Today we mix it up a bit. Not a lot. A bit. That’s to welcome all the new readers to the blog, and the new fans on the Facebook page. Thanks for dropping by. I promise something special this Friday for all the subscribers to the blog and the Facebook page fans. It will not post here until next week late, if at all. Yes, some more arm twisting to subscribe to the blog (on the right is the box where you can do the deed. Please remember, you will be sent an email you must respond to in order to complete the subscription process) and weasel you into liking the Facebook author page. ‘Nuff said.
I am a raving loon for good comedy. Some of you may not like my choices, but then again I have virgin sailor ears – not much offends them.
That no doubt got you started. Next up on our comedic list is Rahn Hortman. I saw him in concert a while ago thanks to KTIS radio. What a great show. Clean, funny, outrageous. I had a chance to chat with him after the show. Very nice man. Here’s a clip of him doing his work:
Finally, the masters of the trade in one clip:Lucille Ball and The Three Stooges ***(WARNING – AUTOPLAY SOUND.(Don’t blame me if you get busted for surfing at work.)) This is an early appearance for Lucy – back when she was as glamorous as any starlet in Hollywood. The Stooges, of course, are cross-dressing. So what else is new?
This is a short tribute – next year will be amped up for the 30th anniversary. Today I merely present two new pictures that were sent to me this past year.
In the meantime, I’d like to present two of the crewmembers. Gentlemen, you are always remembered.
Craig Rudolph 1986. Photo courtesy of Tom LaLumiere
Richard Herzig (on right) onboard the U.S.S. Nimitz
Freedom is never free. I miss all of you.
LT Stephen H. Batchelder
LCDR Ronald R. Callander
AT2 Richard A. Herzing
LT Alan A. Levine
CTI3 Patrick R. Price
LT James D. Richards
CTI3 Craig H. Rudolf
John Giorgetti has graciously provided a picture of Patrick. He’s the gentleman in the middle of the picture. I recognize those other fellows as well. It seems we were all young and handsome once upon a time. I thank God for those memories, and John for this picture. Thank you, John
Patrick is the gentleman in the center of the photo.
My friend Amy Matayo frequently writes about the travails she faces in writing. One of her greatest laments is her wardrobe. Evidently, if I’m reading it right, she rarely goes beyond the yoga pants and a jersey level of dress. Given that Amy is beautiful, that’s not a huge tragedy. My writing wardrobe, on the other hand, scared the pizza guy pretty badly on Monday.
I understand why, and I apologize. You see, the corner of the room where I’m writing this week is pretty cold. It’s -6 outside right now, and there are two exterior walls within three feet of my chair. Mind you, there’s also a big radiator, but the cold walls are winning. Victorian houses have that lovely feature. I suppose if I turned on the fan over my head it would keep me a bit warmer, but I’m lazy and it dries my eyes out. (Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah. I know.)
I digress. The wardrobe for the day, the outfit that floored the pizza guy at the door, consisted of a pair of shorts, black tennis shoes with orange laces, a hoodie that says, “In God We Trust. All Others We Monitor” with my former rating insignia (CTI) emblazoned beneath the words, and my reindeer hat. Yes, I found it after I was pretty sure I’d thrown it away. Old Rudolph is missing an eye, but the thing is insulated and very warm. The nose was sticking out from under the hoodie, and my beard was tucked inside as well.
I regret that I have no picture to share with you of this illustrious addition to the long history of badly dressed authors. I will take a picture next time. It won’t be long, because I really like that outfit when I’m pounding out words.
Words. Lots of them lately. With the launch of Assault on Saint Agnes coming up on April 18, I’ve been working on getting reviewers lined up. If that includes you, as someone who’s either read a beta copy of the book, or a professional reviewer of books who would like to do so, please contact me via the comments tool. I won’t publish your information, but I want to make sure we connect.
I’ve also been working on not one, but six other books. Yeah, the brain is overfull these days and stuff is just screaming to be let out. Thankfully, my wife knows this is needed and lets me sit in my reindeer hat and bang on the keyboard.
I’ll have some more updates about the book in the very near future. Less than three months and counting.
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I have a favor to ask of my readers: would you kindly share this blog with your friends, family, and colleagues? We hit a million views in 2014, and while the readership continues a nice growth trend, it could be a lot better. Just hit the Facebook like button, share it on your timeline, tweet the blog with a link, and tell that person at the next desk that there’s this lunatic who writes about all sorts of stuff that they might like.
I appreciate your help. When we hit 2,000,000 readers I will give away something cool to a drawing from the subscribers (that’s the box on the right toward the top) who have helped promote this mess. No used sheets, probably not honey, more likely gift cards. Be a part of it. I’ll update from time to time where we’re at in the count. Thanks.
Yeah, like that will happen because some clown in Minnesota says it will. Nope. But the point of this blog is to offer my thoughts on it now that the furor has died down. It has been my experience that while everyone is in full-throat over any controversy the logic of the situation fails. I may be full of beans, but I do have some points that will make you think. Or, possibly, fling poo. That’s up to you. Just remember: I don’t print negative comments on the blog. That’s the great part of owning the keys to this thing.
Yes, even an uncultured Yankee like me knows that this is not “the” Confederate flag. But for purposes of argument, let’s pretend it is just that symbol. Because for 99.999% of the universe it is what it is and it’s the Confederate flag. It is also, whatever it is called, the flag that is creating a stink among many.
Ground rules: You can fly anything you want over your own property, put it on your vehicle, tattoo it on your forehead. Have at it. Confederate flag, Fozzie Bear, Hitler, swastika, hammer & sickle, five stars (Communist China), or your mother’s smiling face. That’s your business. Be prepared for consequences including public shaming (this doesn’t mean I’m playing the dozens on your mama) and ridicule. But it’s your property, so be free.
