What will a Romney Presidency look like?

Exactly what will a Romney presidency look like?

Folks, if one steps back and considers the thing without built in bias and paying no attention to all the hoopla, the picture becomes quite clear and sharp.

First, while he seems quite a nice man, he is not the sort to be especially proactive. I think he will honor most of the promises he made – sort of. And then I suspect he will sit back and respond to events.

Clearly he will have to address Obamacare and I believe he will so do – but not just willy-nilly, whack it with a hammer and go on. No, I suspect he will more modify than repeal. Remember, there's a lot of “feel good” stuff in there that really doesn't do anything. An example is the business of having insurance cover preexisting conditions. There's really no reason to repeal that – the market will take care of it.

You find out that you have cancer. You go straight to your insurance agent. He checks with the company and tells you they will be happy to cover you. No problem. The premium will be $25,000 a week. I'm pretty sure you'll find that's how it works under Obamacare. Why change it. The whole purpose is to be able to say “We forced the evil insurance companies to cover preexisting conditions” and Romney can leave it alone and claim “We were able to keep the preexisting conditions clause.”

No, it may not be all that simple, but that's the way it has to be. Somebody has to pay.

And there are lots of other things in there like that. He can leave a lot to mollify the Democrats, and repeal a lot to satisfy Republicans. None of this is a real problem.

The mandates? Whack them suckers. The fines? Whack 'em. Kids staying on their parent's programs? What's the big deal? You want your kid on there? Fine. Here's how much the premium will be. Will that be cash or credit card? What's the problem?

The economy? He will okay the Keystone pipeline in its entirety. Further, he will allow such drilling as is safe and increase the oversight of that drilling. Coal? Bring it on – just clean it up the best you can. Natural gas? No problem. Ethanol? Oops. No subsidies. You want to do it, do it.

I think that pretty much covers it so now we come to this. What will his presidency be like.

Two things. If you will look dispassionately at what he will do as President, I think you will find out that he will not do that much. Why should he? Let congress do it.

BUT – if you want to see his presidency the way the people and the world will see it, you will see the biggest boom this country has ever experienced.

WHAT?

Yes. A massive monster BOOM.

And why? Not because of Romney being elected. No. Because Obama will be gone, along with all his czars and cronies.

Look, here's the deal. American business is not growing in the U.S.

What they are doing is taking in such profits as they are able to make without U.S. expansion and investing them in emerging, vibrant, hungry markets overseas. Folks overseas are getting American jobs, earning American money and spendng it on American products. This is not a problem, it's a good thing – but – the problem is that there are not new jobs being created here.

Part of that will be corrected by turning the fossil fuel folk free. And a huge amount will be corrected by cleaning up Obamacare. And calming down the regulators will do a lot. Do we really need the federal government dictating that our children must eat a salad instead of meat? And making it against the rules for them to bring food to school? Do we need to require a $100,000 environmental study before a hospital is allowed to repaint the inside of their building? Okay, I made that last one up – but I'm sure you take my point.

We don't need all these new Czars. What we need is a U.S. Department of Common Sense that every new reg must go through. And that department should have an unlimited budget for paper shredders.

Okay, back to the coming boom. Let's talk about unemployment. Friends, if you are too sorry to work, you can get unemployment for TWO YEARS so that you can watch TV in your bathrobe and fish and hunt. In the meantime, employers all over this country have jobs that they can't fill because the work force doesn't have to work.

Stop it. It's just that simple. Twenty-six weeks and you have to apply somewhere four times a day to get that. If you are offered a job and turn it down, sorry, you're out of here. Oh, you don't want anything where you have to work on Thursdays? And you don't want anything where you might get grease on your shirt? Hey, I hate it for you.

Job training programs. Yes. But not from the government. That should be a function of the private industries that want to hire the people. You want machinists? Great. Hire people with a talent in that area, pay them what they're worth and teach them how to be machinist helpers. When they learn the trade, they'll be worth a whole lot more and will be paid accordingly.

American business is chomping at the bit to do business in America. Get out of the way and let them do it. I suspect that Ryan will be put in charge of getting the government out of the way – and suspect that American business will start expanding the day a new president takes the oath of office. Romney? Fine. Ron Paul? Even better. Me? Yeah, that'll work. And what do the three of us have in common? None of us are Obama.

