July 5th

Well time to get back at it, before we do I want to share a few comments from some of you so here’s some comments from Grandma Annette and Dixie,

• Annette says:

  July 4, 2012 at 4:54 pm (Edit)

  Very well stated Doug! RIP Andy.

  Reply
• Dixie and Don says:

  July 4, 2012 at 6:40 pm (Edit)

  WOW!!! Your writing this morning is worthy of a Pulitzer Prize! As an old English teacher, I give you an A-plus! Actually I feel a little bit sad today because I’m feeling that the day is not living up to my expectations. When we kids were growing up on the wheat farm, we would all begin to feel anxious around the first of July, because we were so afraid that the wheat would not be completely harvested; therefore, we would not be able to go to Woodward (24 miles away) to the Crystal Beach and swim, eat, get
  sunburned to a bright red, and drink lemonade from a stock tank that had tin cups hanging on the side. After dining on a super picnic, we were set free to be on our own. However, the last words we would hear from our mother was, “Don’t you kids drink from that tank.” Well, as you can imagine, we–Bill and I–would head directly to that very
  tank and consumed a great deal of free drinks throughout the day. We were each given 50 cents for spending money–an amount that was quite a lot for that time.We would swim awhile, eat some more, and eventually get to the carnival area where we
  could squander our money on junk food and rides that would make us sick. By night we would meet up with our parents who had been at the horse races and we would all go to the grandstands to witness a grand fireworks display. There was one time when two of my sisters had to ride on the front fenders on the tummies because of the severe sunburns. The next day all of us kids were spread out on the beds with sweet cream on our bodies and Mama would hang wet sheet at the windows to cool the rooms. Later, in a few days, we would take great joy in seeing who could peal the largest hunk of burned flesh from their bodies. What fun we had! Now I feel as if I should be baking a chocolate cake, making homemade ice cream, cutting a ripe watermelon, making potato salad and baked beans,etc. I do have a little tiny watermelon that would be called a watermelon seed in Oklahoma. What amazes me the most is the freedom we felt as we took off on our own except for an occasional check by an older sibling. Anyway I am beset with those childhood yearnings and I feel very inadequate. Oh well, tomorrow will come and they will all be gone. Bill is with us now and he and I have been recalling the experiences we had. We have come to the conclusion that we had more and did more than the other kids from our community. Somehow, Dad saw that we had a good time on the 4th. Thanks Mama and Daddy!! Hope your kids will have some memories to carry with them. Also, I’m sure they will knowing who their parents are.

  Now this is what I’m talking about, this right here goes down as the front runner for the best comment of the year, so far. Don’t fret, there’s still time for the rest of you to get yours in!

  I think what’s important here is to recognize the freedom Grandma Dixie had as a child and how the simple pleasures were so cherished.

  Kids and people in general are so spoiled these days. This leads to the great debate of entitlement. I don’t mean programs for the poor but rather the expectation by many that the country or government owes them something just for living! To me, this is the single biggest challenge we have. There are just too many people who would rather stay home and receive food stamps and other freebies rather than work. How do we install a work ethic or a desire to be productive in these people? First we have to get past the republican democrat argument as to how and why some people are like this, let’s just agree that they are out there!

  Once we recognize that we have this problem, no matter how it was created, we can then look at ways to solve it. We need to show a man how much better off he’ll be if he actually goes to work each day. Now I don’t mean better off just financially but how much more self esteem or better he’ll feel after a hard days work. You know that feeling you get after a good days work or when you complete a big job and it’s finally finished and you can then look at what you accomplished with pride? This is what I’m talking about. I agree everyone needs education but doing something as simple as digging a ditch or even picking up trash can contribute to the community and really doesn’t take any training. I submit that if you really want to work, you can get a job, no matter your skill set. I just don’t think many of those unemployed want to work. Personally I’d take a job that even paid me less than the benefits I could get if I sat at home because I think I could move myself up the ladder to a better paying position with more responsibility wherever I was working that would eventually pay me more than I would make by just sitting home. Plus, I’d just be bored out of my mind after a couple of weeks doing nothing. On top of that, you won’t get a raise on your benefits by just sitting home, unless the dems get re-elected. (sorry, I couldn’t resist!)

  But seriously, what if all tv was shut off nationwide. This single act would probably make a large percentage of those who sit around waiting for their next government check to get off their butts and do something. What else would they do all day without the idiot box to entertain them?

  The bottom line is as long as we continue to financially induce and promote a lifestyle of sitting at home and not contributing to society, we’ll never solve the problem. We just cannot continue to pay people to do nothing! I’ll bet when Grandma Dixie was a kid if someone was out of work, they neighboring families and farms would provide some food and some kind of work was always available. I don’t think they would all get together and say, let’s just give the family out of work a bunch of food every month and they can sit at home. It’s the old adage that you can either give a man some fish or teach him to fish. Why don’t we as a people understand this these days? We’ve raised a generation of people that feel entitled, one that expects to be given handouts to live while giving nothing back in return. This is a dangerous trend that we have to stop and I mean stop now! So, let’s get off this blame game and figure out how to give people a hand up, not hand outs.

  Now to the day, we headed out at 10 am to the neighborhood parade where all the kids had decorated their bikes and the fire department showed up with a big red truck to lead the way through the streets. The kids soon passed the fire engine and everyone rode around the block several times before the fireman connected their hose to a hydrant and let the kids hold it and run under it as it was shooting water high into the air, what a morning to be a kid!

  Next it was off to the pool for the days festivities. We arrived at noon and made it to our table which we had our babysitter save by having her go an hour early and stand in line. She was about 10th in line as some people had been there for 3 hours to get in first to get their choice of tables. There were about 4 family’s in our group and we set up our tent for shade and the women set out all kinds of food. It was pretty much like an old time picnic that could have taken place 100 years ago. The kids played various games all day long that the staff had set up while the adults sat back and enjoyed the day. Before you knew it, it was almost 8pm and time to go home. Everyone was tired and ready for bed. There were a few times talk headed towards politics but the misses and I stayed away from the subject for the day. I won’t get into it now but man are some people delusional!

  This morning the oldest ones friend, Jennifer, comes over for the day. We’re finally supposed to get some rain for the next 3 days and I need to box a bunch of wine over the weekend. It’s now 6am ( I woke up at 4:45) and I think I’ll run to the gym.

  I’m glad everyone enjoyed yesterdays post, ( I sent it to a bunch of friends and co-workers who liked it too!) and hope todays wasn’t too long or too much like a sermon. It’s just so frustrating to look around and see what we are becoming as a country as we’re so much better than this. Someone needs to stand up and just yell STOP. I wish there was a reset button like on some computer. Oh well, one person, one day at a time. Change begins with small steps by individuals, so go out and do one thing today to better your community or society. It may not seem like much but imagine if we all do it what a better world we’ll have!

  God Bless