Remembering Duke and Dan

When I was 13, my dad bought a team of work horses. Duke was solid black. Dan was a sorrel - a sort of reddish brown. These were big, broad-backed horses, capable of pulling heavy loads. Both were sold as "broke to harness". We led them home and turned them to pasture. The next morning we harnessed the team and attempted to hitch them to some sort of two-horse farm implement, probably a cultivator.

Duke was the sweetest animal one could imagine. He stood quietly in his harness, waiting for "instructions". Dan went wild. He seemed impossible to control. Much too excited. Much too nervous. After some period of time trying to calm the big horse, my Dad gave up and we led Dan back to the place where we had bought him. The horse salesman threw a harness on Dan, hitched him to a one-horse cultivator, and proceeded to cultivate a garden patch.

My father was born in 1893. He grew up with horses. He had a deep scar on his right temple, marking the point of impact of a horseshoe where he was kicked in the head - and into a coma - when he was a lad. So serious was the injury that his father proceeded to build a coffin for his son.

But dad recovered and led a very normal life. Horses having been a big part of it.

We led Dan home and turned him to pasture. The next morning, Dan was harnessed again, and again went wild. Once more we returned him to the "used horse lot". Once again the sales person harnessed Dan and proceeded to demonstrate that the big sorrel was well trained and gentle as a kitten. Dan in tow, we returned home once more.

The next morning, Dad was sure he had the answer to Dan's behavior. For some reason this horse had to be "warmed up". Can you imagine an athlete who, before taking to the gridiron, runs several laps around the field, then engages in a series of physical exercises? Anyway, Dad hitched the horses to a wagon and took them for a trot down the road. In about a mile or so, we reached a wide spot, turned the team and wagon around and returned home. Dan, then hitched to the cultivator, performed splendidly.

Duke, on the other hand, seemed to have a human-like understanding of what had to be done. Among other crops, we had a large patch of watermelons. One day I set out to cultivate the patch with Duke pulling a little one-horse cultivator. He set out like he intended to finish the job before lunch... much too fast for me to control the implement he was pulling. I reined him to a stop and walked around to his head. There, far from any other human observation, I took hold of his bridle and explained the problem. Yes, young farm boys do things like talking to horses.

When I again took my position behind the implement and clucked for Duke to move out, he just leaned forward into his collar, ever so slowly tightening the traces that would pull the cultivator. "C'mon, Duke, let's go", I encouraged. Duke took one step, then another, and proceeded to pull the cultivator carefully forward. We continued slowly through the patch, ripping up the soil and removing weeds between the watermelon "hills".

Once I had to go somewhere on the farm and decided to ride Duke. We had no saddle, so I mounted him bareback. Some breeds of riding horses can glide along in a smooth and even gait. Duke was not one of those horses. After plodding along in a slow walk for some distance, I encouraged the big horse to hurry. He launched into his awkward, bouncing gate. Astraddle his wide back, my legs spread far apart, I bounced about a foot into the air and landed hard on his back. The landing mashed my testicles and I experienced pain I had never known. Trying to grasp myself where it hurt, I fell from Duke's back landing in a fetal position in the dirt.

I don't recall how long it took for the pain to become bearable, but when it did, I was aware that I was being pushed about. It was Duke. He continued to nuzzle me until I took hold of his reins and staggered to my feet. When I fell, Duke had stopped running, turned around and returned as though to be sure I was okay.

There has never been a grazing animal that did not think the grass was greener on the other side of the fence. One time Duke arrived at that conclusion and stepped one front leg across an old barbed wire fence. The wire was loose and springy and when Duke tried to withdraw that front leg, he found that he could not. The wire was caught behind his ankle. It was necessary for him to lean forward until his leg was free, then raise his hoof high above the sagging wire, and back himself into his own pasture. Instead, he swung his leg back and forth, the barbs on the fence wire cutting into the back of his ankle. When I found him, blood was spurting from the wound.

