Guns-

In spite of the current headlines from around the country highlighting the rash of exposed killings by guns, the reigning CEO of the National Rifle Association Wayne LaPierre is quoted thus: Gun control advocates “insult [us], they denigrate, and they call us ‘crazy’ for holding fast to [our opposition to gun control]. In their distorted view of the world, they’re smarter than we are; they’re special; they’re more worthy than we are; they know better than we do,” he said. “The liberal media can keep hating on me, but I’m still standing.”

A wave of gun control laws across the country has everyone “up in arms” so to speak. Witness:http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/03/crazy-gun-laws-newtown

One law introduced allows bars and pubs to allow concealed weapons in the establishments. places where alcohol is served. How crazy is that? like the old adage states: Instant asshole, add alcohol.

Notice that it’s mostly Southern states that have issues with gun control laws. States where the mental Intelligence Quotient of the inhabitants is around the average of 15, numerically speaking.

In Georgia, there is a law put forth in the assembly that makes it mandatory for individuals to carry a gun. So what does the content of the law signify? That in Georgia you must be prepared to enter into a gun battle, if you enter the State? How will that affect the tourism industry , not to mention the general populace now existing in Georgia? Note though that the man(?) responsible for the introduction of the law revised the wording it once he thought it over.

What is happening to our country? Are we to have to resort to the lawlessness of the 17th century now? Are we to make the premise of the video game our normal way of living? Can we not venture out into our yards, go to the market, visit friends without fear of being gunned down? It’s stressful enough just to get to work in the morning, driving down the streets in the traffic in most cities, without having to worry that you have the chance of being shot just for switching lanes.

How far will people like LaPierre take this gun-toting mentality? Does this mean that if you and I disagree our differences will be settled by gun shot? Are our young children to be disciplined by violence, taught that ” the only good man, is a dead man”? What happened to value of life? Where has the moral content of our ethics disappeared to?

Hopefully those like LaPierre will come to see that guns have a place but it is not in the everyday fabric of our society. If guns are a need, what is the cause for that need? What is the cause, the essence of the core of the violence? Is this thinking a result of disillusionment with our society? Maybe it’s because there are too many people and not enough room for all of us. Whatever the cause, the solution is not a mandatory law that everyone must carry a weapon.

That’s just craziness to the extreme.

The change in our society

Sometimes When I’m lying in bed or or sitting in my “easy” chair, letting my thoughts wander over the landscape of of mental topography, I am beset with the notions of “why”? Like why are there all these so called ‘apps” for cell phones, and video games for use on television monitors, that really have no set purpose? I mean, there is a purpose I suppose, in that the purchase of the app provides an income to the originator, but like the pencil aisle in the office supply store, there are several different kinds and types that all do the same thing,i.e., make a mark somewhere, somehow.

The same holds true with applications for the smartphone or cell phone. They all basically do the same thing, and that same thing is provide mindless attention to what has become an adult pacifier. We see people anywhere and everywhere looking down at their hands, and in their hands is a small item so captivating, keeping their attention so completely entrenched, that they dare not look up to see where they are going or what they are doing, for fear of missing….what? The quite inaudible little chime notifying one of a message received. The hushed “ching” notification of the reciept of an email, the sound of an loud, obnoxious rock song in lieu of a ring tone. All sounds of a move toward the technological advance into a different kind of compulsion. Any person at least thirty years old has grown up with these digital marvels. Any person over the age of fifty may have the memory of a time when they did not exist, or if they did exist, not in the shape or form that describes them today.

Which brings me to a point in my thoughts where I explore the scenario of WHAT IF these communication marvels ceased to exist? Would we be reduced to a society of wandering robotons continually looking down at our hands with that mystified look on our puzzled faces, not knowing how or what to say to our friends or those we meet on the street? Actually it wouldn’t be that bad really but I do think we would have a difficult time communicating, or just being social. Because, you see, in spite of the fact that we have advanced in this way, technologically, we have reverted back to a time when manners and basic thoughtfulness and consideration have gone away, have slipped away from our consciousness.

How often do you (if you drive a motor vehicle or motorcycle for example) find yourself cut off in traffic? How often do you see a driver jump a stop sign after a minuscule stop or none at all? Do you use your turn signal?

