Archive For The “Zingers” Category
By Larry Oscar
A great American from Fritch, Texas once said, “You can’t fix stupid.” Perhaps 
that has never been more true than in today’s global political arena. It’s hard to imagine more glaring examples of stupidity than we have witnessed in government leaders over the past few years. It was Forest Gump’s mother that said, “Stupid is as stupid does.”
That too has been duly noted in the actions of such leaders as Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi. The stupidity of Saddam was astounding. He would still be alive and the leader in Iraq if he had just let the UN inspectors back into his country, thrown them a party, and let them inspect and visit anything in the country their heart desired. In fact, he should have invited George Bush and Bill Clinton over for a bunga-bunga party. Instead he had to act tough and thumb his nose at the world. The result was he ended up swinging from a rope Texas style.
Now we have that little runt with a huge nose from Iran threatening to “Wipe Israel off of the face of the Earth.” And at the same time celebrating his country’s march toward nuclear technology that will ultimately end in nuclear weapons. What a complete fool. What would you do if your neighbor down the street threatened to “wipe you off of the face of the Earth,” and then proceeded to build a bomb in his garage. Would you wait until his bomb was complete before taking action? Would you sit idly by like the Jews did in World War II and just let him exterminate you? Or would you learn from history and defend yourself while you still had the power to do so?
It’s hard to imagine what goes through these bozo’s little minds. There are many roads to Rome. And if you want to accomplish things in life you need to study the roads toward your goal with some thought and circumstance. Emotions will be your worst enemy. The emotional route will almost certainly be the most costly for you. For example, the best way for the Muslim countries to deal with Israel is through friendship and trade and not through religious emotionalism. Take a look at Europe for example. Germany fought WWII to conquer Europe and what was the result? Their own destruction. However, by working hard as capitalists and establishing free trade, they now own Europe. They have now accomplished through Capitalism what they were unable to accomplish through the forces of war.
We are now at another crossroads in the world. We still have leaders that do not understand the power of capitalism or how it works. They are still preaching the failed promises of Socialism-Marxism and ignoring the historical failures of this philosophy such as the Soviet Union, East Germany, North Korea, Greece, and Cuba. The only conclusion you can come to is that they are blinded by their own stubborn stupidity. No system is perfect. And all systems of government will leave some people behind, but only Capitalism lets the people use their creative talents to the fullest, and that generates the greatest wealth for the greatest numbers.
Without Capitalism we would not have had Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Tiger Woods, or Oprah Winfrey. We are now facing a critical election; one that will determine if we are to retain a Socialist-Marxist leaning President who thinks that we should all have equal amounts of “stuff,” and that the government should tell us what to eat and how to live our lives.
Or do we move forward and choose a new President that will remove the burdensome weight of this government from our backs, and let us live free creative lives according to our own abilities as the founding fathers of this country envisioned. There are always risks in life. None of us has a guarantee that we will even be alive tomorrow, but one thing is for sure, if we are not free to develop the talents that are given to us by God, then we will pay a price far greater than life itself.
This nation has the richest poor on the face of the Earth. We have the only poor people with big screen TVs, cell phones, cars, and air conditioned housing. We will always have the poor, and it is Capitalism that will keep them from living in mud huts like they do in other countries! The best way to redistribute wealth is with a paycheck, and not a welfare check. If you want tomatoes you have to grow healthy tomato plants. If you want jobs you must grow healthy corporations, and not a bloated overgrown government that is funded with borrowed money!
By Larry Oscar
It’s been interesting to observe the reaction of some people to government 
failures. What seems so obvious to many seems to totally escaping the thought process of others. “Why is it that government agencies fail while private corporations succeed”, a liberal friend of mine recently asked? Sometimes all you can do to help these poor folks is just smile. The answer lies in the observations of a man by the name of Charles Darwin. Back in 1859 Darwin published his book On the Origin of Species and the rest is history.
Over 99.9 percent of all species that ever lived on this planet have fallen to extinction. We are a product of natural selection and if we fail to adapt to changes in climate and our environment, we will follow the same fate. Darwin’s observation of natural selection is not limited to nature alone. It is the reason that Socialism, Marxism, and big governments fail while Capitalism succeeds.