I freed Duke's leg and led him to the barn. I was alone on the farm that day, but remembered having been told that tea leaves would help blood to clot. Securing Duke in his stall, I ran to the house and grabbed mother's supply of tea leaves. Returning to the barn I sat on the floor next to Duke's front leg and held a handful of dry tea leaves tightly against the wound.

Eventually it did stop bleeding. Whether or not the tea helped or hurt, I'll never know, but Duke healed and seemingly suffered no long term consequences.

Dad built a wagon on an old automobile chassis, retaining the rubber tires. That wagon rode like a cloud behind Duke and Dan, and I made some extra money hauling things for nearby farmers.

I loved those big horses. Today, some sixty-plus years later, I can no longer remember what happened to Duke and Dan. My father probably sold the horses. Surely they are both long since dead now, and while I do not believe in an after life for horses, it is pleasant to imagine them somewhere, grazing knee-deep in clover with not a barbed wire fence in sight.

Electric cars.
Some day - just not yet.

If you drive the highways of the west, where the distance between point "A" and point "B" may be hundreds of miles, it is a great gift of technology to be able to cruise at 75 miles per hour in a big, new car. The climate inside the car is perfectly controlled for your comfort. You are surrounded by a steel frame and airbags for safety. Your seat is comfortable and instantly adjustable for your greater comfort. The stereo plays your favorite CD. Radio - local or satellite - entertains or informs. Your speed is automatically maintained.

Just thinking of making the same trip in one of those golf cart size electric cars sends a chill down your back. They have barely enough power to run their tiny motor... much less all the comfort extras.

Why should this be? You see a train on a track parallel to your highway, some 100 cars pulled along by a few locomotives running in tandem. Here are thousands of tons pulled along at, sometimes, speeds greater than the speed limit of your highway. These locomotives are pulling with electric motors.

So, why are electric cars so under powered? The difference is the source of the electric power to operate the motor. The rail locomotive has a huge diesel engine, turning a huge generator which powers the electric motor. This is an inefficient system, but is necessary because the internal combustion engine derives its power through RPM. It can develop a lot of horsepower, once it gets up to speed. To start moving a load from a standstill requires a clutch - or an automatic transmission. It is impossible to build either capable of starting in motion a load of thousands of tons.

The electric car must use a battery to provide power to run the motor. Current battery technology is much improved, and will some day be better still. But, today's batteries, are seriously lacking.

A lot of people want to invent and own the breakthrough technology that will one day permit batteries that can store power enough to drive automobiles as well as do today's gasoline or diesel engines. One of these researchers will one day hit the jackpot. Maybe it will be nano technology. Maybe something else. But I believe it will come.

Real cars powered by electricity are coming. Soon I hope. In the meantime, let's drill, drill, drill. Let's keep the cost of gasoline and diesel down to help the economy thrive. To keep those dollars at home in the U.S.! To help fund those researchers working on new batteries.

Mathematics - the fun subject.
Recently, my college professor son mentioned that today's college students are flocking to the study of social sciences, largely to avoid mathematics.

What?

Why would anyone want to avoid math? Mathematics is a great subject - fun because it is full of interesting patterns. Easy because the answers are precise.

In that same conversation, he mentioned one interesting pattern. If you square a series of numbers, the difference between the squares of any two numbers is always two more than the difference between the squares of the two preceding numbers. In case you have forgotten, to square a number is to multiply it by itself, and is indicated in math with a small "2" written to the right of the number to be squared. The square of 2 is 2 X 2, and is written as 2². The square of 3 is 3 X 3, written 3².

Okay, as I was saying, 2² = 4. And, 3² = 9. The difference between 4 and 9 is 5. Continuing, 4² = 16. The difference between 16 and 9 (the square of 3) is 7. That is an increase of two over 5. Now if we square 5, we get 25, which is 9 more than 16, which is two more than 7. This pattern will continue as long as you want to square and subtract numbers. Now, if you don't find that at least a little bit interesting, your brain has been twittered - or tweeted - into terminal numbness.

