not political Archives - A Boomer's Thoughts

ARE WE STILL FREE?

psteik — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 04:23:21 +0000

MY YOUTH:

Every parent dreams, prays, works to give their child/children a better life than they had.

I think back to my childhood in the 60’s and 70’s and can’t help but smile; it was great. Then I realize that I have quite a task ahead of me if I plan to enable my kids to have more.

Every day was an adventure, obviously an exaggeration- but it is close to the truth!

In the summertime we would play baseball, softball, four square, whiffle ball, tag, kick the can, hide and seek, crack the whip and more. We would race our bikes down the highest hills we could find and chase the mosquito spray. I wonder if that’s where some of the Cancer came from. (Author’s Note: Ask, in the comments, if you don’t recognize any of these games!).

We would play in the street, in our yards, in our houses, at the park, in the schoolyards or walk to the local pool and go swimming. As long as we were home before the streetlights came on, we were A OK! And parental supervision was seldom needed!

The other seasons were no different. In addition to school in the Fall, Winter and Spring, we would play football, hockey, combat, cowboys and Indians. We had snowball fights with neighborhood kids. Everyone built snow forts, went sledding, tobogganing and tubing. skeeching (Hanging onto the back bumper of an unsuspecting driver’s car to get a ride on the icy street) was always exciting and (In spite of all the rules of nature) we survived uninjured! The worst thing that happened to us while skeeching was the occasional lost glove that got stuck in the bumper!

Our days were filled with these and countless other ways to keep ourselves busy and, not always, out of trouble.

We weren’t always playing. I often walked to the store with my friend to buy cigarettes for his mother- many times without the “required” note.

All of the kids from my group had a set of chores we were required to complete before we were allowed to go out and play. Many of us mowed the lawn, weeded, cleaned the house, cleaned our rooms, helped paint, washed windows, babysat siblings or completed other household tasks as necessary.

It wasn’t that unusual to have a summer play day disrupted when one member of the group would report, “I can’t come out today. We’re cleaning the basement.” This, of course, lead to the inevitable search for a new second baseman, or whatever! It never lead to sympathy because, we all knew, that could be our fate on any given day.

We were constantly in each other’s houses, often without knocking. It seemed, back then, that all of the mothers were in charge of all of the kids. That wasn’t always a good thing. When a mother decided it was time for treats- it was a great thing! When a mother decided it was time for punishment- it was a terrible thing!

Sometimes the days plans were made on the telephone, other times the plan was made the day before. And then there were times we could just walk down the block and look for the house where all the bikes were parked.

We built go carts out of lumber obtained from local construction sites, wheels off of broken baby strollers, wagons and old bikes. I still remember clearly the time we tried to make a minibike with a discarded bike and a broken lawnmower motor. We got the motor running again but couldn’t figure out how to get the power transfer from the engine to the bike. Our problem was in the linkage, but we never solved it. My close friend Jeff’s dad was a mechanic and couldn’t/didn’t solve the problem for us.

Looking back I suspect maybe it was our guardian angels at work, knowing we were too irresponsible to become “motorized” at that point in our lives.

As kids, I remember we had a lot of fun. We had a lot of independence. There were also responsibilities galore!

I remember being mad, many times, because we were still doing dinner dishes and saw our friends outside, picking teams for baseball!

PUNISHMENTS:

There was no way to avoid learning life lessons when you, and all of your friends, were on your own all day every day.

What happened when you returned late?

In my day, coming home late resulted in a variety of punishments. I received most of them at one time or another.

Punishments included, but were not limited to, a spanking- yes, many of my boomer friends received spankings regularly. Spankings were my dad’s favorite form of punishment and NO, I did not feel “abused” at any time in my life! Another was to be kept inside the whole next day to do chores. What could be worse than working in the house and hearing your friends run past the window playing. Other punishments included being excluded from other activities, no snacks, early curfew, extra chores and more, depending on how creative your parents were.

WE LEARNED IN OTHER WAYS ALSO:

At a certain age we were allowed to stay up as late as we wanted. Unlike today, our TVs were not allowed to stay up all night. At midnight all of the stations “signed off.” In my area (Chicagoland) the channels were 2 (WBBM- the CBS affiliate) 5 (WMAQ- the NBC affiliate) 7 (WLS- the ABC affiliate) 9 (WGN the local station owned by The Chicago Tribune World’s Greatest Newspaper) We would see a “Test Pattern” while the star-spangled banner played and then nothing. This, I believe, taught us patience.

Still on the TV thing. We were not able to “binge watch” our favorite shows. When the episode ended, we waited a week to see the next show. Today I sat and watched four episodes of Castle in a row! Why? because I can! It took patience, back then, to wait. Some of you may remember when JR got shot to end a season of Dallas. The fans were forced to wait until the next season to learn if he would live or die, who did it, and why! We had no choice but to learn patience.

It seemed to me that teachers had much more control. I am aware that if a teacher punishes a child in school the teacher is liable to suffer consequences. When I was in school if I was punished by a teacher, I prayed my parents would not find out. They always did, and their reaction was always to punish me again, call the teacher, and ask for details.

