?`s and ANNEswers

Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

Goodbye PA, Hello IN

Posted on April 23, 2008

The Pennsylvania primary has come and gone; now it’s Indiana’s turn. I don’t have much say in the matter, but here is a list of things I’d like not to be subjected to anymore, regardless of the outcomes of the remaining primaries.

I don’t want another Clinton in the White House, not even Chelsea in the future. I don’t want another four years of Bush politics. I don’t want the super delegates to decide the nominee. I don’t want the politicians to be whining about who the best candidate against McCain is so they can keep their jobs in the fall. I don’t want to listen to another talking head. I don’t want another debate. I don’t want to see Hillary doing shots and Barack bowling on national TV ever again. I don’t want the President to go on game shows, for any reason whatsoever.

There has been criticism that the Pennsylvania primary turned really negative toward the end. That may be true, but it wasn’t as negative as I’m becoming about all the folderol. I’m not sure I can stay tuned until November.

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Christopher Robin

Posted on April 20, 2008

Not many people care and fewer people remember that the fictional Winnie the Pooh’s best friend, Christopher Robin, was fashioned after a flesh-and-blood child, the only son of the author of the famous Pooh stories.

During the real Christopher Robin’s life, the famous bear was both a blessing and a curse. When he was young, Christopher Robin loved the stories written just for him and based on his stuffed animals. (They are now on display at the Donnell Library Center Central Children’s Room in New York City.) But there were periods in his life where he resented the relationship.

Imagine, for instance, going off to boarding school and being taunted by your classmates. Imagine trying to make your own way in the world in the shadow of your father’s fictional characters. Yes, imagine.

Christopher Robin’s life can’t be condensed into this blog, but I urge anyone who has the slightest attachment to Winnie the Pooh to visit the following website: http://www.pooh-corner.org/christopher.shtml. It reveals so much about the life of the real Christopher Robin and, at the same time, makes the stories even more touching.

Why do I bother with all this today? It’s because Christopher Robin Milne died on this date in 1996. He was seventy-six years old.

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Weekend Weeder

Posted on April 18, 2008

We have an acre of lawn and flower beds and trees to maintain, and it doesn’t take long for growing things to get out of control. But we also have a man who does the lawn mowing, the planting in the flower beds, and the trimming of the trees.

The thing is he does not pull weeds.

That has been our deal for the past five years. For a fee, of course, he does all the above; but I do the weeding. And really it seemed like a reasonable arrangement as I enjoy being out in the sun weeding but not having to do the heavier work.

So in anticipation of putting our house on the market, I made a list of yard work that should be done soon. I walked our land, reviewed its condition, took notes . . . and came inside chagrined.

The weed situation is almost out of control already, and the tulips haven’t even bloomed. This means I must get to work holding up my end of our bargain. So, weather permitting, this weekend I’ll don my gardening gloves and hat, pull on my old boots, and venture forth.

Weeds, beware!

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For Sale

Posted on April 17, 2008

We’re about to put our house on the market, the house that is my favorite of the over thirty places I’ve lived. The house where I feel so safe, so protected, so at peace.

It’s time. For several reasons.

First, we spend a fortune on upkeep and have found a condo development we like where the association fee is less that our lawn mowing service in the eight months of mowing season. Second, I’m not willing to go away in the winter for an extended time as long as we live in this house because its northern boundary is the St. Joseph River, which can become savage from January through March. I don’t want to return to a wet disaster. Yet, Earl longs for warm weather in the home stretch of those months.

Third, we have more space than two people really need, even two people who are the exact opposite in most things. I like to work in silence; Earl wants double decibels of noise. I like classical music. He wants talking heads: Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Dr. Bill, Hannity, etc.

So on an intellectual level, I believe the decision to move is the right one; we need to make a lifestyle change, one where we’re not bound to a house’s needs. One that lets Earl bask in warm sun elsewhere in the middle of February. One that doesn’t cost $1000 a month in yard upkeep during high season.

On an emotional level, however, I’m finding more difficulty. I need to think of our home as a “house for sale” rather than all those things I mentioned before. I need to detach and think about the monies we’ll gain, the simpler lifestyle we’ll lead, the ability to travel that we’ll enjoy. I need to remind myself that I’ve never lived anywhere very long, that when it’s time to paint it’s time to move.

