I Am Law Enforcement

Following the unprovoked assassinations of police officers recently, a friend asked me what police officers were thinking about these executions and to what they attributed these shootings.  Needless to say, a flood of emotions washed over me as I contemplated these questions.

The law enforcement community is a tight-knit family.  When a loss is experienced in a police department anywhere in the country, there is a ripple effect felt throughout the entire police community.  While the AP and UPI is quick at getting the information out, such losses are communicated almost immediately to police departments nationwide.  The communication system used to check the status of drivers, vehicle registrations, stolen property, and wanted persons is also available to police departments to spread the word concerning police shootings.

A police officer dies in the line of duty on an average of every 54 hours in the United States.  Many of these deaths are due to traffic accidents or other misfortunes.  (You can see a previous article I placed on my blog that outlines officer deaths by type of incident.)  But, when it comes to the execution of a police officer, it takes on a special kind of ugly.  Nothing unites the police community like the death of one of our own and nothing kindles more sorrow than an ambush assassination of a police officer.

Though I am no longer an active duty police officer, I am still a member of that community.  When one of my fellow officers dies in the line of duty I mourn with the rest of the police fraternity.  And though I am no longer an active duty police officer I maintain contact with officers who are currently employed in law enforcement.

To be perfectly candid, every police officer I know and most of those who are retired like me point a finger at the cultural climate that President Obama has created.  They see – we see – how quickly he condemns police for actions before they are even investigated and we see how slow he is to recognize the deaths of police.  Not only do we see how slowly he recognizes the death of police, but we also see how he politicizes those deaths to meet his own agenda.  His failure to bathe the White House in blue following the deaths of the Dallas officers yet turn on the Rainbow colors for the gay community and the French Red, White, and Blue following their terrorist attacks was a slap in the face.  We see the Comforter-in-Chief selectively comforting.  His appointment of two anti-police U. S. Attorneys General is further evidence of his disdain for police.

To be clear, there are indeed abuses by police and in some communities the appearance of these abuses toward minorities is pronounced.  This does not mean that all police are bad apples.  Most police officers are like me.  When one badge is tarnished, all our badges are tarnished.  But, that does not define who we are as a policing community.

So, how are police responding to the current climate?  Most police will continue to do their jobs regardless of what target is plastered on their backs.  Some police will slow their service down and even refuse to enter some neighborhoods.  I know current police officers who are now considering the minimum service amount for retirement.  They have had it.  They have had enough, not just because of the potential threat that is out there against them, but because of the political climate that has been allowed to fester and grow.  Many police are going to look the other way at minor offenses even though we know from experience that enforcement of minor violations is a key to preventing serious crime.  More police will carry off-duty weapons while actively concealing their identity as police officers.  Spouses and children of officers will hold their breath each time their police officer goes to work.  There will be arguments about whether or not the police office spouse should find other employment.  Officers are going to be a little more cautious and edgy at the same time.  Some will react too slowly and err on the side of caution while others will overreact and err on the side of personal safety.  Expect more police officers to shoot first and ask questions later and expect more police officers to wait too long and end up getting killed as a result.

Meanwhile, expect an exodus of well-trained, seasoned police officers from the job.  Others, both green and inexperienced or those, whose idea of policing is fed by television, movies, and video games, will fill those vacancies.  Is that what you really want?

So, you want to know what police officers were thinking about these executions and to what they attributed these shootings?  There you have it in a very oversimplified nutshell.

Be Someone

As I sat reading a series of articles in a magazine it occurred to me that I knew some of the people who were mentioned in those articles.  Other names I recognized simply because I knew of them and have known of them for many years.  It occurred to me that I’ve seen other names in books, magazines, and other media that I have recognized over the years.  So many of the people I either know or know of have contributed in some way to society in one way or another, either in a general way or to specific individuals.  Then of course there are the countless others who have contributed whose names I do not know – names of people that most of us will never know because their names do not appear in the headlines of the news.  They are not honored for their achievements in a public forum.  For that matter, many don’t even receive a thank you note for their contributions, yet their contributions are valuable and in some cases may even be life sustaining.
Some people thrive on attention.  They enjoy the limelight regardless of their contributions.  There are those who contribute so that they may be recognized while there are others who contribute in spite of the recognition.  Meanwhile, there are those who do not contribute.  They sit on the sidelines and watch as the world goes by.  Some don’t care.  Some say to themselves that they could have done the same thing that others had done.  Some don’t know.  Some don’t know how.  Some don’t want the recognition; they prefer to not draw attention to themselves so they shy away from doing something of value to others.

When I read those names in the magazine it occurred to me that everyone should be someone. 

