About ten years ago I was in Washington D.C. with colleagues at a policy symposium.  One of the guest speakers was Bob Woodward.  I distinctly remember Mr. Woodward asking our group the following question: “How many of you believe news media is classified as entertainment television?” One person raised their hand.  Me. 

Woodward was wide-eyed. He was expecting to move on to his next question which would emphasize his subject matter of “Investigative Journalism.”  It had been nearly 40 years since Watergate and he was still living off that event.  I’m still not sure how much investigation would have taken place if not for Mark Felt.  But that’s a topic for another time.

As I looked around the room, I could feel all eyes on me, including Bob Woodward.  “Is that what you really think?” He asked.

“Yes,” I replied.  “Television news is a cut above professional wrestling.”

I could tell he was surprised and frankly disappointed.  I also sensed my colleagues were somewhat embarrassed by my candor.

As I reflect on that evening, I smile now, feeling pure vindication. 

The news media has only grown worse in their bias and manipulation of information. It’s about clicks, likes, viewers and sponsor dollars.

I was recently asked who someone should listen to regarding the news.  My reply was I don’t trust anyone, but right now the most honest objective person seems to be Brett Baier. I understand the difference between editorial journalism and news reporting.  Baier and Lester Holt are newsmen.  Tucker Carlson and Rachel Maddow are editorial journalists.  They give you their opinion.  They are entertainment.

Brian Williams was a newsman, but he got caught lying, was terminated and then rehired as something else.  Not sure why anyone would listen to someone who is an admitted liar.  The lines are also blurred for people like Don Lemon who is supposed to be a newsman.

I understand everyone has baggage.  But with all the people chomping at the bit to be on television you would think networks would be more discretionary when employing people like Williams, Lemon, and Ed Henry. If you don’t have credibility and integrity how can anyone trust what you say?

Walter Cronkite was a registered Democrat. But his journalism and reporting was unbiased. He was a trusted source of the news. As a matter of fact, when he criticized Johnson’s handling of the Viet Nam War LBJ knew he was in trouble. By losing Cronkite he had lost a large percentage of the American electorate.

My son has a degree in journalism and considers himself a middle of the road moderate.  He isn’t affiliated with any political party.  He does exhaustive research on policy matters and tries to see all sides of an issue.  My question is, why don’t all news people handle things the same way?

Instead, they team up with politicians to dictate a narrative to serve their own needs, wants and desires. It is dangerous, divisive and detrimental to the future of our country.

I know this isn’t something new.  It’s been happening for years.  Modern technology, the internet and a variety of social media apps have exposed this partnership.  It’s a travesty and an affront to the public.  A huge concern of mine is the people who buy into what they hear and read. How many stop to ask questions or pushback on the information coming into their homes? Not too many, I’m afraid. What they hear or read becomes what they believe.

You don’t have to believe me or buy into what I am saying.  Do your own research. 

I’d strongly recommend reading “Unfreedom of the Press,” by Mark Levin.  It’s a first class analysis of the history of the press and the media and how it has devolved into what we are living with today. 

Keep your eyes and ears open to objective, unbiased, news.  It’s hard to find, but it is out there.

Until next time…

My dear friend just asked me why I hadn’t posted for a while. That prompted me to check. Sure enough two blog posts I wrote a few weeks ago were still in draft mode. Ironically, one was called “Am I losing my mind.” So the answer to that is probably “yes.” The second one was entitled “Metamorphosis.” Coincidentally, that is the stage I feel my life is in as I write.

I’ve always told people to appear like a swan gliding across the lake no matter what is going on in your life. Regardless of the stress, chaos or pressure, just glide. Below the waterline you may be paddling like crazy, but no one should know it. I firmly believe grace under fire reduces the pressure for everyone around you and every situation you encounter.

Advice that is all well and good, but what about when reality hits. The reality of things like these:

You work and your kids aren’t going to school. Who watches them? Do you leave your job to care for them? If you leave your job who pays for your health insurance and your home mortgage?

Your daughter is getting married. Do you delay the ceremony in order to invite more people when the bans are lifted? When will it be safe for Grandma and Grandpa to attend the ceremony?

You’ve lost a loved one and you can’t get closure because there is no visitation.

