Run Away Another Day

Up here, the Old Place is the best place to get away from it all.  We are way back in the woods, on a big lake, everybody knows everybody, and except for sugar, flour, and coffee, we are all self-sustaining. Even so, people still ask me, "Col. Jim, is there any crime up here?" My reply is pretty much the same as everyone else's, "Back in the day, we had a couple of bad'uns come up here thinking to lay low. . . But don't you worry, no one'll ever find their bodies." Yep, the area around the lake is a safe place, and we guard our safety jealously... but wisely.  Here then is an example of wisely. 

Before I was born, my young cousin Clyde Barrow and his girlfriend Bonnie Parker found their way to the lake and knocked on my grandfather's door. The Old Place looked almost exactly like it does today. By a strange coincidence, both MaMie and Pop were at the lake. Pop was fishing, so MaMie opened the door. Of course, she immediately recognized her cousin and, knowing she was in no danger, invited him in and put on the kettle. While Bonnie went around to the outhouse, the two cousins had a chat. Now, without sliding out of facts and into speculation, we all know that the couple left the Old Place uninjured. So, Col. Jim, what's it got to do with safety?

Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were not serial killers, and they were not crazed mass murderers. Most of the people with whom they crossed paths parted amicably enough, even some members of local law enforcement. During their short criminal lives, the two developed the reputation of not harming those who were cordial to them or who, at worst, stepped aside. These, let us call them, "non-victims" were mostly plain small-town country folks who went to church twice a week, always welcomed strangers, and left their doors unlocked. It would never have occurred to these people to be rude or unwelcoming. The odd thing is, neither would it have occurred to Bonnie or Clyde. So, Col. Jim, what's it got to do with safety?

As we all know, lately the world has become like a "Riots Are Us Convention." Remember, modern rioters are not just regular folks who have had their temper stirred up. They are part of an organized group, bent on terrorism, and here's the scary part: most of them have been paid to be there. This is not your traditional mob mentality. This is a methodical, dedicated cult like group. The apparent emotion is well-rehearsed Gaslighting.

If you are unfortunate enough to find yourself in the middle of such an event, blend in.  Fight, and I do not care how many black belts you have in Wa Rang Go, you will lose. Keep your head up and eyes averted, smile. (I am one of you.)  If pushed, step aside, move slowly yet deliberately, and get clear of the area. If you approach a LEO, keep your hands in plain sight and raised. (I am not a threat to you, officer.)  Before you know it, you are safe.

Oh, so what happened to Bonnie and Clyde?  They had coffee and some of MaMie's homemade pecan pie. She hugged their necks and admonished them both to be careful and look out for each other.  The two desperados departed... and within three hours, were dead.  Sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you. 

Sitting in a rocker at the Old Place, I am, Col. Jim.

How to Feather a Better "Cuckoo's Nest"

Up here at the Old Place, we always considered ourselves off the beaten path. It keeps friendships close and worries far away.  Around here, if you have a problem, you tell Ruth, she tells everybody else, brings it out in the open, no more problem. One afternoon, in late June 1959, I was at the General Store with Mom and Dad. Mom was picking up a can of coffee while Dad and Ruth discussed the depredations of our honorable Governor.  I was on the front porch enjoying some root beer stick candy.  All at once, in a cloud of dust, this big black Cadillac limousine pulled up out of the blue. The back door flew open, and out tumbled one half-empty bottle of Old Tennishoes followed by the stocking feet of one Earl K. Long, Governor of Louisiana.  (Partially as a result of political rascallry, Earl found himself committed to the state mental hospital in Jackson, Louisiana. It did not help that several well-known Pros claimed that the Governor paid extra to keep his boots on or that he once took a shotgun to his lawnmower!) He ultimately “escaped” and, after carousing his way across three states, somehow found himself face to face with yours truly, then a plucky three-year-old.  Even back then, I loved cars, so I got up off the porch, hopped down the steps and picked up the shiny bottle. Long climbed to his feet, looked me square in the eye, and declared, “Good job, boy, that's the best damn bottle rescue I've ever seen!  Here’s a hundred dollars!”  To everyone's astonishment, Earl forked over a crisp C note. As "crazy" as all this sounds, you just sorta have to love a fella like that. So, Col. Jim, what's it got to do with safety?