That my friends is what they're waiting for. They're not waiting for Romney to move in, they're waiting for Obama to move out.

And what about housing?

Friend, housing will take care of itself. You put people back to work and a wave of activity will start. People who are living on the street will move into campers. People who live in campers will move into trailers. People who live in trailers will move into houses. And people who live in houses will move to bigger, better houses. WHEE.

Wait, we need one thing. And the incoming president, no matter who he is, will be required (by the prople) to do it. Let the lending institutions loan money only to those who will be able to pay it back. In other words, again, GET OUT OF THE WAY.

Dear heart, I'm talking about a return to the 50's but with big-screen TV's and high-speed facebook.

And what does it take to get all this? Just vote Obama out. It's really just that simple.

It's all about having fun

It is not uncommon for me to say, on parting, “You have fun.” It’s a habit and I mean it too.

Sometimes people assure me that they will. Other times, however, the response is disappointing. All too many people say something like, “I will when I get off from here.” That makes me very sad for them.

My friends, I have a policy. If I’m not having fun, I’m gonna do something different. If circumstances require that I continue on with what I’m doing, then I shall simply find a way to make it fun.

It is very rare that I cannot find fun where and when I am at the time. When I was attacked by that deer, there was a short period as I rolled and slid across the pavement, screaming in blue and yellow and red pain, during which I was not having fun. The rest of the thing, despite the pain, had an element of fun to it.

First there was the business of being on my back in the ditch in the middle of the night, knowing that someone would eventually see me and call 911. An ambulance, probably two, and a bunch of lawmen would come. And I would then become a patient rather than the paramedic in charge. These would all be people of my acquaintance. People with whom I had worked. Some of them would have worked under my supervision.

The situation promised a number of opportunities for fun – mostly, of course, at my expense.

And so it proved.

The first part was when they cut my clothes off. Surely, if you are an adult, you are aware that, as a patient, you are not allowed to retain the slightest modicum of dignity. But at least you can joke about it and joking’s fun if the other folks will cooperate.

Then we got to the hospital. They checked me out and finally admitted me and sent me to a room upstairs. Oh dear, it’s going to get boring now. Surely there’s an opportunity for some form of enjoyment.

Aha, a knock on the door. In comes the person who owns all rights and title to my heart. I have no idea to this day how she found out about my accident – but she did. And there she was. Well, did we have fun or did we whine and cry and moan? But then she had to leave so I took a nap.

After some time had passed, an old friend came to give me a ride home. The catch here is that we had become estranged and had been so for some years. Riding in his truck for an hour while visiting and chatting and reestablishing our friendship was a wonderful lot of fun.

So far it’s been six months of intense doctoring and physical therapy, surgeries and procedures. But, it’s also been new people and countless opportunities to have fun.

Yesterday a waitress complained that she was going to have to work a twelve-hour shift and she was not real happy about it. I suggested that she really study each customer on whom she waited and figure out what kind of animal they were inside their person costume.

Next trick, when that gets old, picture them naked, trying to sneak out without paying.

Then I explained to her about smiling. It is easier for people to like you if you smile. If you continue to smile, they may start doing it too. You may decide to like each other, and turn your smiles into laughter. Is that fun, or what?

You know, the Bible isn’t a bad place to turn for guidance in human affairs. Let’s see what it says about having fun. I shall search for the phrase “a merry heart”

Proverbs 15:13 A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.

Proverbs 15:15 All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.

Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

There. Just some examples. Why would you possibly want your spirit to be broken? Or to be afflicted with evil? Or to have your bones dry up?

Not me. I’ll take a merry heart any day.

Dear friends, there ain’t no reason to not be happy, come what may. You’ll realize this if you live long enough. Ain’t no need to not have fun. It just takes imagination and determination. Ain’t no reason not to smile. It will brighten your whole life. Really. Next time you’re feeling down, try smiling.

A Local Treasure

Some years ago, in 1997 to be exact, I suffered a couple of problems. First, my back got a little out of whack and second, my soft pallet, uvula and throat swole up to where I was having very real problems breathing. (An aside: Please, you kids over in the corner giggling, “uvula” is NOT a dirty word. It’s the little hangy-down thing in the back of your throat.)

