Friday

Good morning, 89/4

Quote of the day:

“When your life brings you to a fork in the road, take it.”

                                  Yogi Berra

 I have had several conversations about presidential candidates with members of my social group lately.  As of 7:30 Thursday afternoon my preference is anybody that is not a politician.  I am up to my nostrils with them.  They would not hesitate to sell out their constituents to stay in office.  Ben Carson and Donald Trump are not in that category...but I like the way that Bernie Sanders talks even though he is a Democrat.  I will probably change my mind several times as will most of us.

Many years ago I was working for a large retail business and was chosen to teach office management. I had to do some research so it would appear that I was not stupid. In the research there was a famous management case that was a good subject for discussion. It was called the Joe Lamb case. Here it is and it is up to you to decide the solution as if you were the office manager.

There was an office of 14 female highly skilled computer operators, one office manager (you) and one male accountant named Joe Lamb. It took 6 months of training for the operators to reach maximum productivity. One night Joe Lamb was arrested for attempted rape but was released for lack of evidence. The next morning the office manager (you) was handed a note signed by all the women saying they wanted Joe Lamb gone because they were afraid and if not they would all resign. What do you as the office manager do? Correct decision at the end of this segment.

About 60 years ago when I was in grammar and high school, there was a clear definition between the families that “had money” and those that didn't, especially if your family was mill workers. The monied ones were called “elites”...but we pronounced it “EE-lites”. I was one of those that didn't and most of my family were mill workers. We poor whites were treated differently that the elite, even ostracized at times. Yes it was prejudice...not racial but status...but it was prejudice. I ran across something similar in the military. In those days and still today I have a very defined “southern drawl”. Somehow the image of a “cracker” from down south was an ignoramus wearing a pointy white hat. That is prejudice also...not racial but regional...but prejudice just the same. Somehow most of my buddies in the military were from Michigan, West Virginia, Kentucky and Florida. I was accepted by the men from West Virginia, Florida and Kentucky but I had to “earn” respect from the guys from Michigan but once I was accepted they were true blue. One of my friends was from northern Michigan and we got into a discussion about why there was friction between the blacks and whites “down south”. I took the old tired position of “I don't really know because I lived in a neighborhood that was all white all my life.” Later on we were talking about how close the Cherokees were to my home town of Greenville, SC. I asked him if there were any Indians near his home town. He said that yes...there were Cree Indians that had immigrated down from Canada but I can't count them...because they all were nothing but thieves and drunks. That, my friends, is racial prejudice. We all have the Constitutional right to live with the people we choose but this man is no different from us so called “crackers”. Using President Obama's logic, nothing has changed and I am still smarting from all the jeers and insults I received 60 years ago. That is baloney, of course. Our President is supposed to be our leader and promote unity...his statements about what happened 35 years ago is driving a racial wedge even deeper among us and he is hinting that there has been no change in 35 years...that also is baloney and we and he knows it. He knows as much about leadership as I do about quantum mechanics. God help us because he certainly will not.

Again there is a bunch of tree-huggers up near Washington, DC beating their breasts and shouting that how evil it is that the football team is called the “Redskins”. They are claiming that the name is disrespectful to the Native Americans. I have several thoughts on that crap. I can assure you that there is not one pure bred Native American in their midst. I say “pure-bred” because our European ancestors unashamedly raped and pillaged the Indians wholesale for about 220 years. I believe that there is a drop or two of Native American blood in everyone that can trace their ancestry in the present US to 1890 and before. To think that they are concerned about the name of a football team is ludicrous and very shallow thinking. All of y'all mind your own business and allow the Creeks, Cherokees, Choctaws and a myriad of other tribes raise hell...just go out and hug and American chestnut...if you can find one.

I don't know what is wrong with some of us humans. Up near Anchorage, Alaska a church was holding a picnic in a fairly remote area. One of the dishes was barbecue pork ribs. The report gave the name of one particular man and it was clearly Latino...I will explain a little later.

This particular man got hammered and decided to take a bicycle ride down a nearby trail and took some ribs with him. The city of Anchorage is known for a huge population of black bears and the city officials go to great pains to keep them “wild”. This means they will fine the hell out of you if you feed them. The man on the bicycle encountered a black bear on the trail and being hammered, he threw the bear some ribs. The bear snatched up the meat and then decided he wanted the bike rider also and attacked. This stupid jackass had no defense and curled up into a ball and awaited his fate. The bear clawed the hell out of his back and bit a chunk out of his neck and scalp then left. While he was down and screaming his lungs out, the other people called the authorities. The man rode the bicycle back to the picnic area and was washing his wounds in a near by creek when the wildlife agents arrived. They asked the man what happened but could not understand him because he was slurring his words and did not speak English (remember the reference to Latino). An interpreter told the agents about the man admitting to feeding the bear and being attacked. He was arrested, taken to the hospital and sewn up, taken to the drunk tank to spend the night. The next day he was taken before a judge and fined for public drunkenness and feeding wildlife. He was fined $800. it was not a good day at the church picnic.

Correct decision in the Joe Lamb case:

You fire Joe Lamb. The reason is that you cannot risk your company losing money for six months while others are trained because of one person. You could have another accountant in a matter of hours. The ONLY thing on your mind should be just one thing and that is what is best for your company, guilt or innocence of Joe Lamb and your ego not withstanding. The decision as to the guilt or innocence of Joe Lamb is none of your business.

This Date in History July 24

1911 On this date American explorer Hiram Bingham is one of the first honkies to lay eyes on one of the most spectacular sites in archaeological history. He had found Machu Picchu, an Inca city hidden in the Andes Mountains northwest of the capitol of Cuzco. After the rape of the Inca by the Spanish conquistadors, the Inca rulers no longer summered in Machu Picchu and its location was kept a secret for 350 years. Only the local natives knew of its existence. This magnificent city had surrounding lands that had been terraced for the raising of crops and the city had running water. It was built of huge stones that were cut so accurately that cement was not required and a razor blade could not be inserted in the seams. This is not the only Inca city that has been found in the Andes that was engineered so greatly. How these cities were build is still a mystery to the world. The Inca were very small in stature and had no draft animals other than the llama. There is no evidence that they had knowledge of the wheel. Machu Picchu was found high up on two peaks that had been leveled to allow construction and it is one of the most visited tourist sites in the world.

Born today:

1970 US actress Jennifer Lopez. Comedian Chris Rock said of her. “I saw Jennifer Lopez on TV the other night accepting some kind of award and she thanked her agent, her family, her minister her make-up artist and a lot of other people. She needs to thank that ass, that’s what got where she is today.” Chris must be an ass and legs man like myself.

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow