The SoapBoxers

This is the day that many kids of all ages wait for each summer. The excitement of cook outs, parades, and fireworks are anticipated and enjoyed by entire families and communities. I am lucky enough to live in a smaller town, where the parades are more intimate, the festivals are filled with friends and children I know, and the cooking is great!

I am a boy scout and cub scout leader, so I try to include some teaching with events and celebrations, especially when attached to historical the basic identity of our country. First, this is the celebration of the independence of the United States from the United Kingdom. The significance of this is not to bash the British, they have been friends and allies with the United States through out our history and during some of the most difficult and dangerous days we have faced. The significance is in the action of strongly independent and self sufficient people declaring their separation from a culture of class and obligation based on birth rather than skill.

The documents that were left to us by those strong willed people still resonate today. Americans resist the idea of an elite who have some right to lead, ordain or command. Americans have always been ready to fight, even among themselves when they feel the cause is just. They are willing to sacrifice treasure and life for others, and except for the period of “Manifest Destiny” without the thought of territorial gain. You can see this resolve in many of the wars the Unites States has participated in, from the World Wars, to intervention in Haiti, to placing our service men and women between hostile factions. This is not to say that the United States has always been blameless and pure. The actions taken against the Native Americans in general, and specific un-punished activities by government and civilians occur, but are not on balance the rule.

There are so many checks and balances to keep our nation on the ideal path or at least close to it. You can see the corrections from the peace and equality rallies of the 1960s, the anti-terror and anti-war rallies of the early 2000s, and the current round of protests by the TEA parties. I point out to my scouts that we have no less than four amendments to the Constitution to try to protect people of African decent (I am not kidding: XIII, XIV, XV, XXIV). First to free them from slavery, then to protect their right to vote, over and over again. It may take the United States a while to get things right, but eventually we seem to at least get close.

So as you burn bratwurst on the grill and eat too much cherry pie, consider what we are celebrating. As you watch the fireworks displays, consider the risks and challenges that our founders faces to get us where we are today. And most especially, remember those people who have through the years, worked so diligently to keep you safe and free. You will see them in the parades, service men and women, firemen and police, politicians, students, senior citizens, immigrants, farmers, and civil servants. Know your Constitution and celbrate our freedom and success. This is a freedom and success to be enjoyed by every citizen and guest.

Last month, Delta airlines got a lot of heat for charging service men and women for their fourth checked bag when they are flying home. They had already waived the fee for the first three bags, but their system and policy was that a fourth bag was $200. Delta quickly changed that policy and went further to waive the baggage fees for family members traveling with service men and women. This decision was made to recover from the bad publicity that surrounded the initial exposure of these fees via a YouTube video made by some service men as they were flying home on board a Delta flight.

So far, everything in this story is just fine. An airline had a policy to charge for baggage as is allowed via free commerce. Some service men complained about the fees, exercising their rights of free speech. The general public and the news media supported the service men, exercising their rights of free speech and freedom of the press. Delta dropped the fees to avoid loss of customers, again exercising free commerce.

Last week, Representative Jeff Denham (R-CA) introduced a resolution in the United States Congress to stop the fees. To quote Fox News who paraphrased the representative “those commercial airlines that refuse to do so could have their contracts reevaluated”. The resolution calls for “all airlines to provide military personnel with priority boarding, waivers of all baggage fees and priority seat preference when available”. I find this appalling. The federal government is trying to establish what fees a company can charge for services by fiat rather than negotiations and basically get something for free.

The United States military has plenty of airplanes and other vehicles to use to get our service men and women deployed and returned to their homes. The choice has been made to use commercial airlines. This is a good choice, but comes with responsibilities that the military has failed to fulfill. The United States Military has an obligation to negotiate fares and fees with the airlines for the services rendered. They (the United States Military) have the obligation to get our service people home, not the airlines. If the fares and fees have not been negotiated, it is unacceptable (to me) for the government to then strong arm and entire industry into un-compensated service.

I agree that our service men and women should not be paying these fees. I also do not think that these fees should be paid for by the airlines and therefore their non-military customers. The government has sent these men and women into a deployment, they should get them home. The government is more than willing to shell out millions of dollars to a fake Taliban representative, but skimps on the baggage fees of our military personnel.

