28 AIN'T FIFTY

OK pageviewers and fans. We didn't hit the 50 mark yesterday, so the John Prine version of Jimmy John is officially dead. 

I think I'm going to break up with Phyllis Schlafley too. She is proof that even God sometimes is looking the other way. Google her latgest gem. You know, the one about African native, Obama purposely bring the EBOLA out break to the US so we can be more like other countries in the world.*



Only in America.


*Trust me, I won't be blogging when I'm 90.

I broke up with Jimmy John

I just turned today's earlier post into a draft. It's a great story but it's really wordy and even I fell asleep writing it. Kind of like the intro story to a John Prine song. The intro is a half hour and the song is 45 seconds.

I'm renewing my boycott of Jimmy John's because he has exhibited the behavior that I cannot stand. It is alleged that Jimmy Johns:

1. "encourages" their inside workers to work "off the clock."
2. Stipulates that workers sign a "no compete" clause as part of their employment by the company
3. Avoids healthcare issues by making sure that as many employees as possible stay at "part time" status, thereby he doesn't have to cover his workers. 

His cousin, Papa Johns highlighted the whole, I hate Obamacare thing and despite the competitiveness of the fast food market, there is still an inequality gap that is perpetuated by multi millionaires who whine about how tough it is to stay in business, yet boast net worths of one, two or three hundred million dollars. In the other post, I injected some local flavor into the story because there is history between me and Jimmy.

If I get 50 or more page views dedicated to this post, I will post the other one. So today's humstle is Marshall Crenshaw's, I suffered for my art-- now it's your turn.

Overs

I'm turning 65 in two weeks. This seems to me to be a  remarkable achievement since many of my era never thought they'd live until 30. One of our heroes ( who is past 70) admonished that we should "never trust anyone over 30". This is the same guy who said "he not busy being born, is busy dying" Gaining this age is not remarkable at all. My grandfather was a cardiac surgeon who died of a heart attack at 59. Man he could operate! And he could eat all the fatty foods that doomed him as well. Irony there.

Somebody else once said, "reality- what a concept." Maybe civility has replaced reality for the thing that we somehow expect- wait-- I probably shouldn't use that word. Maybe 'hope for' is a better choice. I do think that we are are over fed, over served, over medicated, over info'ed and over cautious and over scared. Many of us believe that many of us are over paid and under qualified.Much of the result of these conditions stem from a lack of self esteem.

So, today's humstle is one of my all time favorite songs: Les McCann's Compared to What.  The absolute soaring nature of this song is fantastic in and of itself, but the words??? You tell me. It's worth looking up. So many references that are still relevant.

So, be civil today. And tomorrow.  It's not something that is second nature anymore. Old guys like me seem to see this more clearly than others. So the whole overs thing is really perplexing. Alas, it's part of having lived past the golden age you thought you'd never see and all the perspectives and experiences that started to fill up your personal suitcases like the pack rat shit you can't believe is in your attic or garage.

What a concept! 

less than 30

There are less than 30 days before the most important midterm elections that I can remember. I would ask my readers to vote their most relevant self interests. If I were running for office, I would state what I'm for, not what I'm against. Of course this no longer happens in races for elective office. Whatever your influence is within your own world, please take time to figure out what you're for and communicate that to however many people are in your sphere of influence. Especially, my message goes to young voters. You will hold the key to this election, either by your participation or lack thereof. 
What are YOU for? 

Where we are today is relevant all the way down to local races- those in your communities, your states. There is an old saying 'all politics is local.' Never has that been more true. You probably know how I feel if you've read any of my posts. I'm mentioning no names or party affiliations. I'm not referring to any specific laws or policy that is at stake.

Voting is one of the most precious resources we've been given. You can readily see what the stakes are in terms of laws, policy and quality of life. take all the other side and back stories out of it. It is repeatedly being demonstrated that races are getting closer and closer in each election and the fact that your vote is cast can definitely make the difference between something you want to see happen and something(s) that you do not. If you don't participate, you have little to no right to complain about the election results.

 The negativity that is so pervasive is a tactic to bore you, wear you down and convince you that 'you' don't matter
Another shopworn but important thing to remember: Garbage in, garbage out.
The stakes are high- and they DO matter. Do what matters to you.

Thanks