Dudester's Blog

After seeing Micheal Phelps win 8 Gold Medals in the Olympics, some people have been inspired. After seeing an everyman, Bruce Jenner, win the Decathalon in 1976, a lot of people were inspired, and this in turn started the fitness craze that goes on to this very day (people used to laugh and scoff at runners).

Myself, I am inspired by figure skaters, real and fictionalized. It's just my opinion, but I feel a female is at her very best as a champion figure skater. She is beauty, grace, finesse, discipline, and strength-all rolled into one. I think figure skaters should be the Miss USA, not the ones who compete in beauty pageants.

In 1992, Emmit Smith put on a display of committment and strength, playing with a seperated shoulder in an important playoff game, but his gutsiness has been trumped, several times by petite figure skaters. In 1996, tiny Tara Lipinski won Olympic gold with a hip so bad that it had to be replaced a month later. In 2003/4, a figure skater, Jenny Kirk, competed, and placed fourth for the season with a mother dying of cancer. It had to take a lot of strength for her to spend so many hours on the ice with her mother wasting away.

In 2004, Michelle Kwan was 22 years old. She had already been to two Olympics, taking home a silver and a bronze. In between. she had won 9 nationals. The week of nationals, in 2004, Michelle had been taking a beating in the press. The press were telling her she was too old to compete (Tara was 14 when she won the gold). Michelle took first in the short program, and as she took the ice for the long program the eyes of many were on Michelle, wondering if she would crumble under the pressure.

Michelle had to complete 8 jumps in the long. Sasha Cohen had already skated, falling on one of her jumps, but otherwise being flawless, and impressive. Michelle would have to land every jump, perfectly, or prove the media right in their assessment. Michelle had her game face on as she took the ice.

After she landed her eigth jump, flawlessly, the crowd shot to their feet. There was a minute left in her program and it was time for footwork. No one in the world does footwork like Michelle. She danced through that minute, finishing the program with a dazzling spin. Coming out of the spin, there was tears rolling down her cheeks.

The standing ovation went on for seven minutes. It took ten minutes to clear the ice of teddy bears and flowers. Michelle finished with 9 perfect scores that night-with a career total of 35. The next nearest skater (Brian Boitano), only had 9.

As for the fictionalized, who didn't have a lump in their throat when a blind Lynn Holly Johnson completed a flawless program in Ice Castles?

A movie that really captures my fancy is Ice Princess. This is a tale of two skaters, and their two mothers. One skater (Hayden Paniettere) was driven from birth by her mother (Kim Cattrall) to skate, train, and eat right in order to win, win, win. The other skater(Michelle Tractenberg), had been driven by her mother (Joan Cusack) to study, study, study. During an extra curricular physics assignment, Michelle finds out she's a natural on the ice. Her grades begin to slip as she trains, works, and pays for her own coaching. This doesn't sit well with her mother, who desperately wants Michelle to go to Harvard. A schism develops, and all Michelle really wants is for her mother to see her compete. This is something that really touches me.

I had a fortunate turn in life, being adopted by a volunteer fire department, as their mascot when I was six. Within a few years, I was actually fighting fires alongside them. By the time I was nine, I actually responded to the deep night fires as well. I don't know how my family slept through that as my pager made enough noise to raise the dead (early 1970's pagers were 14 inches long, and four inches thick-weighing ten pounds-they had no volume control).

I was ten when an absurd event happened. I had responded to a late night call at eleven. At eight the next morning, my mother came to the station looking for me. She said, and I quote:"When I found your bed empty, I thought I might find you here."

"I've been out all night at a fire" I replied.

"When will you be finished?" She asked.

"About an hour and a half" (We had to clean and dry the hoses-service the trucks)

"We'll wait for you at home."

"Why?"

"We're going to your sister's house."

"Go on without me."

"No, we'll wait for you."

"I'm tired, I've been out all night."

"That's alright, we'll wait for you."

And she drove off. And she took me to my sister's house. I sat on the couch all day, semi comatose.

All I wanted was some recognition. I wasn't listened to. Michelle's character needed for her mother to listen, as did the other skater.

You know, I was with that department twelve years. Did my mother ever see me work? No. The only picture I have of me in my gear was one taken by a sister as I was responding to a call one day. It's lucky I have this picture because the firefighters that were such a big part of my life have passed on. They listened, when no one else would.

Children are amazing creatures. Many only want to be listened to. I needed to be listened to. In this crazy, pressed for time world, some parents just don't listen, and they really need to. Make some time for your child, and listen to them. Find out what inspires them. You might find something to be inspired about.   

**** Not a Movie Review****

On Saturday, I went to see Swing Vote. Right at the beginning of the movie we are to think the movie was shot in Texico New Mexico. You see mountains often, mountains I recognized. Actually, Texico is a truck stop along I-40, most of the movie was filmed in and around Belen.

Ever seen a town die? I did. We first arrived in Belen in 1968. The passenger rail was running through then. Because there was passenger rail, there was a bottling plant, and an ice plant, and the local restaurants and hotels were busy places. It was a busy town.

The next year, Congress killed the passenger rail-moving the passenger trains to the Northeast U.S. so that people who work in New York city could live in Connecticut, or Vermont, or New Jersey. Within five years, half of the population of Belen had left. The town became a very unfriendly place. We tried living in Los Angeles for a year, but the earthquake of 71 chased us out and we returned to this dying burg, but I digress.