You work for or own a small business and due to a particular governor’s edict, the small business must shut down.

You’re a vendor for a professional sports franchise. And because no fans are allowed to the game you are out of work.

You’re providing home health care for an elderly person and you have no experience with any facet of that process.

How do you remain calm and carry on?

The simple answer is you practice what you preach. You take one process, one activity, one hurdle and one day at a time. You focus on the task at hand. Once that task is completed you tackle the next task or challenge. You treat every person you encounter with grace, dignity, professionalism and courtesy.

Remember not to let other people, talking heads on TV or Social Media to rent space inside your head. These people seem to enjoy filling our brains with divisive rhetoric and even fabrications of situations and events that tear us down, depress us and in some cases incite us.

Instead, control what you can control. Most importantly, you MUST realize there is a higher power in charge. If you think you are in charge, you’re not. Often times people don’t realize this until time has passed and they are able to look back and realize what happened and why it happened the way it did. It’s at that point the light bulb shines brightly and you realize through God’s grace all things are possible.

I’m speaking from personal experience. I’m living a couple of the scenarios I described above. They have brought me to the apex of the rollercoaster and made me feel like I could easily go over the edge. But I didn’t. I was able to pull myself out of the perceived crisis and face the future, no matter how uncertain it appeared to be.

I surrounded myself with positive thoughts and positive people. People who think I can and I will, not I might or maybe not. People who believe they are not in control, but they are certain who is.

I’m not out of the woods. The crisis will continue for me, for you and for America, but we must stay positive, have faith and treat one another as we would want to be treated. So simple I know, but also so challenging.

Until next time…

While trying to survive the pandemic, so many are missing so much. People aren’t getting to visit loved ones. Others are waiting anxiously at home while their relatives have surgery. Not being allowed to enter the hospital or surgery centers. Many are struggling with proper closure, when a funeral is limited to a certain number of participants.

Summer activities of all kinds have been cancelled. For the first time since 1897 Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wyoming cancelled. I know for a fact that will cripple the economy of Cheyenne as the two week event brought in thousands of people and dollars every day.

What we are all going through in this country cannot be described by words. There really are no words strong enough to describe it. Colossal tragedy doesn’t even come close. I could spend hours sharing all the things we are missing, but what good would that do anybody? No sense wallowing in self-pity. With a hat-tip to John Waite, I thought I’d share a dozen things of what “I aint missin.”

• I don’t miss Major League Baseball
• I won’t miss watching the NBA
• I probably will never watch the NFL again. Granted there are a great many numbskulls in sports and entertainment, but is there a bigger idiot in all of sports than Roger Goodell?
• I don’t miss watching network television programming
• I ain’t missing Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. I’ve tried YouTube and I can live without that too.
• I don’t miss going to the movie theater. Over priced entertainment.
• I sure don’t miss watching T-ball. But I never did like T-ball. If your child can’t hit a ball tossed underhanded to her or him, than have them take up golf.
• I ain’t missing high-fives, handshakes, or hugs. I’ve always been a hat-tip kind of guy.
• I don’t miss the hassles of going through an airport and I certainly don’t miss airport television monitors.
• I ain’t missing standing in long lines of people nose to neck no matter where I may be.
• I don’t miss learning, deciphering, or memorizing acronyms. Just seems like so much BS to me.
• I certainly don’t miss dealing with people who “reply all” on a regular basis.
• I will never miss those who are too stupid to admit they don’t know what they are talking about. Seems to me we have more and more of those people all across America. I’ve always felt knowing what you don’t know and admitting it is the best first step to learning.

Okay, that’s a Baker’s Dozen, but I couldn’t help it. I could have shared two dozen without thinking too hard.

My good friend Rick agrees with me about network television. He took it a step further when he said, “Remember when we would listen to the nightly news? Cronkite, Huntley and Brinkley and then Brokaw. Even though we knew they were Democrats we still listened, learned and trusted. Now I don’t care what they report. Presidential polling. Economic figures. Covid-19 Cases. Even what day of the week they say it is. NO CREDIBILITY!”

Rick’s comments ferry me back to bullet 13. The only way to gain credibility is to admit what you don’t know and find someone that is smarter than you are about a topic, task or theory – then learn from them.

