FREEZE FRAME!

 

Dear Dean Crane and other Bama fans, and to any stray OSU fans who may stumble across this - 

KNOW YE THIS!

Whether this be one brief shining moment in the sun or the beginning of the return to dynasty - 

For the first time in a very, very long time -

Michigan ranks ahead of Alabama!!!

Michigan ranks ahead of Ohio State!!!

Listen, I know this doesn't guarantee a spot in the college playoffs for Michigan. However, unlike SEC teams, Big 10 teams have to be pretty spotless to gain entry; in fact, since the inception of the playoff system, the number of Big Ten teams that have qualified are...TWO.  One of the two has gone repeatedly.* And sadly, we all know who that one team is.  

But this year, that ONE team will not be in it, thanks to Michigan's performance in THE GAME OF THE CENTURY!

Michigan has to beat Iowa in the Big Ten Championship.  No easy task.

Even there, winning keeps them in the mix, but it doesn't guarantee them a spot. Cincinnati and Notre Dame are pushing hard for a spot, and Alabama cannot be discounted.

Indeed, if the Tide beats Georgia, they're probably in.  If they lose but keep it close, the squealing arguments will be that an 11-2 SEC team is more worthy than any 12-1 Big Ten team.

I have indicated in the past that only conference champions should be in the college playoffs.  That means that if Iowa beats Michigan, Iowa should be the one considered for the playoffs. But...with only four teams qualifying, that always leaves some major conferences out.  Except for the SEC.  There will always be an SEC team in the playoffs, regardless of record.  Some years there are two SEC teams.

That is all in the future,  But for right now - 

Pop the corks and celebrate!  The Wolverines have tamed the Buckeyes!  Nothing in sports is sweeter than that!

GO BLUE!!!

* the second year of the playoffs, the Michigan State Spartans made an appearance, losing the first round to Alabama 38-0.  Is MSU a rival? Yes?  Do I detest the Spartys and cheer against them when they don't play Michigan?  No, I do not.  Go, Spartys, Go! - except when playing the Wolverines.

31 Minutes of Thankfulness 2021 Edition

 

31 Minutes of Thankfulness 2021 Edison

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!

I hope everyone gets to celebrate with family and friends!

I have about 31 minutes before I start on other Thanksgiving prep.  I'll take advantage of this brief gap to update my new edition of thankfulness.

Today we will have our Thanksgiving brunch with Alison's father, his wife, Alison's stepsister, and young son, Graham. Later today, we will have a Thanksgiving meal with Alison's mom and Anita Lynn. How in the world I will eat that much food in one day is a mystery only solved by plenty of antiacid and heartburn tablets. 

So that's how much time I have to do my version of the 31 days of Thankfulness I see so many of my friends doing on the Facebook machine.

So here goes!

1)  I am thankful for Alison and Benjamin.  We have a beautiful family, and it is so comforting to be loved and supported.  Benjamin has started his third year at college!  He attends Georga College & State University in Milledgeville, Georgia.  He is going gangbusters in college, even better than I anticipated. Like all of our college students, he is doing the best he can to cope with the Pandemic and has faithfully followed all protocols to keep himself and others safe.  He has switched from Psychology to Computer Science as a major and is taking it to it amazingly well. Alison is beautiful and patient, practical, and loving.  She has been outstanding at her workplace, focused on helping to provide nutritional meals to students, whether they are attending school or are homebound during the Pandemic.  She has helped Benjamin immensely in dealing with university bureaucracy and keeping Benjamin on track in school work and college admissions.  She has taken up the hobby of crocheting and has completed several projects.  She is getting better and better and learning at an incredible pace.

2) I am thankful for my two older boys, Douglas and Gregory.  Douglas is an environmental scientist in Atlanta.  Gregory is living the family dream, working in Hollywood in the movie industry.  He has recently been the editorial colorist on the TV show For All Mankind and has done some amazing work on Kevin Can F**k Himself.  I couldn't be prouder of both of them.  I am grateful that Doug has a beautiful wife, Paige, and both have moved to the Catskills of New York.  Doug has a great job with the state Environmental agency, and there is more news that I am very excited about, but I'm not fully ready to share yet.  Stay tuned! I am grateful that my older boys have taken so much to Benjamin and have been great mentors and friends to him.

3) I am thankful for my loving parents.  My mother, who passed in October 2008, taught me the power of unconditional love.  My father, who passed in September 2013, taught me more about responsibility and hard work, and about the true meaning of Christianity, than anyone else I've ever known.  I think of them often and miss them terribly.  I am grateful for the love and memories they have given me.

4) I am thankful I have a loving, caring sister.  Carol and her family have always been supportive and kind to me.  She did so much for my father; I am so grateful.  I am excited that she is now a Grandmother with four (count 'em - four!) grandchildren.   Carol and Mike live in the Grand Rapids area and live closer to her daughter and granddaughters, Bailey and Morgan.  And now her son and daughter-in-law, and two grandsons, Elijah and Evan, also live in the Grand Rapids area! 

5) l am thankful for my church family.  Grace Episcopal has been essential in our family's spiritual and social life, and I appreciate the connections we have made and all the support and Christian fellowship they have given us.  No church in the area has done more to stay safe and start services up in a protective and caring manner as Grace has.  I am thankful for everything that Rev. Kit Brinson has brought to our church, and it has been a joy to watch it grow, diversify, and become the hands and feet of Christ in our local community.  