How about trash? How many times do you see a person throw their cigarette butt out the window? Or the paper cup or worse yet the plastic bag? I’m not saying that these action are a result of having smart phones and being obsessed with them, or even of playing the addictive video game, an erstwhile practice of many. I am saying that these things have been (one) cause of our forgetfulness, our putting into the back recesses of our minds those basic thoughts of keeping our house in order. As Emily Post would wonder how our society has moved past the graciousness of her era, she too would wonder how it is that we accept the loss of our manners.

I have found that it takes no great effort to pick up small bits of trash when going into the store, out front of the entrance. it takes no great effort to come to a complete stop at the stop sign or to wait for the pedestrian to move out of the marked walk zone. It takes the same time to drive atthe speed limit and arrive at my destination intact and in safe and sane condition, rather than stress myself over slow traffic. Maybe I’m an old fart, with outdated views, but I’m sure there are many that share them, and even more conservative than mine.

Aftermath of Election 2012

Okay, for two years now, at the minimum, I have listened to and agonized over really stupid remarks and outpourings concerning President Obama. Now in the aftermath of a landslide election, where Obama trounced Governor Romney in the electoral college, there are people coming out with remarks denigrating the President, calling him names, saying vacuous things, like “Romney could have won easily” if only……

In Sacramento a woman, Denise Helms, was fired from her job at Cold Stone Creamery (no she is not the CEO) for saying she wished Obama would be assassinated. She slandered the President with racial slurs and names on her Facebook account, of all places! This immature act got her canned, so go figure. Now she says that she doesn’t understand what the turmoil is all about,(duh) that she wouldn’t do such things herself. A look at the video (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/09/denise-helms-california-woman-hopes-obama-is-assassinated_n_2104184.html) makes it evident she should have stayed in school. None-the-less, now the local office of the Secret Service is investigating her. She out of a job, blaming Obama for her stupid actions, probably won’t be able to get another job with this stain now on her reputation. I ask, was there really a good reason for her actions? Did she think an act like this would get her promoted. Already working at a minimum wage job, she can’t do anything else. She said that President Obama did nothing for this country in four years. obviously she had her smartphone in her ears, hooked up to heavy metal all this time.

Then there is another self proclaimed political expert, (a pundit, they’re named) that posted an article on a Rolling Stone blog, stating that Romney could have won easily, IF ONLY the last words of the emulate desperate. Matt Traibbi states that IF the Repubs had been more aware, the outcome would have, could have, should have been different. Well hey, they weren’t stuck in a basement somewhere for the past two years were they?

To give an excuse for the Neo-Rads, Rad -Cons or what ever label you wish to place on the Right, is to give them a credibility they don’t deserve. Matt Traibbi, if you need to blog, blog about pertinent matters now, not about what could have been, especially when the electoral vote is 332-206 for The democratic Incumbent. Try your hand at the changing global climate.

Right now my eyes and ears are tired of all the election stuff. I am so happy that Palin has gone away, I wish that Kardashian and Rove would follow, and that Trump would lead them to his far off fantasy-land. Maybe Denise would go with them.

Update on youth football

Aside from the long hours spent on the field, the games I have officiated so far this season have been fun, I do enjoy the sport, and being on the field gives one a good view of the progression of the game. The coaches haven’t changed at all in the method of their coaching manner from the sidelines. Yelling instructions, yelling admonishment to the players, yelling a the officials, yelling all during the game. No matter at what level of play, it seems the preferred method of communication is yelling.

Coaches seem to think that the louder one yells, more impetus will be given to the instruction, and of course, the greater will be the understanding of such. I have sympathy for the players. They are besieged by three or four coaches yelling in a cacophony of noise, barely understandable to me standing near them on the sideline. How is one to expect an eight year old to understand what is being yelled at him (or in some cases, her) when it is difficult enough for them to keep their attention to the play on the field. If you are a parent, you probably will know that an eight year old, or for that fact, any child has an attention span of about that long. However, some parents also join in on the yelling end from the stands, which adds to the general noise and confusion on the field.

In addition to the noise, is the weather. It has been unbearably and uncomfortably hot the past two months. When you are on the field with no shade or hardly a breath of wind at times, it can become intensely uncomfortable. In one game it reached a temperature of about 100 degrees on an AstroTurf field. On a natural field I have seen it climb to around 90 to 95 degrees. My fellow officials and I are allowed to wear shorts on the field. Our uniform shirts are of a breathable material which is a blessing. But the players are covered from head to foot in hot uniforms and padding. The total weight is around eight pounds to ten pounds of gear which can become very hot and uncomfortable. With the running and continual movement in the heat many of the players, at the end of two hours, are DONE.

