The Purpose Driven Debate

Well it was more a conversation like you'd see on a version of In the Actor's Studio with Rick Warren taking the place of James Lipton.

Both major party presumptive candidates Barrack Obama and John McCain took an hour to sit down with Warren. Each candidate was asked a series of mostly the same questions on a number of topics. Warren was skillful though not necessarily telegenic in handling the candidates and fielding the questions.

There was a lot of hand wringing from the more extreme elements from both political parties. Each are looking for a slash and burn forum to destroy the opposing candidate. In their view, if there isn't some blood flowing and a carcass or two left along the way, then a debate isn't worth it's time.

Warren pretty much promised things would be civil. And he delivered.

Pastor Warren did an excellent job of asking relevant questions without being divisive. Maybe this forum was good start to a better creating a better dialog regarding the hot button topics of the day.

I know, I know, there's a lot of money to be made and the power brokers of the divisiveness will not be giving that up easily. But maybe the seeds were planted to get to the destination without the need to sacrifice metaphorical blood along the way.

Warren was even handed and appeared to side with neither candidate while being open and friendly during the hour spent with each. And he often in an almost empathic manner when asking the tougher questions that can easily become divisive stated that he struggles in his own house of worship on these burning issues of the day.

Both candidates did a splendid job in the format. In general and depending on your worldview, each candidate could claim victory. Obama thoughtfully weaved his way through the questions. Yes, there was a gaffe or two. But overall, for what could largely be considered a stacked audience against him, he won applause for many of his responses.

Senator Obama for the most part did an excellent job of displaying that he is deeper than just being superficial. I felt more comfortable with him last night than I have at any time prior.

Of course the proof will be in the pudding and we'll see if he's elected and who he nominates for key and critical appointments.


And while Senator Obama did a pretty good job of presenting himself to a largely evangelical audience, it was Senator McCain who probably hit a bases loaded home run.

McCain has until last night been loathed by many rank and file Conservatives, especially the Social Conservatives and more strident Republicans. After years of being pummeled by conservative pundits and talk show hosts, McCain has been swimming against the tide with many who identify themselves with pure conservatism, social or otherwise.

Most of it began in the 2000 primary elections. But it has continued to this day. For example earlier this year, social conservative voice James Dobson declared that he would not vote for McCain under any circumstance. By July he said he was revisiting his decision, but still remains uneasy. Talk radio king Rush Limbaugh, while tempering his criticism in latter days, still is delivering a daily menu of why there is a lot to not like about McCain. Geez, with friends and allies like these?!?!

Many conservative bloggers and forum participants have realized that they maybe for the first time got to see the more basic John McCain Saturday. I watched one thread from a popular conservative web site as the debate unfolded this past Saturday. Most participants are singing a new tune. The transformation as I monitored that forum in real time as the debate went on was amazing. There was a discernible change in tone.

Maybe by seeing and hearing McCain in his own words vs those being filtered through the "jaw bone media" has given them a better perspective about who the man really is and what's in his heart.

The few that aren't, and that applies to the more strident from both sides of politics, likely wouldn't be happy with a fresh and dry diaper.

Thank you Pastor Warren for this great forum you moderated.

Voice Mail Hell

I was recently reading a blog that discusses poor customer service. The example given was a recent encounter with Verizon and their voicemail operated automated attendant.

I've got to agree, Verizon has one of the worst run mechanical secretaries I've ever run into. But it also seems to be a characteristic of most land line or cellular companies. You simply have a terribly difficult time getting to a live person no matter what company you are attempting to contact. Communications companies that find it hard to communicate.

Even more insulting is along the way they ask you to enter your phone number and then when a live person is finally on the line one the first things they ask you is your phone number. Excuse me, didn't I enter it about 20 minutes ago as I tried to navigate my way through the circuitry to finally talk to you?

And what about the company that answers with "Thank you for calling the XYZ. Hey, we hate these machines too, so to get you to a real live person.....yada, yada, yada." Anyone find it ironic that even though they hate the machine, they are using the machine? And admitting they hate it!

Pretzel logic.

If they hate the machine, then why use the machine? As Dr. Phil would say "Get Real!"

Evidently they like it enough to save the salary of whoever they would have to hire to man the phone and give assistance.

But they aren't openly saying that.

I guess by saying they hate it too, they are giving their callers what I would describe as a digital Oprah moment. Digital empathy. If technology improves, maybe their automated attendant will begin recommending new age books and have an interview with Tom Cruise too!