In order for a society to prosper the society must have a viable economy supported by trade and successful business. That has been true for all great civilizations, past and present. Capitalism supports the process of natural selection in an economy. Whereas, Socialism and Marxism do not. Under Capitalism businesses must adapt to an ever changing market or fail and become extinct. Under Socialism and Marxism the government props up what the government decides businesses should become, regardless of the market conditions. This leads to a costly and prolonged, but inevitable extinction of the business. Why, because the process of natural selection has not been allowed to occur.
The Capitalist free market is the crucible that weeds out the weak. There can be no greater example of Darwin’s natural selection process than the United States Post Office versus the United Parcel Service. If an outside observer were to pick a winner among these two the logical choice would have been the United States Post Office. After all, the Post Office can deliver both first class mail and parcels while UPS can only deliver parcels. And UPS was not allowed to deliver first class mail by law. A government interference in the market. The failure of the Post Office is a glaring example of why government intervention in the free market process will always inevitably end in failure.
Historically the failures of great civilizations can be traced to an ever increasing size of government and the government interference in the free market forces that result in the collapse of trade, business, and ultimately the economy. Capitalism is often described as “brutal” because there will be losers, winners, and failures. May I remind all that capitalism is no different than sports. When you compete in baseball, football, golf, or any other sport it would be ludicrous to compete and not have winners and losers. So why is the competition in a capitalist business environment any different? Do you think the early baseball teams of the early 1900’s would stand a chance against the teams of today? No way. Why? Because sports has evolved. We have much more skilled players and better training and equipment today. We no longer play golf with wooden handle clubs or leather covered golf balls. Our tennis rackets today are lightweight carbon fiber, not wood.
Like sports, market free competition in business is absolutely essential. And it is essential that government keep the interference in the market to an absolute minimum. We have pumped tens of billions of borrowed government money into GM. The GM story has yet to write it’s final chapter. GM has not been “saved” as many are claiming now. GM has only survived until now because of a government handout. GM will be back in trouble within a few years or decades at most when the government handout money is gone and once again they have to stand on their own two feet. The systemic problems at GM are still there, and those problems will bring GM to it’s knees sooner or later. A very good read on this subject is John Stossel’s new book entitled No They Can’t. It cites numerous examples of government failures in the free market place. You can pick it up on Amazon for about $17 at:
http://www.amazon.com/They-Cant-Government-Fails-But-Individuals
And be kind to your emotional friends. After all, they may have an issue! You also may want to read up on that subject as well…My Stroke of Insight by Jill Taylor, Ph.D. It’s a great story of a true scientist and what she discovered about the brains thought processes.
By Larry Oscar
When hard economic times hit a nation it always seems to bring out the best and also the worst in people. Anyone with a good job or business should stand
back and give thanks from time to time for the successes and also the lessons of life’s failures. For without success, there is no sense of accomplishment and without failure there is no sense of humility. For each of us to be a more complete human being we need to take ourselves to task from time to time.
Personal responsibility for our own lives is paramount. I never cease to be amazed at how some people drop out of school, steal, get involved with drugs, slovenly go through life thinking society owes them something, and make constant demands for free handouts. And others, who suffer real tragedy in their lives, always work hard to overcome their problems and manage a smile. Recently we have seen greedy union members demand more benefits for themselves in demonstrations and rallies throughout the nation. They yell, chant, and thrust signs in the air demanding higher wages and more social benefits. I suspect more will follow. They never promise an increase in their productivity to actually earn an increase in their wages. They don’t want to stand on their own two feet and be held accountable for their own skills and quality of their own work. Instead they want some big union boss to make threats on companies who are trying to just survive in a stressful economy.
Our government educational system also reeks with these type of people. The school systems have become a haven for slothful and greedy adults who do not want to be held accountable for their performance, and yet they demand that public school systems provide them with a guaranteed lifetime handout. Their attitude is “who cares about the children, I want a guaranteed lifetime job with a fat pension.” They have no concern for their customers. In fact, I wager that very few of them even know who their customer is. They are pathetic human beings.