But, this is only the beginning of the surprises in math. If you don't like multiplication or division, just fall back on addition and subtraction, You can, with logarithms. Every number has a logarithm. To get the logarithm (which is often shortened to just "log") of a number, you can go to a log table. When I was studying electronics, we used a slide rule to find the log of a number. Today there are calculators and computer programs to do the job. Anyway, to multiply two numbers, just find the log of each, add them together, and find the anti-log of the result. That result wil be the same as if you had multiplied the first two numbers. For division, just subtract the log of the second number from the log of the first, find the antilog of the result, and it is the same as if you had divided the first number by the second. Sure it is extra steps, but very helpful if you are multiplying or dividing complex numbers.

The study of mathematics can be one of wonder and joy. When I was studying mathematics, I found myself repeatedly saying, "Well, I'll be darned... that is amazing!" Sometimes I thought ahead of my then current level of study and wondered, "How do they know that?". When the answer was finally explained, it was a delight.

Knowledge of mathematics is core to many scientific disciplines. It is well to study math in college. How do you teach a child that mathematics is not a subject to be feared? Start early with simple number games. Make them fun. Learn shortcuts. Suppose you are watching a telecast of the Tour de France. The TV screen says the riders have 25 km to go. How far is that in mles?

Well, you could grab a calculator and multiply 25 by 0.62 and see that it is about 15.5 miles. But most people find that difficult to do "in their head" without calculator, or paper and pencil. Here's a shortcut you can easily do without calculator or pencil: divide the km (25) by 10, to get 2.5. Double that to 5.0. Multiply by 3 and you have 15. Actually, that is equal to multiplying the KM by 0.6, not 0.62. If you want a more accurate answer, multiply the 25 by 0.2 and add that to your original answer. But the shortcut is close enough, if you are only satisfying a moment of curiosity. And, certainly close enough to check your result if you go for the long, accurate computation. Your answer better be close to 15... not 150 or 1.5, either of which would mean you had misplaced a decimal point.

There are many such shortcuts in math, and just finding them is a great way to start making math a fun game.

Can anyone explain to me
why the term "lobbyist" has come to mean something evil?

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the opening salvo of the Bill of rights, protects the right of citizens to petition their government for the redress of grievances.

The generally accepted definition of a lobbyist is someone who tries to influence legislation by influencing legislators. Does that not mean to "petition" them? If I seek redress of a grievance, but am personally dereft of the powers of persuasion, can I not ask you to speak on my behalf? Do you not then become a lobbyist? And who is this "government' we have the right to petition? Is it not a member of the legislature - which our Constitution guarantees the full power to create legislation?

I hear references to "undue" influence by lobbyists. Where in that 1st amendment does it proscribe limits to a citizen's petition?

The problem seems to be that the Constitution has been over interpreted. Too many great minds have expanded the meaning of those simple, clear sentences crafted by the founders. In broadcasting, we used to say: "K.I.S.S. - keep it simple, stupid". The Founders kept it simple. Why have we complicated it? The solution seems to be that we return to those simple, clear snetences.

Maybe it was John McCain (the very guy who comdemns lobbyists), in an appearance on the television program "The View" during the last presidential campaign, who suggested that return.

Whoopee Goldberg, one of the foolish voices on that program, began mouthing about a return to slavery, which existed when the Constitution was written.

Wait a minute, Whoopee... read the 9th amendment: It assures that enumeration of rights in the Constutution (which rights did NOT include slavery) could not be construed to deny citizens other rights. For further clarification, the 10th amendment spells out that any powers not specifically granted to the Federal Government or specifically denied to the states by the Constitution, are reserved to the states, or to the people!

The only thing clearer, perhaps, was Ayn Rand's explanation: The citizen has the right to do anything not specifically prohibited by law, so long as it does not infringe upon the rights of fellow citizens. Conversely, the government has no rights unless specifically permitted by law. Seems to me that enslaving a person would certainly infringe upon his or her right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Palin: No one will value it,
but here is my opinion.

