The Pink Pantser

If you've kept up with us, I guess you know that we enjoy hiking. A couple of years ago, we met up with a good friend of ours in Denver and she took us on a gorgeous trail in the forested mountains.

While on the trail, we ran into a couple that appeared to be in their early fifties, super fit looking, all decked out in their Patagonia  outdoor gear and gleefully taking on the trail.

Behind them, maybe a couple of hundred yards, was a person that appeared to be their teenage son. He was wearing pink skinny jeans, a heavy coat, non trail appropriate shoes and had headphones dangling from his ears. And, in one hand, he had a firm grasp on the donut he was eating.

The poor kid looked absolutely miserable. He was barely dragging himself along, looked angry and sullen and was obviously not pleased with the outdoorsy family the almighty had plunked him down in the middle of for this brief life.

Later, we talked with him a bit. All I can remember him saying is, "I gotta get out of here! There is too much nature!"

Naturally, we dubbed him "The Pink Pantser". Now, whenever our children complain about not wanting to take a hike, we encourage them to not be "The Pink Pantser!".

Anyone wanna join us for a hike!

Updateadone

I recently shared (with some) about how a local substance abuse agency is working to open a Methadone clinic 2/10ths of a mile from my house, where we used to have a Post Office.

For those that do not know, a methadone clinic is a place that distributes methadone to heroin addicts in the hopes of helping them rehabilitate. Methadone is a drug that produces some of the analgesic effects of an opiate while reducing the withdrawal symptoms, without producing the same "high". Many of the folks that frequent such facilities are court ordered to do so, and not necessarily that involved with their own rehab, beyond not wanting to go back to jail, where you can't get heroin as easily.

While the clinicians have assured us that the people they treat are our neighbors and coworkers, primarily suit wearing corporate big wigs that, while fully functional and productive members of society, happen to be struggling with a little bit of a problem; most of my neighbors and I have suspected that this may not be the case.

Having seen the ancillary crime sprees that seem to accompany people that have given into the "white horse" (or black, I guess, for the black tar stuff, or tan...) of heroin, I am less than thrilled about this idea.

Some of our neighbors have contacted our councilman on our behalf. His first response seemed lackluster and he did not seem to think this was any sort of issue.

However, he recently "discovered" that some of the neighborhoods where clinics like this have already been put into place have indeed experienced problems associated with druggies wandering through the neighborhoods adjacent to said clinics.

While I applaud his recent change of views and new found desire to assist the "hood" in trying to keep this from being located so close to our homes, it seems like it would have been beneficial if he had forseen this being an issue prior to the company purchasing the building and making the upgrades they need to open it. Who doesn't know that drug addicts probably won't be dropped off by limo and picked up right away after filling their prescriptions (since many of them have long since lost their licenses before they are ordered for treatment). And who doesn't know that drug addicts wandering through the neighborhood will be more than happy to treat your yard and house like their personal commissary.

In any case, the latest is that our councilman now thinks its a bad idea and is energetically opposed to the idea of placing the clinic near my house.

Winning the cultural war?

I took an impromptu informal survey of 44 people in a class I was in today and here are the alarming results:

The respondents were asked to identify which Science fiction series/world was their favorite, the choices being Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica and Firefly.

Star Trek's showing was surprisingly low, with only two going for that.

Battlestar Galactica got another two, which wasn't really surprising, as it it is not quite as well known.

Firefly got a solid four, tying BSG and Star Trek together. Browncoats Forever!

The rest of the group, all thirty six of them, threw up their hands and cast their votes for Star Wars.

It's clear to see who is winning the marketing wars in the Sci Fi world. With the release of the upcoming Star Wars movie, a long time ago in a galaxy far far away is as popular now as ever.

On another note, Han Solo clearly shot first. And justifiably so.

Wrapping Up Reads

Here's a few I caught up with as the year drew to and end and the new one started. Have you been keeping up on your reading? It seems to get harder and harder to do.

 

 

First post of the new year

Happy New Year!

Their is plenty to look forward to this year, both in life and on this blog.

In the meantime, here are some good words to consider for the beginning of Two Thousand Fifteen A. D. / C. E.

“The poor in spirit are blessed, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Those who mourn are blessed, for they will be comforted. The gentle are blessed, for they will inherit the earth. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are blessed, for they will be filled. The merciful are blessed, for they will be shown mercy. The pure in heart are blessed, for they will see God. The peacemakers are blessed, for they will be called sons of God. Those who are persecuted for righteousness are blessed, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. “You are blessed when they insult and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of Me. Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭3-12‬ HCSB)

A few thoughts from Ferguson

Since my blog tag line claims to intersect with community and culture, I feel compelled to touch on one of the events that has been foremost in our awareness as a culture and has brought our nation together in the opportunity and desire to share our uninformed and angry opinions with one another; The events in Ferguson.

Here are my thoughts:

I  am very tired of  people who have never been involved in a violent encounter commenting on how one should behave in and react to such an encounter.

I  am very tired of people who have no idea about common investigation best practices and procedures commenting on the investigation of the shooting.

I  am very tired of  people who have no understanding of or experience with the prosecutorial process commenting on the "unfairness" of this one.

And, I suppose those who have had first hand experience with discrimination based on race, or some other physically or cultural trait, are tired of those who have not experienced this commenting on racial or cultural relations.

Ashley Brings the 411

Back in the glory days, we used to get together fairly regularly at Jason and Nichole's house for "Game Night". We would play the latest games, eat the worst tastiest food, argue over rules, sing songs and generally have a good time.

Now, when we are hanging out with friends, we whip out the smart phone whenever we need the answers to any obscure pop culture trivia from the 80's, the third line of our favorite song from when we were nine, or what music videos looked like 'back then'. But, This was back in the day before our cell phones could pull up IMDB or youtube in just a couple of seconds.

And we were stuck.

Just what was the lyrics to the opening song on "Family Ties"?

I'm not sure why anyone cared, but we had to know. Finally, I did the only sensible thing. I called 411 for information.

Ashley, the male, took our call. He knew the lyrics, and happily provided them to us. He wouldn't sing it, but we were able to get that going ourselves.

The next time we had a similar question, I called again. I also found out that they don't like you to call and ask for specific operators when you call for information.


Here's the theme song of Family Ties for you, in case you were wondering: