Tidying Up

That moment when you toss something that you haven’t used in a long time and then soon discover that you need it.

Trump Family Holiday Card 2020

Trump Family Holiday Card 2020

If you’re a wealthy White criminal, Merry Christmas!

If you’re Black and poor, Happy Execution Day!

If you’re in the military and were expecting a pay raise, Happy Veto!

If you were expecting a relief check, unemployment benefits, or eviction protection, better luck next year!

If you like shutdowns, terrific! We’ll be shutting down the entire government soon.

If you’re Russia, keep hacking! We won’t say anything.

If you’re a deadly virus, infect everybody!

If you believe in democracy or the rule of law, don’t get too comfortable.

And remember, as Melania always says, “Nobody gives a f**k about Christmas.”

To Improve

To improve, fix what’s broken.

Finding The Words

Please don’t spend precious time

Searching for a rhyme 

Just say what you want to say 

Let it flow out

In an effortless way

In the form that it wants to be said

Don’t hoard an idea 

In the dark of your head

Clutching it tightly 

While you fuss politely

Over form 

Or fret about how

It might be received

It’s your idea

Your thought

Your desire

A delicious ripe sample

Or your inner desire

It doesn’t

Have to meet 

Anyone’s standards 

But yours

Ideas will rust

And flake into dust 

If you let them get stuck 

In the muck

Of your thoughts 

Debating

Deciding

Undoing

Colliding

Worrying about the right words 

The flow from your heart 

To your hand

Must be quick

Not stylish or slick

Not clever

(Not ever!)

Just let your thoughts rip

Be bold and be swift

The flow of ideas

Must be smooth 

The writer 

Has no time to loose

Job Satisfaction

The best places to work have a collegial culture. Everyone helps each other. Every team member’s skills and strengths are utilized and appreciated. The mission is clear, and everyone understands its importance and commits their efforts to achieving it.

In second-tier workplaces, employees are valued and appreciated, but there is less interaction between team members. The work is done in silos, whether out of necessarily or custom. Individual contributions are recognized and respected, but there is less of a sense of camaraderie or teamwork in the organization.

The next level down is a workplace with a territorial or combative culture. Team members don’t share information openly, either because management discourages doing so, or because  they view secrecy as a competitive advantage. Team members routinely criticize each other’s performance in bids to outdo their colleagues in the eyes of management or important customers. Job satisfaction is tied to perceptions of who is winning and getting ahead.

The worst places to work, where job satisfaction is abysmal, are organizations led by domineering and unreasonable supervisors. This situation can occur locally with in a larger, well-respected organization where most employees may feel that the company treats them well. Concurrently, those who work for tyrannical managers feel isolated, helpless, and demoralized.

This can be an inescapable nightmare for employees. Most companies give tremendous power to supervisors for evaluation of employee performance. Employees have few if any options to evaluate the performance of their managers. The manager’s account of events will precedence in the eyes of upper management. (Bad managers are often good at fooling their superiors into believing that they are thoughtful and productive.) The manager will be informed of the complaint, which will only create more tension. If the supervisor can convince HR and upper management that the employee is a “troublemaker,” dismissal will be likely. Even if the employee is retained, their performance history will be compromised, all but negating any hope for advancement. 

Exciting Writing

If you’re bored when you write it, they’ll be bored when they read it. Make it snappy or tell a better story.

Dietary Decisions

I have always had a sensitive digestive system. At one point in my life, I used to consume two bottles of Pepto-Bismol every three days in order to manage uncomfortable systems. The floor of my car was littered with empty pink bottles.

I discovered through trial and error that onions were causing the problem. I tried eliminating certain foods from my diet, and when I got to onions, my stomach settled down. I now do my best to avoid them.

I still need to manage my diet carefully. It doesn’t take much to send my stomach into a frenzy.

A few months ago, I started having chronic issue again. There were days when I had to cancel planned outdoor activities because I didn’t want to stray too far from a bathroom.

I began to eliminate certain foods from my diet again, hoping that sooner or later, I would figure out what was triggering the problem.

First, I stopped eating potato chips. Chips are one of my guilty pleasures, but I know that they’re not good for me.

Next, I cut out all nuts and peanuts. Nuts can cause inflammation in the gut, so this seemed like a good strategy.

Eventually, I stopped eating most snacks, including the blue corn chips that I love.

Unfortunately, none of these changes had any impact. I was still feeling terrible. I considered taking a break from dairy, but I haven’t been able to find a substitute that works for me. I wondered whether I might need to change the filter in my water purifier; perhaps some bacteria had collected inside.

I was reaching a point of frustration, because I wasn’t sure what to try next. I fasted a few times, and despite feeling hungry, elimination of all food helped my stomach to settle down. Clearly, something I was still eating was causing the problem.

I sat down to watch television one evening and snacked on a bag of gluten-free pretzels. I switched to a gluten-free diet four years ago, and it was exciting to have a snack that I could still enjoy. When I stopped eating chips, I compensated by eating more of these pretzels.

After about five minutes later, I suddenly felt nauseous. That was it! The pretzels were bothering me. I have no idea what they put in the recipe that causes me problems, but something sure did. I stopped eating them immediately; a day later, I felt much better.

A lot of the health problems that we face come from things that we do willfully to ourselves, what we eat, what we drink, what we smoke, how much activity we undertake. We don’t realize the damage that some products do to us, because they seem benign, we have no reason to suspect otherwise. 

Many foods we eat out of habit. We eat what our families have always eaten. We go to lunch with our colleagues and order the same type of dishes. It might not dawn on us that we might be sensitive to something that doesn’t bother anyone else.

When we consciously evaluate what we eat and how it makes us feel, we can avoid or mitigate serious health problems such as obesity, allergies, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, even cancer in some instance. Everything that we consume impacts how we feel, whether we think about it or not.

The Quiet Ones

This has been a difficult year. Everyone has had to deal with extraordinary challenges; many have suffered catastrophic losses. It can be a struggle to stay positive and keep going, especially then loud, powerful voices spread a negative message.

But remember this. For every problem, there's someone out there right now working hard to help resolve it. They are caring for the sick, feeding the hungry, teaching children, keeping store shelves stocked with good, keeping the power grid running, and performing many other essential services.

Those people aren't loud. They don't seek notoriety. They don't run to a microphone to offer comments or criticism. They just show up and do what they need to do.

American television personality Mr. Rogers urged his viewers to "look for the helpers," the quiet, caring, dedicated people who take care of others no matter how bad things get. Perhaps you are one of those helpers. If you are and you are feeling weary and under-appreciated, know that the whole world appreciates what you do. If you are not on the front lines, be sure to let those who are know how much they are appreciated, and then take inspiration from them when it's time for you to contribute what you have to give to the world.

Inspire each other. Help each other. Cheer someone up when they need a boost. And remember that the loud people are never as important as the quiet ones.

Inaugural Ball

Our next President and Vice President will be a guy from Pennsylvania and a lady from Oakland. Their inaugural ball should be called The Immaculate Reception.

Break The Rules

Sometimes a situation comes along that is so unfair, so ridiculous, that it demands an extraordinary response. I understand the importance of following rules and customs, but there are times when the only righteous course of action requires breaking those rules in order to make things right and set the record straight.

I think that everyone knows what I’m talking about, and I’m sure that most of you agree. Therefore, I am asking you to contact your elected representatives and demand that no team from the NFC East be allowed to participate in the playoffs this year. They are an embarrassment to American football.

Contact the NFL and encourage them allow an extra NFC wild card team this year in order to prevent one of the greatest injustices in the history of sports. Losers should not be allowed to advance to the playoffs. 

;-)