Jim Putnam - Thinking Through My Fingers

Let The Fingers Begin

The past two blog posts have been quick, written quickly with minimal concern for form or content.  Yesterday's "Even Shorter and Quicker" was a bad example.  This morning, I have time to sit and let the fingers ramble and go where they will.

The post on Socialism sits in my Draft folder, unattended.  I've put it in the back of my mind, trying to let a connection bubble up.  I really hope a word rises, or perhaps I can coin one, that doesn't have the baggage socialism carries and that describes a system characterized by honesty and equality and lack of coercion, and recognition that without these there is little hope that violence will cease to be the most used tool of society.  It's not likely that such a word will come, and the "social democrat" phrase currently being used will be my only alternative.

I don't often begin writing an article without an objective in mind, and Socialism began with one.  But I've reached a point in which either the part already written needs extensive revision or I need to examine, rearrange, revise, or junk certain ideas I began with.  Another option is to just forget it, delete the draft altogether, and pretend that it never happened.  Until I make a decision, or the soup bubbles and a new set of objectives rise, the draft sits there.

On a lighter note; someone gave me a Left-Hander's Calendar for Christmas.  It's one that sits upright on the desk and you're supposed to tear off a page every day.  Invariably, I let the days slip by, and then tear off a week or ten days at a time, one page at a time.  There are little statements about being left-handed on each page, and a list of famous left-handed people with birthdays on the page's date.  There are no famous left-handers born on April 30.

The statement for Friday, April 24, reads:

Did you know that experts say the brains of left-handed people develop more freely in utero, allowing the organization to stray more from the standard design?  That makes left-handers' brains less predictable than right-handers'.

Less predictable, beginning with straying from the standard design in utero.  I question that there is a "standard design", or how they know the left-hander's brains develop more freely, but I'll certainly agree that this left-hander is less predictable.  I sometimes don't even know myself what I am doing, just did, or are about to do.  More and more often after arriving in a room, I stand there for a long while asking myself "Now, why did I come in here?"  Or, perhaps that's a part of approaching 70 rather than being left-handed. 

I talked on the phone yesterday with a long standing friend.  She's admittedly 77, but anyone who describes her as old just doesn't know her.  I haven't seem Irma in a few years.  She still lives in Maryland, and I've only seen her a few times since we moved to North Carolina.  She asked me if I was still writing.  I said yes, and then realized that she meant was I still writing poetry.  Back then, late eighties and early nineties, I was writing poetry.  I had to amend my affirmative answer and tell her I hadn't written a poem in years.  She said that she always liked my poetry.  Left unsaid was the regret that I wasn't still writing.

Irma was the lady that tacked the label "Renaissance Man" on me.  While I've never felt comfortable with that label, I can, however, now admit that it felt very warm and comforting that someone thought I was.  I was beginning a new marriage, working successfully in my career, gardening, baking, studying for my degree, quilting, writing poetry, and managing to be active in several parts of our church's life.  I was Vice-Chair to Irma in a committee that met at least weekly, often more, for over 15 months.  Irma was absolutely the best committee leader I've ever met.  She used as guide a saying - If a meeting is less than 30 minutes, it isn't necessary, and if it's over two hours, it wasn't well organized.  She stuck to that, and over those 15 months, we had exactly one meeting over 2 hours, and that was only 15 minutes over.  She was a real pleasure to be with, and I value our friendship even though we don't see each other very often.

I don't do many of the activities in the list above, or at least not nearly as much.  I've slowed physically and mentally.  My interests have narrowed, and the time seems to slip by so quickly that there wouldn't be time to do them all even if I could.  I still quilt, and hope to never give that up.  Poetry is beyond me, and truthfully it was never quite within my reach.  Irma was being kind.

Marrianna and I are having a major birthday celebration for me in May.  It is going to be a party, catered, with a disk-jockey for music.  Friends are coming from distances that humble me.  I feel so fortunate to be where I am in this life-path.  I enjoy what I am doing, and hope that through it others can receive a bit of pleasure also.  I think I continue to learn, and hopefully expand my awareness of what is important.

