicopter .... In 30 years of watching professional sports fixtures in the UK I only ever saw a helicopter arrive once; and that was to cart a badly injured football player off to the local hospital (They would probably do that here too, the difference being that the footballer would be asked for his credit card, and the hospital would be decided by the insurance company, but I digress).
Long story short time ..... it was great! Okmulgee were well on top by halftime (and won in the end) Ashley twirled, the band marched and the cheerleaders do what cheerleaders do (and they did it pretty well).
One notable incident during the 2nd quarter. An announcement on the PA system wanting to know who owned a cute, blonde 2 yr old in a Bulldogs t-shirt .... Bugger, where is Natalie???
Apparently she is in the Press Box .... they have a press box too? We retrieved her ... and the day ended well.
Just for the record, yesterday's game between Union and Jenks High Schools was played in the Skelly Stadium, Tulsa, in front of a paying crowd of 15000 .... mind blowing!
Nothing in my previous life prepared me for the *big deal* that is High School football. Sure I know that schools have football teams, so do UK schools, and they at least play with the right shaped ball. So I was a little bemused by two incidents.
The first was my Mother-in-law asking if we wanted *season tickets* for Okmulgee High .... oh, and a parking lot pass .... yeah sure Judy, why not? We can go along with the other half dozen parents and stand, freezing, on the touchline, while little Johnny, Bubba or whoever run up and down needlessly for an hour. Anyways, it's a family tradition and, more than that, two happened ....
This was Sister-in-law Jennifer, for it is she, calling to ask if we would be at the game because Ashley (niece ... probably niece-in-law, not sure) was er *Flag Twirling*!!! I mean, it's not like there aren't enough flags around this country ... do they really need to *Twirl* them at a football game?
This attitude simply draws pitying looks from assorted in-laws, and they don't even tell me about the *Marching Band* :)
So, the big day dawns and Steve finds the occasional hint that he might need to rethink his position on school sporting events. I turned on the TV news first thing, to hear the sports section giving a run-down on the local High School games that coming night .... My ears perked up, and I begin to get the teensiest feeling that I might be missing something here. The BBC never do this for our High Schools. They mention Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, etcetera ... I have yet to hear them dicuss the prospects of even the most celebrated of our High Schools. *Tonights eagerly awaited showdown between the Snarling Tigers of Eton College, and the Destroying Dynamos of Rugby* is not the staple of BBC sports journalists! Tom's school, Homewood, has never, to my knowledge, crossed the radar of ANY sports correspondent.
So, hearing that the big game is a clash between Broken Arrow (Jodie's school district) and Union, has me wondering what is in store in downtown Okmulgee.
Okmulgee are playing McAlester. We get there, and I am not kidding, there must be about 2000 in the crowd. There are marching bands (1 per side), twirly girls (1 set per side, and Ashley is comfortably the best looking out there) and Cheerleaders yes, you guessed it, one set per side. There are more people involved in producing this game than yer average soccer international ... and the teams haven't come out yet!!!
Just as I am begining to get used to this and, actually enjoy it immensely, the helicopter arrives. I kid you not ... News Channel 8 in Tulsa has sent it's helicopter .... In 30 years of watching professional sports fixtures in the UK I only ever saw a helicopter arrive once; and that was to cart a badly injured football player off to the local hospital (They would probably do that here too, the difference being that the footballer would be asked for his credit card, and the hospital would be decided by the insurance company, but I digress).
Long story short time ..... it was great! Okmulgee were well on top by halftime (and won in the end) Ashley twirled, the band marched and the cheerleaders do what cheerleaders do (and they did it pretty well).
One notable incident during the 2nd quarter. An announcement on the PA system wanting to know who owned a cute, blonde 2 yr old in a Bulldogs t-shirt .... Bugger, where is Natalie???
Apparently she is in the Press Box .... they have a press box too? We retrieved her ... and the day ended well.
Just for the record, yesterday's game between Union and Jenks High Schools was played in the Skelly Stadium, Tulsa, in front of a paying crowd of 15000 .... mind blowing!
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Healthcare
This isn't intended to be a negative comparasion, just a simple tale
of three young boys.
This morning I had an email from my Dad. My son, Joe, was in hospital
in a small French town close to my parents home. Joe is 10, and lives
in England with his Mum. I am in Oklahoma.
Joe woke up this morning at 9am, with severe stomach pains. He was
taken to the local doctors by my Mum at 10am. By 10.30am he was in
hospital and had been seen and checked by 3 doctors. By 11am had had
his appendix removed and was in recovery. Joe is awake, all is well
and he will be home in a few days.
The French hospital needed to see a simple form from the UK before
discounting the entire bill by 80% for the little English boy. When my
parents get home, they can submit the invoices (mainly for meds) and
get most of the rest back too.
Two weeks ago (about) two young American boys were struck by
lightening here in Tulsa. They are in hospital making a slow recovery.
Last night on TV was a feature about their local Church raising funds
to help with the mounting medical bills that were causing the
children's families a great deal of distress. It seems likely that the
boys will recover, but that the parents will be paying the bills for
many years to come.
I thought of Joe and I thought of those boys. My heart goes out to
their parents.
ps ... Since writing this I have heard that one of the boys has died. My sympathies to his family, and to those who knew him - Steve 12th October 2005
pps ... I just now learned this from my Mum:
Just a postnote re Joes health care in France. We have just recieved the bill for joes medical care. To pay. 62euros. The charge is for meals and the 2nd bed provided for me while i stayed in hospita with Joe. Thought you might like to have that bit of info. (Steve 22nd Nov. 2005)
of three young boys.
This morning I had an email from my Dad. My son, Joe, was in hospital
in a small French town close to my parents home. Joe is 10, and lives
in England with his Mum. I am in Oklahoma.
Joe woke up this morning at 9am, with severe stomach pains. He was
taken to the local doctors by my Mum at 10am. By 10.30am he was in
hospital and had been seen and checked by 3 doctors. By 11am had had
his appendix removed and was in recovery. Joe is awake, all is well
and he will be home in a few days.
The French hospital needed to see a simple form from the UK before
discounting the entire bill by 80% for the little English boy. When my
parents get home, they can submit the invoices (mainly for meds) and
get most of the rest back too.
Two weeks ago (about) two young American boys were struck by
lightening here in Tulsa. They are in hospital making a slow recovery.
Last night on TV was a feature about their local Church raising funds
to help with the mounting medical bills that were causing the
children's families a great deal of distress. It seems likely that the
boys will recover, but that the parents will be paying the bills for
many years to come.
I thought of Joe and I thought of those boys. My heart goes out to
their parents.
ps ... Since writing this I have heard that one of the boys has died. My sympathies to his family, and to those who knew him - Steve 12th October 2005
pps ... I just now learned this from my Mum:
Just a postnote re Joes health care in France. We have just recieved the bill for joes medical care. To pay. 62euros. The charge is for meals and the 2nd bed provided for me while i stayed in hospita with Joe. Thought you might like to have that bit of info. (Steve 22nd Nov. 2005)
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
DVD Player
Ours is knackered ... and it's new. So off we go to Circuit City to change it.
"It's past it's 30 day exchange period" .... said the spotty youth who didn't graduate High Schhool "But I'll exchange it anyway", said same boy when he saw the look on my face ...
So we walk out with a $43 gift voucher, as they don't have in stock the model I wanted, that was prominently featured on their website. Neither can he find it on his computer .... at this point, I am worried we may be here a while :)
Onwards, ever onwards to Best Buy. They don't have the said Philips DVP642 either .... but they do have the 622 at a silly *open box* price of $45. As I was planning on opening the box anyway, when I got it home, this seems reasonable, we snap it up.
At this point, it's worth noting that I have a decent collection of UK PAL DVDs, all coded Region 2.
http://www.thebrackenfamily.info/html/dvd_catalogue2.htm
So, a multi-standard, Region Free DVD player is very much the order of the day. I checked, the 642 is a simple handset hack, and ... ahem ... assumed the 622 would be the same.
