My Fair Lady

I am one of the lucky ones. I have been married once, to the same woman, who has also been married only once. We are celebrating our 18th year of marriage and have been together (as in a couple) for 20 years this coming January. We started dating shortly after I got out of the Army and I proposed Memorial Day weekend of 1987. We were married in October of 1988 after I finished my degree at UT. We never lived together until after we were married which again is a rarity from what I understand. Being married for 18 years seems to be a rare thing these days and to the same person even less likely.

Many of my oldest daughter’s friends are from split homes. They all float between parent’s houses in another state from weekend to weekend. It is hard to keep who is where straight but thanks to the instant communication device of the cell phone, it has become easier to track people down. All of her friends seem to be well adjusted and take shuffling like it is a normal fact of life. For them I guess it is. It is hard for me to imagine having two sets of parents. I realize that I got them after I was married but it is a different kind of parental set. We have a generation of children whose view of parenting is much skewed from that of the children of the 70’s.

But I have been blessed with someone that shares my goals, dreams, and temperament. We have had one real fight in 18 years and that was on disciplining our first dog. I knew that we needed to get her (the dog’s) attention to stop her from tearing up the house and my wife disapproved of my method. I did what I thought was right and the dog’s behavior changed. It was not that I wanted to win the fight, I just wanted to correct the dog. Maybe that is the key to a successful marriage. In a loving relationship, it is not about keeping score and winning. It about sharing and making sure you put those you love before yourself. My father gave me some words of advice when I started dating my beautiful wife. He said, “Treat her in the manner to which she is accustomed.” I know at the time he meant financially, but I have come to understand that it is a mix of emotional, financial, and spiritual well being that makes it truly successful. Of course finding the right girl also helps.

Icool

Cobb

A Day In A Life

As I start writing this entry, I realize that I have been posting for a year. August 31, 2005 marks my first entry on this page. Well, since this is not a leap year, I am still officially one day short but what is 24 hours between true friends. I would love to be able to say that I have had a revelation over that period of time but that would be misleading. What I have experienced is the visualization into words my reaction to the events in the world around me. It has helped me to cement my view of how things are and also to grow as a Christian. When you see the way people treat each other, you realize that there is so much more to do.

We celebrated my son’s 11 birthday earlier this month and had the grandparents over for cake and ice cream. We were talking about high school reunions and how much my mother and mother-in-law enjoyed seeing their school mates. They were very enthusiastic about seeing people they hadn’t seen in years and said that they had changed significantly since graduation. All the people that were preps, or jocks, or partiers had all mellowed with age and made an effort to be genuinely friendly. I explained that I did not care if I ever saw anyone from high school again. I did not enjoy the experience and had few pleasant memories of those four years. I went on about how the school bully and his sycophantic friends used to torment me by throwing food in the cafeteria, dumping my books and just harassing me. That bully had been injured on an oil rig after graduation and was now a quadriplegic and I gleefully exclaimed that he got what he deserved. As those words came out of my mouth, I realized that I hated someone who had not thought about me in years and that I had a problem, not the other way around. That was my revelation about Christ and forgiveness.

I had heard that the bully had passed away so I will never be able to ask for his forgiveness for harboring those thoughts. I have since forgiven him in my prayers and asked for God’s forgiveness for feeling that way toward someone for so long. I can feel the weight of that emotion lifted from me and although I have not changed my mind about high school, I feel more positive about seeing my class mates. Whether I attend another high school reunion remains to be seen. I guess maybe I should have titled this a year in a life. So much has changed but so little is different.

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Cobb

Mr. Blue Sky

If I was to put together a list of fun songs that I would play if I was a little blue, this would be on the list. Mr. Blue Sky has that up beat tempo and the lyrics are all about how things are right with the world. It was certainly the highlight of ELO’ 1977 release, Out Of The Blue. Jeff Lynne always had a flair for writing songs with that feel good sound. That ability is reflected on the Discovery album and the soundtrack from Xanadu. Other songs that I would include on my make me happy CD are Jungle Love by Steve Miller, Does Your Mother Know by ABBA, Sun Arise by Alice Cooper and Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Queen. I am sure that I could fill up a CD with music.

I have recently recorded my CD’s on the computer and listen to them while I play computer games. It is like listening to my favorite radio station without the commercials. There is about 40 hours of music recorded and you can listen for weeks and never hear the same song or start off on the songs you want to hear. Ain’t technology grand.



So without further adieu, here are the lyrics from ELO and Mr. Blue Sky. Someday I figure out how to attach the music.



Sun is shinin' in the sky
There ain't a cloud in sight
It's stopped rainin' ev'rybody's in a play
And don't you know
It's a beautiful new day hey,hey

Runnin' down the avenue
See how the sun shines brightly in the city
On the streets where once was pity
Mister blue sky is living here today hey, hey

Mister blue sky please tell us why
You had to hide away for so long
Where did we go wrong?

Hey you with the pretty face
Welcome to the human race
A celebration, mister blue sky's up there waitin'
And today is the day we've waited for

Hey there mister blue
We're so pleased to be with you
Look around see what you do
Ev'rybody smiles at you

Mister blue sky, mister blue sky
Mister blue sky

Mister blue, you did it right
But soon comes mister night creepin' over
Now his hand is on your shoulder
Never mind I'll remember you this
I'll remember you this way

Mister blue sky please tell us why
You had to hide away for so long
Where did we go wrong?

Hey there mister blue
We're so pleased to be with you
Look around see what you do
Ev'rybody smiles at you
Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba
Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba

Icool

Cobb

Tea And A Slice

The freshman class of Bowling Green State University showed up for their first day of campus life last week. That first big day in both a student and parent’s life. The big step into the future for one and the last real grasp of the parental control for the other. The internet news has been awash with blurbs on the new college dorm room, the cost of living on campus, and the affordability or lack of for college tuition. Of course tuition is only part of the cost. There are books, lab fees, parking fees and the expense of either commuting or living on campus. College in the 21st century is like buying a house for my parents. It is their first major investment in the rest of their lives. It is also a burden that my generation was not forced to undertake.

College has become the grail in the march to get a good paying job in the United States. One of the biggest criteria for candidates looking for jobs in the business world is do you have a degree? The run of the mill places are not overly concerned from where you got your degree or your GPA. If you are looking at a specific job that requires the prestige of an Ivy League school, there is a different set of rules but for most Americans, a four year (five year) degree will suffice. What it is coming down to is how will it be paid for? We have saved some money for college for each of our children. It will not be enough to even cover a year’s worth of expenses at this point but it is seed money. There are other things they can do to speed down that road toward the American dream.

I worked part time at United Parcel Service when I went to school. They have programs where they will cover part or all of your tuition depending on what local school you go to. Plus you have the added benefit of making a decent wage, having medical coverage and you work at night so it does not interfere with class schedules. I also spent three years in the Army and contributed to the college tuition program. When I finally exited, I had $27,000 for school. Now that may not be the best plan if you hate hot weather and sand but it is an option. You can get an Associates Degree at a community college and get the crap classes out of the way for a lot less cost. You have an Associates Degree and you can take your advanced classes at a four year school and get your degree that way. There are scholarships, grants, and the dreaded school loans. Any and all combinations of these will work. If you can get in with a business that has tuition reimbursement, you can get your degree while you work and get the two for one. It answers that age old question of how do I get a job without experience and how do I get experience without a job. The American dream is not dead, it just requires a little forethought and planning. Maybe that is one of the courses they should teach before you go to school.

Icool

Cobb

First Slice Of Vincent

"Leaving Lepidoptera - please, don't touch the display, little boy, aha cute! Moving to the next aisle we have arachnida, the spiders, our... finest collection. This friendly little devil is the heptothilidi, unfortunately harmless. Next to him, the nasty licosa raptoria, his tiny fangs cause creeping ulcerations of the skin. And here, my prize, the Black Widow. Isn't she lovely?.. and so deadly. Her kiss is fifteen times as poisonous as that of the rattlesnake. You see her venom is highly neurotoxic, which is to say that it attacks the central nervous system causing intense pain, profuse sweating, difficulty in breathing, loss of consciousness, violent convulsions and, finally.. death. You know what I think I love the most about her is her inborn need to dominate, possess to the smaller and weaker male of the species. In fact, immediately after the consummation of her marriage she kills and eats him - oh, she is delicious.. and I hope he was! Such power and dignity - unhampered by sentiment. If I may put forward a slice of personal philosophy, I feel that man has ruled this world as a stumbling demented child-king long enough! And as his empire crumbles, my precious Black Widow shall rise as his most fitting successor!"

For anyone who has followed Alice Cooper, this should be an obvious connection. This is the opening monologue The Black Widow from Welcome To My Nightmare is a delight to listen to and exposed another generation to Vincent Price. He was later exposed to the next class of music aficionados when Michael Jackson had him do a repeat performance on his Thriller album (yes album). Of course Alice was a pioneer again.


Alice has been doing his usual summer tours and still puts on a great show. I heard that he is going to be opening for the Rolling Stones sometime soon. Of course the Stones are hailed as the gods of rock and roll both for their longevity and creativity but I think that their overall impact on the art of rock and roll pales in comparison to Alice. The makeup, the theatrical shows, the shock rock and general pushing the envelope made him an icon that inspired numerous beginners to pursue a career in the musical arts. Here is the rest of The Black Widow. Enjoy!


The Black Widow

These words he speaks are true we're all humanary stew
if we don't pledge allegiance to the black widow
The horror that he brings the horror of his sting
the unholiest of kings the black widow
Our minds will be his toy and every girl and boy
will learn to be employed by the black widow
Love me yes we love me
love him yes we love him
love me yes we love him ahahahaha
He sits upon this throne and picks at all the bones
of his husbands and his wives he's devoured
He stares with a gleam with a laugh so obscene
at the virgins and the children he's deflowered
Love me yes we love me love him yes we love him
love me yes we love him ahahahaha
Our thoughts are hot and crazed our brains are webbed in haze
of mindless senseless daze the black widow
'cos these speaks he says are true we're all humanary stew
if we don't pledge allegiance to the black widow
The black widow

Icool

Cobb

When The Dryer Doesn’t Work

We have had diminished capacity on our dryer for some time. When we moved into our house almost 3 years ago, it took about an hour to dry a load of clothes. As each year progressed, it started taking longer and longer until last week I would put clothes in for 70 minutes and then repeat the process. Since they were coming out hot, I knew that the heating element was not the reason. The clothes were still coming out damp and I knew that something else was wrong. The vent line runs from the front of the house, through the ceiling tile in the basement to the actual outside vent in the rear of the house. It is a good 40 foot run of tube. Since the house is about 10 years old, I can see how it could be getting clogged with lint. What I found in the conduit was not what I expected.