I'm aware of all that I've done wrong, the hurt and pain I've caused, and carry that with me as I try to do better.  At core, life has been good to me.  Some time ago, my brother-in-law preached a sermon which he titled chopping wood.  The title refers to someone who used cabins in the alps that are always available to hikers.  They have firewood cut, ready for use.  Bob uses them as metaphor that somebody else has chopped the wood.  Now it is our time, those of us who have been fortunate enough to find the wood chopped, to chop some wood for those who come after us.  I hope I can chop some wood, somehow.

Even Shorter and Quicker

I only have about 25 minutes before the President's 100 Day News Conference comes on, and after that Marrianna and I have plans that may keep me from returning.

It was a very pleasant surprise to find Unreal Nature writing about the mention I made of her blog in last night's post.  It also initiated a ripple effect of Census stories.  Her story about the Census was interesting, the inner ripple.  Her link to Andrew Sullivan's blog and his story about the Census was another ripple in Census stories.  Sullivan's story could easily have been written by either me or the lady who was our crew leader.

The Census Bureau, at least from the limited connections I have had, is not a very efficiently run organization.  Perhaps it is because I've been near the bottom of the information chain, but it seems to me that there is very little lateral communication and none down the chain.

Returning to Unreal Nature before I close; I have followed her series with The Growlery and with Dr. C.  It's a joy reading three such fine minds sparring, I believe respectfully.  I enjoy all of them.

I really have to go now. 

Short, Quick

For Marrianna and me, this has been a full day.  We began with dental cleaning appointments, followed by shopping, lunch, a medical lab check, and finally grocery shopping.  Then, there was the dog to walk.  The entire day had gone,

News of Senator Specter's switch of political party was on the TV at the restaurant we ate lunch.  Though the sound was off, it was easy to understand the impact it was having around Washington.  I found myself watching the crawl more than participating in a very interesting conversation with a friend whom we invited to join us at our table.  She is a UNC English professor, and always an interesting conversationalist.

There is never enough time.  I have no idea how I ever found time to do work.  I try ti fit in family, everyday chores and responsibilities, blogging, quilting, reading, writing, exercise, and a few other miscellaneous items, and never seem to get all of them in. 

I'm not very disciplined.  I can begin reading one of the several blogs I read regularly, and get side-tracked following links and suddenly, when I look at my watch, an hour or more has slipped by.  More than one of these always seems to snatch my good intentions, and plans go awry.

Speaking of one of several blogs I read regularly, today's entry of Unreal Nature, Windowhenge, is a very good illustration of something I've tried to catch and never quite been as successful.  It's her eye; she sees an almost ordinary event, a sliver of light, and captures it, both in her photography and in words.  The combination is probably shared by many artists and photographers, but I am primarily familiar with her blog and that of Felix Grant in his "The Growlery."

For myself, the capture wouldn't be in photographs.  I'm interested in the eye, the connection between eye and knowledge that what is seen would be a good photograph.  I would like to be able to similarly capture a fleeting thought, and know that it would be a good subject to write, followed by the skill to tell it, via a blog or simple paragraph to friends.  that is my goal, they are my mentors, even though neither would claim that job.

Sparse Blogging Recently

Sparse?  Non-existent is more accurate.  It has been over a week since I posted a blog entry.  There are several reasonably good reasons for that, but it bothers me that I've not squeezed time for a blog entry.  Sleep time should give minutes, but has not, to writing. 

I have written a third to half of a serious essay on Socialism.  Reading several articles on the subject to inform me has consumed some time.  Usually, as the blog title, "Thinking Through My Fingers," says, I would have sat at the keyboard and began writing without research.  This subject immediately seemed to require more information and research.  Even after research, I still sit at the keyboard for inordinate lengths of time trying to organize and write a coherent essay.  I'm hoping to complete it this evening or tomorrow.