If we take this situation to the extreme, why not pass a resolution that states that airlines must provide free seats to military returning or deploying. Now when they get to their destination, the taxis should provide free rides to their houses. And why not throw in free meals along the way. It is one thing when companies choose to give benefits to military families as part of their image building, it is quite another when they are forced to provide by government command.

Work – Home Life balance is a buzz phase in today’s business world. What does it actually mean? For a company, it is the idea that employees need away time to be more productive. That idea is preached and repeated at every major corporation. The problem is that to stand out as an achiever, the employee still has to sacrifice family time to perform those extra tasks that cannot fit into a normal work week. This truth has a very negative effect on one specific class of workers, those who are raising children.

Early in the average career, before long term relationships and children, the only competition for time is entertainment. Entertainment includes the various mating rituals of young people as they try to pair up, for a night or a lifetime. Late in a career, after children have moved on to their own lives, most couples are actually looking for activities apart from each other. I am not suggesting that children hold all relationships together, it is just that by the time the kids are gone, most couples have matured enough that time apart is not detrimental.

Those people who are early in their relationships, especially when children are involved, are under so many more stresses; the stress of developing the relationship, the stress of child rearing, the stress of financial insecurity. Most people believe they are giving the most in a relationship, much more than their partner. Any other distraction only magnifies that perceived disparity of effort. When those stresses or life choice and events result in a single parent situation, the stresses are only worse. There is no support and yet the employer still expects the effort that will make you stand out among your peers.

Most corporations truly believe that they are helping in the work – home life balance. They have training, support seminars, even policies in place. The reality is that the final decisions cannot be based on how well you family is doing, but on the individual contributions to the corporation. Many people believe that corporations have a civic duty to take care of their employees. The best way for a corporation to fulfill that duty is to remain a viable company. That goal may actually be detrimental to individuals, but overall is beneficial to most of the workers.

I personally am in the category of children moving on. I have the capability of travelling whenever the need arises. I can work weekends or evening without causing a scheduling catastrophe at home. As a result of this freedom, I am being given opportunities at work that were never available before. I am also trying to help the younger people I work with understand that patience and dedication are the best ways to move up in a company. So many of the young people entering the work force today have an entitlement attitude. As a result, they believe that any single exceptional effort should be instantly rewarded and considered for all future compensation. Although instant compensation is available at most companies, these perks seldom add to the base compensation. Consistent excellence is what is rewarded in the long run. Patience is the trait, along with focus, that creates the best path to success.

Coming back to the work – home life balance, when an employee is in those stressful years of relationship building and child rearing, the aim is to do both. Work on your skills and you home life. Expect to grow, but do not expect to be the youngest Vice President. The consistency that you develop both in your career and in you home life will make you the most valuable employee that you company has when you hit your stride.

Summer is finally here

After reading Kosmo’s article on politics, I was tempted to jump into that fray, but refrained. The reason is two fold, in my opinion we have enough political commentators on the site (Kosmo was just filling in) and I have a much better topic to discuss; Summer.

I know that astronomically, summer will not be here for several more weeks, but for me summer starts when the pools open and the famers markets become city festivals. I live in the Midwest, so sometimes summer starts early, sometimes late. This year we had a teaser in April followed by a cold and rainy May, but the first week of June is warm and beautiful.

As with any warm up with high humidity, we have had our share of weather, luckily not nearly as bad as the people of Joplin Missouri have had to deal with. Hard rains, hail, even some smaller tornados have passed out way already. This Sunday, I got up early to mow the lawn and was not alone. There is something reassuring about a peaceful Sunday morning with neighbors all sharing in the simple tasks of keeping there yards neat and attractive.

My wife joined me, pulling weeds, those volunteer plants that grow were you do not want them, and bringing me water when I slowed down. By noon, it was too hot for this fat old man to continue with activities out in the sun, but the tree shade provided plenty of opportunities to stay with nature. A quick trip to the Ice Cream stand took us by the local pool, absolutely packed with kids and adults.

The yard work meant we missed the farmer’s market, but we saw some of it on the weather report. Our city has a larger down town farmer’s market once a month. There are street performers, prepared food, crafts and farm produce. We can get some of the best pork, beef and chicken, not to mention fruits, berries and vegetables beyond count. The varieties will change as the year progresses with the largest in the Fall, but this first big one is definitely one of the best.

