Kent Conwell's Blog, page 7
October 19, 2011
Dad and the Rangers
I hope you don’t mind a break from politics, at least for today. I just read something in the newspaper that brought back those halcyon days of my childhood in the little town of Wheeler up in the Texas Panhandle.
Our community was one of those ubiquitous small villages all over the USA where a dirty-faced boy or freshly washed girl, after a day of hard play, would drop dead in their bed without a care in the world.
We never questioned our security, our safety, or world.
So, what was so mind-grabbing in the paper?
Splashed across the headlines in Sunday’s paper were the bold words “Texas Rangers Return to World Series.”
If Dad were alive, I wouldn’t have had to wait until morning to hear the news. My phone would have been ringing off the wall as the game was over.
Dad was a big Ranger fan. He listened to every game after the team came to town in 1972. The move came after spinning seventy less than memorable seasons as the Washington Senators.
I promised myself when I started this column, I’d stay away from politics, but golly, the fact as Washington Senators, they accomplished nothing worthwhile in seventy years seems awfully familiar. Don’t you think?
But back to Dad and the Rangers.
When a Ranger game was on, you’d find Dad out on the patio with the radio and his flyswatter. Under the shade of a latticed roof covered with vines, he’d sit at an old table covered with a red and white checkered tablecloth with his cigarettes and ashtray, killing flies and sipping beer.
I was a big baseball fan also, starting as far back as the mid-forties. Dad had just come back from the war.
During those summers, almost every day, my best friend, Jerry Lewis, and I would lie on the grass in the shade of a giant cottonwood by the small creek just below our homes, listening to the afternoon ball games and spooking old fawn-colored jersey milk cows that grazed too close.
Usually, Jerry and I agreed on
everything except he was a Yankee fan, and I always pulled for the Dodgers. Fortunately, they were in different leagues.
I can still hear the announcers’ voices and remember their names, (I think) Mel Allen, Jim Britt, Red Barber.
Looking back, I try to call up the magic of those days, Jerry and me sprawled out, leaning up against the rugged bark of a tree, cooled by the breeze sweeping across the hayfield and under the shade of the cottonwood. The sky overhead was blue as a robin’s egg. Puffy clouds that looked like elephants and goats and people tumbled past.
We probably had a RC Cola or Nehi Orange at our side.
The announcers’ voices were clear and crisp as they called each play. To this day, I can hear the crack of the bat striking the ball, the sharp sound cutting through the roar of the crowd. Even before the crack of the bat died away, Jim Britt or Red Barber would shout, “A homerun, ladies and gentlemen. A home run, and the Cubs lead it one nothing in the bottom of the seventh.”
We’d clap and shout with excitement.
That afternoon, when Dad came in from work, I’d run up to him and my words tumbled all over each other as I related the details of the game.
I’ll never forget how crushed I was when a bunch of us boys were talking baseball at recess one day. One of our friends sniffed and said. “Those guys who call the game ain’t really there. They just use sound effects.”
“What? How can that be? They got to be there.”
He calmly informed us his brother was in radio, and each station had a announcer who sat in a room listening to the game on headphones, then relating the plays to his own audience. “Why,’ he exclaimed, “he even has the sound of crowds on a record, and he taps his pencil against the microphone to make it sound like a bat hitting the ball.”
That night, Dad studied me a moment after I told him what I’d heard. He gave me that funny grin of his and tousled my hair. “Don’t listen to him. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
That was good enough for me. In my mind, I could see those announcers high in the booths looking down on the field.
Years passed. I grew older. Major changes came about. We sort of relegated baseball to a lesser priority although we attended several Fort Worth Cat’s games after moving to that city.
Dad never got real interested in baseball until the Rangers came to town. They were pretty bad, but he hung in there. He always assured me that they were just rebuilding. Wait until next year, he would say. For the twenty odd years until he passed away, he faithfully followed the Rangers with all their warts and moles.
Well today, he’d sure be crowing. “See. Just what I said. They’ve been building up to this.”
I can see him now, flyswatter in hand, sitting at a table with maybe St. Peter, and the two of them looking down as the Rangers take the field in this years World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. He’d give St. Peter that funny grin of his and announce. “I always knew they’d make to the series. And this year they’ll win it.”
When I think about him and baseball, those carefree days so long ago come sweeping back, carrying me back to those misty days in my memory. I hold so precious and dear.
Enjoy the series, Dad. You deserve it.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
Our community was one of those ubiquitous small villages all over the USA where a dirty-faced boy or freshly washed girl, after a day of hard play, would drop dead in their bed without a care in the world.
We never questioned our security, our safety, or world.
So, what was so mind-grabbing in the paper?
Splashed across the headlines in Sunday’s paper were the bold words “Texas Rangers Return to World Series.”
If Dad were alive, I wouldn’t have had to wait until morning to hear the news. My phone would have been ringing off the wall as the game was over.
Dad was a big Ranger fan. He listened to every game after the team came to town in 1972. The move came after spinning seventy less than memorable seasons as the Washington Senators.
I promised myself when I started this column, I’d stay away from politics, but golly, the fact as Washington Senators, they accomplished nothing worthwhile in seventy years seems awfully familiar. Don’t you think?
But back to Dad and the Rangers.
When a Ranger game was on, you’d find Dad out on the patio with the radio and his flyswatter. Under the shade of a latticed roof covered with vines, he’d sit at an old table covered with a red and white checkered tablecloth with his cigarettes and ashtray, killing flies and sipping beer.
I was a big baseball fan also, starting as far back as the mid-forties. Dad had just come back from the war.
During those summers, almost every day, my best friend, Jerry Lewis, and I would lie on the grass in the shade of a giant cottonwood by the small creek just below our homes, listening to the afternoon ball games and spooking old fawn-colored jersey milk cows that grazed too close.
Usually, Jerry and I agreed on
everything except he was a Yankee fan, and I always pulled for the Dodgers. Fortunately, they were in different leagues.
I can still hear the announcers’ voices and remember their names, (I think) Mel Allen, Jim Britt, Red Barber.
Looking back, I try to call up the magic of those days, Jerry and me sprawled out, leaning up against the rugged bark of a tree, cooled by the breeze sweeping across the hayfield and under the shade of the cottonwood. The sky overhead was blue as a robin’s egg. Puffy clouds that looked like elephants and goats and people tumbled past.
We probably had a RC Cola or Nehi Orange at our side.
The announcers’ voices were clear and crisp as they called each play. To this day, I can hear the crack of the bat striking the ball, the sharp sound cutting through the roar of the crowd. Even before the crack of the bat died away, Jim Britt or Red Barber would shout, “A homerun, ladies and gentlemen. A home run, and the Cubs lead it one nothing in the bottom of the seventh.”
We’d clap and shout with excitement.
That afternoon, when Dad came in from work, I’d run up to him and my words tumbled all over each other as I related the details of the game.
I’ll never forget how crushed I was when a bunch of us boys were talking baseball at recess one day. One of our friends sniffed and said. “Those guys who call the game ain’t really there. They just use sound effects.”
“What? How can that be? They got to be there.”
He calmly informed us his brother was in radio, and each station had a announcer who sat in a room listening to the game on headphones, then relating the plays to his own audience. “Why,’ he exclaimed, “he even has the sound of crowds on a record, and he taps his pencil against the microphone to make it sound like a bat hitting the ball.”
That night, Dad studied me a moment after I told him what I’d heard. He gave me that funny grin of his and tousled my hair. “Don’t listen to him. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
That was good enough for me. In my mind, I could see those announcers high in the booths looking down on the field.
Years passed. I grew older. Major changes came about. We sort of relegated baseball to a lesser priority although we attended several Fort Worth Cat’s games after moving to that city.
Dad never got real interested in baseball until the Rangers came to town. They were pretty bad, but he hung in there. He always assured me that they were just rebuilding. Wait until next year, he would say. For the twenty odd years until he passed away, he faithfully followed the Rangers with all their warts and moles.
Well today, he’d sure be crowing. “See. Just what I said. They’ve been building up to this.”
I can see him now, flyswatter in hand, sitting at a table with maybe St. Peter, and the two of them looking down as the Rangers take the field in this years World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. He’d give St. Peter that funny grin of his and announce. “I always knew they’d make to the series. And this year they’ll win it.”
When I think about him and baseball, those carefree days so long ago come sweeping back, carrying me back to those misty days in my memory. I hold so precious and dear.
Enjoy the series, Dad. You deserve it.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
October 12, 2011
Campaign Mode
You know what the definition of Campaign Mode is, don’t you? That’s when politicians tell you exactly what you want to know even if they have to lie about it. Hey, often, they’ll lie to us when the truth would serve better.
If you’ve noticed, in the last few weeks our president has gone back to his campaign mode he so successfully utilized in ’08. You remember, sleeves rolled up, collar unbuttoned-just a regular good old boy.
And he’s doing exactly what he did back then, telling us what we want to hear regardless of truth.
For example, a few months back at a Democratic National Committee meeting in Austin, he made the remark that we had doubled our exports.
The truth is in 2009, exports totaled $1,571 trillion. The first quarter of 2011, exports totaled just over $505 billion. If you multiply the first quarter of 2011 by four, you’ll have $2,020 trillion, which is an increase, but only 29%, not the doubling he claimed.