Don’t pretend, don’t pontificate and don’t expect people to miss you and your knowledge. Only if you are honest, live with humility, strive to be a servant leader and put others wants and needs above yours will you truly be missed.

Until next time…

I was rummaging through my laptop bag the other day and found a little pull tab with a number 16. The tab had been laminated into a two by three card. For months I wondered where that little memento had disappeared. It brought back some memories and caused me to pause and reflect.

Sixteen by the Numbers

• Sixteen was the number on the back of my baseball uniform.

• Super Bowl winning quarterbacks Joe Montana, Ken Stabler and Len Dawson also wore 16.

• A few songs come to mind with the number 16. Sixteen Candles, Happy Birthday Sweet 16, You’re 16, Your Beautiful, and Your Mine.

• In numerology, 16 represents a person with introspection, intuitiveness, wisdom, independence and values family.

• A person born on the 16th is realistic, happy and talented in education, analytical thinking and the arts.

• The number 16 is also the symbol of determination and growth.

• I also read 16 is symbolic of love and loving.

Having shared those tidbits of trivia, so why does 16 put a twinkle in my eye? It makes me smile because I recall the day I used the pull tab machine and the number 16 was revealed.

The Story of 16

I was waiting at the local IRS office to hand over official tax papers from my late mother-in-law. It was my second trip to the office that day. I had to retrieve some necessary documents, so I raced home to get them and return before the office closed. The round-trip was completed with plenty of time to spare.

My jog from the parking lot to the front door made me slightly out of breath. I was pleased no one else was in the room and immediately made my way to the counter. The attendant behind the counter didn’t raise their head. I waited a few seconds then said, “I’m back!”

Yet still no acknowledgement from the IRS clerk. After a few more seconds the person looked up and said, “You need to take a number.” I looked around the room and reassured myself I was alone. Then I scanned the room for the “take a number” machine. I walked to it, pulled the tab and found my number. Sixteen. Then I waited.

Several minutes passed. Of course it seemed like hours. I was beginning to think the office would close before I was called to the clerk. To my good fortune my patience was rewarded when I heard “sixteen” bellowed from behind the manila Formica counter.

“That’s me!” I mockingly replied. No smile appeared on the face of the IRS employee. This actually lifted my spirits. It was now a challenge I wouldn’t let pass.

“Remember me? I’m the guy who was here about 20 minutes ago. You sent me back home to get additional documentation. I have it right here.”

Without a word, an outstretched hand came my way. I extended the papers and stepped back. After a few glances up, down and through the stack of tax forms the person looked up. “This is what I need.” Those were the only four words of feedback I received.

“Terrific! I replied. “It’s all yours. “Have a fantastic day!” Then I walked out the door.

This story is probably only funny to me, because I lived it. The reputation of the IRS has traditionally been poor. You may recall several years ago, it only got worse, with an employee by the name of Lois Lerner. On that particular afternoon, I was attempting to give this IRS employee a chance to change my notion toward the reputation of the IRS. They failed miserably. I imagine that person would never recall our encounter. Yet, I won’t soon forget it.

I continue to carry the 16 pull tab with me. It reminds me every moment you meet someone is important. It doesn’t matter if it’s the first time or the 99th time. It’s your opportunity to make that person feel good about you, the circumstance, or most importantly, you can make them feel good about themselves. It all depends on how you treat them. Seems so simple, doesn’t it?

Sixteen – it’s about loving your neighbor as yourself.

Until next time…

Have you ever played the game where someone gives you a word and you say the first word(s) that come into your mind? For example: I say “Sky” you say “Blue.” You say “Sky” I say “Cloud.” Same word, but two different thoughts. No one thought is more right than the other. I don’t say my word is better than yours, nor do you think your word is better than mine. We can think differently, but still get along.

I’m afraid this simple game illustrates a huge problem we’re facing today. If you and I disagree in today’s society, one of us must be wrong. That’s just not true. But that is what is happening. When two ideas or thoughts are divergent that just means we are both independent thinkers. One viewpoint or another should not shout down the other viewpoint until the loudest voice wins. But that is what is happening.