I believe that being someone is different that being who you are or what you are.  Who you are is determined by reading a birth certificate.  It is also determined by realizing  your eternal lineage.  What  you are is determined by what you do.  We most frequently attach titles to names to identify what you are.  You are a dentist, doctor, lawyer, refuse collector, electrician, teacher, preacher, basketball coach, scout leader, lineman, engineer, botanist, actor, singer, comedian, nurse, CEO, custodian, sales person, flight attendant, soldier, marine, sailor, editor, writer, service technician, chemist, and on and on.  All those and many, many other titles determine what you are.  And, it is quite possible to have more than one title.  The engineer by day may be the scout master on Tuesday nights, an Army Reservist one weekend a month, and a baseball coach three evenings a week.  That same person may also be a mom or a dad 24/7.  (One could easily argue that the title of mom or dad might also spill over into the “who you are” column.

But, what does it mean to be someone?

I believe that is a valid question.  Of course I believe it is a valid question.  I just penned it!  But, what does it mean to be someone?  Just because you are an orthopedic surgeon it doesn’t mean that you are someone.  The paperboy could be someone while the surgeon is, well, is no one.  But, how can that be?

Easy.

To be someone requires you to make a difference.  It requires you to make a difference in somebody else’s life.  It does not require press coverage.  It does not merit recognition in the newspaper nor does it merit the awarding of a medal or a pin or a certificate a letter or even a thank you note.  It requires you to do something in your sphere of life, in your circle of influence.  It requires you to do the right things for the right reasons, certainly not because you want the recognition, though admittedly it is nice to get the pat on the back once in a while.  But even if the pat on the back does not arrive, it still requires doing the right thing for the right reason.  It requires giving your best.  In fact, it requires giving more than your best.  It does not necessarily require giving everything.  But it does require giving your best.  It requires recognizing that you are not the only one on the planet, that you share breathing space with others.  It also requires recognizing others for their part in this thing we call life, even if you do not get the recognition that you probably deserve.

What sorts of things am I talking about?  Let me share some examples.
Being someone requires you to take the time to stoop down to a child’s level once in a while to speak to that child, to give that child encouragement or to congratulate the child for doing a great job.  Being someone requires you to speak kindly to the cashier who is having a really rough day.  Being someone requires you to be “that guy” who waited patiently on the receptionist who had a difficult time getting a new printer to print out your receipt, all the while explaining that you understand the person’s plight because you’ve been there, too.  Being someone requires you to let the driver of the car on adjacent street or parking lot exit to pull out in front of you.  Being someone defers conversation to others who want to speak, though you really want to speak as well.  Being someone requires you to reserve judgment.  In essence, being someone requires kindness, benevolence, honesty, integrity, virtuous, and so forth.

Are these the only ways you can be someone?  Well, no, there are other ways of being someone if you really want to be that person.  You can be rude and intolerant.  You can always have a negative thought to share.  You can be the person who always has to be right.  You can be the person who must always have the final say or be the owner of the way things are done.  You can be the know-it-all.  The person who fits that description is someone as well.  I’m just not sure that most of us want to be that person, though I know people who enjoy (or at least seem to enjoy) being that someone.

But the point of this is that everybody needs to be someone.  There are too many people hiding in the woodwork.  There are too many people not taking a stand, either by word or deed.  Too few people speak out, and when that happens the loud mouths draw all the attention, which might just lead the rest of us down crooked paths.  Too few people stand up and step forward.  There are too many people pulling out their camera phones to record what is happening rather than stepping in to make things happen.  Too many people are acquiring celebrity status for recording an injustice instead of rectifying an injustice.  Too many people are satisfied with being that someone who virtually did nothing instead of the someone who took action.

It is time for people, for you, to step out of your safe little shell and be someone; not just any someone but to be the someone who makes a difference in the lives of others.

Be Someone!

There's a Pill for That

There's a Pill for That

Drug Advertising

It has gotten to the point that a person needs to have some sort of medical degree when watching television advertisements.  Perhaps it is just my age that is showing, but it seems like television advertising these days is aimed at healing whatever it is that we are suffering from or creating new ailments that require the administration of a new drug that some pharmaceutical company has stumbled upon.

I have been keeping track for the last several days of all the ailments that are floating around out there.  Most have been reduced to alphabet soup.  Likewise, a few of the treatments follow the Campbell’s Soup pattern.  I’m not sure, but I think the practice of reducing illnesses to soup began with Tuberculosis (TB), Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Muscular Dystrophy (MD).  I’m fairly sure that MD and MS were the kingpins of lettered diseases until ADD and later ADHD became popular.  I blame ADD and ADHD for opening the floodgates.