Hillary Clinton quoted an old proverb when she was first lady saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.” It may sound a bit “contrary” after what I wrote above but, I don’t want the government to have any additional control over me, my family, or anything else!

I thought it worked out great in my neighborhood, and most at that time, that the mothers got together and agreed to watch over each other’s kids.

I fear that our country has grown past efficiency and moved into ineptitude.

What do you think?

Have you questioned statements made by any elected official recently? I have!

Did you question any governmental orders during COVID? I did!

Did you question how they could shut churches down while leaving bars and gambling casinos open? I did!

Did you wonder if we would get the freedoms back that we gave away without a fight? I did!

Were you around when seatbelt laws were enacted? How about helmet laws for motorcycles? (All but 2 states have them). What about the really strange ones that are being discussed like penalties for not using the right pronoun?

Do you feel these are harmless? I do not!

The smallest loss of freedom is gigantic!

What about the second amendment (Right to Bear arms) arguments?

Those trying to take this right away from us have argued that, “You don’t need an assault rifle to hunt!” It is understood by legal scholars that the second amendment has nothing to do with hunting.

Our country had just fought a courageous battle to gain its’ freedom from a monarchy. The framers had no concerns about hunting! They put the second amendment in our constitution to protect our God given right to live free! The second amendment is there to allow us to protect ourselves from the government!

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AN “OFFICIAL INFORMATION DOWNLOAD” FROM AN AVERAGE GUY

psteik — Mon, 11 Aug 2025 02:24:46 +0000

When I served as a police officer I was concerned about co-workers who would/could make a strong decision based on limited evidence. Watching TV cop shows I see the same thing; only more. I was watching a police show called, “Body of Proof” (Per Wikipedia- Body of Proof is an American medical/crime comedy-drama television series that ran on ABC from March 29, 2011, to May 28, 2013 and starred Dana Delany as a medical examiner…) in one episode the lead character, Dr. Megan Hunt (Dana Delany) says, “She was dating a married man!” in a very definitive way after finding sperm, without spermatozoa, in the unmarried murder victim’s diaphragm. My, inquisitive, mind jumped to the possibilities of divorced guys, impotent guys, widowers? But, somehow, all of those possibilities were quickly eliminated- as is the case in most crime dramas! My apologies! When I wrote that down I meant to include the season and episode but neglected to. Unfortunately, in this “information age,” in my opinion, our access is limited to what “They” want us to know. Who are they? The major outlets and many politicians! We can circumvent this problem by searching the internet and other sources for “The other side of the story.” I am convinced this is necessary. Our duty; as citizens who are entitled to vote on the direction of our country, is to find the truth and then vote our consciences! It doesn’t take a great mind to see that we are being lied to by both sides! We, as the voting public, have been subjected to smear campaigns, outright lies and other deceptions. I don’t believe that Biden suddenly fell into a demented state towards the end of his term! If you do, God Bless you- please tell me why! I don’t believe because he was messing up simple sentences, then didn’t appear for a normal campaign and, at the few appearances he did make, he was entertaining- to say the least. I don’t believe that our planet is close to destruction. As a child, I was very concerned when this “imminent catastrophe” was first announced in the late 60’s. But now; after several predicted calamities, some with ten-year deadlines connected, have failed to wreak the havoc promised, I feel Al Gore’s “Inconvenient Truth” was actually a false manipulation of a pliable and trusting mass. I remember that we (The People) went through a series of “Climate Threats.” Do you recall hearing that we must cut back on the size of families or the Earth will not survive! As a result of this there are many countries that are now facing “underpopulation” concerns! The argument since the 60’s has been that our planet can not sustain the growing population and placed the original “date of doom.” as I recall, was in the early 1980’s (There have been many revisions giving us about 10 years to change or die). I recently found an article (9/18/22 Townhall) by Marion L. Tupy that stated, among other things, that the availability of products, overall, has increased 6 to 1 over the last 100 years with no sign of the flow of resources and minerals decreasing. Believe it or not, but it is food for thought. More food for thought: Is there really a danger that our supply of fossil fuels will run out? No, new sources and procedures of obtaining gasoline have been found. Are fossil fuels really harming the environment? No, at least not in a major way. Are EV’s a viable alternative? No. Questions to ask are where does the electricity to fuel them come from? And the following questions. Are EV’s an effective alternative? No. But they are being pushed harder and harder by our press and many politicians! Have you heard any negatives about fossil fuels in the press or from politicians? I haven’t! Is this the only thing, other than the Covid Vaccine, that nobody is allowed to find fault with? Can our power grids endure a switch to EV’s? No. On the same day that California announced its’ plan to allow only EV’s to be sold, as new vehicles, by 2035 they also requested their citizens refrain from using their electric appliances during peak hours to avoid brown outs! Talk about craziness! Does anyone recall that “Climate Change” was once called “Global warming” and when the temperatures got cooler in the 70’s it was temporarily changed, in many articles to global cooling and then Climate change. Yes, it was hard to follow all the changes back in the day. The only constant was that it was our (Humanity’s) fault! A by-product of these lies concerns me; and leads me to believe that a large portion of our population is not doing the due diligence required for a democracy to survive! How do you feel? Thanks for reading to the end, please comment. Phil

