Thursday, February 26, 2015

Chances Are

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At the rate we are going we could all be gone tomorrow but for the sake of everyone let's leave that discussion for several years down the road and focus instead on where we have been and where we are today. As for the time leading up to now mine has been mostly well spent but I have wasted or squandered a lot that I wish I had back. But if this were my last full day here I really have no idea about how I would spend what is left of it; no idea because I never really gave much thought to an agenda for the last one if indeed I knew when it would come. The best any of us can hope for is for spontaneity to kick in just in the knick of time! That is, that we will be able to remember all of the things we hoped we would get to do and have time to get around to doing it; whatever is most important to us, or at the very least what is most personally satisfying.

The chances are that if you are somewhere within a few decades of my age you sometimes long for the past and wish things could be like they were at a certain time in your life, and if you are something like me you know the best any of us can do is probably what we are doing to make the most of where we have come in life. The past is fine, still back there where we left it; we cannot change any of that and there isn't much about it that I would if I could. Now and tomorrow is the challenge because we still have time to work on adjustments if we think we need to. Oh sure, we all made mistakes along the way and it would be less difficult to name them than it would be to list all of the good and happy times we had and that seems a bit unfair because all of us wish we could just forget them. I wish I could remember as many details of all of my good decisions and what was going on around me when I made every one of them, if only for the sake of recalling all of the good things in life instead of just the highlights. It seems that many of us do remember our blunders and hardships with more accuracy than we do the smaller joyous things we did, but some of that balances out when we compare our bone-headed decisions with the good ones we made. After all, how miserable would we be, or how hopeless would we feel if the bad stuff trumped what was good? Thankfully, my mistakes are dwarfed by what went right for me.

Anyone who married the wrong person or didn't finish a good project when they should have knows exactly what I mean by that. Someone who may have gotten caught up in drug or alcohol abuse knows it and anyone who didn't have the patience or take the time to get to know someone a little better who might have brought them more happiness knows it as well. The chances are probably good that many of us still have time to tweak our priorities and do something we have thought about doing for years but they are even better that we won't because it is our nature to put things off when we can; some of us never run out of excuses to delay our intentions or doing things we know we want to do, especially if whatever that might be happens to lie outside of the norm. Whatever phase of our day is normal is where we find the most comfort. Some would call that exercising common sense and doing nothing to rock the boat or change what always works best for us. Being bold and taking chances in life can be daunting and it could lead to more mistakes, but it is that chance that something big and good could come from it that leaves me less skittish than some that makes me willing to test an idea or go at one full-throttle. This, from a man who is looking down the barrel of becoming 63 years old very soon.

Last year at this time, I was in the planning stage for a new book I wanted to write about the significance of an upcoming birthday that would qualify me for Social Security. My head was packed with emotions about that milestone and I was wondering then as I am now if I had done enough in my life to be satisfied that I left no stone unturned that I could have turned over. What was not in my thoughts was surrendering to the notions that I had done all I could hope to do, contrary to anything like that I believed then as I do now that I could do more and would do as much with my life or what is left of it as possible. None of what I was contemplating then was new for me because I have been doing that all along; it is why my resume is packed with various occupations and what I regard as personally satisfying achievements. I think I made it! My triumphs in life outweigh my failures and some of those failures were doozies! But it was when I did fail that gave me the most motivation to never make the same mistakes twice, even though I did make them at times. I am likely to make a few more before my final day, but I hope they are few!

In any case, I have plans for the days ahead and among them are some pretty amazing goals for a man my age. I am blessed with a desire to never become irrelevant or want anything that could be considered out of my reach or obsolete. I want one more exciting car, for example. Having been a car buff since I played with toy replicas I have already owned many; my passion is for vintage automobiles, but it wouldn't have to necessarily be an old one to get me excited about driving again or about spending a hot afternoon waxing or polishing one. Just a car that I could look at every day and feel something good about. Lately, I have been dreaming of late model Ford Mustangs but my dreams go beyond one more vehicle, and before anyone jumps to the conclusion of an old guy going through his second childhood let me asure you I have already gone through a half dozen or more of those!  I feel as if I still have something left inside of me to do that is either an extension of something I already have done or maybe just something I might have forgotten I wanted to do, or maybe it is something I have only flirted mentally with doing. When I am sure of what it is I will find every means possible to do it or I will end up disappointed again.

It wouldn't be the first time that disappointment and myself have been on a collision course; we have met many times before and when we have we found ways to simply go our separate ways. So the chances really are good that something is once again bubbling beneath the layers of whatever it is that motivates me, and whatever it is I will feel it before it becomes too late; before that last day and before the chance to act slips away for good. For anyone who has followed or is only familiar with my work as a writer, none of this should come as a surprise. For anyone who isn't it might read like wishful thinking or expressions of a lot of hot air, not unlike what we walk away with after listening to motivational speakers. I am not trying to motivate anyone here and I don't feel as if I need anyone to motivate me, I am merely documenting more of my own personal thoughts. When that next big thing does come around for me it will be just another chapter of many. Perhaps it is just one more cockpit, but hopefully it is more than just a reason to buy a few more bottles of car wax! Something lies just ahead for me and I believe it is something very personally gratifying. If I didn't think that, I would be nervously planning what I hope to do on my final day here.




Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Power Up

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I am an unintentional folkloristic; that is, I have made it my life's work (unintentionally) to scoff at certain legends, proverbs, descriptions, jokes, fairy tales and tall tales and the belief that they are actually facts just because they have been told over and over. Actually a lot of it is nothing more than folklore that has been twisted and exchanged in various themes that all resemble a little truth but mixed with inaccuracies. Let me explain; I am a self taught folklorist who never set out to be one but there can be no denying that I have gone to great lengths to dispel the notions of anyone who doesn't understand or won't admit that I am not always acting out of bias when I challenge and then present evidence that I am right about a certain topic. And since I was raised in the south end of Columbus, Ohio and have chosen to stay grounded to my roots which are now more than 60 years deep I think I have had ample time to study and dissect some of the folklore surrounding these old neighborhoods that lie just south of downtown Columbus. To paraphrase a Will Rogers comment regarding the difference between a Republican and a Democrat, it takes a lot of money to live in certain areas of Franklin County but it takes a lot guts to live in certain areas of the south end!

As I continue to age I become more and more pleased with my decision to stay put instead of looking for excuses to want more than I ever had or to live in an area surrounded by people who might look down their snoots at where I came from, for I have something that no amount of money could ever replace, the satisfaction of knowing that I have lived this long and this happy about where I am. I heard it for years; the folklore that started a long time ago that the south end is just a bunch of old neighborhoods, heavily populated by dangerous people who have less ambition than those who strive for a higher social status. The old houses down here with basements that flood after a heavy rainfall, broken and uneven sidewalks and bumpy old brick streets. Those are facts, and it is true that water does leak into my basement anytime we experience a torrential downpour and the sidewalk in front of my home is in dire need of replacement! The brick street I live on is bumpy but I like it! If it were paved it would probably be even more bumpy because asphalt and blacktop have a tendency to break apart and form pot holes whereas century old bricks are more durable and only bumpy.

My home is far from beautiful and I do not enjoy state-of-the-art comforts and conveniences in it but that's okay because I have what I call retro comforts and conveniences! The same ones I have enjoyed for a lot of years. I am satisfied that I have indoor plumbing and old fashioned light switches that work when I flip them; in fact, sometimes when I turn one of them on I pause a moment and wonder how many times it has been touched by fingers of someone I cared about; my mom and dad, my siblings, my grandmother and all of the friends that have come here since 1958.  That's how long someone in my family has lived in this old house; since then I am the second owner of it, my dad was the first! Yes, it is very old, built in 1907; it is not unlike most of the others on my block or for blocks a few miles in any direction. The old south end; often neglected by the very people who could bring more homes up to code or do more about a crime rate I am not proud of just by paying as much attention to it as they do more proper areas of Columbus. Sometimes it feels as if we are as forgotten as we are neglected by our mayor and our city council but I think that speaks volumes about our character and our fortitude! For those of us who stayed put after the intentional obliteration of what was a very good community oriented public school system that saw neighborhood kids placed on buses and trucked to other parts of town instead of being allowed to walk a few blocks to school, I believe fortitude is understated. Because it wasn't until that happened in the late 1970s when this area really headed in a lateral direction. Prior to that controversial court decision this part of town was safer, if not populated by softer hands and cleaner fingernails, the true working class who struggled here before things got worse than it might have already been for some. The history of this area has been one of tough and determined people for as far back as I can remember and I have no intention of ever being any different from them. It was how I was raised, how I intend to remain, and I guard it with every means available to me.

What some see when they traverse certain areas of the south end is not what those neighborhoods looked like before mandatory school busing; the attitudes of many of the residents who now live in those places is nothing similar to what it was 40 years ago when a different culture existed there. In other words, a lot of what was good about the south end left a long time ago and was replaced by people who embarrass us all. Some choose to be embarrassments but I don't think they define who we are. They certainly don't define who I am or anyone I ever mingled with around here. I know because I witnessed the changes and I have strong opinions that I have never been shy about expressing. To anyone I might meet on the street on any given day I am just another  south side dirty butt but that doesn't matter to me in the slightest. Indeed I joke about it myself and some would argue that I go out of my way to resemble only that! The truth is, I don't go out of my way to look any way, I sort of like it when others underestimate me. What they don't realize is that they have! It may sound perverse to some but I actually enjoy the stares from strangers who see me moseying about and look to be wondering how bad off I am by the way I am dressed or my overall appearance that to them might suggest an old lost soul with little hope. It is as if they believe they have an edge, simply by how they are are dressed compared to what they see when they look at me. Contrarily to what they might think I believe it is me with the edge because I clearly see the image the want to portray and it is probably who they are, whereas they have no idea whatsoever who I might really be. 

What they cannot see is a content man who has already been where they are striving and competing to be in life. You see, this old neighborhood is also heavily populated by people who have a lot, young professionals who have bought into the celebrated history of of our area of town, especially the one that is known and listed in the National Registry as a historic community, German Village. I live as close to million dollar homes as I do to run down boarded up ones. There are as many BMW's and other high-end cars parked on streets nearby as there are hot rods and other rattle traps. When anyone of more means than I notices me they don't see my history, instead they may wonder when I will go away and be replaced by someone who better fits in with what they hope the neighborhood could better attract. What they don't know is there is no more determined advocate for that than me because I rarely show that side of myself! I treat those moments as studies in cultural diversities because that is who we are around here. So it isn't as if I go out of my way to appear to have less going for me than I have, it is more about the satisfaction of not needing to. I am not eccentric but I could understand the perception of someone who might think I am. I guess at times I do deviate from what is customarily regarded as normal or expected behavior or thinking, but I don't do it because I don't know any better or to make any sort of statement, I am who I am by coincidence! What others see or think they know about me is merely what I show them. If you have ever read any of my other published work or if you truly do know me none of that should disappoint you or cause any concern because those who have should be able to find the humor and innocence of this image some might have of me.