Well, that hangy-down thing got so swole up it was laying on my tongue and I was about to strangle. Of course I put off doing anything as long as I could but the time finally came when I just had to do something so I went to an “Ear, Nose and Throat” specialist. He took one look and went slam crazy. “Mister Gibson, we’ve got to fix that right now. I’ll get everything set up and we’ll plan on operating first thing tomorrow morning. Meet me at the hospital at 6:00 and don’t eat or drink anything after midnight.”

“Whoa doc. Slow down. I got to get a second opinion here.”

“Okay, Mister Gibson, we’ve got to fix that right now. I’ll get everything set up and we’ll plan on operating first thing tomorrow morning. Meet me at the hospital at 6:00 and don’t eat or drink anything after midnight and on top of that you’re old and fat and ugly. Now, you want a third opinion?”

“No, that’s okay. Just let me go think about them two a little bit and get back with you.”

So I call another doc, explain the situation and ask if he can work me in. He says come on over.

He takes a look and says exactly what the other guy said so we set it up for the next day.

I show up and get all prepped and then they bring a bunch of paperwork for me to sign. Best I could tell, they were saying I would almost certainly die on the operating table but I wouldn’t sue them as attested to by my signature hereon.

That got me all upset so I got up, put on my pants and left.

Now, I’m out and back to Nahunta and I still can’t breathe and my back’s still out. What the heck, I’ll go get Matt O’berry, my friend and chiropractor, to adjust my back and at least that will be better. So that’s the deal. I head over to Matt’s office next to the nursing home.

I go in, sign the check-in sheet, sit down and start reading a National Geographic about using seaweed as a fuel source. First time I read about that was almost fifty years ago and it was in, I think, Scientific American. I’ve been regularly reading about it ever since and the estimate is always, “commercially viable in maybe twenty years.”

The receptionist comes and gets me and takes me back to a treatment room.

Before long Matt comes in. Nice as he can be as usual. He asks me what’s the problem and I tell him my back is out again. He tells me to lie down on my stomach and I do. He starts out by running a hand down my back the way you do a nervous horse to calm him down – and then he stops.

“William, are you having any trouble getting air?”

“Well, yes sir, I am.”

“Hang on a minute, I want to try something.”

He feels around a little, then he puts one hand here and one hand there and kind of pops my spine like he was popping a buggy-whip.

Poof. All of a sudden I can breathe perfectly No problem.

Before I leave, I go into the bathroom and look in the mirror. No swelling. My uvula is just uvulating along like a regular hangy-down thing. Ain’t even no evidence left that I can use to sue them other docs for scaring me half to death Not a trace

Well, the man fixed my back and he fixed my airway and whenever I have a problem I now know to run it by him first before I do anything stupid.

Time passes by

I get tangled up in my famous deer vs motorcycle adventure, Nine rib fractures. Okay, I know he’d have to be crazy to start yanking that around but I ought to go let him know what’s happened and get his advice.

I go in, tell the receptionist my problem and she immediately puts me in a treatment room. In just a minute or two, he comes in. I tell my story and he comes over and starts gently feeling of the ribs. He says that he can’t do any adjusting but he might can show me something. He then showed me a couple of spots and how I could position my open palms on them and apply a gentle pressure and maybe get at least a little relief along and along.

I thanked him and went to the counter to pay He stuck his head out and said, “I’m not going to charge you for that.”

Friends, that man did me a service When I would cough or sneeze or move wrong, after I stopped screaming I would do what he said and it would ease the pain.

Matt Oberry, if you are reading this, thank you for these and the other things you have done for me over the years. You’re the best.

You other folks, if you ain’t his patient you need to be. The man knows how to do that chiropractor stuff. And, more importantly, he knows what to mess with and what to leave alone

Advice, unasked for, to young folk and their parents

Just yesterday, on Facebook, there was a quote from Mark Twain: “The world owes you nothing.” It made me think about the evils that unthinking parents can visit on their children.

That, though, was not enough of a spur to make me try for a serious comment.

Later I ran into a man whom I do not know but could not ignore. He was a man of my years (almost 70) and was clearly depressed and in distress. I introduced myself and asked if I could join him. He grabbed the opportunity as though it were a life-vest and he was drowning.