They most likely go home, sit in front of the T.V. and promptly fall asleep. A real respite for their parents, I’m sure. But it does give them exercise, allow them to learn how to think on their feet, and in some cases gives them an opportunity to learn how to lead and be assertive.

High School Football, Pop Warner, Youth Football

We are into the third week of officials meetings for the 2012 season of football. Last night a prolonged meeting focusing on the new rules and clarifications that affect the safety and management of the game.

The governing body of sports in Northern California goes to great efforts every year to assure the officials have a thorough knowledge of the rules, concerning every aspect of the game.

What appears to be a few people on the field dressed in stripes and throwing little yellow flags, are in actuality a group dedicated to managing a game in the correct way in fairness and equality with an emphasis on sportsmanship.

This year I will write about my adventures on the field, with descriptions of the games through the eyes of a veteran official. This will mark my eleventh year in high school sports officiating. Each year the sameness and familiarity in the discussions and clinics we are mandated to attend gives a feeling of camaraderie, of oneness. Add to this, the action on the field, at any level, brings surprises and encounters we have not met up with in previous seasons. This adds to the flavor of the profession of officiating, and to the allure of the sport. This is what brings us back to officiating year after year. Some of us graduate to the college ranks, first to junior college ball, and up to Division 2 and beyond.A few that have worked and studied the game and have become proficient in their execution, move into the NFL ranks. That is what many officials strive for and the few that do make it to the upper echelons of the officiating profession are looked upon as mentors or figures to be emulated.

So keep your bookmarks updated and return here for more news as the season progresses. This Sunday is the first of many Pop Warner football games. Three in one day- so it already promises to be at the least, tiring!

Shopping Anywhere USA

We needed to go to the store. I say “needed” as if the pantry were bare, and nothing to eat in the fridge. Not the case really. We go to the store when there is an emminent shortage of coffee, coffee creamer, yogurt, bread or potato chips. No real “need” except that it is a reason or excuse to get out, at that particular moment.

So we get ourselves to Target on a Saturday afternoon, near early evening, when the crowds are of the same mindset. Kids running around touching all the articles on racks with their greasy pop-corn stained fingers. Young girl mothers with two or three small toddlers looking at all the bright colored items on the shelves, unmindful of their carts or strollers blocking the aisles of the throng of shoppers.

In the distance I spy a pair of dirty Ugh boots. My eye is taken up to the dirty pair of black filthy ill fitting sweat pants, and thence to the greasy, baggy, loose fitting stained sweat shirt, topped off with a head of black greasy and unbrushed hair. Finally my eye is stopped. There before me in this crowded store, amongst all, pushing a shopping cart along with, I would assume to be, her mother and sister and little brother, is a family on an afernoon outing at Target stores. A family of what? dirty, non-caring, ignorant, slum dwellers, or well to do shoppers slumming on an afternoon?

All four appear with an un-appealing look of unkempt filth. It’s not as if the group is homeless or living on the street. The young girl in question is wearing large earrings and talking on her cell phone, whilst her sister is either playing a video game or texting on hers.

Meanwhile the mother is busy looking at cosmetics. It seems that the one area of the store that is continually busy and congested is the women’s cosmetics.How do the stores manage to control their inventory of small brightly colored bottles of paint, small tubes of lip color, package upon package of hair color of every conceivable shade known to the HTML color code chart?

My wonderment is piqued. How do these seemingly “normal” people not know that their appearance is so nasty?

Do I promote the same visual revulsion upon others when they see me in jeans and a clean T-shirt, with tennis shoes?

It becomes a matter of lack of respect, for themselves, for others. An attitude of disregard of personal appearance and hygeine,which carrys over into the other aspects of their lives. I will wager that if one would venture into their home, it would be found as badly unkempt and dirty as their person. Their attitudes about life would follow suit, and most probably you would find the very source of physical and mental abuse, drug use, alcoholism, crime and gang affiliation.

Now I realize that to lump all this onto the sole appearance of a small group is stretching it pretty far. I realize that to base one’s impressions upon that first appearance is unfair, to a degree. The point here is to demonstrate the effect of appearance upon one’s eye. The adage “First Impressions, Last” is very true.

If you want to tell the world that you have something to offer; If you want others to notice you in a good and appealing light, you must first give them an appealing first impression. The honey bee is not attracted to a weed, nor are we apt to shun a bright diamond.

