An Amazing Moment

I have been going to the local (franchised) Bagel shop for a long time now. One of the reasons I go to this specific place is because it is close to the Cathedral where my beautiful Runtyun sings for the choir. 

I have stated many times my opinion of the filter of organized religion on this and other places, so I will not do so again at this time. However, there is no denying the wonderful things parishioners have done because their God has deemed it right. The music alone, the way it wafts through the air and messages the ear is proof enough that a god exists and has direct control of our lives.

But, this is a discussion for another day. 

As I was saying, I was sitting at the shop when a wonderful lady walked in, in tow was an incredible little redheaded munchkin. I know it is corning, but this child is amazing. She is sweet and has not been infected by the cynicism so pervasive in more mature folk.

This corny little child saw me and my iPad the moment she walked in, yet she was smart. She waited for awhile before coming over to me. Eventually though, I saw from the corner of my eye a shadow slinking in my direction. I ignored her.

After all, I was in the middle of something. This logic did not work for an intrepid 2 1/2 year old with corn husk hair. She reached out to touch my computing space. I looked her in the eye and said that I was kinda busy, could she please wait a minute while I finished what I was doing.

Kids are wonderful beings, she persisted in trying to get my attention. I promised her that I would talk in a minute, but to please let me finish. I am not sure how she took it, but she left me with a smile that lightened my heart for a moment.

I finished what I was doing and found an image of an african dwarf frog and pulled it up. There was a movie too. My Runtyun had just invited two of these frogs into her aquarium. 

All of a sudden, through the corner of my eye there was a familiar shadow.

"Frog! Ribbit, ribbit!"

Being kind of a dolt, I was not sure what this amazing child knew, so I let her tell me what she wanted. She wanted to explore. Somehow she knew that my electronic thing could bridge gaps, bringing fun things to her. I don't think she had the sophisticated thinking to know how the flow of knowledge  my iPad could open for her. But her eyes filled with excitement when she looked at the screen and I felt her rush of excitement and wanted to help her find the wonders of the world.

At one point, she looked me in the eye and said, "Push Button?" her finger lingered over the home button. I ignored it, but she persisted. "OK, " I said. The light of happiness flashed through her pretty pink cheeks. Her eyes opened even wider when the screen changed to the home screen. She giggled. 

We played Clumsy Ninja until it was time for her to go. She could not read the instructions, but learned what to do when I told her. Her attending adults gathered around and watched for a moment. Her Mother said it was time to go and I saw this amazing child's resistance to leave this moment of excitement, and I hoped, learning. I looked at her and saw her amazing excitement and promised we would see each other again.

olc

O Woe is Me

So, I am sitting here at some restaurant on Hilliard St., waiting for the van to get fixed again. Rolling around Western North Carolina I must have picked up a nail. I tried to pull it out and patch it myself, but...no joy. To justify my inablility to fix this BS tire thing, I saw the gage of the nail was really big and thought that any plug I put in would be blown out by tire pressure at some point in the near future.

I walked around downtown a little then found a place that with chicken wings and other stuff to eat and good beer. The truth is, I have been stewing around in a self inflicted depression and frustration. I really want to be doing so many other things in my life than delivering shit to people whom I don't know and really don't care about.

I try to find meaning in delivering critical medical supplies to people. However, anyone could and can do it, I am doing nothing unique.

Yet I am sitting in this place and finding myslef fighting to stay depressed. One wonders why I could even thank that silly thought: fighting to stay depressed. It seems that I dwell on the negatives in my life; my lack of cognitive ability, my lousy memory. My powers of observation and search are woefully deficient. Decision making skills, what are they, I can't remeber? When I have a choice to make and little information, I invariably make the wrong one.

"Not all of your choices have been the best," said my father at his most diplomatic.

Actually, I had a really  tough start to the day and I have had some difficulty shaking it all off. I had to find a box in the warehouse and could not. The box was there, I even looked at it, but could not see the information I needed. I ended up having to go back to the warehouse, thus the whole off and behind schedule. needless to say the morning went downhill from there. 

I was able to shake the stink of failure off after a few hours, and had a fairly good afternoon, yet the cloud over my head would not disperse. Then I picked up a nail in one tire. This is not entirely true, the nail was in the tire for a couple of days and I chose to deal with it today.

