WHAT WOULD YOU SUPPOSE WOULD BE THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD? I have a couple or three in mind. Well, maybe two, and I will lump sports jobs in to one of those. I am thinking of professional sports players. You know. Those that get paid unimaginable amounts of money to PLAY. A basketball player is paid to play basketball. He shoots the ball at a hoop, and it goes in 50% of the time, more or less, depending on the player and the day. Or they are paid to guard a player of the opposite team and keep him from putting the ball in the hoop, and they get it in any way. Since I am not a foot ball fan, I will only say that football players are paid to score points and keep the other team from scoring points. And they succeed some of the time. Yes, I know that if they are really bad, they will be fired, or traded or whatever they do to get rid of a player, but still; well I'll get into the still in a bit. And baseball. a baseball player who is considered a good hitter if he hits the ball and reaches base a third of the time, for a batting average of .333. If he is able to hit 400, he is considered great and paid a huge salary. But what does that mean. At a 333 average, that means he hits the ball and safely reaches base 333 times out of 1000 times at bat. 400 times out of 1000 times at bat. That means that he doesn't make it 777 times or 600 times at bat.
Now, how about a weather man, or woman. They never have to be right. They predict that something MAY happen. "There's a chance" it may rain or snow or blow. It may be a certain temperature today, or tonight. If it happens, then he says well, I said it could happen. If it don't, then he says, well I said it was a chance. Now, what does all this mean? Lets discuss this in a sentence or two.
When I was working for an airline, many decades ago, as a station agent, I figured weight and balance on the airplane before it left the airport. The balance had to be right every time. Not just 33% of the time, or just a chance that it is right. But every time. Thousands of airplanes leave the ground every day, commercial and private, with the balance figured in so it will fly correctly. Every time. When I was working in the mining industry, I ran a shovel, the one in the picture at the start of this blog. I had to load 200 tons of material on a huge haul truck about 200 times a day. And not tear up any equipment or hurt any one. And if I didn't, I heard about it. If I succeeded in doing this 33 to 40 % of the time, I wonder if I would be retired now, after working there for 40 years. I think not.
Of course I realize the weather predictions and the sporting teams are not really good examples of what I am saying, but it made a good blog, didn't it? And they are paid very high salaries for what they do, or don't do, compared to myself and millions of other people who have to be right every time, all the time. Can you imagine a Dr. being right just a a third of the time. His, or hers insurance would sky rocket, and they would lose their license in a short period of time, I think. And THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK.
MONEY: We all want some. Some more than others. As in; some have more than others. Some want more than others. I was going to blog about the movie Hunger Games, and the money, as in millions spent for tickets to see a movie about teenagers killing each other, but have decided to take a little different tack. I have not read the books, nor seen the movie. I don't intend to do either. Not saying I won't, but I don't intend to. However, having talked to some who have done both, I will say this. the books are set in a future time, and it seems that there are a number of folks, teenagers, who are rebelling against the government and the dictatorial ways that have came about. There is also a lot of dialog in the mind of the female lead character about the process that is going on. This is in the book. A lot of that is eliminated in the movie. At least that is what I understand from what I have been told. I still don't want to read the books or see the movie. I'm old, and I just don't understand why otherwise sane people would want to stand in line for hours, paint up and dress up to fit the theme of the movie, and pay huge amounts of money to see this movie. To me, there are just so many better things to see and read and do. Still, I do understand, just a glimmer, the theme of the books. Perhaps not so much the movie.
On a little different note, people spent a huge amount of money buying a lottery ticket this past week. Well, maybe not so much on an individual basis, but collectively a huge amount of money. The view from the ditch bank is that if all the ticket money for the Hunger Games and all the money from the lottery ticket sales, were combined, and put in the proper hands, how much hunger in the world could be alleviated. Not all, by any means, but it would be a great start, and much more beneficial on the larger scheme of things. Just saying. And THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK.
My wife and I were invited to attend the graduation of a grandson from a training program at Ft. Huachuca. Since we live only a few hours drive from that base, we said we would go. And then take him to the airport in Tucson, Arizona to catch a plane home. Since our drive from home to the base is just under 3 hours, we left 4 hours prior to the graduation time, and arrived at the base with 1 hour and 10 minutes to spare. But just short of the base entrance, the traffic, two lanes of it, came to a virtual halt. As we inched along, beside, behind or in front of, all those others going to the base, or to the city of Sierra Vista which is just past the base, we wondered why we were stalled. When we finally arrived at the base, not the main gate, but at a different gate that had been opened, we were told that a soldier had a car wreck at 4 a.m. and was killed and the highway was closed while the accident was being investigated. All traffic was routed through the base, with police at every intersection to direct traffic. It was now 9 a.m. and the accident was 5 hours old. We were finally able to arrive at the graduation site at 9:30, just in time to see our grandson leaving the graduation exercise. We did make contact, take pictures, and take him to Tucson. All as planned. Well, almost. As we left the base, we were again detoured around the accident, which is now 8 hours old, and sent to Sierra Vista, then to Tombstone and then to St. David and then to Benson, where we caught the interstate to Tucson. That was the first time we had ever been to Tombstone, and that wasn't intentional. But we arrived at the airport in time for his flight, and we arrived back home in time to go to bed at our normal time. Were we upset? NO. Was he upset? NO. Did we have an enjoyable day? YES. An excellent adventure. Did we know the soldier who was killed? No. Did our grandson know him, or her? no. he didn't even know any thing about the accident or why we were delayed until we told him, after the graduation. We have no clue why the soldier had the accident, except we were told it was a roll over. We were detoured around the site, so didn't see the accident or the site. Who it was, or why it happened, we have no clue. So, why this blog? you ask. Oh!, you didn't ask. Well, here is the purpose. One person, and only one, as far as we know, made a choice to do something that caused a ripple effect on hundreds of people for many hours. Whether the one person was the individual who had the wreck, or someone else who caused the individual to wreck, we know not. But someone made a decision to do something, that caused the accident. Because of the length of the road closure, and the investigation, our grandson mentioned that there was probably something going on rather than just a simple car accident. What, we don't know. Whether the soldier was drinking, on drugs or involved with something illegal, or sleepy and chose to drive without enough sleep, was an MP on patrol, or whatever the scene was, one person made a choice that impacted many. How many others missed the graduation ceremony, as did we. How many going to Sierra Vista were late for work, or missed an appointment, or were running late to do some necessary shopping, or some unnecessary shopping, so making them late for other things later in the day, or made others late who were waiting for them. Our adventure turned out OK. Maybe others did not. We will never know. But we all should think before we do something rash or make an unusual decision; Or even make a remark without knowing the situation. As I did with this blog. How will this affect others? And That's The View From The Ditch Bank.