Over the years, the old Colonel has learned a thing or two about mental health concerns, one being fundraising.   I can tell you working people donate in very specific ways, to very specific causes. Illnesses, diseases, syndromes, and ailments all have their supporters and detractors, as do mental health challenges. When I was growing up, there were “insane asylums,” with cute, funny nicknames like “nut house” or “booby hatch.” This sort of disparagement did not help. Now, after years of study, hard, thankless, and sometimes dangerous work, the stigma attached to mental illness...is still there. Thus, the cycle continues, with underfunded mental health facilities, undertrained medical professionals, and lawyers who choose the easy way out, incarceration rather than productive treatment. 

In the midst of all this apathy and ignorance, the left-leaning Hollywood and the mainstream media began to glorify serial murderers and cop killers. There was money to be made rebranding self-serving political causes out of mass shootings, riots, and abortions. The objective of the left has been to make credible the belief that persons who committed such atrocities were somehow… perfectly justified, normal, healthy folk, who were only “expressing their feelings.”  The fact that these behaviors were themselves the result of mental illness, tragically, only served to compound the fear. "Temporary Insanity" has even been used as a device to keep criminals out of jail. In this kind of environment, what hope does any person have with genuine mental challenges?

Comparison and contrast. 

For most of its existence, the medical profession has been primarily tasked with curing illness and disease, repairing injuries, and thwarting death. The safety profession has always been tasked with preventing illness, injury, and death in the first place!  Both professions have done significant research, improving life and reducing risk.  Each has its own laws and statutes.  Yes, illness and disease can not always be cured, injuries can not always be repaired, but they CAN all be prevented. (Think well before you argue this point.)

Cause and Effect

So why is a mental illness so often treated as though it were contagious?  We all learned the basic causes of physical health issues: virus, bacteria, something we ate or drank, sharp objects, falls, bees and wasps, and temperature extremes. The reason, or as we in the Safety profession refer to as the "Root Cause," of why mental illness presents no such clear instrument of cause is a lack of understanding brought on by insufficient training.

We also learned the basic symptoms of physical health issues: a cough, sneeze, headaches and muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, cuts and bruises, stings, and burns. Symptoms of mental illness, however, may appear no different from those with which we are already familiar; primary symptoms require very specific training to even notice. Ignorance of this fact results in the current misunderstanding of the extant behaviors.

For example, there are many reasons why people hurt others intentionally: Love, Hate, Greed, Power, Arrogance, Selfishness, Neglect, Distraction, and sometimes just plain old laziness. Instances of a person with mental illness frightening, injuring, or even killing another person are more often not intentional. This leads to misinterpretation, which leads to fear and incarceration in facilities unsuited to addressing mental illness.

So, if we know all of this, why can we not prevent it?  You are not going to like this, folks, it is because unless people have a family member experiencing serious mental issues. . . it is someone else's problem.  Seems crazy, no?  BTW, I kept the $100 bill.

Sitting in a rocker at the Old Place, I am, Col. Jim.

Does Safety Prepare Us for the Afterlife?

Up here at the Old Place, we are what some would call “God-fearing people.”  Fear, meaning, implicit trust in God’s Divine Providence, not the kind of fear that can manifest itself when we are exposed to the appearance of supernatural beings such as angels and saints, or apparitions of the dead. The assumption is that these are sent at the behest of a “supreme being,” God. Without getting into religion, there are three ways to consider the concept of a supreme being: 1. There is one supreme being; 2. There are many supreme beings.  3. There are no supreme beings.

