When did we go from a nation of hard workers to one of whiners? No… I’m not a radical republican conservative, but rather a poor working man who is fed up with people’s constant whining. I, like the vast majority of you, pray for my job to be there tomorrow.
I go to work for eight hours and give my employers eight hours of work. The recession has hit Nebraska later then the rest of the country but it has hit. And within the last year the numbers of those unemployed has drastically increased.
My employer had seven jobs for those willing to work. As of last week there were still three that weren’t filled. One of the four that were hired, I was given the privilege to train. For two weeks I worked with this person and thought he was doing well.
The job he was learning is physically demanding, but like any job the more you do it the easier it becomes. But before the end of those two weeks this person claims to be disabled. They still want to work but not at that job.
You were hired to do a job if you can’t do it. Quit. Don’t take a job from another person because you don’t want to work.
I’ve come to the conclusion that the day of hard working men is history. I grew up in a generation where our father’s would go to work no matter what. My generation held those same ideals – an honest day’s work for an honest dollar.
But the next generation – those roughly 30 to 40 years old – want a paycheck but they don’t necessarily want to earn it. I say men because they are the whiners. I know women in this same age group that could physically work these men into the ground.
And the sad part is these men would let them and they would whine the whole time. “It’s to hard.” “I’m to short.” “My back hurts.”
Basically, “I don’t want to do this job, but I’ll try that one.” My question is what makes you think that “that job” is any easier? Quit whining and work!
In 1986 a lady in her 80s was raped and murdered in the town of Beatrice, Nebraska. A couple of years later six people were convicted for carrying out this crime. The reason they were convicted was because of their own testimony. They admitted to the crimes for a chance at a lighter sentence.
Some of those spent 10 years in prison while others were sentenced to 50 years. Out of the six people that were convicted only one pled not guilty. He was the assumed murderer and was sentenced to 50 years after he was found guilty. The reason for this guilty verdict was the testimony of the others who were previously convicted – to lesser crimes.
But as this man sat in jail and still spoke of his innocence things in the legal system changed. The big change – DNA. From his cell and another convicted person’s cell they requested that at DNA test be performed.
After the tests were performed, the inmates had their proof that they were innocent of rape. The state of Nebraska pardoned them all. The ones who gave false testimony said they were scared of getting the death penalty.
But why would anyone plead guilty to murder – if they knew they didn’t do it? And like I said they were pardoned because the DNA said they didn’t rape the lady. The state did find the rapist in a graveyard – he died of AIDS in 1992.
So they weren’t guilty of rape – but how does that pardon them from murder? All they keep saying is that they were scared of the death penalty.
The part of all this that is confusing is that all six were heavily involved in the drug world at the time. They were drifters who didn’t hold a regular job, but the state of Nebraska believes that they should be compensated for their years behind bars.
The first figure that was thrown around was $50,000 a year. $50,000 a year? Hell, I’ve never made $50,000 a year at any job I’ve had. And when I was heavily involved in the drug world I was lucky to make $5,000 a year.
I do agree that some form of compensation should be available for the innocent who were wrongly convicted. But these people convicted themselves and while they didn’t commit the rape, who then committed the murder?
My sponsor used to introduce himself at meetings with the closing, “Hi I’m —-, and I’m a grateful alcoholic.” It took me awhile to realize why he said it and why it was important. For me, the first thing I was grateful for was a second chance. Well, actually it was a third chance. It was a gift I threw away numerous times, but that “one more chance” I’ll be forever grateful.
But besides that second chance, I learned how to appreciate how spiritual we all are. I love an old saying that goes, “We are not human beings, with occasional spiritual experiences, but rather we are spiritual beings, with occasional human experiences.”
As a spiritual being I need to constantly search for the gifts my Higher Power has bestowed upon me. An example is my writing. When I drank and did drugs I had no use for writing. Yeah, in my fantasy world for some unknown reason I dreamed of becoming a world known author. But I never had a plan to make it a reality.
But when I started my recovery, I did pick up a pen and began journaling. Over the course of my first two years of sobriety I had filled 18 – 3″ binders with my writings. And to this day, I still have all these doodlings and thoughts of mine at that time. In fact, one of those binders was the premise for my second book War Zone, Backing Out of Hell.
But then, my Higher Power told me to expand those writings and I began writing poetry. And what was amazing was the amount of people who paid me compliments for these poetic verses. I sent them to different publications and some were published and the dreams my Higher Power had for me began to take shape.
The turning point though was when I began reading poems for friends and family at funerals. By the end of those poems, I’d look out at the mourning family and see them openly weeping. My verses had touched their hearts.
From there… I guess you can say is history. I share this story of watching my dreams come true because now I am so grateful to watch the dreams of other newcomers come to life. Years ago I met a young man (early 20s) trying to turn the corner. I judged him by his looks. He had coke bottle type glasses and after a month of clean time, he was ear to ear grin because he began drawing again. I thought this guy could barely see – how could he possibly draw something?
