A Winter's Day -- 1967

It was unbelievably cold in the Mid-Ohio Valley, especially for the middle of December. With only ten days to go until Christmas, I just knew we would have snow that year. After all, it was December 15th and flurries had been flying all day.
When he came home from work, Daddy built a fire in the fireplace. After supper Mom would make muffins and Constant Comment tea to have by the fire.  It was a winter tradition.
I curled up on the couch, reading whatever a 12-year old reads, when the local news came on. But something was wrong. The news was somber, more urgent. The newsman, who seemed ready to cry, said a bridge had fallen into the Ohio River between Point Pleasant and Gallipolis. I screamed for my parents to come from the kitchen.
All evening and throughout the weekend, we watched in horror as news stories told of the collapse of the Silver Bridge. They showed photos of the twisted wreckage on each side of the river. We saw the concrete piers standing empty in the river. And we saw bits and pieces of people's lives -- especially Christmas packages -- floating in the river. We wondered how anyone could have survived, only to later learn that 46 -- many of them families on their way home from Christmas shopping -- had not. They perished either in the black, icy waters of the muddy Ohio, or beneath the debris of the steel superstructure of the once beautiful bridge.
The tragedy became part of our little communities of Newport and St. Marys days later when our beautiful bridge, the twin to the Silver Bridge, was closed. The reason? The design of the bridge -- an I-bar suspension -- contributed to the collapse of the Silver Bridge. (Brittle steel and the stop-and-go traffic were later found to be factors as well.)
The Army Corps of Engineers and others came in to clean up the Silver Bridge disaster. A few years later, I worked with some of those men from the Corps that helped with the clean-up. They refused to talk about any part of their work that winter.
Our bridge, the Short Route Bridge or Hi Carpenter Bridge, remained closed for five more years before it was torn down. For people in St. Marys and Newport, two communities that had always been tied together by that bridge, we either rode a ferry boat or walked the now-deserted bridge. Many times, I walked beneath those soaring gothic towers and marveled at the graceful suspension.
Our bridge had claimed lives too while being built. My own grandfather had died during its construction in 1927. Now, its twin had claimed 46 lives and would soon claim our bridge as well.
The federal government determined that they could never be sure our bridge was safe. It never reopened, and five years later, it too came down, crashing into the muddy Ohio with the help of demolition experts from CDI.  It was another five years before an expansive new bridge reconnected Newport and St. Marys.  Five years of lost time and friendships.
The collapse of the Silver Bridge on December 15, 1967, claimed 46 lives. It also claimed the heart and soul of the four communities that were linked by that ill-fated bridge and its twin. Some dates and events make an indelible mark on your life.  For me, December 15, 1967 is one of those points in time that I will never forget.
We did have snow on Christmas that year.

I Can't Drive 55

It's true. I drive too fast -- and with an attitude. Oh I drive defensively, always watching out for the other guy. But I also drive with a purpose, or as family and friends like to say, I drive offensively.

When I set out in my car, I have some place to go and only so much time to get there. Those who are, shall we say, sight-seeing impede my purpose. I frequently remind those with whom I share the road how they can improve their driving skills. And, I believe, with some right to do so.

I make that claim because, in my 40 years of driving, I have been involved in two major accidents. And guess what? Neither were my fault and I could not do a thing to prevent either. Both were caused by others failing to drive with purpose, or any awareness of the world around them, catching me up in their oblivion.

The most recent one --  at least I walked away from that one with a few bruises.

My first accident cost me my car, my knee, the clothes I was wearing, and nearly my life. You know it's bad when the OHP officer looks in your car and says, "Oh my god, you're alive!" And, again, it all could have been prevented by driving with purpose and paying attention.

Now that we are living and driving in NW Ohio, I find my need to instruct other drivers has increased significantly. In the flatlands, stop signs on a country road are merely a suggestion. Farm equipment, particularly tractors and pick ups with grain wagons, always take the right of way. OK, I concede to the tractors. They are bigger and the equipment they pull would destroy any car. Battlebots come to mind, for some reason. But that stop sign is there for a reason -- because other cars are on the road!

And while stop signs appear to be a suggestion, these people won't turn right on red with a formal invitation. I don't know what you are waiting for, but if there is no sign and no traffic, make your damn turn! I know you all are conservative, but are you so far to the right that you can't even turn right on red?

Also, the damn center lane is for immediate turning, not for driving between stoplights! It's called a no-man's lane for a reason.

But the worst, and most dangerous, is your predilection for driving in the middle or on the wrong side of the road. If you wait too long, you hit me. If you overreact, your ass is in the ditch or the cornfield. It's all especially unnerving for someone who has been hit by an idiot driving/sliding on my side of the road. This isn't England, so get on your side of the fucking road and stay there!

My driving may not be perfect, but I don't get in anyone's way. I don't fart around in the road or when making a turn. I don't cut you off. I don't text and drive. I don't tailgate or make last minute decisions to turn. I haven't caused any accidents. Plus I use my turn signal indicator, which is more than most of you do.  But I do give you driving instructions, complete with sign language, frequently!

And, as a young friend recently pointed out, if you think Jesus is going to take the wheel, you'd better think again.

Living in the Good Old Days?

Let me see if I have this correct.

We want to put a man on the moon.

There is a subversive lurking around every corner.

A nuclear strike is imminent.

Sex is reserved for married, white, heterosexuals couples -- and then only for the purposes of making babies.

Men must protect women, and women may have opinions only when men give those opinions to them.

Women and minorities are second class citizens.

The bigger the corporations, the better they -- and America -- are. And workers owe their very existence to the benificence of their employers.

Protesters are dirty, drug-addled hippies who have never held a job in their lives and are unpatriotic.

The war we are in is to help a foreign country.

Yep, that pretty well sums it up . . . if it were 1955! Given that this is the GOP's current train of thought, I have to ask.  What freaking century are you living in?

If they think they can win an election with retrograde thinking and scare tactics -- oh wait, they might just be able to pull that off because some Americans will buy any old song and dance.

Sorry, but this shit is giving me flashbacks.

In The Name of Love

For some time now, I have considered writing about the so-called Christian Right, but felt I couldn’t mount adequate arguments to counter their ignorance and stupidity. Quite obviously, I cannot view these people with an objective eye. Their intolerance and hatred of anything or anyone different leads me to believe that they are neither Christian nor right.

Then, a friend sent me a link to a website that said all that I have been thinking – and said it far better than I ever could. The site, http://www.soulforce.org/, addresses Christianity, the Bible, science, and more as they apply to the LGBT community (although the information presented could be used to argue for women’s issues, racial issues, even religious issues and more).

Written by a pastor, who also happens to be gay, the articles present straightforward, unemotional cases for inclusion of all in God’s grace. He makes one important point that really stuck with me. The Bible is a book about God’s love, not a book about human sexuality. So, why then are those self-professed evangelical Christians so fixated on S-E-X? And, how can they profess to follow the tenets of a book about love, yet spew such hate toward fellow human beings?

I may be a Sunday School drop-out, but I seem to remember something about being made in God’s image. Who’s to say what that image is? White, Protestant, heterosexual male is not the only mold that God created. To say that it is, quite simply, is ignorant of history, biology, and religion. If you believe in any parts of the Bible, then you have to believe and accept that ALL human beings were created in God’s image, whether they are genetically wired to be straight, LGBT, African-American, developmentally disabled, whatever.

I’m not particularly interested in religion of any type. I have seen more devout and spiritual people among non-Christians than among the church-going types I have known all my life. That does not mean that I cannot appreciate and accept the beliefs of those individuals. What I will never accept are those who take one Bible verse, then twist and corrupt it to support their own fears and prejudices. That is what the Roman Emperor Constantine did to create the Bible we have today. That is what today’s Christian Right is doing to gain control and impose a state religion upon this country.

And, by the way, this country was NOT founded on Christian principles, but on personal freedom and religious tolerance. Read your history books, folks! If the earliest settlers had wanted the strictures of a state religion, they would have stayed in England. Nor do we have God-given rights as Americans. Last time I looked, America isn’t even mentioned in God’s Word. What we do have are Constitutionally-guaranteed rights – but that’s another discussion.

I strongly recommend checking out http://www.soulforce.org/. If you are a religious person, you will come away with a clearer understanding and deeper appreciation of what your Bible actually says. If you’re not, you will find the support you need for responding to those who base false claims on the Biblical text. Plus you will have the smug satisfaction of saying, “Told you so.”

Contrary to what we are led to believe, all of the world’s major religions share one primary theme – that we love each other. We need a lot more love and a lot less divisiveness in this world. Because, as a great man once said, “All you need is love.”

Chrysler, Detroit and the Marlboro Man

I don’t watch the Super Bowl – unless it’s the Steelers. I will, however, pull myself away from my reading long enough to watch the commercials. While the majority never fails to disappoint, there are a select few that actually accomplish their goals of selling a product or creating an image. The rest are just exercises in creative futility.

Commercials, I learned long ago, reflect and define our popular culture. In my childhood, it was hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet – the product was right there in every slogan, every shot. Today, the story hides the product. Can you remember what product was being sold when the little boy peed in the pool? Neither can I, but I’ll bet it wasn’t pool chemicals. Cute commercial but a total waste of advertising dollars if you don’t know the product.

Those of us old enough to remember the Marlboro Man understand. That iconic image embodied America in the 50s and 60s. Rough, rugged, handsome and heroic. Every man wanted to be him; every woman wanted to be with him. Forget the fact that he was selling a product that would kill you; we loved the Marlboro Man, and by extension, we loved Marlboro cigarettes.

Today’s advertising makes no attempt to bond the product with the consumer. These ads, in their feeble attempts at story-telling, are as shallow as the culture they represent. Do we really want to party with sexy M&Ms or zip line the canyons of NYC with Jerry Seinfeld (the king of shallow, self-absorbed behavior)? No, but we would still love to ride the range with the Marlboro Man, an icon that hasn’t been seen on television in 40 years.

That ability to create a connection cuts to the heart of Chrysler’s “Half-Time in America” ad, making it the real Super Bowl winner. That mini-movie (it was a two-minute spot) brought people to tears, brought people to their feet cheering. And it left other auto makers asking, “Why didn’t we think of that?”.

As a company, Chrysler epitomizes what has gone wrong in America over the last few years. Broke, down and out, on the verge of losing everything. However, the once-struggling car maker has clawed its way back. Yeah, yeah I know, they got a government bail-out – one that was paid back AHEAD of schedule – but that’s another discussion.

As Chrysler experiences its renaissance, it is determined to bring Detroit with it. During last year’s Super Bowl, we met the real Motor City to the riff of Eminem’s Lose Yourself. Gritty, broken, rusted Detroit. But there were glimmers of hope in art, dance, and sport. This year, Chrysler gave us a new Detroit. Still hurting, but coming back strong, refreshed, and shining.

And damn if they didn’t get an American icon to tell us about it. Clint Eastwood -- the actor whose characters have been as iconic as the original Marlboro Man. Clint Eastwood – the traditional conservative Republican. Without being political, he told us that if Detroit and Chrysler can do it, then by God, the rest of America can too.

And who are you going to believe? Some politician? Or the Marlboro Man?

Right now, I’m ready to buy a Chrysler and drive it to Detroit for a vacation, drink Bud Light and eat Doritos and Twinkies while watching The Voice. (Guess which spots were a hit for me.)

You say, but there wasn’t a Twinkies commercial during the Super Bowl.

I remembered the Twinkies; forgot the product.

I rest my case.

Doing Good in Our Hometown

(This is an appeal about something in St. Marys that is important to me. I hope you are not offended by my suggestion.)