I am as humored by those who look suspiciously at me as I am cautious toward those who might appear to pose a threat. I can still fend for myself wherever I am and probably much better than some might believe. It comes about from attitude; something I learned a long time ago on the streets of the south end of Columbus and it is why it is so easy for me to be as passionate and as vocal as I feel I need to be when it comes to discussions that truly concern me. It is where I draw the material I write about and how it was that I found ways all my life to wander in and out circles I wanted or needed to be in. Some of those circles were quite impressive! In short, I power up when I think I need to. South side dirty butt? Perhaps. But there are a lot of us around and no negative folklore about this old part of town can define it in any version when someone takes to repeating it to me. I can name former mayors of this city who grew up nearby as well as city council members, county commissioners, sheriff's and any number of other movers and shakers. The list of world famous athletes is also a long one as is more people from other famous walks of life but that's all irrelevant to what I am trying to impart here. This is about pride of where I am and have always been. It is about people who know exactly what I am talking about and who agree that even though the south end has long gotten the short end of the stick there are still enough of us who power up when we need to or when we want a more accurate reflection of who we are.

The power we all need to show everyone else who we really are lies within the walls of city hall. It is guarded closely by the decision makers whose numbers aren't in the favor of the south end and haven't been for decades. But we can change that by showing most of them the door and replacing them with people who understand that Columbus can be a better a city if neighborhoods like ours that have been neglected are given the respect needed to blow away the folklore of not being worthy of any desire to make them better. It will take more people who can be as vocal as I am willing to be and who can put aside what they think they know about us and pay attention long enough to listen to us and find common ground that works for us all. I have long stressed a need to change how we govern and are governed by establishing wards and finding the right people to represent them; to give neighborhoods more voice to the issues that are important to them. I am a south side dirty butt but I clean up nicely and whether I decide to wear a suit today or kick around in blue jeans and a t-shirt I am confident that my constitution to make a positive difference in everything I do is as strong as it ever was. I hope  what I have shared here is contagious, not just for the people down here but everywhere. Powering up is only a state of mind. All the south end really needs is a little more determination and stronger voices, and I urge those who really care about our heritage and want to see the best of it linger awhile longer to seek them. At least keep an open mind and question that folklore that some believe defines us.

Monday, February 23, 2015

The Lines In My Face

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The lines in my face are real, I earned them; they aren't there because I spent thousands of dollars on plastic surgery to make myself look older, I am older! I got to this stage of life not by accident but because it is God's will that I live this long. Maybe it is a form of punishment for something evil I did in my youth, or maybe it is because I have been selected for a reason or reasons I don't yet understand, but I do believe he is keeping me around for something else.

Punishment, you might ask? It seems that way sometimes when I look back at the struggles I have endured and think about more of them just ahead. The challenges of staying focused when times were darkest such as losing loved ones and the sadness of losing all of those amazing pets that have shared my life, not to mention the thousands of times things didn't go just the way I hoped they would. The longer we live the more we can expect to feel those emotions again, not to mention new aches and pains and worries of what will become of us when we can no longer be in charge of our lives. Yes, the lines in my face are real and soon there will be more of them in a face that I often find unfamiliar. 

You wouldn't know it to look at me now but there was a time not too many years ago that I might have passed for a handsome man to some people. Why, I can recall when total strangers would look at me and then look again, and sometimes I could feel their eyes scanning me and looking me over and it was not uncommon for them to smile and actually say something indicative of interest in me! Of course that isn't likely to happen now and if it did some might think it was a miracle; moreover I would be quite surprised myself if it did! But I don't count on it because I am in that cycle of life when hiding in plain sight from most of the people I come in contact with gets easier and easier. I am able to go almost anywhere now unnoticed and if I want to be I have to actually do something that would probably be out of my character. Just being myself doesn't work like it used to.

Those lines are real but I find comfort in them nonetheless because they remind me of where I have been, the things I saw and experienced; the things that will take those who never notice me many more years to catch up with! There is no substitute for being around a lot of years and doing lots of things to understand all of this; my life could not become a course of study that could make a student fully understand what caused those lines and why I have lost muscle mass in my body or shrank an inch in height over the years; one would have to be able to answer..."almost 63"  if someone were to ask how old they are to know why there are more lines in my face this year than there were last year, or why my hair looks like hair seen in old black and white TV shows and movies. Were that a color photo you would see there are only traces of what it all was ten or fifteen years ago. I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed when the stubbles of white growth on my face fall from my electric razor when I shave. Not too many years ago if I went a few days without shaving those hairs made me look manly, but now after a few days it looks like I have a face full of lint!

Believe me when I say that I am not okay with that! But even though I am not I still refuse to succumb to using dyes, or creams or other treatments to hide the lines to fool others into believing I am younger than I am. Therefore, as I have done most of my life I will soldier forward and try to make the most of my situation by confessing that I have become a senior citizen. I had hoped that when this time came it would be better than it is but here I am, in a world that moves faster than I can but in one that still hasn't found a way to ignore me. It might have if I had allowed it to but I'm just not ready for that yet. I try to stay relevant in it by the homework I keep cranking out; blogs, books and an internet radio program that I think is quite unique. I call it "Talk Radio with Music" and by relying on my knowledge of mass communication and experience of living a life that had me doing that for many decades to make a living I have managed to cultivate a small following of people who really get what I am after! That is to hang on for a little while longer to who I have always been without feeling any need to reinvent myself just to fit in, regardless of those lines in my face and the date of my birth shown on my driver's license.  