Now is not the time to argue politics, now is the time to enjoy the lives we have. The kids are out of school, vacations are being planned, and it is finally warm enough to go outside without a coat. It is finally summer.

Memorial Day has many meanings to many people. To most, it is signals the beginning of summer. Locally, we have a plethora of graduation parties as seniors graduate from high school and college. To our older generations, it was known as Decoration Day; a day to decorate the graves of loved ones and veterans. Today, the holiday is designated as a memorial to all veterans, living and dead.

Today, while enjoying a day off work, with your family and friends, take time to remember those who have fought and died for our freedoms. We have many more veterans now than in years past, as more of our service men and women return from duty in Iraq, Afghanistan and many other lesser know locations. Although the exact locations of deployments of U.S. forces is not readily available, we do have troops serving in the Balkans, fighting pirates off of the east African coast and among the island of Indonesia, and assisting the U.N and NATO all over the world.

Enjoy your extended weekend. Remember those who have served to give you this holiday. The point of the holiday is to rejoice. Celebrate our freedoms. Celebrate that we have a country that has, from the first moments of its existence, been populated by brave men and women willing to stand up and fight for family, country and justice. Even if you are anti-war, remember that these are people willing to protect everyone in our country. We have never had a conflict where we as a nation choose to participate or stand aside that has not had supporters and dissenters. This day is not a day to debate the merits or drawbacks of any military action. This day is for those who have not argued what is right and what is wrong. This day is for those who stepped up and did the job, with or without cheers or support.

If you visit a cemetery to decorate a relative’s grave, look around. That the chance to see who it was that made this day of peace and security possible. There is not a cemetery in America that does not have a headstone for a veteran, either fallen in battle or fortunate enough to have made it home to live life and die at an old age. These are not the ostentatious people who need attention. These are the people who do their duty, quietly and with dignity. Let your actions and appreciation be a memorial to your children for all who serve.

It is the VETERAN,

not the preacher,

who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the VETERAN,

not the reporter,

who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the VETERAN,

not the poet,

who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the VETERAN,

not the campus organizer,

who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is the VETERAN,

not the lawyer,

who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the VETERAN,

not the politician,

who has given us the right to vote.

The following is a work of fiction.

Jerome crawled over the edge of the hill to peer into the valley below. He did not want to be spotted. He was sure that he was down wind, he could smell the beast. As long as he was very quiet, and stayed hidden, the beast would not know he was there.

There! There it was. It was awake, stalking before the white tent. Jerome could not even describe the foul creature. At times it walked on all fours, and at others on his two hind limbs. It grunted, it stank, it ate refuge. It was an animal, a dangerous animal that had to be destroyed. Jerome knew not how many people it had killed, and eaten. What he did know as that the Princess was in that tent. He alone of all the knights had stood forward to save her. He hoped he was not too late.

Jerome hated to just lay there and wait, but he knew that he had to know what the obstacles were. The tent, once bright and made for royalty, was now filthy, poorly set up, and yes, even bloody. The Princess had been with a guard of twenty four men and two ladies in waiting. The men had all died courageously, their bodies torn and scattered across the field of battle. The beast appeared injured. It seemed that at least one of the King’s men had scored a hit.

There were the remains of a fire in front of the tent, and what appeared to be the remains of a meal. Was the beast civilized? Was it aware of the importance of its captive? It had taken her alive, which was odd. How could it distinguish royal from common blood? Maybe it just captured women, killing all of the men because they were dangerous. Even animals could tell the difference between men and women.

There was a noise behind him. “Damn”, he thought. “I should have left the horse further away.” The beast had not heard, or appeared to not have heard. Jerome crept slowly around, away from the direction the noise had come from, but still down wind. It was early morning. He would eat cold biscuits and watch before trying to attack. He had to be careful. This was not just a fight, he had to ensure the safety of the Princess.

It was late in the morning before Jerome saw anyone else. The beast had gone down to the stream to bath, splashing a wallowing, making a great deal of noise. One of the Ladies in Waiting came out with a bucket. She went to the stream to get some water, careful to stay as far away from the beast as possible, going up stream to get clear water. The beast watched her until she was back in the tent. She was frightened, but appeared unhurt.

