The Big Six O

60 YEARS LATER

2007-05-05T12:06:00.000-04:00

Here's a recent picture of me standing next to a pre-war Plymouth. It's probably a 1939 or 1940 model. If anyone can identify the year, please reply. There's another photo of me standing next to a pre-war Plymouth. It was taken in 1946 when I was a year or so old, toddling around in a diaper and my mother took the shot when I stopped next to our family car. I'm trying to find the photo so I can scan it an put it online with this one for comparison.

Resurrection

2007-05-02T20:50:00.000-04:00

Pluffmud here...

I've been away for quite some time (almost a year). In that time, Google aquired Blogger (which I was unaware of) so I had to get a Google userid before I could log on and restart this blog. I was able to recover all my past posts (whether good or bad) and they are available for viewing.

Now to catch up...

I still haven't retired. Maybe this year, who knows.
I changed my avatar to Alfred E. Newman. Anyone who remembers Howdy Doody, Mickey Mouse Club, and Davy Crockett's coon skin cap should know who The "What-Me Worry" Kid of Mad Magazine fame is.

2006-01-19T12:02:00.000-05:00

PLUFFMUD HERE...

I'm a Democrat and sometimes I wonder "WHY, FOR GOD SAKES???". Dubya was definitely beatable in the last election, but Kerry did everything humanly possible to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. And now we have ....

1. The dumb and dumber show at the Judge Alito confirmation hearings - First you have Chuck Schumer from New York looking like a used car salesman trying to unload a lemon and then you have ole Teddy from Massachusetts with a head the size of Guatemala ranting and raving about some organization Judge Alito belongs to at Princeton. Now it appears Teddy belongs to a mens' club that excludes women. He did the old two-step and said that, even though he pays dues, he doesn't know anything about the organization! I guess what really bothers me is that people like Ted Kennedy, Howard "Mad Dog" Dean and others represent we Democrats to the rest of the world. It just sets my teeth on edge every time Teddy says anything about morality, legality, or sensibility.

2. Then Al Gore, in a speech the other day, says that the Bush #2 administration is the worst ever. Although I agree with him, he's a loser, a bore, and someone who should just go away.

Look folks, the Republicans are in deep trouble; the White House won't respond to questions about Abramoff and cronies meetings with people in the administration, Republicans on Capitol Hill are trying to give away the money they took from this uberlobbyist, Ken DeLay had to resign from his speaker of the house position, people (troops and Iraqi citizens) keep dying in Iraq. AND, the Democrats couldn't win an elections if it were held tomorrow!

Wake up you guys! Keep hammering away at the administration and, for God Sakes, get some better examples of Democratic leadership out there. And for any of you conserative Republicans who might accidently stumble across this.....

IT'S CALLED BEING THE LOYAL OPPOSITION, NOT UNAMERICAN!

15 Minutes

2006-01-18T13:09:00.000-05:00

There's an improv group (pictured above) called 15 MINUTES who perform mainly in the San Francisco Bay Area. They also performed at last year's Providence Rhode Island Improv Festival and will be featured at an uncoming festival in Raleigh, NC.

They are very accomplished doing improv which is very difficult to do. My connection to them is my son, Craig, 2nd from the left in the picture above. If you are ever in the area, log on to their website, find out where they are playing, and check them out. I promise, you won't be sorry.

Fifteen minutes of comedy...then we get kinda sleepy

KING KONG

2006-01-15T16:37:00.000-05:00

Saw King Kong today. The special effects were unbelievable, but the movie was way too long. About 1/3 of the “Skull Island” action could have been edited out without leaving out any of the story. And, who was responsible for casting Jack Black?!?! I’ve enjoyed him in other things, but he just was way out of place here.

Let’s see… $12.50 for 2 matinee tickets, $!8.00 for 2 large popcorns and 2 small sodas. Worth it??? Yeah… I’m glad I saw it on the bid screen and I will probably buy the wide screen DVD for myHiDef viewing at home.

The Pats Are Dead

2006-01-15T00:17:00.000-05:00

Well, no 3peat for the Pats!

Good news and bad news.... I'm glad they lost, but they lost to the Broncos, #2 on my least favorite NFL team list(Dallas, America's team is #1). I'm from the San Francisco Bay Area so the reason is obvious.

Bye...

I'm Still Alive!

2006-01-14T22:51:00.000-05:00

A lot has happened since my last blog...
Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years...
I hope everyone enjoyed these holidays.

I got an IPOD Nano from my wife for Christmas and I love it! Mine is the 2Gig model and I've used a little over 1Gig so far with about 2 hundred songs, a couple dozen pictures, and 3 or 4 podcasts. I love the convenience. I hook up my pod to my laptop and iTunes downloads any new songs or podcast updates that I might have.

I don't like, however, the EARBUDS! I believe that are damaging people's hearing. Being 60, my hearing has taken a beating over the years from bursts of static from earphones I wore during much of my military career to listening to too much loud Rock & Roll during the 60's and 70's. I replaced the IPOD buds to a set that has an adjustable frame for each bud so that I don't have to push them too far down into my ear canal. They are a little better, but I would really like to get a pair of ear phones that cover the ear (mini size that don't fully cover the ears). I've found a couple that I like, but they cost as much as the IPOD! Any suggestions?