SOMEONE ALWAYS HAS TO BE FIRST. There are people who just have to be first. We have a street in our town that is 4 lane, two each direction, but on the north end, it narrows down to one lane if you want to merge onto a different street. so, people speed, literally, up the inside lane, then at the last second, crowd in to the outside lane in order to merge. They knew where they were going. Just get in line and go with the flow. But nope, they just gotta be first. Some will rush ahead of you to get first in line at the grocery store check out. Like their time is more valuable than yours. And others rush around to get first in, well, you know the type. I'm sure you have them where ever you live also. But all of this begs the question then of who was first to think
OK here's this black man. Guess I'll just make him my slave. Or
Here's this herb. Think I'll just roll it up, put it in my mouth and light a fire to the other end and see what happens. Or
Here's this perfectly good grain. If I ferment it, and distill the fluid from it and then drink the fluid, I wonder what will happen, or
Wow, we finally got this airplane in the air, think I'll strap this thing on my back and jump out, and see if I make it to the ground alive. Well, you were on the ground already, so why not just stay there. Why get in an airplane and get in the air, just to jump out and get back to the ground. I'm sure there a lot of other first's to add to this list, and I will in future posts as I think of them.
See if you can be the first to read this blog and add a comment. And That's The View From The Ditch Bank
On the Albuquerque news this morning the two lady newscasters were talking in a news broadcast type of way, about a final episode of some show being filmed in Albuquerque. And they were gaga over who ever the star is. The hosts of the Today show are constantly raving about some star or other, like they are the ultimate person to consult about life styles or whatever. Just this morning they were talking about Rhianna, and I hope that even with the spelling you know who I mean, going somewhere with that character who beat her. Oh! they said, she is a role model and this is sending the wrong message to young girls. She should not go any where with this man. Well, and they carried on and on and on and well you get it about Whitney Houston. I'm sorry she died like she did, but she was an addict. Just like Michael Jackson, and many others before them. Because of who they are/were, they can get all kinds of drugs from many sources and literally kill themselves. Not the first, but one you may have heard of is Marilyn Monroe. She took an overdose of sleeping pills. Yet, decades later, people still think she was the ultimate in whatever. My point in all of this, is, these people are not role models. They are people before the public. People that you can enjoy their acting or music, if what ever they do suits your taste. But do not hold them up as role models. The are not. actors, singers, sports stars. They are just people with a talent that people pay to see.
Just because the current crop of actors, singers, and sports stars are being held up as role models, do not follow them. First, see how they live and act when not on stage. How do they treat their families and friends. How do they treat people who can do nothing for them. You can admire their talent for what it is, but let them live a few years, or decades, and see how they do in their personal lives. then, if they measure up, cautiously use them as role models. Most good role models are the family and friends around you that will never be known beyond their, and your, circle of friend and acquaintances. People who are willing to lend a helping hand when needed. People who treat their spouses with decency and respect. People who raise their children to be just good people. People who don't lie, cheat or steal. People who don't do drugs. I encourage all who may read this blog to study the article at the beginning of this blog and decide to feed that which will do you the most good. And following "the stars" ain't it.
And THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK.
JUST A FEW THINGS ON MY MIND. I have a few things that have crossed my mind lately, none of them worth a blog by themselves, but put together, perhaps some thing that will occupy your time for a minute or two. Mayhaps even cause a chuckle. OK, maybe not.
1. I have an open mind. Guess that's why I can't remember any thing, cause it's so open that things just fall out. Or just go on through without stopping to rest.
2. I live in a haunted house. I know I do, cause every time I look in a mirror, there is this old man staring back at me.
3. I have a lot of hair. I really do. I went to the store and saw all these boxes of hair color. Most of them were for women, but a few were for men. One of the men ones said, Try this one for the BOLD look. I tried it and when I looked in the mirror, ( yes the same haunted one ) It looked like I didn't have any hair. I wondered what I had done wrong, so I went back to the box, and that is when I noticed it actually said Try This One for the BALD look. It works. I have the bald look, even though I really have hair.
4. And finally, Does it seem like there is a large amount of people today that seem to not have a brain, or if they do, they aren't using them. I figured out the reason. They gave someone a piece of their mind, not realizing they didn't have any to spare.
And THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK.
PERSPECTIVE CHANGES EVERYTHING: My daughter in law sent this a week or so back. Kinda puts things into perspective, don't cha think?
This so addresses my generation. I just hope the article can be read. You will probably have to enlarge it to read it, but read it some how. I may comment on it further in a later post. For now, think about it. And THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK
