I have decided to refocus my blogging efforts and will be looking at tips, tools, tricks and anything else that I think may be of interest to bloggers.  One of the first rules you hear in blogging is to find something that you enjoy and then focus on it.  This increases the odds that people will actually read and subscribe to your blog.  The reason is simple, they know what to expect.  I've taken some time to explore the internet and blogs and have decided that I will focus on blogs.  I am patient, curious, and enjoy exploring the internet.  I will post items that I hope will enhance your blog experiences and make your blog journey more fun.

        

I usually don’t find myself at a loss for words, but this bailout request by the auto industry is getting me close. If you don’t mind, I’d like to pose some questions and maybe get some feedback.

• Does the government have a right or obligation to provide financial support to non-governmental entities?
• Should the government become an active participant in the business if they have a financial stake?
• What sort of consequences will be agreed upon for the leaders of the companies if they fail to achieve agreed upon results in a specified time period?
• Should a moratorium be imposed on manufacturers saying that new research and development be frozen for a specified period of time?

Now that I’ve asked the questions, I have to ponder a bit.  I like new cars with all the latest in gadgets and technology, but is it possible that this is part of the problem?  If I recall properly, Henry Ford once said you can get a car in any color you want as long as it’s black.  Sounds boring, but it makes sense.  It has to cost a lot of money to research, design, test, and build the latest and greatest.  Unfortunately all of this has to add dollars upon dollars to the cost of new vehicles.  Maybe we have to demand that Detroit focus on getting back to the basics of running a profitable business and in return the Americans will slow down the demand for technology.  Honestly, do we really need a car to park itself?  If you can’t park without technology, then perhaps you should not be driving anyway.  If we do not change our expectations as consumers, then we cannot expect the auto manufacturers to change the way they do business.

        

Well, it's official.  The government announced today that we are in a recession.  As a matter of fact the recession appears to have begun in December of 2007.  It seems incredible that a matter of such importance could take a year to determine. I have to admit with a bit of skepticism that perhaps the government didn't knew earlier and just realized today  leading to the announcement.  Would an announcement a month earlier have impacted our recent presidential election?  I doubt it.

Let's think about it.  I'm assuming that I am an average American and I had this funny feeling that we have been in a recession for several months.  I don't think I needed to government to tell me that I could be in for a rough ride.  I noticed every time I filled my car up with gas.  I noticed rising prices at the grocery store.  I noticed people losing their jobs and unemployment claims raising.  I noticed people losing their homes.  I noticed major banks going under.   Americans realized the economy was sliding and an anticlimactic announcement tends to harden a belief that our government is lethargic and not responsive to the needs of our population. No, the lack of announcement did not affect the election.  It was affected by our wallets.

I am not willing to blame one party or the other.  I am not willing to blame one candidate or the other.  I think we worked as a team to enter this recession and we must work as a team to get out of this recession.  We are a strong nation with a heritage of survival through the toughest of times.  We will come out of this recession stronger than ever and when we do, let's demand our government be more timely and responsive to our well being.

        

Do you remember the classic movie called "A Christmas Story"?  It's the saga of a young man named Ralphie who desperately wants a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. There are actually many threads throughout the movie and recently I have begun to relate to the father who was played by Darren McGavin and affectionately known as "The Old Man".  He was a man who thought he was the king of his castle, but the kingdom was really run by his wife and children.

I've come to realization that I have become "The Old Man".  My wife and children humor me, letting me think that I am the leader and protector of the family.  Really I have become a barometer of sorts for the family.  They certainly respect my views and opinions, and they try to humor me, letting believe I am strong and can do anything for my family.  Of course reality is not the same as my selfish perception.  My family are smart, strong, independent individuals who could run their own kingdoms.  It the truth be known, their kingdoms would probably be run better than mine.

My saving grace is that I have earned the role of "the Old Man" in my family.  The role is almost like receiving a get out of jail free card in Monopoly.  You can say something that doesn't make sense, yet the family smiles and agrees with you. You can laugh at your own jokes, that aren't really funny, and they will laugh along with you. You can go somewhere new without directions and they will grimace, but not complain as you drive in circles. You can even pass gas in public, and if it's quiet enough, they will act like they didn't hear it and just smile among themselves.  Life is good in my kingdom!

        

It sounds like I'm the announcer at a fight, but actually I'm thinking about Thanksgiving and all the food that will be challenging me.  You see, I'm  a little overweight according to government standards and I've been working hard to eat in a healthy, sensible fashion.  Heck, I've even been exercising on a regular basis.  It' actually been working, as I've begun to lose some weight and feel better.  I'm on a winning streak and then along comes a major gastrointestinal event.

Admittedly all is not lost.  All I have to do is pick the right foods and show some restraint.  Turkey is a great food.  It's  hard to lose with vegetables and fruits.  But the challenge is going to be tough.  Just the sheer amount of food can be intimidating.  Then comes along the food that will challenge me.  A little dressing is acceptable, but once I start will I be able to finish?  And mashed potatoes...  to me they are like candy to a child.  We all know desert will be present, the question is how many and how much.  Just when I think I've hit the limit and can take no more along comes a pie and my eyes continue to grow bigger than my stomach.

I've had time to think this through.  I know I can be strong and show restraint.  I can't let my discipline all go to waste.  The only thing I can say to my family chefs who plan on tormenting me with food for a king is - Let's get ready to rumble!