More about the Pledge of Allegiance

2005-10-05T10:37:00.000-04:00

I forgot to mention that in December, 1942 the U.S. government changed the salute performed during the recitation of the pledge. Prior to this, rather than placing ones hand over ones heart, you thrust you arm out straight in the direction of the flag. See the photo to the left. I wonder why the government decided to change the salute that had been used since 1892 as war was raging against Nazi Germany...

...Under God

2005-10-05T06:34:00.000-04:00

How many of you out there remember saying the Pledge of Allegance without the words "under God"? I do. President Eisenhower added these words in 1954 through the urging of the Hearst Newspapers, the American Legion and The Knights of Columbus. So any of you born before 1950 recited the "godless" pledge also.

The Pledge was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a socialist Baptist minister and school board chairman. The pledge was first recited publicly on Columbus Day that same year by school children across the country.

Bellamy's original pledge is quite different in substance and meaning from what we are familar with today.

"I pledge allegiance to MY flag and the Republic for which it stands; one nation indivisible, with liberty and Justice for all."

Two things stand out. One, obviously, being the absence of any reference to God. The second is that Bellamy's pledge is not to the flag, but to my flag. The idea of a pledge started back in 1889 as a way to teach children patriotism and to further the americanization of immigrants. To me, this indicates that the pledge was originally intended to be an oath not a prayer.

My flag was changed to the flag of the United States in 1923 because various patriotic organizations felt that foreign-born children might think of their mother country's flag rather that the Stars and Stripes. In 1924, of America was added. And, finally, under God was added in 1954.

So, what's all the fuss about now? Many adults in my generation and all those still alive in my parents' generation never said the "under God" pledge at school. The pledge was part of the patriotic classroom trilogy; the flag, the pledge of allegiance, and a portrait of George Washington. Whether we said under God or not, it was all part of being taught to love our country.

Personally, it doesn't bother me that under God is in the pledge. BUT, I can understand how people who don't believe in God or whose concept of God is different from yours or mine might be offended. Those mentioned above who were responsible for adding those "two little words" were short-sighted, but to their defense, acting appropriately for the times. In the early '50s, most people couldn't tell you where Iran or Iraq were. Most didn't know Islam from Hinduism. And the majority thought God was white and male.

Should under God be taken out of the pledge or, as some might say, restored to its pre-1954 condition? That's a tough question. It's been said that you can never go home again. I believe it should stay in the pledge, but either way, the fight in the media, the courts, and public opinion will take its toll on the esteem of the United States around the world. It will again highlight how devisive our society still is.

Catch Up

2005-10-02T20:56:00.000-04:00

well, its been quite some time since I've sent a new blog; lots has happened and I'd like catch up.

My 60th birthday passed with no earth-shaking catastrophes occurring. I've accepted the inevitable and moved on. My celebration was low-key; my wife, good food and wine. I bought myself a laptop as a birthday present and now have 2 desk tops and the laptop working on a wireless g network with a cable highspeed internet connection. Isn't technology grand?!!!

Hurricane Katrina and Rita really destroyed the gulf coasts of Texas, LA, and Mississippi. What happened to those people is truly tragic and the lack of immediate response on all levels of government is a disgrace. The whole situation
illustrates the problem with political appointees in charge of disaster recovery, etc. Pay experts to do the job and appoint cronies to positions where they can do no harm!

More later, time to watch Rome on HBO HDTV.

Side Trip

2005-05-06T15:13:00.000-04:00

Pluffmudder here...

Yesterday I mentioned that everyone in the neighborhood where I spent the first few year of life believed that it was their responsibility to watch out for and care for all the children living there. Today, most people don't want anyone to touch their child whether he or she needs tending to or "redirected". By the same token, most people don't want to get involved with other people's children.

There was a time (oh God!!! The old guy is going to tell how great it was in the old days) when most neighborhoods whether in a small town or a large city were like villages. The 3 or 4 blocks around your house was your stomping grounds. People wanted their territory to be safe and secure. They wanted the children to be free from harm and to behave.

Second Hand Memories

2005-05-05T14:36:00.000-04:00

From birth to around 5 years of age, our memories are all second hand.

What I know about my existence prior to my 5th birthday consists entirely of what I've been told, read about, or saw in photographs.
I know my father and grandfather built our house with a $5,000 GI loan. I've seen photographs of me toddling around it with our pre-war Plymouth in the background. At around 3 years old, my mother said I somehow got my arm caught in the ringer of an old-style ringer washing machine. She also told me that she knew it was time to wean me from the bottle when I toddled into the living room holding two bottles in my arms and one by the nipple with my teeth. I had opened the fridge myself.

