What Is a Shimjockey?
I know what you’re wondering. What in the Wide World of Sports is a “Shimjockey”? Many years ago my wife caught me in the garage unloading a pallet of shims that were delivered in our driveway.
They happen to be an integral part of installing doors&cabinets as well as many other uses in getting things true, plumb and level. And you thought those were a “state of mind”, but when used correctly they keep your doors shutting tight and your cabinets from settling.
While unloading the shims she exited with this parting shot, “You are such a Shimjockey”. It stuck and won’t let go of me. Many of you might use cedar panels in your closets for the scent or your drawers have a cedar lining, but we settled for a fragrant cedar smelling garage..
Are Barking Dogs a Problem?
I prefer to be just as tolerant and law-abiding as the next person, but there comes a time when being law abiding and tolerant just plain doesn’t cut it. I love dogs and neighbors, just about equally and I hate barking dogs and neighbors who own barking dogs, just about the same. Hate might be a bit harsh because I love dogs and my neighbors, but since there seems to be some parity in these equations, a simple answer should be available?
I’ve spoke to both neighbors twice and my wife has done the same, we’ve even notched it back a generation and I’ve spoken to her dad, hoping he might be able to talk his time-earned wisdom into the situation, each time to no avail. I have noticed a temp dog-muzzle, but it soon disappeared and we were back to the inevitable barking.
The toughest part of this to my way of thinking, at least once I’ve cooled down is, that the animal is absolutely innocent and the owner is guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt. So do I pick up the weapon/temper and go and give them a piece of my mind or try and think of some other way to solve what has become the never-ending problem?
In life we have many crossroads and this appears to be one for me. Why is this barking such a issue for me? I can see one reason, I’m home too much, if I did a better job of occupying myself with things to do outside of the home, I might not notice the large dog next door barking his damn fool head off. Oh My, I must be running down on my medications, excuse me for a minute.
Ok, back, I do notice that my neighbors both are gone from early in the morning until early evening, they are able to miss the whole thing. I do notice that sometimes it takes very little to set me off and I become awfully close to getting down right nasty to not just my wife, my daughter, the lady at the grocery store last week, that crazy guy cutting in front of my car yesterday, the kids playing loudly outside when I was trying to read, the person way up the street running his power-washer on a Saturday morning, those stupid birds singing so early this morning, the guy who I just hung up on the phone to.
Hmmm, Don’t tell me I’m part of the solution?
Common reasons why dogs bark:
- Lack of exercise
- Inadequate yard space
- Boredom/frustration
- Not enough human companionship/loneliness
- Inadequate shelter from weather conditions
- Hungry or thirsty
- Medical conditions or separation anxiety
- Provocation
- Disturbances
- Change to family structure
- Change of territory
While I am trying to make a valid point, I also see myself as having a responsibility to not over- react to whatever comes my way. Step back from the issue, compose myself and try and talk in a reasonable respectful way. Sometimes when done, a fair outcome may result.
Give Space
Do Bike Cyclist belong on the Road?
I don’t think this is going to score points with a few of you, but hear me out first! I don’t feel bicyclist belong on our streets for several reasons, they are not compatible with vehicles because, they don’t use enough of our fossil fuels. Aren’t they aware of our total dependency on oil products and how our wealthiest corporations depend on us to use it not only for transportation, but for recreation, lawn care. Hell it’s got so many uses, I can’t think of anything that isn’t using a fossil fuel, except one in mind, Bikes!
Here we are in American struggling with an economy that is stalled and needs everyones participation to get it up and running like before. Then I see these bicyclist on our roads riding for free, not helping the huge corporations get their needed profits and I think to myself, we need to tax the hell out of ’em’! But there’s no way to tax them enough to justify their existence on the roads we use with ALL of our fossil fuel using vehicles, because there isn’t enough of them.
Another reason is, they are so distracting! Have you ever seen the asses on those bike riders, I mean the bodies of those bicyclist are worrisome to me. They’re too damn svelte for their own good, and they know it. Realistically, it’s very un-American too. They know the trends we are setting here for common calorie counts, higher than it’s ever been before and no other country comes close to our record breaking accomplishments! Someone on a bike, so different looking, it could cause a gosh darn accident!
When we get back on our feet with the new economy that many feel will be led by the Right, we need to consider how dangerous it will be to have bicyclist on the road. In our near not too distant future I’m imagining a vehicle, way larger than my current full size Hummer hammering down the road, doing the All-American thing, fuel using, and here comes one of those free wheeling cute little bicyclist, weaving in and out of traffic like they knew what they were doing and……..CRASH!!!
Yep, that sexy looking chick on a bike distracted me in my new Hummer and I hit a dang tree!
Now she’s giving me the nasty looks? Go figure
Makes my blood boil!!
I really think we need more bike lanes and more driver’s education, let alone good old fashion tolerance . We have to remind ourselves there are cyclist on the road.
It’s difficult to see them when we’re in our “hurry up mode”, But it’s better to double check before merging,turning or any maneuver.
The possibility of hitting one, would change two lives,
Forever!
Decisions of a Teenager
I have nothing but respect for the men and women who serve in the armed forces, regardless of the war. There have have been many times when I wished that I had done something different, but I can’t turn back the clock. To quote a very influential philosopher from our era, “It is what it is”.
