A New Decade?

Here we go again!

Ten years ago, I listened to the yahoos on the networks talk about how we were not only ringing in a new decade, but a new millennium in 2000. Then, when the year 2001 rolled around, they unobtrusively mentioned that 2001 year was the beginning of the new decade and the new millennium.

Sheesh! What a bunch of liars!

Either they are so ignorant that they don't know when a decade begins and ends or they are so dishonest that they don't care. I, for one, believe it's the latter.

Ten years ago, a attended the midnight celebration that our local municipality presented to bring in the "new millennium." In other words, the year 2000. I knew better, but they advertised that it would be the first and last such commemoration, so I decided it might be fun...and it was. It was just wrong.

You might say, "Who cares?" Well, you should only care if you are concerned the least bit about math or the truth. Your average high school grad can barely count to ten as it is and those who presumably know something, prove that they really don't know anything. All they know is how to be part of the "in crowd."

They think it's some how cool to say that the new millennium begins with a zero. I suppose it is catchier to make merchandise the the extra zero. In other words, follow the money.

It's no wonder kids these days can't make change for a dollar without a calculator. They're taught by the media and many of they're teachers that there are nine pennies in a dime and nine years in a decade.

In other words, where is the penny that represents zero and the year that represents year zero. It goes like this: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine....ten. Ten is the last number in a group of ten and not the first number in the next group of ten.

Sheesh! I'm no Einstein and I figured that one out for myself!

A Staring Contest?

I can't remember the last time I was in a staring contest...before the one I had with my boss this morning.

Oh, yeah. It was the last one that he and I had. Sheesh!!!

He's my hero!

It's Football Time in Tennessee?

I just really have only one question for Tennessee's new head football coach:

Who will be assigned to teach him the words to "Rocky Top"?

(You know he doesn't know them.)

Coach Fulmer

Far too many Tennesseeans are elated at Phillip Fulmer's end of career announcement to suit my taste. Many, who have been calling for his head for years, are thrilled! (They think they know so much.)

I remember what Davey Crockett said when he was turned out of Congress by the good, but fickle, people of Tennessee. He said, "The Hell with Tennessee! I'm goin' to Texas!"

I wouldn't blame Coach Fulmer if he said the same thing.

"Turn That Perry Como Down!"

I was, let's say, a different sort of child. Some children are pier oriented and some are parent oriented. I was decidedly the latter.

While my brother was listening to KISS, Bad Company and ACDC, I was listening to Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey and Harry James. I liked Country & Western and some of the heavier stuff popular with kids in my day, but much preferred the voices of Ella Fitzgerald, Tex Beneke, Ray Eberle or Frank Sinatra.

One of my top favorites has always been and always will be Perry Como. I loved his music and never missed any of his t.v. specials, Christmas or otherwise, that came on the air. His smooth, sonorous and superb voice is one I always was desirous of emulating.

Mom & Dad had a copy of Perry's greatest hits on an old LP from the fifties that I just couldn't get enough of. It had great songs like, "Till the End of Time," "Hubba, Hubba," "Prisoner of Love" and many more. I would play that album over and over and over until I had every word of every song memorized. I would come home from school every day and toss my favorite record on the turntable, crank it up and jam with Perry for hours. I couldn't get enough of it!

I had been on this Perry Como kick for, I suppose, a couple of months when an interesting event happened. One day, per my routine, I was listening to Perry and singing along for what was probably the third flip of the album. I was thoroughly enjoying myself!

I reckon Dad, although a fan himself, had had enough of the repetition. He looked at me with serious intent in his eyes and said, "Son, don't you have anything else you can listen to?"

Sitting in the living room, witness to this event, was my Mom. She showed her great insightfulness and wisdom at this point. She just raised her head up from whatever it was she was doing, looked at Dad and said, "Floyd...leave the boy alone."

Today, I watch my beautiful and brilliant thirteen year old daughter grow in mind and stature. I try to introduce her to and familiarize her with all kinds of music: Bluegrass, Rock, Classic, Country & Western, Gospel, Contemporary Christian and more. As I watch her again and again pop her Carrie Underwood cd's into her player and listen to them again and again, I can't help but think, "Daddy...leave the girl alone."

Undeniable Truths

Rush Limbaugh has his Undeniable Truths of Life. These are some of mine.

******************************************

1. There is a God and He does care.

2. Nothing you buy can make you cool.

3. Whenever a teenager says, "My parents just don't understand," it's always trouble.

4. You never really and truly know a man until you work with him or for him.

5. If you demand respect and loyalty, you'll only receive fear and contempt.

6. You never find a deposit you forgot to record, but you will find checks you

forgot to record.

7. The ones the Lord can't humble, He humiliates.

8. Some jobs are best left unfinished.

9. It's o.k. to regret mistakes, but where you are today is a direct result of all

the decisions of your life, good and bad.

10. Utopia has always been and always will be enforced at the point of a sword or

the muzzle of a gun.

******************************************

If I come up with other "truths" worth recording, I'll ad another post later.

My Boss...My Hero

I love my boss! He's my inspiration!

We were having our weekly b..., I mean, sales meeting at the start of our fiscal year a couple of months back. He announced that we had set a record; that was our best year ever.

He said, "We'll never do that again." Then moved on to whatever the next topic might've been at that time.

What a great leader of men! Wow!