May the Road Rise to Meet You!
A favorite Irish lyric in both Gaelic and English - In honor of my Irish grandfather, Tom Dougherty, who fought in the Civil War.
~~~ Background Music: Red is the Rose
~~ Music and Lyrics Courtesy of Vivian & Jack.
~~~ To hear music, go to: http://www.irishpage.com/roadrise.htm
Go n-éirí an bóthar leat
Go raibh an ghaoth go brách ag do chúl
Go lonraí an ghrian go te ar d'aghaidh
Go dtite an bháisteach go mín ar do pháirceanna
Agus go mbuailimid le chéile arís,
Go gcoinní Dia i mbos A láimhe thú.
May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.
February 20, 2003
When You Come to a Fork in the Road ... Take It. -- Yogi Berra
The death of country singer Johnny PayCheck at age 64 brings a world of significant life-event feelings for me and reflection on choices made, good and bad. Johnny was born almost exactly one year before me. In one story from the AP wire, Johnny is described as the hard-drinking hell-raiser best known for his 1977 working man's anthem "Take This Job and Shove It, ..." <http://www.salon.com/ent/wire/2003/02/19/paycheck/index.html>
Johnny spent some time in prison. The story reports that: "He and another ex-convict, country star Merle Haggard, performed at the Chillicothe Correctional Institute in Ohio while PayCheck was imprisoned there."
Now that gets close to home for me. Merle Haggard and I are about the same age, we are both from Oklahoma and while I was spending time being an honor student at Oklahoma University in Norman, OK, Merle was spending time as an inmate in the Oklahoma State Prison at McAlester, OK. Now look where we both are after nearly 50 years. Merle is a multi-millionaire country singer recording star living in the Redding, California, area. And Jack is a retired chemical engineer of modest means living in Weatherford, Oklahoma.
Now don't get me wrong. I wouldn't trade places with Merle. I just find it fascinating that what seemed to be a "losing" start for Merle evolved into a career path that made him fabulously famous and rich. And what by all reckonings was a "winning" start for me resulted in an enjoyable career - and I am quite comfortable but, well, I am also of quite modest means. And so far I have not even seen the minimum "15 minutes of fame" we all supposedly are destined to have.
I'm not complaining. It just makes a fun story to tell from time to time; for example, at class reunions. A story about two boys growing up the same time in Oklahoma, taking much different forks in the road and now knowing the interestingly different outcomes for each of the boys.
The death of country singer Johnny PayCheck at age 64 brings a world of significant life-event feelings for me and reflection on choices made, good and bad. Johnny was born almost exactly one year before me. In one story from the AP wire, Johnny is described as the hard-drinking hell-raiser best known for his 1977 working man's anthem "Take This Job and Shove It, ..." <http://www.salon.com/ent/wire/2003/02/19/paycheck/index.html>
Johnny spent some time in prison. The story reports that: "He and another ex-convict, country star Merle Haggard, performed at the Chillicothe Correctional Institute in Ohio while PayCheck was imprisoned there."
Now that gets close to home for me. Merle Haggard and I are about the same age, we are both from Oklahoma and while I was spending time being an honor student at Oklahoma University in Norman, OK, Merle was spending time as an inmate in the Oklahoma State Prison at McAlester, OK. Now look where we both are after nearly 50 years. Merle is a multi-millionaire country singer recording star living in the Redding, California, area. And Jack is a retired chemical engineer of modest means living in Weatherford, Oklahoma.
Now don't get me wrong. I wouldn't trade places with Merle. I just find it fascinating that what seemed to be a "losing" start for Merle evolved into a career path that made him fabulously famous and rich. And what by all reckonings was a "winning" start for me resulted in an enjoyable career - and I am quite comfortable but, well, I am also of quite modest means. And so far I have not even seen the minimum "15 minutes of fame" we all supposedly are destined to have.
I'm not complaining. It just makes a fun story to tell from time to time; for example, at class reunions. A story about two boys growing up the same time in Oklahoma, taking much different forks in the road and now knowing the interestingly different outcomes for each of the boys.
Old College Memories - Respect for Turkish Soldiers
If I am in combat with Turkish soldiers present, I want them on my side!
Perhaps surprisingly, I came by this feeling as part of my college education.
When I attended the University of Oklahoma in 1955-1960, I had many Korean War veteran friends attending the university on the GI Bill and living in the dormitory with me. I got along good with them in large part because they were older and more mature. For example, when they asked for help in chemistry, math, etc., they were sincere and appreciative - not always the case with other students. And they helped me. In general, they were serious students and I learned a lot about good study habits from them. Also, most veterans were trustworthy and what they spoke could be earnestly believed.
Well, some times it's funny what brings back memories. The news of negotiations for a multi-billion dollar U.S. aid package in return for U.S. use of military facilities in Turkey reminds me of stories told by many of my Korean War veteran friends of the fierce Turkish soldiers who fought in Korea as our allies under aegis of the U.N.
