Another year passed, a new year ahead. Another time to sing Auld Lang Syne and celebrate the western world’s marking the start of a new year. All things considering, this is as good a day as any to take a few moments to reflect on the year passed, and what may lie ahead.
On Loosing A Hammer and Standing Up to People
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about a hammer that I lost over 35 years ago. Rather, I’ve been thinking about losing that hammer and how I lost it. It involves my maternal grandfather, a school play, and a high school teacher whom I still consider to be one of the most inept teachers I suffered through during my entire public school career.
Back when I was in the Navy, our standard phase was “a happy sailor is a bitching sailor.” In fact, most sailors did spend a lot of time complaining about stuff. Including me, which may come as a shock to many people who know me now.
So when I stumbled across this on the ever-wonderful YouTube, I knew I had to post it.
For those of us 1950’s kids, a corner office with a view has been considered the mark of success in a professional career. Well, I have to say, there are views and then there are Views. This is a View.
In my continuing Don Quixote-style quest against the dysfunctional, authoritarian, over-reaching and civil liberties-free government agency sadly mis-named the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), I have written some letters. No, I didn’t write to my congressman. No, I didn’t write to either of my senators. I also didn’t write to the head of the TSA, nor to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). I also didn’t write to the President (I figured he was a little busy trying not to get rolled by the minority Republican Party). I wrote to the real power behind the transportation industry in this Country.
I wrote letters to the airlines.
Once again we’re wrapping up another month and rapidly moving into the holiday seasons. Thanksgiving Day has come and gone with the last of the turkey leftovers are in today’s lunchtime sandwich. The trees are finally bare of leaves, we’ve cut the grass for the last time this year, and we have next spring’s gardening to look forward to.
It’s just another late autumn day here in Northern Virginia, out on the edge of our nation’s capital.
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the current hot topic of “enhanced pat downs” our Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has recently started. Even more, I’ve been thinking about how few people in our country actually seem to care that a government agency has taken it upon themselves, without any debate by elected officials or discussion within the public arena, to grope people using the legal justification that “probable cause” consists of attempting to board a commercial aircraft after legally purchasing a ticket. For the sake of national security and keeping us all safe from bad guys.
I may have mentioned this in the past, but I really like Thanksgiving Day. In fact, it’s become my favorite holiday. Notwithstanding that my doctor recently assured me that I was in good health “for a man my age,” just knowing that I have another annual holiday for the chance to give thanks is a good thing.
So, as in year’s past, I want to list the many things Winnie and I are giving thanks for this past year.
Dear Mr. President,
I wanted to write you a letter, and decided that posting an open letter on this website had just as much of a chance of being read by you as if I handwrote a personal note on perfume-scented vellum and mailed it directly to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in a big red-white-blue striped envelope with a large lollipop taped to it.
So here goes. My open letter to you sir, the President of these United States.
The Never-Ending War on Christmas
So who’s winning the War on Christmas?
Once again Christmas time is approaching. Houses in our neighborhood are all decked out in colorful lights with inflatable ornaments sitting out on snow-covered lawns. The stores are full of holiday shoppers making retailers smile while dreaming of big holiday bonuses like kids wishing for candy-apple treats. Our TV screens are aglow with the many incarnations of Santa Claus telling the viewers in TV land just how great of a gift their trinket would be for that special someone.
So who’s winning the War on Christmas?
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