Then there are those who demonstrate, by their actions, the content of their good character. Recently I was in need of canvas winch covers for a boat. Nothing fancy, or very expensive, just a good quality product at a fair price would suffice. I found some on an internet auction and ordered them. The person who made them did a superb job, and also insisted that if the quality did not meet what I was looking for that my money would be refunded. I was so impressed with the service and quality that I ordered more. A few months later I inquired if there was a website where I could order them from, and if other canvas products were available. This was her reply: “I can sew anything for a boat, I owned and operated a shop for 12 years called “Canvas and Sail.” I even built sails and repaired them. I built the big glass enclosures on yachts. I did it all. Then one fall shattered it all and I have spent nine years, and several surgeries, getting strong enough to do it again. I can’t do big, heavy jobs anymore, but stuff like wheel covers, sail repair, and the little stuff I can do. I’m grateful for every job I get, and if it isn’t right I’ll make it again. I’m still real disabled but love sailing, and sewing is how I take care of myself. My husband died and I am alone, and we all have to eat, so I am so grateful for every job I get. Thank you so much, I will always do my best for you at whatever you need made for your boat. I’ve made thousands of awnings too, and did all the coast guard stuff on their boats for years until I fell on a boat. Thanks a bunch.”
This is a true American. She had obviously been successful in her life and business. Then tragedy struck. She is still recovering from it, and she is a determined soul. She’s not only fighting to pay her own way in life, but she’s thankful for what she has, and she takes great personal pride in her work. She’s not asking for a handout. She is taking personal responsibility for herself and earning her way through life. Just when you think all Americans have turned into a bunch of whining beggars, along comes a true American who restores your faith in what this nation was originally founded on, guts and determination to succeed. We were founded by people who fought life’s tragedies and hardships and won. We should help those who are willing to help themselves, and we should kick the others in their large oversized buttocks! Oh, by the way, if your looking for some high quality canvas products for your boat, check out…
http://motors.shop.ebay.com/lindamay2006/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=
By Larry Oscar
A great American from Fritch, Texas once said, “You can’t fix stupid.” Perhaps 
that has never been more true than in today’s global political arena. It’s hard to imagine more glaring examples of stupidity than we have witnessed in government leaders over the past few years. It was Forrest Gump’s mother that said “Stupid is as stupid does.”
That too has been duly noted in the actions of such leaders as Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi. The stupidity of Saddam was astounding. He would still be alive and the leader in Iraq if he had just let the UN inspectors back into his country, thrown them a party, and let them inspect and visit anything in the country 
their heart desired. In fact, he should have invited George Bush and Bill Clinton over for a bunga-bunga party. Instead he had to act tough and thumb his nose at the world. The result was he ended up swinging from a rope Texas style.
Now we have that little runt with a huge nose from Iran threatening to “Wipe Israel off of the face of the Earth.” And at the same time celebrating his country’s march toward nuclear technology that will ultimately end in nuclear weapons. What a complete fool. What would you do if your neighbor down the street threatened to “wipe you off of the face of the Earth,” and then proceeded to build a bomb in his garage. Would you wait until his bomb was complete before taking action? Would you sit idly by like the Jews did in World War II and just let him exterminate you? Or would you learn from history and defend yourself while you still had the power to do so?
It’s hard to imagine what goes through these bozo’s little minds. There are many roads to Rome. And if you want to accomplish things in life you need to study the roads toward your goal with some thought and circumstance. Emotions will be your worst enemy. The emotional route will almost certainly be the most costly for you. For example, the best way for the Muslim countries to deal with Israel is through friendship and trade and not through religious emotionalism. Take a look at Europe for example. Germany fought WWII to conquer Europe and what was the result? Their own destruction. However, by working hard as capitalists and establishing free trade, they now own Europe. They have now accomplished through Capitalism what they were unable to accomplish through the forces of war.