• Handling the pandemic was one example of this discord and disconnect. We didn’t need to shut down every state or every city in every state, but we did. Montana was treated just like New York. There were 20 cases in Montana and no deaths. But the state is suffering economically because of this myopic treatment. We could have used more common sense and a focused strategy, but instead the loudest voices won out and everything, everywhere shutdown.
• Then when it was time to open back up, if you were in favor of opening stores, shops and restaurants than you must be someone who wanted people to die. If you wanted to keep things shut down than you wanted to cripple America long-term and destroy small businesses. There was no middle ground. In reality, middle ground and common sense should have prevailed. Unfortunately, it did not.

One more example of how this disconnect is crippling America. The mainstream media should be able to present both sides of a story, but they don’t any more.

Case in point: When Senator Tom Cotton was asked to pen an op-ed in the New York Times he was presenting a viewpoint not usually appearing in the NYT. A day didn’t pass before the NYT was retracting the story due to internal upheaval. Senator Cotton is now asking the NYT to provide data showing him what wasn’t true in his op-ed. Everything he said was true. But that doesn’t seem to matter to the media. The loudest voice won out again.

Here are a few of my own divergent thoughts:

• You don’t have to agree with everything the President says or does and still be a supporter of conservative policies.
• I don’t think face masks are the safest way to protect yourself from Covid-19. However, if a business requests I wear one to enter, than I will gladly do so. I want to support their desire to make a living.
• There are no levels of integrity; you either have it or you don’t. Either stealing a grocery store item or embezzling thousands of dollars indicate you have an integrity problem.
• Speaking of integrity, it’s okay to admit when you make a mistake. People have such a difficult time admitting when they make a mistake. They have no idea what a freeing feeling it is. Politicians could really benefit from learning this lesson. Sadly, instead they all seem to subscribe to the same theory: “Just keep fabricating and eventually people will believe it’s the truth.”
• I am sickened by the manner in which George Floyd died. I am equally sickened by the way David Dorn died. Both deaths were taped. One man spent a percentage of his life in prison. The other man spent a majority of his life protecting citizens as a law enforcement professional. One man is being lauded as a martyr/hero. The other man is a footnote/after thought. We should grieve and mourn equally for both men. But the media narrative doesn’t allow that to happen in America.
• I’ve always admired those who lead by example. Those who walk their talk with action. People who could/can listen to both sides. It seems to me this is a rare commodity in today’s world. When gentlemen like Buck and Frank and David Dorn pass away, I long to find people to take their place.
• I’m so tired of hollow rhetoric, regurgitated catch-phrases and “gotcha” questions. None of these things lead to common sense dialogue and middle ground conversations. All they do is attempt to tear down individuals and forge a greater and greater chasm in society.

We owe it to one another to take action, listen with an open mind, use common sense, tell the truth, search for what we agree about on an issue or problem and find the common ground. Only then will we be able to make progress for everyone.

Until next time…

I remember the first day it happened. I awoke looked into the bathroom mirror and didn’t recognize the reflection. Who was that old man looking back at me? I didn’t feel as old as I looked. That morning occurred more than 10 years ago.

I always had thought I looked younger than my years. That all changed when I turned 39. I don’t like to celebrate my birthday so I was keeping things low key around the office. Walking down the corridor I ran into a couple of people, one of which wished me a happy birthday. I said “thank you” and began to walk away. The other person said, “How old are you?” Being an open book I said “39.” The questioner’s response, “No, really, how old are you?” I started to laugh and said, “How old do you think I am?”

“Forty-seven?” was the reply. My heart sank. The person tried to rationalize their guess, but I didn’t buy their explanation. My “Dick Clark” syndrome was over and never again did I feel I looked younger than my years.

Nowadays it seems a different person is looking back at me on a regular basis. And since 39 was so long ago it doesn’t bother me anymore. I’m hearing a great deal about my appearance recently. Some people may think it’s nagging, but it’s just every day conversation to me.

• Why don’t you let the neighbor give you a haircut?
• Can you see how curly your hair is in the back?
• Aren’t you going to shave today?
• Did you take a shower today? You look dirty.

My replies are almost always courteous.

• My hair hasn’t looked this good since the 70’s.
• I can’t see the back of my head and I don’t have the flexibility to turn that far around.
• No, I’ll shave in a day or two.
• I jumped into the lake, does that count?

