Tag Archives: mother

19

Mar. ’23

Rotten Apples

When I was a child, my mother taught and said many things. I do not know if my mother and grandmother knew that their words were lessons to be able to deal with life when I go out on my own. They taught a lot through metaphors and one of them was ‘one rotten apple spoils the barrel’. I didn’t know what that meant then, but I well know now and they were right.

               For my non-American readers, and others, I will give a short background to where that saying come from. Back in the day, most items were stored in barrels and transported in barrels. It was common to pick out the rotten or getting close to be rotten fruit out of the barrel because it would cause the entire barrel to rot.

               Another headline was in the news, seven people (law enforcement) had a shackled and handcuffed man face down on the floor and they were on his back. He died and they are in deep trouble as they await, in orange jumpsuits, the outcome of the justice system. It has happened so many times that it is almost a back page article, not a headline.

               The same analogy can be said about almost anything, especially politics. It only takes on rotten congressman to taint the congressional body. There have been many rotten apples in congress for a long time. However, I think there are more today than usual. I could name people but I am sure I will miss many people that should be named along with the others. There are undercover apples that are rotten from their core outward.

               Getting back to law enforcement, the majority of officers attempt to do their job correctly and with integrity. It is a shame that a few taint the wellbeing and good deeds of the majority. When I was among them, I knew a few and have seen their conduct, however, there truly is a ‘blue wall of silence’. Why is it hush-hush when the right thing to do is report it? 1) you do not know how high the rot have spread and you could be speaking with an accomplice. 2) you will find yourself, most times, alone in everything you do. There will not be any association with you in any manner. 3) you could accidentally die. This has happened in the past and will happen again. 4) the command tier don’t want transparency, they want to deal with it themselves to keep their names clean.

               Keep in mind, rotten apples are everywhere, in every thing we do and see. The problem is recognizing the rot before you are caught-up in it and become tainted also. Remember not to be naive because you will never know how high the rot goes or who is becoming tainted. We had a President that tainted everything he touched. In this case, the rot trickled downward, not upward.

               There is another problem. If you were able to pick out all the rot in whatever agency, where would you get replacements that do not have a rotten spot? Look out for the rot.

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19

Feb. ’23

Time and Infrastructure

My mother used to say to me, ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’. I never thought much about that then but as I grew older it made sense. Be patient because everything takes time nothing is done instantaneously. Rome, built on seven hills, took a very long time to come together. No matter what you do will take time to do it, especially when you do it correctly.

               The other day, as I was watching the news, a comment was made that the President always talk about rebuilding the infrastructure but there is nothing to show for it. It was said the President does not uphold his promises and we should not trust anything he says. It was also said that the person-in-charge of the Department of Transportation was also at fault.

               I will give you a little lesson about our highway system (this is only one out of many projects concerning infrastructure). Many years ago, I read a road marker, I forget which state I was in, that talked about President D.D. Eisenhower and how he developed the highway system. When he was a newly minted Lieutenant in the army he had to drive from New York to California. What road there was was rutted and narrow. It took many days to get where he was going, and he swore that someday he will make better roads. When he became President in the 1950s, he did just that.

               To fix the aging infrastructure will take a long time to do. Let me mention a few things that will slow that rebuilding of any part of the infrastructure. First and foremost are the permits before anything can start. Plans have to be drawn, inspections have to be made, contracts have to be written and signed. Just that part mentioned can take months to do. If all that have been mentioned goes smoothly, the work can begin and, depending on the size of the project, will take time to do it safely and right.

               If the project is a new build, then there are other problems. Environmental agencies must give their approval, hearings have to be held, groups for and against have to be appeased, hearings are held again because of the changes to the original concept. After all of that then you start with drawing detailed plans, written contracts, etc.

               The Romans built many great roads and bridges and most of them still stand today, and a few are still being used. The Romans did not wave a magic wand and their projects instantly appeared. It took a long time to accomplish those things that were built thousands of years ago. The Romans had many projects, very little red tape, yet it took a long time for each project.

               I said all of that to say this. Give the infrastructure plans some time. The ball is rolling but it will take time to see it. Many people, that are against the President or the Democrat Party, will always say bad things about the infrastructure bill without proof of anything. Remember, Rome was not built in a day, nether was our deteriorating infrastructure, and completing the plans in the infrastructure bill will take time.

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19

Jan. ’20

What Do You Think

Many years ago, I used to be in the military. I retired from the military almost forty years ago. And, forty years ago, I loved the military. I was not under any delusion about why I was in the military or even why I stayed as long as I did. But, one thing is sure, when I became dissatisfied, I got out.

I went into a specific branch of the military because I did not want to be drafted into the army like the majority of Black people. I beat them to the punch by a few days and while I was in basic training my mother received my draft notice. I was happy for eighteen years, my last two was hell.

As First Sergeant, my last two years saw the change in the military. As the top NCO in my outfit, I felt it more than the men on the outside because I had to deal with the hard change of regulations and ensure my men understood them and adhered to them.

Most of these changes were meant to ensure people had their equal rights applied. There could not be hollering (shouting) at them, grabbing them (assault), in other words, handle with the softest of gloves. It was time for me to go because any one of the people could bring charges against me for hollering at them, etc. which would put me in serious trouble, and twenty years goes down the drain.

Why am I remembering all of this? I was watching television and saw the news about the deployment of military personnel. I also heard some saying they had no notice and it was not right. My question is this, why did they come into the military? Opps…I answered my own question as I think back to when I was in the military. Before I retired to get away from the new military, I talked to a few men that summed it into a neat bow.

I was told that they were there to get an education, to get away from home for a while and to save a little money for later. They did not come into the military to go to war and anything close to that. They wanted to start a family and expected the government to protect and provide for their family. I had a couple of officers tell me almost the same thing.

In my day in the military, it was not like that. We got little pay, very slowly made rank, was roughed up until we got our mess together ( it was expected and no one died but became better because of it) and we never dreamed of having any equal rights except at the toe of the First Sergeant’s boot (just a love tap). I have deployed within a four-hour notice. It was expected and not a mumbling word was heard. Those that were married, and later I was also, schooled their family that at any time the horn would sound and they could be gone for a few days to three months (anything over that is considered a PCS (permanent change of station) except under extreme circumstances).

I still say, like I said when I left the military, the military have gone soft. Then there are echoes of days gone by. I heard somewhere that people are talking about the draft. Well, to dodge the draft you can’t run to Canada now. The President closed that door. What about Mexico? That door is closed also. So, I guess the military is stuck and so are the draft dodgers. Humm…

 

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06

Feb. ’17

Alarm Clock

It is great to have an alarm clock, but here at Imperial Plaza I don’t think I need one for the normal getting up in the morning. It is normal at around 7:30am, Monday through Friday, to hear a leaf blower cleaning the sidewalks and streets. Therefore, for that time of morning I do not need a manual alarm clock, only for very early appointments. Even with the windows closed I can still hear the leaf blower and I am on the seventh floor. It is still loud.

Then between 8am and 8:30am the trash truck comes to pick up from the dumpster. I hear the beep, beep, beep of the backup alarm and I hear the hydraulics of the truck raising the dumpster. Then I hear the clanging of the trash being dumped from the dumpster into the truck. The next thing I hear, which really gets to me, is the truck backing up, loudly beeping all the way. And all of this noise is from the building beside mine. The truck then comes to my building and the noise starts all over again, only closer. I don’t need an alarm clock with all of this going on.

I am well aware that all of this is necessary. I am also acutely aware of how immaculate our lawns and streets are. The trash rarely fills to overflowing, except on a long holiday weekend or someone moving in or out. Who can complain about that? With me and my wife always going to bed late I guess we will have to put up with the morning noise. It’s a small price to pay for the enjoyment that we get afterward. I will never complain about it because I do not want Brookdale Imperial Plaza’s Management making drastic changes and mess up the good thing that we are having. Retirement is beautiful and I want to keep it that way.

I remember when I had my house I had to do all of the work myself. Once or twice a week I had to drag my trash cans from the back of the house and put it on the edge of the curb for trash pickup. When he came to lawn care, I did all of it including the bushes and hedges. How can I gripe about having it all done for me at no cost. My grandmother and my mother used to constantly say “do not look a gift horse in the mouth”. This is truly a gift horse and I’m trying hard not to look at it and pout. I am thankful for what I have and don’t want to mess it up for anything.

Thinking about timing, it is ironic, while trying to get this done, testing of the fire alarm was being done. There wasn’t a notice that this was to occur where usually we would have some type of warning. Then again, the warning that was usually given was inadequate. We usually have a testing once a month at 10am in the morning. The notice for the morning test is usually put out the day before, or it should be but, I have been complaining ever since I’ve been here, that notice usually go out in the wee hours of the morning (night?). Everyone is asleep when the notice comes out and, if you don’t check your message box in front of your door when you wake up early, you will not get the notice. When the alarm sounds you will be wondering if it is real or not. I usually look out my door into the hallway to see if a notice is in my message box. If a message is not there, then the alarm is real. If a message is there, then it is a test. I am usually already up and messing about because the leaf blower and the trash truck have already sounded an alarm (LOL).

So, here at if Imperial Plaza, there are all sorts of alarm clocks. This have only been three out of a few others I can think of. However, it is better than when I had a house and had to do all of this myself. Now, as I have a cup of coffee and look out my window, I can say those were the days when I had to do all of that myself. I smile as I reminisce. (slurp…aaahhh)

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