At mid-day, the beast kindled the fire and grunted to the tent. Both Ladies in Waiting came out. They cooked a meal. It smelled so good. Jerome had not eaten a hot meal in days. He crept nearer. He watched the food preparation and watched the beast. The animal had habits. It patrolled the area in a set pattern. It used the same tree to relieve itself. It spent the rest of its time watching the women and caring for its weapons.

When all was ready, the tent flap opened. The Princess came forth, still clean and radiant in her summer dress of white. Jerome stared. He had seen her at court, yet now she seemed even more beautiful. He crept even nearer. He told himself that it was to prepare for battle, but really he was drawn to the Princess.

The Princess ate with her ladies, then with a dignity that was overwhelming for Jerome, she arose and offered food to the beast. Jerome cursed under his breath. The princess was serving that animal. It was terrible. It had to be stopped. But Jerome waited.

The women cleaned up after the meal and retired to the tent. The beast patrolled again. Jerome feared that he had crept too close, but he was not detected. The beast curled up by the remains of the fire, blocking the exit of the tent, and went to sleep.

Now was the time. There would be no better opportunity. He crept silently through the brush. As he neared the sleeping beast, he rose up, and with more stealth than he thought he had, he approached. He stood over the beast, considering if he should slit its throat or drive his sward through it chest. Up close the beast almost appeared human. Its mane seemed a thick beard and unruly shock of hair. It did wear cloths, with a heraldic sign of a dragon sinking its talons into a lion. It slept secure in its own strength, not knowing that death was hovering over it.

One of the ladies stepped out of the tent, and seeing Jerome made a yelp of surprise. The beast awoke and seeing Jerome attacked. It swept with its great paw and threw Jerome to the ground. It took a second swipe as it rose, but Jerome rolled out of the way. It drew its sward as Jerome got back on his feet. The beast roared, charging Jerome, but its great weight was a hindrance against the agile young man. Jerome side stepped and brought his sward against the back of the beast. The beast whirled with remarkable speed and cut Jerome on the shoulder.

The women had all gathered at the entrance to the tent and watched. The battle continued, Jerome dancing out of the way of the beast, but the beast always getting some small strike back. Slowly, the combination of the injures from the fight with the guards and the strikes that Jerome was landing, the beast wore down. Finally, the beast lunged at Jerome to get him in a bear hug. Instead of jumping away, Jerome gripped his sward with both hands allowing the beast to impale itself. It stopped its forward rush an inch from Jerome’s face. Jerome could feel and smell its breath. As it sagged on Jerome’s sward, Jerome was dragged down to the ground. They both laid there for a moment, the women were sure that both of them were dead.

Jerome got up on his knees, and with all his strength, drew his sward free of the body of the beast. The ladies rushed forward, the Princess foremost. “You are hurt, valiant knight” she said and she brushed his hair from his forehead. She ordered the Ladies in Waiting to fetch water as she used the sleeve of her dress to wipe the sweat and blood from his face. Jerome could not believe it. The Princess was touching him, Jerome, the lowest of knight. He dropped to one knee, “Your Highness, it is my privilege to serve.”

Suddenly, Jerome had a new pain. Something had struck his left thigh. “Get up you lazy git! My horse was supposed to be saddled at sunrise. If I am late, I will add ten more stripes to what you deserve for sleeping in.” Prince Hugo stomped off. Jerome limped off to saddle the horse. He carefully spread the silk ceremonial blanket before hoisting the saddle and gear into place. He had to rearrange it several times to get it right, but he had to or there would be even more stripes. He bushed down the sides to make sure that Prince Hugo’s pageant was showing. After all, he was riding to his wedding. All the kingdom would be watching as he rode in. The pageant had to be perfect, a dragon slaying a lion.

The following is a work of fiction.

Jonathan heard the blue bird long before he saw it. There it was, to the left in that old pear tree, or maybe it was a plum tree. It was hard to tell from this distance. There were so few leaves left on the branches. He turned slowly to get a better look. He did not want to frighten the bird away. The song was so beautiful and peaceful. It was a song that brought joy back to life.