The movie is about Bud and Molly. Bud (Kevin Costner) is a drunken loser who can't even hold a job at the local chicken egg plant. Molly is his precocious eleven year old daughter who gets her father up in the morning, feeds him, and looks after him. When Bud's vote becomes the deciding vote in the Presidential election, Bud and Molly's life become a living hell. Every press agency camps out on their front door, and their every word and action becomes fodder for the media. Their home relationship, already strained, takes a turn for the worse.

In Belen, there are a lot of Molly's, because there are a lot of Buds. Children are supposed to have a carefree existence, but because there are Buds out there, their children take on responsibilities that children shouldn't have. On Friday and Saturday nights, most of the nightlife in Belen is centered around watering holes with a dance floor. There is nothing else out there, no symphony, no playhouses, no nothing.

While the adults inhabit the watering holes, the youth gather in remote places where they can drink and take drugs. Of course, promiscuity figures into this. In 1981, when my brother graduated from Belen High School, seventy five percent of the Senior girls were married and/or pregnant. Paul Harvey ripped into the crime of Belen that year. Nightline did a special because the gang problem at the high school is so bad that guards with submachine guns prowl the school grounds while cameras look on. It is not a friendly place to grow up.

The movie also touched on a personal thing I also had in relation to Molly. In 1974, I wrote a letter to the Army about future careers. The return letter said that Army regs forbid sending literature of the country (New Mexico joined the U.S. in 1912). My mother took the letter to work to make a copy, and the next day it was on the front page of the Albuquerque Journal. A local radio personality, who had like a seventy five percent share of the radio audience, spent most of his radio show talking about the letter. He even fabricated a few comments I had supposedly made.

That morning had been a typical morning for me. I arrived at school, avoided the drugees at one gate, who pelted anyone with stones who didn't buy their product, and I double checked my homework (I kept my grades up so I could get out of there). I was oblivious to the newspaper story, and the radio show.

During second period I was brought out of class and taken to the office. The Principal wanted to know who I had been talking to that morning. I only had one friend, so that was my answer. The Principal told me about the story, and the radio show. I was befuddled. How does a fourteen year old handle being suddenly thrust on a national stage?

When I got home, the phone was ringing off the hook. The story had hit the AP wire and my entire home address was in the story. My mother didn't think I should be talking to reporters from all over (she was right), so the phone remained off of the hook for the next three days. That's when the mail arrived. There are a lot of people out there with an axe to grind. My mother threw away the most venomous letters, but I still have some of the other letters.

It was a truly bizarre event to live through. I can sympathize with child actors who suddenly find themselves in the spotlight. The light is blinding, and it's easy to make a mistake, and be judged for it. It doesn't help when your home life isn't sound.

The movie was an appeal to do the right thing, to care for your fellow man. It exposes how the important message gets lost when the lights go on and the leader finds themself on a stage having to address the concerns of a lot of people with different problems. I can easily imagine how difficult it can be.

I found church soon after I moved to Texas. People I talk to on the internet are dead set against organized religion, but religion is supposed to be a brotherhood of man. I find people in Texas practice their religion seven days a week, and I wouldn't live anywhere else. I'm not blind to the fact that there are Buds and Mollys in Texas, but there are far fewer of them here than there are in New Mexico. It does my heart well to know that if a Molly here asked for help, she would receive it. I can't say the same for New Mexico.

I don't have children, but I pray you treasure them. Never let them become a Molly, but if you know one-help her.

In the 1860's, this country fought a very destructive Civil War, which killed many Americans. The politically correct would like us to believe that the war was only fought over the issue of slavery, while the truth is that the war was fought over state's rights, and slavery was just a side issue. The war ground to a halt in 1865, but the issues of the Civil War have never really been resolved as states rights have become very much an issue in the last decade. With oil a hot button topic, the Congress has failed to act on a nation's urge to drill here, drill now, while also ignoring the pleas of states with proven oil reserves who want to drill. The Congress hasn't budged on a ban on domestic drilling that was passed in the late 1970's. To add insult to injury, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ignored the will of the people in half a dozen states, which passed a law giving the death penalty to child rapists. Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.

On Friday the 25th, a Zogby poll revealed that a large number of Americans are very dissatisfied with the U.S. Federal Government. With the President's approval rating at 26 percent, and Congress' at a paltry 15, it's clear the people are not being served (as taxpayers we are basically stockholders and the government is performing poorly). An astounding eighteen percent of the public answered a question agreeing that secession from the union was a viable option to consider.

WHOA!!

That this number is above one percent should be a powerful wake up call. Alarm bells and whistles should be sounding in Washington. As of the present, no one is answering the alarm. This is indeed very scary.

This is a Presidential election year. Neither party is fully behind their candidate. Hillary Clinton may be serving platitudes to Obama, but her supporters are at least reluctant to follow her example. Conservatives swallow hard realizing that McCain is the Republican candidate. Considering the discontent, Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate, still polls at less than two percent. Barr is the only legitimate conservative in the race, and this country leans center right, not center left. Clearly, a stage is being built for something ugly.

For more than a hundred years, secession has been a buzzword in Texas. Of all of the states, no state is better set up to secede than Texas. Texas was once it's own country. Texas' economy is presently outperforming most of the nation. The state of Texas is very much in the black with a monetary surplus (unlike similarly sized California, which is billions in the red). Texas has it's own electric grid, and Texas oil gives Texas an energy advantage over most of the nation. Texas has it's own military and a very proud populace to back it up. If the legislature were to even consider the "s" word, Washington would be rocked to it's core.

This country was founded on an agreed upon set of ideals, that each man is an individual, that each state draws it's own powers from those not granted the federal government by the Constitution, and that to the people are reserved the power to change the government anytime it should grow too oppressive. This is why the Bill of Rights granted the rights of assembly, to petition to address grievances, for freedom of expression, the right to own firearms, and the right of a free media (although most of the media is a mouthpiece of just one political party). Lately though, the ideals have become diverse as the states are acting like a couple who have grown apart.

One need only look at the election results of the past sixteen years to see what is going on. California, and the northeast U.S., seem to be of similar mind, while the rest of the country feels a different way. If this wasn't scary enough, Canada is a country about to split up. If Canada split, half a dozen Canadian provinces would immediately petition for statehood. Because of similarity of ideas, the northeast U.S, would welcome the new petitioners, while the rest of the country would consider that Canada is a country teetering on bankruptcy. Taking on Canada's finances would throw the stock market into a spiral and cause an astronomic rise in taxes (Canada has socialized medicine, lax immigration laws, and a very generous pension system).

The Party Quebecois are the ones seeking secession in Canada. Quebec is the crown jewel of Canada, and losing it would be like the U.S. losing Texas. In an election in 1977, requesting secession, the Quebecois was handed a huge defeat, twenty three to seventy seven percent. In a 2005 secession election, the Quebecois lost forty nine to fifty one percent. It is just a matter of time.

If McCain or Obama get an unpopular item ( i.e. socialized medicine, the fairness doctrine, the Kyoto treaty) through the Congress, the stage would be set for an uprising in this country. Most states have year round legislatures so a secession proclamation could come up quickly. The Texas legislature would have to be called into special session, unless McCain or Obama act while our legislature is working.

The question remains then, whether the split would be an amicable one (like the Czech/Slovak split in the late 1990's), or whether we would have a bloody replay of the 1860's. I am sure that no American wants the latter, but the continuing divide between the will of the states and the continuing disconnected arrogance of Washington signals that there is trouble in our future. I do, however, offer a very practical compromise.

The fourteenth amendment to the Constitution took out key provisions of the twelth amendment, amongst them-that each representative in Congress shall represent eight thousand citizens. Think about it, could you reach eight thousand people? Sure you could. Furthermore, technology exists that that would allow Congress members to work from a home office, instead of living in Washington where some special interest group sees to their day to day needs. Granted, that would equal thirty six thousand members of Congress, but do you really feel that four houndred and thirty five people represent you well now? Poll numbers say otherwise if you say yes. Besides, consider the mountain a special interest group would have to climb if they would desire to buy off a majority of Congress-which they do now, often. Consider, a Congessional Representative, of the people, who lives among the people. What a concept.

Space Chimps.

Short of Wall E this is the best piece of animation this year. This movie is very much like a 1960's carton, something for thje kids and something for the adults. For the kids-a movie about heroic chimps who go into space. For the adults, especially those who have taken Psych 101, a bellyful of laughs, like the walk through the valley of really awful things, followed by a journey through the cloud of the super ego (how do you feel about that?). The theater was crowded (it usually isn't-it's an old place), and I noticed I was the only one geting the laughs, but the kids were quiet throughout the movie-a good sign.

Mamma Mia

I've talked to people who have seen the "Annie" plays and they usually hate the movies on Annie. I saw a reviewer yesterday who had seen the Mamma Mia play three times, and he hated the movie. I liked the movie. It's a tossback to the musicals of the 1950's where people just burst into song with every new thought. It helps if you love the music of ABBA (I do, I do I do, I do). Meryly Streep is a pretty good singer and Amanda Seyfried, who plays her daughter has a wonderful voice-so you need not worry about someone murdering an ABBA song unless Pierce Brosnan sings (he does once, YUK!). The movie is a feel good experience, so go in, turn off your cellphone, your mind, and just have fun.

Last Friday night, a large group of militants attacked a US Military base in Afghanistan. In the press it is reported "9 U.S. Troops Killed in Afghan Attack". Where do I begin with what is wrong here?

First, I should put in a disclaimer here that I am an amateur historian. As such, I have spent countless hours in the libraries reading newspaper stories from decades ago. In the 1940's, the U.S. Press, made up of Americans who backed America, would write a story like "10,000 Japanese Killed in Battle for Tarawa". Reading in the story, you would later find that a thousand US troops lost their lives.

Second, as an eleven year military veteran, I know our troops are superior to everyone else's. If there is a battle, there might be some dead Americans, but there will be many more enemy dead. In the case of the Afghan battle, 40 militants were killed. You have to dig through the story to find that fact though (on this website). Over the air, all that is talked about is "9 US Troops killed". There is no mention of the enemy killed, and that's why today's US media gets it's liberal label from. If today's media reported on World War 2, they would basically be mouthpieces for Der Fuhrer and Tojo. Headlines like "1,000 US Troops Killed in Tarawa Battle". There would then be much editorializing like, "Why the need for all this bloodletting", and "Can't We All Get Along-Sign a Peace Treaty, Surrender, Give Up?"

Today's US Media comes from upper middle class kids, who went to college on daddy's nickel, and they hate their parents for being Republicans and for being affluent. They spend their lives toiling for the Democratic party and carrying their water. The US Media who reported on World War 2 were people who came from all walks of life. They had been truck drivers, and farmers, and day laborers. They knew sacrifice. They understood the common man because they had been the common man.

The media needs to start all over. They need to dump these Starbucks drinking, Prius driving, Al Franken worshipping elitests and start all over with real people.

I was reading a newspaper article today about a scuffle up at Colorado State University. For decades, Dr. William Gray has been forecasting hurricanes and tropical weather for decades. Lately he has come under fire from other professors at the university. The problem, according to the professors, is that he's spending too much time talking to the media about hurricanes. According to Dr. Gray, it's about the difference in opinion over Global Warming.

Most of the professors worship at the altar of "man is responsible for climate change" (hold on a second, I'm rolling around on the floor laughing, hang on, o.k., I'm back). Dr. Gray presents evidence that there is global warming, but 99.99 percent of it is caused by nature (read that SUN, because it has been observed that the polar ice caps on Mars are shrinking. There's no SUV's on Mars is there? [ giggle, snort ] ).

Anyway, the never ending display of arrogance by academics never ceases to amaze me. The global warming caused by man group would like nothing more than for the U.S. to become a third world country. "Would serve us right for our arrogance" is their thinking. That is precisely what the Kyoto protocol is all about. It's not really about climate change, it's about how many U.S. power plants will be turned off, how many American cars will be idled, and how many U.S. planes will be grounded. The notion that man can affect weather worldwide is laughable at best. Granted, man can pollute and overfish certain areas, but the notion that mankind is more than just a flea on the back of nature eludes academia-which thinks itself brighter than the average man. Anytime nature wants to shrug us off, it can do so easily. The notion that man creates nature is as absurd as the notion that man created God.

A recent display at the Houston Museum of Natural History was the Lucy exhibit. Academia would like for us to believe that men evolved from apes. That theory ( I stress the word theory [an unproven idea]  here) is more than just a little weak. It is so obvious that human life was deposited on Earth. For more than a hundred years, scientists have looked for "the missing link" between apes and mankind. There is no missing link between ape and man because there never was a missing link. Man is a species different from apes as dogs are different from cats. Man, apes, dogs, and cats, are all mammals, but therein, the similarities end.

Just as Academia embraces the absurd ( man caused global warming, the missing link, etc.) they also dismiss the divine beginnings of this country. As much as Academia embraces socialism and communism (didn't these governmental practices fail spectacularly in the 20th Century?) as ideal forms of living, they also embrace the hope that one day the U.S. will dissolve into a third world country and that Mexico, Russia, and France will retake their parts of the U.S. justifiably. It's mind boggling.

There are a number of countries that are a lot older than the U.S., but which country has the oldest Constitution? The United States. How is it that Mexico, a republic much older than the U.S. is a third world country, and the U.S. isn't? Could it be that the framers of the Constitution created a republic that embraces new technology, new ideas, protection of ideas and expression of thought in such a manner that the U.S. leads all other countries, and this is not by accident?

Consider the people who were the forefathers of the U.S. These men weren't just brilliant, they were visionaries, who saw far into the future. When they created the U.S. Constitution, they created a living flexible document which hasn't aged a day in it's capacity to inspire sheer brilliance, and handle problems hundreds of years into the future, without revealing that these ideas are hundreds of years old, but also immortal and as young as tomorrow. How can it be that this collection of brilliance came together in the late 1700's? How can it be that it was an accident, when actually it wasn't?

One of the forefathers of this country was Ben Franklin. How brilliant was Ben Franklin? He created the Post Office, the Ben Franklin stove, the mathematical formulas (still very accurate) in the Farmer's Almanac [also Ben's invention] that forecasts weather (very accurately I might add) here, now, hundreds of years later. Ben Franklin also invented the volunteer fire department and the helmet firefighters wear. Although inventors have tried to redesign the helmet, and the materials of the helmet, they come back to Ben's design and the very materials that he said the helmet should be made of. How did Ben know so much? Was it an accident that he was around then?

Ben wasn't the only brilliant one. Consider Thomas Jefferson. Thomas and Ben co-wrote the Declaration of Independence, and both contributed to the Constitution. Thomas founded the University of Virginia, and his ideas on architecture are still used by architects hundreds of years later. Thomas' embrace of the Manifest Destiny led him to hire Lewis and Clark to explore the West. Thomas also, singlehandedly, handled the Lousiana Purchase, one of the greatest real estate deals in all of history. Overnight, he doubled the size of the country, and we can't credit him enough to do that.

