Life in the fast lane

I truly wonder what's on the mind of some drivers today when they get behind the wheel. Having been a commercial driver for the last 30 some years I get a daily dose of "ZOOM, ZOOM!" Whether I'm driving the roll off truck or the school bus I can't believe how people cut in front, pass on double yellow lines or run stop signs just to get in front of me. It's almost like something as big as what I drive is invisible. If the truth be told I'd rather have the larger vehicle in front of me rather than behind. Ask Harry Chapin about being in front of a big rig!

Driving as long and as many miles as I have I started a very informal unscientific study of drivers and their habits.

Our law enforcement and legislative initiatives have focused on cell phone and texting as dangerous habits and have implemented laws accordingly. But did you ever see a cop zipping right past as he's talking on a cell phone?

High school kids are another big problem. First, they sit so low in their seats they have to look through the steering wheel to see the road. Next they've got a sound system and muffler combination that far exceed the value of their car, and exceeding noise pollution standards. And to top it off the music, (relative term and definition) blaring away with a rhythmic beat that could be used in an emergency as a defibrillator for a heart attack victim.

Old people are great! Driving at twenty miles an hour, regardless of the posted speed limit, they'll stop dead in the road for no reason. They'll run for miles with a signal light blinking and then turn the opposite direction. Blow your horn at them and they wave, usually one finger at a time.

The morning commuter. Now here's how to multitask! They drive like NASCAR and read the paper, drink their coffee, eat a bowl of cereal, and fix their tie all while taking on a cell phone as they changes lanes at breakneck speed.

And now is my favorite, the fat driver! No matter what they drive they all seem to have the same fear of trying to pass through a tight situation. (This is actually where my observations started.) While driving through city traffic I noticed cars that would stop in a close quarter situation and wait for a break. If none were forthcoming the car would literally inch along until the obstruction was passed. Plenty of room on each side to spare. I literally have driven a Mack Truck through those situations. Skinny people just drive right through.

The lead foot is amazing. Passing and cutting off people as they tear up the road in their quest to be first at the red light! It doesn't get any better.

Keep going Detroit, "life in the fast lane!"

State of the Union

It doesn't take too much effort or research to see the State of the Union. It's bad. The president gets up and talks his line of tightly scripted spin. The members of congress applaud when required. (Is there really an applause sign hanging in the house chambers?) The presidents party smiles and back slaps each other while the opposition party sits sour faced and silent.

When it's all said and done has anything really changed? For all their talk, have any more jobs been created? Are any families at risk, been helped? Has the environment been improved? Has the quality of life improved? Is Bi-partisanship been established for the common good?


The foundation of our country and as well our society was established by the majority seeking the common good for all. The common good seems to be missing. We are by rights the most liberal nation in the world when it comes to allowing the rights of the individual to trump those of the many. Yet our elected officials have taken this simple precept and bastardized it to the point that the rights of the many are trumped by the needs of the powerful and rich.


Our capitalist society is great. I, as a business owner see and realize the opportunities we have available to anyone living here. A person can take an idea, dream or a desire and make it a going proposition. Hard work, an ethical moral code and one could reap riches far beyond their wildest dreams. Also circumstances could turn that prosperity the other way and all is lost. That is the risk. But the rewards should outweigh the risk. Because the lessons learned from failure or from success always presents opportunities. The opportunity is there for all.


Yet for all the failures and success there is an element to this equation that is seriously overlooked. As I see it, the missing element is a moral component in the capitalism equation.

Moral capitalism is actually a way of doing business. A theorem not taught in business schools. Businesses used to stay put. They would grow and prosper in an area creating jobs for the local residents. The employees built the company through their hard work and dedication. In return the company provided jobs and a lively hood for all concerned. Sometime conditions caused businesses to change location, but they stayed within the country. They had a loyal customer base, employees and products they willingly put their name on. Today everyone wants to turn a buck fast.

Our culture has degraded to the point where the money people look to buy a healthy company, gut it, sell off the profitable parts, move the assets to some off shore location that can produce a similar product for less money at a fraction of the cost. Fast money. No hard work, no work ethic, no pride in the product. Just line our pockets and get out of the way, bring us the next victim.

Not only has the moral element left our business segment of society but the same greed and shortsightedness has infested our government. Right, left, republican or democrat, they all have put the peoples business up for sale to the highest bidder. Campaign, raise funds, make alliances, protect their elected office at all costs, just so they can be re-elected. The public be dammed!