Seems this old man has worked hard all his life. Married and raised a family. Bought a nice house and finally paid it off. Came time for his children to go to college and he, like many other parents, helped them financially and co-signed for their student loans.

Now he finds his life is coming to a close because of a health issue that medical science cannot overcome. He has, in the course of his medical problems, been forced to spend his retirement savings and take out another mortgage. Fortunately he has insurance sufficient to cover the mortgage so he could leave his wife at least their home.

And then he opened his mail.

The children are in default on the student loans and the responsibility now falls on him. The home will have to go.

His spirit is exhausted.

Happy ending? I don’t know. I gave him such encouragement as I had in me. Eventually he went his way and I went mine.

Because of a motorcycle crash, I am dealing with a number of doctors. Two of them are in their late forties or early fifties and have extremely successful practices. Both are surgeons. Each of them has a large support staff. And each of them still labors under the weight of his or her student loans. Neither is certain of the outcome.

My friend, do you have children? As they approach college age, ask yourself some very serious questions. Are they truly college material? Or would they do better in a trade school?

Yes, college graduates with meaningful degrees (medicine, business, engineering, etc) make more than other folks. And so do people who have trade school educations. When my plumbing goes bad, I want it fixed and will pay whatever I must pay. When my car breaks down, I will pay a person to tow it to the shop and I will pay a mechanic to fix it. My insurance company just paid a small fortune to fix my motorcycle. When my pump stops working, I don’t put it out for bids. I call my well man and pay him whatever it takes to get me water.

Let us, though, suppose that one or more of your children actually are college material and have a passion for something requiring a college education.

Here are a couple of shockers.

They do not have to go to Harvard. Neither do they need to live at college the way that they have lived at home.

One, especially when young, can live in a dorm or in a small rented room with a bathroom down the hall. A bed is nice, but not really necessary. That’s why they make sleeping bags. One doesn’t have to drive a Cadillac or BMW – one may well be able to get by on public transportation. Sleep? You can do that later, when you’re old. Ramen noodles are food. So is rice. TV? Don’t you have school work and a job? Smart phone? Why?

My Uncle George went to the University of Georgia and studied Animal Husbandry. The school was a few hundred miles away. He hitch-hiked (it was a different time – and safer). You think that’s hard? Well hang on. Seems he had, as a part of his schooling, to raise a bull. He did. And then, when it got to be time to go home, he (and his bull) hitch-hiked home.

No student loans. He worked. He worked hard. And then he went to school, and then he went to work, and then he went to school, and then he went to work… No student loans.

And therein is the purpose of this writing.

My Uncle George knew that nobody owed him anything.

And he knew that all he had to rely on was youth, the health that comes from being active and abstaining from self-abuse, a good mind and a desire, a passion, for cows and all things cow-related.

Nobody bought him an extended cab, 4 wheel drive, luxury appointed pickup to drive to and from the high school. He had to get from Waynesville to Nahunta. He either snagged a ride on a passing freight train – or he ran. Yes. Ran. From the house to the school was probably 13+ miles. He did his chores and then he ran to school. Then he ran home to do more chores and study.

Friends, he had a wonderful life, made a great success and became quite wealthy.

No student loans.

Nobody owes you nuthin. Okay?

Parent, you want your child to grow up and be something? Okay, get out of the way and let them do it. Talk to them. Find out where their passion lies. And then direct them – but get out of the way and let them learn to work and live.

Hard? Yeah. So? Do you love them or do you not?

Summary:

1. College or trade school?
2. If you truly want to be happy, follow your dream, your passion.
3. No student loans. Earn it.

And 4. Don’t nobody owe you nuthin.

Things my father taught me—on conducting business as a Christian (A Viewshound gold medal winner)

My father was a businessman. From the time I began to record memories, he taught me what he felt were the most important things a businessman must know and do. The advice, though, applies to everyone, whether you think of yourself as a businessman or not. Do you buy or sell? Do you lend or borrow? Do you interact with people? These things apply to you.

He was not only a businessman, he was also a Christian, not in name only but within every fiber of his being.

The first lesson I remember was the need for honest dealings.

He made it his business to begin a trade by making the other person clearly aware of every flaw or problem or shortcoming in the thing that he, my father, was selling. He then would try to strike a deal where both parties would be equally satisfied. And then he would throw in something more.