It is told that North Korean and Chinese units made special efforts to stay out of the way of Turkish units because of their earned respect as fierce fighters.
And what I remember most vividly is stories of how the Turks were legendary for resisting the "psychological warfare" applied by North Korea to prisoners of war. Training for resisting "psychological warfare" was lacking for U.S. troops and overall their resistance to it was poor. Later when I went in the army in 1960-1962 after graduation from college and ROTC, "psychological warfare" training was intense - and very realistic! I got terrified a couple of times during the training. Fortunately, I never needed to make use of the training as an actual POW.
I have since carried with me the highest respect for Turkish soldiers and an overall good feeling about having Turkey as an ally. And I hope we treat Turkey fairly in the negotiations for use of their military facilities and maintain good relations with them whatever the outcome of the negotiations.
As I said at the start - If I am in combat with Turkish soldiers present, I want them on my side!
If I am in combat with Turkish soldiers present, I want them on my side!
Perhaps surprisingly, I came by this feeling as part of my college education.
When I attended the University of Oklahoma in 1955-1960, I had many Korean War veteran friends attending the university on the GI Bill and living in the dormitory with me. I got along good with them in large part because they were older and more mature. For example, when they asked for help in chemistry, math, etc., they were sincere and appreciative - not always the case with other students. And they helped me. In general, they were serious students and I learned a lot about good study habits from them. Also, most veterans were trustworthy and what they spoke could be earnestly believed.
Well, some times it's funny what brings back memories. The news of negotiations for a multi-billion dollar U.S. aid package in return for U.S. use of military facilities in Turkey reminds me of stories told by many of my Korean War veteran friends of the fierce Turkish soldiers who fought in Korea as our allies under aegis of the U.N.
It is told that North Korean and Chinese units made special efforts to stay out of the way of Turkish units because of their earned respect as fierce fighters.
And what I remember most vividly is stories of how the Turks were legendary for resisting the "psychological warfare" applied by North Korea to prisoners of war. Training for resisting "psychological warfare" was lacking for U.S. troops and overall their resistance to it was poor. Later when I went in the army in 1960-1962 after graduation from college and ROTC, "psychological warfare" training was intense - and very realistic! I got terrified a couple of times during the training. Fortunately, I never needed to make use of the training as an actual POW.
I have since carried with me the highest respect for Turkish soldiers and an overall good feeling about having Turkey as an ally. And I hope we treat Turkey fairly in the negotiations for use of their military facilities and maintain good relations with them whatever the outcome of the negotiations.
As I said at the start - If I am in combat with Turkish soldiers present, I want them on my side!
February 17, 2003
.... An old African parable states:
Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows that it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows that it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.
It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle: When the sun comes up you had better be running.
----
I've been intrigued by this bit of wisdom from Africa since reading it in the February Lion's Club monthly magazine. It appeared in the context of urging Lion's Club members to get up every day running to be active as volunteers in their community service projects - part of the lifeblood of a small communities such as Weatherford. This is especially so for small communities in the north-south tier of states from Texas to North Dakota, all of which are losing population in areas that encompass the High Plains - roughly between the 97 deg. meridian (west of I-35 in Oklahoma) and the Rocky Mountains.
Being a High Plains Oklahoman, there is a love of the land not easily put into words that is brought to mind by this African parable. Residents of Oklahoma were hit uniquely hard by the Great Depression and the "Dust Bowl" in the 1930's. Drought, wind and depressed economy made many "Okies" run for survival - like gazelles - traveling Route 66 westward to California. The novel "Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck tells what this was like. The gritty, strong remaining folk are like lions clawing out a living from a harsh land - and they continue clawing to this day. It shows dramatically in the faces, mannerisms, talk, body language, etc., of the elder generation. And to a large degree it shows in the younger generations. Just as dramatic to me are the high moral and ethical standards prevalent among these folk. And there is pride in high standards of providing education for young people. I could go on. I can sum up by saying "I am proud to be an Oklahoman!"
Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows that it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows that it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.
It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle: When the sun comes up you had better be running.
----
I've been intrigued by this bit of wisdom from Africa since reading it in the February Lion's Club monthly magazine. It appeared in the context of urging Lion's Club members to get up every day running to be active as volunteers in their community service projects - part of the lifeblood of a small communities such as Weatherford. This is especially so for small communities in the north-south tier of states from Texas to North Dakota, all of which are losing population in areas that encompass the High Plains - roughly between the 97 deg. meridian (west of I-35 in Oklahoma) and the Rocky Mountains.