 #1. There Is One Supreme Being:

Pick up the Holy Bible and turn to Exodus, where God introduces Himself to Moses. When Moses asks God, “When they shall say to me, ‘What is his name?’  What shall I say unto them?”  God replies, “I AM THAT I AM.”  The importance placed on that phrase, as God uses it to identify Himself in the burning bush, stems from the Hebrew conception of monotheism, that God exists by Himself for Himself, and is the uncreated Creator who is independent of any concept, force, or entity; therefore, "I am who am" (before, present, and ongoing).

 #2. There Are Many Supreme Beings:

Primitive man espoused the belief in many supreme beings based on the magnificence and power demonstrated by nature: thunder, lightning, earthquakes, the scorching of the sun, and the fury of the sea. We know them as Zeus, Apollo, Helios, and Poseidon. They even called the planet “Mother Earth” because, like a woman, the planet brought forth life.  This concept is rare in modern culture.

 #3. There Are No Supreme Beings:

Many people are raised in this belief by their parents. Others turned to this belief and away from belief in God because of a significant event in their lives.  God somehow failed to live up to their expectations of what any all-powerful supreme being should have done…not “could” have done. These "atheists" often make a very public god out of empirical evidence, a smoke screen they privately ignore. The irony is that despite a total lack of empirical evidence, most avowed atheists do seem to believe in the likelihood of other intelligent life out there in the vastness of the cosmos, just not a supreme being who created the whole thing.

It is noteworthy that there are currently no earthly religions that deny the possibility of “life out there,” so at least we agree on something. To suggest that we are alone is best left to an old quote from Star Trek by Mr. Spock.  “There are other forms of intelligence on earth, doctor.  Only human arrogance would assume the message must be meant for man.”  To wit, only human arrogance would assume homo-sapiens are the only intelligent life form in the universe.

Humans, so far, can not create supreme beings, but often make gods of things.  The concept of a god is all about perception and control. A child looks up to his or her parents as if they were gods.  They provide all wants and heal all ills.  To a student, their teacher or a professor is like a god, one who can change their entire future with one grade. To a working adult, their boss is like a god, nuff said. The wealthy sometimes cast themselves as gods by becoming drunk on power, because they can give themselves everything they desire. The unimpeachable hypocrisy of the atheist is that they embrace all these concepts and thus forgo any interest in the safety of salvation.

So, Col. Jim, what’s it got to do with Safety? Safety is about First Order Thinking, the prevention of undesired loss… a plan to maintain life.  Safety is also an action closely tied to Second Order Thinking, intentionally following a plan for managing the consequences that come after the first step in a process. For people, the first step is life, and this is where safety comes in. Life is a process that can result in a near-infinite number of consequences, all of which can end in death, even before birth. Broken down into its simplest form, the second step then is that period in our existence after our life is over.  To accomplish this, I recommend a simple system created by my friend Col. Eric Bertolet, “Work safe, Play safe, Live safe, and Love safe.”

Sitting in a rocker at the Old Place, I am, Col. Jim.

Respect: A Young Man's Toughest Challenge

    Spring is settling in up here at the Old Place.  Perhaps a bit more slowly than we would like, but Mother Nature is a patient lady.  I had decided to clean out last year's squirrel nests up in the attic. I figured they would get in there anyway, so why not give 'um a nice clean room!  I was coming down with the last load when Ruth stopped by with my mail. Ruth's store is the RFD drop for any local post. There was a note from a fella I had not heard from in years, a real blast from the past. It was short and sweet, like the old woman's dance, "Heard about your 'Night Job.' It might be a good time to share what Dad said the first time you met.  F."  I think so too.

    One summer, my friend Bill "The Wild Buffalo" Bowlus and I went to an all-boys water skiing camp in North Carolina. The owner was a no-nonsense Christian named George Pickering. During lunch one day in our second week, a middle-aged gentleman with what I call "Preacher Hair" came in and sat down with us. His conversation was light, and he spoke with us, not to us. The man was Mr. Pickering's best friend, the Rev. Billy Graham! As a young boy, I found some really creative ways to screw up.  Being a young boy, aspiring for manhood, I realized there was a "next" level opportunity sitting two feet away.  I plucked up my courage.

