Thursday, November 13, 2008

Another Plane Ride...

11/13/2008

Picture this: A man sitting on an airplane heading to Denver, row 30.  His favorite wife, a lovely woman with a “need,” not a desire, to sit in a window seat, is with him on this flight.  The man’s ticket calls out an aisle seat; the plan calls for an empty middle seat unless someone comes to sit in it, in which case the man, wonderful, loving man that he is, moves to the middle.  Have you got this picture down?

Many times when The Nancy and I are traveling together on a flight, we chose our seats as an aisle and a window, hoping the middle seat will go unassigned.  Quite often it works out for us, sometimes it does not.  This time it did not.

We were sitting there, she at the window, I had the aisle seat, our crap sat in the middle.  The plane was just about full when into my wandering eye did appear a large lady, as large as a deer.  “Jesus,” I prayed, “don’t let come her near?” Such was not to be, the large person came as close as she could get, and without so much as a syllable uttered, pointed a rather large finger at the middle seat.  This girl was large, and as I slid from the aisle to the middle, I knew this three-plus hour flight was not going to be one of my best.

Okay!  Fast forward to the return flight.  The Nancy and I had had a most wonderful time in Denver, but were most ready to return to The Farm and our comfortable home.  We were flying United (best rip-off airline of them all) and made the decision to pay for seat upgrades providing extra leg room, $49.00 each, knowing we would have a middle seat for me and a window seat for her Majesty.  Having sat next to the circus performer on the way to Denver, I just knew nothing like that could ever happen to me again, right?  Not so fast, Zoo Breath. 

The Nancy and I took our seats, stowed our stuff in the overheads and the beneath the seats in front of us.  We had our reading materials in the seat pockets, seat bets on, and we were ready to fly.  All these skinny people were walking past us looking for their seats in rows beyond row 13, seats A and B.  The plane was nearly completely full.  I was wondering where our row mate might be when through the entrance of the plane came the largest human I have ever laid my eyes on.  “Jesus,” I prayed, “Don’t do this to me?”

Well, apparently Jesus and I are not close these days.  This exaggerated human plopped down next to me.  I could feel the whole row of seats strain to stay secured to the floor.  This big woman, I mean “big,” sat down and her left arm lay up against my chest.  Her legs were so thick the arm rest between us rose to a 45 degree angle.  I literally had to sit with my body half turned toward The Nancy. As the people continued to pile on the plane, this Amazon Goddess says, as she looks down at me, “Looks like we are going to be packed on this one!” Hmmmm!  I thought I might say something cute like “What makes you think that?” I didn’t.  All I could do was acknowledge she was correct in her assessment, which she was.  The flight, another three-hour tour, left me with a permanent kink in my left side.  I am traumatized.  I don’t ever remember being that uncomfortable for that long a period in my life, that is, with the exception of my hemorrhoid surgery in 1971.

I believe I am fully responsible for happens to me in my life.  I am the source and the only source for what occurs.  Therefore, I created the two situations above, and accept responsibility them, almost.  Damn, The Nancy and her damn window seats.

And that is all I have to say about that…

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Two Things - 1 & 2...

11/12/2008

#1 Not long ago I saw a small group of people standing on the side of the road as I approached the cleaners in Berkeley Springs.  The people were looking at something.  It was a man sprawled out flat on the ground.  He seemed to be disoriented.  No one was assisting him, just staring at him from a distance.  A lady who works at the cleaner’s shop just on the other side of the road told me she had just spoken with him and he seemed fine.  “Fine” was not what he was.  I assume we all may have thought him to be drunk at 11:30 in the morning, mostly because of the two six-packs in bags near his prone body. I would have thought more in this direction had this lady not said what she said.

I asked if anyone called 911, and no one had.  I saw a shop owner just outside the door of her store and asked if she would make the call so I could check him out.  The man was totally out of it, but did not smell of alcohol.  I walked back across the street and asked the lady if she had made the call.  She had not, so I did, guessing she had not because she did not wish to be involved.  A week or so after this I found out the man had had a cerebral hemorrhage and passed away.  Could he have been saved?  Who knows?