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MISCELLANEOUS BITS OF INFORMATION

psteik — Sun, 20 Jul 2025 21:36:22 +0000

It is a sad truth that I, and many others, have come to an age where my obituary will not read, “Gone too soon” or “His untimely death.” If your idea of “evidence” in an argument is to produce an article the contains words like, “Could be…” or “Possibly as much as…” you are probably not going to convince anyone to come to your side that was not there already. Unfortunately, in this age of “Opinion journalism” it is our duty as citizens to research any claims made. To do this you must leave your “comfort zone” but if you don’t do this you will be worse than uninformed, you will be misinformed! According to the IRS website the top 1% of wage earners in the United States paid 40.4% of the taxes in 2022- The most recent year they reported on. According to “Tax Foundation” the top 1% of US wage earners pay taxes at a rate of 25.9% of their income which is nearly 8 times the lower rate of 3.3% that the lowest wage earners pay Have you ever gotten trapped in the “Rule of: If this, why not that?” As a cop, I gave the mother with a car full of kids a break when I stopped her for going 16mph over the speed limit. Then I would question myself- If I gave her a break, shouldn’t I also give the guy speeding in a sports car the same break? Is anyone aware that the millionaire governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker (D), at one time had 64 NGO’s? I wonder if those were investigated as intensely as Trump’s business ventures? You might not be aware that, before running for governor, he removed the toilets from one of his mansions so he could claim it was not a residence. I am human, as I assume most of you are. On some days, in some moods, I judge myself very harshly. Failures, “Shoulda, coulda & woulda’s cloud my vision. Other days I thank God for all of my blessings. If I could regain the hours I’ve wasted watching “health videos” on the internet, I would be a happy man! Have you seen them? The ones that pull me in start with- “Give me just a minute of your time and I will show you how to eliminate (Name the affliction)!” These videos claim to have the “Free” cure of any number of ailments. The minute of my time, generally, takes over 15 minutes and the “Free” cure ends up being $40+ dollars a bottle. BUT! Rest assured, you can get the cure for less if you order 3,6,12 or more bottles! That’s not the worst part. Once you click, you know what’s coming, you are buried with more, and more “Miracle cures.” Ahhh, I love it! (That was sarcasm). As an aging American I am experiencing some of the maladies bodies experience after years of abuse. I used to jump up and run without a thought. Now I plan how I’m going to get out of my chair without pain. I lived through an auto accident that should have killed me back in 1996. A reminder of that accident is that my knees tell me when bad weather is coming before the weather forecaster has any idea. My body has gone from “Party all night” to In bed by ten and still tired when the morning comes. The “Well toned body” I used to be proud of now lifts half the weight with twice the effort and holds on to belly fat and flabby muscles despite my best efforts. Thanks for reading, please comment in the space provided. Phil

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NOTHING LIKE A RIDE IN THE COUNTRY!!