Being a High Plains Oklahoman, there is a love of the land not easily put into words that is brought to mind by this African parable. Residents of Oklahoma were hit uniquely hard by the Great Depression and the "Dust Bowl" in the 1930's. Drought, wind and depressed economy made many "Okies" run for survival - like gazelles - traveling Route 66 westward to California. The novel "Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck tells what this was like. The gritty, strong remaining folk are like lions clawing out a living from a harsh land - and they continue clawing to this day. It shows dramatically in the faces, mannerisms, talk, body language, etc., of the elder generation. And to a large degree it shows in the younger generations. Just as dramatic to me are the high moral and ethical standards prevalent among these folk. And there is pride in high standards of providing education for young people. I could go on. I can sum up by saying "I am proud to be an Oklahoman!"
February 16, 2003
Hey Folks, I'm back from a "breather." Certainly no one will accuse me of "spamming" you all with blog posts. :-) So what better way to resume posting than to talk about Spam luncheon meat and its place in the evolution of the word "spam" for junk e-mails.
First - Happy 2003 to all my fine readers! My last post was on November 18, 2002. Suffice it to say I got very busy and I was further distracted by a computer upgrade that has not gone smoothly, but is gradually "getting there." I am using my backup computer for over a month now.
With a little Web searching I find that Spam luncheon meat is just two years older than me - the first can was produced by George Hormel & Co. in 1937 (it was invented in 1936.) Spam was a new "treat" of its time and I see it now as a forerunner of the many "convenience foods" of today. My mom often served Spam in various dishes and sandwiches, and I still like Spam. And - Oh Boy! Was it really good in the World War II era C-Ration kits when eating in a foxhole during Army ROTC field training in 1959 at Ft. Hood, Texas. In one case a rattlesnake tried to share the Spam. But that is another story. ;-)
And I guess I am not the only Spam fan - the six billionth can of Spam was produced by Hormel Company in Austin, Minnesota in July 2002.
Now to e-mail spam. I recently found a website to my liking - www.word-detective.com - and there I find the evolution of the word meaning of spam from "spiced ham, a.k.a. Spam," to spam as computer jargon for crashing a computer by overloading it with too much data, to an incident in 1994 involving two lawyers;the two lawyers, named Canter and Siegal, dumped obnoxious ads into every usenet discussion group on the internet. "The resulting ruckus popularized an expanded sense of the computer jargon use of spam - it became a slang term meaning "dumping unwanted and/or provocative junk all over the place."
The full www.word-detective.com explanation for spam is found at:
<http://www.word-detective.com/061300.html#spam>
In closing, I find interest in the trend of Internet servers providing filters to keep e-mail spam out of customer e-mail mailboxes - but in so doing causing rejection of much wanted e-mail. I am involved in a close-to-home example case. Last year I joined the Weatherford Chamber of Commerce and came up with a need to send e-mail to the Chamber Director. Yup! At first my e-mail was rejected as spam. So I hand carried a copy of my first e-mail the few blocks away to the Chamber office. The problem is since corrected. The Chamber people decided I am not a rascal spammer. :-)
First - Happy 2003 to all my fine readers! My last post was on November 18, 2002. Suffice it to say I got very busy and I was further distracted by a computer upgrade that has not gone smoothly, but is gradually "getting there." I am using my backup computer for over a month now.
With a little Web searching I find that Spam luncheon meat is just two years older than me - the first can was produced by George Hormel & Co. in 1937 (it was invented in 1936.) Spam was a new "treat" of its time and I see it now as a forerunner of the many "convenience foods" of today. My mom often served Spam in various dishes and sandwiches, and I still like Spam. And - Oh Boy! Was it really good in the World War II era C-Ration kits when eating in a foxhole during Army ROTC field training in 1959 at Ft. Hood, Texas. In one case a rattlesnake tried to share the Spam. But that is another story. ;-)
And I guess I am not the only Spam fan - the six billionth can of Spam was produced by Hormel Company in Austin, Minnesota in July 2002.
Now to e-mail spam. I recently found a website to my liking - www.word-detective.com - and there I find the evolution of the word meaning of spam from "spiced ham, a.k.a. Spam," to spam as computer jargon for crashing a computer by overloading it with too much data, to an incident in 1994 involving two lawyers;the two lawyers, named Canter and Siegal, dumped obnoxious ads into every usenet discussion group on the internet. "The resulting ruckus popularized an expanded sense of the computer jargon use of spam - it became a slang term meaning "dumping unwanted and/or provocative junk all over the place."
The full www.word-detective.com explanation for spam is found at:
<http://www.word-detective.com/061300.html#spam>
In closing, I find interest in the trend of Internet servers providing filters to keep e-mail spam out of customer e-mail mailboxes - but in so doing causing rejection of much wanted e-mail. I am involved in a close-to-home example case. Last year I joined the Weatherford Chamber of Commerce and came up with a need to send e-mail to the Chamber Director. Yup! At first my e-mail was rejected as spam. So I hand carried a copy of my first e-mail the few blocks away to the Chamber office. The problem is since corrected. The Chamber people decided I am not a rascal spammer. :-)