Rage Against the Machine

No, I won't be talking about the 90's Alternative rock band, but rather the political climate and the growing anger surrounding it.
A couple weeks ago, I posted a story where a college professor conducted an experiment upon his own students, who were convinced that socialism was good for society.  He used the concept of need-based distribution and gave better students a lower grade while under-performers a higher grade.  I found it amusing and posted it.
Because what professor hasn't drawn the ire of a student?  How many of you have taken a class to find it was nothing at all what you imagined, then not doing as well as you would have hoped for because of it?
An English II class I took in college turned out to be more closely related to a World Cultures class with the focus on China.  For our term paper, we had to pick a select topic about China and then write about it.  I had to write on the three religions closely associated with China prior to Communist control.  This was an English class?
But unfortunately, this is part of the college dynamic.  The things you learn that one says aren't taught in school...at least directly.  You learn that life isn't always fair, and you quite often need to play by someone else's rules if you intend to stay in the game. 
And right or wrong, I feel the present generation and the one before it has been coddled too much.
The article I posted quickly drew the anger, if not unbridled rage, of a former colleague who self-identifies as a liberal Democrat who is quick to speak up about President Obama and every facet of his administration should anyone disrespect it in any way.  So he let fly.
"It makes it hard to take anything you say politically seriously,"
Political?
I don't use my column nor my social media walls as platforms for politics.  At least I try not to.  Yet some people use every avenue they can to push a political agenda.
I am a registered Republican, but I have supported much of President Obama's policies.  I supported his decision to not pull troops out of the Middle East and finish what President Bush started.  I supported the economic bailout as well, because without it, the end result would have made the Great Depression look like a gumball machine robbery.
I also know Democrats who became strong Bush supporters after September 11, 2001.  I vote my conscience, not a political party.
If you want my political stand on anything, you can always ask me directly.  And most recently, I've been asked of my stand on the Affordable Health Care Act, or "Obamacare".  This was the end result of what I had posted.
I don't support it in its current form.  That's my opinion, based on facts, and we all know that facts can be interpreted in all kinds of ways.  This is what keeps lawyers busy...and rich.
One person's opinion...mine.  You don't like it, get over it.
Get mad at me.  Defriend me on Facebook.  That's my stand.  It won't be swayed.
That said, have a good day.


NEXT WEEK:  Columnist's Choice

Picture This

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.
I disagree.
They're worth at the very minimum, a thousand sentences.  The only problem is, there's just not enough words in the English language to say enough about that picture.
Especially when it's of your child.
Very few things can capture your heart and mind like a well-taken photograph of your young son or daughter.
Just before Christmas, my brother-in-law and his wife surprised my wife and I with a framed photo of our daughter, who will be five this coming July.
The photo was taken during an overnight stay that our Savannah had with Christian and Melissa's son and daughter.  They took one of her alone, then another one with her and her cousins, Alex and Mia.
We had no idea that this was being done.  They bought her a new black dress and styled her hair to perfection.  The end result in the frame was nothing short of priceless.
The little girl's image that stared back at me gave me a glimpse into the future.
Margie and I want nothing but the best for our child, the same as any parent.  They say it's what's inside that counts, but the outward appeal is definitely an added bonus.
Could my little girl be brains and beauty?
One can only hope so.
As excited as I am to see the end result of what she will ultimately grow up to be, I find myself reluctant to let her do so.
While I do want her to grow up to be smart and successful, it also means letting her make her own mistakes. Making her own decisions.  In short, allowing her to be open to the cruel reality of what it's like to live in this world.
She will be lied to.  She will be taken advantage of.  She will have her heart broken at least once in her lifetime.
We fathers can only take them in our arms only so many times before a simple cuddle just doesn't do the job anymore...because the problems get far more complex as they grow.
But as I see that chubby-cheeked little face, now on a much larger canvas version of that same photo, I know she's going to be just fine.
That doesn't mean I'll ever stop worrying though.
After all, I am her father.


NEXT WEEK:  Why so angry?

