My personal John McCain story

In 1996 Sen. Phil Gramm was running for President, and Sen. John McCain was campaigning for him ahead of the first-in-the-nation political primary in Iowa. (I think that would have made this sometime in 1995.) I was attending an airshow in Ankeny, Iowa, participating as the advance man for an invited CAF team. Before the gates opened to let the crowd in, and while my guys were up preparing for their act, I was just wandering around taking in the sights.

Out of nowhere I was approached by Sen. McCain. He said he was a bit early, introduced himself (of course I knew of him already) and we sat and talked one-on-one. He put me at complete ease, acted "normal"...humble even...while we had a nice, casual conversation for about 20 minutes. I mentioned he had been in the Hanoi Hilton with my Congressman, Sam Johnson, and it was like we were long-time buddies. He told stories, I asked some current event questions, and he answered with complete candor, devoid of any two-faced BS the way every other politician I've ever known would have. With sincere smiles we eventually shook hands again and he said he had enjoyed our visit, then he went off to "press the flesh" on behalf of Sen. Gramm as the crowd began to filter in.

Senator John McCain passed away today. I can honestly say I knew him personally and felt he was a sincere man of great integrity. I know he's in a comfortable place now, and I feel better knowing that.

RIP my friend.

A sign of our times

If you've had the opportunity to travel around the US much, and if you've been paying attention, you've probably noticed how much one place looks like every other.  If you want to go out for dinner, you'll find lots of Olive Garden's, Outback's, Chili's, Applebee's, McDonald's and Taco Bell's, but you'll have to look hard to find a Mama's Cafe.

Most towns will have multiple branches of Bank of America, Citibank, Chase, and Wells Fargo, but it's doubtful you'll still find a local First National Bank.  You'll find lots of Chevy, Ford, Dodge, and Toyota dealers that may have a sign that says "Proudly serving _____ since 1974", but if you'll Google it you'll probably find it's now owned by one of the hundred-dealer auto conglomerates.

You probably won't find a local Tip Top Grocery, but you'll find plenty of 7-11's, Quick Trip's, and RaceTrac's.  And almost all sell gas, too, which has put the locally owned and operated 4-pump Exxon's and Texaco's out of business.  Grocery stores are now dominated by big names like Walmart and Kroger's.  Find yourself in need of a pair of pliers or a screwdriver?  You'll likely find a Lowe's or Home Depot before you find a Floyd's Hardware.

Have an unexpected day free for some fishing?  You'll burn up a tank of gas looking for Bubba's Bait and Tackle, while you drive right past Cabela's, Bass Pro Shop, Academy, and Dick's.  Need a dress shirt?  Ken's Man's Shoppe is long gone, replaced by Men's Wearhouse, Dillard's, and Joseph A Bank's.  Rick's Furniture was killed off by the likes of Nebraska Furniture Mart and Haverty's, who are themselves now keeping a wary eye on Wayfair.

This is true for every midsize and large city I've been to in recent years.  It may or may not be true if you're in some place like East Bull Turd, Alabama.  Even then, if East Bull Turd happens to be within 30 or 40 miles of a major city, it will soon be a growing suburb and will see this phenomenon, too.  And if it's too far away to attract city commuters, then it will likely continue to just wither away.

The little guys don't stand a chance these days, and even the big guys are now feeling the heat from the 500-pound gorilla in the room....Amazon.  I guess it's true what they say:  "The only thing constant is change."  *sigh*

S

Form vs function

I receive catalogues from many different sources, for products that I have absolutely no interest in.  Furniture vendors in particular.  I guess I clicked on something one day and BAM, I was on their radar as a sucker potential customer.  Now I do like (soft) contemporary architecture and furniture, but much of it just looks downright uncomfortable.  Obviously (to me) whoever designed it placed form over function.

Exotic automobiles are often conflicted by this "form vs function" conundrum, too.  Lamborghini's are decidedly gorgeous, sleek cars....

....but have you ever tried to get into or out of one?  *groan*

The Amish, by contrast, don't even recognize the concept of "form".

Some people are impeccably stylish.  You rarely see England's Prince Charles in anything other than his trademark double breasted suit, and then he's either wearing his polo attire or one of his dress military uniforms.  Do you think he ever just puts on some shorts and a t-shirt and gets in a quick game of croquet out back with the guys?

