Category Archives: Pride

My Four Fathers

16 Friday Jun 2017

Posted by in Aging, Business, Communication, Ethics, genealogy, Generational, Management Practices, parenting, Pride, Public Image, Relationships, Respect, Women

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(To understand the background of this story see, Familius Interruptus, the explanation of how I learned through a DNA test that my father was not my father, and that my mother had an affair with another man known to our family.)

I had four fathers. Two of my fathers were real, tangible people. Both were good men and both were good fathers. One of my fathers was my biological father. I knew of him, and people have told me about him, but I never really knew him. He died when I was five years old.

One of my fathers was my man listed on my birth certificate. He was the man I always knew to be my Dad. He raised me and until a few months ago, I was led to believe he was my real father.

But I have two other fathers. They are the two men who I never got to know. They are ghosts of my past. They are the relationships I should have had with both my biological father, and my Dad, but were kept from me in a shroud of secrecy, rumors, and shame.

My Biological Father
My knowledge of my biological father is limited. He was a business owner in Craig, a small northwestern Colorado town. Based on everything I can gather, he was an amazing entrepreneur, creating and maintaining a business in a market that was too small, and too poor for the quality and experience his company offered.

My biological father

I have never heard anyone speak a negative word about my real father. His tragic death when I was only five, kept me from having any kind of relationship with him, and the shroud of secrecy that was maintained prevented me from interacting with the people who really knew him. 

It is ironic and poetic that it is the next generation of my biological family that reached out to me after a DNA test proved the link between myself and their family. It was their actions that brought clarity and truth to my family history, and I am grateful.

I regret not knowing my real father and being able to know him as my father. I also am saddened to think of his sons and their mother. His death occurred when his sons were young adults. From what I know of my real father, he would have been proud of who they became, and of their achievements with their families, their work, and their church. My lack of a relationship with my real father pales in comparison to their loss.

My Dad
The man who raised me worked hard all his life. He was often up on Mondays before five in the morning and on the road to the job site, over an hour away. He often stayed at the job site during the week, living out of a camping trailer. He operated heavy equipment, and as a child the words, Cat, Maintainer, and Scraper described the three types of heavy equipment that my father used to build roads and reservoirs.

My Dad, and my Mother

I was the youngest of four sons to my Dad. I remember going with my family to see my oldest brother play high school basketball, my next oldest brother play high school football, but I don’t remember my Dad going see my next to youngest brother in plays, nor do I remember him coming to any of my school events. I suspect that when I was a child, my Dad was at the job site when our events were happening.

If my Dad knew, or suspected that I was not his son, I was not aware of it. I have indications that my mother and he had a strange marriage, but as a child, I had nothing to compare their relationship with, nor did I have any reference to compare my relationship with my parents. In hindsight, I knew I was not the child that my parents beamed with pride over, but I attributed it to being the last of four boys.

The Kiser brothers and me (on left)

My mother posted an October 1968, Erma Bombeck column on our family scrapboard about the Caboose Child that was ‘planned about as well as a headache.’ At the time, I had no idea that my mother was probably well aware of who my real father was, but I didn’t understand the statement she was probably making when she posted this single article on the scrapboard.

I suspect my father also knew, and that is part of the story that is amazing and tragic. Most people would shun the bastard child, but to my knowledge, he didn’t. Our relationship wasn’t close, but he could have justifiably shunned me, and he didn’t.

That is the Dad I didn’t get to know. The man who probably knew I was not his child, but raised me anyway. Regardless of what happened one day in March of 1957, he chose to be my Dad. I wish that before his death, I could have expressed my appreciation for living with the knowledge that few men would have had the character to move beyond.

My Dad wasn’t a perfect father, but he was a father to me, when he could have rejected me. I had a relationship with my Dad that I knew, and I wish I could have had a relationship with the part of my Dad who had to deal with the reality that I was as a son of another man.

I am too late, but I want to express gratitude to my fathers, and wish them a belated Happy Father’s Day.

1968: The Year of Fear and Hate

04 Thursday May 2017

Posted by in Aging, Communication, Crime, Crisis Management, Education, Ethics, Generational, Government, Government Regulation, Health, Higher Education, History, Honor, Politics, Pride, Public Image, Public Relations, racism, Respect, Taxes, Traditional Media, Universities, US History, Women

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October 1968. Richard Nixon, Hubert Humphrey, and George Wallace, and were desperately trying to win the Presidential election. Former Vice President Nixon had moderate conservatives and war-hawks backing him. Vice President Humphrey had Democratic core voters and intelligent liberals backing him, and Alabama Governor George Wallace was the darling of racists and right wing extremists.

