Trade-offs

Some 37 years ago (or so), my brother asked me what it was like living in rural New Hampshire. I summed up my existence by saying that if I wanted to buy a sweater, I could. If I wanted a long-sleeve navy v-neck, I probably have to order it from a catalog. Fast forward to today - some things are slow to change. (I do have to say, however, the Internet changes everything.)

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been to three hardware stores, one car dealer, and talked to a locksmith (who didn't follow-up on and return my call), and I am still without a spare key for my daughter's car. The good news is that there is a dealer who can help me; the bad, the dealer's an hour away - Road Trip!

Every so often, some need surfaces that reminds me I am still in rural NH, which isn't a bad thing - there are just trade-offs. Within ten miles, there is a Walmart and good sized supermarket. I take refuse weekly to the Transfer Station, which is fairly close. I have high-speed Internet and cable TV with 59 channels (of which I can actually get 57). Of those 57, there are perhaps 12 I like and actually watch.When I lived in and around Boston, I could eat out 24-hours a day. Here, the sidewalks are pulled in early.

On the plus side, I have been literally two feet away from various Presidential candidates. It is said if you haven't been, it's by choice. The good days are the best anywhere. The winters can be trying, but it's part of the package. We had one winter when day and night for three weeks, the temperature never went above zero. One winter we hit about 45 degrees below zero, and there have been winters with nothing more than a dusting of confectioners sugar snow. One Mother's Day, we had two feet of snow - it was gone the next day.

Many people are also among the best. In time of need, they can't do enough. I am lucky to be here.

There's much more, but I'm saving that for the book I'm working on.

Paying it Forward

I guess "Pay it forward" means to pass along a good deed. I briefly met a couple yesterday who embody the concept, and I will pay forward their deed as I am able.

I officiated a wedding yesterday in Pawtuckaway State Park, a venue to which I had never been. The bride sent along directions, which I gratefully accepted. As I always try to be early, I left plenty of time to find the place. The short of it is, I sensed something wasn't right, but I did follow the directions correctly. At one point, after going back and forth a couple of times, I saw a man and his wife in their driveway. He raised his have and motioned me over. When I told him what my problem was, he went into his garage and brought back a sheet of directions he had previously printed out. The directions from the Internet were way off, and I guess he and his wife knew they'd be seeing many people. There must have been so many driving up and down his road, that he and his wife printed out numerous sheets to hand out to lost travelers. What a nice thing to do for strangers.

If anyone knows someone who knows someone who may know the couple, please extend my sincere thanks and let them know I will pay it forward.

Two Words

In a recent column (www.bermansbits.com), I dropped in a personal quote along with others from some truly great names (Twain, Hayes, Carver, Reagan, Hoffer, and Badger). Quotes to me are among the ultimate literary forms because they say things so perfectly and precisely. When I was younger I used to think that if I could write like anyone, it would be John Steinbeck - he said things the way I would if I could, kind of like quotes.

Anyhow, in thinking about it and letting it percolate a bit, I realized the quote is something I truly believe in and is a quote that deserves to be shared with everyone in the world. EVERYONE! From someone on welfare to the average work-a-day person to those who inhabit the halls of the great palaces, hearing, understanding, and acting on the quote would change everything (it is that profound). No matter one's age, sex, nationality, political belief, personal credo, etc., the entire world would change for the better (except for those who don't follow it, which in turn would ultimately keep us just where we are).

The quote: “Two words that would truly make all the difference in today’s world: ‘Play fair.’” I mean, can you start to imagine what would happen if everyone simply played fair? From world leaders to businesspeople to politicians to bosses and workers, if everyone simply played fair everything would change. The search term "government fraud" brought me a quick 77 million returns. The government alone has wasted billions and billions of our dollars by not playing fair. Over the past couple of years, the word billion, which was once so hard to even speak, has been replaced by trillion, with no 'hope' or 'change' in sight.

I do have a solution: Play fair!

Mother Earth - It's Time!

During the years I taught a course in Science Fiction, one allegorical story was probably my favorite. It was called "The Wound" and was written by Howard Fast. I hate spoilers, but as the story is hard to find and you probably won't read it, I'll tell you something about it. It had to do with drilling for oil deeper than ever before and setting off an underground atomic bomb to aid the process. When the deed is finally done after some protests, "they" get a gusher all right, but it turns out it's not oil but blood - great symbolism!

One point of the story is we can't irresponsibly just keep taking and taking from the Earth - there really is only so much she can give us and will until she can't anymore. I am not a full-fledged tree hugger, but I do like to hold hands (limbs). I understand responsibility. Big Business is driven with the cry, "More! MORE! NOW!" as are many consumers. There is apparently little or no thought about outcomes or the future.

Good Science Fiction extrapolates - examines and presents possible outcomes if nothing changes along the way. Not everyone is smart enough or concerned enough to see that we need to think more about what's happening and the possible consequences of our actions.

I thought about this in light of the BP disaster. Maybe you can think about it too.

