I was standing outside the Golden Nugget Hotel in downtown Las Vegas waiting for the bus to take us back to the airport for the return trek home. Leaving Las Vegas is always a melancholy time. But what happened while I was waiting jarred me quickly back to reality.
A man who appeared to be my age was walking toward the hotel pushing a shopping cart that has a couple of taped plastic bags in it. He wasn't shabbily dressed but he wasn't wearing a tux either.
Suddenly, he stopped and peered into a garbage can. He reached in, grabbed a Coke cup and appeared to drink its remnants. Then he walked along past us to the end of the block, snooping into garbage cans. His "luck" ran out at the end of the street because he encountered a hotel security person, who quietly and efficiently sent him around the corner.
We've all seen the people on the edge of freeways with their signs "Will work for food" and the like. But we can breeze past them in our cars and manage to forget them quickly.
But it is a different story when you watch a guy slowly walk past you pushing a cart with what is probably his entire worldly belongings in it. The guy didn't say anything to us as he walked by and he wasn't bothering anybody.
But I don't think I will forget the scene for some time to come. The next time I hear a politician or a pundit tell me we are not a country with problems, I am sure I will see the picture of this fellow in my mind. I only wish they could see him too.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Less is sometimes more costly
I realize I am not the wisest business person around. But perhaps somebody who knows business well can explain the following to me?
This morning, I stopped at Burger King (or as Clem Haskins once called it, Burgers King) for a quick breakfast. I chose No. 2, a Biscuit with sausage and egg, tater tots and coffee. List price: $3.69.
The guy at the counter then asks the standard question: "Would you a large version of this?" I said no.
He then asked if I wanted a small or large coffee. I told him a small would do nicely.
He rings up the bill and says this will now cost $5.31. Seems that it costs a buck or so more if you order a small coffee instead of the medium you usually get.
I told him to forget the small coffee and go back to the original order. That meant he had to get a manager to void one order and start all over.
I leave it to smarter people than I to explain why this is so.
This morning, I stopped at Burger King (or as Clem Haskins once called it, Burgers King) for a quick breakfast. I chose No. 2, a Biscuit with sausage and egg, tater tots and coffee. List price: $3.69.
The guy at the counter then asks the standard question: "Would you a large version of this?" I said no.
He then asked if I wanted a small or large coffee. I told him a small would do nicely.
He rings up the bill and says this will now cost $5.31. Seems that it costs a buck or so more if you order a small coffee instead of the medium you usually get.
I told him to forget the small coffee and go back to the original order. That meant he had to get a manager to void one order and start all over.
I leave it to smarter people than I to explain why this is so.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
What a sunny day can do for a person
When I first came to college in Minnesota a few years ago, my roommate told me, "If you don't like the weather in Minnesota, wait a minute."
Wise fellow.
It was 97 degrees here yesterday. With it came some glorious sun and equally glorious wind. It made a fellow feel like he was in, say, Aruba.
And it was amazing what it did to people's moods. There were a lot more smiles yesterday than there had been when it was 50 and overcast (as it was Saturday).
Girls who had been waiting patiently for months to wear tanktops and sun dresses brought them out proudly. Guys dragged out the first pair of shorts they could find.
Even the Happy Dog, who is not a big fan of summer, enjoyed it ... once he got under a tree.
A fellow who somehow hurt his heel a week ago and had been hobbling ever since hardly felt it as he made his rounds. (It might have been because of that yummy Hot Fudge Sundae he had at Conny's Creamy Cone. But I digress.)
Even the cranky neighbor down the street smiled and waved at the Happy Dog as he peed on his front lawn.
Life simply was a lot better than it had been the day before.
I suspect this is because we don't get a lot of these days in our little part of the world. And we sure as hell don't expect to get them in the middle of May. (The temp broke the old record by eight degrees.)
We know this won't last. It is supposed to rain tomorrow. But, at least for a couple of days, all is bright and beautiful in the world.
With all the turmoil around us these days, this little break couldn't have come at a better time.
Thanks, God.
Wise fellow.
It was 97 degrees here yesterday. With it came some glorious sun and equally glorious wind. It made a fellow feel like he was in, say, Aruba.
And it was amazing what it did to people's moods. There were a lot more smiles yesterday than there had been when it was 50 and overcast (as it was Saturday).
Girls who had been waiting patiently for months to wear tanktops and sun dresses brought them out proudly. Guys dragged out the first pair of shorts they could find.
Even the Happy Dog, who is not a big fan of summer, enjoyed it ... once he got under a tree.
A fellow who somehow hurt his heel a week ago and had been hobbling ever since hardly felt it as he made his rounds. (It might have been because of that yummy Hot Fudge Sundae he had at Conny's Creamy Cone. But I digress.)