"Fighting Words"

Most of you know I've spent most of my life in radio.  So I'll have to ask your forgiveness as I indulge in the words of one of my many esteemed colleagues over the years.
Today it's the late Douglas Hoerth.
"Uncle Dougie" to those of us who knew him.
While Doug was a jock who played music on the radio in the early days of his career, he came to reinvent himself years later as a popular talk show host in Pittsburgh on the former 1250 WTAE.
In a series of TV commercials, he and other hosts communicated how they felt talk radio should be for its average listener.
"You can make them happy, you can make them sad," Doug said.  "Sometimes you can even make them think."
I have always viewed music in the same light, and some of those songs can be completely thought-provoking. 
John Ondrasik, the one-man band known as "Five For Fighting" is a great example of this.  While he's been derided by some critics as a "one-trick pony", I'd like to see anyone out there come remotely close to what he's accomplished as an artist.
While I like his music, I have a hard time listening to it, because it's that thought-provoking.  At least it is to me, anyway.
"Superman" is told as a first-person narrative from the would-be thoughts of the Man of Steel that are never verbalized, that show the human side of the native Kryptonian.
"Even heroes have the right to dream," "a home I'll never see", "it's not easy to be me".
Would Superman ever get sick of defending Metropolis time and time again?  Would he feel compelled to break Lex Luthor's neck with his bare hands to put an end to his evil ambitions once and for all?  Just so he could get some peace and quiet? 
Then there's another song..."The Riddle".  I have an especially hard time with this one.
"There's a reason for the world...you and I".  "We're all we've got on this bouncing ball". 
From a religious perspective, if God created Man in his own image, are we behaving in a godly manner to our fellow creatures?  Or from a secular perspective, are we respecting everyone's right to exist?  Or do we see ourselves as more fit to live than others because they don't share our beliefs and values? 
More importantly, what's the message we're passing along to the next generation through our own example?  Are we teaching our children compassion, or 'kill or be killed'?
Pensions are disappearing.  Health care is being treated as a luxury instead of a necessity.  Companies prioritize profits over people and don't mince words about it.  Virtue has become a liability rather than reward.  We celebrate money over morality.  We confuse need with want and fill our lives with possessions that we believe will make us happy for another day, until we tire of it and decide we want more.  And more. 
Don't get me started on those who worship 'scripted-reality' TV and talent shows, looking to be the next big star. 
There are those who choose to get their news from "The Daily Show" or "Weekend Update", rather than CBS, ABC or NBC.  By the way, if you ever want 'real' news, watch a BBC newscast.  You'll learn of the world that exists out of the U.S. that our country seems to turn a blind eye to more and more with each passing day.
So why are we all here?
Well...here's a riddle for ya.
Find the answer.
There's a reason for the world.
You and I.


NEXT WEEK:  Picture Perfect

Reflections and Resolutions

Well, here we go again.  That time of year.
Some of you may feel that I need to make a resolution...not to stray away from my promised column each week.  Valid argument, yes, but this time I have a good excuse.
My wife is forever calling me a "PC lover", "Windows lover", whatever have you, because while she's embraced her MacBook as the leading technology, I still cling to the archaic vintage 2004 laptop that I rescued from the curb when she adopted the MacBook.
Most recently, it exhibited signs of involuntary retirement, so to speak, enough to the point where my wife actually surprised me Christmas morning with a shiny new Dell Inspiron 15, courtesy of my corporate discount at work.
So I spent much of my time between Christmas and New Year's migrating files from the old HP to the new Dell.  Not a speedy process by any means.
And, I no longer have an excuse to take an unannounced break from my weekly warblings that I will carry into 2014.
I look for 2014 to be a year of personal renewal, revival and reward. 
Not much change than in previous years, all that matters is the outcome, and how I will accomplish those goals or deal with the adversity if things don't go according to plan.
And it's the latter that often happens, according to John Lennon.
"Life is what happens to you while you're making other plans".
As I look out of the window from my new laptop, I gaze upon the winter landscape, and the promise of sunshine in the coming months.
How will I make the most of those days?  Or even the days now, however cold and dreary it may look outside?
I tend to think of this a lot more in my advancing years, as I pay more attention to those around me.  I see friends and acquaintances fighting terminal illness, family members aging, colleagues trying to find ways to rebuild their lives after losing their jobs, and what used to be 'little ones' finally growing up and planning their futures after high school.
Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" comes to mind right now.
Have I truly "gone forth" spiritually, as Jacob Marley insisted Ebenezer Scrooge do during his time on Earth?  Have I truly reached out to my fellow creatures? 
And if not, why?  Has life truly gotten in the way of it, or am I using it as an excuse to put it off until tomorrow?
Tomorrow.
My mind travels back to one February night back in the studio of 104.7 in Pittsburgh, almost 23 years ago when I was making my major market radio debut.
The cleaning staff was making its rounds to the different offices in the building, emptying the wastebaskets into the big can that would soon find its way to the dumpster on the side of the building.
"Where's Ed?" asked the African-American gentleman, likely in his mid to early 50's.
I relayed to him that "Ed" had passed away the week before, receiving the incredulous look in return.
"He wasn't too old...what did he die of?" he asked.
A heart attack is what took the broadcast legend's life at 56.
The man shook his head sadly, but managed a smile, nonetheless.
"Tomorrow's promised to no one," he said before turning around to move on to the next office.
I thought a lot about that.  I still do.
I don't think I'll ever stop.


NEXT WEEK:   A Reason for the World

The Torch Continues to Pass

Just a week and a half ago marked the fiftieth anniversary of an event most of us would just as soon forget about.
I was not alive on Friday, November 22, 1963, when teletype bells rang wildly at radio and television stations and newspapers worldwide.
After forty-six-and-a-half years on this planet, John Fitzgerald Kennedy's life ended as a bullet entered his skull in a motorcade along Elm Street near Stemmons Freeway in Dallas, Texas.  It is still vividly remembered today by those who were around back then when the tragedy occurred, and the circumstances surrounding it are still being hotly debated.
Was President Kennedy one of the greatest presidents of all time?  Or has history made him larger than life because of his death at a young age and at the hands of an assassin's bullet?
Depends.
Without a doubt, he was the most popular president among the baby boomers.  To them, he represented their generation, hungry for change and demanding an end to the American lives lost in the Vietnam War.
His then nouveau-riche family, today lauded as a political dynasty, afforded him many opportunities other Americans could only dream of.  Nonetheless, he was touched by the poverty in Appalachia that he witnessed firsthand as he was campaigning for the highest elected office in the United States.
He felt that communism had to be brought under control, and to be done without any further casualities in Vietnam or elsewhere overseas.  He urged America's space program to commit itself to a successful manned lunar mission by the end of the 1960's.  He felt that federal intervention was necessary if racially-motivated violence in the American South was ever to end.  He and his wife brought a contemporary flair to the Oval Office, often keeping company with the likes of Truman Capote, Marilyn Monroe, Vince Lombardi, Barbra Streisand, Oleg Cassini and countless others.
While many of his goals were ultimately realized, albeit posthumously, his administration had its share of challenges.
A failed invasion of Cuba intended to topple Fidel Castro's regime.  A showdown with Russia over atomic weapons that brought the world the closest it's ever been to a nuclear holocaust.  Managing poor health while trying to appear at the same time strong to the rest of the world. Whispered marital infidelities that the press largely turned a blind eye to.  Accusations of nepotism over the choice of his brother as Attorney General.  The death of his infant son.  Overzealous organized crime investigations that historians believe led to his murder.
His successor, Lyndon Johnson, a man with whom there was no love lost, tried his best to move the country past the tragedy with The Warren Commission investigation.  The finds were for the most part, laughable, at best, and were all but discredited following committee hearings in 1976 and again in 1992.  To this day, no true and definitive answer surrounding Kennedy's death has ever come, nor does it appear to ever will in this writer's lifetime.
I have researched John F. Kennedy and the Kennedy family since the age of ten, when I first learned of the tragedy in fifth grade Catholic school.  It had a profound effect on me, and I made the most of every opportunity to read everything I could on the subject.
After thirty-four years, I too am no closer to an answer.
Until the day comes when we have a definitive answer, I say this:
"Thank you, Mr. President."


NEXT WEEK:  Thanks...???

"Get a Horse!"

Trucks have long held a place in my immediate and extended family.

Growing up in rural western Pennsylvania, either my dad or a close relative had a pickup truck of some sort, usually a Chevy.  

We looked at trucks as a necessity the way horses were looked at during the days of westward expansion in this country.  With western PA's rugged hills and unpredictable winter weather, a four-wheel-drive pickup was necessary if you were to depend upon it to get to where you needed to go.

This was also in the days that pre-dated all-wheel-drive cars and SUVs.  The first of the four-wheel-drive passenger cars, the AMC Eagle, was often looked upon as a hopelessly ugly piece of machinery that despite its inherent reliability, most people wouldn't want to be caught five-years-dead in.

Nonetheless, the humdrum marque gave birth to the mass-produced front-wheel-drive passenger car, at the start of the 80s and then the sport utility movement that rose later in the decade and continues to dominate the auto industry today.  

