Driving past a gas station has become scarier than a horror movie. The only difference is we can't comfort ourselves by repeating " it is only a movie ". We are all mad as hell and don't know who to blame for $2.50 a gallon gas. Maybe we should all look in the mirror. Do we really need all those V8 motors? We like the feeling of all that power and it makes us look so successful.
I am amazed how much the price of gas fluctuates. How can gas already in under ground tanks change in price from hour to hour? Whenever any other kind of business receives a new shipment of a product, they don't jack up the price of the product already on the shelves. It's only when the old is sold that the higher price kicks in. Why is gas so special? That's the $2.49 question!
Gas prices are getting to be like the weather, everybody talks about the price of gas but nobody does anything about it. In the 2000 election I remember Bush said that we need to tell the people of the middle east to open up the spigots. Well that sure has not panned out, all I have heard from the middle east is " I can't hear you ". Maybe Bush should stop spending all his time on vacation and instead enact real solutions to this crisis. He could drop the 50 cent tax on every gallon and put the tax on the oil companys.
It does not do any good to complain, that will not save me any money. I do what I can, I don't drive a V8, stay home when I don't need to drive to work, keep my car tuned up and check the tire pressure. I try to milk every mile out of every gallon. I don't know if I'll ever get used to $2.50 to $3.00 a gallon gas but at least I don't scream any more when I pass a gas station. These days when I fill up my car all I do is shake my head as I watch the numbers rolling at high speed on the front of the pump all the while thinking of the things I could have bought with the money I am about to pay the person in the booth.
Friday, August 26, 2005
Friday, August 19, 2005
Do not forsake me O my darlin
The words to Tex Ritter's " The Ballad of High Noon " are once again in the air. This time the scene of Sheriff Gary Cooper setting in a bar, watching minutes tick off the clock till he must face bad man Frank Miller, takes place on a road outside a small Texas town. It's High Noon for Sheriff Bush and housewife Cindy Sheehan. Sauntering down one side of the street, Sheriff Bush and his hard core supporters who believe the war in Iraq is right. Sauntering down the other side of the street, Cindy Sheehan and her hard core supporters of the anti-war movement. Sheriff Bush is intimidated and scared just as Sheriff Cooper was. He is starting to see everything he has worked for could go right down the drain if and when he faces gunslinger Sheehan. Just as bad man Frank Miller wanted revenge so does Cindy Sheehan. Bush's accountability is at hand and the Sheriff is nervous as hell. He has twirled his guns at Congress and main stream media's ability to hold him accountable. Now a lot of people are starting to abandon him just like the town people abandon Sheriff Cooper. Bush is caught in a political pincer giving Sheehan greater room to maneuver. No matter what Sheriff Bush does, he's likely to be hurt in some way. My guess is that he will be forced to leave town with his wife just like Sheriff Cooper did as he drove the wagon out of town and never looked back. I can hear Sheriff Bush now as he and Laura climb onto that wagon.
Do not for sake me O my darlin
If I'm a man I must be brave
And I must face that deadly killer
Or lie a coward in my grave
Friday, August 12, 2005
Run Ricky Run
The NFL preseason has started once again. Monday Night Football featured Dolphins vs Bears for their first broadcast of the year. The Dolphins have always been my second most favorite team, need I say who my favorite team is? The Dallas Cowboys of course!
Now that Ricky Williams has said he will play this year after walking out on the Dolphins at the start of last year's season, it will make the Dolphin's season much more interesting to say the least. You just never know about Ricky, one day he is playing pro football, the next day he is jetting to India to meet his swami or pitching a tent on some far flung continent. He will always be a gamble for those who chose to invest in his emotions and talent. Maybe just maybe, Ricky has finally wised up or maybe the smoke from his pipe has cleared! He has discovered he still has bills, commitments and legal responsibilities. If he plays out the whole season it will because he wants to or because he feels he has no other choice. If he is happy he will be productive, if he is unhappy he will be held hostage by his own emotions and only go through the motions needed to complete the season. Ricky can always fall back on his other job description, that of yoga instructor, he did get his certification in that field.
I don't fault anyone for examining life in more detail and acting upon one's innermost desire. Seeking greater selfawareness, selfimprovement and selffulfillment is a sign of higher intelligent, I just wish Ricky would make up his mind. I will give him some credit. Last year he did what most American's only fantasize about, he told his boss to put it where the sun does not shine and then walked off the job.
As an admitted drug user, father of three children out of wedlock and his walking out on his team mates he will never have to worry about becoming a role model. I do believe in second chances but I may be a little biased because of my own history! Ricky does not need to explain to me the reason for what he did, he needs only to explain his reason to his team mates. He should apologize to the team and explain what went through his mind and what he wants to do and why. There will always be people who are resentfull for what he did and how he did it, I just will not ever be one of those people.
Ricky Williams will continue to run and run and run but to where and how long is anybodys guess.
Now that Ricky Williams has said he will play this year after walking out on the Dolphins at the start of last year's season, it will make the Dolphin's season much more interesting to say the least. You just never know about Ricky, one day he is playing pro football, the next day he is jetting to India to meet his swami or pitching a tent on some far flung continent. He will always be a gamble for those who chose to invest in his emotions and talent. Maybe just maybe, Ricky has finally wised up or maybe the smoke from his pipe has cleared! He has discovered he still has bills, commitments and legal responsibilities. If he plays out the whole season it will because he wants to or because he feels he has no other choice. If he is happy he will be productive, if he is unhappy he will be held hostage by his own emotions and only go through the motions needed to complete the season. Ricky can always fall back on his other job description, that of yoga instructor, he did get his certification in that field.
I don't fault anyone for examining life in more detail and acting upon one's innermost desire. Seeking greater selfawareness, selfimprovement and selffulfillment is a sign of higher intelligent, I just wish Ricky would make up his mind. I will give him some credit. Last year he did what most American's only fantasize about, he told his boss to put it where the sun does not shine and then walked off the job.
As an admitted drug user, father of three children out of wedlock and his walking out on his team mates he will never have to worry about becoming a role model. I do believe in second chances but I may be a little biased because of my own history! Ricky does not need to explain to me the reason for what he did, he needs only to explain his reason to his team mates. He should apologize to the team and explain what went through his mind and what he wants to do and why. There will always be people who are resentfull for what he did and how he did it, I just will not ever be one of those people.
Ricky Williams will continue to run and run and run but to where and how long is anybodys guess.
Friday, August 05, 2005
Knives Forks and Pass the Potatoes
The kinder, gentler days when happy families gathered around the table for dinner are almost gone. Getting everyone to set down for dinner at the same time is almost impossible. Instead we are a nation of take outers and drive throughers, eating our meals on the go, dining by ourselves and laughing alone. The family dinner has become an endangened species, a victim of our producitivity.
Both parents work and get home at a different time. The kids usually get microwaved chicken nuggets, hot dogs, plain pasta or some other staple from the children's food pyramid. Mom and Dad eat take out that one of them has picked up on their way home. Even on days when the family sets down together, it looks more like a diner, each family member ordering his own meal. One eats pasta but does not like the red sauce, one likes the red sauce but does not like the pasta, one only likes hot dogs, no one likes milk, one does not like hot dogs and wants a burger. Everybody is picky and we accommodate because we can and because it is easier than the consequences if we don't.
The causes for the disappearing family dinner are many. Both parents are working longer hours and have to commute much longer distances. Kids have much more to do at school and with their sports. Finally the fast food choices are on every corner. It is just much easier to pick up something or let everyone microwave their own choice at their own time.
As a child, dinner time at our house was like a poem with a fixed time and meter. Lunch at 11am and dinner at 5pm, not a minute before or a minute after. There was no ordering what one wanted, we ate what was in front of us, no questions ask! I learned early on not to complain, I was told more than once " If you don't like it don't eat it, you will go to bed hungry". I think if we could put the family dinner in the form of an attachment and email it we would.
The gathering of family at meal time is one of the few opportunities for conversation in a noisy world, a place to slow down a day just a little. I sure miss those conversations and sometimes wonder what our family conversations would be like today? More than not I would be trying to tell everyone at the table, everything I knew and trying to convince them I was right.
Both parents work and get home at a different time. The kids usually get microwaved chicken nuggets, hot dogs, plain pasta or some other staple from the children's food pyramid. Mom and Dad eat take out that one of them has picked up on their way home. Even on days when the family sets down together, it looks more like a diner, each family member ordering his own meal. One eats pasta but does not like the red sauce, one likes the red sauce but does not like the pasta, one only likes hot dogs, no one likes milk, one does not like hot dogs and wants a burger. Everybody is picky and we accommodate because we can and because it is easier than the consequences if we don't.
The causes for the disappearing family dinner are many. Both parents are working longer hours and have to commute much longer distances. Kids have much more to do at school and with their sports. Finally the fast food choices are on every corner. It is just much easier to pick up something or let everyone microwave their own choice at their own time.
As a child, dinner time at our house was like a poem with a fixed time and meter. Lunch at 11am and dinner at 5pm, not a minute before or a minute after. There was no ordering what one wanted, we ate what was in front of us, no questions ask! I learned early on not to complain, I was told more than once " If you don't like it don't eat it, you will go to bed hungry". I think if we could put the family dinner in the form of an attachment and email it we would.
The gathering of family at meal time is one of the few opportunities for conversation in a noisy world, a place to slow down a day just a little. I sure miss those conversations and sometimes wonder what our family conversations would be like today? More than not I would be trying to tell everyone at the table, everything I knew and trying to convince them I was right.
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