Why do they deliberately misrepresent their accomplishment to us? Obviously, to be re-elected, and if they don’t have something positive to say, they’ll make it up.
The old saw ‘believe half of what you see and nothing of what you hear’ is as valid today as when old Ben Franklin coined it.
Have you grown as sick of the budget mess we have up there?
I'd like to say, take heart, but I can't.
The president claims his budget ‘will help reduce the deficit to $400 billion over the next decade—the lowest level since Dwight Eisenhower was president.’
But a strange thing happened on the way to the forum. Using Obama’s own summary tables from his budget proposal, PolitiFact found that the deficit for 2011 will be $1.645 trillion. In 2021, the end of the span of which he spoke, the deficit is projected to be $774 billion, almost double his claim of $400.
In his effort to defend his healthcare, he stated categorically “twelve judges have thrown out legal challenges to the health care law because they rejected the notion that health care law was unconstitutional.”
Twelve judges did dismiss the case, but not because of ‘the notion health care was unconstitutional’ but because upon procedural grounds. They did not even look at the merits of the case.
Four more judges have ruled on it, two for, two against.
But doesn’t it sound much better to claim twelve tossed it out? He blatantly stated, “they rejected the notion that health care law was unconstitutional “, which they did not.
In another fairy tale, he claimed he had not raised taxes. If he didn’t then it was his clone who signed into law raising taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products.
His clone also signed into law the new healthcare law that taxes those who decide not to have health insurance. By 2016, penalty/tax will be from $695 per uninsured person up to a maximum of three times that amount or $2,085.
No taxes, he claims. How would you explain that starting in 2013, individuals who make over $200,000 and couples making over $250,000 will see additional Medicare taxes as well as begin paying Medicare taxes on their investment income.
Another false statement.
Had enough?
No, well, this idea of cronyism has been bandied about in the last few weeks.
If you’ll think back, in his State of the Union address last year, the president stated “we’ve excluded lobbyists from policymaking jobs or seats on federal boards and commissions.”
According to PolitiFact, he did sign legislation barring lobbyists, but, as usual in politics, there was a loophole. That loophole was that he could, by executive order, issue a waiver okaying a lobbyist to work for the administration.
And that is what took place.
He issued a waiver for:
William Lynn to be deputy secretary of defense, the No.2 positional at the Pentagon.(think defense weapons) Lynn was a Raytheon lobbyists for six years, lobbying on defense-related issues.
Jocelyn Frey, director of policy and projects in the office of the First Lady. (this one states she is director of policy)
Cecilia Munoz, director of intergovernmental affairs in the executive Office of the President.
In addition, the White House has issued seven more waivers and among various federal agencies, fifteen more waivers had been issued.
I’m tired of listening to such dribble as ‘health reform will give every American the same opportunity to buy health insure the way members of Congress do.
Or preventive care saves money.
Or –never mind. The list of half truths is interminable.
I could go on and on relating his remarks, but the point is that up until the next federal election, citizens should remember Ben Franklin and be skeptical of all they hear, not just from the president, but from all politicians.
Now in all fairness to him, probably ninety-five percent of our politicians do the same thing.
They just don’t have a big a platform from which to speak.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
If you’ve noticed, in the last few weeks our president has gone back to his campaign mode he so successfully utilized in ’08. You remember, sleeves rolled up, collar unbuttoned-just a regular good old boy.
And he’s doing exactly what he did back then, telling us what we want to hear regardless of truth.
For example, a few months back at a Democratic National Committee meeting in Austin, he made the remark that we had doubled our exports.
The truth is in 2009, exports totaled $1,571 trillion. The first quarter of 2011, exports totaled just over $505 billion. If you multiply the first quarter of 2011 by four, you’ll have $2,020 trillion, which is an increase, but only 29%, not the doubling he claimed.
Why do they deliberately misrepresent their accomplishment to us? Obviously, to be re-elected, and if they don’t have something positive to say, they’ll make it up.
The old saw ‘believe half of what you see and nothing of what you hear’ is as valid today as when old Ben Franklin coined it.
Have you grown as sick of the budget mess we have up there?
I'd like to say, take heart, but I can't.
The president claims his budget ‘will help reduce the deficit to $400 billion over the next decade—the lowest level since Dwight Eisenhower was president.’
But a strange thing happened on the way to the forum. Using Obama’s own summary tables from his budget proposal, PolitiFact found that the deficit for 2011 will be $1.645 trillion. In 2021, the end of the span of which he spoke, the deficit is projected to be $774 billion, almost double his claim of $400.
In his effort to defend his healthcare, he stated categorically “twelve judges have thrown out legal challenges to the health care law because they rejected the notion that health care law was unconstitutional.”
Twelve judges did dismiss the case, but not because of ‘the notion health care was unconstitutional’ but because upon procedural grounds. They did not even look at the merits of the case.
Four more judges have ruled on it, two for, two against.
But doesn’t it sound much better to claim twelve tossed it out? He blatantly stated, “they rejected the notion that health care law was unconstitutional “, which they did not.
In another fairy tale, he claimed he had not raised taxes. If he didn’t then it was his clone who signed into law raising taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products.
His clone also signed into law the new healthcare law that taxes those who decide not to have health insurance. By 2016, penalty/tax will be from $695 per uninsured person up to a maximum of three times that amount or $2,085.
No taxes, he claims. How would you explain that starting in 2013, individuals who make over $200,000 and couples making over $250,000 will see additional Medicare taxes as well as begin paying Medicare taxes on their investment income.
Another false statement.
Had enough?
No, well, this idea of cronyism has been bandied about in the last few weeks.
If you’ll think back, in his State of the Union address last year, the president stated “we’ve excluded lobbyists from policymaking jobs or seats on federal boards and commissions.”
According to PolitiFact, he did sign legislation barring lobbyists, but, as usual in politics, there was a loophole. That loophole was that he could, by executive order, issue a waiver okaying a lobbyist to work for the administration.
And that is what took place.
He issued a waiver for:
William Lynn to be deputy secretary of defense, the No.2 positional at the Pentagon.(think defense weapons) Lynn was a Raytheon lobbyists for six years, lobbying on defense-related issues.
Jocelyn Frey, director of policy and projects in the office of the First Lady. (this one states she is director of policy)
Cecilia Munoz, director of intergovernmental affairs in the executive Office of the President.
In addition, the White House has issued seven more waivers and among various federal agencies, fifteen more waivers had been issued.
I’m tired of listening to such dribble as ‘health reform will give every American the same opportunity to buy health insure the way members of Congress do.
Or preventive care saves money.
Or –never mind. The list of half truths is interminable.
I could go on and on relating his remarks, but the point is that up until the next federal election, citizens should remember Ben Franklin and be skeptical of all they hear, not just from the president, but from all politicians.
Now in all fairness to him, probably ninety-five percent of our politicians do the same thing.
They just don’t have a big a platform from which to speak.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
October 5, 2011
Is America Turning to Socialism?
Unless you've been stuck away in an attic for the last few years, you've heard the word 'socialism' batted around more than a volleyball in a five-game
match.
Socialism advocates the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth should be owned and regulated by the community as a whole.
The philosophy is very much like communism in which all property is publicly owned. Each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs.
The difference in the two is that communism advocates class warfare, a word you’ve heard bandied about in the media over the last few years.
Joseph Stalin once said that "America is like a healthy body and its resistance is threefold: its patriotism, its morality and its spiritual life." He continued. "If we can undermine these three areas, America will collapse from within."
To that end, a platform of forty-five communist goals were established to insinuate destructive philosophies into the American model. In fact, these goals entitled 'Current Communist Goals' were published in the U.S. Congressional Record in 1963.
You're probably saying that was over sixty years ago, so what does that have to do with today? Read on.
Forty-five is too many to cover in such a short space, but there were some that leaped off the page and struck me between the eyes.
Goals twenty-four through twenty-six:
24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them ‘censorship’ and a violation of free speech and free press.
25.Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV. (what explanation is necessary? Take a look at what Hollywood and the printed word offers today)
26.Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy." (gay marriage had dominated headlines for the last several years)
In fact, take a gander at your TV schedule for the next week and tell me these three goals have not been achieved.
What a change from the sitcoms of the sixties and seventies. We had ‘Leave it to Beaver’,‘My Three Sons’, and the 'Brady Bunch-, all of which provided healthy lessons on life. We had heroes then such as Batman, the Lone Ranger, Superman. And we had the light-hearted 'Gomer Pyle', 'Dick Van Dyke Show,' and 'Betwitched'. The cartoons were light, always concluding with the good guy winning, not vulgar like the current South Park or King of the Hill or Family Guy, all three of which are laced with obscenities.
How did all this come about?
Here’s how.
Communist Goal 21 states 'Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.’
Do you think this happening? The most recent example I can point out is last week, Hank Williams Jr made the remark that Obama and House Speaker Boehner playing golf was like Hitler playing with the Israeli Prime Minister. When asked to explain, Williams
replied, "They, meaning Obama and Biden, are the enemy." His remark got his Monday Night Football opening canceled by ESPN.
Now, I'm not saying ESPN is communist.
I’m not saying any media is communist.