LMFAO
So, it's off to the store to buy the special One For All clicker that can generate the required signal to unlock the beast. Bought it, tried it, didn't work! Yeah, I know, we've all been there (or somewhere similar)
So, to recap, we now have a $43 Circuit City voucher, A brand new but not what we want Philips DVD Player, and a Universal Remote Control with no apparent use. A good days work then :)
Today we went to Arkansas. The purpose of this trip (marriage license) is a tale for another time. Suffice it to say, that into the trunk of the car went a DVD Player and a Clicker! Well! Who knows which stores we may pass on the way! So, a few hours later we are on the way back from Arkansas, complete with shiny Marriage License and, yes, the same DVD and Clicker we left with .... what is it with Arkansas? Do they not have Best Buy? Harumppfff.
So ..... we call in at Circuit City (a different one) in Tulsa ... no joy. On to Best Buy where the nice lady gives me back all our money for the 622, pretty much *no questions asked*, but they don't have a 642 either. Grrrrr! This is getting very old. Thence to Walmart.
Now I need to mention a couple of things about our local Walmart. It's improved!!!! I guess they corporation is still giving generously to the wrong side, a matter for another post, but at least this store is now useable.
We return the clicker. The lady asked if there was a problem with it, and the simple explanation that it hadn't done what we thought it would was enough. But here is an odd thing .......
All the fancy-smancy electronics stores we visited, and guess who has the Philips DVP642 in stock? ...... hehe .... except they didn't!!!!
Just a space under the display model where all the stock should be. We even asked a knowledgeable sales assistant if we could buy the display model (yes, Walmart has a knowledgeable sales assistant. She works at the Supercentre at Admiral and Memorial, Tulsa, OK) Unfortunately, they really ARE display models, and have been mutilated beyond repair.
To make a hopelessly long story just a teensy bit shorter, another local store had 6 in stock .... thank you Sam :)
We now have a working DVD player which basically seems to enjoy the flavour of pretty much any disk I throw at it, including DVDs full of .mp3 files and jpg pictures .... kewl.
By the way, the DVD players in the local Walmart are pretty close to the cake section ..... multi-tasking being a speciality ......
"It's past it's 30 day exchange period" .... said the spotty youth who didn't graduate High Schhool "But I'll exchange it anyway", said same boy when he saw the look on my face ...
So we walk out with a $43 gift voucher, as they don't have in stock the model I wanted, that was prominently featured on their website. Neither can he find it on his computer .... at this point, I am worried we may be here a while :)
Onwards, ever onwards to Best Buy. They don't have the said Philips DVP642 either .... but they do have the 622 at a silly *open box* price of $45. As I was planning on opening the box anyway, when I got it home, this seems reasonable, we snap it up.
At this point, it's worth noting that I have a decent collection of UK PAL DVDs, all coded Region 2.
http://www.thebrackenfamily.info/html/dvd_catalogue2.htm
So, a multi-standard, Region Free DVD player is very much the order of the day. I checked, the 642 is a simple handset hack, and ... ahem ... assumed the 622 would be the same.
LMFAO
So, it's off to the store to buy the special One For All clicker that can generate the required signal to unlock the beast. Bought it, tried it, didn't work! Yeah, I know, we've all been there (or somewhere similar)
So, to recap, we now have a $43 Circuit City voucher, A brand new but not what we want Philips DVD Player, and a Universal Remote Control with no apparent use. A good days work then :)
Today we went to Arkansas. The purpose of this trip (marriage license) is a tale for another time. Suffice it to say, that into the trunk of the car went a DVD Player and a Clicker! Well! Who knows which stores we may pass on the way! So, a few hours later we are on the way back from Arkansas, complete with shiny Marriage License and, yes, the same DVD and Clicker we left with .... what is it with Arkansas? Do they not have Best Buy? Harumppfff.
So ..... we call in at Circuit City (a different one) in Tulsa ... no joy. On to Best Buy where the nice lady gives me back all our money for the 622, pretty much *no questions asked*, but they don't have a 642 either. Grrrrr! This is getting very old. Thence to Walmart.
Now I need to mention a couple of things about our local Walmart. It's improved!!!! I guess they corporation is still giving generously to the wrong side, a matter for another post, but at least this store is now useable.
We return the clicker. The lady asked if there was a problem with it, and the simple explanation that it hadn't done what we thought it would was enough. But here is an odd thing .......
All the fancy-smancy electronics stores we visited, and guess who has the Philips DVP642 in stock? ...... hehe .... except they didn't!!!!
Just a space under the display model where all the stock should be. We even asked a knowledgeable sales assistant if we could buy the display model (yes, Walmart has a knowledgeable sales assistant. She works at the Supercentre at Admiral and Memorial, Tulsa, OK) Unfortunately, they really ARE display models, and have been mutilated beyond repair.
To make a hopelessly long story just a teensy bit shorter, another local store had 6 in stock .... thank you Sam :)
We now have a working DVD player which basically seems to enjoy the flavour of pretty much any disk I throw at it, including DVDs full of .mp3 files and jpg pictures .... kewl.
By the way, the DVD players in the local Walmart are pretty close to the cake section ..... multi-tasking being a speciality ......
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Abject and Grovelling Apology
In the last short while, it has been brought to my attention that I have criticised the United States of America, her people and proceedures, and all she represents, a tad more than strictly necessary. *Necessary* hasn't been defined, but I feel confident the good souls who take issue with me are decent, righteous, God-fearing types, whose wise counsel I would do well to heed. Indeed, it could be argued that ANY criticism of the USA is too much. Most especially if such verbal diarrhea comes spewing unchecked from an alien, a foriegner .... a sour-graped Limey. It could be, and it often is. Why, even your truly great and beyond criticism President reminded all other countries that if you weren't with the US, you were with the terrorists. We all stood corrected ... esp. the French.
So, I take this opportunity, even at this late stage, to offer up, for public dissemination and scrutiny, an unreserved apology to the entire Nation. I am convinced my detractors are a fair and reasonable cross-section of American society, thought and opinion, therefore I do indeed, stand corrected.
But before I finish ...... let's examine what I am apologising for ....
I apologise for spelling the word *apologise* without the required z.
I apologise for admiring the selflessness of the kind folk I met in South Carolina.
I apologise for inflicting myself on Jodie, for the rest of my life .... and I apologise to all the hearts that sank when the news broke (that last one might be a little tongue-in-cheek).
I apologise for praising publicly the Maryland doctor who treated me for almost no money in November, and I apologise to the Oklahoma doctor who promised to do the same if I needed it.
I am deeply ashamed for writing about Thanksgiving, a message in which I applauded the sentiment, and thanked the wonderful people who shared their homes with me.
I apologise that my birthday is July 4th.
I apologise for standing and looking in awe at the original Star Spangled Banner, with a tear in my eye when I felt the enormity of the symbol laid out on a table in front of me. This simple piece of cloth representing the hopes dreams and ambitions of the last, and greatest superpower, and her people.
I am deeply ashamed that, in that moment, I felt moved, and I felt at home.
I am aghast that Tulsan's have had to endure my Karaoke singing, and even more saddened by the friends I have made here.
It was outrageous of me to spend the last three years helping where I could to support American, and other, smokers to quit.
This is probably not the best time to mention that I am looking forward to spending the rest of my life exploring, contributing to, and and offering the little I have, to make this great country a little greater; but also a little fairer and more just, so I apologise in advance.
I have commited my future and my life to the United States. Not the country, per se, but the people, and more especially, one person who can't leave, nor would I ask her to. Because of my commitment, the future of this nation is important to me, so I also apologise for saying now that you ain't seen nuttin' yet. If I am paying the piper, I'm damned well gonna call the toon .... and my tax dollars are as valuable as anyone else's, even though they buy me far fewer rights than most of you .... and I apologise for pointing that out. To show I don't mind, it's my intention to ensure I pay a large amount of tax, knowing as I do that both State and Federal Governments will spend it wisely.
I apologise for smiling at the lyrics of Tom Paxton .... had he been an alien, no doubt the moral, the self-righteous, and the pontificators woulda come down hard on him. I especially feel the lyric "Our leaders are the finest men, and we elect 'em again and again" was ill-advised (full lyric available on request – I promise not to sing it, but apologise should I forget).
