Someone suggested a few weeks ago that I repeat my column about how to forward an email appropriately. I covered the topic before, but not recently; it never hurts to revisit it.
Do you know how to forward emails? Most of us DO NOT.
Do you wonder why you get viruses or junk mail?
Do you hate it as much as I do?
Every time you forward an email there is information left over from the people who got the message before you, namely their email addresses & names. As the messages get forwarded along, the list of addresses builds, and builds, and builds, and all it takes is for some poor sap to get a virus, and his or her computer can send that virus to every email address that has come across his computer. Or, someone can take all of those addresses and sell them or send junk mail to them in the hopes that you will go to the site and he will make five cents for each hit. That's right, all of that inconvenience over a nickel!
How do you stop it? Well, there are several easy steps:
(1) When you forward an email, delete all of the other addresses that appear in the body of the message (at the top). That's right, you should delete them. Highlight them and delete them, backspace over them, cut them, whatever you know how to do. It only takes a second. Click the 'Forward' button first to have full editing capabilities of the message. I particularly dislike having to scroll through email addresses before I get to the message.
(2) Whenever you send an email to more than one person, always use the Bcc: (blind carbon copy) field for listing the e-mail addresses. The people you send to will only see their own email address. This applies to all email, new, reply and forwards. ALWAYS USE THE Bcc: FIELD. You don't have to put any addresses in the To: or Cc: fields in order to send the message.
If you don't see your Bcc: option on your email template click on where it says To: and your address list will appear. Highlight the address and then choose Bcc: in that window, and that's it, it's that easy. Click Okay at the bottom of the window when you have added all recipient addresses and they will be in a new field labeled Bcc: in your message template. Using Bcc: in your message will automatically say 'Undisclosed Recipients' in the To: field of the people who receive it. That way you aren't sharing all those addresses with every Tom, Dick or Harry.
(3) Remove any 'FW:' in the subject line. You can re-name the subject if you wish or even fix spelling. Any extraneous letters and characters from the prior email should be removed before you send them on as a courtesy to the next reader.
This one is very important, so please read and heed it.
(4) ALWAYS use your Forward button from the actual page you are reading. Ever get those emails that you have to open 10 pages to read the one page with the information on it? By Forwarding from the actual page you wish someone to view, you relieve them of having to open any attachments just to see what you sent. Attachments often spread viruses and other malicious and harmful add-ons. That is why avoiding them is really important!
To clarify, once you have gotten to the page where the actual information or attachment is, click on the Forward button from there without closing pages back to the first one. In the case of attachments, where it is a video, or pictures, or any graphics, close the attachment and then immediately click on the Forward button. The attachment will still be on your forwarding email, and you can edit the body of the message before sending it.
(5) Have you ever gotten a petition email? It states a position and asks you to add your name and address and to forward it to 10 or 15 people or your entire address book. The email can be forwarded on and on and can collect thousands of names and email addresses. FACT: The completed petition is actually worth a couple of bucks to a professional spammer because of the wealth of valid names and email addresses they contain. Actually, email petitions are not valid in the first place. Valid petitions must include address or some form of identification that would enable the recipient to verify the signer exists.
If you want to support the petition, send it as your own personal letter to the intended recipient. Your position may carry more weight as a personal letter than a laundry list of names and email address on a petition anyway.
(6) Then there are the emails that say that something like, 'Send this email to 10 people and you'll see something great run across your screen.' Or, sometimes they'll just tease you by saying something really cute will happen. It isn’t going to happen! Trust me, I'm still seeing some of the same ones that I waited on 10 years ago! I don't let the bad luck ones scare me either; they get deleted. If I really like the message and I decide I want to forward it, I always delete the reward/punishment lines at the end before sending it.
(7) Before you forward an Amber Alert, or a Virus Alert, or some of the other emails floating around nowadays, check them out. Most of them are junk mail that's been circling the net for Years! Most will be inaccurate or completely false. Just about everything you receive in an email that is in question can be checked out at Snopes. Just go to http://www.snopes.com. It’s really easy to find out if it is real or not. If it's not, please don't pass it on.
So please, in the future, let's stop the junk mail and the viruses. Follow the seven steps above and clean them up prior to forwarding.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Singing Valentines
It’s that time of year again. In a few short weeks we will celebrate Valentines Day, the (pardon the expression) “loveliest day of the year.” Every year I make you men aware of your opportunity to have your sweetheart serenaded by a quartet of gentlemen on your behalf.
