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Can we talk?
My blog. I'm opionated and I just want to sound off. |
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It's a collection of editorials or even mini-sermons. I know it's wrong to give unwanted advice if you want to have a few friends. But I can't fight the urge that I know better than they what they should or shouldn't do. I have all this wisdom and experience and it's such a shame not to share it! Our culture needs some sound advice and I'm just the one to give it. |
| On the Job |
| Many employees are renters for the 8 hours or whatever length of time they are here. They occupy the space and or the uniform without making commitment or taking pride in what they do. It’s somebody else’s job, or they pay the big bucks to somebody else. I’m just a peon. I do what I have to in order to get by. Those are renter’s attitudes. An owner has the pride of ownership and takes responsibility for upkeep. The owner of a job makes a commitment to doing the job well. The owner feels good about doing a good day’s work, even without a pat on the back. The owner wants to get better every day and exceeds expectations. That’s an employee who stands out in the crowd. The renter doesn’t care about wear and tear on the doors or windows. They’re just renting. They don’t care about weeds in the lawn. If the roof leaks, it’s the landlord’s headache. The renter cares about pests, but calls someone else to take care of it. The renter doesn’t care about the declining value of the property. The owner on the other hand can’t be so mellow and uncaring. The owner tends to details before they get out of hand. The owner tends to the water heater in advance when possible. The owner cares about leaks, and plumbing, and the structure. The same attitude applies on the job. One can just put in the time and stay out of trouble and get by. Or one can care about the quality of their work and the impression he makes. The owner wants to get along with his fellow employees, not just at break time, but as a team player. He wants to do his fair share. He pays attention to detail, and finds satisfaction in passing his own inspection. The renter's breaks are too long, maybe too frequent. The renter finds excuses for conversation or dilly dallying. The owner goes out of his way to help a coworker or customer. The owner cares about the company's success even if he is the lowest paid employee around. Whatever our lot in life, whatever position we fill, let's be owners, not renters. Ownership may have its hard work and expenses, but it's more rewarding in the long run. |
| The Chicken and the Grain |
| Recently I read the classic story of the chicken, the dog, and the cat and the grain to my little nephew. As I read the story I couldn't help but picture the dog and cat as members of the welfare state. The chicken was the one doing all the work, yet always open to others joining in at any stage of the process. One of them could have assisted or taken over the sowing, the watering, the harvesting, the threshing, the grinding, or the baking, and still have reaped some of the rewards. But no. They all wanted the end results without doing anything to achieve them. I wondered if a lot of folks missed that story as children. Would they listen as adults? So many great truths of life are presented to us before we start school or soon thereafter. Why don't those truths sink in? Maybe the little golden books should be in the waiting rooms of social service offices, hospital lobbies, and bus stations.You don't work at least a little, you don't eat. Not a bad policy. I'm all for helping the handicapped, little children, and the elderly and infirm. But I see too many people healthier than me living on welfare, getting free bus passes, food stamps, new shoes, and free phones, and they will tell you they don't want to work. I ride the public bus, and I hear plenty of conversations. I grew up around people who thought it was embarrassing to take anything you didn't earn. I also heard these children's stories a lot when I was young. I read and I had people read to me. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for instilling those basic values in me in ways that even children understand. |
| Season for short shorts and hot pants |
| Hot weather is here and so is the baring of skin. Not everyone who gets into short shorts should wear them in public, however. Even in hot weather, we should have some decorum and take a look in the mirror before we leave the house. First of all, anyone with dimples in the thighs should not be wearing short shorts except in the privacy of their own home or on the beach. Next, the shorts should fit and not be one or two sizes too small. That makes even small people look a little chubby when the tops of their thighs are bulging out from tight pants. The shorts should still be clean and pressed and be a proper style for the body type. Butt cheeks should not be showing when walking or bending over a little, the exception being at the beach or lake with a bathing suit underneath. Never at the Mall, or on Main Street, or at the hospital! It's not a sexy look. It looks like they're too short or too small. No one at WalMart wants to look at someone's bottom while shopping. And the legs should be ready for short shorts. Dry, cracked, scaly skin is unsightly and a turn-off. If there are bruises or rashes, one should wait until healing takes place before going out in sort pants. There's nothing wrong with pale, but hairy or scratched up or peeling just doesn't look good. As for age, on the beach anything goes. Doing your own yard work or on private property, no one can complain. But people past their prime should opt for longer shorts. Veins and wrinkles and age spots just aren't sexy, no matter how far you're willing to go! There is a time and place for short pants. That's all I'm saying. On the healthy, the young, the people who take care of their skin, there's a little more leeway. But church, shopping malls, government offices, business areas, we need to be a little more conservative. |
| May |