The fundamentals of our government is sound but the mechanics are broken. We need to seek out people for our elected positions that are willing to listen, are responsible and more than accommodating to seek a solution rather than drawing a line in the sand and digging in their heals.

Partisanship, special interests, and the ultimate goal to keep the "Party In Power" is the ruination of the great American Experiment in democracy. If we as a society don't wake up and start the change now, even one step at a time, we will languish and become just an footnote to history. The Union is in a sad State. We need to cheer it up!

The Night Sky Sun

As some of you may have noticed, in previous writings, I have a fascination with other worldly bodies, in the astrological sense. I often take my telescope out and look heavenward. I don't know what I'm looking for but there is this intense pull, telling me the answer is out there. The answer to what I don't know. The question I don't know either. It's just there.

I enjoy sunrise and sunsets and the pallet of soft warm colors they produce when they illuminate this world. My other fascination is with the moon. The number of sunrises and sunsets can't compare to the number of slides I have of the moon.

The moon I often reefer to as the "Night Sky Sun." Just think about that. When the moon is better than three quarters full the light it casts on the night time surroundings gives an almost surreal look. Unfortunately the moon's light is not soft and warm like the rising or setting sun. It is a cooler light, which seems welcome on a hot summer night and even colder on a wintry snow scape. One poet / songwriter referred to the moon as a "cold hearted orb, that rules the night . . . ", and others have referenced the cold sterile illumination that is cast from the night sky. The full moon often brings forboding and a sense of the paranormal. While all of this may have some truth, I still see something else. Something deeper. The moon, in all of it's night time splendor, can often hide right in plain sight.

Sometimes it's up early in the afternoon, while the sun is hard at work, burning away trying to get a head start on the night. Other times it stays around long after the sun has risen in the morning as a stoic reminder to see that the transition between night and day is complete. Some of my favorite views are when the moon is just a fragile sliver hanging on the cusp of the day between dark and twilight. And while it is suspended, often near the western horizon the remainder of the dark moon is silhouetted in the transitional sky.

But somewhere between that slim crescent and the first quarter the true mystery of the universe is exposed. A very simple observation. No need for astrophysicists, rocket scientists or any of the collective acedemia. An observation so simple a child could see it and understand. And it is in this simplistic view that the true beauty is reviealed.

The illuminated part of the moon looks very much like a thumb nail. The white of the moons reflection is the part of the nail above the quick and the remainder the rest of the nail. Can this simple observation mean that our world is truly held in the hands of God and this is one of the few times he shows himself to us? Seeing the beauty and the majesty of our earth in the simplest of forms proves that a greater power is overseeing the entire process. A process that we corrupt, take for granted and over complicate just to serve ourselves? Is this how we define ourselves?

Has our quest for the unknown taken us so far afield we fail to see the simplest things? It is true that we cannot see the forest for the trees? I can see the tree, and it is good. I see the sunrise and it's promise of a new day. I see the sunset and know that the day is growing to a close. And I see the Night Sky Sun and know that we are truly in his hands no matter how we try to screw it up. Shine on Harvest Moon, Shine On!

Beauty is All Around

I always seem to enjoy the morning sunrise and evening sunset. God knows I've got hundreds of pictures of this daily occurrence. It's just something soothing about those times of day.

Like this morning, here we are in the throes of winter and as the sun inches itself above the eastern horizon its soft, warm reds and pinks slowly massage the day to life. As I drove across downtown Kingston the warm golden glow of the early morning light reflected off of the stoic spires of the old downtown churches. Those silent sentinels proclaiming their allegiance to their heavenly aspirations.

Embellishments adorning the tops of these towers of faith reflect more than the morning sunlight. They are a testament to the faith of the congregations and as a personal note a capping signature of the individual architect and their individual faith.

While many of these grand old buildings no longer serve the faithful masses they stand as a testament to the faith of our ancestors. Those who built these houses of God to give thanks for the opportunities they were given in life and the promises of the future. A place where they asked for forgiveness for their indiscretions. Celebrated in the joys of the newborn and the sadness of the passing of friends and family. A continuous circle of life that goes unbroken to this day.

So when I see these churches, in the soft warm glow of the early morning, I feel assured that there is a renewed hope for all of us. While the mystery of life continues around us it is beautiful and comforting that God allows us a brief glimpse into the beauty of his handiwork each day. However brief and fleeting it is a moment, a sign, and renewal of faith in the future.

