Category: Opinion

December 15, 2020 – Social Media and Privacy

December 15, 2020 /

How is it that that these social media companies have become so big and so valuable? How do they make money when their product is free? Because we are the product. Everything we are doing is getting recorded and stored and analyzed and sold.

Even after we leave these sites, by going there once, we have enabled the tracking to begin. I haven’t seen ‘The Social Delimma‘ yet, but I have heard all about it. This will be on my short list of things to watch in the coming weeks.

We are rapidly becoming a society that will no longer have privacy. Without privacy, we will have no freedom. I really think that people don’t even care. I think that they are already so strung out on social media that they don’t care about the consequences of continuing.

Part of the reason that I am writing this is the ‘Cancel Culture’ and the manipulation aspect of this is driving new alternatives that at least proclaim to respect privacy. Building a brand as I am, I want to build it on a stable foundation, one that I won’t have to move if I invest the time needed to get it going.

Here is a list of alternatives that I have heard good things about

FacebookMeWe
TwitterParler
YouTubeOddessey
WhatsApp/FacetimeTelegram
Safari/Chrome/Edge browserFirefox

You see, the browser or the application enables the functions and starts transmitting data. The safest way to use these things is to login using a secure browser and not the application and then log out when finished.

I know, it is inconvenient. I know that you are not going to get instant notifications. But you see, this is the point of appropriate use. We have to train ourselves that it is not important to immediately acknowledge every ding and post immediately. These are the behaviors that get us hooked on the action.

Admittedly, I have been a very slow adapter of this technology. The only two I use routinely is YouTube primarily for knowledge and entertainment and also LinkedIn which I don’t believe there is a suitable alternative.

The good news for a some of these platforms is that they have built plugins to simultaneously post in two environments like Oddesey. That is a great thing for content producers that need to be concerned about de-platforming because their business is on YouTube.

I was reading this articles about COVID the other day in the local newspaper, not very carefully and I came across a quote. I had to reread the article to find out the credentials of the person that made the quote.

This is what encapsulates the problems of our society succinctly. People that ostensibly know better, giving advice or permitting non-sensible solutions. I would say that we cannot have it both ways. We cannot know one thing and do another. I think everyone knows that I stand for freedom and choice, including the choice to be wrong. But, if we gave a shit about our future, our privacy, our patients or whatever, then we need to stand on principles.

Why would doing something that does not work be better than doing nothing? Maybe he was misquoted? It makes no sense at all. The same with social media. If we know that it is close to evil, then why would we use it? I grew up in a world without it, I am sure that it is not necessary. If we are going to use it, then let us know what we are getting into and do the best we can to avoid the very worst of it all.

December 4, 2020 – Footwear, Not Just Fashion

December 4, 2020 /

There are some common truths in niche circles around gear, specifically footwear. As I have mentioned previously, my upbringing was frugal and I still have a hard time letting go of some of those tendencies. I have held on to shoes that as long as they are not falling apart, they still have life. As I age, I am starting to change my opinion on that definition of life left in shoes.

Several years ago, I trained for a half marathon. It was supposed to be a goal to be more healthy at 40 than 30. As life got in the way, and I mostly mean work, I didn’t make a half marathon at forty, but I did at forty-one. I ran a number of different races in preparation and I met a lot of people, most of which were much more serious than me about running.

A commonly held belief is that running shoes have about 150-200 miles in them before they are worn out. Training for a half marathon at 5-10 miles a day, that is about a pair of shoes every month or two. What I noticed is that my hip and or knee would start bothering me about that mileage and the pain would go away when I switched to new shoes. So, I guess that I concur with that consensus.

A lot of those shoes would not appear severely worn out other that what I would see is tread wear at the heal. I felt bad throwing out a mostly intact pair of shoes, but I couldn’t keep running in them. The pain was not worth it. So, they would get rotated into the casual wear pile. For that type of use, the pain would not appear unless I was literally on my feet all day, not something I would plan on but would occasionally happen.

I didn’t run seriously long enough to develop much experience with all the different brands. I have always had an affinity with Asics that goes all the way back to my cross country days. Trying and using multiple models from that manufacturer, some were really great and others I hated. I tried other brands along the way as well; I have never liked Nike, New Balance seem to take a long time to break in but seem to last longer, Fila – No. There are still others that I would like to know about but never got the opportunity.

I say all that because I believe that shoe comfort and performance is personal. I suspect that mass manufacturing has enough variability in the tolerances causing users different experiences in use. There are some specific stores focused on running apparel that take pictures of your feet and pressure points to provide optimal performance like Road Runner Sports. This of course comes at heavy price. Average shoe costs are running at $150-200. They do offer great returns and sell used items kind of like REI and Patagonia do for there circles.

Running is one example, but there is also a colloquialism in hunting that nothing ruins a hunt like bad feet. Boots also come in many different styles and features. There are many different designs for different applications and terrain. High lace is supposed to help for ankle stability. Mountaineering boots tend to be super stiff. There is insulation at different levels.

What I have learned about boots is that I would prefer a non-insulated boot if I am going to walk a lot because you feet tend to sweat with that kind of activity. I haven’t been in cold enough to benefit with the amount of insulation that I have in my current boots. Many have soles that are glued onto the shoe which makes them non-serviceable in the future, if the glue fails. I also like a waterproof boot because I don’t need to be as careful where I step.

This whole diatribe is about the fact that I need new shoes. As much time as I am spending on my feet delivering packages, I am noticing pain with my old shoes. I have one pair of shoes that I bought last spring to start training for a multiple day hike that are still usable. They are running shoes, so my feet are getting wet walking in wet grass and stepping in puddles. So, I am looking for a pair of waterproof, low hikers. I want to keep it light, durable and comfortable. I haven’t decided on a brand or model yet.

I wanted to go through all of this to encourage you to consider the condition of your footwear and provide some of the insights I have learned with my sporting activity. You shouldn’t need pain and being on your feet a lot, consider this some of the most important gear you can invest in. One more thing, I feel like you get what you pay for for the most part. I am not convinced a $50 versus a $75 pair makes much of a difference but $40 versus $180 could.

November 25, 2020 – You Have To Want It… Being Thankful

November 25, 2020 /

This is the last time that I will write on this, for a while anyway. It got three days because it obviously struck a nerve with me. Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, most Americans give a topical examination what we think that we should be thankful for.

I have heard time and time again that people can’t wait for 2020 to be over. We all know what is going on between politics, pandemic and such as if the calendar is going to change those things. Are we as a people going to put our faith into the the number of the year or are we going to thrive despite that?

Thanksgiving brings out stories and lore as the birth of the United States of America. A small group of people left the Netherlands to seek religious freedom and a great unknown. The celebration was the end of the harvest season, one last time to celebrate and hope they did enough before things got really bad – winter.

Thanksgiving is a romanticized holiday that we have put a silver lining on a dark time much like our own. The very event that we celebrate was a time where many people starved to death or succumbed to illness. The native population was decimated by European disease and changed the landscape of the world forever. I bring all of this up to say that maybe 2020 will have a new perspective two or three hundred years down the road.

So again, I am writing about being thankful because I need to remind myself to make my world better. For me, 2020 wasn’t so bad. Yes it didn’t go exactly the way that I wanted it to go. Yes it will require new ways of thinking to thrive. No I didn’t get many of the things that I wanted. But, there is a lot to be thankful for here are many of the big ones.

  • No one in my immediate family or even extended family has suffered from the effects of COVID or any other major illness for that matter this year.
  • We rang in the New Year on a family vacation in Southern California visiting Hollywood, Disney, Universal Studios and the beach!
  • I completed a whole new set of pantry cabinets in a woodworking project that used lumber milled from this property
  • We spent three months developing a relationship with our exchange student.
  • I completely remodeled our little rental house, hopefully giving it another 20 years of useful service.
  • We replaced our beloved ‘Snow Dog’ with a handful of puppy Raya.
  • I got this site going after talking about it for a year and thinking about it four years. I am learning many new skills as a result.
  • I got the freedom to pursue interests and desires, testing entrepreneurship and creativity.
  • I have forged a stronger bond in faith and built techniques into my routines to continue to improve and be successful.
  • I have some steadier work work delivering packages and still have time to keep going.

If anything 2019 was a worse year for me. I was burned out and bitter beyond belief. I was at a point that I went out into the unknown and try to do better just like the pilgrims. I know that from a financial risk standpoint, it is a terrible decision to up and quit your job. But, there are times when you just have to do something different than what you are doing.

For me, 2021 is going to be a better year because of all the things that were done in 2020 to do so. And, it is not going to be better because the calendar changed. With that, I hope that you have a great Thanksgiving holiday. I thank you for reading and I hope that you consider the things that you should be thankful for.

November 17, 2020 – When will 2020 cross into 1984?

November 17, 2020 /

I have been mulling over this topic for a while now. One catch-22 is that I want to stay as apolitical as possible. But I watch some of the things and I have a hard time not screaming for people to wake up as they seem to be stuck in a logic wormhole. I am trying to evaluate fake news and propaganda versus real problems and I have a difficult time separating or seeing the truth.

One thing that is extremely apparent is that many people are scared out of their minds over Covid-19. I hear it and see it all over the place, particularly with the more aged and health susceptible people in my life. I know people that still believe hiding out or washing and sterilizing shopping bags, voting for the right person or refusing to associate with people will tip the scales on this virus and outcome.

I am one of those people that believe that collectively we have more in common than we have differences. I watch in disbelief as our governor threatens the citizens of my state. And, just as fast as the threats went up, they seem to have been whitewashed. It is difficult to find the quote in the news stories for this post.

November 11, 2020; OPB

I would like to point out (again) the extreme lunacy in the current social distancing schemes by using an example.

  1. Put on mask to leave the car and enter a restaurant
  2. Be seated, take off mask
  3. Be served with mask off
  4. Get up to go to the restroom, put on mask
  5. Return to table and remove mask

Does anyone remember the earliest debates about mask usage? They were originally not recommended, largely because they are generally not considered medically viable. Just as all things get thrown into the meat grinder and become distorted and re-propagandized, it has now become the ‘must have’ accessory to make people feel better about doing nothing. I believe that the guidance was changed for the appearance of doing something that we as humans have very little control over, the spread of a disease.

I am not saying masks are equated to freedom. What I am saying is that people are losing their ability to discriminate between fact and feel good. I have no issues with wearing a mask when required to participate in society. Any private entity has the right to make rules or conditions for entry i.e. masks. People have the right to ask people to adhere to hygiene practices or social distancing to enter a residence. I do have an issue when the government limits how society will associate together. This I find to be strictly un-American practice.

People are abdicating their responsibility to use common sense in situations and wanting the government to handle it by policy, rule and regulation. I draw that conclusion based on the overwhelming election results to double down on state policy that will never work. I read a headline this afternoon that 75% of Americans support an national mask mandate. I am wondering if this is really true or this is another propaganda push?

I will leave with the non-scientific but logical litmus test for this entire situation.

  1. Does the bubonic plague still exist? The answer is yes.
  2. Does polio still exist? The answer is yes.
  3. Does the Spanish flu still exist? The answer is yes.

Covid-19 is never going away. It is never going to be eradicated. Children still get cancer, not just smokers. Shit happens and we don’t know why. Pharmaceuticals may some day do wonders, for now have to do the best with what we have.

I feel like I am living in the transformation of the world of George Orwell’s 1984. We have the surveillance state with the Patriot Act in collusion with social media. We have perpetual war in the middle east and Afghanistan. We have xenophobic hate egged on by the partisan groups. We have a population that subsists on processed food garbage and funded by government rations. Most of all, we have a population that is numb to critical thinking and is spoon fed ‘news’ that gets rewritten .

Just wait, there is going to be some neighbors turning other neighbors in when seven people are gathered. I can sense that it will soon be time for my re-education.

November 9, 2020 – How the election results prove the left right dichotomy and is making conservatives look like fools

November 9, 2020 /

This past week has been a strange and sad week. If you have followed me for some time, you can probably guess my political orientations by my life outlook. Over the years I have become much more apolitical because I don’t believe that either party has my best interest at heart.

My view of voting has really changed as well. I went from red blooded, eagle scout to non-participant. I got in a ‘light’ debate with one of my family members about the fact that I wasn’t going to vote. Her attempted position was that I was setting a bad example for my kids. In fact, I believe the exact opposite, I am not brain washing my kids to believe every vote matters.

Take my state, Oregon. I actually voted as an experiment. I voted a ballot where every candidate of the choices best represented my values. Only one out of the entire ballot won their election and that was on the county commissioner position. Almost all of them lost by a landslide, it wasn’t even close except for state senator and state representative. You tell me that my vote mattered.

I want to go back to the dichotomy. I know people that are refusing to except the presidential election results. I didn’t know them at the time, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they thought Obama was not a citizen.

I also know people that called to rejoice that their candidate won, how great and historical this was, etc. These were the people that claimed Trump stole the election and cried when George W Bush was elected.

