The Lack of Respect In This Country, Even in a little Mountain Town Library

     First, I’d like to remind everyone of how much I love the library system of this great nation. Also Of how I think that for such a small county the Grand County Library System is excellent.  The only complaint I’ve had is the noise level.  For the most part, I ignore it. The Kremmling and Hot Sulpher libraries are quite small and it’s understandable. The Granby Library is quite large and even has a large kids room but yet at times it can still be noisy . I don’t like to make a fuss, so I just ignore it, usually the noise doesn’t last that long. Though there comes a time when enough is enough!

        I was in the library yesterday, a Saturday, early.  I had some stuff I was working on. I had just gotten started when some late teen maybe very early twenty year old comes in and starts reading a letter, I guess, he had gotten from the post office across the street. I don’t know what he had gotten but he was very relieved and glad. Apparently it was something he had been waiting on and it brought him great pleasure. He also apparently thought everybody in the library should know how pleased he was. Then he got a phone call and from across the library I could hear him talking on the phone louder than if I was shouting to him. His girlfriend, wife, significant other, whatever, was sitting behind me and must have noticed I was getting annoyed and tried to quiet him down, but he was so busy being loud, I guess he didn’t notice her.  About this time a group of kids, say 12 to 14 years of age came in and sat behind me, talking loudly and being boisterous. I gave them a minute or two and then without turning to them I shushed them. Next I heard “Dusty Old Fart!” Still with my back to them I told them that libraries were supposed to be quiet places. Nothing else was said. “The Dusty Old Fart” stood his ground and at least for the time being things was quiet enough.

         Here to me is the most shocking part of this story! It was at about this point a very sweet, kindly librarian walked up to me and offered one of the study rooms. She stated that I could close the door and it would be quieter. A nice gesture on her part, but for one thing, I don’t want to be closed up in a tiny room. Second off, when I was that age, not only would the librarian tell you to be quiet and threaten to throw you out, you had more respect than to say something like to an older person. I think it’s a major flaw in our society that we let kids get away with such rudeness and that people as a whole have such little respect for their selves, their families and the other people they come in contact with.

"The Autobiography of Alice B Toklas" by Gertruide Stein

           Of late, I've been very lucky to come across some brilliant books and movies. While I admit I've come across some because of my curious nature. Others seem just to drop in my lap. this is a book that my curiosity led me to.
            Years ago I saw a movie that starred Peter Sellers one of my  all time favorite comedians. The name of this particular movie was "I love You Alice B Toklas"! It was set in the 60's and was loosely based on an actual cookbook written by Alice that used a certain herbal ingredient. ; )  Later as the years passed I learned that Alice B Toklas did in fact write such a cook book, although to this date have never seen it. She was also a life long "companion" to Gertrude Stein.
          This is a fascinating account of their time together. Its amazing because Alice B Toklas didn't write the book. It is written by Gertrude Stein through the eyes of Alice B Toklas. It includes a brief introduction to each of their early years, but is based mostly on their time together in France and their travels together before, during and after world war one. The fascinating thing to me was that Gertrude Stein, while indeed a great author, she is the one that is quoted as saying "A rose is a rose is a rose", was surrounded by and had constant parties that included great artist like Matisse and Picasso before they were considered masters  and in later years authors like Hemingway. Its almost like Gertrude Stein was a magnet for these people. Its a fascinating look into the art world of the early 20th century. With so much of todays academia focused on technology and science, I think this should be required reading in any high school English class. It would actually open up a world of art and maybe even increase a students interest in art.

The World Of Religion

           Resolving of sins past, present and future by destroying infidels. Religious war, down with the infidels! Going to the promised land by dying in a holy war. Sounds like extremist Muslims doesn't it. Try the Crusades of the middle ages. There is so much violence associated with organized religion. Yet no religion, not Christianity, not the Muslim religion, not Hindu and certainly not Buddhism are there any teachings of going to war for a holy reason.  No Way! No how! All the religions of the world in one way or another teach the "Golden Rule". We are a country that is much more diversified than in the 1950's but if you ask Americans, especially right wing Americans, they will say this is a Christian nation. Guess what? We don't act it! No where in the bible does Jesus say that it is ok to wage war. In fact if you really read the teachings of Jesus. He is more in line with the teaching of Buddha or Mahatma Gandhi. Jesus was a pacifist to the end, even while being nailed on the cross. Something the Buddhist monks can tell you about. While facing their Chinese torturers they are famous for staying compassionate and keeping with their teachings. Waging war, being the biggest arms dealer in the world while our own people are starving and homeless and trying to force our way of life on other people is directly against the teaching of Jesus and more in line with the Devil. Look in the holy city of Jerusalem, a Muslim opens and closes the most holy of Christian churches. Jerusalem is the holy place of the worlds three greatest religions. That alone should be proof enough that we are supposed to live in harmony with each other. Just because an extremest group attacks us in the name of a holy war, it doesn't make it right to think that all people of that religion are bad. If so then all Christians are evil. Look at the Crusades! Look at the Molestations in the christian churches! If we consider our selves Christian and we consider our government based on Christian ideals? Then we need to hold ourselves and our government accountable to the teachings of Jesus. Turn the other cheek, those with out sin cast the first stone, treat your neighbor as your brother, give of your self to others, judge not.
       So... where do we stand? With the Devil or in the light and compassion of a Holy God? 

Planet Earth

    I've been checking out from the library "Planet Earth" a BBC television series. The photography is excellent. Some of the close ups are spectacular. The field notes at the end give an insight into how they get some of these shots. Also the time lapsed photography is amazing. Anyone interested in our planet and the nature of our planet should watch these shows. I will say David Attenbourogh is a little over the top. At times he is a little over dramatic. There are times when the shows are a little gory, gross, funny and touching. Its gives a wonderful insight into our planet and very beautifully filmed.

My Destination

“My destination is freedom itself and if I find it I will share the wealth.”   New Riders of The Purple Sage

The Dark Side of Facebook and Twitter

   I actually caught a bit of the local news out of Denver at lunch time yesterday. They ran a segment on a fellow who was standing on a corner handing out resumes to passing cars in the hopes of getting a job. Towards the end of the segment they noted that many employers were no longer looking at resumes and instead were looking at many prospective employees Facebook and Twitter accounts.
     This disturbs me in that these sites mainly give an insight in to someones social and sometimes political leanings and in no way show a persons work ethic or experience in the job place.
     What if I applied at a resort or corporation where the human resource manager was a born again christian or had right wing political leanings. If he looked at my Facebook or Twitter account what would he or she see?
     They would certainly see some likes of some good quality food sites, but beyond that they would see a Libertarian with Buddhist/ Taoist leanings, who likes hippie rock & roll and outlaw country music and if they looked further it would lead them to my blogs which I do discuss, in my own amateur way, political and social issues that concern me. None of this says anything about my desire to put out the best food possible, my desire to watch food cost and the way I try to treat every business as it were my own. I think it is a great injustice for someone to hire or not hire someone based on these social networks. It really makes me wonder if maybe we are putting too much of ourselves out there for anybody around the world to see. Anybody, Anywhere! 

The Merry Go Round of Politics, Oil and Terrorism

                                “A desperate disease requires a dangerous remedy.”  Guy Fawkes

        I think it would seem to anybody with any common sense that our thirst for crude oil is destroying not only our planet but our society as well.

         In our own hemisphere, we have polluted and damaged the jungles of the Amazon, the gulf coast and all the way to Alaska. Through government deals with corrupt Middle Eastern Officials, supplying them with cash and weapons we have weakened our status with the common man throughout the world and inadvertently trained and sponsored terrorism. Greed and corruption are so rife in the oil business; our politicians in Washington turn a blind eye to our supposed friends, the Sheiks of Saudi Arabian, while they pour money into extremist Muslim organizations so their kingdoms are not attacked from within. If Saudi Arabia is such a good friend, then why were most of the high jackers from 9/11 and even Osama Bin Laden from Saudi Arabia?

       I watched a very good movie called “Syriana” that raised a lot of questions in my mind. That led me to a book Called “Sleeping With The Devil” by x-CIA agent Robert Baer. He fully follows the money trail and greed from Washington to the Saudi king and princes’ to the terrorist themselves. There is no doubt in my mind (I know this is going to be very unpopular) that our government and elected officials, our thirst for oil is as much to blame for 9/11 as anyone else.

    I don’t think there are any easy answers to wean ourselves from our thirst for crude oil. Both the movie and the book will show you that. I think we are going to have to look at multiple solutions. In my time in living in the west, I’m encouraged by the wind and solar farms that are springing up. In other areas we may have to look at geothermal options and natural gas or on our coast harnessing the power of the waves. I think one of the main ways we need to look at a change in our “Energy Policy” is to make it our patriotic duty not to support the use of crude oil.

    We also need to realize that when it comes to the rest of the world we are not a very good police force. We supported Batista in Cuba, The Shah in Iran, we supported Saddam Hussein in his early years, after the French fought for ten years and got out we got embroiled in Vietnam, the CIA trained and armed Osama bin Laden against the Russians, and the list goes on.

     We are the number one arms dealer in the world!  A part of every dollar we spend on oil goes to funding terrorist groups. We spend more on health care than any other country. But yet we are 37^th in performance, 50^th in life expectancy and 38^th in birth mortality rates. I can’t afford health insurance, I live in fear every time I get a cough, afraid it might turn into pneumonia, every time I go on a hike or scrambling up a hill side, in the back of my mind what if I fall and break a leg. When you go to a hospital, the first thing they ask is how are you going to pay.  It would seem our government is more concerned about arming governments who are not popular with their own people then keeping our citizenry healthy.

     I consider myself a patriot. I believe in the Constitution, the right to the pursuit of freedom and happiness. Our Government has lost sight of our basic freedoms and will run rough shod over everything and anyone that gets in the way of their thirst for greed and power.  It’s our duty, our right as a free people to stand up for our rights, to write about the injustices that our government is involved in, to vote and continue voting until true change comes about. We need a major change! The time is ripe for a rational, third party that is for the people and by the people and not in bed with big corporations or has a religious agenda. But we as a people need to be involved all the time. We can’t vote someone in and then just go home. We need to be involved at the local level in our government, we need to vocalize and often, in order to be heard in Washington, only then will there be true change. We need to turn off the video games, quit thinking that “American Idol” is news and be involved in our government and our society at the local level in order to initiate true change, only then will there be true positive change in our society. It may already be too late, I’m not sure and I try to be positive, but if there is not a major change in the next few years in the way our government does business and that is truly what our government has become. We will go the way of Rome; we are already heading that way in a major way