LACK OF SKILLS COSTS

 I’m sitting in the waiting room of a car dealership this morning. No, I'm not looking to buy a new, or even a used, vehicle. Instead, it’s oil change time for my wife’s car, I always wait for a coupon to pop up to find the best deals for these kinds of basic services. The sad fact is that I never learned the skills necessary to perform these types of things. Oh, I’ve tried to fix things before, but as you might imagine, things didn’t work well.  

Jim and I drove an old ‘54 Chevy that had already gone through both parents and an older brother. I loved that car and wish I could afford to buy another one. On occasion, I ran up against some problems and tried to fix them to save a few bucks. On one rainy trip from Knoxville back to Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, the windshield wipers malfunctioned. They were vacuum wipers, which meant they worked depending on how the gas pedal was pushed. Around Crab Orchard, the darn things wouldn’t move. A leak had developed in the vacuum line. I drove down I-40 with my head out the window so that I could see the road. With no idea of how to fix the thing, I drove only during clear skies until a mechanic could alleviated fix the problem. 

The water pump went out on the vehicle another time. My friends all told me how easy it was to replace it, and the concept seemed simple enough. The problem was having the correct tools to do the job. I spent several days trying to get the thing so that I could buy a new one. I’m not sure who installed the new pump, but it wasn’t me.  

Amy and I owned a Datsun 310 during our first years of marriage, and I decided to change the oil in the vehicle before driving to my brother’s home in Powell Valley. I had no ramps, a fact that made reaching the oil pan plug and oil filter more difficult. Still, I managed to complete both tasks. I put on the new filter and poured in the oil. My pride swelled over having succeeded. I hopped in the car, backed it out of the garage and eyeballed a puddle of fresh oil oozing across the garage floor. To my shame, I realized I’d forgotten to replace the plug in the pan.  

Over the years, I’ve tried to work on my lawnmowers. The same thing always happens with them as with cars. A couple of weeks ago, I replaced the pinion steering gear on a lawn tractor. Hours of labor went into a job that shouldn’t have taken longer than half an hour. When I finished, the gear and plate weren’t aligned evenly, so the turning radius in one direction was much smaller than the other direction. I later discovered that the wheels had to be offset to install the thing.  

If I had my time to do over, I would take an auto mechanics class, a small engines class, and a construction class. The money I could have saved would have been in the thousands. Parents, I don’t care if your children are geniuses who are headed to prestigious colleges. Insist that they take some of these vocational classes so that they aren’t as lacking as I am. In the end, having those skills will save them, and possibly you, thousands of dollars.  

STEPPING AWAY FROM SPORTS

 As Big Orange fans know, the past football season has been one filled with disappointment. We fans expected much better results from the team, even though some “cream puff” teams were replaced with an all-SEC schedule of teams. The men’s basketball team has hit a slump for a couple of games and looked much different from the one that squashed early opponents. No doubt, Coach Barnes will have the problem resolved shortly, but right now, the balm that could have soothed Vol fans after football failures isn’t working. 

Sports fans approach games, whether they are youth-league contests or professional rivalries, with anticipation and an emotional fervor that falls well outside what is healthy. For some reason, we identify with teams and agonize with their losses of games and players. Too many times I’ve screamed at the television set as my favorite teams make mistakes, fall behind, and lose games. I fret over recruiting classes and keeping young folks true to their words. A loss of a game or a recruit has plunged me into a funk for several days.   

I know that sports are nothing more than games that teams play. I realize that their goals are to entertain fans enough so that they want to buy tickets to games and purchase merchandise sporting teams’ logos. I also acknowledge that no game’s outcome in any way will bring about change in any global problem. Still, a weekend of games certainly affects the moods of millions of folks. 

For those reasons, I’m seriously considering taking a holiday from sports. I no longer will schedule my weekends to view a ball game. Oh, I might check in on the score of a favorite team, but I’m not willing to invest any more three-hours or more blocks of time to sit on the couch and watch a game. My dear wife will be excited that we can leave the house and go on some day trips that hadn’t before been possible.  

One benefit of this attempt will be an improvement in my overall attitude. I might just turn out to be a nicer person. Sadie, our dog, will be glad that I no longer snap at her when she has to go outside just as a third down and goal arises or the outcome of the game is being determined.  

Another positive to passing on games is that I can spend more time outside. Our yard always demands attention. The mowing and weed eating can take several hours. Amy can always find new places to plant new flowers or reset existing ones. In the fall, leaves are knee-deep every day, and shrubs need pruning. Winter is the best time to burn the piles of limbs and clippings. I’ll be able to keep up with those tasks if I turn off games. 

I’m not sure how long I can hold out. Maybe my face will be in front of the television within a few days. The effects of withdrawal from sports might be too severe for me to stand. On the other hand, I might just find out how little I really need to watch games that drive me nuts and drive my blood pressure toward stroke territory. I’ve given one team too long to turn the corner. I just don’t have the energy to go through another head coaching hire and to wait for that philosophy to develop a competitive team.  

Yes, I want my favorite team to win, and I hope they once again become a force with which to deal before I die. I’ll be back to watch them, but as a different person. I’ll smile when they win and shrug my shoulders when they don’t. Giving up a dependence on athletes and contests is healthier, both physically and mentally. Let’s see how it goes.  

SOCIAL MEDIA ISN'T WORKING

 The time has come for people to re-evaluate “social media.” I’ve always considered that name for what we use to be anything but “social.” My goodness, how our lives and culture have changed so quickly makes me dizzy. 