I had the privilege of singing Valentines last year with three different quartets, and it was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. We performed over a two-day period, since Valentines Day fell on a Saturday. Many men prefer to have the woman surprised at work, so we sang both Friday and Saturday. This year it gets even better, since the actual day will be a Sunday. Therefore, our quartets will be going out for three days, Friday through Sunday. I can’t speak for the quartets in other cities, but I suspect they will do the same.
If you’ve never bought a singing valentine for your wife, or girlfriend, or fiancé, or other significant loved one in your life, you don’t know what you’re missing. I doubt that there is anything else you can do on Valentines Day that will equal the experience she will have when four tuxedo-clad men show up at her home or in her workplace, present a long-stem red rose and a card with your personal greeting on it and then sing two love songs to her.
My quartets sang 35 times last year, and the response was phenomenal. The ones we sang in the home were the most personal, and the tears flowed every time. But the ones we sang at the workplace, especially at schools, were the most fun, because our audience was larger, and the school children were so impressed.
We sang to women and men—that’s right, we’re gender neutral—and our audience included teenage girls, widows, mothers and daughters. We started at 7 AM and didn’t quit until 7 PM. On Saturday we performed even later, and one set we performed was for a party being held by a retired Army general.
There were six quartets that circulated throughout the metropolitan area singing, and we presented 185 Singing Valentines over the two-day run. It wasn’t inexpensive for the senders, but I bet every one of them felt it was worth every penny.
If you would like to send a Singing Valentine to your sweetheart this year, most cities have the service available. You can usually place an order online or by phone. Just use the link http://singingvalentines.com/lookup.aspx to locate the service in your area. If you order early and you allow a four-hour window, you can probably get a discount. The extras, like having the presentation at your Valentine dinner at your favorite restaurant are a little extra money, but are always worth it.
I will probably sing with several quartets again this year—tenors are always in demand, since they are in short supply. So here it is fellas. If you are trying to come up with a good gift for Valentines Day, I guarantee that you cannot do any better than a Singing Valentine. If you don’t score big with your honey, it won’t be our fault.
Here are the lyrics to the two songs usually sung for the ladies:
Let Me Call You Sweetheart
Let Me Call You Sweetheart, I’m in love with you.
Let me hear you whisper that you love me too.
Keep the lovelight glowing in your eyes so true.
Let me call you sweetheart, I’m in love with you.
Heart Of My Heart
Heart of my heart, I love you.
Life would be naught without you.
Light of my life, my darling,
I love you… I love you.
I can forget you never.
From you I ne’er can sever.
Say you’ll be mine – forever.
I love you.
How can she resist?
I had the privilege of singing Valentines last year with three different quartets, and it was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. We performed over a two-day period, since Valentines Day fell on a Saturday. Many men prefer to have the woman surprised at work, so we sang both Friday and Saturday. This year it gets even better, since the actual day will be a Sunday. Therefore, our quartets will be going out for three days, Friday through Sunday. I can’t speak for the quartets in other cities, but I suspect they will do the same.
If you’ve never bought a singing valentine for your wife, or girlfriend, or fiancé, or other significant loved one in your life, you don’t know what you’re missing. I doubt that there is anything else you can do on Valentines Day that will equal the experience she will have when four tuxedo-clad men show up at her home or in her workplace, present a long-stem red rose and a card with your personal greeting on it and then sing two love songs to her.
My quartets sang 35 times last year, and the response was phenomenal. The ones we sang in the home were the most personal, and the tears flowed every time. But the ones we sang at the workplace, especially at schools, were the most fun, because our audience was larger, and the school children were so impressed.
We sang to women and men—that’s right, we’re gender neutral—and our audience included teenage girls, widows, mothers and daughters. We started at 7 AM and didn’t quit until 7 PM. On Saturday we performed even later, and one set we performed was for a party being held by a retired Army general.
There were six quartets that circulated throughout the metropolitan area singing, and we presented 185 Singing Valentines over the two-day run. It wasn’t inexpensive for the senders, but I bet every one of them felt it was worth every penny.
If you would like to send a Singing Valentine to your sweetheart this year, most cities have the service available. You can usually place an order online or by phone. Just use the link http://singingvalentines.com/lookup.aspx to locate the service in your area. If you order early and you allow a four-hour window, you can probably get a discount. The extras, like having the presentation at your Valentine dinner at your favorite restaurant are a little extra money, but are always worth it.
I will probably sing with several quartets again this year—tenors are always in demand, since they are in short supply. So here it is fellas. If you are trying to come up with a good gift for Valentines Day, I guarantee that you cannot do any better than a Singing Valentine. If you don’t score big with your honey, it won’t be our fault.
Here are the lyrics to the two songs usually sung for the ladies:
Let Me Call You Sweetheart
Let Me Call You Sweetheart, I’m in love with you.
Let me hear you whisper that you love me too.
Keep the lovelight glowing in your eyes so true.
Let me call you sweetheart, I’m in love with you.
Heart Of My Heart
Heart of my heart, I love you.
Life would be naught without you.
Light of my life, my darling,
I love you… I love you.
I can forget you never.
From you I ne’er can sever.
Say you’ll be mine – forever.
I love you.
How can she resist?
Saturday, January 9, 2010
New Year Resolutions
Happy New Year!
Why do we say that every year? Who could possibly be happy at a time that, for most, falls on a cold day in the midst of winter? Our most important holiday, whether you are Christian, Jew or Muslim, is recently over, so there really is nothing to celebrate.
I suppose we could make it a wish for a better year than the one just passed, but it certainly hasn’t shown any promise, and it will require hard work and brains to make it productive.
Then there are those “resolutions” to formulate and keep. Few or us actually achieve what we set out to do in the New Year, and resolutions to do so are generally broken within a few short weeks.
Oh well, I’m going to tell you of my resolutions regarding communications. I tell you this in the hope that you will help me to keep them by not sending me anything to tempt me to break them.
First, I have been advised by my daughter and my daughter-in-law (and many times by my youngest sister) that I open way too much email. Each time I do that I open my computer up to viruses, Trojan Horses, worms, and other malware (a.k.a. malicious software) that can come in on an innocuous-looking message or attachment.
Therefore, I am resolved to delete any message that contains attachments without reading it. I might preview the message in Outlook and read the subject line and possibly any text in the body of the message, but I will not click on the attachment(s). Anything you send that you want me to look at had better be in the main body, or else you might as well not send it.
Second, I’m also leery of links that come with a message, so I probably won’t click on them either. If I want to see something on the Internet, I will type in the address myself. Links and attachments are where malicious little bastards hide their dirty work, so I’m told. (Not you, but those MLBs who sent it to you)
Third, I will be cautious in opening any message that is forwarded to me. If you want me to read or see something, learn how to paste it into your PC word processor and then copy it into your “original” message. If you cannot do that, don’t bother sending it.
That’s it! Those are my New Year Resolutions. Of course, since I am telling you what I will and will not open in the way of email messages, I will be bound by the same rules in my sending to you. If I put an attachment in, I won’t expect you to open it, and if I type in a link, I expect you to use your own search engine to locate and open it. I will not “forward” messages that I receive. Instead, if I want to share the content with you, I will take the time and effort to re-compose it so that it excludes any risky content.
I’m not sure how this will work out, but I know that it will mean a lot less email from me, at least until I break my resolutions. You have my permission to chastise me if and when I do so. But rest assured that anything you get from me will be original content—no FW: stuff.
Why do we say that every year? Who could possibly be happy at a time that, for most, falls on a cold day in the midst of winter? Our most important holiday, whether you are Christian, Jew or Muslim, is recently over, so there really is nothing to celebrate.
I suppose we could make it a wish for a better year than the one just passed, but it certainly hasn’t shown any promise, and it will require hard work and brains to make it productive.
Then there are those “resolutions” to formulate and keep. Few or us actually achieve what we set out to do in the New Year, and resolutions to do so are generally broken within a few short weeks.
Oh well, I’m going to tell you of my resolutions regarding communications. I tell you this in the hope that you will help me to keep them by not sending me anything to tempt me to break them.
First, I have been advised by my daughter and my daughter-in-law (and many times by my youngest sister) that I open way too much email. Each time I do that I open my computer up to viruses, Trojan Horses, worms, and other malware (a.k.a. malicious software) that can come in on an innocuous-looking message or attachment.
Therefore, I am resolved to delete any message that contains attachments without reading it. I might preview the message in Outlook and read the subject line and possibly any text in the body of the message, but I will not click on the attachment(s). Anything you send that you want me to look at had better be in the main body, or else you might as well not send it.
