Karma

As many of you know, I spent a number of years in emergency service. Along the way, I had an idea for a "better mousetrap" to assist rescue personnel in performing their jobs in a faster and safer fashion. Realizing that I had neither the time nor the equipment necessary to manufacture this item, I chose to share the idea with a long time friend that just happened to have the key components that I was lacking.

After countless hours of discussion, fabrication and experimentation, a prototype was developed, which I then took to the field to give some real world testing and experience. By virtue of my job, the "mousetrap" got some remarkable hands-on experience....and the feedback allowed a variety of subtle changes to be made to refine and define the device. It wasn't long before the product was ready to be marketed to the rescue community as a quick, quiet, simple and stable safety innovation.

Shortly after the launch of the device to the rescue community, I was involved in an accident which would forever alter my life. I really had no idea at that point in time that I would never be able to go back to the job. It wasn't long after the accident that the other party involved in the "mousetrap" project showed up at my house. He thanked me profusely for all the hard work I had done on the project, but said he didn't think it would ever take off, particularly without my time and effort to show the device off and instruct people in the proper operation.

At that point in my life, I had to distance myself from the job that I was not going to be going back to, simply to maintain my own sanity. I had to focus on my life as it was going to be and not how it was. Needless to say, I didn't think much more about the strange visit, the possible death of an idea or anything beyond trying to get my own life back on track.

Flash forward to last week.....I am finally comfortable with dealing with the old job. I started doing some reading on rescue operations and was surprised to read a glowing review of my "mousetrap" from a respected national publication. Further research lead me back to the manufacturer's home page. There is much ado on the page about the company's Christian values and integrity. Imagine my surprise to learn that the idea for the "mousetrap" came to my friend "in a dream". The dream showed him the need for the device, the exact components needed and why it was almost a miracle! Seems a wee bit odd to be extolling the virtues of high moral fiber, honesty and Christian belief while stabbing a "friend" in the back.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not as bitter as I sound, I just think it is wrong to refer to the person responsible for this as "a dream". What is really important is the fact that emergency responders now have a very capable, very affordable tool in their arsenal....which makes the job of saving lives much safer and faster. I wish them all the luck in the world and hope that many lives are saved as a result.

Memorial Day

Many folks view this weekend as simply the unofficial start of summer, a time to fire up the grills, dust off the patio furniture and enjoy the great outdoors with family and friends. All of those activities are fantastic ways to enjoy the warmth of late spring, but none of them could take place as we know them without the sacrifices made by our brave men and women in uniform.

Originally known as Decoration Day, the Memorial Day holiday first commemorated the deaths of soldiers from the American Civil War. Flowers or wreaths were placed on the graves, followed by singing, sermons and then a picnic. First celebrated in Waterloo, NY on May 5, 1866, the holiday gained national prominence as a result of the friendship between General John Murray of Waterloo and General John Logan, Commander in Chief of one of the earliest veteran's organizations, the Grand Army of the Republic. On May 5, 1868 Logan proclaimed May 30 Decoration Day...to be celebrated annually in honor of those who made the supreme sacrifice.

The name Memorial Day came into use in 1882, but it wasn't until after WWII that it gained widespread acceptance. In 1967, federal law officially amended the name to Memorial Day. In 1968, the Uniform Holidays Bill established a series of three day weekend holidays and Memorial Day was officially designated as the last Monday in May. Many people feel that the rotating date and three day weekend status has cheapened the holiday. There is currently a push among veterans' groups to have Memorial Day restored to a single day event, celebrated on the traditional May 30th date.

