Thursday, October 24, 2024
Wandering Through Germany…
Thursday, December 28, 2023
You Gotta Have Heart
Sunday, February 5, 2023
Sending the Old Man Home
Sending the Old Man Home
My
father died last week. But I don’t really grieve for him.
He was
diagnosed five years ago as potentially developing colon cancer and the surgeon
wanted to remove it but dad wouldn’t let him. Said he’d seen a close friend go
through it along with chemotherapy and radiation, living just barely, sick all
the time, and made it for eighteen months. He decided that whatever time he had
left, he was going to live it in his own way and go for quality over quantity.
It’s
probably a judgement call on the part of the official but I’d say he got both.
He
died at 90 and was in pretty good health, and damn good spirits, until about a
week before he passed. He was married to the same woman, my mom, for over
sixty-seven years and while they had their spats they were incredibly cute
together; always holding hands when walking together and professing their love
for each other constantly. (It looked like they weren’t happy because they’d
both become considerably deaf and when you’re shouting at someone, it’s tough
to sound endearing.)
He
spent much of his working life, over 35 years, as a bricklayer. Some folks
would call him a mason but he always called himself a bricklayer. If you’ve
never seen one work, it’s worth watching up close. Bricklayers move heavy
objects, brick and block and mortar, and place them with amazing precision to
create walls, basements, buildings, homes, pathways, streets, patios – all of
which will last for hundreds of years. When a master bricklayer is at work,
there is no wasted motion, no extra effort is expended, and they create something
amazing in an almost lyrical fashion. In my youth, I could watch him for hours
and it was incredible. For about 8 years, he laid 1,500 bricks a day for 5 days
a week; that’s nearly a half million bricks a year at about 4.5 pounds each –
2,250,000 pounds of brick and block and another half million pounds of mortar!
And that was just in the 8 years – he did the job for almost 40.
He did
it because he found the work fulfilling and he could get paid for it. He bought
a house in Arlington VA, raised three sons, put food on the table, owned a
truck and a car. Made a life. He didn’t make a lot of money (I was earning more
at 20 years old than he was at 45) but he made enough. And when it was time to
“knock off” for the day, he could go home and watch TV, read the evening
newspaper, read a book from the library, or just sit and talk.
I
admire that. A lot.
At
fifty years of age, he went into business with my uncle buying into some
restaurant franchises called Po Folks and moved to Columbia SC. Probably the
boldest thing I ever saw him do. They ran them for about 5 years until my uncle
ran off with a hostess from one store, absconded with the company funds
(although it was never proven) and they had to get out of the business. He went
right back to laying brick for another eight or so years before retiring.
After
he retired, mom got him a job so she wouldn’t have to put out a contract on
him.
He
became a courier for a chain of optical stores in Columbia, working part time
five days a week. The employees all got to know him as “Mr. Earl” and he became
the unofficial mayor of the company. His job evolved into the official hugger;
he would roll up to a store with the mail and all the young women would come
out and hug him and talk to him for a few minutes before getting back to work.
May have been the greatest retirement job I’ve ever heard of and, we’re
convinced it kept him alive for years more than he should have been.
He
knew everyone in the organization and everyone knew him. He kidded the founder
of the company that he expected a gold watch when he made it to twenty-five
years. When that man passed away from ALS, one of the last things he told his
son before he left was to “be sure Earl gets his watch.” The company held a
special event to celebrate his 25th anniversary and present him with
an engraved gold watch. He wore it proudly until the day he passed.
Five
weeks ago, we convinced him to retire. We were concerned about his driving and
that he might do harm to someone else and put the company in a bad spot. He retired
on December 31st. The send off they gave him was nothing short of
amazing; each store took the time to shower him with gifts, pictures, and, of
course, many hugs. He talked about it for weeks!
Three
weeks later, he took a turn for the worse and wound up in the hospital where he
refused treatment they were proposing, opting to go home and enter hospice. For
the next few days, he entertained guests at the house who came to hug on Mr.
Earl and tell him how much they loved him and how much of a difference he made
in their work and, more importantly, their lives. He told me, over and over
again, that he couldn’t believe how much love he was getting from all these
people. He kept saying, “I was just being me. What was the big deal?”
You
were the big deal, Pop. The real deal.