My radio program that is heard at night around the world is an extension of the things I write about; I crafted it from from the theme of one man's opinions and I compliment it with the music I have played and listened to all my life. It can be described as an oldies channel but that isn't how I see it; the music is old, in fact some of it is older than me but the music is really just a soundtrack playing in the background of some live play that features a cast of one and sometimes a special guest playing the role a character who validates the rest of the story. To do these things requires using the most important muscle I have left, the one that hasn't weakened yet and instead gets stronger with each passing year; my brain. There aren't any lines up there and no one can see its real age but they can know what it is even if they never look at me. That is what I have left and when it goes everyone will know because everything I keep doing to hold my place in line will stop. When that happens there will be more lines in my face than there are now and every time I see a new one I am reminded of the things that are less and less easy to embrace. 

That photo is obviously a selfie but if it weren't I wouldn't have one to display. No one wants to take my picture anymore and I cannot blame them because I am not that interesting and the things I do have no mass appeal. It is a selfie and one that was easy to produce because the computer I am typing on now has a built-in camera. All I need to do is sit right where I am and click a button; it catches exactly what I am doing without much effort on my part and without assistance from anyone else.

The only logical explanation for anyone to take a selfie and let others see it is that if we don't capture these moments now then it is possible there never will be a record of what we really look like in the present moment. That is unless we pester someone to take our picture or pay someone to. Or, unless we do something amazing or at least worthy of someone else wanting a record of a particular moment. But that isn't who I am, that was a long time ago, back when those lines now seen in my face had not yet formed, back before I earned them. So I look at them philosophically; yes my face looks old but because I am I have something that tighter faces don't, a mind that probably understands more things and the wisdom I need to face each new challenge. There is not a lot of joy in getting older but it is easier to do when we understand more about it. I paid for these lines so I guess I will celebrate them even though the celebration won't be much fun. To try to sell anyone on the belief that they are just lines would be foolish, but for others to know that I earned them is an admission of acceptance from me as well as them. All I can hope for is that I am not judged only by how I look because I still have a few things to do. What other reason could there be for those lines or for me to have lived this long? 


Friday, February 13, 2015

An open letter to our candidates

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Dear candidates for public offices in Columbus, Ohio;

I have been paying attention to all of you and a few of you have been very creative in your promises to be all you can be for us. I have listened to and read what you say is important to us all  and these are very good discussions and we need to have them. But equally important is we need to move beyond the discussions, past the election process and actually implement the things we all know we need to be better than we are and go further than we have become accustomed to. I have long railed against what has been business as expected by the usual suspects who have made public offices in Columbus and Franklin County stepping stones to bigger offices and in some cases "retirement homes" where they believe face-time in front of cameras and recognition is enough to keep them gainfully employed without having to actually accomplish much. That's what we have had for a long time; good speakers with impressive backdrops, ie: fancy suits,stylish haircuts and propping up their families as models for the rest of us to be like. They do that and then carefully choreograph "Hollywood-like" mini plays where they are surrounded by other impressive people who pretend to adore them as they walk among hard hats in factories or holding hands with rag-a-muffins in blighted areas, promising things they have no intention of delivering.

We have a history of voting for you because you have familiar names and because you raise obscene amounts of money to insure we hear your messages. Millions will be spent getting some of you elected or re-elected and when I think of how far that money you keep raising could have gone to resolve real issues that you speak of I wonder if you are serious about the things you talk about. Some of you have names that have been circulating on ballots for decades! 

That has been our political scene here for a very long time and we all know it, but where we fail is in not talking more about the bottomless rhetoric of people of those with the most support.  Any student of the cycle who has really paid attention would know that a style of politics exists here where the mentors of those they steer into office is not that unlike the shady deal making that has existed in places like Chicago, Baltimore and D.C. for eons. Our current mayor  has even been revered by the local media for his trendy taste for expensive suits and ties. He appears to revel in looking good and being liked by the money bags more than he does in wanting to really be a people's mayor. But then again, who can blame him? He works in an environment that has been this way for years. Great talkers who look great in pictures, but ask anyone who is either unemployed or underemployed how impressed they are. They are less likely to follow these people and smile at everything they say or do than the media is, and thank God for the media and its willingness to keep showing them because otherwise we might not know how much they truly care about all of us. Because it is us that they lose sleep over, night after night isn't it? One of my favorite talking points that is getting a lot of air-time now is how much is a fair wage for people who are willing to work any job they are lucky enough to find.

The raising of the minimum wage is a start, but the discussion itself is a slap in the face to anyone trying to survive on 8 or 10 dollars an hour. That is our biggest problem, the cash flow that is needed between consumers and those in business cannot grow unless we leave behind basic commodities and focus on what cost the most. But is that a good idea? Aren't we leaving more and more people behind in our zeal for higher technology jobs and positions in the investment or medical field? I confess, I am a little bitter about that because most of the people I care about haven't found a way of paying for the education they might need to apply for those jobs, and just as many don't particularly want that line of work. We have a record of building more high priced condos than we do of more affordable homes for those begging for better wages, and we build them at the expense of ignoring boarded up ones that no one wants.

But before I am labeled you should read further, and know this, I am a Democrat but I am not a liberal and because the Democratic party here has become more liberal than suits me I am willing to listen to the other side. I have no history of supporting Republicans but I would if it meant a fairer balance of discussions over what we need to get done. Personally I would like to see a complete tear-down of what we have now, all new and fresh faces in the mayor's office and on city council. And this is where my views get a little sticky; I am sick of no middle ground that is best for all of us, not just for the special interest groups that include the money bags as well as those who only want what they can get for free. As an older white male who has paid at least my fair share in dues and probably more than some, I am tired of hearing that I should change what has always been my way of thinking. All I ever wanted and hope for is that we all get what we want if we can earn it, even if it means holding onto our values, and even when they might not be politically correct. 

I can stand with anyone and support their agendas only if I don't have to change or give up what has always worked for me. What has worked is that I ask no one for anything over and above what I have earned and that as we dole out new privileges and muster new  conformity's that we are expected to live with and embrace, that my needs are also met. I cannot be sympathetic to poor race relations that are making headlines now because there are too many on both sides of that issue who do all they can to keep the problems going. I will not be held responsible for my own race if some in it are bad seeds. I grew up and stayed in the south end all my life and the African American community and me have lived close to one another all that time and we don't hate one another although some might. They are the ones who always will regardless of what gets changed or doesn't. What happened in Ferguson was tragic and I don't want to see it here and if it makes its way here I didn't bring it and neither did anyone I care about. But if it does, I will not join either side, either in a peaceful or violent act. My African American friends and neighbors feel the same as I do. We won't lift a finger to incite anything that could take a bad turn and get us at each other's throats. Some would but we expect our leaders to find ways to resolve those things. Many of us are just too old to risk injury if things go south. But can our leaders do it? Think about it, our top city politicians have been in office for years, and if new problems surface or old ones are revisited, will they be there? Where have they been on this issue before the campaigns began?

Certainly it isn't because we don't have diversity among their ranks, it isn't as if Columbus  hasn't had a pretty good blend of minorities for a very long time in key places of authority.  But more and more that subject rises to the top with ideas being exchanged and promises that we can and will be better than the rest of the country if we elect the right people. But who are the right people? Are they the loudest ones who have discovered new talking points, or are they the ones who are really willing to get out there and work for solutions? For the record I am merely a bystander for now because I don't have the answers that will suit everyone. But neither does anyone else so I am comfortable with myself. I'll try to do more when everyone else does or when I am asked to step up by someone I can trust.

My point on all of that is this; I have played by the rules all of my life and now I am 62 years old. My generation is the largest in this country (so-called "Baby Boomers"). We hear a lot about the down trodden young families (black and white), of better relations with immigrants and of changing our views about sexual orientation, but what of the rest of us who are neither rich or poor and find it increasingly more difficult to fit in with those receiving the most attention now? The politicians come to us for support and we read their agendas about supporting gay rights, better pay for women and minorities and more jobs and better housing for people who need it and we want that too, but what they seem to forget is that people like me also struggled for many years when they and their predecessors could have done more than they did and could do more now. But they gather popular issues like Ferguson, same-sex marriage, focusing on what African Americans needs and wishes are while leaving the rest of us out. Where is a plan for us all to have the opportunities we all need and hope for? Lost somewhere between liberal and conservative thinking I suspect. All I want from here to the end is to get decent health care when I need it without going bankrupt and to be able to keep more of the money I earned over the past 50 years without being asked to invest in something I have no opinion of or something that doesn't improve my quality of life as much as it probably will others. When I came out against the last Columbus City School levy I was vilified by some for not supporting "our kids". Our present mayor strongly supported it but in the end about 70% of Columbus voters agreed with me and it went down in flames. Those of us who said "no" didn't rail against it because we don't care about kids, we read the damn proposal and how much it would cost. Then we looked at the dismal record of CCS and how much it would damage our own personal finances in the bargain, which was no bargain whatsoever! Especially for people like me who must survive on a fixed income while some of the suits who already have more than I will ever see wouldn't also be asked to anty up.

Property owners are the ones that are asked to pay for those agendas and all I ever asked was why only property owners, why not everyone? Perhaps a sales tax on goods we all buy. I found that many of the biggest supporters of that levy didn't own property and that they enthusiastically voted to raise my taxes even though they knew they wouldn't have to share the burden. Once again, I have reached the age where it doesn't matter to them if I get stuck with the bill even if I have no means of increasing my own income while they keep finding ways to earn more. That just does not set well with me and is yet another example of what I am waiting to hear from the candidates. How, or why should I vote for you if what I and hundreds of thousands of people in similar shoes never hear how you can balance fixing whatever else is wrong while not forgetting us?

My generation doesn't make a lot of noise by having rallies and parades because frankly we are too tired. We did those things nearly fifty years ago and here we are, watching the same debates over the same issues, only now we are the confused and befuddled oldsters left shaking our heads. It is no wonder so many of us have raised the white flag and surrendered to the notion that we can't change what cannot be changed unless we clean house and find people who are willing to put aside personal agendas or popular talking points and offer fresh thinking. So where is it? Where are the reasons I should vote for the most popular names and candidates who raise the most money. Once again, I am a white male who will be 63 years old before the smoke and dust of your campaigns clear in November. I am not gay and I do not support gay marriage but you have my word that I won't stand against anyone who does support it. I still believe in live and let live so don't ask me to march in parades or come to rallies for causes that have never mattered to me and please don't preach to me why the ones that don't should. I live in an area of the south end known as German Village, I have many gay neighbors and I like them all but I am not their Calvary; I won't pour any of my own energy into their cause and they all know that and I think they are fine with it, and if they are not then they have lied to me. They are as sympathetic to my issues as I am to theirs but so far none of them have asked if I would help them organize a parade or a festival seeking more attention to be paid for us seniors. And before the question can be lifted as to why I don't take the lead and start my own campaign, remember, I am old and tired and even if I did I couldn't realistically expect thousands of other tired senior citizens to want to come and party with me. That said, I also will not turn down an invitation to a cook-out in their yard this summer and they know that also. It is the same with the African American community that is just a few blocks from my home; when they have community gatherings in vacant lots I go there and they share their food and I enjoy their live music and they don't see me as some old white guy only there out of curiosity or to show my white friends anything, in fact, many of the older ones in my peer group don't understand all of the fuss others are making about race relations and we seem to share the same concerns about our health and safer neighborhoods for us as well as for families around here that we don't know.

I am often described as out of touch, I have even been called a Neanderthal Man for my way of thinking by some who just don't get it or never take the time to hear me out, but if I am either or both, know this, I have been around for a very long time and for the most part I have done okay. Hey, I am still here and regardless of who wins the upcoming elections I expect to still be around. As for the rhetoric about improving community relationships with the police; I am a retired cop who is proud of my service and I have family members who are cops and I resent the constant badgering the law enforcement community has to endure when politicians find their talking points to be on the side of those who think we're all a bunch of thugs who were never trained properly and that it is us who needs to learn new ways of doing the jobs that you expect us to do. From what I have seen and experienced the number of bad or corrupt seeds in our ranks don't even come close per ca pita wise to the numbers that exist and have existed in our neighborhoods since the beginning of time, or for that matter, among those who currently hold or who have held other public offices.

In recent days we saw a sheriff in a county to the south tried and convicted of crimes and subsequently he is done. But that's what we do, we weed out the bad seeds and move forward as we always have. There are bad seeds in all walks of life, so until we begin to name them all and suggest that everyone in every organization should be retrained anytime one of them screws up then where is the validity in the argument that cops are at the root of our problems in the streets or anywhere they are asked to be? For what it might be worth, there is no training for people who can't or aren't willing to be who we trust them to be. But I was that person, I relied on training that was in place 30 years ago to keep me and those I served safe and my personnel file from two separate agencies is a matter of public record (Franklin County Sheriff's Office and Obetz Police Department). Go look for yourself. I made a few mistakes, but none worthy of relaxing the training curriculum that has been working very well for a lot of years. Furthermore, there should never be any part of a police officer's training that teaches one to be slow to react to deadly situations or ones that could escalate to one very quickly. This past winter the law enforcement community around America was vilified and a few of you are keeping that pot stirred with campaign promises to fix whatever problems there might be in any police agency. Do that, but we're still waiting to hear how you will fix the people and the neighborhoods they live in so they won't be as inclined to misbehave. Bring them employers that will hire them and improve the schools and stop coddling the bad ones and blaming the rest of us for not doing more to understand them every time they feel an inkling to rebel. 

Maybe it is unrealistic for some of you to believe that we all cannot become as liberal and forgiving as you might hope, but once again, I and many others was raised and lived in a different time than many of you; those of us who stayed alive and out of jail all of these years were able to that because we had self respect and because we had a set of values that you seem to want to change or are just different from any you understand. In other words, don't ask me to study the differences between me and others if you aren't going to ask them to also study me and try to find common ground.

By the way, that sheriff down south that went awry is one of 87 other sheriff's who aren't under any suspicions. We have a good one here and he is running for mayor. I have looked carefully at my choices for that office and I am choosing him. It just seems to make sense for me to go with a fresh set of ideas. The other three might be talking about a law enforcement system they believe needs tweaked or changed, so maybe they should all step aside and let someone professional look into it and master the plan if it is needed. As for the other races for seats on the city council I will decide among the newest faces also. The old guard has pretty much worn out its welcome so they can save the cost of postage by mailing me fancy literature and send it where it will do them the most good, to their campaign backers and others who only make decisions based on name recognition.

Peace, love....and well you get it, I'm an elder from way back.

Rick

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Gut Feelings



                                            Click image to enlarge

Thinking about changing your life and trying something different? In 1984 I was sitting in a radio studio at WCOL pouring over a program log thinking that very same thing, and then two years later I was sitting in an office pouring over mug shots of people who were in jail and some who needed to be. I have lived long enough to know that acting on an impulse to change your perspectives and just do the things you know you can is the right way to go. 

My work now as an author (21 books and counting) isn't for everyone and I am not amassing great wealth for doing it but then again, I am rich for my passion to do it. If change is something that will move you forward, then change! For me the third phase of changing my own life began in 2009 with a book called "Deputy in Disguise" and that was over a million words ago. Most of them can be found here. If anything I have ever said or written has ever mattered to anyone, be it on facebook or anywhere else I have opened up, I hope everyone can believe me when I say my decisions were absolutely right for me. 

I may change again before I am finished, and if I do, it will be because the embers of a fire inside of me to do more are still smoldering! It can work for anyone who believes it will. So what is all of this, and why am I sharing my personal thoughts here? To sell more books of course, but this is also how each one I write begins; by staying true and in touch with the changes that I hope to accomplish.






