Memories from my youth.

In he 1940s, and before, refrigerated air conditioning was rare. The compact, efficient compressors that provide A/C for cars and private homes, had not yet been developed. A/C was available only in theaters and some retail store. Certainly not in churches.

Thus, most every church provided hand-held fans you could wave in front of your face for a little relief. On hot summer nights, however, many congregations opted to hold their services outdoors. Many churches put up a large tent in a nearby vacant lot, spread the ground with sawdust, lined up folding chairs, and called it church.

In Kansas City, Kansas, where I lived, there were a number of churches with all black congregants. When they had their summer evening services outside, everyone off the street was welcome to walk in and join them, which I did several times.

One thing I found in common with all these groups: worship service was a time of joyous celebration. The service always began with a "song service", and it was wonderful. People singing at the top of their voices, "Isn't it grand to be a Christian", and meaning every word of it. I especially loved joining in as a congregation sang : "Won't you have a little talk with Jesus... "

When the service began, the Pastor was actually listened to, verified by a chorus of Amens from the congregation when he admonished them against the ways of the world. If there were not enough Amens, the pastor would repeat his admonition until he received the desired response.

Recently I attended a memorial service for a deceased friend. A formalized, scripted event with hymns recited in a wooden sort of way. I wished I could have brought in one of those old black pastors. He would have ended the spirit of gloom, assuring us that our departed friend was now in the loving arms of his Savior, for a joyous reunion with his long departed parents, grandparents and friends who have gone before. Then the chorus would sing and the congregation would join in a celebration of the life of our friend.

Is it a surprise that church attendance has waned? There is little joy left inside those sacred doors.

Brain Power

The human brain is the most incredible thing in all of the universe. How can this lump of meat accomplish things no computer can equal? As with Donald Rumsfeld's reference to "things we don't know we don't know", it would take more education than most of us will ever acquire to even comprehend what the human brain can do.

Still, I find it curiously interesting that the wonderful brain can sometimes be easily tripped up. The rising or setting moon appears much larger than the moon seen high in the sky overhead. The answer, I am told, is reference. At moonrise or moonset, we can compare the apparent size of the moon to terrestrial objects, which makes it look larger.

Reference. Our brains seem incapable of comprehending things far outside the range of familiarity. Empty space in the universe is infinite. It has no boundaries. Incomprehensible. To our wondrous brain, everything has boundaries.

The speed of light. 186,000 miles per second. Incomprehensible. We can't even comprehend the speed of a jet aircraft. Recent reports tell of tornadoes with wind speeds of 200 miles per hour snapping large trees like matchsticks. Imagine sticking your head out the window of a plane moving at 500 miles per hour. It might be snapped off like those tree trunks.

But at 35,000 feet we have no reference for gauging terrestrial speed. If we were flying close to the ground, watching fields and towns swish by at the rate of about 2 1/2 football fields per second, we would not calmly consider our choice from the flight attendant's beverage cart... we would be clutching the seat in front of us in white-knuckle panic!

At my advancing age, I have discovered another incident of brain shortcoming - again related to reference. Once we reach the age of about two years, standing upright requires no thought, no conscious effort. The brain sends just the right signal to each of those many muscles in our feet, legs, thighs and back that keep our bodies erect... even on a surfboard or on skis (once we get the hang of using those devices!).

But now, after decades of practice, my brain at times can no longer figure out which way is up - can't decide what signals to send to which muscles, until I give it a reference point. Standing in the shower with a head full of shampoo and eyes closed, I must touch the shower wall and determine which way is up, or all those muscles will just go limp and I will fall.

I laugh to myself when I imagine being given a roadside sobriety test by a police officer. Asked to walk a straight line, placing one foot in front of the other helps to indicate if you are impaired. I can no longer do that when stone cold sober.

In fact, I cannot walk any straight line - I just tend to stagger to one side or the other. I know, a cane will largely solve that problem. Reference! But, walk with a cane? Like some old man? I suppose I will have to fall a couple of times before I accept that inevitability!

Angie's List

Most Americans believe in equal justice under the law. Or do they? Consider Angie's List.

Angie's list TV advertising shows one painter, employed by a painting contractor, performing badly. The ad advises not to call these guys! Hey... do we get to hear the painting contractor's side of the story?

Another ad shows a plumber staying on the job after his work is done so he could walk the customer's dog. "The only plumber I'll ever call", asserts the ad copy. What are they saying? That a plumber should donate his valuable time to accommodate a customer too irresponsible to care for their pet? Should we not even consider the dog-walking plumber's ability as a plumber?

If I understand Angie's List, we are supposed to accept the "verdict" of one satisfied or dissatisfied customer without ever knowing the credibility of that customer.

