The 30 Minute Cure

S.A.D. - Seasonal Affective Disorder.  I have it.  Like a lot of people, every winter I go through periods of melancholy where my energy level sinks and I just feel a little down.  I'm not really depressed.  It's more like an occasional case of the wintertime blues.  There's a song called Summertime Blues but I can't believe there really is such a thing.  Who could get the blues in summer?  But, winter?  Yeah.  I'm certain it happens all the time to lots of people.  The days are shorter so there is less sunlight.  The grass is brown, the trees are bare, skies are gray, and on many days it's just too cold to do anything.  All that sounds depressing.  But in my case it's more due to the fact that I don't do anything in winter.  I don't have a snowmobile.  Can't ski.  Too old to snowboard.  Skating would likely result in moderate to serious injury.  So I end up indoors a lot, which is exactly the opposite of my summers.

But I've found a cure!  And it's only about 30 minutes away.  That's how long it takes to find a scene that makes you realize there's beauty all around, even in...as Paul Simon wrote... "a deep and dark December."

I am very fortunate to live in an area that offers such a wealth of beauty and amazing scenery in all seasons.  And so much of it is only about 30 minutes from my front door.  Here's another view I noticed on my recent short road trip ---

Scenes like this are all around, no matter what part of the country you live in.  And, with the right kind of eye, you can find them on almost any day.  Sometimes you don't even need 30 minutes.  Sometimes it's only 3 minutes away ---

I took this photo at dusk yesterday a few blocks from my house.  I love the simple beauty of this tribute to the season, and look forward to seeing it every year.  It's somehow reassuring.  A comforting sign that warms my heart and reminds me that Christmas is near. 
So, when you get a touch of the winter blues, go for a short drive or even a short walk and keep your eyes peeled.  Even when it seems like there is none, there really is beauty all around us.  Look a little closer.  You'll see it.  And you may just get healed.

                                                                                    -0-

Black Friday on Thursday

First, a few questions.  If it's called Black Friday, why does it start on Thursday?  And, why is it called Black Friday anyway?  Doesn't 'Black' imply that it's a bad thing?  So, I went looking for some answers and here's what I found on Wikipedia:   The day's name originated in Philadelphia, where it originally was used to describe the heavy and disruptive pedestrian and vehicle traffic which would occur on the day after Thanksgiving. Use of the term started before 1961 and began to see broader use outside Philadelphia around 1975. Later an alternative explanation began to be offered: that "Black Friday" indicates the point at which retailers begin to turn a profit, or are "in the black".
I guess that explains the name, but what about this Thursday thing?  Nobody seemed to have a reason for the early start this year, other than the fact that retailers like to invent  new ways to make money.  Nothing wrong with that, but how far can they take it?  Next year we could see a 'Green Wednesday' to symbolize the color of money. 
Since I'm not about to get up at 4 a.m. to go shopping, as has been required on past Black Fridays, I decided to take advantage of the early sales starting at 8 p.m. on Thursday this year.  It was my chance to observe in person the madness that I've been hearing about all these years.  My first stop was the local Kmart.  Sorry.  It's Big K now.  (But it's still Kmart to me).  This was the scene that greeted me as I pulled up to the store ---

I'm not sure how long the guy in the chair had been there.  Obviously a long time since he was first in line.  There must have been a Super Doorbuster deal on a 60 inch TV because I don't think they would all be waiting in 26 degree weather and 30 mph winds to get first crack at a toaster for $4.99.
The scene was quite different down the road at Walmart.  Everyone was allowed to come inside to form the lines.  But you had to choose your department and the deal you wanted most.  If you wanted a Blu-Ray player AND new sheets, well, that's what family is for I guess.  Divide and conquer.  I decided to take my viewing post in what was previously the produce section.  Right in there with the tomatoes and onions were displays of DVDs, video games, and accessories for Nintendo, Wii and Xbox 360, all wrapped tightly in clear plastic waiting to be let loose on the hoards of anxious shoppers. When the time came, a Walmart employee moved in to cut the wrapping and that's when the madness began.  The people with a plan seemed to make out best.  Like the ones who swooped up as many games as possible with both hands then ducked behind the battery display to rummage through their loot and keep only the ones they actually wanted.  The others were discarded for those who were less aggressive to sift through like last year's toys.  I felt bad for one kid who finally wormed his way in close enough to reach for a prize, but instead of an Xbox 360 controller all he came up with was a red bell pepper.   And those weren't even on sale.

I had heard stories of people acting badly during these type of events, but I didn't really see any of that.  I saw a lot of smiles on a lot of faces, and people generally seemed to be in a pretty good mood.

But, for those of you who were hoping for tales of mayhem, I will provide a link at the bottom of this page to some of the worst Black Friday disasters, including the Waffle Riot.  

After my Big Box Store adventure I decided to drive downtown and see what might be going on.  What I found there was...nothing.

But 'nothing' was what I was hoping for.  And it just seemed right.  It was actually a peaceful and calming experience in stark contrast to what I had just experienced.  So I wandered the streets, window shopping, thinking about what I might want to buy tomorrow on the real Black Friday.  And when Friday arrived I went back downtown,  a little after 9,  and found everything I wanted.  At a good price, too.  I realize there really are some great deals in those big stores during these crazy sales and would never criticize anyone for taking part.  It's just not my thing.  I like the personality of the smaller independent retailers.  It's in those stores that you can actually have a conversation with someone who knows their products, perhaps even the owner, and who is actually glad to see you come in.  

Oh, one more thing, and this might be a good lead-in to the link that follows --- I overheard two guys talking while waiting for the sale to start at Walmart.  One asked the other if he was going to try for the new Call of Duty game for PS3.  His friend replied with a bit of what is probably good advice,  "No.  I don't want to mess with the Gamers." 

Here's that link.  Caution - If you might be offended by certain "colorful" language and some violence I would urge you to go to lolcats.com instead.

http://mashable.com/2012/11/22/black-friday-violence/

                                                                            -0-

                 

Election Day!

Big day today.  For all of us.  I hope everyone will take the time to get out and vote.  I've been a little concerned about how deeply divided the country seems to be this time around.  And, even though tempers may flare and harsh words may be spoken, don't let yourself be drawn into any silly arguments.  We'll all be fine if we just keep a couple of things in mind...
1.  Stay calm.
2.  Be nice.
One other thing that seems to work in most situations is injecting a little humor into the subject.
I'll start with a few of my favorites from this year's campaign.

 

Oh come on!  You must admit these are funny.  Humor helps lighten the mood in tense situations.
Does anybody remember Pat Paulsen?  He was the deadpan commentator on the old Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour whose campaign for president was a huge hit in 1968.  He continued to run every four years up until the mid-90s when failing health caused him to stop what turned out to be the longest running comedy skit in history.   Check out this classic clip that puts a unique perspective on the phrase "two-faced" and on how so many politicians are masters at speaking out of both sides of their mouths:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oiQhhdz8ys

As Larry the Cable Guy would say, "Now that's funny right there."  You might even say it was a little ahead of it's time.  So lighten up people!  And, when this is all over don't act like a spoiled little kid if your side doesn't win.  I know it's not easy, but we really do need to find a way to come together and get things back on the right track.  For all our sake, and for the sake of those still too young to understand what this thing called "politics" is all about. 

                                                                         -0-

Ghosts of Halloween Past

It was on a night like this, 41 years ago...
If I ever decide to write a book or even a short story, this is how it would begin.  Except the actual opening line would be  It was on a night like this, thirteen years ago...  The number thirteen adds a dramatic touch don't you think?   But this is a true story so I decided to make it as accurate as possible, considering it was a long time ago and my recollection is a little fuzzy.  Halloween, 1971.  A day that lives on in the legend of the Class of '73.  Myself and a group of my classmates, who shall remain anonymous, decided we would go out and cause a little mischief on Halloween that year.   I suppose I could mention some of their nicknames, but in the interests of good taste and due to the fact that some of the nicknames back then could now be considered - how should I put it - inappropriate?  Especially to those outside our group who didn't know the inside stories.  We certainly didn't plan on anyone getting hurt that night.  But, as we all know, stuff happens.  And I must report that, in fact, injuries did occur.

One of the guys had access to a plain old cargo van that we decided would be the perfect form of transportation for the evening and would fit in quite well with our plans.  This was no Mystery Machine by any stretch of the imagination, and we weren't anything like Shaggy, Fred, Velma or Daphne.  Well, there was one person who was kind of like Shaggy, but that's a story for later.

No, our van was more like...well...like this

It did have cargo doors on one side that swung open.  That's an important detail, as you will soon find out.  We called it "The War Wagon,"  and stocked it with dozens of raw eggs.  We were all hiding in the windowless cargo area with only the driver being visible.  The plan was to pull up next to unsuspecting victims, throw the doors open and all jump out, egg our target, jump back in the van and speed off into the dark of night.  Ok, look, I'm not particularly proud of this phase in my life, but it's the kind of stuff we did back then.  If it's any consolation we only chose victims we knew.  Mostly other classmates.  We spared normal citizens from the mayhem.  Not necessarily out of kindness.  I would say it was more out of fear of arrest, conviction and possible jail time. 
So, the War Wagon was on the prowl.  After several successful surprise attacks we spotted another target.  We soon realized our mistake, but it was too late.  We had bombarded a car full of seniors.  Not senior citizens, mind you.  The kind of seniors that were on the football team, with a couple of them being rather large. And they weren't happy about this turn of events.  We took off with them in hot pursuit.  It was the driver of our van, another guy in the passenger seat and the rest of us on the floor in the back.  The Senior Deathmobile was closing in when our driver decided it would be a good move to take the chase out of town onto a gravel road in hopes of having a better chance to lose our pursuers.  As it turns out that was not a wise decision.  We had to be going at least 40 mph, on loose gravel, when we came to an intersection with only two choices - right or left.  Straight ahead meant the driver going through a fence into a field and unknown consequences.  So, he locked up the brakes and attempted a hard left turn.  We went into a skid, tipped up on two wheels, then rolled completely over with the side doors swinging open in the process.  When we came to a stop the van was upright and the two persons in the front of the vehicle were still there, but I was the only left in the back.  I was sitting upright against one side looking out the open doors across from me.  I remember my first thought and the most important thing to me as I sat there motionless was, "I lost my glasses, where are my glasses?"  (Funny how such trivial things take on such importance in a crisis situation). I felt around and found them, then crawled out to see who else survived.  The other guys were wandering around dazed and confused,  trying to find out who was hurt and make sure everyone was accounted for.  After a few minutes the consensus was that everyone was present and, unbelievably, no one was injured!  Oh, and those seniors did stop long enough to make sure nobody was seriously hurt, then they took off to avoid talking to 5-0 who were surely on their way.  We were not exactly operating in stealth mode that night so we were sure someone must have reported us by now.  We were standing there when we heard a strange sound, like someone moaning.  Then somebody called our attention to the fact that one of us was missing after all.  Man down!  We all started looking around the road and in the ditch until we found him.  It was (name withheld to protect the not-so-innocent), lying in the road about 30 feet behind us.  His leg was obviously broken.  How did we not notice him missing right away?  I still feel bad about that to this very day.  It was only a short time later we saw the vehicles with flashing red lights off in the distance headed our way.  We hoped one of them was an ambulance.  Remember, this was before cell phones so we couldn't be sure who had called it in.  Fortunately an ambulance did arrive shortly, and our friend was loaded up and taken to the hospital.  His leg was badly broken.  The van must have rolled over it as he was ejected during the crash.  That was bad enough, but we were very lucky no one was hurt more seriously or even killed. 
Those were things we did back then on Halloween.  Throw eggs, soap windows and put wooden barricades on Main Street.  Stupid things.  But we thought it was fun.  I don't know why.  We just did.  Eventually, those traditions faded away.  It seems like there is not as much mischief that goes on these days.  And that's a good thing.  Fewer people get hurt that way. 
As a final disclaimer I will say "The events depicted in this story were the acts of a bunch of dumb kids.  Do not attempt."  Also - I will disavow any responsibility should a War Wagon make an appearance anywhere in the area this year.

