Harassment or Competency?
By · CommentsThanks for coming back
I’m all alone on highway 82 headed toward Montgomery Tuesday night when I top a hill and see a police car sitting in an empty parking lot. Of course I immediately check my speed, and I’m only about 7mph over. No problem. I just keep going. I’ve never been one who immediately jams the brakes when I see a cop. I check my rear view mirror and what do you know, he’s pulling out behind me. Still no problem. I drop to about 5mph over and keep going. By now he’s right on my tail, so I look at the road ahead trying to anticipate where he’ll hit the lights. There’s a large, almost truck stop type store ahead. That’s the spot. I don’t slow down, but prepare mentally to pull in. Just before we get to the entrance of the parking lot he hits the lights.
Do You Know Why I Pulled You Over?
Of course I’m not going to start guessing. I’ll just let him tell me. It’s because one of my tag lights is blown. Ok, this should be quick. He’ll give me a verbal warning and I’ll be on my way. He checks my insurance and takes my license back to his car. This isn’t going to cost much time at all. I’ll be able to make it up when I hit I-85. After a few minutes two more officers show up. What? Ok, they just saw a fellow officer with someone pulled over in the middle of the night, and they are just stopping for support. No big deal: until one of them walks up to my passenger door and the other two come to the driver’s side and ask me to get out.
Was I Just Profiled?
The officer in charge of the scene, as he put it, brought me back to his car and explained that there has been an increase in drugs being transported between Tuscaloosa, Montgomery, and Auburn. So here I am around midnight heading from Tuscaloosa to Lee County with several bags in the front of my truck and a couple of gas cans and bags in the back of the truck. My truck and license are from Lee County and I’m coming from Tuscaloosa on a road that’s become a popular drug route. So the police just took some facts about criminals and compared those facts to what they saw. Yep, I was profiled. It’s ok though. I completely support profiling. Why is it wrong to say “A big purple elephant just broke a law; we need to check big purple elephants”?
The Drug Search Begins
The officer went through the whole “it’ll be easier to confess now rather than lying and having us find something” speech. I told him that I was completely comfortable with them searching my belongings. So I stood at the police car talking to this officer while the other two combed through my bags, under the seats, in the dash, under the floor mats, etc. I was somewhat amused watching them. The whole time they are intensely searching with the the demeanor that something could be found under the next t-shirt, and the whole time I know that there’s no chance of them finding anything. I’m not mocking them, I just found it amusing.
How Do I Feel?
After finding nothing, the officers left everything like they found it. They didn’t leave any bags dumped out or anything else messed up. They returned my license and pocket knife that they had held during the search. Two of the three were friendly and told me to have a good night, drive safe, get the tag light repaired, etc. The other officer seemed a little gung-ho and disappointed that they didn’t find anything. He just stood in the background with his arms crossed. Now here’s the question: did I feel like I had been wrongly searched? Was I harassed? I say absolutely not! I’m ok being inconvenienced for thirty or forty minutes knowing that these guys are trying to stop drug trafficking. Here’s exactly how I feel: I have a brother who’s in his last year of an 11 year sentence for drugs. I have a sister whose death was indirectly related to drugs. (She wrecked while going to visit someone in jail for drugs) I have my own zero tolerance policy for drugs. Here it is as simple as I can say it: You bring drugs in my house, vehicle, around my family, or try to sell to my kids, and you will be the one calling the police to come to your rescue.
To the officers who searched my truck; thank you.
Whose Responsibility Is It?
By · CommentsI had a fairly secure job as a maintenance technician with a major small engine manufacturer for several years. A well-known tire manufacturer in the area ran an ad for a job fair in the local newspaper. This was an opportunity to move to a job with less stress and more money. A no-brainer. The short of it is that I went to the job fair, passed a few tests, had an interview, and was offered a job. Easier work, more money, better benefits, and more time off. If this is torture, chain me to the wall!
A Time For Change
I had been with this company for about four years when one day I got a call. It was a message to come to a meeting at a conference center in town. I arrived at the meeting with a feeling of what was going on. When I actually got to the room, I knew. Everyone from the plant was there. Boy was I excited! I was just wondering why they brought us to a conference center to tell us that we were receiving across the board raises? Well, as you may have guessed, there were no raises. Some big shirt from high in the company came swooping in complete with an earpiece wearing, secret service looking entourage surrounding him. The only thing missing was a theme song. Anyway, he proceeded to tell us that our plant was closing and good luck. He then dashed away to do press conferences with local TV stations. Our plant manager took the stage next and it was all blah, blah, blah from there.
