What was I thinking? :

What WAS I thinking?

Disneyland during the holidays is an exercise in self abuse, that is all there is to it.

Living in Bakersfield, Ca. One must travel some distance to the Magic Kingdom... about 2 hours and change, to be approximate. And once you arrive, you are anything but enchanted.

When I was young, I lived off of Katella, a street not far from the Happiest place of Earth, and back then, Disney was a great place to go. People seemed genuinely happy to work there, and the place was always clean.

This latest trip was a disappointment, to say the least. I would complain about the crowds, but let's face it, there are very few popular places that we can go these days that are not crowded.

No... My complaint is mainly about the PEOPLE factor of Disneyland... not just the employees, but the other guests as well.

After entering the park, we decided to get breakfast... in order to not draw negative attention to the specific place, I will not mention the name of the place we ate at, but for a reasonable sum of $50, my wife and I were treated to a breakfast that we could have easily found at a local Denny's for a quarter the price, and it would probably have been better.

The park itself (i.e. the attractions) was pretty good... Not much to complain about there, with the exception that you better not be too close to retirement age, because you will be collecting your pension in line. We were lucky, I suppose... my mother-in-law was with us, and she is in a wheelchair... anyone who has been to Disneyland knows that that puts you right at the front of the line, thusly turning a 60+ minute wait into a couple minutes, and subsequently pissing off the rest of the line.

My biggest complaint about the part, as I have said, was the employees. Very few of them smiled, and their attitude was, on average, negative. I understand that your job is not always great, and you will not be a happy employee on a daily basis, but you should show the appearance of being happy. I worked retail for the better part of 15 years, and trust me... I do have some idea of not being happy about your work. Try working at Circuit City during Christmas season.

While I am sure that there are differences between regular retail and that of the "Cast Members" of the Enchanted Kingdom, that is all the more reason to "Fake it." People do not go to Disney to pay $20 for two hot dogs, two pretzels and a drink to share, to listen to the person behind the counter bitch about the fact that they were supposed to be off that day and are angry about it, to another employee.

This is usually were I lose my composure. But I was proud of myself, and simply told the person that they should be glad they have a job at all, and that there are a lot of people out there that would love to have her job because they have none.

I am not sure when the magic left the Magic Kingdom, but if there is any left, then it is not as easy to find as it once was. The only exception to this was the veterans... When I did run into some of the minority of people there whose nametags said that they had been there in excess of 20 years, they seemed to truly be happy. Whether this was very good faking on their part, or a happiness as the result of skilled pharmacology, I am not sure, but the smiles and the attitude that I got from them was enough to offset most of the disappointment of the others.

In closing... Disneyland still holds a special place in my heart, because it was such a big part of my childhood. I will continue to go there for as long as they remain. I also feel that the best thing to happen to them was the loss of Michael Eisner from the family, though him putting a puppet in his place probably means that there will not be much of a change, but who knows... we will have to see.

Just remember... It's a small world after all!!!

An alternative to Illegal Immigration

Illegal Immigrants are a hot topic right now. Several states are affected by them, and they show no sign of stopping, but I think that we are going about the process all wrong, and here is why.

Right now the US policy regarding illegals is to round them up and ship them back to Mexico. Many times the people that send in the anonymous tip that illegals are in country and working the fields are the very people that brought them here or hired them to begin with, in many cases this happens right before they are paid for the work they do, so that all the farmer is out is the occasional fine they must pay for using illegals for the work, which is less that what they would have paid them to begin with.

There is another option.

Look at the jobs that they take when they are here, these are typically jobs that a majority of us, as US citizens, will not take, even in desperation. I have, personally, known several people that would take unemployment or nothing over working the fields. Understanding that, why is it such a bad idea to allow people to work the fields that do not have a problem doing it? Yes, they are not in the US legally, and they do not pay taxes, but this is not something that they have a lot of control over, and some of them would really like to be Americans, but are not able to do so through proper channels.

The US, and California especially, need to create a program where we will import a certain number of migrant workers from Mexico to do these jobs. The program I would suggest would be a Civilian Group, not a government organization, but it would be supervised by the government to insure that it was not abused. Any farms, packing companies or growers groups would pay a set amount into a fund that is administered by this civil group, the amount they pay into it would be based on the total number of hands they need for that season. The workers would be paided a fair rate from that fund, and all moneys they earn would be placed in bank accounts in their names, from that a small amount would be taken for taxes (significantly less than what a citizen pays), and insurance. The insurance would be for health and liability needs... should a worker get sick, he would not have to rely on the welfare system to pay for medical treatment.

