Assumptions are the termites of Relationships” Henry Winkler (1945- )

Have you ever walked into a darkened room or house and knew exactly where you where going? You had no fear of bumping into something because you had the layout of this room in your mind; you could navigate it with your eyes closed or blindfolded. You were able to do this because of past experiences; unless the furniture had been recently moved or an object such as a toy had been left in the way, you won't even stub your toe. You had complete confidence in your ability to get around.

We use this ability of ours to navigate through all the areas of our life, we use it in our relationships with one another, in our sexual intimacies, even while driving to work (that's why we can drive and attempt to talk on the cell phone at the same time). Just like in the cell phone and driving combo can wind up to be a potential hazard so can the unexpected roadblock cause our relationships at work to go awry, our marriage to falter, or our sexual intimacies to get stale. We took them for granted, we knew the layout with our eyes closed or with a blindfold over our heads and then we hit a stumbling block.

"How could this have happened?" we ask ourselves. "What did we do to deserve this?" We did the same thing most of us have done; we didn't look for stumbling blocks. We didn't look for the light switch, we just assumed. We assumed that everything was the same as we left it last time–unchanged, unmoved and immobile. But, life is not a stagnant world, it is dynamic, moving and ever changing. That servicemen coming home from Iraq will have definitely changed. That little girl or boy was not always going to remain the same way forever; they were going to change. That job is not going to remain stagnant, technology will see to that. The same applies to our mates; the relationship evolves as well, we cannot assume anything.

K.

“Rivers know this, there is no hurry….” Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, by A. A. Milne

My wife and I went on the last cruse of the 2007 season for the Goodtime III, a great lakes excursion boat. From now until Memorial Day 2008 it will be laid up in a Detroit, Michigan rebuilder's yard, and gone over with a fine toothcomb. Tested here and overhauled there, the scrutiny part of a mandatory Coast Guard inspection process. She had been on Lake Erie for five years since the previous major inspection and I hadn't taken advantage of it. Now I look forward to the 2008 season cruises.

I look forward to this new season because my wife enjoyed the trip with me. We had hurriedly driven there from her place of employment hoping to get there it time; it was close and we made it. The river cruise was a trip back in time as we saw old riverfront developments that were still in existence. There were both lift and swing bridges, flourmills and marinas. Some had failed miserably, remaining only because of the prohibitive cost of their removal. Others were still in operation and in surprisingly good shape; they were a testimony to their engineering quality as well as their utilitarian need. We saw them from a totally different view, seen only by those traveling by water as they had been seen a century or more ago.

We both liked the time together, to share our exiting or difficult moments of the day as well as to talk to friends and share in good conversation. Stolen moments from both of our busy schedules making them all the more valuable. We both look forward to next year hoping that the secrets of the river will be revealed to us at that time as well. 'Til then….

K.

“Computer Dating is fine, if you’re a computer.” Rita Mae Brown

I'd like to think of myself as a matchmaker, but I don't have a very good record. If fact I don't think any of the people I'd suggested getting together ever had. So right now my record is zero. It is a shame. Adults don't have to spend their lives in isolation and totally apart. Everyone should have a significant other so they can spend their lives together. Couples should compliment each other. To me, marriage is a lasting tradition.

My dear grandmother met her mate at her sister's wedding. Old World weddings lasted more than one day and at the end of the festivities my grandparents went to her father and asked if they could get married. "Not this year" he replied, "one wedding a year is enough; it is all that I can afford." They got married the next year and were husband and wife for nearly fifty years. My grandmother was a widow for thirty years and died on the same day that her husband did thirty years earlier. They were very much the romantics. They were destined to be together as soul mates.

My parents met at their place of employment and were married for sixty-two years. My father was devastated while Mom was dying in the hospital; he sang hymns at her side in her final hours. They were devoted to each other as well. After Mom died, Dad kind of fell apart. I told him life has to go on; I think he took that to heart and met Virginia. She is a great lady and I'm glad to see them spend their Golden Years together. Mrs. K. and I have been married for forty-two years; and I like to think we are very much the romantics also.

I guess people who spend their lives alone, want it to be that way; otherwise they would do something differently. On the other hand maybe they need encouragement. So my advice is: get out there and meet someone. Become active is some sort of reputable organization, volunteer but do something or life will pass you by and leave you where you are—alone.

K.

"Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate." Thomas Jones (1892 - 1969)

The relationship between a friend or an enemy can be interesting as well one and the same; see the following quotes as to how other viewed this facinating association.

He who has a thousand friends has not a friend to spare,
And he who has one enemy will meet him everywhere.
Ali ibn-Abi-Talib (602 AD - 661 AD), A Hundred Sayings

A wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends.
Baltasar Gracian

He hasn't an enemy in the world - but all his friends hate him.
Eddie Cantor (1892 - 1964)

Never explain--your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway.
Elbert Hubbard (1856 - 1915)

If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.
Moshe Dayan (1915 - 1981)

Treat your friend as if he might become an enemy.
Publilius Syrus (~100 BC), Maxims

Reveal not every secret you have to a friend, for how can you tell but that friend may hereafter become an enemy. And bring not all mischief you are able to upon an enemy, for he may one day become your friend.
Saadi (1184 – 1291

Money can't buy friends, but it can get you a better class of enemy.
Spike Milligan

It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.
William Blake (1757 - 1827)

The enemy of my enemy is my friend; often described as an Arab proverb, also is an identical Chinese saying. This is one of four rules in the rule of triadic interaction. The three others are: "the friend of my friend is my friend", "the friend of my enemy is my enemy", and "the enemy of my friend is my enemy. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

K.

Father forgive me for I have sinned.

We have heard the expressions; "I'll never forgive you for that stunt, not as long as I live." We've heard the axiom, "Forgive and forget." We've even heard the plea. "Please forgive me, I'll never do it again, I promise." Asking for forgiveness and being willing to forgive are two of the strongest emotions in our Western civilization. Being forgiven cleanses the soul and makes us complete—we feel that all is OK again and everything is right with the world. Withholding forgiveness can be thought of a power play, giving us a deadly edge as well as imagined leverage.

Just what is the right, err change that to proper way to forgive anyone? Simon Peter was also vexed with this same question and comes up to Jesus: "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" (Matthew 18:21). The may have been an Old Testament adage; forgive seven times. The number seven is important in the bible, it is a prim number but it also shows completeness such as seven days of the week, seven deadly sins, the seventh son of the seventh son, or in the movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

In verse 22 Jesus answered, "I tell you, you must forgive him more than seven times. You must forgive him even if he wrongs you seventy times seven." If you thought you were keeping track of the number of times your brother sinned against you Simon Peter, try keeping track of 490 times of forgiveness. You would loose count and find the task impossible. Jesus elaborates this again. "If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him." (Luke 17:4) In essence we say forgive and forget—difficult but a very important aspect of our society.

K.

Nude Descending a Staircase caused an uproar & outrage

She was a single mom, who told me that her thirteen-year-old son had discovered girls. Well, not in the usual way, at least not in school. He had discovered them on the Internet and, as you can imagine, not in the most savory way. They were sans clothes and scruples. He had locked onto a few website his mother wished he had never seen. It's difficult enough raising a young man on your own as a single parent as well as one that had reached maturity so surprisingly. I stifled a smile, not wanting to offend or alienate her. Her young man had discovered his own form of sex education and it seemed to be working very effectively—at least in his viewpoint.

I did have to sympathize with her, visiting porn sites cannot be the most productive method of introducing young men to the distaff side; in fact can be very counterproductive. It gives boys a false, disrespectful attitude to women. It is completely degrading, offensive and manipulative to its audience as well as its participants. I have four grand-daughters and I know how I'd feel if they were exploited in such a manner. However, and this is a very big however, there is a certain fascination of the unclothed female form that has become an important part of western art, whether in paintings, sculpture or fine arts photography. It is an area important enough to make a distinction worth noting.

I don't know if giving young men textbooks showing nude paintings and sculptures of classical artists is the answer to avoiding the unpleasant surge of hormones. However, The Birth of Venus by Botticelli, The Nude Maja (La Maja Desnuda) by Goya, Nude Viewed from Behind by Pierre-Paul Prud'hon or the very provocative Nude Girl on a Panther Skin (1844) by Felix Trutat are expectable examples of classical art that should not be banned by the overly zealous. Give him a chance to find the exceptable alternatives to his sex education.

K.



Ars Gratia Artis. Well K, I sure hope that this woman was not coming to you for advice. Although I do know that you are very well educated when it comes to the "ARTISTIC" websites.

Alea Jacta Est. There is not much you can do now. Showing him more naked chicks is not the answer either. At that age there is no art, only boobies. He is now a product of our wonderful unethical society and will eventially come to the realization that he spent the first part of his life trying to get out and the rest trying to get back in.