psteik — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 00:11:21 +0000

I believe that mental health is very important. I was raised by depression era parents and, occasionally, serious physical injuries were not even treated until one- or both- parents were convinced the wound was serious enough to require a trip to the hospital or doctor. Mental heal issues were only recognized in severe cases such as those that stunted learning or caused the patient to run naked through the neighborhood. I don’t recall any talk of anxiety, or depression in our house. I admit that I watch shows that mostly older people enjoy maybe that’s why most of the commercials I see are for medications that will, “Bring back your youthful glow- energy- stamina, whatever. Basically: take our pill and all your problems will go away. Everything from quick weight loss to depression (per the commercials) can be cured with a pill! In my opinion, the millions of dollars spent on advertising to encourage us to buy a pill whenever we have a physical or psychological need rather than “sucking it up” like my parents’ generation encouraged us to do, has been successful. Maybe too successful! I say this because, it seems to me that, modern doctors are taught to prescribe pills rather than cure the cause. About a year ago I realized that my medicine cabinet was overflowing with medications for prostate, sinus, arthritis, skin cancer and other problems. My morning and afternoon rituals were to, first, take several pills- then go on to normal preparations to start the day and work through it. I took the pills but was never sure if they were working or not. I got no worse, but no better, in many of the situations. As a police officer I met suicidal subjects on many occasions. Sometimes I got there on time and stopped them, at least temporarily. Sometimes I was called, “After the fact” and was required to photograph the victim, notify family, if necessary, investigate the scene to eliminate the possibility of foul play and wait for the coroner. After several years of truly believing that suicide was a problem, but it was what “other people do”- “Nobody I know would do that!” My immediate family was struck by that terrible problem twice in a few years and my extended family many more times than that (I do have a very large extended family- but way too many suicides)! For my own self-help I read books on the subject and talked to as many professionals as I could about it. I wanted to be able to answer any questions that might arise on the subject to make me a better police officer, a better father and a better human! One answer that came up, from several sources, was that it is beneficial to help yourself, so you can help others. At first, this solution didn’t sink in. Why would I want to spend time on me prior to offering others help? With the stress that comes from raising a family; and the additional concerns that come from policing and surviving in modern America I started to accept that idea. A few of the “remedies” I decided on were bowling, golf, motorcycle riding and drives in the country. It sounds crazy but I really enjoyed bowling when I was younger and realized that I, at the time, did not have anything I did for me. I worked, slept, helped with the kids and around the house then repeated. I joined a Fall bowling league my brother was on- first as a substitute and then as a regular. I enjoyed it, and it helped, somewhat. Wednesday night bowling gave me something to look forward to from late August to early March. It helped, but it wasn’t enough. Later a high school friend asked if I golfed. I hadn’t since I got married, but I loved the idea of starting again. We started to go out with 2 other guys every Monday in the summer- Tuesday if the weather was bad on Monday. I started with a low average in bowling and a high average in golf- the opposite is desired. It’s been a few years and, as I like to say, I worked my way up to mediocre in both sports, I am a work in progress in both but look forward to each outing. Now that I was taking care of me- a desired action that is good for everyone- I decided to go one step further. I bought a motorcycle. There is no feeling quite like cruising on an open highway with the sun shining down on you and the wind blowing in your face (My hair has been gone for a long time). I rode for several years when I was single and, for me, the bike is an excellent stress reducer! The last thing I’ll mention is taking either the bike or my pickup truck and driving in the country. I get such a feeling of peace looking along the sides of the road and seeing nothing but rolling rows of corn, beans or hay with occasional cows, horses or sheep; I understand this is not possible for everyone, but something similar- or equally effective- might be! As I enjoy the relaxing scenery, I either turn my radio off, pray, or listen to old time rock and roll. It just can’t be beat. Somehow seeing farms, animals, corn, beans and more has a way of calming me. I enjoy all of the beauty these sights provide but, I like the barns that are in the process of falling down the best. When I was in college, years ago, a professor in one of my history classes told me that he was once an insurance salesman and the farmers have to let the barns deteriorate until they collapse or they are not paid the total amount of their claim. I had no reason to doubt him at the time. Back then, I had a lot more faith in “The system” than I do now. At any rate, I wonder, if that was true then- is it still true? I enjoy the times I see activity on the farms like plowing or harvesting. I’m always disappointed to see for sale signs up or, worse yet, excavating to make room for the new houses, condos or whatever will soon replace the crops. I can not, in good conscience, be upset with the farmers for selling though. I know and have known many farmers. I am aware that their lot is not an easy one. They get up before the sun, do hard manual labor during the day, and into the night. I compare that to the current price of land and the temptation to sell hundreds, or thousands of acres and not have to work another day in your life and I can easily see why so many farms in my area are up for sale. I also feel compelled to admit that the last two houses I have bought were newly constructed on farmland! Seriously even most of the more established homes, were most probably, built on farmland! If you think about it, and I believe you should, all health comes from mental health and, in many cases, mental health is the most neglected. Please, for your own good, call for help if there is a need and ask your relatives and friends what you can do for them if they appear to be depressed or suicidal. I hope this story has, maybe. altered your mood for the better. Thank y0u for reading and please comment on your opinion of the topic and the blog. Phil

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I AM NOT A HANDYMAN, BUT I DO IDENTIFY AS ONE!!

psteik — Tue, 27 May 2025 00:14:51 +0000

I have always been able to fix things. Especially when I couldn’t afford the replacement cost and I needed them. When I was a kid, between the neighbors and my brothers, there were usually plenty of replacement parts for anything that needed to be fixed. In the rare cases when there weren’t any, we could ride a bike to stores in the area. A hardware store about 4 blocks away and a bike shop near 3 miles away, that weren’t out of range for us. My dad was handy, but usually too busy to fix bikes. My brothers were very handy and often had “garbage picked” bikes or other sources for parts. As is often the problem with older brothers, they were not generally enthusiastic about helping their little brother and they were very much against the concept of donating parts to a dead-beat little brother with no means of support (or repayment). This problem required me to learn how to obtain the needed fenders, tires, wheels- whatever, in the dark of night- so to speak! We were “boomer kids” and always had plenty of friends around to help, or join in, no matter what we were up to. We graduated from bike repair to go-cart building, to minibike building etc. My brothers rebuilt an inherited 1950 Plymouth in the driveway with the hesitant approval of my parents and then with that great success my brother Pat rebuilt his 1956 Ford Sun Liner when he was about 17-just a couple of years later. I was often allowed to help my dad on his household projects: Finishing the basement, turning an 8-foot-high projector stand into a bar in the basement, putting a cement patio in the backyard, tiling the basement, dividing the basement into 4 rooms, paneling rooms, putting a privacy fence in the backyard and many more things. As I was growing up, it was a badge of honor to proclaim, “I rigged that; I couldn’t get it to work so I…” After I was married “rigged” became a dirty word as my lovely bride often asserted- she would prefer that the job be done correctly. I guess that makes sense. When I bought my first house, at twenty-six years old while living alone, I repaired and painted the interior walls and sanded and varnished the hardwood floors. I put an antenna on the roof in a windstorm (I didn’t say I was smart). It wasn’t until I was holding this large metal antenna standing near the chimney, on the roof, of my two-story Cape Cod house and looking down at the thorn bushes approximately 40 feet below me, that I realized that I had not told anybody what I was planning to do! If I had gotten blown off the roof, or struck by lightning, I probably wouldn’t have been found until the next family party! I kept fixing things for over 40 years. Faucets, drains, tables, driveway patches, bicycles, cars, holes in walls. I made shelves, tiled floors, fixed broken screens, removed beehives and more. I think the beehive (Wasp nest) is an interesting story. Early in our marriage we had bees dive bombing us as we entered our front door in a duplex (The first home my wife and I bought together) we lived in for a few years. We spotted the nest on an overhang near the girl’s bedroom on the second floor. I didn’t have a ladder high enough to get onto the roof, so I backed our 1986 Buick Estate Wagon up to the front door and put our 6-foot ladder on the roof of the car. Yes, it was as dangerous and foolish as it sounds!

This is a mid-fifties Chevrolet Station Wagon

Not “my bees” but bees just the same!

Oddly enough, I didn’t see my wife or any of the kids in the yard to watch me as usual. The ladder was a little shaky on the roof of the car, but I got up there safely armed with a can of Raid and a disposable lighter. The nest was active and as I sat on the roof to work up my courage, I saw 5 or 6 wasps fly in and out. There seemed to be a short break in their activity, so I got active. I lit the lighter and then sprayed the Raid on the small fire it produced. The Raid acted like a flame thrower directed at the active hive. It’s amazing how many wasps can fit into those honey combed nests. Hundreds of them came swarming at me. I couldn’t get down the ladder/car combination fast enough, so I jumped about 20 or 30 feet into the front yard and rolled, purposely, to lessen the impact. As I dove for the ground I saw my wife with the three oldest kids. They were laughing hysterically at the site of me running for my life with a village of angry bees in pursuit. Somehow, I did not receive one serious sting. I think my rapid loss in altitude might have confused some my pursuers! In defense of my wife, she has a motto. She never laughs until she feels certain you will not be seriously injured. Then she lets go! From the timing of her laugh, I believe she knew I would not be seriously injured before I knew- I’m just saying… I am still an active Handy Man Impersonator. Recently, I have put a motion detector light in the backyard and put a dryer vent on a new gas dryer I installed. In answer to obvious questions that might arise: The gas line is secure, and the house has not blown up! The lint and exhaust are exiting the home as designed- even after my involvement. The problems I had that caused me to suspect my “handyman prowess” was not what it should be were how long the jobs took, and how many trips to the hardware store were required after I thought I had all the tools and accessories I needed. For the motion detector, the regular porch light I was replacing hadn’t been working so I needed to do some trouble shooting before I did any replacing. When I pulled it apart, I found one of the wires installed by the builder, 29 years earlier, had separated from the wire nut and was lying loose in the housing. Yes, this is a very simple fix. That’s why I’m doubting myself. That job took me about 8 hours and four trips for parts I didn’t realize would be needed. I imagine an electrician would have been done in no more than an hour. I was happy to finish it. I was happy it works. I was very disappointed that it took so long! A few months later I replaced a bathroom exhaust fan in the first-floor powder room. I had been putting that chore off for way longer than I should have. I have replaced the same type of fans in various bathrooms of different houses. but I recall they were all difficult and time-consuming tasks. The replacement piece, of course, was a different size and shape than the fan being replaced. I am not an adventurous man anymore! I checked every hardware store within 15 miles of my home- Home Depots, Menards, Aces, Farm and Fleets… you get the picture. If they sold screws, I went in and asked them if they had my style replacement fan. The general answer was a laugh and then, “I haven’t seen one of those for 30 years….” I was so desperate for this one to go smoothly that I read the installation instructions (That is a big step for me). They revealed a key to easy removal and replacement! WOW! That job went so smoothly I wanted to tell the world. It was the first time I felt like a true HANDYMAN in years! I felt so good that when my ex-wife and I walked into an appliance store a few weeks later and bought a dryer I declared, for all to hear, that I would install it myself- This, of course, was after they told me it would cost a few hundred dollars more for installation. As with most jobs around the house, I had done this more than once. The night of the purchase, I put the dryer in the back of my pick-up truck and drove my new prize home. I purchased a new exhaust hose and installation kit before I left the store. I was working on adrenaline. My son and I pulled out the old dryer. Slid it out of the way and gently placed the new one in its’ place. I tightened all the connections, checked for leaks and started it. Everything was AOK!!! I quickly turned it off and turned to the exhaust hose. I remembered how, the old one was very difficult to install- that’s why I had purchased a new hose! I placed it against the dryer exhaust piece- it felt like they were both exactly the same size- THE HOSE WOULD NOT FIT INTO, or OVER the dryer receptacle. Simple! I put the other end of the hose up against the dryer and got exactly the same result! The bottom line is…. It took me over 2 hours to accomplish what a dryer delivery guy, or trained repairman, could do in about 5 minutes! Again!!! I snatched defeat from the jaws of victory! I’ll tell you this for certain! The next time something needs to be done around the house I will try to do it! That’s because a true handyman must have the same lack of memory that any good professional relief pitcher has! Thank you for reading to the end. Please comment and share.

