Sometimes getting the right answer is not the answer we wish to hear. I recently taught a class on writing and I discovered that while most of the people, attending the class, were there to learn something, some were there to antagonize the rest of the class. Hecklers come in all sizes, ages, and descriptions. You can't look at each person entering your classroom, immediately identify them, and get rid of them so you have to wait. When you are 100% sure of which ones are the culprits, you have to go into action. Now the rub. If you are sure who they are, and generally they leave little doubt, the first thing you have to identify is whether they are helping or hindering. Sometimes the heckler causes the rest of the class to take a bit of pity on the instructor and comes to his/her defence. This does not help however, because before the subject being taught is paramount, it is derailed by the thought that the insructor can't hold his/her own in the situation, i.e. faith is lost in the instructor. If the heckler is one that imitates some comedian he/she likes, it comes out quickly and no one laughs, but rather the students immediately identify who the heckler imitating and pays no attention to him/her. The heckler has lost face and either becomes a working member of the class, or just does not return. For me the best approach has been to ignore them. Getting into a verbal battle with a joker is a good way to become the joker yourself. His/her self appointed job is to belittle you and what you are trying to accomplish. Your job is to overcome the situation, or even better, to bring them into the class as a real student. I have found an indirect approach that has worked for me is pretending to appreciate this person. I try very hard to keep close eye contact with him/her. I also tend to direct many questions to that person for their answers and/or opinions. After they give thier answers I ask them what reference I might get from them for additional informatin regarding the subject. It is soon discovered this person has very little knowledge of this, or any other subject and dislike have the spot light now thrown on them. Another sucessful direction I have used it to ignore the person by not responding to his/her questions. I have suggested that another person in the class answer his quest, and I try to pick out someone in the class that will require sympathy from the class, just in the case they answer it incorrectly. A firm and quick answer to some of these absurd questions is, "Not knowing to a positive degree of certainty, I would hesitate in making my response." You can't use this over and over of course, but when I do use that answer, I smile broadly and look directly at the perpetrator. Everyone in the class can see that I have given him/her a dignified answer that requires no answer from them. The rest of the class generally giggle, laugh, or just say, "Gosh I'm going to write that down, I like that answer and it fills a lot of voids." Oh, by the way, I can thank my brother for that answer as he used it a lot when he workd for the state as an inspector for highway construction where all the guys were big and burly and had an answere for everything...well almost everything.

A Must See Video

Elections are frequently nasty, it seems. I have watched them since 1956 when I reached that wonderful age of 21, even collected ballot boxes a time or two and transfered them for counting. I recall some heavy mud slinging as well as some more gentlemanly debates, all in the usual, although irritating at times, retoric spent from the mouths of politicians that really never intended to please anyone but themselves in the first place. This is called politics! The rule seems to be to tell the constituents anything, get elected, and then do as you please. One thing that has never been played on a national level, at least that I can remember, is the race card. I grew up with black kids, red kids, darker than normal kids, and white kids. We all got along great, played together, sometimes almost cried together. Some of my friends are no longer around, but the memories of those missing lingers on. Today I received a video that sent chills through my body. Racism should have no place in our government, especially from a person that has been elected as our president. It is a shame when a person of that office, throws away all dignity to dishonor a special day, by asking that he be re-elected not because of his actions, not because of his achievements, but because of his race. We need unity in this country, not division. You can watch this video and respond as you feel necessary. I am sending it out to all of the citizens of this United States of American and I sincerely hope you view it, digest it, and do what you think is right. Thanks and have a great, God Blessed, Day.You can paste the url below to your browser to view the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BdjoHA5ocwU Tom Ault

Ault's Paradise: Who Every Knew?

Ault's Paradise: Who Every Knew?http://thomasault.webs.com

Who Every Knew?

Did you know that you can do anything you set your mind to do? I bet you haven't tried it, I know that I have not carried out that exercise to its fullest extent.

Not too long ago, that is if you are as old as Methuselah, I tried my hand at selling, writing, singing, starting three companies, engraving, and some other things I have no doubt forgotten about, and can't really say I was successful at any of them. I now know why...I didn't set my mind to the fact that I not only could, but would do the task before me.

