The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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With the study of history, we often think of the past as places where our heroes have risen above all obstacles by the very nature of their superior moral, physical and/ or spiritual qualities. We have a high regard for the hero while we somehow ignore or forgive them for their faults and shortcomings; no matter how glaring. We put them on pedestals and think of them, or wish for them, attributes and characteristics that may not exist. In turn, it becomes increasingly easy to give them credit...
I will be honest with all of you. I don’t even know where to begin with this Robservation. In an era where, as a society, we should be reaching for the stars, we seem to be mired in the most toxic racial environment I have witnessed in my adult life. Just before I sat down to write this, a news report broke that I am sure each and every one of you has seen and heard about dozens of times. It appears that 28-year-old Ismaaiyl Abdula Brinsley of Maryland, took his semi-automatic handgun and murder...
Mary had just had a bad night; a really, really bad night. The man her “friend” set her up with and had assured her was the “catch of the century,” had predictably turned out to be anything but. He was grossly immature and socially awkward with a strange and unsettling twitching left eye that never quite seemed to look directly at her. As she brooded over her mug of hot coffee, she thought to herself that it could have been much worse. He could have been an Oakland Raiders fan. She wiped a...
There is a line from my favorite WWII movie, 12 O’clock High, where newly promoted LTC Harvey Stovall, played by Dean Jagger, is sitting in the office with Gregory Peck’s character, General Savage, and two other officers. The 918th Bomb Group had just completed their most challenging mission to date and was scheduled to fly a mission against the same target the following day. As the men are discussing the day’s events, Stovall, quite drunk, stands up and interrupts the conversation, “I am conf...
Over the past month or so, I have become acutely aware of two things. First, time is a relentless, non-caring force that will stop for nothing. Second, I realize that there are still some very small thinking people out there. TIME: THERE IS A TIME FOR EVERYTHING My wife and I just came back from visiting her family in Texas. While there, I really noticed how much older her family has gotten. It is not like I have never noticed age, but there was something different this time. Her mom seemed to...
I have been watching the crises in Iraq with some saturnine curiosity. I am not even sure where to begin with this Robservation. But I guess the best thing to do is to “cut to the chase” so to speak. These ISIS criminals are dangerous; not only to Iraqis who think differently than they do but to the world as a whole. They hate everything and everybody who does not conform to their way of thinking. I have always had this morbid curiosity in seeing, let’s say, gross stuff. Weird? Yeah, I know...
The other day, my wife and I were minding our own business taking down wallpaper in our kitchen when we heard on Fox News that a Malaysian Airlines 777 had just been shot down in the Ukraine. A couple of hours later we heard of the Israeli ground offensive into Gaza. What a day! Days like this are exactly why our pastor reminded us last week that if we dwell on the world news instead of looking to God as our source, one can go mad through depression, worry and anger. MALAYSIA FLIGHT 17 Didn't...
Forrest Gump said, “I am not a smart man, but I know what love is.” In that vein I say, “I don’t fancy myself a super smart man, but I know idiocy when I see it.” Oh my, what in the heck is going on in this country and with this administration? Every day now it seems as though they are embroiled in yet another scandal. From Lois Lerner and the IRS, the sudden surge of illegal immigrants (undocumented Democrats), to the meltdown in the Middle East, I have to shake my head in disgust almost every...
I just recently finished a month of training in Atlanta learning to fly a new airplane. For the last 12 years or so, I have been flying the Boeing 757 and 767 but now I will be flying the Boeing 717. A lot of folks had been following me on Facebook and saw pictures I posted of me and my copilot "enjoying" the training program. But as long and painful as the training may have been, there was a definite reason for it. The reason U.S. airlines remain the best and safest in the world is because of...
My wife, her sister and I just came back from a 10-day trip to Germany. Her niece and their family are stationed in the same place my wife and I were stationed from 1987-1993. You know, there is a saying that "you can never go back." Well actually you can, just be prepared for all the changes. Before we left, I told my niece that I was "easy" and would do anything they had planned. I only had two real requests. First, I wanted to get into the AWACS simulator and fly. I had not flown that...
After my short hiatus (1 month) from Robservations, a lot has happened. We’ve had a Russian invasion, a missing Boeing 777, a pretty boring Olympics, a Jay Leno departure, idiotic lawmakers saying some pretty idiotic stuff and of course the return of the Walking Dead. As is sometimes customary with my Robservations, instead of writing about just one issue, I like to cover several topics in one column. So here is Bits and Pieces. Malaysian Flight 370 You know, I don’t even know where to beg...
You know, I spend a lot of time on the highway driving back and forth between Montgomery and Atlanta - some 500+ trips already. And I’ll tell you what, although I can’t say I’ve seen it all, I have seen a lot. It never ceases to amaze me how people can do some pretty rude and stupid things when they get behind the wheel of a car. I’ve seen people reading books, texting, putting on makeup and one not-so-smart guy actually playing his guitar while driving. Yes, I’ve seen a lot. And although...
“Popular support is the first element which is necessary for the creation of authority. But an authority resting on that foundation alone is still quite frail, uncertain and vacillating. Hence everyone who finds himself vested with an authority that is based only on popular support must take measures to improve and consolidate the foundations of that authority by the creation of force. Accordingly we must look upon power, that is to say, the capacity to use force, as the second foundation on w...
1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1998/10/98/world_war_i/197627.stm 2. http://history1900s.about.com/od/1910s/a/christmastruce_2.htm December, 1914. For over four months, Europe has been embroiled in war. What was initially conceived to be a quick conflict has become a stalemate unlike anything the world has yet seen. With the advent of newer, deadlier weapons of war, the word slaughter has been redefined to accommodate the new world of mass killing. In the first Battle of Ypres,...
I opened the Montgomery Advertiser this morning and I was overwhelmed with joy. Okay, not overwhelmed, but I was pretty happy to see the Collings Foundation is bringing their B-17, B-24 and P-51 to Montgomery on 27, 28 and 29 October. The last time they were here in town was close to three years ago when I was still pretty new as your Robservation writer. Because the Collings Foundation is back in town, I decided to reprint this, my eighth Robservation. Enjoy. BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE...
I have watched with amusement all the discussions lately on the “Greek” issue at the University of Alabama. First of all, I think that in the year 2013, the whole idea of somebody not being admitted to a fraternity or sorority based SOLELY one’s race is ludicrous – but not surprising. Although I do not talk much about it, I figured now might be an interesting time to talk about my “Greek” experiences at the University of Tennessee from 1979 – 1983. Let me get this out in the open “from the get...
I have been called many things in my life: Charming, witty, intelligent, suave, debonair, refined, talented and of course “da_n handsome.” Okay, I’m lying. I’ve never been called “refined” before. All kidding aside, I have certainly been called many things in my life, some of them quite unflattering, but one thing I know for sure is that I have never been called “politically correct.” That is one moniker I hope to never have posted next to my name. It is not because I feel the need to go out...