This journey has, thus far, been a wonderful one. The people I have met, even the ones I only nearly met. The sights I've seen and the places I've visited. I'll give you just one example of the inequalities I've personally witnessed, and I make NO apology for doing so.
I have been to Washington DC. I have seen wealth and priviledge, seats of power and all the trappings such a place considers the norm. But there is another United States. In Tulsa, on a street called Admiral Place is a large permenant Flea-market. Basically it's about 40 000 square feet of crap. However, it's harmless crap, and that's not the point. On the other side of the street is what can only be described as a ghetto. That, by the way, is a generous description. People are living, in the US in the year of our Lord 2005, in squalor and in abject poverty. Put simply, the place is awful, and this country should be (and many of it's people are) ashamed it exists. This wouldn't be so bad were it a one-off, but it isn't. In towns and cities from Seattle to Miami, San Diego to somewhere in the far north east, Admiral Places exist. So sure I'll criticise ..... I'll shout and I'll post and I'll damned well join the campaign to rid our society of such squalor, and I'll apologise to no man for so doing.
America is great, but it's also a work in progress. As an outsider, and alien, a Limey, a concerned human ..... whatever .... I'll do what I can to leave the place just a little better than I found it. If we all do the same, maybe progress can be made.
The United States of America was made what it is today by immigrants. Why do people so object to this proud tradition being honoured. Or maybe they are just dinosaurs.
steveb
So, I take this opportunity, even at this late stage, to offer up, for public dissemination and scrutiny, an unreserved apology to the entire Nation. I am convinced my detractors are a fair and reasonable cross-section of American society, thought and opinion, therefore I do indeed, stand corrected.
But before I finish ...... let's examine what I am apologising for ....
I apologise for spelling the word *apologise* without the required z.
I apologise for admiring the selflessness of the kind folk I met in South Carolina.
I apologise for inflicting myself on Jodie, for the rest of my life .... and I apologise to all the hearts that sank when the news broke (that last one might be a little tongue-in-cheek).
I apologise for praising publicly the Maryland doctor who treated me for almost no money in November, and I apologise to the Oklahoma doctor who promised to do the same if I needed it.
I am deeply ashamed for writing about Thanksgiving, a message in which I applauded the sentiment, and thanked the wonderful people who shared their homes with me.
I apologise that my birthday is July 4th.
I apologise for standing and looking in awe at the original Star Spangled Banner, with a tear in my eye when I felt the enormity of the symbol laid out on a table in front of me. This simple piece of cloth representing the hopes dreams and ambitions of the last, and greatest superpower, and her people.
I am deeply ashamed that, in that moment, I felt moved, and I felt at home.
I am aghast that Tulsan's have had to endure my Karaoke singing, and even more saddened by the friends I have made here.
It was outrageous of me to spend the last three years helping where I could to support American, and other, smokers to quit.
This is probably not the best time to mention that I am looking forward to spending the rest of my life exploring, contributing to, and and offering the little I have, to make this great country a little greater; but also a little fairer and more just, so I apologise in advance.
I have commited my future and my life to the United States. Not the country, per se, but the people, and more especially, one person who can't leave, nor would I ask her to. Because of my commitment, the future of this nation is important to me, so I also apologise for saying now that you ain't seen nuttin' yet. If I am paying the piper, I'm damned well gonna call the toon .... and my tax dollars are as valuable as anyone else's, even though they buy me far fewer rights than most of you .... and I apologise for pointing that out. To show I don't mind, it's my intention to ensure I pay a large amount of tax, knowing as I do that both State and Federal Governments will spend it wisely.
I apologise for smiling at the lyrics of Tom Paxton .... had he been an alien, no doubt the moral, the self-righteous, and the pontificators woulda come down hard on him. I especially feel the lyric "Our leaders are the finest men, and we elect 'em again and again" was ill-advised (full lyric available on request – I promise not to sing it, but apologise should I forget).
This journey has, thus far, been a wonderful one. The people I have met, even the ones I only nearly met. The sights I've seen and the places I've visited. I'll give you just one example of the inequalities I've personally witnessed, and I make NO apology for doing so.
I have been to Washington DC. I have seen wealth and priviledge, seats of power and all the trappings such a place considers the norm. But there is another United States. In Tulsa, on a street called Admiral Place is a large permenant Flea-market. Basically it's about 40 000 square feet of crap. However, it's harmless crap, and that's not the point. On the other side of the street is what can only be described as a ghetto. That, by the way, is a generous description. People are living, in the US in the year of our Lord 2005, in squalor and in abject poverty. Put simply, the place is awful, and this country should be (and many of it's people are) ashamed it exists. This wouldn't be so bad were it a one-off, but it isn't. In towns and cities from Seattle to Miami, San Diego to somewhere in the far north east, Admiral Places exist. So sure I'll criticise ..... I'll shout and I'll post and I'll damned well join the campaign to rid our society of such squalor, and I'll apologise to no man for so doing.
America is great, but it's also a work in progress. As an outsider, and alien, a Limey, a concerned human ..... whatever .... I'll do what I can to leave the place just a little better than I found it. If we all do the same, maybe progress can be made.
The United States of America was made what it is today by immigrants. Why do people so object to this proud tradition being honoured. Or maybe they are just dinosaurs.
steveb
Friday, December 17, 2004
American English, and U-Boats!
I have been developing a theory about the curious dislike of vowels, displayed in the way America uses our language. I accept, by the way, that it is *their* language too, and that 280 million people (many of who speak Spanish as a first language) are entitled to make changes as they see fit :)
Nonetheless, waging a wicked and merciless campaign against a vowel (or two) is simply an unreasonable use of the nuclear deterrent. I put this quite highly, as none of the other nuclear powers have seen fit to abuse our (their) language in such a manner. Indeed the French have a Government dept. tasked with the job of actually preserving French and keeping out English/American expressions. They are losing the battle, I think for two main reasons. One is that French, like all languages, is a living language …. which will develop and change to reflect the experience of native French speakers. The French really cannot want their language to die, and become the *Latin* of Europe. I do take the point that certain steps should be taken to prevent the other main reason their language is being corrupted ….. McDonalds.
In another place, and at another time, I had cause to be thankful to McDonalds for their influence in separate matter, but this is a family journal, so if you want to know what I mean, you are gonna have to ask :)
I do not, nor do the French, thank McDonalds for *le Big Mac*, *les fries*, etc.
But I digress …..
It seems that over the last hundred years or so, the letter *u* has been sent to Alaska. Not literally, you understand (there is no *u* in Alaska either), but I was trying to think of where America would send things they don’t much approve of, and I came up with Alaska ….. or maybe Salt Lake City … I’ll have to ask an American :)
So, for my American friends and readers, here are some *original* spellings. Colour, labour, favour, flavour, favourite … and here is an odd one *aluminium* …. Note the second *i*. When I pronounced the word *al-u-min-ee-um* in conversation, my friend Lori just giggled … Harumphfff!!!
Which all begs the question: “Why?” Why is it that America chose to outlaw the *u*? Was there an ink shortage? A pressing need to write or read faster?
Or is it, as I believe, a conspiracy by Piano Manufacturers? Yes dear, you did read that correctly, and there is no *u* in Piano either …. Not even in *Pianoforte*, to give the instrument much abused in bars it’s proper name :)
You may know (or soon will) that the very best pianos are made by Germans. Such famous names as Bluthner, Bosendorfher, Bechstein are among them. The most famous of all being the name of Steinway. Yup, I know Steinway are American, but here is the thing …. They are too a German family. Rather like our Royal Family, as it happens. And I would be perfectly content to accept that we were to blame for the American persecution of the *u*, were it not for the fact that the only Royal we tried to export to the United States (HRH The Duchess of York or *Freeloading Fergie* to her friends) was promptly sent home with a *Return to Sender* sticker on her forehead.