Posted by Sean on September 22, 2007 - Saturday at 3:17 PM


Ah Latin, the first quote is thought to be "Art for Arts sake" but should actually read "ars artis gratia" if you want to write it correctly. The word showing possession should come before "gratia" or "sake." Samuel Goldwyn Mayer felt it would make the logo for his MGM Film Studio look unbalanced, so he rearranged the words. Isn’t the Internet wonderful!

The young man is seeking information and will find it anyway he can. It would be best if he learned it in a sex ed class; but since none exists he looked for it on his own and stumbles across this porn site that derogates women. Would it not be far better if he found a site that honors and extols the virtue of womanhood? He would then be thought a nerd rather than a pervert. In this case a nude is NOT a nude is a nude. Moot point I must argue, and that is for the mother to decide.

What if the child decides to be a gynecologist, or a designer of women’s undergarments, or a fashion photographer or an artist?. Would this early education all have been in vain? Mrs. K. thought the best solution would be to take the computer out of his bedroom and put it in a place with a higher traffic pattern, where Mom could monitor it more closely.

K.

Posted by K on September 23, 2007 - Sunday at 6:01 PM

Tower, this is Freeway Leader, I’ve got a boggy on my tail that I can’t shake

It's called Road Rage and it can happen to anyone. You can be the victim as well as the perpetrator. There is no preference as to sex or age. My grandmother was a prime example; she learned to drive a car at age 50, so she was no youngster behind the wheel. She had learned to ride a horse as a kid; in fact she even would ride bareback. But a horse has some sense and will balk when pushed too far; a car will go even further than you wish. I remember my dear sainted grandmother and her experience with Road Rage. She could swear like a sailor (but only in German) if someone got their car too close to hers. She let them know, in no uncertain terms, how she felt and there was no doubt in my mind as I rode with her that she was pissed. A clenched fist was raised in the direction of her adversary (after she regained control of her car) and we resumed our ride.

Her grandson, me, had his own experience with the Rage earlier this week when he was cut off by someone who had misjudge the timing of exiting the freeway. I wound up abruptly moving off the road as he insisted that he must exit NOW. I began to follow him as his car turned this way and then that way. Let's just say that "followed" is a very loose interpretation of the word. I was GLUED onto his bumper. We were doing 85 mph on a road with a posted speed limit of 50 mph. I wasn't about to quit; I was going to give him the family's traditional clenched fist if I had to wave it in front of his nose.

I was running out of space on the speedometer and I think he was in fear of his life—and that's what I wanted. That's when I thought of Grandma. Did she go after her adversary to rub it in their nose? Well, no. Did she endanger everyone around her including her passengers just to prove a point? Of course not! What did she do? She went back to driving in a very orderly manner and showed me the lady that she was.

I dropped back, secretly hoping that I had chased him into a speed trap. I'm also going back into my memory to remember those German swear words, just in case something happens next time. It would be my luck to meet a linguist specializing in that language.

K.

What would you do...?

"What would you do for a Klondike Bar?" was the slogan of an ice cream bar, manufactured by Good Humor/Breyers. The advertising campaign generally showed people doing ridiculous things to get their hands on the ice cream. We ask ourselves, "What you do if you won a million dollars?" We think up all sorts of scenarios that would allegedly make us happy. We then smile with the realization that this dream may never happen. Meat Loaf, born Michael Lee Aday, sings, "I would do anything for love, but I won't do that." It is only until he gets near the end of the song, when the female vocalist accompanying him asks specific questions, that we realize what THAT is.

The question remains "What would you do…?" We can't really say until we've been thrust into that position. We can ponder, dream and conjecture, but we really don't know. We can prepare for emergencies, disasters, and misfortunes to forewarn or give us an idea as to what to expect but until we actually step into that situation it is all "up for grabs."

From the whimsical we get, "To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable," wrote Oscar Wilde, Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 – 1900) in his book The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891.

On the pessimistic side we find Dr. Frank Crane (1861–1928) Presbyterian minister, speaker, and columnist: "Nobody has things just as he would like them. The thing to do is to make a success with what material I have. It is a sheer waste of time and soul power to imagine what I would do if things were different. They are not different." Somewhere in the middle lies the true answer; my suggestion is keep thinking, planning and guessing for that is what places us above the rest of God's creation and gives us hope for a better future.

