Paying It Forward

Yesterday, Monday, October 28, 2013, was better than a good day, was an Excellent Day. First, meeting up with two of the WMSC (at the time we started it - WVMS) founding members. George Steinmetz, who was a fellow senior and classmate in our major, Industrial Arts, became our Chief Engineer. George's commitment and specialty in electronics were his qualifications and he did a great job of getting the first station up and running and "on the air." Since he didn't leave the immediate area, he was instrumental in keep the station running and upgrading it after our graduation. Les Anderson was a sophomore and took over the reins as Chairman of the station and The Voice of Montclair State." It was under his leadership and with the support of the remaining core group of students who launched the dream that the station carried on for the next couple years.

It's a good thing those two guys were there (with the rest of the team) because I left the region for Syracuse, NY to attend graduate school and from there into the Air Force. So, I wasn't available any longer to keep things going, keep the dream alive and the troops motivated and inspired.

Lunch was great! We met at the Six Brothers Diner (formerly West's Diner, a Montclair State hangout). We covered a lot of territory (46 years of territory) in a couple hours. So much to talk about and so little time to do it. I look forward to our next encounter. But, I do want to say to both of you. THANK YOU! Thanks for seeing my vision and buying into it. Thanks for being there when I couldn't. Thanks for just being who you are. It is with no doubt that WVMS/WMSC might not have continued to exist and grow through its infancy had it not been for your commitments.

The "Twofer"

And things got better after I parted company with George and Les. I headed for the home of another fellow Industrial Arts major classmate from my Class of '67, Bob Hinck. Bob was another of the "Good Guys." He roomed at my house for a while during our senior year.

As it turned out, I wasn't only going to have the opportunity to spend some time with Bob and his, lovely wife, Helene, but also another fellow Industrial Arts classmate from '67, Norman Steines and his (also) lovely wife, Mimi. Wow! What a grand afternoon and evening it turned out to be. The stories flowed never endingly. There was lots laughter and aha moments. Interestingly, the three of us had very diverse lives after college even though we were all trained to be Industrial Arts teachers. Bob was the only one of the three of us who followed the "calling" and pursued a full career teaching. Norman was drafted into the U.S. Army (with wonderful stories of his experiences) during the Vietnam War. He was the only one of the three of us who went to Vietnam. I, of course, pursued an entrepreneurial career and volunteered for four years in the U.S. Air Force and avoided Vietnam. Bob was fortunate enough to forego military service.

We had a delicious dinner and the conversation continued. Norman brought his Class of  '67 Yearbook with him and we pawed through it pointed out the girls we dated, ogling the one we hadn't dated . . . but would have loved to and checking out all our fellow Industrial Arts classmates. Thanks Bob and Helene for being such gracious hosts. Thanks Norman and Mimi for being there and making it so much fuller and richer an experience. And thanks for Bob and Norman for being part of the Class of '67 and my life. And, I should also acknowledge that both Helene and Mimi were both career schoolteachers and my hat is off to both of you for your commitment to the calling - and also for being the flowers among three thorns. I don't know, Bob and Norman. It seems like you robbed the cradle, because the "girls" sure made the three of us look like "old men" (dirty old men, might be more accurate).

It couldn't have been a better day. As I said it was an Excellent Day.

Capping An Excellent Day

Well, as if I hadn't had enough of a great day, just as I was leaving Bob Hinck's house to head back to the Garfield, New Jersey Walmart "Motor Inn," my phone rang. It was none other than my favorite person in the world, my one and only son, Pete, calling me from Los Angeles, his current base of operations. He caught me at an inopportune time as my GPS was attempting to guide me back to Garfield and I wasn't able to focus on what Pete was saying and the directions the GPS kept spouting out. So, I realized that I was missing turns and driving in circles. So, I begged for the call and told him I'd call him back in a half-hour or so when I was safely back at the "motor inn" and parked for the night.

After rolling in and getting set up for the night at the Walmart, I called Pete back and we managed to chat for about two hours until nearly 2 AM. There is always so much to catch up on and talk about. I'm mainly interested in his career and advancement and he's interested in what I'm up to and where I am at that particular moment. He has located a new apartment within walking distance of the office he's currently working in. He described it and said it's small, but very adequate for in immediate needs. Indeed! He sounded excited (especially since he's been looking for a place for at least four to six weeks).

I couldn't have capped off an Excellent Day any better. That call was the icing on a very rich cake.

Paying It Forward

This morning as I was preparing for my first day of this trip when I didn't have something of significance planned, a "relaxation day" of sorts, I had an inspiring experience right off the bat. I walked through the Walmart, visiting their restrooms on the way and walking out the other end of the store where there is a free standing McDonalds. I went in an ordered a "Senior Hot Tea." I'm truly the last of the big spenders in this regard. Total expenditure was $.63. I hadn't noticed the man standing behind me. I'll call him Joe the Cop. Joe stepped up to the counter clerk after I stepped aside and handed her a $5.00 (or maybe more) bill. He told her that she should use that money to pay for the breakfast of the next senior citizen and just tell them at someone who appreciates them paid for their meal.

Well, the young girl at the counter was not a native born American citizen. She neither spoke nor understood English very well. So, she looked dumbfounded. As Joe left the store, she took the money in her hand and went back seeking the shift manager to figure out what to do with the money. She totally didn't get the gesture. After I received my hot tea (which he offered to have her refund the purchase price to me), I went outside where he was standing next to his very sharp looking fairly recent model year Mustang fastback. I went up to Joe the Cop and said "Thank you for that very nice and generous gesture. There just aren't enough people doing simple things like he did that really make a difference in someone's life."

He told me that he was an Iraq veteran and a cop (hence, Joe the Cop) and when he knows he's going to have a difficult day for whatever reason, he would make such a gesture. He said it made him feel good to know that someone was going to benefit from his simple act and that knowing that would carry him through his own difficult day knowing that someone was feeling better even though they didn't know who made the gesture. WOW! What a great way for me to start off another day. There was no way I wasn't going to have a great day today, AGAIN, after that inspiration.