The thing is that while my mind believes it, my heart is having a hard time.

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Drinking Age

Posted on April 16, 2008

Recently a movement to lower the drinking age from twenty-one to eighteen has begun to gain credence. In fact, seven states — Kentucky, Wisconsin, South Carolina, South Dakota, Missouri, Vermont, and Minnesota — are seriously considering it.

One of the arguments for this is that if a man or woman can enlist in the military and possibly die for our country, isn’t he or she old enough to have a legal drink? I understand this argument, but it flies in the face of statistics that indicate the current drinking age saves lives.

Another argument is that teenagers are binge drinking regardless of the legal age, so why not lower it so they won’t be breaking the law. I understand this argument too, but it seems to me that the teenage lunatics are running the asylum if we lower the drinking age to prevent binging. What will probably happen is that younger teenagers will binge and break the law. What do we do then?

What I’d like to propose instead is that we raise the age at which a person can serve in the military to twenty-one. This would equalize the fact that one can die for one’s country without drinking in one of its bar legally. It would also allow many young people to finish their college educations, rather than interrupt them.

As for the bingers, it doesn’t matter what age the law says one can drink legally. There will always be those who won’t comply, who think they can drink and get away with it. Some of them will get into accidents and possibly die. As cold hearted as it sounds, this isn’t the result of a faulty law; it’s the result of people pushing boundaries they believe don’t pertain to them.

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The Price of a Gallon

Posted on April 13, 2008

Everyone complains about the price of gasoline these days, so I’ve done a little research on how to absorb the extra cost.

First, substitute bottled water for Diet Snapple®, Lipton Ice Tea®, Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice®, or Gatorade®. All four beverages cost about ten dollars a gallon. Better yet, substitute the bottled water for the old-fashioned tap type. You get fluoride for your teeth in the deal too.

Next, re-evaluate those over-the counter beauty aids and medicines. Scope® mouthwash costs $85 a gallon. Pepto Bismol costs $123, while Vick’s Nyquil® sells for a hefty $178. I realize that people usually purchase smaller amounts of these products and that they don’t guzzle them the way they might guzzle cold beverages. Nevertheless, not using Scope® could save about a dollar a day. That would pay for a good half tank of gas each month.

Finally, cut down on paper, especially the kind used in your printer. We’ve heard for years about all the trees that sacrifice their lives just so we can print those memos, letters, and reports. Well, here is an added incentive to go paperless. The ink in those printer cartridges costs $5,200 a gallon.

It almost makes gasoline look like a bargain.

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Trying

Posted on April 12, 2008

“Try not – Do or do not, there is no try.”

I came across this quote recently, and at first I liked it a lot. It was originally said by that pointy eared sage, Yoda, in “The Empire Strikes Back.” I don’t recall the exact situation, but I suspect Yoda was giving Luke Skywalker a pep talk in the face of some intergalactic challenge.

I understand the message: Either do something or don’t do it. Make up your mind one way or the other. But just trying doesn’t count. And I suppose if trying is equated with half an effort, then I agree.

On the other hand, I think trying counts for a lot. Smokers often try quitting more than once to finally stop. Students often try understanding calculus before they get it. Runners try to break the four-minute mile barrier before some actually do it. The world is filled with people trying.

Perhaps Yoda would say, “Ah, they are merely on the path of doing.”

Yes, but some will not succeed. Yet I believe each person who sincerely tries deserves credit even when the goal is not reached. For me, trying is the large middle of a bell curve between not doing at all on one end and getting the thing done at the other.

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The Audit

Posted on April 10, 2008

You’ve known someone who went through it. You’ve heard their awful tales. And you’ve never heard a kind word about the experience. It’s the dreaded audit.

I went to New York City earlier this week because the great State of New York was auditing the company I work for. Since I’m the finance go-to person, I was the one to answer all questions and present all required documents. It was quite an experience.

We’d received a letter in February that the State Department of Labor wanted to review our financial records for the past three years. The letter said we were chosen at random, but I don’t believe anything is random where a government agency is concerned. And I didn’t believe this was random either. This is not to imply that we were guilty of anything; just that our government is always looking for extra monies from those they think are cheating them.