1968 Democratic Convention (The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

1968:  A Year of Chaos
In 1967, most had assumed President Lyndon Johnson would run, and likely win reelection. Those in his administration’s military leadership offered an optimistic view of the Vietnam War, with one of his recent close advisors publicly saying that the enemy was losing their will to fight.

Despite the rosy picture, over 70,000 U.S. soldiers had been killed or wounded during the war, and 1,000 more were being killed each month. Opposition to the war was tearing the Democratic party apart, and it overshadowed almost all other political issues.

In late January 1968, North Vietnam launched the Tet Offensive. Ultimately, the invading armies were beaten back, but the offensive shocked the United States. Those confident of Johnson’s ability to bring a successful end to the war waned in their support, and in March, the New Hampshire primary gave Johnson an uncomfortably narrow win over Eugene McCarthy, who was considered a relatively minor candidate that focused on an anti-war campaign.

Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (AP Photo/Dick Strobel)

Soon after the primary, Robert Kennedy entered the race, and Johnson ended his campaign. (Although Johnson probably dropped out because he doubted he could beat Kennedy, it is noteworthy that President Johnson’s decision to drop out was heavily influenced by his health concerns. Specifically, that he would likely not live through another term.) Without Johnson in the race, there was no single, obvious choice for President.

The year became more chaotic after Johnson dropped out. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4. Robert Kennedy was assassinated on June 6. Anti-war and civil rights protests and riots, along with mounting U.S. casualties in Vietnam dominated the news everyday.

Baltimore, Maryland, 1968 (Photo by Afro-American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images)

By October, voters were reacting to the the presidential election as the prescription moment in the United States. The next President would either cure or kill our country, depending on the point of view. People who sought a calm return to normalcy were split between Nixon and Humphrey.

However, there were people who sought a disruptive choice for President, in the hopes that he would revive the Confederacy’s goal of remaking the United States into a white dominated government that would undo decades of work to create equal rights for all citizens. Their choice was George Wallace.

While many may believe that Wallace was a bigger threat to Nixon’s campaign, the reality was that the Governor from Alabama was luring as much as half of the support of the unions that normally support the Democratic ticket. Uneducated, Caucasian, blue-collar workers were taken in by Wallace’s hardline racist positions.

The civil rights riots generated fear among white voters, many of whom, felt they were not racist, but were of the opinion that life for the African-American would be fine if they would just settle down and accept their lot in life.

In the end, Nixon won with less than half the vote, and was in a statistical tie with Humphrey, but he had a significant electoral college margin. Wallace won over almost ten million voters, and certainly had an impact on the outcome.

Both Nixon and President Johnson used last-minute tactics to sway voters in the final weeks. President Johnson publicly suggested that a Vietnam peace deal was imminent, and Nixon’s campaign used back channels to interfere with those peace efforts, coupled with a spy in the White House that kept the Nixon campaign informed of Johnson’s diplomatic efforts.

NEXT:  A hard look at the Wallace voter

Conversations With Conservatives: The 37 Year Lie

13 Thursday Apr 2017

Posted by in Aging, Business, Communication, Education, Ethics, Generational, Government, Government Regulation, Health, Higher Education, History, Honor, Human Resources, Management Practices, Politics, Pride, Public Image, Public Relations, racism, Religion, Respect, Space, Taxes, Technology, US History, Women

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(NOTE:  This is Part II of this article. Read Part I, here.)

The social and economic issues that people are concerned about in the United States of America don’t necessarily fall along party lines. Some issues, like immigration and applying religion to public policy, have a distinct political division; however, many other issues cross the lines of the ideologies.

In conversations with conservatives I learned that the deep division between conservatives and liberals can be traced back 37 years, to when Republicans managed to break the hold of Democratic leadership of our country in 1980. For 37 years, conservatives have been able to maintain control of our country by singing one anthem, ‘Everything is the government’s fault, and business is the solution.’