| May is Older Americans Month. I looked this up to see just what that means. Are "Older Americans" people over 80? Over 65? No, this is the month to celebrate people over 40! That's right. 40. It started to represent workers over age 40 who may begin to experience discrimination in the work place. It happens still. Small shops won't hire people over 40 because the managers tend to be young, and they don't want to supervise people their parents' age. Some people get weaned out after 45 or 50 for the same reason, or because they're paid too much seniority or don't have the latest styles or computer gadgets. They may walk a little slower, which of course means they're lazy, so they don't get promotions. Well, this month is intended to celebrate all the gifts and experience that the older worker brings. Gifts like maturity, less self-involvement, a more mellow temperament, skills taught on the job. Surprisingly, older workers can still learn new ways and adapt despite the tendency of many managers to believe older workers can't change.Older workers can be a great asset. So, hire an older American this month. Consider one for retraining, or shifting responsibilities. And be sure that your work place doesn't practice prejudice or harassment based on age. Celebrate the contributions of older American workers! |
| Party Reasons |
| This week has double honors. First, it's National Volunteer Week April 22-April 26. The emphasis I'm seeing is on volunteers at hospitals, nursing homes, and other medical facilities. Tanks to all of you who volunteer to make hospitals run smoothly, appear more friendly and customer oriented, and provide amenities to patients, guests and visitors. Thanks for all the services you provide patients and residents that make them more comfortable and encouraged. The second celebration is Medical Lab Professionals Week, also April 22-April 26.There are over 300,000 medical lab professionals in the U.S. who perform over 10 billion lab tests each year.They are behind the scenes, so most people don't realize how important they are to our welfare and recovery. Thanks to all of you who work in a medical lab. Your attention to detail, and the pride you bring to your job make life better for all of us. To everyone else, take a volunteer or a lab professional to lunch or out on the town. Express your appreciation and then party down. |
| Bhutan |
| Bhutan is a very small and very beautiful country. It's in the Himalayas and is landlocked. China is to the North, India to the West, South, and Southeast. Nepal is to the West and Burma (Myanmar) is on the East. All of these influences come together to influence the country. Most people are Buddhists. Even the non-Buddhists have been influenced by the centuries of the Buddhists priests and monks. To give you an idea of the exotic nature, look at the animals. In the hardwood forests of the south, you find the Bengal tiger, one-horned rhinoceros, leopard, and the sloth bear (it eats insects, honeybee colonies, and fruit). You also find a short-earred rabbit with coarse, dark hair called a hispid hare. The temperate zone offers a gray langur (looks like a long, thin pale monkey), the Indian leopard, a goral-an antelope that looks like a goat, serow- an actual antelope. In the bamboo forests, you find the Himalayan black bear, the red panda, wild pigs, and barking deer.In the North you find the snow leopard, blue sheep, Himalayan musk deer, and the Tibetan wolf.The national animal is the Takin, a gnu-goat, that's related to sheep; it also lives in the north. The National Flower is the blue poppy. The National Bird is the raven Bhutan is called the Land of the Thunder Dragon. It's flag features a gold dragon. Food includes rice, buckwheat, and maize. Meat includes pork, yak, sheep, and mutton. They make a lot of soups and stews, using many spices, chili peppers, and cheese. They don't just use chili peppers for flavor; they have dishes of just peppers. Almost all milk, including yak milk, goes into cheese and butter. They drink tea, rice wine, and beer. No tobacco is sold in the country. There are many languages. The official written script is not used so much in every day life. It is named for a former emperor. Bhutanese may be the most common language, and used in government offices. There are 53 languages all together. Nepali is the one used most by the refugees who are going to Australia, the US, Canada, and the UK. Nepali is the language of Southern Bhutan, and is used by the people of Hindu descent. By some scale developed somewhere, Bhutan is listed as the happiest nation in all of Asia, and 5th happiest in all the world. The happiest quotient is deemed more important than financial success. Yet despite all this mountain beauty, the majestic temples posed on the sides of mountains, appearing to sit in the clouds, and this happiness and peace frame of mind, Bhutan is a place of great suffering and sorrow. |
| Email Ettiquette Extended |
| Rules have been established for polite emailing, but some people have missed their copies. However, I want to establish some rules for polite "chain letter" emails. I must admit I don't understand why chain letters continue to thrive in any form. You know the kind. Send copies to a specified number of people in the next 5 minutes or 24 hours or whatever. And usually with the promise that you'lll see something happen electronically. I've never observed anything happen from forwarding 5 copies or 10 copies or whatever. Nor have I noticed any particular blessings or whatever. So my first rule is: If you like a cutsey email or clever political statement or patriotic prose or whatever, just forward it. Period. Drop all references to any specified number of forwarding. Even if you're promising prayers or blessings, it should have nothing to do with the number of people who are on your forwarding list. There is no magic in numbers! And drop the time limit. What if no one sees it for a week? Number 2: Should be used with emails anyway. Always erase the mailing history before you hit "Send". It's laborious to scroll down to the "meat" of your message, but it also puts a lot of email addresses out there for the dishonest world. Addresses of your friends or your friends' friends and relatives. Number 3: If it's a blessing or spiritual message you're sending, drop all negative comments. If a message says something bad will happen if you don't forward, I delete it. I will not send such a terrible message to anyone, not even an enemy! Why would anyone attach a horrible statement to a prayer or a promise of good fortune? That's what I always hated about old-fashioned chain letters. You should never tell someone that something bad will happen if they don't do what you ask. That's an age old form of bullying, disguised with well wishing. Number 4: If you're adding comments of your own to a newspaper article or someone's short essay, do yours in italics or in color, so that they are easily separated from the comments attributed to someone else. Number 5: Keep it simple. I get