Young is Old and Old is Young

Joe said he was married and had several small children and they kept him and his wife busy. He said there were a lot days that he felt like he was 70 years old even though he was only 35. HA! I told him. I'm nearly 70 and I feel like I'm 35. I told him I could relate to his feeling old at 35. When I was his age, I had a toddler son, a wife, several businesses, an extended family who had moved to the east coast from the west coast that I was assisting in getting along through some difficulties and two other employees who each had difficulties they brought with them to my life.

Yep! There were times I felt 70 when I was 35. But, now as I really approach 70 I've learned that life is too short to let difficulties prematurely age me. Oh sure! Younger people might say, "That's easy for you to say, you're old, you don't have anymore challenges. Those of you in my age bracket know that is "NOT SO!" If anything, the challenges and difficulties at this age may equal or even surpass those of the 35 year old. But, no matter what our age, if we let them, difficulties and challenges can take over our lives and drag us down. I'm thankful that Joe the Cop has found a very positive and productive way to lighten his load and lift his spirits. I've chosen to adopt my "living free" philosophy and lifestyle to carry me over the "minefields." And, yes, like everyone, there are potholes, pit falls and large sinkholes to deal with at this age. I just choose to not let them control my life. I hope you're doing the same.

The Rest Of The Story . . .

 The rest of my day was terrific. I drove along the Palisades and shot some photos across the Hudson River at the various New York skylines including the new World Trade Center. I took pictures of a couple young couples with their iPhones. I had a delightful conversation with one young couple. Then as I continued up the Palisades Interstate Parkway I saw the Armstrong tower, a huge structure built back in the 1930's and knew I'd have to locate a good vantage point for a shot of that tower for a future Photo-of-the-Week. I'll explain the significance at that time.

I also found myself at the road leading to the Alpine Boat Basis on the Hudson River. So, I wound my way down the face of the Palisades, probably 400 to 500 feet to the water level. There I found myself in, yet, another place I haven't been in 40 years or so. This was were my very close grad school buddy, Dudley Carpenter's (and his brother Al's) parents, Gil and Gertie Carpenter kept the mighty "Pegasus." Dudley is the father of the bride whose wedding I attended on Long Island last week, as you may recall. We had at least a couple great summers of boating on the 40', wooden hull, twin engine, floating playground. So, I took some photos, of course, which I'll send to both Dudley and Al since I don't know that either of them has been back there since that time in our lives, either.

I then headed back to Clifton where I decided that pizza was on my menu for dinner. I headed for Baralari's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria on Van Houten Avenue, within sight of Mario's restaurant that I wrote about in a previous post from my last trip to my hometown a few weeks ago. Baralari is the surname of the family that owned Mario's until sold to Alfredo, the new owner from Spain. Baralari's is owned by the grandson of the original owners of Mario's. He wanted to take over the original Mario's and he wasn't able to work anything out with the family. So, he opened a new restaurant just down the street about two blocks.

It was a very positive experience. I'm going to do a write up about Baralari's for a future post, but I enjoyed my pizza (and have the leftovers here in the van with me). I also met Kenny Baralari, the owner and had a long conversation with him. What a way to end another great day.

Now, it's time to make some notes and prepare for my last day in northern New Jersey tomorrow as I spend it at Montclair State University (where I pre-arranged for parking tomorrow so I don't run into head room challenges as I did the last time I was there). I also have a few quick emails to get out. So, I hope you're having Excellent Days like I'm having, if not, change something and jump on board with me.

From Wedding Bells to Hand Bells

So, I hope that's an intriguing title. Yes! I attended a wedding this past Thursday in a little know place called Aquebogue, New York unless you're familiar with eastern Long Island. It's next to Riverhead and a hop, skip and a jump from the Hamptons of Long Island fame. It's a very pretty area of the country (as are so many others). No! It wasn't my wedding. That's never going to happen again. As the old saying goes, "been there, done that, got the T shirt, don't need to go back." It was the wedding of my grad school buddy's daughter, the buddy whose wife, who I did a post about two years ago, Sweet Caroline died two years ago in North Carolina. Kelly is probably the closest I ever came to having a daughter of my own. She's a professional entertainer, starting out at age 9.

The wedding was beautiful (that's pretty good coming from a guy who usually doesn't qualify weddings in that manner), totally unique from the Golden Gloves winner who officiated, the bridal party, the location, the setting (yes, the ceremony was outdoors and it wasn't particularly warm) and the food was phenomenal. But, how many weddings have any of you reading this been two that had not one band, but TWO bands. And, I'm not talking about your traditional small wedding combo (most people seem to use DJ's these days due to expense). I'm talking about a full "Big Band" like those of the Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Arte Shaw era - with both a male and female singer fronting the band. The second band was about a 12 or 13 piece rock/jazz/soul/funk/blues band, again, fronted by both male and female singers. When I say this party was a wall banger - I mean a WALL BANGER. There was so much excitement and electricity in that room that you couldn't really help but vibrate from all the great vibes.

Now, to be fair, the bride is one of the regular female vocalists who fronts both of these two bands and the groom, well, let me just say he can make a sax wail with the best of them and he also normally performs with both bands. Yes, each of them did do at least a couple numbers with each band. But, if I have my way, this will be the last wedding I attend - and I'm glad it was this kind of amazing experience. (I'm not much into weddings or funerals at this stage of life).

Catching Up With MORE Old Friends

Upon returning to New Jersey on Friday afternoon, I met up with my old college friend, Greg and his lovely and very patient and tolerant (of the two of us) wife Mary. We had a wonderful lunch that lasted from 2 PM until something after 6 PM. It was great seeing them again. I had met with them back in September and we did the same thing. Wonderful couple and it's a privilege having them for friends.

