In Honor of Veteran’s Day

In 1984. I was halfway through eight weeks of Basic Training at Lackland Air Force Base near San Antonio, Texas. I am not posting to brag about my 4 years of service to the USA. However, I am posting so that maybe these words will be read, and maybe what I have to say will have more weight. Regarding being a Veteran. Yes, technically, I am, but since I was only in for four years and it was during peacetime, I consider those who dedicated their lives to service and those who saw combat much more as veterans than myself. They truly deserve our honor and reverence.

As someone who signed away my life to my country for 6 years (that included 2 years inactive), I am thus baffled how 47%, of what some people claim as the greatest country on Earth, did not vote. That means less than a quarter of those who voted actually supported our new president. For those math whizzes out there, 25% is NOT a majority. The old-line people say you can’t complain if you don’t vote is truer this year than ever. Do you know how so many people proudly wore those “I Voted” stickers? It would be an interesting social experiment for all those who did not vote to let everyone know in some manner. Then we can ask them why. One can certainly say they don’t agree with the candidates and their policies, but why did millions of people cede their one guaranteed power and privilege to the rest of the country? 

Don’t tell me it does not matter if you don’t vote. Each and every vote counts. What those elected representatives do in Washington DC, and every other state and local government around the country, directly affects every life in this country. You are truly naïve and clueless if you think otherwise. Is there a pothole in front of your house you want fixed? Is the bridge you drive over every day on the way to work crumbling? Are the veterans living on the street or under those crumbling bridges? Do you want the USA involved in wars around the world? Do you think education is important? Is gun control an important issue at your house? Is legal marijuana use a good or bad thing? Is the coal industry going the way of the dinosaur, or is there something we can do to make the transition to something else easier? These are just a few of the issues that our elected officials have the power to do something about. If they matter to you, why doesn’t voting matter, too? 

For those who are lamenting over Tuesday’s results, or those reveling in it, remember we will wait four more years to do it again. Let’s try to do better than 43% turnout. Only then will things actually change.

Make America Great Again?

I think this statement implies one of two things. 1) We were better as a nation some point in the past, or 2) we made an about face at some point in recent history. Maybe it’s a combination of the two. I still have not heard or read an explanation what it means. I admit, since we all seem to live in our own personal bubble, maybe I have not looked hard enough.

If it’s number 1, then I wonder what time or era the President, or someone else, might be referring to? After 1789, and before 1865, the United States condoned and was very involved in slavery so that can’t be the Great America they want.

Up until the early 1900’s we were displacing, killing and raging war with thousands of Native Americans. That is not the Great America they want, right?

Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act in 1965. Before that the African Americans we enslaved could not vote. So for 100 years they were citizens without the same rights as most of Americans. We can’t say the America before 1965 is the Greatness they want, right?

Sure, in 1950s the US experienced exponential growth. We won WWII. GIs received great benefits. Places like Leavitt Town showed the way to suburbia. But, places like Harlem in New York and Watts in Los Angeles were also born. If you were white, or born into a white family, you had better chances for prosperity than most. It was a great time for some, but not quite a Great America.

The Viet Nam War was not a good time for America. We basically lost a proxy war with the Soviet Union due to political reasons and the ugly face of war we saw on the nightly news. College students we killed on campus for expressing the constitutionally given right. How can that period be called Great?

There was a relatively peaceful period in the US from 1984 through September 11, 2001. The stock market broke 10,000. The dotcom boom made millions for many. We were losing another proxy war with the USSR again though and this time in Afghanistan. Arguably, one of the most horrible outcomes of that conflict was the creation of the Taliban and US airline planes flying into buildings. That was not a Great time.

Regarding point 2 about, I will borrow the words from the US Constitution; I think we are trying to “become a more perfect union.” It is a process and journey. Democracies are a social experiment. Monarchies and empires experienced much more longevity than the US has experienced with an elected and represented federal government. And guess what, it was the ancient Greeks who invented the idea – not us. And India has the largest democracy – not the America. We were born from very old ideas and the Enlightenment. 

I don’t believe we made any abrupt or extreme turns along the line of our 240 years. Sure we changed – that is unavoidable. We can’t go back in time. We can only improve on what we’ve got. 

So what’s this “make” and “again” they are referring to? It would be great to hear some specifics. We are great and getting better.

"Peace on Earth and Goodwill Toward Men"

Linus Van Pelt said it in the Peanuts Christmas special, "... and on earth peace, goodwill toward men."  Today it should be revised to say "towards humankind." We hear it every year about this time. It's sad though we don't hear it as much during the other 11 months of the year. For all the globalism that's occurred during the last 500 years (since the Age of Discovery), we have not learned how to be better neighbors. It seemed okay to trample on people, their land, and their right to live when empires were building and growing. Now it seems, in some places, we are reverting back to nation-states. Borders have become more important instead of less. Racism is on the rise. Not in my backyard has grown to not in my country. Why can't we work towards peace, tolerance, love, friendship, understanding, and goodwill all the time?

My Legacy

The older I get, the more mortal I feel. I remember my college course about Shakespeare, particularly his sonnets. The first seventeen sonnets encourage people to have children. In one interpretation, people can become immortal. You live on in your progeny. At 60 years of age, I don’t see that happening the old-fashioned way. My father lives on in more than 20 people. He will live on forever. From adolescence up to a time in the near past, my desire and plan was to have children. For so many reasons, it did not happen.

Throughout my life, though, I have attempted, with some success, to leave a positive legacy or indelible mark. It is my way of achieving immortality. It feels good knowing people think of me, at least a little when they see something I did. Leaving a positive legacy is always icing on the cake.

I helped construct a few houses in Gillette, Wyoming, and a couple in Colorado Springs.

While working at a Walnut Creek, California, print shop, I designed an anniversary edition of The Easter Seals newsletter. As a freelancer, I created, designed, and assisted in editing the Passages newsletter for the Continental Trail Divide Coalition (CDTC). It is read around the world. I also created four CDT trailhead signs seen by thousands of people. At a kinko’s in Pleasanton, California, I created numerous logos, including one for a phone store in San Francisco that can still be found on Google.

I’ve lost count of all the furniture pieces I made, gave away, or sold. I made tables, storage boxes, register stands, and desks where I worked.

I was once described by a well-known hiring manager as his “best hire.”

For nearly 20 years, I created, designed, and edited sales documents for a worldwide corporation. My work helped new contracts totaling many millions of dollars in contracts be signed.
I’ve written child short stories enjoyed by at least a few kids. I’ve been published twice in newspapers on the Op-Ed page. One story was about the ticket I received but did not deserve. And the other was about dog parks.

In 2000, I bought my first house and started down a long road of home improvement. When I moved out, the house was in the best shape. I now live in a small house, which I had built, in the backyard of the first house. The landscape has forever changed.

While serving on the Cultural Arts Commission in Englewood, I designed a crosswalk for a city street. Hundreds of people see it every day.

Besides the tangible, I made impressions on people. I am sure some of them were not positive. That was certainly not my intent. I think the good outweighed anything else.

I like to think I left a good impression on people I do and don’t know. It feels good knowing that the things I touched in some way will continue when I am gone. The heartache I sometimes think about not having children is held at bay by my successes and legacy. I am at once somber and proud. I will keep trying to do good things and leave my mark on the world. This short essay reminded me of things I did successfully but did not include all. 

Merry Christmas - 2016

It’s good to reflect on ones past. If you were lucky, your early life was innocent, happy and healthy. I know mine was. There are memories I cherish from childhood – memories I hope to always have. Those nights I tried to stay up all night instead of sleeping on Christmas Eve because I was too anxious for morning to come. I once woke early to find my big brother installing a fireplace insert for my parents. It was a present for them. My parents gave me my favorite gift one year – not one, but two complete Erector Sets. Joe, my brother and I, received a Flex Flyer sled. We used them in Keller Park and a few times sledding down our long hilly street in the middle of the night. Other gifts I remember – Toss Across, Rapid Fire, Skittles, the long plastic snake from Duckwalls, street skates, chemistry sets, many Snoopy models by Monogram, and many Champion Sparkplug branded products like mittens and hats from my grandfather.

Though I am 53 years old, I think I remember well being a kid. This is mostly, I presume, because I did lots of reflection then too. I kept a journal. There were many times I sat down to attempted to write my life’s story even if it was only a dozen years or so in the making. I never understood when I heard the quote attributed to WC Fields about never wanted to work with children. Maybe it was because he did not like his childhood. I know for the most part I liked mine. Only when puberty hit and my lack of self confidence took over my social life did it become harder. I know I am not alone with that personal history.

Another December 25 has arrived and only a week left in the year. Out of the 50 other times I have experienced this week, some have been fabulous, some have been a bore and some have been just blah. This year, I persevere to make the next year better than the last. This is something we all need to do.

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Boxing Day, Happy Festivus, Winter Solstice Day, etc. Did not mean to leave anyone out. And yes – Happy New Year!