Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Would You Belive it??

Food safety...Time April 18th .... "Thanks to new legislation, the U.S. is spending 1.4 billion to inspect a growing number of foreign food sources. But will that be enough?" I guess I am probably one of the most naive people on this planet. I always thought that I lived in the most wonderful place this earth had to offer. I remember in school I was told we were the "breadbasket" of the world. My teachers even went so far as to tell me that we could easily be self sustaining with our products, our ingenuity, and our desire to be number one. I now understand that we no longer can supply the world's needs, as a matter of fact, we can't even supply our own needs. What a shame!! Now, let's suppose we were to take that little 1.4 billion and let the farmers that used to operated small farms that fed this great country do it again. How about cutting out those multi-corporate magnates who took advantage of the stupidly handled farm subsidies of many years ago and letting the little farmer, who got squeezed out, get back into business. How about something really stupid like actually relying on what our country has to offer? What do you think about cutting off the millions of immigrants coming here now (especially those who have nothing to offer at all) and make use of our own labor force? How about another crazy idea of actually letting our own people work instead of draw on money that was just printed yesterday with nothing to back it up? Have I scratched that open sore yet? Are you ready to strike out and hit me yet? Or,....just maybe you agree with something I might have written? We sit around her on our political butts and say silly things like "let's police the world, you know all of those that we now rely upon for product, food, fun, and the likes...it is so much easier than actually (excuse me) doing it ourselves and getting our hands dirty." If you don't think that is what we are doing you aren't paying attention. The government now thinks we need more education to keep up...maybe we do, but we also need people that can take an idea from their head and let it flow down into the hands and get it accomplished...these are called workers!!!!! Gosh I hope that isn't a new word!! I could go on and on, but I won't. Just some food for thought from a guy that started out at 13 working 12 hours a day and going to school and does know what work is all about.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Is It Really a Weapon?

Today I received an old email from a friend about the strange obituary in a London newspaper. It was not about a real person, of course, but rather depicting the sadness surrounding the loss of "common sense."

As I sat in choir this morning at our church, one of the younger mothers, who is a vibrant part of that group, told us a tale I thought worth repeating. Your reaction to this will be of interest to a lot of people.

This is what she related, (this is not a direct quote, but somewhat paraphrased)

My son was almost expelled from kindercollege, last Friday, for bringing a weapon to his school for 'show and tell.' I almost fell off my chair when I received the call to go to his school to find out what it was all about. Still in shock from the call, I found him sitting in the office of the care center, with the owner. I entered the office and my little boy came to sit on my lap as I asked what the problem was.

"Your son,", she told me, "has been found to be carrying a weapon to school!"

I looked at the innocent face of my five year old and asked, "What did you bring to school today?"

He reached into his pocket and brought the weapons out. I had to admit I was surprised.

"As you can see, he has these with him now and was going to show them to the class, but fortunately I discovered what he was holding before it got that far."

Without yelling, or shouting out in rage at this outrageous situation, I looked her straight in the eye, and without blinking, took the five little arrow heads from my son's hand.
"Are these the weapons you are talking about?" I asked.

"Yes, and I can't believe you would allow him to..."

At that, I interrupted her. "Lady, if you think these are dangerous weapons, I really feel sorry for you. There are hundreds, if not thousands of them laying around these wooded areas."

"Well, I..."

"There is no "well I" to it!" I interrupted her once again.

I asked that my boy be allowed to go back to his little classmates, as I held the dangerous weapons he left behind, in my hand.

We discussed the situation. I was quite disillusioned with the intelligence factor here, and she became enlightened as to what weapons really are; that relics from 100 year ago, the size of a pencil head, could hardly be considered as weapons. We came to an understanding between us, that what she was doing was harming, rather than helping, the minds of little children with nonsense that in no way resembles life as it is today; these were not knives, guns, swords, bullets, taser guns, or the likes.

Now, the moral of this story is that, there is none. Common sense, once more, has died a foolish death, at the hands of someone less intelligent than a snail. What do you think?

Friday, February 11, 2011

Sea Scouts

During the era of World War II a great interest was generated for the Coast Guard, especiallyl for those that were too old to be in the armed forces at the time, or had flat feet, or a variety of other problems. The Coast Guard welcomed many of these people that were rejected in other areas for special need work. One of those was an uncle of mine who was accepted because he was color blind. This apparently enabled him to see things that were supposedly camouflaged which tied color with other colors and caused some things to be almost invisible, except of course to one who saw shapes rather than colors.

There were many young boys who would like to know more about the sea. To handle that need the Sea Scouts were gained popularity all over the country. Lakes as small as Carter Lake in Iowa could be utilized for training successfully. The boys liked this idea as much as they liked the Boy Scouts of America and learned basics about sailing, knot tying, and many other useful things with relationship to boats and water.

Sea Scouting had its beginning at a campfire in England when Baden-Powell voiced the hope that older Scouts would be interested in learning about boat management and seamanship. He stressed the need for young men to prepare themselves for service on their country's ships. Sea Scouting was introduced by Baden-Powell with the assistance of his brother, Warington Baden-Powell, K.C., an Admiralty lawyer, sailor, and inventor of canoe sailing. Lord Baden-Powell personally held a Scout camp at Bucklers Hard, Hampshire in August 1909 which marked the start of Sea Scouts, though they were not officially named such until 1912. Warington Baden-Powell wrote the handbook Sea Scouting and Seamanship for Boys in 1910 with a foreword by Robert Baden-Powell. A special uniform was approved in 1910.[2] It was enthusiastically received by the young men of Britain and soon found its way to the rest of the world. Warington Baden-Powell is also the author of Canoe Travelling: Log of a Cruise on the Baltic, and Practical Hints on Building and Fitting Canoes London, Smith, Elder, 1871.

Sea Scouts has maintained a particular popularity over the years and is a specialized segment of the Venturing program, which was organized to address members' boating skills and promote knowledge of our maritime heritage.

Sea Scout units, called "ships," focus on sailing and cruising either sailboats or power vessels. During the boating seasons, Sea Scouts learn to maintain and operate then vessel, with a focus on learning the safe and proper methods of handling boats. Sea Scouts also learn the meaning of buoys and lights, how to take advantage of wind and tide, and how to drop anchor or approach a dock.

Most ships hold formal meetings conducted in either full dress of work uniforms. Swimming, lifesaving, first aid, Coast Guard Auxiliary Sailing and Seamanship, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation courses are taught with the ship by our own officers. The state safe boating course is also offered by many ships. Occasionally movies are shown, contests between crews are held, or intership visits are arranged.

For more infomration about the Sea Scouts, including how to join or start a Sea Scout ship in your area, please contact your local council service center.

These articles can be found by "Googling" Sea Scouts.