As I sit before my computer and write my “Staffer Speaks” column, many thoughts are going through my head. I could write about George Bush and his faults as President, but I won’t.
I could write about the farce that we know as the California recall and the race for Governor. It would be too easy to make fun of Arnold, Flint, Gray, Coleman, and the rest. It is funny to think that one day Governor Arnold Drummond could turn to Lt. Governor Terminator and tell him with a straight face that he didn’t agree with a decision and say, “What you talkin’ about Term!” Meanwhile, Chief of Staff Flint could snap off pictures of the two of them for a spread called “The Leaders of California Get It On!”
I could write about them, but that would be easy.
I could talk about the passing of two of America’s great treasures: Johnny Cash and Bob Hope. I admired both for different reasons. Bob Hope was and should still be today a hero and an idol for our youth to look up to and learn from. He was a man who traveled the globe spreading happiness and joy to the thousands of servicemen and women who defended our freedoms in places where you and I probably wouldn’t even think of going.
Johnny Cash was a man whose gift of song told not only of his own struggles, but the struggles of his fellow man. “The Man in Black” was not only a big hit for Cash, but it truly told us about what Johnny believed and stood for and why he wrote and sang the songs he did. Both Cash and Hope were strong in their faiths and morals. Both married women who stood by their sides and took the oath of marriage very seriously.
I could go on and on about Hope and Cash, but that too would be easy.
I could write about the plight of the new casino, proposed for Sanford, that has people in this state up in arms. I’d really like to know what the hell is so awful about a casino for Southern Maine anyway. It would keep a lot of money from going to Connecticut. Besides, we took this country away from the Native Americans many, many years ago. Why can’t we allow them to have their casinos and thrive in the country that is theirs too? So what if we as a state are only going to make money off the slot machines? When was the last time you went into a casino? The slots are the busiest game in the place! The state of Maine would make plenty!
Don’t get me started!
I could write about one of the biggest problems the City of Portland has going today but refuses to recognize: the homeless. Need I say more?
Call me slow, but I am just now figuring out what the hell the new USM logo is and wondering to myself, “Wasn’t there a better option?” I can see the idea behind the “flame of education” and what it has to stand for, but really? What the hell were they thinking when the decided on blue and yellow? What was so wrong with the red, white, and blue that they had previously?
Again, don’t get me started!
Oh by the way, have any of you seen in the supermarkets the product “Newman’s Own Virgin Lemonade?” I have and I have to ask myself the burning question, “What the hell is a “virgin” lemon?” Is this the lemon that is sitting there on the vine saying to all that pass by, “No, I am sorry but I am waiting for that perfect lime that will respect me in the morning to come and ‘pick’ me away!” But I digress.
Let’s see! Where should I go next? The Red Sox. Should I? Yes, I should!
We’re in October and can you believe that the Red Sox are actually still in the hunt? I can’t! I figured they would stink up the place and fade away long before now. But they and the Chicago Cubs are in a place that they are not accustomed: the playoffs. I really don’t believe that either of these teams have any kind of shot to become World Series Champions, but stranger things have been known to happen. Can you say New England Patriots? Could you imagine the uproar in the city that would be on the losing end of a Sox-Cubs match up? There would be all kinds of pandemonium, chaos, fires, and looting. It would be awful! So we really don’t want both teams in the series at the same time. At least there won’t be any disappointment when they’d lose, since most us expect that anyway. Need I say more?
I could write about all of these things, but I won’t.
We are in October and it’s the start of the season where we should be grateful and give thanks for what we have and what we have accomplished.
I am grateful for many things in my life. I am grateful for the opportunity to be writing for the Free Press and being convergence coordinator. It is an opportunity that I thought that I would never have but was able to achieve last year.
I am grateful that I live in a free nation that allows us to believe what we want to believe and say what we want to say in forums such as this one.
I am grateful for the people who made me who I am today, my mother, father, brother, and my Aunt Margaret. Aunt Margaret was one of those special people that was everybody’s Aunt Margaret. She was the one that had five kids come into the house at lunchtime and make five different lunches. She was the lady that made sure that, when we came running for money for the ice-cream man, everybody was able to get something. She was a special lady indeed and it made me feel real special when all the kids in our neighborhood called her “Aunt” too! For she was and will always be a special lady to me.
I am grateful for my fianc? Mary who has been by my side for the past five years. Through thick and thin she has been the one that has kept me on the straight and narrow and has always been the love that I have waited for.
But most of all, I am grateful for my son, Colin. For it is through his eyes that I see the world differently. He always has a hug and kiss for me. He always has a smile on his face and can’t help it if it is contagious. He is my pride and joy. Like most parents, I want the best for my child. But what I want most for Colin is for him to grow up and be the man he wants to be and do the best he can. No matter what, I will always be proud of him.
These are the things I am grateful for each and every day of my life. Why does it have to be at this time of the year that we look back and think about these things? We should take time each day, if not only for a minute, to stop and think of all the things that we are grateful. If all the people in the world would take just a minute to dwell on these things, what a wonderful world this would be.
Jim Ward can be contacted at [email protected]