And Now I Know

The longer I live, the more I’m surprised at the little things I don’t know. The other day my friend, Dick Womack, and I were on our way to the food bank to pick up USDA surplus items for our church’s food pantry. En route, Dick decided to stop for gasoline. Since he was driving Yvonne’s (his wife) SUV, I asked him if he knew on which side of the car the filler cap was located. He pointed to the fuel gauge with the gasoline pump symbol and informed me that the small arrow next to it, pointing to the left, indicated that the filler cap was on the left side of the car. When I remarked that Cadillac thinks of everything he also informed me that, for several years now, most cars have had some kind of filler cap location symbol.

As I was driving home in my 2006 Toyota Avalon I looked at the fuel gauge. After all these years I finally noticed the little arrow pointing left. I never knew. The good news is that I’ll never again have to stop, get out of the car, and locate the filler cap before pulling up to the pump in a rental car.

“If you have knowledge, let others light their candles at it.” -- Margaret Fuller

A funny thing happened on the way...

In a previous life I was an airline pilot. We have all heard, or read, some really funny stories that supposedly happened in the airline industry. I'm confident that at least some of them actually did occur. Today, however, recalling some of my more memorable experiences while engaged in that profession, I remembered one that has to be my all-time favorite. I can attest that it actually happened because it occurred on one of my flights.

While sitting at the gate in Los Angeles (LAX) and waiting for the Passenger Service Agent to bring the manifest and final paperwork, Linda, our First Class flight attendant entered the cockpit and closed the door behind her. Observing that she was blushing with extreme embarrassment, I asked her why she was taking refuge in the cockpit? She explained that since all the passengers were seated, she decided to take preliminary drink orders. While doing so, she said that she was very aware of an extremely handsome man sitting in her First Class cabin. Linda said that when she approached him, she looked into his incredibly beautiful blue eyes and asked, "After we drink, what would you like to take off?"

(Note: This story was first published in the January 1997 edition of Reader's Digest.)

"Be careful of your thoughts; they may become words at any moment." --Ira Gassen

Learning Through Teaching

Today I was called upon to help an elderly lady from New Jersey buy and pump gasoline into her car. Several months ago I was surprised to learn that the State of New Jersey does not allow patrons to pump their own gasoline. Only an employee of a service station is allowed to do that. Consequently, I wasn’t totally shocked when the lady said she was traveling from New Jersey and asked if I could show her how to do it.

I could imagine teaching my granddaughter, or some other youngster how to refuel a car, but it never occurred to me that I would ever be asked to teach a senior citizen how to do that. I’ve been pumping gasoline since well before I was old enough to drive a car. In fact, I’ve even used an “Okie credit card” once or twice (for those of you unfamiliar with the term, it’s a siphon hose used to transfer fuel from one car to another…and that’s all I’m going to say about that.)

She was a quick and bright student and accomplished the task on the very first attempt. However, I did point out that when the pump computer asked for a zip code she should enter the zip code of her credit card billing address. The first time I was asked for the zip code while refueling a rental car in Florida my thought was, “How the heck would I know this zip code? I live in California!”

Ever curious, I wondered how many states other than New Jersey require “professionals” to pump gasoline. Thanks to an internet resource, I discovered that Oregon is the only other state that does not allow patrons to refuel their cars. I also learned something else in my search for knowledge. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires self-serve gasoline stations to provide equal access (someone to pump the gasoline) to their customers with disabilities, and without any charge beyond the self-serve price.

Once again, I was reminded that if you don’t walk in someone else’s shoes you really can’t appreciate where they have been or what obstacles they may encounter.

