The Three Little Pigs Revisited in 2012

Once upon a time there were three little pigs who were trying to make their way in the world. The first little pig didn't think he was smart enough for college, so he found a job that paid minimum wage. The problem was he didn't make enough to cover living expenses so he lived at home with his parents. The second little pig went to college and got good grades, but when he graduated he couldn't find a job and he owed a lot of money for his student loans. He found even getting a low paying job challenging since now he was "over qualified" or else had the education, but not the experience. He too found himself living with his parents.

The third little pig went into business and made a lot of money. He then decided to go into politics and soon found himself making laws that affected the lives of all the little pigs. He figured out that if he worked it right, he could make laws to benefit his business and make him even more money. Unfortunately, the laws made life more difficult of the other two little pigs. Pig #3 was doing really well when the big bad wolf of depression came to call. Pig #3's business and interests were only marginally affected by the wolf, but the other two little pigs lost the jobs they had and their parents struggled to keep their homes. Pig#1's parents lost their home to foreclosure and they were getting ready to have to live on the streets. The wolf had taken so much from them.

Pig#3 didn't seem to care much about what was happening to the other little pigs in the country. He was busy trying to find ways to cut spending to help the other pigs while enhancing the businesses of himself and all the other business pigs. He, if asked, would rationalize his actions by saying that helping business pigs would be the best way to help the non-business pigs. So, the business pigs got richer and all the other pigs got poorer. Eventually, because the non-business pigs had no money, the business pigs started to not make as much money as before, since, if no one has money to spend, they stop buying. Business pigs started to have their businesses fail. Some of the business pigs were able to get Pig #3 to make laws and to "borrow" money from the National Pig Association to keep them afloat. The sad thing is, while these business pigs told everyone they were having money trouble, the business pigs continued to pay their top business pigs bonuses. The now poor pigs felt so helpless, for they had worked hard and lost everything, yet the business pigs with the right connections were getting bonuses while telling everyone how bad they had it. There were some really angry little pigs, but they also felt helpless to fix things--they didn't have the right connections and now they hear that Pig #3 was trying to pass bills to take away the few things they did have, all the while telling the other little pigs that this is the only option and not to worry everything will be fine.

Doors and Windows

The door opened. Should I walk through it? Liz was busy trying to get in another way. I was reminded of the saying, "If God closes a door, He opens a window." Doors are ways to go through, windows ways to see through and open windows bring air as well as vision. However, open windows without screens also let in bugs and dust--as do doors. So, if you go through an open door it should behoove you to close it behind you. Closing the door prevents easily going back and can for a time, make you feel trapped and vulnerable in this new space. Choices now need to be made.

1. Should I stay near the door?
2. Should I look for a window?
3. Should I explore the room?
4. Should I sit on the floor feeling sorry for myself and wondering what to do next?
5. Should I look for another way out?
6. Should I try to discover why I am in this particular room and make the best of it?

So many questions to answer. Life can be a lot like a murder mystery. You must examine the clues to discover the chain of events, thus eventually what or who caused the murder. Sometimes, for a period of time, the murder is in cold case status, then amazingly a piece of evidence ties everything together resulting in a viable solution.

I don't know why my life has turned out the way it has, but maybe that "missing piece of evidence" will turn up soon and I'll have an answer. In the meantime, I will continue to look for open doors and windows and for how I can best spend my time where I am until a door or window opens for me.

Taking back America or Becoming One of the 1%

I have been listening and watching the frustration of Americans with their difficulties. America seems to be going back to the Middle Ages, with the Kings and Lords controlling the lives of the Serfs. The Serfs pay taxes so the Kings and Lords can go about their lavish lifestyles. How is that so different from  the wealthy 1% and the 99% that are struggling? I have determined that everything boils down to money and power. He who has one or the other or even both controls those who have less. Therefore, since trying to get the attention of the 1% by demonstrations doesn't work; they just laugh and go about making life even more difficult for the 99%, I propose using their own weapons against them. Why not develop a type of think tank to bring people together with abilities and talents to create their own businesses? There is no reason why the 99% can't band together and at least make the 99% drop to, say 50%. If I have a good business idea, and you are good at bookkeeping, Suzy is good at working with people, and Dan is great with working with his hands, why not bring them all together in a corporational structure, and start making their own money and power? Just like some of these social media websites bring together friends and others, create a website to connect innovators. Let's stop allowing the 1% to dictate our lives. Let's take our lives back.

When our ancestors moved to America, they anticipated having to work hard to get ahead and many made fortunes. Unfortunately, it seems like there are so many laws now that starting a business can be challenging, but it can be done, with enough determination. We need to pull together and help each other succeed.

We also need to find a way to make sure Congress plays by the same rules we do. This not having to partake of the healthcare, social security, etc. plans that they vote for us, but do not participate in is ridiculous. We may not have a monarchy, but our Congress has set itself up in a similar fashion, by setting itself apart from the people. AND politicians must think we are stupid and that we don't know that they are lying to us. I listen to both the Republican and Democrat campaign ads and seriously, I wish the American people would as a whole boycott the November election. Both parties are accusing the other of lying and you know what, they are right. They are both taking each other's comments and actions out of context and trying to tell the American people, not how they would fix the problems, but how the other person MIGHT screw up the problem. Where are the specifics? Also, it seems like it doesn't matter who the president is, it's Congress that makes the ultimate decision. How many times has, during this term, has Obama or the Democrats proposed something and the Republicans shot it down because it was proposed by the other party and vice versa. We are NOT in middle school, you guys! Get it together. Stop trying to spend money on stupid stuff, like bridges to nowhere, and focus on using our resources to advance our country and to help our people. To be honest, Congress clearly comes across as unsympathetic to the average American. Look at what they are doing now. This idea of sequestering is STUPID. What is boils down to is blackmailing Americans. If the government does the sequestering, MILLIONS of people will be out of work and, think about this, if government workers are out of work, who will cut the Social Security checks, or in general, provide ANY of the services the government now takes care of. Think: parks, schools, state governments, disability, defense. . .  We, Americans have been led to believe that government we can see is the only government there is. The truth is, the federal government is involved in so many aspects of American life, that to shut all of it down would bring the entire country to its knees and believe me, the Great Depression would look like years of prosperity, if that happened.

We need to band together and take back America. Demonstrations and writing our Congressman have not helped. It's time we got involved in the process. Most of us don't want to expend the energy to try to get something changed and we have only ourselves to blame when Congress comes up with yet another stupid thing. Okay, the real question to ask is, Who has a better idea? Instead of complaining, get together and come up with an idea that is better. How can we fix Social Security? How can we fix the healthcare thing? How can we get out of debt? A better question perhaps, is how can we hold our Congressman accountable?  Voting a new person in is the way we have always done it, but what I see happening is that one person has almost no say and that eventually that person ends up joining the "good old boys club" because if you can't beat them join them.

Unless something major changes, America is not facing a very good future. We are seeing other countries struggling with their economies and nowadays everything affects everyone else.

My Pretend Friend Phil

I've been thinking. Remember when we were kids and we knew kids who had invisible friends. If, as an adult, I had an invisible friend, I think I would name him Phil. I realize that Phil is a guy's name and that I probably should pick a female pretend person's name, but maybe I could have two pretend friends. I will stick to Phil for now, though, at least until I get to know him better. Let's see what Phil might be interested in. Phil is an intellectual and enjoys culture and history as much as I do. He wants to have fun, but learn something new too. He is well set financially which is great because he loves to travel and see new places and make new friends. The thing that drew me to Phil is that he makes me feel important and included. Phil and I are soul mates, of course, being a pretend made up person, he would be. I can talk to him about anything and he knows just how to respond. Unlike so many guys I've met, he doesn't try to "fix" things unless I want him to. I am thinking about taking him with me when I go to a movie next week. It is some much more fun to share adventures with someone, than to just go alone. Phil enjoys a nice dinner out now and again, but is an awesome cook and likes to experiment in the kitchen too. He and I cook together. He would rather go to a museum than a sports event and I like that. There is still so much I need to learn about Phil, but since he is a pretend person, I can make him into whatever I like.
Sometimes I wish pretend people were real and I suppose that somewhere there is a real Phil that is very much like my pretend one. In fact, his name may be different than Phil.
Sorry guys because my brain goes constantly, I do a lot of "what if" thinking. I really don't have a pretend friend, but if I did, it would be Phil.

Desiderata - Les Crane

Children's Story: Do You Like Bears?

     

   It was a wonderful day. It was Benjamin Theodore Bear’s birthday. It was not just his birthday. It was his eighth birthday. It was the day in a bear’s life when he must leave Toyland and seek an owner. Benjamin T. would have to hurry, the Toyland Trolley leaves in just one hour. While he was dressing and eating breakfast Benjamin T. was wondering what his new owner might be like. Rebecca B. Rabbit promised to walk with Benjamin T. to the Trolley stop. Rebecca and Benjamin T. had spent many hours playing together and Benjamin T. would miss Rebecca B. Rabbit. As soon as Rebecca arrived, Benjamin and she started for the Trolley stop. It was a short walk, and they had timed it perfectly. The Trolley was on time. Benjamin T. hugged Rebecca good-by and climbed aboard. He was not the only toy with his eighth birthday today. The Trolley was nearly full. Benjamin T.’s ticket was for Someplace, Peopleland. It was the fourth stop. Benjamin T. rode for nearly two hours before the conductor announced his stop. Suddenly, he was afraid. As he climbed down the Trolley steps he could feel his heart pounding. The Trolley pulled away and Benjamin T. was alone. Gulping hard, he began walking toward town. He had only gone three blocks when he saw a small boy playing with his trucks. “Vroom. Vroom” The little boy was making noises for his trucks and cars.

            “Excuse me, excuse me, little boy.”

            The boy looked up and said, “What do you want?”

            “I was wondering if you like bears.”

            The boy looked at him strangely and said, “No, but I like lions and tigers”, and he made the sounds of lions and tigers going “Grrr and roar”. He started jumping around and waving his arms. Benjamin T. took a couple of steps backward and decided that he didn’t want this boy for his owner. While the boy continued to make these growling sounds, Benjamin T. started down the street.

            He walked, and he walked, and he walked. He approached a little girl playing with her dolls. “Excuse me, little girl.” The girl looked up. “Do you like bears?”

            Seeming to ignore Benjamin’s question she said, “We’re playing tea-party. Would you like to play tea-party with us?”

            “Certainly, what do I do?”

            The girl said, “Sit down and I’ll pour you some tea and get you a piece of cake.”

            Benjamin T. was getting a hungry by now and cake sounded wonderful. He sat down. He looked at the tiny cups and saucers and the small pieces of cake and thought he might like having this girl for an owner. The girl handed Benjamin his piece of cake. While she poured the tea, Benjamin took a bite of cake. He stopped. “Oh dear, on no, what can I do?” he thought, “This cake tastes an awful lot like sand. If I spit this out the girl’s feelings will be hurt. Yet, what can I do? I can’t swallow it.” The girl continued chattering about her tea party. Benjamin T. was going to have to do something with the sand in his mouth, but what? He had an idea! The girl looked away and he upset his teacup. “Oh my, I seem to have spilled my tea!”

            She didn’t notice Benjamin T. spitting out the sand as she cleaned up the spilt tea. She said, “Let me pour you more tea.” After she poured the tea she asked, “How was the cake?”

            Benjamin T. Bear said, “It tasted a bit like sand.”

            The girl was offended that Benjamin T. Bear did not care for her cake replied, “But it was sand. Everyone knows that when you play tea party you don’t really eat the cakes. You just pretend to eat them.”

             Benjamin T. stood up, “I seem to be running late for something and must go. I hope I didn’t ruin your tea party too much. Good-bye.” The girl didn’t even notice Benjamin T. Bear start down the sidewalk. She just went on playing tea party.

            Benjamin T. Bear asked everyone he met, “Do you like bears?” One lady he asked told him she did not have time for that kind of silliness. What was he to do? There was a park bench near the sidewalk and Benjamin T. decided to rest and think. When he left on the Toyland Trolley this morning to look for an owner he didn’t think it would be this hard. What could he do? There is no way to return to Toyland. Here he was, it was going to be getting dark in a couple of hours, he was hungry, tired, discouraged, and still without an owner. It wasn’t because he hadn’t tried. He had asked everyone he saw if they liked bears. No one seemed to have time for him. As he sat a tear started down his furry face. A voice, coming from beside him said, “Oh my, little bear, what’s the matter?”

            “No one likes bears. Do you like bears?”

            Oh yes, I love bears. Why do you say no one likes bears?”

            Benjamin T. told the lady his story. When he finished, the lady had a tear running down her cheek. “I was waiting for someone to meet me for lunch, but it doesn’t look like they are going to make it. Do you think, perhaps, you would care to have lunch with me? I know you are tired, and I’m sure your feet hurt, but if you think you might be able to walk to that green house with a picket fence we could lunch together.”

            “Could I?” Benjamin said, with just a ray of hope. In answer, the lady reached out her hand and said, “Here, give me your paw.”

            Benjamin knew that he had found his owner.

Reunions

I came away from my 25th college reunion with the overwhelming desire to have answered questions like "What do you do?" (having gone to a Christian college) with "Oh, I'm a striptease dancer" or maybe, "I'm a professional hobo". I'm sure the reactions would be just as dramatic as if I had said, "I'm a multimillionaire." Why do we feel we need to define ourselves by what we do? We would never consider answering the "What do you do?" quest with, "I am a chair," yet we have no problem saying we are a mechanic, engineer, lawyer or teacher--all just as much nouns as chair, table, car or book. Having established which noun those in our circle represent, we, categorizing them by our personal order of importance, find ourselves directing our attention to those whose order of importance tops our list. We merely acknowledge the existence of those toward the list bottom. Does the asking of "What do you do?" serve the purpose of weeding out those worthy of our attentions?

Take a look around, you will see people shifting restlessly and nervously, carrying on superficial conversations in which they really have no interest. It's like they are bored with their lives and assume others are not. The bragging is done merely because they are not so much trying to impress, but to convince themselves they are happy with their own lives.

Reunions should be a place to relive the past, a place to realize the history that brought us to the today. The path we began may have changed directions many times on our way, yet vital to the present are the footprints of yesterday and the friendships that helped shape our character of today.

Internet Dating

Internet dating is like entering a science fiction book--some truth and a lot of fiction. After trying it several years ago, I swore I would never do it again. Well, I must be a glutton for punishment and thought I'd sign up for a month again. Truthfully, I usually only can stand it about a week or two before I bow out. I have had a few dates courtesy of a couple dating sites. Maybe it's just me, but I seem to be able to connect with the most unusual people. Let me tell you about my dates. The first one was 55 and went home to mama every weekend. I think it is admirable that he liked to spend time with his mother, but EVERY weekend!. Date number two suggested I make a meal, rent a movie and he would come over to enjoy it. Okay, since I had other company at the time, I cooked and got the movie. He showed up half an hour late (mind you, I mean it when I say we are eating at such and such time). He then told me he had almost not come, as he handed me a rose which he had so squeezed the life out of that it wilted over his hand. So we ate, and he and I attempted to watch the movie. At least I attempted. He was busy petting my arms and legs like I was a puppy dog. (This happened for the ENTIRE movie) That was our last contact, if you haven't figure that out already. I waited for a while before trying the dating thing again. I wish I would have waited forever. The third date and I met at a movie theater for our first contact and after the movie stopped at Applebee's. We ordered some appetizers and while eating he asked me if I liked the show Fear Factor. I don't really like those kind of things and REALLY don't like to think about them when I am eating. It seems that he found a large spider on his desk at work and followed his impulses to scoop it up, take it into the next room where his co-workers were and ceremonially ate it. He then asked me if I thought I could eat bugs because he liked it. There went my appetite. Time to go. Okay, the fourth date was much better than the first three unless you are bothered about the guy talking nonstop about the awesome female he met at church that morning. The bike ride was nice, the conversation, not so much. I say all that to say this. I have waited several years to try internet dating again and so, in a moment of insanity, I signed up to meet what may turn out to be an alien from Mars. Here's how it has been going. I started communicating with a guy whose profile said he was in Virginia, but it turns out he lives in Colorado and supposedly works in DC. His profile also said he was 62. His picture didn't really line up and I asked him about that. Of course, his answer was he actually was 63 (remember the profile said 62 and it also said he was a new member). By this time, I am wondering more and more about the veracity of his profile.  Once he gave me his name and I knew he was in Colorado, I could do a internet search on him. The search turned up that he was actually 77 years old, not 62 or 63. How do I do this? Oh, you know the best part, on his profile he wrote:"I trust people until they show me otherwise".

