2012: Yes, that is my steel-toed boot in your rear

So long, 2012.
Don't let the door hit you on the arse on the way out . . . because it will be my metaphorical steel-toed boot you feel crushing your nether regions as you tumble yelping into the mists of Time!
Seriously, a friend remarked today that I have had a "terrible" year. Perspective is all, though.
Yes, had to put the folks, suffering Alzheimer's, into an assisted living facility. Yes, had open-heart surgery and now am a Bionic Bob, thanks to a new aortic heart valve.
Yes, survived rounds of layoffs and shuffling at the newspaper where I work. But there it is: SURVIVED.
Neitzsche famously wrote, "That which doesn't kill me, makes me stronger." That, or a version of it, has been a pop music and rap lyric of late, too.
All right, people perhaps conveniently forget that ol' Frederich ended his life nuts, either from syphilis, or perhaps manic-depressive illness that gave way to full-blown psychosis.
This also is the guy who declared God had died, called himself anti-Christ, proposed the idea of Ubermenchen (i.e. Super Men, an idea appropriated by Hitler with rather cataclysmic results).
Frederich also said this, perhaps in honest introspection: "The visionary lies to himself, the liar only to others."
So, OK. I survived. Stronger? Time will tell.
Anxious to make the symbolic leap into a new, hopefully better year? Oh, yes. Happy to be alive, absolutely.
Blessed? Well, that's how I choose to look at it.
And, it is a choice, my friends.
Happy New Year!

Addendum: A hoot of celebration will accompany that boot . . . doctor just called to say I do NOT have lymphoma. Since a swollen lymph node was found two weeks ago, had been waiting on the results of blood and CT scan.  Thanks, Lord.

A condo complex Christmas: It's over, folks.

OK, unless you are Orthodox Christian, Christmas is over now. 

Stop the sickeningly sweet, let's-avoid-reality-while-we-teeter-on-the-fiscal-cliff "holiday" songs. I swear, if I even see Rudolph still nosing around, I just might put one between his eyes, just above that blasted nose.

Take down the tree and lights. Keeping them up does not extend the holiday. Really. 

Your bosses still expect you to show up, the bills still need to be paid and the calendar moves inexorably toward 2013. 

At least, take down the lights on New Year's Day, people. Yeah, that includes you, Bucko, in the next building over . . . yeah, Mr. I'll-Keep-My-Lights-Up-through-Independence-Day, I'm talking to you. 

Oh, and letting your pit bull crap on your third-floor patio does not qualify as "letting the dog out." And kicking Fido's leavings off the patio is not "picking up after your pet," as the HOA requires.

Guess what you are going to find at your door, inside a flaming Christmas stocking? Hint: a lump, but not of coal.

Bah. Humbug.
:)

Christmas: The best gift is generosity of spirit -- and a hug

Merry Christmas, everyone. 
Take time to disengage from the commercial nightmare this holiday (i.e. holy day) has become. 
Take time to hold your loved ones close, to be generous of spirit, to "see" your friends and family by taking memory snapshots of the smiles, and to say "I love you." 
Life is fragile and joy fleeting . . . but every moment spent with love is a deposit in Eternity.

Put the blame where it belongs: within the human heart

Lots of finger-pointing, and not a little hatred being directed these days at the National Rifle Association in particularly, and pretty much anyone who has decided to take defense of their homes and loved ones into their own hands -- rather than depending on overworked and stretched thin law enforcement . . . i.e., gun owners.
I am a gun owner. I have a concealed weapons permit. I took the safety training, and I am proficient, regularly going to a safe, regulated firing range. But I do not, as I've mentioned before, see why anyone needs to full-on military style assault rifle to "defend" his or her person, loved ones or home.
Honestly, assault weapons seem to be a big leap from self defense to an offensive ability more in line with militia movements, which often have political agendas of their own.
But I digress.
There is a lot of debate, and not a little angry name-calling going on, and by folks who, in my opinion, do not have bona fides to speak to any level I feel the need to respect. But I would argue this man, Darrell Scott, has earned the right to be heard.
Not perhaps to be agreed with on every point; but his loss and grief carry a lot more weight we me than some idiot thinking the solution is to strip all law-abiding gun owners of the means to defend themselves -- while, by definition, leaving criminals the undermanned police departments the only ones with weapons. Neither do I think some Bubba with a collection of AR-15s, AK-47s and a bagful of extended capacity clips has the right to speak with authority on the issue, either.
So, whatever side of this debate you find yourself, or if you are in the middle somewhere, I think Darrell Scott has earned a moment of your time.
To read a transcript of what he had to say to Congress in the aftermath of the Columbine massacre, click on this link.
His points, I believe, at least deserve recognition in the wake of recent incidents where madmen have acted to slay the innocent, and perhaps more to the point, the defenseless.