Yesterday (Saturday) I made a visit to an urgent care center to have an infection checked out that began several days before I left on this current trip. There just wasn't any time to stop and get it taken care of. The "Doc in the Box" checked me out, prescribed an antibiotic that had already kicked in by this morning and I'm feeling a lot better already.

Then last night an old high school buddy (you know one of those guys you used to get into a variety of mischief with drove a hundred miles from the New Jersey south shore and met me at Rutt's Hut. Yep! That's the home of the "Ripper" hot dogs in our hometown of Clifton, New Jersey. We met up at about 4:15 PM and left after a couple "Rippers" each, some onion rings, French fries and three glasses of birch beer - the really good stuff - each at 9:15 PM. We covered a lot of territory in those five hours including why he finally sold the family home he inherited from his parents and left Clifton to never return and moved to live by the ocean, far from the maddening crowds of North Jersey. He indicated that down where he was the local full-time residents were the old farmers, fisherman, oystermen and Red Necks all - a welcome change from his old neighborhood that had changed completely into what he termed a "Third World country." I had to admit, what I found of my hometown could easily fit his description. While it all looked much like it did when I left 46 years ago, culturally it wasn't even close to what it was when I grew up there . . . and I can't say, from my perspective, it's for the better.

Hand Bells

Now, let me talk about hand bells. Today I met and had lunch with my eldest nephew. Interestingly, one of his first comments was that he couldn't wait to finish off ten more years in his county job to earn his full pension. Then his plan is to leave New Jersey for anywhere there is no snow and a more "friendly" society. Of course, it's not that there aren't wonderful, pleasant, kind, generous and hard working people in the northern New Jersey region. It's simply that they are being displaced by multiple cultures moving in. Now, remember, this area was populated originally by immigrants, mainly from Europe, the U.K., Ireland, some with African and Hispanic ancestral origins. But, while there was a certain amount of maintaining their national identities, they assimilated into a common community. Things are just very different now. From his perspective, his home area has changed around him. From my perspective, it's much more impacting since I remember it all as I left it and now I visit and it's like night and day.

At any rate, we had a pleasant lunch and talked about lots of things. Since Brian is over 40 now, I feel like I can talk with him man to man, no child is he any longer. He's a taxpaying, hard working member of the mainstream society now. (What happened to all those years)?

My nephew is both an accomplished organist and a hand bell performer. He performs with both a hand bell choir, a community group of very talented people. He is also a hand bell soloist and is often contracted to perform at various venues in his solo role. Apparently, there are not very many solo hand bell performers.

Today the hand bell choir was recording a Christmas CD for their upcoming Christmas concert performances. So, I invited myself along. I'm sure I've recorded some hand bells some time during my diverse recording career, however, this sounded intriguing to me. And, as I suspected, it was.

I had planned to insert a segment of video right here of the choir during one of their recording takes, but I ran into some snags editing the piece on the road. So, maybe sometime in the future I'll put a piece up.

I sat and was mesmerized by the variety of instruments (bells, chimes, a variety of mallets and other devices. Additionally, I had never seen or heard many of the techniques they used in playing the various instruments. There were totally unique sounds and textures and nuances that just blew my mind. Boy, was I glad I invited myself along. I learned and experienced something new. I know my recording techniques for this kind of performance would have been very different than that used by the person recording the selections. But, he's him and I'm me, so I don't butt in. However, the experience left me with a new challenge for the future. I will hopefully find a hand bell choir equal to or better than this group (if there is better) to record.

Thanks for the opportunity and learning experience, Brian. See? The old can still learn from the young . . . and should.

Tomorrow is lunch with two of the people who were instrumental in putting the Montclair State College (University) WMSC on the air with me 46 years ago and then I meet up with a couple more college friends from our college major. Tuesday may actually be a "day of rest" more or less. Thursday I'll be at Montclair State University again meeting with more members of the faculty, staff, administration and radio station student body and then speaking to the radio station students at their station meeting. My intention and hope is to pop some bubbles, drop some realities on them and inspire them to take the awesome opportunity, power and responsibility in their hands with access to a direct voice to the ears of thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of people and really make a difference. I expect that one or two of them will pick up on the message and do something with it. The rest . . . well, they are just kids like I was at that age and don't really have a clue what the real world is like and will likely learn it like most of us . . . the hard way and probably reinventing the wheel.

That's my lot for the day - your humble nomadic, living free philosopher. 

Photo-of-the-Week #130 - David and Goliath, Mahwah, New Jersey, October 2013

Actually, there isn't much to say about this photo other than it's VERY current. I snapped it this morning at the Pilot Travel Center in Mahwah, New Jersey. Yes! David is portrayed by "My McVansion" and Goliath is portrayed by a Volvo tractor and Mayflower Van Lines trailer from St. Petersburg, Florida.

I had actually selected another location to park in the truck lot where I thought I'd be out of the way, but while I was sitting around there came a "tap, tap, tap" on the window and it was one of the attendants saying I couldn't park in the location I selected. I first suggested that I move it back over to the car lot, but I'd have had to go back out on Rt. 17, go down a couple miles to an exit, come back up Rt. 17, get off at the exit right after the Pilot Travel Center, cross over Rt. 17 and come back down Rt. 17 to reenter the car parking lot. No, there was no cross over. They obviously, this Pilot still believes in a form of segregation.

Then the attendant pointed at the location you see in the photo. He said normally he'd put a bobtail truck in that spot. However, when I got over there it would have been a MIGHTY tough fit for a full-size tractor. But, My McVansion slipped in to the space nicely. I didn't hear another word from anyone all night. I think the Volvo tractor may have had the engine running, but little ole David didn't hear a thing way back there. I showed the photo to an old high school buddy I had dinner with (hadn't seen each other in about 23 years or so. Art says you could probably park the entire van inside the Mayflower trailer. And, he was right.

Anyway, I thought for those of you who had never thought about the size rig My McVansion is, you should have a pretty good perspective. I don't think My McVansion is as long (and definitely not as wide or high) as the Volvo tractor by itself. For those readers who are RVers or Vandwellers, like me, this is old hat to you, but I thought you'd still enjoy a chuckle from it.