We are now at another crossroads in the world. We still have leaders that do not understand the power of capitalism or how it works. They are still preaching the failed promises of Socialism-Marxism and ignoring the historical failures of this philosophy such as the Soviet Union, East Germany, North Korea, Greece, and Cuba. The only conclusion you can come to is that they are blinded by their own stubborn stupidity. No system is perfect. And all systems of government will leave some people behind, but only Capitalism lets the people use their creative talents to the fullest, and that generates the greatest wealth for the greatest numbers.
Without Capitalism we would not have had Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Tiger Woods, or Oprah Winfrey. We are now facing a critical election; one that will determine if we are to retain a Socialist-Marxist leaning President who thinks that we should all have equal amounts of “stuff,” and that the government should tell us what to eat and how to live our lives.
Or do we move forward and choose a new President that will remove the burdensome weight of this government from our backs, and let us live free creative lives according to our own abilities as the founding fathers of this country envisioned. There are always risks in life. None of us has a guaranty that we will even be alive tomorrow, but one thing is for sure, if we are not free to develop the talents that are given to us by God, then we will pay a price far greater than life itself.
This nation has the richest poor on the face of the Earth. We have the only poor people with big screen TVs, cell phones, cars, and air conditioned housing. We will always have the poor, and it is Capitalism that will keep them from living in mud huts like they do in other countries! The best way to redistribute wealth is with a paycheck, and not a welfare check. If you want tomatoes you have to grow healthy tomato plants. If you want jobs you must grow healthy corporations, and not a bloated overgrown government that is funded with borrowed money!
By Larry Oscar
Now that Spring has nearly arrived, I can’t help but notice the abundance of weeds this year. For years I have marveled at how they just seem to pop up everywhere. Weeds can grow in just about anyplace. And to make it even more of a wonder, they seem to thrive in places that you couldn’t get any plant to grow if you wanted.
You can buy plants and place them where you think they will thrive and two weeks later you look to find them dead. Not so with weeds, they can appear in cracks in rocks and grow to magnificent specimens of horticultural bliss. Then it occurred to me. The ever present battle with weeds is probably our own fault. If we tried to get them to grow, they would probably refuse to and just die off. The problem here is not that weeds are not vulnerable. The problem is that they know we don’t like or want them, and they have adopted a stubborn rebellious attitude. They are stubbornly going to survive just to show us how much smarter they are and get their own way. They have grown independent and resourceful.
I think weeds take great pride in their accomplishments. They make us spend
billions of dollars in herbicides. They must be having a big laugh alright. Gathering around the nation’s yards and gardens at night talking about how they managed to survive and defying us at every turn must give them a great sense of accomplishment.
I say we use some reverse psychology here. What if we really made an effort to nurture and support them. Why not open up some weed stores. If weeds knew that we were trying to propagate them the problem could go away. They would soon learn to be dependant on us for everything they want and need in life. They would not develop the survival skills to make it on their own and compete for food and water. They would have to depend on us for everything. Weeds would not show up and grow on their own, but rather sit around in greenhouses waiting for us to feed and plant them. They would not have a clue that what we are doing is bad for them. They would swallow the whole thing like a fish rising to the bait.
We will have developed the world’s first “lazy weed.” If we could do this, we could eliminate them from the planet.
Creating a cycle of dependency here is just the strategy we need. Nothing works quite as well for destroying a sense of personal accomplishment and personal pride than a good cycle of dependency. It’s bound to work wonders on weeds. We could even justify the whole process emotionally by claiming we are just trying to help the poor homeless weeds make it in a cruel and unforgiving world. A world that is running rampant with total disregard and lack of respect for weeds. That would make us feel better about what we are really doing.
I would be in favor of setting up the ACLWU to make sure that weeds don’t get their rights trampled on. After all, weeds should have rights too. We spend more time and money on trying to grow privileged plants than we do weeds. There is obviously a wealth gap here.
Yes sir, you can learn a lot from weeds. Maybe weeds are put here for a much greater purpose than we realize. Maybe they serve as a reminder of how individuality and diversity makes all of life a marvel. When you drive by a field in the early spring and look out to see the morning sun shining on the bright yellow-green colors, you would never know that the field was just a bunch of weeds. Each weed growing to be the best weed it can be. Each weed taking pride in its own individual accomplishments, and eventually trying something new that leads to innovation and changes in the species.