Consider the following medical conditions that I’ve seen on television in the last few weeks:  OIC, COPD, IBS, IBS-C, IBS-D, RA, OB, ED, PTSD, PML, BED, ALS, DVT, PE, TBI, CC, UC, ALTE, CTE, OAB (I’m not sure, but I think it is the same thing as OB, but I really thought an OB was some kind of doctor), UTI (I learned about UTI’s several years ago), AMD, and BPH. 

I recently learned of two new ones just today.  IED is “Intermittent Explosive Disorder” and SID or SAD (SIAD), which is a condition for women (thank goodness) and is short for “Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder”.  I am especially interested in IED, which is not to be confused with the IED we have all come to hate in the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  But hey, they could be related!  I go off without warning when somebody cuts me off in traffic, which meets the medical IED definition and the military definition of an Improvised Explosive Device.  Hmmm.  I guess I must be and IED or have IED.  It doesn’t much matter because there is now a pill for that.  My guess is that most everybody reading this is in need of that pill.

The alphabet game is not just about letters as sometimes those letters are combined with words, partial words, and numbers.  The alphanumeric medical condition that caught my attention is Non-24, while there is a device out there that is called an IVC Filter.  I’m not sure, but I don’t think I want to know what an IVC Filter is.

It isn’t just about the alphabet, though I think there are certain letters that have been seriously underrepresented in the above list.  I mean, I don’t see anything with a Q or W or F or Z or a few other missing letters.  There are contrived words such as Ace Inhibitors and Beta Blockers and methotrexate.  I can at least pronounce those words.  There are other medication names that require your tongue to be a contortionist.  For example, there is a whole list of NSAIDS (Oh, there’s another example of what I’m talking about.  I think this one was created specifically to be an acronym.)  Anyway, consider this list of NSAIDS and see exactly how many of them you can pronounce without slowing down to sound out each syllable.

Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), Celecoxib (Celebrex), Dexdetoprofen (Keral), Diclofenac (Voltaren, Cataflam, Voltaren-XR), Diflunisal (Dolobid). Etodolac (Lodine, Lodine XL), Etoricoxib (Algix), Fenoprofen (Fenopron, Nalfron), Firocoxib (Equioxx, Previcox), Flurbiprofen (Urbifen, Ansaid, Flurwood, Froben), Ibuprofen (Advil, Brufen, Motrin, Nurofen, Medipren, Nuprin), Indomethacin (Indocin, Indocin SR, Indocin IV), Ketoprofen (Actron, Orudis, Oruvail, Ketoflam), Ketorolac (Toradol, Sprix, Toradol IV/IM, Toradol IM), Licofelone (under development), Lornoxicam (Xefo), Loxoprofen (Loxonin, Loxomac, Oxeno), Lumiracoxib (Prexige), Meclofenamic acid (Meclomen), Mefenamic acid (Ponstel), Meloxicam (Movalis, Melox, Recoxa, Mobic), Nabumetone (Relafen), Naproxen (Aleve, Anaprox, Midol Extended Relief, Naprosyn, Naprelan), Nimesulide (Sulide, Nimalox, Mesulid), Oxaporozin (Daypro, Dayrun, Duraprox), Parecoxib (Dynastat), Piroxicam (Feldene), Rofecoxib (Vioxx, Ceoxx, Ceeoxx), Salsalate (Mono-Gesic, Salflex, Disalcid, Salsitab), Sulindac (Clinoril), Tenoxicam (Mobiflex), Tolfenamic acid (Clotam Rapid, Tufnil), Valdecoxib (Bextra)

(http://www.nsaids-list.com/)

What I find interesting is some of the ingredients in these drugs that the pharmaceutical companies are pushing.  I swear, one company tells us that they put Ford Motor Oil in their drug.  I suppose they want to keep you well lubricated. 

Then of course there are the warnings that accompany the drug advertisements.  There are the written drug warnings that require an IMAX screen for you to be able to read them.  These require a medical dictionary to help you understand what you are reading.  The other drug warnings are spoken and take up so much time in spelling out the possible side effects that by the time they have finished telling what you might contract if  you take their drug that you have forgotten what the drug is or what it is for, like an inhaled corticosteroid (repeated several times throughout the advertisement).  Take for example the warnings that accompany the use of Ford Motor Oil.  (In case you are wondering, Ford Motor Oil is a long-acting beta-agonist.  It is “rarely” associated with an increased risk of asthma-related death.)  You should not use Ford Motor Oil if you are allergic to any ingredient in formoterol if

