COMMON MATTERS

You Can't Have Everything

A dazzling multicolored unicorn with long flowing mane appeared on our television screen.  "I want that for my birthday!" 4-year-old Kinsey announced.

"We'll see," I replied without commitment.  Two cartoons and about twelve commercials later, she squealed again.  This time is was a colorful Barbie with long flowing tresses of pink, blue and yellow.  "They wash out Grama!  I want that for my birthday!"

"I thought you wanted the unicorn!"

"I do but I don't have a Barbie like her.  And I can wash her hair out and the color goes away," she reasoned.

"You can't have everything!" Kinsey's elder sister informed her.

"But I want it."

"You want too much, sweetie," I chided.  I went shopping with her mom this week and watched as her mom picked through racks to get some seasonal jeans for the coming cooler weather. Kinsey busied herself in the nearby shelves of toys.  (Very strategical marketing by the store to put toys near the children's clothing racks, don't you think?).  Kinsey was thrilled when she found a doll's head, complete with make-up, combs and brushes.  When her mom said, "No; your birthday is coming",  Kinsey moaned, "Aw, man," then obediently put it back on the store shelf.

In all honesty, we all want too much.  We constantly want something we don't have.  More, more, more.  We adults could give Kinsey a run for her money on all the items we yearn to call ours.  Just ask Washington politicians. Washington wants to keep doling out more and more.  The big corporations, banks, and financial institutions go pandering to the White House (like Solyndra did), and the President doles out 500-million to help a floundering company because they produce solar-energy panels.  Politics.  Seems the current administration wanted to make a big media splash to push "green jobs". So he entertained the owners of Solyndra in the Whitehouse just days before they won the approval of a half-billion dollars of tax-payer money. Today, Solyndra is caput. Broke. Bankrupt.  Seems they were financially unstable and not a viable company for our country to throw more money into.

Billions that we doled out in stimulus programs did not yield any jobs nor did it turn the economy around.  Where's the millions that taxpayers were suppose to make for bailing out the banks and corporations?  Is this troubling to anyone?  People are losing jobs.  Companies are closing doors.  Corporations are laying off people by the thousands.  Yet, our President wants to take hard-earned profits from what viable corporations are left in the United States so government can dole out billions of tax money to support more businesses that can't make it?  Who gets hurt?  the little guy.  The people who need jobs. Those corporations lose money they'd use to invest in growth.  Think about it.

Wal-mart doesn't use more clerks (even though they have lots of customers).  Why?  because those customers aren't buying like they use to.  So corporations can't employ more people.  For every tax dollar they pay out, there is that much more money cut from growing their business and hiring people.  Why should shareholders lose money because I have to wait in line a little longer to buy 40% less than I did last year?  Why should successful corporations employ more people which make less profit?  If corporations have to stop investing (and man their stores with skeleton crews to stay afloat), so the government can keep spending money to watch shrimp on treadmills and invest in unstable companies, how can the economy get better?  It's no wonder Kinsey can't have her Barbie doll.  If we have to stop spending to meet our budgets, why shouldn't Congress stop spending to meet theirs?  Just saying.

When Life Throws a Curveball

I had every intention of waking up this morning and writing my Common Matters column as usual.  I even had an idea I was going to run with.  Then I got up late.  Very late.  Ten-thirty in the morning never happens to me.  I was so sleepy I could hardly hold my eyes open.  My heart is beating a mile a minute.  So I think, I'm not gonna be able to write this column today.  I'm gonna have to email Venius and tell her I'm wimping out on her.  So I begin writing and decide against it.

I'm not a wimp.  I'm a procrastinator.  I should have written this last week and had it in the hopper early.  I mean, it's not like I don't know the Monday deadline is coming.  I remind myself of folks who put off sending out birthday cards till the day of the big celebration.  We know all year that day is coming, but we procrastinate, put everything and anything above actually preparing ahead of time.

