The O-pose

I know, I know, I’m supposed to stay away from politics and religion if I don’t want to alienate friends and relatives.  I just cannot help it though.  I am 100-percent opposed to this current and continuing federal government.  Please bear with me as I believe you’ll learn that this ends with a positive expression.

I spent the first week after the election trying to figure out some way to show my full opposition without getting thrown into one of the new FEMA camps that will soon dot the landscape, manned by the new DHS Youth Corps.

Then I had an epiphany!  The non-aggressive, defiant act that I had been seeking was right there in front of me, and it was taught by none other than Obama himself. 

I’m sure most of you have seen the picture that circulates of our president standing on a stage with three other people who are at attention with their hands over their hearts or saluting while the Star Spangled Banner is being played.  The Commander-in-Chief stands in a loose pose with his hands clutched down by his crotch.  

I have decided to designate this “salute” the “O-pose” in honor of the man who first initiated it.  (Oppose - O-pose, that makes sense)

From this day forward I intend to strike the O-pose on every occasion when either the National Anthem is being performed or the Pledge of Allegiance is being recited.  I will not join in the singing or recitation, but I will look down in silent protest.

I invite you to join me in this action if you are so inclined, and I cannot possibly see how it can be construed as a crime since we all know that imitation is the highest form of flattery.

I have a few other non-violent tricks up my sleeve too, that I might share in a future column.  For now, this is my contribution to the new society, and I leave you with this positive thought: I hope Obama succeeds in this term in what he was unable to accomplish in the last one.

(Advice to my grandnephew, Justin: Never debate with a fool. When he inevitably runs out of facts and logic, he will resort to name-calling or simply change the subject to distract you.

Proverbs 29:9: When a wise person debates with a fool, the fool rages and there is no peace and quiet.)

This column is temporarily dormant...

The blogger is in mourning for the death of a great country formerly known as the United States of America.  The period of mourning is indefinite, but may last up to four more years.

The only "wisdom" that can be shared today is the proverb:

"Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me!"

The Garden of Life

Has it ever struck you how a garden imitates life?

A garden requires constant care; weeding out the bad from the good; lots of kneeling and inspecting and nurturing; looking for disease and detrimental insects and getting rid of them; plenty of hoping for the right conditions of weather and heat and rain; sometimes even asking Mother Nature (God) for a good crop, whether flowers or vegetables. 

Well, on second thought, maybe you don’t understand that.  If you were born after 1970, I doubt that you’ve ever actually grown or tended a garden.  Gardens are probably thought to be passé and besides, most of us don’t have the big yards our parents and grandparents had to devote a whole section to a garden. Nor do you have the time it takes to do all those chores.

That’s a real shame!  We can learn so much from the simple pleasures of gardening.

A second cousin (I believe that is our relationship, but I’m kind of poorly schooled on genealogy) writes a column similar to mine, but somewhat different as well.  Her blog is more likely to have religious connotations and a lot about nature. She lives in Southern Arizona, so that gives her lots of material to write about and a lot of time to reflect and devote to Christian endeavors.

The column she wrote this past week was about gardening, and it inspired this column for me.  I’m going to link you to her column, Simply Life, because it is a lot more meaningful than mine.  It also is a precursor and an ad for a 30-day devotional book she has written titled, Gardens of the Heart that is available on Amazon. 

And that brings us full circle to the beginning premise of this column, how life is like a garden that needs persistent tending.  It doesn’t take much to fall by the wayside an so many of us do that, myself included.  Perhaps Laurinda’s little book will assist you to tend your garden.  I hope you’ll give it your attention.

Also, maybe next spring would be a good time to start your own garden, or to get your children to start one.  There is plenty of advice in Gardens of the Heart about both gardening and living, so it would be a great beginning for us even though I don’t have space for a garden in my postage stamp yard.  After all, what better way to make ends meet while gaining some personal perspective in these perilous times than to start your very own garden?

Oh, and while you’re waiting for spring to come around, it might be a good time to start that other garden, the one in your heart. It’s never too early for that.

Safe Driving Tips

My wife started a solo road trip this week.  On the second day out she encountered heavy rain and the van started to hydroplane and fishtail.  The cautious and good driver that she is, she pulled over at the nearest gas station and waited out the storm.  Fortunately, the rain let up quickly and she was back on her way without any further incidents.