Oddly, that's the recording you get if you call them on their dime. Their 800 number. On your dime, if you call their local number with toll charges being your burden, you get an answer by the 2nd or 3rd ring and a delightful southern voice willing to assist you.

I guess you get what you pay for.

Leader of the Band

Diana and I attended the Ohio State Fair today. While at the fair, we stopped to listen to the All Ohio High School Fair Band.

The band has something of a special meaning to me, as two of very close friends of mine, Gene Oliver and Rob Luikart,had the honor to play in the band during the early 70's. For people in the high school bands and orchestras, it was considered an honor to be nominated and selected to play in the group.

Today while watching, the show had a slight change in the program. In the audience was former Ohio Governor and current US Senator George Voinivich.

The fair is a public relations treat for the Governor. And among the honors is the Governor has the chance to lead the Fair Band in playing Stars and Stripes Forever.

Voinivich once again was asked to take the baton and do the honors.

It was good to see the Senator and as always wonderful to hear the band play.

Great Father's Day

All I can say is what a neat Fathers Day. My son Brian aka Moose and his wife Abby treated Diana and me to a day of what Dad likes best.









We began the day with a late breakfast at the Hamburger Inn. I only have a photo of the back entrance, but this place is the real McCoy. They bake fresh their hamburger buns, the fries are from freshly peeled potatoes and make a variety of pastries. The back entrance takes you through the kitchen area, while the actual dining area also has the grill area where breakfast and sandwiches are made to order. I can't say enough about the place. This is one place where greasy spoon is truly a complement.
Next we were off to Marblehead to the lighthouse. I've written before about the lighthouse. This is truly one of the neatest places I've ever been. There is something about the lighthouse and the lake that remove all the toxins from your body.

The problem is, the toxin removal is an exhausting experience. We were only there for a short period of time and then we were off to Toledo.


Toledo is the home of another of my favorite restaurants. The place made famous by Corporal Maxwell Klinger on M*A*S*H. Tony Packo's.


I've always love the cabbage rolls and sausage made there. This weekend was no let down.The other neat thing is they have walls of celebrity and politician autographs....on hotdog buns.

Legend has it the hotdog bun signing began with Burt Reynolds in the 70's and continues to this day with everyone who is anyone that stops in Toledo leaving their autograph. Presidents, first lady's, presidential wanna bes, rock stars, crooners, big band artists, country singers. They've all been there and signed a bun.

We did a couple of other stops along the way, but these were the highlights.

Thanks to my neat son and his lovely wife. And to my wife Diana for joining us for all the fun.

It was truly a day to remember.

Is This What Talk Radio is For?

There is a blog I read almost daily. The blog is written by an employee of a well respected teacher and talk show host.

I genuinely enjoy the blog and the writer. Let me explain why I enjoy his blog so much and later why I wrote this in mine.

He has to read books faster than Evelyn Wood ever could as he writes about just finished books frequently. I have read or thumbed through some of his selections and have never been disappointed. He makes great choices and while typically focusing on motivation and business themes, he sometimes strays into other interesting areas. He's a great resource.

My guess is he's about a generation younger than me in age. He's a Christian and seems to be a great representative for Christ. There are far too few people who can do that these days.

While I've never read the book, I've seen reviews on one called Lord, Save Me From Your Followers. He doesn't appear to fall under that heading. Believe me, I've often felt the urge to duck the Lord's ambassadors. Not because I don't want to hear the Good News. I do cause I've got tons of questions. But I don't need it crammed down my throat or beaten into me. I need and want exposure and education.

The blog writer seems level headed and seems to want to expose rather than impose his faith to others. That is so cool.

He sometimes writes of his family and of family events with that certain flair that lets you know that they are a very important part of his life. There are far too few family men in our society today and seeing a great representative always gives me pleasure.

Now to part two of this post. As I mentioned, he works for a popular teacher and talk show host.

I have to admit there are times I wince when I've heard what I thought was the host "laying into people" for the sake of doing it and the joy of having done it. I blew it off many times as being overly picky in my listening.

Now, I have no problem in being straight forward, if it is done in a respectful manner. And no, it's doesn't have to be wimpy and with no passion. A good firm talk when someone's done or said something stupid is not out of line. Again, let it be straightforward.