If I can't post regularly, very nearly daily, I will likely close the blog.  Obviously, it isn't holding the central position in my "thinking" life it once did.  I want it there.  Now the task is to make it so.

Some Sunday Thoughts

I've allowed other influences to take time normally used to blog.  That isn't an excuse, simply a statement of the choices I've made.  Almost daily I've sat at the computer to read blogs and email, but haven't taken the time to respond or to write my own thoughts.  This evening isn't likely to change much of that in terms of responding to what I've read.

I do, however, have a response to an email and blog entry about President Obama's decision not to prosecute personnel who have used torture techniques.  I applaud the decision in general but have a major difference with its application.  I think the decision should apply to the field personnel, but not to those who write the memos and legal opinions that authorized the techniques.  Those individuals should be tried in criminal court.

I've been working with the US Census Bureau for four weeks canvassing addresses for the 2010 census.  It isn't particularly difficult work and I've enjoyed working with some very nice, interesting people.  This next week will likely be the last week of work.  We have almost completed our assigned area, in much less time that the Bureau estimated it would take.

That is good news for the Bureau of course, but it isn't very good news for some of the people doing the work.  They were told that there would be eight weeks of work, and it turns out that for most there will only be four.  Their pay isn't great but some of these folk are out of work for various reasons and need the money this job was supposed to bring them.  I will welcome returning to retired living, but for some it will be a disappointment.

My job has been to maintain contact with the fork canvassing addresses.  That means that I visit them in the field, check whether they are having problems, and where I can help, make some small decisions.  In general, I have just been a contact person.  In doing that, I've had the opportunity to be with and listen to the stories of people.  These are truly nice people, some undergoing stresses that I am not at all sure that I could withstand.  It seems almost cruel to halve their expectations to save Bureau dollars.

In a way, I suppose it reflects the dilemma of the Census Bureau, or maybe just my own.  The Bureau is tasked to perform the census as cheaply as possible, using taxpayers dollars as wisely as possible.  It is good that we have completed our area in less time than estimated.  Our tax dollars are used wisely.  But wise use could mean pain for those who do the work.  I've told a few of our people to slow down, be less efficient, stretch it out, because i know they need the paycheck.  Even that has only added a half week  Where should my loyalty lie - with the Bureau that writes my paycheck, and represents me as a taxpayer, or the person I see in front of me?

Marrianna informed me this evening that our newspaper, the Raleigh News and Observer, is offering full issues of the newspaper on line for $5 per month.  After talking about it, we decided that sitting at the kitchen table reading the traditional paper, holding it in our hands, and (Marrianna) doing the puzzles is worth the extra dollars.

It is actually a strange offer.  If you take the time to click on the link, you will see that a significant portion of the newspaper is already on line and available free.  Why would they, supposedly, increase the on-line content and suddenly try to charge for it?  It doesn't seem like a very well thought out business plan to me.  But, that's why I'm retired from business.

A friend once described herself as "road kill on the Information Highway."  I'm beginning to understand exactly how she feels.  I don't understand Twitter, Facebook, texting, 3G mobile telephone systems, much less 4G, or a myriad other new technical innovations.  I don't want, or need, "apps" on my phone, which seems to render me hopelessly out of touch with modern telephone usage.  Hell, I remember when party lines didn't mean a Conga line, and you asked a real person to connect you.

My local television news channel (my channel being defined as the one I usually watch) is experimenting with a format in which the news broadcaster is relegated to approximately 1/3 screen, with banners down the right side and across the bottom streaming all sorts of news other than what he or she is describing in their third.  I can't stand it and if they continue, I'll exercise disagreement by switching to another news program.  I'm guilty of not being able to listen and read two separate news feeds simultaneously.