I have spent decades working with dozens of remodeling contractors, plumbers, painters, roofers, etc. across the country. In those years I have met one or two remodelers whom I believed were capable of being dishonest if it suited their purpose. I have met a few who were incompetent in one way or another. Most frequently it was a failure in communications that led to a misunderstanding. The vast, vast majority were both honest and capable.

In those same years I have seen many, many customers of remodelers who were flat out dishonest and were hell bent on cheating and scamming the remodeling contractor. I have seen customers complain that the work done was not satisfactory while steadfastly refusing to let the contractor fix the problem. I've seen these cases go to court, only to have a judge side with the dishonest customer and punish the contractor.

The Better Business Bureau franchisees, like Angie's list a private enterprise, does it a bit differently. If a customer complains, the BBB office calls the contractor and attempts to resolve the complaint. The BBB files then retain the results of that effort. Call for a reference and they will give you the full details of any unresolved complaints.

My opinion is that Angie's list is neither fair nor just.

Before accepting the finding of Angie's List, I hope you will favor justice and insist upon hearing the full story.

Does Time Really Fly?

Or does it only crawl?

If you are looking ahead, time seems to stand still. Looking back? Whew! It flies!

Consider presidential politics. A child of the depression, I remember my father's disappointment when Roosevelt was re-elected in 1936. His disbelief when Roosevelt was again re-elected in 1940. His dejection when Roosevelt won again in 1944! Was this man going to be president forever? It seemed that way. At the time, The American Tobacco Company's Lucky Strike brand was the biggest selling cigarette in the world. Their marketing slogan was Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco, and they emblazoned every advertising endeavor with LS/MFT! Some smart mouth started saying "Let's Start Mentioning Fifth Term". But, natural forces intervened and FDR died early in his fourth term.

In November, 1948, just about everyone thought the long Democrat hold on the White House would end, but it didn't turn out that way. Harry Truman, who had inherited the presidency upon Roosevelt's death, was re-elected.

Then came 1952! Boy, did I like Ike... as did a majority of Americans! When Dwight Eisenhower took office, we thought we were in secure possession of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, but Ike's eight years passed in a blink.

And, so it went. Some say Kennedy stole the 1960 election, but Nixon didn't want to be seen as a sore loser and quietly stepped aside. Upon JFK's tragic assassination, Lyndon Johnson became president. Everyone sort of felt sorry for LBJ and so gave him his own term in 1964. Then, the Viet Nam war exploded.

Nixon came back and won big in 1968, then again in a landslide in 1972. Some of Nixon's campaign staff foolishly tried to plant a listening device in Democrat National Headquarters and were caught in the act. The press relentlessly pushed the issue until Nixon was forced to resign and a former Congressman named Gerald Ford became president. Because the media hated Nixon, they demonized Ford and we got Carter in 1976. Oh, my!

Carter's four years were just a blink, then came Reagan. Again, we said "Finally"! Double blink and Bush One won in 1988. Then, flash... it was Clinton; blink: Bush Two; blink: Obama.

Be it in 2012 or 2016, Obama, too, will be replaced and we will exhilarate or agonize over the new president. But, don't get too exercised over the winner. Before you know it, they, too, will go the way of all earlier presidents... into the history books.

Flying or crawling... time marches on.

What's gold worth?

I don't think anyone knows!

In the U.S., they may say, about 1500 Dollars per ounce. In Europe, 360 Euros an ounce; In Japan, 123,000 Yen; In the U.K., 930 Pounds Sterling.

But actually that is only saying what their currency is worth. Currencies fluctuate in value. Gold, not so much.

Gold is a precious metal, hard to find, useful for many things. You could set its value by the amount of effort it takes to get it out of the ground and refine it to a standard of purity. Or, you may just say what a one-time mentor told me about the value of a piece of real estate: It is worth what one man is willing to pay for it.

But. gold is not real estate. A building lot in Boston is priced differently than is the same size lot in Beaumont, TX. An ounce of 24 carat gold is the same the world over. It is the standard of value. Instead of saying an ounce of gold is worth $1500, we should say one dollar is worth 1/1500 of an ounce of gold. In a year from now, the dollar may be worth 1/2000, or 1/1000. That will depend on the action of the government.

You can make a ring out of a piece of gold. A dollar bill can be traded for some amount of some commodity, but has no value in itself. Currencies are a representation of value. Gold has actual value. Like the current flock of TV commercials say... gold has never been worth zero!

Hell phones...

I walked into a public restroom and immediately heard a man's voice, loud and animated. But there was no one else in the room. That puzzled me until I realized some guy was sitting on one of the johns, door closed, having a conversation on his cell phone! Please! Is there no situation in human behavior that can take priority to a telephone conversation? If the guy's friend were there with him, would he have him stand inside the stall so their conversation could continue uninterrupted?