Donald and Melania Trump's New York apartment is I'm sure considered by many to be Architectural Digest perfect, but if he invites Sean and his pals over to watch the game, where would they sit?  You think he has a man cave no one ever sees where he goes to let his hair down?  (pun intended)

Most of us fall somewhere in between.  We like form, but we like function, and comfort, more.  I can't imagine buying a sofa or a chair from a catalogue.  I insist on sitting on it first.  If it isn't comfortable, I don't care how good it looks, I'm not buying it.  I have an old, decidedly worn looking oversized leather chair in my den.   As I recall it had a pleasant "form" when I purchased it 20+ years ago, but since then it has decidedly conformed nicely to butt, making it's original form almost unrecognizable today.  It will probably join Archie Bunker's chair in the Smithsonian some day.  *snort*

As I look around our apartment I'd have to say I lean 90% +/- toward function.  I own very little that anyone would consider "stylish".  Not our furniture, not our "art", and certainly NOT my wardrobe.  My car, a Mazda, is currently parked in our garage between a Mercedes and a Maserati (no joke).  I wonder if either of those people ever say to themselves, "Doh....I coulda had a Mazda!"  (They probably do, actually, when they're looking out the window of their respective dealer's service departments and see me puttering by.)

How about you?  I'm not saying there's anything at all wrong with being stylish.  To some it's worth the effort.  How would you rate yourself....be honest now....on the "form vs function" scale?

S 

Do I know you? No? Great....let's keep it that way.

Have you noticed how UN-social we've become?  People are withdrawing, to one degree or another, from social interaction.  It's been a creeping thing for years, but now it seems to me it's becoming a stampede.  The most obvious example of this....

Texting

Given a choice, people....young people in particular, would prefer to not talk to other humans, ever.  Instead of going to see our neighbor two houses down the street, or calling them, we text them.  People go out for dinner, and then spend half their time texting, sometimes to the person sitting right across the table from them!

Shopping

It's estimated that 20% of American shopping malls will close within 5 years.  People are just not going out shopping like they used to.  Toys R Us, Radio Shack, Circuit City, and Blockbuster, among many others, are long gone.  Sears and Kmart are dead men walking, JC Penny isn't far behind, and even big chains like Macy's are closing stores as fast as they can.  Yet online retailers are THRIVING!  (OK....guilty.  Just this week I placed online orders with Amazon, LL Bean, and REI.)

You can even buy a car online without ever speaking to a live homo sapien!  That is, those who still want to drive can.  I recently read that the average young person doesn't even bother getting their driver's license until they're 19 years old.  In my day (as we old farts used to say) we were at the DMV at 6 am on our 16th birthday to be first in line to get our license.  Auto makers are seeing a trend of "car sharing", where a number of people will buy a car together, then take their turn driving it on the increasingly rare times they have to venture out of their house/apartment.

It wasn't long ago that if you wanted a meal of a slightly higher caliber than a drive-thru joint, you had to go INSIDE, be seated by a human, tell a human what you wanted, and pay a human on your way out.  

Today we have home delivery via Grub Hub and Uber Eats.  Just place your order and pay online, in half an hour open your door up just wide enough for someone to slip your food to you, then slam the door and lock it again.  No eye contact necessary.  *sweet!*

Many local grocery stores are now making home deliveries, and they all allow you to order everything from beans to toilet paper online, then just pull up curbside where they will hand you your assembled order.  (Coming to a complete stop is appreciated.)

If you're feeling puny, you can call any number of online doctors who will examine you long distance (?) and in many cases send you a prescription from a mail-order pharmacy.  (Just hold your camera phone up to your open mouth and say 'ahh'.)  Why go out to see a doctor or to a hospital (oh, many hospitals are closing, too) when you can sit at home and get fixed?

Will dermatology eventually become an extinct medical specialty?   Today dermatologists are in their heyday, treating all of us who regularly went outside when we were younger and now have skin cancer.  Soon we won't go outside enough to absorb any of those evil rays that give us problems 30 years down the road.  *note to self:  sell all suntan lotion stock*

Are we just getting lazier, or just more scared to interact with others?  Gee thanks Gates, Jobs, Bezos, and Zuckerberg.  *sigh*

S