All I’m saying is that over the last forty or fifty years, our country has leaned more and more toward that particular philosophy.
Over the decades, government has been insidiously insinuating itself more and more into our lives.
Is this just coincidence?
Goal 27 calls for infiltrating the churches and replacing revealed religion with 'social' religion; it calls for discrediting the Bible and emphasizing the need for intellectual maturity, which needs no religious crutch.
Goal 28 states eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state."
We've seen that come about. We've witnessed students punished for praying in school. We can’t pray in school. We can’t pray at ball games.
And then there is the furor over ‘In God We Trust’ on our coinage.
I'm not smart enough to have a solution satisfying everyone, but our country was founded upon and by religious principles. We're not floundering around now because God is punishing us; we're floundering because our country has moved away from the principles upon which it was founded.
In Washington today, the thrust is to take from those who've worked hard, who've worked smart, or who hit a streak of luck, and give part of their income to those who don't have as much. Pure socialism.
Communist Goal 29 states ‘discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.’
Don 't think so, then explain why North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue suggests we skip--yep, skip (as in forgettabout it) Congressional elections.
And then farther up north, we have Peter Orzag stating that what our country needs is less democracy. Who is Orzag? A graduate of Exeter and former Obama staff member.
Are they communists? No, but they are leaning in the direction the communist philosophy espouses.
Fifty percent of households pay no income tax. How to you reconcile that with the socialist philosophy? Fifty million Americans are on welfare. That's not counting the twenty-three million illegals, the majority of whom are drawing some type of welfare. Aren't taxpaying Americans taking care of them?
Any way you cut the cake, it stills comes out socialism.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
match.
Socialism advocates the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth should be owned and regulated by the community as a whole.
The philosophy is very much like communism in which all property is publicly owned. Each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs.
The difference in the two is that communism advocates class warfare, a word you’ve heard bandied about in the media over the last few years.
Joseph Stalin once said that "America is like a healthy body and its resistance is threefold: its patriotism, its morality and its spiritual life." He continued. "If we can undermine these three areas, America will collapse from within."
To that end, a platform of forty-five communist goals were established to insinuate destructive philosophies into the American model. In fact, these goals entitled 'Current Communist Goals' were published in the U.S. Congressional Record in 1963.
You're probably saying that was over sixty years ago, so what does that have to do with today? Read on.
Forty-five is too many to cover in such a short space, but there were some that leaped off the page and struck me between the eyes.
Goals twenty-four through twenty-six:
24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them ‘censorship’ and a violation of free speech and free press.
25.Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV. (what explanation is necessary? Take a look at what Hollywood and the printed word offers today)
26.Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy." (gay marriage had dominated headlines for the last several years)
In fact, take a gander at your TV schedule for the next week and tell me these three goals have not been achieved.
What a change from the sitcoms of the sixties and seventies. We had ‘Leave it to Beaver’,‘My Three Sons’, and the 'Brady Bunch-, all of which provided healthy lessons on life. We had heroes then such as Batman, the Lone Ranger, Superman. And we had the light-hearted 'Gomer Pyle', 'Dick Van Dyke Show,' and 'Betwitched'. The cartoons were light, always concluding with the good guy winning, not vulgar like the current South Park or King of the Hill or Family Guy, all three of which are laced with obscenities.
How did all this come about?
Here’s how.
Communist Goal 21 states 'Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.’
Do you think this happening? The most recent example I can point out is last week, Hank Williams Jr made the remark that Obama and House Speaker Boehner playing golf was like Hitler playing with the Israeli Prime Minister. When asked to explain, Williams
replied, "They, meaning Obama and Biden, are the enemy." His remark got his Monday Night Football opening canceled by ESPN.
Now, I'm not saying ESPN is communist.
I’m not saying any media is communist.
All I’m saying is that over the last forty or fifty years, our country has leaned more and more toward that particular philosophy.
Over the decades, government has been insidiously insinuating itself more and more into our lives.
Is this just coincidence?
Goal 27 calls for infiltrating the churches and replacing revealed religion with 'social' religion; it calls for discrediting the Bible and emphasizing the need for intellectual maturity, which needs no religious crutch.
Goal 28 states eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state."
We've seen that come about. We've witnessed students punished for praying in school. We can’t pray in school. We can’t pray at ball games.
And then there is the furor over ‘In God We Trust’ on our coinage.
I'm not smart enough to have a solution satisfying everyone, but our country was founded upon and by religious principles. We're not floundering around now because God is punishing us; we're floundering because our country has moved away from the principles upon which it was founded.
In Washington today, the thrust is to take from those who've worked hard, who've worked smart, or who hit a streak of luck, and give part of their income to those who don't have as much. Pure socialism.
Communist Goal 29 states ‘discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.’
Don 't think so, then explain why North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue suggests we skip--yep, skip (as in forgettabout it) Congressional elections.
And then farther up north, we have Peter Orzag stating that what our country needs is less democracy. Who is Orzag? A graduate of Exeter and former Obama staff member.
Are they communists? No, but they are leaning in the direction the communist philosophy espouses.
Fifty percent of households pay no income tax. How to you reconcile that with the socialist philosophy? Fifty million Americans are on welfare. That's not counting the twenty-three million illegals, the majority of whom are drawing some type of welfare. Aren't taxpaying Americans taking care of them?
Any way you cut the cake, it stills comes out socialism.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
September 28, 2011
Living Through Chaos
We’ve all been in situations when the unexpected forces us to change plans we’ve had in place for weeks or months. And when that happens, we’ve no choice but to make the best of it. Sometimes that’s hard to do; sometimes the repercussions are not what we had anticipated; sometimes, but not often, it all turns out much better than we expected; but always, we’re grateful when it is all over.
That is the sort of frustrating situation in which we found ourselves a couple weeks back for the Pecan Festival hosted by the city of Groves. Instead of the weekend being fun and relaxing, it became a hectic frenzy—not the festival itself, but the days leading up to it thanks to the unanticipated--and Mother Nature’s blessings.
We always try to attend the Pecan Festival with the grandkids, Mikey and Keegan. Now, we never attend opening day because it is too crowded. We usually opt for Saturday. This year, the festival’s dates fell on my grandson’s, Mikey, birthday.
Mikey's birthday party was Saturday at two.
Well, we talked about going Friday, but since Keegan was spending the night with us. We had planned to take him fishing at the rocks at Sabine Lake. Keegan is crazy about the place, and he’s turning into a good little fisherman.
Then things started going down hill.
Keegan was sent home from school ill.
There went the fishing for when I picked
him up, that little feller was as droopy as a wet noodle. Usually when he’s over, we jump in the pool, but all he felt like doing was lying around watching Spongebob Squarepants on TV.
I know, I know, erudite psychologists have claimed watching just nine minutes of Spongebob will turn a child into an idiot. In my years on this earth, I’ve not grown very smart, but I’m smart enough to know such conclusions are drawn only by idiots.
The same thing was said about the Three Stooges fifty years back, and while that might be the explanation for the idiocy of most of our current politicians, for the most part, American kids who enjoyed the Stooge’s silly antics turned out to be fine citizens.
But, back to the festival or actually the days leading up to it. We realized Sunday would have be our day at the fair. Open from 1-6, there was plenty of time for the boys to enjoy the rides and games.
I mentioned ‘frenzy’ earlier. Well, Keegan’s mom and dad worked Saturday, which meant we would also have his little sister, Kenli, who was almost one.
If you haven’t been around a one-year-old in a spell, I’ll tell you they are never still. She’s a climber and a crawler (though she is close to walking). As of this writing, I guess I could say she is walking for yesterday, she took about eight or ten wobbly little steps before plopping down on her plump little derriere.
Keegan still felt puny, so his folks decided he didn’t need to play in his peewee football game that Saturday morning, which was fine with me being the bus driver so to speak. But he also been invited to a couple birthday parties, Mikey’s being one of them.
Strange how a birthday invitation can perk a sick kid up. You ever noticed that?
Anyway, the first party was at Doornbos Park at eleven, and then his cousin’s, Mikey, at two.
Leaving Kenli with Gayle, Keegan and I headed for the first party.
Birthday parties aren’t like I remember with a handful of kids. Not only did youngsters show up, their parents were with them. I’d guess seventy or eighty folks altogether.
The hosts had a pony ride and petting zoo for the kids.
Great fun, great company, great people.
I lost track of the number of pony rides Keegan took, and his favorite animal in the zoo was an ancient turtle almost three feet long.
We didn’t want to leave, but we had to pick up Gayle and Kenli and head for Mikey’s shindig.
By then, Keegan was over whatever he’d had the day before. He hit the swimming pool with the others, and for three hours, the kids tried to drown each other.
By then, Gayle and I were exhausted, but we still had the fair the next day.
That night, the drought around broke—big time.
We knew we were taking a chance of being soaked if we went to the fair. We were right. For the first hour, we huddled with thirty or forty others under a 20x20 pavilion out of the pouring rain witnessing a dog show.
Now I like dogs, but a dog show is not my idea of a fun time at the fair.
When the deluge finally slacked, we were all soaked, but we headed for the midway through ankle deep water with grim resolve to have fun despite the drizzle. Have fun or die-that was the motto we adopted.
