South Of Someplace: January 2017

Sunday, January 29, 2017

There's A Bear In The Kitchen

To those who claim that there's too much negativity in political discussions these days, I have a question for you. If a bear entered your house, would you go to bed and hope that he doesn't wreck the place, eat all of your food, and potentially harm someone in your family? Or would you make as much noise as possible in an effort to chase him back outside?

Saturday, January 28, 2017

Trump's Extreme Vetting and Why It Won't Work

Unqualified-to-be-President Trump yesterday signed into an executive order banning visitors from seven countries:

Iran
Iraq
Libya
Somalia
Sudan
Syria
Yemen

The order bans entry of ALL refugees for four months and indefinitely bands refugees from Syria. It also limits the cap on the total number of refugees to 50,000 (not enough people to fill a football stadium).

The stated aim of this action is to prevent acts of terrorism in the United States.

Let's test that hypothesis. Where did the 9/11 hijackers come from?

15 of the came from Saudi Arabia
2 came of the United Arab Emirates
1 came from Egypt
1 came from Lebanon

Note that NONE of these countries are on Trump's list. Yesterday's executive order would not have prevented the 9/11 attacks.

How about something smaller like the Orlando nightclub shooting? Would the "extreme vetting" order have prevented that?

No, the Orlando shooter was an American born in New York State. His parents were from Afghanistan (not on Trump's list).

How about the San Bernardino attack? Would Trump's "extreme vetting" order have prevented that incident?

Nope. Trump fails again! That shooter was born in Chicago to Pakistani parents. His wife and co-conspirator had emigrated (legally) from Pakistan. Note that Pakistan is not on Mr. Trump's list.

The Trump plan fails again!

So, why aren't some of these other countries on the list? Saudi Arabia? Pakistan? The UAE?

Probably because the USA does a lot of business with those countries. Mr. Trump and his cronies have business interest there. We wouldn't want to inconvenience their ability to make money.

In the meantime, the refugees of Syria are the most desperate people on the planet right now, and our once-great nation has turned its back on them completely.

What would Jesus do? - The opposite of what Mr. Trump is doing.

Are you ashamed of the this new administration yet? You damn well should be.

(Portions of this post were sourced from CNN and Wikipedia.)

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

We Got What We Expected

We got exactly what we expected: constant lies and disinformation (my crowd was the biggest, millions of people voted illegally), handouts to greedy corporations (weakening the ACA, pushing the Keystone XL pipeline forward), and the defunding of women's health programs. Is anyone surprised?

Executive Orders

Remember when Republicans were upset with President Obama for signing executive orders? They called him a dictator. The Orange Fascist just signed a whole stack of executive orders. Do you hear those people complaining now?

Friday, January 20, 2017

Trump Supporters

We must take care not to demonize the supporters of Donald Trump. He may have received votes from some racists and extremists, but for that matter, so did the other candidate. We cannot advance the political discussion by demonizing our neighbors. That simply leads to more division.

I know kind, wonderful people who not only voted for the Donald, but who support him enthusiastically.

Some of these people lament the impact of globalization on the American worker. Some fear Muslim immigrants pose a grave danger to American citizens. Some of them believe that abortion is unforgivable under all conditions. Some believe that members of the LGBT community are sinners simply for being who they are.

I'm not going to challenge their views - I actually agree on the globalization issue. Debate will accomplish nothing. No one is going to change their opinion because of anything that I have to say.

These folks have found a champion in Donald Trump. He speaks to them and assures them that he cares about their concerns. Whether he actually does remains to be seen.

I, myself, am going to pray for these people. I fear that they have made a deal with a devil, a reckless, unqualified, tyrannical narcissist whose assumption to the highest office of the land puts all of our lives in jeopardy. I pray that their well-meaning but short-sighted choices have not damned the rest of us to a hellish future in the broken, brittle shell of a once great nation. Prayer, plus four years of biting and uncensored protest, is the best that this American citizen has to offer.

Your Heart Wants What It Wants

Your heart

Wants what it wants
Never apologize

My heart wants what it wants, too
My heart has chosen you
I won't apologize either

Monday, January 16, 2017

Solitude

I'm standing in an expansive field
Where tall, dry grasses
Wave in the breeze
The sky is overcast today
No one else

Is here

No, there's no one here

No one at all

No one with an opinion to share
No one with expectations
No one passing their judgment
No one expressing frustrations

No one to say
That my words were unkind
When I've had only
Good intentions

No one to claim
That they'd love me
If I met
All of their conditions

No
There's no one here
No one else
I am truly alone

And I'll stay that way

In my solitude
Because solitude is comforting

It's the only place
Where I can be myself
And not be a big disappointment

It's the only place
Where I can say what I feel
And not run the risk of an argument

Yes
I think I'll stay here

In my field
For a while

Where I can just be myself

It will take some time

Before I can go back

And be with someone else

New York Minute 51 - Unexpected Francophones

I stopped by a drugstore today to pick up a bottle of juice. The young lady at the cash register spoke to me in French. You should have seen the look on her face when I answered her. :-)

No Good Way To Die

There's no good way to die. Either you waste away desperately and painfully in the care of strangers, or you drop dead without warning, leaving your loved ones to cope with the shock and grief of sudden loss.

New York Minute 50 - Internet Kiosk

Over the past couple of years, the city has installed internet kiosks on street corners. They're rather odd looking devices. Imagine a vertical, metallic post less than a foot wide and six-and-a-half feet tall, with a small screen and keyboard recessed into an indentation sat hip level. The design makes no sense to me, but then, I've never used one of these things.

Apparently, they let people connect to the Internet. I once saw a homeless guy dancing to music at one of these kiosks. Perhaps he had connected to Spotify or a similar service.