First, I pulled the dryer out and checked the line from the back panel to the floor. It has a little lint in it but not enough to cause the clothes not to dry in more than two hours. So, Joy and I trekked downstairs and started looking at the length of vent line. We started at the obvious place where is vented outside. It was hooked up and appeared to be working correctly. We had left the dryer running and I was hearing a thump on the ceiling tile so I took it off. The dryer vent dropped down and was sagging into the basement ceiling. I had found something. I wasn’t sure what at first. After poking my finger into the pythonic bulge, it was full of water and I could hear the air from the dryer burping through. The first thing to do was drain the water.

So I poked a hole in started draining into a bucket. Once the water stopped trickling, there was still a mushy blob in the tube so I opened the hole wider. Solid blobs of juicy lint started falling from the enlarged hole and I had soon torn the hose almost in half. It was disgusting. If there had been a smell you would have sworn that it was a dead possum or rabbit. But it was just blobs of water soaked lint. I checked further down and found another sagging piece and knew that the whole length would need replaced. I went to my handy dandy Lowes and picked up 25 foot of metallic hose, metallic duct tape and two clamps. After an hour and a half we managed to replace the worst of it. The dryer now blows through to the back and can be felt on the skin. I do not know how that much water got into the dryer hose. I can see my son and his 10 years old buddies squirting the garden hose into the vent opening and thinking it cool. I may never know but at least my clothes will be dry and we can get laundry done in a day instead of a week.

Icool

Cobb

House

It has taken a few years, but I have finally found a television show that I could put in my weekly routine. After a significant hiatus from making shows worth watching, one of the networks (FOX) have surprised me by making a medical drama that is gritty, topical, and goes totally against the grain of how you expect your doctors to act. House is a refreshing television show where the main character is a lovable, manipulative ass that insults his patients, walks with a cane, belittles his co-workers, is addicted to pain killers and is an extremely flawed hero. Finally someone who is not perfect physically, not telling us how we all need to be perfect based on their sense of right and wrong. Dr. Gregory House is played by Hugh Laurie who is probably best known as the dad in the Stuart Little movies or Jasper in the live action 101 Dalmations. House tells it like it is and lets the chips fly where they land. Getting the patient well is more important than the rules, hurt feelings, or stepping on toes.

Yes, it is only a television show that has a script and actors supposedly playing real people. So I know that it is all fake and that House and the cast of characters he spends his quality time with are only as real as the show writer’s imagination and the actor’s ability to convey the character. The daily lives of these characters are compressed into one, maybe two hour segments that show the range of emotions each is going through. Knowing all that makes me want to watch television even less but sometimes a show just catches your attention and grows on you.

Now the reason I found it is the network changed the broadcast time from 9:00 PM to 8:00 PM. I am normally getting ready to settle down for the night around 9:00 and the change has opened up an opportunity for me to waste an hour watching the idiot box. I thought that I was done being baby sat by a screen writer and a ensemble cast of Hollywood’s finest but I love well done medical shows and this is a good one. I am still a M*A*S*H fan, a early ER fan and now have another show to add to my list of favorites; House.

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Cobb

Frankincense

We three kings of Orient are;
Bearing gifts we traverse afar,
Field and fountain, moor and mountain,
Following yonder star.

We are all familiar with the gifts that the three kings brought to the Christ child; gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Of the three, gold is known in modern times as something of great worth. But what are the other two items that these kings thought worthy as gifts to the Son of God? I had a curiosity about frankincense so that is the topic of the day.

Frankincense is an aromatic resin from the aromatic Boswellia tree. Never heard of it. The name is reported to be a result of Frankish (French) crusaders returning to Europe. They brought the incense with them so it was the incense of Franks. Since the romance languages are all backwards, it translates into Frankincense when put in English. The name that is used in the native Middle East is olibanum.

It is produced by slashing the bark of the Boswellia tree and letting the sap harden. The tree is tapped 2 or 3 times per year with the last tap being the best resin. The resin contains oils that are steam distilled to produce the materials for perfume and aromatherapy. It is mainly produced in Oman, Yemen and Somalia.

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Cobb

Backing Down

Sometimes it takes a historical perspective to appreciate a true leader. When you look back at the Cuban missile crisis, I am sure that some Americans were ready to fold and let the Soviet Union base missiles in Cuba. Those Americans were probably wringing their hands and bemoaning the end of the world because President Kennedy refused to back away from confrontation. It is important to note that the nuclear devastation caused by JFK’s bold stance resulted in a substantial number of casualties. No wait. That was LBJ and Vietnam. Please note that I am referring to what I would consider a strong leader who happens to be a Democrat. Sadly, JFK and his brother Robert were both assassinated more than likely for double crossing the American mafia bosses. That is just my spin after looking at the probable list of candidates.