Second, I’m also leery of links that come with a message, so I probably won’t click on them either. If I want to see something on the Internet, I will type in the address myself. Links and attachments are where malicious little bastards hide their dirty work, so I’m told. (Not you, but those MLBs who sent it to you)
Third, I will be cautious in opening any message that is forwarded to me. If you want me to read or see something, learn how to paste it into your PC word processor and then copy it into your “original” message. If you cannot do that, don’t bother sending it.
That’s it! Those are my New Year Resolutions. Of course, since I am telling you what I will and will not open in the way of email messages, I will be bound by the same rules in my sending to you. If I put an attachment in, I won’t expect you to open it, and if I type in a link, I expect you to use your own search engine to locate and open it. I will not “forward” messages that I receive. Instead, if I want to share the content with you, I will take the time and effort to re-compose it so that it excludes any risky content.
I’m not sure how this will work out, but I know that it will mean a lot less email from me, at least until I break my resolutions. You have my permission to chastise me if and when I do so. But rest assured that anything you get from me will be original content—no FW: stuff.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
A Tale of Two Sinners
For over a month now there has bee a frenzy of activity in all the news media regarding the Transgressions of Tiger. By far the most frequent search on Google has been “Tiger’s transgressions.” There have been cartoons, doctored pictures, malicious stories, and countless jokes circulated about Tiger Woods’ dalliances and peccadilloes. Dozens of women have come forward to allege that Tiger slept with them.
I have been as guilty as the next person of spreading the rumors, and forwarding the trash on Tiger. So, this column is not written to chastise you, but rather to chastise all of us. The publicity and the public scolding of Tiger Woods have gone on long enough. In my opinion, we have torn down an acknowledged sports idol over an indiscretion that has nothing whatsoever to do with his talent for the game of golf.
Shame on us, America!!! Shame on us, World!!!
When I set out to write this column, I was looking for something or someone with whom to compare Tiger Woods. I thought of Pete Rose, because he is also a sports legend who was stripped of his laurels and deserted by his sponsors.
But Rose’s sin was gambling. He wasn’t accused of cheating on his wife and family. He apparently did have an addiction to gambling, similar to what is now being described as Tiger’s addiction to sex.
No, Rose comes close, but not close enough. Besides, Rose’s story is a parallel to Tiger’s. Both have been summarily drummed out of the corps, so to speak.
I wanted to find a comparison that is the opposite of Tiger’s to show how two-faced we are. I think I found the perfect persona in another prominent figure who was recently accused of the exact same transgressions as was Tiger Woods, but who came away from it with his dignity, his honor, and his legacy.
I refer, of course, to President Bill Clinton.
No one can deny that both Woods and Clinton were accused of the same adulterous behavior. Both cheated on their wives and family. Both initially denied the charges, but were forced to recant when overwhelming evidence was brought to public attention.
The difference is that the results were completely different for these two men. Where Tiger is losing sponsors, along with millions of dollars in income, and losing even his reputation—I don’t know how the extracurricular sex affected his golf stroke, but that is yet another joke that circulates—President Clinton was defended by millions of fans and the news media, too.
Clinton was not only guilty of the original sin, but also lied under oath in court. Yet, his crime was excused and forgiven by his adoring fans. The Congress even ruled in his favor when articles of impeachment were filed against him. The catch phrase, if you’ll recall, was “It’s only sex.” Oh yes, Clinton rephrased it to be “It wasn’t sex.”
Why is Tiger Woods being hounded and harassed by everyone to a point where he might have to quit the game of golf due to all the negative publicity his addiction has generated? Why have most of his sponsors deserted him in his obvious time of need?
We gave President Clinton a clean bill of health and didn’t strip him of his office. His sin and the aftermath even catapulted his wife into the Senate and now into Obama’s Cabinet as Secretary of State.
Though is isn’t fully relevant, there are many who for years have tried to get Pete Rose reinstated so that he can take his rightful place in the Baseball Hall Of Fame.
Where is the outrage for Woods?
Even O. J. Simpson, of whom there is no doubt anymore that he was guilty of the murders, is still in the Football Hall of Fame. Of course, he’s also finally in prison, though it is for a different and lesser offense.
Where is the outrage for Woods?
Where is the justice for Tiger Woods?
Let’s make it another of our New Year’s Resolutions that we will quit spreading all of the titillating rumors and gossip about Tiger and let him resolve his private and personal problems without further trashing of the man.
