Overheard at the gym this morning

Older white guy on the eliptical next to me to his friend about 10 feet away, “Mount up!” he says, pointing to CNN on the flat screen.  His friend comes closer.  “The Russians attacked Georgia.”  (Pause.)  “Not our Georgia.”

 

Thank you Starbucks

My mother is 75 years old and five feet tall. On a good day, if I keep after her to eat, she’ll weigh 102 pounds. About 30 years ago, she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Her doctor told her she would be in a wheelchair in six months and would not walk again. Through sheer, persistent faith and inner strength, she still walks, albeit slowly and somewhat awkwardly. Her house back in Leawood, Kansas is a split level, requiring mulitple trips up and down two abbreviated flights of stairs each day. She lives alone. My father died in 1982 and she never remarried. Her hearing is fading. While I was in the hospital, she made 6 trips to Nashville. At Speciality Select, she slept in a chair next to my bed. Despite her difficulty hearing, she was so atuned to me that ever time I pushed my cheek into the pad next to my head to call the nurse, she would get up to see what I needed. At Stallworth, they found her a roll-away bed to sleep on that made her more comfortable.

At some point in the last couple of years, one of her sisters had purchased for her a banana-nut muffin from Starbucks. She loved it. After I heard that she had found a treat she liked, I sent her a Starbucks card, registered it on their website and kept it charged. I wanted her to always be able to have a muffin any time she wanted.

At the Hyvee grocery store near her house, Starbucks has a kiosk just inside the front door. Over time, she fell into the habit of stopping at the kiosk at the beginning of her weekly shopping trip. She told me that if they didn’t have the banana nut mffins in the case, they would go to the back, get them and find her in the aisles and hand her a small bag with the muffins inside.

On my last trip home, I stopped by that Hyvee’s to pick up a few items for her. As I was leaving, I passed the Starbucks kiosk and thought I’d get up some muffins for my mother. When I approached the counter, I didn’t see any banana nut in the case. I asked the barista if they had any. She paused. Slowly, she said, “We have some in the freezer.” I said, “My mother comes in here all the time and gets them. I wanted to pick some up while I was here.” She visibly relaxed. “Oh,” she said, “we stock them just for her. Were you the one who was in the hospital?” Yes, I explained and gave a very brief run down of what had happened. “We were concerned about your mother when she didn’t come in for a while,” she said. (Inside, I felt awful that I had been unable to reload my mother’s Starbucks card while I was sick.) “Would you like for us to get you some muffins for her?” “Please.”

Quickly, the other barista ran to the back and brought out four, frozen banana nut muffins. She explained that my mother requests that they be individually wrapped (so she can put them in the freezer at home until she is ready to eat them). As she wrapped and bagged the muffins, I assured them that my mother was okay and that she’d be back to see them on a regular basis. They seemed genuinely pleased. I’ve now set her Starbucks card to automatically reload when it reaches a certain dollar amount. Although she usually takes two days to finish a single muffin, I want her to be able to have one any time she would like.

When I talked to her on the phone a few days ago, she expressed interest in trying a frapacino, but wanted to wait until I was there for Labor Day to give it a go. I’m trying to talk her into ordering one the next time she goes shopping. The store has a seating area up front where she could enjoy it before shopping for groceries.

Wow. My mother’s local Starbucks stocks banana nut muffins just for her. I was so impressed, when I got home, I emailed the company to relate what had just happened and to thank them for taking care of my mother. Again I say, “Thank you Starbucks!”

 

South Carolina - backwater of bigotry?

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford believes it would cost to much political capital to remove the flag of a country that no longer exists, was defeated in its only war and was created largely for the purpose of preserving human slavery from the grounds of the state capitol:

Gov. Mark Sanford said Tuesday that a new push by the NAACP to remove the Confederate flag from the grounds of South Carolina’s Statehouse won’t be a priority during his final years in office.

But, dammit !!! Somebody invited teh gays!!  South Carolina is terrified that that the state might increase tourism and receipt of tourist dollars from homosexuals.  That must be stopped.

A state employee has resigned and officials have disavowed an international advertising campaign that led to calls for an investigation of tourism posters proclaiming “South Carolina is so gay.”

Mind you, similar ads were posted for Atlanta, Boston, Las Vegas, New Orleans and Washington, D.C., but none of those places reported any backlash from the ads.

Which makes less sense, refusing to promote your state as a vacation destination to a demographic with above average disposable income or publicly maintaining symbols that your state went to war so its citizens could retain their right to own other human beings?

