My Dad And His Stupid Checkers.

If you have sibblings, you knew that they knew you had hot buttons.  They would push one or more of those hot buttons every chance they got.  I had, and still have, a younger brother, and older sister.  When we all still lived at home we did plenty of button pushing which usually ended up in a fight of some sort.

But no one could get my goat like my very own father, who claimed he loved me.  Here's the deal.  Burr Oak had a group of guys that got together often and played checkers.  I wished I knew who all played, but that's beside the point.  My uncle Ivan Patnode and my dad were the only two I remember.  Daddy would come home from town and talk about the checker games like as if it were a major sport.  Undeniably, my father was a good checker player. 

I too liked to play games, and my dad was always trying to get me to play checkers with him.  I wouldn't play with him because I didn't know how to play.  "Oh I'll teach you" said my father.  One evening I gave in and sat down at the checkerboard and chose the red checkers.  We began to play.  I didn't know what to do.  Daddy said to just move one of your checkers, except you can't go backwards unless you're a king.  So I moved my checker.  Daddy would say to me "MY! That was a poor move."  I didn't like his tone of voice at all.  And worse, he wouldn't tell me why it was a poor move.  I don't know if it's possible, but it seemed like to me, he swept me off the board in just a few moves.  And every, single time I moved, he'd say "MY! that was a poor move."  I swore I'd never play with him again.  But I did.  The last game I every played him and he told me what a poor move I had made I was enraged.  By the end of the game I was fit to be tied.  I told him I was never, ever, ever, going to play checkers with him again.  And I didn't, 

My mother refused to play checkers with him too.  I think I understand why.  It was not in the best interest of family harmony.

The Mutation of Capitalism

Blogs are great aren't they? No one reads mine however, unless I shove it under their nose and insist they read it. Now I can export them to Facebook. That way it is more likely to catch some one's eye. Free expression is so liberating. I think it's fun to rouse some rabbles. I even tell my reader where they can send their hate mail sometimes.



Ahem (clearing throat). Today we shall discuss the mutation of capitalism and whatever else occurs to us (me) while writing this homily. It's not really a homily. I'm leaving religion out of it for the most part.



Politics has become really nasty. Maybe it is just because I am older and am actually interested in politics. Reviewing American history is very enlightening on nastiness in politics. Come to find out, nastiness is nothing new at all, we haven't changed one iota at the most basic level since our country first became a country. With that in mind I will return to my original topic, capitalism.



Capitalism is a good thing in theory. Our forefathers did the right thing to establish a free capitalistic government. I would have wanted it no other way. NOTE: I am not a tea bag or tea bagger by any sense of the word. I believe in freedom and equal treatment for all citizens, regardless of their color, national origin, religious belief, and any other trait that makes us different from another. I value my country as must as every soul who has given their very life to protect it. I love my family. I love my opportunity to choose my religious beliefs. I love the diversity of its people. If given the opportunity this diverse population has much to contribute to the greatness of this country.



But....I have a problem. Somewhere along the line, capitalism has become different things to different people. And those who trouble me the most are those who think capitalism has no boundaries. They believe anything goes in order to make a buck regardless of its affect on others. When, within any system, one percent of the population owns more than half the country's assets; when some are so rich they don't know what to do with their money and at the same time, there are hungry, homeless, jobless people suffering; something has gone awry, something is very wrong. Warren Buffet commented that his secretaries pay more taxes than he does. That doesn't even compute in my brain it is so horrible. My dear bags and baggers, it is truly shameful when government must intervene to keep the rich in check.



Most business people I know are hard working, honest, struggling to keep their heads above water. But it is the greedy that have ruined capitalism. I do not understand why bags and baggers want to protect these thieves, unless they want a chance to be like them. Big government is just as bad. The fact is there is no answer to this problem because too many people are greedy, be it in the private sector or government sector.



I have lived under a form of socialism all my life. My family was a small farm family. Without Government programs, we would have not survived. Only once in my life have I seen a person turn down a Government check. She was a precious old Catholic soul who took great pride in relying on herself. She was not wealthy. But she certainly was not greedy.



Everytime I turn on the news, someone is demanding that the Government do something about something. Yet they complain about paying high taxes. The bags and baggers want their Government back. I'm scared to death what they'd do with it. Adam Nadelson, you da man. You are a pure capitalist that I suspect would be very generous in sharing your wealth with the less fortunate.



That's it. Hate mail may be sent to cherub1946@gmail.com. Have a lovely day.