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. 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. Rose Ann, a now-retired US Army ground pounder did two tours in Afghanistan and two in Iraq; Liz, a Naval Aviator flew F14s in the first Gulf War; our own Ruth, taught combat arms in the Marines, and "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 should not 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, woman has 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, 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 then was 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

Walls: God's, Nature's and Ours

Up here at the Old Place, we believe in walls. There are fences to keep livestock from wandering and our houses and businesses have walls, but that is mainly to keep out the varmits! We do not lock doors cuz we are too well mannered to just walk in without an invite. Of course, there was that one time when young Timmy McCardle was riding his bike when heard a commotion up in Ruth's house. Concerned, Tim went in to see, "if I could help," and walked in on Ruth and her gentleman friend. According to Tim, "they was wrasslin' on the kitchen counter and Ms. Ruth was a holdin' her own.". . . Oookay!

Walls are a hot topic these days and safety, of course, plays a big part. If we think about walls rationally rather than emotionally, they are easy things to understand. A wall is a place, thing or action that provides a separation between two or more things. Walls can provide seclusion, security or safety. They can delineate locations, be part of a memorial or merely be an architectural statement. In fact, other than the former Berlin Wall and the old Soviet Gulag, a researcher would be hard pressed to find any walls with a nefarious purpose. As the saying goes, "Strong fences make for good neighbors," and a fence is just a wall you can see through.

Nature abhors walls but tolerates them. Why is that do you suppose? Walls require a great deal of energy and materials to build and maintain or they will fail. At the simplest level, some plants create walls. They grow in circles or even produce secretions that are toxic to other plants. Some animals stand in circles facing outward with their young in the middle for protection. Other animals dig holes, build nests or live in caves. Think of the constructions of dirt daubers or honey bees. Two or more species only coexist without walls when the benefits of their association outweigh the liabilities. Walls then are a normal and natural part of life.

With all this evidence, a wall on our southern border should be an easy sell. Remember, "Strong fences make for good neighbors," and "A locked door keeps an honest man honest." No one will argue with either of these statements when even a thief locks his door. The error occurs when we contrast a country with private property. While no one would allow strangers into their home without permission, the socialist sees nothing wrong with allowing everyone into their country without permission. The communist, on the other hand, will let you in but once you are in, will not let you leave! This illustrates well how both of those concepts are contrary to nature.

From a Catholic perspective, our Church leaders say that with southern border walls we abrogate our responsibilities. That being to aid our fellow man. Jesus said, "For as much as you do to the least of my people, that you do unto me." Jesus went on to say, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." We have changed that to "What goes around, comes around." There is little doubt that many of the people congregating on our southern border are in need. Perhaps a need of their own making? Should that even matter? . . . Hmm. No. In fact the Vicar of Christ on Earth (the Pope) himself lives in a walled city. With seven narrow ungated portals that allow free but manageable access 24/7. (The media ignores that fact.)

So, Col. Jim, what's it got to do with safety. In the safety business, we say, "Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan." This Hispanic Exodus (That's what the media is calling it.) has no plan. . . or does it? From day one of THIS exodus, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs took over. Along the way, the people foraged for food, and medical attention, after that shelter, then transportation, clothing, and selectively, other people's possessions to sell or barter. There is no reason to expect this to change if the USA throws open our borders. The Israelites wandered the desert for 40 years, with nothing but faith in God. He gave them manna and Moses, and lest we forget, saved the Israelites using. . . that's right, a WALL of water.

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

The Safety Certification Boondoggle

Up here at the Old Place, we value a person's experience and abilities. We never ask for certifications and only occasionally a license or badge. Perhaps we are too trusting, but since we all open carry, there is little incentive for rascalry.  Today, the ole colonel has a question: how many of you folks have a license or a certification? We pretty much all have a driver's license and some of us, myself included, are certainly certifiable. Okay, okay. No, what I am asking about are professional licenses and certifications. With the exception of medical and legal personnel, as well as engineers and architects most so-called "certifications" are based on achieving a certain score on a test given by the certifying company. Some certifications do require the candidate to have completed certain prerequisites before they are allowed to take the test: a certain level of education (GPA usually does not matter nor does the major), number of years experience (again, it usually does not matter in which profession that experience was gained) and in some cases an additional certification. Take safety for example. There are no fewer than a dozen "certifications" from an equal number of companies. Some of these companies are themselves, "certified" to provide these certifications, by some other company. Many however are mere "certification mills." Keep in mind, the only oversight is provided by the certifying certifier. Okay, Col. Jim, so What's It Got to do with Safety?

Back around the turn of the century, I taught the Basic Orientation Plus (BOP) over at the Safety Council.  BOP is a six-hour safety course required for everyone who wants to work in our local chemical and refining industries. One day a genuine, no-foolin' Certified Safety Professional (CSP) showed up. He was not happy and had complained to several plant managers and our own CEO. He demanded that he be allowed to just take the test. After being told no, he grudgingly paid up and sat down. He so disrupted the class with his questions and opinions, that I pulled him aside during the first break. Rather than berate him for his rudeness and insensitivity to his fellow students, I offered him a suggestion. Stay for the class, take the test, I could not change that, then write a critique, including all the incorrect information he noticed and send it to me in an email. Guess what?  He shut up, copiously took notes, passed the test with an 80% and yep; he emailed me his notes.  He found 39 errors in the BOP presentation. 

So, what does all this say about Mr. CSP?  Is he a rude jerk. . . pretty much. Could he run a safety program? Maybe. Does being able to pass the toughest safety certification test there is mean you will make a great safetyman? Well, it means nothing, except that he could pass a test.  Oh, are you wondering how many of the 39 errors he was right about, not even one . . . not even one.

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