Wow. I just saw Tom Fetzer on TV and boy is he not looking well. I know it’s been a long time since Fetzer wreaked havoc on Raleigh as its mayor but, damn, the years have not been kind to him.
I hope his serving as the state GOP head still lets him get in some tennis because it looks to me like his health may be suffering.
The recent snow and ice event started up the predictable office debates about “people just not knowing how to drive in this weather.” It didn’t matter that some of these driving “experts” complained of people driving too fast and some complained of people driving too slow: no matter what the other driver clearly was in the wrong.
The late, great comedian George Carlin once observed that anyone driving slower than you is an idiot and anyone driving faster than you is a maniac. It’s true: we’re quick to judge other drivers by our own driving. This leads to all sorts of problems, not only for your judging someone else but for the driver you are judging.
I think some drivers take this criticism to heart when they overhear it and try to adjust their driving to accommodate these views. The result is a driver who drives outside of his or her comfort zone, which is where the real danger begins.
As for me, I don’t care whether you drive too fast for my tastes or too slow for my tastes (though I prefer, uh, slower), just as long as you drive within your comfort zone. If you stick with what you know both of our trips will go more smoothly.
The Navy: it’s not just a job, it’s an adventure, as the advertising went. In truth it’s a job and so much more. How does one fit the “so much more” into a post about jobs? How does one choose to take on such an adventure?
It was the fall of 1987. I was a recent high school graduate working part-time at the local hardware store. Most of my friends went off to college, beginning adventures of their own. The thought of college didn’t excite me – the thought of becoming a future cube dweller didn’t excite me – and I put zero effort into applying. Still, I knew I was missing out on something and I wondered where I would find my adventure. I felt very alone at that point in my life.
My parents prodded me to enroll at the local community college but I wasn’t thrilled at that prospect, either. They then suggested the military, and without many other adventurous opportunities it began to sound appealing. My brother Allen had joined the Army earlier and seemed to be liking it. Why not look at the Navy?
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