Misnomer

Of all the millions of things that tick me off, the term ‘customer service’ is in the top five. If there ever was a misnomer, 'customer service' is one.

When was the last time you had to go to customer service? Where you recognized and appreciated as a customer? NO! Did you get any service? NO. At least, not likely on both counts.

The problem seems to be that the lowest paid employees with the least amount of knowledge and authority are in customer service.

A couple or recent events reminded me of just how bad customer service can be.

It seems that the companies would be better off if they just put up a sign or had the employee announce, in English, "We don’t care what your problem is but go ahead and tell us if it will make you feel better. Then get out of the way because somebody else wants to experience our friendly service.

At least that would be honest.

Honesty is not a politically correct word for those that don’t know.

PMO
©2011

The Score: Men 0

There is an old story about a worker in the salt mines of Siberia. The daily quota was that each worker had to load one cart each day - productivity is not real high under communism. One day, this particular worker just felt good and so he loaded two carts. There was immediate recognition of his accomplishment. He was treated to a special dinner with real meat to eat. All of the leaders patted his back and praised him. The next day, the minimum daily quota was now two carts.

I have said all that to say, this is the way it works for men in a marriage. Wait, don’t get your undies all in a bunch until you get the facts.

Talking to my friend Doyle this week, he explained that he had to go home and take his wife out to eat for dinner. There is a special place she likes to eat fish. Here is what happened. Doyle thought it would be nice to take her out to dinner on a Friday. He did a couple of times. Now, it is the rule.

He and his wife are planning a vacation for next month, so he asked her where she wanted to go. Her reply was, "Why do I always have to pick where we go?" His response was simply, "I didn’t even get to pick out the names for my children, what chance do I have on choosing where we go on vacation?"

Check back and I will let you know if the men ever win one.

PMO
©2011

Winner

No matter what your take on all the controversy about Chick-fil-A, the conservatives win. With all the protest by "liberals" and boycotts of the eatery locations, the "right" can now sit down for a good meal and excellent service without concern of being in the presence of those people that hate them.

PMO
©2011

It's Not

HBO has a new series titled "Newsroom." Today I watched a clip from the opening called the "Most honest three and half minutes in televison." Look it up on YouTube.

The truth really is that America is not the greatest country in the world. Not for a long time. We like to think we are, but we are not. If you look at the facts about education, technology, medicine, economy, and what ever else you want to use, you will discover that in most areas, America is not even in the top ten.

As everyone has, I have an opinion about why we as a nation have fallen behind. First and foremost is that we no longer hold individuals responsible for their actions. We have lost our morals, wisdom and just plain common sense.

That which is morally wrong is now politically correct. Traditions and men are no longer either. Think about that one.

Sir Winston said, "Americans will always do what’s right. After they have tried everything else."

I do hope he is right.

PMO
©2011

Speed Limits

I’ve been a lot of driving lately - to and from East Texas. The speed limits vary depending upon if you are on the Interstate or a county road. However, everyone seems to drive about the same speed everywhere. Oh, before I forget, I found a stretch of road that didn’t have a curve. It is about a half mile long and I don’t think it is on any map. I’m not telling where it is, because the highway department will come in and put in a couple of curves.

Back to speed limits. I have noticed that when the speed limit on major byways was 55 mph, everyone drove 60. When the limit was raised to 60, the traffic moved up to 65. Now that some roads are posted at 75 mph, everyone wants to go 85.

So I have come up with a solution to speed limits. Post all roads at 180 mph. In just a few hours most drivers on the roads with curves will die trying to drive 200 mph. On the interstates, there would be a lot more fun. You could find a place in the shade and watch the Smart cars and hybrids explode.

I do have a mean streak.

PMO
©2011

Hypocrisy

There a lot of things that make a grumpy old man angry, but hypocrisy is in the top ten. There is a side to political views that advocates just about anything and always proclaims tolerance. They preach but don’t practice.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menio went off on Dan Cathy of Chick-fil-A, with these words, "There is no place for discrimination on Boston’s Freedom Train and no place for your company along side it."