Today, I saw a man who was apparently having a video chat at one of the kiosks. The first thing that seemed odd was his body position. He was a tall man, maybe fifty years of age wearing a jacket and a stocking cap, but he was leaning with his whole body straightened like a plank, he head inside the recessed indentation directly about the screen.

The man was visibly upset. As I walked past, he yelled, "I'm hurt, I'm upset, I'm pissed, and I didn't do nothin' bad to you!"

Hopefully, it was a free call.

Friday, January 13, 2017

Retreat

Though we've lived full lives
And traveled the world
I'm still an insecure boy
And you're a sensitive girl
That's who we really are inside
That's who we really are

Maybe that's why
At some critical times
We let fear and pride

Roar and rise
And get in the way and
Interfere
With what we want to say

What we need to say

Heart to heart

Soul to soul

Between the angels

Inside

Our true inner selves

I believe that we can do better
Maybe then we won't lose our way
Hopelessly

Dramatically
If we just take time

The time to say

The critical things

The important things
That our hearts need

To communicate

Instead of losing control

And saying cross words

And getting annoyed

And avoiding each other

Increasingly

We retreat
When words turn harsh
And the pain
Is too much to endure
We retreat
And if we continue
We may avoid some

Uncomfortable nights

But the rest of our lives

Will be lost

The Angel Test

You can tell a lot about a person by asking which of Charlie's Angels they liked the best. I feel an instant camaraderie with Jaclyn Smith fans.

Thursday, January 12, 2017

The Ultimate Responsibility of Creatives

A creative person's ultimate responsibility is not to express a vision, but to encourage and empower others to express their own.

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Never Doubt Yourself

Never doubt yourself. You are not defined by criticism or rejection. You are not defined by scarcity or misfortune. You are defined by how effectively you use your own unique, special gifts to bring value and beauty and compassion into the world.

Follow your own vision. Speak in your own voice. Never apologize for being who you are and wanting what you desire.

Ignore the perceptions of others, especially when they attempt to discourage you or push you off course. Your contribution is too valuable. Don't put it into someone else's hands. You are the only one who can bring your gifts to fruition. Give that responsibility the attention that it deserves.

Saturday, January 7, 2017

The Sky Is Gray

I peeked outside
The sky is gray
Why don't we stay
In bed
All day
And
Think of nice things to do?
Think of nice things to do...

New York Minute 49 - Headphone Singer

A lot of people took time off from work over the holidays. The subways were nearly empty most mornings; my commute was a breeze.

They're coming back now. This past Thursday, I had to squeeze into a packed subway car for the first time in weeks. I ended up standing directly in front of a nicely dressed young lady who looked as though she was on her way to an office job.

The lady was listening to music via headphones. The music was inaudible, but the lady sang along with the tunes - quite expressively. She gave the entire subway car an a cappella rendering of a number of popular songs. Luckily, her voice was soft and airy. Imagine Marilyn Monroe singing to you on your way to work, and you'll have the general idea.

Windy, Snowing, and Twenty-three Degrees

It's windy, snowing, and twenty-three degrees. What a great day for a run! Well, it's a good day for a jog, anyway. It's slippery out there. If I had gone out too fast, I would have ended up bruised on the pavement.

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

New York Minute 48 - Subway Panhandler

I broke one of my rules today. I don't give to panhandlers, no matter how desperate they seem or how emphatically they plead for help. When you give money, there's a good chance that they'll use it to feed the addiction that put them into their desperate predicament in the first place. Giving anything encourages them to come back and beg for more.

But today, I made a small exception.

I keep trail mix in the office. I work long hours and sometimes don't get a break for lunch. I need to rely on snacks to get me through the day.

This evening, as I was locking up my desk, I realized that I had forgotten to put my half-full bag of trail mix away. Rather than reopening my desk, I put decided to take it home with me. Normally, I don't eat trail mix at home, but I thought may I would find a chance to snack on some one evening.

A panhandler in a wheelchair came onto the train at one of the station stops. He looked very sick. After his short, reasonably polite pitch, he sat at one end of the car. He didn't try to push through.

I walked over and gave him my trail mix. He said, "Thank you for caring, young man!" - I'm probably older than he is, but so what.

At the next stop, he moved toward the adjacent train car, but he didn't get far enough, so he entered my car again but on the opposite end. No speech this time; he just shook a cup with coins in it, the international signal for "please give me some money."

A woman offered the panhandler a bag of food. He refused. She was quite surprised. He didn't want food. He'll probably throw my trail mix away. They want money. Their lives are ruled by tobacco, alcohol, and other addictive substances. That's the grim reality.

But I did take pity on the man. I did try to help. Maybe he'll eat the trail mix; maybe he'll throw it away. At least I didn't give him money to burn on booze.

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

A Rocky Start to the New Year

The new year is getting off to a rocky start. Amex called this morning to report attempted fraudulent charges on my card. Next, I discovered that some Himalayan tour company had posted eight spam ads on one of my blogs.

Finally, as I was writing a critical email, my thumb accidentally pressed the send button. That all happened before lunchtime. I can't wait to see what else this soggy January day has in store for me.

Sunday, January 1, 2017

Skip The New Year's Resolutions

I don't believe in New Year's resolutions. I believe in getting up one day and working on something, working on it again the next day, and continuing to work on it day after day until I achieve something that I'm proud of.

I can't recall a single accomplishment that happened because I made a promise to myself on the First of January. Can you?

It's easy to dream big. It's easy to make grand predictions. It's easy to say "I'll will do X" - but will you?

The only way to get things done is to put in consistent, focused, effort over a period of time. Skip the resolutions and do the work. Keep working day after day. That's how to reach your goals.

South Of Someplace