Standing on the sidewalk a woman walked close to me and started talking. Not understanding the relevance of what she said, I responded, "I beg your pardon." There was no response from her... then I realized she had one of those cell phones attached to the side of her head. It was covered by her hair, almost invisible. How do they dial a number on those things?

I was in an examining room at the doctor's office, explaining something or other to the doctor. He suddenly stood up, removed his (apparently vibrating) cell phone from his pocket, and left the room, talking to some unseen caller. Had that call been to an old-fashioned wired phone, a receptionist would have answered, explained that the doctor was with a patient and taken a message.

I hate cell phones. Some years ago I signed up for cell phones for my wife and I, realizing the advantage of instant communication from wherever we may be. But when we were far out on the desert or in a mountain forest where emergency communication could be lifesaving, my cell had no service.

Due to impaired hearing, when I did receive a call I had trouble understanding the caller. Then I started receiving text messages relative to my horoscope (pure nonsense in my opinion), which I had to pay for! I called the cell provider and arranged to ban text messages to my number.

Finally I realized I was neither sending or receiving calls with my cell phone, so I was paying a monthly fee for the privilege of remembering to keep the thing's battery charged! I cancelled my service.

Enough of my stories of rude cell phone behavior - you can fill in your own experiences!

I believe cell phones are the worst piece of technology ever invented. I hope I live long enough to see the day when everyone agrees and the use of cell phones in public goes the way of CB radio. Can I hear a 10-4, good buddy?

Most overrated thing in America

For some time, I have wanted to express my opinion that a college degree - especially a degree from a liberal arts institution - is the most overrated thing in our society.

But today, Dr. Thomas Sowell expressed the truth of the subject better than an opinion formed from my limited experience could hope to match.

Check his column here. Or, here.

Any family with a high school graduate thinking of entering college next year, should read and heed what Dr. Sowell has to say.

Not only the United States, but the world is awash with educated but unskilled young people. As Dr. Sowell so clearly articulates, these people sometimes do more harm then good.

Sadly, however, the world still uses the college degree as positive proof of ability. Nothing could be more foolish. Early in my career, I was passed over for a couple of jobs which I could have done well. I had excellent, well placed references but I lacked the requisite degree and was dropped from consideration. As an employer in broadcasting and in advertising for many years, I hired young people who held degrees in Journalism, only to discover they had zero qualifications for the job.

Neither I, nor Dr. Sowell, disregard an education in the sciences. Or graduate degrees. Still, it would do well to repeat the old riddle: "What do you call the guy who graduated last in his class at medical school?" Answer: "Doctor."

The First Debate

I do not mean the Nixon-Kennedy debacle a half century ago. I mean the one that happened on May5, 2011... missed by many who were celebrating the pretend-Mexican holiday Cinco de Mayo.

The Nixon-Kennedy event was won by the make-up artists, or the studio lighting technicians, or some combination thereof.

In those early days of TV, not many realized that a person looked a lot different on the black & white TV screen than they did in the studio. And, in those primitive times, no men wore long hair, few wore earrings and fewer still would wear makeup. Nixon declined makeup and the old kinescope emphasized dark circles under his eyes, making him look ghoul-like.

Is there much difference in the way presidential debate winners are chosen today?

Understanding that TV people are interested only in audience ratings makes it a little easier to understand why they call these sideshows a "debate". They are a question and answer session intended primarily to try to trip someone up and hope they will say something stupid - or, by accident, brilliant. That, my friends, produces sound bytes to last through election day - and which can be revived for years in election campaigns to come.

Think, for a moment, how helpful it would be if first, the host would engage each of the candidates in a little pleasant conversation to help them relax. Having spent 25 years in broadcasting, I can assure you that a broadcaster becomes very comfortable in his job. A political candidate, knowing that one mis-statement could crash his campaign, is anything but comfortable. To march the candidates out in front of a large studio audience and make them stand there, at attention, until you hit them with a question, on a subject that may well be the last thing on their mind, is unlikely to produce anything meaningful. (Like asking former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson what he would call his TV show - if he ever had a TV show!)

When everyone has had a chance to relax, the host addresses the first candidate: "Candidate one... lately the news media has described you as (whatever is being said). Can you speak to that charge?

Candidate One: Speaks to the subject. (Long enough to clarify his position.)

Host, to other candidates: "Candidate Two, do you have a response to that?"

And, down the line, each candidate has an opportunity to debate what Candidate One has said.

Then the host addresses the next candidate, asking him/her to speak to whatever is being said of them. Following, each remaining candidate is permitted to challenge.

They could then discuss current events or other topics of general interest, with the host simply introducing the topic - not asking specific questions.

We are not hoping to elect the next TV pundit or commentator. We want to elect a chief executive who will keep informed on current events and make thoughtful decisions. How do we benefit from the current format they are calling a debate?