Ronald Reagan: Founder of the Cult of Conservatism

Ronald Reagan was elected on the idea that Democrats had failed the country. It was an easy story to sell for one reason. The Iran Hostage Crisis. Every night the news reminded our country of how many days our citizens had been held and humiliated by a group of Iranian students. Most in the United States did not understand the complexities of the situation, and were angry that we didn’t go to war with Iran.

The result was to give Republicans an early opportunity to erase the shame caused by Richard Nixon’s illegal involvement in fixing the 1972 presidential elections during the Watergate affair. The Hostage Crisis ended at the exact hour that Reagan was sworn in as President, a coincidence that causes questions of Republican collusion with the Iranian government during the crisis. Suspicions of collusion were raised again when Reagan’s administration worked a bizarre deal to sell arms to Iran several years later during the Iran/Contra Affair.

The Big Lie
Reagan is famously quoted in his first Inaugural speech when he said:

….government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem…”

Ronald Reagan, January 1981

The demonization of government was necessary for conservatives to achieve their goals. Government is the ethical referee that prevents business from underpaying employees, polluting for profit, abusing and endangering the customer, engaging in banking practices that protect the account holder, etc. Government oversight and regulation keeps business from devouring itself in greed.

Additionally, government collects business taxes for the privilege of having access to our country’s rich consumer markets. By eliminating these taxes, business could keep more of the spoils of capitalism and drain revenues from the entity that kept business fair and ethical.

The other shoe dropped by conservatives was to preach that the solution to our problems was business. In the holy corporate world, business was the shining light on the hill for all to worship.

37 Years Later:  The Cult of Conservatism
In my conversation with average conservatives I have discovered that conservatism has now become a cult. The code word for a conservative is ‘fiscal conservatism.’ Ask anyone who votes for a Republican candidate why they vote for the party they will automatically answer, “I believe in fiscal conservatism.” They don’t even pause.

For conservatives, issues are caused by government and solved by business. Among the issues discussed with conservatives I learned the following:

Finance regulation:  Conservatives believe that the government is at fault and less regulation will solve the problem, even though a lack of regulation and business greed caused the 2007-8 financial/bank crisis.

Housing Inflation/Bubbles:  Conservatives that government is the problem because…I didn’t get an answer on this, but the free market will solve the problem, even though the bubbles that occur with rapid housing price increases are caused by capitalisticitic factors, not government involvement.

Economy:  Conservatives believe that business is the creator of jobs and growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and government inhibits both. The evidence contradicts this as job and GDP growth have been anemic under almost 35 years of Republican economic policies, and the pre-conservative period of government initiated infrastructure projects and the space program generated massive job and GDP growth.

Healthcare:  Conservatives believe that government has been the cause of uncontrolled price increases in healthcare and drug prices, even though it’s the lack of government regulation that has allowed the price increases, especially in the prescription drug market, where Republicans pushed for, and passed an end to competitive market that would help to restrict price increases.

Trump and Republicans have succeeded in creating a cult-like status around the concept that government is the problem and business is the solution…and like any cult, the believers surrender themselves to ‘faith.’ Truth and facts are fiction to a conservative.

The Republican party has no need to be logical, compromising, or reasonable. Their believers have no choice but to hate government, and worship business.

Katy Perry’s ‘Chained To The Rhythm’ Liberates Pop

10 Monday Apr 2017

Posted by in Aging, Branding, Business, Communication, Generational, History, Politics, Pride, Public Image, Public Relations, Women

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Katy Perry: Rhythm Unchained

A successful pop song needs two critical elements. First, it has to ear appeal to the current audience. This is a standard that evolves over time as pop music tends to find a formula that is addicting, then thousands of wanna-be stars pile on their version of the style, and boredom ensues.

The best pop stars manage to experiment just enough to create a new, fresh sound, without leaving the bounds of the genre. Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, and Shakira have been consistent leaders evolving pop music in the last ten years. This is not to say that other artists haven’t helped to evolve pop music, but these three artists have been the 100-pound royalty in the recording studio.

The second element is lyrics that engage the human brain. Some singers tend to copy the current style of pop music, then tell us about their latest break-up, but that appeals to those who have precious few brain cells to engage. Katy Perry, Gaga, and Shakira typically go beyond the obvious, and trigger thoughts and ideas that touch, rather than tell.