Jonathan looked up into the sky. The blue as almost the same color as the bird’s fine plumage. High thin clouds were a bright white contrast to the strong blue. His eyes dropped back to the bird. It seemed nervous, like it wanted to fly away but did not know what direction was safe.

Jonathan scanned the wheat field. It should have been ripe enough to harvest, but no one was working on the field. It was just a beautiful day in France. Jonathan had never dreamed he would ever be in France. Not in a million years. Heck leaving Nebraska had never even entered his mind, except those fantasies of space flight, but that was only in comic books. But here he was laying in a wheat field, in France, in September, listening to a blue bird sing.

He tried to remember the songs the blue bird songs from back home. They seemed warmer, friendly back home. This bird seemed lonely. There also seemed to be so many more birds back home, all competing to see who had the best song. Then there were the crickets. Jonathan had not heard a cricket since he had arrived. Did they even have crickets in France? Fireflies were missing, too. He remembered lazy September evenings with the fireflies and crickets and the distant call of an owl just waking up. Now those were the days.

The ground rumbled, then again but stronger. They were getting closer. “B Company, keep your heads down,” hollered the sergeant. Jonathan stole a look at the blue bird. It was still clinging to the burned branch. “Fly away. Get out of here,” Jonathan whispered. “Save yourself. Men are here and they will hurt you. Please go away.” He wanted to run over and shoo the bird away, but the artillery was getting too close. Soon, they could see the clouds of smoke, then the actual explosions with dirt flying high. “God save us,” Jonathan prayed as the shells marched closer.

He ducked his head even lower into his fox hole. The world exploded in noise and dirt. He was pushed left then right as the earth crushed against him. Clods of dirt hit his helmet. The noise was behind him now. He wanted to get out and run. “Stay, stay until sergeant tells you what to do,” Jonathan repeated the mantra to himself. It was how he had stayed alive. Sergeant would keep you alive if you listened to him, did exactly what he said. One more shell hit near by, but all the rest were far behind them.

“B Company, UP!!!” came the order from sergeant. Jonathan pulled himself up and out of his hole. He looked around. Where 50 men should have been forming up, only 20 were standing. The wheat in the field was flattened. He started running around a massive crater where he knew Jethro had been dug in. Jethro was from Oklahoma. He had a fiancé. His daddy had a thousand acres of land to raise cattle on. Jonathan hesitated just a second, then saw sergeant waving to him. Before joining the rest in the mad charge forward, he looked back to see the bird. It was gone … so were the remains of the tree.

Last week, I wrote about keeping your story going even with external distractions. I used the Royal Wedding as an example with a follow up comment on the death of Osama bin Laden. I used that posting and comment to point out that such interruptions provide plenty of opportunities hone your writing skills, even if the events are not associated with your current project.

In review of the happenings of last week, we had enormous opportunities. We had a royal wedding, the president of the United States released his birth certificate, and the notorious terrorist leader Osama bin Laden was killed. The only negative to these events is that they tend to push other great stories into the back ground.

How many of us remember the marksmanship of a Navy SEAL taking out a Somali Pirate to save the captured crewmen of a ship? What about those minors who were trapped in Chile? Has anyone thought about Representative Giffords recently? For a while raising the national debt limit was the only thing worth reporting in the United States. Where are the reports on the final space shuttle flight (temporarily brought back into the lime light because the commander is married to Representative Giffords).

There are many more events that can be the basis of stories and they keep coming every day. What if the NFL doesn’t figure out a labor agreement? What if baseball players have been having electrodes installed in their major muscles to improve reaction time and strength? No such thing has been suggested, nor do I have any idea how it would work, but fifty years ago, no one even knew what Human Growth Hormone was much less that it could be take as a performance enhancement for baseball.

One of the great advantages of writing is that you can make it all up. There have been plenty of alternate history stories; Hitler won, the south won, Julius Caesar was not assassinated. Make up your own; bin Laden escaped and successful targeted a dozen world leaders making him the de-facto world dictator, the President turned out to have been born on Mars or a scientist figures out how to make unlimited power by mixing used water bottles and cow manure.

