Happy New Year - Turn the Page

It is funny to hear people at 12:00 sing in the new year with their "own" version of Auld Lang Syne.  It is a song that always bring a tear as we hug and sing together usually swaying, raising a glass and seldom signing the same words.

You know that song you hear every New Year's Eve? The one about not forgetting old acquaintances. Did you ever wonder what that phrase is in the chorus? Is it:

• For old ang zine
• Far hold ang zyne
• For old aunt Gzyne
• Farheld ang zyne
• Farheld ang sign
• For old ang sign
• For old angsign
• Foothold and sign
• For all the aunts of mine

Actually, it's not any of these. On New Year's Eve, the most common song for most English-speaking people to sing is "Auld Lang Syne." Isn't it funny how it's possible to sing and hear a song so many times and have no idea what it means? And wouldn't it be funny if it meant "Big Pink Elephants"? 

A good sub-question is, what language is it?

It turns out that "Auld Lang Syne" is an extremely old Scottish song that was first written down in the 1700s. Robert Burns is the person whose transcription got the most attention, so the song is associated with him.

A good translation of the words "auld lang syne" is "times gone by." So (incorporating a couple of other translations) when we sing this song, we are saying, "We'll drink a cup of kindness yet for times gone by." 

Happy New Year

Richard and Joan Parker

As Christmases Contine to Pass

As Christmases Continue to Pass

Remember how long it took Christmas to arrive as a kid. The days dragged on for infinity, as we waited for the big day to arrive. I remember my first Christmas away from my parents’ home. I was in the Coast Guard, stationed in Texas, having outsmarted the draft by trading four years of my life verses two. I might not have been in a rice paddy, but I did I feel alone! On Christmas Eve, Warren Crittenden, Denise Longstreet, and Kris Metzger came to my parents’ home to call me. We all laughed on the phone, and when they hung up, I cried.  I wanted to be home so badly. After all, it was Christmas. 

Soon, marriage came, and went, and came again. Then, along came kids who changed everything about Christmas. The smile on their faces, the excitement early Christmas morning—it was all so magical. But that paled in comparison to our grandchild’s first Christmas. All the time spent searching for just the right gifts for that first grandbaby, and all they wanted to do was play with the wrapping paper. It was then you truly understood that grandkids are best described as God’s reward for not killing your kids. 

Then, there was the inevitable passing of the family torch when the family Christmas moved from your parents’ home to yours or that of a sibling’s home. In the beginning, it did not seem like Christmas. Something was missing. Later, you learned that nothing was wrong, but Christmas indeed had changed—forever.

As Christmases continued to pass, new traditions replaced the old ones. It began to feel more natural for Christmas to be celebrated in your home. No longer did it feel as if you were somehow cheating.

There was a time when my wife Joan and I began hosting the family for Christmas, and I wanted everything to be, well, perfect. Right, imperfect people trying to have a perfect family gathering. And just for kicks, let’s throw into the mix a few in-laws, out-laws, and a few of your kids’ exes coming and going, and you have anything but perfection. 

I love to cook, and if the truth were told, I rather like to eat, but that is a different story for a different time. When the kids had grown and started raising families of their own, the “perfect Christmas” seemed harder and harder to find. For a few years, I envisioned our family sitting at one big table and raising our glasses in a Yuletide toast while a host of heavenly angels sang “Silent Night” just out of sight. 

As a backdrop to all this, the kids were running to and from my grandparents-in-law (my grandkids’ other grandparents), and never were they all here when it was time to eat. Those of you who know me might have noticed that patience is not one of my God-given gifts.  I once saw a T-shirt that exemplified my thoughts on patience. It showed two buzzards sitting on a branch, as one buzzard said to the other, “Patience, my butt, I’m going to kill something.” 

After years of trying to get this Norman Rockwell Christmas dinner to happen with all the kids and grandkids properly seated when the timer on the oven dinged, I finally gave up. Now, that unrealistic Christmas dinner has been replaced with a come-and-go Christmas buffet. They come when they want, grab a biscuit, maybe some ham, stay a while, and leave when they like. Somehow, it all seems to work. 