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I am pondering what the next year will bring us.  We have elected a new president and it appears that he is aggressively preparing to hit the ground running.  I'm guessing it makes sense to enter office loaded for bear, but it sure makes it a challenge for the lame duck  president and congress to get anything meaningful accomplished.  After all, who is really guiding the ship these days.  Are we being pulled by Bush for the remainder of his presidency or are we being pushed by Obama getting prepared for his?  I think many other people are wondering the same question.  Unfortunately the quandary of wondering who is in charge is causing our country to have a case of  "no accountability blues", you know, that disease where the finger is being pointed at the other guy and neither guy is getting anything accomplished.

Unfortunately I don't completely understand the disease and I certainly don't know the antidote.  I guess that's why I'm typing away here and not running for office.  All I know is the primaries and the election took too long and overly preoccupied our country.  You couldn't pick up a paper or flip the dial on the television without being assaulted by campaign rhetoric.  Too much public preoccupation with the campaign process led to a governance hysteria that is reverberating through our economy today.  Our elected officials lost a year of productive time governing while they focused on getting elected or re-elected as the case may have been.

Maybe it's time, during the waning days of the Bush term, to take a time out and ask the Congress to evaluate current campaign laws and create a system that does not allow our country to be governed by paralysis every election cycle.  If we could get this accomplished, then maybe Obama can hit the ground running and keep his focus.  It doesn't matter which party is in the White House, we just need to allow the person in the office an opportunity to govern, rather than spending their time planning the next election.

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Remember Alfred E. Neuman, the fictional character from Mad Magazine.  I'll always associate him with the phrase he made so famous - "What, me worry?"  Those words have been echoing through my head with the impending approach of Thanksgiving.  I know, why should I have any worries about Thanksgiving.  After all, isn't this a time to reflect and celebrate our heritage of survival.  If memory serves me correctly from grade school ,Thanksgiving was a time when the Pilgrims invited the Native Americans to share in the bountiful harvest and be thankful for those who survived the time in the New World.

Well, here's how Thanksgiving has evolved in my mind over the years.  My earliest memories of the holiday were going to my Grandparents home.  The kids would run, play, and get underfoot in general.  Our play would be punctuated by  a dead silence brought on by an outburst of curses from my Grandfather as he watched the football game de jour.  For years I thought that was what was meant by color commentary on sports.  Once we all worked out our energy, and my Grandfather settled his emotions, we would all gather for a big meal.  We did a little prayer, and the brave soul's would share what they were thankful for.  There was so much food, it felt like we were at the table for hours  I thought it was because my Grandparents were Czech and loved to cook and eat.  As I aged, I discovered that every Thanksgiving meal I would attend included an overabundance of food and an under abundance of thanks. I' m worried that maybe we're in danger of losing the true meaning of Thanksgiving.

This year I'd like to focus more on the "thanks" part of Thanksgiving and less on the food part. I've spent too much time this year worrying about things, and as Thanksgiving approaches I am committing to focus on the parts of my life that I can control and control the worry out of my life. I am thankful for opportunities that life has given me and think it's time to committing to paying it forward. After all, isn't that what the Pilgrims were doing in sharing the bounty of their harvest on that fabled first Thanksgiving?

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I can't even pretend to be a music critic.  For heavens sake I can't even read a note of music, can't carry a tune, and most people who've met me would agree that I am one of the most tone deaf people they've met. It's so bad that I've been asked to lip sync in church.  But be that as it may, I am going to put my spin on a Grand Funk Railroad concert that I attended November 22 at the Riverside Casino near Iowa City, Iowa.

So, I'm not a critic and I've admitted my musical inadequacies so how do I describe this for you.  It was surreal being in a room with a bunch of old people and then realizing that perhaps you are an old person.  My wife said she had never seen so many gray haired pony tails on men in one room in her life.  I was thankful that I'm a conservative short hair guy. But here's the beauty of it all, when the band took to the stage and started play we were all transported to our special place back in time.  For some of us it may have been the late sixties and for many of us it was the seventies.  Grand Funk played with an enthusiasm which reverberated throughout the room as the audience sang along, or in my case lip synced along.  The band played all of the standards that one would expect. 

Probably the most impressive part of the concert were the technical skills displayed by the band. Don Brewer on the drums was like the Energizer Bunny.  He just kept going and going.  His mastery on the drums was indescribable.   I would go to another concert just to see the solo he performed.  It wore me out just watching him perform and I'm younger than him.  I was also impressed with the play of guitarist Bruce Kulik.  The guitars were putty in his hand and he mesmerized with his performance. Mel Schacher on bass was a cool cat.  What else can one say about this founding member of the band. Tim Cashion seemed like he could have been an original member of the group with his great playing and vocals.  Lead singer Max Carl brought a lot of raw emotion to the performance.  Sometimes singing a song for the nth time can lead to a rote, boring performance.  But not in this case. If I didn't know any better, I thought maybe a few tears welled up in his eyes during some of the songs.

Grand Funk Railroad worked hard to get to the top in the seventies and they still show that same work ethic today.  If you get the chance to catch them on the road, do it!  You haven't lived until you've experienced an encore of  "We're An American Band".  As we used to say, it was cool!

Click here to go the audio page of Grand Funk Railroad and download some free tracks.

        

Wow, the title sounds a bit presumptuous doesn't it?   Like maybe my musings could grow into something that could grab your attention and add some spark to your life. Well, we all have to start somewhere and this is my spot.  I hope to be able to comment on my life and the world around us on a regular basis.  I am hoping that you will join me on this journey.  I plan to cover a wide variety of topics and promise not to get too serious.  As a matter of fact a little humor never hurt anyone. I'm actually hoping that this blog and your feedback will take me to places I've never been.  Please bookmark the site or take advantage of the feeds and join me as I begin this new journey.  Thanks for stopping by!

        

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