In the past decade years Katy Perry has produced I Kissed A Girl (2008,) Hot N Cold (2008,) Last Friday Night (2010,) Teenage Dream (2010,) E.T. (2010,) California Gurls (2010,) Firework (2010,) Part of Me (2012,) Wide Awake (2012,) Birthday (2013,) Roar (2013,) This Is How We Do (2013,) Dark Horse (2013,) among her top hits. This would be a lifetime of work for most artists, yet she continues to push her status as one of the monarchs of music.

Katy Perry’s latest release, Chained To The Rhythm (2017,) from her upcoming album/CD, is more than just another mega-hit for her. From start to finish this song is a statement about the dark side of the American Dream, and about the unreasonable expectations created in a world where status is equated with human worth, yet this is not a song or video that portrays a downcast view of our current society. Instead, it is an upbeat, happy song that masks the underlining message just enough to engage the audience into the music. It isn’t until the end of the video that a person realizes the full impact of the content of the song.

This mastery of creating music with the key elements of a great pop song, and then weaving in a serious social message, without detracting from the entertainment value, is rarely achieved in the restrained environment of pop music. It keeps Katy Perry relevant as a master of pop music, and as a human being.

PR Fail: What United Airlines Should Have Done

28 Tuesday Mar 2017

Posted by in Aging, Branding, Business, Communication, Crisis Management, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Employee Retention, Ethics, Generational, Honor, Human Resources, Internet, Management Practices, parenting, Politics, Pride, Public Image, Public Relations, Respect, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, Travel, Women

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United PR:  At least we don’t shove the children out at 35,000 feet!

Sunday morning United Airlines once again proved that they have some of the worst public relations people in the business, which is likely a reflection of their top management.

The Situation
Two young girls, ages estimated to be around ten to eleven years old, were prevented boarding a United Airlines flight from Denver to Minneapolis with their family. These were children, not adults, nor young adults. According to United Airlines, they were flying on what is known in the industry as a “Buddy Pass,” which is a relatively free (taxes have to be paid) ticket that is one of the benefits of airline employees.

The girls were wearing leggings, which again, according to United Airlines, is in violation of the dress code of people flying on a Buddy Pass. The gate agent apparently approached the family and told them the girls could not board the plane wearing leggings.

It is important to note that two of the girls did not have any other clothing options at the gate, and the family apparently checked bags with the girl’s clothing in them at the main ticketing, where a United representative had to weigh the bags, check the tickets, and confirm the identifications of each of the passengers. Despite this close contact with the passengers, the ticket agent did NOT prevent the children, nor the rest of the family from heading to the gate.

The gate agent that confronted the family was involved in a “tense” discussion of the dress code issue in front of other passengers. At one point the gate agent bragged, “I don’t make the rules, I just enforce them.”

This became a major public relations issue because passengers in the area were witness to the scene and a passenger from another gate investigated the situation and reported it on Twitter. The gate agent’s handling of the situation was overt enough to cause another family, not involved in the incident, to have their daughter put on a dress over her leggings.

United later reported that the girls later changed and boarded another flight.

What United Should Have Done
It boggles the mind as to the many public relation fails occurred by United staff, but here is what the public relations people should have said and done:

On Sunday, March 26, a family was boarding one of our flights on a special ticket that includes a dress code requirement for the passenger. One of our gate agents determined that the children were not dressed according to that policy, and the family was not allowed to board the flight.

While the gate agent technically followed our policy, we regret that this situation became a public scene. We also regret that our staff did not remind the family of that policy when they checked their bags at the main ticket counter, when the children would have been able to obtain appropriate clothing before their bags were checked.

Our policy is meant to encourage a professional appearance of those passengers who are flying as a benefit of being employed, or being a family member of one of our employees. When this involves children, we attempt to be sensitive to the difference in the typical appropriate dress for their age.

We regret to the manner in how this situation was handled and apologize to the family involved and to the passengers who were witness to this situation at the gate. We are reviewing our policies and how those policies are enforced.

The United Blood Bath
Rather than apologizing, United decided that it would work to sway public opinion against the traveling family and humiliate them further. Their announcement in response to the situation put all the blame on the children and their family and implied that the gate agent who created the scene was the hero.

It is a Trump-like strategy that is based on never admitting failure, even when the failure is obvious. It did produce a wave of approval by people who enjoy watching someone being crushed by a more powerful and insensitive force.

However, this type of strategy builds mistrust of an organization and clearly demonstrates United’s lack of empathy for its passengers, paying or not. It also demonstrates the lack of humanity by a corporation that doesn’t understand the deferred cost of bad public relations, and proves that United doesn’t know the quality of mercy.