Now we’re down to a bit of the probably-revisionist history involved here in the real world. The simple fact is that after the Civil War, the winning side – The Union – was as tired of the fight as the losing side – The Confederacy. So rather than make a big stink about some states having it as a part of their state flag, and some losers (remember, they’d been beaten in battle) flying the flag, the United States turned a blind eye. It was much easier than occupying the whole south and dealing with an indefinite insurrection. Enough lives had been lost, and frankly most people up north didn’t really care that the black population was left to fend for themselves. Politics – it was as bad 150 years ago as it is now.
Fast forward to the late 1950’s and the emergence of the civil rights movement. Suddenly the flag was taken up by some chowder heads in a few places and made a symbol of racial oppression. To be precise, they were governors of the Democrat party. Not Republicans. In specific, they put the thing up to annoy the federal government. And to scare black people and northern liberals and college kids who came south to help organize the black vote. (That’s pretty loose, I’ll admit, but it does cover the major points.)
Now the thing is a big point of contention. And while many innocently viewed it as a form of ancestor worship, and historical significance, it was still the symbol of the losing side. I’m trying to remember how many other losing sides we let keep their colors… Well, I’m sure there are some. But you’ll have to go a long way to find a Third Reich flag flying in Germany. Out in the open at least.
Fast forward fifty years to 2015. It’s pretty clear that our fellow citizens with black skin don’t like the symbol. Not all, but most. Some people with white skin don’t like it either. Some, as a matter of fact most. But it’s not a big deal to most white people. Why? Because most northerners write it off to the south being a bunch of in-bred, ignorant hill-billies. Like it or not, that’s the way it looks from the cultural elite centers in New York and Los Angeles, and right here in my own neighborhood. Hard to work up too much animus about ignorant people.
Mind you, I know that’s not true, but perceptions are what they are. And the perception is that the Confederate flag that is shown above, and most of its derivatives, are viewed as symbols of oppression, racial hatred, and slavery by most black people. (I’m not black, but I do listen.)
So how about we do this: On private property fly what you want. On state property, and that includes license plates, school football rallies, school grounds, etc., you can’t fly it. The one notable exception would be national cemeteries. That is because members of the Confederate armed forces were deemed to be veterans of the United States of America in 1958. (Yes, even that is steeped in controversy, but let’s let it go – they’re all dead now. At this point, what difference does it make.) So if their great-great grandson wants to put up a flag the person fought under on the grave, let’s let it go. Please? Hassling the dead is a losing game.
Back to the present. I am not advocating removing any Confederate monuments. Most are to local heroes (yeah – again, let’s not quibble. Besides, some are fine statues) not to the cause per say. I think anyone that defaces those monuments is a disgrace. Please tell me what that accomplishes.
But it is wrong to continue to fly that flag from state grounds, school grounds, and display it on state symbols. Get a new design. Let’s get together. I have a lot of friends in the south, and I’m pretty sure that none of them own slaves. Or endorse slavery. Or are members of the Klan. Or any of the other reasons the south is routinely bashed.
We owe that to our black brothers and sisters. It’s not much. It’s an acknowledgement that we are all one nation, one people. Under one God. Pray for unity, avoid the taunts.
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I have a favor to ask of my readers: would you kindly share this blog with your friends, family, and colleagues? We hit a million views in 2014, and while the readership continues a nice growth trend, it could be a lot better. Just hit the Facebook like button, share it on your timeline, tweet the blog with a link, and tell that person at the next desk that there’s this lunatic who writes about all sorts of stuff that they might like.
I appreciate your help. When we hit 2,000,000 readers I will give away something cool to a drawing from the subscribers (that’s the box on the right toward the top) who have helped promote this mess. No used sheets, probably not honey, more likely gift cards. Be a part of it. I’ll update from time to time where we’re at in the count. Thanks.
I have been contemplating leadership issues of late. There seems to be a dearth of good leadership in modern America. Instead we have supervisors, managers, advocates, and charismatics. The actual practice of leadership is missing. I define leadership as inspiring the pursuit of excellence in your subordinates, peers, and superiors by sterling example.
Throughout my life I’ve been inspired not just by the people who were in positions superior to mine, but by those subordinate. Each of them had the courage of their convictions and the ability to do the right thing in spite of obstacles, objections, and fear of failure.
This era is apparently coming to a close. I look with dismay at Washington and my own state capitol where it appears I am viewed as a serf, not as their boss. Throughout the land we’ve produced a group of “leaders” who routinely lie to us, abuse their positions of power, and scorn the founding principles of this republic.
When the people try to seize the power and right the course of the nation, the press lavishes dirt and dismissal on their heads. “The leaders know best.” But do they? Are any of the current leaders in our political sphere truly there to lead us in our struggle to better this nation? Or are they lodged like splinters in your bottom, irritating and rough. Much like a splinter in your tuchus, it’s darned hard to remove them because they’ve lodged in a spot where you can’t reach most of them.
The incumbents in our land are sapping our strength as a nation. There are no leaders involved, more like leaches. Think for a moment about what you’d like to see in our government offices.
I would like to see people versed in the Constitution. People who are unafraid to say unpopular things because it might cost them their jobs. I’d like to see citizen servants return to the government as it was at the time of our founding. Until we institute term limits, something that “the leaders” all fight against, we will continue to provide glorified welfare for the political class in this nation.
Your job, as a citizen, is to seek these people out, require candidates for office to seek this course, and thrown them out when they fail as office holders.