I didn't plan to get sick today.  But neither did Venius prepare for me to be sick.  I wonder how often we put off what we should do ahead of time to ensure our commitments are honored.  Don't know about you, but I am so guilty of that lazy attitude, and the Scarlet O'Hara mindset--"I'll think about it tomorrow."  Then tomorrow comes and I have to put it off another day.

That's what's going on with my forty-seven years of collected junk.  I know full well that my residence is going to change soon.  But I keep procrastinating and putting off the task before me.  It's a scary thought to contemplate what will happen to all this stuff when moving day arrives and I still have tons of knick knacks and stacks of books to eliminate from my life.  I think I need to have the people from Hoarders come and take over my untidy world.  They'll get rid of this stuff.  They'll get me on track.  Ever wish you had someone to just come in and clean up your messes?  Ever wonder where to begin?

Am I the only person other than those people on television that has a garage full of who knows what?  Uh, no.  I happened to drive by several garages recently, and they happened to have their doors open.  I felt so good when I saw their collections stacked to the ceiling and the narrow tunnels they had to walk through.  It was heartening to learn I'm not the only hoarder in Lawton.  I wonder if they feel like me.  I wonder if everyone who stores years and years of memorabilia and what-nots wish someone would come by and twitch their nose, or wave a magic wand and put their house in order.  I suppose we all have something we want to get rid of in our lives.  A habit we'd like to break.  A change we'd like to make.  A box we want to unload.  A drawer we need to sort.  A closet we need to put in order.  As for me, I've made up my mind.  I am going to get started.  Just as soon as I finish writing this column and my dizzy spell passes.  Have a great week!

The First To Respond

We've had our share of wildfires this summer.  Weeks ago, Medicine Park came close to being engulfed in a raging fire that took out some homes at Big Rock.  Firefighters battled flames for days at Elgin, too.  Our state has been ablaze far more than many folks realize.  Just last week Oklahoma City lost several homes as volunteer firemen and paid firemen battled monstrous fires.  As firefighters came from Texas and other parts of the state to battle that blaze, we had our own ignite and rage across the Wildlife Refuge again.  That insatiable fire consumed over 30,000 acres of our mountain area and destroyed two police officers' homes, and a Lawton fireman's.  That fire had no respect for the first responders who worked tirelessly to quench its thirst for more land.  The fires got thirstier with every inch of our dry parched land they consumed.  Firefighters exhausted themselves.  Volunteer firemen took off from their jobs to battle the flames we take for granted that another is battling.  They came from surrounding counties, from Texas.  They set aside their own needs, sacrificed their own time, and put their lives on the line for people they don't even know.  They went without food, rest, and comfort.

First Responders.  Heroes.  Heroines.  Dedicated.  Selfless.  Courageous.  Somewhat fearless.

These are those who go where others race to escape.  They face things we cannot even imagine.  Some are killed for simply intervening on the public's behalf.  They are the firefighters, the emts, the police officers.  The volunteer caretakers of society.  So often we take them for granted.  We forget they are even among us until we face a crisis of our own.  Then we are reminded.

Ten years ago hundreds of first responders lost their lives when terrorists bombed the World Trade Center in New York city.  They rushed to the towers hoping to help those trapped inside.  To save.  They did their job.  They did not waver as they ran full-speed to the burning inferno.  For months and months afterwards, they toiled with twisted steel and tons of concrete to recover the bodies of those innocent victims of hate.  They did this without regard to their own well-being.  Most now face life-threatening lung disease and cancer because of the horrendously polluted air they inhaled as they worked through the rubble--piece by piece, stone by stone, wire by wire.