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IT’S FUNNY HOW “POINT OF VIEW” CHANGES OUR PERSPECTIVE

psteik — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 02:56:02 +0000

While I was driving the other day a pedestrian stepped into the street right in front of my pick-up truck. I slammed on my brakes, and he jumped backed back onto the sidewalk. All of the words to describe such an individual flooded into my mind; jerk, idiot and several forms of @#%**#@!!. The rest of my trip I amused myself thinking of all the ways this guy, and most pedestrians, were obstacles to the motoring public.

I arrived at my destination and parked. I started my walk from the parking lot and came to the corner of walk and don’t walk. I stepped into the street and the driver of a turning car I hadn’t seen slammed on the brakes. I jumped back onto the curb and the frustrated driver stared me down as he continued on his journey. The same descriptive words flooded my mind, then I thought how ironic it was that I had just experienced both sides of that scenario and felt I was the wronged party both times. Perhaps, I thought, a little self-evaluation was called for!

I was definitely wrong the second time- my bad!

For me, this scenario has played out many times in my life. I’m wondering, in print, if any of you have had the same experience?

Some of my “perspective moments” follow:

In our, almost completely, confrontational political environment I find myself tempted to go down the perspective road.

Evidence is found that the guy I voted against has been taking bribes. What is my gut reaction?

Give him the full penalty! Throw the book at him! He better get jail time, the last politician didn’t!!

These are legitimate feelings. My inner core truly, and profoundly, feels that nobody is above the law. I have spent over 35 years of my life working in the law enforcement field and I am very proud of the fact that I have lived up to the vows I took to uphold and obey the law- I’m no angel, but I am proud of the job I did, and the path I took.

That being said, since we are on this “perspective” quest… How did I react when my guy was being accused? Suddenly, the answer was not as clear! I did not cry out, “Throw the book at him!” This time I believed he was innocent– it was very easy for me to believe the other guy was guilty; and easier to believe my guy was not.

I had to force myself to get all of the material, for and against, both of the accused. I had to question how, and why, reference each fact I accepted and each fact I didn’t.

Soul searching is hard. Completely honest soul searching is harder and, I feel, an unbiased decision on something I feel strongly about is difficult, if not impossible, for me to do.

I have a whole new respect for judges who recuse themselves from trials in which they have a personal relationship with the plaintiff, the accused or a key witness.

More food for thought:

When you are driving down the expressway what do you think when some driver comes shooting up behind and passes you like you were stopped? Are you thinking, where’s a cop when you need one? I hope there’s a speed trap ahead! I will laugh if I see him pulled over before my exit…

How does your perspective change when your alarm clock doesn’t go off and you end up leaving the house way late? Are you hoping there’s no cops on the road, no speed traps etc…?

What about kids misbehaving? I raised 7 kids and, believe me, I felt stares the few times my wife and I were able to go out to dinner with them. I was at Disney World with some of my grandkids and we saw a sour pussed couple several times in the week we were there. I studied them and can report with certainty that they were in their late 30’s and had no children. While I was behind them in a line, I heard the lady say to the man, “I wish they would keep all of the children out of here and have it adult only for one week. I would pay whatever they asked. Kids ruin everything!” The man agreed.

I agree that, at times, kids can be a bit much- even my kids and grandkids, but I had to hold back my laugh when I heard the absurd thought of banning them from Disney World!

I would like to see their perspective change at some point. I know that won’t happen because I wouldn’t recognize them, I doubt, with their attitude, that they will ever have kids and if they do end up with kids- I would pity the fool who ends up with them as parents!

What about a neighbor’s dog barking? Do we have the same reaction when their dog barks as when our dog barks?

How about the person who brings too many items to the express checkout? That bothers me a lot! That, in fact, bothers me so much I would never do it- but I am still tempted to at times.

Thanks for reading this. Please comment about what you liked, what you didn’t, what your “perspective moments” are.

Phil

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MY GRANDMA’S DOCTOR CAME ON A HORSE- 2025 VEHICLES AVERAGE OVER 180 HOURSEPOWER!

psteik — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 01:51:19 +0000

When my grandmother was born the doctor arrived at the family home on horseback (That’s one horsepower!). Now, the “average Joe” can buy a car with an average of 180-200 horsepower!

Sometimes I find myself musing about the massive changes that have taken place in our own lifetimes.

When I was a young boy, my mother flew to New York to help her sister when she delivered her 9th child. I remember standing at the departure gate with my dad and siblings. We were waving at mom as her bi-prop commercial airplane was pulled from the gate.

Since then, the propeller powered airplanes have morphed into jets, then jumbo jets, supersonic jets and, who knows, what will follow.

The horse and buggy has been replaced by the automobile. Early cars created less than one horsepower (per AI Overview, The Benz Patent Motorwagen had an engine that produced 0.75 HP). As noted above, the average car sold in 2025 can produce as high as 200 HP with the Porsche Panamera leading all 2025s at 670 HP (Per Kelly Blue Book). The Porsche is definitely not an “average” car!

I started my life listening to AM radio. When we were doing yard work my dad and I would listen to the Chicago Cubs on his portable battery-operated radio. FM radio was invented in 1933 by Edwin Howard Armstrong (Per “How Stuff Works”), but I don’t recall any real FM radio listening audience until around 1971 or ’72- at least not among my group. At that time, we were all driving around in our own, or our parents’ cars with standard AM radios that provided us with 3 local rock and roll stations. The emerging FM stations that played rock music were coming on strong playing a much wider variety than the AM stations and, with a real FM radio, the music was available in stereo!