Sarah Palin held her resignation news conference one week ago, but I just read another columnist's examination of "why she quit". Being genetically disposed to be a motormouth, I can be silent no longer.

Some years ago I knew a young lawyer who was very idealistic and very disturbed with the political turn of events in his state. He decided to enter politics to make things better. He filed as a candidate for a seat in the Missouri Legislature's House of Representatives. The law firm where he was employed took little interest in his candidacy. Some friends of mine who were in the advertising business helped him write copy for flyers which he personally distributed door to to door.
When he was elected, the seniors in his law firm called him into a meeting and spelled out the agenda they wanted him to follow as a legislator. It was entirely opposite of what this young man had in mind and he refused. Eventually his employment situation became untenable and he resigned the job.
In the legislature, he confronted one stone wall after another. I no longer remember the time span it all took, or how many terms he served. But one day he reached the conclusion that there was nothing constructive he could accomplish in the state legislature, and at the end of the term, he walked away.

Most of us Conservatives yearn for politicians who truly care about their community, their country. We wrongly conclude that all politicians are egotistic maniacs, stumbling through their terms, concentrating only on being reelected. That's too bad. There are still people like the young, idealistic lawyer who try, but party hacks and special interest pros wear them down, one way or another.

Sarah Palin certainly is an idealist. Her entire public record proves that conclusively. She saw and struggled against corruption with no regard for party lines. She was successful in all of her Alaska endeavors. But when she entered the national scene, she was met by the real pros at the politics of personal destruction. Some crafty mind among them discovered that you could completely hogtie a political office holder by simply filing ethic complaints, one after the other. The law rightly requires that complaints be investigated, no matter how frivolous they may seem on the surface.

In the span of six months or so, Palin came to the realization that she, personally, had wasted a half million dollars - enough to put all of her children through college - defending herself against the false charges. Worse, the state she loved and wanted to protect, had spent four times that amount. Never mind that all charges were proven false and were dismissed. She, and those around her, knew that the charges would continue. Why would they stop? They were taking their toll, and it cost nothing to lodge them.

In Palin's case, she saw that the problem was her personal popularity on the national political stage. At her side was a Lieutenant Governor who shared her political ideals and goals. With no apparent national political ambitions, he would be of little interest to the destroyers. She could remove herself from the picture, put a stop to the financial bleeding of her family and her state, and still see her objectives for clean state government realized. She had only one choice.

Would resignation destroy her political career? Perhaps. Would it allow her to continue to pursue her goal of making a change in the political climate of the country she loved? Absolutely! And that was her true ambition.

For this, I feel a great personal debt to Sarah Palin. Do I think she'll run for some higher political office? I hope so - we need people like Sarah Palin. But that decision is hers to make. In the meantime, if she appears in my area in support of some candidate or another, you can bet I will turn out to hear her speak, and I will vote for the candidate she supports.

As a postscript, I might add that a similarly evil tactic was used against Mitt Romney. When Mitt ran for president he was already out of office, so his enemies needed a different line of attack. Romney didn't have a lot of vulnerabilities. But, Mitt was not a Catholic, or a Baptist, or a follower of any of the other heavily populated religions. He was a Mormon. Nobody had any bad information about Mormons, but their numbers were fewer. Perhaps it would be possible to stir up feelings of prejudice against Mitt, because of his religion.

To his great credit, and unlike Barack Obama who quickly deserted his church when it became politically expedient to do so, Mitt Romney stuck by his religious beliefs. Why? Because he really believed them!
Is religion what defeated Mitt Romney? We'll never know. But we do know that every little impediment can diminish the chance of winning a race, be it swimming, bike racing, even a horse race... or a political campaign.
UPDATE:
When I wrote this, I titled it "Palin: My 2¢ Worth", meaning, "no one will value this, but here is my opinion. When I looked at the post I thought that was a pretty dumb title, one that everyone might use. To check this, I did a Google search for "Palin: My 2¢ Worth" and Google found 46,500,000 pages. To be fair, not all were about Palin, some were just about "My 2¢ Worth".
Aren't people funny?