The tension for the most part has been replaced with a big dose of the Christmas spirit.  That Christmas spirit is one reason I love the holiday season that I still choose to refer to as Christmas. As a Christian, I never want to forget the true reason for the season. But the Christmas spirit transcends a single faith. It is a feeling that envelops most of the world. While one-third of the world purports to be of the Christian faith, another one-third celebrates at least the secular aspect of Christmas, meaning that, of the almost 7 billion people on this big blue marble spinning through space, more than 4.5 billion stop, at least for a while, to celebrate Christmas. 

That spirit is everywhere if you will just look you can see it in a big way like two armies who cease fire for a single day. And it’s seen in a thousand smaller ways as in the volunteers in the soup kitchens, in the food baskets given to a down-and-out family, in the smile of a dad as his son plucks a puppy from an animal shelter, in a driver who lets you out in traffic and smiles, in a kid with his pants halfway down his butt sporting a painful looking nose ring who pauses and holds the door open for an elderly person who might have graduated in 1970. 

If only for one day, the world is a bit nicer. I think it is nicer because we are nicer. Nice begets nice and vice versa. When we show others we care, they cannot help but care right back.

As in the movie “Pay It Forward”, what would it be like if we extended Christmas? Maybe for just a day or two longer. Would the warm glow of the Christmas spirit pick up a little bit of momentum? Just as an object in motion tends to stay in motion, and an object at rest tends to stay at rest, I wonder if the same is true for a feeling such as the Christmas spirit.  Could the momentum of one wonderful day carry us to two or three, or dare I say it—a lifetime?

One of my old high school classmates sent me an e-mail yesterday, stating, “Richard, The older I get, the more thankful I am for the simple but important gifts we receive... things we all used to take for granted. Family, friends, food, shelter, and health... how fortunate we all are.”

I could not agree more. The feeling of thankfulness by itself can create its own momentum in our life if we will but let it. It reminds me of a 2007 country song by Tim McGraw, “Live Like You Were Dying,” a song about a man who got the wrong test results and, thinking he was dying, learned how to live.  Maybe that is what we should wish for this Christmas—to learn how to live gratefully.

So, as the Christmas of 2010 arrives with tomorrow’s daybreak, take a minute to be openly grateful for all you have been blessed with.  And commit, if to no one but yourself, to seize the spirit known as Christmas and extend it, if just one more day, and if that works… well, who knows what is possible?

Merry Christmas from a Grateful

Richard Parker

Everyone Needs a Friend

A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell.
He painted a sign advertising the 4 pups and
set about nailing it to a post on the edge of
his yard. As he was driving the last nail into the
post, he felt a tug on his overalls. He looked
down into the eyes of a little boy.

"Mister," he said, "I want to buy one of your
puppies."

"Well," said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat
off the back of his neck, "These puppies come
from fine parents and cost a good deal of money."

The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then
reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a
handful of change and held it up to the farmer.

"I've got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take
a look?"

"Sure," said the farmer. And with that he let out
a whistle. "Here, Dolly!" he called.

Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran
Dolly followed by four little balls of fur.

The little boy pressed his face against the chain
link fence. His eyes danced with delight. As the
dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy
noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse.

Slowly another little ball appeared, this one noticeably
smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat
awkward manner, the little pup began hobbling toward
the others, doing its best to catch up...

"I want that one," the little boy said, pointing to the
runt. The farmer knelt down at the boy's side and said,
"Son, you don't want that puppy. He will never be able
to run and play with you like these other dogs would."

With that the little boy stepped back from the fence,
reached down, and began rolling up one leg of his
trousers.

In doing so he revealed a steel brace running down
both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made
shoe.

Looking back up at the farmer, he said, "You see sir,
I don't run too well myself, and he will need someone
who understands."

With tears in his eyes, the farmer reached down and
picked up the little pup.

Holding it carefully he handed it to the little boy.

"How much?" asked the little boy... "No charge,"
answered the farmer, "There's no charge for love."

The world is full of people who need someone who
understands.

Whisper Creek RV Resort Presentation

I spoke at the Whisper Creek RV Resort in LaBelle Florida on Wednesday night December 8th - the topic was "The Future of the RV Industry.  There were about 200 in attendance.

