An Ounce - For Your Consideration

Recorded live on February 14, 2023, during the Virtual Linguists, Toastmasters International, online meeting.

Ever wondered, “Have I been Jinxed”? 

Have you had things pile up on you, events occur, trouble seem to follow you? I guess it might be possible to be cursed, vexed, or jinxed. Though we may have our suspicions, in the long view of things we may well find that it’s just not so. That dark cloud that shows up and ruins everything won't follow us forever and ruin everything. 

Most importantly, we all have the power to fight that paranoia head on. It has to do with where we focus our attention. Expect the worst and that’s what you will find. But, look for the good, seek the positive, and you’ll find that too. 

The question is, what are you looking for? 

An interview with Brent Averett, with a story about how quality matters.

Brent talks about how a principle of quality applies to a good knife, and to life. Yes, it may mean you have to pay more, work harder, and do better to enjoy the benefits of quality. But the return is worth the sacrifice.

You can find Brent online at www.mrknifeguy.com, or:

Mr. KnifeGuy® is located at:
1127 W Sunset Blvd
St, George, UT 84770

Call or Text us at:
435-565-6433 or “HELLO-KNIFE”

 With everything we know about our planet, with satellite imagery, GPS systems, and so much more, there isn’t much of our planet that hasn’t been seen. But there are still some incredibly remote places on earth. The kinds of places people don’t get to very often. 

On the list of those remote locations are places where people aren’t very comfortable. Places where extremes in the environment make it tough to want to be there for too long. Remote deserts, rugged wilderness, and Arctic regions are among these. 

Spurred on by the need for accurate weather forecasting during the second world war, the military forces on both sides did some pretty unusual things. They would secretly place observers here and there, or monitor weather reports on commercial radio stations, or in local newspapers, in order to get an edge in predicting future weather conditions and how they would impact military operations. 

The Germans went so far as to sneak compact, self-contained, automatic weather stations into enemy territory. 

When I was about 6 or 7 years old, a friend of the family dropped in to visit. I don’t remember his name, but I do remember, he brought a dog with him. 

The dog was less than a year old, and very well-trained. He was a black medium poodle, with a great disposition, who loved to play. 

I am not sure what the negotiations were like. All I know is when the friend of the family left later that day, Jocko stayed. 

I was so excited I walked to every home in the neighborhood with Jocko on a leash, knocked on the door, and introduced him. 

“This is my new dog – just wanted you to get to know him ‘cause he’ll be around the neighborhood.” And then off I went to the next house. 

Jocko, in spite of his awkward master, was very well accepted in the neighborhood, and by my brother and sisters. 

There was wisdom in the destruction. 

At the time, there was a real possibility that if the Japanese attacked Hawaii again, they could defeat the US military there and occupy the Islands. 

And, if they did, they would likely do the same thing they had done before in other locations. Confiscate all the money, and use the cash to bankroll their military. 

Then somebody came up with a brilliant idea – let’s get rid of all the cash before they get here! 

They could gather it up, and send by ship back to the mainland – but no – what if the Japanese captured the ship? That was just too risky. 

But if they just burned it all – yes – that would work! 

It was January 1835, and King Richard was in Washington, DC. As he approached his target, his hand slipped inside his coat, and he drew out a pistol… and shot it at Andrew Jackson, the Sitting President of the United States. The pistol misfired, so he dropped it and withdrew a second, and pulled the trigger, but the second pistol misfired as well. The determined king had failed to kill the President. 

To his credit, the fiery Andrew Jackson, was upon the murderous king immediately, beating him to the ground with his walking stick. 

The incident ended as King Richard the third was fully subdued by Davy Crockett and Navy Lieutenant Thomas Gedney - 

OK – if you’ve actually be listening, you have noticed this little story sounds just a bit, well, crazy. 

Did your parents or grandparents ever tell you one of ‘those’ stories. You know the ones – “Back in my day we used to walk 7 miles to school. It was uphill both ways. It was always raining, the snow was at least chest deep, and you were lucky if you didn’t get heat stroke.” 

IT’s kinda’ fun to hear them tell their stories, but O. k. old timer – we get it – things were harder ‘back in the day’. 

Speaking of ‘back in the day’ I’ve got a great experience to share. 

It was the early 90s, and I was working a Dulles International Airport fire department, in Virginia, just outside Washington, DC. It was about 7 in the morning and my 24-hour shift was over, so I was headed home. Home was a 70+mile drive – and it usually took a little over an hour. And, with a commute like that I didn’t want to be running miles up on a new car, so I would keep my eye’s open for what I hoped would be a reliable jalopy – wore out a few of them during that decade's long career. 

I hoped into my late 70's Subaru station wagon and headed home. This little Subaru hoopdy was really ugly. It was painted mostly a silverish and rather rock chipped blue - Except for the driver’s door – which was an awful brown color. This little rattle trap had a very reliable (boxer style) 4-cylinder engine, good tires, and was about the size of today's 4 door RAZOR ATV. Fun to drive, though it was a bit embarrassing to be seen in. 

Did you know that the driest desert on this earth has not received any precipitation for as long as 2 million years? 

You’d think it must be hot, and dry, and oppressive. 

And, well dry – yes. Oppressive – maybe. Hot – not even. The driest deserts on earth are found in Antarctica. Ice and Snow cover about 98% of the continent,  leaving 1-2% permanently ice free. These ice free spots are dry valleys, or Antarctic Oasis. Not necessarily the picture I’d think of when imagining a desert... but there you go. 
 
If you don’t like reptiles, Antarctica is the place for you. 

But there’s a lot of strangeness there. Though it’s a part of our planet, it seems like a completely different world. 

But, think about it. We may be completely comfortable and familiar with where we are – but the places we are used to, have plenty of unique and strange qualities. Slow down and look around a bit, you’ll notice all kinds of stuff. 

Everybody love’s bunnies. Rabbits are ubiquitous. Soft, Cuddly, Cute. 

But is it possible to have too much of a good thing? 

Rabbits are found in multiple environments – from desert to mountain… or as a stuffed plush, may be snuggled up tight to a sleeping child. 

On another - they can be great sport to hunt, and can be prepared to be downright tasty. Just ask Elmer Fudd (and if you don’t know who that is ask a grandparent). 

These adorable little hoppers found in everything from literature to cartoons. 

You’ve got the easter bunny, bugs bunny, peter rabbit, the energizer bunny, (Bambi’s little friend) thumper, Watership Down and the white rabbit found in Alice in Wonderland, or co-staring with Jimmy Stewart in the 1950s classic, “Harvey”. 

However, one environment they were not found in – until the 1800’s – was Australia. 

I have observed as many of us participate in one of the biggest, and most well know, consumer events in the United States. That magical Friday after Thanksgiving when folks line up in the early morning hours outside their favorite stores to get a shot at amazing deals on the newest hot toy, electronics, and other items with prices cut to the bone. 

Retailers in brick-and-mortar stores, and online businesses, brace for the Black Friday weekend deals that constitute the biggest rush of retail activity of the year. This is the time when Santa, and those helping him, make more purchases than at any other time of the year. 

For some retailers it is the make-or-break event that launches their balance sheets into the black, or on a bad weekend, condemns them to finish out the year in the red – and maybe ends their business for good. 

But is it true that the Black Friday weekend is the most active time for holiday shopping? 

Well now – maybe not.