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is quoted, "Chick-fil-A’s values are not Chicago values."

Both are blasting Chick-fil-A for closing on Sundays and saying they believe in traditional family values.

It should be noted that Mr. Cathy clearly states that anyone can go to his locations. Anyone can eat there. No one is turned away.

Yet, he is hated for saying what he believes, while the two mayors spew tolerance??????? It would seem tolerance only works one way.

In another incident, Hercules Industries of Colorado is under attack from the Department of Justice because the owners, who offer their employees a generous self insured benefits package, refuse to provide abortion benefits. The owners are Catholic and the requirements of "Obmacare" are in conflict with their beliefs. The DOJ says, "a private employer does not engage in any exercise of religion."

It is apparent that any opposing views, especially Christian, are not to be allowed. Is this what America believes?

Is this what you believe?

Explain it to me. I am old and don’t understand why hypocrisy is good.

PMO
©2011

No Pistolas

Mexican President Felipe Calderon says, "Because of the Aurora, Colorado tragedy, the American Congress must review its mistaken legislation on guns. It’s doing damage to us all."

Over 60,000 people have been slaughtered in Mexico since 2006. When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns, as they say.

Maybe Mexico should spend time working on their immigration laws. If you are there illegally, they put you in jail for ten years.

Why is it that everybody wants to run somebody else’s business?

It interesting to note, that the theater where the shooting occurred in Colorado, was a gun free zone.

Since the shooter was supposedly super smart, you would think he could read the signs.

PMO
©2011

Most Expensive

If you have read more than one of these daily entries, you know how I like questions - not to answer them, but to ask them. So, here’s one that maybe you haven’t thought about.

What is the greatest expense you will ever have in life? Think about how you spend your money before you answer. Could it be food? How about housing? Education?

Give up?

Here’s the answer and you may be surprised. Love is the most expensive thing you will ever encounter. As the song writer said about love, "Makes me act so funny, makes me spend my money."

By the time you admit to this, you’ll be broke.

PMO
©2011

I Just Report

There is speculation that some of my stories are made up. Okay, a few, very few are. But today, I have another honest to goodness story to share.
When my brother-in-law and I stopped to fill up the car with gas recently, I let him pump the gas while I cleaned the windshield. I did this for two reasons. First, if you pump the gas, you have to put in your credit card first. Next, it’s easy to clean the windshield and I’m not out fifty bucks. As we were waiting for the gas to pump we noticed the pickup at the pump in front of us. It was loaded with a lot of building materials and other stuff including a dog sitting on top.

Then we noticed a goat sticking his head out of the driver side window. The goat seemed to be checking on the man putting gas into the pickup. As I walked around the car to clean the passenger side window, I noticed a woman sitting on the passenger side of the pickup. I assumed this to be the man’s wife.

Let’s recap. Goat looking out the window on the drivers side. Woman sitting on the passenger side. Dog riding in the back of the pickup. What’s wrong with this picture?  My friend Bill suggested that the woman should have been riding in the back.  I AM NOT going there!

Give up? Shouldn’t that dog be wearing a seat belt?

I did watch to see who was driving when the truck left.

The man was driving. The goat seemed to be telling him how.

Hey, I just report what I see.

PMO
©2011

No Rhyme or Reason

Exactly what makes a lot of people - a majority - to do what they want to do, rather than what makes sense? Why do humans act out of want to, without giving a nanosecond of thought to consequences or alternatives.

This question is prompted by dealing with people again. Do I make decisions on what I want? Of course I do, but I keep it to a minimum. Do the people I have to deal with make rational decisions? Of course, but they keep them to a minimum.

If you have a moment today, stop and think about how God must feel with all his creation making really bad choices.

After all, He told us not to.