In our modern history, the other great leader was Ronald Reagan, who took the JFK stance one step further. He had the vision to see that the Soviet system was in shambles and knew that just a small push would topple it. He stood firm even through the cacophony of protests from all sides on the end of the world in a nuclear firestorm. Number of casualties from that crisis: one, the USSR. America remains the sole superpower both militarily and economically. America has always been successful when it has a leader committed to maintaining the course. The myriad of naysayers only want you to change your mind so they can accuse you of flip flopping. We all had a front row seat to a first class flip flopper in the last Presidential election. America chose the man who they knew would stay the course.

Now we have a President who is under siege from all sides on his policies. His rating is in the basement based on both domestic and foreign policy. Yet, employment is steady, jobs plentiful, economy is robust and life is great. What do American’s have to be upset about? We have the war in Iraq and troops in Afghanistan. This part of our Presidents policy is beyond question. We are fighting a war and to those who think otherwise, find a sky scraper and take up residence. You will get your turn in the plunge to Earth or the burst of flame as the jet fuel erupts into a ferocious explosion. Please start looking now because that is what will happen if we do not finish this war. The parts of our President’s policies that I think are flawed are his domestic ideas. He has spent more money on placating citizens that any President before him. His policy on immigration leaves huge holes in both national security and domestic programs. It is a shame that our southern border is so open and that the citizens of Mexico are very similar in looks to the terrorists from the Middle East. Lock it up and control the entry. And while you are at it, catch and export those here illegally back to their own countries. That serves to reduce the costs to our domestic programs which should be for American citizens. After all it is our money. If you want to come to America, do it the legal way. I welcome legal immigration. But our President has not shown a propensity to change his mind which on domestic policy will only end badly. I do whole heartedly support his stance on world terrorism. It has been almost 5 years and we are not backing down.

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Cobb

I’ll Wait For The Sequel

I say with pride that I have never seen the movie Titanic. It is at present the highest grossing film of all times with a $600,000,000 plus gross in the US alone. I remember going to the movies during the time it was released and hearing the buzz about how many times people had seem it. I was not interested in the film and went to see Krippendorf’s Tribe with Richard Dreyfuss and Jenna Elfman. It was surprisingly good although totally overshadowed by the monolith that was Titanic. But this is not a movie review. I just have had no interest in seeing the movie. I do tell people that I will rent it when the sequel comes out. Well, there is a movie Raise The Titanic but it came out in 1980 so it would technically be a prequel.

Another thing I have never seen is the World Trade Towers being hit and falling down. I know it happened but every time the media played those disturbing scenes, I changed the channel or just turned it off. With the movie about the 9/11 terrorist attacks debuting last weekend, it seemed timely to say that I will not be seeing the movie either. I am not one of these ride the fence Americans that one minute want to stop further attacks on innocent Americans and the next minute are screaming for us to pull back to become isolationist hermits. I know what must be done to stop this. History has shown the way to putting an end to terrorist governments and terrorist groups. Eradication! There is other way to silence the “would be” murders of innocent people.

I am still dumb founded that for several months after America was attacked, our nation found a way to get together as one nation. We had a clear direction as to what needed to be done to heal our great country. With the exception of Hollywood and the music community getting together to further expose themselves, we saw people genuinely helping one another. Now as the anniversary of 9/11 approaches, we have a nation of people that no longer understand the long and difficult path our nation is on. We have become a nation of Chamberlains, forgetting the pain of a few scant years ago in an attempt to placate the insane; wanting to forego the short term pain in hopes that it will go away in the long run.

Last week proved that the short term pain is only a glimpse of our future if we do not ferret out and destroy the rot that is trying to invade our way of life. So for those who are protesting the actions of our current President, go back and read what happened to Great Britain before, during and after WWII. See what a difference a strong leader a clear direction can do when given the chance to lead and not be continuously second guessed. Let’s hope I do not have to wait for the sequel.



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Cobb

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

Once again the subject of gays in the military is raising its ugly head. Young, fit men and women are going to recruiting stations to enlist and making sure that the recruiter knows their sexual preference. It is not something I would have blurted to a recruiter but there is no prohibition against straight men in the military. These young people are ensuring that the recruiter knows they are gay and therefore not eligible to serve in the US Armed Forces. It has been a long standing rule for the military to bar homosexual men and women from serving. Having been in the military, it is a decision I whole heartedly agree with.

The military is not what I would call the usual job. You start you military career by going through basic training. The primary goal of basic training is to indoctrination of the recruits to the military way of life. They break you down and then build you back up in the image of a soldier, sailor, airman or marine. This involves becoming very involved in the lives of those around you because you come to depend on them as part of the training. Now, you are in with a group of young men who eat, sleep, work, play, shower, and a myriad of other activities, together. You have to be able to focus on the task at hand and not be worried about whether one of your fellow troops is scoping out your butt. It makes most men nervous to think that another man is looking at them as objects of affection. In basic you get to handle M16 rifles and other firearms. It could be fatal if someone gets the wrong idea.

Once you get to you permanent duty station, there is a lot of free time. The phrase “hurry up and wait” actually becomes the surrounding culture. With free time comes what all young men like to do drink and carouse. This is the time when most of the don’t ask, don’t tell victims are exposed. They have the freedom to explore their lifestyle and normally get outed by someone in their unit. Since chasing girls is the norm for most young men, having someone that does not causes issues. Morale in the ranks needs to be maintained in the military. The Army is about discipline and following the rules and those that don’t are either encouraged to get on board or removed. You can’t have that aspect of the Army ignored. Without everyone following the rules, order does not last long. If there is some concern about how you are going to respond under pressure, I may not rely on you and that puts my life in danger. It defeats the goal of why we have an Army to begin with. A group following orders and functioning as one unit creates a formidable team. One cog out of step and problems begin.

So, don’t ask, don’t tell works for me. The Army asks that you follow their rules. It does not say that the gay cannot serve. It requires that they refrain from exhibiting their lifestyle while serving their country. That is more demanding than anything I can imagine.

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Cobb

A Thousand Words

It is time to once again focus on the practice of manipulation by the liberal mass media. There has been a swirl of stories about doctored photos of the Israeli incursion into Lebanon. The photographer of pictures discovered to have been altered has been suspended by Reuters news agency (I use the term news lightly). With technology being what it is, altering photos should be as easy as air brushing a Cosmo girl to get rid of a wrinkle or a pimple, so I wonder if things have been subtly altered for some time. But my concern is not over doctoring of pictures. That kind of manipulation can be ferreted out. I am more concerned with the content of what is being published.

It looks like every photo coming out of Lebanon shows the destruction caused by Israel. I have seen numerous shots of several people gathered around a woman who is crying. The implication is that someone in her family has been killed and she is mourning their loss. The women are always dressed in the typical peasant garb of what Americans would think of as Arab. There is always some other devastation in the background. It is so laughable. If the person truly lost a love one, they have my sincerest sympathy. However, there are too many of these pictures and they give the feel and appearance of being staged. Isn’t Hezbollah firing rockets into Israel and killing their citizens? Where are the front page pictures of that?

I am all for giving our media their constitutional rights. Freedom of the press is one of the unique American freedoms. What I don’t get is that our media, in an attempt to be “unbiased” to the world, ends up being traitors to the nation that provided their freedom. America has big shoulders and can withstand the onslaught but it does not help in our efforts to spread freedom to those oppressed nations. Americans are slowly responding by tuning out on those that demonstrate that they are traitors to our great country and by discovering when those traitors engage is acts of flagrant manipulation of the public trust.



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Cobb

In Order Of Importance

We all prioritize issues in our life. Depending on where you are at in your life cycle, you have differing sets of priorities. Infants are primarily concerned about getting something to eat, being picked up and held and keeping their drawers dry. On the whole, those are very simple demands and babies are very effective at making their demands known and getting them implemented. Anyone who has listened to a baby cry knows how effective it is. My 10 year old son has a completely different set of priorities. His major objective is to play and get out of chores. The demands of being fed and hugged are now secondary to the finishing of a ball game, riding his bike with his friends, or getting to the next level in the video game. As far as changing his drawers, I just wish he would lift up the toilet seat and flush.

Soon his priorities will be girls and cars. Then it will be getting an education which will be secondary to girls and cars but still a priority. Once he meets the right girl and settles down, he will be given a new set of priorities. Whether he figures them out for himself, (which is what I would hope for) or has them spelled out for him, he will learn that his spouse is now his top priority. When the children come, they will top the list of important things to take care of daily. It will become a balancing act between taking care of the spouse, the children, and himself. Each one will rotate through the number one spot depending on who screams the loudest. Undoubtedly, his will take a back burner, that is what a husband and father does. What little time he gets for himself, he will have to steal from someone else. Welcome to parenting.

When you finally get to that place in life where you are happy and content, where the dreams of youth are firmly out of reach and the expectations of the future can still be attained, you gain the perspective on what is truly important. Being happy with what you have and where you are is a big part of that perspective. Knowing that you are with the ones you love and who love you is another big part. It is realizing that winning the game does not involve having the newest, biggest, most expensive toys or getting to the top level at work. The people that really matter in your life do not remember the things you have or whether you are a big wig. They remember the quality time you spend with them, the way you treat them, and those special times when you make that connection. Concentrate on those who are important to you and not those external influences that seem to fluctuate in magnitude and you will understand the order of importance.

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Cobb

Democrats, Terrorists Cause Airport Delay

The war on fanatical Muslims intent on killing innocent people was elevated yesterday when British intelligence authorities foiled a plot to blow up several airliners. These terrorists use the freedoms that a democracy provides as the spring board for their attempts at murdering innocent civilians. It is the idea that they are using the same principals that they hate to attack us that drives me to the brink. I guess you always exploit the weaknesses in the system to your advantage. That is just how to foil a terrorist plot. Exploit their weakness.

The terrorists have to be extremely covert in everything they do simply because they are in fear of being caught. You know that what you are doing is wrong if you fear someone is going to catch you. That should be their first clue to stop. Unfortunately, someone has pumped their heads full of false religious fervor about their expectations when they get to Heaven. If they would take the time to read the teachings of their prophet, he has a different place for them to go. It is just that way with people who blindly follow without doing their own investigations. Sadly, we have people I our country who want to make it easier for these terrorists to stay covert. There are members of our own government and media that have sided with the very people that are trying to kill us to make their jobs easier. I thought our government officials were elected to provide for Americans, not try to get them murdered. And our media, instead of keeping us informed on the workings of the terrorists, feel the necessity to blather on about what our government is going to stop them. Sounds like treason to me.

All we would have to do is make an example of one of them. Jail the traitor on charges of treason and lock them in Guantanamo with the rest of his/her buddies. Let’s see how well they get along once the terrorists get to spend some quality time with them. I wanted to have them shot and drawn and quartered but that would make us no better that the terrorists who want to destroy our way of life. To make it even more interesting, the terrorists want to keep their civilization in the Stone Age with camels for transportation (for the peasants) and clothes styles that haven’t changed since the time of Christ. They are using all of the modern warfare applications like buying track phones in the US for their chips to send back to the Middle East to build bombs. And every time we start monitoring these terrorist activities, liberal supporters here in the US find some way to leak that information. Our President is show phenomenal restraint. I know that neither Abraham Lincoln nor FDR would have tolerated that behavior from his fellow countrymen. Of course, we won both of those wars.

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Cobb

Dancing With Myself

Great news on the country music scene. The girl powered super group, The Dixie Chicks, is so busy; they are taking a break to go to Toronto in September to support their documentary. It must be a great feeling to know that your music is so loved and appreciated that you need to cancel shows in America so you can flock to Canada to promote a documentary. But wait a minute; they are cancelling shows because no one is buying tickets. I can see those lovely ladies on stage, crickets chirping in the background or maybe a few lone Bush haters with Bic lighters swaying while Landslide permeates the air. Not a pretty picture or is it?

I know that this a kind of a repeat of my America Votes With Their Wallets piece but this time more shows have been cancelled and there was a great blurb about them fleeing to a foreign country where their music and talent is appreciated. No one loves a loud mouth traitor, especially America’s heartland. You can get away with making disparaging comments about our nations leaders on either coast and in most foreign countries but like the stories of the elephant, the memory is long.

Now the surprising thing about the Dixie Chicks side track to Toronto is that the documentary is called Dixie Chicks: Shut Up And Sing. I can only imagine what would be included in such an aptly named film. If only they had followed their own advice and shut up and sang, none of this would have happened and their phenomenal reign as the queens of country would have continued. Now what we get are three girls on stage dancing with themselves.

Icool

Cobb

No Dark Sarcasms In The Classroom

This was one of my biggest complaints when I was attending high school. There were several teachers that used sarcasm as a teaching method. I use the word teaching lightly as it was more a means of humiliation. One teacher would call on you and badger you to provide an answer to his incomprehensible question. When you finally stuttered and stammered out the incorrect answer, he would scream, “WRONG! WRONG!” Students lived in fear of being picked on in his class. I can tell you that it was not much of a learning experience.

I had another teacher that would pull the same kind of questioning routine but was much more subtle in his humiliation. He would make you come to the board and write out your answer and then pick it apart in front of the class. That was a refreshing learning technique and it made me want to study all the harder so I could be embarrassed more often. Teenagers are certainly sensitive to peer criticism. As adults, we get a little more thickness to the skin. It is the level of experience that comes with age that allows us to gain perspective on making mistakes.

Some adults never get past the terror of making mistakes in public. When we lived in Michigan, I was asked to be lay leader for our small Congregational Church. I gladly accepted. The duties were to greet the congregation, cover any announcements, give the children’s sermon, take collection and pray on it and read the Bible verse for that Sunday. It is so easy to get tongue tied and I often did but I was never embarrassed by it. Everyone makes mistakes and most people are just happy that they are not called on to be up there. I always enjoyed creating a children’s sermon or working through a prayer to thank God for the return of his bounty.

We all have to suffer through the teenage years and being embarrassed is part of that suffering. We should not have to endure the dark sarcasms from those who are responsible to teach us our daily lessons. Teachers leave those kids alone.


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Cobb

We Don’t Need No Thought Control

We have started getting the packets for school. Yes it is right around the corner. I am once again astounded by the fees I am expected to pay to a public school. My property taxes are astronomical but that does not cover the cost of my children’s education. We are to be at an orientation the week before school to get pictures taken, get class schedules and pay the fees. I would not mind fees for music, or art, or even a towel fee for gym. What I am getting is a fee for an English workbook or a math workbook. There are not even textbooks provided by the school. I am now paying for the educational materials as well as the education. What the Hell is up with that? At least with home schooling I can control the curriculum.