And at the end of the day the scene is repeated with a slightly different message. The beauty of the day folds softly into the evening and the renewal of faith is assured knowing that as we slumber through the darkness of the night His abiding presence is nearby watching and protecting. And in the morning it repeats itself.

The beauty of life is here, we just need to open our eyes and catch and cherish it!

Excelsior You Fathead! or Flick Lives!

I've wanted to share this story for many years and just never got around to it. This past Christmas break while I was taking care of my Emily we watched a movie that brought this all back to life.

In the early 1960's my folks packed up the ole Oldsmobile and we moved from New York City to Basking Ridge, NJ. My parents, wanting more for their kids than a torn postage stamp size backyard, looked west and like many others trekked over the Goethals Bridge to the Garden State. The great exodus of the middle class from the city to the vast undeveloped wilderness was on.

We spent many a weekend looking for the right house and the right location. It was as if Goldilocks was our tour guide. This house is too small, too old, not bright enough, too exposed, too close to the neighbors, too far away from the neighbors. Finally they found nirvana. It was years before the Monkees would parody the existence of the newly minted suburbanite with the song "Pleasant Valley Sunday", but it was true. The local rock group trying hard to learn their songs, charcoal burning everywhere, and the weekend squire coming out to mow his lawn. In our case it was to throw the rocks around the neighborhood with the lawnmower as no grass could grow on the premium top soil my dad bought for the yard.

So once I had settled into my new room, much bigger than the over sized closet I had in New York, I still had my little world, except it was much bigger. As long as I could remember I had an old Philco radio. This thing would pull in the moon, the stars and the planets as well as the New York Radio Stations. New York seemed a world away now.

Night time was really special. My parents would send me off to bed around ten. I would close my door so as to feel comfy in my warren. I had a pair of earphones from a crystal radio kit I tried to make in boy scouts, but could never get it to work. There I would be with this big old philco in its brownish Bakelite case looking to explore the world like Lowell Thomas, all from the comfort of my bedroom. I would turn it on shortly after I was in my room. I kept the volume to a inaudible level as the radio tubes warmed up. The transistor was something new and I wasn't far enough up the food chain to have one. So not wanting to let my parents know what I was doing, once the radio warmed up, I plugged in the head phones to insure they didn't hear me. Then I would adjust the volume. Little did I know my folks could tell in an instant when I turned on the radio because of the high pitched whistle one of the tubes would make and the interference it caused on the television set.

The little dial light seemed to light up my whole room like times square. I could read my comics or Hardy Boys books by the light. My cell phone today lights up a lot better.

There I would sit, at my desk, bathed in the warm glow of the radio dial. Feeling comfortable and secure as the outside world cascaded into my room each night. Twisting the various combination of knobs to listen to music, news or anything I found interesting would have me spell bound. Then I hit upon a radio station that would be forever linked in my mind and lots of my fellow school mates, WOR radio, 710AM.

Now WOR was the station my father listened to each morning. He'd walk between his bedroom and the bathroom with his six transistor Panasonic focused on every word from "John Grambling". I was a kid. How could I have ever hooked onto the same radio station my dad liked? But this was different! This was cool. This was the Shep!

From the very first notes of the bugles to the rousing ending I was hooked on the theme music. Those thunderous tones brought a level of anticipation of what would be experienced in the next 45 minutes. Johan Strauss and his "Bahn Frei Polka" would awaken anyone who was drifting off to sleep just as the show came on at 11:15 each night.

Now how does this all relate to watching a movie with my Emily you may ask? Well the Shep, as he was fondly referred to, was none other than Jean Shepard, the Humorist who's collection of short stories about his childhood were the basis for the "Christmas Story Movie." Many a night I would sit transfixed listening to the stories about life in the Jersey suburbs, the antics of Flick, Schwartz, Miss Shields, his father and the life growing up in Hommand, Indiana.

These stories, told on the radio with background mood music or Shep playing the Jews Harp, expanded our intellect as well as our imagination. We weren't given some movie directors vision of the subject matter. Something cut and edited to fit the format and the time allowed. We were free to see the stories in our own way in our minds. It was a mind growing experience.

As I moved on in life I had the opportunity to drag my wife to several of Shep's live performances. There he would take us into that netherworld of his reflections on his experiences in life and guide us through them like a tour guide through a museum. We shared in his triumphs and tragedy. The pathos of life. It was pure entertainment without any of the gimmicks.

