Neil 'Buzz' Armstrong, 1969 and Beyond!

President Kennedy, in his 1961 inaugural address, announced, "...I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth."

Even though the original intent was to beat the Russians to the moon, and ascend to the top of the heap in terms of cold war achievements, there is possibly no greater historical moment in U.S. history than July 20, 1969. In one iconic, single step, Neil Armstrong became the quintessential American hero. 

I was all of ten-years-old.

To a ten-year-old, the space race was pretty heady stuff. Living in the Upper Peninsula, Cape Canaveral (then Cape Kennedy), was a world away. Thank goodness for television and Walter Cronkite.

My dad, rest his soul, was one of those people that had to have the newest gadget the moment they hit the store shelves, or as soon as economically possible. In July 1969 we gathered in our so-called 'tv room', now a dark-paneled space, graced with an equally dark-finished wooden floor to watch history be made.

Back then the room was more open and painted in light hues. Within it was entombed a beautiful, well-polished, electronic beast. An Admiral Color TV. (Which actually debuted in 1966, but these things don't just pay for themselves, ya know.)

It was a monster console housing a 25" diagonal color tv tube. With it's walnut veneer, it  was a nut-buster, if not moved by two or more people. Going no further than a foot at a time avoided an unintended medical condition. It was 1960's state-of-the art, with its tuning knobs hidden within the new technological wonder known then as the 'tilt-out control center'.

The stage was set. The lift-off was in beautiful technicolor. The actual landing of the LEM was disappointingly in black and white. Which at the time, no one but me could have cared less about. (I didn't understand the complexities of broadcasting in color. Thankfully, unlike HD, color was free, where available.)

Finally, on July 20, 1969 we watched two Americans jump out of the lunar module and conquer the great 'Man-in-the-Moon'. I was totally in awe.

For many adults, whether in black and white, or color, the final outcome was assured. Planting the American flag on the moon first was all that mattered. We beat the Russians to the moon.

Back then our adversaries were more commonly known as the Soviets and/or Russkies/Commies/the red menace. The list goes on and on. Of course with their new-found entrepreneurial skills, we're now asking them for rides into space. At a premium, no less. But I digress.

Being a boy just short of 11 years-of-age, I didn't share the same definition of success my elders did. We landed on the moon fer cryin' out loud. How cool was that? And it wasn't made of cheese! Who cared about the Russians? They lived further away from Florida than I did.

That week in 1969, the nation, including my entire neighborhood, sat spell-bound in front of the tv, waiting for venerated newsman Walter Cronkite, to countdown the lift-off of the Saturn V rocket. Then came the the pairing of the Lunar Module and the Command Service Module. Finally, success!

As we all watched breathlessly, the LM descended to the lunar surface. Neil Armstrong, placing one boot on the moon, made the now famous proclamation, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind".

Those words, and that achievement, have stayed with me since. Unfortunately, the man declaring it, has not. Neil "Buzz" Armstrong has left this earthly plane, just a few short days ago. He flys now with the angels and saints. Here on Earth, as on the moon, his achievement will always be remembered.

Safe travels, Buzz.

The Gun Discussion

So, I guess it’s time to talk about the 800 pound gorilla in the room.

I have been characterized by some as a bleeding heart, flaming leftist liberal. Who knows? But I have discovered something. My thoughts and views about hot-button topics? Well, there's been some movement.

"But Joe", You say. "That can’t be true. You’re so far left, you make the Kennedy’s blush." Well, maybe not that liberal. But I'll give it the old college try.

Here's what I'm getting at.
Has anyone noticed there is very little civilized discourse in the world anymore? There are no real conversations going on. It’s always left against right, pro-this versus anti-that. If one could hear above the screaming, there might be something positive to discuss.

And then there are the tree huggers. But I digress.

Worse yet? While others are screaming, our elected officials, state and national, are not talking to each other.

Why is that?

Simply put, no one wants to give an inch. It’s, "I’m right, and you're not." There can be no middle ground. I see it everyday in politics, religion and who should replace the panel on American Idol.

For example, I was talking at length this weekend with my sister’s husband. Politically, we stand apart. But as we talked we discovered—maybe not so much.