I went to the store to get some patches and do the deed myself. Well, it turns out those things don't really work for a vehicle like mine. I got the stuff anyhow and proceeded to try and pull the nail. After five minutes of knuckle busting and cursing, I realzed that it was not gonna happen. So I admitted defeat and made my way to the shop where the dude had it all better in no time.

Once again defeat in the face of better discretion.

I have been stewing all day long and my feelings of frustration have been simmering along nicely. Yet the combination of music, beer and the world around me just would not let me stay in my molassas drenched morass. Despite my every effort, I am rising like little a feeble Phoenix in to a happy place.

The Runtyun worries about my drinking too much beer and the truth is there may be something to worry about if one looks at the dark past that hangs over my very being like the dark clouds of tragic thunderstorm threatening to blow all the good in my life away. Yet the two beers I enjoyed worked to relax me enough to find a smile without having to dig too deeply.

Now, I am on the way to get my Runtyun after choir with a glint in my eye trying to escape.

Damn, I had such a good stew cooking and it is ruined by happy thoughts!

olc

A LITTLE LATER WITH SOME PERSPECTIVE

A friend and I talked the other day. She was having troubles with her car and her former BF and needed to vent. I have always liked her and wondered what it would be like to spend a minute with her. But mostly, I just wanted to help her through a shitty moment.

I listened to what she had to say and sympathized. I tried to ease her down the road to Recovery(?), because that was the roll she needed me to play. After a time she invited me to her birthday celebration. Knowing it was a good ride away and might cause some family strife, I said sure and we would iron out the details when we got to Blue Ridge, GA. The Runtyun and I packed up the bike and set out for the 3 hour trek.

The Grinner, this is what I call my Motorcycle for those who do not know already, only gets 80 to 90 miles on a tank of gas. This translates to about 33mpg. The truth is this works out pretty well for this old guy. About the time the bike runs out of gas, I need to walk around to Un-kink my weary old back.

Our first stop, though not for gas, was at Smokey Mountain Steel Horse. The Grinner needs new plugs and the shop is right off the highway. They are an independent shop now selling new Indians and Victory Bikes. To my knowledge, they are the only dealer that does that in the region. I wish them luck. 

Having said that, their parts department could use a little work. It took them 20 minutes to figure out what spark plug The Grinner needed and then they even gave me the wrong ones, a miss matched set. I had planned on putting the new plugs in after we had gotten to Jennifer's. No such luck.

The rest of the ride was OK though almost all highway miles. The Runtyun never complained, however she let me know when she needed to get off and stretch out. It is rather tiring to ride for a long distance. For those who have not had the opportunity to do it you would be surprised. Even the kid said something like, "Who would have thought it could be so tiring?"

Needless to say, the final ride up to the place was on a newly pebbled road that was (How do I relate) FUN to ride. Can you say gravelly and not very well travelled?Finally, we arrived at the house for the stay-over and walked into a house of tension. 

There were dogs to defuse antipathy and kids for the Runtyun to be with. My friend still has this smile and twinkle in her eye that lights up a room, so I enjoyed the moment for seeing a friend.

We talked about nothing in particular and ate BBQ for supper, then watched some TV, the kids wallowed in the hot-tub. One of them, who was 7 years old seemed to live for time in the hot tube. The girl was 10, and the sweetest thing.

My friend and I talked a little, it seemed like superficial topics, but nothing important. As the evening moved along I began to feel a little abandoned. Every time I looked at my friend, she was looking somewhere else. I wondered at one point if she understood what it took for me to get over to her so she could have a friend nearby.

Finally, my friend said she was going to bed, and I took that lead and announced my intention to do the same. I dragged the Runtyun to our assigned room. And tried to sleep. It is a little difficult to sleep when channel surfing. Finally, I turned the off the TV and rolled over, almost falling off the skinny twin bed.

The next morning finally dawned, and I rolled out of bed, on purpose this time.