Dad
appreciated a good joke, a wise crack, a sharp needling comment, the newspaper
and its accompanying crossword puzzle, a good meal, and a glass of iced tea on
a hot summer day. He was a veteran of the Korean War in the Army and supported our veterans at every opportunity. He was a real Christian and believed he’d see us in the afterlife.
The night before he died, I mentioned that if he got to the other side and it was
a bit hotter than he was expecting that he should mention he was related to me
and at least he’d get a good seat.
And
maybe a glass of iced tea.
Rest
well, Pop. You earned it.
The Happy Couple on their 65th Anniversary Earl Keller 1932-2023 |
Wednesday, December 22, 2021
Ten years? How can that be?
Today, December
22 2021, is the tenth anniversary of my first blog post.
In that time, I've
written seventy nine posts, this is the eightieth, and received hundreds of
comments and over 57,000 people have read what I've written! (Admittedly, my
first thought has always been, "What is wrong with all of those
people?" Because I don't have that many friends. Perhaps they're bots. Oh
well.)
Averaging eight posts
per year, or one every six weeks, is surprising; I've always felt as though I
wasn't posting that often and I suppose it's been helped by several years when
I turned very ambitious and cranked out content every few weeks. Most of those
received an abundance of comments and views, too, so perhaps regularity
increases quality - at least in my writing. (The current regularity is not
changing any time soon; I'm still employed full-time and find it hard to make
the time.)
I've even written, or
started, another dozen or so posts that I ended up trashing and/or never
finishing. Why? They were either unkind, uninteresting, no longer important (as
fast as the news cycle is, this should come as no surprise) or I simply
couldn't tie the ends together enough to make a sensible post. I suspect some
of you are thinking, "That's at least half of the stuff he
published!" The important thing about this is that most of them were unkind
and I went back a day or so later and looked at the with fresh eyes and decided
that the chance of hurting someone was too great.
I have a rule that I
never shave or send an email when I'm angry. Probably a good idea to add
"create a blog post" to that list, as well.
So, what's different
from ten years ago?
We've gone from a
slightly divided country that had elected its first president of color to
electing an individual of questionable morals and values who made multiple
stupid decisions in the role that have lead to much further divisiveness to
electing a former VP (who was almost the vicitm of an insurrection on January
6th, 2021 begun by TFG, just before the inauguration) who is working very hard
to put the pieces back together while being blamed for everything his
predecssor did wrong. So, we're even more divided.
There are many
investigations going on about that insurrection, over 170 people have taken
plea deals and been incarcerated but the people at the top - many of whom are
Congressmen and Senators - are acting as if nothing happened. It was televised,
for goodness sake! I'm not optimistic that people will pay for this but I'm hopeful; I especially hope it isn't too late.
A pandemic struck the
world about two years ago and, despite creating the most effective vaccines
ever made, we're still in the middle of it - facing another rising wave as I
type this despite having three of the most effective vaccines ever created. In this
country, it's due to the fact that there is a strong anti-vaccine cult, started
by TFG's followers and TV pundits, who refuse to get it. (This despite nearly
all of the leaders got it!) That means that almost 40% of our population is
unvaccinated and that gives this virus the chance to morph into something new
and more virulent and, potentially, more deadly. “Because I’m an American and I
have my rights! You can’t force me to do something intelligent that helps
everyone!”
In addition, the
poorer countries of the world haven’t been able to get a decent vaccination
program going and each of them becomes another Petri dish for the virus.
What else?
My bride and I moved
from out in the country to a city house about four years ago. I love it! We
walk everywhere and the lifestyle is so much to my liking that I really don’t
like driving out to the mall. The only downside is that cycling is more
difficult for me as country roads (my favorite ride) or the Capital Trail
almost require driving to them. I’m figuring it out this year, in order to keep
my sanity.
My kids have all graduated
from various institutions and are gainfully employed. More importantly, I’m proud
of every one of them and the adults they’ve become. They’re far more together
than I was at their respective ages!
I began collecting
bourbon about five years ago; about the time TFG got into office. (Coincidence?
I think not!) While my blood pressure has dropped in that time, my collection
has blossomed and mixology has become one of my hobbies.
I still play golf but
not as often as I’d like. I still play tennis, also not as often as I’d like. I
guess that’s all driven by my march to retirement which is just over the
horizon by several years. I’m looking forward to having time to do exactly what
I want to do, when I want to do it. Sounds like nirvana to me!
Maybe I’ll find time
to write more blogposts, too!
Meanwhile, that so
much for reading all of my raves and rants. While I write them for me, it means
something that others care to read them!
Here’s to the next 10
years!
Tuesday, October 12, 2021
The Value of Common Sense
The Choice!
The Shot!
The company I work for recently mandated vaccines for nearly every
employee. Everyone has until sometime in December to provide proof of
vaccination, or an accepted exemption for health or religious reasons, or face
the loss of their jobs.
As you might imagine, there is reaction to this.
I don’t know exact numbers but if we follow national trends, there
are probably a quarter of the company employees that are unvaccinated – that’s
a disturbing figure but certainly reflects the current state of the country.
In any case, I suspect it to serve as motivation for many members
of the team to go get a vaccination. I mean, there are some who’ve said, “I
just haven’t had the time to go do it, yet.” (This is even though the company
has allowed for 4 hours of paid leave, gratis, to go get it and sick leave if
the vaccine makes you ill enough to miss work. And a $150 bonus for getting it. So, sure, you've been busy.)
So, that means we’ll see an uptick in vaccinations very soon.
But what about the rest?
I’ve heard some say that it’s their right to choose and that the
company is taking away their choice.
That’s not true. They still have the choice to vaccinate or not.
Like all choices, there are consequences. If you choose to remain unvaccinated,
you’ll no longer be able to work here – that’s the consequence. (If you choose
to drive drunk, your consequence could be a night in jail, loss of driving
privileges, or causing someone’s death including your own. Choices have
consequences!)1st stage of drunkeness - Witty and Charming
So, why is a multi-billion-dollar company doing this? The uproar
that is being created is big and it’s a distraction. I mean, why do that?
Well, the Biden Administration has mandated that all Federal
Contractors must be vaccinated. We do a lot of business with them and we are
the distributor of record, so it makes sense to do it. After all, choices have
consequences and we couldn’t very well just give up all that business, could
we?
In addition, we have a large investment in our employees; they’re
considered to be our greatest asset. Requiring vaccinations for all is the most
viable method for protecting them against the ravages of this virus.
In addition, the science and data provide irrefutable evidence
that the best way to survive the virus is to vaccinate and that the vaccine is
safe for damn near everyone. Does science change? Yes! When it does, it doesn’t
mean that what we knew before was wrong, just that we’ve learned more which
changes outcomes. Part of that evidence is that more people vaccinated means
fewer opportunities for variants of the virus to occur, thus reducing spread
and tamping down the damage – even to those who refuse to vaccinate!
Finally, it’s the right thing to do. For the company. For the
country. For the world.
Just get the damn shot!
Friday, May 21, 2021
Buying Golf Clubs – It’s a whole new world!
Background
I’m a golfer. Have been for over fifty years. I took up the game at a very young age, around 7, despite the fact no one in my family played it. From the first time I hit a golf ball, I was hooked. The game was extremely important to me until I was a in my 30s when I began to focus more on my career. During that time, I managed to get my handicap down to as low as a 3 which would have put me near the top 5% of golfers who play and keep a handicap. In order to keep that level of play, one needs to work on one’s game and I was unable to do so. Today, I’m not very good and if I kept a handicap, it would be around 20 or so. Meaning, I suck.
That
doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the game! There are few things that feel as good as
perfectly struck golf shot and I still hit those on occasion. And the
camaraderie of playing with friends in the outdoors just adds to it. In the
end, though, it’s the game that keeps us coming back for the torture of badly
struck shots just so we can experience that perfectly hit feeling!
In
over fifty years of playing, I’ve never really been a big “gear guy.” I know
some people who buy and switch putters like empty beers, who buy a new set of
clubs every year or two. I’ve owned three sets of clubs in my life (one was a
starter set that I had for about 4 years) and have played with 5 putters in all
that time.
The
first top quality set of clubs I bought were a set of Wilson Staff that I
purchased as Wilson Staff 1974
a junior in high school in 1974. (I did replace the woods a few
years later.) I used thisFrancis Ouimet
set until 2001. My buddy Clyde used to refer to them
as the “Francis Ouimet” signature set. (Non-golfers will want to know that Mr.