Finally, there's George Washington to consider. All told, he wasn't a brilliant inventor, like Thomas or Ben, but he was the perfect person to lead the military part of the U.S. Revolutionary War. This was a man who so believed in the ideas of freedom and personal destiny that he sank a lot of his own money into financing the war. He also knew which military people to put together to train and lead a ragtag military against one of the mightiest empires the world had ever known. Was it an accident that these brilliant men came together at this time, or can it be that the divine hand of God guided the republic through this very delicate time to create what would later be the guiding beacon of freedom for all the world?

How then is it, that we have teachers, academics, so profoundly stupid that we actually pay them to teach our progeny? How can we allow them to spew forth their anti America rhetoric, day after day? Well, actually, the First Amendment allows them to spew forth stupidity, but we don't have to allow them to continue drawing at the public teat. Shouldn't we just dismiss them wholesale and throw them overboard-replacing them with conservative thinking academics, who embrace visionaries like Jefferson, Washington, and Franklin. Think about this the next time the legislature is in session. We would benefit greatly from a school voucher program. When schools compete, we all win.

My schools never sent me home with a summer reading list, but being that the present economy is keeping people home, how about a summer movie list for the kids that is educational? If the kids watch these movies, they can hold educated conversations with adults. May I recommend?:

Casablanca- Rick and Ilsa in and out of love, but definitely a multi-cultural experience as people of many nations are fleeing the Nazi's, and in Casablanca they are trying, desperately, to find pasage to America. Probably, the most quoted upon movie of all time.

The Maltese Falcon-The detective movie upon which all detective movies are based. Sam Spade tries finding the mythical bird while being pursued by Police and double crossing treasure hunters.

Meet John Doe-Actually a great companion piece to this summer's Kit Kittredge as the very beautiful Barbara Stanwyck plays a newspaper reporter whose fictional character in a newspaper story fuels a third political party movement in America.

Tora Tora Tora- A movie with real history in it, unlike that horrible Pearl Harbor movie which came out a few years ago. The story of the Pearl Harbor attack, told from both sides.

The Longest Day-Another history movie-the true story of D-Day-told from both sides. NOTE: Several of the actors in this movie (i.e. Eddie Albert) actually did storm Normandy's beaches on D-Day. Most of the rest of the cast actually served in the military in World War 2, so none of that made up Tom Hanks/Steven Spielberg mumbo jumbo.

Donovan's Reef-Jack Ward plays a Boston doctor, also an heir to a massive shipping fortune, who decides instead to chuck his millions and tend to the sick people of Polynesia. A great multi cultural experience that explores issues of racism in Polynesia, but the Christmas scene is not to be missed. If you have a tween daughter, she'll need tissues near the end of this one.

Stage Door Canteen-Once upon a time, Hollywood celebs were real people who supported-not hated their country. In World War 2, they danced with and entertained GI's just about to ship overseas to fight in the war. Definitely a three hanky movie-lump in your throat, wave the flag, patriotic kind of movie. The list of celebs in this movie is very long, approximately 30 to 35.

I'll post more later if there's interest.

Winter 1970-71 Central New Mexico

It was 38 below zero (midday) when we responded to the fire call. Upon arrival, we found fire coming from every window and through the roof. We hooked up to a hydrant and made a strong external attack. It took about half an hour to knock the fire down to where we could make an internal attack.

The front door had been weakened by the fire, kicking it open was actually rather easy. Just then, the roof collapsed. All that water we had been putting on the roof shot out the front door like a tsunami. I was at the head of the hose crew, I got drenched.

Soon after, we called the fire out and got ready to leave. I was already a little disoriented. We drew straws to see who sat where on the truck (I ended up on the tailgate). Halfway to the station, deep into hypothermia, I fell off the truck. I remember walking in circles and thinking about sleeping. A cop found me and took me home. My mother put me in the tub. She started with cold water and slowly raised the water tempature so I wouldn't stroke out.  

About that same time, I was reading about global cooling in the papers and issues Congress were mulling over to deal with it, like relocating everyone in Minnesota.

April 2007

Al Gore becomes a Hollywood sweetheart as he picks up the Oscar for his Global Warming mockumentary. I'm shaking my head in disbelief that people could be stupid enough to:

A) Listen to this false prophet

B) Pay money to see his "work"

C) Actually, give him the hour or so to see such trash.

The entire premise of Global Warming is based on a series of satellite pictures taken of Antartica from 1975 to the present. Yeah, the ice shelf was bigger then, it was freaking cold back then. With this as their basis, I'd like to ask:"Where are the satellite pictures from 1776? 1400? 1215? 1066? Don't have them you say?"

Imagine turning in an anthropology paper with the title "A Comprehensive History of Mankind Based on Pictures Taken in the Last Thirty Years". What kind of grade would that paper get?

To the global warming crowd I ask:"Where is your evidence?" "Where are your hyperaccurate tempature readings from specific points on the planet for the past ten thousand years?"

The evidence, is at best, incomplete. Your thesis is based on speculation only with no scientific basis whatsoever. Your grade: F 

I have written to my State Rep and State Senator on this subject and have yet to hear back from them on this subject.

60-70 years ago, it was common for three generations of one family to live together in one house. After WW2, the multi generational house gave way to the nuclear family, but in the multi generational days, when Bobby A. wanted to marry Susie B. down the street, both families "investigated" each other. The investigation usually determined if Bobby was worthy of Susie, and vice versa.