• you are using another medicine that has a long-acting beta-agonist (eg, salmeterol) in it
• you are having an asthma attack or sudden symptoms of COPD (eg, chest tightness, cough, shortness of breath, wheezing)
• you have asthma and you are not currently using a long-term asthma-control medicine (eg, inhaled corticosteroids)
• you have asthma that is already well controlled with the use of a long-term asthma-control medicine

• if you are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or are breast-feeding
• if you are taking any prescription or nonprescription medicine, herbal preparation, or dietary supplement
• if you have allergies to medicines, foods, or other substances
• if you have had a severe allergic reaction to milk protein or are lactose intolerant
• if you have a history of diabetes, heart problems (eg, fast or irregular heartbeat), blood vessel problems, high blood pressure, low blood potassium levels, an adrenal gland tumor (pheochromocytoma), seizures, or thyroid problems
• if you have recently been to the emergency room for asthma, have a history of frequent hospitalizations for asthma, or have ever had a life-threatening asthma attack
• if you have had an unusual reaction to a sympathomimetic medicine (eg, albuterol, pseudoephedrine), such as fast or irregular heartbeat, overexcitement, or severe trouble sleeping
• if you are taking linezolid, a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) [Oops! There’s another one.] (eg, phenelzine), or a tricyclic antidepressant (eg, amitriptyline) or you have taken any of these medicines within the last 14 days
• if you are taking any medicine that may increase the risk of a certain type of irregular heartbeat (prolonged QT interval). Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are unsure if any of your medicines may increase the risk of this type of irregular heartbeat.

(http://www.drugs.com/cdi/formoterol.html)

Really?  I mean, who comes up with this stuff?

The point is that the warnings have gotten completely out of control and have probably been included by pharmaceutical company attorneys to keep law suits to a minimum.  I wish the industry would come to agreement on a standard warning and disclaimer.  If I wrote such a warning it would look like this.

Don’t take this drug.

I suspect that warning would never fly with the pharmaceutical companies.  Therefore a more acceptable warning might look something like this.

You should not use this drug if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, ever have been pregnant, know somebody who is, has been, or will become pregnant.  Do not use this drug with alcohol or any illicit drug and if you are taking another prescription drug talk to your doctor before, during, and after taking each dose.  This drug may cause you to sleep, sleepwalk, sleep talk, stay awake, talk in tongues, hallucinate, radiate, irritate, and ingratiate.  Do not drive, operate machinery, sit at a desk, write memos, or engage in any type of negotiations with foreign diplomats while using this drug.  Should you have an erection lasting more than four hours the manufacturer of this medication feels sorry for you, but you really should see a doctor as soon as possible.  Discontinue use of an inhaled corticosteroid while using this drug until your condition has stabilized.  Your doctor will then prescribe an inhaled corticosteroid for daily use.  You may feel irritated and agitated while taking this medication.  In that case those around you also will feel irritated and agitated with you.  Serious side effects may accompany the use of this drug such as depression, thoughts of suicide, or hang-gliding.  Do not discontinue using this drug without first consulting with your doctor, healthcare provider, your pharmacist, spouse, significant other, your insurance company, and the President of the United States.  If you should pass out, faint, or die as a result of using this drug, contact your physician immediately.

What?  If you should die while using this drug you are to contact your physician immediately?  You are kidding me, right?  Well, no, I’m not.  That wording is actually included in a drug advertisement warning.  And, I think I can understand why.  I mean, if you die from using a prescribed medication and you are alive (again) your doctor is going to want to know about it so he or she can pay off all that medical school debt.  I would think that it would make for a strong defense at trial when the patient decides to sue the doctor.  It would go something like this: “It’s ALIVE!!”

So, with all these disorders and diseases out there I’ve decided to come up with a few of my own.  See if you can figure out what they are.  Note: I’ve placed the full definitions of each disorder at the bottom of this tirade. 

·         FSOPD

·         RLOD

·         TTDS

·         SRAOC

·         SIM

·         WRD

·         PVTC

·         SIID

·         TTSS

·         CTS

·         NELMEMM (Nel-mem)

·         LWAC

·         VD (It isn’t what you think)

·         CAS

·         DEPOS

·         TPIARC (Tippy Arc)

·         STAMM

·         SMA

·         ITIFADS (It I Fads)

·         CSD

I invite you to see how many of these you get correct.  I also invite you to see if you might have any of these maladies.

I suppose there are multiple reasons for all these diseases, disorders, and syndromes that we see being advertised.  You can probably come up with a few that I haven’t thought of.  If so, you are welcome to comment either here or on Facebook.  Here are some of the reasons that I’ve come up with.