Ouimet was a US Open champion back in 1913. Since he was an amateur and never
turned pro, he wouldn’t have had a set of clubs with his name on them, making
this an excellent joke!)
In
2001 I purchased a set of Wilson Fat Shaft irons from a shop called “Second
Swing” that specialized in gently used equipment; remember those people who buy
newDig the Fat Shaft!
clubs every year? Yeah. I’ve used those clubs for the past 20 years as they
were state of the art back then and actually added some distance to my game.
Back
in March, I took my first lesson in over 25 years and it became immediately
apparent that my clubs were no longer my friends. They’re heavy, the shafts
don’t really fit my swing anymore and my golf muscles aren’t what they used to
be. Frankly, most of my muscles aren’t what they used to be, except for the
legs from all the cycling over the last decade. Couple all that with new
technology and it became apparent that I should go shopping.
Always
get a recommendation
At
dinner with a friend a few weeks later, he started telling me about getting
fitted for new clubs. Mac and I have played golf together dozens of times over
the 30 years of our friendship and his son, Christopher, is a top echelon
amateur (plays in national events) so I greatly respect his opinion.
He
told me that he’d had great luck with Mulligan’s Pro Shop which is based at a
driving range, west of town. Matt and Jay, the owners, were highly skilled at
fitting clubs and that there was no charge for the fitting process. He invited
me to come to the range with him one weeknight to meet them and see what they
had to offer.
I
should point out that it’s possible to order golf clubs on the internet of the
same quality that I’m talking about and, generally, at a discount of some kind.
The issue is, the fit. Unless you know exactly what to order, you’ll be using
clubs that are unlikely to fit you properly. There are literally dozens of
shaft flexes, weights, lies, and lofts and they all vary by manufacturer’s
model! Golf swings are as unique as golfers and unless you’re fitted by a
professional, you could be making the game more difficult to play. As this is
probably the last set of clubs I’m going to buy (see above) I’m going to make
sure I’ve got the right ones!
I met
Mac to hit balls a few days later. He was trying out his new Ping irons and
invited me to hit a few just to see what I thought. Even as we’re different
height, weight, and swing I could tell immediately how much easier his clubs
were to hit.
Afterward,
he introduced me to Matt and we chatted about what they did. He said they’d be
glad to spend time with me but to be sure and make an appointment for a proper
fitting after I’d hit clubs of different brands to determine what I liked and
to start whinnying down the selections. I was welcome to come anytime that they
were open to try what they had.
Fast
forward two weeks and MB and I are back at the range and Matt is putting
together test clubs for me to hit from six manufacturers. This first step is all
about initial look and feel of the clubs. Let me explain.
When a
golfer looks down at the ball at address just prior to the shot, the club is
also in view as they aim. If the clubhead doesn’t fit the player’s eye (looks
too fat, too thin, the score lines look weird, I can’t aim it very well, etc)
that puts the shot at risk immediately because hitting a golf ball is a
proactive rather than reactive move. One must be committed to it or the shot
will rarely come off.
If the
look is okay, the feel of the hit is the next critical element. I don’t know
how to describe this very well except to say that two different brands of clubs
will have a slight, almost imperceptible, difference in how they feel when
striking the ball. If it’s a mis-hit, the difference can be jarring; my Fat
Shafts when mis-hit in cold weather will leave my hands humming like a door
chime. When struck perfectly, there is still a difference and each player has a
feel that they prefer for feedback for the next shot.
Matt
returned with clubs from Titleist, Callaway, Mizuno, Ping, Wilson, and Taylor
Made. I was like a kid in a candy store! I took the time to hit shots with each
of the clubs and came away with some winners and some losers.
Titleist T300 |
Mizuno JPX |
Wilson D7 |
Titleist, Mizuno, and Wilson all fit my eye and had the feel I was looking for and it was apparent from the first swing. Callaway, Ping, and Taylor Made all had a good look to my eye but I could tell fairly quickly that I didn’t really like the feel compared to the others. (That said, if I were properly fitted with these three, it might have been a different story but with so many to choose from, why force yourself into something? It’s not like I’m getting a contract to play their clubs! I’m paying for these.)