Where did the textbooks go? Why aren’t the tax dollars going for the books? It would appear that this is another opportunity for the school system to indoctrinate my children. Since textbooks are a static item and can be used year after year, they do not allow for changes in information and ideas to be easily affected. When I went to school, we had textbooks that were 10 years old. Gee, I am sure that math and grammar change a lot in 10 years. And since we were just getting out of Vietnam, our textbooks only went to WWII, the big one. It was a war that we won, resoundingly. It was a victory for America instead Vietnam which was a humiliation for our Armed Services. The Vietnam story is now a badge of pride for the generation that protested against it. They stopped a war and do not even realize how badly they hurt American foreign policy and opinion. It opened the doors to the likes of Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein to flaunt their petty wants in front of the world thinking the US would do nothing about it.

It is messages like these that are being fed into my children’s workbooks. The socialist indoctrination where America is the bad guy trying to destroy the environment and dictate to the world. Heaven forbid that we try to maintain our way of life and the freedom we enjoy. Keep our children focused on the negative ideas of the socialist way of life. Help them to see that only through uniformity can we all progress. It is a load of crap. “We don’t need no thought control.” I understand that there need to be standard practices for teaching so everyone gets the same opportunity. But keep the social commentary to yourself and just teach the facts. I don’t want myth (global warming) or social perspective (Bill and Bob are room mates with two children) taught to my children.


Icool

Cobb

We Don’t Need No Education

From Pink Floyd’s music masterpiece, The Wall, comes that haunting phrase, “We don’t need no education.” Roger Waters, in his usual veiled style, hit the future of education squarely on the head. The American public education system was put in place to provide opportunities to learn for all children in our great nation. Since its implementation, it has gone into a perpetual slide into creating a group of mediocre, poorly equipped young adults, ill prepared to face the challenges of the future. It has also turned the teachers into a nest of liberal vipers, intent on turning our children into right wing environmentalist kooks.

My two oldest children were forced to sit through modules on the pseudo science of global warming. I agree that there is such a thing as global warming because there is evidence of ice ages and I do not see any glaciers in my back yard. However, forcing my children to watch Hollywood’s version of man’s destructive power, makes me believe that there is more on the agenda than science. My oldest daughter did the family proud. She prefaced each response when asked a question with, “The myth of global warming is…” She also asked her teacher which was the most abundant green house gas. He said CO2 and she pulled out the scientific evidence that it was H2O. He begrudgingly agreed. This is one example of the attempt to create a group of children that despise what man has accomplished and the attempt to plant the seeds of socialism into our youth.

When I first heard Another Brick In The Wall Part 2, my thought was that his grammar was incorrect. My second thought was this was a horrible message to be giving to children. Telling them that an education is not important is a terrible thing. My third thought was that this was a brilliant commentary on the modern educational system. By using poor grammar and telling children that education is something they do not need, Waters uses his amazing powers of observation to get at the heart of the matter. All children think that school is lame. Most children do not see the benefit of the education they are forced to endure, some to the point of dropping out and destroying the primary opportunity to get ahead in life. Those children that drop out are the ones most in need of finishing and seeing the myriad of pathways that are available. Unfortunately, many end up on the continuing path of incarceration.



Another Brick in the Wall Part 2

We don't need no education
We don’t need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone
Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!
All in all it's just another brick in the wall.
All in all you're just another brick in the wall.

We don't need no education
We don’t need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone
Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!
All in all it's just another brick in the wall.
All in all you're just another brick in the wall.

"Wrong, Do it again!"
"If you don't eat yer meat, you can't have any pudding. How can you
have any pudding if you don't eat yer meat?"
"You! Yes, you behind the bikesheds, stand still laddy!"

Thought I’d something more to say. Ah

Icool

Cobb

Political Correctness Part II

What galls me most about political correctness is the method of enforcement. In order for people to refuse to accept responsibility for their actions, they resort to politically correct phrases. Yes, I am fat and losing my hair and I do wear glasses (contacts now) and I am not the sveltest person. I can live with that. I do not need to be coddled into thinking that being overweight is a good thing or that losing my hair is not natural. We have been bashed over the head by marketing and advertising, that things that are perfectly natural are somehow abhorrent. It is what makes us great, our differences. Somehow, we are being corralled into thinking that being the same is what is important.

Phrases that used to be the norm are now considered insulting or cause for litigation. We have developed a new way of talking to people based on not wanting to hurt their feelings. Sure, some people are sensitive to something they feel is lacking. Most people don’t give a rat’s rear end about the way people talk. Give it to me the way you see it instead of tip toeing around the subject. PC has made everything take more time. It sounds like somehow the union rep got involved and the time study was thrown out because it expected someone to actually work for 8 hours. Sorry that is a manufacturing analogy but it works just the same. The same people who are complaining that their brethren are being asked to actually work (hello GM, Ford and DCX hourly employees) support the party that has pushed for everyone to be the same. Smells like communism.

I guess that is what political correctness is. It is a natural extension of Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto. Make everyone the same and eliminate classes. Everyone including those people who are too lazy to work would share in any benefits the system produces. Of course there would be no benefits because there would be no desire to work your butt off so someone else can benefit from it. The only way to get anyone to excel would be by coercion. But that would imply that they are better than someone else because you are paying greater attention to them. What a funky house of cards. I wonder if Karl Marx knew what he was doing when he opened the door to liberal ideals. That he is embraced by those who lack the vision to see that rewards are what keep people motivated and that the road to stagnation isn’t paved. I prefer pavement to potholes.