We both have certain expectations of our elected officials. We both want to see this country continue to succeed and continue to be the greatest nation on earth. But we can’t aspire to that lofty perch without being willing to give a little to gain a lot.

Today our state and national politicians are at each other’s throats. One side wants this, and the other wants that. Egging them on are big money lobbyists and PAC’s, political pundits and entire networks. And where there’s money, there’s legislation. Or lack thereof. Oh, and did I mention the ads. They point in the same direction.  There can be no compromise. There will be NO compromise.

And I ask, “Why not?”

Apparently, I am not the only person asking.

Let’s start with guns. Not gun control. Just guns. We have endured another national tragedy in the theatre massacre in Aurora, CO.

The question is asked, “why?” Why do we need AK-47’s and other high velocity weapons? (Be honest, some of you want to stop right here and start howling about the  peacenik, pinko, socialist, with commie leanings, who wants to hand over our freedoms, and then the country, to the first out-of-work dictator with his hand out.)

Read on McDuff.

There are a lot of scared people out there that have never used, or had access to firearms. They aren’t familiar with guns of any kind, and their only real understanding of them comes from the resulting tragedies of Columbine, West Virginia, and now Aurora, CO.

The resulting answer comes from gun enthusiasts who basically go all ballistic on them. Gun-owners fear, rightfully so, that with every nut job that gets together a small armory of high-velocity, assault-style weapons and takes out unarmed, defenseless citizens, they will lose an important and necessary right. The right to bear arms.

I don't think it has to be that way. Nationally, groups such as the NRA, and locally, gun and hunt clubs, need to reach out and educate that part of the population who don’t hunt and don’t understand gun culture. Don’t shove it down their throats. Do it in small steps. Reach out to those willing to listen.

But it is a two-way street. Those who don’t understand have a duty here as well. They need to listen. To be open to understanding what gun ownership is all about. Don’t fear law-abiding gun-owners. They may be the only thing standing between you and surviving the next massacre.

There is going to have to be some movement on both sides to develop laws that allow those who wish to buy, collect and use firearms to do so. At the same time make it difficult for those who would use them to take the easy and violent road to achieve anarchy.

In conclusion:
Gun owners need to understand that some people aren’t ever going to keep, or use guns. I know, it seems wrong on so many levels. But, they're allowed to, same concept, different end of the looking glass. Deal with it.

Those who don't believe in guns, you need to understand. You might not want, or see a need, for firearms in your home. Good for you. Not everyone else shares you view. Deal with it.

Joe's Big Bronchial Mis-Adventure

Once again, I am prompted to speak out on a subject that weighs heavily on my mind. No, not my weight, my health. (Yes, the two are at times interchangeable, but not here.) Perhaps I can keep this discussion brief, and to the point. Or not? Since we all know that’s a near impossibility, take a few moments, grab a cuppa and I’ll wait for you here.

Some days I am my own worst enemy. No, It's true!

As some already know, I was recently hospitalized at our local medical center, the Baraga County Memorial Hospital, and Spa. (I made that last part up, but in a perfect world...).

My unscheduled stay at BCMH wasn't entirely of my own doing. Or choosing. Without really trying, I managed to procure my very own case of pneumonia. As bronchial misadventures go, this was a doozie.

As a typical male in good standing, I made every excuse in the book to avoid a trip to the doctor. It’s fair to say my main concerns were avoidance of all things medical and, without putting too fine a point on it, a lack of health insurance.

Let’s face it. Money’s tight. And I know ours isn’t the only household facing this choice. One big medical bill and our economic house of cards will collapse. For good, or not, this choice was made for me. Not by me.

Here’s how it went down

For many weeks I suffered a nagging cough, and an inability to draw in a breath deeper than a paper cut. I was at the point where I might have to declare defeat in the management of my own healthcare. Wallowing in self-pity, and producing enough phlegm to float a small armada, I finally gave in and admitted to my beloved that I was, in fact, sick.

Which, she of course already knew.

After unwillingly pulling my aching body into the passenger side of the Escape, we coasted down to the weekend clinic. After being poked, prodded, and doused with x-rays, the doctor returned with the good news.

“Mr. Schutte”, the good doctor said, “you are very sick.” He then bandied about some medical jargon and a bit of digital hocus-pocus. With a flourish of his fingers across the keys of his laptop, a script for an antibiotic raced through the ether to the pharmacy. Only then was I was returned to the care of the good nurse Katy.

