Till We Meet Again

Tomorrow, Saturday, March 10, we break camp and head back North to Decatur, Illinois. We leave the senior-Snowbird-fantasy world of Miramar Beach, Florida. We return to the more diversified midwestern city life. A life of greater reality. There will be home repair issues, grass cutting, vegetable gardening preparations and Doctors' appointments.

We shall hope to engage the needs of our Church to serve others and we look forward to more frequent visits with family and old friends. As we depart our winter neighborhood of Gulf Side Way, our prayers go out in behalf of our winter friends. God willing, we shall meet again.
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Till We Meet Again

The Outta Touch Leader

A neighborhood girl back in Decatur, Illinois who attends middle school, emailed me a list of political questions her seventh grade current events class is addressing in a survey regarding voting attitudes. One question, in particular, caught my attention and caused me to reflect in greater depth.

Question: "In the last presidential election, what one incident or one comment made by any candidate caused you to NOT vote for that individual?" After considerable thought, I came up with THE ONE incident that cemented my negative attitude toward Donald Trump. I checked off 'possible' reasons of his vulgarity, his questionable treatment of women, his sick humor about the disabled, his history of discrimination towards people of color and his intolerance of Middle Eastern religious groups. I also dismissed his business shenanigans, i.e., Trump University scam, his multiple bankruptcies and his refusal to disclose his tax returns.

Actually, the one incident involving Donald Trump that caused disqualification (in my mind) and someone for whom I could NOT vote for occurred four-years before he announced his presidential candidacy in 2015. You do recall the pizza luncheon Trump had with Sarah Palin in June 2011. These two 'out-of-touch' bone heads used a knife and fork to eat a slice of pizza. Now please! I ask you, do you actually believe that somebody who uses utensils to eat pizza has a clue about middle class American life? And yet the irony is that many folks comprising Trump's base-supporters eat pizza with their hands and would be clueless regarding the use of small fork / large fork.

God bless young Barron Trump. You just know that boy has never enjoyed a Spam/onion & mustard sandwich nor a Bologna sandwich fried in ketchup.
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Eating Snickers Bar With Knife & Fork

Crazy?

We often hear gun advocates make the claim, "Guns don't kill, people kill," or "We don't need gun control, we need mental health reform." Okay, let's examine the latter assertion. First, we know that former President Ronald Reagan defunded support of mental institutions back in the early 1980's. That meant people who were mentally unstable and belonged in an institution were released from those mental hospitals and placed in your neighborhoods across America. Those were called half-way houses. The mental patient was given prescription drugs to keep them 'at bay;' to keep them from doing something 'crazy.' 'Crazy' that could result in harm to themselves or to you or to your family members. How's that working out? Thanks Reagan.

Once in awhile, I forget to take my blood pressure pills...do you readers ever forget to take medicine? Well if that medicine is Risperdal that your neighbor forgot to take today, you just might wish to stay inside and call the school to inform them your kids "ain't coming."

Look, I'm surely not an expert on mental illness, but I gunna venture a guess here. The first sign that somebody may not be dealin' with a full deck is when that person next door wishes to purchase a military AR-15 assault weapon. Really?
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Just Might Be Crazy

Anybody Carry a Pocket Knife?

The past three years, I've noticed a couple from Ontario, Canada occupying one of the Gulf Side Cottages here in Miramar Beach, Florida. They somewhat stay to themselves but nonetheless are friendly in casual conversation. The gentleman is an excellent chainsaw wood sculptures/wood carver. He travels extensively showing his wares. His wood carving talent reminds me of another knife applied to wood talent...I'm taking about 'whittling.' Whittling is using a sharp pocket style knife and simply trimming away layers of wood from sticks or blocks of wood. The objective appears to be nebulous at best. Grandpa E. V. Bennett, when asked why he whittled said, "It aids my ponderin'."

I don't notice many old farts whittling as in the past. Perhaps they wish to avoid pondering or just maybe the old timers are not introduced to the 'pocket-knife' as those in my youthful generation. Most boys carried a pocket knife back in the 1940's. The pocket knife was, back-in-the-day a great school playground tool...we played 'mumbley peg.' I recall two mumbley peg games, which I played at recess. One was pairing up with another knife carrying Buddy and play at 'match me' game. The first player would attempt to stick his knife in the ground by throwing it in various ways. If his knife stuck in the ground then the next player had to match the throw sticking his knife. For any missed stick the player received a letter 'k-n-i-f-e,' i.e., h-o-r-s-e in basketball shooting. The other mumbley peg game was spreading your feet shoulders width and throwing your picket knife sticking it in the ground between your feet; the one closest to his foot wins. If you stuck it in your foot you were mubley peg King Of The Day. Some kids argued that you were 'Dumb Ass of The Day.'
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The Art of Mumbley Peg

A Legacy of Love

We've all been there. We have faced the anxiousness of waiting and at the opposite end of the emotional spectrum, we've all regaled in the joyous family moments of laughter and lightheartedness.

