Fiscal Cliff Climbing


I don’t think I am going to say anything that everybody doesn’t already know.  But, it will just make me feel better to vent.  Here goes.  This is no way to run a government.  Letting all the important decisions wait until the very last minute and then slapping something together.  Things cobbled together in such a fashion are really poorly done.

I fault both sides.  Each side trying their damnedest to get the better of the other side.  Isn’t anybody interested in what’s best for our country?  Let me add a new word to the equation that hasn’t been heard for a while – compromise.  That’s how things get done.  “But it’s the principle of the thing.”  “No new taxes, no new taxes.”  I love it.  Where’s Dr. Phil when we need him?

I’m afraid I know what’s going to happen and it’s the same old same old.  Kick the can down the road.  Congress will submit some stop gap measure that will move the problem farther out into the future.  Then, they will all accuse the other side of being the blame.  Geeze.

I don’t subscribe to the theory that all congressmen are idiots.  I think Weiner was a pretty bright guy.  It just happened that his moral compass was pointed toward Antarctica.  First bright, then annoying, then gone.  I liked the gone part the best!  Others are brilliant, but have no common sense.  Some are truly the real deal, but when they get together, they suffer from group think.  I saw it at GM – GM think, and I saw it in the Army – Army think.  I can define it, but I’ll just give you an example.

Just prior to my arrival in Germany in 1983, we had an armored division commanding general holding meetings throughout the division telling everyone how they should conduct themselves if called as a witness in a drug case.  Clearly command influence.  Clearly illegal.  But the commander was a two star and everyone was backing him.  Hey, drugs were a big problem and the rank and file needed to know what he thought.  Then, way down the road, the Court of Military Appeals threw out many of the convictions because of the general’s command influence.  The general was relieved of his command and a message (back channel) went out to the senior leadership of the Army explaining the general’s misconduct.  Army think uniformly flipped.  Every senior officer I talked to condemned the general for what he had done.  Army think had done a 180.  Yesterday, the general was a dedicated officer who had been misunderstood.  Today, he was a loose cannon. 

In Congress, even the real deals suffer from group think when their fellow congressmen are in lock step and they have little choice.  No one wants to be a contrarian.  That would cause them to stand out and get bad exposure.  They could lose their job.  My, my, my.

I worked for a general by the name of Larry Williams who was a legend in the JAG Corps.  We called him Big Daddy and I wrote a poem in honor of his 75th birthday that you can find filed under “Military Daze.”  With great imagination, I entitled it “Big Daddy’s Seventy-Fifth.”  He had served under General Creighton Abrams many years before.  General Williams used to quote General Abrams who said, “It’s amazing what can be accomplished if you do not care who gets the credit.”  I looked up the quote on the internet and it was attributed to Harry Truman.  But, I guess if they meant what they said, they wouldn’t care to whom it was attributed.

I am convinced that “Fiscal Cliff” problem could be solved quickly if nobody cared who got the credit.  My experience tells me that when things truly get desperate, they’ll be solved.  I also believe in the Easter Bunny.

I sure hope I finish and get this thing published before they solve the problem.  Being late would be a real bummer.  My article would be irrelevant before it was published and I couldn’t take credit for solving the problem.  Then, I would have to go to Plan B.

Written by PJ Rice at www.ricequips.com

2012 – A Year to Forget


This was not a great year as you will see in the poem below.  But, we are coming out on the other end and that’s great.  Enjoy!

2012 – A Year to Forget



It’s time for the poem, ready or not,


The year was a shambles, not even a pot.


Christmas letters are bright, happy things to report,


They paint so rosy, me thinks they distort.


No bright shiny picture will come from us,


Most things that happened just made us cuss.



Carole’s high school reunion, RAJA in Fort Worth,


Cancel the good times, cancel the mirth.


But still we traveled, that’s for sure,


We made numerous trips to Baltimore.


Trips to Johns Hopkins were running us ragged,


Facing serious surgery had our nerves jagged.


A pancreatic tumor had riveted our attention,


Carole was brave, fighting through the tension.


The Whipple surgery was hard, the recovery was slow,


The reports were great, leaving Carole aglow.


 


Both Becky and Missy took turns as caring nurse,


Giving Jack some relief from the care-giving curse.


Jack stumbled and fumbled with meals and the sink,


Washing whites and reds together, turns everything pink.



We lost both our Moms; they both went to Heaven,


Blanche was 95, Mary was 97.


They were such a delight, so much to remember,


Both here in October and gone in November.


We’re thankful for the memories, to those we still clutch,


But not hearing their voices, we miss that so much.



One thing did go right, which led to big smiles,


Nine and a half weeks after surgery, we cruised the British Isles.


Carole got great help at every step of the way,


We still struggled with patches, but what the hay.


It was a golf theme cruise that was for Jack


Playing Ireland and Scotland, yakety yak.


Playing in the wind and the rain could make it a gasper,


But the guest pro on the cruise was Billy Casper.