K.

Lord, when did we see you hungry, or naked or in prison?

I really couldn't believe what he was asking me to do, "I'll buy him a pizza slice and you give it to him." I emphatically refused, first thinking he was joking and then realized he was dead serious. "I'll buy him something to eat and you just take it to him" He was serious. Why would I get up out my comfortable seat, leave my friends and take food out to a homeless person, a derelict, a bum. "You got to be kidding," I mumbled.

He called over the waitress, "I'll buy that guy outside something to eat; can you take it to him?" Her response wasn't much better, "We used to give them the leftovers but then we couldn't have them lining up blocking the way (for the paying customers)." "I'll take it to him," she said. My head turned to the young woman coworker that had been sitting next to me all this while. I was amazed, surprised and just plain shocked. Then she did just that—got up out of her seat, stood in line, got the food and when we walked out of the restaurant together gave it to him. She returned back to where we were waiting. It was a very simple act for both of my coworkers, required very little effort and made someone very happy and grateful. While people all around him people were enjoying their lunch, he had something to eat as well.

I learned something that bright, sunny, September Tuesday during lunch. I learned that I'm a closet Christian; when I hang up my suit after church I put away everything else I've been taught. I had forgotten the story of the Good Samaritan, giving to the poor and treating others the same way, as I would expect them to treat me. Christianity is more than a Sunday morning event left in the church parking lot as you drive away; it's a 24/7 event. I had not passed the test, I had failed miserably. "What you have done to the least of these my brethren, you have done unto me." Lord, help me to understand what you have done for us, your love and your grace. Help me to understand Lord that compassion is more than just a word but requires action as well.

K.

The sanctity of life is very Precious

The sanctity of life is very precious, at least in most western cultures. If someone gets sick or injured there is some sort of medical attention available. At least to some degree. We speak of socialized medicine, Medicaid and Medicare as if they were our birthright, which isn't stretching the truth one bit. Medical attention should not only be available to the affluent, or to those fortunate enough to be paying into some sort of medical plan but to individuals.

Imagine switching jobs and being illegible for medical treatment until ninety days have passed, or six months or even a year. The whole employment picture would be thrown into ciaos. Switching jobs would be a crapshoot at best. One would have to think twice and perhaps a third time for a very good reason to make the change. To top this off we see medical payment plans for both employers and co-payments by employees skyrocket. Some companies have begun to evaluate their medical payment plans on a year basis.

Doctors and hospitals in the past have always had their respective expenses. Yet costs have increased beyond expectations. What is different today than there was in the past? Several things come to mind

.Exorbitant awards for medical malpractice being passed on to the patient.
.Doctors trying to recoup their college expenses in as short a time as possible and
.The inefficiency of hospital medical supply chain where there is a definite shelf life.

The patient, the ultimate consumer, should know which hospitals, as well as which doctors, have the highest death rate so as to be able to make an intelligent choice before they elect to have surgery. Hospitals should be rated as to which are the most efficient as to cost per patient. Ambulance chasing lawyers should have a cap places on any awards to reduce their voracious appetites in fee collections.

"Doctors are the same as lawyers; the only difference is that lawyers merely rob you, whereas doctors rob and kill you too." Anton Chekhov (1860 - 1904) Russian dramatist & short story author


K.

“Could we live it all over again, were it worth the pain!” Roses & Rue by Oscar Wilde

What would you do differently if you could do it over again? Would you have finished your education and gotten that degree or advanced certification needed for your field of employment? Would you have married that person you were so passionate about when you were younger and you thought you could not live without? Or by contrast are you sorry you did marry the person you wound up with? Would you have taken that trip— either vacation, new job or gone away to school? Would have spent that money and bought that item you thought was a bargain or are you sorry you didn't save the money for when you really need it?

Like it or not we are a species of second guessers. We sit back and think what if. What if I had…and then our mind trails off into that trance that looks like we're a million miles away. We really not totally satisfied with our present lot and wish we had done things differently. I my own life I think back, what if we had tried once more for that little daughter that my wife and I had so much talked about. Her name would have been Rebecca Anne. She would be about twenty-three by now, finished with college and starting an exciting, on the cutting edge of technology, career. Or she could have been a jobless, single, unwed mother with three kids always dropping them off at our door trying to chase another dead-end romance. Or fate would have it that we would have had another son.