I have been as guilty as the next person of spreading the rumors, and forwarding the trash on Tiger. So, this column is not written to chastise you, but rather to chastise all of us. The publicity and the public scolding of Tiger Woods have gone on long enough. In my opinion, we have torn down an acknowledged sports idol over an indiscretion that has nothing whatsoever to do with his talent for the game of golf.
Shame on us, America!!! Shame on us, World!!!
When I set out to write this column, I was looking for something or someone with whom to compare Tiger Woods. I thought of Pete Rose, because he is also a sports legend who was stripped of his laurels and deserted by his sponsors.
But Rose’s sin was gambling. He wasn’t accused of cheating on his wife and family. He apparently did have an addiction to gambling, similar to what is now being described as Tiger’s addiction to sex.
No, Rose comes close, but not close enough. Besides, Rose’s story is a parallel to Tiger’s. Both have been summarily drummed out of the corps, so to speak.
I wanted to find a comparison that is the opposite of Tiger’s to show how two-faced we are. I think I found the perfect persona in another prominent figure who was recently accused of the exact same transgressions as was Tiger Woods, but who came away from it with his dignity, his honor, and his legacy.
I refer, of course, to President Bill Clinton.
No one can deny that both Woods and Clinton were accused of the same adulterous behavior. Both cheated on their wives and family. Both initially denied the charges, but were forced to recant when overwhelming evidence was brought to public attention.
The difference is that the results were completely different for these two men. Where Tiger is losing sponsors, along with millions of dollars in income, and losing even his reputation—I don’t know how the extracurricular sex affected his golf stroke, but that is yet another joke that circulates—President Clinton was defended by millions of fans and the news media, too.
Clinton was not only guilty of the original sin, but also lied under oath in court. Yet, his crime was excused and forgiven by his adoring fans. The Congress even ruled in his favor when articles of impeachment were filed against him. The catch phrase, if you’ll recall, was “It’s only sex.” Oh yes, Clinton rephrased it to be “It wasn’t sex.”
Why is Tiger Woods being hounded and harassed by everyone to a point where he might have to quit the game of golf due to all the negative publicity his addiction has generated? Why have most of his sponsors deserted him in his obvious time of need?
We gave President Clinton a clean bill of health and didn’t strip him of his office. His sin and the aftermath even catapulted his wife into the Senate and now into Obama’s Cabinet as Secretary of State.
Though is isn’t fully relevant, there are many who for years have tried to get Pete Rose reinstated so that he can take his rightful place in the Baseball Hall Of Fame.
Where is the outrage for Woods?
Even O. J. Simpson, of whom there is no doubt anymore that he was guilty of the murders, is still in the Football Hall of Fame. Of course, he’s also finally in prison, though it is for a different and lesser offense.
Where is the outrage for Woods?
Where is the justice for Tiger Woods?
Let’s make it another of our New Year’s Resolutions that we will quit spreading all of the titillating rumors and gossip about Tiger and let him resolve his private and personal problems without further trashing of the man.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
A Christmas Newsletter
I received a Christmas newsletter from one of my long-lost-but-not-forgotten friends along with the annual Christmas card. It was filled with many tidbits of information and humor. Some of the references were mysterious and lacked meaning for me. Those were written for close family and friends. The newsletter was nevertheless a nice touch, and well written.
Newsletters are generally written for the entertainment of the immediate family, so the inclusion of others is somewhat an honor. However, lacking a context for the events that included family members can make the prose boring and meaningless. Heidi, the author of this particular letter, included enough detail to make everything interesting and funny.
I’ve never tried to write a newsletter, but Heidi has inspired me to give it a whirl. I hope that I can follow her lead.
2009 was a traumatic year in that I lost a brother, Don, to cancer, even though his doctors told him that they had discovered it early enough that the prognosis was good. His death came at a time when we originally had planned to hold our bi-annual family reunion. It spelled the probable end to that tradition. We have lost three of the original ten, and two spouses have voluntarily withdrawn from attending.
We did enjoy seven wonderful, fun reunions, which originated from my remarks at our mother’s funeral in 1993 that the next time we would meet would be to say goodbye to a brother or sister. Our oldest brother, Dick, passed away just days before the reunion in September of 2005, so we did have a memorial for him at that one.
But that’s enough of the morbid. 2009 had its bright spots, too.