6) I am thankful that I now retired from accounting!  I am thankful to those I worked with, and I wish them the best. But my employers and co-workers have made it to be as pleasant an experience as it can be.  I am not sure of all I will do, but I am happy to have the time to figure it out and pursue those things of most interest to me. . I will continue to add to my blog, The Strait Line.   I have finished but not marketed The Extra Credit Club and am working on the second of the History of the Trap series.  Currently, I am preparing my comic books for a bulk sale.  

7) I am thankful that I can act, at least well enough to participate in community theatre.  Getting on stage and feeling the audience's response has been one of the great pleasures of my life. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, my re-introduction to the stage has been slow, but I was able to play Thurston Howell in Gilligan's Island: The Musical.  I acted! I sang! I danced (sort of)!

8) I am thankful for the theatre groups in our area and everything they do to contribute to the area's arts.

9) I am thankful for the Okefenokee Heritage Center. I appreciate their support of artists in our area, particularly writers.

10) I am thankful that I have taken the time to develop this blog, The Strait Line.  It is named after a school newsletter my father had as a school principal, and whether it is good or bad, it has been a tremendous joy to me to get back in the habit of writing.  I have made over eighteen hundred blog entries, and my blog traffic has now achieved total page views exceeding 404,000. 

11)  I am thankful that Joe Biden is now President of the United States, and Kamala Harris is the Vice-President.  The fact that the Presidency had been taken over by such a racist misogynist con man buffoon saddened me to no end and made it difficult to sleep at night. It is exceptionally disturbing to know I have friends who voted for Trump twice.  It is incredibly terrifying to know that many of them are still refusing to accept that Biden won. Nevertheless, I am grateful to soon have such an intelligent and caring President assuming office on January 20th, 2021.   I am simply grateful every morning I wake up and that the foul creature who previously occupied the  White House has not put an end to life on Earth.  It makes you realize how precious every day is.

12) I am thankful that Obamacare has survived its challenges, and even though I fear for its future, I still believe it can provide the stepping stone to greater things. It is a vital step toward universal health care and towards a more equitable, fiscally sound, and morally decent system.  If the Supreme Court is foolish enough to repeal Obamacare, then all it will do is galvanize the public to bring about Medicare For All that much quicker.  All the efforts against it have only made Obamacare more popular.  I pray that people will see through this charade and move us back on the path towards the only morally and fiscally responsible healthcare system, single-payer, best implemented in the USA as Medicare For All. I am grateful for the efforts the Biden Administration has pt in to expand healthcare affordability and access.

13) I am thankful that virtually all countries and many corporations, states, and local governments recognize the gravest threat facing our planet; climate change/global warming will finally start to be addressed. And that the incoming administration will make it an American priority once again.  We have little time left to mitigate, and I pray we do not waste it.

14) I am thankful that even though the progressive agenda may not be moving as fast as I want, at least the promise of a better future holds.  I am incredibly grateful that in the last election, the Progressive Wing of the Democratic Party grew.   Many of the new representatives are Progressive Democrats, not Corporate or Blue Dog. The Progressives are articulating many of the positions vital to me and forcing the media and the Corporate Democrats to give these issues at least a passing thought.  They are laying the groundwork for what I believe and pray will be the Progressive majority takeover in 2022.  The House has passed a record amount of legislation, but the SENATE, with Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema,  blocks a good deal of it.  I am thankful that the President was twice impeached, even though the Republican Senate failed to do its job.  At least we have that on the record.

15) I am thankful that I still can seek out and find liberal friends to talk to in this conservative area. Yes, Biden got only 13% of the vote in my home county, the same percentage as Hillary Clinton. Nevertheless, thanks to social media and other contacts, I can find like-minded people and not feel so alone. I am grateful to have supported Elizabeth Waren in the primary and Joe Biden in the general. I am grateful that for the first time in American history, we have a female Vice-President. 

16) I am thankful that I can read and enjoy the pleasures of the printed page.  I know that some people laugh at my elaborate method of randomly picking new books to read, but it gives me great pleasure, which is the most essential part.  I am currently reading The Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie, the third book in a great but bloody fantasy series, the best I have read since The Game of Thrones.

17) I am thankful for the television streaming services we have and the features that let me watch the programs I want when I want to watch them.   I am also grateful for the high-speed internet that makes streaming so practical.  We just finished the third season of the amazing Ted Lasso. We are in the middle of Mr. Mercedes, and hope to soon start Only Murders in the Building with Steve Martin and Martin Short. 

18) I am thankful for pets.  We have four beautiful dogs, Dachshund mixes, who are loving and have long, waggy tails.  Well, our newest, Boss-A-Man, maybe more chihuahua and Pomeranian, but he is marvelously sweet, and I'm glad I get to spend more time with him in my retirement. We also have a cat who is, on rare occasions, sweet, Skitty.   

19) I am thankful for the movies.  I love storytelling of all kinds, and there is still nothing like going to the movie theater.  With COVID-19, we have seen more movies from home. However, we did see two movies at the theatres - Black Widow and The Green Knight.

20) I am thankful for continuing medical advances that help extend and improve the quality of life.  I am at the edge of being diabetic, but I will fight it off with everything I have.  Well, after Thanksgiving dinner, of course.

