My Soap Box

What is the nature of human existence? Now that’s a full plateful of food for thought and one that has kept philosophy departments in major universities in business since the days of Plato. (Not to be confused with Play-Dough, although that putty may be the Platonic ideal of a toy.) But enough... Sign in to see full entry.

Why not go “all in?” That was the gist of her political “ad” that is ubiquitous on the internet right now. It’s not really a question of Liberalism or Conservativism, it’s a question of the way things are, a reality check no one wants to cash. OK, here’s how it works. Oil comes out of the ground, it... Sign in to see full entry.

A marriage and a reunion have commandeered my time for the past few weeks. My son got married August 2 nd, an event his fiancée and my wife have been planning since last December. The next day was our family reunion. My family has been up here for a week and I took time off to help with the final... Sign in to see full entry.

My five year old great nephew is visiting. My brother just bought a travel trailer and being new to the RV scene wanted to check out my motorhome. We were sitting around talking and the nephew was being Mr. Questions. He was in the cab area and asked “what are those black things?” “Black things?” I... Sign in to see full entry.

You have more chance of getting elected president than winning the lotto, according to several new reports. Oh those crazy statisticians have been at it again. Of course I didn’t research the article, I just had a lot of questions, that’s all. Do they mean you can get elected president just out of... Sign in to see full entry.

Recent wildfires in the Spokane Valley spread to over 1,000 acres in about two hours. This is how we found out about it. We had picked up my son from his home in the Spokane Valley and were on our way to race RC cars in Canby Oregon. It was a very windy day and the gusts were wreaking havoc with my... Sign in to see full entry.

What a long strange trip it’s been could be more than a line from a Grateful Dead song, it could have been the mantra for the CIA back in the early 50s. According to an article in the August 2008 Discover Magazine on page 10 Whatever happened to… mind control? by Stephen Ornes, “In the 1950s,... Sign in to see full entry.

Where does the time go? More than a line from the Grateful Dead song, “Uncle John’s Band” it is a feeling most of us experience in the summer. My son came up Friday afternoon and we put laminate flooring in one of our spare bedrooms. My wife and his fiancée furiously continued the wedding plans.... Sign in to see full entry.

I got Smart, having watched a lot of the originals lately that were being played on Direct TV. The movie sticks pretty close to the TV series except you won’t see Steve Carell suavely smoking a cigarette. Other than that, it follows the same Mel Brooks formula of sight-gags and “missed it by that... Sign in to see full entry.

We are a nation in a hurry and it’s killing us. We can’t be bothered to wait for the things we want. Supper? Just run down to your favorite drive through and grab a bag-O-burgers, no need to lay in a stock of food, cook your own meal and serve it at the table where the family gathers and bonds. That... Sign in to see full entry.