Weeds…you just gotta love’em. I just wish some of my friends would quit smoking so many of them.
By Larry Oscar
Sometimes in the heat of business deals or political campaigns the real truth about a persons character emerges. During the 2010 senatorial election in Massachusetts was an eye opener for those paying attention to details. While on the campaign trail Senator John Kerry, Martha Coakley, and “Mr. Potato Head” made a derogatory comment, and were ridiculing Scott Brown for driving a pickup truck. That speaks volumes about the character of those bozos.
I’ll have them know that trucks and truck drivers are the backbone of America.Why is it that people with a “superiority complex” character flaw aren’t smart enough to know when and where to keep their mouth shut? Just because you think you are superior doesn’t mean you have to let your brain fall out on the floor.
Now don’t get me wrong. Some people drive a truck in order to fill a character flaw of their own. I’ve seen some trucks that look like a Christmas tree going down the road. And some people drive the biggest truck they can find to make up for deficiencies in other areas, if you get my drift. But for the most part, trucks are one of the most practical vehicles you can own. At some point in time we all need something hauled. From furniture to horse manure, trucks can haul just about everything. There are some things that are truly American and one of those is definitely trucks.
Jesus drove a truck. Well, maybe not really, but if they had had trucks in his day I’m sure he would have driven one. What better way to haul around a bunch of disciples than in a pickup truck, extended or crew cab of course.
Driving a truck is not appealing to the elite because their character flaws would make them “feel” uncomfortable. People who put down trucks and truck drivers suffer from insecure anxiety. It doesn’t portray the image they crave. Driving a truck says that you are an individual who is not afraid to get your hands dirty and work. It speaks volumes about the truck driver’s character as well. Truck drivers are independent minded people who think for themselves and make their own decisions. Screw everyone else. Trucks come in all shapes and sizes, but they have one thing in common;
trucks are made to haul and/or tow burdensome loads. Trucks make a statement. They let the world know that the driver of this vehicles will do it by themselves without having to hire someone else to get the job done.
“Git -R-Done,” as Larry the Cable Guy would say. Trucks seem to last forever. They age like a fine wine. When you walk through a parking lot and you see an old truck, you stop and take note. They get noticed far more than a shiny new Cadillac. Old trucks tend to list to one side. They have battle scars on them and they almost always need a paint job. Some have only one eye left. They are often the subject of photographs and paintings. That’s because old trucks have character. What most of the so called “elite” don’t know is that more millionaires drive trucks than any other form of transportation. Trucks cross all social and economic barriers.
The love of trucks is what the rich and the poor have in common. Sam Walton drove his beloved old red and white Ford pickup truck up until the day he died. Truck drivers are modern day cowboys. They drive their loads down all of our nations highways and byways with a spirit of adventure. Many truck drivers are women. They are independent spirited and hard loving gals with a tendency to speak their mind.
I think women who drive trucks are hot! Give me a women with a Kenworth any day.
Most trucks have a lot of flags, signs, and bumper stickers on them. That’s because trucks are not formal. You can be yourself with a truck. They are like a good pair of old comfortable jeans. Over the years I have always felt sad about trading in my old truck for a new one. I never felt that way about any car I traded in, but I sure have about my truck. Trucks become your friend. Trucks are something that you can travel down the road and be at home at the same time.
When I was a young boy the fondest memories I have of by grandfather was riding in his black Ford pickup truck on his farm. That truck was far from the comfortable trucks we have today. When you rode in it you were surrounded by a large curved windshield. The truck sprang to life when running. You could hear all of the sounds the engine, gearbox, and suspension made. It smelled of fresh hay and chewing tobacco. When you rode in it at night the dash lights were just bright enough to barely make out the gauges. I often wonder what happened to that old truck.
So, if you want to improve the quality of your life, buy a truck. And just for fun drive it to Washington, D.C. for your summer vacation and say hi to truck driving Senator Scott Brown!
By Larry Oscar
Life is a journey of learning, or at least it should be. Sometimes I wonder if people realize that we were created to learn, and we should never stop learning. We have the largest brain for our size of any species on the planet. It’s a shame that some folks just don’t use it. As you get older it’s even more important that you exercise your brain just as much as you should exercise your body. Failure to do so results in a slower mental function and more rapid 
deterioration of your faculties. That goes for other things too…. but I digress.
New technology has helped a lot of us improve our lives, but it requires us to learn and use our brains even more. We all could use more education. Education is the key out of poverty. It is the source of innovation and economic prosperity. It is also the fuel that keeps your life fire glowing. Without it we can become a walking vegetable, our life gets boring, and we will shrink into a society of Eric Blair’s (George Orwell) vision of 1984.
Blair was a committed socialist. Ironically his novels educated us, at least for those people who took the time to read them, on the evils that socialism brings. We are a species that continually asks questions and challenges the status quo. That’s not a bad thing, that’s a good thing. For by doing so we learn what works and what doesn’t. In the sixties we challenged darn near everything including the length of a persons hair. As a result, we found out what matters, and what doesn’t. Hair length doesn’t. Unprotected sex does.
Recently we have all witnessed the good and the bad of so called “change.” The recent Tea Parties our tax paying citizens are attending reminds me of the sixties protests. I was at some of those protests. They were a great place to meet chicks!Those protests were supporting individual liberties and an ever expanding freedom from slavery. They brought about new civil rights legislation aimed at insuring that all of us enjoy freedom. Not just a certain group, but all of us.
Today our nation is “changing” back to an era when slavery was considered a normal part of the society. Our leaders are creating a “slavery class” out of taxpayers. Think about it. What’s the difference in being forced to work for the sole benefit of plantation owners under forced involuntary servitude, and in being forced to work for six months out of every year for the sole purpose of the government under forced involuntary tax servitude. No difference, in fact, for those fifty percent of us that are forced to work to pay income taxes so a special few, forty eight percent of us who don’t pay income taxes, can feed off of the producers in our society.
There is no difference at all. What kind of “change” is it that simply rotates the tires. If you have a car with four bald tires, what good does it do to rotate them? Today we hear all of the talking heads spout out, “The polls show that the American people want……..”. We need true leadership in our nation and we are not getting it today. Not from either party. To tell the American people that “The peopleknow they must live within their means”, and then in the next breath to say to them, “We must pass this $787 billion dollar stimulus bill….”, funded by borrowing, is the ultimate in hypocrisy. That’s not the change that was voted for. It’s not what the American people “want” that our leaders should be focusing on. It’s what the American people “need” that they should be focusing on. What the American people “need” is to be forced to live within their means. That refers to individuals, local governments, state governments, and the federal government as well. The American people “need” to be educated and we must never stop getting educated.
We “need” to learn from the lessons history has given us. We “need” to put our “needs” in front of our “wants”. “Wants” are an emotion, but “Needs” are the requirements of life. We have been living in a false economy. When seventy percent of our economy is consumer spending, and those consumers are in an all time high credit card and mortgage debt, then our economy has been funded by false wealth. You can’t borrow a million dollars and then call yourself a millionaire. We have been called “The richest nation on Earth”. How can we be the richest when we have more debt than any other nation in the world?
The truth is we are a nation of undereducated debtors who don’t want to pay the bills for the lifestyles we have been living. If you’re going to give a dance, you have to pay the band. Enough said. I’m running out of space and time, and to top that off I “NEED” more scotch and another cigar. Rats!I ’m out of both…….Oh well, I’ll do what seems to be the “new patriotic thing”, and go mooch them from my neighbor.
