Some call it Sacrifice

I had arrived at work about 15 minutes early as usual hoping to to make a pot of coffee and get settled in before the work day ahead. Usually the bookkeeper, now owner, was there to unlock the door for us. Today however, she was late. Sometimes this happens because she had to do a deposit and it takes time. Though it was a miner annoyance, we thought nothing of it until she was about ten minutes late. Now we were getting a little annoyed, my kitchen manager and I. Not only was our caffeine intake being inhibited, but minutes were being sacrificed to her tardiness.

Finally we got a call. It was Ellen telling us that she was gonna be a bit late. Dean said she was late because our country was under attack and every one close to a T.V. was glued to it.

We finally got into the kitchen and started our routine, but Dean went someplace and found a T.V. for us to monitor the news cast. I remember watching the first tower going down and after a little while seeing the same thing from a different angle, only it was the second tower imploding.

Dobbins Air Base was within site of Doc's and we had gotten used to the thunder of jets flying over head, but today, and many days after, the sky was silent. Lunch that day of tragedy was subdued, though there were lots of people in the bar talking about what had happened.

Of course we made lunch for lots of people, but I think they needed to be around each other more than stuffing their faces with food and booze.

Every year we hear about this time, we talk about the sacrifice made by those who were murdered by insane terrorists.

I will argue this is not the correct term to use here. Sacrifice implies knowledge of the deed by the victim and their trusted  confidants. When a virgin was slaughtered, she may have been terrified, her family may have rebelled against it, but they knew, or thought they knew, that it was best for their community. In war, a general may offer up some troops to sacrifice for the greater good. Even when pagans sacrificed a lamb, offering it to the gods, the people knew why it was being done. In all cases those being killed were offered not taken.

On September 11th, 2001, no one offered to be killed for the greater good they were MURDERED for. Murdered by zealots. I understand how some need to feel that all of those deaths served a purpose. They want all those deaths to have a meaning; one which some how meant the deaths of those innocents  served a cause that was engineered  to make our country, our way of life---better, more meaningful. I wish it were true.

The truth, in my humble opinion; those plaines were sent out to end our society as we know it to create one that, in their delusional view, fit into an extremists vision.

We may be talking about perspective here, but remember---we did not start this war. So maybe we need to look at it from their point of view and attack their logic, their ideology, with ours---one with a more equal outlook, one which uses our  Constitution, not  ideology, as a guide post to a moral and fulfilling way of life.

Those unfortunate souls who were murdered on September  11th, 2001, were not a sacrifice. There was nothing noble in their death. They were victims of extremists trying to make a religious point.

(Do you see any parallel here? (election 2016))

So now we get down to  an interesting point. Should we allow religion to govern our lives? Maybe we need to understand basic human morals and fight for them using our Constitution as a guide post.

olc

Those on the side of the road and food

Someone with whom I have an immense respect for once told me that he never gave money to beggars on the street. Yet, when someone would come around to the back of his restaurant he would find a away for them to earn it.

This left a question in my echoing brain...If he really did not need the work done, why make a bum work for it, why not just give them the money? The restaurant owner went on and on about making them earn the money and how it would teach them responsibility.

It came down to never give anyone a free lunch.

Today I was in a funk, depressed about the way everything is going and totally unsure what I could do about it. I'd had a shitty day yesterday and was basically in a blue haze. While I was driving to my next delivery I got off the highway and saw a guy with a sign asking for any contribution. "Anything Helps," was what his placard said.

Usually, I ignore these guys, I think there is some kind of organization in the area that sends people out to beg for money and then pool it all together. Somehow this seems dishonest to me. At any rate, I thought that maybe I needed to do a random act of kindness to help elevate my fowl mood. But the words of my mentor echoed in my brain.

So, I pulled my hand away from my wallet and decided to give him my lunch. After all, I had some money to buy lunch later, right? Yeah, I know, "Never give a free lunch." I thought, what if this guy really is in need, maybe this food would help more than cash?  At least he could not use the food to buy booze just to get drunk.

Usually when I do this, give my lunch to someone, I feel like I have done something good. But my suspicions about some kind of organization working the streets for money spoiled that gratification. Also the knowing that the only reason I did this was to make me feel better helped to spoil my euphoria.