1.      We have an aging Baby Boomer population and we (I’m one of them) are a lucrative target.  We aren’t working any longer so the assumption is that we are watching more television than we used to.  As we age we are feeling more of the effects of aging.  That being the case, the pharmaceutical companies are anxious to tell us that there is a pill for that.

2.      Pressure has been placed on researchers and pharmaceutical companies to come up with cures or treatments for conditions that have long plagued us.  That takes lots of money.  Researchers and pharmaceutical companies want to recover the costs of that research and investors want to see a return on their investments.

3.      Closely related to Number 2 is the pressure that has been placed on companies to come up with treatments and cures for lesser-known ailments.  There are marches and protests and 5K and 10K runs to raise money and awareness.  While it is benevolent to come up with these treatments and cures, doing so is also politically correct.  Simply showing the world that these medications exist also shows that the company that came up with the medication is a responsible, caring (money-grabbing) corporation.  It’s all about the PR, folks.

4.      Many of the medications target children and young adults.  Advertising medications that target disorders that this population has, serves as a signal to them (and their parents) that they can have perfect bodies.

5.      It keeps advertising agencies, lawyers, pharmaceutical companies, the television industry, congressmen and senators, lobbyists, doctors, pharmacists, insurance companies, business benefits managers (generally found in human resource departments), wholesalers, retailers, and delivery boys all in business.

And about that list of disorders, diseases, syndromes, conditions, etc., that I mentioned above?  Here’s the full definition of each.  How many did you correctly identify?

FSOPD - Facebook Status Over-Posting Disorder

RLOD - Really Liking Obama Disease

TTDS - Tired of Tolerating Democrats Syndrome

SRAOC - Sick of Republicans Attacking Obama Condition

SIM - Self-Identification Malfunction

WRD - Wrong Restroom Disorder

PVTC - Proper Vote for Trump Condition

SSID - Still in Iraq Disorder

TTSS - Tied to Smartphone Sickness

CTS - Constantly Texting Syndrome

NELMEMM - Nobody Else’s Life Matters Except Mine Malady

LWAC - Late to Work Again Condition

VD - Vegetarian Disorder

CAS - Coffee Addiction Syndrome

DEPOS - Donut-Eating Police Officer Syndrome

TPIARC - The Professor is Always Right Condition

STAMM - Sleep Through Another Meeting Malady

SMA - Social Media Addiction

ITIFADS - I’m a Teenager and Immune from Accidental Death Syndrome

CSD - Common Sense Deficiency

I don’t think there is a pill for any of the above.  Do you suffer from any of these conditions?

I Want a "Do Over"

On occasion when playing a game with my children when they were much younger one would make a costly mistake and ask for a “do over” so as to take back the mistake and have a fresh start.  I suppose it is one of those rewards you get from being young and inexperienced.  Hindsight is such a good teacher.  I’m not sure that we do our children any favors when we let them have a “do over”, but on the other hand I understand that forgiveness is all about having a “do over” with the benefit of hindsight.

I suppose we all wish that we could have a do over now and then.  I’m wishing I could have one of those.  I could probably use a lot of do overs, but there is one fresh in my mind, and I really wish I could take back the thing that I did.

Susan and I were taking our morning walk when we approached a young mother with two small children.  One child was a baby in a stroller and the other was a toddler.  The toddler was having a meltdown and throwing a tantrum.  The mother was trying to deal with it the best she could.  The toddler didn’t want to walk the rest of the way to their car.  Meanwhile, the mother was not only pushing the stroller but carrying the small foot-propelled four-wheel conveyance with a seat and handle bars.  I have never seen one of those things before.  It was an odd looking contraption (a walker of some sort), but the jest of it was the child could sit on it and move himself forward by walking the cart forward.  The conversation went something like this.

Child: I don’t want to walk.

Mother: (Putting the walker down on the path while holding onto the stroller) Then use this.

Child: I don’t want to.

Mother: (Picking up the walker) Then walk.

Child: (Now sitting down and screaming at the top of his lungs) I don’t want to walk.

And so went the conversation or argument and tantrum.

The young mother was clearly frustrated and embarrassed.  She was caught in a public place dealing with an unruly child over which she had no control (who was badly in need of a swat on the rear).  I suspect that by the time she finally got inside her car she had to be in tears.

As we approached the young mother I wanted so much to do something.  In this day you don’t trust strangers who approach and offer to help.  Offering to pick up her child might signal “stranger danger”.  Or, if it didn’t send off alarms offering to help in some way could send the signal that this old man (me) think she’s a failure as a mother.

Instead of doing something or offering kind words of support I said, “You aren’t going to win this one,” as we passed her.  I kept thinking to myself that Susan and I (Susan more so than me) have dealt with temper tantrums and suffered our own meltdowns while raising five children.  We survived the temper tantrums and our children survived the meltdowns.  We did not kill any of our children!  They are alive.  And this young mother will also survive.  Whether or not she has any more children than the two she already has may be up for debate.

Oh, how I wish I had not said what I said to her.  How insensitive could I have been?  In an effort to add levity to a hapless situation I probably made things worse for the young mother.  I want a “do over” so I could relive that moment with that young mother.  At the very least I would assure her that she is a good mother and that it is O.K. and that she is O.K. and that every parent walking that path on that morning has experienced the exact same situation.  I would at the very least give her hope.  I would ask if I could at least carry the little walker.  I’d let her hold onto my billfold with my driver’s license in it and offer to carry her child.

I am so sorry.  I feel terrible and I want a “do over”.

Keeping the Presidential Campaign Civil

I thought the last presidential election campaign was brutal. I sense that this time around the campaigns will be even worse. I believe this election campaign will be a metaphorical blood bath. I want no part of it.

I recall last time all the hurtful, mean-spirited things that were said about both Obama and Romney. Most of you know that I supported Mitt Romney for President. I was appalled at the viscous attacks made against him. I could feel my blood pressure quickly rise as some of my friends on Facebook said Romney belonged in prison and that he was racist, a flip-flopper, and much, much worse.  And while I made negative comments about Obama, most of those comments were in the form of "sharing" anti-Obama memes or "liking" negative comments. I know that my comments were as hurtful to Obama supporters as those supporters' comments were to me of Romney.

It doesn't have to be that way.

I have tried in recent months to not respond to Obama and Clinton supporters’ attacks against Republican candidates, and most recently Donald Trump. I have tried to not write on other friends’ timelines responses to their attacks on Trump and I have tried hard to not write on friends' timelines responses to their support of what they see as virtues of Clinton and Obama.  I've taken the time to search my comments history. I am sorry to say that I have made so many comments in the past years that I did not search as far back as I would like to search. But, from what I was able to search I found that I was true to that effort. I am not saying that it isn't there; I'm just saying that I didn't discover any such comments as far back as I searched.

I suppose what bothers me most is the slanderous hyperbole and rhetoric that was flung around with no concern for the truth. I think what bothers me as well is the non-contextual quotes that make a person look bad. I am especially sensitive to that having been misquoted or quoted out of context by print and broadcast journalists myself.  I think what also concerns me is that we tend to jump to incorrect conclusions based upon one side of a story and without vetting all the facts.

With all this in mind, I am going to attempt something during this presidential election season. I want to make a commitment to it.  I really do.  I just fear that I can't because I, too, get emotionally caught up in the race. But, you can help.  Here is what I am going to attempt to do.

1. Unless you specifically ask me to comment on your support on your timeline for Ms. Clinton and her running mate, I am not going to respond to any accolade you may give her and/or her running mate.
2. I am not going to respond to negative attacks against Donald Trump or a third party candidate that I may support at some future time on your timeline.
3. I am not going to respond to positive memes about Ms. Clinton on your timeline (if you are a Clinton supporter) and (this one is especially difficult) I am not going to respond to negative attacks on your timeline memes against Trump or any candidate I support.
4. I will most likely make supportive comments for Donald Trump or other candidates on my own timeline. Any attack on any candidate I support on my timeline will be deleted. If you are one of my friends who disagrees with my position or comments I make for the candidate of my choice, you are welcome to say that you disagree on your own timeline.  If you have rebuttal comments to make, make them on your own timeline.  I will try and return the courtesy.
5. I reserve the right to "like" comments and memes supportive of candidates that I support.
6. I reserve the right to "like" comments and memes that paint opposing candidates, platforms, etc., in a negative light.
7. I will carefully consider reposting/sharing negative memes or comments about candidates that I cannot support before deciding whether or not to repost or share them; however, I am more interested in factual information rather than rhetoric and hype.  However, I want to make it perfectly clear that I hold Ms. Clinton responsible for the debacle in Benghazi and I believe that her private email server at least violated the spirit of the law if not the law itself.  Further, her claim that she didn’t share classified information on her private server is ludicrous.  If she wasn’t smart enough to know that something should have been classified information when it appeared on her server she isn’t smart enough to be president.
8. I reserve the right to "hide" negative comments or memes about candidates that I support.
9. I will value all factual information about any candidate, whether I support or oppose the candidate.
10. I invite and value civil discourse on the candidates on any person's timeline when conducted in a respectful manner. Name calling is not civil discourse nor is it respectful.