That’s why we have to blame someone else.

PMO
©2011

Worst Pain

As I have mentioned before, I am an observer by nature and training. Humans really are the most interesting animals, although they don’t make any sense. I really like "animal" animals a lot better.

In my life time, so far, I have experienced a lot of pain and have seen others go through what I can not imagine. I am talking about both physical and emotional pain.

My conclusion is that the worst pain a human can endure is to feel not needed.

There’s no app for that.

PMO
©2011

Old Men Don't Fight

Have you heard about Samuel Williams of Ocala, Florida? He is a 71 year old man that was minding his own business at a local internet café when two thugs came into the establishment armed with a hand gun and baseball bat to rob the customers. (freedomoutpost.com)

Surveillance video shows that the men entered the Palms Internet Café and began holding up customers at gunpoint. However, when one of the robbers turned his back, Mr. Williams pulled his concealed handgun - he had a permit - and started firing, hitting one of the robbers. As the men tried to run, Williams continued to fire and struck the accomplice.

The two men escaped out the front door, falling over each other, while Williams got off a final shot. He then locked the front door and waited for police.

The moral of the story is, never mess with an old man. A young man will fight you. An old man will kill you.

How do you think old men get old? They never messed with an old man when they were younger.

PMO
©2011

Survey Says

Most of the time I don’t answer the phone when the caller ID reveals a number or name I don’t know. But, yesterday I decided to answer on a survey call. The person calling sounded like they were in a cellar somewhere in Afghanistan. They wanted me to answer questions about the primary run off election in Texas.

Naturally they want to know how you rate the candidates. There are multiple choices: very favorable, favorable, somewhat favorable, very unfavorable, somewhat unfavorable and unfavorable. They didn’t have a choice of "really sucks." I asked.

Once you get through the preliminary stuff, they want to know if you are going to vote and who you are going to vote for. I informed them, I was going to vote and I was going to vote for a particular person on each office. But, on one office, they didn’t seem happy I chose the candidate I did. So they ask me again. I told them the same answer. The survey was over.

Now, I am thinking that when the report goes back to that candidate, it will include a note that some senile old man is the only one that is voting for your opponent.

I am not senile. At least not yet.

I am working on getting senile. But, I still vote. Hey-hey-hey.

PMO
©2011

More Job Losses

Technology takes jobs away from humans everyday, but now animals are getting in on the act. Listening to the radio today, I heard that ferrets are now used to run wires down conduits and clean out stoppages. Spiders are used instead of pesticides to rid produce of other pest. Monkeys have been trained to gather coconuts.

Of course we have been using seeing eye dogs for years and that has worked out. But, I wonder about spiders????? In one of my previous lives, I loaded trucks. When a truck came in that had been hauling bananas, the first thing we did was inspect the truck for tarantulas. A big hairy spider can really ruin your day.

So, if we are going to use critters, I would like to suggest that skunks would be excellent in evacuating a building in case of an emergency. Or, they could really do a good job on crowd control. Talk about breaking up a riot. One or two skunks would thin out the true protesters.

The only problem I see is if they unionize.

I do not want to be involved in that salary discussion.

PMO
©2011

If You've Got A Business

"If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen." At least that what the prez sez. It is, in my mind, unbelievable that the President of the United States could speak such a statement. But, he did at a campaign event in Roanoke, Virginia.

Think about how this country was built. It took people with vision and guts. To suggest that government made America great is beyond belief to my simple mind.

If the infrastructure he referred to is what made people rich, then why aren’t we all rich? Don’t the rich and poor both drive on the same roads and get water from the same sources?

Regardless of your political persuasion, any one that would vote for someone that believes and wants you to believe that government made America great, is a prime candidate for buying my latest offer.

I have some ocean front property in Arizona.

PMO
©2011

The Same But Different

It is often said that people are the same, all over the world. I would certainly agree that if you travel and you know nice people where you left, then you will find nice people where you go. And, if you know not so nice people where you are, then you will find them where ever you go.