Come to think of I'm glad things turn out the way they did. I married a wonderful woman who puts up with my eccentricities and peculiarities. We have had a simple but caring life. It certainly wasn't boring or uneventful. I've got to remember that God puts events into our lives to strengthen us and not demoralize or tear us down.

K.

The greatest epitaph: ''Here lies Jack Williams. He done his damnedest.'' Harry S. Truman 1884-1972, thirty-third President

If you have ever seen an older cemetery during Easter or Memorial Day you’ll know what I mean. There are little if any decorations on the graves. There is no color from flowers or religious symbols as the people that would have placed these decorations are themselves dead. The eternal residents of our cemetery are totally forgotten and unknown. They are cast aside. “Known only but to God,” the epitaph should read; to God and the Records Department of that cemetery which has the holdings to those plot of ground. These are the remains of the grandparents, great-grandparents, great-aunts and uncles of several generations ago.

The cemetery grounds are just as hallowed today as they were one hundred or more years ago; just as sacred as that time when dignitaries and clergy spoke those endearing, visionary words. But now they lie within the boundaries of the inner city where at one time they resided in the suburbs. The people frequenting these cemeteries are kids looking for mischief and trouble rather than searching for the graves of loved ones. The remembrances they leave behind are turned over tombstones and other damage rather than floral pieces.

Cemeteries are the last resting place; a place of interred dreams and thoughts of eternal life in the religious sense. They are not playgrounds however children should not shun them. They should be a place where we can reintroduce our children and children’s children to their heritage. It is a place where photo albums and other pictorial media can be shown to bring flesh and blood and memories back into our minds and hearts. “The memory of most [dead] is an abandoned cemetery where lie, unsung and unhonored, [those] whom they have ceased to cherish.” Marguerite Yourcenar 1903-1987, French novelist

K.

“If a politician isn’t doing it to his wife, then he’s doing it to his country.” Amy Grant, singer/song writer

Should politics and the public media mix? In particular, Barack Obama has become the pet project of Oprah Winfrey. Now Oprah has enough clout and loyal public following that she can just about do anything she wants. She is quite a public entity in her own right and command quite a bit of respect. If Barack Obama is buying time on her show (and I don't mean the one dollar payment to show that he actually paid money) that is one thing, but if she is offering this totally free that is another. If he is paying money, that particular show on which he appears should be labeled as a "Paid Political Announcement."

A public forum show is just that, an unbiased place where politicians can speak without debate to a friendly, receptive audience. If Oprah makes Barack Obama the only politician who speaks on her show, she has defeated the free speech movement. Yes, she can have any guest she chooses, but can her show become the exclusive forum for a single candidate?

Yes, other celebrities have endorsed candidates. Some such as Barbara Streisand have personally contributed the maximum amount, $2300.00 to each of the democratic candidates. But Oprah is more than several celebrities combined. Her show is almost an institution in itself, and as such should take this responsibility seriously.

K.

“50% of divorces will occur within the first 4 yrs. of marriage.” Michele Weiner-Davis, author

We live in a throwaway society. If you don’t think so, when was the last time a TV repairman came to fix your set. When was the last time that anyone in your family took an appliance in to be repaired? How about a vacuum cleaner, electric mixer, lawn edger, lawn mower, washer or drier, refrigerator? I would guess with a good degree of accuracy, never. Of course, the manufactures love it. The stores love it. The Maytag repairman is unemployed because there is nothing to fix. Do you even know the location of an appliance repair or parts store? My wife has even told me that the next time our Chrysler made Plymouth transmission goes, we going to get a new car. But it paid for, honey.

It’s a sign of the times. If it doesn’t work, get a new one. I’m afraid it’s the same attitude that has permeated into marriage as well. The marriage is not working; it cannot be saved. Imagine if getting a new mate was on the same level as getting a new car.

“I’m going to get involved in a new one. Let’s see, I’ll get a totally new model as well.”

Do you want one younger or older? With or without dimples? Taller or shorter? Thinner or athletic build? Cute or average? Long hair vs. short hair. Blond, brunette, red head or strawberry blond? PhD., masters, undergrad degree or no degree at all? Culinary artist or burns toast? How about a little sports model that always likes her top down?

“So many choices, I don’t know. Can I take it for a test spin? We can live together for a while, if it works out then we’ll get married. You don’t buy a pair of shoes without trying them on first.”

