Restless around Thanksgiving...

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Greetings, everyone!

Just a quick note to wish all of you a happy and healthy Thanksgiving holiday weekend.  I successfully survived not one, not two but THREE Thanksgiving meals this year - another reminder of how blessed I am to have amazing family and friends who are hell-bent on keeping me from achieving my weight goals (I'm trying to avoid looking like the turkey pictured above).

On Wednesday night we had a Thanksgiving celebration with my grandmother who has traveled the world, working in embassies and for the military attaches overseas.  She's still going strong and insisted I have seconds of everything (I love grandmas!).  On Thanksgiving Day my dad flew mom and I to Winnsboro, SC in the Cessna 182 to spend a lovely afternoon with my grandfather who suffered a stroke two years ago the day before Thanksgiving.  He still hasn't regained the power of speech but the love and wisdom that pours from that man requires no voice.  We zipped home (only an hour flight) and I was able to join Miaka and Rich (best friends) in the home of Steve and Sheelagh Cafferky (volunteers at the horse rescue) for yet another amazing feast.  It was great to spend the holiday surrounded by people I admire and adore and who have been so good to me for so many years.  I pray each of you had similar experiences this holiday.  And then, of course, my beloved Cowboys choked royally and lost to the Redskins.  There is no justice!

I'm leaving for the airport shortly to embark (with my older brother) on my first-ever cruise.  Leaving port from Galveston, we'll spend seven (fingers-crossed) sun-filled days aboard the Carnival Magic (pray for no food poisoning) where we'll hit Montego Bay, Jamaica (ATV jungle tour); Grand Cayman (swim with the rays and sea turtles); and Cozumel (two scuba dives) before returning back to Galveston.

My bags are packed, dive bag is ready, and my new camera promises photo-documentation of the adventure.  Stay tuned - details from the trip to the follow...

RR

Are there icebergs in the Western Caribbean??

Restless about drivers behaving badly...

Before I begin today's entry, allow me a brief departure to comment on several observations I received this past week from readers via Facebook.  A few of you expressed concern that I seem unusually upset as a writer or that I carry a lot of anger evidenced by the content or themes of my posts.  Let me assure you that I'm as happy as a puppy in a fire hydrant factory.  My rants are, for me, an alternative to exhaust a little frustration (and yes, at times, impatience) with the world around me.  I have little tolerance for ineptitude, inconsideration, and incompetence (surprise surprise) and it's liberating to occasionally put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and say aloud what I imagine most are thinking.  I hope you find familiarity or common ground in my rants.  That, like me, you hope for an improvement in behavior from the general populace.  I hope that clears things up a bit.  If not, you might want to reconsider reading on because the remainder of this post ain't gonna be pretty...   : )

Good morning, readers!  I trust you all had a relaxing and restful weekend, took a moment to hug a veteran (if not, it's never too late), and are preparing for a week of new opportunities.  For many of you, this will include preparing for the morning commute.  With all due respect, please accept my best wishes.  I say this for two reasons.  First, I have the luxury of working from my home office and, as such, won't be joining you in this daily exercise.  Secondly, I know what (and worse, who) you'll be facing and it's a most unenviable task.

Needing to wake up, Harry thought a splash of water might do the trick...

The daily commute.  There was a time in my career where I was a reluctant participant in this everyday ritual.  Where with the masses I would enter my vehicle (sometimes alone and sometimes with a ride-share buddy) and begrudgingly share the clogged arteries of our city with countless others from the suburbs to the heart of Atlanta and inevitably reverse the process every evening.  During these processions I would see all manner of lunacy - people driving while reading a paperback, people dozing off behind the wheel, women applying makeup whilst operating their vehicles; people texting, talking, singing, yelling at other drivers or simply yelling at nothing in particular - all part of the daily madness.  On some mornings we would count as many 4 or 5 separate accidents, all within the span of 15 or so miles of interstate.  Again, I feel your pain.

If I had a nickel...

When did we become so overrun with horrible drivers?  It's like the dumbing down blog entry, only this time they're armed with vehicles.  It seems you can't make a quick trip to the gas station or grocery store or movie theater without risking some near-death experience that makes you scratch your head and say a small prayer for simpler times and better motorists.  As a public service, I felt it important to take a moment and categorize some of these morons into groupings.  My hope is this will make it easier for you to identify them early enough in the commute and offer them a wide berth.  Make no mistake - these organisms are dumb and dangerous and most assuredly life-threatening.

Idiots in migratory pattern...

• The talkers/texters:  The "talkers" are easy to identify as they'll often be spotted with one hand in a fixed position to their head and their elbow resting comfortably on the door.  The texters can be a little more challenging to spot as they often attempt to mask their behavior.  They'll either be seen with one hand on the wheel and the other off to the side (out of view) with their head swiveling back and forth.  Alternatively, they'll have both hands (and attention) focused down in their laps, looking like they've just discovered the existence of their genitalia.  They'll be steering with their knees, their concentration fully on what's in their lap with the occasional furtive glance to the roadway.  Needless to say it's impossible for most people to concentrate on more than one thing at a time (for many, even one object is a struggle) so don't be surprised if they swerve or drive extremely slow/fast, flirting with the bumpers and fenders and side-panels of the vehicles in their immediate vicinity.
• The pilots: These are the motorists who confuse the highway for a runway, thinking that those little dotted lines separating the lanes of traffic are supposed to be kept beneath the center of their vehicle while driving.  You know the type.  They're half in your lane and half in someone else's with no attempt to correct themselves.  The only problem is that the imaginary plane they're operating is never going to actually take off so they're stuck on the tarmac with the rest of us.  And it's not really a plane, it's a car.  And it's not really a tarmac, it's Interstate 85.  And you're not really a pilot, you're inept.  Pick a lane, please.

Okay, maybe cars CAN fly...

• The color-blind: Red, amber, green.  Red, amber, green.  Each color means something completely different and is intended to signal a necessary action/behavior for the motorist approaching a stop-light.  Not for these morons!  Apparently for these choice few, red and amber also mean green.  Additionally, each of the colors is to them merely a suggestion rather than an actual law so there's no telling how they're going to react.  This of course means that for the rest of us red, amber and green all essentially mean some form of red or amber to avoid getting T-boned at the next intersection.  Color me unamused...
• The Lance Armstrongs: I'm not opposed to cyclists.  I have nothing against people committed to their fitness who choose to take out their 10-speed and use it to stay in shape.  Often times, they'll adopt pack behavior, cycling in small to mid-sized flocks.  But here's the thing.  Your bike is not nor will ever be an actual car!  It's not even a motorcycle or a moped.  And my neighborhood isn't the official training ground of the Tour de France.  So take your bike and get over to the far right side of the road (or bike path, or heaven forbid the abandoned sidewalk) and feel free to ride your bike all the live long day.  Don't plant yourself in the middle of the lane like you own the road and pedal 5 miles an hour in a 45mph zone.  Or weave back and forth from the right to the left side of the lane like some NASCAR driver getting a feel for the steering column prior to a race.  You're on a bike.  And I'm in a car.  Being followed by several dozen additional people, also in cars.  And we're not impressed.  By the way, last year's winner of the actual Tour de France - you know, the skinny non-doping amazing cyclist from Great Britain, Bradley Wiggins?  He was recently hit by a car whilst training on his bike in England.  And trust me, you're not as good as him...
•  The "what the hell are you doing in the fast lane-ers": If you choose the right label, very little explanation is really necessary.  Move over, please.    : )
• The minimalists:  These individuals are intent on driving the absolute slowest allowed by law in any area.  They are 45 mph on the interstates, 15 mph in 45 mph zones, and they likely get out and push their vehicles from behind around schools and supermarkets.  They're either ultra-defensive, concerned that their reaction skills have dulled and want to allow 5-10 minutes of reaction time for when the vehicle ahead brakes, or they're driving without a license/insurance and are making it too completely obvious that they're feeling the need to drive within the confines of the legal limits.  If you find yourself behind one of these individuals, probably best to pull over, grab a snack for say 15-20 minutes, and resume your journey.
• (Readers, I need your help with this one): I can't think of an appropriate title for this but have you seen the drivers that are right up against the steering wheel while operating their vehicle?  They have the seat as far forward as possible with maybe an inch of clearance between their chest and the wheel, their noses practically touching the windshield.  I'm not being sexist but they're often female (although I have seen a guy or two in this position) and all ages.  If you know what I'm talking about, help me come up with a label for this group.  And I should add that I don't consider this particular genus to be bad drivers - I simply don't understand how you can be comfortable or able to effectively operate your vehicle in that position.  If you happen to be a member of this genus, please help me understand what this is about.  It looks horribly uncomfortable and it would appear impossible for you to be able to swerve if the need arose.

Need your help to label the "steering wheel huggers"...

So there you have it.  Just a few of the delightful companions you'll encounter on your roads and highways this morning.  So enjoy that soda or cup of coffee or whatever your beverage of preference, grip the wheel just a wee bit tighter, increase the volume of your favorite tunes or radio station ever so slightly, and prepare for the adventure.  Savor the proximity to the worst our nation's DMV has to offer.  And, don't worry, even if you miss them today, they're bound to make an appearance tomorrow.  Buckle up!!!

Restless about the dumbing down of America...

I'm disgusted.  Confused.  Frustrated.  Upset.  I've woken up and I no longer recognize the country I live in and the people I'm surrounded by.  It's a bit like the scene in "The Wizard of Oz" immediately following the tornado where Dorothy awakes to a completely new world - everything flashy and fantastic and in technicolor - a color-filled dream escaping the black & white monotony of corn-filled Kansas.  Except in my version, I've awoken to this surreal alternate reality where people's interests and priorities are all askew.  Where we amble around like zombies from one nonsensical popular movement to another.  Let the rant begin...

Now, before some of my readers get the wrong idea, this is not about today's election or the candidates or the campaigning - although there's an angle to that issue that factors in here.  No, this is more about what we've allowed ourselves to become in the US as evidenced by the programs we watch, the manner in which we allow ourselves to be influenced in every way as individuals despite our free agency, and the consequences of the choices and decisions we've made as a whole.  

Some examples?  Have a glance at this brief list of television shows now or recently appearing on networks across this once great nation:

• Jersey Shore (unfortunately NOT about the impact of Hurricane Sandy)
• Desperate Housewives of (insert city here)
• To Catch a Predator (televises people getting busted trying to have sex with minors)
• Living Lohan (chronicles the daily life of a moronic and unattractive partying addict)
• Who's Your Daddy? (contestant has to choose from 25 adults as to which is the actual parent)
• Keeping up with the Kardashians (who cares...)
• Here Comes Honey Boo Boo (I don't even have words to describe this crap)

Much of this I imagine evolved from our country's former fixation with the dysfunctional and disorderly.  Remember "Jerry Springer", "Montel Williams", and "Maury"?  How the hosts of these shows would parade guest after guest to discuss anything from adultery to racial hatred to bigotry to the question of paternal responsibility?  How many episodes ended in a fist-fight, women clawing at each other, hurling explicatives, and being forcibly removed by the same hefty "studio security" henchmen?  I used to hate those shows for the filth they felt passed as entertainment or news when it occurred to me -- these weren't influencers, these were reactionaries.  Circus directors, parading act after act of depravity, merely providing what the masses demanded.  What, then, does that say about us, the viewing public in this country?

When did we become so collectively stupid?  When did the garbage on television become our viewing preference?  What happened to make our society laud and worship idiots like Lohan and the Kardashians and all the rest as people worthy of our attention, our praise, our viewership translating them into veritable icons of adoration?  When did we allow our athletes to achieve a status beyond reproach and above the moral laws and standards we suggest we want for our children?  What happened to allow us as a nation to become so desensitized to young people with guns shooting up a school or a movie theater, to violence and abuse against women, to the sexual predation and violation of our minors, to infants being abandoned in dumpsters?  Is this the American dream?

There's an election today.  How many Americans truly know what's at stake?  What the real issues are?  What the track record looks like for both candidates?  How many in this country will make their election choice based on their own dutiful research vs. the latest SNL sketch or Jon Stewart sound byte?  How few in this country know the names of the cabinet secretaries, the majority and minority whips, the impact of proposed legislation from the past quarter?  

When do we say enough is enough and again retake the mantle of responsibility and accountability?  For seeing most of the reality TV crap for what it truly is - CRAP - unworthy of our attention and viewership?  For taking an active and informed role in the decisions being made by our elected officials and holding them responsible for poor decisions because WE believe them to be poor - not because some moron on a program says so?  For telling the NFL or NBA or NHL or whatever other sport of preference that we're not going to show up to watch juiced-up athletes who are beating/cheating on their wives, selling drugs, or holding out for more money?  That we want to see athletes who play for the love of the game, and owners who don't exploit them (or us) unfairly?

If history teaches us anything it reveals that there is power in numbers.  A giant powerful wave is still made up of individual drops of water.  The power and force comes from those individual drops operating together with singularity of purpose and focus.  We can turn the tide of stupidity and tolerance for what's happening and we can take back our airwaves, our television, our society.  We can insist that our networks report on the actual news and educate and inform us about the things that truly matter - the billion people on the planet without access to clean drinking water, the genocide in Darfur and what's really behind it, potential voter fraud and what can be done about it, how we can help with the recovery efforts in New York and New Jersey, what happened in Libya to our ambassador and the soldiers killed irrespective of who or what it might implicate.  It's their job, it's what we should hold them accountable for.  And if they intentionally mislead us or provide false information, they should be fired - period.  It's supposed to be the news, not the soapbox for partisan opinion or propaganda.