Summer, warm days,clear skies and sunny nights

Memorial day was celebrated this past weekend. Unofficially, according to some sources, summer has begun. That means barbeques, ASA softball tournaments and AAU basketball. The season also means more work around the house and yard.

I am, if I were to describe myself, a lover of all things growing. I enjoy looking a the myriad of flowers and plants available in the garden section of the local Orchard Supply Store, Loews Garden store, and of course the local Home Depot.

We planted lettuce, red leaf variety, this summer. We have tomatoes growing, along with peas and squash. Hopefully we will see artichokes maybe later this coming fall, and grapes too.I found a great deal on a small tangerine tree and placed that into the ground earlier this year.

in the ground a few weeks, already has new growth

grape vine planted in the earth earlier this year was started and kept in a small planter for a yearbefore replanting

planted the artichoke near the orange tree. the insects may stay off the plants

I began a comopost pile last year and it has grown to become a large lump of dirt in the back yard. It saves a lot in having to purchase potting soil however, but care must be taken to mix the soil with a little sand or soil conditioner, else the dirt becomes hard and clay like. Weeds also grow in abundance when this soil is used, mainly because the seeds naturally come from the surrounding dirt and weed cuttings. I don’t think that is a great drawback since the fertile soil makes flowers grow in abundance.

a large mound of very fertile soil

We went out and bought some arid plants that don’t reqauire much watering and that are resistant to cold ( it can get below 30 degrees farenheit in the winter) These we planted in the front near the driveway. I reconstructed and painted the white picket fenceearlier this summer, so it gives thispat of the yard a nice fresh look. In spite of the neighbors next door who have never cleaned their yard, much less take care an interest in landscaping, we have a sweet little corner of color and beauty.

a bright pink and white color with large blooms

old wash tub filled with color

a white picket fence with reconstructed pickets and frame

Monday, again, and the advent of spring softball

A busy weekend. Umpiring three softball games on Saturday, in the welcome heat of Watsonville. It was a fun day, with no drama so to speak. Young high school girls playing in what is probably their first real organized sporting event. Many of them being introduced to a competitive format for the first time in their young lives.

This weekend a harbinger of the season in the offing, with many games to follow. In years past I hadn’t umpired many softball games, but this season, and the past season I have worked a greater amount. I attribute this shift to the fact that the organization is shorthanded in softball umpires, many umpires arriving at an age where physical mobility is less than what it was in younger years. Many of the umpires retiring from the daily schedule of games and tournaments. Add to this the recruitment of younger people wanting to taste the “excitement” of umpiring, perhaps to gain an experience to talk about at the water cooler. These younger umpires opt to work baseball, a faster game and one usually filled with more exciting plays.

This is not true, however as I have been witness to many close and spectacular plays in softball, close games where the winners prevail by one run, often at the expense of a mental error from the opposition. Games where hot hitters come alive in the later innings to dampen the spirits of the opposing pitcher, or causing the fielders to misjudge or make errors in basic fielding, which enable the opposition to score at will. Girls are competitors, believe it. They can get just as hot and competitive as their male counterparts. Plus they can be as or more agile and athletic as boys or men. In fielding, base running, hitting, girls can make a game of it.

One thing I do find that girls have and boys don’t, generally, is a true meaning of sportsmanship.
Where boys can and will show a streak of “mean-ness”, girls usually cheer and urge their teammates on with wild urgings from the dugout or out in the playing field. They are less apt to throw their bats or head-gear out of frustration, less apt to argue a call, or to sulk after a poor play. Boys do however, show an immense amount of pride in their ability to play and play well. They will give their utmost to win, and relish the fact. Boys are fearless, standing in the batter’s box, taking a hit from an inside pitch, a fastball to the ribs or back. They will slide into a base face first, risking a concussion, chipped tooth, or dislocated finger, or worse, hand or arm.

In my years as a high school umpire, I have enjoyed watching these young men and women open their minds and hearts to competitive sports. I have watched these young people grow from one year to the next, becoming bigger, taller, more confident and more assured, all from having been well coached, having been a part of something larger than themselves. A part of their school community.

(this is an edited post from an earlier date)

A Truly Sad Commentary on Our Society

Tuesday of this week a young man was shot near our house, while walking home from high school. The school is located within a half mile from our house. We live in an old neighborhood of Salinas, California near a park, surrounded by newer homes and developments built within the last fifteen to twenty years. Most of the homes in the neighborhood are rentals and there are quite a few migrant workers that rent and many older,established residents that have owned their homes since the 1960′s.