     "What's on your mind, Jim?"
     "Sir, do you have a son?"  Good lord, how pitiful.  I have the chance to probe the mind of Billy 'Freakin' Graham, and THAT's the best I could do?
     "Yes, I do, his name is Franklin," he replied.
     "Does he ever get in trouble?" I felt my ancestors roaring in laughter!
     "He sure does," he said with a laugh. "But is that really what you want to ask?"
     "No, sir," I said.
     "What about some advice that I gave my own son, Franklin?" he offered.
     "That'd be great," I replied, feeling not unlike a fool.
     "As a young man," he began, "be respectful of others. Especially those you disagree with or do not like, and even more especially with women and girls."

It was not the great earth-moving revelation I was expecting, but it did start something. Other boys' questions were posed and answered in a genuine, man-to-man fashion.  Lunch ended, hands were shaken, and we drifted off toward the lake to let our lunch settle. It was not until later that night, when we had fallen exhausted into our bunks, that I began musing on the great man's words to me.  At the time, I was devouring my way through one of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian novels. Conan swung a huge sword and, like my old friend Tarzan, was a man's man! The two also shared an almost naive trust in their friends and deep respect for women. Here again was that nugget Rev. Graham offered me during lunch. From that day on, I tried to follow his example.

    Then, years later, came an event that made Graham's advice resonate like the clear sound of a distant bell. It was during the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky incident, and Rev. Graham was on Larry King. . .

     "I train my staff to avoid potential situations like this," said Graham. "When any of our male ministers are meeting with a female parishioner, the office door stays fully open. If this is not possible, one of our female confidential assistants will be inside the office also. If we are meeting outside the office, the same rules apply."
     Liberal Larry huffed a little and replied, "I think most people would call that draconian, Reverend."
     "Old-fashioned perhaps," replied Graham. "But effective and proper. Not only do you protect yourself, but you also show respect for the girl or woman you are meeting with."
     I realize that this idea is narrowly focused on the male of the species, as it should be.  As men, God gave us the responsibility for the spiritual health of our immediate family. In modern society, this responsibility naturally extends to the workplace. But take caution, young men, some women do not wish to be treated differently from men, and when it suits their agenda, will say anything. Well, "if wishes were fishes, would we not all cast nets?"

Sitting in a rocker at the Old Place, I am, Col. Jim

Who Owns the Earth?

Up here at the Old Place, we take great pains to keep the area around the lake and the creek that passes through it as pristine as when it was first discovered. The trees and undergrowth around the lake flourish, and the animals go about their lives as if people were not even here. A few descendants of the original Native American, "Dinea," still live nearby as well. Legally, the parcel is in Catahoula Parish but who owns this tiny piece of land is a carefully guarded secret.

So, old, tired planet Earth, have you ever thought about who it belongs to? Humans, of course. Oh, I do not know, does ownership of a celestial ecosystem even require what we so arrogantly call “sentience?” Maybe the animals own the earth, or the plants and the rocks? Nah, it's people. Religious people, like the Jews or the Buddhists, perhaps the Islams? It could be Hindus or even Zarathustras that own the earth. The atheists live on the earth, but they don't want it, and it certainly does not belong to us Christians. I look at it this way, depending on who you ask, the earth is either millions or billions of years old, "so arguing over who owns it is kind of like two fleas arguing over the dog they live on."1.  This quote from Australian actor/producer Paul Hogan started me thinking. Australia's "aborigines" see the earth as their mother, so maybe they own it. When the Europeans arrived, they were astounded to learn that, without ever having met a Judeo-Christian before, the aboriginal people instinctively knew that humans were stewards of the land, not its owners. Whoa now, all you socialists just settle down for a second. Another word for Stewardship is Responsibility. . . uh oh. So, Col. Jim, what's it got to do with Safety?