None of these people are bad people. I know them all, but they are blinded by their beliefs to the point that they are willing to hold fast to out and out nonsense. Don’t get me wrong, With hundreds of millions of votes, a few are bound to be erroneous, fake or suspicious. But what everyone is missing is that the system is getting over on them regardless of who wins.

This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I want to use some other examples of how this works. Take a person like Rush Limbaugh, he is a master of the same craft that Trump has used. Say something outrageous, let everyone get into their galvanized camp and use your supporters to make you more money. I do believe that Rush is sincere in his general positions but he is a master at manipulating his strong supporters and detractors for his own gain.

This is almost every politician on the national level and it is definitely pushing down to the state level. At the lower level it is often not monetary, but policy.

Has anyone been to a restaurant or bar lately? How foolish is it that you are required to wear a mask to enter but as soon as you sit at the table you are now in some sort of bubble where masks can be removed. It has got to be one way or the other. The mask needs to be on or it needs to be off.

Notice what is happening from a political standpoint. Both sides know that they cannot strangle the social aspect of the economy. They have made rules that make no sense and are not effective to appease the mask vs. no mask crowds.

Take football. Why is it that the NFL is fining coaching staff when caught with their masks off and the players are playing like normal? Could it be virtue signaling? Don’t the coaches go through the same testing regimen as the players? Is there such a thing as acceptable risk? It all makes no sense to me. We have another half in and half out situation here.

If you think that INS is keeping kids in cages or that dead people swung this election, you need to slap yourself in the face. Trump out trumped himself. He turned off people that were lukewarm in the last election and he certainly motivated people that weren’t engaged in the last election and lost by a very slim margin. Now, slap yourself again because regardless of the election results, we are just going to stand around while we lose our freedom at an accelerated pace. That is where the outrage should be.

I will leave with one more thought. Why do you think Trump did not want to release his tax information? Because if he did, the general public would find out that he is not ‘paying his fair share’. Meaning, the people that write the rules don’t write them for themselves, they write them for everyone else. Why else would insider trading be illegal for everyone but congress people? It is the most egregious and in your face example of a double standard as there is. They literally make the government contracts that can legally enrich there own pockets that is illegal for a citizen to do so.

You have heard of the saying ‘What is good for the goose is good for the gander’? There has been a lot of show over not releasing tax returns, but in the end none of them want the real game exposed – at least while people are paying attention.

October 20, 2020 – I want to be grateful

October 20, 2020 /

Have you ever had an opinion that you alone held, especially the one where you believe you are right and everyone else is wrong? That is the kind of thing where you look at yourself in third person and you say how can you possibly believe something different than everyone else.

I guess that is way I can describe my gratefulness ‘gene’. I don’t really see it until I look back on myself in third person. I don’t tend to recognize all of the good things and tend to dwell on the negative.

Here are a list of some of the things that have happened within the last week.

  1. I have had two job interviews this week
  2. I have been helping my in-laws clean-up and organize. I took a load to the dump of their stuff and it included a bunch of mine as well.
  3. My father-in-law gave me a nice string trimmer that he is no longer using
  4. The neighbors gave me a bag full of mushrooms that they foraged this week
  5. I visited the new brewery in town with my wife for the first time. We had a nice time.
  6. I also went out with friends for a social evening on Saturday.
  7. We completed our 2019 taxes and were net neutral on owning money. This was a first in many years.
  8. My daily alignment walks seem to be helping me set daily priorities and be more in touch with spirituality.
  9. I have completed preserving everything that is available to do so. Yesterday I canned peppers as pickled jalapenos.
  10. I completed a job on-time and in-budget.

When I look at the list, almost every single item also has a negative counterpoint. For instance, I had two interviews last week and I also had two rejections. One of them came as I was writing this post; perfect opportunity to practice seeing the positive.

When I look at the list, I am actually impressed with the number of things that seem to be positive. At this moment, it kind of makes me feel like I really am a negative person. I don’t feel that way but comparing my problems versus my reality it sure seems that way. So, it is something that I will continue to work on.

I will keep thinking praying and listening to try and become more grateful. I will keep writing and speaking to show my feelings. I hope to become a better person in the end.

October 9, 2020 Bonus – Concerned about your digital footprint and future privacy, you should be.

October 9, 2020 /

This is a test post to validate some new features to me.