Call for common sense: Self-defense firearms, yes; assault rifles, no

OK . . . People need the right to defend themselves against the lawless, who could care less if gun laws are stricter. Police departments are being cut, not expanded, so the need is greater than ever. 

But come on -- assault rifles? Extended clips? No background checks on both criminal and mental health status? There can be a logical, safer middle ground here.

That said, gun control legislation appears powerless to stop madness. In Connecticut, with some of the nation's toughest gun control laws, the Newtown mass murderer still was able to arm himself -- despite being turned down after a background check when he tried to buy a rifle a few days before the school shootings.

He did this by killing his mother and stealing the arsenal he used.

About the same time he murdered 20 children, six adults and then killed himself, a man in China slashed 22 children with a knife.

So, mandatory background checks ruling out both criminals and the mentally ill from gun ownership. But sane, at risk citizens still need the right to be armed in self-defense against those who would rape, rob and kill.

They do not, however, need a military assault rifle to do this. 

If someone breaks into your home, you have a few seconds to react. That's one, two or maybe three shots from a revolver, normal semi-automatic pistol, or a shotgun.

Military grade assault rifles are more the firearm of terrorists or militia types with dreams of revolution or anarchy.

 

Up to our eyeballs, and the answer? Faith, in action

People are just plain scared.

And perhaps, they should be.

We seemed -- in no small part due to the blinders those in my own profession stubbornly/naively refused to remove –to believe the presidential election was the most important thing going for this nation over the past few months.

In terms of choosing to stay the admitted sluggish economic course, it was. In terms of refusing to elect the alternative, who promised economic recovery without providing specifics, it was.

But now, here we are, same old, same old. The "fiscal cliff" beckons, with both sides now admitting taxes WILL go up, and for all of us. The idea of letting the Bush era tax cuts expire, though, was never really an issue, was it?

Of course they should, and will, expire. That's a fairness issue. But to believe letting the rich pay at rates approach income tax levels the rest of us pay will solve the budgetary problems we face, that is ludicrous.

I'd even say it was a massive "red herring," except that it nonetheless is the right thing, the fair thing, to do.

But so is extensive tax, Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security reform. There is corruption, there is waste, perhaps even the $800 billion worth Republicans have argued exists, even as they try to prevent the top 2 percent of Americans from paying the rates they once paid under President Clinton.

All these things are important. But they pale next to the challenges we face that literally threaten to plunge the world, let alone our nation, into turmoil. 

 

Climate change, along with more severe weather patterns, drought, and rising sea levels, poses economic as well as "natural" disaster risks.

The Middle East mess, for which both our initial good intentions and our current loss of leadership and vision are at least partially responsible, could trigger regional and perhaps world warfare that makes Book of Revelation-style doom a reality.

Chemical weapons stockpiles in Syra and terrorists with access to those. Iranian nuclear weapons, and the same old hatred of Israel that threatens yet another war of genocide against the Jews in a new century. 

 

And in the middle, Palestinians now generations into their unwanted role of hot potato being tossed between Arabic power brokers, Israel and the nations supporting both sides.

Famine grows in Africa. Drought threatens even America's bread basket. Energy costs soar, leading to rising prices amid static, even retreating incomes that are eroding the Middle Class.

There is also, perhaps more important than all these things in the long run, a moral and cultural erosion that seems only to be accelerating.

We don't need to argue specifics of the rights for gays, minorities and the unborn to agree that broken families and fatherless families are turning out troubled kids, many of whom seem devoid of morals or respect for life and property.

Like our economy, foreign policy and morals, the family unit that is the cornerstone of any civilization seems bankrupt.

Bottom line: It is ALL unsustainable. 

 

So, pretty bleak, yes? Beyond our abilities to solve, probably.

That's why there's faith. And with faith, in God and each other, we can address each and every one of our challenges. One at a time.

It starts with knowing that, and acting on that. It can start with a smile, a hand up, a prayer and decisions that are based on treating the Other as we would like to be treated.

Pass it on.

It is our only hope.

Angels in NYPD blue

Love this. An act of kindness, without expectation of recognition, and from a law enforcement officer -- someone you might expect to become cynical, dealing with the worst of us every day.

