Last fishing trip of the season

If I were a poet, "A Blessing" is what I would say.  I envy so ~ those who possess the ability to "word smith".  All I can come up with to express my thoughts on the last cold day of the fishing season on the St. Joe river is, I step into the ice cold blue  of the upper St. Joe. The air temperature is 29 My nubbins are in danger! Somehow these Gortext waders are not going to "do". And, the Neoprenes are safe at home in dry storage. When younger  I would have remembered. When younger I wouldn't be so cold. We might have known as we grew older the seasons would somehow seem "shorter". But colder  as well?!! Not fair. It's over. Some how this does not compare to "A Blessing".  It was a blessing I made it home with out freezing to death. ;-) A Blessing by Ken Hada After three days of hard fishing we lean against the truck untying boots, removing waders. We change in silence still feeling the rhythm of cold water lapping thankful for that last shoal of rainbows to sooth the disappointment of missing a trophy brown. We'll take with us the communion of rod and line and bead-head nymphs sore shoulders and wrinkled feet. A good tiredness claims us from slipping over rocks, pushing rapids � sunup to sundown � sneaking toward a target, eyes squinting casting into winter wind. We case the rods, load our bags and start to think about dinner. None of us wants to leave. None wants to say goodbye. Winter shadows touch the river cane. The cold is coming. We look up into a cobalt sky, and there, as if an emissary on assignment, a Bald Eagle floats overhead close enough to bless us then swiftly banks sunward and is gone. "A Blessing" by Ken Hada from Spare Parts. © Mongrel Empire Press, 2010 Hope all is well on your side of the mountain, Skip, Gordon, Dad, et. al.

Firings

So NPR is going through it's, seemingly, monthly fund raising and all you hear is the reaction to the recent firing of its conservative reporter, Juan Williams.  Cries are now being heard to remove the federal funding of  NPR.  Prior to the Williams firing, the high profile firing was that of an administrator for the department of agriculture, Shirley Sherrod.  Several other high profile firings have occurred in recent months, but unfortunately they do not come quickly to mind.  However, they all seem to have one common denominator, namely, the manner in which the firings were made and the public reaction to the firing.  They were high profile cases.  Without discussing the merits of each case, my question(s) for the day or if you want to call it my rant for the day is simple.  What has happened to "civility" in our society?  What has happened to "due process"?  What has happened to respect for the dignity of our fellow man?  What has happened to the simple rules of management that require all facts of a particular case be gathered and analyzed before a decision is reached and that you always treat your fellow employees with respect?

Even if the facts of the case merit dismissal.  Slovenly behavior does not beget slovenly behavior. For an executive of a National Organization such as NPR to state on national television that she regrets the manner in which Williams was fired even though she still believes his actions warranted dismissal is unconscionable.  I would assume a national organization such as NPR to have a public relations department.  Maybe they should fire all members of that department!  One can only conclude that they were not consulted.

To expect respect, you must show respect ~ and that includes those persons with whom you disagree on particular political issues ~ even if those views might some how warrant dismissal.  In the Shirley Sherrod case it proved to be true that her statements were taken out of context and that her dismissal was not warranted.  Even if the facts supported dismissal, the manner of firing was done with complete disregard of the personal dignity of Ms. Sherrod.  I don't blame her refusal to accept reemployment with the Department of Agriculture.  I wouldn't want to work with colleagues that demonstrated such behavior either.

As to Williams, I am not sure that his actions warranted dismissal.  I recall an airplane trip to Sofia, Bulgaria from Frankfort, Germany where I was extremely nervous as I viewed the apparel of the passengers around me.  Perhaps a different situation from that of the one that Williams was describing, but none-the-less the description of a "feeling" one has in a particular situation.  I certainly do not agreed with all that Williams believes and oft times states.  Perhaps, other actions of his added to the decision to dismiss him.  However, common dignity would, in my view, require something more than a short telephone conversation stating dismissal.  I don't know all the facts.  But, at this point it would appear that no one else does either.  What a public relations disaster this is!

My rant for the day.  No one will read this.  But I got it off my chest. 

Recession and changes in philosophy

So...I'm listening to NPR as I am eating my South Beach Diet Breakfast of eggs and meat for the upteenth time, and the lady on the radio is interviewing a paint contractor in Ohio.  Seems business for him has really been bad the last couple of years and they were discussing what he has been doing to earn a living and survive.  He says, "I have had a hobby and love of juggling so I decided to pursue that vocation on a more full time basis."  He said he was not able to earn as much money as he did as a painting contractor but that he felt much more fulfilled with his life.  She said, "oh, how is that so?"  He replies, "it has allowed me to become more at one with my balls."  She says without missing a beat, "oh, so you now have a feeling of serenity and completion?"  He replies, in a voice you have to have heard to appreciate, "yes".   To which I thought, Geeze, things have changed.  I've had that feeling for the best part of my adult life and all I ever got for the philosophy was "critisicm and grief."  Maybe, some good is coming from this dang recession.

Just another day in paradise.

Zippo lighters

Rose's recent Facebook post re: smells and Kay's memory of Zippo lighter smells reminded me of the smell of lighter fluid as well.  It reminds me of my friend Al Johnson.  It conjured up lots of memories, actually.  Unfortunately, almost everyone smoked. ;-)  Including my Dad who, thankfully, quit in his late forties or every fifties.

As I read Kay's post I thought "wouldn't it be nice to have one of those old Zippos".    I goggled Zippo lighters and found pages of reference.  Little did I know that people collect old Zippo lighters!!  The human animal is able to "gild almost any Lilly." ~ if you get my drift.  Prices did not appear on the first page I "clicked".  Date of manufacture did.  So I says to myself, "self, 1957, my year of high school graduation, seems like a year of great significance.  Let us see what an actual 1957 model would cost."  $260!!!!  Geeze, I guess I will be going for the replica model @ $14.95.!


As further commentary as to why the smell of stale beer and lighter fluid combined reminds me of Al Johnson, I offer the following explanation. Al was our wrangler on the 4K dude ranch and my room mate though out high school.  We shared the same cabin on the ranch ~ probably the seed of my latent streak of independence.  Al was a fairly heavy party-er; most of the time without me, but some times with me.  He was "into" it much more so than I.  At any rate, after a really hard night in the sauce, Al would come home to the cabin, crack open a beer, and go to sleep.  I would awake to the smell of stale beer and Al drinking the before opened beer while lighting a cigarette with his "Zippo" lighter.

He claimed the practice of drinking a stale beer the morning after did not let allow a hangover to occur.   I actually liked the smell when I was sober and would some times share a drink of the stale beer with Al to start the day.  However, when I, occasionally, got a little into the sauce myself and Al insisted I practice the stale beer prevention program myself,  I have to admit all it did for me was to "speed up" the vomiting process.  It really bothered me!  Hell, I didn't have to drink the stale beer.  All I had to do was wake up and smell the stale beer!  I'm sure the combined smell of stale beer, tobacco smoke and lighter fluid would have killed me.  I never found out because I was out the door and in the pasture vomiting my socks out as soon as I smelled the stale beer.


Ah yes, the stuff of which memories are made.  If you want a genuine replica of an old Zippo, you can find one at,

USA Lighters - Zippo - 1941 Replica #1941

A steal at $14.95!