Paving Your own Road



For a long time I wondered what was really at "The End of the Rainbow", and then after a fair balance of rough times and good ones I finally found the answer. I retired when I hoped I would after twenty years of commercial broadcasting followed by twenty more in law enforcement. I never got the gold watch but my days and nights are spent doing only the things I want to do and the kids are all doing well. 

Here is how I did it, and maybe it will work for everyone who believes it can for them also; take chances and don't allow anyone who doesn't believe in you to take residency in your head, don't seek anyone's approval for something you believe is right for you, don't follow a pack of people who aren't going in the direction you want to go, and above all, don't quit. It really did work for me and here is my dirty little secret; I didn't set any unrealistic goals because 

I knew I would be disappointed if I didn't reach them. I also haven't devised a "bucket list" yet because of the same reasons. Instead, I just do shit and if I get to liking it I stay with it and try to make it as interesting as I can without worrying about whether anyone else gets it. I did find my own pot of gold; it is a million words explaining it all, contained in 21 publications that have taken six years to bring to market and a radio station that is now in its third year and heard around the world via the internet. It is a station that I built from scratch using only my knowledge of broadcasting and a few simple electronics. 


The rest of it simply comes from living and trusting instincts. Oh, that road paved with gold? I haven't found it yet but I believe it is out there somewhere and I'll keep searching for it. Until I find it this is where I am...

Wednesday, February 11, 2015



And here is why that might be best for everyone; Columbus, Ohio could be a model city for others who would like to see the break-up of "Good 'ol Boy clubs in politics, because we have an opportunity here to stop the practice of "gifting" public offices to the closest friends of party bosses. In 2011, Franklin County Deputy Sheriff Scott was selected to succeed Sheriff Jim Karnes when he passed away while still in office and some might argue that when that happened it was the same thing; but if one were to look closer they would see that he eventually became the practical choice to do it because he was the only member of the department who stepped forward with a willingness to assume command and show a genuine interest in the top job. The chief deputy (Steve Martin) who had plans to retire was asked to step up and steady the ship until a more permanent sheriff could be found and he did, but only for a very short time; he made it very clear that he wasn't interested in staying in the position for any longer than he was needed, only until they could select someone younger who had the experience through years of service as well as knowledge of the office and who would be committed to be there for the long run. That was Deputy Scott. When the time came for the public to weigh in and make their decision it chose Sheriff Scott by an overwhelming margin over his opponent because they saw and they knew from what he was able to prove that he was indeed the right person for the top job. That didn't happen because he was hand picked by a few, but because his credentials and demonstration of leadership held up!

As a former deputy and a retired police chief I get that. The largest police department in the state of Ohio (Columbus Division of Police) has a history of naming police chiefs from within their department from among commanders and deputy chiefs because they are people who work their way up through ranks by doing the job every day for decades and they understand the mechanics and leadership of the job as well as the expectations of the community they serve. My own department functioned the same way for many years and in fact, its current chief is someone I hired as a young recruit but who didn't earn his way up until 9 years after I retired, so that decision was one I had nothing to with and it was made long after I was gone but was in keeping with what made sense.

But let me try to make sense of why it might be a good idea to stop the practice of appointing people to city councils and then elevating them to higher levels just because a small group of politicians like them better than someone who might also be able to perform the duties of any particular office. City leadership is something similar to what Sheriff Scott has being doing all along on the county level; the job of law enforcement is central to the safety and well-being of communities and the sheriff has demonstrated for a few years that he is capable of managing the largest sheriff's department in the state of Ohio, and in so doing he has earned a reputation for moving that agency in a forward direction that changes for the good what needs to be changed in regards to how things have been done in the past. He does that under the same budget constraints as any business or other political body; that is, he must find ways every day to stretch what money is available to spend to provide the services needed to keep us safe while keeping his organization running efficiently and evolving to meet community needs.

Columbus, Ohio is a good city, it is the fifteenth largest in America and one that has had a reputation for being admired by others around the country for decades for its diversity, job stability and overall environment. Our economy is good and line-by-line we stack up well with any other in the country for places to live, work and raise families. We did not become great solely because of the current mayor or our current city council; nearly all, if not all of these people came into prominence in a town that has flourished for years, and most of them got their start by being hand picked and gifted positions in public offices when they started out as politicians. But unlike law enforcement where training and proven on-the-job performance can separate those who are capable of doing such stressful work from those who aren't, there is no discernible reason to believe that bright minds from all walks of life cannot lead a city they love and care about, especially when they show the willingness and demonstrate the dedication to seek the post. Some of the best mayors in the country are in smaller towns and some of them have been farmers, store clerks, door-to-door sales people and common laborers and they began their public service careers with not much more going for them than strong desires and visions for what they felt was right. In some of their domains what mattered most was character and reputations, not what what was printed on sheepskins or where they hoped to leap from within the same four walls of city halls.

To say that I was shocked when the local Democratic party came together and endorsed one candidate over another within their own ranks, even several months before the voting public has much of a chance to hear from either candidate and what their visions for the city were would be untrue; in fact, I wasn't shocked at all because that is how politics is played in a system that has functioned this way for too long. What the Democratic party has accomplished by jumping the gun to lift their favorite candidate into a brighter public spotlight is what they have been doing for decades; appoint someone to city council with no input from the public, thus allow them to run as an incumbent for that office with more name recognition when the time comes for public decisions. And then after a modest tenure as a member of council hoist them up again to the next level. It is a game played well by many local, state and national political juggernauts and the one in Columbus has been well-oiled for a very long time. Since endorsing its favorite son to take the reins from the out-going mayor (Michael Coleman) their candidate has already topped a million dollars in campaign fund raising to spend on television commercials, yard signs and other means of making his name more familiar. That doesn't necessarily equate to the best person for the job, just the one who has the most money. It has long been understood in election after election that the one with the most money usually wins and that is something that leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of us who know we can do better and believe we have missed many opportunities to do better.