We know that the tires on the van are getting worn, and will need replacement soon. That is not an inexpensive proposition anymore, because modern technology dictates that all tires be replaced for best results.  Even if we choose not to replace all of them, at least two should be replaced at a time.

The tire problem reminded me that it is getting to be the time of year for me to once again publish some safe driving tips that I’ve learned through the years.  These might very well save your life or the lives of your loved ones, so feel free to share them.

I have a Youtube video to share with you, but I want to caution you up front that it is very graphic.  If you don’t care to watch accidents that obviously resulted in fatalities--no gore is actually shown--then please skip the video and go right to the tips below.

One thing the video makes very clear is that YOU MUST SLOW DOWN whenever you drive in wet, snowy or icy conditions.  Posted speed limits are intended to be observed in optimal driving conditions, but most of the vehicles in the video were being driven way too fast for conditions. On hazardous roads always slow down at least 10-15 miles per hour, and even more if visibility is poor.

There are other ways you can drive safer in winter conditions too.  For one thing, you should not use cruise control or drive in the overdrive gear, the one usually marked with a circled D, when roads are not dry.  Downshifting to a lower gear will accomplish two good things.  First, the gear ratio will be 1:1, which means you have much more control of your wheels.  You will also have the engine to actually help you with speed control and braking, so you won’t have to use the foot brake as much.

Downshifting on steep downgrades will help in the same ways as on wet pavement.  I’ve been on long 6% downgrades where I didn’t ever have to apply any brakes to maintain my optimum speed.  I could hear and feel the engine hold the speed where I started at the top of the grade.  I could also feel the tighter control on curves in the road on the hill.

In some states it is mandatory that you turn headlights on whenever you are using your windshield wipers.  It is always a good idea to do that even where it isn’t the law, as it makes your vehicle more visible to other drivers both oncoming and following.  And don’t use parking lights, put the headlights on for maximum visibility.

Finally, if you get into foggy or blowing snow conditions use headlights on low beam only.  Using the high beams will be more likely to decrease forward visibility.  If your vehicle is equipped with running lights on the front bumper that can be turned on independent of headlights, use them instead and your forward vision will be greatly improved.  You still need to slow down however, and if visibility gets too low, pull off the road completely trying to avoid using the shoulder. Go into a gas station or other parking area or you might make yourself a target for other traffic on the road.

Be safe out there this fall and winter…

Still More Unintended Consequences

Back in April I wrote a column titled, Everybody Out of the Pool.  It detailed the new Americans With Disabilities Act regulations for public-access pools, Jacuzzis and hot tubs.  The new guidelines, which went into effect back in May of this year, mandate that these facilities have permanent pool lifts installed to give access to our disabled citizens. That includes hotel and Motel pools and spas.

The cost for installation of the chair lifts was estimated at $5,000 to $10,000 per unit, but some estimates went even higher than that.

Well, on my trip last week I actually saw my first examples of the new chair lift device. They were at a comfort Inn in Hillsville, Virginia.  The hotel has a pool and a hot tub, so two units were installed, one for each.  Notably, I didn’t see anyone using the chair lift.

I wish now that I had taken a picture of the chair lift, as it would have precluded my need to describe it to you. It is a metal stand about 5 feet high, bolted to the floor at the edge of the pool or tub, with a waterproof chair attached. The chair faces at a 90-degree angle to the body of water, but swivels to suspend the occupant over the water to be hydraulically lowered into it.  The process can be reversed for egress.

I must say that it is a nice apparatus, and I’d like to see it in operation someday, though I have my doubts as to how many people will actually use it—just my opinion, you know.

The reason I wrote this particular column was twofold:  I wanted to follow up on the earlier one to let you know that the new ADA law is being enforced, more slowly than was originally mandated, however.  I also wanted to tell you that I stayed at that same hotel about a year ago for $20.00 less than this stay.

I cannot prove that the increase in price was due solely to the added expense to the hotel owners of two $10,000 chair lifts, but I can speculate that it was a contributing factor. And in this anemic economy, with hotel chains begging for guests, the last thing we need is an increase in the cost of your stay.  

I have no gripe with disabled persons, and Lord knows there are a lot of disabled vets who have defended us overseas recently for whom I give daily thanks.  However, I just don’t think there will be a noticeable increase in the number of disabled people choosing to use the hotel pool & spa facilities now that they are equipped with these expensive aids.

Please prove me wrong so that I can justify paying the increased rates caused by the new law.

The Premature Demise of Social Security and Medicare

(Sorry, Brad, but last week’s short column was one of a kind)

I recently received a letter from an organization that calls itself the National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare.  If you are in your late 50s or older, maybe you received the same kind of letter.

The content of the letter offended me deeply, and I know this group is trying to scare seniors about their benefits.  To quote the letter:

“The troubling changes to our country’s social safety net appear to be inevitable, especially now, with never-before-seen political will to fundamentally change Social Security and Medicare!”

If the above statement frightens you, then the letter has had its effect, but it is DEAD WRONG in its inference.  The real troubling facts about social Security and Medicare are that both are broken and will soon be bankrupt unless some fundamental changes do take place. 

However, most plans being proposed in Congress for changing Social Security do not affect anyone 55-years-old or older.  They would stay on the current system. And even those who are under 55 would have the choice to stay in the current plan and collect benefits under the same schedule as current recipients.

You may ask, “How can that happen and not still cause the system to run out of funds?”

The answer is that once the plan is unveiled and put into effect, and the new conditions and benefits are explained, very few younger people will choose to remain under the current plan.  The experience of other countries that have reformed their Social Security system proves it hands down.

For one thing, most proposals call for the funds to be allocated to individuals, much like the IRA or 401(k) plans of today. If the individual dies prior to starting benefits, or before collecting the entire fund, his or her beneficiaries would inherit the difference as part of their Social Security fund.

Back in 1935, when FDR first signed Social Security into law, (a step we now learn he actually opposed and was very reluctant to take) there were no retirement plans and certainly no accounts for people to save tax deferred retirement funds.  The Social Security system was, for most people, the only retirement plan available. 

Over the years since 1935, there have been many retirement plans implemented, and the most important ones are those that enable the individual to save independently of others and keep the funds as part of his or her estate. Anyone who fails to take advantage of this benefit is—sorry, but it is true—a fool! That is especially true when your employer has a matching contribution, which many company plans do provide.

People under the age of 55 have no excuse for not saving for retirement anymore, so Social Security should be only one part of the overall retirement benefit.  No younger person should depend on it as the major portion of retirement income, much less the only benefit.

How do we know that the proposed plans for reforming Social Security will work?  We have a model to look at to see how a similar plan is working out.

The South American County of Chile put a very close proximity of the proposed plan into effect in 1981, so they have over thirty years of experience to relate how well the system works.  I won’t go into the Chilean Social Security plan here, but I invite you to read about it at Chile’s Social Security Model.  I will admit that there are pros and cons on the topic, but the pros far outweigh the cons.

Now, as to the other half of the equation, Medicare, I won’t even try to discuss that, other than to state that I don’t believe the Affordable Healthcare Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) is the answer.  My main problem with Obamacare is that it takes away over $700 billion from Medicare in order to implement the program.  That cannot be good for seniors in any scenario.  I’ll leave it up to you to research the different proposals to reform our health care system, but suffice it to say that some reform of Medicare is absolutely necessary in the next 10-20 years to keep it solvent.

I hope you will share this column with anyone you know who is age 55 and older. They don’t deserve to be scared that their benefits are going to be reduced or taken away under any plan currently being proposed in Congress or in the current presidential campaign.  It just isn’t so!

You Know You’re Old When…

Tuesday evening my quartet sang at a dinner for about 200 guests at a huge Baptist church in Augusta. After we finished we left immediately.

On our way to the parking lot we encountered a lady in her 30s who arrived late.  She greeted us and asked if she was too late.  Of course I responded with, “Well, you missed grace and our performance, but dinner is just now being served.”

She then approached me, smiled and asked, “How old are you?”

What a strange question, I thought.  Am I being hit on by this woman in a church parking lot?  Or, maybe she can’t believe I look so good for a guy with all that gray hair.

I responded, “I’m 73.” (I’m kind of proud of my age)

With that, she said, “Oh good. Would you zip me up?” and she turned around to reveal that her dress was unzipped from the waist up.  I guess she was in a big hurry and didn’t have anyone to help her when she put the dress on.

I laughed and pulled the zipper up to complete the task.  But then it struck me that what she had actually implied was that, because of my advanced age I must be “harmless.” 

I guess that told me how old I really am!

That’s it for this week…