The thing is, I’ve learned that if you want to cheat you need to find a different venue than any requiring payment to a government agency. That includes payroll taxes, unemployment, sales taxes, and year-end profit taxes. Uncle Sam and his underlings don’t take hostages.

I spent four hours behind closed doors with the auditor. But that time doesn’t compare to the hours I spent preparing for the meeting. I dotted all the i’s and t’s in our company records from 2005 forward, looked for inconsistencies, lost invoices, etc. I gathered the annual corporate minutes and the corporate seal. I checked with our accountant more than once.

The outcome was most favorable. Mr. Auditor didn’t find anything amiss and said we would receive a letter noting that New York State was satisfied that we were paying our fair share of the tax burden. It wasn’t as bad an experience as I’d been led to believe, but I still rank it up there with visiting the dentist or having a colonoscopy. In other words, it’s nothing you look forward to with relish.

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Obama’s Speech

Posted on April 9, 2008

Three weeks ago today Senator Barack Obama made his speech on race. Since then I’ve thought long and hard about what he said; and I’ve also listened to the opinionators, spin doctors, and talking heads dissect every sentence.

Many of them have come to the conclusion that the speech was eloquent, but that the issues of Jeremiah Wright and race will continue to dog the Senator’s campaign for the presidency. More than one said, in so many words, “Obama will have to address this again.”

Why?

I thought he was pretty clear that he rejected the extremist views of his minister but did not reject the man himself. I thought he was equally clear about his hope that all Americans — black, white, rich, poor — could work together for a better country. Granted, he didn’t outline specific plans on how to do this or how to fund it; but that wasn’t the main goal of his presentation in the first place.

So why go back over it? Is it because the opinionators, etc. are not used to a political person who has different standards from their own? Is it because they want the answer tailored to their views rather than express the views of the person himself? Is it because America really isn’t ready for a black president?

I don’t know the answer. (And, for the moment, the issue has been overshadowed by such events as the upcoming Pennsylvania primary, the Iraq war, and the economy.) But I respect Barack Obama for not rejecting Wright for his own political advantage if he felt otherwise. There are not a lot of people in Washington these days who would have done that. I respect him even more for addressing the issue of race head on. There are not a lot of people in Washington these days who would have done that either. And I respect him most for making a speech that could jeopardize his campaign for the nomination. If he’s chosen as the Democratic candidate for president, I suspect the Jeremiah Wright flap will return. If so, I hope Obama reminds us that on March 19 he said all he had to say about the man.

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Friendly Skies

Posted on April 8, 2008

The airline industry is taking a beating these days, not only with higher fuel pricing but also with a greater awareness of safety issues that have slipped under the radar of the FAA. It’s all rather unsettling for someone like me, who has to take a big dose of courage to get on a plane in the first place.

Today I returned from a forty-eight hour visit to New York City. Having taken four planes of various sizes in that time period, I was aware of the industry’s shortcomings. At the same time, I noticed an interesting trend in the behavior of the passengers and crews. Rather than becoming more surly, those who shared flights with me seemed more pleasant. Go figure.

Nobody whined about having to plane-side check a piece of luggage that couldn’t fit in an overhead bin. Nobody talked loudly or otherwise disturbed those in the nearby seats. Everyone smiled as they disembarked, and one man even offered to retrieve my luggage from the overhead bin without being asked. Another woman who accidentally bumped me apologized profusely, and a third complimented a jacket I was wearing.

Not to be outdone, the flight attendants and crews all reeked with niceness as they told us there would be no beverage service or that the ground crew forgot to provide ice or that there were twenty-five planes ahead of us taking off on the one open runway at LaGuardia. The captain practically sounded bereft for having to keep the seatbelt sign on due to the “chop” in the air.

None of this changes the problems airlines have today. In fact, when I arrived home I learned that many travelers, particularly those booked on American Airlines, spent the day stranded as flights were cancelled. So I felt lucky that my trip concluded on time and even luckier that it was an unexpectedly pleasant experience as far as the travel portion itself was concerned.

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