Bob Dylan was right when he sang, “The times they are a-changin.”

These are indeed interesting times and I don’t think we will ever go back to the way things were before.

Like most people around the country I haven’t been traveling so I haven’t seen a great many folks for quite some time. There are several people I’d enjoy seeing. It’s been between three and six years since I’ve been face to face with dear friends. I wonder what they look like in their mirrors.

Zoom, Blue Jeans, and Face Time have enabled some connections. But it’s not the same as face-to-face. When there is more than one other person connected the delay causes frustration and you invariably step on each other’s conversations. The current Progressive commercials do a great job of illustrating the problems with these helpful, yet challenging, software applications.

As I have done several times in the past, I encourage people to reach out to one another. Let someone know you’re thinking about them. Let them know you care about them. Most people I know appreciate the effort and it will bring a smile to their face to know you cared enough to extend the hand of friendship.

Interesting times? Yes. But also there is no doubt these are trying times. Worry, anxiety, illness, depression, economic uncertainty and a plethora of other challenges can easily move into one’s head and may have signed a long term lease. These type of negative thoughts need to be evicted from one’s mind as quickly as possible. One way to help remove the negativity is to find support in others. Whether it’s a neighbor, co-worker, counselor, long lost friend or significant other take the time to make the connection.

When you look in the mirror tomorrow morning I hope you’ll like the reflection you see. I also wish it will cause you to pause and reflect on who you want to reach out to next. My guess is you will be glad you connected whether that person needs a haircut or not. And they will be glad you made the effort as well.

Until next time…

Yesterday, my sainted mother turned 90. She and my dad have been married more than 72 years. My dad is now 90 and six months. I tried to find some statistics to see the rarity of their longevity. The closest thing I could find was a stat showing only 20 married couples in the world are currently married for 80 years or more. Despite not finding any facts, I do believe this is an incredible feat. By the way, my mom still takes care of their home, bakes all the time and makes three meals a day.

Numbers and statistics have always held my interest. I still know Stan Musial had a lifetime batting average of .331. I recall in 1968, Bob Gibson has an earned run average (ERA) of 1.12. Still a record to this day. Some stats and facts just stick in my head.

I mentioned a few days ago that I’ve stopped looking at Pandemic numbers because they aren’t reliable and they vary so much. I haven’t really changed that stance, but I came across some interesting statistics that tell a story. A story just starting to be told. Not by the media, but by ordinary citizens. People, who like me, have an affinity for numbers and facts.

The state of Illinois is ranked fourth in the country in number of Covid-19 cases. In one particular county there are 95 cases. The population of that county is approximately 171,500. That extrapolates to 0.00104373 chance of contracting the virus. Despite this revealing statistic, the entire state is still in lockdown and schools are canceled for the remainder of the school year. I was told there have been 84 recoveries. Seems to me it would make more sense to quarantine the people who have not recovered and let the 171,490 get back to doing what they were doing before the lockdown.

In the state of North Carolina, there are 11,509 cases and a population of about 10.4 million. That extrapolates to 0.001106634 chance of contracting the virus. Sadly the entire state is still on lock down. In the county I live in their are 137 cases. The population is around 101,000. That extrapolates to 0.00135643. A larger percentage than the state, but still very slight. And the fact that more than half the cases are confined to nursing homes makes the risk even less. Again, quarantine the at-risk individuals, continue the hand washing and the scientifically beneficial measures and let the 100,000+ get back to life as we knew it.

Recently, two urgent care doctors from Kern County, California held a press conference to share their statistics. They were challenged by the media at the press conference and did a nice job of explaining their facts. Nevertheless their press conference video was removed from YouTube the next day. According to YouTube it was removed because they were telling people it was time to get back to work and that opinion is contrary to the WHO/CDC guidelines.

These doctors were dealing with numbers and with science. Science is telling the doctors that healthy people stuck in their homes generate weakened immune systems that will be far more susceptible to viruses once they go out into the world. People who are not working become depressed, experience increased anxiety and in some cases become suicidal. They sit confined at home and wonder how they will pay their rent, mortgage, car payments, utility bills or feed their families. These are facts of science and supported by numbers.