                                                                                -0-

Pundit Road

All right, just this one time I will talk about politics.  Then no more.  I don't like politics.  And I don't like what it does to people.  So, as Christopher Walken's character in Joe Dirt said, "Who asked you? Did you hear me solicit your opinion? I don't think so."  Or was it in Wayne's World 2?  Actually, it might not have even been Christopher Walken who said it.  Doesn't matter.  The point is that nobody asked me but I'm going to talk about it anyway because things have gotten out of hand, and it's time for a reality check.

ELECTION DAY

A Day When Millions Of Americans Pretend To Vote

(verydemotivational.com)



The key word is "pretend."  In the 2008 presidential election only 54% of eligible citizens actually voted.  That's pretty bad.  Maybe it has something to do with the choice of candidates.  If that's the case the turnout this year will likely be even worse.  Barack Obama or Mitt Romney.  Really?  300 million people in this country and that's the best we can do?  Neither candidate is all bad.  They both have had some things to say that I like.  Too bad those things didn't relate to the economy or world affairs.  I'm talking about some great zingers.

Obama (talking about Romney's comments during a television interview about his ideas for creating jobs):

"It was a rerun. We'd seen it before. You might as well have watched it on a black-and-white TV.  With rabbit ears. On Nick at Night."   Well, it made me laugh anyway.

Or, Romney (referring to Bill Clinton):  "I spent four years as governor.  I didn't inhale."  Burn!

I know there are zealots, kool-aid drinkers and fanatics out there who think their candidate is the only one who can fix things.  They have a blind allegiance to somebody they really don't know. There are also very sincere people who prefer one candidate or the other because they honestly believe that person can turn things around.  Personally (and I don't think they necessarily start out this way) I believe all politicians at the national level, and in some cases even at the state level, at some point become self-serving egomaniacs whose main goal is getting re-elected.  And, unfortunately for us, they forget about doing what's right and concentrate on doing what's politcally correct and expediant. 

Whenever I mention this, the usual response is "Oh not my guy! He really cares. It's not his fault we're in this mess, it's all those other people."  I hate to break it to you but if your "guy" is in ... then he's part of the problem.  My thought is that we need to throw them all out of office.  Every single elected representative should be replaced as soon as possible.  What have we got to lose?  It's so tiresome and annoying to hear each political party blame the other, while taking no accountability or accepting any responsibility for the mess we're in.  

 

American author Richard Armour got it right when he said, "Politics for all too long has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong."  That needs to change.  And we're the only ones who can make that change.  But it's going to take a lot of effort and dedication.  Maybe we need to follow the advice of Howard Beale (Peter Finch) in the 1976 movie Network - 

"Things have got to change. But first, you've gotta get mad!... You've got to say, 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!' 

Remember, these people work for us.  It's time they start doing the job we elected them to do.  Otherwise, maybe it's time they gathered up their personal items and leave the building.

                                                                             -0- 

The Long Way Around

/Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", anywhere in the world.
A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook where the geocacher enters the date they found it and signs it with their pre-established code name. Larger containers such as plastic storage containers or ammunition boxes can also contain items for trading, usually toys or trinkets of little value./

That's the Wikipedia definition.  Here's mine:

/Geocaching is an activity that combines the activities of a nature hike and treasure hunt, often resulting in a most excellent adventure./

It is also an activity that can test your resolve and physical limitations, as was the case in my most recent trek to discover an elusive cache located along the Iron Creek Trail in Spearfish Canyon.  At one point during my search I thought I might become one of those missing hikers you read about.  I started to envision searchers finding me after the Spring thaw, sitting up against a tree holding a piece of bark with a message scrawled on it saying "kilt whilst lookin fer the cache  got up  couldn't git down"   But good fortune prevailed and I made it out alive, obviously, since I'm telling this story.  So, here's how the adventure played out ...

