Space Shuttle Mssions Over: Saying Good Bye to a Friend is Never Easy

Is anyone else from my age group feeling the same way about the Space Shuttle ending its historic run of successful extra orbital exploration? It’s the end of an era, and it should not go without more than some newsworthy mention and some patriotic rah-rah. The end of the shuttle mission is a much bigger deal to my classmates and me.

These ships have been part of my life from the 1980’s. I remember while my mother worked as a house cleaner visiting one of her jobs and watching a shuttle launch with my brother on TV. I was probably 7 or 8, and I clearly remember the reporters going on about how big an achievement this was for America and our exploits into space. Space stuff dominated my favorite pastime, Lego building, and shuttle-like crafts were always a favorite. When I finally got a shuttle set, I was far too old to really enjoy it. I still played with it though. But forgive me if I don’t reveal how old I was…

I also have clear and fond memories of when classes stopped for televised launches where we all sat silently and watched the graceful shuttle brutally shot into space with massive rocket force. My science-crazy brain was enthralled. One classmate (I’ll withhold her name to protect the innocent) was a big Space Camp junkie. She had great stories of the good times and cool science stuff she got to do, mostly revolving around planning shuttle missions. There was a kind of permanence to the whole idea of the shuttle program.

Even with the Challenger disaster, shuttle missions were still nothing but cool. Of course the tragedy sparked another side of human nature, the inevitable Challenger jokes that admittedly I exchanged and still remember. They are all irrelevant over time, thank God, and have gone the way of vinyl records for the current generation of kids. Still, it was part of my growing up. I remember hearing that the launch failed in 7^th grade, and when it blew up, the teachers hurried to turn on the TVs to follow the story. History at its worst was unfolding before our eyes. I am grateful that Mr. Williams, my teacher, did not shield us from it.

Over time the launches became passé. Even the space station was greeted with a “so what” kind of flavor from the people I encountered, especially kids. Launches became news bites and filler not headlines. It’s funny how we go from major achievement making headlines to being ho-hum in about ten years. It’s still a triumph of human endeavor to get something made on earth out into space and back without a hitch. We’ve had hitches. They’re not pretty. But we kept exploring. That’s the American spirit.

So now we’re moth-balling these fabulous vehicles into museums and moving on with no replacement. Somehow I always believed that NASA would have the next great idea waiting to replace these way-cool crafts when it was time to hang them up. But for now we need to rely on our “good friends” the Russians to get things into space and to the ISS. Not a great situation if you ask me.

So I watched the coverage this morning reminiscing about the old days when everything the shuttles did was a big deal. That never changed, just the newsworthiness did. And that’s a shame.

I feel old today. A part of my childhood that I saw born into the world’s consciousness is now a museum piece. Just like cassette tapes and aerial antennas on my roof, we replace technology in sprints, but somehow the Space Shuttle isn’t one of the things we’re updating. I can’t figure out why, either.

But I’m sure I will still daydream about riding on that wonderful craft and forever be a kid if even only in my minds eye.

Good bye, Space Shuttle. You were a great friend.

Chip Grefski

Color Me a Hypocrite

And now, the time has come to be totally honest about a recent undertaking in my life that has changed my perspective on something I used to be passionate about nay saying at every chance I got.

When I was a young fresh-faced police officer, I saw no need whatsoever to obtain a degree in Criminal Justice. I saw some around me who had such a degree who , in my narcissistic opinion, I was a much better officer than due to my job knowledge and skills in taking reports and completing assigned tasks. For years I saw no value in a police officer having a college education, and likened it to a vanity publication.

As I progressed up the ranks, I began to see that having advanced knowledge in areas of management, organization, leadership, case law, criminal procedure, and other topics was not only worthwhile but crucial in the highly technical and litigious society we find ourselves in. Enforcing the law takes almost as much professional attention to detail as a lawyer does prosecuting or defending the accused. The minutia involved in procedure, rights, and ensuring that adequate numbers of officers are scheduled to work with proper amounts of rest and training takes more than experience. Learning about Situational Leadership for example helped understand how to quantify employee performance and plan for progressive improvements which benefit my entire jurisdiction.