So, why do we give to charities? There are a number of reasons, or symptoms for this behavior: Philanthropic, the desire to help the down-trodden, some people have an excess of cash, some just want the look of gratitude they get.

I guess I am of the latter category. I don't have that much to give, nor do I have a whole lot of happiness. One of the few times I know that I have done something good is when I give something to someone who has less than me.

In a way this is a very selfish thing I do. By giving, or helping someone in need, I am giving happiness to me. Now this can create an inner conflict, like the one we talked about above: should I give to someone knowing that the REAL reason I am doing it is to ease my inner turmoil? Or should I keep my lunch and let others feel the bliss of giving?

This is compounded by the knowledge, or feeling that there is some kind of scam going on, thus negating any good I may be giving the individual.

When I got through the light I had given the guy my lunch, yet felt no euphoria. Later in the day, I bought lunch at Hardy's or someplace and realized that in effect I had given the guy $10.00 and had gotten no real emotional boost.

olc

I had to wait too long

I wanted to get some maintenance done on the van Saturday, so I made an appointment at the Firestone franchise. Most of my vehicle maintenance is done there and I am usually very happy with their service.

This time I wanted to have the tires rotated, which is free-a great incentive, and an oil change. 

I made the appointment for 7:30 AM so I could get on with the day. (Early bird, and so forth.) I arrived at 7:20 hoping to get the whole thing done in an expeditious manner. 

Walking in the door, I saw 3 or four other customers with the same idea. It's a good thing I made that appointment, I reminded myself.

At the desk, I was told that it may be a minute or two before they get my van into a dock. I said that was why I made an appointment, so I would not have to wait. No reply. Then I was told that I should be out after 8:00 AM. OK. Great, that is not so bad, I thought.

I waited and watched my van sit in the parking lot for over an hour before it even got moved into a bay. It finally made it into the bay an hour and 10 minutes after the appointed time. 

There was a managers special on oil changes and I wanted to take advantage of it. It turns out though, I needed to fill out an application for some promotion in order to get the advertised rate. 

Disappointment number two.

I gave specific instructions on how I wanted the tires rotated, but the job was done differently. 

Disappointment number three.

I have been going to Firestone for 5 years now and this is the first real complaint I have had. It is just plain annoying to get up and out of the house on an early Saturday morning for an appointment and have to wait for over an hour for a service that takes less then 30 minutes to do.

What do you think? Am I whining over nothing or do I have a legitimate complaint?

Let me know what you think.

olc

A Question of Racism

I deliver things, that is what I do. A few years ago, I cooked for people, but that was a lifetime in the past. Now I deliver things.

Here is a little anecdote for your perusal and moral valuation.

Let me start by saying that I try to be open minded and do indeed attempt to overcome my shortfalls. We all have our prejudices and how we deal with them shows something of the character of the person.

Yesterday Nelson Mandela past away and his passing is on the minds of every one. He was a great man who helped to shape more than his country. Our world is a better place because of what he stood for. Frankly, our government could learn a lesson or two from that esteemed man.

Now for my little yarn:

I had been making deliveries all day long and finally made it to my last one, yey! I got to the house and waited for the gate to open. Yes, it was a place that had a gate and lots of money behind it to protect. As I was pulling up to the garage the owner came out to greet me. This is normal in many cases, the owner has been waiting for their package and wants to finally see it.

Usually I go over the steps of the delivery and begin to think about what the conversation will be like. Usually the conversation is only the mechanics of the delivery, where to put the box, where to sign on the forms, and have a nice day. Sometimes though, the customer and I will talk about things little more then the banal basics and I like to be ready for this.

As I was backing up to the garage, I saw the guy was black. This is nothing unusual, but the first thing I thought of was the death of Mandela and what this man thought of the ramifications of it.

Then I remembered that I had not felt the urge to have this conversation with any one else all day long. I thought about this for a moment and wondered if I was being a little hypocritical. Yet I was curious to know what he thought about the subject. 

I decided to wait and see if the man would open the subject and if he did, then I could query him about it. Yet it still bothered me that I felt the need to even ask the question of this man in the first place.

The subject never came up and all we talked about was where he wanted the package put. And that was that. He got his stuff and I left.

I like to think I am a progressive thinker and open minded, yet I run into this kind of thing once in a while and I wonder if I am the person I want to be, or am I merely acting that way.

What do you think?

olc