TEMPLATE

                           


I remember fondly and with pride my 4 years of active duty service assigned to the USS Enterprise CVN-65,
The Big "E"
I was on 2 WESTPAC cruises.
We sailed from Alameda CA (San Francisco Bay) and went to the West Pacific.
That means Vietnam and the Philippines.

In Vietnam, the war was still going on during my first cruise.
I was jogging on the flight deck when Saigon was invaded.
I saw continuous flashes of light on the horizon,
so our ship was as close as shore as possible, without being seen.
That's about 14 miles, I think.

Those were my voyages on the United States Ship Enterprise.
My approximately 5-year mission to explore strange new worlds
(Hawaii, Subic Bay, Singapore, Diego Garcia, Mombasa Kenya, San Diego),
to seek out new life and new civilizations,
to boldly go where no man has gone before.


On the second WestPac cruise, I was rewarded with a temporary 9-month assignment to The Subic Bay Naval Base in Olongapo City, Philippines. During this time, I took 3 sessions of college classes with LaVerne University which was contracted to teach classes on base there. I completed 24 semester units and got "A" in all the classes, Biology, English, and Accounting. That's about a full year of units. I had already taken some classes in History and Math that were offered on The Enterprise while at sea, by Chapman College.
When I was honorably discharged in 1977, I finished up my college units at UC Davis, in Davis CA near Sacramento. In the eighties and nineties, often missing the camaraderie, and feeling alienated on the shallow liberal politically correct campuses, I joined The Army Reserves, The Army National Guard (in CA), and the Alaska Air National Guard (in Anchorage AK). I sort of outgrew it after a while when I had more education and more political and life experience than the base commanders. I value the cohesion and structure and camaraderie and order of the military.
I drove by The American Legion in Middletown last night, on a Saturday night and I saw it buzzing with activity, with the parking lot full. I see that around town in other places too like the VFW and the Moose Lodge across the street from me. and it shows what a vibrant and strong community this is.
This illustrates "The Deep Nation" or "The Deep State" in a way, but in a good way. We all know the ominous discussions over the past 5 years of "The Deep State", and they were valid. We had people in the chain of command at the highest levels disregarding The President's command (fbi, generals, ambassadors). That was wrong, and no organization or nation can stand that way. That was The Deep State gone bad. But The Deep State has positive attributes, as well. Let's make the comparison to a
flywheel. In other words, the flywheel stabilizes a machine or a system by providing continuous, steady, powerful momentum to that machine or system. In The Deep State, the flywheel is the collection of hundreds of thousands or millions of workers who just continue doing their job regardless of which person is elected leader. That provides stability - a good thing. But, of course, we elect leaders for a reason - to guide and lead us. Disregarding them is wrong. It violates the will of the people who elected that leader. When The Deep State ignores or defies the leader, that's wrong. That's bad. That breaks the system down into chaos and anarchy. Then we can all do whatever the hell we want, whenever we want because The Deep State has provided the precedent. And, socially, and in terms of community, the social and service and religious groups provide stability to the community. They are here now, and they will be here regardless of who gets elected. In my short dozen or more years as a resident of Middletown I've seen Councilors rotate like at a barn dance and often pop in and pop out like in a clown car. It does matter whether you have good elected officials, but it is the the social, service and religious groups that provide stability to the community. Collectively, in Middletown, they number in the thousands. Off the top of my head I'm thinking of the many churches, most of which I've attended or visited at least once since I've been here. I'm talking about St Peters, The Methodist Church, New Beginnings, the 3 "black" churches in Ward 1, and up Union Street and east we have Presbyterian and Episcopalian, I believe, and, of course, The Catholic Church. I've been to them all and I know of another, and possibly more, that I haven't been to yet. I, myself, was a devout altar boy in 6th grade. I, personally, believe that religion is just that - personal. I've seen so much ridiculous religion on tv that it makes your eyes roll - jim and tammy baker, the guy preaching the coming of "the rapture", etc. I had a BIBLE BASED Catholic upbringing and education. That's right - BIBLE BASED! I've spoken to pastors who say that Catholics are not bible based and I wonder what the h### (gosh darned) they're talking about. When we received our First Holy Communion in First Grade, we were all given Bibles, and we used them in class and in church. And, if I can preach a bit here to you pastors and evangelists, it would be this. You're smart people. Conservatives and religious people have common sense unlike the flaky, bratty campus activists who ruin our educational systems and our children's minds and our whole social fabric by teaching harmful nonsense. You church people are smart and sensible, so why do you lead with your idiots? Jim and Tammy Baker1? The Rapture!? Whatever! And if I have to listen to one more Christian enthusiast explain to me that "IT WASN'T A WHALE! IT WAS A BIG FISH!" that Jonah was in ... (As If That Matters!?) I'll ... I'll ... I'll ... I'll run for Mayor so I can preach to you from my own Bully Pulpit. Listen, I was in North Dakota almost a decade ago, seeking work and I was, along with others, accepting a gracious hospitable meal from a Protestant denomination. Sitting there at the table, I made polite talk, and inquired about something that I'd heard. I said to the kind person that I'd heard that Protestants criticized Catholics for praying to Mary, The Mother of God. She sighed, rolled her eyes, and spoke to me like I was an idiot, "When you pray to Mary, you're praying to a dead person!" I was left speechless at the absurdity of that remark. I mean, Moses and Elijah spoke to Jesus on the mountain, with Peter, James and John. They clearly weren't as close to God as His Mother is. If they're not dead, neither is She. Then there's the whole issue of people challenging your belief in God. Usually it's when there is an indication that you like women, like that's a problem. Confusing issue - Like women is bad - they start to ask if you Believe In God. Don't like women is bad - you're a misogynist. OK, fine. I neither confirm nor deny any like or dislike. I just respect women. R-E-S-P-E-C-T. IN OTHER WORDS, PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS READY TO CRITICIZE AND PREACH DOWN TO YOU NO MATTER WHAT Then, when they don't like you or anything you've done, they say "Do you believe in God?" Listen, I believed in God before most of you were born.
Having said that, having preached to you, let me say that the social, religious, and service organizations in this town are The Good Deep State that keeps Middletown a good, safe, functional town.