However, I have discovered that people are different - especially in East Texas. East Texans are really nice, but they are not in a hurry. And, their taste in just about everything is different that living in a metropolitan area.

We have been house hunting and have seen some houses that are just a "little bit" different. How about gold ceilings, gray and green walls, dark brown walls? At one house, we had to wait for the owner to get the dogs outside. Only he and the dogs live there. The dogs didn’t scare me, but the danger of snakes in the tall grass outside did.

A lot of the places we saw had garages so small that my crew cab pickup would not fit. Apparently it’s not a problem to the natives. They just park outside - in the yard. These are not low end houses, but I will admit they are not in the million dollars range either.

It has been awhile since I went house hunting, but I was rather surprised to find that people leave dirty laundry in the floor, food on the table, and dogs in a kennel. That does not make a house show real well.

I’m not saying these things are bad, but they are not what I am used to.

Oh, well, the adventure will continue until my financial planner locks in on one that I can’t live without.

One of the positives I did notice is that there is a gun store and/or gun range on every corner. I like to shoot. I don’t know if I like to shoot that much.

A passing note. At least in the county we searched, there is no beer, wine, or liquor sales. I was told that an election was pending.

Can you imagine if that proposition passes, what hard liquor and hand gun night is going to be like?

PMO
©2011

New Way

There appears to be a new way to measure success in Washington. It is reported that the number of people receiving food stamps is up 71% and that is a good thing. Homelessness is up 44% and that’s a good thing. Sounds like poverty is the new government approved way of life. Of course, the "elite" are exempt.

Reminds me of the theater term for taking a bow, "break a leg." If breaking a leg is good, then I say, "Put an eye out."

If this makes sense to you, then you have crossed over - into the twilight zone.

PMO
©2011

Gone East

I am on the road in East Texas. I’ve taken a bunch of bug spray for mosquitos, wasp, gnats, fleas, ticks, ground hornets, and red necks. Should be back tomorrow if I don’t run out of bug spray.

PMO
©2011

The Peanut

It is not often that I use an article in its entirety, but the following from Freedom Outpost is worth doing just that.

Born a slave around July 12, 1864, George Washington Carver became a scientist of international renown. On January 21, 1921, Carver addressed the United States House Ways and Means Committee on behalf of the United Peanut Growers Association on the use of peanuts to improve Southern economy.

Initially given ten minutes to speak, the committee was so captivated, his time was extended. Explaining the many products derived from the peanut, including milk, mock beef and mock chicken, George Washington Carver stated: "If you go to the first chapter of Genesis, we can interpret very clearly, I think, what God intended when he said ‘Behold, I have given you every herb that bears seed. To you it shall be meat.’ This is what He means about it. It shall be meat. There is everything there to strengthen and nourish and keep the body alive and healthy."

After nearly two hours, the chairman asked: "Dr. Carver, how did you learn all of these things?"

Carver answered: "From an old book."

"What book?" asked the chairman.

Carver replied, "The Bible."

The chairman inquired, "Does the Bible tell about peanuts?"

"No sir", Dr. Carver replied, "It tells about the God who made the peanut. I asked Him to show me what to do with the peanut and He did."

PMO
©2011

Racist Politics

Get ready for racist politics. As November gets closer the push to separate people for political gain always settles on race and economic status. If being rich is so evil, why do you and everybody you know what to be richer? And, why is race always an issue? Aren’t we all Americans?

When it comes to race in politics, I suggest that the truth lies in finding out who benefits by pitting one group against another. As the rhetoric gets hot and heavy this year, take the time to step back and see who benefits, financially or otherwise, is pushing separation.

You know, which ever politician wins, the rest of us lose.

One might think that this opinion is just another rambling from a grumpy old white man. You would be wrong.

