Always loved JEEPS

When my father came back from World War 2 in Europe, he made this plywood JEEP for me.  I was 4 years old in this photo.  This is my backyard in the Bronx, New York.  I have had a few other Jeeps since that time, but none of them were as special as my first"wheels".  It was powered by a 6 volt car battery and an old automobile starter motor hooked up to a fan belt that drove the rear wheels.  You can't tell in this photo but there was a big white star painted on the hood.  I don't think the helmet was very protective but it looked authentic.

I GAVE AT THE BALLOT BOX

There are some personal favorite charities to which I will always contribute.  Over the years I have given to many more causes because that was the "American Way."  I have even contributed to PBS.  After this recent presidential election I "got the memo" that the American people wanted the government to do everything for them.  The losing (L) party was more into private enterprise and philanthropy.  In the spirit of Kumbaya, i said to myself "If you can't lick 'em, join 'em." I have come to accept that it must be the government's job to provide everything for everybody, after all that was the platform of the winning party.  The natural corollary to that would be: therefore I don't have to send money to support any public-spirited causes except at tax time when I will send more than last year because of a tax increase and the government will support all the causes directly, like they support Planned Parenthood, and Big Bird.

So, when the United Way or Easter Seals, among others, send you requests for donations in the coming months, and your cupboard is bare and you have trouble making ends meet, and face higher taxes and overhead in your business, don't worry (be happy) that you can't contribute to these causes, the Government will step in and take care of everything.  I heard it from Axelrod, it must be true.  I was softening in my stance for a while until I went to my car dealer for a minor repair.  The bill was 2 1/2 times larger than it should have been and was eventually corrected.  We complained that this was not the first time and it suggested that this might be a business decision.  The service writer bristled and told me that ALL doctors are crooks, and that NOBODY is ENTITLED to make more than a certain amount of money under any circumstances.  Paradoxically, he worked at a dealership where the average car costs 80 thousand dollars.  So, I was jolted back to modern reality.  The people have spoken and the algorithm goes like this....  Private citizens make money, some way more than others, but that's not fair.  The government taxes those citizens at various rates and redistributes the wealth. We don't need any charities any more or charitable giving since the government will take care of everything.  And like the mythological perpetual motion machine, the system is self sustaining and will operate friction-free forever.  Unicorns and Lotus Blossoms are implied but not specifically mentioned  among the changes we are ENTITLED to.  

The SQUEAKY Wheel

The squeaky wheel gets the grease.  I have heard this expression all my life.  Of course it means that things and people get ignored if they are too steadfast and reliable.  It's the broken things that get attention.  We are taught, as the "Logical Song" lyrics say... to be reliable, clinical and to somehow fit in,  never needing to get any special attention, or be different.  Yet, as I look around the world with experienced eyes, it is almost always the outliers who rise to the TOP, while the reliable, predictable, dependable rise to the MIDDLE. Outliers go to jail sometimes but that is the risk, but even if that happens, there will always be some attractive woman who will be obsessed with marrying a man on death row so you will never be without someone who loves you, not counting Bubba, your cell mate.

Just think of the great  "Bad Boy" heroes of cinema, James Dean, Steve McQueen, or in music...Elton John, Madonna, any rapper who has to get arrested to have street cred.  For every Michael Buble' in a three piece suit, there are ten Axl Roses, and Steven Tylers who have risen to the top of their trade wearing feather boas and sequin gowns, knocking out the walls of hotel rooms.  Serial rehab attendees like Linsey Lohan, make the news. Angelina is weird in real life...have you heard? And she hates her father.

Even in families, it's the troubled kids that get the attention.  The A-students get a pat on the head and some attaboys, but the real time and attention goes to the truant, the one who has the weed in his pocket when mom does the laundry.  The same holds true for steadfast husbands and wives.  Family life goes along on an even keel and everything becomes more important than the spouse. He or she has always been there, so let's pay attention to stuff that could fall apart if not "greased."  I can always come back later to those constant and reliable things in my life, who like a cactus in a clay pot, never need any watering, or so it seems.  Getting a to-do list "done" and paying attention to the broken people and situations in life leaves little time to nurture the reliable, constant, dependable things.  That's probably fine if you are talking about your Toyota that needs nothing but an oil change every 15,000 miles, but even if people don't need fixing, they need some TLC, otherwise they may discover that they have to be broken and squeak in order to get the "grease."