The life of which I was a part depended on contact with others just like today’s existence. However, we certainly did that in much different ways. We used those phones that sat on small tables in the living room or small alcoves in the hall. Mother had a phone on the wall in the kitchen. It was a faded red color over the years from hands and grease and sunlight. She put a long cord on the receiver so that she could talk while preparing supper, washing dishes, or loading the washing machine.  

Many of us still remember the party lines that we had. Private lines were for those with much money than most families had in their budgets. We knew a call was for our family based on the ring—one long one. None of us boys dared to make a long-distance call because the charges were outrageous.  

Letter writing was something we did frequently. Aunts and uncles who live out of town received our scribbled messages with thanks for Christmas gifts or to let them know the news around home. In fifth grade, Suzanne Fletcher entered my life and exited it just as quickly. Her family moved to Knoxville and then to Tunnel Hill Georgia. I pined for her and sent heartbroken love letters twice a week.  

Most of all, people back then stayed in touch in a more personal way: they visited and talked to each other. We’d have both sides of the family to our house in June for birthdays and in December for Christmas. Grown-ups sat around the table, and younger folks moved outside or into the family room. No matter where we were, the constant drone of conversation filled those places. Laughter always up the volume a couple of notches, but it never bothered anyone. 

These days, people don’t stay in touch the same way. Social media has replaced conversation. How many times have we all scrolled through Facebook to see what an image of someone’s loaded dinner plate? Do any individuals really care what another is eating?  

Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms have replaced our communications methods. All too often, parents demand their children to put down their cell phones at dinner tables. Before Covid-19 hit, I stayed amazed at how folks would go out to eat and sit across from each without looking at anything other than the screens on their phones.  

I know I’m old school; I know that I am not wise in the ways of the modern-day world. Still, I am alert enough to see the pain and danger and damage that “social media” is presenting and condoning.  We simply have to turn away from these platforms and return to a simpler, more honest way of communication. Humans are social creature by nature. However, social doesn’t mean burying our heads in Facebook, Twitter, or others of the same ilk, nor does it mean exchanging ideas and thoughts and beliefs via text messages. I’ve watched as two people carry on a conversation by texting each other, even though they are no more than ten feet apart. 

The human voice is filled with emotion because it is connected to the heart. The true meanings of a person’s words are best determined when another hears them. No social media can compete with intimate contact filled with the expressions from the heart. 

I’ve decided to cut back on the use of social media. When necessary to promote something I’ve written, I’ll send out a message on those things. My days of arguing with others on them are over. I’ll talk up a storm to folks when I can, and I will make a phone call when they are too far away. Someone might declare that I’m retreating to the past. If that means avoiding social media, that might just be right.  

GETTING ALONG

 I’d like to find new topics on which to write, but the country’s situation won’t allow me to do so. By now, we’ve inaugurated a new president, an old one has been sent back to public life, and all are looking to see what kind of leadership will be directing our handling of the pandemic and strangling economy. The job is a massive one that we all hope Joe Biden can handle. However, he’s not the only person who will be needed to dig us out of the mess.  

For as long as I can remember, the two parties in our political system have followed different paths. Over the years, they’ve swapped liberal-conservative characterizations. The divide between the two was wide, but something strange happened on many occasions. For the good of the country, Democrats and Republicans sometimes put country above self or party. They joined in bipartisanship to pass laws and acts to truly make America great.  

As early as 1945, Senator Arthur Vandenberg worked with Democrats and his own GOP cohorts to make sure the U.S. remained connected to the rest of the world. His leadership ensured that the country maintained vital roles in the United Nations and NATO. 

With the help of legendary Senator Everett DIrksen, GOP senators ended a filibuster, and 27 of them joined Democrats to pass Civil Rights legislation. That bill is one of the greatest in our history as it began to give black Americans some of the rights that others took for granted. A moral issue was solved with the help of both parties. 

The next year, the Great Society program was approved by both parties. Included in the program were the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Medicare, and Public Broadcasting. If not for bi-partisan work, programs that address poverty, education, and conservation, as well as others, would have been left wanting for years to come. 

During the impeachment hearings of Richard Nixon, GOP members became heroes to the country. Our own Senator Howard Baker asked the most famous question of the whole affair: What did you know and when did you know it? Together, both parties searched for the truth and forced Nixon to resign.  

Perhaps not since World War II did both parties join forces with no breaks in the ranks to fight attacks against the country as they did after the 9/11 attacks. A combination of patriotism and anger energized our leaders to complete things that would keep citizens safe.  

For far too long now, the two parties have moved increasingly toward polarization. Mitchell McConnell vowed to keep President Obama and Democrats from passing any legislation. GOP senators stalled the filling of a Supreme Court seat until Donald Trump became president. Democrats have refused to work in any way to promote even good programs suggested by the Trump administration. 

Perhaps the seditious acts of January 6 will bring a bit of bipartisanship to Congress. It seems that each day more individuals are disgusted with the events occurring on January 6. Representatives from both sides have condemned fellow legislators who helped the president and his mob.  

Maybe the beginning of the Biden presidency will usher in an era of bipartisanship. Biden worked across the aisle during his time in the Senate, and we can only hope that he can work the same magic during his term in office.  

As for us who elect those folks, it’s time we began to show some of the same bipartisanship. I might not agree with everything a person on the other side of an argument says, but I have to be willing to allow him to speak and to take as much common good from it as possible.  

We better pray that this country, its leaders and citizens, learn how to compromise. No one gets all he wants; give and take lead to meeting in the middle, and that is where good things occur. Otherwise, the U.S. can read its fate in the history of the Roman Empire.