But life has a way of taking some things you cherish and placing them on the shelf of the closet and soon they're forgotten. Every now and again you might remember some little tidbit and have a moment and that fondness of the past tugs at you heart and mind, taking you to another place and time you so cherished and loved.

I bought the books that Shep wrote over the years and even passed them on to my daughters. But as well as a good book does in telling a story there's something to be said about the author telling it in the first person. Shep does this so well as the narrator of "The Christmas Story" that if you closed your eyes you would think is 11:15 pm all over again. It's too bad that he is no longer with us today. He is missed by his legion of fans. As the cult of hardcore fans from the 60's would say, "Flick Lives!"

Thanks for Being There

Everyday we place the safety of our lives in the hands of professionals. Firefighters, Police, Emergency Medical Personnel and the Military just to name a few. Some of these people are paid for their services and others are volunteers. Whether they are paid or volunteer they are professional just the same. We go about our daily existence without giving our safety a second thought if these professionals are going to be there when we call for help.



Our public safety professionals are, in my opinion, some of the best trained in the world. When duty calls they respond, anytime, any day any where in the world. Witness just some recent events in our history. The world trade center disaster for example. Volunteers and paid professionals put their lives on hold and joined with the emergency workers from NYC to try helping and rescue those affected by the terror imported on our shores. Katrina victims were given the same accord. These professionals put the protection of others above themselves. Nothing puts this into a greater perspective than a visit to the New York City Fireman's Museum. There, displays clearly show the ultimate sacrifice that 343 members of FDNY gave that beautiful late summer day in 2001.

For the entire life of our country we have continued to send our military into harms way. Our citizen leaders expect and receive the ultimate commitment from these professionals. Many times the ultimate sacrifice is the result along with pain and suffering too intense for most of us to think about.

We as a society owe a debit that can never be repaid to these professionals. Being the true consummate professionals they are, repayment of this debt is never asked for. A simple thanks is usually more than they want. Humble servants. So it is with great shock and awe that I can't understand that after these folks have given in the service of others that we as a society allow our elected officials to limit simple entitlements. Rescue workers at the World Trade Center continue to be plagued by ailments and the government screws around with their medical and financial compensation.

Military personnel are exposed to things on the battlefield that their superiors don't acknowledge. Malady's and indescribable injuries are given inadequate or non-existent treatment.

We ask so much of these protectors of society and in return for the harm they receive we nickel and dime them. Is this anyway we as a society should repay these selfless hero's? Lets do the right thing. They did!

Leaders or Followers?

Are we as a society leading or following? Why do we put so much time and effort into trying to follow the lives of "celebrities"and fifteen minute sensations? Does this fascination or these people really contribute positively to our society other than lining the pockets of their promoters? Analysts will say they provide us with an escapism from our problems. If we really need an escape from the problems then why don't we fix them?

We are a generous society willing to help out anyone in a time of need, take the outpouring of support we give any time a calamity hits anywhere in the world, the southeast Asia tsunami and Haitian victims. In the time of need for mankind we are able to get beyond the differences that daily seem to paralyze our society and come together for one cause. But focus back on the problems in America and we get all worked up. The left is right and the right is left. What about those of us that are caught in the middle? Where is our voice?

Has the political process in this country evolved into a contest of two big box store giants, starving out the small mom and pop stores on main street? Is bigger better? We have over 300 million people in this country and they are all individuals and each and everyone has a point of view. No matter how off the wall they might be, everyone by virtue of our constitution, is afforded the God given right to have that point of view and the right to express it without consequence. Yet how can the collection of view points be so casually distilled down to right or left? I know, I know, we can't have 300 million points of view, or nothing would get done. But even with just two points of view nothings getting done!

We have replaced good manufacturing jobs in this country with entertainment, politics and media. Quality has morphed into quantity. Riches are measured in dollars rather than life quality issues. The more we have the more we want. The more we want the more we need to have and so on. We are a country that believes in the future. Our forefathers brought forth a society that was predicated on the betterment of the state of mankind. But our belief in the future has become clouded in hoping that the paycheck an job will be there in the future to pay for those material things we feel are important.

We sit and listen to the talking heads pontificating how when this politician or that sneezes, how it is going to change the makeup of the nation. Are they really helping us? All the analysis seems to blur the subject. People in power, those persons we elect to represent us and advocate our points of views and desires never really gives straight answers. They can dance around a subject better than Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers can cut a rug. Once elected our representatives are focused on political life rather than the promoting our ideas and ideals.