21) I am thankful that communities still come together sometimes to support neighbors in crisis, like with sick children or suffering a fire or other tragedy.  This has been tempered by the immature and self-centered reaction many have had to COVID-19, but many understand the gravity of what we are facing, and I pray for the best.

22) I am thankful for those friends I have discovered or reconnected with through Facebook.  I am most grateful to Benita Vierke Collins for her friendship and her efforts and at reconnecting with the Bridgeport High School Class of 73 (and adjacent years), including such friends as Coleen Hitsman Anegon, Dona Bow Kilbourne, Lisa Whitehead, Karen Iffil, Pete Pasterz, and Linda Arnst Spayeth (who has been so supportive of my writing efforts).

23) I am thankful for the great joy comic books have brought to my life.  I have been a fan and collector since I have been 5 years old.  Recently, Superman has been rebooted again, but the results have been AMAZING, with Lois and Clark married with a son.  Action Comics and Detective Comics have been restored to their original numbering, and I couldn't be happier.  Many Marvel Comics have a secret Legacy number on their front page, and I am grateful for that.  I have also discovered app services that allow me to read thousands of comics online.  Although I'm not fond of reading books on a Kindle, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading comic books, where the print is larger, and I can read a panel at a time.

24) I am thankful for Christmas and the opportunity to express such joy and love to others.

25) I am thankful for the peacemakers, all the diplomats, and others who spend so much time and effort to make the world a better place to live.  I pray that we give them the space to do their best in all the hot spots worldwide.  I am thankful that the Biden administration has put grown-ups back in charge of diplomacy.

26) I am thankful for the first responders, who often put their lives on the line for us.  This year includes firemen, police, medical providers, and retail workers, including grocery store clerks and food service workers.

27)  I am thankful for ketchup, the condiment of the gods. I am grateful there is a low sugar version that I can use, at least some, as I fight off diabetes.

28)  I am thankful for Cherry Coke, the nectar of the gods.  I am grateful there is a Stevia (Zevia) version.

29)  I am thankful for colder weather, so I can go out sometimes without having to worry about the gnats.   I love our porch and am grateful to enjoy it without buzzing around my ears. That's not every Fall/Winter day here in Southeast Georgia, but it does happen often enough to celebrate it when it does. 

30) I am thankful for God and for love. 

31) I am thankful for Jesus Christ, who resides in my heart and urges me to love God, love my neighbors, and do everything I can to make this a better world.

Time's up!  On to Thanksgiving festivities!

Sometimes Nightmares Come In With a Babyface: Saturday Political Soap Box 281

 I wasn't on the jury. So I did not spend days listening to the trial and then additional days mulling over the evidence with a group of my peers who did likewise.

I can't argue all the particulars of the Rittenhouse case.  I am not an attorney.  I don't know all the ins and outs of Wisconsin law. However, I believe it's one of those states with over-the-top Stand Your Ground laws that give a wide berth to self-defense claims. Especially when it comes to white defendants.

What I can address is the pattern and what this verdict means for the future.

It's clear that the defendant was allowed an extra-special additional defense attorney, one that most defendants don't get.  And that was the Judge.

The Judge's performance was one of the most heavy-handed I've ever seen, hearkening back to the worst of the Jim Crow era.  Fine.  So you don't want the prosecutors to call the victims what they were - VICTIMS.  Whatever quirk floats your boat.  But then to allow the defense to call the protestors LOOTERS? RIOTERS?  Virtually every decision he made favored the defense.  He didn't just have his thumb on the scale - he was smashing it down with both hands and both feet.

The Judge threw out the one sure-thing slam dunk charge, one that was utterly indisputable - Kyle Rittenhouse brought an illegal weapon across state lines.  SLAM! DUNK!  No analysis needed!  And the Judge would not even let the jury rule on it.

It fits the pattern of our biased criminal justice system.  If you're white, you're given a universe of reasonable doubt.  If you're rich (although well-represented by the best available right-wing attorneys - this is in general - I'm not claiming Kyle Rittenhouse is rich), you can expert attorneys who can run circles around the out-manned prosecution.  The cases where justice has fallen short are legion, and I'm afraid Ahmaud Arbery will be next.

But most importantly, it is the message that this trial has sent.  It is a message that may just be the beginning of a nightmare.  A nightmare where protestors are at constant threat of losing their lives.

The danger involved was best summed up in a written statement released by the parents of one of Rittenhouse's VICTIMS, Anthony Huber -

Today's verdict means there is no accountability for the person who murdered our son. It sends the unacceptable message that armed civilians can show up in any town, incite violence, and then use the danger they have created to justify shooting people in the street. 

You doubt this?  Go on to Facebook and look at what your right-wing friends are saying about this verdict.  Look at how they're embracing Kyle Rittenhouse as a hero.  Look at what extremist Republican Congressmen are saying about him, even wanting him to intern for them.  

This verdict is the official call to open season.  

And it's exclusively a call to the far right to invade, disrupt and commit violence in ANY PROTEST advocating anything they don't like. For example, protests of police violence, gatherings advocating climate change legislation, marches for voting rights.  Anything they don't like can be intimidated and challenged.  Do anything to them that they interpret as a threat?  Why then they're free to SHOOT and KILL you.

This only extends to far-right violence.  Others need not apply.

You doubt me?

Flip it.

Does anyone think that if a black male, armed with an illegal weapon, had gone into a crowd of right-wing protestors and fired upon anyone who he thought was threatening, or were so scared of him that they tried to take his weapon away, do you honestly believe that the trial of that individual would have the same outcome as the Rittenhouse trial?

We should all be afraid. The far-right has just been handed their permission slip.

The nightmare may have just begun.

Days with the Dogs Wednesday Wanderings

 

Here's Boss-A-Man waiting in line to apply for promotion from my Semi-Retirement Dog to my Full Retirement Dog position.

Application accepted!

Position granted!

What have I been doing these last three weeks of retirement?  Besides bonding with the pets? 

Well....

whatever the hell I want!

Ok, it's not that dramatic.  Crazy Party Guy I am not.

I've been writing a bit more.  Although it's not the front seat driver.  At least not yet.

I've been reading a bit more.  I finished a thousand-plus page biography of Grant, written by Ron Cherno, who wrote the book Hamilton is based on.  Grant is a much more interesting and significant figure than I realized. For his time, he was very advanced on his ideas of civil rights and a much better General than my southern friends give him credit for.  His worst problem is that he had lousy condar (ability to detect grifters and fraudulent businessmen).  But what can I say?  Apparently, so do some 74 million Americans, as proved by the 2020 election.

And, yeah, I've been watching a bit more television than I was.  I see an episode of CW super-hero show each day. Currently, I am catching up on DC's Legends of Tomorrow, a really fun and imaginative time travel series.  When I do household chores, I have Buzzer on in the background, a ROKU channel with old game shows.  I am particularly fond of Password, where I can see classic celebrities in their prime, like Elizabeth Montgomery (Bewitched) and Jim Backus (Thurston Howell on Gilligan's Island).  With Alison, we watch a variety of programs, including streaming series.  We are currently watching You and are at a point in the series where it may have jumped the shark, where the characters are about to make a decision that doesn't fit in with any of their past behavior (Season 2, Episode 7).  Then later at night, I see the German series Dark, a very atmospheric time travel show*  - I can't begin to tell you how good this show is!

I've been exercising a bit more and recording what I eat (most days).  I haven't seen too many positive effects yet, but I'm not giving up.

I've been spending more time at my church Treasurer position and helping with the Sacks for Saturday program.  I have yet to help with the public library, but I have high hopes I can fight my shyness and get started.

The biggest special project I've been working is preparing my comic books for sale - preferably to someone who will buy them all.  It takes about four hours to write up and prepare a box - organizing and pricing, preparing spreadsheets to account for them.  I've done six boxes, and I probably have at least three dozen more to go.  So far, the accumulated value is exceeding my expectations.  

That's a broad outline of what I have been doing.

Chillin' with the dogs and enjoying life!

Wanderingly Yours, 

T. M. Strait

*if you get the impression I like time travel series, give yourself 20 Strait Line points!

What I Choose vs. The Marketplace

 

What I choose:  Chewable multi-vitamins are always my top choice.  I settle for gummies if I can't find chewables.  I don't do horse pills. Anything larger than a baby aspirin is out.

What the marketplace has chosen:  It's a tie.  There are many horse pills, but there is at least an equal number of gummies. Running a distant third are chewables, which are getting harder and harder to find at all. And you can find an incredible number of different kinds - women, men, children, seniors, women over 50, men over 50, immunity, heart, Omega-3,, on and on.

What I choose: not to go on cruises.  It's not just COVID-19.  They are often breeding grounds for all kinds of viral afflictions. And being trapped on a boat, rocking in the middle of the ocean, doesn't strike me as fun.  The type of room I could afford would be no bigger than a crackerbox, and my uncontrolled overeating would leave me writhing with indigestion the whole trip.

What the marketplace has chosen:  I thought cruises would go the way of the dinosaurs, what with the pandemic and all.  They may not be what they were, but they still persist, and I  think they will survive.  I have friends who think of it as their preferred mode of vacation. So, yeah, I guess they will rebound and be as popular as ever.

What I choose: I use ketchup on Mexican foods.  I'm not a huge lover of super spicy hot foods, and ketchup helps cut that.

What the marketplace has chosen: Salsa.  Salsa is now the number one condiment in America. Nothing I do horrifies people so much as when I put ketchup on Mexican foods.

What I choose: not all, but many of the TV shows I watch are one or two season wonders, which barely make a blip in the ratings - Firefly, Timeless, Counterpart, The Cool Kids, WonderFalls,  Best of the West.

What the marketplace has chosen:  at least from the broadcast networks, endless variations of the same formulaic procedurals: the NCIS family of shows, Law 'n' Order variations, CSI*, FBI, and a whole evening of Chicago. And even in my favorite genre, SciFi, the shows that survive are blander and less intriguing, like Manifest and Supernatural**.  The jury is still out on La Brea, which has just been renewed for a second season. To me, it's already showing signs of not living up to its initial premise, but we shall see.

What I choose: comic books.  I've read them since I was 5, and I still read them at 66, including buying some current ones.

What the marketplace has chosen: comic book-based movies. Some of the super-hero-themed movies are obvious, but there is much beyond that, such as Legion, The Road to Perdition, Preacher, The Boys, and on and on.  I am constantly amazed by the number of Marvel and DC moviegoers who have such deep affection for their superheroes but HAVE NEVER READ A COMIC BOOK.

There is a lot more, particularly in politics, but I'll leave that to another post.  Suffice to say that most of my political choices leave me quite isolated in the area that I live in.

What choices have you made that are against the grain?

Until next time,

T. M. Strait

*in my household, there was an exception, the original CSI, now returned as CSI:Vegas.  

**I may be unfair to Supernatural - I've only seen the first episode.  There was a ghost on the ceiling that frightened Alison, and I skipped watching it on my own, and now with it having run a bazillion seasons, I feel too far behind to catch up.

Build Back Better! Saturday Political Soap Box 280

 

Let's set aside our blind partisan anger, our reflexive cries of SOCIALISM., and look to what is really in the original Build Back Better Bill.*

Universal Pre-K for Children 3 years old and up

Free Community College

Extension of the Child Care Tax Credit, up to $3,600 a year

Investments in Child Care and Elderly Home Care and Disability Home Care

Paid Family Leave

Offers consumer rebates and tax credits to make switching to clean energy alternatives affordable for homeowners

Ensuring that Clean Energy Technology is built in the United States

Encouraging and subsidizing clean energy investment

Investments in forest management, coastal restoration, and soil conservation

Prescription Drug Cost controls

Allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices

Strengthens the Affordable Care Act and reduces premiums

Closes the Medicaid coverage gap

Expands Medicare to cover hearing benefits

Expand Medicare to cover dental and vision

Investments in affordable housing

Expands the Earned Income Tax Credit

Promote nutritional security to children

Invest in immigration reform

Funding for rural areas, supply chain improvements, and maternal health

The items in italics have already been eliminated by Joe Manchin.  I don't know whether, in your mind, that makes Joe Manchin a hero or a villain,  But you do need to remember - Joe Manchin is responsible.  And he may cut out more before he is done.

But, Tom, you ask, how will all this be paid for?

I'm glad you ask.  Why you don't ask when it's the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, or the Defense Budget, massive reductions in tax rates for the wealthy and large corporations, I don't know.  Maybe it's only important when it's for everyday people.

Nevertheless, the White House thinks it's covered.

There are a series of measures designed to make sure the wealthy and large corporations pay their fair share.  No more mega-corporations paying zero income tax!  It ensures that corporations cannot profit or avoid taxation by shipping jobs overseas.  If you make over $10 million, you will pay a 5% tax surcharge and another 3% for those making more than $25 million.

This has, as of this writing, yet to be verified by the Congressional Budget Office.

Another note of caution - Krysten Sinema has vowed not to let the rich pay a penny more in taxes.  How blessed the super-rich must feel to have such a stalwart defender!  So, if this is not fully paid for, you budget hawks out there - blame Krysten Sinema.

No one should be afraid of federal government spending if it is an investment. Investments create returns that pay dividends in the future. All of these measures will create a better, more secure future.  The climate legislation alone should save us TRILLIONS and keep America at the forefront of the future.

I know some who read this are foaming about this or that or all of it.  But I wanted to outline what it does.  At least that way, we have common ground about what we are talking about.

*Sources for this information include both government and media sources.  They include the White House and NBC News.  

My New Job

 Today was my first day at work.

At work in my new job.  I have worked before, but not recently.  I've been on self-selective medical leave for the last few months. My affliction was idontwannalevehomeitis. Eventually, this was trumped by whollpaythebillsphobia.

I pull my Volkswagon Rabbit into the strip mall's parking lot. There it is.  Horizon.  America's new cellphone network.  They call their phone the Horizon Rocket.  Most people know it from the commercial with kangaroos hopping into the sunset, singing, from West Side Story, "Got a rocket in my pocket."  Most people think it's clever.  I think it's annoying.

I enter.  A little bell chimes.  I'm already wearing the required uniform - a white polo shirt with a Kangaroo and the word Horizon on it, and a name tag that says "Hi! I'm Terry!  Let me tell you about my Rocket!" I also have on khaki pants and navy blue deck shoes. Socks are optional, but I chose to wear them.

A young guy, must be snap out of high school, introduces himself as the store manager.  He takes me back for a 30-minute training video. After, he asks if I had any questions. I didn't.  I wasn't interested enough to think about it.  Just get me to the floor and let me start earning my hefty hourly wage of $12.50 per hour. I could earn more based on my ability to upcharge people.

Three hours in, the manager said that  I was just hanging back and not dealing with customers. He warned me I couldn't do that.  I have to get engaged. It took me a few seconds to realize he wasn't expecting me to find a fiancee.

I have to make some kind of attempt. A middle-aged man was looking at some of the phones, glancing down at some brochures he had brought with him. I thought this guy should be an easy hit.  He already brought his own research.  I just have to agree with him and bingo-bango - I done my due diligence.

He says he is trying to decide between our phone and The Flash 3000.  I look at the plan summary for The Flash 3000 and then compare it to our own plans.

The answer is clear.

"Looking at both plans, I think the answer is unquestionable, sir.  The Flash 3000 plan is superior to ours and has a better, more established network. As a result, I think you'll pay less and have fewer outages."

The manager heard me say this.  He was not impressed.

Today was my last day at work.

My First Job: Toolin' with Dixie

 It's gone.

I couldn't find anything on the interwebs about the first place I worked. I believe it was called Dixie Tool & Die. The picture above is generic and is from another company (I think).

