What to do when all the institutions fail:

Recently we have been following the news about the Ukraine, where all the country in the Eastern section has been in civil war...and only once a week, when the guys put their Kalishnakofs on their shoulders and go to Church, does the gunfire ratchet down a bit...pretty alarming picture..

But back here, we have been in the midst of a more subtle disintegration....the destruction of all the major institutions of our country...the press, the politics, the organized religions, the local governments, not to mention health care and the infrastructure of our roads and trains, or whatever is left of them...You can always tell that religion might be in trouble when there is a canonization of a pope that protected the abusers in Rome...nice....

Tire Check: Memories of Finneman's Retread Tires in Willernie

Guys love to talk tires...or at least the guys in my family. My brother is a specialist in tires, which one to buy and which ones to avoid...Years ago when we were young, we lived in Mahtomedi, Minnesota, and just down the street was Finnemans Tire Shop, where Mr. Finneman was one of the first to manufacture "retread" tires...and they were very cheap...like $20 or so...and lets face it...if they did not work out, the retread top would just unravel in the heat of the summer and litter Highway 36, and you could always call for help...or walk for help since there were no cellphones.

As we have gotten older, we have gravitated to quality tires...and yes discussing endlessly which is the best tire for the various vehicles...I think this is because when one has traveled during the holiday heat on the freeways like I90, and faced the backlogs and bumper to bumper traffic...the prospect of breaking down from a flat is very alarming...and besides...coverage and response of AAA is only theoretical during these peak rush times...so quality tires matter..

But still I wonder...as old guys I wonder whether all the tire talk might just be a little fear and wonder about how long our life will last when we are meeting the roadway of life...and just when we think we could "last forever", presto...the day of reckoning arrives...

So there it is....buy quality tires...and when you hear the endless talk of tires...just smile.

"I'm Sorry"---the most powerful words of all time

Many years ago, in 1968 when I began my first real job after college...I worked for an Insurance Company in Minneapolis as a Casualty Underwriter....those were the days when insurance policies were rated manually, and assembled manually, and one had to know all the endorsements that were neatly filed in the back room...anyway....this was my day job, and after work, I had a lot of catching up to do from all the years of heavy study during college...and I specifically remember some great bands that played at the Scotch Mist, a little pub on Nicollet Ave.

To put it mildly, I was burning the candle at both ends...and I remember one morning when I came to work, my boss stopped me and asked to talk, and went over several mistakes that I had made in rating some policies....In a heartbeat I knew what had gone wrong...I was so tired from all the night life that I had lost concentration...so I said QUICKLY: "I am so sorry...it will never happen again." And I made sure it never did..

Years later, my supervisor was my best reference for a wonderful job in Wisconsin....I know because the guy in Personnel said: "I don't know what you did back in Minn, but your boss certainly gave you glowing marks." I just smiled....I knew....I had used the most powerful words available.

Germany struggles to remember what the deal was: Tales From Normal, Mn.: FICTION

Interesting...seems that former prime minister Schroeder of Germany had a little party in Russia with Putin for his 70th birthday...seems that in the cozy party with a little bonding..there seemed little regard for the Jews of the Ukraine that had gotten threatening letters about leaving...and in it all, little regard for what World War II was all about...pretty sad...what a loss of memory can do....and loss of courage too...

so...Is Sen. McCain the only one to notice the lack of courage...is anybody going to do a redo of the history of Joe Kennedy and his recall to the USA because of his failure to understand the threat of Hitler?..hello.....