A couple of weeks later he brought some of his drawings to a meeting and I was in shock. They were beautiful works of art. I learned a lesson that day about judging others by their looks. Now when I see a newcomer, not only do I pray for their long term sobriety, but I wait with excitement to see what dreams come to life for them.
The latest one for me was a veteran who hadn’t picked up his guitar in many years. A couple of months into his sobriety he began to make his guitar sing again. Yeah, we are spiritual beings waiting to come back to life… and Creating Dreams.
Well everyone who spends anytime looking at the news knows that the traditional newspaper is dying. By 2010 many cities will no longer offer one. It was because of this reality that my newspaper column – The Poets Quill – has been dropped from our local newspaper. There isn’t any anger from me about this as there was nothing I could do. What does anger me though was that I wrote a letter to the editor of the paper and he didn’t even have the decency to respond to it. With more editors like this, I can understand why newspapers are dying. Below is the letter…
Hi Patrick,
My own beliefs were confirmed in Wednesday’s Lincoln Journal-Star. I am deeply sorry for the state that Lee Enterprises finds it self in. I totally understand your reasoning for suspending my column. I just wanted to say that through the years I have developed a great relationship with the Daily-Sun, that I believe goes beyond The Poets Quill. It is because of this, I’d like you to know that if there is anything I can do for the benefit of the paper, please feel free to ask. I will always wish only the best for the newspaper and I wish you the best with the challenges that lie ahead of you.
Now onto the business part of this letter. I will be sending a bill for the three columns that have appeared in the paper. I would like to do one more column for free. This column is below. Please let me know what you think. Either way, thank you for supporting The Poets Quill through the years.
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Last week, this column focused on the election of our nations first black President. I mentioned that I am a political junkie and there wasn’t any way I was going to miss that historic day. So I took a days vacation and glued myself to our TV.
It was everything I wished for and so much more. But as Barack Obama was taking his oath, it hit home that the weight of the world was now firmly on his shoulders. While some of us are concerned about our presence in two wars, I think it’s safe to say that everyone is more worried about our economy.
It seems everyday there are more jobs that are lost and earning reports of companies that don’t paint a rosy picture. Everyone has been trying to tighten their belts. For the individual, that means staying employed and keeping a roof over our heads. For the companies, that means keeping people employed.
For 169 straight weeks The Poets Quill has appeared in the Daily-Sun. I have managed the column since its inception and I have truly enjoyed every minute of it. 64 poets have contributed over 700 poems and I have had the privilege of showing you 367 of them.
We have seen so many different poets from every aspect of life. From veterans to present day servicemen. From grandmas to a mom sharing her fun with raising twin girls. We’ve seen poems from pre-school children all the way to university students. We’ve felt the pain of those incarcerated and the jubilance of those in recovery.
We’ve read poems from neighbors across the street to Fairbanks, Alaska. From Minnesota, Colorado, Kansas, and yes even Kuwait. The poems came because of your support.
My dream for this column was to reenergize the muse in all of us. To hopefully encourage the poet to take the next step. What was that next step? To try and have their own book of poems published. Not once but twice I shared in this thrill.
Through these 169 weeks I have never been an employee of the Daily-Sun. We had a contract and because of our economy, at this time, it is in the best interests of both parties that this contract be terminated. I asked Patrick Ethridge for this final column to say thank you to the readers and especially the contributors to The Poets Quill. And a very special thank you to this newspaper for letting this column appear for over three years.
I will have nothing but fond memories of this experience and the friendships I developed because of it. I firmly believe that when God closes one door – another opens. One door has already opened. A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I have been working on a project for three years. That project is my third book and I recently learned that it will be published!
I’ve never been good at saying good-bye. One of my favorite shows “Lost” has a character named Desmond who when leaving says, “See you in another life brother,” I won’t go that far but I will say “Until we meet again.”
On the day history was made. In 1986, if I’m not mistaken we celebrated our first Martin Luther King Day. I celebrated by admitting I am an alcoholic. That day for the first time I quit drinking.
23 years later we as a nation are witnessing more history. Today Barack Obama became our 44th President. Personally I have never been this excited by an inauguration. Not only will Barack Obama become our first African-American President, he will become the first post baby-boomer President. A new generation filled with new hopes and new dreams.
So where were you when Obama was sworn into office? I should be at work, but I couldn’t miss this. I took a vacation day and I’m glued to our TV set. I’m not going to miss this historical day!
One other note
At the luncheon Senator Ted Kennedy had a seizure. I do hope and pray that he makes a full recovery. But if it isn’t meant to be. He would leave this world, for him, on a perfect note. It is something his family has fought for and believed in – civil rights. And from the pictures of the inauguration it was easy to see how proud he was. He just had the largest smile of anyone there. Godspeed Senator.
Did everyone enjoy Christmas? It is truly the joy of giving that makes the holiday so special. Our two granddaughters seem to make everyone young again. The oldest knows that it is a time for new toys, dolls and games! The youngest one fines it to be fun just taking the gift wrap off.