 

What not to say

Let’s suppose you know someone who was in the hospital for an extended stay, 144 days for example.  For whatever reason, during their stay,  you never visited them.  First, understand that while most people in the hospital like that want all the visitors they can get, they also know that people can have many reasons for not visiting - time, discomfort with hospitals, etc.  When that person gets out and you see them at a social function, that’s not the time to let your guilt overwhelm you and apologize for not showing up.  It’s awkward.  The former patient can only say something forgiving.  Your excuse will make them uncomfortable.  And, at least internally, they’ll be evaluating it.  Just don’t do it.  Instead, express limited interest in their progress and happiness that they are out.  Don’t suggest stretches or exercises to supplement their occupational or physical therapy routines.  They are working with trained professionals.  Be encouraging; be supportive and just move on.

 

Happy Birthday America!!!

Birthday number 232 and the USA is strong.  This  country is a spectacular example of the success of democracy and the universal enrichment of capitalism.  I’m absolutely delighted that I was fortunate enough to have been born as a citizen of this great country.  Of course America has its flaws.  That’s because it is made up of flawed people.  Each of us has a reponsibility to vigilantly guard our freedoms.  As a free people we owe our fellow humans the opportunity to be free and live without the constant fear of an oppressive goverment that deprives its citizens of basic freedoms.

Celebrate our national independence and our individual freedoms in a safe and fun way today!!!

 

New Zealand webcam

 

A limited victory

Today, in a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment secures an individual’s right to own firearms:

In sum, we hold that the District’s ban on handgun possession in the home violates the Second Amendment, as does its prohibition against rendering any lawful firearm in the home operable for the purpose of immediate self-defense. Assuming that Heller is not disqualified from the exercise of Second Amendment rights, the District must permit him to register his handgun and must issue him a license to carry it in the home.

Yeah.  I get to own a gun.  But, a quick review of highlights from the opinion reveals problems.  Here is the Court on the limits of their decision:

Although we do not undertake an exhaustive historical analysis today of the full scope of the Second Amendment, nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms.

This leaves in place all the back door prohibitions that make owning a gun for self-defense purposes nearly useless.  The broad opening to selective bans is in the phrase “sensitive places such as schools and government buildings.”  The list of places found to be “sensitive” is long and will grow.  Already, government buildings and schools (as mentioned) are on the list, along with day cares, churches, parks and restaurants that serve alcohol.  Look for that list to expand as politicians officially find that other places are “sensitive.”  Most of the places were you might actually need the protection a handgun could afford are already off-limits.  More will follow.

In practical terms, this means that I cannot carry adequate protection in the area I’m most likely to be the victim of a violent crime - leaving a bar or club.  I frequently patronize drinking establishments on Church Street.  Of late, this area has seen a car jacking, a store robbery and several car break-ins.  My choices?  Don’t go there or depend on the police to protect me.  Not a wide array of options.

Where did we state in the constitution that we granted the government the authority to regulate ownership, possession or use of firearms by individuals?

 

Getting Screwed by Steve Jobs

Since the flight to San Diego today is 4 hours, I thought I’d rent a couple of movies off iTunes to watch on the plane.  I read the support pages about renting, reviewed my options and selected The Transporter and Juno.  $2.99 and $3.99.  After downloading them, it was time to sync them to my 5th generation video iPod.  Oh wait.  You can’t do that.  Rented movies can only be viewed on newer iPods.  Surely Mr. Jobs would tell us that, right?  Nope.  Nowhere in iTunes or in the support information provided by Apple does the company provide this rather helpful information.  Only by searching the user forums did I find this information and then only in the complaints of others.  Thanks Steve!

 

Refining Stupidity

Yesterday, House Democrats offered their solution to the recent massive increase in oil prices - nationalize the oil refineries.  For some reason, this story is barely making the press, probably because even the far left media networks realize that such a plan is a scary move toward socialism that will neither lower the price of oil nor help Sen. Obama get elected.  Government planners controlling the means of production can only lead to shortages, rationing and even higher prices.  In addition, giving the government control over oil refineries enables political forces to determine who is worthy of receiving gasoline and for what approved purposes.  From the press conference:

We (the government) should own the refineries. Then we can control how much gets out into the market.

Sen. Obama, do you support this plan?  Why or why not?

 

Questions for the Senators

For both Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain:

What signing statements issued by President Bush do you take issue with and how would you change them?

Do you agree with the Bush administration that under either the 2001 or the 2002 Authorizations for the Use of Force the president has the power to capture and detain in the U.S a legal U.S. resident and hold him indefinitely with out charges or access to a lawyer, as argued by the Department of Justice in the Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri case?