It’s more than books, papers, and course work. It’s learning how to think creatively, adapt, overcome, and address problems with innovation. It’s about self-discipline and motivation. It’s about learning what your role is in your agency, your community, and in your relationship to your inner self.

Now that I have graduated, I am a convert. I will say hypocrite, because I’m sure some of the others that I have decried the need for police education too will point this out to me since my initial opposition to it was so vehement. I’m a hypocrite, but I’m a hypocrite with a new understanding of what a leader needs.

And that is what I aspire to be. A leader.

So if you are a police officer without a degree, fix it. Go for it. It will make you more aware of your community’s needs and your own abilities. You will be sharper and a better public servant.

If you are a chief, make it your business to encourage your troops to get educated. A smarter force is a better force. We can’t hide behind ignorance or sloppy performance. Times are far too tense and technical to allow the unprepared to carry the burden of protecting our citizens.

I’ll be a hypocrite now. But I’m wiser for the experience.

Chip Grefski

Hint: What Not To Do With Your Pet

People and their pets are funny. The animals we share our lives with become part of who we are. Those of us who have the blessing of a animal to care for are among the truly privileged.

My wife and I love our dog. She’s a rescue from the Humane Society, a sweet, slightly goofy black-lab mix that’s as loyal as an Eagle Scout. Playful, energetic, funny to watch play, and fun to cuddle with on a cold night. Our local beach restricts us taking her there for a swim, so we are planning several trips with her so she can get a good natured romp in the great outdoors. That’s what having a pet is all about, right? Quality time, good clean fun, and a bit of time in the healthy fresh air and sunshine.

But after all, she is a dog. If she got away, she could be found without much fuss. She's friendly and very playful, loves kids, and is eager to fetch. besides, she only looks intimidating until you roll her on her back and rub her belly. If the worst happened and she disappeared, reporting her loss to the authorities wouldn't be the worst thing I would have to endure in terms of my not loooking rather stupid. Agree? I figured you would.

Then what in the name of all that’s holy was this guy thinking? Link it if you please:

http://www.wtsp.com/news/watercooler/article/197516/58/Snake-escapes-after-owner-takes-it-camping

I owned a python once. Worst pet I ever owned. Refused to eat. Starved itself to death. Made a mess. Granted, I was not the most informed on keeping a snake for a pet, so I take the blame for its demise. It was a shame. But I have to admit the thought of taking my snake anywhere outside of my apartment was unfathomable. So needless to say, all of you out there can understand my extreme state of “huh?” when I read the story of a Michigan man who took his five foot long boa constrictor on a camping trip with him.  Didn’t any part of this plan seem like a bad idea to him at the time? Wasn’t there someone who could have laid out the potentialities of extreme failure and chagrin when the hapless man would have to present his sorry self to the local authorities and report his predatory snake was on the loose.

I guess not.

He assures the world that the snake is only dangerous to the small furry woodland creatures that abound in the wilderness and does not pose any threat to humans. Wow, that’s a relief. I feel bad for Rocky the Squirrel and Thumper, though.

Common sense should be put on the endangered species list. It’s dying. Quickly. Too quickly for anyone to stop the slaughter. I suppose he either did not discuss his plan or did not have any sage advice to lean on when making his vacation plans. If he did, he should reevaluate his circle of friends.

I hope the snake is recovered unharmed. The speculation that it crawled into a crevice inside the camper as related in the article is both plausible and desired for the animal’s snake. I sincerely hope we do not have another local headline “Woodsman Slays Giant Snake” in the near future. That would be a tragedy.

Isn’t this animal cruelty? Or is PETA happy that the snake once confined in human oppression and captivity is now roaming free, swallowing the forest critters that cross its reptilian path. This is one time I wished the Smurfs were real.