Oh, I'm on another trip north that took me to the Hampton region of Long Island for the daughter of a dear friend and grad school buddy. I stayed in a budget motel (since I was paying the tab out of pocket) that came equipped with a more than adequate heater, a king size bed, a refrigerator, a microwave and a decent bathroom with good hot water. It also saved me over $100 for the two nights compared to what everyone else was paying.

I'm composing this post from the parking lot of the Garfield, New Jersey Walmart Motor Inn (bring your own accommodations) where I've stayed before. It's quiet and while I'm taking care of a few chores before racking out for the night, I have a couple windows open, the engine running and the heat on. I'm as warm and toasty as can be. After I post this to pop up tomorrow morning, I'll be turning off the engine, waiting a little while to make sure there's no carbon monoxide build up in here and then climbing into my cocoon that kept me warm as could be last night at the Pilot Travel Center. I'll be up here at least three more nights and possibly a forth, though I may leave after I finish speaking at Montclair State University again on Wednesday and head south - probably stay at the Philipsburg, New Jersey Walmart Motor Inn I've stayed at before. 

Photo-of-the-Week #129 - Autumn in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, October 2013

Nature is a magnificent artist. I took this photo at the small lake fed by the boiling spring in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania earlier this week. I have a friend, Tracey Jones, who lives right across the street from this view. My friend has a really neat little guest house (she calls it a hut) that she has offered me anytime I'm in her area. Her father, was my dear, late friend, Charlie "Tremendous" Jones, author, publisher and internationally renowned speaker.

The historic village of Boiling Springs is in south central Pennsylvania between Carlisle and Mechanicsburg, two historic cities and not far from Harrisburg, the state capital. This is a very historic region. It's also the home of Tremendous Life Books, the publishing company Charlie Jones started and is now operated by Tracy. I was in the region to attend the Ribbon Cutting and dedication of the new Charlie "Tremendous" Jones Conference Center located at the publishing company's office and warehouse in Mechanicsburg.  As always when attending any event at TLB, I met some interesting and influential people at the conference center dedication. 

In Review...So Much To Cover

Wow! The past several weeks have been a blur. There is so much that has transpired. I'm going to make this a potpourri of topics. Most of what I'll relate here will be of a positive nature. However, there may be a few things that come across as negative. These are my feelings and experiences and accordingly, you may accept them any way you choose.

The Living Free Blog

This blog has now been in existence for five years and seven and a half months. To date I have posted 431 articles including this one and 128 of the posts have been Photos-of-the-Week. It has grown from a very few views per month (my thought was, is there really anyone out there in cyberspace?) to a peak of more than 8,400 views in a month and a current average of more than 4,000 views per month. It has been viewed in 100 countries. Of course, the U.S. is where the predominant number of views come from. The U.S. is followed by France, Germany, Russia, China and the UK in that order.

So, why do I mention this? I mention it because I am in awe of these numbers. Now, let me be honest. I know there are many blogs that have numbers that are astronomical compared to my numbers. I follow many of them myself. However, I find that there is a growing interest in the concept of living free and the fact that people like you are reading what I have to say indicates that you are part of this growing trend and find some ideas and value in my personal thoughts and philosophies. That humbles me. I have a "Living Free" business card I hand out to people when I meet them in person (as I did on Wednesday and Thursday of this week). I have yet to have a negative response from anyone. The vast majority want to learn more and more about the concept seeking a way to implement at least part of it in their own lives. My attitude is that if I only impact one life in a positive way through my writing and/or exposing people to my philosophies I am successful.

The Daily Simple - Blog

While a main premise of my living free philosophy is living simply, I continue to find far more things of value to write about than I can ever get to. Just this morning I was reading one of the blogs I follow, "The Daily Simple," and the writer, Aubrey, made some interesting observations and tips on blogging. She says that writing for numbers, to build email lists, to fulfill a category or fill a niche and blogging on a very tightly maintained schedule are not important to her. Expressing her thoughts, feelings and experiences are what is important. I can easily relate to what she wrote after my eight years of blogging experience and five and a half years with the Living Free blog. If you're a blogger and you're interested in her comments you can read her post IT TOOK ME 8 BLOGS.

Rethinking The Dream - Blog

In another blog, interestingly named "Rethinking TheDream" (that's The American Dream) the blogger, who goes by the name Freedom, provided a link to a recent article in The Futurist Magazine, the magazine of the World Future Society. It's actually an article that appears annually and predicts the "Top 10 Forecasts for 20XX and Beyond." This article is about predictions for 2014. Prediction #5 seems to be one that resonated with Freedom and with me, "Buying and owning things will go out of style."

Here's the gist of this prediction:

"The forecast: “The markets for housing, automobiles, music, books, and many other products show a common trend: Younger consumers opting to rent or subscribe to pay-per-use arrangements instead of buying and owning the physical products. Shared facilities will overtake established offices, renting units will become more common than owning a home, and sales of books and music might never become popular again.” From “Consumption 2.0,” by Hugo Garcia, January–February, 2013."

I don't want to say that I can see into the future, but I've been talking about this for several years now. Consumerism has run amuck and probably done more to deprive people, especially, Americans, from the freedom that people came to this New World to realize. Of course, there is a very significant downside to this forecast. If this is a trend and continues to be adopted by more and more people, it's going to put a huge crimp in our economy. Remember, our entire economy is based on all of us running out to our local Walmarts, Targets, Kmarts, Sam's, BJ's and Costco Warehouse Clubs, Toys R Us, boat dealers, car dealers, motorcycle dealers, etc. and buying, buying, buying so that we can then keep the credit card and banks and  insurance businesses afloat with all the various kinds of insurance we need. And, of course, let's not forget all the housing developers who are building houses for everyone to own to become enslaved to the monthly costs of interest, taxes, insurance, utilities, upgrades, additions and all the stuff we have to fill the houses with.