For me it is always fun to see what the wife and kids came up with for me. There is always the usual jeans and socks. Which are excellent gifts for me. I need “respectable” jeans where I work and the four pair of jeans I got yesterday will hopefully get me through another year. For someone who is on their feet all day, socks are a wonderful gift.
But they always give me a unique gift. One that I may want but would never get on my own. This year it was a new stereo. Well, actually an old stereo. It’s an antique looking one. It doesn’t have a remote. It has the old knobs and the turning dial to help find a radio station. But with the old it also has some new – like a CD Player.
But the old is what makes it special. A cassette player. Some will say… a cassette player? Who cares! Well, I have a boat load of cassettes. Some I bought and some I made. The ones I made were from albums. Yup, vinyl. I still have a handful of these record albums. They have sat in my closet for years because I had no way of playing them.
Well, I do now. This antique stero also has a record player. The first album played? Country Joe MacDonald’s Paradise With An Ocean View. Then some JJ Cale. Wow, what a trip down memory lane. Actually seeing a record album spin and seeing the stylus bringing vinyl to life.
The stero has found a place in my office and hopefully this weekend it will find a permanement home. It will become the centerpiece of this room. Well… I’ve got to get this plan going… but first I think I’ll put on Greetings From Asbury Park by Bruce Springsteen. Yeah, let the good times roll… or should it be let the good times spin?
Iowa State has its first football coach in over two years!!! Yes, they’ve played football in those two years but they had a carpetbagger for a head coach. Gene Cheesestick came to ISU with an arrogance of a para-military regime. But Mean Gene Jizzlick quickly learned that his attitude and his belief that others feared him turned into a nightmare.
Iowa State’s new head coach is Paul Rhoads. I won’t go into his resume here but with his first presser you can tell he will succeed at ISU. Maybe not in 2009 but he will succeed. In sports terms ISU traded their head coach and some cash to Auburn for their defensive coordinator.
I hate to say it but I also believe that Cheesestick will also do well… and here are the reasons why.
Chizik believe he could win in the Big 12 by pounding the ball. The Big 12 is not that type of conference. It is very much an offensive conference. Rhoads said, “We will score a lot. You have to in this conference.”"
Both men are consider great defensive minds but Cheesestick is better suited for the SEC. Why? Because only Florida can match the offensive power of the teams in the Big 12, so he’ll be comfortable with his defensive knowledge against inferior offensive units.
Rhoads has said they will play physical football. “We’ll hit you in the mouth when we get off the bus.” But even with a blue collar mentality he realizes to win in the Big 12 you need a powerful offense.
It will be interesting to see how long Jizzlick lasts at Auburn. I give him three years either before he leaves or is shown the door.
As for Rhoads, ISU found an Iowan who found his dream job. GO ‘CLONES…
Why do so many people say, “You know you can talk to me.” And they ramble on about “anything and anytime.” How naive do they think you are? I mean if you tried talking to these people before and you get a response like “Get over it,” or “Wah, wah, wah.”
What makes you think we’d try again. I mean if you burn your hand in a fire, would you go back later and see if you could stick your other hand in and hope not to get burned? Of course not. So if a person burns you one time, why would we trust them a second time? “You know you can talk to me anytime.” Yeah right.
It sucks to have so many walls up, but in reality it is the only way to prevent getting burned – again.
“How’s your wife?” Come on… if your wife is seriously ill this would be a legitmate question – if you really cared. But what about the years before this illness – how many times did you ask “How’s your wife?” It’s kind of like “You know you can talk to me about anything.”
I’m really starting to get a strong nasty taste from people who could care less about your personal life, but try with illusions and magic to make it seem all better. All of a sudden they’re your best friend.
A best friend who eventually keeps score and wants a payback in full. If not, then you’re ignored until your needed again. These statements all have an ulterior motive. “How’s your wife?” and “You can talk to me about anything.” Are nothing more than an attempt to gain trust.
But if you had that trust and lost it, why would anyone fall for the same crap again?
Awhile back I wrote a blurb about my priorities and how they affect me. I also said that where I work power is gained through secrets. This past Friday we had a year end lunch for the employees.
I volunteered to stay at the bakery and watch the cake in the oven. This didn’t bother me. If I didn’t do it I probably wouldn’t have went anyway. Which is another story. BHut the highlight of this lunch was the sharing of some exciting news.
The news? I don’t have a clue. People came back to work and worked. No one from management took the time to tell me what the news was or even to say thank you. The two people I volunteered to work for said thank you.
But management? Forget it. So I guess everyone in the bakery knows this exciting news and now its a secret to keep from me. It will be interesting to see how long it takes before someone (other then co-workers) tell me.
I could probably ask and I’m sure my co-workers would tell me. But, I believe it is not their responsibility to do so.
A person I met a time or two and tried numerous times to quit drinking, died this past weekend due to alcohol poisoning. He is not the first person I’ve known to meet this ugly end.
It is true, for me and so many others – my next drink will kill me. I’m not being over dramatic, but it’s the truth.
As an alcoholic, I have no control, so why in my distorted way of thinking would I ever believe that somehow I may be able to control it at a later date?
