Grace in the dangerous part of town

I took the bus down to meet my  Big Brothers/Big sisters "Little" this morning.  It was a nightmare.  The connections were lousy and it just took forever to get there and back.  The more I think of it though, the more I realize the trip was the high point of the day. 

 

I met Dennis on 27th and Wisconsin Ave.  Dennis introduced himself to me and I immediately assumed he was a pan-handler and wanted my money.  it turned out Dennis is a sweet gentleman who is known by many people in the area.  I listened to an older woman (who knew Dennis) talking on the bus about places she's worked and volunteered.  I don't get the feeling she's been invited to any fancy events lately yet she is the type of person I admire for their giving spirit.

 

It turned out the bus driver didn't hear me when I told her where I wanted to get off the bus.  I ended up going beyond my stop and having to catch a bus back south to meet my Little.  As I was getting ready to cross the road I heard a gentleman say "Cousin, help this man across the street.".  A woman took my arm and helped me across.  I could have crossed myself but thought it better not to refuse such a kind heart.  When we got across she told me we were in front of the barber shop.  She gave me the name of the owner and told me I should let him know if I needed anything.  I didn't but it was lovely to think I could go in to a place I've never been before and know I was recommended to the owner by one of the members of the community.

 

All of these very nice encounters took place in an area of town many people are afraid to go to because of the imminent danger lurking at every street corner.  I'm grateful for the bad luck that brought me face-to-face with these people.  I can only hope they would be treated as graciously in my neighborhood.

 

<http://www.DanLococo.com/>

 

The Pirate Paradox

The President has made a commitment to keeping American shipping crews safe from pirates wherever they travel in the world.  This seems a reasonable response to the recent hostage situation off the shores of Somalia.  The commitment is also a contradiction to Obama's commitment to supporting American job growth through environmentally responsible policies.

 

A major problem with using U.S. forces to protect American shipping crews as they travel in dangerous waters is the cost of the goods being protected is dramatically increased but not reported.  The cost of U.S. Navy patrols gets lost in the massive Defense Department budget and simply becomes a part of the cost of running the U.S. government.  The cost of the goods being shipped then becomes a combination of the materials, transport and marketing plus and unknown (and un reported) cost of protection.  When we, the consumer, buy these goods we pay for only part of the cost of the goods.  The other cost for these goods is paid by general tax revenues and deficit spending. 

 

An alternative to providing U.S. navy protection to private shipping interests is to let the shippers decide how they want to protect their crews and the goods they transport.  They can employ private security or pay the ransoms associated with operating in an area controlled my pirates.  In either case the costs are passed along to the buying public through higher product prices.  These higher prices reflect the true cost of the products. 

 

When faced with the true costs of products on store shelves consumers might find themselves making different decisions.  They may find themselves seeking out products produced in safer parts of the world.  Local producers may find they are able to compete with products shipped from the other side of the world once the true costs of the products are reflected in their price.

 

U.S. naval protection of private shippers provides a subsidy to the  shipping companies and to the companies bringing materials from across the world.  At a time when we need more jobs in America and have huge budget deficits we would be better served by letting shipping companies take responsibility for their own security costs.  The free market would reward companies that didn't have the cost of dealing with pirates built into their cost structure.

 

<http://www.DanLococo.com/>

 

The flow at the coffee shop

I stopped at the coffee shop at the Central Library to have lunch between appointments today.  I hadn't been to the shop since they remodeled it about a year ago.  I like to give the place some business since it is run as a project for a nonprofit organization. 

 

I was surprised to find they either didn't have sandwiches any more or they only had some in the refrigerator case.  I wasn't sure which because the person behind the counter didn't make it too clear.  I figure if the shop is a project one of the lessons to learn is clear communication leads to more sales than mumbling.  I ended up having a cup of coffee and reading for a while.  As I was sitting there I heard people ordering soup.  I thought it odd the person didn't mention the soup as an option. 

 

After sitting a while I decided I'd have the soup.  I ended up waiting to order because one of the regulars was chatting with the counter person.  The soup was week and expensive. 