“It is enough that I am of value to somebody today.” – Hugh Prather

The Real Enemy

We are losing the war on drugs! Recently, three people working for, or married to employees of the U.S. consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, were murdered. They were just three of the 5348 people in Juarez, and more than 18,000 people in Mexico, murdered since December, 2006. Of the 45,000 military troops Mexican President Felipe Calderon has committed to combat the murderous drug cartels south of the American border, 7,000 were deployed to Juarez, the export center for illegal drugs destined for the United States. It is here, the reputed murder capitol of the world, where rival drug cartels wage war for control of smuggling rights into the U.S. Since that time, tens of thousands of residents have left Juarez. More than 30,000 residents of Juarez have migrated to El Paso, TX, because of this violence. Juarez has seen more than one billion dollars in trade evaporate, thousands of businesses close, and unemployment escalate exponentially.

The U.S. government has committed $400 million per year to the Mexican government to stem the tide of illegal drugs crossing the border into our cities and homes. It is too little and too late. Unfortunately, the war on drugs was lost years ago. Why? Our government failed to recognize the real enemy. As the comic strip character Pogo declared, "We have met the enemy and they are us!"

For decades, many of our citizens have proclaimed that individual drug use is a victimless crime. I would argue that the statistics prove otherwise. As much as it pains me, I would not be surprised to learn that some of my friends, neighbors, and even members of my church and family are illegal drug users. Indirectly, these are the same people responsible for the drug related murders and economic ruin in Juarez and other cities around the globe where violent drug activity exists.

If we ever hope to stop this cancerous crime wave that is destroying nations, communities, and families, it is incumbent upon all of us to employ the first law of economics--supply and demand--in the war on drugs. The supply of drugs will dry up (along with the violent drug cartel wars) when we eliminate the demand for illegal drugs. It is a simple, uncomplicated, and extremely effective tactic that must be employed at the grass roots level. I suggest that it would be much more cost effective and beneficial to wage a wide-scale media campaign of public service announcements to educate people on the violent deaths, social, and economic ruin caused by their lust for illegal drugs.

If you are one of those people who still believes illegal drug use is a victimless crime, I would encourage you to do some research and reconsider your position. Until we recognize and target the real enemy in this war, we will continue to lose the war on drugs. And until we eliminate the demand for illegal drugs, the blood of our  brothers and sisters throughout the world will continue to flow.

Fact or Fiction?

CNN reported today that an individual driving a Toyota Prius on a freeweay east of San Diego called 911 and alerted authorities to the fact that his Prius was accelerating out of control. Apparently the driver steered the vehicle at very high speeds for about 30 minutes before he was able to safely bring it to a stop. Just to be clear, I'm sure that I don't have all the pertinent information, and CNN failed to clearly explain how he managed stop the runaway vehicle. But what really bothers me is that when the driver was asked if he tried putting the transmission into "neutral", he replied that it would have been unsafe as he needed both hands just to steer his vehicle and avoid other cars and trucks on the freeway. Really?

So why would that have been less safe than calling 911 to report that his Prius was speeding out of control?

And while I am searching for answers, why did he not know that applying steady brake pressure and then shifting to "neutral" should have been the first two things he needed to do to rectify the situation? With all the press attention paid to runaway Toyotas for the last two months, as a Toyota owner, I'm amazed that any Toyota owner would not have taken the time to learn the appropriate emergency procedures to be followed in such a situation. However, for the benefit of those owners who have not, the following is an excerpt taken from a current www.Toyota.com FAQ page.

What if you experience a sticking accelerator pedal while driving?

 
Each circumstance may vary, and drivers must use their best judgment, but Toyota recommends taking the following actions: 

• If you need to stop immediately, the vehicle can be controlled by stepping on the brake pedal with both feet using firm and steady pressure.  Do not pump the brake pedal as it will deplete the vacuum utilized for the power brake assist.

• Shift the transmission gear selector to the Neutral (N) position and use the brakes to make a controlled stop at the side of the road and turn off the engine.

• If unable to put the vehicle in Neutral, turn the engine OFF. This will not cause loss of steering or braking control, but the power assist to these systems will be lost.

      o If the vehicle is equipped with an Engine Start/Stop button, firmly and steadily push the button for at least three seconds to turn off the engine.  Do NOT tap the Engine Start/Stop button.

      o If the vehicle is equipped with a conventional key-ignition, turn the ignition key to the ACC position to turn off the engine.  Do NOT remove the key from the ignition as this will lock the steering wheel.