Tim'rous Beastie

As of this writing, there are still four kittens and two mother cats living on the porch. The day after the first kitten was placed in a good home and picked up, I went out in the morning, and there was the body of what I surmise to be a vole waiting for me. I went back inside to get gloves and paper towels to remove the creature, did a couple of other things, and went back out. The carcass was gone.

What got me thinking was why it was there in the first place. While I know our barn is an attractive birthing suite to cats, I doubt the step was an attractive place to end one's life; the vole didn't climb the step and expire; no, it had help. Knowing cats as I do, I know it was a cat that left it there for us. I think there are a couple of possibilities why. First, it could have been an offering, a thanks for finding a good home for the first kitten and an investment to assure we will do the same for the other three. Of course, I could be wrong and there is another possibility. It could be a warning that says, "Touch one of us again, and you could be next. This could happen to you!"

I like to think I know something about cats, but not that much.

Two Wrongs...

"The relationship between President Obama and Afghan President Karzai has had its difficulties -- most recently exacerbated by Karzai saying continued pressure from the west to reform might lead him to join the Taliban. As evidenced by the red-carpet roll-out to Karzai this week, administration officials have clearly decided to change their attitude towards Karzai and are focusing more on carrot than stick." (ABC News 5/13/10) In other words, kiss his what?

You know what? Let him join the Taliban - every nation has the government it deserves (even the US. We elect those we do so the rich can keep getting richer and the rest of us be damned - do you think it matters one iota who gets in?). Let us pull out, return our troops to where they belong (here), and get on with things. We are dealing with civilizations that were around long before democracy (and will be around long after, the way we are going), and never the twain shall meet. If and when they are ready to change, let it come from them - we can't occupy and expect positive change.

We are again supporting a government rife with corruption (birds of a feather?). I am reaching the point where I may do something I have never done - not vote! I am sick and tired of feeling I have to pick the "better" of two lessers. In the last couple of elections, I found myself voting against someone rather than for someone. Maybe it's the nature of the beast, but as we keep electing "politicians," we are getting worse and worse off. Remember the old saying, "What if they gave a war and nobody came?" Maybe by not voting someone may sit up and take notice - but not if I am the only one. What would happen if people stayed away from the polls en masse? Remember the other saying, "If you don't vote, don't complain." Well, maybe that's been wrong all along! It seems to me that no matter who is elected, those who are owed (by those they own?) will get their due (many [most?] corporations donate to both candidates to hedge their bets). The rest of us? "So on we worked and waited for the light, And went without the meat and cursed the bread...."

Feh!

Go to snopes to verify

I received the following e-mail, the content of which isn't at all important. What is important is the last line. I received this from a right-wing type who forwards anything that is anti-Obama and/or anti-liberal. It doesn't matter if there is not a shred of truth in it or how ridiculous it is - if it's anti-Obama/liberals, it gets forwarded.

There are actually about five or six people who do the same thing. Either these are people who do not think or question anything or they know the big lie technique in propaganda and are living it (tell a lie big enough and often enough, and people start to believe it). Whenever one of their e-mails says check it at snopes, I do! I'd say ninety percent are false, but these people don't care. I still glance at every e-mail I receive, but if it is from this group of people, as soon as I see it's political, I delete it. Trust me, I am no Obama cheerleader, but fair is fair.

No wonder the country is so messed!
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"Please take a moment to read this and share with others

It could save a life.....

> THE RECENT TRAGEDY OF A YOUNG WOMAN BEING KIDNAPPED AND
> EVENTUALLY KILLED; AFTER SHE HAD REPEATEDLY GIVEN THE
> KIDNAPPER A WRONG PIN TO HER ATM CARD . IF SHE KNEW THE
> METHOD BELOW, SHE COULD HAVE BEEN SAVED. SO I THINK IT IS
> IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO LET YOU KNOW. HERE YOU GO.
>
> IF YOU SHOULD EVER BE FORCED BY A ROBBER TO WITHDRAW MONEY
> FROM AN ATM MACHINE , YOU CAN NOTIFY THE POLICE BY ENTERING
> YOUR PIN # IN REVERSE. FOR EXAMPLE IF YOUR PIN NUMBER IS
> 1234 THEN YOU WOULD PUT IN 4321. THE ATM RECOGNIZES THAT
> YOUR PIN NUMBER IS BACKWARDS FROM THE ATM CARD YOU PLACED IN
> THE MACHINE. THE MACHINE WILL STILL GIVE YOU THE MONEY YOU
> REQUESTED, BUT UNKNOWN TO
> THE ROBBER, THE POLICE WILL BE IMMEDIATELY DISPATCHED TO
> HELP YOU.
>
> THIS INFORMATION WAS RECENTLY BROADCASTED ON FOX TV AND IT
> STATES THAT IT IS SELDOM USED BECAUSE PEOPLE DON'T KNOW IT
> EXISTS.
>
> PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG!!!
> You can go on Snopes.com to verify."