There are no guarantees in marriage you know. You can’t come back and ask for a refund. The thing is to make it work. Ok, so you don’t like this or that about them, but you did at one time. That is what attracted you together in the first place. Was it that smile, that laugh? Was it that free spirit, the impromptu quality they had? Were they planners down to the nth degree, no stone unturned? Was it the very thing that brought you together in the first place that is now driving you apart? Go for counseling and fix it. Neither marriages nor people are disposable.

Leonard Pitts Jr. of Knight Ridder Newspapers tells this story: “Larry's been married a few times, had several other long-term relationships. The final tally: seven children by five mothers. As he surveyed his years of going from this woman to that, searching for perfect bliss, the 47-year-old businessman came to a conclusion: ‘I should have stayed with that first girl and just struggled on through with her. I would've been just as happy in that first relationship.’ ”.

K.

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." Douglas Adams

"Procrastinate" on the face of it is not a threatening word but it shares the same meanings as: put off, delay, postpone, drag your feet, adjourn, dally and dawdle. Now that is not a positive group of words, yet most of us are guilty of this everyday. The Post Office has a special team of clerks that except IRS tax return at 11:45 every April 14th until midnight when they cannot any longer be postmarked before the deadline.

We leaned to procrastinate form the earliest days at school when a paper or report was due Friday and we beg our teachers for additional time. "OK" they would say "but I'll have to reduce the grade you receive by a whole letter." We were willing to take the risk only to be stumbling along again on Sunday night trying to come up with something to present.

Some like the excitement of procrastination because they feel they do their best work under the pressure. "A perfect method for adding drama to life is to wait until the deadline looms large." said Alyce P. Cornyn-Selby. While Joseph Ferrari had this observation, "Telling someone who procrastinates to buy a weekly planner is like telling someone with chronic depression to just cheer up." Robert Collier, American writer and publisher was the most helpful with this hint, "If you procrastinate when faced with a big difficult problem... break the problem into parts, and handle one part at a time."

K.

“The right man, in the right place, at the right time, can steal millions.” Gregory Nunn 1955- Amer. golfer

Well it's happening all over the county. In my Ohio hometown copper prices were as high as $3.00 per pound for used copper. Thieves have broken into repossessed or foreclosed houses and have stolen exposed copper plumbing from the basement rafters. In one case, friends of ours had recently purchased their home only to discover the next day that vandals had kicked in the side door, and stole the copper tubing used for plumbing. This act caused $1900.00 dollars in damages that had to be repaired. Luckily they were insured. In another local instance, copper downspouts and gutters have even been stolen from churches.

On the other side of the country In Portland, Oregon thieves had broken into a railroad repair facility were the last of two old Alco diesel locomotives were being refurbished and stole $35,000.00 worth of traction motor cables setting the whole project back weeks as well as crippling financial resources that had donated.

In many cases, the shop that buys this copper asks no questions, requires any identification or records the seller names. It is open season. Catch were you catch can. In poorer neighborhoods were a police force is stretched thin and everyone tends to mind their own business, crooks and steel without being confronted. New neighborhoods are not exempt as vandals rob constructions sites and carry away unlocked supplies.

What can we do?

Contact your local government; demanding new laws requiring salvage yard owners to record transactions of used copper as well as inspecting and recording the identification of the seller

Install surveillance cameras to capture images of people with the scrap metal they are selling, requiring scrap metal dealers to hold copper and aluminum for a period of time before touching it.

Eliminate cash payments altogether in favor of checks (which, although costlier, might deter criminals).

Encourage neighborhood watch groups to report suspicious activity.

K.

“I know what I like & I like what I know.” Genesis from the Album: Selling England By The Pound

I guess Genesis was the first that said it but it is true for many if not most of us. We do that same thing over and over again. We are predictable. Our actions are ingrained into us like a genetic code (there may be more true than fiction in that statement). Assassins have used predictability against their intended victims again and again. We are creatures of habit.

We also choose the same circumstances repeatedly because we like the conditions in which we find ourselves. Case in point: Tommy Manville (1894 – 1967), a Manhattan socialite and heir to the Johns-Manville asbestos fortune. He married 13 times (to 11 different women). Was he looking for love in all the wrong places or were all the women of similar inclination. Only Tommy knew for sure and then again he might not have been aware of his choices.

How do you combat this? Go to different restaurants, try different foods, take an alternate way home from work. Surprise the one you love with something totally unexpected. You might be pleased with the results as well as pleasantly astound your friends and family.

K.