This may be connected to them.  It hits what they did - a specialty machine shop custom-making tools. Those certainly look like the variety of tools that I saw.

My first job began in my Junior year of high school.  I don't remember any interview process.  It's something that my Dad arranged.  Yes, most of my early jobs were obtained by my Dad (our high school Principal) through networking.  White privilege!  Woohoo!

It was not far from the high school, down a road called Dixie Highway.  I think at one time, before interstates, it was a road that could be taken all the way to the South.  But that might be a false memory.

I got there after school and worked until my Dad picked me up coming out of his work sometime after 5. As the job progressed, I may have eventually used a family car to get there and back.  I did not have my own car until I was a Senior in college.

I was a shipping clerk.  I would prepare the tools for shipment.  That might involve dipping them in some sort of plastic goo that helped protect them from breakage in transit.  Some I had to stencil stuff on. There was quite a bit of diversity in what they made and what the tools needed to be safely packaged and shipped.

The individual orders would stack up, waiting for me to process them.  I was careful but very slow.  If I did something that would cause them to do the tools over again, that would cost them a lot of money.  I don't remember screwing up that badly, but I do remember being terribly slow.

I don't remember too many names.  My immediate boss was Lee (?) something.  He was a very nice man, and always patient and kind to me.  There was an older lady who was like a shipping secretary. And there was an older man who used to bring the tools up from the shop would sometimes joke with me. I don't remember ever seeing the owner.

The job fit a pattern that would be more true than not throughout my work career - I was good enough to survive but not good enough to thrive or survive.  I show up. I work as hard as I can.  Generally, I found the work world 80% tedious, 15% revealing my inadequacies, 4% social, and way less than 1% rewarding.

I'm guessing at wages, but my best estimate was starting at $0.90 an hour and maybe working my way up to $1.10 an hour after almost two years there. I could be wrong.  Maybe it was $1.90.  These were the early 70s.  What can I say?

When I left for college, we networked out the job to my neighbor, Randy Bloomfield, who was a year behind me in school.

He was more social than I was.  He was quicker than I was. In his time there, he more than doubled the hourly rate.

I tried to do my best.  I tried to be as responsible as I could be. I did as well as I could, given my limited coordination and muted social abilities.

It wasn't a great victory.  It wasn't a huge loss.

It was a sign of things to come, of my tenuous grip on the world of work.

Hidden Gems Wednesday Wanderings

This is not Teddy, Thurston Howell's teddy bear on Gilligan's Island.  As far as I know, Teddy is still on the island. Thurston remembered to take his white pants and an ascot home, but he left poor old Teddy behind. 

This is Bobby Bear.  He has been a companion of mine for many years.  He wears a leather jacket and sports a Bobby Kennedy for President button. I have many political campaign buttons, but this is the one that Bobby likes to wear because he is a bear of excellent refinement and discernment. 

American history was irrevocably altered by the assassination of Robert Kennedy.  And not in a good way. I'll save more discussion of that for my political posts.

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Yesterday was our 25th wedding anniversary!  Yes, Alison and I have been married for 25 years! She is amazing, and I feel like the luckiest son of a B on the planet!  

We were going to go out last Saturday to St. Simons (where we had our honeymoon), but the rains were constant, and we 1) didn't want to leave alone our increasingly neurotic 13-year-old Cocoa Bear and 2) we didn't want to walk around all day in the rain.

That left us with our intensely romantic anniversary day plans - his and her annual eye exam appointments.

Both of us needed our prescriptions adjusted, so both of us are getting new glasses.  For Alison, she wanted to change up and make a different fashion statement.  Me?  Just get me what I had and git-er-done.

They did say two words to me that got me mildly shook up - EARLY CATARACTS.  Another little hint that I am aging.  The eye doctor indicated that it was pretty common.  Will I need cataract surgery someday?  He thought so.  When will I need it?  He wasn't sure.  Three years from now? Ten years from now?  Who knows?

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The biggest thing I notice in my vision is that I need more light to read by, and driving at night is more of a challenge than it used to be.

Hopefully, not having to read tiny, scribbled numbers and words from a multitude of accounting clients will help ease my eye strain.

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Wait.  Why did I call this Hidden Gems?

Oh, yes.  In addition to the eye exams, we, on impulse, went to St. Simons!  On our anniversary!  Woohoo!  

We debated many of our traditional favorites - The Crab Trap, Barbara Jeans, Tramici.  We felt like Italian but felt like something less fancy than Tramici (it's good, but it likes to stick less common ingredients into their dishes and to downplay the major function of American/Italian food - CHEESE). Finally, we chose a place we had never been to before - Sal's Pizzeria.

Well, even with GPS, it was a buggeraboo to find.  It was on a part of the island we had not been to much, and we circled a block several times to find it hidden in an alley slightly off the back of a street.

It was fantastico!  They believed in large servings (we got plenty left to take home) and in the power of CHEESE. Alison had Lobster Ravioli, and I had Chicken Parmiagana that was floating in a sea of CHEESE.

It was worth the effort to find and a wonderful anniversary dinner.  I can't show you pictures of the meal, because I didn't take any.  Honestly, I never take pictures of my meals to post on social media.  I just don't do that sort of thing.  If you want to do that, that's fine. To each his own.  I don't want to.

Ok. Well.  The truth is I'm eating it before I even think about taking a picture of it.