To be honest, I am very suspicious of this story, especially since it has been reported by a university professor that a faulty electronic fuel control will not provide an error code in this situation, thus eliminating the possibility of proving that such an occurrence did not occur. Consequently, in our litigious prone society, I would not be surprised to learn that this driver will soon be filing a huge lawsuit against Toyota for mental anguish for his "terrifying experience."

A Nice Surprise

I'd like to share a really exciting and satisfying experience I had today. Stopping by my condo's mail room, I opened my box to find the usual assortment of junk mail piled on top of the latest copy of Mig Sweep, the magazine of the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association. Thumbing through the mail, I finally noticed the magazine's cover photo. A couple of microseconds elapsed before I recognized it, and then realized the editor had chosen a photo I had submitted for the cover. Wow!  My first magazine cover! What a high!

A couple of years ago I bought a fairly sophisticated digital camera (Canon 30D) and decided I would try my hand at creating a still life image that would tell a story. This particular image is titled War Stories. I hope it conveys that message.

Celebrity Sighting

Today I was in the gym at Christ Church and saw former Chicago Bulls star Scotty Pippen watching his young son and a lot of other kids playing basketball. They were participating in our church's "Upward Basketball" program. He is really, really tall...especially when he is standing next to a five-year-old!

A Wad of Air

A wad of air


unlike a wad
of gum stuck
under a desk

no -


more ethereal
open to opinion
to verse
to knowing...

Audrey Streetman
May 14, 2009

I wish to thank my dear friend, Audrey, for allowing me to post two of her
beautiful poems, Artificial Roses and A Wad of Air, on Literary Nuggets.
It is pretty obvious why she is one of my all-time favorite writers. Hopefully,
she will at some point allow me to post a snippet from her memoir which
may possibly be completed and published before the end of 2010.

On the Bright Side...

Today, while picking up USDA products for Blessings Food Pantry from the Feeding South Florida food bank, I observed a volunteer from another church bang his shin and trip over a low, flatbed pushcart.

"Man, that must really hurt!" I offered.

"Normally it would," he replied as he lifted his pant leg, "but luckily it was my titanium leg."

Once again, I am reminded that if you look hard enough, there is always something positive in every situation.

Artificial Roses

Yellow buds
destined to be
more than they are
leaves always green
petals never wilting
never falling away
unyielding to sun
standing in a blue
oriental vase
on a scrolled 
antique desk
sharing photos
with the palpable 
breathing past.

Audrey Streetman
May 22, 2009

Let's Talk Email Netiquette

On any given day, even before I open my email, I know that I will find  at least  one (usually more) email message that one of my friends has forwarded to me. I like to think that my friends and I know each other pretty well, but from the subjects they choose to forward to me I'm not so sure anymore. Having made a career of the military, I have a lot of friends who I would consider politically conservative. I am involved in a number of charitable activities, so I also have friends who tend to lean a little more to the left. But from the onslaught of forwarded email I find in my in basket, I'm beginning to think that a lot of my friends believe I share the very same interests and opinions that they do. Here's a news flash... NOT NECESSARILY!

Now don't get me wrong. I love to hear from all of my friends. But to tell the truth, if all they are going to do is forward every joke that finds its way into their computer, slam Obama, Pelosi, McCain or Palin, remind me that Jane Fonda is a traitor, or show me pictures of naked women and not even include a personal message, then guess what...I'M NOT INTERESTED!

It only takes a couple of weeks until you will have seen enough forwarded email from some of your friends to know that hitting the "delete before opening" key (my term) is the only action required. And boy is it a time saver! Sorry gang, but I am way to busy to waste my time reading any of that junk. I have endured this form of abuse for many years, but recently I decided that  if my friends don't care enough about me to at least say hello when they are frantically hitting their forward buttons, then I don't really care if they are offended when I politely ask them to send me only email that is of a personal nature.

