This was something passed along to me by my Rotary pals. It came from Hays, Kansas. It is completely a middle America opinion. But if you look closer, I would bet that most conservatives would agree with what he is saying.
Go to http://blogs.thestironline.com/?p=16.
The writer, Will Manly makes sense to me. How about you?
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
Life in the stalled lane
Ouch! How I hate delay's.
We were supposed to have our bags packed and be moving to middle America today.
And, we've been delayed. There are several reasons, all good ones, but it doesn't make the waiting any better.
I just learned that one of my newspaper mates has taken on a new job in South Dakota, Souix Falls to be exact. I am very happy for him. He will be leaving a huge number of people that call him friend, he will be moving to a place where his circle of friends will just grow more.
Through the "blogwork" he will be able to maintain past friendships and ever increase the new ones.
I am sorry about the newspaper he is leaving. It was once a fine paper. I worked there for more than 27 years. When I first started out taking classified ads by phone, the nick-name was "Wretched Flashlight." Oh my, that didn't bode well. But the people who worked there had character and heart and stick-to-itivness. Even though the town may have had names for the newspaper, it respected the people who worked there. Even though I knew I would get harrassed for saying where I worked, others respected me for working with the newspaper industry.
As time went by, I, along with a large group of caring, dedicated people saw the newspaper lose it's negative names and was looked at as a real source of news and diverse opinion. This did not happen in just a couple of years, it happened over 10 to 15 years.
Today's Record Searchlight is a shadow of its former self. It happened in less than two years.
I moan over the writing gaffs, I wail over the lost jumps from one page to another, I even rail about the stories that have been cut in mid-sentence to make the story fit. The loss in advertising creativity is a whole other story.
But it's the loss of the people that make me the most sad. It started with a few lay-offs, then one huge buy-out offered to many employees. Most of them took the buy-out, they could see the winds of change. This left huge holes in many different departments. Then as the winds changed to a storm, more people just left, off to different life avenues.
What is left now? A newspaper with no real sense of history for it's own coverage area. A youthful group of wanna-be's that are playing at newspapering. The people who can't leave are trying valiantly to cope with so many of these changes that don't make sense to them, but they need to remain loyal.
Change is good if it's done with purpose, but change just for the sake of something that looks different and might attract people because it's been "dumbed-down" is not for the better of our community.
The hard stories and facts need to be told. Commerce continues through the town due to the quality of advertising. Each piece of a newspaper adds to the information pipeline that goes directly to it's readers. That's the newspaper's job.
We were supposed to have our bags packed and be moving to middle America today.
And, we've been delayed. There are several reasons, all good ones, but it doesn't make the waiting any better.
I just learned that one of my newspaper mates has taken on a new job in South Dakota, Souix Falls to be exact. I am very happy for him. He will be leaving a huge number of people that call him friend, he will be moving to a place where his circle of friends will just grow more.
Through the "blogwork" he will be able to maintain past friendships and ever increase the new ones.
I am sorry about the newspaper he is leaving. It was once a fine paper. I worked there for more than 27 years. When I first started out taking classified ads by phone, the nick-name was "Wretched Flashlight." Oh my, that didn't bode well. But the people who worked there had character and heart and stick-to-itivness. Even though the town may have had names for the newspaper, it respected the people who worked there. Even though I knew I would get harrassed for saying where I worked, others respected me for working with the newspaper industry.
As time went by, I, along with a large group of caring, dedicated people saw the newspaper lose it's negative names and was looked at as a real source of news and diverse opinion. This did not happen in just a couple of years, it happened over 10 to 15 years.
Today's Record Searchlight is a shadow of its former self. It happened in less than two years.
I moan over the writing gaffs, I wail over the lost jumps from one page to another, I even rail about the stories that have been cut in mid-sentence to make the story fit. The loss in advertising creativity is a whole other story.
But it's the loss of the people that make me the most sad. It started with a few lay-offs, then one huge buy-out offered to many employees. Most of them took the buy-out, they could see the winds of change. This left huge holes in many different departments. Then as the winds changed to a storm, more people just left, off to different life avenues.
What is left now? A newspaper with no real sense of history for it's own coverage area. A youthful group of wanna-be's that are playing at newspapering. The people who can't leave are trying valiantly to cope with so many of these changes that don't make sense to them, but they need to remain loyal.
Change is good if it's done with purpose, but change just for the sake of something that looks different and might attract people because it's been "dumbed-down" is not for the better of our community.
The hard stories and facts need to be told. Commerce continues through the town due to the quality of advertising. Each piece of a newspaper adds to the information pipeline that goes directly to it's readers. That's the newspaper's job.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Have you heard of 3 Word Wednesday?
This is a magical concept. A blogger from threewordwednesday.wordpress.com throws out three apparently unrelated words and challenges the world to put them into some type of form that makes sense.
I thought, "I can do that!"
So, here is my first attempt at this type of creative writing. I'll try to keep this up and have it posted by Thursday morns. I've added a link on the right to any who are curious.
This weeks words are:
* Delayed
* Edge
* Focus
I have been delayed from the path I would like to take. My purpose seems to have lost it’s focus. But life has a habit of throwing you unexpected curve balls. Startlingly, suddenly, it all snaps back; your purpose, your goals, your soul.
You can see the edge of the world quite sharply, and that’s OK.
I thought, "I can do that!"
So, here is my first attempt at this type of creative writing. I'll try to keep this up and have it posted by Thursday morns. I've added a link on the right to any who are curious.
This weeks words are:
* Delayed
* Edge
* Focus
I have been delayed from the path I would like to take. My purpose seems to have lost it’s focus. But life has a habit of throwing you unexpected curve balls. Startlingly, suddenly, it all snaps back; your purpose, your goals, your soul.
You can see the edge of the world quite sharply, and that’s OK.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
The last push
Today I get ready for the last gasp of moving out of a house, you know, the carpet cleaners.
Once they have come and done their magic no one sets foot in the house again! Finally, it's clean, it can pass inspection, be ready for new lives to come and mess it all up again.
This house is relatively new, only 30 or so years old, but it holds a lot of my memories. Yet, I've never really liked this house after the first blush of ownership had passed.
The joke for us, "it was built by the Plywood Man." So very true, lots of wood, not a lot of style.
Consider homes that are over 100 years old. There are a lot of those in middle America. Do I want to live in one? I believe the term for those houses are "money pits." I'm just don't want to go there right now. Plus, think of the memories that will linger in those houses. Are they good or maleviolent? Do they want you there to add to the memory bank or not? My husband says he can feel them. Me? I just move on in my ignorance and don't feel them. It still gives me a moment of pause though.
I look forward to starting a new life in an abode that both of us will enjoy. It could be a while, but I've heard that living in a 21' travel trailer can really teach you to pare down your living style. I've been told that I really need this lesson. H-m-m-m.
A good cliche to always remember, "home is where the heart is." I think I will be realizing what those words really mean!
Once they have come and done their magic no one sets foot in the house again! Finally, it's clean, it can pass inspection, be ready for new lives to come and mess it all up again.
This house is relatively new, only 30 or so years old, but it holds a lot of my memories. Yet, I've never really liked this house after the first blush of ownership had passed.
The joke for us, "it was built by the Plywood Man." So very true, lots of wood, not a lot of style.
Consider homes that are over 100 years old. There are a lot of those in middle America. Do I want to live in one? I believe the term for those houses are "money pits." I'm just don't want to go there right now. Plus, think of the memories that will linger in those houses. Are they good or maleviolent? Do they want you there to add to the memory bank or not? My husband says he can feel them. Me? I just move on in my ignorance and don't feel them. It still gives me a moment of pause though.
I look forward to starting a new life in an abode that both of us will enjoy. It could be a while, but I've heard that living in a 21' travel trailer can really teach you to pare down your living style. I've been told that I really need this lesson. H-m-m-m.
A good cliche to always remember, "home is where the heart is." I think I will be realizing what those words really mean!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
New words for the day...
Republicrat
liberalrat (?)
Republirat
No matter how you say, there's a rat in there somewhere!
liberalrat (?)
Republirat
No matter how you say, there's a rat in there somewhere!
Monday, May 19, 2008
Moving right along
It's been hot here in northern California for the past couple of days. Early in the season hot - oppressively hot - you can't do anything in the late afternoon hot.
Everything is turning brown, it's going to be a terrible fire season.
But it also stops my progress of escape. You can only work early in the a.m. Take your siesta and start in again in the evening. You keep the house closed down against the heat. So, what's the difference between this and winter? You're still hiding out, indoors.
But, I'm not a "heat weenie" like my friend Doni Greenburg! It's just the spirit is not willing after the thermometer reaches 105!
Our departure date for middle America is getting closer. My anticipation level is increasing along with my anxiety.
I still can't see over that hill. Do you think we ever do get tired of looking and anticipating what is beyond the horizon?
Everything is turning brown, it's going to be a terrible fire season.
But it also stops my progress of escape. You can only work early in the a.m. Take your siesta and start in again in the evening. You keep the house closed down against the heat. So, what's the difference between this and winter? You're still hiding out, indoors.
But, I'm not a "heat weenie" like my friend Doni Greenburg! It's just the spirit is not willing after the thermometer reaches 105!
Our departure date for middle America is getting closer. My anticipation level is increasing along with my anxiety.
I still can't see over that hill. Do you think we ever do get tired of looking and anticipating what is beyond the horizon?
Sunday, May 18, 2008
I'm just a newbie
I never thought that I would create a blog. I don't know what is possessing me to do it. But I am.
I have a sneaking suspicion that since I am about to embark on exciting new adventures, I want to document and share the changes that I will be going through. Should be fun.
I am not "blog savvy" or very good about etiquette, but I'm sure I will learn. One thing I do know about people in the blogosphere~they are a vocal lot.
About a month ago my partner and I started on our great escape from the West Coast. It's like rebirth.
How much stuff can two people accumulate in a little over 11 years? Why is it so hard to part with even the smallest key chain or matchbook?
Lessons learned: do NOT accumulate more "stuff" than you can use in your next life.
Our migration is just that, a new beginning, a fresh start. We leave behind nothing and look forward to everything. I consider it my adventure out of the mid-life (what am I doing here?) doldrums.
New people, new territory, new jobs... I just shiver in anticipation.
I've always been just a traveler, this is just another route to our roots, middle America.
I wonder what's over that next hill?
I have a sneaking suspicion that since I am about to embark on exciting new adventures, I want to document and share the changes that I will be going through. Should be fun.
I am not "blog savvy" or very good about etiquette, but I'm sure I will learn. One thing I do know about people in the blogosphere~they are a vocal lot.
About a month ago my partner and I started on our great escape from the West Coast. It's like rebirth.
How much stuff can two people accumulate in a little over 11 years? Why is it so hard to part with even the smallest key chain or matchbook?
Lessons learned: do NOT accumulate more "stuff" than you can use in your next life.
Our migration is just that, a new beginning, a fresh start. We leave behind nothing and look forward to everything. I consider it my adventure out of the mid-life (what am I doing here?) doldrums.
New people, new territory, new jobs... I just shiver in anticipation.
I've always been just a traveler, this is just another route to our roots, middle America.
I wonder what's over that next hill?
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