We Don’t Need More Service Jobs

14 Tuesday Mar 2017

Posted by in Aging, Business, College, Education, Ethics, Generational, Government, Government Regulation, Higher Education, History, Management Practices, Politics, Pride, Public Image, Public Relations, Respect, Science, Space, Taxes, Technology, Travel, Universities, US History

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Putting people on the Moon meant jobs on Earth

During President Lyndon Johnson’s second term (1965-1969,) the space program was booming. At almost four percent job growth, his administration exceeded any other presidential term since World War II, including President Jimmy Carter’s impressive 3.2% growth. These were high paying, skilled jobs that created a demand for workers that enticed many young people to choose engineering and scientific careers.

PRESIDENT PARTY TERM YR JOB GROWTH
Herbert Hoover R 1929–1933 -5.41%
Franklin Roosevelt D 1933–1937 4.97%
Franklin Roosevelt D 1937–1941 2.53%
Franklin Roosevelt D 1941–1945 5.00%
Roosevelt/Truman D 1945–1949 1.61%
Harry Truman D 1949–1953 2.93%
Dwight Eisenhower R 1953–1957 1.34%
Dwight Eisenhower R 1957–1961 0.87%
Kennedy/Johnson D 1961–1965 2.64%
Lyndon Johnson D 1965–1969 3.90%
Richard Nixon R 1969–1973 2.23%
Nixon/Ford R 1973–1977 1.68%
Jimmy Carter D 1977–1981 3.21%
Ronald Reagan R 1981–1985 1.47%
Ronald Reagan R 1985–1989 2.80%
George H. W. Bush R 1989–1993 0.45%
Bill Clinton D 1993–1997 2.85%
Bill Clinton D 1997–2001 2.33%
George W. Bush R 2001–2005 0.02%
George W. Bush R 2005–2009 0.24%
Barack Obama D 2009–2013 0.23%
Barack Obama D 2013–2017 1.85%

CHART 1.0 – Job growth during Presidential Terms (1929-2017) Growth over 2.5% is in green. (DATA credit: Wikipedia)

Service jobs were a byproduct of the main engine driving the boom in the rapid expansion of the space program. Service jobs did not offer the wages or the excitement of the space program, but they did provide employment for those who lacked motivation to qualify and/or seek out better paying, higher skilled jobs.

And then we landed on the Moon.

After we had achieved the primary objective, people who didn’t understand what a large government project means to employment, began questioning the space program. Over time the naysayers effectively killed the program, leaving private business to reinvent what NASA had accomplished in the 1960’s (landing on the Moon) and the 1980’s (a reusable rocket system.)

Today, we are trying to sustain and expand a service industry that lacks the main component of job growth, namely, a major public project that creates high paying and highly skilled jobs. Since NASA wound down its Space Shuttle program, job growth has flat-lined.

Private business does not exist to create jobs. It exists to put money in the pockets of the executives and owners of the business. Creating jobs cuts into profit. Paying higher wages cuts into profit. Private business is never going to create significant job growth, nor improve wages and benefits for the worker.

If we want job growth and livable wages, it is the government that will do it, not private business.

ICE Becoming Trump’s Version of Nazi SS?

28 Tuesday Feb 2017

Posted by in Crime, Ethics, Government, History, Honor, Politics, Pride, Privacy, Public Image, Public Relations, racism, Respect, Travel, US History

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Mem Fox - The 70 year-old children's book author deemed a threat to the US

Mem Fox – The 70 year-old children’s book author deemed a threat to the US

The seventy year-old children’s book author from Australia was on her way to a conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Mem Fox was a pro at travelling. She had entered into the United States over 100 times before, and she was expecting the normal review of her documentation when she arrived at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on February 9.

What she didn’t realize was that she was about to experience her first encounter of Trump’s version of the Nazi SS.

On January 27, Donald Trump began his campaign to unleash a security force to terrorize foreign visitors to the United States of America. His first step was to sign an unannounced Executive Order to ban Muslims from six countries from entering the United States.

This was the signal to immigration officers implementing border control that the rules that held them to a standard of honor and decency were going to be eliminated. Now those agents who joined U.S. Customs for the power and thrill of humiliating people could be unleashed on the public with the complete support of the Holy Trinity of Racism: Donald Trump, Steve Bannon, and Vladimir Putin.