"It takes a village" is not a novel idea (no apologies to Hillary Clinton). On the street where my father built our house lived a mixture of young families and older empty nesters. All were happy the war was over and were trying to get their lives back to some sense of normalcy. All the small children (the baby boom was in full swing) were watched over by everyone. Cuts and scrapes were taken care of by whomever was around. Cookies and Kool-aid were handed out by all. Parents weren't worried about "sickos" or perverts. Television was still a novelty and most warm summer evenings were spent outside on the lawn or front porch after supper. My father said you could always hear the radio playing softly from someone's open window; usually "Fibber McGee & Molly", "The Lone Ranger", or "Gunsmoke".

How it all started...

2005-05-04T09:24:00.000-04:00

Homecoming GI - Saturday Evening Post Cover May 26, 1945

I was born on this day at 6:30 in the morning. Nazi Germany surrendered in April effectively ending the war in Europe, but the war with Japan still raged on in the Pacific. My father, a Msgt. in the army, had been lucky enough to ship back from the Aleutian Islands in mid 1944. He was stationed at Camp Chaffy in Little Rock, AR as a drill instructor training new recruits.

I was born in Blytheville, a small farming town in the northeast part of the state about 100 miles or so from Little Rock. Both my mother and father had relatives nearby and my mom stayed with her parents during my father's overseas duty. I've been told that my birth was normal and unremarkable, but my father had to practically go AWOL to get to Blytheville to see me.

His company was on bivouac and wasn't allowed to leave the area. He was summoned to see the company commander who told him about my birth. The commander, a Captain who had known my dad ever since their National Guard days before WWII, asked him if he intended to go to Blytheville even though he was ordered not to. My Dad replied that he did. The commander then said he had better issue him a "special pass" so the MPs wouldn't pick him up.

Boomer! Boomer?

2005-05-04T06:37:00.000-04:00

According to Wikipedia, a baby boomer is anyone born between 1943 and 1960...

According to Aginghipsters.com website, a baby boomer is anyone born between 1946 and 1964.

Well, which is it? Am I a boomer or not? Perhaps, I'm a pre-boom, at the end of the war baby!

What's a Pluffmudder?

2005-05-03T16:53:00.000-04:00

Before I get too far along, I probably should explain what a "Pluffmudder" is.

Charleston and it's environs, particularly Mt. Pleasant, are situated near salt marshes which are grassy areas growing in "plough" or pluff mud. This mud is a dark, grayish color and is of a consistency somewhere between chocolate pudding and toothpaste.

At low tide, when the mud is exposed, the smell can be rather unique, particularly during the summer months when the humidity is that of a steam room.

Ergo... to my way of thinking, anyone who lives around pluff mud is a pluffmudder.

Oh No

2005-05-03T11:19:00.000-04:00

I reread my post of yesterday afternoon and, I must admit, it does sound a lot like sour grapes. Being dispassionate and subjective about one's own musings is quite difficult, BUT... it appears that I do have a couple of issues to deal with.

Well, back to work. More later.

Reflections

2005-05-02T14:19:00.000-04:00

... Just finished lunch (at work) and been thinking about "things". I work at a digital printing company and all of my coworkers are younger (make that a lot younger) than I. The owners (husband and wife) are older, but the only other 60-something worker had a heart attack and died last October, 2004.

I don't have a problem working with younger people and to paraphrase Ronald Reagan's reply to Walter Mondale during their debate several years ago, "I don't hold their youth and inexperience against them". I've been working with/for younger people for several years now ever since I took early retirement from Pacific Bell in 1991 and started consulting. I've always been given a lot of respect by my younger coworkers because we were professionals (computer programming, system analysis, database admin) and I had a lot of experience and had helped develop many of the systems and processes we worked on. - I've since quit consulting and have worked at the printing company as web developer, dba, etc. for the last 4 years while I prepare for full retirement. I hope to fully retire next year -

The folks I work with now are really not professionals (no special education or degree req'd) and aren't impressed by experience and knowledge. They see only gray hair and wrinkles and they ask for assistance or for an opinion only regarding something they are too young to remember. Am I insulted? I don't know. Sometimes it bothers me, but for the most part, I just let it slide. The other day, I was talking to someone and they called me "GRANDPA". My reaction to this caught every one off guard including myself. I told him, in no uncertain terms, that I wasn't his grandfather and that I'm too young to be his grandfather. I also told him that I considered his remark as an insult and informed him that he was not to call me that again. He apologized later on which I accepted. I have grown children who could make me a grandfather, but that hasn't happened yet. Being a grandfather isn't the problem, but being called that by someone younger and with a little bit too much smugness is.

Back to work...

Gearing Up

2005-05-02T12:28:00.000-04:00

Well...

This month I'll turn 60 years of age. People tell me that I should look forward to this day with a sense of accomplishment and pride. I've been trying to take their advice, but I'm afraid I'm looking toward my birthday with a certain amount of trepidation and gloom.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not ashamed of my age nor depressed about turning 60, but when I say that I'll be 60, it has a certain air of finality about it. It sounds so much older than 59.

I'm not expressing my feelings very well and that's why I've starting this blog. It'll give me a means of venting, looking inward, and, hopefully, getting some feedback from those of you out there who have already passed this hurdle (or milestone if you will) or are approaching it as I am.

I'll be updating almost daily. Check back often and please respond with your comments.