The Fall of America As We Know It (or maybe not)

Remember Leave It To Beaver?  If you are over the age of 30 or 35, then you probably do even if you only watched it in reruns as I did.  How about Ozzie and Harriet?  I Love Lucy?  Or even the Abbott and Costello movies?  What is the one thing they all had in common?  Yeah, they're old.  What else?  How about the respect they showed for others as well as themselves.  I'm speaking specifically of dress.

In that era, they weren't trying to play a role or start a trend.  These shows were about life and as a part of that life dressed proper.  After all, would a website such as peopleofwalmart.com exist for people to laugh at. Now, don't get me wrong, this still is America.  One can wear whatever it is that pleases them, but that's not what I'm talking about here.  I'm talking about pride.  Pride in yourself that exudes confidence.  I believe it's this lack of respect for yourself and others that is the fall of America.

It seems there is a sacrifice of good fashion for comfort.  Fashion, now there is a slippery slope.  What is good fashion?   I believe good fashion is a show of confidence not comfort.  Knowing how to present.  If you look at the Northwestern University Women's Lacrosse team in 2009, many wore dresses to to meet the President but also wore flip flops.  It seems to me that wearing what was once regarded as beach attire shouldn't be appropriate to meet the most powerful individual in the world.  Was it because wearing them was easier, more comfortable?  I chalk it up to laziness, and lack of respect, that they couldn't, for the short amount of time they were in his company they couldn't take the effort  to be presentable.

Presentable.  That offers up yet another question.  What is presentable.  Referring to the shows I listed above, presentable takes on a different meaning now.  Men wouldn't be caught dead without a coat and tie while being out in public.  Some even wore a hat.  That is how you presented yourself to the world; in your best light.  To some extent, that is still the case.  Although men don't dress in suits when it public as a rule, when watching newscasts, for example, it is apparent that tradition is held as suits and ties are expected.  Women are quite the tougher nut to crack (after all, I am a guy).  Yes, you see them in dresses, particularly in the summer.  But, that's the exception, not the norm.  Typically, it's again, flip flops, shorts and a t-shirt.  Hell, for that matter, you see them wearing that in the winter.  Picture this: flip flops, shorts, t-shirt....and a coat. Is it really that important to be comfortable or to hold on to thoughts of warm weather that you would endure that in the winter?  In the same reference to the shows above, women wore conservative dresses, hosiery and heels when going out.  The things they thought would present them in the best light.  I believe they hold those same truths when it comes to the attire but have gotten lazy when putting themselves together.  For example, when was the last time you saw a women with a dress wear hosiery?  I would equate that to men wearing ties.  They may be uncomfortable but a requirement when putting together your ensemble.  I'm a self proclaimed leg man and I can tell you, ladies, your legs do not look that good without them.  Look at newswomen today.  You won't see them wearing any but I also don't like the look of veins, freckles, etc.  That, also, would eliminate the flip flop issue.

I guess I'm just old fashioned at heart and may not have expressed my total thoughts here but hope you got the premise of what I'm talking about.  I am definitely not saying men always wear suits or women must always wear dresses, but take some pride in your appearance and show it.  Don't end up as a model of People of Walmart.

Work

Ahh, work.  You know, this may take more than one post.  Then again, maybe one post is enough.  I know many people who go on and on about work thinking others really care about what they say when actually, quite the opposite is true.  I think the things I'll bitch about here are really generic through everyone's life in corporate employment.  Think of them more as rants, I suppose, than whining about how things don't go my way.

Example, is it me, or does it seem to becoming more prevalent that bosses, supervisors, managers (whatever you choose to call them) are willing to tell you what you want to hear just to shut you up.  It seems the number one thing I hear now isn't even so much of a catch phrase but just a simple "we're working on that" with no follow on the progress of what it is they're working on.  Then, as fate would have it, months later, nothing's changed, action items are complete, and when confronted, the catch phrases come out.  It's a "dynamic document", "it's a work in progress", "we're benchmarking others".  Just tell me you don't want to do it, can't do it, you just hate me and want to make my life miserable.  Tell me how it is, I couldn't give a shit about corporate mumbo jumbo.  I'm just here to do a job and I'm asking you for the things to do my job better.  I can understand I can't get everything I "want" but when it comes to things I need all you see are dollar signs and ask me to be innovative in solutions.

Case in point: (this is something specific to my job and some of you may not know what I'm talking about) There are certain measuring instruments used where I work.  The electronics used in these instruments use vacuum tubes (did I lose anybody here).  The replacements for these instruments are also obsolete by about 15 years.  So, not only is the stuff we got outdated, the replacements are no longer available and outdated.  Should we update the entire system?  No.  Instead of calibrating it every 18 months as is required, we'll do it every 90 days to make sure it's working (because these have a tendency to fail quite often).

Wow, didn't want to go on that long.  Like I said, this post many will probably find boring and many people tend to get specific about their bitches of work.  Seems I fell in that trap.  I seem to be getting wrapped up in more of the "red tape" at work.  That's not what I get paid for.  My job is spelled out and very specific.  Don't ask me to do your problem solving.  And if I do, don't give me the runaround.

Well, I'm a little off track about what I wanted this blog to be about, but, then again, I never defined what  I wanted it to be about.  It's all in my head.  And, yes, I took the day off work to post this.

My Birthday

So, I turned the big 4-0 yesterday.  Do I feel different?  Older?  Wiser?  Nah.  It's life.  It happens to all of us.  I'm not gonna dwell on it.  As a matter of fact, I embrace it.  I look at myself and still see a 26 year old wanting to do all the things now that I wanted to do then.  Physical limitation is not an excuse.  Never will you hear me say that I can't do something because "I'm getting old" or tell anybody "wait till you get to be my age". 

I've always lived with the motto that "I may grow old, but I'll never grow up".  I don't know if that has been quoted by anybody famous or is an adage handed down through time, but it's something I live by.  I keep my mind young, act like a kid when I can (much to the chagrin of my wife) and run around like a fool sometimes.

I don't try to worry myself with needless things in life and try to let those things slide.  I will admit that sometimes that is difficult to do.  Life is dynamic and in continuous flux.  Changes are all around us.  What builds your character and personality is how you deal with it.  Do I get angry?  Yes.  Do I get depressed?  Yes.  I never said I was perfect, but those are the things that test your fortitude and make you prove that "I may grow old, but I'll never grow up."

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to get out of my superman underoos and go eat my fruity pebbles.

So, sitting here on this gorgeous, lazy Sunday while my wife hangs out in Dallas/Fort Worth Airport.  You see, we got screwed when our granddaughters father got tickets to get her back to San Diego.  It was decided to meet halfway in Dallas (yeah, I don't know why either) where her other grandmother was to pick her up.  Not only did my wife have to get up at 3:30 this morning to be at the airport for a 6 a.m. flight, but after the transfer in Atlanta then to Dallas, she has a layover of over 6 hrs.  Then it's off to Denver where she has another layover for 2 hrs.  Long story short, up at 3:30 a.m. and not back home until about 1 a.m.  I really feel for her and wish I could take her place.

On a lighter note, I find myself getting back into baseball.  It's been almost 25 years since I've actually sat down and watched a game on TV.  Want to sit on the deck, but can't get up until the game is done.  I'll get there.

Maybe my next post I'll bitch about work.