My buddies were replacing their AM radios with FMs, those of us that couldn’t afford a “real” FM radio installed FM adaptors- they didn’t give us stereo, but we did get the larger selection of songs. Now, of course, all of the new cars have FM radios and, some manufacturers, are considering eliminating AM radio capabilities.

The reception with AM radios was often scratchy and the FMs were much clearer. This was because of how AM radio waves are received and that has not improved. One AM station in my area that I still listen to is making their programing available in other forms- via computer etc. – in an attempt to save listenership.

Not all of the changes are great as I grow older. My memory used to be as good as anyone’s. Now I have to write notes to remind myself of why I am going into a different room!

I hope you enjoyed my rambling. Thank you for reading to the end

Phil

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LOOKING BACK AS WE ENTER ANOTHER NEW YEAR!

psteik — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 01:58:08 +0000

As we enter a new year, I reminisce about the changes that have come in my lifetime and throughout history. With The Christmas Season in our recent past, I am thinking about the trends in acquiring gifts for that holy season. It, historically, has morphed from parents making one gift for each child, to parents buying modest gifts at the “Dry Goods” store, to shopping in a busy “Downtown” with many stores to choose from, or ordering from the “Sears, Roebuck and Company Gift Catalog” then came driving to the nearby shopping mall and, most recently, shopping on-line. I used to save one gift purchase for Christmas Eve each year. I enjoyed the hustle and bustle of last-minute shoppers desperately trying to complete their yuletide chores. I have been disappointed the last couple of years because Christmas Eve crowds and the accompanying hustle and bustle, just weren’t there. Telephones are another area where obvious changes have come about, many of them in our lifetimes! Before I was a twinkle in my father’s eye, a telephone call required requesting the operator connect you with the party you hoped to speak to. Next, calls were made by “dialing” the number of the party you wanted to speak with by cranking the rotary dial on your phone. “Party lines” were common back in the 40’s to 60’s. A party line occurred when the phone company issued two separate telephone numbers a connecting line. This resulted in potential callers putting the handset to their ear to initiate a call and hearing a conversation already in progress instead of a dial tone. When this happened, the second caller needed to hang up and be patient, waiting for the first call to end. The first caller was expected to end their call quickly- this was usually done because of “common courtesy” and the knowledge that they may be the second caller the next time. Pay telephones were common in drug stores, post offices, gas stations, on busy corners and many other locations. Prior to the invention of “cell phones” pay phones were a necessity for people who needed to make a phone call when they were away from their home. The cell phone was invented and this, combined with the propensity of drug dealers to use pay phones as a way to keep their business stealth, ended the use of, and need for, pay phones. Telephones were improved in other ways as well. Pushbutton phones were invented and replaced many of the dial phones in households throughout the country. The next advancement was cordless phones that entered many households prior to the cell phone. The invention of color TV’s came about between 1946-1950. The first color TV broadcast was in June of 1951. When newspapers were the main source of news it was not unusual for a major paper to have a morning, afternoon and evening printing with changes and updates in each edition. Now, many newspapers have folded, and the industry itself is fighting to survive. Cars that started off with “crank start” models morphed through many stages- including a starter button on the floor, then the starter automatically activates when the key is turned. “Any color, as long as it was black” to numerous colors. Automatic transmissions as an accessory- now common; vent windows on the front window, many variations of the vent window, now, it is almost obsolete. Engines have been changed in many ways at many times. I have heard of 3, 4-, 6-, 8- and 12-cylinder engines. All cars, at one time, had drum brakes; those have been replaced by disc, which are more efficient. Car windows have varied from push open, to crank, to automatic. And, amazingly, we are on the cusp of “self driving” cars- WOW!!! We have moved on from full-service to self-service gas stations. Cigarette machines, which were a great gift to 16-year-old kids who had developed a yearning for tobacco, are gone. Typewriters have gone from manual to electric- of course! Hasn’t everything? Thanks for reading. Please comment about what you liked, what you didn’t, or anything you would like to add.

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WHO ARE THOSE GUYS?

psteik — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 04:40:15 +0000

Sometimes I just enjoy whatever invention I am taking advantage of, air travel, a warm house in December, a word processor or whatever!

Sometimes I think a little deeper. I know that all created things aren’t necessarily good. If you a need to point it out- have at it. I’m just writing this to express my respect for the people whose minds can see a need, potential need, or whatever and turn it into something.

I’ve compiled a short list of things that, at some point in time, some very creative mind said, “Hey! What if I were to….

I understand that many of the inventions/creations that I mention here have been credited to someone, many others happened so long ago we will never know who to thank and others are up for debate as to who was the first.

That being said, I give you my list of things that some amazing minds brought to us that make our lives easier, or affect us, every day!

Who was the first person to think “outside the box” and:

Crush tobacco leaves up, wrap another leave around them, then light it on fire and inhale it to create a cigar?

Do the same thing with paper to make a cigarette?

Drill into a tooth to stop it from hurting? Who was the first person so desperate that they allowed someone to drill into their tooth?

Pull a tooth to stop pain?

Cut into a living human to fix something inside? Again, who was the first person to say, “Yeah, go ahead and see what you find!’- Authors Note: I hope this happened after anesthesia was invented.

Kill an animal, put it over a fire, and eat it?

Put ground coffee beans in a strainer, percolate water over it, and drink the hot liquid it created?

Tea?

Pound a piece of metal into a piece of wood to connect it to another piece of wood?

Create something sticky to hold objects together?

Make a window?

Color a liquid and put it over wood to make it last longer and look better?

Communicate with smoke signals?

Create a gas to make people sleep temporarily? Author’s Note: How many tries did it take to determine how much was needed to be effective and how much would be deadly?

Splint a bone to help it heal?

Rub sticks together to start a fire?

Make a clock?

Make a calendar?

Create spices?

Put meat in tubes to make hot dogs or sausage?

Create medicine out of plants?

Predict weather accurately?

Communicate verbally?

Create letters, words and structure to document spoken word?

Think of making gears?

Document history with cave drawings?

Create pens, pencils, crayons, ink, ball point pens etc.?

Fireworks? Did they survive?

Guns?

Bows and arrows?

Spears?

Rapid fire guns?

Solid rubber tires?

Inflatable rubber tires?

Hearing aids?

Eye glasses?

Magnifying glasses?

Nitro glycerin? Did they live?

Paper?

Gas stoves?

Refrigeration/ Air conditioning?

Electricity?

String, rope, thread?

Cardboard/Pressed wood?

Drug capsules that dissolve in your stomach? How did they determine how long the process would take?

Plastic?

Photography?

X-Rays?

Remote controls?

Bottle caps/Bottle openers/Flip tops?

I know there are many, many more! Please add your thoughts to the comments section.

Thanks for reading to the end?

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I AM STILL FAST!!

psteik — Mon, 11 Nov 2024 04:56:39 +0000

For those of you who don’t know, I retired after working as a police officer for 35 years.

My wife and I raised a large family, and policing pays adequately but doesn’t create millionaires! This “fact” required me to work overtime and outside jobs whenever I could.

I was a hard worker and some of my supervisors rewarded that by telling me about opportunities to earn more money. One such supervisor, who I still talk to on Facebook, told me about an opportunity to work security at “Cellular Field” (The home of the Chicago White Sox). I was a life-long Cub fan (The Sox cross-town rivals), but this was a chance to get paid for watching professional baseball! I have never been able to get enough of baseball and jumped at the chance. Until I was in high school, I had dreams of playing professional ball but, in the interest of honesty, they weren’t very realistic.

It was not the perfect part-time job. On days we were scheduled, about 5 or 6 of us would jump in a car right after our dayshift at our suburban department ended and carpool into Chicago. It was about an hour drive, much longer if traffic was bad- which it usually was. We had to pay for any food or snacks we wanted at the field. We also had to pitch in to pay for parking. Then, when the game was over, we cleared the park and the area around it. After working a patrol shift, and the game, we made the long drive home. It was a long shift and not really worth it, unless you loved baseball, and I did!

The good side was. It wasn’t a difficult job. There were quite a few people working every game day. The “force” consisted mostly of officers from The Illinois State Police, The Chicago Police and the Cook County Sheriff’s Department. Then my guys and some other suburban departments were thrown in as a stop gap for any day where the main force may be called to deal with an unrelated problem on the Northside of Chicago, but the Sox were still able to play.

I was loving the chance to work for the Sox. We were called to intervene when small fights would start, or fans needed other assistance. Our purpose wasn’t to arrest anyone, although we all had the authority to do so, if it became necessary.

My job was uneventful for the first several dates I worked. Then came the day I needed to earn my money.

I was working fairly far away from the field when we were called to an incident with a fan who had jumped the fence- the one infraction the management did encourage arrests on, although that rule was, somewhat, flexible.

“ I’m the taller security guy wearing the hat.

I felt I was close enough to the field to be able to assist on an arrest if it was necessary but had no expectation of getting there first. I decided that I would start jogging in that direction until I could determine whether I should “step it up” or “disregard.” I was always very fast and was not surprised that, even jogging, I was passing several other officers as I made my way towards the incident.

When I got to the wall I saw the offender on the grass, but no other officers on the field. I jumped the wall (At a higher point than was safe) and started full out running toward him. Another officer, a Chicago cop who was always stationed in the bullpen, had come onto the field as I scaled the wall. I caught up to him and ran with him for a few steps before I pushed ahead and tackled the offender. As I started to handcuff him the bullpen officer, who was only a few feet behind me, knelt down next to me to assist.

While we were cuffing the trespasser I asked the other cop, who does the paper on this? He smiled and almost laughed as he was handing me the offender’s other hand. Then he replied, “The guy who catches him!” By now there were about 4 or 5 other officers around us. They were officers I know I had passed. They were veteran officers who knew they should get there fast, but not too fast.

I was the uninformed rookie who had just learned a lesson!

So maybe the early bird gets the worm, but in this case, he also gets the paperwork!

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it.

Please comment in the space provided.

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