Episode-2747- Digital Security for the Modern Age

I have not personally vetted the information, nor am I an expert. That being said, this is an excellent interview about the the potential concerns and future implications of privacy. The bent of the conversation is about freedom as we think we understand and believe but likely not a reality.

Be safe, be smart.

October 6, 2020 – What does Calculus and mathematical equations have to do life?

October 6, 2020 /

Today is a deep cut. To keep you reading, this post is an analogy not actually about math.

I have been doing a lot of soul searching these last couple of weeks. I suppose that you could say that life hasn’t gone exactly to plan or maybe the way I had hoped. Math is used in science to describe or model life and the natural world. I have been thinking about what I want to change and I thought how eerie parallels some of issues in life line up with mathematical concepts.

The Equation of a Line

When you have a plot with one data point, what direction is the line going? For all you non-math types you can’t have a line with one point. A line can go in infinite directions and slopes when you only have one point.

The metaphor for life is without experiences there is not enough perspective to determine success or happiness. The only thing that you really know is where you are currently. You can have an idea and maybe even a plan to create the next experience, but that doesn’t mean that you will like it or it will be right for you. Not everyone has a supportive spouse to let you walk away without an income for over a year.

For me, I thought I knew where I was going with my life when I went to college. Once it didn’t materialize the way that I thought it was going to go, life happened more without direct deliberation than with it. I cruised along twenty some years until I figured out I wasn’t happy with my line. The problem is, I just realized that I haven’t done anything different to change the direction of my line in the last year and a half. I just hoped that it would change by itself.

Derivative Calculus

Now it is going to hard. What is a derivative? I think that the simplest definition is calculating a change. In application, you can either calculate a point on a line where a change has a particular value or you can calculate the value of a change at a particular point. I might have lost some people already here. I know that in my academic career, this is where I started to struggle with math. I took this class twice to get a better handle on the fundamentals of calculus.

Let’s put it into practice. Looking at your experiences (your line) at what point does a particular change occur. When does your life go sideways or when did the focus or desire change. The straighter the line, the easier it is to calculate or even see on a plot. Unfortunately, life has a way of having our experiences not line up neatly. This is why you need complicated math like calculus to figure it out.

I am pretty good at getting the equation setup, I might even muddle into the answer. That is all kind of useless without doing something with the data. I remember from my days studying Latin, the teacher saying there is no sentence without a verb. Action is required to communicate a thought just as action is required to make change.

Integral Calculus

I think that this one will be simpler; calculate the area under your line. What do you want the sum total of your life to be? Just like in math, positive experiences are additive and negative experiences are subtractive to get the total result. If you don’t like how it adds up, you have to go back to the other steps and make changes. Figure out where you went wrong step two and aim for different experience step one so that you can be more satisfied overall, step three.

So, the truth… I have unknowingly hidden in my Toolbox Fallacy. I like to analyze my situation and pretend that I am planning my next steps without any real results or changes. I have been fearful of moving onto my next professional career steps without acknowledging or even realizing that I was already in one. I have been doing small jobs and handyman work without embracing this might be who I really am.

I wanted to build a lifestyle business because I wanted a creative outlet with practical business deductions and control of my output and life. I already have a lot of that. My fear of failing (or running out of savings) has caused me to not put out effort in marketing and working on what is already paying working. I like the work, I like the freedom,

Don’t get me wrong, I still want to build a lifestyle business. Just maybe doing handyman type work isn’t what I am doing in the meantime but another point in my line.

September 16, 2020 – Island living

September 16, 2020 /

As I mentioned yesterday, we took a trip to Washington. I think that my wife and family have visited five or six times in the last five years. We have been to Victoria BC, the San Juan Islands and Whidbey Island.

If it were up to my wife, she would like to live on the coast. For me, I would prefer not to. Our coast is gray, windy, wet and rugged. I am OK for a weekend, but that climate is really harsh on things (and people). The Puget Sound offers some of the benefits without the drawbacks.

Let’s face it, it is still coastal Washington. So, it will be gray and temperate. What seems to be missing are the winds and waves of our coast. For instance, I would not hesitate to put a kayak into the water whereas here I can hardly imagine a protected enough environment. I guess what I am saying is that the opportunity to get into the water has a lower barrier of entry. Less serious boats can take advantage of the access to the water.