We have developed a government that is so focused on power and the retention of it that individualism and true representation of the voters is secondary to the next election and the next and so on.

We are a nation of educated people who are innovative, adaptable and in my opinion second to none. So why can't we moxie up the where with all to stand up and let our elected officials know that business as usual is no longer acceptable. We don't need a hero or a superstar or a new messiah to guide us through the mess we're in. We need to start on common ground together. We need to bring our commonalities together for OUR betterment, not THEIRS! Term limits, if acceptable then so be it! Part time, citizen representatives rather than the career politicians. Have someone represent us. Someone who is one of US. Someone who can relate to the daily struggle to exist rather than flourish. Someone who is accessible to the guy next door. Someone who you can call up on the phone and speak your mind. Not someone who shows up the first time they"re running for office and then disappear into the woods after being elected. We as a people need to lead ourselves rather than follow the minstrel down the street.

Remember we should have a "Government of the People, By the People and FOR THE PEOPLE!

A Gift Forgotten

Today, being a holiday (MLK jr Birthday) I did like most of America and went out the stores. Now, I didn't need to go shopping for anything but my wife and granddaughter Emily did. So I drove.

At each store I sat in the car in the parking lot with the radio on and the windows down. It was 52 degrees and the sun was shinning. A far cry from last night when it was snowing like crazy. I would close my eyes and I could feel the strings of Spring tugging at the winter landscape. I could see in my minds eye the nymphs dancing around with their pan flutes (Oh crap! Was I listening to Zamfir?). It was a gorgeous day!

Why does a 52 degree day feel so cold in the fall and in the winter or spring so great? This is just one of those puzzling questions that confound the academia.

Well all questions aside it was just great! A true gift from God in a world gone mad. It's these small and often overlooked gifts that we often take too much for granted. Much like the sacrifices that Dr. King did for our society. Today little thought is given to the Civil Rights Movement. Another gift given to us from God that is too often overlooked.

Bless you Dr. King and Thank You for your sacrifice and may it never be forgotten by us all!

I Am My Father's Child

I know my generation must have given our parents a good deal of indigestion. Our rebellious ways. The revolutionist thoughts and the mistrust of anyone over 30. Our condemnation of the war in Vietnam and the march and desire for Civil Rights. Throw into that mix long hair, rock and roll music and free love and you really could get some of the old timers going!

So it is with a great deal of reflection that I now sit and wonder at the latest generation. Driving a School Bus I see all kinds of kids. Like the kids I had on my last two charters, well mannered, respectful and normal kids. Yeah, they have their desires to show their individuality. But there are some that I pick up on a daily basis that makes me think that Ringling Bros. is in town.

I can easily get by the weird colored hair and the styles. I can even be accepting of most tattoos, as having raised two daughters who sought their own mark in the world. But the one thing I can't get past is the body piercing and facial tattoos.

I saw a kid the other day with his ear lobes extended so big that the holes were bigger than a 1 1/2 inch kitchen drain pipe. There are some of these kids who have so much facial hardware it looks like they fell into a fishing tackle box and came up smiling.

For the life of me I just don't get it. I guess I'm getting to be like my father.

Take The Money and Run!

It wasn't too long ago the government prosecuted organized crime for loansharking. These practices exacted interest rates that any one would find as usury. But loansharking seems to have now taken a new face, it's called consumer borrowing!

Banks issuing credit cards with rates in the 30% range and thinking nothing of it. Tack on to that rate late fees, sometime based on a percentage of the outstanding balance, annual fees, statement fees, over limit fees just to name a few. How in the hell can we have a healthy economy when this fiscal extortion is sanctioned by the government. Oh I forgot, the banks and the insurance companies own the government. How silly of me not to remember that connection.

The banks got the bailout and then stick it to the taxpayers by giving out billions in bonuses. Where is our bailout? Greed is running rampant and society is falling apart by the ever increasing polarization of those that have and those who have not.

Because we have been ingrained with the consumerism ideal, we by default live above our means. Borrow today and worry about it tomorrow. Well tomorrow arrived last week!

We need to get straight with things and tell the banks no thanks. Pay cash and limit the useless quest to have more toys than the other guy. Life is short and by rights we should be happy. But when happiness is masked by gaining material things that result in the continued pressure of maintaining payments for things that we bought, used and cast away, we need to rethink our priorities.

Think about the quality of life. Simplier is better, less is more and so on.