My advice to any reptile fancier is if you are desiring to take a campground roadie with your scaly pals, think again. And again. And again. Do you really want to have to tell Ranger Smith that your highly developed evolutionary predator is on the hunt for Yogi and Boo-Boo?

Chip Grefski

A Tribute to Parenting, A Day After Father’s Day…

I know, I know. I promised to be more regular with my posts after my brother’s untimely passing. Frankly, I haven’t been fired up enough about anything lately besides Tony Weiner and his unsavory solicitations and Harold Camping’s apocalyptic misfire to warrant coming on board and sharing my opinions.

Until today.

Thanks again to Drew Curtis and his remarkable website Fark.com and all his minions of loyal submitters. This one is a peach. Or maybe, since it’s a Florida tale, it’s an orange.

Here’s a tale of a dedicated mom who wanted to ensure that her displeasure over her son’s failure to make a travelling Little League Team was made well known to everyone involved. Link it, por favor:

http://eastmeadow.patch.com/articles/woman-arrested-for-stalking-and-harassment-after-son-fails-to-make-travel-team

Your child doesn’t make the cut. I’m sorry to hear that. Where does that give you license to then set about ruining the life of the coach who cut him? I agree with one of the respondents to the article where she is admonished to spend the time and effort seeking to improve her son’s skills rather than stalking the coach and sending threats to his wife and daughter. Doing it in writing kind of sets you on the road to no return since physical evidence is hard to disprove. Reporting false accusations of beating his children to family services is also a bad idea since the principal of the school is a mandated reported and everything is documented. Dumb. All around dumb.

To put it in perspective, my step son from my first marriage was a very talented athlete growing up. Still is. He also worked hard to be that way adding a rigorous routine of practice to his busy school life to add skill to an already natural talent. He tried out for teams and made them. Others didn’t. But the same kids came back the next season to try again, and the parents supported the process as part of life. Some of his friends didn’t make teams they mutually tried out for. They were still friends. I don’t recall social workers and abuse investigators disrupting the lives of the coaches. It’s counterproductive. It’s also unrealistic. Life is not a series of blazing successes. We fall down. It’s only natural.

I was a passionate parent fan and supporter. I cheered loudly and felt the sting of every loss. From being part of a National Championship college baseball team, I am keenly aware of what it feels like to be a winner. I also know what it feels like to lose. Both experiences teach you life lessons that are worth more than many other lessons taught in school. But my desire for my stepson to succeed didn’t push me into the realm of becoming a criminal.

When I was a kid, I was cut from a soccer team. I turned out okay. My Dad didn’t accuse the coaches and organizers of buggery or other shenanigans. He said try again next time. I did, made the team, then gave up the game when during the championship game my influenza decimated team showed up with five players against the other teams full compliment. Seeing how unfairly the other team’s coach wanted to win despite us being out-manned two to one drove the competitive desire from me. The result? We tied two all.

I say all that to say this to this apparent herd of over-the-top parents out there: grow up and help your kids do the same. We all know that sports are a great teaching tool and have life lessons imbedded in every practice, game, and sacrifice to even be able to play. We also know that college expenses are high and scholarships are great. But please don’t forget: academic scholarships are wonderful too. Not every kid is an athlete. Not every kid is the next LeBron James or Derek Jeter. I have known some parents who promote their talentless child as the next big thing only to embarrass the kid into humiliation from his peers.

Competition is great, and there are more ways to compete than on a field, track, or golf course. Every month I’m treated to hearing academic accolades from star students in my school district who compete academically. My son eschews sports in favor of learning everything about anything. Will I push him to be an athlete? Not unless he shows interest. Will I defame his teacher if he fails to win an academic award? I don’t think so. I will let my boy learn the joy of success and the blue haze of coming up short.

Parents like Ms. Chiauzzi need to get a grip. I hope her son is paying attention. This is what not to do, son. Work hard, try your best, and if you succeed, great. Even if you don’t, the work gets harder after your reach each plateau. Making a team doesn’t stop the growth process, it accelerates it.

Go out there and have fun. Be a kid for crying out loud. And parents- let them be kids. They will have only a short time to be a kid in this fast paced world, and you’ll wonder where the time went.

Especially if you miss the next season due to a restraining order.

Chip Grefski

Of Apples, Oranges, and a Bizarre Display of Consistency: Anthony Weiner vs. Mark Foley

While watching the now infamous Rep. Anthony Weiner Sexting Confession, I heard a very brave reporter ask if Mr. Weiner felt that the Democratic leadership was being hypocritical since he was not resigning when, just five years ago, they called for former Rep. Mark Foley, a Florida Republican, to resign when he was caught sending lewd texts. He replied something along the lines of not wanting to speak about other people’s situations. Good for him. He’s obviously not willing to throw Mr. Foley under a bus, but the reporter’s question does merit some retrospective.

Mark Foley was caught sending lewd internet messages to a 16 year old former male page. The then House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi demanded an investigation into his actions. The House however voted unanimously to send the matter to the Ethics Committee. The result was Foley resigned when it became known that a message that Foley initially said described as an innocent message to see how the young man was doing after Katrina hit his hometown area was found out to be rife with sexually explicit descriptions of actions and male body parts. Thus, his lie exposed, he resigned and faded into the annals of bad decisions. Let’s call him the “apple” in this discussion.

Link it if you will:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/29/AR2006092901574.html

Here comes the “orange”.

Fast forward until yesterday: Rep. Wiener made his humble and ostensibly sincere apology to the media, his family, and his constituency by admitting that a message intended for a Seattle woman was posted on Twitter by mistake. His initial reaction was his system was hacked and nasty rotten no-good people were trying to ruin his reputation. What I’m sure was curious to most, particularly sharp eared and eyed reporters hungry for scandal was the fact that Mr. Weiner indicated he was not reporting this to the FBI. Very curious that a very outspoken and visible Representative who claims his reputation was being besmirched horrifically won’t involve the law enforcement agency specifically geared, nay drooling, to rush to his aid.

Okay, perhaps some hyperbole can be detected, but you get my point. This raised the smell detector to all time highs for me, and apparently for several journalists as well.

So it all came to a head when Meagan Broussard, a pretty, young , single mom from Texas was prepared to be interviewed by ABC with a fair chunk of sexually charged photos, emails, and other communications to be released for the public’s eager consumption. These days scandal is the wind in our sails, ain’t it? Knowing that the doom was upon him, Mr. Weiner came clean, admitted his faults, and apologized to the world.

During the confession however, he said he had contacted Nancy Pelosi, his fearless leader, detailed what was about to happen, and because of that conversation, he stated he would not resign. Interesting. I right away wondered if that was a blatant display of home team hypocrisy. Then, Pelosi later stated she wanted an ethics violation to see if any government resources were used to transmit the messages. Link it:

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/politics/2011/June/Nancy-Pelosi-Calls-for-Ethics-Probe-of-Weiner-/

So perhaps she is not in the flip-flop contingency. She wants us to find out if Tony’s texts were done using taxpayer tools. That’s reasonable. What he did wasn’t illegal since the targets in his case, converse to the “apple” story involving Mr. Foley, were all of majority age and heterosexual in nature. Mr. Foley also ran into problems when he avoided and denied questions of his sexual orientation whereas our “orange” Mr. Weiner has not had to do so. He just got caught sexting some woman across the country. Unethical? That’s for the House to decide. Illegal? No. Immoral? That’s between him, his God, and his wife. I’m not a stone thrower without sin, so I refuse to comment.