After
hitting shots for about an hour, I was ready to make the next step – sign up
for a fitting. I went back inside and told Matt which clubs I wanted to test
and fit for and made an appointment a few weeks later to do just that.
Time
to Get Fit!
Last
Monday was a big day. MB and I played with two friends in the Quinn Classic, a
fundraiser for ALS, at Brandermill Country Club. I hadn’t played the course in
at least 25 years and realized that it had gotten narrower over the years.
While we had fun, it wasn’t a very impressive display of golf prowess. My
highlights included two excellent bunker shots and a couple of par saving putts.
Those are hardly spectacular when playing a scramble format, where everyone
hits the same shot and the team takes the best one and all move to that spot
and do it again until you hole out. When your best result is in a bunker, you
suck. Fortunately, we had low expectations and it was a beautiful day to play
golf with friends!
The
evening was far more rewarding. I got to the shop at 5:00 and Matt was ready
for me. I told him which clubs I was interested in fitting and he sent me out
to the range to warm up.
After a
few minutes, he showed up carrying one club with a small plastic tube filled with electronics attached to the
shaft, just below the grip. This tool is called a “Shaft Maximizer” and it’s
designed to provide data around your swing to recommend the proper shaft for
your clubs. He had me hit a half dozen or so shots with it and then looked at
the readout on an Ipad. I was surprised to find that my swing speed still
supports the use of a stiff shaft in my clubs. At my age, I was convinced that
a more flexible shaft would be better for me. We ended up agreeing to test both
as I tried out the clubs to determine what was best and he assured me that
there are multiple flexes available I could try.TrackMan
Next,
he went back in the shop and came back with clubs from my three chosen
manufacturers and the Track Man. These clubs are "fitting clubs" that with a twist
of a special tool, the fitter can adjust the length and lie of the clubs adding
as much as a half inch and +/- 2 degrees of change to lie as well.
Track
Man has revolutionized golf on many fronts, especially in equipment selection
and fitting. Using “radar technology” it provides 26 parameters of data on each
shot including clubhead speed, ball speed, launch angle, angle of attack, ball
spin rate, and it shows a 3D flight of the ball! (By the way, it works for
baseball, tennis, all kind of sports where a moving ball is used.) I had never
seen one in action before and, as a bit of a data geek, was fascinated.
We began
the session by my hitting each club about ten times to lay down some basic data
and compare the performance to each other. The initial result showed that the
Wilson club would need to be fitted with a 3rd party shaft which
would add a layer of complexity and cost that I didn’t want to indulge, so that
one was right out.
The
other two clubs, Mizuno and Titleist, were compared for another ten shots and
the results were clear. The Mizuno I was able to hit farther but not
consistently and this resulted in a bigger dispersion of shots, as much as
twenty-three yards in distance, and the mishits were farther off-line, too. Looks
like the Titleist is our winner!
The
next step was dialing in the fit. Jay came out with a couple of different
shafts and I hit a series of shots while he changed shafts and it became clear
that the softest stiff shaft was perfect to get the most consistent ball
flight, spin rate, and dispersion. It was interesting that while I couldn’t feel
a difference, it was very measurable. I then hit another couple of dozen shots
with that shaft while Jay adjusted the lie from normal to flat, going back and
forth several times. With that, we came to realize that a proper fit for me was
one degree flat. We also discussed an increase in grip size, something I’d
forgotten over the years. Back in the day, technicians would add two extra
layers of tape under the grip to make it easier to get my hands on the grip in
comfort. This was a great catch on his part, all due to watching my hand action
very carefully during the fitting.
The
final fit had me hitting another dozen shots to get a final dispersion pattern
to understand what the final clubs would do for me. The difference on screen
was remarkable; the new clubs, in addition to being easier to hit, will be far
more accurate. That should translate to better scores and more fun! I was
impressed and excited by the possibilities!
Order
up!
Jay
and I went back into the shop to complete the transaction. He wrote up the
order for Titleist for a set of T300 irons, 4-9 iron, pitching wedge, and gap
wedge, and charged my credit card. Once that was done, he immediately called to
place the order and let me know the current fulfillment time was six to seven weeks.
(I knew that beforehand, so it wasn’t a surprise.)
I thanked
Jay and Matt for their time and expertise. The fitting took about ninety
minutes and including the prior hitting session, it was close to three hours.