You Move Either Forward or Backward
By Larry Oscar
How can some folks just go trudging through life and miss the mark so 
completely? As you get older, you’re supposed to get wiser, or so the story goes. Common sense should begin to sink in at some point in our lives, but for some folks it just never seems to get there. I couldn’t help but laugh at a recent article I read about the development around the lake I live at in Oklahoma. It was written by some bozo from Edmond, OK. Now there’s a place we all want to go visit! T he article was trying to point out how our recent development is a “cushy deal” for developers. Obviously written by an individual who is uneducated about our community. My hat goes off to people who not only embrace change, but are actively involved in making change happen; especially those of us who don’t have to.
Those of us that put our time and money where our mouth is, need to be congratulated. For those of you who want things to remain the same, I say you need to educate yourself a bit. There is no such thing as “remaining the same.” If you are not moving forward, then you are moving backward. The rest of the world will pass you by and you will find yourself living in a “mud hut” someday. Movement is relative. Go take a physics course.
If you want a better life for yourself and your children, then you must look around and get moving. Let’s do a reality check here. Osage County, OK is one of the poorest counties in Oklahoma. If you don’t believe that, then just drive through our communities. I have, and let me tell you what I see. I see downtowns that have almost as many dilapidated and vacant buildings as those that are occupied. I see rural and urban slums that are filthy with trash laden yards and poorly maintained residences.
Now when I drive through some of the other Oklahoma small towns such as Chandler, I see a huge difference the minute I enter the town. Chandler is clean, well maintained, and looks very prosperous.
It doesn’t take much effort to be clean. In fact, it provides good exercise. It is also good business. Nobody wants to do business with a filthy and poorly maintained business establishment. They want to do business with someone who looks clean and prosperous. Image counts for something in business. A dirty image is a looser image. Just observe successful owner operators!
The development around our lake has brought long awaited prosperity to south eastern Osage County. A county that lacks good restaurants, hotels, hospitals, theaters, and so many more amenities that I don’t have room to list them all in this article. Some of us are trying to make a positive difference. The Hominy Chamber of Commerce has completed a long range vision for development, as did the Osage County Tourism Committee. Good for them. They are moving ahead.
Development is like loosing weight, it’s a lot harder than it looks.
Chewing Tobacco with Class
By Larry Oscar
In the course of many conversations the subject of someone having or lacking what we often call “class” is the subject of the day. Some people demonstrate class in everything they do while other poor lost souls just can’t get it together, and the rest of us sit back and marvel at how they just seem to stumble through life.
Class as defined by Webster’s new world dictionary is having high quality -Syn.elegance, refinement, distinction, panache. This definition seems to make it easier to understand. As you can see, it has nothing to do with having money. I know some people who are very wealthy and don’t exhibit any of the aforementioned traits while others with very little wealth have class in everything they do. Not having class is something you can’t blame on your parents or friends. It’s our own fault.
I recently witnessed some friends of mine demonstrate a high degree of class when they volunteered to be in a dunking tank to raise money for charity. Needless to say the water was very cold, but they sat in that tank while kids managed to plunge them into the water time and time again. They committed to helping out and regardless of their pain and suffering they lived up to their commitment. Now that is indeed serving with distinction. They definitely have class and having class earns them respect from the rest of us. I’m proud to know them.
You can dress up a pig in a suite and tie, and you know what….it’s still a pig. Now, I don’t want to give you the wrong impression. I’m all for pigs, but to illustrate my point, a change of cloths does not give you “class.” Class is something all of us need to work on. It’s not an inherited trait. Class will earn you respect and admiration. It will increase your quality of life and make you a better person. Class means you focus on the value of what you do and not on how cheap you can do it. Class means you take pride in what you do and who you are. People with class keep themselves and their surroundings clean and well maintained so others can take pride in knowing you.
Class means you focus on the positive things in life and allow others their opinions. People with class listen more than they talk. Class means you continue to educate yourself and you use your failures as educational experiences not to be repeated. Class means you don’t force your beliefs on others. People with class are honest to a fault. They don’t try to bring down others to elevate themselves or lie to make themselves look better. Classy people are not envious, but they are truly happy for others good fortune.
People with class almost never consider “what’s in for me”, but rather give of their time and efforts to make it better for the rest of us. Their reward is our smile. Most of all, people with class seem to always have fun and look at life with a smile themselves. They are just fun to be around and they gather a crowd wherever they go. Now some folks defy the definition.
For example: It’s hard to believe how some folks can chew tobacco and have class. But I have witnessed it. Those with class spit in a more refined and discrete manner, while those without class leave a disgusting spit cup lying around. Folks with class don’t eat, they dine. I saw a guy wolf down a burger last week in two bites. My dog doesn’t eat that fast. People sat there in awe as he stuffed handfuls of fries between his greasy cheeks. I guess we all could use some refinement.
Life would be much better if we slowed down and learned to enjoy it more. There is generally something good in everything. If we focus on the good and use the bad as an education in what not to do, we would all show a lot of class.
I’m going to try and get my wife to show some class this week by letting her wash my truck. I haven’t had much success in that effort over the years. I guess I married a woman that doesn’t have much class, or maybe it’s me. That’s it, I’m going to work on showing more class myself. After all, if people who listen to bluegrass music can show some class occasionally…….….. I guess anybody can!
20 Gallons of Home Brew, Just May Not Be Enough!
By Larry Oscar
“Boy this has been a rough winter. I’m depressed and just can’t get motivated” quipped a friend of mine recently. “I just don’t know what to do when I’m all cooped up inside.”
I hear this all the time from people who just don’t plan ahead. It’s not like they don’t know when the cold weather is going to hit. I got news for them, it happens every year! Duh! Good planning for winter projects and indoor events can make the difference between being bored and making the cold winter months something tolerable. There is more to life than just sitting around reading Playboy magazines….. so I’m told.
I keep a list of indoor and outdoor projects. If I do the indoor projects when I can’t be out on the lake, then I will have more time to spend on the water when the weather is good. So far I haven’t ran out of indoor projects, and even though the winter has been a long one, It has been rewarding knowing that I have caught up on things.
And I’ve got 20 gallons of home brew to show for my efforts.
And how can anybody be depressed this year? Thanks to all of the clowns in our society you surely can’t avoid a smile. Didn’t people take note of the Donald and Rosie feud a while back? Here are two real bozos that you can smile about. And how about our Congress? I can’t help but laugh at them. What’s with the first 100 hours thing? I didn’t see any life changing legislation pass across anyone’s desk – and virtually nothing has been done since. So far all I’ve seen is bickering What’s is non binding legislation anyway? Don’t they have anything better to do with our money than sit around and argue over legislation that adds no value to our lives. Don’t these people work for us? What would your boss do if you spent your time working on something that didn’t produce anything of any value?
I think we should outsource Congress. We could march on Washington and fire them all. Wouldn’t you like to walk right into a session, march up to the podium, grab the microphone and announce… “Hey guys, just to let you know. You’re all fired! We the people, in order to form a more perfect union, have decided to outsource your jobs to India. Don’t let your gavel hit you in the #@$#$ on the way out!” Sounds pretty good to me. Will Rogers just gets smarter every day.
I just can’t get depressed when I see some weird haired nut place led alien bird flipping signs all over Boston and cause panic in the streets. Will somebody tell that idiot that making a “hair statement” went out in the 60s? To top it all off, it was Turner Broadcasting that hired him. Do you think maybe there is a link to Jane Fonda here?
And now we watch as one of our astronauts drives from Texas to Florida wearing a diaper, wig, and trench coat so she can pepper spray her rival for the affections of another astronaut. He must be some hunk! I can’t wait until the next shuttle launch. They will have to modify their count down procedure to include ” fuel…go, telemetry…go, diapers…go, pepper spray…go, trench coats…go, wigs…go, ok all systems go and ready for launch”.
Now this is the sort of material comedy writers can only dream of, and it’s reality folks. No Seinfeld episode or Super Bowl commercial ever had better material.
Ahhh…Life in the US is good. You just can’t get better comedy than our real life in the good old USA. Even if you go to Venezuela and watch Hugo Chavez, he’s just a one-man-show when compared to us. I’m not sure that 20 gallons of home brew will last very long. I think I’ll make another 20. Laughing so hard this winter has made my mouth dry.