All of which must mean I am old.  Again, guilty.  But even old doesn't mean the same as it did.  We have an 85 year old working diligently canvassing addresses for the Census Bureau.  He rides his bike where he can, and if he is working miles form his home, carries it in the car.  Old age isn't what it used to be.  I hope that I never become rigid in my thinking, but at the same time, I hope that I am not forced to adapt to something new.  I simply want the choice of what to adapt to my life, and sometimes I think I'm not given that choice.

That's enough griping.  It's time to close.

What People Earn

Our Sunday newspaper has a Parade Magazine insert.  This morning's magazine front page headlines the magazine's annual report on What People Earn, with photos of celebrities and "real people" with "real jobs" with their salaries.  The article inside has more photos.

My first impression was that this was not really a sensitive story to run when so many people aren't receiving any salaries at all.  Next, I thought that celebrities get paid too much, and real people with real jobs too little.

Laying aside celebrity and sports star salaries and thinking about the "real people" shown, I think that these salaries reflect our priorities as a nation.  I recognize that location is also a factor in salaries, but for a certified nurse's aide in Utah to live on $20,200 is pitiful.  A special-ed assistant salary in Utah of $18,00 even more so.

Salaries aren't the only, or best, way to determine what professions our society values.  But they surely are one measure, and this report illustrates a lack of willingness to pay sustainable salaries for jobs that are crucial to the continued well-being and growth of the nation.  Think about it.  What does it say about us all when a special-ed assistant is below the poverty level?  When a nurse's aide is working below the nation's poverty level?

Recently, I read somewhere (no link, memory alone) that as a nation we spend $35 billion per year on pet food.  We are keeping our daughter's dog for her now, and I see from this article that she owes us big time.  A pet sitter/dog walker in St. Louis makes $100,000 per year.  How can we pay a deputy sheriff in Philadelphia only $47,800 and a person $100K to walk our dogs?  Something is wrong there.

I realize that I am ranting about something that has no solution other than raising public awareness and urging them, us, to change priorities.  But I worry abot it.  What if the special-ed assistants changed jobs, perhaps to an assistant retail manager, thereby doubling his or her salary?  What would be the effect on the children with special needs?  What if there weren't any nursing aides in a hospital to help care for our sick?

Google shows a list of professions that are most respected,  Here is one.  I wonder how respect correlates to salary.  Here's an idea.  There are probably tables on the Internet that would tell me more, but my gut tells me that they aren't really well correlated.

It may seem incongruous, but in general I am much less concerned that some celebrities make enormous amounts of money.  There are exceptions, of course.  But that Jennifer Anniston makes $27 million, according to Parade, doesn't bother me much.  For Alex Rodriguez to make $34 million doesn't either.  To me, some of these salaries are probably worth it, some probably are not.

Jennifer Anniston is probably a poor example for me.  I can't recall ever seeing her in a movie or on TV.  Salaries for entertainment and sports celebrities are, in general, in tune with the number of people who will pay to see them perform.  Alex Rodriguez probably draws a large number of fans to the ballpark just to see him, and a portion of their ticket price plus the advertising value likely does justify his salary.  Anniston probably draws enough fans to justify her salary, even though she hasn't drawn me in, yet.  I believe that Tiger Woods is worth the $110 million Parade says he made.   He provides a high value to me as a golf fan, and his business and charity work certainly give me confidence that he is not overpaid.

Though it may seem so, I'm not advocating that governmental agencies legislate how much any profession should make.  I believe the people who use the professions should determine what they are willing to pay.  And, yes, I do realize that all of the above may seem as if I do want some type of control.  The control I want to occur, however, is for us all to rethink our priorities and make changes to better reflect some of them.  Because in my opinion, in many cases we are doing a very poor job of paying equal value for what we say we respect and trust.  I think we need to put our money with our priorities, and that we aren't doing so now.

End of Week Bits and Pieces

I've had an interesting week, but nothing much to write about.  This evening, I am going to touch upon several subjects and just get my thoughts out there.  I'm not going to link much, or any, because I'm writing from the top of my head without much in the way of thought.