Even the cranky neighbor down the street smiled and waved at the Happy Dog as he peed on his front lawn.
Life simply was a lot better than it had been the day before.
I suspect this is because we don't get a lot of these days in our little part of the world. And we sure as hell don't expect to get them in the middle of May. (The temp broke the old record by eight degrees.)
We know this won't last. It is supposed to rain tomorrow. But, at least for a couple of days, all is bright and beautiful in the world.
With all the turmoil around us these days, this little break couldn't have come at a better time.
Thanks, God.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Proud of my hometown
Yesterday was a great day for many native Detroiters. I’m not referring to the backers of the baseball Tigers, who hammered the Twins 9-0 the night before. For every one of those games, there is a loss by a similar score waiting in the wings.
No, it was a terrific day for my hometown for a different reason. Dave Bing, a guy who came to Detroit 40 years ago to play basketball and then stayed in town as a businessman, was elected the city’s new mayor.
Granted, this is only a temporary gig. He is only filling the seat until the end of the year and must run again in an August primary and a November election. To this native, however, Bing’s election gives hopes that a city that has taken a pounding in recent years can hold its head high again.
Consider what has happened to my hometown in recent years.
1) The previously elected mayor – Kwame Kilpatrick – committed a serious of acts so stupid that he ended up going to jail. The list is too long to enumerate here. But it includes a pair of whistleblower settlements that cost the city roughly $16 million. In addition, there were allegations of a wild party with strippers held at the mayor’s mansion (one of the dancers later was found dead by suspicious means) and rumors of an extra-marital affair between the mayor and his chief of staff. The latter case really exploded with the revelation of some 14,000 text messages between the mayor and the woman in question that led to another trial for, among other things, perjury. While that trial was going on, Kilpatrick managed to acquire more charges of assault, obstruction and, in a particularly silly move, committed a bail violation by going across the border to Windsor, Ontario without asking permission. When all was said and done, Kilpatrick was forced to resign and ended up in jail for four months.
2) The auto industry problems. Is there much that needs to be added to this story? Let’s put it this way: How would folks around here like it if country western singer John Rich went on national TV and sang, “Let’s shut down St. Paul" or "Let's Shut Down New York?"
3) The Detroit Lions going 0-16 in 2008. You may have noticed Brett Favre didn’t ask for a secret meeting with them.
You get the idea. The city has had some very tough times lately.
Enter Bing. He had a reputation of being an honest, hardworking player during a 12-year career with the NBA Pistons, Bullets and Celtics. When his playing days ended, Bing returned to Detroit as a businessman. He had his dissenters (who of us doesn’t?). Generally, however, Bing was held in high esteem around town, reminding folks of Jimmy Cannon’s famous quote regarding another Detroiter, Joe Louis: “He was a credit to his race – the human race.”
In the election, Bing was matched against Ken Cockrel, Jr., who moved up from City Council president to mayor when Kilpatrick left for a new home. As usual, there were missteps along the way. In the February primary, both candidates were cited for being too close to polling sites. Bing exaggerated his academic credentials from Syracuse. Cockrel wore a campaign T-shirt inside his voting booth, a possible violation.
The race was intense but surprisingly free of the usual political mudslinging. Most folks expected Cockrel, a longtime political fixture on the Detroit scene, to win a close race. But Bing, who left his gated suburban community to move into Detroit and ran as the candidate of change, won by four points. Whether he can achieve some of that change remains to be seen. Cobo Exposition Center, where Bing plied his trade as a NBA player, is more than 50 years old and is in drastic need of a facelift or it may lose the auto shows and conventions that has been its lifeblood. And that is just one of many financial issues facing the city.
But a city that drew headlines for mayoral misconduct and one of its main industries needing federal bailout help needed something positive to happen. Talk radio might not think so but you can only beat up people so long before they eventually lose their will to compete. For now, Detroiters – those who live there and those of us who were born there – can smile.
I know little of Bing’s overall politics. I don’t even know if he is going to run in the primary or the main election. If he does run, I don’t know if he would be the best person for the job.
It may turn out that, after a month or two in the job, he may decide there are better ways for a 66-year old to spend his time. It may turn out that he isn’t very good at the job. We’ll find that out in due time.
But I know this: my hometown has been the butt of too many jokes – many of them snide – in recent years. It has hurt to hear them. But Detroiters have good reason to feel good today. They decided on their political leader the way we used to do it – with a hard-fought, clean election based on the issues and the candidates.
Wouldn’t it be a kick if Detroit started another American trend?
No, it was a terrific day for my hometown for a different reason. Dave Bing, a guy who came to Detroit 40 years ago to play basketball and then stayed in town as a businessman, was elected the city’s new mayor.
Granted, this is only a temporary gig. He is only filling the seat until the end of the year and must run again in an August primary and a November election. To this native, however, Bing’s election gives hopes that a city that has taken a pounding in recent years can hold its head high again.