I enjoyed the incredible view the porch offered, regretting the screening making decent pictures impossible. Yet looking out over the woods leading to Blue Ridge Lake, the clouds were white and gray and broken by mountain tops. As the sun rose it moved along warming the day so the morning ground covering mist undulated revealing glimpses of mountain forests and wisps of the lake…

"Neil, Would you mind going to the store and getting some eggs for our pancakes?" Actually, I wanted to get some writing in.

She saw my hesitation and misunderstanding my pause and said I could take her car. I said, “What can I get for ya'?"

I got the bike started and rolled down the dirt-gravel road and started out on this part of the adventure. The Grinner fishtailed and spluttered with the old plugs all the way up the rain drenched road. I got the groceries and turned around to the cabin stewing in my brain.

A little bit into this part of the journey, I started to think about my friend in the cabin and how she always seems to find the bright side of everything. I knew I had to get out of this dark place I found myself in.

I let the engine of the Grinner fill me and relax my shoulders a little. The engine, seemingly of it own will growled a little lower and louder, the tires rolled a little faster. The curves got a little steeper and a slight grin spread across my frowning maw.

The turn to the dirt road came too soon for me, but the Grinner turned obediently in and we started up the gravely road. It seemed to me the Grinner felt the same about the road as I did, because it groaned and moaned all the way up. It spluttered and choked and began to fowl. I had to rev a little to clear its throat, again that smile as the thunder filled the air around us.

Bacon, pancakes and sausage where on the table in no time. Maple syrup and fake butter filled our tummy's. When we sated our hunger, I pulled and gapped the Grinners plug's. After cleaning them, they went back in and she fired up! She sounded throaty and powerful and ready to leave this beautiful place.

About that time Humphrey needed to go out and do his thing. He is the Boston Terrier of the animal menagerie and the coolest of the lot. Across the road, incredibly enough, were two other Boston Terriers. Who could imagine that! Well, the three guys had to show each other who was who. I am not sure who won that confrontation. All I got out of it was a lot of growling, screeching and running black and white little beasties. Again a little smile slipped across my face.

I spent a minute packing the bike and said our good byes. The bike merely needed me to pay a little attention to it, because she started up and grumbled and roared her happy relief to be rolling again. I wish people could be so easily gratified. We said our goodbyes and put it all behind us.

The ride back was more of the same, long roads at highway speeds. We found ourselves in the Nantahala Gorge and a little hungry. No luck there though, so we rode on down to Bryson City and a pizza place. The Runtyun said she was not really hungry, so I had an antipasto salad and water. I changed my mind though and ordered a Peach Sangria. 

The salad was OK, but the Sangria finally nudged me into my happy place. Nothing had really changed, but I found my smile. I had my kid, the bike was running well, the sky was blue and I was able to put all of my concerns aside and focus on the road ahead. 

It never ceases to amaze me the ability of a ride to clear one's head of all the Bullshit we let fill it. I felt the wind and heard the engine. My little girl was holding on and trusting her father to take care of her. I felt good about life.

Nothing much else happened for the rest of the ride except the Grinner amazed me and went nearly 100 miles on the last tank. We went to reserve  at some point and I wondered if we could make it home.

We did make it! I have to say, I was relieved. After filling the tank with 3.25 gallons of gas, (its capacity is 3.3 gallons) I realized there were merely ounces left in the tank. She held out for us in that run to home.

So that was our adventure of the Labor Day weekend. I hope every one else had one that was as full as ours.

olc

Super Moon

A Daddy grows up has another fun and insightful post. Have a look! Check it out at  http://adadgrowsup.wordpress.com/2012/05/11/super-moon/

there are pictures too!

Sundays ride

it is really amazing how life gets i control and one needs to make a tremendous effort to accomplish a something that should only take a minute. i have been working on this post for a week now, but everything got in the way and seemed more pressing then finishing it. i made time tonight to post this one on A Daddy Grows Up, so please have a look at http://adadgrowsup.wordpress.com/2012/05/06/sundays-ride/ and leave a comment! i really want to know what people think! 
Thanks!

Is Bugs Bunny a good dietetic planner?

She sits there watching TV after finishing her homework. The squeals and shouts of some show on Nick flashing across the screen, her eyes glazed over. Silence and then it starts again as a commercial for a sugary sweet breakfast food with a loud tiger yelling at us, “How GREAT!” his cereal is. Next is a cute baby giggling about something. Finally a fast-food chain comes up with a healthy alternative to their high sodium, fatty and sugary kid’s meal. Then back to loud frenetic hijinks of the show.


So what are we talking about here: TV causing short attention spans, or marketing and advertising poor quality foods to our kids? Both are relevant to parents. The government, led by our First Mamma Obama (hmm kinda like that) is trying to set up guide-lines for the packaging and marketing of food for our kids. Some say our government is trying to intrude its’ way into our kitchens and on our dining tables. They are concerned this is a gateway into controlling what we eat. Rep Fred Upton, republican from Michigan, said, "This appears to be a first step toward Uncle Sam planning our family meals." They forget however, that these recommendations are VOLUNTARY guide lines. Maybe a totally authoritarian government would try to do control our meal time---thus showing where his mind may be.


The commission, a Congressional panel consisting marketing experts from the CDC and FDA, US Department of Agriculture and the Federal Trade Commission personnel, made some fairly easy labeling standard recommendations for advertising to children. Among other things, the commission wanted to tone down on the use of iconic cartoon figures to attract youthful consumers. Of course this is assumes that parents let their children force them into buying what the kids want, and we all know that never happens. Right?


I propose something a little different (I am not the first, but it was hard to easily find available information supporting my idea). Instead of telling marketers they cannot use Tony the Tiger, or Toucan Sam or even Capt’n Crunch, let’s try using the fantastic strength of marketing and cartoon figures to educate and market to kids and parents healthy and sustainable eating habits? Some of the reluctance of major food producers to suspend the use of their animated idols is recognizability. We grew up watching and learning our eating habits from these icons. They might have done a better job---there seems like an epidemic of obesity and type II diabetes over taking our bodies. 


Yet we have an opportunity that should not be wasted. There seems to be a favorable environment for change, or maybe refinement is a better word. Instead of using all the market research and techniques gathered during the past years to sell not-so-healthy foods, why not use it to sell products that will feed us in a more nutritious and sustainable way? We have seen that advertising works and that using kid identifiable cartoons influence the desires of kids, thus forming habits used later in life. This way of advertising has worked to sell food items that are unhealthy, why not use the same method to influence our buying energy toward healthy foods? A governmental agency called Interagency Working Group asks the same question (www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=141258532) 
Further, Herb Weisbaum, (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44878241/ns/business-consumer_news/#.TpX3hHPN5l1 ) from MCNBC, asked, “Why is the food industry so afraid of a little advise?” I wonder if there may be a profit motiv involved. Is it easier(read less expensive) to make foods with salt, sugar and high fat content?


This is the way I see it. Over the past 50 years, maybe longer, marketers and advertisers have developed data and strategies for marketing to kids crappy food. Now we can use the same force of data and information to start educating younger consumers and their parents healthy foods. Find cartoon icons that exhibit positive models of eating. Use the same screeching and excitement to get kids enthusiastic about apples. Make it look like a treat to have a pomegranate. Sour cream with that baked white potato, how about a pink cuddly character talking about the tastiness of a sweat potato with cheese on it, or a squirrel with its nose twitching having fun chasing green peas around plate and popping them into its mouth? 


I suggest we influence marketers and food purveyors to sell healthy foods with the same methods they used to sell sugary and unhealthy food. Instead of saying they cannot sell “bad” food to kids, encourage them to market more wholesome food. When we show a positive way of doing something, instead of saying, “NO!”, we make it easier, I hope, to change the paradigm and maybe influence the next generation to eat healthier foods.


What do you think? Am I making a sound point here? Let’s talk about it!


On another matter, I did some research on this post, but had difficulty finding information that supported my idea; positive advertising could be used in conjunction with the strategies used with a healthier diet. I used search terms like, “Food marketing for kids,” “packaging for kids” and other variants. All that come up were articles decrying the negatives involved with sugary foods. I was looking for information that supported my idea of using methods for pushing healthier food. Until I found this one article from webmd.com: http://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20110307/cartoon-characters-influence-kids-food-choices, I came up with nothing. Any one out there have any tips for internet searches that can help pinpoint specific data? Let me know!!!


OLC