When Ms. Fox entered the United States an immigration officer falsely accused her of having an improper visa, and then began a two-hour detention by officers that felt the glory and power of their ability to humiliate and terrorize. She later explained that, “‘I have never in my life been spoken to with such insolence, treated with such disdain, with so many insults and with so much gratuitous impoliteness.”

I have never in my life been spoken to with such insolence, treated with such disdain, with so many insults and with so much gratuitous impoliteness.

Were this an isolated incident, it might seem to be a fluke, but two days before in Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Muhammad Ali’s son and his mother were detained by U.S. Customs agents when they returned from Jamaica. Muhammad Ali Jr, unlike Ms. Fox, was born in the United States and had a valid US passport, nevertheless, he was detained for two hours after being asked if he was a Muslim.

These incidents indicate a larger strategy by Trump’s administration. Trump seems to be empowering a group of people with the ability to terrorize and humiliate people, including U.S. citizens with little or no concern for accountability to the people of the United States of America.

nazi-ss

Hitler’s Enforcement Force – The Nazi SS

Trump’s plan to build up a force that answers solely to his administration and is given the mission to aggressively humiliate and intimidate groups of non-white, and/or non-Christians is an effective recruiting incentive for the racist elements that brought him to power. It is likely that by the end of this year, a military-style federal police force will be in place to be utilized in any manner deemed necessary for Homeland Security.

Trump’s actions recent actions to an immigration threat that doesn’t exist indicate that he is using the issue to create an independent force of that will operate outside current U.S. laws. This Nazi-like SS (Schutzstaffel) force that will serve to eliminate dissent and ensure a white-dominated authority.

Pokémon NO GO December Events

24 Saturday Dec 2016

Posted by in About Reno, Business, Communication, Customer Relations, Customer Service, exercise, Generational, Health, Honor, Information Technology, Internet, parenting, Pride, Public Image, Public Relations, Recreation, Technology, Travel

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The Pokéstop locator screen reinforces the blandness of the game with no interesting creatures for kilometers

The Pokéstop locator screen reinforces the blandness of the game with no interesting creatures for kilometers

Pokémon GO has announced its Christmas/New Years events and players were served coal in their stockings. It’s clear the people at Niantic are out to teach their customers about having expectations, and they want to end any hope for trainers that the game will become reenergized.

The stunning game of the Summer of 2016 has been replaced by an anemic and expensive app that rapidly drains the phone battery, insults players, and rewards loyalty with false hopes. Those loyal players have kept a belief that Niantic was committed to keeping the game interesting, and that by the end of the year there would be scores of new characters in the field to seek and capture.

Instead, we discovered that the naysayers who pitied us for playing a game that they felt was a waste of time, were correct. The Pokémon GO game has become Pong. 

Niantic’s cruel trick of December 12 was doubled down with the anti-event for the end of the year. Not only did Niantic fail to add new characters in the field…AGAIN, they took away the double point bonus of the Halloween and Thanksgiving events.

I’m embarrassed by my support for Pokémon GO. I thought Niantic was a company who appreciated their customers, and were keenly aware of what had to happen to keep their loyal players and bring back their old ones, but I was completely wrong. I apologize to former players who I mislead. Niantic is not going to reenergize the game, and it is a waste of time.

New Raley’s Unshopping Program Makes Customer a VIP

23 Friday Dec 2016

Posted by in About Reno, Branding, Business, Communication, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Green, Information Technology, Internet, Management Practices, Pride, Public Image, Public Relations

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(NOTE:  Raley’s, nor did any of its employees, or agents request, approve, or in any way influence this article.)

My Raley's Store on Keystone in Reno, NV, USA

My Raley’s Store on Keystone in Reno, NV, USA

It’s not fair, is it? When I go grocery shopping, I park in a special parking space at Raley’s, make a call, my groceries are brought out, I pay, and I’m gone. Grocery shopping done, drop the mic. No finding a cart, wandering around the store, racing for the shortest checkout line, loading up the groceries. I park, I call, I pay, I’m done.raleys-logo

It should be called Raley’s VIP program, but they call it Raley’s ecart program. Raley’s has been developing this program for years, but they are in the process of installing the ecart program in the Nevada stores.

I ordered my groceries, by brand name, online at the Raley’s ecart website, I set a time to pick it up the next day, and then I showed up at my appointed time, parked in the ecart parking spot, and called the phone number on the ecart sign. After that, they did the rest.