Am I the only one who has such strange things happen when they try internet dating? I keep telling myself that even if I met the person at church, on the street or wherever that I they same type of thing could happen. I don't know, but it makes for an interesting blog.

If you try internet dating, I hope yours turns out better than mine. My sister and her daughter met their husbands online. Perhaps I have too high standards. I expect honesty, faithfulness, liking to travel, a passion for learning, and an interest in cultural activities. I don't want a drunk, someone who smokes, has tons of issues, is married/legally separated, or someone who is a control freak. I also have discovered that I don't want someone who is tied to mama, pets me like a dog, only wants to talk about other amazing women, or pretends to be 15 years younger than what they are.

In a science fiction book you never know what the alien will do or be like. You also never know what planet they are from at first. Perhaps they are shape shifters or transformers. Do you really want to get into their UFO before you find out a lot more about them? Do you see how I think internet dating is like a science fiction story in the making? If you wish to enter the sci-fi world of dating, I wish you more luck than I have had.

Movie Thoughts: Red Tails

Awesome movie! It is about time we recognized some of the lesser known heroes. The sad part is that once the war was over it took an awfully long time for even a small bit of equality to happen. There were a couple spots that the acting was a bit rough, but by the time the movie ended, I felt like standing and clapping. Of course, I am ex-Air Force and was active duty on the tail end of women in the Air Force being WAFs--which, to those who don't realize it, women, like the Tuskegee Airmen, had their own division of the Air Force. It was just months before I went active duty in 1977, that women became "service members" and not WAFs. When I got to my first duty assignment, my OIC turned to me and said he told MPC not to send a woman--women were lazy and did a poor job. I was in an all male office, and no one would speak to me. I put up with the nonsense for a couple of weeks, hoping things would change. It finally came down to me slamming a route folder down in front of the NCOIC and saying, "How do I do this?" This "lazy woman" turns out was the best radar predictor on base and when it came time for me to ship out to a new duty assignment, was given an Air Force Commendation Medal.
Red Tails was well done. I'm glad it was presented in such a positive way and not just in the style of a documentary. The dogfights were great--makes me wonder how they did all the special effects. I know there aren't that many WWII aircraft around anymore, nor would they want to blow them out of the sky like that.
Go see this movie. I bet you'll like it.

Movie Thoughts:Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

The movie begins with a scene from Budapest. I'm not a big fan of Budapest, but at least they could have told us that the shooting was done in Buda, but I suppose that most people would not know that Budapest is actually two cities--Buda and Pest (pronounced Pesht). I felt like I was watching a movie from the early 60s or 70s which had the European approach of not much action in a great amount of time. I actually contemplated taking a nap and wondered if I would miss anything. If a person was paying attention, they could have figured out the ending within the first fifteen minutes. In general, this was a ho hum slow moving drama.

BUT on the other hand, if you get a chance to see Sherlock Holmes DO IT! Loved the movie. Lots of action and kind of reminded me of the excitement of the Indiana Jones movies mixed with a little James Bond. I hope they do more. My daughter liked this Holmes movie even better than the first one. There is a few glitches, but only those who have been to Paris would realize. When it was said that Moriarty was going to the Gare du Nord because it was the closest train station, Sarah and I beg to differ. The closest train station would have been the Gare D'Orsay or Gare du Louvre. The Hotel du Triumph that they blew up would have been located near the Arc d'Triomphe not near the Louvre. There is a Hotel du Louvre right there that looks suspiciously like the destroyed hotel. As long as you don't get caught up in the nit picky details the film rocks.