Tour de France

You may have never ridden a bicycle, but you surely are hearing about this 96th running of the Tour de France bicycle race. American Lance Armstrong, who won the race seven years in a row, brought it to the forefront of the consciousness of most Americans.

For me, however, it is quite different. I watch the Tour in wonder... how do these guys do it?

I bought my first bicycle 67 years ago. Raised on a farm in Missouri, it was a long way from home to anywhere I wanted to go. No one will ever know how badly I wanted a bicycle, but buying food and other basic life necessities sucked up all the family resources in the 1930s. It was impossible for my parents to afford a bicycle for me.

I used to run down those country roads, holding my hands in front of me, as if I were holding on to handlebars, stepping high to imitate the leg motion of riding the pedals of a bike.

Finally, in 1941, I managed to earn and save a few dollars. Six, as a matter of fact! A friend of mine who had just turned old enough to get a driver's license, had grown tired of his bicycle and said he would sell it for eight dollars. Somehow my mother scraped two dollars from the family living cache, and we went to consummate the deal. My friend was not at home, but his mother took the eight dollars and gave me the bike. An old Schwinn, fat tire model. God I loved that bike.

I have owned several bikes since then. This morning, like every morning, I headed out on my little Trek mountain bike for a 45-minute ride. It was gorgeous at 5:30 a.m.! In the west, the full moon was hanging low in the sky, turning a bit orange as it neared the horizon. To the east, the sun was climbing behind the Organ mountains, painting the overhanging clouds a wonderful, glowing neon orange. The temperature was 76º. Breeze about 5 mph. Life was good. This morning my average speed was 8.6 miles per hour. Top speed was 16.5. Duration of ride was 0:45:25. Total distance, 6.5 miles. I thought about the riders in the Tour, averaging over 25 miles per hour for many hours. How do they do it?

None of my early bikes had an odometer. The odometer on my current Trek is nearing 4,000 miles. My other Trek has logged over 6,000 miles. Ten thousand miles - like coast-to-coast three times. That's a lot of wonderful hours on a bike.

When my youngest daughter was about eight years old, She had a bike... they weren't fancy in those days, and probably a real chore to pump up hills. I rolled out my latest Schwinn, a 3-speed model I had won in a contest, and took her for a ride. Foolishly I headed us out on a two-lane highway and ended up riding perhaps 20 miles round trip.

Our turn-around point was an ancient Indian burial ground a local farmer had discovered and turned into a bit of a tourist attraction. We left him a souvenir from our radio station. Years later, as an adult, she re-visited that place and found that the owner still had the souvenir we had given him. He returned it to her.

I still shudder to think of all that could have gone wrong on that long ride with that little girl, but she never complained once. Lance Armstrong would have been proud!

When my youngest son was about the same age, I bought him his first bike. He was really having trouble getting up even the smallest hills. Upon close examination, I discovered that the crank, the pedals, were equipped with a plastic sleeve, not a ball bearing. Ouch. We bought him a small Schwinn, and his riding improved immeasurably. Today, at 36, he owns a quality road bike and rides every day that weather and his schedule permit.

Riding a bicycle is great exercise. But it is so much more than that. This morning I saw three jack rabbits and two cottontails, along with the moon set and the sun rise. If you own one of those stationary indoor bikes, sell the damn thing and get yourself out on the road. Early morning, if possible! What a way to start a day!

Who knows, maybe you'll see this eighty year old kid soaking up the joy of riding his own bike!

Obesity Optimizer

Getting too thin? Help is on the way! Peppers Cafe, a part of a local restaurant in my town, is now serving what they call "The World's Largest Green Chile Cheeseburger". Forget the "Two all beef patties" relic of yore. This new entry has one patty - a full pound of ground beef - served on a ten-inch bun!

Wow! Just what our fat population needs!

It's on the menu at $18.95, plus tax and tip.