Judy and I decided to take separate vacations this year, since I get way too involved in my hobby of barbershop singing. Unfortunately, Judy is not a fan of the art, and I get a lot of fun and satisfaction from it. We do have an agreement that I don’t practice in her presence, so harmony in our home is definitely not the musical variety. She just leaves town when I get into show business, so I'm entitled to my own time away when I'm not performing.
One really positive benefit that came from the above is that I was able to take my long solo auto trip in June. I actually got to drive, something I never do when Judy is with me. The trip was just short of 7,500 miles, and I had a long string of “didn’ts.” For instance, I didn’t get any traffic tickets, and I didn’t have any accidents. I didn’t get lost, but that might have been attributable to my GPS. Finally, I didn’t miss very much along the way. (I stopped so often that I might need a new set of brakes soon)
I kept a daily journal on my trip, and sent it each night along with pictures to several of you. After I returned home I had requests from others for the journal, which I aptly titled “Don’t Fence Me In.” In all, I believe I repeated the journal messages four times, and each time I did so it was like taking the trip all over again. If you missed it and would like to share it, I’ll be glad to run it once more. Just let me know.
A really nice change took place this year. Instead of paying rent to someone else to help pay off their mortgage on their town home, we decided to purchase our own property and quit subsidizing others. Throwing away $9,000 per year somehow didn’t seem wise.
Of course, there were some other incentives to make it worthwhile to own our home. The New Home Buyer Credit was a huge factor in our decision. September 24 marked the third anniversary of the sale of the El Paso home. That qualified us as “new” buyers. It was like getting a big discount on the new home, but it was really better than that. Any time you can get a dollar-for-dollar tax credit, you should take it. We did!
The town home we bought is in a fairly new subdivision on the outskirts of Augusta, but not really in Grovetown. It is a rural area that used to be a buffalo bison ranch, and as soon as I tell that to anyone who lives here, they know exactly where it is. It’s funny that we just can’t seem to get away from Buffalo no matter how far we go from Western New York.
Speaking of economics, not a day goes by that I don’t give thanks that I am no longer in the work force. I know that many of you have been negatively impacted by the state of our economy, and I sympathize with you. I hope that you were able to put aside some funds for that rainy day which seems to have arrived.
Okay, here comes the family part… Our kids are doing well. Our daughter, Cathy and husband Jeff have embarked on a new phase in life, as Jeff just retired from the Army and will be a civilian contractor. He just won't have a uniform on and won't be deployed again. Grandson Chase is a junior in High school, and he reminds me of myself at that age, but I won’t elaborate on that. We live only about 15 minutes away from them, so there is plenty of family interaction.
I can’t close this newsletter without the customary picture of my family—in this case, my favorite “grand puppy”—Abby, the cutest and smartest Dachshund in the world, in her Christmas finery.
That about wraps it up. I trust that I haven’t bored too many of you and that I have at least entertained the rest. Judy and I both wish each and every one of you a blessed and prosperous new year in 2010. It is hard to believe that Y2K was ten years in the past, doesn’t it?
Newsletters are generally written for the entertainment of the immediate family, so the inclusion of others is somewhat an honor. However, lacking a context for the events that included family members can make the prose boring and meaningless. Heidi, the author of this particular letter, included enough detail to make everything interesting and funny.
I’ve never tried to write a newsletter, but Heidi has inspired me to give it a whirl. I hope that I can follow her lead.
2009 was a traumatic year in that I lost a brother, Don, to cancer, even though his doctors told him that they had discovered it early enough that the prognosis was good. His death came at a time when we originally had planned to hold our bi-annual family reunion. It spelled the probable end to that tradition. We have lost three of the original ten, and two spouses have voluntarily withdrawn from attending.
We did enjoy seven wonderful, fun reunions, which originated from my remarks at our mother’s funeral in 1993 that the next time we would meet would be to say goodbye to a brother or sister. Our oldest brother, Dick, passed away just days before the reunion in September of 2005, so we did have a memorial for him at that one.
But that’s enough of the morbid. 2009 had its bright spots, too.
Judy and I decided to take separate vacations this year, since I get way too involved in my hobby of barbershop singing. Unfortunately, Judy is not a fan of the art, and I get a lot of fun and satisfaction from it. We do have an agreement that I don’t practice in her presence, so harmony in our home is definitely not the musical variety. She just leaves town when I get into show business, so I'm entitled to my own time away when I'm not performing.