Let's demand shows like CNN Heroes - programming that chronicles human achievement, the best that's within us.  Shows that inspire, that drive us to be better people - not that mock or ridicule the less fortunate.  Let's get back to promoting athletes like Roger Maris, Cal Ripken Jr., David Robinson, Tim Duncan, the Mannings - athletes who strive for natural perfection in their sport, who want to be role models for our young people, who play and live with respect, honor, and work ethic.

I want to wake up tomorrow to the America I once knew - either when I was less tainted or more innocent and naive.  I want to be proud again of our country's collective values and the example we can and should be to other nations.  I want Cheers and Family Ties and the Cosby Show and Carol Burnett and programming that doesn't offend or embarrass me.  I want Walter Cronkite and Andy Rooney and truly investigative and unbiased journalism.  

Come on, America.  Let's wake up and go get our nation back...

Restless about being prepared...

By now we've all seen the devastating and life-changing impact of Hurricane Sandy to the northeast.  Images of houses washed away, millions without power, people stranded on rooftops or buried under a veritable mountain of snow - it's a sobering reminder of the fragility of our existence and the powers beyond our control that can instantly affect our lives.  Speaking of Sandy, I'd like to express my best wishes for a quick return to normalcy to those affected by this horrific storm.  You're in my thoughts and prayers.

Ever since I can remember, my parents impressed upon my siblings and I the importance of emergency preparation and having a plan in the event of a catastrophe or natural disaster.  To be honest, I paid little attention to their advice and admonition, always assuming I would be somehow insulated from these types of events.  Catastrophes were something I would see on the news taking place somewhere else.  Surely this couldn't happen to me - not here, not now...

I find myself thinking differently as I get older.  I guess the passage of time and serving witness to more tragedies like the recent hurricane are finally sinking in.  I don't want to find myself (or the people I love) in harm's way - without the basic needs and means to not only survive but to weather these hardships as comfortably as possible.  This means preparation.  This means having a plan.

I also imagine film and television have played a key role in changing my opinion and thought process on the need for preparation and planning.  Have you seen the TV series, "The Walking Dead" (nice transition, eh?)?  It's a very entertaining show about a catastrophic event leaving the majority of America ambling around as flesh-eating zombies.  Now I'm not suggesting this is the event I feel the need to prepare for but if you watch the show, an interesting sub-plot emerges.  The few human survivors that aren't affected (at least, not yet) by the "zombie gene" must scrape and scramble to survive - not only to escape the wandering hordes of undead - but also to find the basic necessities (food, water, medical supplies) needed to carry on.  And the individuals who society previously scoffed at (the redneck, motorcycle-riding hunters/fishers/woodsmen) are now those best-equipped to handle the dangers and priorities in the "New America".  It makes me stop and think that the skills and occupations of so many in this country will be ultimately fruitless if and when a total catastrophe does take place.  Many of those in professional services will find themselves ill-equipped to offer much value in the wake of a disaster unless they start now to focus on developing some additional skill-sets (first aid, basic construction & maintenance, auto-repair, living off the land, etc.).  It makes me think of other "survival movies" where those additional skills were so essential: "Castaway", "Defiance", "A Cry in the Wild", "Farewell to the King".  The message is simple - adapt and overcome or you'll find yourself pretty low on the Darwinian ladder.

I'm apparently not the only one to recognize this need and express interest in it.  Gary Strauss wrote an article this past summer for USA Today where he chronicled this growing interest in knowing how to survive...well...just about anything.  Here's a link to the article:  Survival shows are now the fittingest on television.  Knowing that TV puts out programming based on demand and interest, it would strongly suggest Americans have increased their appetite in survival topics.  (Nice to know we collectively care about more than just "Desperate Housewives" and "The Bachelor"in this country...)

So take note, readers.  The time to prepare is now.  Evidence and precedent surrounds us reminding of the importance to be ready for whatever lies around the corner.  Having an emergency food supply, access to clean drinking water, basic tools and medical supplies and the knowledge of how to use them appropriately, survival kits that are mobile and easily accessible, an emergency gathering plan with your family members of how to get reunited if an event occurs during the day when parents are at work/home and kids are at school - all critical topics that are important to think about and address while there's both time and opportunity and occasion to do so.

Just remember, readers.  Those zombies are practically around the bend.  And they have no intentions of taking time off.  Will you be ready?  : )