The boys rode what rides were open, and we all took shelter under the canopies of game venues with each passing shower.
The prizes they won probably cost all of five bucks although we spent fifty to seventy on them, but it was worth it.
I kid you not, those three days, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday wore me to the proverbial nub. I even dozed through the Texans' football game.
That night, Gayle and I were asleep before our heads hit the pillows. I didn’t move a muscle.
How soccer moms do it, I’ll never know. My hat’s off to them.
Now, I’ve got to rest up for next year
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
www.kentconwell.blogspot.com
That is the sort of frustrating situation in which we found ourselves a couple weeks back for the Pecan Festival hosted by the city of Groves. Instead of the weekend being fun and relaxing, it became a hectic frenzy—not the festival itself, but the days leading up to it thanks to the unanticipated--and Mother Nature’s blessings.
We always try to attend the Pecan Festival with the grandkids, Mikey and Keegan. Now, we never attend opening day because it is too crowded. We usually opt for Saturday. This year, the festival’s dates fell on my grandson’s, Mikey, birthday.
Mikey's birthday party was Saturday at two.
Well, we talked about going Friday, but since Keegan was spending the night with us. We had planned to take him fishing at the rocks at Sabine Lake. Keegan is crazy about the place, and he’s turning into a good little fisherman.
Then things started going down hill.
Keegan was sent home from school ill.
There went the fishing for when I picked
him up, that little feller was as droopy as a wet noodle. Usually when he’s over, we jump in the pool, but all he felt like doing was lying around watching Spongebob Squarepants on TV.
I know, I know, erudite psychologists have claimed watching just nine minutes of Spongebob will turn a child into an idiot. In my years on this earth, I’ve not grown very smart, but I’m smart enough to know such conclusions are drawn only by idiots.
The same thing was said about the Three Stooges fifty years back, and while that might be the explanation for the idiocy of most of our current politicians, for the most part, American kids who enjoyed the Stooge’s silly antics turned out to be fine citizens.
But, back to the festival or actually the days leading up to it. We realized Sunday would have be our day at the fair. Open from 1-6, there was plenty of time for the boys to enjoy the rides and games.
I mentioned ‘frenzy’ earlier. Well, Keegan’s mom and dad worked Saturday, which meant we would also have his little sister, Kenli, who was almost one.
If you haven’t been around a one-year-old in a spell, I’ll tell you they are never still. She’s a climber and a crawler (though she is close to walking). As of this writing, I guess I could say she is walking for yesterday, she took about eight or ten wobbly little steps before plopping down on her plump little derriere.
Keegan still felt puny, so his folks decided he didn’t need to play in his peewee football game that Saturday morning, which was fine with me being the bus driver so to speak. But he also been invited to a couple birthday parties, Mikey’s being one of them.
Strange how a birthday invitation can perk a sick kid up. You ever noticed that?
Anyway, the first party was at Doornbos Park at eleven, and then his cousin’s, Mikey, at two.
Leaving Kenli with Gayle, Keegan and I headed for the first party.
Birthday parties aren’t like I remember with a handful of kids. Not only did youngsters show up, their parents were with them. I’d guess seventy or eighty folks altogether.
The hosts had a pony ride and petting zoo for the kids.
Great fun, great company, great people.
I lost track of the number of pony rides Keegan took, and his favorite animal in the zoo was an ancient turtle almost three feet long.
We didn’t want to leave, but we had to pick up Gayle and Kenli and head for Mikey’s shindig.
By then, Keegan was over whatever he’d had the day before. He hit the swimming pool with the others, and for three hours, the kids tried to drown each other.
By then, Gayle and I were exhausted, but we still had the fair the next day.
That night, the drought around broke—big time.
We knew we were taking a chance of being soaked if we went to the fair. We were right. For the first hour, we huddled with thirty or forty others under a 20x20 pavilion out of the pouring rain witnessing a dog show.
Now I like dogs, but a dog show is not my idea of a fun time at the fair.
When the deluge finally slacked, we were all soaked, but we headed for the midway through ankle deep water with grim resolve to have fun despite the drizzle. Have fun or die-that was the motto we adopted.
The boys rode what rides were open, and we all took shelter under the canopies of game venues with each passing shower.
The prizes they won probably cost all of five bucks although we spent fifty to seventy on them, but it was worth it.
I kid you not, those three days, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday wore me to the proverbial nub. I even dozed through the Texans' football game.
That night, Gayle and I were asleep before our heads hit the pillows. I didn’t move a muscle.
How soccer moms do it, I’ll never know. My hat’s off to them.
Now, I’ve got to rest up for next year
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
www.kentconwell.blogspot.com
September 21, 2011
Rick Perry and the Great Ponzi Scheme
Seems like some folks are upset about Rick Perry’s assertion that Social Security is a Ponzi Scheme.
Now, I don’t know if I’m for Perry or not. I don’t trust him. He possesses many of the attributes of the consummate politician, both good or bad. That means nothing. There are only a few politicians I trust, and most of them are local folks. Even among the locals, there are those who put their own
agendas above those of the public.
So, when I say, let’s talk about his remarks, I’m not supporting him, although I believe if you look at his assertion with an open mind, you’ll be able to see his point.
I’m not trying to change your mind. Most of you are too wise for that, but I just want to explain his point-of-view.
First, just what is a Ponzi Scheme?
It is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to investors, not from actual profits earned, but from money paid by subsequent investors.
The scheme draws new investors by offering returns other companies can’t guarantee. These returns are short term and offer abnormal and consistent returns. When other investors see that old Joe Moneybags’ investment with ‘Pie in the Sky Mutuals’ is drawing twenty percent, they fall all over their own greed to get in on the action.
The only way for the scheme to continue is to entice new investors--continually--as in day after day—to feed on itself.
Most of you have heard of Bernie Madoff who scored billions off a long running Ponzi Scheme.
A la Perry, let’s compare his plan to our Social Security system, shall we?
Bernie: took money from investors with the promise that the money will be invested and made available to them later.
Social Security: Takes money from wage earners with the promise that the money will be invested in a ‘Trust Fund’ and made available later.
Bernie: Instead of investing the money, old Bernie spent it on nice homes and yachts.
Social Security: After depositing money in a ‘Trust Fund’, politicians borrowed from it to supplant monies for the General Revenue Fund, using it for general spending and vote buying.
Bernie: When the time came to pay the investors back, Bernie simply used funds from new investors to pay the older investors.
Social Security: When benefits for the older investors became due, politicians paid the old codgers with money taken from younger and newer wage earners.
Bernie: When Bernie’s scheme was discovered, you-know-what hit the fan. New investors scattered like quail. Money dried up.
Social Security: When Social Security runs out of money, politicians try to force taxpayers to send them more or they cancel or pare down benefits to all those who paid into it.
Now, there you have it. That’s the point Perry is trying to make.
If you can see a difference in a Ponzi Scheme and Social Security, I’d appreciate you let me know. I’ll even print your response (as long as it is printable).
Now the old boy in my high school chat group who put me on to this comparison added one more comparison.
I think it is interesting enough to repeat here.
Today, Bernie Madoff is in jail.
Today, politicians remain in Washington with fat medical and retirement benefits or have retired to bask in the fact they are rich as Croesus and have federal buildings and libraries named after them.
Does Madoff deserve prison?
Definitely! His actions were deliberate, bringing about devastating ruin to hundreds of lives.
What about the politicians who’ve taken from Social Security?
I don’t know about you, but I see a double standard here that has no place in our country.
What to do about it?
Term limits.
House members-three terms; Senate-two terms.
A keenly perceptive activist in the intellectual life of our country, Milton Friedman, once remarked. “If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five years, there would be a shortage of sand.
Ain’t it the truth.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
Now, I don’t know if I’m for Perry or not. I don’t trust him. He possesses many of the attributes of the consummate politician, both good or bad. That means nothing. There are only a few politicians I trust, and most of them are local folks. Even among the locals, there are those who put their own
agendas above those of the public.
So, when I say, let’s talk about his remarks, I’m not supporting him, although I believe if you look at his assertion with an open mind, you’ll be able to see his point.
I’m not trying to change your mind. Most of you are too wise for that, but I just want to explain his point-of-view.
First, just what is a Ponzi Scheme?
It is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to investors, not from actual profits earned, but from money paid by subsequent investors.
The scheme draws new investors by offering returns other companies can’t guarantee. These returns are short term and offer abnormal and consistent returns. When other investors see that old Joe Moneybags’ investment with ‘Pie in the Sky Mutuals’ is drawing twenty percent, they fall all over their own greed to get in on the action.
The only way for the scheme to continue is to entice new investors--continually--as in day after day—to feed on itself.
Most of you have heard of Bernie Madoff who scored billions off a long running Ponzi Scheme.
A la Perry, let’s compare his plan to our Social Security system, shall we?
Bernie: took money from investors with the promise that the money will be invested and made available to them later.
Social Security: Takes money from wage earners with the promise that the money will be invested in a ‘Trust Fund’ and made available later.
Bernie: Instead of investing the money, old Bernie spent it on nice homes and yachts.
Social Security: After depositing money in a ‘Trust Fund’, politicians borrowed from it to supplant monies for the General Revenue Fund, using it for general spending and vote buying.
Bernie: When the time came to pay the investors back, Bernie simply used funds from new investors to pay the older investors.
Social Security: When benefits for the older investors became due, politicians paid the old codgers with money taken from younger and newer wage earners.
Bernie: When Bernie’s scheme was discovered, you-know-what hit the fan. New investors scattered like quail. Money dried up.
Social Security: When Social Security runs out of money, politicians try to force taxpayers to send them more or they cancel or pare down benefits to all those who paid into it.
Now, there you have it. That’s the point Perry is trying to make.
If you can see a difference in a Ponzi Scheme and Social Security, I’d appreciate you let me know. I’ll even print your response (as long as it is printable).
Now the old boy in my high school chat group who put me on to this comparison added one more comparison.
I think it is interesting enough to repeat here.
Today, Bernie Madoff is in jail.
Today, politicians remain in Washington with fat medical and retirement benefits or have retired to bask in the fact they are rich as Croesus and have federal buildings and libraries named after them.
Does Madoff deserve prison?
Definitely! His actions were deliberate, bringing about devastating ruin to hundreds of lives.
What about the politicians who’ve taken from Social Security?
I don’t know about you, but I see a double standard here that has no place in our country.
What to do about it?
Term limits.
House members-three terms; Senate-two terms.
A keenly perceptive activist in the intellectual life of our country, Milton Friedman, once remarked. “If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five years, there would be a shortage of sand.
Ain’t it the truth.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
September 14, 2011
A Way Out of this Mess
No one disputes the chilling fact that our country is $14 trillion plus in debt. No one can dispute that when Clinton left office, we had a surplus.
No one can dispute the debt started under Bush and escalated under Obama.
Today, we stand here like dummies staring at a stack of thousand dollar bills 945 miles (miles, not feet) high.
Nine hundred and forty five. That’s a greater distance than from Orange, Texas to El Paso.
Even such a simple explanation of the enormity of the debt is still almost too confounding for me.
Nine hundred and forty-five! Why that’s almost as many miles as your teenager puts on his car over the weekend, right?
Fourteen trillion, and now the administration wants and half trillion to do the same thing all over again.
Remember Einstein’s definition of insanity- doing the same thing and expecting different results.
How did this all happen?
Most of us know exactly how it came about because unfortunately, the same thing has happened to many of us. We’re rocking along, holding our own, and than bingo, we’re broke. How?
Well, it’s a lot of little things we overlook.
But then someone shouts. Hold on! We’ve been fighting wars for ten years now. Them wars ain’t little things.
And he’s right. The Iraq and Afghan wars aren’t little things.
So, let’s talk about them. How much have we spent?
No one really knows.
Believe that? You should. We’re talking about Congress here, folks, not forthright, plain-speaking Americans.
You see, Congress has allotted the Defense Department $1.3 trillion for the wars through this fiscal year. President Obama said the wars cost about $1 trillion.
But those numbers are incomplete. In addition to that which Congress appropriated, the Pentagon spent an additional unknown amount from its $5.2 trillion base budget over the same period.
According to a recent Brown University study, the wars and their ripple effects has cost the U.S. $3.7 trillion--over $12,000 bucks per person, even for the newest little guy or gal to pop into this world.
Other reports put it over $5 trillion, others a tad under, but I figure if we set the monetary cost at $4 trillion, we’d probably be in the ballpark.
I was no math whiz in school, but even I can subtract, and $4 trillion from $14 trillion still leaves $10 big T’s.
Though many disagree with the war, everyone can see where those funds went. What about the others? The $10 trillion?
There are the entitlements, social security, Medicare, Medicaid, and others, all of which were designed to support those citizens who had fallen on hard times.
What about those who discovered the loopholes in the system? The illegals?
How much do they cost us?
How about $340.000,000,000.00 a year? If you’re like me and all those zeroes confuse you, the figure is three hundred and forty billion a year. A year!
Cut that out, and in three years, we’d have a trillion cut off the debt.
Don’t believe the figures?
According to FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a national, nonprofit, public-interest organization that believes our nation's immigration policies must be reformed to serve the national interest stated that every year up to $22 billion is spent on welfare for illegal aliens. Another $22 B is spent on assistance programs such as WIC, free school breakfast and lunches, and food stamps.
Two and a half billion is spent on Medicaid while $12 billion is spent on public schools for illegals who cannot speak a word of English.
Seventeen billion is spent annually on the education of anchor babies, the children of illegals.
Three million a DAY is spent incarcerating illegal aliens who
comprise 30% of all federal inmates.
American taxpayers spend ninety billion annually on social services for illegal aliens.
Two hundred billion a year in suppressed American wages are the result of illegal aliens, and to add insult to injury, $45 billion a year is remitted to their
countries of origin.
And every day, every year, our Congress sits on its thumbs seeing who can one-up each other.
It’s time for term limits on those jokers.
Right now, the Democrats and Republicans are playing footsy with each other--business as usual while trying to make it look as if they’re governing.
Ask any individual who has pulled himself out of bankruptcy or overwhelming debt, and he will admit he had to make some tough decisions.
It is time for Congress to do the same thing.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
No one can dispute the debt started under Bush and escalated under Obama.
Today, we stand here like dummies staring at a stack of thousand dollar bills 945 miles (miles, not feet) high.
Nine hundred and forty five. That’s a greater distance than from Orange, Texas to El Paso.
Even such a simple explanation of the enormity of the debt is still almost too confounding for me.
Nine hundred and forty-five! Why that’s almost as many miles as your teenager puts on his car over the weekend, right?
Fourteen trillion, and now the administration wants and half trillion to do the same thing all over again.
Remember Einstein’s definition of insanity- doing the same thing and expecting different results.
How did this all happen?
Most of us know exactly how it came about because unfortunately, the same thing has happened to many of us. We’re rocking along, holding our own, and than bingo, we’re broke. How?
Well, it’s a lot of little things we overlook.
But then someone shouts. Hold on! We’ve been fighting wars for ten years now. Them wars ain’t little things.
And he’s right. The Iraq and Afghan wars aren’t little things.
So, let’s talk about them. How much have we spent?
No one really knows.
Believe that? You should. We’re talking about Congress here, folks, not forthright, plain-speaking Americans.
You see, Congress has allotted the Defense Department $1.3 trillion for the wars through this fiscal year. President Obama said the wars cost about $1 trillion.
But those numbers are incomplete. In addition to that which Congress appropriated, the Pentagon spent an additional unknown amount from its $5.2 trillion base budget over the same period.
According to a recent Brown University study, the wars and their ripple effects has cost the U.S. $3.7 trillion--over $12,000 bucks per person, even for the newest little guy or gal to pop into this world.
Other reports put it over $5 trillion, others a tad under, but I figure if we set the monetary cost at $4 trillion, we’d probably be in the ballpark.
I was no math whiz in school, but even I can subtract, and $4 trillion from $14 trillion still leaves $10 big T’s.
Though many disagree with the war, everyone can see where those funds went. What about the others? The $10 trillion?
There are the entitlements, social security, Medicare, Medicaid, and others, all of which were designed to support those citizens who had fallen on hard times.
What about those who discovered the loopholes in the system? The illegals?
How much do they cost us?
How about $340.000,000,000.00 a year? If you’re like me and all those zeroes confuse you, the figure is three hundred and forty billion a year. A year!
Cut that out, and in three years, we’d have a trillion cut off the debt.
Don’t believe the figures?
According to FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a national, nonprofit, public-interest organization that believes our nation's immigration policies must be reformed to serve the national interest stated that every year up to $22 billion is spent on welfare for illegal aliens. Another $22 B is spent on assistance programs such as WIC, free school breakfast and lunches, and food stamps.
Two and a half billion is spent on Medicaid while $12 billion is spent on public schools for illegals who cannot speak a word of English.
Seventeen billion is spent annually on the education of anchor babies, the children of illegals.
Three million a DAY is spent incarcerating illegal aliens who
comprise 30% of all federal inmates.
American taxpayers spend ninety billion annually on social services for illegal aliens.
Two hundred billion a year in suppressed American wages are the result of illegal aliens, and to add insult to injury, $45 billion a year is remitted to their
countries of origin.
And every day, every year, our Congress sits on its thumbs seeing who can one-up each other.
It’s time for term limits on those jokers.
Right now, the Democrats and Republicans are playing footsy with each other--business as usual while trying to make it look as if they’re governing.
Ask any individual who has pulled himself out of bankruptcy or overwhelming debt, and he will admit he had to make some tough decisions.
It is time for Congress to do the same thing.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
September 7, 2011
Rick Perry Revisited
A couple weeks back, a gentleman stopped me in front of the post office and questioned me about an article I’d written about Rick Perry. He had considered voting for Perry until he read the article. Now, he had questions.
Well, we all do, and I hastened to explain that while I had strong reservations about our governor, what I considered his negative aspects no way precluded my voting either for or against him.
I was just stating facts. And I could name more issues such as the birther stuff, seceding from the U.S., and his penchant to be a bedfellows with Cintra, a Spanish-based toll-road developer/operator and Texas-based Zachry Construction
But then, you and I could take each candidate and find a list of negatives as long as your arm.
Perry’s a farm boy. He was an Eagle scout, A&M graduate, and an Air Force pilot.