Wanderingly Yours,

T. M. Strait

A Very Good, Promising Day: Saturday Political Soap Box 279

 

Plans change.

I was all set to make this post about comparisons to the Democratic Party's current woes to the Weirmar Republic, Germany's government in the 1920s (1919 to 1933).  It was a democratic system, with a diverse parliament, that failed to rule effectively and ended with the rise of Hitler and the Nazis.  It faced major problems with hyperinflation and political extremism.  It was led by an elderly statesman, Paul Von Hinderberg, who became President at the age of 78.  Although a well-meaning man, his inability to lead and handle Germany's problems, and his concessions to the negative forces in the country, helped pave the path for the end of Germany's democratic experiment.

But then, Friday happened.

Economic News

The October Jobs Report was PHE-NOM-A--NAL!!!  Over 500,000 jobs added, with both Seprember and August adjusted upwards by hundreds of thousands!  And the unemployment rate fell form 4.8% to 4.6%!  In ten months, more jobs have been added during the Biden administration than in the first two years of the Trump adminstration.

The stock market reached record highs.  Granted, not my favorite indicator of economic progress - nevertheless - whoops! There it is!

Covid News

The rates of Covid cases are dropping substantially (newly crowned moron Aaron Rodgers notwithstanding),  The vaccine is now available for those 5 and up.  And the best news Friday? Pfizer now has a pill that works on those who have Covid, reducing the hospitalization and death rate by 90%!

It ain't over.  There are still pitfalls.  But off in the distance, I faintly hear the fat lady singing.

Political News

Democracy ain't pretty. Sausage making is easier to watch than seeing legislation ground out.  But the logjam may have been partially broken.  The Physical Infrasture part of the agenda has been passed by the House and Biden will sign it into law.

The Build Back Better bill, although not dead certain, passed major roadblocks in the House, and, unless the tiny handful of corporate Democrats are lying to us (what are the odds of that?), should pass the House by no later than November 15th.

Of course, even once out of the House, it has to go through the buzzsaw of the Senate (specifically, ManChinema).  We're not out of the woods, but at least we're in it.

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No, it ain't over.  The Weimar ghost still lurks in the shadows.  But, gee whiz, people, we should take out glimmers of hope where we can get them.

One of the problems the Weimar Republic had is that they were under the impression that they could work with the Nazis and contain them by keeping them in the fold.  Boy, did that bacfire!

So, one of the things that we must not do (Democrats and Progressives and true Independents) is remove pressure form the Trumpists.  We must not ever let up on the Trumpists and Insurectionists.  Those who don't believe in Democtracy must be called out, and when they do criminal things, THEY MUST NOT GET A PASS.

The world is still a perilous place.  We have much to do, and many challenges to doing it.  But today was a bright day.

I pray for many more days like it.

The Start of Something

This is not a good time to start anything.

The night wanes deep.  The power has gone out.  The Kindle is drained, and the cell phone is at 4%.  Best to leave that for emergencies.

Nevertheless, my uninvited guest refuses to leave.  Insomnia has taken up residence, and I cannot shake it. It clutches me tighter than the blanket I have wrapped around me.

It is 45 outside.  And without a functioning heating system, the house is rapidly racing to match that.

I should have made sure that the flashlights had working batteries.  They stay on long enough for me to find a candle and some matches.  I set it on the dining room table and light it.

There is enough luminescence for me to see the paper and pencil I have set before me.

The dog looks up at me, shivering.  I put him on my lap underneath the blanket.  Thay way, we can warm each other. Dalton, my precious Chiweenie heater.

The paper, white and college-ruled, is looking up at me.  Fill me up.  Make me dance. It dares me.  It mocks me.

This is not a good time to start something.  Or maybe it was.  What else was there to do?  I can't sleep.  I can't do much of anything else.

Dalton is already asleep.  I envy how easy it is for him to slip into the dreamscape.

I clutch the pencil.  I shake my cobwebs.  Where to start?

After much brain strain, I birth my opening sentence.

Last night was a mistake.

There it is.  The start of something.  

I heard a woosh and a click.  The room was flooded with light.  The power was back on.

I stare down at what I had written.  What was I thinking?

I wrinkle the page into a ball and let it sear in the candle's flame.

Dalton clambers to the floor, no longer in need of my body heat and blanket.

That was not the time to start something.  As much as I was haunted, as much as I could not sleep, exorcism would not help.

A siren sounded, getting closer, flashing lights in the driveway.  Then silence. Then a knock at the door.

It might not be the time to start something. But it looked like something was going to finish.

I pray that someone will take good care of Dalton.

Post-Retirement Wednesday Wanderings

 

My office at work was decorated on my last day in accounting, Thursday of last week. I want to thank Chris for my making my send-off special, and also Nicole and Dean.  

It's now Wednesday.  Do I feel retired after almost a week since my accounting career ended?  Truthfully, not yet.  I've had a lot of chores and saved up stuff.  I think tomorrow, when I have no obligations to run errands or leave the house, might be when it sinks in a bit.  We shall see!

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One of the things I was considering was how much emphasis I should place on this blog.  How fruitful is it?  I make no money off of it, and I'm not likely to.  Views have been in decline.  Most months, it's between 1000 and 1500 views (at its height, it ran closer to 4000).  

Even though I only posted seven new posts in October, traffic was up to 2100!  That was a positive.