Not only is all of this forwarded junk email a waste of time, it can cause a lot of problems. Normally, the junk email that is forwarded to me includes every email address that's been created since Al Gore invented the internet. My friends could have at least forwarded all of that mail to me via the BCC (blind carbon copy) address box. But  no, they had to put mine and everyone else's internet address in the "To" box for the whole world to see. And don't they know that a lot of these emails they are intimidated into forwarding (seven years of bad luck if the chain is broken) are nothing more than vehicles for spammers to collect email addresses to sell to other spammers? Of course, no one would ever consider spreading a computer virus this way!

Just to be clear about this, if you are one of those people who continues to abuse me with incessant, inane forwarded emails, you can eagerly look forward to receiving an email... of a personal nature... from me in the near future.

Ten Tips for Better Photography

Ever wonder why your digital photos don't look as great as you hoped they would? Here are ten tips photographers should apply to get better images from their cameras.

Know your camera and all of its bells and whistles. It is my guess that most amateur photographers are probably using less than 25% of their camera's capabilities. Why? They haven't read the manual! In fact, I would bet that most of those people don't even know how to force the flash in bright sunlight or even why they might want to do that (it fills in the shadows). Today's digital cameras, even the under $250 point-and-shoot models have an awesome array of features to help photographers of all experience levels capture beautiful images. Spend just an hour with your camera and its manual. I promise you will discover a couple of powerful features that will enable you to take better pictures.

Choose the correct camera mode for the situation. Almost all digital cameras have several shooting modes. Each mode will normally set the correct lens aperture and shutter speed for a particular situation. Photographing a runner crossing the finish line? Select the "action" mode. Taking a picture of a skier on a brilliant, sunny day on the slopes? Try the "bright" mode. Want to capture a spectacular view of the mountains? Shoot in "landscape" mode. Check out your camera's manual. There are several other modes that can help improve the quality of your images.

Control the environment if at all possible. Before taking the shot consider what will show up in the background. Which would you prefer...the palm trees along the beach or the parking lot across the street? How about sunlight? You can't do much about the position of the sun, but you can control how it will affect your shot. Are your subjects squinting because they are facing the sun? Have them turn around and shoot with the sun behind or off to one side of them. Of course, if you are shooting in the automatic mode and the background behind your friends is bright, most likely the flash won't fire and there won't be enough light on their faces. If you know how to force the flash you can correct that problem and capture a nice image.

Move them forward. How often have you seen photos of people on vacation standing in front of some famous landmark like the Tower of London or the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. To include all of the building or structure, the photographer has backed so far away from the people in the photo that even their own mothers wouldn't recognize them. If you find yourself in this predicament, just ask the people who will be in the photo to come closer to the lens.

Horizontal or vertical? Are you photographing four or five friends standing side by side? Most people would shoot holding the camera horizontally. But what if you are photographing just one friend standing in a narrow doorway? I suggest turning the camera vertically for this situation. Otherwise, you will have too much non-essential space on either side of your friend which you will be unable to crop and print to fit into standard size frames. Normally you will want to hold the camera horizontal for wide subjects and vertical for tall, narrow subjects.

Pay attention to the details. I can't tell you how many times something spoiled a shot because I wasn't paying close attention. Here are some typical photo spoilers to look out for: unbuttoned shirts, crooked or twisted ties, collars not positioned correctly, lapel pins askew, soil spots on clothing, open zippers, or possibly a tangled necklace. But the one I will always remember was the lady with unmatched earrings.


Do not amputate! In my opinion, one of the biggest faults I find with photographs of people is seeing them with missing body parts. Sometimes this is the result of composition constraints, but most of the time I think it happens just because of the photographer's failure to pay attention to detail. Look closely when framing the shot. Just by having your subjects fold their arms might be all that is necessary to solve the problem and let them keep their fingers.