No Cart, No Wandering
Grocery shopping counts as exercise, but not the most efficient use of a person’s time or body. Normal grocery shopping creates a set of customer responsibilities from the moment of arrival; however, with this program, all those responsibilities, (e.g., selecting a shopping cart, determining a route, or deciding to wander, looking for the best checkout line, taking the groceries to the car, and loading them up,) are taken over by the store, or are unnecessary. 

Saves Time
Grocery shopping is not an activity that most people seek out, but it is a necessary chore in a citizen’s life. A 2008 study concluded that people spend an average of 41 minutes shopping in the grocery store. Many people would choose to have that 41 minutes to spend doing something else. The Raley’s ecart program is a gift of time and energy to the customer.

Perfect For College Students
My Raley’s store is the closest grocery store to the University of Nevada and I cannot imagine how hard it would be to organize four to six roommates to create a shopping list, then go to the store and shop, especially if they are college students with little time to shop. Raley’s ecart allows each person to do their shopping on one online list, and then only one person has to go  to pick it up.

Saves Money
Raley’s ecart flags items on sale, so when I create my online list, I see which items that I can save money, and/or choose the number of the item needed to meet the requirements of the sale price (e.g., five for $5.00)

_dsc6694-2Safer
It doesn’t happen often, but I have, at times, been approached in various parking lots by someone asking for spare change. This action is dangerous because it could be a person who is needy, or it could be a person who is sizing me up in order to rob me or steal my car. By starting a conversation, a criminal can approach the person without causing them to be alarmed enough to yell or scream.

While it is not a benefit that people would realize, Raley’s ecart makes it safer for me to grocery shop, because I never have to leave my car.

More Personal
It assumed that any transaction on the Internet is less personal; however, my experience with Raley’s ecart was the opposite. The Store Manager was the person to deliver my ecart order to the car. I have lived in this neighborhood for over 21 years and I don’t think I had ever met any of the store managers before that day.

In addition, the Store Manager called me about two items on my list that were out of stock. Normally, I would have wandered the store for several minutes looking for the item, then given up and checked out. In this case, he was able to replace the item with an acceptable substitute and it added little, if any time to my shopping.

I still go in the store for minor trips, but I like unshopping, and I like being a VIP when I shop for groceries.

A Prayer To My Gods

18 Sunday Dec 2016

Posted by in Ethics, Generational, Government, Lessons of Life, Politics, Pride, Religion, solar

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_dsc6558-2Great Father Sun, you are the origin, the center, the focus, you are the constant. I see you as you cross the sky. I feel your warmth. You make the food grow and all life possible. Without you, we could not see. Without you, there would be no rain. When you light the sky above me, I see your power. At night you shine on our Mother Moon. 

Great Mother Earth, you are our source, our foundation, the root of all life on our planet. You give me a home. You give me air to breath, water to drink, and food to eat. You give me all that I need. Without you I would be dust and rock floating in the vast cavity of space.

_dsc6362-2Mother Moon, you are the giver of life. You are the spark that lit the fire of life on Earth. Your touch tilted the Great Mother Earth and gave us seasons. Your pull creates the tides. Without you, the Great Mother Earth would be uninhabitable.

I pray forgiveness for what we have done. I believe that you sought to have us progress forward, moving from beasts that were motivated by lust and desire, to creatures of intelligence and compassion that sought harmony and grace.

Instead we have devolved back into beasts. We have brought on shame and failure to not only ourselves, but to all life. We have no excuse. We know what is proper, and what is not, but we have chosen to embrace the improper.

Great Father Sun, Great Mother Earth, Mother Moon, I know the seasons are necessary for life, and I know, just as the seasons bring warmth in the summer and cold in the winter, so to the seasons of humanity wax and wane.

This is a season of darkness for humanity, but I pray that you will intercede. The darkness of this season is hurting and killing the innocent, not the weak. Those of money and power seek to destroy, not build, and those who gave them power have failed as human beings and celebrate the destruction.

Intercede for those who need you. Intercede for the honor of life. Intercede because it is the correct thing to do. Intercede because those who have intelligence know the danger of violent aggression and know that it is not the answer to battle the unethical, wicked, and stupid.

Great Father Sun, Great Mother Earth, Mother Moon, it is time to act on our behalf.