That turned out to be a huge mistake. For me.

Within eight short hours I was in the emergency room, soaked in my own sweat, feebly trying to convince the doctor, my wife and the attending nurse, that it was all some kind of cosmic mistake. If I could just go home, crawl under the covers and sleep until spring I would be just fine.

Apparently it doesn't work that way.

Somewhere after rolling into, and rolling out of Radiology, I discovered I’d been kidnapped and stuffed into a semi-private room. My arm was taped down to an IV drip. (Note to self, call broker, invest in 3M.) There was no mention of a ransom. (That came later, after I was discharged.) 

It would be unfair at this point not to mention the great care I received during my stay at BCMH. The nursing staff and attending physicians were good friends, as we're the kitchen staff and housekeeping. They all looked out for me.

Later in the game

It’s been many months since that nasty bacterial infection took up housekeeping in my lung.  Without so much as asking permission or paying rent. Not surprisingly, I was not fully recovered from the wee beasties that took up residence there. They refused to be evicted. Eminent domain my ass, maybe I should sic the Supreme Court on ’em.

There was the requisite follow-up after leaving the hospital. I endured a couple more x-rays. (I was starting to glow in the dark). Then, after six weeks supervised release into my wife's care, I was declared relatively cured. The term 'cured' being relative here.

Final diagnosis? The almost three-day stay at the Baraga County Memorial Hospital and Spa, drove home the alarming fact that I’ve become more of an old goat and less a spring chicken.

When did that happen?

Mopping up

After all that, one thing troubles me. Okay, more than one, but this first. Why is it, now that I can’t, or shouldn't, I have this almost primal urge to light up a bourbon-soaked stogie?

Perhaps for very same reason I craved a large meat-lovers pizza with extra cheese during my entire stay at BCMH. Which, by the way, clashed horribly with the heart-healthy diet prescribed by, and don’t quote me, the attending ER physician. (With sign-off by my wife, I'm sure.) The same wife who conspired with the doctor to admit me, while I was unable to make important and possibly life-altering medical decisions for myself.

That’ll learn me!

Note: I have made financial arrangements with the hospital regarding my stay (as well as other  past due bills for tests, etc.). However, another stay, for any length, for any reason, without proper health coverage, will be devastating. Financially, or otherwise. I'm just saying. - js

Joe's life and this blog will be changing dramatically! Check back soon to find out why and how!

The 2011 State vs Michigan football fashion mash-up!

It’s that time of year. When everyone dresses up and goes out to scare the pants off of everyone in order to get a treat. Or a trick. How does one accomplish this? Well, some will go high-tech, yet throwback. Others will go retro.

First the throwback.
Let’s see. How does that work? The high tech throwback, I mean. Wait for it. Earlier this year,  Nike announced that the Spartans would be one of nine teams chosen to sport their new “Pro Combat Uniform”.  Kinda cool, I guess. The Spartans debuted theirs during the Michigan State vs Michigan game, Sat., Oct. 15, 2011.

As far as collegiate fashion sense goes, the uniforms are very throwback. Lots of bronze, dark green and black. No white. And when I say throwback I mean ancient Greece and Sparta, with a little classical defiance thrown in for good measure.

Beware, boring classical literature reference...
Sewn into the collars of the MSU football team is the Greek phrase “Molon Labe”. Google it and the phrase translates to “come and take them”, supposedly shouted out by King Leonidas of Sparta to the Persians when they demanded Sparta give up their weapons at the battle of Thermopylae.

I recommend renting the movie ‘300'. To say my wife Katy loved those uniforms is an understatement. She kept mumbling something about Gerard Butler parading around half-naked? I make no judgement regarding it’s validity.

Let’s not forget the strong carbon plate Nike has incorporated into the uniform which “symbolically mirrors the Spartan shield”. Ya want symbols? How ‘bout a big, fat white “S” smack in the middle of a green jersey.

For the tragically uninformed, let it be known I have no fashion sense whatsoever (sweats with a good tee or sweatshirt rules the day). I’m certainly no fashionista, but frankly, I like my Spartans decked out in plain ol’ Green and White. I’m just funny that way. (Can you say, “Old fart who doesn’t suffer change well?”) Repeat after me...