Tradition has the American flag flown at half-staff from dawn until noon. During this time many communities and veterans' groups hold parades and ceremonial wreath layings, followed by the playing of Taps and a 21-gun salute. At 3 p.m. local time, a national moment of remembrance is held. Many veterans wear a poppy on Memorial Day in honor of the WWI veterans commemorated in the John McCrae poem "In Flanders Fields"

In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Enjoy your start of summer picnics, family gatherings and social happenings...enjoy the traditional Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600, baseball games and other sporting events. Just don't forget to take time out of your busy schedule remember the real reason why you are celebrating the day. You might not be able to attend a tribute at one of our many National Cemeteries, you might not even be able to attend a local memorial ceremony, but please take a moment to remember those who gave their all to protect our rights and freedoms.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

On a daily basis, lifelong citizens of the United States and specifically residents of North Carolina line up at the DMV office to get a driver's license. Without fail, they are subjected to abuse and humiliation at the hands of the DMV staff....a barrage of foolish questions, a list of absurd requirements longer than the average giraffe's neck. Birth certificate, Social Security card, your last 86 utility bills, your mail for the past month, notarized statements from 10 relatives and 50 strangers that you are exactly who you claim to be are all going to be needed before the clerk will even look at your application.

Standing in the line next to you is a very nervous young man, whispering to his companion in muted Spanish...."I've only been in America for 12 hours, will they really give me papers?" "Don't worry" mumbles his friend in broken English, "they don't even question people that are obviously Mexican."

The lifelong NC resident is sent home for additional documentation. The illegal Mexican immigrant is handed a driver's license and voter registration card. The DMV clerk says to the illegal in perfect non-English...."Early voting has begun, if you need transportation or help getting to your voting place, just call the number on this card." ??????????????????????????????????

Are you kidding me?

Tiger Woods

Call me naive. Call me out of touch. Call me whatever you wish, but I just don't understand the media fascination with Tiger Woods' private life. The man is a golfer, not a head of state, not a researcher on the verge of curing cancer.....just an athlete participating in what at best could be called a fringe sport.

Why does anyone think he owes them an apology? Why do you think that he needs to explain his actions any more than Joe Schmoe living next door to you does? Why does the news media seem to think he needs to justify his private life to the people reading this? Do any of you feel that you need to confess your private affairs to him?

It really is amazing that people seem to think they have some inalienable right to know what goes on behind every closed door in the world, and yet, they would be absolutely livid if anyone wanted to scrutinize their intimate actions. Isn't it about high time we accept the fact that people have sex, that people drink, that people smoke and that people do thousands and thousands of actions each and every day that simply are none of our business? Knowing which direction a celebrity wipes their backside does not make me a better person, nor does it make me more worldly or intelligent, it just makes me creepy. If we put half the effort into constructive activities that we put into finding ways to expose people's flaws, the potential for making the world a better place is mind-boggling.

Think about it...if we exerted the same amount of energy tracking Osama bin Laden that we do stalking Tiger, do you honestly think he would still be on the run? Let's get our priorities straight and focus our attention on things that actually matter.

As a somewhat related aside, I have an acquaintance that is constantly reminding me that he is a "good Baptist". For a long time, I wondered exactly what that meant. Now I have the answer. To be a "good Baptist" in Asheville, you just need to drive to Hickory or Spartanburg to hit the liquor stores and lottery retailers....and whatever you do, avoid acknowledging people that act like they think you are their next door neighbor!

The Latest Politically Correct Insanity

Friday morning has come and gone. Tiger has issued an apology to the world, but the burning question remains....WHY? Whatever his foibles, whatever his transgressions, they have no bearing nor do they concern you, me or anyone beyond his family and the families of the other people involved. Perhaps his corporate sponsors feel they are due one...perhaps even rightfully so, but that could easily have been done in private, beyond the prying eyes of the world.

Tiger Woods is a man, nothing more, nothing less. He isn't a god, he isn't the President of the United States, he is simply an individual that plays golf and plays it extremely well. Unfortunately, much of the world seems to have lost track of this very important perspective. If Tiger has a bad day, makes a mistake or even fails to win....the world is not going to go to war, Armageddon is not going to be triggered, nor is life as we know it going to end.

Honestly, can any of you say you slept better Friday night in light of Tiger's public humiliation?