A few years ago, I was in a discussion with two minority women - my friends. Finally one said, "Well you are just a racist." The second woman spoke before I could and said, "He is not a racist. He hates everybody equally."

I rest my case.

PMO
©2011

Bill Shakespeare

If you haven’t heard, the requirement for voter ID in Texas in the courts. Those opposed to the idea of having someone prove who they are when they vote, say the requirement is racial and will hurt poor people and the elderly. Proponents say the requirement will reduce voter fraud.

The opponents like to dismiss voter fraud because it may be those people are voting for them. In fact they have protested so much, I think William Shakespeare would have said, "The lady doth protest too much, methinks" as Queen Gertrude said in Hamlet.

In other words, if voter fraud wasn’t a big issue, there would not be such a protest. Reality is that any person over the age of one has to have a photo ID to navigate daily life.

As for me, I like the ID requirement because it will reduce fraud and keep ineligible people for voting multiple times.

Keeps me from voting several times - both for and against.

PMO
©2011

Their Job

I got an email from my friend Bill today about an email circulating around to ‘write your congressman.’ His comment was, "Why, they don’t care?" You know what? He is right.

Unless you live in a cave without water and electricity, you know that any politician’s job is to get reelected. By their own admission, they don’t read the bills they pass as laws. Representative Joe Bob asks Representative Susie Bob to vote for his bill and he will vote for hers. That’s the way it works. And, sometimes, there are provisions inside a bill that even the author never read.

Sound strange? Not really.

Now when your job is to get reelected.

PMO
©2011

Why Is That?

I was taught that you never discuss religion and politics. Why is that? It just does not make any sense unless you are trying to avoid arguments or intelligent discussions. Somebody must be talking about religion and politics because there’s a lot of both of them going on.

People do get emotional when either of them is brought up. Is it because they don’t know enough about either one or even know why they believe what they think they believe?

What would happen if more people talked about these "taboo" subjects? Some might be persuaded to change their beliefs. Others might just take the standard position, "I’ve been a Republican or a Baptist all my life - without any understanding as why.

It just seems to me that the key to understanding lies in a calm rational exchange of ideas.

I suppose we will have to just talk about sex. That’s what they do on TV.

There seems to be a lot of different opinions on that subject too.

PMO
©2011

Think

What is it you want out of life? I mean, what do you really want? Perhaps to be rich and famous or really beautiful or handsome? I gave up on rich, famous and handsome. Maybe you want to be president or just a really good mechanic.

It always amazes me the answers you get when you ask someone what they really want out of life. When you remove the daydreams, most folks get down to basics. That’s not to say that one shouldn’t dream, but dreams are often pushed to the side when the realities of life set in. There are only a few people I know, a very few, that got what they dreamed to be. Did they fail? No.

What steps are you taking to attain what you want? If the answer is nothing, you don’t have much of a chance. You do know that don’t you?

Don’t you just hate questions that make you think?

PMO
©2011

Tractor Pull

How long has it been since you worshiped in a mosque, if you are a Christian? If you are a member of Islam, have you ever been to a Pentecostal camp meeting? I am not suggesting that either should happen. My point is that the cultures are worlds apart.

As human beings, we all have commonalities. We work to provide for ourselves and our families. We try to do the best we can with what we have. Everyone likes to have fun and everyone cries. Pain and suffering comes and goes with each of us. We say that all we want is peace, but that is not true.

What we humans want is what we have or want and whatever the other guy has. Or, we simply don’t want the other guy to have or do anything that does not conform to our culture.

Don’t believe me, just take a trip to another part of the country. While we are bound by the same or similar laws and rules, the cultures are different. People just don’t do things the way other people do and they don’t view life the way others see it.

In this country, we have been able to take all the cultures and make a country work. Around the world on any given day, there are people dying because of variations in culture. It therefore is amazing that we as a nation survives. Will it ever end? No. Humans don’t work that way.