If you have been concentrating on a serious subject and come to a dead end, write something silly. If you have been trying humor and just can’t get it write, comment on something in current affairs that just pushes your buttons. If you are constantly making political commentary, step back and actually think about what the world would be like if all of your ideas were implanted just as you wanted (be realistic, there are always consequences). There are always opportunities to write, not all of them planned. Take was is provided and let you imagination thrive.

Many times, when writing, external distractions will drive you away from you intended story line. My recommendation is to just go with it. Surely not every time, because then you would never get any story to even start to flow, but when something really big happens that everyone is talking about, you will be overwhelmed. This week is just such an occasion.

Prince William married Kate Middleton. I think that 80 of the 83 channels that I get with my cable package covered the event. It was historic, it was romantic, it was classic and it was on – everywhere. This is not something you can just ignore, even if you do not care about the British Royal Family. I am only mildly fascinated by the original “reality show”, but something like the wedding of the heir or a coronation are rare events that do catch my attention. Last week, Kosmo posed the question as to why Americans care about the royals. My response is that we have a certain amount of voyeurism. We want to watch, but we do not want a royal family of our own.

My take on the whole event was that it was nice. That is sort of a weak commentary, but it does cover my reaction. I am glad that the prince and his new wife will have a few weeks of privacy before there public exposure begins. The ceremony had all of the pomp and circumstance that the British are so good at. It was not a Hollywood production.

What I take away from the event is a catalogue of writing opportunities. Here are just a few ideas:

• The designers and seamstresses for the dress and the secrecy surrounding it
• The back room dialogue between the Prince and his brother
• The intrigue of introducing the idea of the wedding to the Queen
• A secret (and this is only fiction) plot against the couple on their honeymoon

The plot lines flow so easily. The characters already exist for any author to use. The backdrop, events, even some of the innuendo is already available. You just have to integrate your own ideas. For me, it would be a little difficult since I am focusing on science fiction right now (although clones and aliens could make an interesting twist to the story). But you romantics, conspiracy theorists, and historians should have a heyday.

So get off the couch, turn off the television and get back to writing. The opportunities abound, and someone in the world wants to read your ideas. You can start by leaving comments on any posting on TheSoapBoxers.com. Throw your ideas up here if you want. We (the contributors and other visitors) will read them and comment in return. If you write a compelling cover letter and a good story, I am sure that Kosmo will consider posting it. It is all about communicating ideas.

As an author, it is important to read; a lot. Reading other works broadens your vision and provides examples of both good and bad expression. Reading a wide range of works will also help develop the appropriate attitudes of your characters.

If you place your story in the early seventeen century, you need to have an understanding of what “real” people believed and sought during that time. If you create a crowd of characters to whom “free love” and “equality” were social norms, you fall into the trap of inserting your values or the values of the society in which you live into an inappropriate scheme. Just as setting a story in the late twentieth century with public figures extolling the virtues of slavery would be just plain wrong. That is not to say that such inconsistencies would not create a story in themselves, just that period writing should be consistent.

There are plenty of efforts to suggest that Shakespeare was a women’s rights advocate. There is no real evidence to support that he actually was, but his writings transposed to the 1970’s could be used to support the efforts of modern women. We all insert our biases into our writing, the true victory is to appreciate the reality of the times we wish to write about.

One of the easiest themes to use is the future. With the future as your background, you can expound on any philosophy or social norm that you desire. The future can be any ideal that you want. The pitfall in this area is to eliminate any consequences; creating utopias. Life shows that there is no universal utopia. This is not so say that such conditions cannot be met, just that with any group of people, there is a struggle for superiority, no matter how petty.

The surest method of keeping within period is to write about your own times. Your story will still be colored by your personal beliefs and the problems of the day, but it will be honest and provide source material for future writers.

Each of us contributes to the whole of literature, regardless of talent or purpose. From the first invention of writing, we started to capture stories and keep them in their original forms. Oral tradition is a fantastic way of keeping a culture together, but when that culture is reduced by catastrophe, natural or man made, much of that tradition can be lost. Writing things down does not insure that it will endure, just as much was lost with the burning of the library at Alexandria, or the loss of any work for that matter. Not all works are protected, but all impact the works that follow. All of us who have the opportunity to compose have continued to contribute to the whole. Because of this influence we have the responsibility to be as diligent as possible in all of our efforts.