The new Sign for the The Glenn my company designed

 

A Book Signing after the show

About 200 in attendance 

 Mr. & Mrs. Claus stopped by to say HO HO HO

And their trusty Elf

Merry Christmas and Happy New Your to 

You and Yours

I Think We Should Require Congress to Begin Their Session Like This

Ben Stein - CBS Sunday Morning Commentary

Only hope we find GOD again before it is too late! 

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish.  And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees.  I don't feel threatened..  I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are, Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me.  I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto.  In fact, I kind of like it.  It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu ..  If people want a crèche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians.  I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period.  I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country.  I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him?  I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too.  But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different:  This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Hurricane Katrina).  Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response.  She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives.  And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out.  How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'

In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc..  I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.  Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school.  The Bible says thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself.  And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide).  We said an expert should know what he's talking about..  And we said okay.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out.  I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell.  Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.  Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.  Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,
Ben Stein 

A Lifeboat on Wheels

I recently read an artical by Jere Downs in the Florida Today. It shows a growing trend in America; people losing their homes and turning to RVing as a way of life, more our of necessity in a lifestyle choice.  I hope you enjoy Jere's article.

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. - Amazon.com has what many migrant workers want for the holidays: a job.
Hard-up retirees and unemployed workers with children have converged on this rural town in RVs and campers to spend a few months earning $10 an hour filling orders at an Amazon warehouse.

Amazon offers a free place to park and plug in. When work ends Christmas Eve, the campers pull out.
Many have lost their homes and live on the road, home schooling their children along the way. Others are retirees who had planned to see the country but now work along the way to supplement depleted investments. Those not old enough for Medicare typically lack insurance.
"We are among the economic refugees. We are lucky to earn enough to get our laundry done and eat macaroni and cheese," said April McFail, 52. "I think it says America needs something different. This is supposed to be freedom and a good life. Now it is a sad note."

McFail's husband, Terry, lost his job last year at Dow Chemical earning $18 hourly in southern Michigan. They lost their home to foreclosure in May. Pooling $8,000 in savings, they purchased a 1987 Winnebago and hit the road. They worked as campground hosts in South Dakota for the summer, arriving in September to begin work at Amazon.
A short time later, April McFail's diabetes forced her to quit the Amazon job. She could not manage 10-hour shifts four days a week lifting packages up to 30 pounds each. Health care benefits left over from her husband's job at Dow expire Tuesday.

'Amazon Gypsies'

 Lunchboxes in hand, "Amazon Gypsies" walk down the hill to work from the company camp built on a gravel parking lot next to an auto junkyard. A nearby state park extended its hours through Christmas at Amazon's request.
Amazon pays campsite rental, water, sewer and electric. Some campers choose to save their propane and rely on electric blankets and heaters to stay warm at night.

Blankets cover the windows of the Wicklane family's 1997 Fleetwood camper. An electric space heater whirrs on the worn linoleum floor. After losing an electrician's job and a house in Florida last year, Kurt Wicklane found work unloading Amazon trucks in Kentucky to feed two daughters, ages 3 and 9, and a son, 5.

"My grandmother keeps calling me and asking me when are going to come back home" to Tampa, Heather Wicklane, 27, said while her children played outside their trailer at Green River Lake State Park. "I tell her we are home."
Around the clock, an estimated 500 "work campers" from Florida, Texas, Michigan and elsewhere supplement 3,000 temporary Amazon staff covering three shifts sorting, wrapping, stacking and packing holiday orders. Year-round, Amazon employs 1,200 full time in Campbellsville, a 90-minute drive south of Louisville.

The world's largest online retailer has long struggled to fill thousands of seasonal jobs in this town of just 11,000, said Ron McMahan, executive director of the Campbellsville Taylor County Economic Development Authority.
The state park would typically close Oct. 30. But it was upgraded with frost-proof utilities to accommodate the Amazonians, as the company calls its workers, with $48,000 in state funds, McMahan said. Amazon pays the state park $18 per night for each site occupied by workers, said Gil Lawson, spokesman for the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, which oversees state parks.
With the help of local landowners willing to open more new campgrounds, Amazon may expand its work camper ranks to 1,600 slots next year, McMahan added.