Posing with a purpose. As you have probably discovered, not everyone wants to be in the picture. Normally, the reason is because they don't like the way they look in pictures. You may not be able to change their attitude, but I guarantee that you can make them look better. Encourage your subjects to sit or stand straight. Then direct them to turn their bodies about 20-30 degrees away from the camera and yet turn their heads towards the lens (hey, we're not taking mug shots here). Once they have assumed the correct position, you may want to suggest that a female subject slightly tilt her head towards her shoulder that is farthest from the camera (think flirting with the photographer). And finally, if your female (or male for that matter) has a little excess flesh below the chin, suggest that while keeping her back straight and her head level, to lean slightly forward from the waist towards the camera. You might not want to tell her why you are posing her in this manner, but I guarantee you it will help minimize the affect of the extra chins.

Don't say "Smile"! Believe it or not, but even though people smile all the time, many of those same people can't do it and look natural when they are in front of a camera. I think most people (except for those with missing teeth) are more attractive when they are smiling, so I normally prefer that my subjects smile. To avoid expressions that appear unnatural or forced (especially in children) don't say "Smile"! A better approach is to suggest that your subjects think of something pleasant such as their favorite ice cream flavor, their grand children or winning the lottery.

More pixels please! While editing your photos you discover you've captured a truly beautiful, award winning sunset. Unfortunately, when you try to order a 16x20 print for your office wall, you realize that the resolution is too low for a print that large. To avoid that mistake always set your camera to record your images at the highest possible resolution. Yes, you won't get as many images on your memory card but you never know when that really great shot will come along. Memory is cheap. Carry an extra card.

Digital photography is fun and easy. Thanks to the new breed of low cost, high tech cameras available everyone has the capability to be a good photographer. Applying these tips will enhance your skills and and reward you with more beautiful images.

Choosing a Great Speaker

The success of your organization’s next event will, to a very large extent, depend on the speaker you hire. So how do you determine the speaker that will best meet your needs? Here are ten excellent questions to keep in mind when searching for the perfect speaker.


1. What are her credentials? What is her education level and field of study? What is her work experience? Has she published extensively in her area of expertise? Does her expertise relate to your group or organization’s field of endeavor, mission, or area of interest?

2. A great speaker does his homework! Will he prepare himself by learning as much as possible about your organization, its purpose, structure and activities? Can he effectively tailor his message and presentation style

so that it is unique to your group?

3. What equipment and supplies will your speaker be using? What equipment and supplies will your organization need to provide for the speaker and/or meeting participants?

4. Will she offer practical solutions to enhance your company’s visibility, effectiveness, and profitability? Are they practical in today’s economic and cultural environment?

5. Is his presentation going to be thought provoking? Will his message stimulate new ideas, creative measures, and alternative avenues to achieve your group’s goals?

6. Will she weave great stories into her presentation that will inspire and motivate your people to accept new challenges, strive for excellence, and ultimately succeed?

7. How effective is he in using humor? Is it appropriate? Does it relate to what your organization is all about? Will it leave your participants rolling in the aisles, or at the very least, with beautiful smiles on their faces?

8. And most importantly, will your speaker’s presentation be designed and delivered in such a dynamic manner that it will culminate in a rousing and powerful call to action?

9. What about after the event? Will she provide any kind of follow-up support such as a Q&A session, additional resources, or a survey to measure the effectiveness of the presentation or training session?

 10. And finally, how much will the speaker’s services cost? If you are the person in your organization that has been tasked to find a speaker, then you need to know how much money has been budgeted for this purpose. Professional speakers cost money. This is how they earn a living. But that doesn’t mean you can’t find an excellent one whose fee will fall within your group’s budget. Be prepared for the conversation.

Use these questions as guidelines when searching for a speaker. They will prove to be an invaluable tool in selecting an outstanding speaker who will meet your organization’s needs and have a positive influence on the success of your next meeting or event.