That’s real professional service, in my opinion.
I told
them I’d be back later in the summer for a new driver and fairway woods!
Wednesday, April 28, 2021
What are we going to do?
We are now 100 days into a new Administration. As promised, a pandemic response bill has been passed getting money out to the states and to people who desperately need it. The vaccines that are proving to stop Covid 19 dead in its tracks
are available to anyone over age 16. (Fact – over 88 million people fully
vaccinated and 6,000 cases of Covid among those people and not one death. That’s
99.9932% effective!) President Joe Biden has an approval rating of >59%,
something his predecessor never even got close to achieving.
Countries
around the world are excited that America is back and are welcoming us back to
negotiating tables, looking to us for leadership, and are hopeful again after
one of the darkest years in the past 100.Vaccines save lives!
And
yet…
Almost
25% of Americans have stated that they “won’t get the vaccine.” Despite its
success and its effectiveness, they’ve decided that having to get it violates
their rights. That it will “change their DNA.” That they “don’t know what’s in
it.” That it’s a “government project to plant a chip so we can be tracked.”
That it “hasn’t been proven to be safe, yet.” That “vaccines take years to
create, how could this one be ready in months?” That “the pandemic is a hoax,
so I don’t need it.”
I wish
I were making these up. I’ve personally heard people say these things.
For
the world to rid itself of this virus, we need to reach herd immunity and the
percentages I’ve seen for how many people must be vaccinated go from 70%-90%.
In other words, we’re likely to be dealing with this virus for years instead of
months, because some people believe their rights trump the rights of everyone
else. (Pun intended.)
Vaccines
work, they’re incredibly safe and remarkably effective. They’re the reason we
don’t have polio, diphtheria, whooping cough, and a host of other diseases today.
They’re one of the reasons that the life expectancy in the world has doubled in
the last century. Doubled as in gone from mid-40s to upper-80s.
I
guess we should be thankful that more people are educated than ever before or
we’d really have some issues on this, huh? (I wish I had an answer for these
people but I struggle to cure stupidity.)
And still…
Police
kill, on average, three people per day. An inordinate percentage of them are
people of color. Rarely does the officer that fired the shot face any kind of
charges as, more frequently, the killing is “justified” in the course of duty.Stop killing people!
(Yes,
I know that Derek Chauvin was found guilty in the killing of George Floyd last
week. There was video shot by a bystander showing him kneeling on the dead man’s
neck for over nine minutes, even after he’d stopped breathing. When the jury
came back with a verdict, the country was holding its collective breath for a conviction.
Why? Because that’s what happens, nearly every time! When the ratio
flips the other way, come back and talk to me about how police are being unfairly
treated.)
I’m
not advocating “defunding” the police. I’m advocating better training, money
spent on mental health services, and a culture change for those who serve. Think
it shouldn’t?
Policing
began in this country shortly after slavery stopped, during Jim Crow. Well-armed
people were hired to “bring back” workers who had skipped out of their jobs.
They were unfairly treated and “tried” and essentially put right back into
slavery in many cases. These groups of “arrestors” eventually formed police forces
after being “deputized” by the local sheriffs who were unable to keep up with
the population growth. To this day, America ensures that its police forces are
armed with the best weapons available while most other countries don’t. Google
it. France, Germany, England, Australia, Austria, Iceland, Denmark, and Finland
are all among the Top 10 police forces in the world and none of them carry
guns. (Oddly enough, citizens of those countries have tougher access to guns,
too. Wonder if there is a correlation?)
And
somehow…
There
is a percentage of the population of this country that believes this new
administration, with all the things it’s working to bring us – health and
healthcare, financial security, improved and repaired infrastructure, a safer
climate – is heading in the wrong direction.
This
is not a small percentage, either. It’s nearly 50% of the population and far more
than that in some states and areas. In other words, it’s large enough to elect
some people to positions of power in our country that can have a deleterious impact
to all the good that’s being done.
In fact,
they elected that last guy President and, to this day, a good many of them
think he’s the greatest we’ve ever had and that the election was stolen from
him. Why? Because HE said so. There is no science or logic that can change
their minds, at least none that I’ve been able to find.
So,
what are we going to do to keep our country headed in the right direction?
It's up to all of us!