Friday, September 2, 2011
W-O-R-K is not a dirty four letter word. Honest work is not only needed, it is required. We need the highly trained skilled craftsmen and technicians we call our middle class Americans to keep the wheels of our complex society turning.
Monday, Sept. 5, is Labor Day. Labor Day always takes me back to my blue collar roots. I’m a blue collar kind of guy. I came up through the ranks and am proud of it. I still have people who will say, “You mean you don’t have a college degree?” I tell them, “Matter of fact, I have three degrees. I have a Bachelor, Masters, and Doctorate from the University of Hard Knocks.” However, in a career that spanned 35 years, I did accumulate 2,362 hours of classroom instruction in administrative, personnel (human resources), safety, and technical training. I suppose you might say that I was a middle class American who pursued the American dream and with the help of some darn good mentors, bettered myself each step of the way. I am also a country …
Friday, July 22, 2011
Time to try my hand at something new.
I have heard a story or read an account where Yogi Berra, the former great catcher for the New York Yankees, when giving directions to his house supposedly said, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” Whether you took the left fork or the right fork you would still wind up at Yogi’s house. With “The Way I See It,” I have come to a fork in the road. I am about to take the fork to the right that reads: blog. In looking back over my articles, I find that I tend to write on countywide local issues as well as state and national issues. The truth of the matter is that my interests strongly lie with subjects such as TSPLOST being a monstrous piece of legislation (Dacula Patch Friday, February 28, 2011) or that the future of MARTA is …
Friday, July 15, 2011
Don't cast a ballot if you have no idea what you are voting to do.
Ray Newman wrote an excellent article (Dacula Patch Tuesday, June 30, 2011) stating it was his observation that an informed public was a happy public. Patrick Malone commented on Ray’s article that government has a responsibility to inform its citizens but citizens have a responsibility to be informed. AMEN, AMEN, & AMEN! Both are absolutely correct. Government has a responsibility to keep its citizens informed. However, since the power of government is vested in “We the people,” the citizens have a responsibility to keep ourselves informed whether it is on the candidates or on the issues. Patrick, Ray, and I are what you might call compatriots. Both are fine men. We frequently venture out into the political arena to weigh in on political …
Friday, July 8, 2011
Whatever happened to quality customer service?
Two weeks ago, I wrote about being a pothole on the super information technology highway. I made note that change was taking place and that change was good. I got to thinking and reconsidered. Not all change is good. Especially in the area of today’s customer service. In today’s environment I find that customer service by and large is in the doldrums. Why? For one thing, when I call customer service I don’t think I should have to press 1 for English. After I have established that I do speak and understand the king’s language, I don’t think I should have to communicate with a customer service robot via numerical entries on my land line or cell phone set key pad. I think that there should be an override feature that would take me straight to…
Friday, July 1, 2011
Time to get back to lean, mean fighting weight.
Independence Day, July 4, 1776, is officially recognized as America’s birthday. Our Founding Fathers got together and decided they had had enough. They advised the King of England that the citizens of the colonies under the British Crown wished to disassociate themselves from England in order to form, by Declaration of Independence, a more perfect union with a government that would be by the people, for the people, with the power of government vested in “We the people.” Of course the king did not take kindly to their declaration. The fight for a more perfect union actually begin with the shot heard around the world on April 19, 1775, in an armed standoff between British forces and the local militia in Lexington, Massachusetts and …
Friday, June 24, 2011
It's time for all of us to embrace the age of technology.
We live in a high tech society today. With each passing day the technology is becoming more and more complex. Our high tech society means that change is taking place which is good. Change is hard to come by for us “mature adults.” It is not so much that we do not like change, it is that we do not adapt to change as quickly as younger generations adapt. I am probably an old dinosaur wandering around lost in a time warp. Maybe I am extinct and just don’t know it. Especially, since I have found myself wandering down the high technology highway. Keep in mind that I am pretty good with the Internet and I am well versed with using most of the features on my cell phone. The other stuff? I do not blog nor do I do Facebook. I do not text, twitter, …
Friday, June 17, 2011
At the end of the day, are you satisfied with the person staring back from the glass?
It seems like almost daily that whether you read Dacula Patch, another Patch site, the printed news media or listen to the radio or watch TV, there are men among us who apparently have a problem measuring up as a man. Especially in our halls of Congress. Truth of the matter is that I have a problem with men in positions of leadership whether it be politicians, corporate, military or simply those men I encounter in my daily dealings if their moral compass does not point true North. Perhaps many of you still have a dad who is living. I trust he has given you a benchmark to measure yourself by. My dad, who passed away unexpectedly at the age of 58 in 1968, left me such a benchmark. Perhaps one of the best measuring sticks I have ever come …
Friday, June 10, 2011
Stress is a way of life. There is no avoiding it. Stress can be dealt with if one is prepared to face it head on.
When I log onto the Dacula Patch website, three contributors I enjoy reading are DaculaWeather, Patrick T. Malone, and Ray Newman. I was reading Ray's column on Tuesday, June 7, where he wrote about the stress our graduating seniors face in passing the final exit exam as gradation date nears. Ray wrote that on a going forward basis, the final exit exam will be removed as a requirement for high school graduation. Good! Teach to learn and not teach to test. (Dacula Patch Friday, March 4, 2011) The word stress got me to thinking exactly how it would apply to the graduating seniors Ray wrote about. Mr. Webster's book, a.k.a. the dictionary, gives several definitions for stress. The definition that I feel best fits the stress our graduating …
Friday, June 3, 2011
The Allied invasion of Europe was one of the most significant events of the 20th century.
Monday, June 6, 2011, marks the 67th anniversary of D-Day, June 6, 1944. I will be disappointed if our news media does not recognize this event. The invasion of Fortress Europe by Allied Forces on June 6, 1944, is perhaps the most significant event of the 20th century in changing the course of history. The invasion marked the beginning of the end for the Nazi tyranny which had spread throughout Europe. In less than one year, the war in Europe would end followed shortly thereafter by the end of the war in the Pacific which would mark the end of World War II. I trust you attended the Memorial Day parade in Dacula on Monday or attended the Memorial Day Ceremony held at the Fallen Heroes Memorial on the grounds at the Gwinnett County Justice …
Friday, May 20, 2011
One of America's best tackles a complicated subject.
Tomorrow, Saturday, May 21, is Armed Forces Day. It is a day set aside to honor all members of our armed forces. We are truly blessed by them standing guard and protecting the freedom we enjoy 24/7. In "The Way I See It" dated Friday, May 6, I wrote that about two years ago, I had the privilege of meeting one of America's absolute best. He has served his country as a special ops warrior. Since his retirement from our U.S. Army, he has traveled throughout the United States conducting leadership seminars for corporate security, law enforcement, and active duty, National Guard, and Reserve military personnel. I have had the privilege of attending one of his leadership seminars. I stand firm in saying that if his leadership seminar was not …
Jimmy Orr
8:46 pm on Sunday, October 23, 2011
Mrs. C,Thank You. I appreciate your thoughtfulness. more ›