At the end of the contract with the job, the migrant worker would be put back in the pool, if after two weeks, no new jobs come up, they will be sent back to Mexico, they can leave any money they saved in their bank account or take it back with them. After five years of being part of this program, and demonstrating that they are reliable and good workers, they will, if they "opted in", automatically be placed on the waiting list for citizenship, and if they pass the required tests, they will be granted citizenship. The tests will include a required understanding of English, US History and a quiz on US Laws (meaning what is and is not legal.)

If the worker does not want to become a citizen, then they may stay in the worker program for as long as they like, they will still get their pay and be able to maintain their bank account for as long as they wish.

I see this as a very good idea, and if a politician happens to read this and want to use the idea, then I will not complain, I will not even ask for any credit, you may freely claim it as your own. Not only will this save us money in welfare expenses, it will also ease, albeit only a little, the border problems and make it so that the farmers do not have to play games to get their fields planted or harvested.

These were just some ideas, and I welcome comments.

...When I'm Sixty-Four.

I watched something today that was pleasant to see.

While sitting and eating a quick lunch at a McDonald's in Monterey, Ca. I watched an older couple enter the restaurant.

They went to the counter and placed their order, with a little difficulty due to an impatient cashier. After they got their food, they wandered around until they found a seat they liked. He went around and pushed her chair in for her, and then sat down.

They ordered a Chicken sandwich and a salad... While I am sure that this is of little importance to you, the reader, it was cute because of the way they ate it. He cut the sandwich in half, and divided the salad. They then sat and ate their lunch.

While, again, this entire observation my be a bit mundane or boring to most of you, it leaves me with a feeling of happiness. I enjoy seeing what appears to be a good relationship, especially today, when there seems to be a lack of romance in life and a rise in what are commonly being referred to a disposable relationships. This is not to say that all modern relationships are doomed to failure, but you will notice that the statistics are in favor of the fact that people are just not staying together as long as they once did.

Which brings me back to our friends in the McDonald's. How is their relationship different than your relationship with YOUR significant other? Maybe nothing, maybe a lot. I think that the values we are brought up with have a lot to do with this, in addition to the environment that we are raised in. Personally, I was brought up in a broken marriage... For reasons I was too young to understand, my mother and father separated when I was six years old... My wife had a similar situation... So obviously we both went into our relationship with worries. But when this couple were younger, marriage was taken much more seriously than it is today, at least more importantly that some take it. When people married then, I think they took the whole idea of "till death to us part" seriously. Nowadays people are using creative ways getting around that commitment, by saying things like "As long as our love shall last" and "Until our love doth fade."

If you were to ask me, the two later "vows", are nothing of the sort, and are actually a cop out. You are essentially giving yourself an "out". You are saying, that if you suddenly decide that you no longer love your spouse, you simple use that as an excuse to bail out. You are putting a "chicken-shit" clause in the marriage. You are preparing your marriage for disaster, by not COMMITTING to the relationship.

My wife and I have a great marriage. It is not perfect, we have had our fights, and some of them were doozies. I have never struck her, and I never will. But the fact is that we make it work, and I hope that we will be sitting in a McDonald's sharing a sandwich and salad forty years from now.

"...Will you still need me? Will you still feed me? When I'm Sixty-four."

I did not get their names, but here is their picture, in the upper right corner.

Music and the Moods it creates.

Have you ever noticed that music, aside from being pleasant to listen to, can also create a variety of moods and mental states?

I am not just talking about things like romantic music making you FEEL in the mood, when you and your loved one are together. I am talking more about the other affects that music can create. Let me provide you with some of my own personal examples.

Pink Floyd - No music inspires me or causes my creative streak to bloom more that Pink Floyd. I write stories, and find that I can hammer out two or three times the workload if I am listening to The Wall or Dark Side of the Moon. There is something in that music that trigger a response, and that response causes me to be creative. All Pink Floyd music has this affect on me, but mostly those two albums.

Ray Lynch - This music can do two things... If I am in a sad mood, it can depress me even more, but more often, when I am happy, his music has the ability to uplift me and make me see hope where I did not see it before. I listen to it, it is all acoustic, no words, yet I hear what he is trying to say to the listener. It is almost as if there is a story there, and if you listen to the chords and the notes, they will make the words. You have to really listen, though.

Moby - As odd as it may seem, Moby makes me work aggressively. I usually play his CDs while working in the back yard, or in the garden, but mostly while doing things that require real physical labor. There is something in the music that is almost like a form of potential energy that, through listening to it, becomes kinetic. Listen to We are all made of Stars or Porcelain, and you will hear what I mean... The same is true for most of the album '18'. I may not like his politics, but I ignore that in most performers.

All Classical - This is my driving music. I tend to be an aggressive driver, this is not to say I am dangerous, but when I drive, I take it very seriously and watch everything. Classical music seems to increase my focus. There is something in it that makes me acutely aware of everything that is going on around me... I drive like I play chess, looking several moves ahead of the present, thinking about where a car is going to be, what options they have and what responses I have to counter that. Classical music just seems to augment that perception.
Those are my examples, and I feel they are pretty good ones. I know that what I have described is more psychosystematic than anything else, and that if we over-analyze it, it might have less meaning, but it is interesting none the less.

It is almost as if, in my case, my mind needs a soundtrack.

Traveling and Restaurants... a Rant

When I travel, and my company does have me travel a bit, I make it a point to be adventurous.

When I get to my hotel, I look for a restaurant... preferrably one that I have never been to before, or one that I enjoy, but rarely get to enjoy. Am I the only one that thinks it is silly to go out of town and eat at the same restaurant that you have in your own home town? I mean granted, there are times that I have been in a hurry, and not wanted to look for a place to eat, so I would hit fast food or the like, but a majority of the time I would make the effort to find someplace different.

Right now I am limited, for as I write this article I am doing the "Low Carb" thing to get my weight down in preparation for a pending knee surgery... in other words my options are limited. But normally when I visit a town, and it does not matter how often I get to visit that town, I pretty much ignore places to eat that I frequent in my Home town. I even go so far as looking up a list of good places to eat around the hotel I will be staying at before I get there. Makes life interesting.

Do not get me wrong, there is a certain autistic comfort in going to the same places all the time. Sorta like letting yourself know that everything is "right" in the world as long as you see a Denny's, Roadhouse Grill, Carrows or Outback someplace. But people... you gotta live a little... be adventurous. By the simple nature of who we are, it is OK. Humans THRIVE on diversity, not monotony. How many Cob Salads from Marie Calendar's can a person eat? Are we on a quest? Somewhere is there a talley center? "Well... Paul has eaten a Cob Salad from every one of our locations in Southern California, better send him that award now." Yeah... Right.

In short... Next time you are out of town, look for some place to eat that you have never been to before, or maybe have never even HEARD of before. Personally I would even say look for the "Hole in the Wall" places... my experience tells me that, more often than not, they are the best and most rewarding meals to be had.

That is just my input for tonight... do with it what you will, nothing more nothing less.

The Politics of Politics (or How we waste our time Arguing about Arguing)

Coming Soon...

The Dumbing down of ME!

I live a relatively sedate life.

I work and I come home… as for entertainment, I spend time with my wife, write stories that will probably never get published (until I die… we are all famous when we are dead.) and write in my Blog… among other things.

I restrict myself to a few shows on TV a week. This does not count things like news programs, and the occasional show on the History Channel or the other various educational programs out there. That being said, here is the way my viewing habits used to be:

News. (MSN and Fox)

StarGate: SG-1

StarGate: Atlantis

Battlestar Galactica

Now the networks have gone and released a few new shows… and, to my utter amazement and spectacular dismay, I like them. I now have two more shows to add to my list…

My Name is Earl

Surface.

Keep in mind, and I am a person that does not typically enjoy TV… It is the single most destructive thing in your house since TV Dinners, Microwaves and Jazzercise. I have seen my wife… these shows have a brainwashing affect on people, and I see the glazed look in her eyes while Law and Order, Criminal Minds or CSI are on. I could yell “Fire!!!” and get little or no response until the next commercial.

I feel that if the networks continue to put more shows I like on the air, then I might, alas, finally succumb to the evil plans of the network leadership, and fall into the abyss that is… dare I say… the black hole of television dementia.