Oh yeah, I was successful in the fact that I didn't fail, but I was never really successful. I had my mind on too many things that really didn't matter at the time, but I guess I thought they did. Never did I truly commit myself to the task, never did I say to myself, "I will do it and not look back...I will do it because I want to achieve...I will do it because I can!

Now, I ask you again, have you really tried to exceed, or have you gone about it half heartedly just like I did?

Time magazine

I just received my May 21 copy of Time Magazine. If you have the time, and the money to purchase one, please do so.

It seems to me that we are letting the wrong folks get a tight hold on what is being sent out to the nice people of our country. Maybe I am wrong, but when a three year old boy is still a suckling child it appears to me either the child has a serious problem, his mother does, or they both do.

If you agree with me, and after you look at this cover that your whole family can see, write to letters@time.com with your name, address and phone number and let them know what you think. Pro or Con would be acceptable to them I am sure.

Why-----

today, with all of the important things we need to consider, do we spend our time worrying about what a candidate did over 40 years ago? Why do we worry about same-sex marriage when we have people with bombs hidden on their bodies with which to kill innocent folks? Why do we concern ourselves with problems that weren't problems until the media made them into problems?

As I sit here and look out of my back window, I wonder if tomorrow the scene will still be there. I wonder if my friends will still be alive and well. I wonder about if a brain aneurysm is going to seriously injure a family friend, or if a member of my family will be able to use her left hand any more since it became injured a few weeks ago.

I have never been so bitter about our government executives as I have become this year. While they sit on their proverbial asses and collect money they don't earn just waiting for their retirement which is about as obscene as their salaries, our country is being sold to the highest bidder and they don't care.

My friends, and my enemies for, which ever the case may be, I don't know about you, but it is my deep concern that our country is headed where all countries ended up when the citizenry decided that they were too unprepared to run their own lives and let the government do it for them.

A couple of years we went to Russia. The area surrounding St.Petersburg was nothing but urban blight, the means of transportation was older than I am and that isn't good, the people don't smile or laugh but look they are waiting for the next shoe to fall, and yet when you ask them how they are doing, they take the potato they were allowed and tell you they are preparing a meal.

WAKE UP!

WE ARE GOING TO END UP WITH ABSOLUTELY NOTHING BUT GOVERNMENT HANDOUTS AND IF YOU REALLY THINK THAT IS A GOOD THING, MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS YOU ARE IN FOR ONE BIG SURPRISE!

Am I Too Late?

Is a person too late to do things when they reach 60, or 70, or beyond? That question has no doubt haunted many of us that have reached retirement age. I recently read about a fellow who parachuted on his 80th birthday, a 92 year old that went bunchie cord diving, and then about a 18 month old that is learning to ski.

Age is apparently no measure of what a person can do, or when he/she might accomplish it.

All of my working life was spent working with a bit of golf and fishing thrown in for good measure. It wasn't until I retired and ventured out of my comfort zone that I discovered reading, writing, and the fellowship of those that enjoyed those things.

I wish I had discovered writing a lot sooner. Have you tried it yet? I wrote a couple of newspaper articles when I was upset about something, but that was just a way to vent. A couple of the companies I worked for let me write training manuals for them, but I really don't know if they ever used them. Monthly news letters to employers were fun, required some research, and went to folks who probably trash-canned them as quickly as they arrived.

Writing books is a great releaser. You can write about people (without using their names or other specifics) and tell the truth, or make things up based on the way you viewed them. You can write about places you have visited and skewer the story any way you think it should have been, in a kind and descriptive manner of course. I personally like to become one of the characters I am writing about, and let the story build from there.

Right now I just am enjoying the real Ault's Place. The early spring, the beautiful flowers in full bloom already, the flowering trees (even with the allergies they cause), and the temperature that I wish could remain all year long.

The paths we created for the deer are being used during the day by our little Schnoodle, Jake, who investigates everything and generally comes back to the house covered with matter of all types from the leaves, the ground,the thorn bushes, or the weeds and other "whatever" is growing in the woods.(that includes fleas, ants, ticks, or worse)

I hope that your visits to Ault's Place are not boring, disillusioning, disgusting or regretful, but rather informative, interesting, and pleasant.

If you have some thoughts about things you would like to read about, write a comment. I will read it and see what can be done.....

Bye for now.