ORIGINS
Thanks to a DNA kit (a gift from my daughter and son-in-la
w), and the efforts of the National Geographic Association (NGA), I am now aware of my origins. My ancestors, like everyone elses, came from the Rift Valley in Etheopia – about 50 thousand years ago. There is a picture of Greatgrandmother Lucy (at right as pictured in Wikipedia).
What I didn’t know before the DNA test was my ancestors left Africa, wandered around Eastern Europe and the Mideast for a few thousand years, finally heading west and settling in
Germany - all those years of searching for a good beer.
Sometime before this DNA study was done I saw the movie Gladiator. I watched Russel Crowe as brave, intelligent, skilled General Maximus Decimus Meridius commanding Roman troops to “release hell” by catapaulting flaming bladders of oil at the dirty, smelly barbarian Germanic hordes. Since the DNA results, I realize that soul-less Roman mercenary was trying to parboil my predecessors.
NGA could not tell me when they left the continent, bound for Scotland, thereby moving up from beer to Scotch Whiskey and distancing themselves from flaming bladders of oil. Good move. Abour 350 years ago they decided that Irish whiskey, being double distilled, was smoother than Scotch, so they moved to Belfast. About 260 years ago they moved to Virginia, a move that I think proves they had become tetotalers; nobody would move here for the moonshine.
I am a recovering print journalist. I have a journalism degree and a few years of newspaper work, and I once was proud of the profession; held it high esteem as the watchdog of politicians and policemen, presidents and pundits. No longer. Reporting has become opinion. The media is guilty of performing self-fulfilling prophecies. A small indication of financial problems is reported in large type and loud voices until it becomes the possibility of recession, then the possibility of recession becomes “the looming recession” and soon it is truly a recession. If the Pulitzer/Hearst “yellow journalism” drew us into the Spanish American War, what are the possibilities of a similar feat today? What color is today’s journalism?
Aging Gracefully
Speaking of politicians and presidents, the government has just told me that I am officially old. I will be 70.5 years old in December, 14 days before the end of the calendar year, but I am told that I must start taking money out of my 401K this year and pay the government the tax money I was so selfish as to defer until “old age”.
How the hell did they agree on 70.5 years? How did they agree on anything – they can’t agree on anything now. Today the Republicans would see it as a move to further burden the rich; the Demos would see the same as a sinister plot against senior citizens. They might agree to throw bladders of oil at the president, a flaming exercise in bipartisanship
City Hall
Someone once said you cannot fight city hall. Not true, you can fight it – you just can’t win. Clearwater, FL is installing reclaimed-water lines in my neighborhood. THE HALL says that 50% of the residents on any street must agree to use reclaimed water for irrigation or no one on that street can have it. My neighbors on the other side of my street all live on a lake and use that water for irrigation. They obviously don’t want the reclaimed water. Therefore, according to THE HALL, everyone on my side must agree to use it or no one can get it. I live less than 250 feet from one of the reclaimed water lines, but I lost the fight with THE HALL.
Where’s General Maximus Decimus Meridius when you need him.
Where’s the Trust?
I recently won a sweepstakes. I was notifed via phone by a company representing McAfee that I had won a very nice prize. I didn’t believe it. They understood my reluctance. So, there we were: I didn’t trust this person and she fully accepted that reluctance. In fact, the company was so sure that the winner would be reluctant that they offered phone numbers and names at McAfee so winners could be assured of the sweepstake’s validity. I not only made the calls, I did my own investigation (I am a recovering reporter). I don’t have the prize yet – we’ll see.
Thanks to a DNA kit (a gift from my daughter and son-in-la
w), and the efforts of the National Geographic Association (NGA), I am now aware of my origins. My ancestors, like everyone elses, came from the Rift Valley in Etheopia – about 50 thousand years ago. There is a picture of Greatgrandmother Lucy (at right as pictured in Wikipedia).What I didn’t know before the DNA test was my ancestors left Africa, wandered around Eastern Europe and the Mideast for a few thousand years, finally heading west and settling in
Germany - all those years of searching for a good beer.Sometime before this DNA study was done I saw the movie Gladiator. I watched Russel Crowe as brave, intelligent, skilled General Maximus Decimus Meridius commanding Roman troops to “release hell” by catapaulting flaming bladders of oil at the dirty, smelly barbarian Germanic hordes. Since the DNA results, I realize that soul-less Roman mercenary was trying to parboil my predecessors.
NGA could not tell me when they left the continent, bound for Scotland, thereby moving up from beer to Scotch Whiskey and distancing themselves from flaming bladders of oil. Good move. Abour 350 years ago they decided that Irish whiskey, being double distilled, was smoother than Scotch, so they moved to Belfast. About 260 years ago they moved to Virginia, a move that I think proves they had become tetotalers; nobody would move here for the moonshine.
I am a recovering print journalist. I have a journalism degree and a few years of newspaper work, and I once was proud of the profession; held it high esteem as the watchdog of politicians and policemen, presidents and pundits. No longer. Reporting has become opinion. The media is guilty of performing self-fulfilling prophecies. A small indication of financial problems is reported in large type and loud voices until it becomes the possibility of recession, then the possibility of recession becomes “the looming recession” and soon it is truly a recession. If the Pulitzer/Hearst “yellow journalism” drew us into the Spanish American War, what are the possibilities of a similar feat today? What color is today’s journalism?
Aging Gracefully
Speaking of politicians and presidents, the government has just told me that I am officially old. I will be 70.5 years old in December, 14 days before the end of the calendar year, but I am told that I must start taking money out of my 401K this year and pay the government the tax money I was so selfish as to defer until “old age”.
How the hell did they agree on 70.5 years? How did they agree on anything – they can’t agree on anything now. Today the Republicans would see it as a move to further burden the rich; the Demos would see the same as a sinister plot against senior citizens. They might agree to throw bladders of oil at the president, a flaming exercise in bipartisanship
City Hall
Someone once said you cannot fight city hall. Not true, you can fight it – you just can’t win. Clearwater, FL is installing reclaimed-water lines in my neighborhood. THE HALL says that 50% of the residents on any street must agree to use reclaimed water for irrigation or no one on that street can have it. My neighbors on the other side of my street all live on a lake and use that water for irrigation. They obviously don’t want the reclaimed water. Therefore, according to THE HALL, everyone on my side must agree to use it or no one can get it. I live less than 250 feet from one of the reclaimed water lines, but I lost the fight with THE HALL.
Where’s General Maximus Decimus Meridius when you need him.
Where’s the Trust?
I recently won a sweepstakes. I was notifed via phone by a company representing McAfee that I had won a very nice prize. I didn’t believe it. They understood my reluctance. So, there we were: I didn’t trust this person and she fully accepted that reluctance. In fact, the company was so sure that the winner would be reluctant that they offered phone numbers and names at McAfee so winners could be assured of the sweepstake’s validity. I not only made the calls, I did my own investigation (I am a recovering reporter). I don’t have the prize yet – we’ll see.
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