So, if the Germans are responsible for stealing the letter U, then what possible motive could there be? And now we have the crux of it. Have you noticed how the Germans name their submarines? Yes, they are called *U-Boats*, and they all have an identifying number beginning with a *U*. What is more, they needed quite a few. A recent Hollywood movie about how America won the war was called U-571. That equates to five hundred and seventy one words that need to loose a vowel, just to provide the names for the German Navy. It all makes sense.
Steinway immigrate into the United States, begin to make pianos (good ones too) …. In the meantime they are quietly amassing a stockpile of *U*s, German Navy for the use of. This allows Germany to attempt to wrest control of the world from Britain …. An attempt which ultimately fails, but in return for help in defeating the new owners of the stolen *U*s, we gratefully give control of the world to our latest, if a little tardy, ally the United States of America.
So guys, you swapped the letter *U* for world domination …. Not bad, not bad at all :)
ps. G W Bush apologised recently, for the USA being a little late entering the last two world wars. He promised to make up for it by being *extremely prompt* for the next one!
Nonetheless, waging a wicked and merciless campaign against a vowel (or two) is simply an unreasonable use of the nuclear deterrent. I put this quite highly, as none of the other nuclear powers have seen fit to abuse our (their) language in such a manner. Indeed the French have a Government dept. tasked with the job of actually preserving French and keeping out English/American expressions. They are losing the battle, I think for two main reasons. One is that French, like all languages, is a living language …. which will develop and change to reflect the experience of native French speakers. The French really cannot want their language to die, and become the *Latin* of Europe. I do take the point that certain steps should be taken to prevent the other main reason their language is being corrupted ….. McDonalds.
In another place, and at another time, I had cause to be thankful to McDonalds for their influence in separate matter, but this is a family journal, so if you want to know what I mean, you are gonna have to ask :)
I do not, nor do the French, thank McDonalds for *le Big Mac*, *les fries*, etc.
But I digress …..
It seems that over the last hundred years or so, the letter *u* has been sent to Alaska. Not literally, you understand (there is no *u* in Alaska either), but I was trying to think of where America would send things they don’t much approve of, and I came up with Alaska ….. or maybe Salt Lake City … I’ll have to ask an American :)
So, for my American friends and readers, here are some *original* spellings. Colour, labour, favour, flavour, favourite … and here is an odd one *aluminium* …. Note the second *i*. When I pronounced the word *al-u-min-ee-um* in conversation, my friend Lori just giggled … Harumphfff!!!
Which all begs the question: “Why?” Why is it that America chose to outlaw the *u*? Was there an ink shortage? A pressing need to write or read faster?
Or is it, as I believe, a conspiracy by Piano Manufacturers? Yes dear, you did read that correctly, and there is no *u* in Piano either …. Not even in *Pianoforte*, to give the instrument much abused in bars it’s proper name :)
You may know (or soon will) that the very best pianos are made by Germans. Such famous names as Bluthner, Bosendorfher, Bechstein are among them. The most famous of all being the name of Steinway. Yup, I know Steinway are American, but here is the thing …. They are too a German family. Rather like our Royal Family, as it happens. And I would be perfectly content to accept that we were to blame for the American persecution of the *u*, were it not for the fact that the only Royal we tried to export to the United States (HRH The Duchess of York or *Freeloading Fergie* to her friends) was promptly sent home with a *Return to Sender* sticker on her forehead.
So, if the Germans are responsible for stealing the letter U, then what possible motive could there be? And now we have the crux of it. Have you noticed how the Germans name their submarines? Yes, they are called *U-Boats*, and they all have an identifying number beginning with a *U*. What is more, they needed quite a few. A recent Hollywood movie about how America won the war was called U-571. That equates to five hundred and seventy one words that need to loose a vowel, just to provide the names for the German Navy. It all makes sense.
Steinway immigrate into the United States, begin to make pianos (good ones too) …. In the meantime they are quietly amassing a stockpile of *U*s, German Navy for the use of. This allows Germany to attempt to wrest control of the world from Britain …. An attempt which ultimately fails, but in return for help in defeating the new owners of the stolen *U*s, we gratefully give control of the world to our latest, if a little tardy, ally the United States of America.
So guys, you swapped the letter *U* for world domination …. Not bad, not bad at all :)
ps. G W Bush apologised recently, for the USA being a little late entering the last two world wars. He promised to make up for it by being *extremely prompt* for the next one!
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Nature of *support*
I spend a small part of my time attempting (with varying degrees of successs) to support people trying to quit smoking. The quit smoking group I am a part of is currently *adjusting* as people leave, and others arrive.
My journal has, thus far, been about my travels, and that will continue. But sitting at Baltimore airport, then Chicago O'hare waiting for planes I wrote the following, and I thought I would include it here:
For some time now, I have been giving some thought to the nature of *support*. What it is. Who can give it and how, and why is it so much harder to receive, than to give? This last being especially pertinent now, at a time of *giving and receiving*.
Before I continue however, there are a few remarks I wish to make.
The views expressed in this post are mine. I have taken them from nowhere, and they are qualified by no one. I am neither a psychologist, nor a psychotherapist, although I have worked closely with both for many years. I do have much experience in the successful delivery of support to children who very badly needed it, and I also have significant training, and some qualifications in that field.
Like any other post though, I claim no expertise, I simply offer a view, for what it is worth. Please, take what you need, and leave the rest :)
Despite some recent evidence to the contrary, this is a support group, and a damned fine one! There are some who have expressed the view that this support should really be delivered with rather less *Off Topic* content. This is a valid view, but in my opinion, a mistaken one. Mistaken because this view misses essential nature of the way support is provided within AS3.
AS3 could easily be a *bulletin board* or a message board. Those long enough in the tooth to remember 1200 baud modems (and slower) will remember *bulletin boards* with varying degrees of nostalgia. Such vehicles were effective in their primary task of delivering information, but pretty useless as a medium for any discussion.
AS3, on the other hand, operates much more as a community. Few communities are comprised solely of a single dimension …. Indeed they would be pretty sterile environments were that the case. Think *Stepford Wives* in text. It is the process of quitting that brings us together, provides a common goal, a raison d’etre, so to speak; but it is my contention that the real support is delivered as much through the Off Topic content, as it is through the milestone congratulations, and the very pertinent discussions regarding quit methods and other (equally non-controversial lol) subjects.
I would argue quite strongly, that the fun, laughter and the downright enjoyment that can come from the participation in AS3, are in fact the glue that binds the newsgroup, and allows the delivery of effective support to people often feeling quite emotional and vulnerable. The spin off is that people here make very real *real-life* friendships, which come as a bonus none of us expects when we arrive.
Like any community, we have our friendships and rivalries, our fallings out and our love affairs. It is rich, diverse and has thus far, and will continue to, offer massive and sustained support to many thousands of quitters.
So what is support? Is it definable? Could we bottle it?
For me, it boils down to two aspects. The giving of support, and the receiving of the same. I will argue later that there are some cogent reasons why the receiving of support is rather harder. But in the end, those able to receive are best placed to, and in fact do, deliver the most effective help to others.
Giving support can and does take many different forms. If I post my meter, the number of replies can be as meaningful as the actual content of the individual responses. That is not to say the content is unimportant, quite the opposite ….. but the very fact that a milestone is recognised, and responded to, can leave the individual feeling accepted and valued. At it’s most basic level, AS3 offers this to most of it’s participants. No skill is required, neither is any real *empathy* called for, although the individual responses are more meaningful if the replies contain either, or both.
Still in the area of giving support, but rather more individual, are those posts that ask for help either by suggesting the poster is in some form of crisis, or facing a particularly difficult trigger. AS3 is generally, in my view, excellent at responding to these *cries for help*. There are issues regarding the people who I have heard described as *serial quitters*, but generally we respond quickly and in a meaningful way to such pleas. This level of response does require that folk give some regard to the nature of the plea, and therefore the tone of the reply.
At this point I would simply state my personal distaste for the phrase *serial quitter*. For me it has connotations of a lack of sincerity, or willingness to quit which I entirely reject. No one willingly puts themselves thro Hell Week time after time after time, if they can see any alternative whatsoever. Of course your mileage may vary, and that is your right. Personally, I have the highest regard for those unfortunate enough to slip back, repeatedly, but who also have the courage and determination to keep on trying. It may interest you to know that when I *failed* it took me ten years to pluck up sufficient courage to try again …. The *serial quitters* (sic) are braver than me!
A step beyond this are those people with problems that require more considered, or more expert help. I use the word *expert* advisedly, as this group contains the distilled wisdom of a generation of quitters and is, in it’s own way, quite *expert*.
We stray then, into the area of receiving support. I stated earlier that it is rather easier to give, than to receive.
I feel there is a very simple reason for this. Giving support requires that a person is willing to give, has the time to give, and has the capacity to provide something helpful. This actually can be as simple as providing a link to an amusing Flash game, which could be just the distraction needed by others, at that time. Others start threads of discussion to do with *What do you want for Xmas*, or *Seat Up or Down*. Each of these, I would suggest, is as valuable as any other thread in contributing to the building and maintaining of our community. Some may feel I put *community* too highly; arguing that in fact we are just a buncha misfits, or at best, loosely bound individuals. Well those people may be right, I just prefer my view is all :)
In any event, the receiving of support requires something way beyond that required to give. In my experience, in order to receive support one has to be prepared to hand over, to the keeping of others, a part of ourselves which is both delicate and private. We have to be prepared to confront and share our insecurities and vulnerabilities. This is, by any estimation, no mean feat and we can’t all do it. Issues of trust and identity are bound up in our egos, and it is a brave or desperate person who can ask for help. Of course, well rounded individuals with a specific need are also able to ask – I don’t profess to be one of those :)
So two things immediately spring to mind, if my suggestions are accurate. The first is that the time people need the help the most ie, on the point of a slip, is likely to be the time they find it hardest of all to ask; and that those believers in *Tough Love* (which I will come on to in a moment) had better make sure they are very careful how they handle some real vulnerability. The risk is of causing real and lasting damage if you get it wrong. I do hope this helps people understand why it is so damned hard to ask for help, and go some way to helping those supporters who get angry at not being asked, gain some insight into why it happens.
I plead with people to remember that *Tough Love* includes the word LOVE! It is a relationship based way of helping a person confront their own issues. It is damned well NOT a permission slip to beat up a quitter having a hard time. It is Tough, only because the process of learning about ourselves can reveal characteristics and traits we are less than proud of. Such insight is indeed hard to bear at times. It needs a relationship based approach, if anyone is to gain, and is most definitely a *loving* approach.
To those who believe *spare the rod, and spoil the child* is the way to go, then I recommend you leave. Other places will doubtless welcome your contributions.
I made the point early on, that I believe those folk who are able to receive support, are often best placed to give it. I think that the history of AS3 bears this out. I am clearly contending that a preparedness to face ones own demons, and an ability to trust that others will take care of the delicate parts of our psyches, combine to create individuals who are able to empathise, and support in a way that simply has to be valued and admired. AS3 has these people, and we need to look after them :)
In the course of the last fifteen hundred words I have made some very bold statements and assertions. There will be those who agree with it all, those who agree in part, and those who disagree because *I* am saying it :) I don’t think I will lose much sleep over the latter group …..
I simply remind you all that it is *One man’s view*. I claim nothing else, but I do congratulate and thank all those who made it this far!
steveb
December 2004
My journal has, thus far, been about my travels, and that will continue. But sitting at Baltimore airport, then Chicago O'hare waiting for planes I wrote the following, and I thought I would include it here:
For some time now, I have been giving some thought to the nature of *support*. What it is. Who can give it and how, and why is it so much harder to receive, than to give? This last being especially pertinent now, at a time of *giving and receiving*.
Before I continue however, there are a few remarks I wish to make.
The views expressed in this post are mine. I have taken them from nowhere, and they are qualified by no one. I am neither a psychologist, nor a psychotherapist, although I have worked closely with both for many years. I do have much experience in the successful delivery of support to children who very badly needed it, and I also have significant training, and some qualifications in that field.
Like any other post though, I claim no expertise, I simply offer a view, for what it is worth. Please, take what you need, and leave the rest :)
Despite some recent evidence to the contrary, this is a support group, and a damned fine one! There are some who have expressed the view that this support should really be delivered with rather less *Off Topic* content. This is a valid view, but in my opinion, a mistaken one. Mistaken because this view misses essential nature of the way support is provided within AS3.
AS3 could easily be a *bulletin board* or a message board. Those long enough in the tooth to remember 1200 baud modems (and slower) will remember *bulletin boards* with varying degrees of nostalgia. Such vehicles were effective in their primary task of delivering information, but pretty useless as a medium for any discussion.
AS3, on the other hand, operates much more as a community. Few communities are comprised solely of a single dimension …. Indeed they would be pretty sterile environments were that the case. Think *Stepford Wives* in text. It is the process of quitting that brings us together, provides a common goal, a raison d’etre, so to speak; but it is my contention that the real support is delivered as much through the Off Topic content, as it is through the milestone congratulations, and the very pertinent discussions regarding quit methods and other (equally non-controversial lol) subjects.
I would argue quite strongly, that the fun, laughter and the downright enjoyment that can come from the participation in AS3, are in fact the glue that binds the newsgroup, and allows the delivery of effective support to people often feeling quite emotional and vulnerable. The spin off is that people here make very real *real-life* friendships, which come as a bonus none of us expects when we arrive.
Like any community, we have our friendships and rivalries, our fallings out and our love affairs. It is rich, diverse and has thus far, and will continue to, offer massive and sustained support to many thousands of quitters.
So what is support? Is it definable? Could we bottle it?
For me, it boils down to two aspects. The giving of support, and the receiving of the same. I will argue later that there are some cogent reasons why the receiving of support is rather harder. But in the end, those able to receive are best placed to, and in fact do, deliver the most effective help to others.
Giving support can and does take many different forms. If I post my meter, the number of replies can be as meaningful as the actual content of the individual responses. That is not to say the content is unimportant, quite the opposite ….. but the very fact that a milestone is recognised, and responded to, can leave the individual feeling accepted and valued. At it’s most basic level, AS3 offers this to most of it’s participants. No skill is required, neither is any real *empathy* called for, although the individual responses are more meaningful if the replies contain either, or both.
Still in the area of giving support, but rather more individual, are those posts that ask for help either by suggesting the poster is in some form of crisis, or facing a particularly difficult trigger. AS3 is generally, in my view, excellent at responding to these *cries for help*. There are issues regarding the people who I have heard described as *serial quitters*, but generally we respond quickly and in a meaningful way to such pleas. This level of response does require that folk give some regard to the nature of the plea, and therefore the tone of the reply.
At this point I would simply state my personal distaste for the phrase *serial quitter*. For me it has connotations of a lack of sincerity, or willingness to quit which I entirely reject. No one willingly puts themselves thro Hell Week time after time after time, if they can see any alternative whatsoever. Of course your mileage may vary, and that is your right. Personally, I have the highest regard for those unfortunate enough to slip back, repeatedly, but who also have the courage and determination to keep on trying. It may interest you to know that when I *failed* it took me ten years to pluck up sufficient courage to try again …. The *serial quitters* (sic) are braver than me!
A step beyond this are those people with problems that require more considered, or more expert help. I use the word *expert* advisedly, as this group contains the distilled wisdom of a generation of quitters and is, in it’s own way, quite *expert*.
We stray then, into the area of receiving support. I stated earlier that it is rather easier to give, than to receive.