Then in the 90s, something unthinkable happened...women began buying pickup trucks.  To the point where Ford began a 'Splash' edition of its Ranger compact pickup line targeted to women, featuring colors like bright yellow and turquoise, with "Splash" accent striping on the sides of the bed.  Automakers took notice and began building trucks with comfort in mind, in addition to payload and other specifications that typical truck buyers were keenly aware of.  Option packages with power windows and door locks, cruise control, air conditioning and even leather seating areas became popular among the consumer pickup truck market.
My own pickup is special to me for a couple reasons.  I have owned pickup trucks in the past, but they were kept strictly as a secondary vehicle, most often used when I had to haul something, and more often than not, looking like something you'd see on camera during an episode of "Duck Dynasty".
A former colleague of mine at another radio station remarked how much of an eyesore it was when I drove it to the radio station while my main vehicle at the time, a Dodge Stratus, was in the shop with an engine problem.
After he said it a second time, I jokingly threatened to park it in front of his house, as he lived in a more affluent neighborhood and I knew exactly where he lived.  He never razzed me about it again.
My Dodge Dakota was also my first-ever 'brand new' vehicle, and today it's my 'daily driver'.  I take care of it, but it does get used for its intended purpose.
My dad kept his 1990 Chevy Cheyenne until the end of its life in 2006, when the frame finally bit the dust after years of hard use.  Though his 1995 Chevy Suburban gets him where he needs to go, he found himself missing his truck, though I've offered mine time and time again.  Then I received the call from Mom last Sunday morning, asking me about my daughter's clothing sizes for Christmas, and...if I would mind driving my dad to Valencia, where he bought another pickup...this one, a 2004 F150.
Valencia is about 20 minutes away from my house.  Not a problem.


NEXT WEEK:  Fifty Years Later

Keep Reaching for the Stars

For four hours every Saturday morning, he kept listeners around the world entertained with his weekly countdown of the "forty most popular songs in the land".

The gravel-voiced Detroit native of Lebanese descent didn't spend too much time in radio just north of Detroit in Flint, before being drafted into the Army, and then moving to the West Coast after his discharge, making a name for himself on Armed Forces Radio during his tour of duty in Korea.

He would bounce between coasts before landing at Los Angeles AM rock powerhouse KRLA in 1963, before the launch of nationally-syndicated "American Top 40" in 1970.   He would go on as the program's host until 1988, when he was replaced by Shadoe Stevens, and would return a decade later and host the show for another four years, when Ryan Seacrest assumed the role.  He would host several other nationally syndicated programs until retiring from the mic for good in 2009.

I haven't named this guy, because if you don't remember him on the radio, you would on Saturday morning television.  He was the original voice of  "Shaggy" on Scooby-Doo, and "Robin" on Superfriends.

Kemal Amin Kasem.  Better known as "Casey".

Casey stands alone in the history of Top 40 radio, as did Dick Clark in the early days of rock 'n roll.  His long distance dedications effectively connected him with his listeners, rather than the detachment his peers favored, often pushing off fan mail to answering services, or simply never read.

Casey valued his fans, and would have preferred to go on forever.  Unfortunately, the heavy hand of time shows no mercy on any of us, regardless of stature or wealth.

Casey is no exception to this, and it was made public in October, following a lawsuit by the esteemed disc jockey's caregiver that was ultimately dismissed.  His three children from his previous marriage are also petitioning the court for the right to visit him, as Jean Kasem, Casey's wife of 33 years, has reportedly blocked all such attempts.  Casey, now 81, signed over power-of-attorney rights to Jean in 2011.

This has all but ripped a family to shreds, as the radio icon battles advanced Parkinson's disease, and the loss of the voice that drew millions to their radios every week.  Reports have also surfaced that Kasem is battling Alzheimer's disease, but the family has yet to confirm this.  Other reports of elder abuse, thankfully, have been found to be baseless.

It's terrible to see the ramifications of aging on a family, divided over a loved one's best interests.  More so, think about how much it goes on every day in our society with families of the not-so rich and famous.

I hope that Casey and his estranged family members will find a common ground and come to a truce so that he can live his last days in peace before leaving this world.

Until then, I'll continue to keep my feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

You taught us that, Casey.  The importance of staying grounded no matter how far you go in this life.

You didn't just teach it, you lived it.

Thank you.

NEXT WEEK:  Keep on' truckin'