I heard a part of an interview somewhere this past week that claimed to be discussing how different the nation would look and act after we pull ourselves out of the current recession.  They had experts.  I only have my hopes and gut feelings, but here they are.

I do believe that we will be a very different people.  Our priorities, wants, and dreams will be very different.  I think we will have a very different perspective, one much more attuned to living with others and to a smaller, less consuming life style.

I believe that we will continue to use our technological tools, and the industry will provide more and more capabilities.  But, they will be tools rather than status symbols.  Our computers, cell phones, and personal devices will still be with us, but integrated, allowing us to live connected to people for whom we care.

I very much hope that the financial gurus will find a way to emphasize the strengths of small business, and to lessen the ability of financial behemoths to warp the system toward their own enrichment.  Unfortunately, I don't really believe this will occur, but I can hope.

I want our regulatory systems to be robust, with the aim and intention to protect the interests of people.  However, I also want these regulatory systems to not be so restrictive that innovation and entrepreneurs are discouraged and denied room to grow and prosper.  That is, admittedly, a very narrow path, and it may require time to achieve.

I see, or hope that I see, a people, and therefore their government, more interested in listening, collaboration, and partnership than in leading and dominating.

I want our people to recognize that services, education, infrastructure, and the agencies that provide them have as their lifeblood our willingness to pay for them.  Tax systems may need reformed and revised to be fair.  We cannot expect more than we are willing to pay for, but we should not pay for excesses and corruption.

I want to feel a unity of spirit.  I don't mean that we should not allow dissent or strong disagreement.  What I want is for honest people who disagree to do so peacefully and openly.  I believe our political parties need reformation, and our voting systems changed to support more than two major parties. 

In our strengths, we must assist the weak.  Third world countries should be able to look toward the first world for aid, assistance, and support.  I'm wary that some of them have corrupt leaders, but that shouldn't cause us to stop working to assist their people.

On a much more personal basis, I believe that people will have decided that we can exist without the levels of extravagant consumerism we have had before.  Our stores will have less variety in food selections, our need for new will diminish, and we will find that since we have lived on less, it is going to be possible, desirable, to continue to do so.  Our homes will be slightly smaller, and automobiles smaller and more efficient.

I'm hopeful that we will have a much more equitable health care system, and that we will have decided that alternative energy sources are both economically and technologically feasible.

I hope that we will have developed a more sensitive and robust compassion for others.  I'm looking forward to a day in which the local food bank is always fully stocked, but I want even more for there not to be a need for food banks.  I want Habitat for Humanity to go out of business because everyone has a home.

I've rambled on long enough.  Dreams are not useful unless we work to make them real.  And that's my final hope for this evening.  Let me work to make these dreams become real, not only for myself but for the nation and world.

Thinking

My mother taught me that whenever I don't have anything to say to keep quiet.  Then, I took up blogging and there is an expectation that I should have something to say almost every day.  So the choice is to write with nothing to say or not write. 

I've been working with the US Census Bureau to canvass the addresses of our county in preparation for the 2010 census.  This job is becoming more interesting for a variety of reasons.

As Crew Leader Assistant, I'm tasked with observing the members of our crew as they canvass.  I get to go out to an area with them and observe whether they are doing it correctly.  It allows me to work with every member of the crew, and that is interesting in itself.  I get to know a little about them, their backgrounds, and personality types.  For me, that is the most interesting part of the job.

We have a varied group, ranging from an 85 year old to a woman of approximately 30.  They are all doing a good job, some better than others, but the canvassing is getting done. 

The canvass must include every address with a living quarter in the county.  Our county is primarily a rural county, but it is within a dozen miles or so of Raleigh, the state capitol.  There is a very wide range of economic levels in the county.  The requirement to have every living quarters on the list and mapped for GPS coordinates means that as we drive down a small road and see a dirt driveway, we have to go up that drive a way to determine whether there is a house back in the woods.

This morning, a lady and I went back a dirt and gravel road, and about a quarter mile back the largest house I've ever seen appeared.  It is huge, and there is a elaborate iron gate blocking the drive.  I can't imagine a house that large even being in a rural county in North Carolina.

Later, I was with a man as he canvassed another section just a mile or so away.  Tiny houses, probably four room were set back in the pines.  It was obvious that the people who lived in them were having a rough time, economically.  The disparity made me realize the extreme economic range of our county's population.

I have also been able to see how our crew differs.  Most people have not had a single bad incident when meeting the folk living in the houses they canvass.  Some just seem to draw problems to themselves.  I can't tell whether it's them or whether they just seem to always be in an area that has people who are a problem.  I believe it's our folk though.  I've found even the most sullen homeowner, one who challenges us why we are in his or her yard, becomes quite cooperative when a friendly voice and face answers his questions.

The humongous, elaborate house, and the small trailer have one thing in common.  People live there, and it's our job to be sure that they are counted next year in the census.  The people may not even be aware that the other exists, just as I was not that such a large estate even existed in our county, but each has a part to fill in the fabric of our nation - to mangle a metaphor.

American Exceptionalism

In two different blogs today I've read a column about how President Barack Obama answered a question   First, I read this Washington Monthly report.  Later, I read this report by Michael Scherer in the Time blog.  For me, the Time report was much more robust and interesting.

Over the past years, I've had the good fortune to be a part of an email group of people from the US and Great Britain, a group whose life experiences differ radically, producing widely varying perspectives.  I have learned more from these folk than from any university course I've ever taken.  Over these years, we have discussed the differing ways that Britain, Europe, and likely most of the world view the US from how the US views itself.  I've learned that there is a vast difference in most respects.

With this as preparation, when I read these reports of President Obama's answer to a question about American Exceptionalism, I had an inkling about how sensitive the answer could be, both in Strasbourg and in the US.  I believe Obama's answer is very good, and that it indicates that the US has, or more accurately may have, begun to recognize the harm the policies of the past, of George W. Bush specifically but also others, have inflicted on the trust, cooperation, and collaboration of nations.  Below is a copy of the question and President Obama's answer as recorded by Michael Scherer.

Q Thank you, Mr. President. In the context of all the multilateral activity that's been going on this week -- the G20, here at NATO -- and your evident enthusiasm for multilateral frameworks, to work through multilateral frameworks, could I ask you whether you subscribe, as many of your predecessors have, to the school of American exceptionalism that sees America as uniquely qualified to lead the world, or do you have a slightly different philosophy? And if so, would you be able to elaborate on it?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism. I'm enormously proud of my country and its role and history in the world. If you think about the site of this summit and what it means, I don't think America should be embarrassed to see evidence of the sacrifices of our troops, the enormous amount of resources that were put into Europe postwar, and our leadership in crafting an Alliance that ultimately led to the unification of Europe. We should take great pride in that.

And if you think of our current situation, the United States remains the largest economy in the world. We have unmatched military capability. And I think that we have a core set of values that are enshrined in our Constitution, in our body of law, in our democratic practices, in our belief in free speech and equality, that, though imperfect, are exceptional.

Now, the fact that I am very proud of my country and I think that we've got a whole lot to offer the world does not lessen my interest in recognizing the value and wonderful qualities of other countries, or recognizing that we're not always going to be right, or that other people may have good ideas, or that in order for us to work collectively, all parties have to compromise and that includes us.

And so I see no contradiction between believing that America has a continued extraordinary role in leading the world towards peace and prosperity and recognizing that that leadership is incumbent, depends on, our ability to create partnerships because we create partnerships because we can't solve these problems alone.

This is a new perspective of ourselves, one that recognizes that though we have extraordinary resources and strength, none of that is useful without working in a partnership.  While we have much to be proud of, we also have much to learn about being a partner.  We can't change the world alone, and even if we could, would the result be functional?  I think not.

Ideas have no boundaries, and Obama's response says to me that he is interested in moving the US toward accepting differing ideas with the prime concern being whether the idea raises the standard of living of peoples rather than whether it is from the US.  It says to me that we will compromise, will be a valued partner, and will work together to change the world.

That isn't going to be an easy transition.  Power doesn't relinquish its grip easily or gladly.  And the size of our economy, the strength of our military, are both powerful and accustomed to exerting themselves and getting their way.  Obama, though, has set the right tone. 

It Has Been An Interesting Week

I haven't had the energy left at the end of each day to write the blog, so my apology.  It truly upsets me to miss so many days at the keyboard.  I have, however, been too tired each evening to write.  It isn't exactly good news to discover my resiliency has deteriorated, and the hours I worked for decades, getting ready each morning, all with five to six hours of sleep are no longer possible.  My body now requires eight, and lets me know when I have less.  The man of almost 70 isn't the one of 60, or even 65.

Early in the week I recognized that I was appearing too critical and unwilling to adjust.  Admittedly, I did complain about the quality of the training materials and the absolute requirement that we read them verbatim.  I continue to believe that if they had let me tear apart the manuals and rearrange them into a more logical sequence, even the ridiculous reading verbatim requirement would not have been so bad.  But, since I sensed my Crew Leader was feeling abandoned by my complaining, I dropped it all and tried to support her.  That worked better.  I adjusted, and we got through the week with much better confidence and relations.

I've accepted that even poor training manuals can be overcome.  Thursday, the students were given real assignments in the field and turned loose.  I worked with a gentleman who had been having trouble with the hand held computer.  We went to the assigned area and began to canvas.  The steady rain didn't help but we worked together for about three hours.  He was able to do the job quite well, so obviously the training had been absorbed, regardless of the quality of the materials.

In doing the canvass, we are expected to verify the address, if possible determine whether there is a separate mailing address, and mark the GPS coordinates on the hand-held-computer (HHC).  We found the GPS was very accurate, marking a location to within between two and three feet.  The listers, that's us, are supposed to approach each house, knock and give the resident a brief courtesy information about why we are there and what we will be doing.  If no one is home, we just enter what we know into the HHC, mark the map coordinates and move on.

We had two incidents that we laughed about, but that also reflect interesting aspects of our job.  We stopped in the driveway of a mobile home, and got out to do the canvas.  We knocked on the door, there was no answer, and we stepped back into the yard to enter the information.  A blue automobile pulled into the driveway behind us, blocking our exit.  We walked over to the car, and a nice lady rolled down her window.  We told her who we were and what we were doing.

She said that she owned the mobile home and that her daughter lived in it.  She had seen us from her house down the road, and came up to see what we were doing.  She said that she had thought that teen-agers were up to mischief, her words, but that when she saw that we were two "old men" she knew we were alright.  I didn't know whether to be insulted or just accept that what she said was accurate.  I suppose I am too old to be up to mischief.

Further down the road, the house we were mapping didn't respond to the knock, so we entered our information and collected the map GPS coordinates.  Wet, we returned to the car and were about to back out the drive when the door opened and a man walked out to the porch.  So, we thought courtesy demanded that we go up and tell him who we were and our job.

We stepped onto the porch with him out of the rain.  It was then I saw that he had a semi-automatic hand gun, probably 9 millimeter, in the pocket of his jacket.  My surprise must have registered on my face, because he said that he never answered the door to anyone he didn't know without it.

We talked for a while, and he was really a very interesting person.  He raises purebred black Labradors and had a litter of two week old puppies in the back.  He was a Vietnam vet, and had at least a son in the area.

That's one of the really interesting parts of the job, meeting some very nice people.  Given the opportunity all people are interesting and all have been nice to us, so far at least.  Hopefully that will continue.  I don't expect to be met at the door by many people carrying handguns, but if there are any, I certainly hope they turn out as well as this one did.

The week was a success, and I think the next two months will be fun and interesting.  I wasn't at all sure that it would be last Sunday, but changed my attitude and it turned into a valuable learning experience.