I have no idea how long he lay there before I made the 911 call, but I couldn’t believe those standing there had not sought help for this poor soul.  What have we become?

Moral:  Take action when action is all it takes.

#2 Saw this on the news the other day.  An 11-year old boy dying of leukemia, bed ridden, having exhausted all treatments has a wish.  It seems he saw some homeless people living on the street and was worried they did not have enough to eat.  His mother said throughout his illness he has never complained.  Knowing he will not live much longer, he wanted to feed these people, and because of his wish others got involved and set up a means to feed the homeless in this town.  It got done because a very unselfish, dying boy took action.

Moral: Take action when action is all it takes.

And that is all I have to say about that…

Thursday, November 06, 2008

The New Deal...

11/06/2008

Okay, the election is over and we have a history making President-Elect.  While I do not agree with a whole crap-load of what he “says” he will do, Barrack Obama will be my President and I will respect him.

I told a very liberal friend (so liberal he has to left hands) last night just how very proud I am of this country’s voters taking “race” out of the race.  While racists will be around forever, most likely, they are a dying breed.  We are moving beyond this abominable BS and becoming one – The Human Race.  Perhaps one day Martin Luther King’s dream will come true.  It certainly looks like we have a good start.  He would have had as many tears on his cheeks as Jessie Jackson did listening to President-Elect Obama’s speech on Election Night.

So, it is time to heal the wounds of the very long election campaign and unite as one people under one flag and under our President.

And that is all I have to say about that…

Monday, November 03, 2008

Tomorrow It Will All Be Over...

11/03/2008

Six months ago I told a small group of people I would be voting for Barrack Obama.  I wanted to place a vote for an African-American for President.  To me, the time was right, and I was and am very proud of my country for finally putting race aside and selecting a person for this office based on the person, not ethnicity.  Me, a registered Republican with Independent leanings, would vote for a black man.  I was more than serious about this.  It was my intention to do it.

Well, things change.  Call me a flip-flopper, but it did not work out.  I made a mistake and really began to listen to what the man had to say, and it caused me great concern.  So much so, he blew it.  I could not vote for someone I believe doesn’t have a clue as to what he is doing.

Case and point: one part of the Obama plan that scares me, and there is most definitely more than one, is this thing about 95% of working families getting a tax cut (basically welfare).  He wants to give a “tax credit” to people who do not pay any income tax at all.  Where would this tax credit come from?  FICA and MEDI, that’s where.  These folks who pay nothing in income taxes would get a tax credit (reward, aka welfare) for payroll taxes withheld by their employers.  Why in the hell this has not outraged those drawing Social Security, I cannot comprehend?  It’s nuts, and he also wants to remove another, get this, 17 million workers from having to pay any income taxes.  For one about to begin to draw Social Security, it causes me a great deal of concern.  Don’t get me started on the “redistribution of wealth” thing?  That one won’t be pretty, at all. 

You all can tell I am not a brilliant man, but to me, this is double talk.  If 95% of American workers get a tax reduction – provided they make less than $250,000, $200,000, $150,000 or $120,000, depending on which day you listened to Obama or Biden speeches, who the hell will pay for all of the old timers drawing SS and Medicare. 

The top 5% of earners cannot support this country, especially when we are neck deep in National Debt that both parties – Dems and Repubs – are responsible for.  The Republicans did not get us in this mess alone.  And God knows the Democrats did nothing to get us out of it.  Economy be damned (where is Rev. Wright when you need him?), when there is a Presidency at stake.  Why do anything when the ultimate prize lay there waiting, if we can just hold short of a depression we may get control of the big three.

I rant on.  I have voted already, and wholeheartedly encourage you to do the same, whatever your persuasion may be.  Mine went to the other Democrat running for the office, and that did not make The Nancy happy.  She thought we were together this time around.  But, still, I will be glad when Thursday gets here.  Obama may be President-elect at that time, but that is okay.  I will get a bumper sticker for my car with “1-20-13” on it and place on one on the other side of the rear bumper saying “Don’t blame me, I voted for Palin!”

And that is all I have to say about that…