I am going to try. It will be difficult but it will be easier if you will try this approach with me.  I invite you to "LIKE" these comments if you are willing to TRY to do the same.

Save Money. Live Better?

Someone please remind me why one should not get within a mile of a Walmart on a Saturday let alone step inside.  Entry into that zoo on a Saturday is nothing short of an ineffable experience.  Before you accuse me – I had little choice.

I think I spent most of my tour trying to get around an indolent shopper with her two kids sitting, standing, and playing in the aisles.  When it wasn’t her kids it was her, standing her cart in the middle of the right half of an aisle while she planted her rear end in the middle of the other half of the aisle.  My best attempt at a smile and a polite “excuse me” were met with contempt as she pulled a bag of candy from a display and plopped most of it into her mouth.  I made a U-Turn and made my way down an adjacent aisle.

I thought from that point on that my Saturday experience could only get better.  Oh, I was oh s-o-o-o WRONG!  The 275 pound, five-foot, six frame with a hairy beer gut protruding out from under his tank top assaulted both sense and sensibility.  Or, was it scents?  I’m really not sure.  His burley beard melded somehow into his curly chest hair.  To be fair, I am sure he works hard for a living to provide for his four kids who were jumping off the shopping cart onto the cake mix and frosting shelf.  Had it not been for the cart that was fixed to the floor at a 90 degree angle to the aisle, I would have tried to plow through.  I made another U-Turn.

I tried yet another aisle to get to where I wanted to go only to be met by the arrogant “lady” I had encountered before, coming directly toward me.  It was no use.  My only escape from confrontation and rioting was to make yet another U-Turn.  Thinking that since she could no longer be in the first aisle where I met her I tried that one again.  Aha!  Clear sailing!  Alas, I couldn’t find what I was looking for in that aisle.

My blood pressure runs about 117/63.  After 30 minutes of what should have taken no more than 10 minutes I could feel the blood pulsating through the veins in my neck.  So help me, I thought to myself, if I see that “lady” in the red, white, green, yellow, and mostly black skin tight things on her legs I’m going to scream!

I am always cautious when I come to the end of a shopping aisle before entering those primary aisles.  I’ve been banged and collided with too many times.  My angst and blood pressure must have been showing as the nice man (who was clearly having the same experience that I was having) stopped, smiled, motioned me on, and said, “I understand.”

“Bless you!”  Somebody else gets it.

For a short while things began to improve.  Then I hit the check-out lines.  Most were three and four deep.  They were all like that except for beer gut man and Miss/Mrs./Ms. Attitude.  I chose the beer gut man aisle even though it was two-deep as opposed to Ms. Attitude’s one-deep line.

To my amazement Attitude’s line was moving much faster.  She plopped things on the conveyor belt with rapidity.  Beer gut man was still lifting – beer – out of his cart while wrangling his kids away from the candy bar impulse buying shelves.  I took a chance.  First opportunity I got I moved to Attitude’s line.

As it turns out, Ms. Attitude was Princess Attitude.  It wasn’t until she got in line that Queen Attitude showed up on the scene.

I think it was a price check or having to clear something off the register that brought the line to a screeching halt.  Whatever it was, it was enough to get Princess Attitude to move her fat butt away from the conveyor belt so I could put my six or seven items on it.  She literally turned and sneered at me.

It’s O.K.  I’m a man and I can handle this.  I refuse to be intimidated by this “lady” even if it means starting a riot.  She must have read my mind, but it didn’t matter cause her little rug rat started poking his grimy little finger into my bagels.  Calm down.  You’ll be home soon and this nightmare will all be over.  Beer gut man and three other shoppers left before Attitudes’ (yes, that is plural possessive) line began to move.

Just because I don’t drink beer doesn’t mean that others can’t do the same.  No big deal.  And Ms. Attitude had beer in her cart along with various and sundry other things.  It was one of those big boxes of beer.  I don’t know what you call them.  I’m sure they have at least 24 cans of beer in them.  Not my problem.  I don’t care.  At least I didn’t care until she pulled out her Food Stamp card or whatever it is called and then pulled out a wad of twenty-dollar bills to pay for the beer.

I don’t fault people who need assistance for using it.  Times are tough for a lot of people in spite of how good Obama says things are.  But, when she pulled out a stack of twenties thicker than what I’ve ever carried in my life, my heart literally sank.  It had to sink as my blood pressure couldn’t get much higher.  This, I thought to myself, is what gives welfare a bad name.  I don’t know her story and I don’t want to know her story.  People have to eat and they have to feed their kids.  I guess they need their beer, too.