Now the retro. Anything you can do...
The fashion report aside, rival Michigan felt the necessity to parade themselves pre-game in their ususal uniforms on Saturday, only to leave and return to the field in a pseudo-retro 1970's all-white travel garb. Frankly, I can’t see too many reasons why I would want to return to the mid-seventies for much of anything, let-alone rehash such fashion faux pas as two-toned men’s platform shoes, feathered-back hair and earth-tones. (Me, not the Wolverines.) Throw in Nixon and it wasn’t our finest hour. Nor mine, fashionably speaking, that is.

All that being said, the Spartan uniforms will supposedly only be worn that one time against Michigan. Even better? Michigan’s loss Saturday was the fourth in a row to the Spartans, leaving Michigan’s graduating seniors with the dubious distinction of not beating the Spartans during their four-year tenure.

Bottom line.
This game wasn’t about new uniforms--or old ones. As Spartan fans and alumni we all know that Michigan doesn’t hold this particular rivalry in the same reverence we do. Ohio State gives them greater pause.

The Wolverines consider the Spartans as one regards a little brother. Someone who needs to be knocked down a peg or two. Why? For no other reason than it’s their job as the older sibling. Guess what? The Spartans are all grown up now. So is this rivalry.

“We are Sparta(ns)!” Deal with it!

Gay Marriage. Straight Marriage. Why Misery Loves Company!

The great State of New York recently passed legislation allowing gay and lesbian couples the same access to mutual misery that straight couples have possessed for quite some time.

That’s right! I am speaking of the opportunity to marry the person you knocked up, were betrothed to in the womb, or got drunk with and proposed to in Vegas (it really doesn’t stay in Vegas, you know that, right?) Or, as in my case, the person I fell head over heels in love with. My little sister set me up fearing I might actually follow through on a vague threat to join the priesthood.

And if that love of your life happens to have the same working parts in their nether regions that you do, all the merrier! Marry 'em. (This offer good only in the states of New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont and D.C. Offer void when contested by bigoted, wealthy Christian denominations with more money than compassion and an energized faithful consisting of homo-phobes and the unenlightened willing to do their dirty work).

But I digress.

Bottom line:
Here’s what the church and the so-called tolerant want of their token gays. Be abstinent. Be silent. And don’t be seen. And maybe, just maybe, we’ll tolerate your presence within the congregation. But most likely not. But we still love you, and don’t let the cathedral door hit you in the ass on your way out. Love ya!

Arguments that gay marriage will single-handedly bring down the institution of marriage and destroy the family are baseless and provocative–and not in a good way. Heterosexuals are doing just fine destroying the estate of marriage, and the family as a whole.

Abusive husbands and absent fathers didn’t materialize over the ages because Elton John is gay. Unfortunately, in many cases the aforementioned are protected by the state and the church. Believe what you want, but children don’t end up in foster care and group homes because a lesbian couple in Connecticut wants to marry.

Opponents to gay marriage argue the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and trans-gendered) community is somehow deviant and evil and will lead to the downfall of civilization as we know it, or the return of leisure suits as a fashion statement--whichever keeps you up at night. I get night-sweats just thinking of the latter. Armageddon is a myth, polyester ain’t.

I have friends and family within the gay community who are neither deviant or evil. Unless you  include the family cat. And as for those people that truly fall into the category of deviant and/or evil? Please, don’t get me started.. That’s a whole ’nother column.
                          
Love is love, people. Whether it’s between two consenting adults of the opposite sex, same sex, or me and a pizza with double cheese, it will not be stopped. That’s what love is. It knows no boundaries and answers only to those it has chosen.

Go ahead, quote me!
There are many who like to cut and paste passages of the Bible to make a point. I’m not a fan.

But we Christians are taught that God has given her* children many gifts and through her Son asks this in return: First, love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. Second, love your neighbor as yourself.

If you can’t love your child, friend, or even a passer-by who is gay, then dude, you have some serious self-loathing issues.

You love your child right?  Ok, maybe not all the time. But more so, than not. Anyway, would you love your child any less if they came to you and said they were gay or lesbian?  You may not approve of their “choice” but isn’t that what unconditional love is?      