What does island living look like? I would say things are more expensive and you need to be able to wait, take things slower and prepared to do without. Because everything is imported, ferries and boats are critical to a normal infrastructure. Some commutes are doable on a ferry like Whidbey Island to Everett is only 15 minutes, but it takes thirty. Maybe Coupeville to Port Townsend is thirty five minutes. Many of the other ferries are quite a bit longer in total duration, so not really realistic for typical commuting.

I am speculating here, but I imagine town living is kind of like village living. These are small and tight knit communities of locals that are used to lots of out of towners but I imagine that breaking into the circle could be difficult. They are of course reliant on tourism for income, but guarded in true acceptance. Everywhere I have visited over the years have well apportioned amenities, from a grocery standpoint but it comes at a cost like $5/gallon of milk.

Property can be awfully expensive as any coastal town. Many price tags I saw were over the million dollar range, including on the main land too. I haven’t looked too hard, but I imagine the farther you get from services like ferries and water access there are probably some more reasonable prices. That really isn’t too much different than desirable areas in our area.

One of our favorite things to do is get on the island and just drive around and imaging what life would be like if you lived there. We did the same thing on the Hawaiian islands as well. You can get some really incredible views and serenity without being on the beach. Looking for Orcas and other sea life, watching for boats including Navy ships and enjoying the dynamic weather changes are some of the other benefits of island life.

The politics of Washington and the surrounding area are very much in line with the rest of the west coast. There is civil unrest in the cities and a much more conservative outlook when you get out of the population zones. I will say that I have not seen as much political signage as I did on Whidbey Island. Unfortunately, I was driving so I didn’t take a good representative picture but suffice to say they were everywhere.

There are a few places that seem like a good compromise between what my wife and I would like. This area seems like it would be one of them. I could see a life taking advantage of the water. Who knows, maybe a job could be found in the future?

September 1, 2020 – The results of ‘Participation Trophy’ culture

September 1, 2020 /

I was actually in the midst of writing about another topic this morning. I attempted to leave and go to a local bakery to get some bread to have with our bruschetta that we are having for dinner tonight. I am sure that I was already in a bad mood because I had to stop writing, wait for the train to pass, then find out the bread is not ready until later. Then, I drive past this sign and I got triggered.

I must be old fashioned, because I my youth you had to do something extraordinary in order to get labelled a hero. We are talking not just life saving, but life risking as well. Additionally, it was something that not everyone would or could do. I’m sorry but I don’t think working at the post office counts. I know that they are having some issues and I appreciate the relative consistency of delivery, but heros?

The word hero is cheaply thrown around a lot; teachers, doctors, nurses, emergency service, soldier, on and on. Maybe I should just move on and accept that society has changed the definition and cheapened the word. But I cant, a hero was something that was more than appreciation, it was something that you aspired to be and circumstantially the label was applied. A hero reluctantly (or never) accepted the title, a majority people felt that action was substantially above the call of duty or mission.

When I was a kid, there was a ‘war hero’ in your town or my dad could take your dad (not saying those are right, just saying how the use has changed). This culture has turned the notion of hero into someone that gets paid to pursue their career. I don’t know about you, but I can remember the time that all fifty plus Christmas cards were returned because they were irregularly shaped and required extra postage despite the fact that I paid for the postage in the lobby.

I get that things change and idealism fades, but the people that choose certain careers because they had a passion for helping people, or they thought it had good pay and reasonable benefits. Circumstances change and when times get tough or things are not as they seem we now think an unwarranted label is an appropriate motivator.

State worship is high and the brainwashing is nearly complete when we bestow our highest values to imperialism, advancing propaganda and enforcing total law and order. We claim to embrace and appreciate freedom of speech and ideals and we actually do the opposite. We use our praise to enforce status quo and marginalize differences that are too outside our comfort zones.

I know that I am coming out firing both barrels today, so I want to change my tone to finish. I was talking with my mom not too long ago and she was telling me about the time that she baked the garbage man some cookies because he picked up some extra stuff in the back of the house rather than just emptying the cans. Years later, he still remembered the gesture. I can also remember leaving treats in the mailbox too every now and again. Those seem like appropriate tokens of respect and appreciation.

It’s not like marriage, so stopping a bit before love, honor and cherish is appropriate. Love your fellow man, be courteous and respectful, show appreciation, say ‘Thank You’, treat others as you would want to be treated are all actions that are in line with respecting other people. I am proposing to guard the title and reserve the act of bestowing hero to situations warranted.