History will likely chronicle the 20th Century as the age where humans once and for all legally accepted that ownership of their planet was divided among many countries, but gave up their responsibility for the planet as a whole. Oh sure, there have been areas of the planet that peoples of the world referred to as "their" countries, but until the formation of the League of Nations in 1919, no one had been willing to, apparently, bind themselves to legal boundaries. The interesting part, however, will be seeing which chronicle will be believed?

People have been successful at rewriting history for millennia, mainly to make "their side" look better. Sadly, despite herculean efforts taken to keep an accurate record, that part of the earth's history, not lost to the sands of time, has been perverted beyond recognition. It is, to say the least, fantasy; it is to say the most, perjury!

For the last 2,000 years, the only unbiased factual accounting of world history has been maintained by the faithful. That is to say, the world's religions, those with a belief in an afterlife, anyway. These religions, technically, have no ax to grind. However, if the behavior of religions in modern times has taught us anything, it is that every one of them is grinding away anyhow.  Sadly, this "grinding" has resulted in a desire, almost an obsession, really, to use violence and coercion to force people to join their religion or to be executed.

In conclusion, the only religion, wishing no one harm and having no designs on the planet, is, of course Christianity. Please note: I did not leave the Jews out by chance but by design. The Jews are the only humans indigenous to Earth who are born with a religion. The rest of us are born pagan and must choose from the plethora of religions available. According to God's law, as set down in the Tora and the Talmud, Jews must have designs on the planet or at least that part of the planet that was given to them by God Himself, the Holy Land, Israel.

So, back to our topic question, Who Owns the Earth?  According to the laws of men, many people own bits and pieces of the Earth. If we follow Judeo-Christian law, a strong case can be made that the Jewish People own the Earth.  Remember that word, "Stewardship?" When the king is away, his Steward is responsible for the kingdom. The Steward holds the scepter but sits not on the throne. Rather, he sits on a plain hard chair set a few steps below the empty throne.  Hard so that he does not become overly comfortable. When the king returns, the Steward is Responsible for giving the king an accounting of the events, judgments, profits, and losses that occurred in the king's absence. If the king is satisfied, the Steward will be rewarded. . . If not, well, he is the king with the power of life and death over all his subjects.  Who Owns the Earth?  I believe we have settled that question.

Sitting in a rocker at the Old Place, I am, Col. Jim.


1. Paul Hogan, Crocodile Dundee

The Final Storm

Up here at the Old Place, we have finished all of our hurricane preparations. Anything that could be picked up or blown away has been brought inside or tied down. The shutters are closed and their covers are in place. The generator has been tested at full load, the tank is full and there is plenty of extra fuel. There is a small tintype of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, the patron saint of Louisiana, hanging over the front door. The miracles surrounding her veneration are manifest during times of greatest threat: the sparing of the Ursuline convent during the great New Orleans fire of 1812, the sparing of the city during the Battle of New Orleans three years later and (Katrina notwithstanding) the sparing of New Orleans from hurricanes for over 200 years. So, Col. Jim, what's it got to do with Safety?

A storm is upon us, my family, and friends. It is, to paraphrase H.G. Wells, a storm that is vast, cold, and unsympathetic. It is a storm of devastation, wrought of greed, lust, and a thirst for power over anyone who even wishes in his heart to stop it. This is not a storm of wind or rain, hail or flood. This is a storm perpetrated by domestic terrorists with propaganda, subterfuge, and prevarication on a scale never before seen in the history of the world and it is here, now in our own country.

Who are these terrorists? In his book, The Art of War, the author, Sun Tzu extols us to, “know your enemy," and we do. Their names, faces, even their locations are well known to us all. Many of them we see every day in our very homes. 'This simplifies matters' you say; 'we know the face of our enemy!' The face. . .  Sun Tzu outlined 17 signs to help us to know our enemy. These included: Signs of Exhaustion, Thirst, or Hunger; Fear; Eminent Retreat; Poor Leadership; Manipulation; and Advantage. These are all good things for the warrior to know before the battle is joined.