No one should have to prove that being gay or lesbian isn’t an illness, or a choice. Although, even in today’s so-called enlightenment, many must choose to stay closeted for fear of their safety, loss of a families love (for if there is no love if there can be no acceptance), job loss, the list goes on.

Some argue that gays and lesbians ‘opt in’ to a lifestyle. It’s not a choice and it’s not a lifestyle. The choice is either live a lie, or lie to live. From my vantage point that kinda sucks. Not everyone is brave enough to live their lives openly gay.

Three cheers!
Thank you to Ellen DeGeneres, Rachel Maddow, Neil Patrick Harris, Russell T. Davies (Dr. Who fans will know), Anderson Cooper, as well as many others, for putting themselves out there, in the forefront, giving a face to what it is to be gay. Guess what? Looks pretty much like everyone else. So deal with it!

As a people, a nation, we shouldn’t have to legislate equality. Nor should our government be legislating morality. Yet after 230-some years, here we are. All equal under the eyes of law? Many would disagree, and rightfully so. Writing it down and voting on it doesn’t necessarily make it so.

I cannot, and will not quote polls to make my point. Anyone can do that. There are polls all over the internet skewed to any argument, about anything, you want to make. I will not invoke the wrath of God, her so-called faithful have cornered that market.

When I discuss gay marriage, DADT (Don’t Ask Don’t Tell), gays raising children no one else will take (because they talk back and don’t and have that new baby smell) with friends and relatives most of us agree that we’re okay with gay marriage, and gays in the military, and deep-fried Twinkies. I acknowledge others don’t. That’s a shame. For them.

We the Peeps!
The state and federal governments and those parties in power who fail to listen to their constituents apparently didn’t get the memo. We the People can think, and make informed decisions, in the bedroom and outside of it, for ourselves, without regret. Let us.

*Her, him, it, whatever. I think God’s pretty cool with just getting a shout-out in this day and age. - js

Blah, blah, blah

The Reality of Reality Television

In the world of television, a season has just passed, and another approaches. That’s right, while one batch of reality shows has come to their inevitable conclusion, another group steps in to fill the void.

Reality tv comes in a cornucopia of malevolent flavors including searching for the perfect mate, hanging with the friends your mother hates, chronicling the cheating mate (husband, wife or significant other, it’s a varied menu) and hanging with the queens (drag queens, royal weddings, whatever). Nothing is off limits if it’s on cable.

The word ‘reality’ is defined by the Miriam Webster online dictionary as: the quality or state of being real: television programming that features videos of actual occurrences (as a police chase, stunt, or natural disaster) —often used attributively .

So, reality television. It’s swiftly become a part of the modern television lexicon. Be it network or cable, a large portion of what is being regularly programmed over the airwaves, or beamed down from the fringes of the atmosphere comes to us as reality tv. And like it or not, it is here to stay.

What’s the bottom line?
Is reality tv just a portrayal of life as it happens, such as those events mentioned in the Miriam Webster definition? Or a money-making stunt for both players and networks?

Does the video chronicling of a living macrocosm, in some instances populated by the insular lives of idiotic misfits and cretins; so lacking in modesty, common sense and decency; allow it to be formally accepted as life as we know it?

Or, is each episode a portrayal of a life so far removed from reality that to call it so is nothing more than a misnomer? To be viewed as some convoluted form of modern day comic opera? Which, to say the least, is an unfair comparison to the accepted parameters of what is known as comic opera.

In other words, does watching The Bachelor, and then discussing it around the office water cooler, give it an air of legitimacy usually reserved for natural disasters and the NFL draft?

NO. A thousand times, no.

That’s a lot of hyphens!
Just because a television show is “unscripted” and craftily edited, chronicling the day-to-day comings and goings of a group of fun-loving, ethno-centric, beer-guzzling, up-chucking, chain-smoking, name-calling, hair-pulling, foul-mouthed twenty-somethings, or housewives, (or whatever the “it” demographic happens to be at the time), doesn’t make it reality.

Or right.

So let’s stop referring to it as reality television and call it what it really is, entertainment. Nope. That’s not the right word either. It’s more than a word. I’ve got it! Call it a guilty pleasure. That’s a little closer to, well, reality. I guess.

My guilty pleasure? Last Cake Standing. So what does that say about me? Oh, hell. Forget I even brought it up!