Princess and Queen Attitude waddled off with the crumb snatcher and I moved up to finish my transaction.  The one thing that could have made it all better was to have the cashier simply apologize for the delay.  Or, she could have thanked me for shopping at Walmart or said good afternoon.  She could have even said, “Go pound sand” and I would have been ecstatic.  Nothing.

That is, she said nothing until I tried running my credit card through the reader.  The message in the card reader said “Invalid Card” or something like that.  I knew better.  So, I tried a second card.  And a third card.  I was about to try a fourth card when the cashier who was watching all this with a sense of wicked glee said, “It’s broken.”

I try very hard to not use profanity.  Two words were on the tip of my tongue.  One was profane.  I didn’t say it, but I thought it.  I handed her my card.

The receipt says, “Save money. Live better.”  Maybe that’s true, but not on Saturday at Walmart.

Help Me Shake My Family Tree

I have known for a long time that much of my family history goes back to England.  My Great-grandfather James Homer Ray came from Ireland, but I am unable to find his parents or any of his ancestry.  I have suspected that the Goodman family (my mother’s maiden name) had its origin in Germany, but I cannot prove it.  While doing family history research I’ve discovered that I have a great deal of ancestry from Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark.  In fact, I’ve been able to track some of my Norwegian ancestry to 215 AD, thanks to being able to tie into royalty.  Yes, I have the blood of kings and queens, princes, princesses, dukes, and ditches running through my veins.

The problem is that once you get past the fourth or fifth generation back, that pedigree chart gets kinda messy and while you may be able to find a line that goes back to 215 AD, you also end up with hundreds of lines that go nowhere.

I would like to do something just for fun.  What follows is a list of surnames that are in my family history dating back to the 1700s.  Please take a look at it and see if you have any of the same surnames in your genealogy.  If you find a surname in common it doesn’t necessarily mean that we are related, but it would be fun to see if we are.

 I would ask you to take a look at the list on my blog and let me know if we have any surnames in common.  And, who knows! We might be related. (Gasp!)

Agnarsson

Aldrich

Bagot

Bamforth

Barker

Barnes

Bayeux (895 AD)

Baynton

Berenger

Borrell (1002 – 1077)

Bosco

Bostwick

Burton

Childers

Childress

Clarke

Claxton

Conyers (Esquire of Horndon)

Cooper

Cornwall

d’Aunou (1012 - )

D’Retford

Dagsdsdr (772 – 866 AD – Norway)

Darcy

De Bohun

de Cavalcamp (890 AD)

de Clare

de Flanders (850 AD)

de Grey

de Rolleston

De Segrave

de Vere

Debosco

DePercy

Descales

Donne

Dotson

Eistein

Elsabethe (Lady Elsabethe)

Emerson

Eriksdotter

Estania (970 AD)

Evans

Eysteinsdatter

Eysteinsdoittir

Eysteinsson (845 AD – Norway)

Farmer

Ferree (NY)

Firth

Fitton

FitzAlan

FitzHugh

Fry

Germonde

Goodman

Grey

Halfdansson

Hamilton

Harbottle

Havers

Hawley

Hedworth

Hildebrante

Holland

Holliday

Honeychurch

Howard

Hrolfsdatter (850 – 892)

Huddleston

Hughes

Hutton

Hvibein

Jackson

Kilrington

King

King Eystein Haldanarsson

King Olaf Gunrodsson

Knyvett

Kuykendall

Kymball

Lewis

Lumley

Mangopeesomon (Wales – 1625 – 1720)

Marmion

Meadows

Milde

Miller

Moleyns

More (830 – 890, Norway)

Mowbray

Myers

Nefia

Norris

Olafsson

Patterson

Perkins

Perkins

Pickering

Pollard

Pool

Porter

Pulleyn

Pulliam

Quiney

Quinton

Ragnvaldsdottir

Ramsden

Ratcliffe

Ray

Reynolds

Rice

Rolleston (Lady Ellen, Baroness

Royal

Sammois

Sanders

Seville

Sexton

Sherringham

Sigtrygsson

Sigurdsdottir

Smith

Stafford

Stafford

Stapilton

Steward

Street

Stumpe

Tendring

Thayer

Theaxton

Thornton

Thorpe

Tilney

Toeni (1030 – 1078)

Townsend

Trussell

Vermandois

Vest

Vestfold

Walkelyn

Webster

Wells

Westmare

Whalesborough

Whittel

Wichingham (1290 – England)

Wickenden

Wilkinson

Williams

Woden (215 AD)

Wright

Wrymundsdottir