For now… I will continue to write my stories and curse you all with my Blogs and attempt to maintain my personal thoughts… but I may not last long… I feel the TV calling me.

The Miramar Airshow

The Miramar Air Show

What can I say… WOW.

I went to my first Miramar Air show with a friend, and his buddy from work… though I, personally, think they would have been better off there without me. My knee went out about a third of the way through the show, so I was a little bit of a bore.

Blue Angels, Black Knights, the Static Displays and everything else was great. I loved it. I am thinking seriously of going next year, but we will see.

I am prepping a link on my web site, the one that probably lead you here, that will show all the pictures I took.

Beyond that, not much else to say. Check back later to see the link, or go to:

www.samuraimarine.com and look in the pictures area to see my photos.

Is it Christian?

This is a article I originally posted on my yahoo account, but felt I needed to place it here as well.

Interesting thing happened to me a couple weeks ago, and it took me a while to generate a blog to it.

I made my usual act of a gentleman and opened the door for a woman and her husband. She smiled and said that that was a Christian thing for me to do for them. Without really even thinking about it, I responded with, "Well, you know how us Jews are, rude and obnoxious and all."

Over my life, I have heard that comment more often than I like. It makes no sense. Are there really Christians (or any other religion for that matter) that honestly think that the act of being kind or polite is unique to THEM alone? If so, then that only tells me that they are sadly disillusioned.

I do things like open doors, complement people and help when I can because that is the person I was brought up to be. I have a very good mother, and I think she brought me up very well. How is this a trait that any religion feels it has a monopoly on? Do these people really categorize people this way, where somewhere in the back of the grey paste that makes up their brain, they think that only Christians are capable of acts of goodness? If so, what is in their file about Jews? Are we seen as money hoarding rats with horns? How about Islamics or Buddhists?

In closing, it is sad that we have done this to ourselves, and things, I fear, are only going to get worse. Take Islam, for example... Since 9/11 people have suddenly started grouping all Islamics in the same category... as radicals, when nothing could be further from the truth. I have known several Muslims in my life, and they are all great people. Would this woman I helped see, in the back of her mind, all Muslims as being "Ragheads with bombs taped to them", as one of my more 'enlightened' acquaintances said once. Sadly, I am afraid she might.

Maybe the thing we need to do is, instead of teaching the differences between us, teach the similarities between us. Why we are all alike, not different. After all... in the dark we are all the same.

As I left the Carl’s Jr., I had the honor of holding the door open for her and her husband once again. She would not look at me, did not even 'Thank you', but her husband nodded at me, grinning. Wonder what the conversation was like at their table.

I will end this with two of my favorite quotes:

"Character is knowing the good,
loving the good and doing the good."
— Thomas Lickona

"Character is what you are in the dark."
— Rev. Dwight Moody

deEvolution of Friends and Friendship

It is funny.

You never really see it get away from you until the day you realize it is gone. The years seem like a cancer, some days. You are happily living day to day and then, suddenly you realize that somewhere, somehow, you lost twenty years… nothing to show for it, no prize awaiting you for winning the race, it just vanishes.

I recently discovered exactly what that means.

I am very picky about the friends I keep… so much so that I still have the same small, trusty group that I had in high school. I have not taken time to try and make more, and to be perfectly honest, I have not taken very good care to maintain those friends that I do have left.

People grow up, and grow away. This can be avoided most of the time, but it requires work… work that I have been remiss in doing. This leads me to an analogy of good friends being like a garden… they are something that needs to be tended to, and nurtured. If you do not, then the garden wilts and withers away. Likewise, friends, if neglected, drift away, and you lose them to time.

This I regret. MANY things I regret, but this more than others. I have, in my short life, lost friends to war, to disease and to happenstance, but the ones that hurt the most are the ones that I have lost to ignorance, to a controllable and preventable cause.

I really do not remember how I came upon the friendships I made in high school, or how those friends that are still around me have tolerated my personality for all these years. Though it has become apparent over the last year, that there are cracks and fissures forming, and they are more than likely irreparable. Unfortunately I no longer know how to repair these things.

Funny. Once I longed for times when I could waste days with friends, now I find that the longer I spend with them, the less we have in common.

If anyone is careless enough to stumble upon this meek attempt at a Blog, and reads this... then let me share one thought that you should carry with you to your dying day. Friendship is the penultimate achievement in your life. Jobs come and go, time passes, things can be replaced... but hold on to and charish friendship like your life depends on it, it should be forever. Otherwise, one day, you may not have the chance to recover it

It is certainly funny how time gets away from you.

U.S. Shuns Cuba's offer of aid.

First off, let me start by saying: Yes, I understand the reason behind the Cuban embargo. I have family that is Cuban, and lived there during the events that led up to the embargo. But I think it is time we moved on.

Cuba extended an olive branch, of sorts, this last week, offering to ship doctors, medics, and medical supplies to help out in the states affected by Katrina. Our response??? None... We have, at the time of this rant, ignored their offer, while accepting offers from several other countries, including France.

Listen... This should not be about politcs, this is about need. They offered to help, and in an area that really needs it. At this point most of those affected by Katrina do not care if the personal offering them a hand is Democrat, Republican, Liberal or even Communist. This was a genuinely gracious offer on the part of the Cuban goverment.

The U.S. has stated that we are basing who we accept side from based on the need. These doctors that are being offered to us are trained in disaster conditions, they were the doctors that Cuba sent after last years Tsunami that killed so many and destroyed so much. They do know what they are doing.

Seriously... after almost half a century embargo, what would it hurt to open trade and eliminate the embargo? I understand that Cuba and Fidel are one of the last holdouts of Communism in the world, but has 45 years of closing them out changed anything? Does rejecting their help do anything more than hurt the people in need after the devistation that Katrina wrought?

Lets look at it another way. I do not care how much you hate your neighbors, if your house burns down, and they offer to help, you are probably not going to refuse.

Tragedy brings people together, and, in many cases, erases the lines of race and religion. That is the way this should be, and I am VERY disapoint for the way this admisitration has handled this... they had a chance to have a golden moment that would help break down this invisible wall that exists between the US and Cuba, but they flushed it right down the toilet.

To read more on this, please see these articles"
MSN Report
Reuters Report

Katrina's other victims

While we are all coming together to help the vicitms of Katrina, lets not forget some of the smaller victims of this horrific storm.

They are important in the sense that they, unlike most of their human counterparts, are unable to adjust to the problems they are facing. They also do not understand what has happened, unlike humans. All they know is that their people are gone and they have no one to be with them.

There are the countless dogs, cats and various other animals that are being forced to remain behind because the rescue agencies are not able or not willing to help these extended family members stay with their people.

Here is a list of agencies that are there to help save, reunite or adopt out animals that have been left behind. PLEASE, if you can spare a few dollars, please do so. These organizations are every bit as important as the Red Cross and others that are doing such a wonderful job of helping not only the New Orleans victims, but all those affected by Katrina.

Also... If you have room in your heart and house, then you might consider the idea of adopting one of the many dogs or cats that no longer have people to return to... there are many of them, and they need someplace to call home.

It does not take much, just an open heart and whatever you can afford to spare.

Having two dogs and two cats, my heart goes out to the animals and their people that had to leave them behind.

ASPCA Disaster Relief
Hearts United for Animals
Noah's Wish
The United States Humane Society
D.E.L.T.A. Rescue
Best Friends Animal Society
American Veterinary Medical Foundation
American Kennel Club
American Humane

Thank you, in advance for anything and everything you can do to help.

9/11 Anniversary

As we approach another anniversary of the attacks on the US, I would like you to give me some input.

Do you think that the United States is better today than it was on September 10th, 2001?

Have the attacks and the resulting "War Against Terror" made us a better Nation, or made the people within it better people?

Do you think that the "War Against Terror" is doing what it was supposed to, or do you thing that in the course of the last couple years we have lost our direction or purpose?

What are the feelings towards Muslims and Islam today, and how are they different than that of September 10th, 2001?

I am not trying to create arguments or fuel a fire, but I would like to get the opinion of others on this.

Welcome

Hi there...

This is my second attempt at a blog... I hope that you find some interesting reading here, though I want to warn you. When I go off on an issue, I do not make any attempt to hide my frustration or gloss things.

If you read something and I offend you, then you are offended... no apologies, that is just something you have to live with. Comment all you want... that is your right, but I reserve my right to tell it how I see it.