Livin’ The Good Life
After the plant closed, I signed up for all of the government programs I could find. I mean come on, I had already heard that President Obama was going to pay house payments, car payments, and utility bills for citizens. It was time for me to collect my fair share. I now sit here in my government house watching my big screen tv (that I purchased with my government check) waiting for the 1st and the 15th. Akuna Ma Tada.
Reality
Ok, I lied. If you bought any of it all I can say is wow. The reality is that I never felt any of the dire hopelessness that seemed to plague some of my fellow employees. I knew that I would find a job not because employers would line up with job offers, but because I am responsible for taking care of my family. The government, via all of you tax payers, is not responsible for providing for my family. I knew that I would find a job because, as far as I was concerned, there was no other choice. Since there were no good jobs immediately available in our area, I signed up for the opportunity to transfer to another plant within the company and was offered a job about two months before the plant closure.
Sacrifice
In order to provide for my family I now spend several days each week working across the state. I drive over 600 miles each week to provide an immediate, short term income for my family while I hash out the details of some long term business plans. Basically, I do what I have to do to legally provide for my family. This isn’t easy. I don’t enjoy spending so much time on the road. I do what I have to do. I am responsible for my family. You are not responsible for my family. The government is not responsible for my family. My extended family and friends are not responsible for my family. I am responsible for my family. It is up to me to provide. God has handed me this opportunity, and now it’s my responsibility to accept it.
A Time For Help
I should point out that needing help is nothing to be ashamed of. There may come a time when the only way to fulfill your responsibility to your family is through some type of assistance. I don’t have a problem with that. Just don’t let it become a way of life. Don’t let that temporary assistance turn into a full time career. Also, remember that unemployment payments are not part of a government handout. Unemployment is a type of insurance. Companies pay the premiums, similar to the premiums you pay for auto insurance. When the time comes for the payout, it’s just like your auto insurance company giving you a check to cover damages from a wreck. The point is that you should feel no worse about collecting unemployment payments than you would collecting a check from a gecko. Again, the problem occurs when people start to manipulate the system to keep getting those checks.
Fair Tax
By · CommentsI’ve spent several days and hours researching the fair tax proposal, and I can’t see how we could go wrong with this system. I won’t do it a disservice by trying to explain it here. I’ll just post a link to the fair tax website. One huge hurdle the fair tax will encounter is that it abolishes the IRS and other government agencies and programs. These are basically cancers that once rooted are almost impossible to kill. Can you imagine the government putting government workers out of work? I can’t either. Maybe if we can get enough support for the fair tax, Uncle Sam won’t be able to ignore it.
Yellow Hammer Restaurant Rots
By · CommentsMy wife received a $50 gift certificate to Yellow Hammer Restaurant from her students as an end-of-the-year gift. We forgot about it for a while, or weren’t able to go when we did remember. Anyway, we thought we would use it for our 14th wedding anniversary tonight. My wife checked the certificate and it had expired one month ago. She contacted Yellow Hammer to see if they would still honor the gift. They said no. Now, first off I’ll acknowledge that we let the certificate expire. Technically, we are at fault for not using it. Now from the restaurant’s perspective, however, they are going to let $50 turn into an internet campaign to let everyone know that their customer service rots.
Let’s lay this thing out: They received the $50, and they won’t honor the certificate, so they have they made a 100% profit on that sale. However, that $50 is going to going to cost them more in the long run because it is now my mission to yell from the mountaintops that Yellow Hammer has all the customers that they can stand and have no desire to earn more by treating people fairly. Is it really worth that $50 Mr YellowHammer?
There’s a good chance that we would have spent beyond $50 had we been able to use the gift certificate. Let’s say we spent a total of $70 on dinner. Yellow Hammer would probable have made $40 profit on that meal. Amazing! These people are willing to shaft us over a potential $10 loss.
I believe in spreading the word, good or bad, about companies, services, experienced, etc. So had we gone to Yellow Hammer and had a good experience, I would be right here telling hundreds, maybe thousands, of people about it. Alas, here I am telling that same crowd about the pathetic attitude and customer care presented by this restaurant.
Apparently these people are oblivious to the effects of a dissatisfied customer, or would-be customer in this case. Second, they have no idea about the power of recommendation, especially where food is concerned. And last, they have no understanding of basic, everyday, do-the-right-thing.
So here’s my recommendation for this restaurant: Don’t go! We are going to Applebee’s in Auburn instead.
Ashlee’s America
By · CommentsMy daughter recently wrote this poem for me. I must say, I was extremely proud of her. Apparently she’s her daddy’s girl.
America by Ashlee Sanders
The USA
America
Presidents
Blessed by God
50 States
Free Country
Loved by me
Discovered by Columbus
A perfect place for US
United States of America
Many people love the one true God
Oh, I love the USA
Oh, I love the USA
Brian Clark Explodes on the Writing Scene!