"We will need more people who are willing to do whatever it takes to pay the bills," McMahan said of the work camper phenomenon. "This is economic development for us."

Idea isn't new

Nationwide, up to 500,000 people work while living in their RVs, said Steve Anderson, editor of Workamper News, a journal based in Heber Springs, Ark. The recession has added to their ranks, he said.

Meanwhile, baby boomers are retiring and taking to the road.

"Amazon realized this was something they need to pursue," Anderson said. The company places ads in his journal for work camper jobs at warehouses in rural Nevada and Kansas, in addition to Kentucky.

Work campers have long worked as campground hosts - greeting guests and cleaning up for a free campsite and utilities - in state and national parks. As the recession has deepened, these migrant campers have becoming increasingly crucial.

In Idaho last summer, work campers kept the state's 30 park campgrounds operational after budget cuts resulted in the layoff of 27 full-time state park employees, said Kathryn Hampton, volunteer services coordinator for the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation.
Work campers said they also rely on amusement parks, Christmas tree lots and pumpkin patches for seasonal work. Near the Las Vegas strip, the Clark County Shooting Park is seeking 30 work campers who can park free in exchange for guiding police and tourists at the gun range.
"Less than half of all work campers consider themselves retired, with the median age being 53," Anderson estimates.

Lifeboat on wheels

The RV that Joshua Lindsey, 35, his wife and three children call home is "their lifeboat," said the former stockbroker and real estate investor. Before losing everything in St. Petersburg, Fla., in the market crash of 2008, Lindsey said he earned more than six figures annually.
Now, working the graveyard shift at Amazon for three months "will provide my kids Christmas this year and food for the table and a means to get through to the spring, when there are a lot more jobs available."

More common among work campers are people like Bill and Dorothy Judge, longtime retirees and RVers working now because their investment incomes have declined.

They live in a $275,000 Winnebago Vectra, a gleaming, top-of-the-line, spacious RV that logs 7 miles to the gallon. Still, Bill Judge, 72, said he took a graveyard shift at Amazon in hopes of earning up to $9,000 in four months. That will buy new tires for the RV at $600 apiece and finance upcoming trips.

The Seattle-based couple has lived the RV lifestyle since 1994, living on pensions acquired from union jobs at Boeing and service in the U.S. Air Force. To cope with less investment income, the couple said they often stay for free overnight in Wal-Mart parking lots.
"I did not imagine I would be working in a warehouse job in my retirement. I have not worked since 1994," Judge said.
Come Christmas Eve, demand online will wither for books, DVDs, kitchenware, toys, apparel, sporting goods, jewelry, watches, health and personal-care items. That is the last day work campers say they expect to have jobs at Amazon.

The Wicklanes, camped beside Green River Lake, don't know where the next job will be. They plan to hunker down for Christmas.

"It would take a day to drive anywhere," Kurt Wicklane said of family far away in Florida. 

"We may as well sit tight."

She Did It!

In my blog last week I told you we were going to see my granddaughter try to break her best cross-country and she did.  Running in Dade City Florida a beautiful steeplechase track she crushed her best time by almost 2 full minutes - Go Brittney - We are proud of you.

PS if just the thought of running 3 miles a few times a week does not make the gray-haired  crowd want to lie down and take a nap, she is also on her high school swim team.  Her day begins in the pool at 6:30 AM breakfast at school at 7:30, school at 8:15 then running 3 miles in the afternoon. 

 

Great job Brittney, Your Wow & Pa are very proud of you.  You Go Girl!

Richard & Joan Parker - Seeing America at Eye-Level 

Off to the Races!

Well it is Friday, October 15th 2010 and we are packing the coach to head for a cross-country run being held in Dade City Florida.

 

This is a cross-country track meet that my granddaughter Brittney is competing in.  She is working on breaking 27 minutes for the 3 mile run.  Go Britt!

Another Deep Thought from Richard: I know we all must die; the circle of life and all that stuff, and we of course never know how we are going to die. But, I think it is a pretty safe bet that I will not die jogging in Florida!

We will keep you posted as the Parker's RVing Adventure continues.

Richard & Joan Parker - Seeing America at Eye-Level