In November, as of today, only three days in, I have over 5500 views!  I'm not sure what's going on.  Maybe it's a sign that I'm supposed to keep going with The Strait Line. Or perhaps I've been hacked.  Time will tell.

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At this point, the only routine out of the house I have is to do the church treasury work on Tuesday afternoon and then to follow up with either helping my church with its Sacks for Saturday program or reading stories for Children's Storytime at the public library.

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I put up a poll on my group Polls R Us, asking what I should do now that I'm retired.  The number one response was...Write! Write! Write!  Well, who am I to argue with that!  I'll at least keep up with my blog.  I might re-engage with fiction writing.

Other leading responses were to travel (some budget constraints there), start a podcast (that would take some learning), and become an audio reader.   I would love to do those last two, but I will probably need some guidance.

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What a stunner.  Virginia voted like it always does - the opposite of whatever party holds the White House.  It's tiring, and I wish they wouldn't do that.  But I think the media is reading way too much into the results.

It's true that even though Trump is out of office, we are still in a very dark place politically.  Biden's lack of 2020 political coattails is making things very, very difficult.  And 2022 promises to be a disaster.

All I and other like-minded progressives can do is stick to our guns on policy and hammer it over and over again. It's frustrating, I know.  And it's hard to think long-term strategy when the climate doomsday clock rapidly approaches midnight.

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How 'bout them Braves?

Ok, that's all I got.  I'm glad they won.  I tried to watch the ending of last night's game, but my internet went out.

Maybe next year, the Braves will come back and defeat an AL team instead of a quasi-NL team.

Unless it's the Detroit Tigers...in that case, GO TIGERS!

Wanderingly Yours,

T. M. Strait

The Good Old Days?

 Ah, the good old days!

The squeeging nostalgia for a time when everything was so much better than now!

Recently, we rented a vrbo (vacation rental by owner) in Athens. Georgia.  It was a make-good for a weekend we had arranged in the spring, but the owner canceled an hour before we got there because of electrical problems.

These are furnished and often have books and board games and such left by the owner.  In the case of this rental, they left this old magazine, which, me being me, I, of course, zeroed in on.

Coronet Magazine from September 1950.  What a cute nostalgic cover!  This magazine promoted itself as a moral, family magazine.  It was an awful lot like Reader's Digest, a magazine that still exists today.

Below the cover picture was the searing headline - The New Moral Menace! I was lost.  Cowboys?  Cowboys were the new moral menace?  Maybe there was something I was missing in my historical knowledge of cowboys.

Advertising was interesting.  This ad was promoting a new, super-huge television with a whopping 16-inch TV screen.  

This ad promoted the overwhelming luxury of being able to retire on $200 a month!  What a plan!  How can I get in on it?

There were many other strange and wonderful products, including bright, blue plastic diapers that seemed to promote itself as nonstick and easy to clean.  I pray that wasn't an early Teflon.

Then there were the stories.

Oh, yeah!  Keep that marriage glamorous!  Because that's your number one concern in keeping your marriage strong - all that fabulous glamour.  This had many strange suggestions, like having the couple's parents watch the kids while you go to the fanciest hotel you can find, dressed to the nines, and dance and dine and drink, and pretend you have a room there, and just live it up until your budgeted ten dollars was used up.  Then you head home before the illusion disintegrates, like a duo's version of Cinderella. 

Then there were the jokes.

"Why do you always hire married men in preference to bachelors?" an employer was asked. "Because," he explained, "married men don't seem to get so upset when I yell at them."

Sexist much?  Trust me, that's just the tip of the iceberg of jokes throughout the magazine that are at the expense of women,  Family values, my golden tuchus.

And it gets worse.

There's an article about DeBeer and his South African diamond mines.  And no, it's not about how exploitative and cruel the mines were.  Instead, it wanted to reassure the reader that Debeer was in control and that diamonds would not be overproduced so that the cost of diamonds would stay high.  And are you worried about theft?  Have no fear!  DeBeer is here! Here's the magazine's comforting explanation -

The underground mining is done almost entirely by black miners. They pilfer surprisingly few stones, chiefly because DeBeer has made it extremely difficult to get away with that. The "boys" sign on for three months at a time., during which they live a celibate life in compounds. To discourage unnecessary activity after dark, the company uses packs of trained mastiffs.

See, Coronet diamond lovers?  No need to worry about diamond pilfering.  Not when you're treating your African workers like sub-human chattel.

And that New Moral Menace?

Unlike what the front cover accidentally implied, it ain't cowboys.

No.  It's homosexuals.

In a nasty, ignorant, and bigoted diatribe, it repeats tons of false and vindictive lies about gays.  They were all pedophiles.  It wasn't biology; it was choice, brought about a permissive society and bad parenting.  And how about the concept that this is a "new" phenomenon?  Sometimes our sexual diversity is driven underground, but it has always been there and always will be.

The good old days?

Eh, not so much if you're a woman, a person of color, part of the LGBTQ+ community, and well, anybody who exceeds the thinking ability of a box of rocks.

Now we find ourselves with a large group of parents and their political goaders who want to purify American History and keep it positive and upbeat.  Nothing should make our young think that there was ever exploitation and cruelty- we wouldn't want them to feel bad or responsible.

Those who remain ignorant of the truths of history are doomed to repeat them.

And I, for one, am tired of the repetition.