My wife, Gerry and I returned late-afternoon yesterday from the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport where four of our fifteen grandchildren boarded a flight back to the St. Louis Metropolitan Area. From there Kaitlyn O'Keefe caught a connecting flight to Chicago and returned to her last Barrington high school semester before entering Indiana University next fall. Caleb Howell this morning is back in his St. Louis County police attire while sister, Erica returns to her law firm's Human Resource office. Finally, Loren Roustio is back at the long grind of St. Louis University's medical school.

The four spent last week with their Nana and Boompa at Miramar Beach, Florida. It was the second visit for Loren and Erica and the first for Caleb and Kaitlyn. The week was filled with great Gulf-Side eating experiences, beach sun bathing and fishing and endless laughter as only family does; sometimes at the expense of one another. I can report unequivocally that my greatest joy is watching the incredible interaction of my grandkids with their Nana...it defies description.

We all hated to see Sunday's departure date arrive. After a mid-morning brunch, we headed for the  Airport where we milked a few more minutes of togetherness before the boarding call moment. We said our goodbyes while hoping in our hearts that there might be a repeat in 12-months. At least, I  heard the girls making those plans.

As my wife and I walked across the Airport garden area, I ask my wife to sit a moment and offer prayer. We thanked God for his blessings of family and the love we share. We prayed for our grandkids' travel safety and continued blessings in their respective journey's. As we continued our walk towards our auto, I asked, "Gerry, do you think we can love TOO MUCH?" She responded,
"Only our Lord loves too much, when He died for us to have eternal life...we're just trying."

I am overjoyed for I know in my heart that this 'legacy of love' for one another and Christ is unbreakable. I am overjoyed, indeed!
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Love Remains

Gladly Learn, Gladly Teach & Shoot To Kill

After a thirty-nine year career in public school education and observing five children and grandchildren teaching in public schools, I believe anybody reading this blog would afford me the following expressions even though they may disagree with my premise.

President Trump and the NRA leaders wish to arm teachers with weapons in the attempt to defend their students from would be shooters brandishing AR-15 assault weapons capable of mass killings. The plan calls for training teachers with gun expertise to serve in this guardian capacity.

 I will accept the fact that I will never get my wish to ban all military type weapons from our streets, therefore I've given more in-depth thought to the gun advocates' proposal to arm your childrens' teachers. I will support this idea if the following conditions are met:
   1.  Any teacher expected  to instruct and serve as a School Resource Officer should be paid a full teaching salary and a pro-rated SRO hourly stipend. Please warn your local community's 'Public Schools' Tax Watch Committee.'
     2. The teacher should be armed with and carry on their shoulder for quick access a AR -15   Weapon...what's good for the intruder is good for the armed teacher!
     3. The Federal Government should amend the United States Constitution exonerating any and all public school teachers certified in this capacity from all liabilities resulting from deaths occurring at their hands...especially friendly fire killings.
     4.  All students must wear uniforms which are color-coded as per grade levels. This could aid   teachers in selecting desired shooting targets.
     5.  If a teacher is successful in 'bagging' a perpetrator, the school district pays taxidermist cost to have that attackers head mounted for placement in the teacher's classroom.
     6.  Honors For the Killing Teacher>>Recognition as National Teacher of the Year; Life Time Paid Membership to NRA; White House Invitation w/appropriate recognition and a weekend of golf with Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

I anticipate this proposal would receive support from all the fair-minded Second Amendment
Advocates, the GOP, the NRA  and the far right-wing Christian Evangelicals who cringe at the idea of Pro-Choice but sign-off on Capital Punishment.
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Shoot The Bastards

Hail to the Chief

I must be fair with President Trump and make a pivot giving him credit where credit is most certainly due. Traversing those elementary school years, I often heard as did you the American proposition that
"In this great country anybody can grow up to become President of the United States." I never belived that because in the 1940's every man in our family had just one pair of 'Sunday-go-to-meeting-shoes.' FDR and Harry Truman had several different pairs of shoes plus more than one suit and lots of white shirts! Issue settled. No body in my neighborhood was going to become President.

Fast forward nearly seventy years later and Donald Trump is elected the 45th President. His election demonstrates that INDEED, anybody can become President of the U. S. of A.

In the 1960's Mad Magazine introduced Alfred E. Newman the gap-tooth character as a Presidential candidate and we all laughed. Predicated on what sits in the Oval Office these days makes Alfred looks good. The dead-paned glum-faced, Pat Paulson was offered on the Smothers Brothers' television show where he announced six Presidential runs. Americans thought that was ridiculously funny. Fact of the  matter, Trump is twice the comedian than Paulson and a bigger clown than Alfred.

Several years, I taught students in an alternative education program. These were students who lacked self-discipline, could not control morally questionable behavior, fought with institutional authority, were self-centered and immersed in daily drama conflicts. Nothing was ever their fault but they were  always a victim. Additionally, these youngsters had a preponderance for excessive lying. Obviously, all these aforementioned traits are attractive to the American voter and Russian hackers!

Donald Trump proves that 'the Bar' for America's Presidential achievement is extremely low and achieveable by anybody. A leg-up for the candidate who is good at offering angry people 'scapegoats.'

Hail to the Chief!
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Hail to The Chief