Now to my conundrum: was Mrs. Pelosi worried about the nature of Mr. Foley’s messages? It certainly seems so when the story came out since she wanted rules to protect pages in place to prevent these types of things from happening again. But then she later prevented further investigations into Mr. Foley’s trawling operation when the investigators continued their efforts in 2008 two years after his resignation (link it: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4143280&page=1). As soon as the House determined no government resources were used to send his messages, she said it was hands off. She certainly seems to be very concerned that these guys, in both instances, may have used tax payer provided services to do their dirty work (pun intended) not that they were doing it to begin with. But why isn’t she outraged that people whom we elected are doing some pretty racy stuff while working for the people? Why is it the means and not the ends?

My theory: Mrs. Pelosi must be keenly aware that there are more of these shenanigans going on than we probably want to know. Let’s be honest, the people we send to Washington on our behalf are human even though they have a bigger-than-life persona and an assumed higher expectation of behavior than the rest of us who put them in office. Frankly, they should be more cognizant of what they do for jollies since if some reporter finds out, they’ll be the next flavor of the month on the talk show and lecture beat, with the reporter potentially cashing in on the big memoir splash. Foley got ousted and was crushed, ultimately resigning in disgrace.  Will Weiner suffer the same fate? Maybe, maybe not, but it is easy for us to forget that the talking heads and politicos have the same issues we do. We point the shame on you finger while surfing for our own peccadilloes.

The common thread in all of this is Nancy Pelosi. At least, to her credit, she is consistent. She wanted both investigated. We’ll see what happens next. If she stays true to form, she’ll protect Mr. Weiner from further scrutiny if he does indeed end up resigning. I hope she does. A consistent politician is refreshing, even if she is someone I disagree with politically. I also have a problem with the potentiality that public resources could have been used. You can be risqué, but do it on your own dime and own time. There is a line of ethical conduct when you’re fishing for thrills on the taxpayer’s expense sheet. If he didn’t use government stuff, leave him alone and let the House, his family, and his constituents decide if he is worthy to be their representative.

I also believe, as a man of experience, that Anthony Weiner made a huge error in judgment and has had to lay his soul for the world because of it. I feel for him and can sympathize with him completely from mistakes I have made in my personal life that made life difficult for me. I was given a second chance, dusted myself off, and made a new start. I hope Mr. Foley has received the same opportunity.

I only hope Anthony Weiner gets the same chance. We all deserve a fresh start after we fall down.

Chip Grefski

Shame on you, Harold Camping

Once again I will begin this blog with an explanation: I am a Christian. I believe that Jesus Christ is my Savior, and I do believe that through Him, other can find peace, tranquility, hope, and eternal life.

Now then:

Theological charlatans like Mr. Camping need to account for the impact they have on their sheep when they use their bizarre interpretations of the Bible to convince them that the rapture is coming to take them all to Heaven. We have heard many stories of people abandoning careers, families, education, and financial security to pass out tracts and warn others of the impending doom that was to come yesterday. These people now have to reconcile with themselves, those they have walked away from, and with the fact that whatever financial security they had is now gone. The other danger is they may disavow their faith after being so disillusioned. Then, they have to walk away from God. Something tells me Mr. Camping didn’t intend that to happen.

I have had personal experiences with churches believing in rapidly approaching end of the world. A church I attended briefly here in Savannah began a crusade one week by saying we can see all around us that the end times are near, so becoming a child of God is of crucial importance. I listened to that message and was baptized. The very next week, the pastor wheeled in a dry erase board and began to demonstrate a formula that predicted when the tribulation would begin based on calculations of the jubilee years from the Old Testament converted to the Julian calendar. At first, I thought he was relating this as a work in theoretical scholarship, then, thanks to my Dad’s keen eye and ear as he visited with me on one occasion, I began to see that the pastor actually believed this message and was prepping the flock to ride out Armageddon with him on a secret hunting preserve in Arkansas. That’s when I made a graceful departure.

His target date was January 1, 2000, good old Y2K. Anyone remember that?  When it fizzled, he returned to Savannah after actually going to his hunting ranch in Arkansas and waiting it out with his faithful few that remained, he denied that he actually believed that the world would end and the journey to Arkansas was a hunting trip. Another friend who had attended the church left just as the pastor began extolling the penitent to stock up on canned goods and for the women not to cut their hair. Nothing is more biblical than a can of Beanie Weanie I guess.

