Half way gone or halfway there?

I'm 41. According to statistics I'm halfway through my lifetime. Last night as I lay in bed I starting thinking about my first half of life, pre-family, and thinking of all the things I did throughout the years. I've had my share of good times and bad. The things that seem to stay fresh in my mind are the lessons I've learned and the times when I felt I was living to the fullest. A canoe trip down Rifle River with several of my friends, driving through Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky with a friend after high school, taking a trip to the west coast and visiting wine country and meeting up with school mates in California. These are some of my most vivid memories of my earlier life. I remember going to obscure places and late night Taco Bell drive through runs. Working at a 2nd run theater and having Thursday after hours pizza and beer while we preview the new movies. Barbecuing out behind a friends house with a bon-fire. These are a few of the things I remember well. I've had a lot of good times. Some bad times. Luckily for me the former vastly outnumbers the latter in my recollections.
Now I think of all the years I hopefully have ahead of me and with the lessons I've learned I endeavor to make them more memorable than my previous ones. One thing is for sure, with my kids and wife, I have plenty of help to make that happen.

I voted. Did you?

There's something about standing in line to vote that gives you a different feeling than when you stand in line anywhere else. The patriotism seems to pervade you and you become more connected with people around you. The thought that came to my mind was of other nations and those that do not have the freedom to choose their government officials. Of course there may be times when a country is fortunate enough to have an unelected leader who may actually have the best interest of the people at heart but it's rare. Having the choice to vote for the person you want to represent you is the one time when you have the power over government, however fleeting that time is. Our choices may be limited and they may not be the best we can do, but they are choices. That's something billions of other people do not have. While standing in line there was an elderly gentleman who had just finished voting walking out. He was arguing with someone about a subject that I didn't get the details of, however I was able to determine he was admonishing someone regarding something they did with regard to his voting. He told them they were not to interfere and they needed to respect the polling place and voting rules. He was doing this in a stern but calm manner. I was impressed. Here in our country we the people take the right to vote without pressure seriously and are prepared to challenge anyone who would try to violate those rights. In other countries you could be jailed or killed for standing up for your rights.
For all the imperfections our government and elected representatives have, we still have the power to boot them out of office if we so choose. Sometimes I wonder if that crosses their mind when they make back room deals or have lapses in judgments? Either way, it's up to us to decide whom we deem worthy of being elected, and that's a responsibility we should all take seriously.

Tyrannosaurus Debt

One thing I was able to pass along to my kids from my childhood was the ol' Schoolhouse Rock videos that used to play every Saturday morning in between cartoons. I didn't realize it then but those little 2 minute education videos were to last in my memory well past the time I watched cartoons. I bought the video series for my kids when they were still too young to appreciate them (I of course had to watch them a few extra times to make sure they were still relevant..ahem) but now that they are 3 and 5 years old they are loving the songs and lessons. One of the songs that I didn't remember was called "Tyrannosaurus Debt". Apparently the national debt was pretty large back then also and caused a concern for the country. I wonder how the debt ratio compares now vs then if you adjust it to inflation. Has it become worse? Better? The same? I don't know but I do know that the national debt of 8.5 Trillion dollars is beyond belief. How is that our government can spend that much more than it takes in and still operate? As a percentage of the national budget it may be less imposing but can you imagine what the possibilities would be if we didn't have that debt hanging over our heads? The interest alone is over 200 Billion dollars per year. Can you imagine that it would cost each person in the US $650 dollars to pay the interest alone? What if we eliminated the debt? That would save us $28000 per person a year. What kind of society would we live in when each and every person made at least $28000 per year? Each year our elected representatives talk about reducing the "deficit". That's not the debt, it's only the amount that gets added to the debt. So how do we force our leaders to become fiscally responsible? I don't have any answers but at least now I know more about the problem. The possibilities once we become debt free are endless, but the road getting there is going to be long and extremely difficult with the current tax and spend mentality in D.C.

Giving in

Anyone who has little kids knows that bed times are synonymous with bedtime stories, getting ready for bed and good night kisses. But there's more. Last minute bathroom needs, thirst quenching and other various creative stall tactics are also a part of the parent-kid bedtime dance. I'm scared, I'm hungry, I'm thirsty, I need to prepare a thesis on the time space continuum are all common stall techniques passed down heretically through the ages. My son is no exception. On top of this he has allergies that make it more difficult to fall asleep some nights. Last night was one such night. After about an hour of his sniffling, asking for water and being unable to fall asleep he came into my room. I was already in bed awaiting the end of a TV show I was watching when he slowly came in looking at me with those pleading eyes. I knew that he was having a hard time falling asleep due to his allergies so I asked if he wanted to climb up into Mommy and Daddies bed. His face lit up instantly. He climbed up into the middle of the bed and covered up. I told him it was time to go to sleep and turned off the TV. As I reached for the light switch he put his hand on my arm, looked me straight in the eye and said those words that made giving in worth it. "You're the best Daddy ever. Thanks for letting me sleep here tonight".
He's 5 and yet he understands being grateful! I got a 2 fold gift in those sentences. First, the love of my 5 year old son, and second knowing that he understands what it means to appreciate things. We must be doing something right. My pride in my son was overflowing that night and we soon both drifted off to sleep with smiles on our faces.