And I've often wondered if those in the organization, from the host to those internally, seemed to get a special joy when someone got "layed into" on the air. If there was a circle the wagons mentality.

That question may have been answered when I read the blog the other day. The blog noted in part "Plus it's always pretty fun to listen to (the host) lay into people who are...well..."not the sharpest tool in the shed."

Oh?

The comment sort of confirmed my theory. There is a certain joy they are getting when the boss lays into someone on the air. Not just a straight forward "host to listener" lesson to be learned, but a voice raised, name calling tirade which are sometimes part of the show.

And clearly they must believe that a large portion of their audience is....as they would say......"not the sharpest tool(s) in the shed" as there are many who have received the wrath of the host.

I don't know. Maybe that comment in that post was an over exuberant comment. If not, then all I can say is it's sad.

And I will be the first to admit I have also heard some of the most touching moments of talk radio on that same show. But for every touching moment, there's an offsetting name calling tirade that sort of negates the touching moment.

As anyone who has browsed the pages of this blog know, I had a love for radio and some of the people who graced the airwaves. But as time has passed by, radio now seems more and more geared toward appealing to our most basic of instincts.

And no, this isn't the only show that does the same or a theme and variation of the same. General Sherman could have used a lesson or two in how to effectively scorch the earth from some of these folks. Savannah would not have been spared.

What is it in our society that gives not only this group, but our society in general, the joy and glee of hearing someone have their clock verbally cleaned by an on air host? Why do we enjoy listening to the host "lay into people"? Is this some sort of guilty pleasure.

For radio in general and talk radio specifically, to be successful does it have to resort to appealing to our most basic instincts? Have we devolved to that level? Has our culture mandated that we must have a certain level incivility in order to thrive?

And while we must enjoy hearing someone else get their hair verbally blow dried, would we enjoy just it as much if it were us being the recipient of that treatment? If we in our innocence had posed the dull knife question to this host or scores of others?

Frankly while I don't know the specifically host personally, my educated guess would be he wouldn't tolerate that kind of treatment or response if he were the recipient of it. Even if he somehow posed a question with the intelligence of a knife that couldn't cut butter. No, not a chance.

Remember, we've all done stupid. And we will do stupid in the future. We're human. We are all ignorant in some area of life.

This isn't a rant on the host or the blogger, but rather food for thought. You see, there is so much about this group that deserves to be admired.

Yet why do they have to stoop to admitting "it's always pretty fun to listen to (the host) lay into people who are...well..."not the sharpest tool in the shed"?

http://echo4.bluehornet.com/ct/ct.php?t=2027763&c=1924092463&m=m&type=1&h=5F338477D29B7020F63400AEABA6927A

No Wonder We're So Confused

This photo of the highway signs was taken between Wytheville, Va and Max Meadows, Va.

The photo in a strange sort of way illustrates life.

We seem to be going both directions at once. We're going north while going south. What's even more strange is in reality this stretch of highway really goes more east and west at this point. So what you see isn't always what you get. Check this stretch of highway out on the map sometime.

But life is often like the posted signs. No matter whether it be religion, politics, marriage, family, career or any other important matter, we often are pulled in many directions all at once. What is the real truth? What is the best choice? Should you or shouldn't you?

Sometimes the signs all come together and the direction to be taken is clear. Other times, like these signs indicate, the direction to be taken can be deceiving. While we seem to be going north or south we in reality were going east or west. Which direction are we really going?

Some people say you must have faith to understand the best direction to take. Yet it seems all of my faith trip tiks always contain the same conflicting information seen in the above highway signs.

How about yours?

The Big Bucket

The Big Bucket belonged once to one of the largest earth moving machines in the world.

The Big Muskie was dedicated in 1969. She roamed the Southeastern Ohio strip mining fields for the next 21 years until the Ohio coal boom turned to bust. During her productive life, she moved more than 608 million tons of overburden. Built for American Electic Power by Bucyrus Erie at a cost of 25 million, it took three years to complete the fabrication, assembly and delivery of the machine.




After no longer being needed, efforts to find a permanent place for the machine failed to come to fruition and the machine was dismantled by AEP.

The remaining piece of The Big Muskie, her bucket, came to a final resting place, just east of McConnelsville and just to the west of Caldwell.

Standing in the bucket is Diana and our daughter in law Abby.

The bucket itself weighs 230 tons and could hold 220 cubic yards of earth.

A park was built to commerate the giant machine and the people who worked the coal fields of the region.