In the nuclear family, there was feelers put out by the families and it was actually rare for strangers to marry each other. When the divorce rate climbed, this support net fell apart. When people marry nowadays, often they don't really know each other.

Right now, I'm watching a subordinate of mine suffer. She married a man with 50 to 60 thousand dollars of debt (most of it child support). This slug (he's not even a man) rarely holds a job more than three to four months and he flirts with and chases women half his age. The first few years of her marriage, she worked 10-20 hours a week of overtime, and still her quality of life slipped. As of present, they are living in a hovel, driving a beat up old truck, and they don't have water (and probably no electricity either).

I strongly feel she should divorce this loser, but even if she did, today, it would take years to rebuild her credit. I feel for her, but as her employer, I can't tell her the truth and best advice for her, even if she asked.Therefore, I feel the state should enact a protection clause, sort of.

When people marry, all you need are two consenting adults, a license, and  someone authorized to perform the ceremony. I strongly feel that the state should require, in order to get the license:

A) Criminal Background Check. Is the person you are marrying a fugitive? What has he/she not told you? This should be out on the table, in perfect view.

B) Credit Check. Are you marrying someone whose smarmy eyes are on your paycheck? Have they told you everything?  Do they owe the State of Iowa 20k in student loans and another 20k in child support?

C) STD check. Marriage is supposed to be about monogamy, right? If you suddenly come down with Chlamydia, where exactly have you been, or your spouse?

Thing is, these three protections can be the basis should divorce be down the road. "Hey, I was STD free until stupid brought it home" or "Yeah I married a wife beater with 40k in debt. I wanted to live dangerously. Guess I have no one to blame but myself."

A lot of marriages happen with the blessing of the church. I think it's irresponsible for a church not to require this when they marry two people. For a church to assume a wedding is only divinely inspired and a merging of two souls is immature, irresponsible, and non pragmatic. Churches should require these checks as, "hey, you could get married down the road, but this church takes serious the bonding of two people, so we are taking this extra step".  

I feel the state should make this law, but the churches should take the lead.

There is a lot of discussion going on right now about whether or not McCain and Obama should have debates, how many, and where. Actually, I propose that there be only three between now and November, and with a catch-

I'm tired of seeing candidates in front of partisan audiences, fielding slow pitch softball questions from their favored partisan. Since McCain and Obama are not the favored candidate of their particular party, I'd like to see dems and GOP excluded from the audience. Instead, the audience should be filled with really ticked off Libertarians who will give the candidates a right toasty grilling that will tell us just who is qualified for the job. I'd like to see questions like:

Senators, why are you against domestic drilling?

Senators, just who in the Middle East are you cozy with that you can't see the interests of Americans first?

Senators, explain to us, why we, right here, and right now, shouldn't hang you for treason?

Perhaps I am spoiled because I began my rock concert watching career in San Diego. In San Diego, most rock concerts take place at the Sports Arena. Compared to Reliant Stadium or the Astrodome, the Sports Arena is tiny by comparison. One huge advantage the Sports Arena has is that it's centrally located.

San Diego has an extremely effective mass transit system. Comparing the system in San Diego to the one in Houston is like comparing a Rolls Royce to a beat up Ford Pinto. You can go just about anywhere in San Diego and easily find access to a bus or light rail train. Concert going is made easy by taking a bus or light rail.

Add in that the Sports Arena has a gigantic parking lot. If you need to drive, because you're going to party later, the Arena parking lot is just right. Transportation was one of the two major issues heavily neglected when the Cynthia Woods Pavillion was built in the Woodlands.

The other neglected issue is that only a thousand seats aren't outside. Lets see, Houston has a long humid summer and it rains an average of 48 inches of a year. Whomever thought sitting outside in torrid heat while facing a good possibility of a downpour wasn't thinking when the pavillion went in. Perhaps this person was an outdoors enthusiast, or perhaps they had never ever ventured outside Houston environs, for comparison, when they conceived the pavillion. I mean, I don't know about you, but I don't think sitting in a hot downpour, outside, is a great thing when taking in a concert. I much prefer, sitting inside, when taking in a show that I've paid somewhere from 50 to 100 bucks to see.

When the Astrodome became available as a year round venue, I thought:"What a marvelous way for Houston to show the world what a concert venue should look like." I even wrote in to Ken Hoffman at the Chronicle. He printed my letter, but replied that they couldn't sell enough tickets to justify the cost of using that place.

An epiphany has come to me. The same manure for brains folk that run Houston metro, who think Howdy Doody is still on TV, are obviously the same ones who lack the vision for concert venues. On that subject, several years ago I read that George DeMontrond was on the Metro Board. Having a car dealer on the board that finds transportation solutions for Houstonians is very much akin to having a heroin dealer running a rehab clinic, but I digress.

I propose a very radical solution for Houston's problems. Since the same old, same old, backwards thinking politicians just aren't getting it done, how about a whole new direction? Every year, the Metro board should be made up of a panel of college students-upper classmen I think, with a prerequisite that they have traveled outside of Texas to compare and contrast. The same should be done for County Commissioner Court. These are the folks who keep thinking that downtown is the solution (politically correct solution) for every entertainment issue that comes up.