There will have to be some serious rethinking by all these huge industries and by our governments who are totally dependent on tax revenue derived from the Gross National Product - the Economy. If the GNP declines, so will the taxes they can extract from our pockets. OMG, what will these spendthrifts do - will they be able to borrow MORE money to spend on things we could probably do without and still live very comfortably? Or, do you think they might just figure it out when our economy declines and the countries that have been keeping us afloat (make that keeping the U.S. government as well as state and local governments afloat) won't risk any more money on us and we'll actually have to CUT THE COST OF OPERATING GOVERNMENT? How would that work?

Well, change is inevitable. I personally get rather sick and tired of hearing our politicians urging us to go spend more money so the economy can grow. I love their rhetoric about how they are going to "create jobs." Doing what? If everyone is in a leaner, meaner, cutting back mode and that appears to be the trend for the foreseeable future, if not forever, then businesses are going to cut back and require less and less employees. Government won't have the tax revenue to keep hiring millions of redundant, less efficient, non-essential workers to do less work. It looks like a conundrum for those who are leveraged up to their ears in mortgages, car, boat, huge RV loans and credit card debt. Won't this be an interesting scenario to watch playing out? Those of us who had this figured out a long time ago and took the action to downsize and simplify will be relaxing and breathing easy as we live free and happy. Time will tell.

They're Baaaack . . .

Yes indeed! The nearly 800,000 non-essential federal government employees are back on the job again doing their non-essential work. Wait a minute! If they are non-essential employees that means that their work really is non-essential. So, if it's non-essential - why the hell are we tax payers paying for this work and these people? Seems to me that this is just another form of extremely expensive WELFARE with very expensive lifetime BENEFITS. And not only that, the government can't even call a spade a spade. If they were private sector employees they would have been laid off. But, golly gee Uncle Ned, they weren't laid off, they were furloughed. Now, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary the definition of furlough in the case of a non-military individual is: a period of time when an employee is told not to come to work and is not paid.

But, wait...the reason we had to "furlough" these non-essential government employees and relieve them from doing their non-essential work was because there was no money to pay them.

But, never fear, the modern day Uncle Sam is a very benevolent kind of guy. When private sector workers get laid off and whine about how they can't afford to pay their bills, how their mortgages will go into default and their vehicles will be repossessed, etc., I never see anyone in the government shed a tear or lose a good night's sleep over it. But, oh my, if a non-essential government worker is going to have to bite the bullet and struggle, suffer, maybe even endure some economic pain, well, our representatives can't allow that to happen now, can they. So, they furlough them, no non-essential work gets done, some of them even apply for unemployment insurance and get paid for not working. And good ole Uncle Sugar comes through and grants them all FULL BACK PAY for the time they were at home sitting on their asses, whining, sobbing and double dipping in some cases.

Wait! We didn't have money to pay them, which is why they were furloughed in the first place. But, hey! That's okay; our representatives passed a bill allowing the government to borrow more money on top of the 17+ TRILLION dollars (actually an estimated $123 TRILLION dollars in unfunded liabilities) visible national debt. So, the Chinese and Japanese and any other "sucker" country will pay all that back pay and continue to pay the non-essential workers doing non-essential work. Additionally, they'll pay my (our, for those of us receiving our BENEFITS - they are NOT entitlements, thank you very much) Social Security and Medicare since those same shameless, incompetent elected supposed representatives of "We the people" blew all the money they were entrusted with to make grow to pay to us one day. Social Security and Medicare are NOT entitlements. They were funded by involuntary contributions everyone has to make. If one is self-employed it costs about 15.6% of your annual salary or if you are employed the 15.6% involuntary tax is split 50/50 with your employer up to a cap of $113,700 of your salary.

Unfortunately, those funds were swept into the general fund and the Social Security and Medicare trusts were left with IOU's which are, for all practical intents and purposes, worthless because they are backed by the good credit and faith of a government that has unfunded liabilities of about $123 Trillion dollars and no way to fund them. In real world terms, that's called BANKRUPT!

So, did anyone REALLY think that the "so-called" government shutdown (which it never really was since we only furloughed, WITH FULL PAY, 800,000 non-essential workers who were doing non-essential work) would stay "shutdown" for long and that at least a temporary increase in the borrowing ceiling wouldn't be passed at the 11th hour? Of course you didn't and neither did I. It was all just posturing. It's like a bunch of bullies on the playground when we were in elementary school. There was only one loser from all of this bullshit and that was the average American citizen. I just keep wondering how long it's going to take for the majority of this country to wake up to reality. But, here's the real clincher. Some of those people who were furloughed actually did have important, or shall we call them essential, jobs and lots of other truly non-essential government employees were kept working because they served the pleasure of the "ruling class." I'm sure the president's chef and butler's and all the secret service, etc. weren't furloughed. After all, our employee, the president of the United States couldn't be expected to have his wife cook him a meal or worse, yet, the president open a can of soup and warm it up in the microwave. And many of the people furloughed, maybe even a large percentage of them, were furloughed to make the American people feel pain for political purposes. Bottom line, the entire shutdown, in my opinion was a political sham, blackmail.

The Informed vs. The Uninformed

I took an online quiz this morning sent to me by an old high-school friend. The quiz, The News IQ Quiz, was from the Pew Research Center and asked only 13 questions. It compared my results against those of 1,052 randomly selected participants in a controlled survey. I scored higher than 95% of the rest of the population regardless of gender, education and age. Now, let me make this clear, I'm not boasting. It's really sad that someone like me, just an average American, can score higher than 95% of the rest of the surveyed individuals. The survey is, of course, supposed to represent a sampling of the population as a whole, as all surveys normally are designed to do. Actually, I find it scary that I found these current event questions so easy as to score in the 5% of the population who are informed on what is supposedly happening in our current course of events. My concern is that the other 95% of the people in the U.S. also vote and support the incompetence that is displayed by our government.

Black and White and Shades of Gray . . .