This Sunday is not an anniversary to celebrate.  However it is a day to commemorate.  It is a day we can all join hands and raise our flags of united support and gratitude for the men and women who are so selflessly serving our communities every day.  It is a day to remember all those we know gave all for their fellow citizens in New York City on 9-11, the day which changed America forever.  No longer do we board our planes unhindered, unencumbered.  We deal with inconvenience to battle the unknown.  They deal with the unknown to protect our convenience.  9-11 changed the mindset of the bystander, too.  The heroes who brought down a fourth airliner in the lonely fields of Pennsylvania have inspired millions of everyday folks like themselves to never forget...to be vigilant, watchful.  Never again will some of us allow the evil to touch our lives--our fellow citizens' lives-- if we can help prevent it.  We watch.  We report.  We thwart the evil plans.

Thousands more-- young men and women-- stepped to the front-lines of following 9-11.  They joined the Army, Airforce, Navy and Marines and went to war to keep America safe.  Some returned to take on more jobs as first responders.  Some have since lost their lives doing what they believed needed doing.  Not everyone responds.  Some of us run to escape the infernos of our lives.  Some of us run to be first in line to give aid.  Can we honor those this week?  Can we remember them and pray for those they left behind for their courage?  I think it's the least we can do.

Before I Forget

I once heard a man say he'd forgotten more than most people can possibly learn.  He sounded extremely intelligent and I would guess he may be right--at least as far as I am concerned.  Lots of folks know a lot more than I do.

But, let's face it.  We tend to look to others who have experience with, and knowledge of, particular circumstances and subjects.  I love to sit and listen to the octogenarians and hear their stories.  You can learn a lot of stuff from them.  You can learn a lot from the internet, too.  That's why more and more octogenarians are becoming computer savvy.  What we've forgotten due to our longevity, is categorized, and filed away in some cyber-cloud in the outer limits of somebody's computer disc. 

I love it!  It's a 17-inch laptop college library.  There's no telling where this cyber-optic field will lead.  Twenty years ago, it was hardly more than a Microsoft phenomenon on the New York Stock Exchange.  Today Websites release medical break-throughs that even our attending physicians are unaware of.  Supposedly we use less than 10% of our brain's potential.  I've often wondered where our memories go when our minds forget things.  Is there a key that unlocks those memories and opens and shuts the door?  Do they get lost in the 90% of the brain that's sat empty during our lifetimes?

I've been researching Alzheimer's and dementia lately. I'm curious...especially since I have about 4 of the symptoms.  However, forgetfulness is something that's plagued me for years.  I may have had it all my life.  Google kinda intrigues me.  With all the controversial political yada-yada surrounding it, Google is a virtual encyclopedia of past and present events. Unlike the human brain that only uses a small percentage of its capabilities, they're constantly inputting more and more data and building bigger and better computers with more and more memory to house all the information in the world.

With Google's search engine, you type in a word, phrase or question and up pops millions of links around the world that pertain to your entry.  Through Google, you can research what researchers are discovering in real-time.  No waiting for periodicals to make their way into your doctor's mailbox.  In fact, you have a front-row seat to knowledge that attending physicians often don't even have time to read.

With dementia, researchers think vitamin deficiencies may be the culprit.  As we age, we eat less nutritional food.  Our diets are often comprised of easy pre-packaged, nutrient empty food.  Could Alzheimer's cure be as simple as adding vitamin supplements?  Was Popeye right when he advised us to eat our spinach?  I suppose it's possible.  After all, spinach contains sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sulfur, iron, zinc, manganese, iodine, copper and a bevy of vitamins we sorely lack in our diets of processed food.  Vitamin D is all but non-existent because we either smother ourselves in sunblock when we're out, or we stay locked up tight inside our comfy, cozy homes.

As more and more senior citizens become computer savvy, we may just heal ourselves without the assistance of physicians.  A word of caution, though.  As great as Google is to lead you to information, it's a bit like your children.  As you type in your question or phrase, Google tends to interrupt the flow of your typing, and second guesses what you're trying to type in.  I find it wise to write it down on a piece of paper first, in case Google interrupts me and...well...before I forget what I'm trying to say.