What having the most money has proven sometimes is that it is easier to buy ones way into office than proving they are the best for the job. Of course it doesn't mean that we won't be fine regardless of who wins this race for mayor, and in fact I will gladly concede that we will be regardless. But what I hope everyone considers is that breaking cycles is necessary sometimes because if we don't believe that then we are destined to slam the doors of new thinking, and when we do that we lock out the possibility of finding new roads that might be better for us all. In other words, business as usual works, but can we be better?

We can find out, because we have the opportunity here to change the way politicians hand one another these powerful positions by not allowing them to have their way. Where is it written and who can prove that a candidate for mayor whose best credentials in one election after another is already being a member of City Hall?  Can someone outside of that rotating system possibly do a better job?

Perhaps someone who holds a position from a county-wide level who has demonstrated that he means what he says when it comes to the mission of his office could do it. Yes, Columbus is already in pretty good shape as large cities go and any of the four announced candidates for the office of mayor may be capable of keeping it so; after all, it is our history. However; I am tired of the cycle of hand-picking our leaders just because a few of the most powerful people in local political parties make that decision for all of us. Hand-picking the leader of a law enforcement agency is not the same as picking an individual to run a city. When the local Democratic party which I have supported all of my life prematurely threw its weight and its money at one candidate over another as it did, it raised a red flag that I hope everyone saw. I have lived in Columbus all my life (62 years) and I have been to city council meetings here and I have seen the process. Sheriff Scott has lived here too and it should be admirable that he has shown a willingness to say to his own party who has held control of local government for years that there might be a better way to accomplish things. That took guts.

Many cops have gone from that area of public service to becoming office holders in other fields of government but I don't have any recollection of career politicians like mayors or council members trying to take on the responsibility of being cops, let alone being one that leads an agency of around one thousand employees like Sheriff Scott does that is responsible for a budget that is in the tens of millions of dollars. If community safety is the concern we all believe it is then shouldn't we consider that area of a candidates resume? I mean after all, it is where most of our tax dollars is spent, in fact, nearly three fourths (around 70%) of the budget for the city of Columbus goes to public safety! Who can best understand that and make those dollars be most effective than someone whose entire career (more than 30 years) is directly related to that task?

As a former police chief who had to constantly battle a city council for the funds to operate my agency I can swear I only had one member of that entire group who fully understood what was needed to keep our town safe, and he was a retired police captain. The five other council men and women who held the purse strings over my budget argued incessantly with the police department over how best to protect our citizens. All of them were untrained and inexperienced in public safety matters but the town's safety was in their hands. Those debates were usually a balance between money for things like parks and recreation versus adequate police services. Often times public safety took a back seat to whatever else was on a council members personal agenda and it was clear to anyone who was paying attention that the bigger issue was that we were caught up in what seemed like an unbreakable cycle; one that resembled one of those "good 'ol boys clubs" that kept shuffling friends of friends in and out of offices inside our City Hall. They almost generally did things their way and they all got what they wanted out of that system of leadership, and they got it at the expense of what was truly best for all of the people. Everyone benefits from safer communities but not everyone saw their quality of life expand from all of the pet projects that came to fruition that they paid for in our town.

Many will argue that one of the most beloved and most effective mayors in the history of Columbus was a man named Maynard E.  (Jack) Sensenbrenner. He wasn't a career politician when he came to the local Democratic party with plans to become the mayor of the city. When he showed up in 1954 he was unknown to the movers and shakers within the party and they refused to endorse him or his ideas, and it wasn't until a runoff  in the primary election in the spring (without that endorsement) that he was selected by the voters to run in the fall of that year as the democratic nominee. It made national headlines when this former Fuller Brush salesman proved his detractors wrong and he accomplished that without a large campaign coffer and virtually no support from within the party he represented.  He went on to serve a total of twelve years as the leader of our city and he is to this day remembered and revered by those who knew him, and  who worked with him, or just benefited from what he was able to accomplish. Sensenbrenner was a Democrat who took on a system and showed everyone it was time someone was willing to. I see the similarity here again.

So maybe we should end the decades-long cycle of a few deal makers who have been deciding for the rest of us behind closed doors who gets to shuffle forward, because the bosses and decision makers within the local Democratic party might be wrong again. It is more than sixty years since Columbus voters smeared egg in their faces by proving that those they serve might know as much or more than they do about who or what could be best for us all; sixty years of progress yes, and it started with a set of fresh ideas from a man the Democratic party tried to ignore; someone who only showed up wanting to make a a difference in how the selection process of a few would be decided by changing it to better serve us all.

Sensenbrenner was an outsider as far as the party bosses were concerned; not one of their own. What I have written here is not as much of an endorsement of one candidate over another as it is a statement of facts. Why else would a small body of deciders choose to endorse one office seeker within their own party over another before the rest of us have ample opportunities to know what their visions might be? Something to think about isn't it?  Because if the candidate they have prematurely chosen before the rest of us even has a chance to weigh in does win this election we will never know if a better way forward was possible.