So, I was talking with a friend (a retired federal employee, who probably would or could have been considered part of the 800,000 non-essential employees) on my way back from my short trip to Pennsylvania yesterday for the Ribbon Cutting and Dedication of the Charlie "Tremendous" Jones Conference Center. I've written before about my late friend, Charlie Jones. You can look up earlier posts if you're interested in who he was. But, the friend I was speaking to on the drive back (by cellular phone with speakerphone) is a very liberal Democrat. He has told me on several occasions that it doesn't matter who the candidate is, whether he can spell his own name and tie his own shoelaces or if he's brilliant and informed or if he's a convicted rapist, murderer, money launderer or mobster, if he's a Democrat, my friend will vote for him. To him there is only black and white.

Now, to be fair, I have conservative Republican friends who have that same black and white mentality. It doesn't matter who the candidate is or his qualifications, if he's a Republican, he automatically gets the vote.

So the conversation slid into the current events of the 800,000 non-essential employees being back at work doing the non-essential work they are assigned. My friend, who lives right outside Washington, DC said he was glad they were back to work because the traffic and congestion was back down to normal weekday levels again instead of being as bad as the weekend traffic in that region.

Now, let me offer a side note, if all these government workers who were furloughed were whining and whimpering about being in such peril of losing their homes and defaulting on their credit card debt, what the hell were they all doing out on the roads burning $3.50/gallon gas in their gas guzzling SUV's and buying, buying, buying stuff in all the stores? Me thinks something stinks in the Nation's Capital area.

But, back to my friend, he immediately expressed that all the Democrats were right and the Republicans were stupid, wrong and trying to bring the nation down. My comment was that I thought that both sides were nothing more than juvenile kindergarteners fighting over a toy and neither wanted to give an inch and should all be thrown out of their offices - fired, if you will. He immediately started to object to me classifying his beloved incompetent, liberal, Democratic Party as juvenile kindergarteners. I cut him off and said, you had your say and believe your way - and I have my right to my beliefs and to express them. So, let's stop the conversation and agree to disagree because since there is nothing that he or any extreme right wing Republican could say to change my beliefs.

The Crux of the Matter

And that is exactly why we have the problems in the U.S. that we do. People let other people think for them and tell them what they should believe - and they do. I find no difference between the two parties as far as their mentality, behavior, ethics and, in some cases, morality. And, further, I don't think I can count the number of people in elected positions on one hand who are not there for their own self-serving reasons. Frankly, if I still had a young child, I wouldn't trust any one of them to baby sit my kid. I believe there are some positive things that are supported by each side of the two party system. Unfortunately, I find it virtually impossible to accept and agree fully or even halfway with either side. If you want to be free you have to think for yourself. Others may not agree with your way of thinking or your philosophies, however, to be free everyone has to have the right to their own beliefs and to live by those beliefs as long as they don't infringe on the rights and freedom of anyone else.

Passing judgment as to the choices others make is way above my pay grade. But, I don't want some elected, appointed or hired individual who is in their position - at my pleasure - and that of all the other citizens they represent, telling me how to live or run my life. They are there to serve us, not the other way around. That's right! They are our hired hands and should be kissing our rings if there is any ring kissing to be done. We pay their paychecks, they don't pay ours. I'm not interested in having anyone telling me I have to do anything, including buying health insurance or penalizing me if I don't. That's my choice.

Life is not black and white. And life is not only all shades of gray. Life is a pallet of 256 million colors and we should each have the right to paint our lives any way we choose.

Anyone choosing to work for any government agency at any level is fine with me. Obviously  I have my feelings about how many government employees are needed especially at the federal level. If you happen to be one of the 800,000 federal employees deemed non-essential and you don't like what I have to say, it's not personal. My issue is with the system. But, you'll have to Deal With It! Since I, the private sector and the GNP are paying your salary, we're ultimately the boss. I, like you,  have the right to think and express what I think. It's probably damaging to your ego to find out that you're non-essential, as it would be in the private sector. But, that's okay. That's a choice you made and I don't judge you one way or the other. I've had many friends who were government employees or are retired from government service. I lived my life the way I chose and you lived yours the way you chose. If/when the government finally gets to a point where it can't afford to sustain 800,000 non-essential workers any longer you may find yourselves among the millions of your private sector brothers and sisters who can't find good jobs. They may already have or you and they may lose your homes and will have to adjust to a more minimalist and simplified lifestyle, probably for the rest of your lives. This will be difficult for you and you'll probably be depressed. You'll have contempt for the private sector and probably for people like me who realized where things were going and voluntarily modified our lifestyles making us freer and happier than we've ever been. Life is nothing but choices and when you let someone else make them for you, you'll most likely never be happy with them.

I leave those of you who choose to live in a black and white world to your choice while I live in a brilliant, full-color world full of adventures and experiences. 

Photo-of-the-Week #128 - Mario's Pizza, Clifton, New Jersey, September 2013

Behold, the pizza I measure all other pizza against. This photo was taken at Mario's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria in my hometown of Clifton, New Jersey. Unfortunately, while little seems to change significantly in my hometown, Mario's has changed.

First, I haven't been there in a few years. I met my sister and brother-in-law there for the famed thin crust pizza, known as Emma's Pizza. Well, the first surprise was the empty parking lot at 7 PM. I've never seen their parking lot empty . . . EVER. The second surprise was that the exterior of the building had been changed and there were now windows were their were never windows before. The third surprise was upon entering the restaurant. It was no longer the well-aged knotty pine paneling and low light, old fashioned (actually old, not by decorative design) lighting. It was gone and it was now bright and very yellow and white. The tables no longer had the red and white checkered table clothes. It had lost all the ambiance that made it Mario's.