The Fire Department, The Moose, The Elks, The Oddfellows, The Masons etc. The Churches, The American Legion and the VFW, The Booster Club for the school, and many other organizations

. I have been "laying low" during this election process waging a quiet, thoughtful campaign on my website. The Council meetings that I attended a decade ago were events of continuous rage, conflict, hostility, games, and ill-will. I have avoided such meetings, but I'm paying attention from a distance. When elected (or even before, if you're friendly and civil and wish to talk) I look forward to meeting the leaders and the members of all such organizations IN CIVILITY (anger and rage I'll walk away from - I'm not here for the angry minority to take pot shots at. I'm here to repressent and serve the rest of you).
Though I haven't seen a simple, clear handbook for the functions of Mayor, in general it is obviously a leadership position. It is a "weak" Mayor position in that The Council runs the town, and that suits me just fine. The Council manages The Deep State aspect - water, sewer, garbage, electricity, roads etc. It's tedious, it's thoughtful, it's important. Other than career advancement and name-recognition the Counselor's motive is service and keeping this a good town, and I respect that. I'm an indigenous Middletowner and an Outsider, at the same time. I hope to bring the best of those two aspects to my time in service as Mayor. Indigenous in that I was born and raised in a similar community in The Northeast in Vailsburg, Newark NJ in the 50's and 60's. An Outsider in that I've been around - too many places to mention. Vailsburg Newark, Jersey City, Manhattan, Alameda CA, sacramento, anchorage, Palmer-Wasilla, Walnut Grove, Golconda NV, Minot ND, gallup NM, Pecos TX and vicinity, El Paso, Juarez, Deming and so on...and so on... That's not the half of it. I've seen small, middle, and big towns in every stage from birth to middle age to decline, over and over and over, everywhere. You've had decades of stability from Mayor Reid, you transitioned with the outsider lawyer kid and his law firms behind the scene and he now has a cloud over him of FLIP-FLOPPING INSTABILITY (he's a Democrat - he's a Republican. he's not running - he's running. he wages a negative campaign - he cries and gets upset when the better choice puts light on HIS negatives, including the very serious allegations from your elected officials of sex crimes against women). As in the poem "IF" by Rudyard Kipling, "If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch". I can, and I have. A workingman and a professional. From garbageman and fireman to teacher - Governors, Senators, Representatives, Ambassadors I have walked with them all. No, I don't work for a law firm. I don't have a law firm advising me, drooling at the mouth at having hired a mayor, having a mayor to advise and guide ... and influence ... I stay connected ... but I stand apart. Like Diane Ravitch's influential, formative, and beloved teacher, Ruby Ratliff, wrote in Dr. Ravitch's yearbook, "among them, but not of them". She meant that in a good way. Not owned. Not beholden. Not unduly influenced. I do hope to be influenced by the best of you - not by the angry, or the stupid, but by the civil, the caring, the thoughtful, and that's most of you. I'm honored by this experience of seeking the position of Mayor, by getting to know Middletown better, and by trying to introduce myself better to you. Thank You (and I would appreciate your vote which I need in order to serve you).
My next entry will be about the tremendous support Middletown gives to Veterans and to active duty personnel I will also discuss some shameful abuse of Veterans with a personal example from me. See you next entry.