Christians are taught to love their neighbors. If one truly loves the other person then one will protect that person from being cheated. Further, this constantly consistent behavior will establish one's reputation as an honest man and a man of character.

Another lesson had to do with values. Never trade until you know the value of the thing that's being traded. And then do a fair deal.

If you offered my father something that he wanted, or that you badly needed to get rid of, he would examine it carefully and then determine its value in the marketplace.

If you were asking too much, he would counteroffer with the actual value of the thing. If you were asking too little, he would tell you so and insist on paying the proper price. And then a little more in case he might be off in his estimate.

Another thing was that he would not do business in secret. Whatever trade he made was made before witnesses. He instilled in me the certainty that, if you have to hide and whisper, there's something very wrong with the deal you're being offered.

He explained these matters to me in terms of the biblical injunctions on which they were based, and in terms of the effect transgression would have on one's character – whether it ever became public or not.

The proper maintenance of one's character was to him like "muscle memory" to a fighter. If one made it a practice to always do right, it would become second nature and not require an effort. It would just simply happen.

If a person asked him for money, or for a thing, and he could afford to do it, he gave it without question unless the person was drunk, in which case he told the fellow to come back when he was sober.

If a person asked for a loan, and it was within his capabilities, he would do it. He would charge the then current interest rate and, if the rate subsequently went down, he would adjust accordingly.

He would not go to court but would find a way to settle a disagreement without so doing.

Why did he do these things?

Because these are things that Jesus said for us to do.

He was, following these principles, quite successful.

Whenever I would question these matters, he would patiently explain, "William, I cannot be responsible for anyone's behavior except mine, and I am fully responsible to God for it. If somebody treats me badly, that is between them and God. My response to their treatment is between me and God. That is the single most important thing."

Another piece of advice he gave me was, before entering a significant relationship or transaction with a man, take him out for lunch and let him leave the tip. If he leaves too little, he may be governed by greed, if he leaves too much, he may suffer from poor judgment. And how did he treat the waitress? With the respect due an equal, or as one "below" him. He told me to engage in ordinary conversation during the meal. People of low character will almost always betray themselves in ordinary conversation if you listen closely. What sort of language do they use? Obscenities? Profanity? Do they seem to be trusting or are they the kind who expects to be cheated - people tend to assume that others act the way they do. A thief will presume you are, at least a little, a thieving sort. An honest man will generally expect that you are too.

Now, one other thing. Let us talk about his views towards giving money away.

He tithed. Ten percent off the top to God. And then he gave to charities that he carefully vetted and determined that they were well and truly run. And lastly, he gave to individuals in need.

I, of course, asked him about these practices and his answer never varied. "William, as long as you are giving it for the right reasons, you cannot outgive God. You will always get more than you give. BUT – if you are giving for that reason, to turn a profit on the deal, you'll go broke in a heartbeat. If your heart is true, you'll prosper."

I try, as much as is possible, to follow all these guidelines. It has worked for me for a very long time. Do with it as you will. I most sincerely hope you do what's right and prosper as did he.

On being happy

My father was happy. He made himself so.

When people would ask him how he was, he would say, "Happy!"

One day he and I went into the stump woods in central Florida where he had a crew working harvesting pine stumps miles from anywhere, just miles of private dirt roads.

When we got there, my father started visiting with Fox, a crew boss and a dear friend. My father loved him like a brother.

All of a sudden, for no discernible reason, Fox clutched his chest, turned white, began to pour huge globs of sweat and fell to the ground. He died with his head in my father's lap.

No EMS, no ER. No cell phones in that day. We were miles away from anywhere. We laid him on the grass in the shade of an old live oak and then we got in the car to go get help. My father cried as he drove. His heart was clearly broken.

We came to a dirt road, then a hard road and, eventually, to a service station. He got out and called the authorities. Then he came back to the car to wait for them to come.

While he was standing there, a local rancher, an old friend, drove up. He got out and came towards us, saying, "Hey, Clint, how you doing?"

My father paused in his grief, straightened his posture, turned towards his friend, smiled through tears that continued to fall and said, "Happy." And he was. He made that conscious choice. He became happy.

Of course he grieved. But he stayed happy.

I was a child. I didn't get it at the time.

Now I do.