Elected officials need to understand these numbers as well. At this point they appear to be ignoring numbers and statistics that are readily available and frankly tell the real story of this “pandemic.” There will be a thousand stories connected to this outbreak in the months and years to come. Right now the story of the day is the amount of fear that has promulgated a larger portion of society and the media leveraging that fear to fill air time. The problems associated with the virus have become far greater than the virus.

The people who have died is beyond tragic. Whether they died “with” Covid-19 or “from” it is a huge question, but almost irrelevant to my point. My point is despite the number of deaths and cases being magnified by media scoreboards the data doesn’t support a continued lock down. It is only making things worse for everyone.

And to think I haven’t even discussed the trillions of dollars congress is allocating. Dollars that aren’t even going to help those out of work, out of health care, child care and food. That’s a story for another day.

My 95 year old friend George told me it was time to get back to work a month ago. He was right then and he is even more right today.

Until next time…

It seems like we are in the midst of a “House of Mirrors” at the county carnival. Just when we think we are heading out of this maze we hit a wall. The glass may appear transparent, but it is anything but. We hear the numbers have peaked and its time to restart the economy, yet many governors are extending their “shelter-in-place” orders even further. Some even into June. These governors are either power hungry or do not understand economics or the psychology of isolation.

Checks are hitting bank accounts, but most stores aren’t open to go spend the money. Many are saving it for their rent or mortgage payment. I can’t help but wonder how many of the 22 million unemployment claims will continue into the summer. From my research, some of the unemployed have received their checks and are now making more money than they were when they worked. I realize this is a temporary situation, but try telling that to the people who are getting the funds.

The shelter-in-place was supposed to flatten the curve and take care of our seniors and those at risk. It has now been taken to extremes. Many of these policy makers have no idea they are violating the constitution, religious and civil liberties of American citizens. Or maybe they do and don’t care. Someone needs to tell them before more constitutional lawyers bring even more lawsuits. Some elected officials who aren’t up for re-election in November may think their constituents will forget how their rights were trampled come their election day. I don’t think they will.

I personally have quit checking the scoreboard. The numbers seem unreliable. And when I see the numbers for flu and pneumonia are down I have to believe it’s because the coding of a deceased is being made as COVID-19 if the person dies with COVID-19. The operative word being “with” not “from.” With that kind of logic, if you die in a traffic accident and the autopsy shows you had COVID-19 then you would be coded as dying from it instead of from the auto accident.

Unfortunately the panic and hysteria hasn’t subsided. I know people who can leave their homes, but don’t. They are afraid they will die if they leave their home. They don’t realize their panic has turned them into a prisoner in their own home. Others won’t touch their mail for a week. Then it has to be disinfected. This is not the kind of behavior we want in America.

Some are taking drastic measures to obtain some incremental freedom. Driving across state lines to go golfing or to a park to play catch with their kids. Many are driving by themselves to church services in their respective church parking lots. Each of these examples have ended up with tickets or arrests for these Americans.

We need to get the kids back in school. But it doesn’t appear that will happen. So no graduations and no proms. What happens to moving to the next grade level? Some schools want to give every child an “A” and move them to the next grade level. Does that make sense for the child? Where are the kids who get two meals each school day from their local school now getting their meals? What will parents do for child care when the economy reopens and they get their jobs back?

I applaud all the businesses who have taken effective and intelligent mitigation measures. They are proving we can open our economy where it makes sense to do so. We can keep employees safe and meet the needs of their customers.

We must find a balance between healthy living and a healthy economy. I’m washing my hands regularly. I order food from local restaurants to do my part for the local economy. Spending most of my day outside in the sunshine lifts my spirits and I hear it’s good for reducing the threat of the virus. Like most Americans I’m finding projects to do and I’m completing them.

I used to enjoy the carnival. The cotton candy, corn dog and elephant ear were tasty treats. But I understood the pitfalls of the midway games and the rides that weren’t nearly as fun as they appeared. The House of Mirrors was a maze I tried to stay away from because I got tired of thinking I was on my way out only to hit my head on another transparent glass. I never liked that feeling and I don’t like to feel that way now. Neither do millions of Americans whose rights are being violated daily.

Until next time…