But, those weren't the worst surprises. The serving staff no longer consisted of family members, all of Italian descent. There was a blonde, female server with a decidedly Eastern European accent (she was there the last time I was there several years ago). There was a male server who was very attentive and friendly, but also, not the same as the old family feeling. We ordered a large cheese pizza, just as we had many times during our youth when our parents took us to Mario's and even when I was in high school and college and a bunch of my buddies and I would head there for our pizza fix. I ordered my favorite beverage, birch beer. Now, this had NEVER happened before, but I was informed they were completely out of birch beer. This is sacrilege. The server even went to the basement himself to see if he could find a hidden or lost keg of the (to me) liquid delicacy. Nada! I ended up with water and lemon.

The pizza arrived and it was good. It resembled the pizza I have measured all pizza by for the past 46 years. But, unfortunately, it didn't actually measure up to the standard it once was. Wow! What a disappointment. Oh! And, I mentioned that the parking lot was empty - and not coincidentally, so was the restaurant that was typically bustling with families and hustling servers. I think there were three tables occupied including ours. To say I was disappointed would be a gross understatement. The server brought the new owner over to meet us (yes, the family that started the restaurant in 1945 had sold this Clifton landmark and icon). Alfredo, a very nice gentleman from Spain, apologized for not having any birch beer and told us about all the changes he had made, but he had kept the kitchen staff and all the original recipes. Unfortunately, something was lacking or missing, I think it was everything he had changed and the original family.

Sadly, I checked Yelp to look for reviews and found that I am not alone in my assessment. It is apparent that unless Alfredo does something to restore the quality and credibility of Mario's, it may soon be boarded up like so many other old establishments. But, when I was talking with the owner of North Jersey Ravioli and the server at Rutt's Hut, I discovered that the son (who didn't own any interest in Mario's, but wanted to take it over and keep it as it was - but the family decided against that) has opened his own Italian restaurant and pizzeria about a block away. So, the next time I'm in Clifton (which will be at the end of this month - October 2013), I'll seek out his establishment and see how well he's doing at carrying on the family tradition. Change is inevitable, but I only accept it while kicking and screaming, at least in this case.  

Photo-of-the-Week #127 - The Famous "Ripper" from Rutt's Hut, Clifton, New Jersey, September 24, 2013

Here it is! It's the famous "Ripper." The "Ripper" is a deep fried hot dog that is fried until it literally rips open. This is the specialty of Rutt's Hut, a hot dog stand and establishment that has been serving up the "Ripper" since 1929. They've served a lot of hot dogs over those 84 years. Rutt's Hut is located in Clifton, New Jersey, my hometown.

Now, believe me, you don't have to tell me that these are probably not great for my arteries and my heart. But, hey, there are just some things in life you have to make the supreme sacrifice for and a "Ripper" is one of them. They also have their own concoction of mustard and relish that perfectly complements this unique way of serving up a hot dog. Rutt's Hut "Rippers" have been written up by many newspaper reviewers and it was ranked in the top ten hot dogs from all the hot dogs in the U.S. on a Public Television program about hot dogs.

Part of the appeal of Rutt's Hut is the ambiance and the people you'll run across there. You'll find the locals. You'll find the travelers who come there out of curiosity because they heard about the place on TV or in some write up. You'll find the hot dog connoisseur. It's just one of those places you must try at least once. But, most people will put it on their list of must return places.

I was there on Tuesday evening, September 24, 2013 later in the day after I was interviewed on the radio station I started 46 years ago, WMSC. I had connected a few years ago on one of the many Internet social networking sites with a woman I went to grade school, jr. high school and graduated from high school with 50 years ago this year. We hadn't seen each other in all those years. But, we made a date when I got to Clifton one day that we'd meet at Rutt's Hut. And that's exactly what we did. A very special way to renew an old acquaintance and enjoy a very special "delicacy" - a Rutt's Hut "Ripper." (I cheated though, I had two).  

Playing Catch Up...Again...As Usual

Small Part of Martin Theophilus' Magnetic Audio Recorder Collection

So, I've been back from the "My McVansion Shakedown Cruise -er- Road Trip" and I'm way behind on blog posts. Actually, I arrived back at base camp in WV on September 25th, the day after my radio interview on WMSC. The interview has been listened to by way, way more folks than I thought and it is still getting hits and listens every day. So, thank you for your interest and support. So much happened during that shakedown cruise, all good, I might add. But, the trip became so busy that I ended up with virtually no time to blog. It was either blog or catch some sleep and I really did need the sleep. I also attempted to keep up with (not completely successfully) a plethora of emails. So, this is part of the catch up I have to do.

Currently, I've actually been on the road since Sunday September 29th on the road trip to Texas. This trip is a mixed bag. First, My McVansion is sitting, parked, in Front Royal, Virginia where I left it. I'm driving my former partner's huge Chevy Suburban that was loaded with materials and equipment for the project in San Antonio, where I am located as I compose this post. I couldn't sleep in the Suburban on the way due to the load I was bearing. So, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday night I stayed in budget motels, an Americas Best Value Inn on Sunday night in Marion, Virginia and Motel 6's in Meridian, Mississippi on Monday night and in Austin, Texas on Tuesday night.

A Challenge 

Monday morning I had a little surprise that added three hours to my travel time. When I woke up, loaded my bag into the Suburban, got my phone/GPS, Bluetooth and dash-cam set and operating, I noticed a little amber light in the instrument cluster indicating one tire had low air pressure. So, I got out and walked around the vehicle and found a very flat right rear tire. I called AAA and they sent someone out to change the tire. Then I took the tire to Thompson's Tire Repair in downtown Marion (Marion is in southwest Virginia near Abington, Bristol and the Tennessee border). The folks at Thompson's were friendly as could be, very efficient and very thorough. So, while I lost about three hours, I felt like I got excellent service, a very reasonable price and by the time I left, I felt like I was leaving old friends.