"Jennifer Foster of Florence, AZ was visiting Times Square with her husband Nov. 14 when they saw a shoeless man asking for change. She writes, “Right when I was about to approach, one of your officers came up behind him. The officer said, ‘

I have these size 12 boots for you, they are all-weather. Let’s put them on and take care of you.’ The officer squatted down on the ground and proceeded to put socks and the new boots on this man. The officer expected NOTHING in return and did not know I was watching*. I have been in law enforcement for 17 years. I was never so impressed in my life. I did not get the officer’s name. It is important, I think, for all of us to remember the real reason we are in this line of work. The reminder this officer gave to our profession in his presentation of human kindness has not been lost on myself or any of the Arizona law enforcement officials with whom this story has been shared.”
Our thanks to the Fosters for their attention and appreciation, and especially to this officer, who remains anonymous."

The HallowThankMas Marathon of Greed

Two-thirds of the way through the corporately homogenized *HalloThankMas season: a veritable blur of consumerism on steroids, appeals to greed and gadgets as the keys to happiness. 

It can be . . . maddening, depressing, frustrating and leave your soul black and blue. And if you watched TV news coverage of "Black Friday" -- and mobs lined up to scrum through the doors for a bargain on electronics, toys and whatever else will not survive the first week of January as a source of visceral joy -- you know this "happiest of seasons" can leave you physically black and blue, too.

Or bleeding, in the hospital, with a bullet in your gullet.

Still, I refuse to surrender Christmas to commercialism in my heart. And, that's where the message, and person of the season should live, thrive and be honored . . . if we do that, it should gush out of us in patience, understanding, love and generosity of spirit, action and thought. 

It should; but that, my friends, is entirely up to us.

 

 *HalloThankMas: OK, I made it up. Musing over how goblins, turkeys, elves and Santa seemed to have merged into one, months-long orgy of spending and partying, I even suggested just coming with with a suitable mascot . . . perhaps a vampire turkey in a red suit.

 

 

'Life of Pi,' no pumpkin pie . . . but still a nice Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving dinner at IHOP this year,just Barb and me. Couldn't make it work with the family this time of year -- life and work and priorities just didn't mesh to do it on "the day."
So, will be doing post-Thanksgiving Japanese food with my son and his sweet wife on Saturday. And, we're "thankful" for that.
But this Thanksgiving Day, we but shared with a happy Pacific Island family, a young Latino couple and their baby, a couple of old folks (well, older than we are). 
The turkey was moist, dressing was tasty, broccoli steamed nicely.
We also saw "The Life of Pi." WOW. My head is still spinning, and both of us had tears in our eyes. Amazing acting, seamless special effects, beautiful film work. A nice departure from the assembly-line Hollywood pablum that stretches perception, and humanity.
And, I'm talking about the regular movie format, not the 3-D. I would imagine that would be something else, just as wonderful for different reasons. 
So, of course, I now must read the novel by Yann Martel from which the movie drew it's inspiration. It's a commitment I made to myself as a young man, beginning with seeing "Little Big Man." 
And yes, as great as that movie was, the book by Thomas Berger was better. Same with John Irving's "World According to Garp," and while the "Lord of the Rings" movies were wonderful (and I look forward to seeing "The Hobbit" soon), I'm sorry, J.R.R. Tolkien's writing, genius and story-telling stand alone as art.

Challenges, yes. Still, the best Thanksgiving, ever.

A tough year. And, the best Thanksgiving, ever.
Seems unlikely, looking at 2012 in cynical perspective. The near-miss with what would've been a massive, instantly deadly cardiac event. Open-heart surgery to replace the failed aortic valve, and a long (still ongoing) recovery.
Having to face the darkness and drawn-out grief of Alzheimer's, and the need to move my folks into assisted living.
The hard decision, made inevitable by Washington residency requirements for guardianship, to see my big (older)-little (mentally disabled by cerebral palsy) sister become a ward of the state.
Callie, my best furry friend, claimed by cancer long before her time.
But, perspective is the key. Always has been.
And when I look at the blessings, instead of the challenges, this has been a great year:
I'm alive, and getting stronger and healthier all the time, the Grim Reaper fended off indefinitely.
My folks, having adjusted to their move, now seem happy and are safe and provided for, even as their bodies and minds leave this existence and are resurrected in the broader, eternal realm of Love that comes next.
My sister is in a group home where the staff cares, and is happy with her life and sheltered workshop duties.
Callie -- I was able to say goodbye to my sweet-natured border collie, holding her head in my hands and speaking words of love as the light faded from her trusting eyes.
And then there's my daughter, Brenda, finding love, a new husband and a little daughter . . . giving Barb and me a wonderful son-in-law, and a sweet granddaughter to bless our family . . . already blessed by a wonderful daughter-in-law and grandson.
So, yes. This is the best Thanksgiving, ever.