I personally believe the American news media is obstructing the presidential election process. They stage these phony events and if a candidate fails to participate or dares to be critical, he has to wonder if the news people will then disparage everything he says in the remainder of the campaign.

And remember, I am not a media-basher. My career was broadcasting.

The Wrong Message
from Michelle Obama and other food Nazis!

Demonizing fast food and other menu items is as wrong as it is foolish and ineffective. I had a friend who operated a chain of roast beef sandwich shops. He once laughed when he heard a TV commercial demonizing the hamburger and urging people to "think outside the bun." The hamburger has frequently shown to be America's favorite sandwich. He questioned what can be gained by attacking the favorite? Resentment from all who hear?

That is the ineffective part. The wrong part of demonizing fast food is that it serves no useful purpose. There is nothing inherently unhealthy about beef, buns, lettuce, pickle or mustard. Or even French Fries. The problem is overeating!

So, the food Nazis attack restaurants for oversizing portions! Wrong again. What is wrong with giving customers more for their money? Just don't eat it all!

My wife and I go into a burger place, order one hamburger and one order of fries. We split both the burger and the fries. We satisfy our hunger and neither are overweight.

There are only two correct rules for diet. First, learn to enjoy all kinds of foods. The more variety in your diet, the healthier your diet. Second, eat to satisfy your stomach... not your palate! Sure, I could eat a quart of ice cream at one sitting. My palate would love it. The rest of my body would not. And the surprising part is that once you form the habit of eating for your stomach, your palate learns to go along and is satisfied with the smaller portions. Let your brain, not your taste buds, tell you how much to eat

I believe that menu variety must be taught early. Parents of small children should learn from depression-era parents who, constricted by poverty, served the family no wide choice of menu items. They served what they had - what they could afford - and the choices were "take it or leave it". Hunger taught the children to "take it", and they learned to enjoy all those different things mom cooked.

There was an old song that sang of "cornbread and buttermilk and good old turnip greens." Yes, that was the menu at many a dinner I enjoyed as a kid on the farm. Especially if the turnip greens were cooked with a little piece of ham hock, or even salt pork.

Two things parents should know. Tastes do differ and some children will never learn to like certain foods, no matter how much you like those foods. Encourage them. Do not force. And, remember that children are easily influenced by the comments of others. I once sat down to Thanksgiving dinner with a large family group. Several kinds of salad dressing were placed on the table. The container of blue cheese dressing was almost empty and I wanted it. So did a couple of small boys who wanted it because there was so little. I reasoned that they had probably never eaten blue cheese and had no idea how it tasted, but I encouraged them to take it... It's good, I informed, made with sour goat's milk! That's all it took. They wouldn't touch it.

Serve your children a variety of food and talk about how good it all tastes. Control portions. Don't serve their food in such a way that they can fill their stomachs with mashed potatoes and never touch the vegetables or meat.

As an adult, ignore Michelle and the other food Nazis. Eat whatever you like. Remember your last meal and have something different for the next. Not had a salad today? Be sure to have one for dinner. During hard times, we used to say "Take all you want - eat all you take." Learn to say "Take anything you like - eat less of everything."

What About Our Daughters?

The Greatest Achievement of Western civilization has been the elevation in the status of women. During my lifetime, the free world has benefited greatly from the contributions of intelligent, courageous women. But we still have a way to go.

From birth until they start school, little girls are treated as what they are, precious but fragile assets of the human race. As adults, women are given more opportunities than at most any other time in recorded history. Once relegated to become nurses or school teachers, women are now accepted, and they excel, in almost every profession.

But, about the time little girls start school, something happens. Their TV fare turns from Teletubbies, Big Bird and other gentle fare to an onslaught of material, purposely intended to turn them into tramps. And not just TV: movies and magazines join the cry to become sexy. Dress sexy. Act sexy. Talk sexy. Be sexy. TV is usually the most watched medium and TV has become the leader in the barrage of sex. Can you say Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, or Miley Cyrus... beautiful, talented little girls that TV producers have instilled with the wrong set of values.

It is as though the medium has decided to test little girls to the extreme: if they can survive this, they may grow up to be successful adults.

I am all for teaching little girls to care about their appearance, their bodies, their behavior. Obesity is an ugly and an unhealthy trait. Little girls should be taught to seek an attractive appearance and good manners, valuable assets in the pursuit of a career.

But, sexy? Should female children be reared for the primary purpose of enhancing the sexual fantasies of men? Have we not yet risen above the standards of Solomon, the supposedly wise king who used his wealth and power to capture and hold a harem beyond counting?

Aren't a clean healthy appearance and gracious manners appealing? Or have we become so desensitized by pornography that we cannot appreciate a young woman unless she bares her body in public?

Parents often fear the prospect of their sons joining the military and going off to battle. I fear the prospect of sending my granddaughters off to school.

We have a way to go.