He started out in politics as a democrat, but along the way switched sides. Much is made of the fact he has never lost an election, although in 2006 he won only by a plurality over Chris Bell, Carole Keeton Strayhorn, Kinky Friedman, a Libertarian candidate, and a write-in independent.
Perry polled 39 percent; Bell 29.8 percent; Strayhorn 18 percent, and Friedman 12.6 percent. The Libertarian and the write-in polled 0.6 percent.
It is interesting to note that less than 40 percent of registered voters participated in the election. So, out of approximately 10.5 million registered voters, he receive 1.7 million votes.
Put another way, he was elected by 17-18% of Texas citizens. Certainly not a majority choice. Perhaps just the lesser of six evils, huh?
He became only the third governor in state history elected by a plurality of less than 40 percent of votes cast.
Other elections, he solidly defeated his opponent.
It is true during his tenure, almost half of the new jobs in the country have been created here in our state. How much credit he should get, I don’t know. I do know he used taxpayer money to entice companies to create jobs in the state, but then, isn’t a governor supposed to take steps to help his state prosper?
Texas is a right-to-work state, meaning we’re not at the mercy of unions (although in their way, they do good). We have no state income tax nor state tax on capital gains, all choice plums for businesses looking to relocate or start up. You can’t give him credit for that. We had that before him.
This last legislative session, he tried, but failed to ban sanctuary cities-those that do not allow municipal funds or resources to be used to enforce federal immigration laws, usually by now allowing police or municipal employees to inquire about one’s immigration status. I applaud him for the effort.
Austin, Baytown, Brownsville,
Channelview, Denton, Dallas, El Cenizo, Fort Worth, Houston, Katy, Laredo, League City, McAllen, Port Arthur, and San Antonio are all considered sanctuary cities. That means illegals can live there without fear of arrest and deportation while at the same time milking cities of funds designed to support legal citizens of need. Those city officials should be real proud of themselves.
In 2003, Perry managed to get tort reform, which means he put caps on non-monetary medical malpractice damages.
Such legislation was instrumental in bringing more doctors into the state.
Texas has always been a litigious state, with Jefferson County having one of the most favorable environments for trial attorneys. This last session, Perry signed a ‘loser pays’ bill, which, depending on the situation, makes a losing plaintiff liable for the other party’s attorney fees.
On the flip side of this legislation is the concern that the poor will not pursue legitimate claims out of fear of losing.
He signed the voter I.D. bill, which is designed to prevent fraud at the ballot box.
Would I vote for him?
To the gentleman in front of the post office, I’ll admit I’m not sure.
Besides, we’ve a long way to go. I can’t help thinking that someone who packs a .380 magnum while jogging could very well shoot himself in the foot.
The gentleman with whom I spoke is like most us, desperate to get the country going again. Many probably share his feeling when he said, ‘if the election was between Mortimer Snerd and Obama, I’d vote for Mortimer.’
What if it were between Perry and Mortimer?
You call it.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
Well, we all do, and I hastened to explain that while I had strong reservations about our governor, what I considered his negative aspects no way precluded my voting either for or against him.
I was just stating facts. And I could name more issues such as the birther stuff, seceding from the U.S., and his penchant to be a bedfellows with Cintra, a Spanish-based toll-road developer/operator and Texas-based Zachry Construction
But then, you and I could take each candidate and find a list of negatives as long as your arm.
Perry’s a farm boy. He was an Eagle scout, A&M graduate, and an Air Force pilot.
He started out in politics as a democrat, but along the way switched sides. Much is made of the fact he has never lost an election, although in 2006 he won only by a plurality over Chris Bell, Carole Keeton Strayhorn, Kinky Friedman, a Libertarian candidate, and a write-in independent.
Perry polled 39 percent; Bell 29.8 percent; Strayhorn 18 percent, and Friedman 12.6 percent. The Libertarian and the write-in polled 0.6 percent.
It is interesting to note that less than 40 percent of registered voters participated in the election. So, out of approximately 10.5 million registered voters, he receive 1.7 million votes.
Put another way, he was elected by 17-18% of Texas citizens. Certainly not a majority choice. Perhaps just the lesser of six evils, huh?
He became only the third governor in state history elected by a plurality of less than 40 percent of votes cast.
Other elections, he solidly defeated his opponent.
It is true during his tenure, almost half of the new jobs in the country have been created here in our state. How much credit he should get, I don’t know. I do know he used taxpayer money to entice companies to create jobs in the state, but then, isn’t a governor supposed to take steps to help his state prosper?
Texas is a right-to-work state, meaning we’re not at the mercy of unions (although in their way, they do good). We have no state income tax nor state tax on capital gains, all choice plums for businesses looking to relocate or start up. You can’t give him credit for that. We had that before him.
This last legislative session, he tried, but failed to ban sanctuary cities-those that do not allow municipal funds or resources to be used to enforce federal immigration laws, usually by now allowing police or municipal employees to inquire about one’s immigration status. I applaud him for the effort.
Austin, Baytown, Brownsville,
Channelview, Denton, Dallas, El Cenizo, Fort Worth, Houston, Katy, Laredo, League City, McAllen, Port Arthur, and San Antonio are all considered sanctuary cities. That means illegals can live there without fear of arrest and deportation while at the same time milking cities of funds designed to support legal citizens of need. Those city officials should be real proud of themselves.
In 2003, Perry managed to get tort reform, which means he put caps on non-monetary medical malpractice damages.
Such legislation was instrumental in bringing more doctors into the state.
Texas has always been a litigious state, with Jefferson County having one of the most favorable environments for trial attorneys. This last session, Perry signed a ‘loser pays’ bill, which, depending on the situation, makes a losing plaintiff liable for the other party’s attorney fees.
On the flip side of this legislation is the concern that the poor will not pursue legitimate claims out of fear of losing.
He signed the voter I.D. bill, which is designed to prevent fraud at the ballot box.
Would I vote for him?
To the gentleman in front of the post office, I’ll admit I’m not sure.
Besides, we’ve a long way to go. I can’t help thinking that someone who packs a .380 magnum while jogging could very well shoot himself in the foot.
The gentleman with whom I spoke is like most us, desperate to get the country going again. Many probably share his feeling when he said, ‘if the election was between Mortimer Snerd and Obama, I’d vote for Mortimer.’
What if it were between Perry and Mortimer?
You call it.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
August 31, 2011
First Day Magic
“School days, school days, dear old golden rule days.’
Remember that? What was the rest of it? ‘Reading and ‘riting and ‘rithmetic taught to the tune of a hickory stick—‘
It goes on, these words of an old song written by Gus Edwards and Will Cobb back in 1907.
As kids up in the Panhandle, we used to sing it, at least the first few lines. After ‘hickory stick’, it continued ‘you were my queen in calico. I was your bashful barefoot beau’. That’s as far as we ever went, but it was a favorite for us back in the forties.
Now, we knew about the reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic, but as third and fourth graders, we weren’t just real sure about ‘queen in calico’ or ‘bashful barefoot beau’ stuff.
Back then during the summer, if anyone had asked if we were ready to go back to school, we’d have grimaced and cried out ‘no’. Same way today. The truth is, then, as now, most of us were eager to get back to school, especially those who lived on farms and had daily chores.
It is easy to understand just how much more preferable it was sitting in an English class diagramming sentences rather than out in the hot sun chopping corn or pulling cotton.
And as an educator for forty-one years, I always felt the excitement of that first day back in class. There was a sort of magic about it, and although most of the magic had worn off by the second day, it continued to come back year after year.
And if there is a teacher reading this, he knows of what I write.
After my first year in a school district on the outskirts of Fort Worth, I landed a position as a Penney’s manager trainee, a job that almost half again the size of my paltry $3900.00 teacher’s salary.
I had thoughts of staying with Penney’s. One of my friends was a trainee also. His dad managed a store in Conroe at a princely income of around $25 thousand.
That folks, was good money back in 1959-60.
But a strange thing happened on the way to the forum—oops, sorry, on the way to financial security.
The first of September rolled around.
What an eerie feeling.
For some reason, about a month before the start of school, I started thinking about what we were going to do that year. Unconsciously, I began laying plans.
Now this was before curriculum guides and politicians’ big noses; before George Bush doubled educational testing with ‘No Child Left Behind’ just after his brother, Neil, got into the educational testing business.
(What a strange coincidence, but then seems like politicians and coincidences follow one another. Isn’t that a strange coincidence also?)
I was scheduled for a senior English class, which at that time focused on British literature the first semester and grammar the second.
As appropriate, I gave Penney’s my two weeks notice, and being a compassionate business, they appropriately suggested I just take the two weeks off and rest up.
I protested that I needed the pay, and in their sympathetic manner replied, ‘tough.’
But, I was back in the school business.
Even after forty-one years and more changes than I like to think, the first day always remained magical, exciting.
I’ve witnessed the transition from a bucolic educational system to one loaded with stress for students to achieve higher test scores. And if they don’t, the teachers, the schools are blamed, not the kids, not the parents.
Today’s system is more concerned about helping a youngster build self-esteem than readying him to face the world beyond the comfortable confines of high school. What does your boss pay you for, producing for him or feeling good about yourself?
That’s what I’m talking about.
When my daughters were in high school, a teacher friend asked if they were going out for the drill team. He was surprised when I replied they were staying in the high school band.
“But,” he said. “Drill team will be the highlight of their lives.”
“If being on a drill team is the highlight of someone’s life, they don’t have much ambition or any goals,” I told him.
The importance of education is just that, education and skills that give each youngster a chance in a world that is changing by the day.
Every year, kids will return to school, and every year, that first day magic will be there.
I miss it.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
Remember that? What was the rest of it? ‘Reading and ‘riting and ‘rithmetic taught to the tune of a hickory stick—‘
It goes on, these words of an old song written by Gus Edwards and Will Cobb back in 1907.
As kids up in the Panhandle, we used to sing it, at least the first few lines. After ‘hickory stick’, it continued ‘you were my queen in calico. I was your bashful barefoot beau’. That’s as far as we ever went, but it was a favorite for us back in the forties.
Now, we knew about the reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic, but as third and fourth graders, we weren’t just real sure about ‘queen in calico’ or ‘bashful barefoot beau’ stuff.
Back then during the summer, if anyone had asked if we were ready to go back to school, we’d have grimaced and cried out ‘no’. Same way today. The truth is, then, as now, most of us were eager to get back to school, especially those who lived on farms and had daily chores.
It is easy to understand just how much more preferable it was sitting in an English class diagramming sentences rather than out in the hot sun chopping corn or pulling cotton.
And as an educator for forty-one years, I always felt the excitement of that first day back in class. There was a sort of magic about it, and although most of the magic had worn off by the second day, it continued to come back year after year.
And if there is a teacher reading this, he knows of what I write.
After my first year in a school district on the outskirts of Fort Worth, I landed a position as a Penney’s manager trainee, a job that almost half again the size of my paltry $3900.00 teacher’s salary.
I had thoughts of staying with Penney’s. One of my friends was a trainee also. His dad managed a store in Conroe at a princely income of around $25 thousand.
That folks, was good money back in 1959-60.
But a strange thing happened on the way to the forum—oops, sorry, on the way to financial security.
The first of September rolled around.
What an eerie feeling.
For some reason, about a month before the start of school, I started thinking about what we were going to do that year. Unconsciously, I began laying plans.
Now this was before curriculum guides and politicians’ big noses; before George Bush doubled educational testing with ‘No Child Left Behind’ just after his brother, Neil, got into the educational testing business.
(What a strange coincidence, but then seems like politicians and coincidences follow one another. Isn’t that a strange coincidence also?)
I was scheduled for a senior English class, which at that time focused on British literature the first semester and grammar the second.
As appropriate, I gave Penney’s my two weeks notice, and being a compassionate business, they appropriately suggested I just take the two weeks off and rest up.
I protested that I needed the pay, and in their sympathetic manner replied, ‘tough.’
But, I was back in the school business.
Even after forty-one years and more changes than I like to think, the first day always remained magical, exciting.
I’ve witnessed the transition from a bucolic educational system to one loaded with stress for students to achieve higher test scores. And if they don’t, the teachers, the schools are blamed, not the kids, not the parents.
Today’s system is more concerned about helping a youngster build self-esteem than readying him to face the world beyond the comfortable confines of high school. What does your boss pay you for, producing for him or feeling good about yourself?
That’s what I’m talking about.
When my daughters were in high school, a teacher friend asked if they were going out for the drill team. He was surprised when I replied they were staying in the high school band.
“But,” he said. “Drill team will be the highlight of their lives.”
“If being on a drill team is the highlight of someone’s life, they don’t have much ambition or any goals,” I told him.
The importance of education is just that, education and skills that give each youngster a chance in a world that is changing by the day.
Every year, kids will return to school, and every year, that first day magic will be there.
I miss it.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
August 24, 2011
Rick Perry, PPP
A couple weeks back, our own Rick Perry, PPP, (Professional Politician for President) tossed his Stetson in the ring for the top honcho of the country.
I don’t know how far he’ll go. I’ve no idea if he’ll even get the Republican nomination, and if he does, I have no idea how he’ll fare against Jimmy Carter the Second.
I’ve never met the man, but those who have say he is very charismatic. I don’t know about that, but I met Bush once at a Workforce Commission reception in Port Arthur. I can testify that guy is charismatic. Maybe not real smart, but—well, magnetic is a good word.
I did vote for Bush. Unfortunately, he left the country in worse financial condition than he received it. Despite partisan efforts to ignore the fact,
Clinton did leave us a surplus.
Of course, Bush was hit with a couple wars, which does cost a little more than an afternoon movie and burgers. And then he came up with a couple unfounded initiatives, a stimulus and Medicare drugs, that stuck us deeper in the hole.
As even the most fanatic of Republicans must admit, he, despite the reasons, started digging this hole of debt, and then the bizarre policies of Obama dug the hole even deeper and much faster.
Can Rick Perry solve our problems?
He hasn’t solved Texas’ deficit, but he won’t demean our country as the current POTUS. He won’t kowtow to other
countries.
But will he solve our problems?
Much was made about his August Prayer conference, but the fact is in the last eight or nine years, he earned $2.68 million and gave only $14 thousand to religious organizations. That is about one-half percent of his income while average Americans donated 1.2 percent.
And they call him an ‘evangelical’ candidate?
Excuse my cynicism, but I’ve got a nagging feeling the Reliant Stadium Prayer thing was more political than religious.
And then five or six years back, he tried to ramrod through the I-35 Trans-Texas Corridor that would have displaced thousands of farmers and ranchers, taking from them hundreds of thousands of acres at distressed priced. Citizens protested so vehemently that the project was dropped last year.
A couple years later, he came up with an executive order to vaccinate all sixth grade girls in the state against cervical cancer without parental consent. Oh yes, and the vaccine came from Merck, which was represented at the time by Perry’s former Chief-of-Staff.
Coincidence? Not hardly.
(You know why Perry, Obama, and others use the executive order, don’t you? It is a underhanded way to sneak a lousy idea around a legislature or congress that won’t go along with it.)
What about the Texas budget?
When Anne Richards left office, Texas had a surplus. George W and Rick Perry took us into the dizzying heights of 27 billion dollar shortfall.
While railing against federal waste and stimulus, Perry used the 6.4 billion of Obama’s stimulus money to help balance the last two Texas budgets. Oh, yeah. Almost forgot. Texas is paying higher taxes since he became governor.
I don’t have to tell you how hot it has been this summer, but Texas under Perry is holding on to millions of dollars slated to aid thousands of low-income and elderly folks pay for electricity.
The Dallas Morning News said Texas has collected $130 million to help those unlucky Texans to cool their homes, but has actually provided only $28 million, half of what they were providing ten years ago.
Why?
The budget shortfall--that he helped bring about. (tlk about Obama-Bush clone)
There’s a lot of political rhetoric out there, but here is truthful example of how Perry and politicians of both parties are kicking the unfortunate and old folks in the teeth.
Now, I didn’t know this, but according to the Beaumont Enterprise, in 2004 and 2006, Perry gave Countrywide Mutual $20 million to create 7500 jobs in Texas by 2010 or repay $834 for every job less than the agreed up total.
They failed, repaying Texas $6.04 million. Still, Countrywide came out with a tidy $13.9 million profit.
The flip side of that is that each job Countrywide created cost the Texas taxpayer $2,666.
It appears to me like many politicians, Rick Perry plays loose and careless with tax money.
Let me give you another example. When the governor’s mansion burned, Texas was about $11 billion in the hole. Since then, he has spent over $600,000 in public money to rent a sprawling estate in the hills outside of Austin.
Now, I wouldn’t want our governor to live in shack while the mansion is being rebuilt, but $600,000 is outrageous.
Considering the guy presently in the Oval Office, Perry might fit right in as president.
At least, we’d have him out of the state.
But then, we’d have Dewhurst.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
I don’t know how far he’ll go. I’ve no idea if he’ll even get the Republican nomination, and if he does, I have no idea how he’ll fare against Jimmy Carter the Second.
I’ve never met the man, but those who have say he is very charismatic. I don’t know about that, but I met Bush once at a Workforce Commission reception in Port Arthur. I can testify that guy is charismatic. Maybe not real smart, but—well, magnetic is a good word.
I did vote for Bush. Unfortunately, he left the country in worse financial condition than he received it. Despite partisan efforts to ignore the fact,
Clinton did leave us a surplus.
Of course, Bush was hit with a couple wars, which does cost a little more than an afternoon movie and burgers. And then he came up with a couple unfounded initiatives, a stimulus and Medicare drugs, that stuck us deeper in the hole.
As even the most fanatic of Republicans must admit, he, despite the reasons, started digging this hole of debt, and then the bizarre policies of Obama dug the hole even deeper and much faster.
Can Rick Perry solve our problems?
He hasn’t solved Texas’ deficit, but he won’t demean our country as the current POTUS. He won’t kowtow to other
countries.
But will he solve our problems?
Much was made about his August Prayer conference, but the fact is in the last eight or nine years, he earned $2.68 million and gave only $14 thousand to religious organizations. That is about one-half percent of his income while average Americans donated 1.2 percent.
And they call him an ‘evangelical’ candidate?