Losing the election made us want to scream,


But at least it was consistent with this year’s theme.


Our garage ceiling collapsed, when a storm was in the air,


But at least that’s the kind of damage we can repair!



Of the children and grandchildren, I’m here to report,


It’s been an OK year, nothing much to exhort.


I’ll go out on a limb; I’ll even get bolder,


In the best of ways, we’re all a year older.


The year just rolled by, it was somewhat a sleeper,


But I suspect it’s a prelude, for next year, a keeper.



Thanksgiving in Roanoke, with Paul and Sandy,


The turkey was great, everything was dandy.


But on Friday, with little Jack, Jack was kicking a ball,


The skills are long gone, he took quite a fall.


Skinned both hands, knee and elbow, shoulder and head,


The asphalt had won, and Jack, he just bled.


Jack says he’s alright, but just the same,


If he were a pro, he’d have to sit for a game.



So we’ll say goodbye to the year that brought us pain,


We survived the worst, and were still reasonably sane.


It was a tough year and it kept us guessing,


But the successful operation was truly a blessing.


So our spirits will rise and with time all will cleanse,


Most important to us is family and friends.


So have a wonderful Christmas and be of good cheer,


We love you all, have a Happy New Year.



Merry Christmas and a
Happy New Year!

Jack & Carole

Written by PJ Rice at www.ricequips.com


Fall When You’re Young; Don’t Try It When You’re Old


David Feherty, an unpredictable and sometimes outrageous commentator on golf,  was interviewing the guest Hall of Fame basketball player, Bill Russell.  Feherty has his own half hour show on the Golf Channel and interviewed a wide variety of famous athletes.  Russell spoke of the close relationship he had with his Boston Celtic’s coach, Red Auerbach.

When Red was close to death, Russell went to see him for the last time.  As Bill Russell was about to leave, Red called him back to the bed and whispered to him, “When you get old, don’t fall.”  When Russell told Feherty, they both chuckled.  They acted like, here we were, hoping for something prophetic and all we got was the musing of an old man.

Well, I’m not so sure it wasn’t great advice.  Remember, Auerbach was the man who said “Records are made to be broken.”  He’s quotable.  You just have to be there.  None of us believes we are there yet.  In fact, those of us who consider ourselves athletic, think we will never get there.  But about ten years ago, I was playing third base in an old timers soft ball game and the throw from the outfield was low.  As it went by me, I realized that I could no longer bend over to get it.  When you have been doing things like that all your life, and then, you can’t, it’s a real shock.  I mentally made some lame excuse and moved on.

Part of being an athlete is knowing how to fall.  It’s nothing you are taught or trained to do.  It’s just inherent.  But it is important.  Sheep dogs know how to herd sheep and athletes know how to fall.  A few years back, when I was 70, I was jogging along and I slipped on some ice.  We are not here to discuss dumb decisions I have made, like jogging on an icy day.  We are here to discuss the art of falling.  And what an art.  I slipped, then tumbled and rolled and came up in good shape.  A few scratches, but overall quite proud of myself for still being among those who know how to fall.  Ah yes, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick.

I’m a few years older now and for Thanksgiving, Carole and I drove from the DC area down to Roanoke, Virginia to spend the holiday with our son, Paul, his wife, Sandy and their two sons, Josh and Jack (PJ3).  Thanksgiving lived up to its name and to top off a perfect day, the Redskins beat the Cowboys.  It is really heart warming to watch Jerry Jones at such moments.

Friday was a kick-back day.  Lots of football on TV and no one had to go to work..  I saw my 13-year-old grandson, Jack, kicking a soccer ball to himself in the cul-de-sac below the house.  They live on Reed Mountain, so everything is up or down.  I announced that I was going to kick the ball around with Jack and headed down the driveway.  I didn’t last five minutes.  About the third time he kicked the ball to me, it bounced higher than I thought it would and smacked me on the forehead.  It just missed my glasses and I was pleased I hadn’t broken or cut anything.  Then, I noticed my footwork wasn’t any good.  I decided to stay away from my bicycle kick.  I wasn’t even going to try my tricycle kick.

So we just kicked it back and forth at about 20 yards.  Pretty mild stuff.  Then the ball got away from me and started to roll down the street.  I started to move quickly to catch it –  and that was it.  I don’t know what happened, but I do know I was falling.  Completely out of control.  I skinned both hands, my knee, my elbow, my shoulder and banged my head.  The pants and sweater I was wearing were later rejected by Goodwill!

I’ve thought a lot about the fall.  First, I didn’t break anything.  Paul said at my age, I should be thankful.  Second, as I was falling, I was turning to the right to reduce the damage.  I think 20 years ago, I would have made pretty much the same move, but my head would not have smacked into the asphalt.  Third, I should have let the ball roll down the hill.  Next time I will.  I will be older and wiser.

Writted by PJ Rice at www.ricequips.com