One really positive benefit that came from the above is that I was able to take my long solo auto trip in June. I actually got to drive, something I never do when Judy is with me. The trip was just short of 7,500 miles, and I had a long string of “didn’ts.” For instance, I didn’t get any traffic tickets, and I didn’t have any accidents. I didn’t get lost, but that might have been attributable to my GPS. Finally, I didn’t miss very much along the way. (I stopped so often that I might need a new set of brakes soon)
I kept a daily journal on my trip, and sent it each night along with pictures to several of you. After I returned home I had requests from others for the journal, which I aptly titled “Don’t Fence Me In.” In all, I believe I repeated the journal messages four times, and each time I did so it was like taking the trip all over again. If you missed it and would like to share it, I’ll be glad to run it once more. Just let me know.
A really nice change took place this year. Instead of paying rent to someone else to help pay off their mortgage on their town home, we decided to purchase our own property and quit subsidizing others. Throwing away $9,000 per year somehow didn’t seem wise.
Of course, there were some other incentives to make it worthwhile to own our home. The New Home Buyer Credit was a huge factor in our decision. September 24 marked the third anniversary of the sale of the El Paso home. That qualified us as “new” buyers. It was like getting a big discount on the new home, but it was really better than that. Any time you can get a dollar-for-dollar tax credit, you should take it. We did!
The town home we bought is in a fairly new subdivision on the outskirts of Augusta, but not really in Grovetown. It is a rural area that used to be a buffalo bison ranch, and as soon as I tell that to anyone who lives here, they know exactly where it is. It’s funny that we just can’t seem to get away from Buffalo no matter how far we go from Western New York.
Speaking of economics, not a day goes by that I don’t give thanks that I am no longer in the work force. I know that many of you have been negatively impacted by the state of our economy, and I sympathize with you. I hope that you were able to put aside some funds for that rainy day which seems to have arrived.
Okay, here comes the family part… Our kids are doing well. Our daughter, Cathy and husband Jeff have embarked on a new phase in life, as Jeff just retired from the Army and will be a civilian contractor. He just won't have a uniform on and won't be deployed again. Grandson Chase is a junior in High school, and he reminds me of myself at that age, but I won’t elaborate on that. We live only about 15 minutes away from them, so there is plenty of family interaction.
I can’t close this newsletter without the customary picture of my family—in this case, my favorite “grand puppy”—Abby, the cutest and smartest Dachshund in the world, in her Christmas finery.
That about wraps it up. I trust that I haven’t bored too many of you and that I have at least entertained the rest. Judy and I both wish each and every one of you a blessed and prosperous new year in 2010. It is hard to believe that Y2K was ten years in the past, doesn’t it?
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Who Uses The Public Library
I’ll probably catch hell for this column, but it really needs to be said by somebody.
I received an e-mail message from the Augusta Richmond County Public Library a week or so ago. It was disguised as a wish for a happy holiday season, but it was really a plea for a donation. There was a question asked in the body of the letter, “who really uses the public library?”
The main library in downtown Augusta is being rebuilt, although I recently passed the old building and it looks pretty good to me. Of course, I’ve never been inside that building, since I use one of the local branches near my home.
However, since they asked the question, “Who really uses the public library?” it got me to thinking about that. The answer is not conducive to anyone asking for supplemental funds to augment the $24 million raised by taxes to put up the new library.
If you live in any medium to large metropolitan area—most of us do—and you have a main public library downtown, then I suspect that you have the same problems that have plagued public libraries throughout the country, and maybe throughout the world.
The information I am sharing with you is not hearsay. I use my branch library once per week for a Spanish class, so I and other members of the class have lots of experience with the conditions I will describe. I am sure they are common to most, if not all the public libraries in Augusta.
There are several vagrants—the PC term is homeless victims—who have made libraries their home. They are not there to read or to check out books; they are there because it is a warm place in winter and a cool place in summer. And they cannot be thrown out for loitering, since it is a “public facility, open to all residents.”
Oh yes, there is another convenience that the library provides; bathrooms. Not that you would tell the person has bathed anytime recently if you get up close and personal with one. They do use bathrooms for their other purpose, and often leave the room in horrible shape; plugged commodes, filthy sinks, waste paper strewn all over the floor. Etc.
I have to admit that I have probably used the main library on occasions, but only to request books or audio-visual materials from my computer at home to be shipped to the branch library for pickup. Yes, the main library usually does have the largest volume of materials. I don’t really know why that is the case, since few people go out of their way to visit the main one when a branch library is so much closer to their home.