Excuse my cynicism, but I’ve got a nagging feeling the Reliant Stadium Prayer thing was more political than religious.
And then five or six years back, he tried to ramrod through the I-35 Trans-Texas Corridor that would have displaced thousands of farmers and ranchers, taking from them hundreds of thousands of acres at distressed priced. Citizens protested so vehemently that the project was dropped last year.
A couple years later, he came up with an executive order to vaccinate all sixth grade girls in the state against cervical cancer without parental consent. Oh yes, and the vaccine came from Merck, which was represented at the time by Perry’s former Chief-of-Staff.
Coincidence? Not hardly.
(You know why Perry, Obama, and others use the executive order, don’t you? It is a underhanded way to sneak a lousy idea around a legislature or congress that won’t go along with it.)
What about the Texas budget?
When Anne Richards left office, Texas had a surplus. George W and Rick Perry took us into the dizzying heights of 27 billion dollar shortfall.
While railing against federal waste and stimulus, Perry used the 6.4 billion of Obama’s stimulus money to help balance the last two Texas budgets. Oh, yeah. Almost forgot. Texas is paying higher taxes since he became governor.
I don’t have to tell you how hot it has been this summer, but Texas under Perry is holding on to millions of dollars slated to aid thousands of low-income and elderly folks pay for electricity.
The Dallas Morning News said Texas has collected $130 million to help those unlucky Texans to cool their homes, but has actually provided only $28 million, half of what they were providing ten years ago.
Why?
The budget shortfall--that he helped bring about. (tlk about Obama-Bush clone)
There’s a lot of political rhetoric out there, but here is truthful example of how Perry and politicians of both parties are kicking the unfortunate and old folks in the teeth.
Now, I didn’t know this, but according to the Beaumont Enterprise, in 2004 and 2006, Perry gave Countrywide Mutual $20 million to create 7500 jobs in Texas by 2010 or repay $834 for every job less than the agreed up total.
They failed, repaying Texas $6.04 million. Still, Countrywide came out with a tidy $13.9 million profit.
The flip side of that is that each job Countrywide created cost the Texas taxpayer $2,666.
It appears to me like many politicians, Rick Perry plays loose and careless with tax money.
Let me give you another example. When the governor’s mansion burned, Texas was about $11 billion in the hole. Since then, he has spent over $600,000 in public money to rent a sprawling estate in the hills outside of Austin.
Now, I wouldn’t want our governor to live in shack while the mansion is being rebuilt, but $600,000 is outrageous.
Considering the guy presently in the Oval Office, Perry might fit right in as president.
At least, we’d have him out of the state.
But then, we’d have Dewhurst.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
August 17, 2011
Last Hurrah of Summer
The other day, I did something I’d never done in the forty plus years I’ve lived here.
I spent the night at the beach.
Now, I know that might not seem like much, and I suppose in the Grand Scheme of life, it isn’t. On the other hand, the experience was a good lesson in how so often, many of us fail to take a break and simply relax—just let the world go by for a few days.
It’s amazing how that sort of downtime refreshes enthusiasm, perks up your energy, and helps redefine some of your goals in life.
And strangely enough, it almost didn’t come about.
Months ago, my two daughters suggested spending a few days at the beach. I didn’t think anymore about it until a few weeks later when they gave us some dates.
Four days and three nights. And to our surprise, at no cost.
Can’t beat that, huh?
So we decided to drive down the second day, spend the night, and come on back home, back to the growing grass, feeding the cats, cleaning the pool, cussing the heat—you know, those favorite activities that seem to never end.
We found the house, and when we saw it, our jaws hit the ground. My daughter had told us about it, but the reality was still difficult to absorb.
Three stories, several bedrooms and baths, beautifully furnished, three decks—a heck of a lot nicer than our own home—There had to be a mistake
somewhere. There wasn’t.
We spent time at the beach with the kids enjoying the water. One of my son-in-laws even tried some kind of beach surfing in the shallower water, taking several tumbles.
That afternoon, we headed to Galveston, walking the Strand, prowling in the shops, finishing up with a delicious meal at a superb restaurant, Casey’s, on the seawall.
The seawall! I’d forgotten just how long it was and just how many people frequented the beach. Automobiles were parked end-to-end along every inch of the 10.4 mile seawall.
That night, we gathered on the first deck facing the beach. The moon was almost full, laying out a golden fan on the shimmering gulf. From time to time, someone would spot a shadow in the water, and like giggling school kids, we’d speculate the return of Jaws or Mega Shark or even Godzilla. We laughed and reminisced until well after midnight.
Reluctantly the next morning we came back home, pulling in the drive about ten-thirty.
While we had not intended to return, the kids’ entreaties, and the fact we’d probably never again in our life spend the night is such luxury was too compelling. And the fact they planned to grill hamburgers, hot dogs, and boudain on the deck that night was like dangling a carrot in front of a plow horse.
We pulled in about three o’clock. The kids were down at the local waterpark, so Gayle and I sat in the shade on the first deck, enjoying the salty breeze and a cold libation.
We looked at each other and nodded. Life was good.
And as the night before, we sat on the deck until late, enjoying each other’s company while indulging in gourmet repast of wieners, burgers, and boudain.
That’s how the magic of the beach works—simple pleasures become treasures.
The kids? They had a barrel of fun; they had no trouble sleeping. In fact, I found the two grandsons asleep on the couch around eight or so. And no, I didn’t wake them.
For three days and two nights, I didn’t know what was going on in the world, and you know something, I didn’t care. The sobering reality of the cataclysmic problems facing us today is that they are very unlikely to ever go away, at least in the years I have left.
I just hope my little ten-month-old granddaughter, Kenli, or four-year-old Mikey or six-year-old Keegan will see the problem solved.
Well, summer's about over with the kids going back to school and daycare. These few days were sort of like a last hurrah of the season. As for for me, I think I’ll set up another little savings account for next summer.
A night at the beach is a sure way to rub out stress and strengthen the family ties.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
I spent the night at the beach.
Now, I know that might not seem like much, and I suppose in the Grand Scheme of life, it isn’t. On the other hand, the experience was a good lesson in how so often, many of us fail to take a break and simply relax—just let the world go by for a few days.
It’s amazing how that sort of downtime refreshes enthusiasm, perks up your energy, and helps redefine some of your goals in life.
And strangely enough, it almost didn’t come about.
Months ago, my two daughters suggested spending a few days at the beach. I didn’t think anymore about it until a few weeks later when they gave us some dates.
Four days and three nights. And to our surprise, at no cost.
Can’t beat that, huh?
So we decided to drive down the second day, spend the night, and come on back home, back to the growing grass, feeding the cats, cleaning the pool, cussing the heat—you know, those favorite activities that seem to never end.
We found the house, and when we saw it, our jaws hit the ground. My daughter had told us about it, but the reality was still difficult to absorb.
Three stories, several bedrooms and baths, beautifully furnished, three decks—a heck of a lot nicer than our own home—There had to be a mistake
somewhere. There wasn’t.
We spent time at the beach with the kids enjoying the water. One of my son-in-laws even tried some kind of beach surfing in the shallower water, taking several tumbles.
That afternoon, we headed to Galveston, walking the Strand, prowling in the shops, finishing up with a delicious meal at a superb restaurant, Casey’s, on the seawall.
The seawall! I’d forgotten just how long it was and just how many people frequented the beach. Automobiles were parked end-to-end along every inch of the 10.4 mile seawall.
That night, we gathered on the first deck facing the beach. The moon was almost full, laying out a golden fan on the shimmering gulf. From time to time, someone would spot a shadow in the water, and like giggling school kids, we’d speculate the return of Jaws or Mega Shark or even Godzilla. We laughed and reminisced until well after midnight.
Reluctantly the next morning we came back home, pulling in the drive about ten-thirty.
While we had not intended to return, the kids’ entreaties, and the fact we’d probably never again in our life spend the night is such luxury was too compelling. And the fact they planned to grill hamburgers, hot dogs, and boudain on the deck that night was like dangling a carrot in front of a plow horse.
We pulled in about three o’clock. The kids were down at the local waterpark, so Gayle and I sat in the shade on the first deck, enjoying the salty breeze and a cold libation.
We looked at each other and nodded. Life was good.
And as the night before, we sat on the deck until late, enjoying each other’s company while indulging in gourmet repast of wieners, burgers, and boudain.
That’s how the magic of the beach works—simple pleasures become treasures.
The kids? They had a barrel of fun; they had no trouble sleeping. In fact, I found the two grandsons asleep on the couch around eight or so. And no, I didn’t wake them.
For three days and two nights, I didn’t know what was going on in the world, and you know something, I didn’t care. The sobering reality of the cataclysmic problems facing us today is that they are very unlikely to ever go away, at least in the years I have left.
I just hope my little ten-month-old granddaughter, Kenli, or four-year-old Mikey or six-year-old Keegan will see the problem solved.
Well, summer's about over with the kids going back to school and daycare. These few days were sort of like a last hurrah of the season. As for for me, I think I’ll set up another little savings account for next summer.
A night at the beach is a sure way to rub out stress and strengthen the family ties.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
http://www.kentconwell.blogspot.com/
www.goodreads.com/author/show/13557.K...
www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPCK26