I had ridden by the parking area where the trail starts the week before on my motorcycle and remembered  how much I enjoyed it when I hiked there years ago with my wife and son.  I figured it was time to do it again. After checking geocaching.com I discovered that a new cache had been placed somewhere along the trail recently, so I could combine a nice early Autumn hike with a geocache search, and decided to put it on the schedule for my next day off which was a Tuesday.  That explains why I was alone.  Who else is going to be able to go off traipsing in the woods during the middle of the day on a Tuesday?  In this case no one.  But that's ok. I'm armed with my backpack, plenty of water and my trusty GPS unit with the coordinates of the cache programmed into it.  Now, if I would have only brought along some good judgement and common sense I might have had an easier time of it.  About a mile into my quest I checked my GPS and noticed the distance to the cache was all of a sudden increasing.  I paused and checked the directional arrow which indicated the path to my goal required a hard left turn.  This is where I should have just stopped, taken a lesson from tThe Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and thought about what I was doing.  Remember the "think...think...think scene?"

But I didn't.  I proceeded to blindly follow the GPS arrow.  Big mistake.  It led me across the creek and up an incredibly steep hill.  My unit said it was only 465 feet to cache location, but half way up I was crawling on the ground, desperately grasping for any root or rock to hold on to and pull myself up another foot or two.  After a couple of hours (it was actually only a few minutes but it seemed longer) I was able to reach the ridge where the terrain flattened out and I was able to stand upright again.  Thinking I was very close now I checked the coordinates and found that the cache was...still 450 feet away!  What the...?  There must be some mistake.  There was a lot of tree cover so it was possible my GPS was not functioning properly.  Something had to be wrong because the arrow now was pointing right over a cliff on the other side of the ridge.  There was no way I could get down there without doing some kind of a base jump.  But I didn't have a parachute so that was out of the question.  I thought, "whoever placed this cache is one diabolical s.o.b." After a careful consideration of my options I did the only thing I could do.  I gave up.  Win some. Lose some.  Right?  Now all I had to do was get back down off my precarious perch and hike on out of there.  Well, it took some time but I followed the ridge to a point where it was only about a 5 or 6 foot drop to get back on flat ground.  I took a break to have some water and to catch my breath, then started back.  But wait!  I happened to notice that had I continued on the trail instead of detouring up that hill maybe, just maybe, it would have taken me around to the other side of that hill.  So I turned back around again and sure enough, the distance readings began to get smaller!  duh.  It was then I realized that I could have avoided that exhausting climb to nowhere and just kept on the the trail, which led me right to the hidden treasure.  There it was, in a small red container hanging from a branch of a tree only a few feet off the path.

Success!  I opened the container, took out a rolled up piece of paper, signed and dated it, then replaced it.  This container was smaller than most so there wasn't room for any trinkets like you would normally find.  But, looking back, it was still fun in spite of my misadventures leading up to the eventual find. I enjoy geocaching.  You never know what you might discover. Sometimes the caches will have some very strange items, like a severed doll's head that we found in an old ammo box under a bridge just outside of Hill City. No body of the doll. Just the head.  And a rather creepy looking one at that.  Weird.  

But we've also found souvenir coins, postcards, marbles, even a small plastic Star Trek phaser gun.  The idea is to take something and put something back to replace it.  We usually put in a pirate eye patch.  Yes, there is story to that, too.  But I don't have time for it now.  Maybe down the road.  

                                                                        -0-

Corner of Cheezburger Road and Inspiration Avenue

Yes, with a z.  That's how they spell it at Cheezburger.com, the Seattle based company that's all about pop culture.  You've heard of lolCats, right?  My son works there. We recently made a trip to visit him and were treated to the insider tour of their offices in the heart of downtown Seattle.  It was quite an experience for a couple of unsophisticated midwesterners who don't get to the big city that often.
I always look forward to our travels for many reasons, including the fact that it gives me a chance to get out of my comfort zone and sample a little bit of the unusual, unfamiliar, exotic, diverse, and colorful.  Plus, you never know who you might see chillin' outside at the corner cafe.  I was pretty sure at the time this was Stephen King, but upon further review I believe I may have been mistaken.