Consider what has happened to my hometown in recent years.
1) The previously elected mayor – Kwame Kilpatrick – committed a serious of acts so stupid that he ended up going to jail. The list is too long to enumerate here. But it includes a pair of whistleblower settlements that cost the city roughly $16 million. In addition, there were allegations of a wild party with strippers held at the mayor’s mansion (one of the dancers later was found dead by suspicious means) and rumors of an extra-marital affair between the mayor and his chief of staff. The latter case really exploded with the revelation of some 14,000 text messages between the mayor and the woman in question that led to another trial for, among other things, perjury. While that trial was going on, Kilpatrick managed to acquire more charges of assault, obstruction and, in a particularly silly move, committed a bail violation by going across the border to Windsor, Ontario without asking permission. When all was said and done, Kilpatrick was forced to resign and ended up in jail for four months.
2) The auto industry problems. Is there much that needs to be added to this story? Let’s put it this way: How would folks around here like it if country western singer John Rich went on national TV and sang, “Let’s shut down St. Paul" or "Let's Shut Down New York?"
3) The Detroit Lions going 0-16 in 2008. You may have noticed Brett Favre didn’t ask for a secret meeting with them.
You get the idea. The city has had some very tough times lately.
Enter Bing. He had a reputation of being an honest, hardworking player during a 12-year career with the NBA Pistons, Bullets and Celtics. When his playing days ended, Bing returned to Detroit as a businessman. He had his dissenters (who of us doesn’t?). Generally, however, Bing was held in high esteem around town, reminding folks of Jimmy Cannon’s famous quote regarding another Detroiter, Joe Louis: “He was a credit to his race – the human race.”
In the election, Bing was matched against Ken Cockrel, Jr., who moved up from City Council president to mayor when Kilpatrick left for a new home. As usual, there were missteps along the way. In the February primary, both candidates were cited for being too close to polling sites. Bing exaggerated his academic credentials from Syracuse. Cockrel wore a campaign T-shirt inside his voting booth, a possible violation.
The race was intense but surprisingly free of the usual political mudslinging. Most folks expected Cockrel, a longtime political fixture on the Detroit scene, to win a close race. But Bing, who left his gated suburban community to move into Detroit and ran as the candidate of change, won by four points. Whether he can achieve some of that change remains to be seen. Cobo Exposition Center, where Bing plied his trade as a NBA player, is more than 50 years old and is in drastic need of a facelift or it may lose the auto shows and conventions that has been its lifeblood. And that is just one of many financial issues facing the city.
But a city that drew headlines for mayoral misconduct and one of its main industries needing federal bailout help needed something positive to happen. Talk radio might not think so but you can only beat up people so long before they eventually lose their will to compete. For now, Detroiters – those who live there and those of us who were born there – can smile.
I know little of Bing’s overall politics. I don’t even know if he is going to run in the primary or the main election. If he does run, I don’t know if he would be the best person for the job.
It may turn out that, after a month or two in the job, he may decide there are better ways for a 66-year old to spend his time. It may turn out that he isn’t very good at the job. We’ll find that out in due time.
But I know this: my hometown has been the butt of too many jokes – many of them snide – in recent years. It has hurt to hear them. But Detroiters have good reason to feel good today. They decided on their political leader the way we used to do it – with a hard-fought, clean election based on the issues and the candidates.
Wouldn’t it be a kick if Detroit started another American trend?
Friday, May 1, 2009
Remaining puzzled about puzzles
There are two puzzles every day in the St. Paul paper. My mother-in-law, the Scrabble Queen, takes on the NY Times version on a daily basis. More often than not, she kicks the Times' tail.
The second puzzle is of lesser quality and is usually buried in the classifieds. It is the one that I usually try ... with generally pathetic results.
Today, for example, there are clues like this:
Unable to decide (Four letter word has to begin with T)
Citation (Five letters, second and third are ED)
Put down (Eight letters, second is E)
You get the idea. I like to think I'm a reasonably intelligent guy. I read books. I am familiar dictionaries. But I'm damned if I know was is a five-letter word for "Radio Tube Gas."
Puzzles are a lot of fun. But I have decided they can also give you a serious inferiority complex
The second puzzle is of lesser quality and is usually buried in the classifieds. It is the one that I usually try ... with generally pathetic results.
Today, for example, there are clues like this:
Unable to decide (Four letter word has to begin with T)
Citation (Five letters, second and third are ED)
Put down (Eight letters, second is E)
You get the idea. I like to think I'm a reasonably intelligent guy. I read books. I am familiar dictionaries. But I'm damned if I know was is a five-letter word for "Radio Tube Gas."
Puzzles are a lot of fun. But I have decided they can also give you a serious inferiority complex
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