I feel there is a very simple reason for this. Giving support requires that a person is willing to give, has the time to give, and has the capacity to provide something helpful. This actually can be as simple as providing a link to an amusing Flash game, which could be just the distraction needed by others, at that time. Others start threads of discussion to do with *What do you want for Xmas*, or *Seat Up or Down*. Each of these, I would suggest, is as valuable as any other thread in contributing to the building and maintaining of our community. Some may feel I put *community* too highly; arguing that in fact we are just a buncha misfits, or at best, loosely bound individuals. Well those people may be right, I just prefer my view is all :)
In any event, the receiving of support requires something way beyond that required to give. In my experience, in order to receive support one has to be prepared to hand over, to the keeping of others, a part of ourselves which is both delicate and private. We have to be prepared to confront and share our insecurities and vulnerabilities. This is, by any estimation, no mean feat and we can’t all do it. Issues of trust and identity are bound up in our egos, and it is a brave or desperate person who can ask for help. Of course, well rounded individuals with a specific need are also able to ask – I don’t profess to be one of those :)
So two things immediately spring to mind, if my suggestions are accurate. The first is that the time people need the help the most ie, on the point of a slip, is likely to be the time they find it hardest of all to ask; and that those believers in *Tough Love* (which I will come on to in a moment) had better make sure they are very careful how they handle some real vulnerability. The risk is of causing real and lasting damage if you get it wrong. I do hope this helps people understand why it is so damned hard to ask for help, and go some way to helping those supporters who get angry at not being asked, gain some insight into why it happens.
I plead with people to remember that *Tough Love* includes the word LOVE! It is a relationship based way of helping a person confront their own issues. It is damned well NOT a permission slip to beat up a quitter having a hard time. It is Tough, only because the process of learning about ourselves can reveal characteristics and traits we are less than proud of. Such insight is indeed hard to bear at times. It needs a relationship based approach, if anyone is to gain, and is most definitely a *loving* approach.
To those who believe *spare the rod, and spoil the child* is the way to go, then I recommend you leave. Other places will doubtless welcome your contributions.
I made the point early on, that I believe those folk who are able to receive support, are often best placed to give it. I think that the history of AS3 bears this out. I am clearly contending that a preparedness to face ones own demons, and an ability to trust that others will take care of the delicate parts of our psyches, combine to create individuals who are able to empathise, and support in a way that simply has to be valued and admired. AS3 has these people, and we need to look after them :)
In the course of the last fifteen hundred words I have made some very bold statements and assertions. There will be those who agree with it all, those who agree in part, and those who disagree because *I* am saying it :) I don’t think I will lose much sleep over the latter group …..
I simply remind you all that it is *One man’s view*. I claim nothing else, but I do congratulate and thank all those who made it this far!
steveb
December 2004
Sunday, December 05, 2004
Karaoke - Hell Yeah!
It’s *Karaoke Night* in a bar called *No Place*. Top of the bill (well, hidden halfway down actually) that little known, but clearly talented English baritone of exceptional clarity and tone, the one, the only and here for one night only, direct from London, England ……… Mr Steeeeeeeeve Bracken.
HELL YEAH!
This all began months ago in a conversation with either Jodie or her partner in crime, Annie. Not sure which, but both are as bad as each other, so they can share the blame .. tee hee. *She* asked what I could sing …… “for my supper”, was the reply, but I didn’t get away with it, and the name of a song was demanded. At this point I tried really hard to put her off, racking my brain for the name of a song so unlikely as to be simply *laughed off*. All at the same time as not wanting to delay my reply so long as to appear evasive.
In the end I blurted out *Rhinestone Cowboy* … thinking huh, that should stall her for a bit. But no, alas, all that happened was laughter and a promise to ask George if he had that song available. Ok then, there is still some hope ….
A day or two later I get the bad news from Annie: "George doesn’t have *Rhinestone Cowboy*". Inside I am silently screaming for joy, and heartfelt thanks to the Gods of Karaoke … when she delivers the fatal blow: "But he will get it in time for your visit!!!!"
Utter consternation. Not only will he have the blessed song, but it will have been bought specifically for me. The chance of sliding out of this one are diminishing even faster than the prospect of actually finding Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq. I am inconsolable. “Oh, very good” I say, “I’ll look forward to it”. Annie isn’t stupid though, and she saw through this pathetic ploy from the start …. Busted!
HELL YEAH!
The week leading up was awful … I was sick. I picked up a cold from Lori, who prolly got it from those *Townies* in New York. I am finding that blaming New York for everything from Global Warming to ingrown toenails works very well everywhere except, probably, New York. Anyway, I was thinking that singing might not be possible. When I mentioned it to Annie her response was typically concerned and supportive … “Nothing short of death will stop you singing at my birthday party” … bugger!
I am surrounded, outgunned and outnumbered. This is not The Alamo, I give in!
HELL YEAH!
So the fateful Saturday arrives. Kids safely delivered to their Dad, card and present bought and afternoon nap enjoyed. A word, before we go any further, about the birthday card. We got it in a sex shop in Tulsa (yes, of course they have them) Anyhow, I tried hard, while in the shop, just to look at the cards. But I couldn’t help the odd glance around the shop. What ARE all those things? And what on earth can they be for? (answers by email, in plain brown cover please).
My throat isn’t feeling too bad … damn! Oh well, if I am going to do this, I may as well do it as best I can, and a few beers first will go a long way to dulling the hearing of me, and most of the audience. If I see anyone with a video camera though, there will be blood.
Then all of a sudden, through a haze of cigarette smoke and flashing lights I see Annie walk towards me. The lights are down, it is 11pm or so. She holds out her hand to give me something … in my befuddled state I stupidly take it. I look down, and I see I am holding a microphone, and the Intro is playing.
“I’ve been walking these streets so long,
Singing the same old song,
I know every crack in these dirty sidewalks of Broadway”
HELL YEAH!
And it’s over. I did it. Badly, but I did it. And they all lied … even George said it was good …. I know you guys lied, at least a bit, but thanks anyway, and I’ll be back. Hell Yeah!
HELL YEAH!
This all began months ago in a conversation with either Jodie or her partner in crime, Annie. Not sure which, but both are as bad as each other, so they can share the blame .. tee hee. *She* asked what I could sing …… “for my supper”, was the reply, but I didn’t get away with it, and the name of a song was demanded. At this point I tried really hard to put her off, racking my brain for the name of a song so unlikely as to be simply *laughed off*. All at the same time as not wanting to delay my reply so long as to appear evasive.
In the end I blurted out *Rhinestone Cowboy* … thinking huh, that should stall her for a bit. But no, alas, all that happened was laughter and a promise to ask George if he had that song available. Ok then, there is still some hope ….
A day or two later I get the bad news from Annie: "George doesn’t have *Rhinestone Cowboy*". Inside I am silently screaming for joy, and heartfelt thanks to the Gods of Karaoke … when she delivers the fatal blow: "But he will get it in time for your visit!!!!"
Utter consternation. Not only will he have the blessed song, but it will have been bought specifically for me. The chance of sliding out of this one are diminishing even faster than the prospect of actually finding Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq. I am inconsolable. “Oh, very good” I say, “I’ll look forward to it”. Annie isn’t stupid though, and she saw through this pathetic ploy from the start …. Busted!
HELL YEAH!
The week leading up was awful … I was sick. I picked up a cold from Lori, who prolly got it from those *Townies* in New York. I am finding that blaming New York for everything from Global Warming to ingrown toenails works very well everywhere except, probably, New York. Anyway, I was thinking that singing might not be possible. When I mentioned it to Annie her response was typically concerned and supportive … “Nothing short of death will stop you singing at my birthday party” … bugger!
I am surrounded, outgunned and outnumbered. This is not The Alamo, I give in!
HELL YEAH!
So the fateful Saturday arrives. Kids safely delivered to their Dad, card and present bought and afternoon nap enjoyed. A word, before we go any further, about the birthday card. We got it in a sex shop in Tulsa (yes, of course they have them) Anyhow, I tried hard, while in the shop, just to look at the cards. But I couldn’t help the odd glance around the shop. What ARE all those things? And what on earth can they be for? (answers by email, in plain brown cover please).
My throat isn’t feeling too bad … damn! Oh well, if I am going to do this, I may as well do it as best I can, and a few beers first will go a long way to dulling the hearing of me, and most of the audience. If I see anyone with a video camera though, there will be blood.
Then all of a sudden, through a haze of cigarette smoke and flashing lights I see Annie walk towards me. The lights are down, it is 11pm or so. She holds out her hand to give me something … in my befuddled state I stupidly take it. I look down, and I see I am holding a microphone, and the Intro is playing.
“I’ve been walking these streets so long,
Singing the same old song,
I know every crack in these dirty sidewalks of Broadway”
HELL YEAH!
And it’s over. I did it. Badly, but I did it. And they all lied … even George said it was good …. I know you guys lied, at least a bit, but thanks anyway, and I’ll be back. Hell Yeah!
Saturday, December 04, 2004
Thanksgiving in Okmulgee
You either have to be American (or Canadian) or to have been there, to understand what Thanksgiving means to families. I was there this year, for the second time in a row, to share a family occasion that is without peer, anywhere else on Earth.
Thanksgiving is when families come together, free from the commercialisation that is Christmas, to be together, as a family, and give thanks. Quite what they are thankful for one can only guess, it will be a bit different in every home. The usual health, wealth and happiness, I imagine, but also community, country and the wider world.
Last year, my friend’s Mom had prepared a few words as was her habit. These were delivered with real sincerity, as was the Grace spoken this year, in the home of Jodie’s sister. What was clear to me last year as well as this, was the privilege I felt at being invited to this, most personal of events. I thank my hosts.
I was half expecting the people I met this year to be somehow *different* to me. Let’s face it, they are a church-going family from a small town in the mid-west of America. I am, at best agnostic, from a busy metropolitan area 5000 miles away. I wondered what we might have in common. But as I am finding out, such things start to matter a great deal less when you look below the surface.
At the start of the proceedings, Jodie’s niece had persuaded me to part with $1, for a bar of chocolate she was selling to provide funds for her school. So, business as usual. That is certainly something Tom and Joe would recognise. Pst! Don’t no one tell her, but I woulda paid more :) A little later, I was in the kitchen, busily trying to remember my *Rules For Not Upsetting Peoples Relatives* (we’ll come to them), when I picked up the lid of a casserole dish. On it was Jodie’s sisters name and address. It turns out that the church members regularly take along prepared food, so they mark the dishes in a way that makes it easy to get them back to their owners. I made a comment about rummaging through other folk’s kitchens to see what they had *forgotten* to return, and there were giggles, and some knowing looks …. hehe
The point of all this, tho, is something else. In that moment I had a glimpse into a community. A community where people are contributing simply as part of their every day lives. A place where getting the kids first to school, then college, while bringing home the bacon, is a simple fact of life. I saw the community I come from, and it felt good.
So, what are these rules?
1) Eat everything on your plate.
2) Compliment the cook(s)
3) Agree with the womenfolk
4) The older the woman, the more you agree
5) Never discuss Religion or Politics
There are others, but these are the basics. And they have stood me in pretty good stead these many a long year, with the possible exception of the mother of a girlfriend I had way back in the early 80s. After a reasonably harmonious afternoon during which I refrained from telling her to *shut-up* at least 6 times, she remarked to her daughter “That young man is so self-assured I don’t know why he needs a girlfriend*. To this day I am not sure what she meant :)
So yet again, Thanksgiving was a wonderful experience. Meeting Jodie’s family was everything I hoped it would be, in my turn, I hope I didn’t disappoint :) The last word on the day has to go to Jodie’s elder sister tho. If she had any intention whatsoever of discouraging me, then I’m afraid she completely blew it with the baked sweet potato. Quite honestly, they are worth making a return visit for on their own!
Thanksgiving is when families come together, free from the commercialisation that is Christmas, to be together, as a family, and give thanks. Quite what they are thankful for one can only guess, it will be a bit different in every home. The usual health, wealth and happiness, I imagine, but also community, country and the wider world.
Last year, my friend’s Mom had prepared a few words as was her habit. These were delivered with real sincerity, as was the Grace spoken this year, in the home of Jodie’s sister. What was clear to me last year as well as this, was the privilege I felt at being invited to this, most personal of events. I thank my hosts.
I was half expecting the people I met this year to be somehow *different* to me. Let’s face it, they are a church-going family from a small town in the mid-west of America. I am, at best agnostic, from a busy metropolitan area 5000 miles away. I wondered what we might have in common. But as I am finding out, such things start to matter a great deal less when you look below the surface.
At the start of the proceedings, Jodie’s niece had persuaded me to part with $1, for a bar of chocolate she was selling to provide funds for her school. So, business as usual. That is certainly something Tom and Joe would recognise. Pst! Don’t no one tell her, but I woulda paid more :) A little later, I was in the kitchen, busily trying to remember my *Rules For Not Upsetting Peoples Relatives* (we’ll come to them), when I picked up the lid of a casserole dish. On it was Jodie’s sisters name and address. It turns out that the church members regularly take along prepared food, so they mark the dishes in a way that makes it easy to get them back to their owners. I made a comment about rummaging through other folk’s kitchens to see what they had *forgotten* to return, and there were giggles, and some knowing looks …. hehe
The point of all this, tho, is something else. In that moment I had a glimpse into a community. A community where people are contributing simply as part of their every day lives. A place where getting the kids first to school, then college, while bringing home the bacon, is a simple fact of life. I saw the community I come from, and it felt good.
So, what are these rules?
1) Eat everything on your plate.
2) Compliment the cook(s)
3) Agree with the womenfolk
4) The older the woman, the more you agree
5) Never discuss Religion or Politics
There are others, but these are the basics. And they have stood me in pretty good stead these many a long year, with the possible exception of the mother of a girlfriend I had way back in the early 80s. After a reasonably harmonious afternoon during which I refrained from telling her to *shut-up* at least 6 times, she remarked to her daughter “That young man is so self-assured I don’t know why he needs a girlfriend*. To this day I am not sure what she meant :)
So yet again, Thanksgiving was a wonderful experience. Meeting Jodie’s family was everything I hoped it would be, in my turn, I hope I didn’t disappoint :) The last word on the day has to go to Jodie’s elder sister tho. If she had any intention whatsoever of discouraging me, then I’m afraid she completely blew it with the baked sweet potato. Quite honestly, they are worth making a return visit for on their own!
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Choices - the return
Following the deep, unremitting tear-jerker that was the “Choices” post, I damned well better let you all know how I got on.
Quite frankly, I was a bit scared to go. Not of Jodie, she visited me while in England, and I knew we would be fine. No, the problems were two-fold.
Firstly, how would I like, or dislike Tulsa and secondly, the extended network of friends and family. The first is easy, and I will talk a little about what we did, in my next entry. The second has implications way beyond just Jodie and I, and is, therefore, much more difficult to get right.
Tom and Joe have met Jodie, albeit briefly, but they are not the only children in this equation. Jodie has three kids who have already experienced some recent changes, and I think we were both keen that they should be disturbed as little as possible. Well! To leap unerringly straight to a conclusion, it was great.
Jodie has, in the past, affectionately referred to the kids as Bitchy, Whiney and Messy (Before anyone makes the kinda point I had to listen to before, just remember, I know that Jodie would lay down her life to save a single hair on those kids heads from coming to harm)
Anyway, a week later I feel I can safely conclude that “Bitchy” isn’t … well not much, and she is also the oldest, and a good deal of fun, and more ticklish that she admits to. “Whiney” can indeed whine for America. He is also a most loving and giving child (must remember to check on which day he was born) and Messy simply should be renamed: “I don’t know who the Limey is, but I’m staying over here and watching until I am sure he has been safely defused”!
In the end, it is my view that the children will be the ones who guide what we do, when, and how. Sure they will need help and support. Of course it is the role of adults to make “adult” decisions, and we will. But we will do so according to our best assessment of where the kids are at, and what will help the most.
This is what we will do …. So who’s gonna help us?
Quite frankly, I was a bit scared to go. Not of Jodie, she visited me while in England, and I knew we would be fine. No, the problems were two-fold.
Firstly, how would I like, or dislike Tulsa and secondly, the extended network of friends and family. The first is easy, and I will talk a little about what we did, in my next entry. The second has implications way beyond just Jodie and I, and is, therefore, much more difficult to get right.
Tom and Joe have met Jodie, albeit briefly, but they are not the only children in this equation. Jodie has three kids who have already experienced some recent changes, and I think we were both keen that they should be disturbed as little as possible. Well! To leap unerringly straight to a conclusion, it was great.
Jodie has, in the past, affectionately referred to the kids as Bitchy, Whiney and Messy (Before anyone makes the kinda point I had to listen to before, just remember, I know that Jodie would lay down her life to save a single hair on those kids heads from coming to harm)
Anyway, a week later I feel I can safely conclude that “Bitchy” isn’t … well not much, and she is also the oldest, and a good deal of fun, and more ticklish that she admits to. “Whiney” can indeed whine for America. He is also a most loving and giving child (must remember to check on which day he was born) and Messy simply should be renamed: “I don’t know who the Limey is, but I’m staying over here and watching until I am sure he has been safely defused”!
In the end, it is my view that the children will be the ones who guide what we do, when, and how. Sure they will need help and support. Of course it is the role of adults to make “adult” decisions, and we will. But we will do so according to our best assessment of where the kids are at, and what will help the most.
This is what we will do …. So who’s gonna help us?
Minister of State at the Department of “Get a life”
Ok, so I thought this was an “English” disease. And it is true, we do have a bad case, but it seems the symptoms have spread way beyond our tiny borders. Borders which have repelled everyone since William the Conqueror, I might add, and He was invited. So maybe we are a tad more scrupulous about keeping things out, rather than keeping them in.
This is probably a “good thing”, as we can encourage the Spice Girls, and Arsenal, and the Welsh to leave, then pretend we are all out when they come back …. Talking here about precisely whom we may wish to keep out would need a little more space than I have available.
Oh yes, what is the disease? Well it is moaning, whingeing, whining and complaining, and assorted other acts likely to turn a perfectly good day into a trial. Worst of all are the people who simply refuse to accept that the world is a different and, by and large better place, than it used to be.
We English are used to this … the phrase “Little Englander” being commonly heard applied to those who refuse to accept the notion that “Johnny Foreigner” could possibly have a point of view. Oh, and if the point of view at issue happens to be Gay, Black or, in some cases, female, then Little Englander, from Sutton-Under-Wold, Home Countyshire, will be seen venting his ire to the point of apoplexy, In the local bar or golf club of a Sunday lunchtime.
So I have been in Oklahoma. A later entry will give my view of the Oklahomans I met, the welcome I had and the fact that I could easily spend the rest of my life there … but for now I wanna talk about the “seedier” side of life … the Redneck (attitude, not work ethic), the “Little American”.
Here is a revelation for me ….. you have them too …. Lolol And apart from anything else, they do provide an endless series of opportunities for mischief-making at their expense (best to avoid the ones actually carrying pump-action shotguns)
So here is where the Government Department for Get A Life comes in. I know the US Republican Party is a party of “small government”, and the idea of yet another Dept. of State might not appeal … but bear with me. My journal has actually separated Church from State already, a concept all y’all seem to be struggling with, at the moment. So I figure a teensy bitty new dept would be ok. Besides, the Democrats aren’t immune from gazing at their own navels either.
This department will seek to fairly govern ALL the population, free from prejudice and malice …. We ARE breaking new ground tonight … and strike fear into the hearts of the whingers, and more especially their attorneys, wherever they chase an ambulance or attempt to start yet another futile “Class Action” that benefits no one but the lawyers, and generally makes the place less open and relaxed that it could be.
It was an accident, ok? No one was to blame, no one should get 50 000 dollars because they broke a fingernail, schools should be able to organise outings, and fieldtrips with a element of fun and danger, without needing prohibitively expensive insurance because little Lori, or Randy scratched his/her arm on a nasty, wasty bramble ramble. GET A LIFE !!! Want your kids to grow up as wusses? Well then, protect them from every danger known to Man (or thought up by attorneys)
Attorneys, by the way (except for mine) should actually be told, en-masse, to get a life :)
So … next time I am in South Carolina, and I read in the newspaper about moves to have the Flag of the Confederacy flying alongside the Stars and Stripes …. The Minister will have the full authority to say “Dangnabit it ain’t gonna happen, no siree! You lost, deal with it, GET A LIFE”
I’m a Limey, and I love to hear Johnny Horton’s “Battle of New Orleans”. But here is the thing …. We lost, and we actually don’t mind. Apart from the aforementioned “Little Englander”, we are generally pleased at how our cousins from Left Pond conduct most of their business … we got over it! (plus it means that Europe, esp. the Germans, generally don’t hold us responsible for your Foreign Policy (sic))
So there we have it. An end to the whingeing and a return to the real values of the past people hanker after … freedom to roam, live peacefully, raise a family, without the attendant poverty and ill health that afflicted us all in the “Golden Years”
Just ….. “get over it”, and grin.
*editors note
The author of this journal accepts no responsibility whatsoever for the increased consumption of Krispy Kreme for breakfast, by Floridians.
This is probably a “good thing”, as we can encourage the Spice Girls, and Arsenal, and the Welsh to leave, then pretend we are all out when they come back …. Talking here about precisely whom we may wish to keep out would need a little more space than I have available.
Oh yes, what is the disease? Well it is moaning, whingeing, whining and complaining, and assorted other acts likely to turn a perfectly good day into a trial. Worst of all are the people who simply refuse to accept that the world is a different and, by and large better place, than it used to be.
We English are used to this … the phrase “Little Englander” being commonly heard applied to those who refuse to accept the notion that “Johnny Foreigner” could possibly have a point of view. Oh, and if the point of view at issue happens to be Gay, Black or, in some cases, female, then Little Englander, from Sutton-Under-Wold, Home Countyshire, will be seen venting his ire to the point of apoplexy, In the local bar or golf club of a Sunday lunchtime.
So I have been in Oklahoma. A later entry will give my view of the Oklahomans I met, the welcome I had and the fact that I could easily spend the rest of my life there … but for now I wanna talk about the “seedier” side of life … the Redneck (attitude, not work ethic), the “Little American”.
Here is a revelation for me ….. you have them too …. Lolol And apart from anything else, they do provide an endless series of opportunities for mischief-making at their expense (best to avoid the ones actually carrying pump-action shotguns)
So here is where the Government Department for Get A Life comes in. I know the US Republican Party is a party of “small government”, and the idea of yet another Dept. of State might not appeal … but bear with me. My journal has actually separated Church from State already, a concept all y’all seem to be struggling with, at the moment. So I figure a teensy bitty new dept would be ok. Besides, the Democrats aren’t immune from gazing at their own navels either.
This department will seek to fairly govern ALL the population, free from prejudice and malice …. We ARE breaking new ground tonight
It was an accident, ok? No one was to blame, no one should get 50 000 dollars because they broke a fingernail, schools should be able to organise outings, and fieldtrips with a element of fun and danger, without needing prohibitively expensive insurance because little Lori, or Randy scratched his/her arm on a nasty, wasty bramble ramble. GET A LIFE !!! Want your kids to grow up as wusses? Well then, protect them from every danger known to Man (or thought up by attorneys)
Attorneys, by the way (except for mine) should actually be told, en-masse, to get a life :)
So … next time I am in South Carolina, and I read in the newspaper about moves to have the Flag of the Confederacy flying alongside the Stars and Stripes …. The Minister will have the full authority to say “Dangnabit it ain’t gonna happen, no siree! You lost, deal with it, GET A LIFE”
I’m a Limey, and I love to hear Johnny Horton’s “Battle of New Orleans”. But here is the thing …. We lost, and we actually don’t mind. Apart from the aforementioned “Little Englander”, we are generally pleased at how our cousins from Left Pond conduct most of their business … we got over it! (plus it means that Europe, esp. the Germans, generally don’t hold us responsible for your Foreign Policy (sic))
So there we have it. An end to the whingeing and a return to the real values of the past people hanker after … freedom to roam, live peacefully, raise a family, without the attendant poverty and ill health that afflicted us all in the “Golden Years”
Just ….. “get over it”, and grin.
*editors note
The author of this journal accepts no responsibility whatsoever for the increased consumption of Krispy Kreme for breakfast, by Floridians.
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