I have never been to a mosque or a Pentecostal camp meeting. I have been to a red neck tractor pull.

There’s a culture you can warm up to.

PMO
©2011

What Would Happen

Surely you have heard someone say, "What if they gave a war and nobody came?" Well, I wonder what would happen if they passed a law and nobody observed it.

Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "Rules are not necessarily sacred, principles are."

Maybe if we just stopped obeying all the radical rules, they would stop making them.

It sure would be fun to watch.

PMO
©2011

What Is It?

Let’s say you are walking down the street on a cold windy day and you see an elderly woman shivering on the sidewalk. She obviously is sick and looks like she may not have eaten for awhile. You see a man walking past her. You stop the man and take some money from him. The money is used to feed the woman and get her medical care and a warm coat. Now here’s the question.

Did you commit theft? If theft is defined as taking from someone that which is theirs, did you commit a crime? You did use the money for a good cause and did not take a penny for your own use. Let’s add a few witnesses that saw what you did - take the money and help the woman. They all agree you did the right thing.

Did you commit a crime?

What about the man that was robbed? What if he could not afford to lose the money and needed it to provide for his own family?

What if the man that was robbed was you?

Maybe you should ask the government. They know the answer.

PMO
©2011

Sir Winston

One of my favorite people is Winston Churchill. He was the right man for the job when England needed it most. Beside that, he was funny. Such was the case when Bessie Braddock literally ran into him and she proclaimed, "Sir you are drunk." Sir Winston calmly replied, "Madam, you are ugly. In the morning, I shall be sober."

He is often quoted and so it is today, I will quote him. "You can always count on the Americans to do the right thing - after they’ve tried everything else."

I really don’t care what your political persuasions are. If you open just one eye and think for even just for a minute, it is logical to conclude that America is heading toward socialism at a rapid pace. Again, I refer to Mr. Churchill, " Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy. A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on."

He also observed, "It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried."

During this time of celebration of the founding of this great nation, one might wonder where we as a country stand today.

"The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is." - Sir Winston Churchill.

I might add that he also said, "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter."

PMO

©2011

July 4th

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--

Read that last sentence again.

Happy 4^th of July.

July 2, 1776

On this date in 1776 the Continental Congress passed a resolution stating that, "these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States." That’s a heck of an idea!

Wonder why it didn’t last?

PMO
©2011

Learned So Far

Okay, here is what I have learned so far about the mandated health care plan. It is going to cost twice or three times what it was proclaimed to cost, but it’s going to be cheaper. Get your own calculator to do the math on that. Mine burned up a long time ago.

Over 30 million people will be added to lower the cost. If that is true, why didn’t we add all of Mexico and Canada and the cost would be nil.

Insurance companies will have to insure people with pre-existing conditions. I am in favor of this, but do not understand how this is going to lower the cost either.

Children under the age of 26 will be allowed to stay on their parents insurance. Why not, if the little grubbers are still at home in their mid twenties, there is not much chance they will ever get a job. And, do the parents have to pay for them to have their own policy after age 26? I do not know, but it does seem reasonable - to somebody.

Medicare will be cut by half a trillion dollars, so I guess that does save money. It will cause some pesky seniors a pain or two, but seniors are more tolerate about suffering. Let them eat cat food.

Medical decisions will be made by non-medical government workers. This seems to upset some people, though I don’t understand why. In case you haven’t noticed, government at one level or another has or is in the process of controlling your life down to the type of toilet paper you use.

As discussed previously, you will have health insurance or you will be taxed heavily. This means that some very poor people will get sick and go further in debt at the same time.

Here’s my solution. We just contract with Mexico for all medical services. There are thousands if not millions going there each year because the cost are lower. And, they already have all the drugs in the world. It would be a boost to the economy there and all we would have to do is travel a few hundred miles to have our hemorrhoids checked.

I think my congressman is reviewing my plan.

PMO
©2011