‘General Interest’ Archives
Asking Inmates Who’s To Blame
A friend and I were walking by the Sheriff’s Office, re-hashing how the acceptance of personal responsibility actually gives us control over and ownership of our own lives. Although we now seem to have a large contingent of "perennial victims" in our culture, I believe most people still want to be the Captains of their Ships. As we passed [...]
Why the Movies and I Broke Up
During the past 50 years movies have really changed, but I haven’t kept pace. Mentally I’m still perched on the edge of my theatre seat, legs dangling, a mouthful of jujubes welded to my gums. The other kids and I are still gasping at uncomplicated cliff-hangers on Saturday afternoons and the big screen and I are on the same track. We [...]
You Can’t Stand on Gelatin
These days authority can be a little wobbly--like Jell-O. It has a basic form, but when the foundation is shaken, it bounces all over the place. It seems to me that, in a crisis, many decisions are now based on what will upset the fewest number of people, or on what is least likely to be overruled. Good leadership is supposed to do what is [...]
Disagreement is not a Declaration of War
People don't always agree with me, but I try not to vilify them simply because they don’t. It's true I may think they are totally off base, but they may think my little gray cells are no more than low-grade insulating foam. Our differences can make communication interesting and challenging, but they should not be cause for war. Life [...]
Managing the “F” Word
An article in Mail On-line states that a high school in another English-speaking country has decided to allow their students to swear at teachers - as long as they don't do it more than five times during a session. The administration’s reasoning is reportedly that bad words are a part of the students’ everyday language and, by keeping a [...]
Becoming Ourselves
Like most people who face an unknown challenge, new probation officers sometimes forget that it takes a while to develop their own "styles." Although he didn’t say so during his training, one officer later admitted that he hadn't believed there was such a thing as his own technique. I had warned him not to try to copy anyone else, but he [...]
The Walk on the Moon
Forty years ago Neil Armstrong and "Buzz" Aldrin walked on the moon. As they were doing so, I was trudging around another stark landscape - a fire support base in Vietnam. I was one of 125 American Red Cross Donut Dollies who were stationed in-Country at the time. My co-workers and I were sent mostly to forward areas, so we got to know the [...]
A Perspective from the Past
My husband has come down with a germ and it’s a pretty bad case. Thank goodness it’s not the Swine Flu, but in some ways it may be worse because there is no end in sight. Sometime during the past month he was bitten by the Genealogy Bug. My sister caught it first and it is spreading to the entire family. My in-laws are already showing serious [...]
A News “Flash” – Literally
According to a July 2, 2009 Reuters news release, an airline has made a recording of its passenger safety briefing by filming a pilot and cabin crew who are wearing only body paint on their otherwise nude bodies. Call me a fuddy-duddy, call me a Doubting Thomas, call me a cab, but I'm not sure it will work, at least not to achieve the ends [...]
My Week that Was
This has been a challenging week - one for reflecting - and the reflections have been good. Almost 19 years ago I was allowed to write a column that began as bits of advice to people who were having to deal with the justice system. As time went on I added a few of my personal views, mixing in commentary and humor about life, in [...]
