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 |   Tales from real life |
| Well, if they're not true, they oughta be! |
I started dating Debbie in the spring of 1977, and we got married a year later. Married life presented many new challenges and a need to make more money. My college adviser suggested that I apply at Summit Engineering, a small company where he had personal connections. His recommendation did the trick and I got the job. My position as an engineering support technician paid $3.71 an hour that summer, and Deb was getting $3.23 an hour as a nurse’s aide at the hospital. It seemed like plenty, at first, but I had to go back to school in the fall. Deb’s income wasn’t enough to support two people and cover my tuition, so I arranged to continue working afternoons at Summit. College was especially hard as a senior, because I’d fallen behind with my coursework during my junior year, completing only 36 credits. That meant I needed to get another 60 to finish my degree. To further complicate things, my new bride worked second shift, so we saw each other only at night and on weekends. My typical day that year would start before seven with a quick bite and a fifteen-minute walk to campus for morning classes. I’d eat a sandwich at the SUB, then head over to Summit and work until five pm. A twenty-minute walk home, supper, and studying occupied me until eleven-thirty when Deb got home. We’d do what newlyweds do, get a few hours of sleep, and then do it all again. I definitely had a full plate, so I needed to prioritize my time. It was difficult to find enough credit hours, and especially difficult to get them all scheduled into my mornings. It seemed something had to give, and that something turned out to be an industrial engineering elective, I & ME 325 Engr Economy. The course was organized on a contract model with a textbook and optional lecture, but without homework. Instead, we had fifteen pass/fail units that could be completed at any time. Credit for each unit was earned by passing a test administered by a teaching assistant. Ten units were required for a ‘C’ grade, twelve for a ‘B’, and fifteen for an ‘A’. No homework and optional lectures fit perfectly into my busy schedule, and it was easy to put more difficult coursework first. The course was based on the ‘time value of money’ equations that are used for everything from calculating car payments to comparing investment strategies. Math always came easily to me, so I was able to follow the textbook and work on my own. I started out with good intentions and completed the first unit almost immediately. But a heavy course load makes it easy to procrastinate. So, on the Monday before finals week, I went to the TA for only the second time and asked to take the test for unit 2. “Dude! What’s the point? this is the last week!” “Yeah, I know. Just gimme the test.” He graded me on unit 2 while I waited and shook his head again when I asked for the unit 3 test. I’d crammed hard the day before and I passed that one too. I found a nearby bench to study unit 4 for a couple of hours and passed that test as well. The TA was impressed that I did three units in one day, but he was still skeptical. “Dude, it’s too much. You’re not gonna make it.” I studied hard again that evening and on Tuesday I completed units 5 & 6. The TA was on my side by this time and seemed eager to see me pull it off. He looked disappointed when I slowed my pace on Wednesday, completing only unit 7. But then I rallied on Thursday to complete units 8 & 9. “Dude! Way to go!” he grinned enthusiastically. On Friday afternoon I finished unit 10 and triumphantly celebrated a hard-earned ‘C’ with two full hours to spare. “Dude, the Prof wants to see you,” was all the TA said. I knocked on the Professor’s door, wondering what the problem could be. “Mr. Fisher, I understand that you’ve completed this entire course in one week?” “Well, almost, I did 9 units.” “Why on earth didn’t you begin sooner and earn an A?” he demanded. “All I need to graduate is a C,” I shrugged. He muttered something about ‘engineers’ and waved me out. |
Attitudes and expectations are important. A child who has their parents support and great expectations will work harder and do better than one who is neglected and ignored. A people with morally responsible leadership will sacrifice and work for the common good, instead of stooping to greed and shallow self-interest. It's attitude, more than platitude, that makes the difference. The recent historical record of mass shootings bears this out. There have been mass shootings in the United States ever since repeating arms were invented. They were quite rare, however, until the latter part of the twentieth century when Ronald Reagan ushered in the era of 'greed is good'. Reagan conservatives felt encouraged to act in their own self-interest. The old traditions of honor and sacrifice for one's country fell out of fashion in the wake of the president selling guns and drugs to further his illegal political schemes. And, unlike Nixon, Uncle Ron just smirked and got away with it. A perfect example for those tempted to abuse power. The rise in gun violence during and after the Reagan years led to a partial ban on assault rifles in 1994. This so-called ban did almost nothing to reduce the number and availability of these weapons, but it did signal an official disapproval of using them. The result was a significant decline in the number of mass shootings and in overall gun violence. A clear indication that leadership matters. George W. Bush gave an implied approval of assault rifles by allowing the 1994 ban to expire quietly in 2004. His lack of courage led to an immediate spike in gun sales and a swift rise in all categories of gun violence. Mass shootings really took off after Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia rewrote the second amendment in 2008. His moral failing made gun ownership not only a right, but a requirement for flag-pin conservatives. It is not a coincidence that his 2008 ruling ushered in the modern era of school shootings. Donald Trump's contempt for the law only made matters worse. So much so, that a young man can now illegally obtain an assault rifle, travel hundreds of miles to shoot random people in a crowd, and yet be acquitted of murder. Not only found innocent but hailed as a second amendment hero. The current crop of conservative politicians are venal opportunists who see school shootings as an acceptable cost for their own re-election to congress. We are often reminded that elections have consequences. Mass shootings, gun violence, and dead children are the natural consequence of electing those who glorify guns. Let your conscience be your guide in the midterm elections. History shows that people follow where they're led. You have a chance to influence that direction. Know that a vote for 'gun rights' will result in more unnecessary deaths. That's simply a fact. |
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