Thoughts

It has been some time since I have written on this blog. To say that I was busy would, at best, be a lame excuse for not keeping up with the blog. I have feel strongly on a certain issue and I wish to express my opinions on such.

The topic dejour is 'handedness.' For years I have worked in the trades. I was a senior mechanic for the LDS church in the Greater Chicago area. During that time I became aware of doors and how they swing one way or another. This swinging of the door is called left or right handed. If it sounds confusing- it is. So rather then bore my ever wide ranging audience with a detailed description of handedness I will move into the topic of plumbing- which I also did in another lifetime. Unfortunately for me, the easily confused, plumbing required one to know right and left as well. The phrase "righty tighty, lefty loosy" comes to mind. It refers to the direction that something will turn. Without going to a sink do you know which side the hot water and the cold water are on?

While working in Chicago one of our plumbing vendors used a plumber by the name of Pat. Pat was a union plumber and not what one would think of as a stereotypical plumber. Not fat, no rear cleavage, and was sober when he came to the job. He had apprenticed as a plumber with a larger firm in Chicago and one of his journey men that he worked for always would take a card out of his pocket, look at it, and place it back in his pocket. The apprentices had no idea what the card was and curiosity was rampant. Unfortunately this master plumber died and his funeral was attended by a number of the plumbers that he had trained throughout the years. Curiosity won out as following the funeral a number of his former apprentices approached his widow and asked if she might have known what was on the card that he kept referring to as he worked. The widow reached into her purse and said "do you mean this card?" She drew out of her purse the well worn 3 x 5 card that was so familiar to all of the plumbers. They, in unison, nodded their collective heads as the widow handed the card to Pat. As he peered at the card he started to laugh. The other plumbers were very eager at this point to see what pearls of wisdom that the master plumber was passing on to his plumbing posterity. Pat turned to face the other young plumbers and read the back of the card- "Hot left side, cold right side."

I digress though. Nicknames are plenty for those who may be a left hander. Names like 'lefty,' 'southpaw,' or one we used in softball a lot (definitively not PC) 'hooker.' I am sure that there a number of others out there.

So why all this in bringing up handedness? Well my curiosity has gotten to the best of me as I have watched my loyal canine over the past few years and the thought came up- 'are dogs right pawed or left pawed?' Should I affectionately call her 'southpaw' because she is a dog and she does have paws? Maybe this is why my dog is receiving counseling from our favorite therapist.


jsf

Civility is alive and well

Civility is alive and well. While traveling home on a big ol' jet liner I witnessed an act of selflessness.

Me strumming the banjo, my bride knitting

Just outside gate C41 following a discussion with the airline representative, who was telling me the plane had left the gate and what I was seeing was a mirage, we sat down for the anticipated four hour layover. My bride and I decided to sympathize with the OWS (occupy wall street) people. Thus empowered we occupied four seats- two for our bottoms and two for our carry on luggage and coats. We were steadfast in making sure the 1% did not break into our space! 


As we people watched (do people even people watch anymore? Half the people- if not more- were keeping their heads low staring at the screen of either a smart phone or a tablet. Another topic for another time) we observed a couple a few seats away from us. The man bent over and examining a credit card that he saw lingering under the seats to our left.


With all the announcements at the airport about unattended bags our immediate thought (ok, my immediate thought) was to call TSA, have their bomb squad come in and disarm it. OK having the TSA come in may have been an extreme thought but if they could dismantle a credit card debt bomb why not?

I cringed when the gentleman reached under the seat and picked the card up. I was very fearful as he did so. The thought of the credit card exploding in his face was not a pretty picture.

It didn't explode!!

What relief! He asked the woman who occupied the seat if the card might belong to her. She declined. (not unlike when credit card companies have declined me in the past). The older man than took the card to the SouthWest counter and turned it over to them.

Civility, chivalry, or just plain good Samaritan doing the right thing. It is great to live in these United States..

jsf

As a side note to the bride of the Air Force pilot and two children traveling to Raleigh/Durham: the uniform we questioned was an army dress uniform.

Thank-you for your service and sharing your husband to protect our nation.