Back to Mr. Camping, I suppose my argument with him is purely philosophical. When I read Matthew 24:44, Jesus tells us we won’t know when he’s coming back. To me, that’s not a coded message to do the math and figure it out. The doomsday people have been wrong so many times yet they still find some wiggle room to excuse their way either into telling their followers they were wrong (see here Jehovah’s Witnesses, my childhood religion) or to say that their own calculations were slightly off and will be better next time (see here Harold Camping’s 1994 prediction). 

Again from the Bible, we read in the opening chapter of Acts that knowing when the end will be is not for us to know (Acts 1:7). Call me crazy, but this is very clear to me that I should spend my time living as Christ intended me to and encouraging other to follow Him, not crunching bizarre formulas into a prediction that is based on human interpretations. Doing so in my estimation puts the theological mathematician on a plain that he or she believes they are privy to information that only God knows, thus imbued with some unique power. David Koresh, Jim Jones, Sun Yung Moon, and many others have done the same and are labeled as hucksters and cheats, so in my logical way, I have to add Harold Camping to the list. It’s a natural fit.

The news says Ol’ Harry is nowhere to be found. That’s a shocker. I would stay out of the public eye for a while if I had put all my theological eggs in a flimsy human basket. Now he has the unenviable task of reconciling himself to those who listened intently to his message and changed their lives. Not to mention he has some explaining to do to God who was clear enough when He said we’re not to know the exact dates. We’re not to know, but Mr. Camping apparently has permission to ignore the scriptures that get in the way of his teachings to keep on predicting the end.

Love thy neighbor. Love God with all your heart. And watch. Those admonitions from Christ seems to me to be a lot easier than turning over your life every time a new pulpit says the end is coming on a date and time that they have determined to be “the one”. When it does come, I’m ready for it. Until then, I’m going to try to be the man Christ wants me to be.

And that, friends, is a lot more productive than riding the apocalyptic rollercoaster.

Chip Grefski

Here's a "Switch": Maine's proposed law opens a larger issue

Now here’s one you don’t see every day: lawmakers in Maine are working to legalize switchblades for one-armed people. This precludes them from having to open them with their teeth in an emergency.

That’s nice. Good for them.

According to the bill, citizens with one arm can use a switchblade with a blade less than 3 inches long. Apparently Federal law allows such a practice.

That’s nice. Way to be inclusive.

It must also be nice to know that Maine isn’t suffering from the same problems other states are from budgets and slow economies.

Isn’t it?

Don’t we have much more pressing issues to deal with? I am not sitting here saying that a person who is disabled in any way does not or should not have the right to defend himself. Far be it from me to tell any citizen that they do not have the right to be safe, especially if they are in any way at a physical disadvantage. What I am saying is, should this even be debated?

The issue at hand is our legal system is replete with loopholes, exceptions, and provisions, so much so that many official codes are so stretched with amendments and addendums that contradictory passages are often found, leaving Holland Tunnel sized escape hatches for real crooks.

I understand that the fast opening capabilities of a switchblade makes them particularly dangerous, but with training and practice, many lock back knives can be opened and readied for deployment in just a quick a time. But regardless of that fact, if you’re a responsible citizen and want a switchblade to protect yourself, why should there be a statutory barrier to it?

Of course the obvious answer is because somebody who ran roughshod over what it means to be a responsible citizen, they screwed it up for everybody. It just goes to show, we don’t have a problem with drugs, weapons, violence, or racism in this country. We have a people problem. If people took responsibility for themselves and their families, saw to their needs, and minded their own business, we wouldn’t have half the social problems we have today.

Then people with one arm wouldn’t need a law to carry a switchblade because there simply wouldn’t be a need.

That would be nice.

Chip Grefski