By · CommentsBrian Clark has kept his writing talents hidden, until now. I read some of his work on facebook , and I was impressed. I’m posting some of his work here for everyone to enjoy. You can also check out Brian’s facebook page.
Dream
i’m in a dream or so it seems
of life and death as silence screams
to be set free from this dream
that works silently inside of me
it had no beginning, nor an end
no way to stop or to win
a part of time I cannot see
for I cannot stop it until it stops me
First Verse From “The Ride”
Take a step out the front door into the fog and the breeze shaking the leaves on the trees.
Got a handful of CD’s’ check my back pocket for my wallet and make sure I didn’t forget my keys.
Get in the car, put on G n’ R or Alice In Chains and head on down the driveway.
Take a left onto the road, stop at the sign
Memories unfold into the light as I bear right to hit the highway.
Roll the windows down, grab my Zippo and smokes
Same thing I did so many years ago. This time though,
it’s a different car and I’m a different man, but I’m no closer to any promised land.
Same as I was as a very young man
with dreams and hope when I was still smoking dope and thought I had a plan.
Blind
If only allowed to see those things in life in whick I seek, I would be blind, for I cannot reach without the confidence to teach myself to seek that whick is not easy to find.
Xylitol Update
By · CommentsUpdate to Dubya’s sugar free gum snack. I took Dubya to the vet Saturday morning for blood work to check his liver. Vet says he’s fine and should have no long term effects. Good thing we were here when he ate the gum.
Xylitol Dog Killer
By · CommentsI believe half of what I see and almost none of what I hear. With all of the “verified” inaccurate information zooming through cyberspace it’s almost like white noise to me most of the time. Well, I found out that the xylitol used in sugar free gum actuallly is dangerous to dogs.
Snacktime with Dubya
Our 3 month old retriever, Dubya, had a little snack today. My wife found him with his snout burried in a pack of the kids’ sugar free gum. It’s really a good thing she was here. I probably wouldn’t, in fact I know I wouldn’t, have acted as quickly as she did. I would have brushed it off and waited to see some kind of symptoms. She immediately went into crisis mode and called our vet. Turns out the stuff really is bad.
Pink Puke
Our vet told us to make the dog puke right away. Luckily he also told us how to accomplish this. One tablespoon of peroxide. My wife held his mouth open and I poured it in. He gagged a bit then took off playing outside. He seemed lilke nothing was wrong. I thought that the peroxide must not be working. Suddenly his back arched up and he started heaving like crazy. After several seconds we had a pile of bubble gum flavored puke in the yard. Cool.
Dangers of Xylitol
The short term danger is low blood sugar. The dog can go into a diabetic coma in no time. Possibly fatal. Immediately after throwing up we gave him honey. Can you imagine a 3 month old lab juiced up on sugar? They are already ADHD. Anyway, the long term danger is liver damage. We have a date with the vet on Saturday for blood work. The vet told us that since we actually saw him eat the gum and got it out immediately, he would probably be ok. If he had snacked on the gum when we were gone for the day, who knows.
Dubya’s First Play Date
By · CommentsDubya met a female hound at my grandmother’s house a couple of days ago. I got home today and she was sitting by our front porch looking around. She seemed to ask as I got out of the truck, “Can Dubya come out and play?” I let Dubya out and the two of them ran and chased for about 30 minutes. We had a busy day planned, so I had to stop the fun and get Dubya cleaned up. It had been raining this morning, so this was his first real romp in the mud. These pics don’t show exactly how dirty he was. He’s normally white/light yellow.
Robert Reich And Charlie Rangle Promote Racism
By · Comments“We need to make sure that jobs don’t go to white male construction workers.” “Jobs should be mandated for minorities and women.” This is blatant racism. It’s unbelievable that the very people who whine about racism the most are actually the most blatant racists! You want to award jobs fairly, to the best candidate? Then let’s remove race from all applications. Period. Similar to the judges of a talent show sitting behind a curtain so that only the performance will be judged, not the performer. Hire workers based solely on credentials. Oh wait, let me guess, hiring someone based solely on ability is surely racist, right Mr Reich? As long as people like these are in Washington, on the news, and on the radio, this country has no hope of moving past racism. As long as we say “He’s the first black coach to reach this achievement” or “This is the first time a black woman has done this” we will continue to be a racist society.
Do you really want to get beyond racism? Then stop making skin color part of the equation. It never fails that when people talk about someone of a different race than their own, they feel the need to point it out. “There’s a little black girl in my daughter’s class that did this” or “There was this white man at the store today that said this”. Until we can fill out an application, or even have a simple conversation, without having to make a point of race, we will continue to struggle.
No other way to explain it. The Obama administration supports racism. Here it is in their own words.