Since we're on the subject of cafes, we have some good ones around here that are fun and even somewhat eclectic, but restaurants are different in the city.  We were guests of our son at a new popular French-themed eatery called Toulouse Petite.  The outside looked somewhat rundown by design, but inside it was...well...the word that comes to mind is 'electric.'  The patrons were many and varied.  Young professionals from the neighborhood who were casually dressed, out of towners like us in all manner of cruise wear and travel duds, businessmen in coats and ties, and women in their little black dresses.  ooo-lala!  Another characteristic of this place, as well as others we visited, was the high energy and excitement that filled the room.  Everyone was talking.  Not in whispers as you might expect in a dimly lit upscale establishment.  It was rather loud, even boisterous at times.  But it was never annoying.  Conversation is an important part of the atmosphere, and everyone shared in it equally.  The vibe is totally different from what we're used to here in Hometown, USA.  

Another common theme running through many parts of this city is the vibrant, and sometimes unusual colors.  I look for that wherever I travel, and I was not disappointed on this trip.  Even small local shops on side streets sported vibrant colors or colors that were just slightly "off" for lack of a better word, but always charming, fascinating, stimulating, inspiring or any number of other adjectives.

Diversity is the other overriding theme of any large city.  Seattle has plenty of diversity.  It so happened the same weekend we were there the Hempfest was taking place.  In keeping with my never ending search for unordinary or varied cultural experiences, we decided to attend.  My main motivation, as well as my son's, was to see if we could find some local art to add to our collections.  My wife was hoping to find some unique hand made jewelry.  Also,  to be completely honest, I was hoping to go back to a simpler time and hang out again just for a little while with some free spirited eccentric flower children, otherwise known as Hippies. A friend recently posted the following on Facebook, and this is what I thought I would find:

Mostly what I found, however, were disheveled grubby people begging for a handout or well-off kids in stylish clothes huddled in their own little cliques trying to act cool and blend in.  I was so disappointed.  There were a couple of exceptions, though.  The Peace Pirate for example, who had his own style of art that I thought was rather creative.  He used old junk vinyl record albums and painted classic album covers and artists portraits on them using intricate paper cut-outs he had made.  Not particularly avant-garde or astonishing, but a pretty cool idea.  He was a nice guy.  Humble. Unassuming.  Just a guy in the park working on his art.  My son and I each bought one of his works.  Mine was a portrait of Bob Dylan, of course. 

We were also lucky to discover the TabbyCat Pickling Company.  A groovy down-to-earth bunch who really did have some great pickles.  I chose "Mother's"... a crunchy garlic dill with just the right amount of jalepeno mixed in.  Delicious!  I knew I couldn't get it through airport security so I took the jar to Fedex/Kinko's and had it shipped home.  That's how good they are.   

                  Hello, my name is Mr. Tabby Cat.  Some say I'm a gentleman and scholar at that.  The gentleman in me is kind & fair, the scholar has the wisdom of love to share.  When these two come together as one,  I can create my own twist on what's grown in the sun.  I hope you enjoy to the very last bite, this purrfetly pickled delicious delight.

                                      (verse and photo courtesy of tabbycatpicklingco.com)

Another fun event we took in was a KISS / Motley Crue concert at a huge outdoor amphitheatre south of Seattle.  I know.  I know.  At our age!  But we had a great time.  Besides, I think some of the band members were older than us.

So, the moral of this story is....well...I guess there is no moral to this story.  If there's anything I would hope you take from it, it would probably be to suggest that you get out of your comfort zone on occasion and try something new.  Or something old but that you haven't done for a long time.  Also, become more aware of your surroundings and take note of everything going on around you.  Especially the sights and sounds.  Just be in the moment.  You may have heard this described as being mindful.  I know that may sound a little silly, but you will see and hear things you might otherwise miss.  You may even be inspired.  That inspiration will take on a different form for each individual.  Don't we all need a little inspiration every now and then?  It's just a matter of what you do with it when it comes.  So go ahead.  Go out and be inspired!