Recently, I have enjoyed sharing memories of St. Marys and a time gone by on Facebook. With friends and acquaintances, I’ve reminisced about growing up in a community that was, to my childhood mind, the perfect place to live.

St. Marys, indeed all of Pleasants County, has been blessed throughout the years with wonderful people and tremendous resources. Our little FB group recently determined that in the late 50s/early 60s, St. Marys boasted: 2 movie theaters, 3 department stores, 4 hardware stores, 3 car dealerships, 2 dress shops, 2 cobblers, 2 jewelry stores, 4-5 main street eateries, 2 drugstores with soda fountains, 2 dry cleaners, 2-3 beauty salons, 2-3 barber shops, and 7-8 grocers. That’s impressive! When someone asked what happened, the sad reply was “Progress”.

Yes, progress has changed St. Marys. Despite the fact that it is no longer the town of my childhood, it still has many wonderful resources. And one of those is the Boys & Girls Club of Pleasants County.

Not many communities this size can boast of having a Boys & Girls Club – let alone one that has produced SIX State Youths of the Year. I spent five years with this wonderful organization and personally witnessed the tremendous impact that it has on local youth. For some, it means help with homework after school. For others, it means not being home alone before and after school. During the days of my childhood, it might have been acceptable and safe to be left to your own devices after school. Not so today – not even in Pleasants County, West Virginia.

Pleasants County has always supported its youth, and the Boys & Girls Club of Pleasants County should be part of that support. Bill Hanlin, the man so many of us know as “Coach”, understands and appreciates the Club; he has supported and worked tirelessly for the organization for years. The Facebook page that we “senior citizens” visit to reminisce about our own glory days was created by a young woman who was one of my “Club kids”. I don’t know what Morgan’s intent was when she started the page, but we all thank her for it; we are having a blast.

And just as we cherish the nostalgia of St. Marys, today’s youth should be creating their own memories right now. The Boys & Girls Club of Pleasants County can help them do that. But it needs our support; it cannot serve Pleasants County’s youth on club dues alone.

St. Marys may no longer be the same community we grew up in, but it should be the best community we can give the children living there today. Even if you no longer live in St. Marys, remember what the community meant to you as a child and how that shaped the person you are today. Help the Boys & Girls Club of Pleasants County provide part of what we enjoyed as children. Please consider contributing to this wonderful organization in that wonderful community that we called home. Kids like Morgan will thank you for it.

NOTE: If you want to make a tax-deductible donation to the Club, please send your check to:
Boys & Girls Club of Pleasants County
605 Cherry Street
St. Marys, WV 26170

Mama, Weer All Crazee Now!

Celebrities as role models hold the attention of enraptured masses. Violence-charged spectator sports draw huge crowds. The wealthy few distance themselves from the impoverished, unemployed masses. Elected officials collect huge pay-offs from anyone who will pay for their votes while placing themselves above the law. The military occupies foreign countries while unauthorized wars rage.

Patience runs short. Tempers flare. Culture is replaced by drunken debauchery. Civility dies as it becomes everyone for him or herself. In desperation, people turn blindly to religion as an answer to their woes. Each side points fingers and calls the other wrong, neither seeing nor accepting what each has to offer.

Sound familiar? Bet you think I’m talking about 21st century America. Oh, I easily could have been, but I’m not. If you are any student of world history, you will recognize the conditions that plagued Rome – shortly before the fall of the Empire.

Sadly, while these same conditions exist here in America today, we are choosing to ignore them – and their consequences. Did the vast Roman Empire survive this internal strife? No, and neither will America if we don’t learn from history, instead of revising it.

We have so lost our way in this country that up seems like down and doing the right thing is somehow wrong (sorry Spike Lee). We can’t be civil or polite to each other. Hell, we can’t even be kind to our animals. And forget caring for our youth, our elderly, our veterans, our disabled, our infirmed. It’s every man, woman and child for him or herself.

I'll admit that I give in to this selfish, uncivilized streak myself. I become outraged with what I perceive as anti-women, anti-education, anti-equality rhetoric, and question how people can be so stupid as to not see things as I do. And I spend at least 75 percent of my driving time hurling epithets at other drivers whose sole purpose is to slow me down. But I do not want to live in a perpetually pissed-off state just because I don't agree with others, or because our difference of opinions lead them to think poorly of me. This lack of civil discourse is one reason this country is in the mess it is now.

Contrary to current popular belief, America was founded on religious freedoms, liberty and tolerance. Now we cannot tolerate anything different from our own personal beliefs. We won’t even consider discussing an idea counter to our own, let alone entertain it as a possibility. We have taken to rewriting history, the Bible, scientific fact to suit our own agenda. Instead of holding our politicians to a higher level – instead of expecting them to be statesmen – we have allowed them to become outrageous hypocrites and grifters – and we reward them for their behavior. The likes of Gingrich, Romney, Santorum should be ashamed of themselves for their deceit and hypocrisy, while Obama and others must own up to their failure to deliver on their promises.

What has happened to the spirit of “bring me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses”? Given the current state of mind in America, let’s change that inscription to “fuck off, we don't want you here.”

But do it quickly, before we go the way of the dinosaur and the dodo bird. Before our descent into the rabbit hole becomes complete. Before the fall of the American Empire.

You Can Get It Wrong and Still You Think That It's All Right

Recently, I read a fairy tale about a college professor who conducted an experiment in what he deemed “socialism” in his economics class. As a result of his egalitarian approach to grading, all students failed the course. While the article made some reasonable points, I was appalled by the professor’s cavalier attitude toward his subject, completing disregarding the facts in order to cast aspersions on the POTUS. He did a tremendous disservice to his students by failing to explain the true meanings of socialism and equating a classroom grading curve to a free market economy.

This tale alludes to the students’ belief in the success of “Obama’s socialism”. At no time does the professor discuss true socialism nor the students’ misguided belief in President Obama’s support of such a theory. Missed a “teachable moment” there, buddy.

Please explain when and how President Obama has been a proponent of socialism. Socialism itself has more than 40 possible definitions. Which one do you mean? Perhaps the nationalization of production and distribution? I’ve never heard the POTUS suggest that.

Or maybe you refer to the complete control of production without oversight from the state? I believe that is something currently being supported by Obama’s opponents. How about redistributive taxation and government regulation of capital within the framework of the free market economy? Now that our economy has gone belly-up from the lack of these, the average American has begun calling for greater controls and fair share taxes.

Or perhaps because Obama tends to promote that which helps the common people, you mean the social justice aspects of socialism. You remember: equality and solidarity, a system that understands and values human rights while recognizing the dignity of every human being. Guess what? That brand of socialism comes straight from Christian teachings, the very thing that we profess to value above all else in this country. We thought it was great, and supported it wholeheartedly when Poland embraced it, but we don’t want it here? Talk about a double standard.

So exactly what form of socialism is Obama foisting upon unsuspecting Americans? Supporting a national healthcare plan, regulations upon out-of-control financial institutions and corporations, protection of the food supply and the environment, improving our educational system, and creating a system of taxation in which everyone pays their fair share is not socialism. Those items all fall under that wonderful phrase in the U.S. Constitution that requires our government to promote the “general welfare” of the people.

The professor, or perhaps the writer, goes on to list five points that explain why an egalitarian society will not work. While these are all true in theory, they are absolutes that do not allow for the variations that happen in a society – shades of grey that occur simply because you are dealing with human beings. You will always have those who think they are entitled, just as you will always have those whose physical and mental limitations require society’s support.

Yes you cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of it. No one has suggested that this be done. Asking that everyone pay his or her fair share to support the system in which they exist is not placing undue burdens on the wealthy. It is, however, the basis for a successful economy as described by Adam Smith, the acknowledged father of modern economics and capitalism. Did this professor skip class on the day his instructors talked about Smith’s theories and The Wealth of Nations? Evidently.

Finally, the tale ends with a lengthy, convoluted attempt at describing what appears to be our welfare system, asserting that is the beginning of the end of any nation. Strangely, history has proven over the centuries that societies in which there is a great disparity between the wealthy and the poor are those that actually fail.

This college professor failed his students in more ways than one. Yes, he failed them in terms of the grading standard. Worse though, he failed them academically by not correcting their misconceptions about socialism and the President, and by not teaching them that there are no absolutes, that these theories are not always the antithesis of each other, and that social justice always has a place in a free market economy. In short, he failed to teach them anything at all about capitalism and socialism and how aspects of each are necessary to a diverse, evolving nation.

And for those who bandy socialism around as though it is a dirty word, remember this. “That word you keep using. I do not think it means what you think it means.” Look it up and learn.

All Tebowed Out

I guess I am missing out on something here. What is the BFD with Tim Tebow?

Yes, he is an outstanding football player. And yes, he is a devout Christian. But people are acting like he’s the second coming of Christ. If he is, oops. My bad!

Seriously though, people are making an idol out of this celebrity athlete. The media is especially guilty of perpetuating the Tebow cult of personality. And he doesn’t seem to mind. That certainly doesn’t say “Christian” to me.

Which brings me to the practice of Tebowing. Come on, it’s just genuflecting. Catholics have been doing it for centuries -- and no one has rushed to imitate them. It has become such a phenomenon that kids of all ages are doing it everywhere. My question is, are they actually praying when they kneel, or are they just emulating their idol, Tim Tebow? If they are praying, fine. Pray away! But if you are assuming this attitude of reverence for no other reason than you admire a professional athlete who does the same thing, you’re gonna be in big trouble. You are engaging in idol worship. Don’t know about you, but I was taught that is a BIG NO-NO. In fact, it’s in God’s Top Ten -- as in Commandments.

Recently, when Tim was criticized by the supposed Jeebus-Haters, a preacher actually claimed from his pulpit that to “hate Tim is to hate Jesus”. Whoa, back that bus up a minute! This supposed “man of God” believes Tim equals Jesus? Isn’t that a blasphemy? And where do they get this shit? Wouldn’t this man serve his flock better by providing spiritual guidance than by talking about Tebow and the Jeebus-Haters? (Wait, let me write that down because that sounds like a good title for a book.)

Tim bows to pray every time he does anything. That’s fine, but that’s your business Tim, not the whole damn world’s. If you want to thank God for the talent he gave you, go right ahead, but do it on your own time, not ESPN’s and mine.

And while you’re at it, contemplate this. Your talent may be God-given, but you have worked your ass off to become the outstanding athlete you are. God didn’t make that touchdown for you. You, your hard work, your coaches and your team mates did. So give credit where it’s due. Besides, I really don’t think God has time to watch football on Sundays. He’s too busy checking all the prayer requests from the other Christians who don’t bother to think for themselves.

Now praying is fine, if that’s your thing. Lately though, it seems to have gotten out of hand. We’re praying to God for good crops, rain, winning the World Series, wealth and power, death to liberals, death to gays, death to anyone who isn’t an evangelical, Pentecostal, apostolic, full-gospel, Jesus-lovin’ American. First, praying for the end of those different from us doesn’t quite sound like the message Christ gave us. Second, praying for God to take care of everything under the sun is something you stole from the pantheists and pagans. “Athena grant me wisdom.” “Ares, bring me victory in battle.” “Demeter, grow these damn crops.” You just traded multiple gods for one, but you’re still abdicating responsibility.

I’m no theology student, but I seem to remember something in the Bible about God giving man free will. That means you think for yourself and don’t expect God to give you the answer to everything. He already gave you a brain. For God’s sake, use it!

And stop with the “Tebowing”. Get up off of your knees, start thinking for yourself with your God-given brain, and actually accomplish something.