Salinas is known for it’s gang groups. The city is notorious for gang members and ex-convict graduates from the University of Soledad (known as the Correctional Training Facility) These facilities are the finishing schools of the Salinas gangs. However Salinas is not the only city that is infitrated with gangs. All through the State of California there are gangs of every nationality and prominence.

Nowadays the Mexican cartels have stepped up their activity by infiltrating almost every city in the souther part of the United States. Predominately Arizona, So. California, Georgia, New Mexico, Nevada and of course Texas. This infiltration has caused an increase in crime, drug trafficiking, prositiution, and gun-running. So we can see the problem is there. We can be and are immently aware of theis cancer in our midst.

What is our solution though? I use the term “our” because this has become everyone’s issue.

Is it enough to throw these people into prisons, where they become wards of the State? Is it enough to increase the policing effort in order keep abreast of the tide? Our law makers agree that the war on drugs and crime cannot be won. So, do we let these people overrun the balance of our society, most of us law-abiding citizens only seeking to live our lives in relative peace and quietness?

I believe we cannot let our society be over-run by thugs, and by people with the mind-set of entitlement, seeking to fufill their own self agenda by taking advantage of the person next to.

Even the smallest indiscretion has it’s consequences. The smallest slight to another, or act of rudeness is akin to slapping someone in the face. This is where it begins. This is where the rudeness, the lack of courtesy is the igniter of the shootings, the beatings, the acts of violence. Even if the act is just a perception, it may be enought to cause to ignite..

: Only a box and some candles

What if you can say excuse me. What if you can take the time to show some respect for your fellow.

Do these small acts in themselves make you less of a person for demonstrating an affable attitude? No, on the contrary, these acts demonstrate that you as a person have a greater respect for yourself, that you hold yourself to a higher standard.

It is a coward that bullys It is a coward that derides another or slurs them by name. There is more to the adage ‘ Sticks and stones may break my bones”. Yes, names do hurt. Killing hurts. Violence hurts.

Don’t do it.

NFL: Has Football Become The “Gladiator Sport”

The recent news of “bounty payments ” said to be prevalent in the National Football League has me wondering if the sport has lost its basic premise of being a game.

When I was in high school I played at sports. I am, by genetics, gifted with a certain amount of muscle coordination. Given a certain amount of training, and dedication, I may have become a good athlete at, say, basketball or baseball. Football is a big maybe, since I wasn’t a large enough athlete, nor was I gifted with a substantial amount of muscle. Having short legs, my speed wasn’t significant, but in later years when I took up running and competing in the various 10k and marathons, I did have respectable times.

Returning to the subject of football and the bounty system of the sport. It seems that winning has become the mantra. Winning at any cost has become a religion, a strong belief in the National Football League, as well as college football, infiltrating into the high school and youth league ranks of the sport.

And the bounty system hasn’t only affected football. The system has made its mark on basketball, where Jason Smith was seen taking out Blake Griffin with a “hard” intentional body check in a game recently. I would suppose that Smith wanted to make sure that Griffin, well-known for his superior dunking abilities, wouldn’t slam it into the rim on this one particular play.

In baseball where, during a preseason game involving Ubaldo Jimenez, drilling Troy Tulowski (Rockies vs Indians while at bat), it seemed apparent that Jimenez was looking to revenge some apparent slight. In a total Hispanic machismo way, decided that Tulo would look better with a baseball glued to his body. But you know, competitiveness and sport go hand in hand, and there is a line, albeit a broad one, between winning and winning fairly within the framework of the rules.

What we are seeing within the past one hundred or so years of organized sport is an acute awareness to the fact that sport is equivalent to large sums of money. The better the athlete is at his chosen sport the more money he or she garners. From archery to whiffle-ball, the amount that an athlete makes in a yearly salary, equates to the amount of ticket sales, fan base, hysterical loyalty and para-fan-alia sales generated by that athlete or team.

So bounty payments seem to be a logical terminus of the allure of the sport. A tributary of the large flowing pecuniary system of the organized sports religion. While not necessarily a good part of sport, it does serve to generate huge discussions of what is right and mostly, what is wrong with today’s sports mentality. Will it all come to an end with fines and suspensions administered to the wrong-doers? Will the athletes themselves see the light and realize that they as individuals are susceptible to the same inflicted injuries they pronounce upon their adversaries?

What do you think?

A Man's Life

An online diary and journal of personal events