Icool

Cobb

Political Correctness Part I

Please do not call me fat. I am not fat, I am calorie challenged. Do not call me balding, I am follicle challenged. Do not call me four eyes, I am visually impaired. Do not call me lazy, I am athletically disenfranchised. All of these afflictions have one thing in common. They are all appearance driven. We have become super sensitive to the way people see us and do not want to be presented with any negative self image remarks. Bull shit!

I had a chat with my doctor about my weight the last time I was in. I initiated it because I wanted to exercise and was asking for any suggestions on the best approach to eating right and working out. After answering my questions, he commented that he does not bring up weight issues with patients as a rule. Many people do not want to hear that they are obese and resent the doctors implication that they are over weight. I have even heard that doctors have been warned not to tell people they need to lose weight for fear of lawsuits. A doctor should not have to tell you that you are overweight. Look in the mirror or just see the water displacement when you get in the tub. I disagree with the medical definition on the weight charts because to get to the weight I am supposed to be, I would be freakishly thin. A little meat, looks good. Those people who are at modeling weight, at least in my opinion look like they are next in line for immigrating to Ethiopia.

Now I do not believe that name calling is nice either. You should never treat someone who was born with a defect with any less respect than you would expect. Whether it is mental or physical, calling them a retard or flipper boy is demeaning. But using the phrase retarded should not be considered as insulting. Their mental functioning is retarded. Calling someone a cripple sounds insulting. Cripple has connotations that go beyond the physical condition. Physically handicapped to me is acceptable because they are not able to perform in a normal manner. Of course the word challenged seems to be the preferred method of describing the condition. I can’t wait until that takes on a negative connotation.

I have much more to say on this but will save it for a part II.

Icool

Cobb

The Weatherman

It is hot. The temperatures have been in the 90º + range for the last 5 days and is expected to continue through late this week. The heat index is in the 100º + range and it has blanketed the entire mid-west. I went for my walk this morning and it was still in the high 70’s at 5:00AM. That coupled with the high humidity made this morning’s walk uncomfortable but not intolerable. With no sun beating on you, it is much easier to keep a cool head, so to speak.

Now this is great if you have a pool or a pool pass. My kids all have access to the Perrysburg pool and I would have expected them to be living there the last few days. There seems to be a disconnect at my house as the children are choosing to stay in the air conditioning as opposed to getting out and staying cool. It could be the fact that it is a 15 minute bike ride to the pool and they do not want to get all hot and sweaty just to swim. That would only make sense for the trip home.

Since I do not watch the evening news, I have no idea what the area weather presentation personalities (since you cannot call them weathermen any more) are saying or predicting. I do know that the radio news is telling area residents to stop opening fire hydrants because it causes issues with water pressure. I am not sure I would want to stand in front of a fire hydrant. All of that pressure would most certainly knock you to the ground. It could just be the novelty that is driving the use of fire hydrants. After all, most of us see them as something to mow around instead of safety tools. So stay cool and relish the summer’s radiance. It will give you something to reflect on in January.

Icool

Cobb

Reruns

During the sweltering heat of last weekend, I spend a few hours flipping channels in the air conditioning. I came across a channel that was showing M*A*S*H reruns and put the remote down. M*A*S*H was a staple of my television viewing diet both on the air in its original broadcasts and on the reruns before the evening news. It was one of the rare shows that my entire family would sit together and watch. In the course of watching the reruns over and over, I started to memorize episodes and could quote much of the dialogue. I can still, after 20 years, quote a few of them.

I had one of those flashbacks while watching this episode. It was after Frank burns had left the show and Colonel Potter was firmly in charge. Hawkeye is trying to keep an officer that is using his men as cannon fodder by giving him fake appendicitis symptoms. He figures that he can stop some of the killing by keeping this officer off of the front lines during the next attack. Hawkeye gives the officer something in his drink, diagnosis him and then performs the appendectomy. He gets back to the swamp after the surgery and says to BJ, “It was pink and perfect and I removed it anyway” or something close. The look of remorse on his face for breaking his doctor’s oath made you realize that he knew he was wrong. The war would continue and men would keep dying, no matter what Hawkeye did.

Although the actors from M*A*S*H ended up to be mostly Hollywood liberals, the show almost always provided a strong message about man’s reaction to his surroundings. Hawkeye was faced with making a decision on how to stop bloodshed. He had several decision trees to follow; to act or not to act. Once he chose action, he had several different avenues to take but ended up with an invasive procedure that took the officer out of action for an extended period of time. It was probably the longest term he could create given his circumstances. Right, wrong or indifferent, he acted. Unfortunately, it did little good in the long run and proved to be a poor solution to the immediate problem. It was a decision that he immediately regretted. Of course that is television but M*A*S*H did a great job of showing off the emotional side of being human. I know I’ll watch the next time I see reruns.

Icool

Cobb