So, how do you sell 50,000 tickets for the average concert? It's called marketing. Let the market dictate the prices for the 20,000 seats closest to the stage. For the upper terrace-every seat-19.95, and for nosebleed section tickets-9.95 each. My college degree isn't in business, and I got it figured out. Why can't Jerry Eversole and his cohorts do that? I forgot, Howdy Doody is on TV.  

Spring 1991

As I packed my subcompact for the move to Houston, I had to make a choice between putting a microwave, or a TV set in the backseat. "A man's gotta eat I thought", so I packed the microwave. My present employer had paid me so badly that I felt I was working for charity, and an employer in Houston was going to pay me at least twice what I was making-easy choice. Bill collectors had knocked on my door, so making the move and working overtime would solve my cash crisis by winter. So, off I went.

I relied on the radio for my news of the world. Of course, in the evenings, sports talk dominated the AM radio dial. I would catch the news at the top of the hour and turn off the radio as soon as I started hearing the idiots asking the same question over and over:"Do you think Warren Moon will get four hundred yards this week?"

"These people seriously need a life" I thought.

October 1991

The Soviet Union crumbles. The Cold War, which had raged unchecked for more than four decades was now coming to a very dramatic ending. Just two years earlier, we had seen the citizens of Berlin tear down the Berlin Wall. Now, I heard on the radio, Russian tanks had circled the Russian Parliament. Something world shaking was going to happen. I stayed close to the radio for any developments. What do you think I heard?

"Do you think Warren Moon will get four hundred yards this week?"

GIVE ME A BREAK!!!

I went out to restaurants and bars where I knew there was TV sets. What do you think was on TV? That's right-Sportscenter.

Spring 2008

My employer was giving me  a lot mixed shifts-day shifts mixed with evening shifts. I can't watch TV at work, but I listen to the radio. I catch a mix of FM radio, but I stick close to AM Radio when breaking news is going on.

Micheal Beary was on a roll. He was working the news item about Rodney Johnson being killed and it was interesting. Going into his last commercial of the hour (before the Astros game started), he promised to wrap up his hour long rant. I was looking forward to this and stayed through the commercials.

When he returned from the commercials, he took a call from a listener who went on and on about how great the Astros were and at one point used the word "We" when he spoke about the possibility of a pitcher being in the game.

"Wait a minute" I asked myself, "is this one of the Astros he's talking to, or a coach on the team?"

No, it was just a diehard fan.

Where do fans get off thinking they're on the team? When the team wins, the team wins, not "We".

I do like to watch college football. I have a few favorites. When they win, that's great, but I don't die on the inside and sulk when they lose, and I certainly never ever use the term "We" when I speak of any of the teams.

I know that there are people who have lifelong season tickets for whomever their favorite team is. I know that there are teams happy for those diehard fans who provide a cashflow so that these teams can continue to do their thing. It's a symbiotic relationship, but I just don't get this lifelong devotion thing. "Never judge a man until you've walked a mile in his moccasins" I am told, but I just don't find any sympathy for the lifelong fan.

Maybe someone can enlighten me.

In 2007, the rock and roll world was shaken to learn of the suicide of Boston lead singer Brad Delp. Unlike some young celebs of today (i.e. Lindsay Lohan), Brad didn't seem to have a lot of troubles. The band Boston has been touring of late (unlike much of the 80's and 90's), so the death of Brad left a void.

In 2008, Tom Scholz, founder and leader of the group, found a die hard fan whose vocal range closely matches Brad's. This new singer has been practicing with the band in preparation for their summer tour. I think Tom missed a giant opportunity, but first let me explain a couple of things:

Classic Rock. A genre of music (1964-89) whose composers were inspired by classical composers (i.e. Beethoven, Handl etc. ) who composed during the classical era of music (1750-1800). The song usually starts with an intro, then goes to the body (first and second verse) and is connected to the third verse with a musical bridge. The song then ends with a coda.

I'm a HUGE lover of classic rock. Classic rock, because of it's depth and commerciability, will endure into the ages. Symphony orchestras have already performed symphonic versions of songs written by Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, and Deep Purple. Tours by classic rock bands like Pat Benatar, Styx, REO Spedwagon, and Starship have become a summer staple. The music is enduring, but aging Baby Boomer musicians in the afore mentioned bands have left me to wonder about who will carry the torch once key band members start dying off. This is why I feel that Boston lost an opportunity to not only add a demographic, but also have a new member not nearing retirement age.

Don't get me wrong, the new singer for Boston has great vocal range, but he's also around forty, give or take a few years. As he was sitting for interviews next to fifty something year old Tom Scholz,  I began to wonder about the endurance of the band. Fifty five year old fingers don't slide around guitar frets the way that twenty three year old fingers do.  Two of the Rolling Stones are past old enough to collect Social Security, the other two are very near that age. Two of the surviving Beatles are nearing their seventh decade. A number of boomer rockers have had hip and knee replacements. So, what, praytell, do I suggest to correct this? Sign new musicians dedicated to the music-allow me to explain:

In the 1960's and 70's, when we first fell in love with some of the great rockers, these rockers were young, and pretty. Sexuality goes a long way in selling a new act. Honestly answer this question: If you are going to plunk down 40-100 dollars to see a musical act, would you prefer to see a young talented artist (who plays the music you like) or a dried up geriatric who has trouble moving around the stage?