Growing up in the 60’s a young man could not ignore the war in Viet Nam, how could anyone, it was on B&W TV every night. Thank God it wasn’t in color, but the fear and horror it put in you was impossible to shake. As I entered into my teen years and being influenced by the hippie movement, it only seemed natural to be against the war. By the time I had reached 15 my ear was leaning always in the direction of anti-war discussions and participated in the marches against it. I got to go to a SDS (Student for a Democratic Society) meeting with a classmate, under the guise of something more innocent to our parents. Unfortunately they (our parents) communicated with each other and I was accosted when I came in the front door, all the literature was confiscated and burned in the fireplace. My dad was a ex-Marine, he had no time for me back then and especially shit like that, plain pissed him off!!
In Yakima in the late 60’s on North 7th ave. ( I think) was “The Open Door”, a drug, draft and vocational counseling center, sounds pretty high- falootin, for an old house filled with hippies, but it was a great place to get info in perilous times. And living in a place where alternative ideas were not common, it felt like you had left it all behind. Soon after I began scheming up an idea of trying to run away to Canada with a classmate who was a dual citizen from there. Being only 15 required more organization than I possessed, but the gears were turning. Walking back and forth from the guys home I spotted the get-a-way car! There it was, in all it’s glory, a 1953 Austin of England, very similar to a miniature Bonny and Clyde car, with the rumble seat protrusion in the rear, turn signals in the side of the car that extended out and blinked when turning a corner. It was a very cool car! Price $35.00! Sold! I had the money and bought it the next day.
Being a poor sleeper afforded me extra scheming time, so I schemed and remembered that Sidnie and Lauri pastured horses not far from where the car was. me not knowing how to drive yet, let alone something with a manual transmission, I had to talk them into allowing me to store the vehicle in their pasture and to also get Sidnie to get it there. They agreed! I was set. That day I was downtown with a friend when on the way back I see my car over on the side of T.H. Drive Drive. I get out and look in the car and it’s Barrie with Lauri and Sidnie, the car had broken down and they had a ride coming to take them to parts unknown. I was crushed.
While sitting at home trying to figure out what to do, being of limited means, then the phone rings and my mom all of a sudden asks me, “You bought a car?” This lady wants to talk with you”, I get on the phone and the lady I bought the car from tells me she saw the car on the side of the road and told me she felt bad and was willing to give me my money back and she would just have the car hauled to the wrecking yard, I took the offer. Then lied through my teeth about the whole thing. Time for plan “B” I guess?
Having done the minimum of growing up and also being immature, as you well know, I struggled through the next 2 1/2 years, but it did solidify my stance on being a part of the anti-war effort. My newest scheme was to become a CO, “conscientious objectoræ, I wouldn’t fight or kill another person, something I have had to realize later on that I would, if it was to defend someone I cared about. Throughout all of this, there was a strong feeling that I was a coward, never has gone away either. By the time I was 18 I received my CO status and by June 25th I was married of all things! While getting married at a young age and with all of it’s pressures to make a living or at least squeak by, I never forgot about the war going on. After having a couple short lived jobs after getting married, both Joan and I became teacher’s aides. We never talked much about having jobs before we got married and didn’t bother to look until after, those were the days!
Having a friend who was serving a 2 year alternative service stint as part of being a “CO”, I had a pretty good idea that being a CO was like the equivalent of “scum of the earth”. He blazed trails in an area to become a park, it was not a fun job, living in barracks and he was not a happy camper, Myself being recently married began to think, I remembered the Barrie guy in the Austin of England. He was also someone i grew up with until 4th grade started. I found out that he had gone in for induction to the army and answered all the questions wrong in the mental test as well as acted as looney as possible through the whole process, at least that’s what I had heard, it sounded good to me!
While working in the Franklin JR. High Library as a teacher’s aide one of the more challenging parts of the job was to put the different newspapers onto the bamboo rods. I enjoyed that part till a day early that year when I looked on the front page. There listed were the lottery/draft date numbers, mine was there in all it’s splendor, March 6th, 1953—–#1. what the #@&**@??!!!, I had to do a double take, this can’t be, but it was. Shortly after that I received my letter, I was sick, it was notifying me I was being drafted. It gave me the time and date for the physical in Seattle on Admiral Way. It was time for more scheming and it had to be good!
That day came faster than I wanted, but in the meantime I had gotten down to 112 pounds, below the minimum weight for my height according to military standards, I was loaded for bear now! Joan and I made our trek to Seattle the day before, spent the night getting as stoned as possible, hoping to look as burned out as possible, all for one purpose, I am not what they are looking for! The appointment time for me and all the other guys being inducted was 7am, I was there early and met a wild looking young man who schemed like I had, but came up with possibly a better idea? He had burned in to the side of his saluting hand, FUCK YOU, it looked like a mess, but maybe he knew something I didn’t?
The mental test was a breeze, trying to answer as many wrong as possible, I think I did a good job, but myself and about 15 guys were all called out by name and told to follow a serviceman down a long hallway, I was getting nervous for sure. The serviceman yelled out “You guys with a letter from your doctor wait over here, the rest of you strip down to your shorts and line up behind the scale!”.
While scheming and thinking of any possible thing, I went to my doctor in Yakima that treated me for allergies when I was 6-12 years old, I asked for a letter stating that information,which they did. I waited with the letter, thinking about the guys down to their shorts and wondered, where will all of this take me? I was called into an office with another serviceman who looked more important than the other one. He stamped my letter without really giving it much of a look and said “Get the hell out of here!”, I was stunned, looking just as stoned and confused as I had trained myself, he said to me “IF you don’t like it, I can change it real quick!”. I made for the door as fast as I could and out of the building!!
They wanted a few good men and damn, I wasn’t one of them!!
I was given a 4-F classification, unfit for military service.
I was fortunate that the war was winding down because had it been a few years earlier, the excuses I used would have never had held up.
There’s some shame and some relief.