On that topic, the main library in El Paso, my former residence city, was rebuilt over the course of two years. During that whole period, the books and materials were stored away from the public instead of being distributed to the branches. I estimate that one-third of the total materials were unavailable for public use during that whole two-year time.
I wonder if a similar situation to that in El Paso will happen here. I certainly hope not.
After thinking through and reviewing all the above, I will not be contributing any money to the construction project. It will get built without my support and I do not want to even think that I helped build a huge edifice to provide a daytime refuge for the homeless. There are already several places that cater to their needs, and I don’t want to share our public library with some of them who don’t deserve it in the first place. That is especially true if it is going to cost over $24 million of our taxpayer dollars to restore a building that might have been trashed by those very people.
Okay, now you can e-mail me and tell me how cruel and heartless I am. Just to let you know that it won’t change my mind or attitude, however.
*****************************************************
I wrote the column last year at this time, but I didn’t publish it then. Instead, I wanted to find out how the library project would proceed. Now I can tell you that the books from the main library have been available, unlike the experience I had in El Paso. Also, the library renovation is well along, and the reopening is planned for July of 2010.
I don’t know what the homeless folks have been doing while the library has been under construction, but I do give donations to the city mission and other charities and I hope they are being used to help feed and shelter those poor souls.
I guess I have changed some after all. Merry Christmas
I received an e-mail message from the Augusta Richmond County Public Library a week or so ago. It was disguised as a wish for a happy holiday season, but it was really a plea for a donation. There was a question asked in the body of the letter, “who really uses the public library?”
The main library in downtown Augusta is being rebuilt, although I recently passed the old building and it looks pretty good to me. Of course, I’ve never been inside that building, since I use one of the local branches near my home.
However, since they asked the question, “Who really uses the public library?” it got me to thinking about that. The answer is not conducive to anyone asking for supplemental funds to augment the $24 million raised by taxes to put up the new library.
If you live in any medium to large metropolitan area—most of us do—and you have a main public library downtown, then I suspect that you have the same problems that have plagued public libraries throughout the country, and maybe throughout the world.
The information I am sharing with you is not hearsay. I use my branch library once per week for a Spanish class, so I and other members of the class have lots of experience with the conditions I will describe. I am sure they are common to most, if not all the public libraries in Augusta.
There are several vagrants—the PC term is homeless victims—who have made libraries their home. They are not there to read or to check out books; they are there because it is a warm place in winter and a cool place in summer. And they cannot be thrown out for loitering, since it is a “public facility, open to all residents.”
Oh yes, there is another convenience that the library provides; bathrooms. Not that you would tell the person has bathed anytime recently if you get up close and personal with one. They do use bathrooms for their other purpose, and often leave the room in horrible shape; plugged commodes, filthy sinks, waste paper strewn all over the floor. Etc.
I have to admit that I have probably used the main library on occasions, but only to request books or audio-visual materials from my computer at home to be shipped to the branch library for pickup. Yes, the main library usually does have the largest volume of materials. I don’t really know why that is the case, since few people go out of their way to visit the main one when a branch library is so much closer to their home.
On that topic, the main library in El Paso, my former residence city, was rebuilt over the course of two years. During that whole period, the books and materials were stored away from the public instead of being distributed to the branches. I estimate that one-third of the total materials were unavailable for public use during that whole two-year time.
I wonder if a similar situation to that in El Paso will happen here. I certainly hope not.
After thinking through and reviewing all the above, I will not be contributing any money to the construction project. It will get built without my support and I do not want to even think that I helped build a huge edifice to provide a daytime refuge for the homeless. There are already several places that cater to their needs, and I don’t want to share our public library with some of them who don’t deserve it in the first place. That is especially true if it is going to cost over $24 million of our taxpayer dollars to restore a building that might have been trashed by those very people.
Okay, now you can e-mail me and tell me how cruel and heartless I am. Just to let you know that it won’t change my mind or attitude, however.
*****************************************************
I wrote the column last year at this time, but I didn’t publish it then. Instead, I wanted to find out how the library project would proceed. Now I can tell you that the books from the main library have been available, unlike the experience I had in El Paso. Also, the library renovation is well along, and the reopening is planned for July of 2010.
I don’t know what the homeless folks have been doing while the library has been under construction, but I do give donations to the city mission and other charities and I hope they are being used to help feed and shelter those poor souls.
I guess I have changed some after all. Merry Christmas
Saturday, December 12, 2009
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