The MICE have ROARED

The Presidential election has come and gone.  The people spoke and chose the status quo...Change we can believe in, whatever the Hell that is.  As a "Senior Citizen" I have lived on this planet, in this country, for almost my biblical 3 score and 10. Biologically I am irrelevant to Mother Nature since I am no longer inclined to reproduce the species.  Politically, I am a Brontosaurus, whose ideas of what America should be are as au courant as Alice Cooper's dress.  It's hard to blame people for picking ice cream over spinach as they just did. Taking the belt off and letting your pants fall to mid buttock level is certainly more appealing than belt-tightening.  Or so my observations seem to support.

I do not know if the huddled masses have made the "right" decision, only time will tell...time that Millenials statistically have more of than Baby Boomers.  I remember, vaguely, knowing more in my youth than I do now.  And retrospectively, many times I was right.  90% of the crap I learned in school NEVER was useful in my life or career.  Father DIDN'T always know best.  My world might have been better if I were not enculturated with the beliefs of the previous generation.  I stand aside now and watch with great interest as the country evolves under the guidance of a mixed-race inner city former drug abuser, who probably has a secret tattoo somewhere, that listens to Jay-Z not Jay and the Americans.  Who knows, it may be just what we need.  Then again, maybe the fools have elected a Prince.   Not my "Yob" to care.

This past election is my last election even if I survive another 20 years. I served my country in the military, and law enforcement, and I believe that I am my generation's version of a Good American.  Since change is so good, I will go with the flow and be an observer, learning rather than teaching, and adapt to what a good American is in 2012.  Pass the condoms, the Red Bull, turn up the volume on my 2000 Watt car stereo, get a few more credit cards, MAX them out, buy a house I can't afford, get foreclosed, blame someone else,  go to the unemployment office and sign up for 99 weeks of benefits, stop paying taxes, and play more video games.  Now if I could only go back to college (default on my student loan) and major in Women's studies instead of Pre-Med.....I could be on TV like Sandra Fluke (pronounced Fluck for obvious reasons). If my kids went back to Law School, they could prepare fot the future by taking a few courses in Sharia Law. I can always go back to Med School and learn to do abortions.  We'll make a bundle.  Then again most of it will go to taxes. Oh well, there's always California or Colorado and their medicinal weed shops ... I may need treatment for my glaucoma.  Ommmmmmmm.

ADIOS POLITICS, HELLO SOFIA

The Kitty and I put our hearts and souls into following the race for President.  We watched about 2 hours of FOX News every night.  In keeping with the aphorism "Know you friends, but know your enemies better" we also tuned into the other mainstream media channels.  We had convinced ourselves that the Romneys had at least a "chinaman's chance" of dispossessing the current occupants of the White House... Mr. and Mrs. Puff Daddy. We both believed that the entire future of the free world rested upon the outcome of this election.  If the incumbent won, we would turn into Vermont or Sweden and we could all go out on unemployment until QE45 made the dollar worthless and someone had to actually get a job.  Romney was the savior who would restore fiscal sanity to America and the chronically unemployed would somehow catch the fever and get retrained in high technology and prefer to earn a paycheck rather than get one from the government.   Prius cars would disappear from our streets and Coal miners could once again get black lung disease and be treated by private insurance.

We watched on election night as things did not go the way some of the pundits on FOX predicted, especially that blowhard Dick Morris.  There was no groundswell of Evangelicals and Catholics who hated Obama's stance on Abortion, Contraception,  and mandatory insurance that covers both.  The lines at the poling places in Dade and Broward counties looked like spectators queued up to get into a World Cup soccer match or a Beyonce' concert.  The incumbent's lead grew and grew all over America until it became obvious that the Great White Hope would not lead us out of the depths of depravity and socialism.  The power of the Magic Underwear was no match for Chicago-style lying cheating and stealing votes, and "Community Organizing." By 11 pm it was OVER.  We have not watched a single moment of Political news since.

There are several lessons we could have learned from this process.... Watch Sofia Vergara on Modern Family instead of Megyn Kelly on FOX News.  Politics imitates life...win any way you can because morality and decency are no longer a part of the fabric of America.  When the Save the Seals Foundation comes knocking asking for money to support their charity, tell them "You gave at the office... the IRS office." The people have spoken. They want government to solve all their problems and provide all their needs.  Let's me off the hook except when I pay taxes.  My recycling bin is right next to my mail box... how convenient when PBS and Planned Parenthood mail solicitations for contributions.