In 1983, when you saw Pat Benatar perform, you saw a high power show that lept seamlessly from song to song with the power and intensity that a talented twenty something can provide. In the present day, Pat still sings, but her songs have been slowed down and there are lengthy respites between songs. Do you want to see the slowed down show, or do you want to see a concert not unlike the 1983 show?

I think Boston should've hired a pretty, early twenties singer who moves around stage and works the audience. Then, as other musicians leave the act, bring in young musicians signed on to do the music as is-as a tribute band would. It is time to pass the torch to a new generation, a generation who can do the music the way we love, with the power and glory that is classic rock so that this music-which we love, will continue into the future for generations to come.

In December of 2001, after I had started my fourth decade, I learned I had Hyperlexia. Hyperlexia is one of the higher functioning types of Autism. The sufferer cannot understand abstract concepts, cannot read body language, and does not take social cues. Hyperlexia wasn't even recognized until 1995, however, in 1968, a remarkable woman recognized I had a disorder and she took steps to drastically improve my life.

I had flunked out of first grade. In summer school my teacher was Pat Heth. She recognized that something was wrong-something she referred to as "Edison Syndrome". Named after Thomas Edison, she told me that I functioned on a higher level than my peers and I was therefore not understood. She began running vocabulary drills on me and continued to do so all summer. At the end of the summer, she drove me, sixty miles roundtrip, to a testing center. She then told me I was functioning on an eigth grade level. She had changed my life forever-for the better.

[ Pat Heth went on to become County Clerk, mentored my older sister-who succeeded her in office, became Chief of Staff for Senator Pete Domenici, and later founded a lobbying group in Washington D.C. She is truly a remarkable woman ] 

I spent most of second grade in the corner because my teacher didn't know what to do with me. My teacher would hand me large adult novels, which I had to read and write book reports on. Among those books was In Cold Blood and The Onion Field Murders (Truman Capote was huge in the late 60's).

I spent most of third grade arguing with my teacher. He was an illegal immigrant (went to college on a minority scholarship) and he had problems  with language. We disagreed on spelling and correct pronunciation.

Continuing my precocious ways, I disagreed with my fourth grade history teacher (if Ritalin had been around.....). She had blown through her material with six weeks left in school. Uncertain what to do next, she decided to teach Spanish. I actually had a copy of fourth grade curriculum and I told her she couldn't do it. She went to get the Principal, but I stood my ground (I was being tutored in German by Pat's husband because my grandmother had moved in and she spoke mostly German. I knew I couldn't learn two languages at once). I spent those six weeks doing book reports, again.

In fifth grade I had one of the most humiliating experiences of my education years. My passion had become the Titanic. I read every book and encyclopedia that  referenced the great ship. It was thirteen years before Bob Ballard had found her and I had set my goal as being the first one to find her. One day, when my teacher had time to kill, he went around the room and had everyone tell what they would do when they grew up. When I spoke about the Titanic, my teacher, trying not to laugh, said:"Where do you think you'll find her? Besides, she's too deep to be found." He started laughing and the class joined in.

Humiliated, I ran down downstairs. I was outside the office and crying my eyes out. The Principal found me and pulled me in. After my tears dried and I told him what happened, he transferred me to another class. That teacher never apologized, but he did shoot me looks everytime he saw me.

A similar experience happened several years later. Although Advanced Placement was years in the future, my junior high teachers held me (and a few others) to a higher standard. Our papers had to error free and we were often verbally held as the example to the rest of the class (leading to beatings by other classmates after class). My ninth grade government teacher took it one step further.

He had found a weekly current events quiz with point values (a game). Soon, he found out that  I could beat hundreds of students all by myself and he accused me of conspiring with Paula Castillo-who was in his first period class (truth was, I never talked to Paula because she intimidated the hell out of me). He eventually decided that when the game was played, I had to go to study hall to make it fair for the rest of the students. He did this in front of the class-continuing my social isolation.

By the end of that year I had the grades to get myself a private school scholarship. I soon found that private school teachers are like Pat Heth-they are interested in the student and interested in the student succeeding. My private school teachers made time for me, huge chunks of their afternoons, tutoring me in subjects that I had difficulty with. I learned, that for the student interested in the future, especially a student with special needs, private school is the way to go.

Not everyone can afford private school. Some parents are actually interested in the futures of their child. Some parents can't afford full private school tuition, but can afford partial. Therefore, on the behalf of one who suffered through the chaos that is public school, I urge one and all to support school vouchers. Send a message to the NEA and and public schools that their monopoly of tyranny and incompetence is over. The future of our nation depends on our youth, who deserve a chance at a good education. Public schools aren't cutting it anymore. It is time to cut their load to where they can handle their class loads.

When schools compete academically, we all win.

Tropical Storm Aurthur forms- Ridin The Storm Out-REO Speedwagon

Obama Leaves Church-No More Mister Nice Guy-Alice Cooper

Texas return sect kids-Hell is for Children-Pat Benatar

Space Shuttle Takes Off-Major Tom-David Bowie

Stock Market news-Hey, You, Get Off Of My Cloud-Rolling Stones

Mars Lander news-Rocket Man-Elton John