What of those of us who do not see ourselves as warriors? Note, I do not mean those who are afraid or even those who may run away. No, fear and retreat are both things for which the prudent warrior plans. I speak rather of the Spiritual Warrior, whose sword is the word of God; whose shield is the Holy Spirit, whose battle cry is a prayer, and whose commander is Jesus Christ. 

An army must be able to communicate effectively and it is here that the intercession of Our Lady of Prompt Succor comes to bear. This is a storm as sure as any that has come ashore from the gulf and the prayers of Our Lady of Prompt Succor on our behalf are proven. Inspired by this confidence we fly to our patron and implore her assistance as we pray:

Oh Dear Lord and merciful Father, through the intercession of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, extend Your salvation so generously lavished on the citizens of Louisiana to the entire peoples of the United States of America. We who are even now under threat of a storm with intent so terrible that it could devastate this great nation so long ago consecrated to Thee. We beseech Thee to bring comfort for the living, rescue for the lost, and peaceful rest for those whom you have called home. Amen.

Sitting in a rocker at the Old Place I am, Col. Jim.

Another Green Initiative

Up here at the Old Place, most of the children are grandchildren, not all but most. When summer rolls around, the bangs and hisses of bottle rocket wars and young 'uns playing army resound through the woods around the lake. (No cell phones here.) So when an article popped up about a six-year-old Arkansas girl with an idea to honor our military, we noticed. The youngster's name is Vivian, and Miss Viv is being praised for her initiative in requesting that toymakers add Green Army Women to their packages of little toy soldiers. Vivian sent a letter to several toymakers explaining why this was important to her. You see, Vivian's close friend has a mother who is in the Army.  When Vivian realized that all of the green toy soldiers in the packs were men, she realized that her friend's mom and all the other women soldiers needed to be represented as well.

  

I showed the article to Ruth, our retired Marine who runs the general store. She dashed off a letter to Vivian herself and learned that, apparently, young Vivian is one heck of a recruiter. From now on, female soldiers will be included in at least some little green armies. Well done, Miss Vivian!

  

So Col. Jim, what's it got to do with safety? It is about preserving life. While I like the idea of adding little green plastic women to bags of toy soldiers, out there in the real world, women in the line of fire have been a reality for some time. I personally know women in three branches of our armed forces. Geri was trained to teach instrument flying to Navy nuggets during Vietnam. Rose Ann, a now-retired US Army ground pounder, did two tours in Afghanistan and two in Iraq; Liz, a Naval Aviator, flew F-14s in the first Gulf War; our own Ruth taught combat arms in the Marines, "Step" flies rescue choppers for the Coast Guard. Now, make no mistake, I am proud to be beholding to our military personnel and am grateful for the peace and freedoms their service affords me and my family. Thank you, ladies, thank you for your service!

Safety, just this. The fact that there are Ladies out there on that wall in the freezing snow, the scalding sun, or on a pitching deck ready to die, for me, frankly, makes the ole Colonel feel as though he has failed at something. Maybe it is the dad in me, or maybe it is just the natural male compulsion to want to shelter and protect our girls. I don't know. I do know that the call to serve comes from deep inside, "down where you keep your guts, boy!" 1. I imagine it is similar to the call one receives to the religious life. Man or woman, that call is extremely personal and cannot be denied.

  

In trying to resolve this in my heart, it has always puzzled me that God chose to create Adam first. So what difference did that make? Only this, for the first and only time, in the history of creation, God caused another person, Eve, to be brought forth (Born?) of a male! From that point forward, women have been God's vessel with whom He shared His power to create another human being. The man was created to defend the family from predators, to slay the deer, and to carve out the cave. The woman was created to make that cave a home, a haven from the outside world, a place to rest, to bear and raise children in safety. The female was then given life in order to create life, not destroy it. Her safety must be paramount.

  

Sitting in a rocker at the Old Place, I am, Col. Jim.

1. The movie, Iron Eagle