Austin, Texas

From that point forward the travel was simply long and boring since I was using interstate highways to make time getting to my first stop in Austin, Texas. Upon arriving in Austin on Tuesday night, I found the home of the daughter of a deceased, well-known and loved humorous speaker friend, Dr. Charlie Jarvis. I personally delivered a plaque to Pamela posthumously recognizing her father as a "Legend of the Speaking Profession" awarded at the recent Veteran Speakers Retreat in August. Then I found some food and a Motel 6 to rest after a long day of driving. I had another long day planned for Wednesday

Austin is a large, very busy, very congested city. It is the home of the Texas state capital, the University of Texas, the TV show, "Austin City Limits," a former recording engineer employee of mine and, just a few miles outside of town, a private museum/collection of vintage audio recorders, microphones and various other items belonging to Martin Theophilus. It's currently maintained in his home, however, he's in the process of locating a home for the equipment in a facility where he can make it open to the public. Martin and I hit it off immediately and it turns out we've been in the recording industry about the same time - and his career and experience has been as interesting as mine. This saga will continue in the future. I might also add that I've owned and used many of the recorders in this photo as well as many more of the machines in his collection.

New Braunfels, Texas

After leaving Martin Theophilus, I headed south to New Braunfels, Texas where I went to my former business partner's ranch. Troy Brand, John Caughman and I were partners in a business in Washington, DC called Audio-Video Concepts, Inc. or AVCom for short. Troy, John and I also served in the Air Force together, in related capacities. I last saw Troy and his wife, Pat, ten years ago when I made a swing through Texas about this same time of the year. It was around forty years ago when Pat Brand put up with us. I so remember how she'd listen to Troy, John and me and just roll her eyes. Well, it was a great fun and when Troy and I started talking it was like we turned back the hands of time by 40 years. And, yes, Pat was rolling her eyes...again. It was great fun and I'm hoping it won't be another 10 years before I see them. I also stayed in their guest room at the ranch Wednesday night. I departed about 4 PM on Thursday afternoon to cut cross country through "The Hill Country" of Texas to the small town of Kerrville, about 70 miles +/- from New Braunfels and about 60 miles west of San Antonio.

Kerrville, Texas

The trip was great over to Kerrville, a town of about 25,000. I passed through several other small Texas towns that really caught my eye and make a commitment to myself to come back through here and learn about and enjoy these places. In Kerrville, I arrived at my friends (and a former author of my book publishing company), T. Scott Gross and his really cute and fun wife, Melanie. They go by the pet names of Tiger and Buns. Arriving at around 6:00 PM, Melanie had some dinner waiting for the three of us and we enjoyed communing around the dinner table. I had already learned by email from them that just this past Friday (a week ago) they had been involved in a major head on collision that totaled their vehicle (and the vehicle of the 20 year old woman who was texting or something at 70 miles per hour, lost control, flew across a 50 foot wide median strip and hit them head on. Scott had to be med-evaced to an Army hospital in San Antonio with five broken ribs and some other broken bones and a punctured lung plus a lot of cuts and abrasions. Melanie sustained a fractured wrist and some trauma to her abdomen. Both were very sore and in Scott's case, in some pain from time to time. Scott also is a victim (though he doesn't consider himself a victim) of Parkinson's disease.

Despite what they had just been through, they were in great spirits and they were still great hosts. I, of course, offered to be of assistance any way I could and helped whenever asked or saw something I could do for them. We had a wonderful time together and I learned more about both of them and they about me. We had a wonderful lunch at a nice Mexican restaurant on Friday and Scott took me (with me driving) on a spin around Kerrville and showed me, what I found to be, a beautiful little town. I was very impressed. Scott had a hand in making some of the improvements to the town during the six years he spent on the city council. I spent two nights with them, Thursday and Friday nights and left about 11:00 AM this morning (Saturday) to head for the San Antonio Airport to pick up the first member of our team for this project.

While in Kerrville, I had the opportunity to meet Marvin Willis, the creator and head honcho of the "Hometown Hero Card." I met Marvin through the LinkedIn business social network on the Web. We've emailed a bunch and spoken on the phone a bunch about his project(s) and idea. This was our opportunity to meet in person and take a possible working relationship to another level. I really enjoyed meeting Marvin and he and his wife, Myrna, joined Scott, Melanie and Scott's mother, for lunch.

Remember The Alamo

I can simply say my time in Kerrville was, once again, both enjoyable and memorable as were my two earlier visits. But, it is Saturday and this is the day that the primary reason for this specific trip is all about, providing conference recording and other support services for the annual CFDD conference (Center for Due Diligence). So, off I went to the San Antonio airport to pick up the second member of the team. He was flying in from St. Louis, Missouri. I arrived at the airport in plenty of time for his flight, but checked the online flight status and found that his flight had been delayed. So, I waited the extra thirty minutes or so and finally we connected and I picked him up. We then headed into town looking for an authentic Tex-Mex, local restaurant to catch some lunch at. We succeeded. Then on to the Grand Hyatt hotel in downtown San Antonio near the River Walk, the former HemisFair and the Alamo ("Remember the Alamo").

This is where I sit as I write this post. My room on the 21st floor of the Grand Hyatt is quite a bit more luxurious than My McVansion in a Walmart parking lot. The view is reasonable. We off loaded all the materials and equipment I had on board the Suburban, so it's once again, empty. Now, I await the other four members of the team who are flying in from Virginia. Unfortunately, their flight has now been delayed by about two and a half hours. So, it's rest and catch up time on this new blog post and some emails and some reading. It looks like I'll be at the airport at about 10:00 PM or later when I retrieve the rest of the team from the airport. I am now relaxing and preparing to go pick them up and be ready for the beginning of the conference, tomorrow morning. The next four days until about 2:00 PM on Wednesday will be BUSY days. After that I pack a very small amount in the Suburban, take only one member of the team back to the airport and begin making my way back to Virginia. I'll make, yet, another stop in Austin, TX (likely spending the night there), while I visit my former recording engineer employee, Bill Smith and his lovely bride, Diane. Then start marking time back to Virginia on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and back to base camp in WV on Saturday night.

I'll probably have one more post about this road trip after this, but I'll begin catching up on the earlier Shakedown Cruise trip and the many and varied experiences of that adventure over the next week.