a lot of messages with multiple themes. If I like part of it, but not all of it, I eliminate the "extra" unrelated stuff. Everything in your message should be coherent and consistent. Number 6: Don't feel obligated to forward everything someone asks you to forward. Some are NOT worthy. They're not cute, they're not clever, they're not tasteful. Only forward things that really made you laugh or warmed your heart or gave you something to think about. Whatever you're forwarding should be uplifting or enlightening or edifying. Things like how to handle choking, or what to do if you think you're having a heart attack, are good ones to forward, if they're well-written. Warning people about a new crime wave in your community is a good one. But just a lot of complaining or distasteful humor should be omitted. We're all too busy to read that junk. And there's enough whining and complaining about the status quo already. If in doubt, just don't forward the email. You might be breaking the chain, but don't worry about it. I for one have bad things happen whether I forward emails or not, so go ahead and break the chain. |
| Bucket List |
| As much as I have grown tired of the "bucket list", I've decided I'm old enough to have one. And it will be too late already for some of them. For instance, I will never be interviewed by Jay Leno on The Tonight Show. I didn't care about people actually seeing it. I just thought it would be fun to experience it. But it's not too late to learn to speak Nepali. I'm doing some online work. I just have to stick with it.I know plenty of people with whom to try what I learn. I also want to salsa. It may not be for public viewing, but I would like to feel confident about the steps, and get through a whole song without incident. The list includes publishing a book, starting a group for internationals, and a few personal things, just for the joy of experiencing those things one more time--maybe this time with more wisdom and appreciation. |
| Humility |
| I just have to share a thought from today's sermon, the children's sermon, that is. When Mom or Dad says, I've made a cake. Who wants to lick the beaters?", we all go running. But when they're cleaning, and one says, "Who wants to come clean the toilet?", no one budges. It's a job nobody wants to do, but it has to be done. After triumphal entry to Jerusalem with shouts and palm branches, they gathered for the meal. It was customary for a servant to wash the feet of travelers (who wore sandals) before reclining or sitting on the floor by the table. No servant was present, so they all looked around. What would they do? Not eat? But Jesus, the figurative king on the donkey, took the towel and the wash basin and washed their feet. The lesson is that we must serve each other. The one who would be great must be humble. Who is really great among us? The one who flashes diamonds and has drunken parties like a celebrity? The one who commands others to do his bidding? Or the one who sacrifices for others, for his country, for his family? The one who serves, like Mother Theresa? If we want to be great, we must find a way to serve our community, to serve others. This applies not only in grand gestures or volunteer work, but in every day relationships. No job is too small to be done well, too small to be appreciated. |
| IRC (International Relocation Center) |
| There are 20 refugee relocation centers in America. I live in one of them. Boston, New York City, and Philadelphia are 3 more. By comparison, my town is small. But it's a university town, with many cultures and lots of open-mindedness in business and in the townspeople, as well as on campus. About ten years ago, when I lived elsewhere I heard a state level ministerial leader say that every possible world religion was represented in this area. That's not why I moved here. I came back to my home town. I love meeting these people. Most don't want to tell their stories. They don't speak the language, and some aren't willing to learn. Some become citizens. Some say they will never be citizens. When asked when they plan to go back to their country, the answer might be, "When I die", like one young man I heard. While I am passionate about their right to be here, and what they are escaping, I recognize logistical problems and varieties of attitudes. They have to have jobs. That means they're competing with Americans for a hand full of jobs. They have to have homes and transportation. They only get assistance for 90 days to six months for health and food, or less once they start receiving paychecks (longer for preschoolers only). They can't communicate with doctors, or social workers, or employers. After a while they know enough English to get by, but are frequently misunderstood or avoided by service people or co-workers.They still can't read English. They need help with their bills, their insurance, and banking. They don't read the newsletters or understand posters in the workplace. Most won't seek help. The employer must find resources and enforce their use. The individuals tend to stay with people they know or relatives. They don't socialize or mingle with society. Obviously, I'm not talking about students or doctors who have chosen to come here for fun or education, but about the working classes who came here in desperation. In my community this is a very real and present dilemma. I'm trying to determine my role. I'm not going to be a bystander. I've tried corralling some people at church to sponsor a quarterly social, where all they have to do is bring cookies or cheese and crackers and stand by smiling and charmingly ask questions in English. The visitors, from the large hospital and university staff and the refugee center would come only to practice listening or speaking English in a safe environment. There would be no fear of misinterpretation or hostility. We could have music or games. Now a co-worker and I are thinking of teaching reading to adults who are already getting by with a minimal knowledge of spoken English. She wants to do children's books. I want to do more work related words since they already know the alphabet and can do names and addresses and read enough for a driver's license. (How did they pass the test?) The pieces haven't come together yet. Somehow I will have a part in helping them acclimate to a better world. I want to be the kind of American that makes them happy they made this choice. |
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They do have good tips and advice.
What a beautiful description. With that name, I can almost picture him. 
Mia 