Lost Words, Lost Worlds

We've become a society that has lost control of our own words. Every day people are misquoted, mis-spoken and misrepresented in the interpretation and intent of what is said. It has become too easy to take what someone says and impose a different intent upon those words. Someone says the war is necessary. It's taken to mean the war is all about oil. Someone says the war is unjust. They become unpatriotic. The truth is left by the roadside in our highjacking of speech. Newspapers take bits and pieces of a speech and re-assemble them to create a completely different intent.
A picture taken on a battlefield is altered in the hopes it makes a greater emotional impact on the reader. Where does it end? When will we regain control over what we say? Words are one of the most powerful things we have, yet we do not exercise the right to make sure our words are used as intended. Why is that? It seems that the need to obfuscate the events around us only ensures that we become more jaded in our lives. Who do we believe? The politicians who say all the right things while stuffing their pockets? The web site that promotes openness and accountability but is funded by groups with agendas? Or maybe the news that is forever being put to the fire for not researching the facts thoroughly enough before the deadline to print forces them to just run with the story and see what happens? Where is the accountability? It starts at home. The blogosphere is one example. It's the home bloggers that are the new detectives and investigative reporters in the world. Anyway, back to my original subject matter. Often I see people who make statements only to be taken out of content, misquoted, or vilified based not upon the speakers intent but upon the listeners interpretation. We have become a nation that jumps to conclusions based upon our own personal bias. Instead of asking how something is intended we arrogantly think we know what was meant and quickly drive down that road of self righteousness thinking we have understanding. When we make judgments on a persons first impressions, take dialogue the wrong way or read more into something that just maybe is really black and white, we take the path to literary indiscretion. Patience is what we lack. The patience to wait and find out the whole story before making any judgments. In effect, our "rush rush" lifestyles only tend to make us run down the wrong path, effort wasted.

Taking Flight

I'm in the airline business. I come by it honestly. My Dad worked for an airline most of his life. My brother worked for one for several years, and I've worked for one for 20 years, albeit not the same one. I'm on my third airline. Usually when two people from different airlines meet, one of the inevitable questions that arise is "So, is this your first airline?". Most times the answer is no. I've found that at one time or another everyone else worked for Braniff, even though it could be Braniff 1, 2 or 3. As for me I got into the biz when I was in my early 20's. The job seemed glamorous in a way and I was impressed by the way my Dad seemed to be friends with people all over the country. Some of the draws of working for an airline are the freedom to jet off to places all over the country, spending a day on the beach and flying back to snow that evening and going where many people could only dream of going. After all, what good was working for an airline if you didn't use the flight privledges? Of course I didn't use them that much, but I could have, got the t-shirt to prove it (My friends went to sunny Hawaii and all I got was this lousy t-shirt). When you're young, the world was an open book. I was fortunate, I've seen several places I probably wouldn't have seen if I had not worked for an airline. I don't have a college degree but I make a good living. Now the airlines are being attacked again. Yesterday a group of men in England were arrested for planning to detonate home made bombs on several flights to the U.S. Thankfully they were stopped by the intelligence services in England. Traveling by air has become a common event. People of all ages, statures and incomes are taking to the skies so it only makes sense that the people who hate our way of life would attack that freedom. But I'm sure they won't stop there. Telecommunications, food and water supply, and energy won't be far behind. After all, they live as if the year were still 1410 a.d. so of course they want us to live that way too. To them, they see progress as a capital offense. As our standard of living improves, it reminds them of how much farther the divide is between their lives and ours. Granted, with a free society comes things that are detrimental, but you can't tell me other societies don't have the same crime problems.
Yesterday was a horrible day in the airline business. Today was 180 degrees better. We went from a 40% on time day to a 90% on time day, and a Friday no less.
Our flights indicate that people are still flying. We'll see how this pans out in the weeks to come but for now, the traveling public are doing what they wanted to do. Taking flight.

Bill

Everyone should have a friend like my friend Bill. He's opposite to me on so many levels and as such challenges me on my beliefs. I hope that I have some small influence on his, but I doubt it. He's a liberal to my conservative, philosopher to my logic, single life to married life. We use to be roommates in our single days during which time we would ponder the origins of the universe, religon, girls, employment, inventions, music, movies, etc etc. Bill's spontaneous nature led to several exciting expeditions some of which I never would have traveled had it not been for him. From swimming at a state park beach to finding obscure movies at second rate theaters. We saw the Directors cut of Blade Runner that had a limited showing thanks to Bill. We visited Cranbrook Institute, saw a laser light show with U2 music and found ourselves on numerous trips to places in Michigan I probably never would have heard of or seen. Bill was the wild card to our group. The catalyst to change or challenge to the status quo. Employment was never his strong suit until later in life. I always had a stead job. Still, we remained friends.
Bills love of exploring his world helped me find new places because he never wanted to go alone so I got dragged along. I'm the better for it also. So today I say Thanks Bill. Everyone should have a friend Bill.