 

The shop is more of a fixture than a business.  The rhythm of the shop includes regulars who know the menu and occasional stragglers.  It fulfilled its mission of being a nonprofit project.  As a producer of good, fast, food it was marginal.  next time I'll stick to the coffee and find another place for lunch.

 

<http://www.DanLococo.com/>

 

Today's reading - John 8:1-11

The bible reading today was the Gospel of John chapter 8 verses 1 through 11.  It's the story of the Pharisees bringing a woman who had been accused of committing adultery to Jesus.  I find the passage very interesting because of its simplicity and complexity.

 

The accepted take-away from the reading is:  let he who is without sin cast the first stone.  A great message but it doesn't do the reading justice if that is all that is seen in it.  If we took the accepted message     literally we'd never have a firm stance on anything.  The inference to not get too self-righteous is clear and worth taking to heart.  But what was Jesus writing on the ground?  The reading provides no answer.  A blog entry?  Probably not. 

 

My wife has studied the Bible and often gives me the contextual background of Bible passages.  Sometimes she is very helpful.  Sometimes I just like to sit with the reading and be satisfied with the ambiguity of the message.

 

 

<http://www.DanLococo.com/>

 

The challenge of a clean slate

It is the start of a new day at the start of a new week.  There is a fresh snow to make everything appear bright and clean.

 

As I look out on the freshness of it all the opportunities are overwhelming.  Of all the things I could do with all of this freshness...  Where should I start?  How do I prioritize?  My mind races from the moment to the day to the week and beyond.  Read a book?  Shovel the snow?  Plan my week? 

 

As I fixate on the options and possibilities I realize I want to pace myself and be thoughtful in my actions:  some good music, a cup of coffee, a conversation with my daughter.  Al good and important things.  Am I pacing myself or just getting distracted?

 

A bit less analysis and a bit more savoring the time I have will put things into perspective.

 

 

<http://www.DanLococo.com/>

 

Not watering the wok

I made fried rice for supper last night.  After the meal I cleaned the wok I had used with salt and a paper towel.  

 

I had “rescued” this wok about thirty years ago from a closet.  My Dad’s girlfriend thought the only way to clean any cooking tools was with soap and water.  She had let the steel wok deteriorate into a rusted mess.  As I recall I found a couple of very nice cast iron frying pans at the same time.

 

After many hours of working the wok with steel wool I was able to clear the rust and have a smooth cooking surface.  I seasoned the wok with oil and have never used soap on it.  A few years ago I decided to take things one step further and stop using water on the wok.    

 

As I cleaned the wok I wondered if it was worth the effort to keep it clean. As I rubbed the salt into the wok I realized there was more to this process than just getting organic material off a cooking surface.  In asking myself if it was worth the effort I was asking myself if the meal was good enough to justify the work it took to clean up after consuming it.  It was.   I was also aware that by using the wok I had made it better than it was before I started.  I was also aware the time I spend doing simple tasks well is rarely wasted time.

 

<http://www.DanLococo.com/>-------------------------

Dan Lococo

Facilitation, planning, analysis

 

Affinity By Design, LLC

414.333.5846

dlococo@AffinityByDesign.com

<http://www.AffinityByDesign.com/>

 

Sharing hard lessons

The other day Jessica let her mother know she had sold her I-Pod for $200.  She was very proud of herself for getting some good money for something she had never used.

 

When she came home from college last night we found she was depressed about the way her semester has been going so far.  School is much harder this semester.  The math class she is taking is being taught by a new instructor who doesn’t seem to have the knowledge transfer thing down too well.  Jess needs a tutor but has been too busy to get one.  The drama of dormitory life is present at her school just as in all other schools at all other times.  Still, it is a force to be dealt with at the most inconvenient times.  And the I-Pod sale:  E-Bay let her know the buyer was fraudulent and she wasn’t likely to get paid for her I-Pod.  Unfortunately she had already sent the device to the buyer on the assumption she was dealing with an honest person.

 

I could tell how bad Jessica felt about getting ripped off.  It didn’t seem like time well spent to ask her about why she didn’t use any of the safeguards E-Bay has suggested avoiding rip-offs.  The situation left me with a dull ache in my stomach.  

 

After sleeping on it I began to wonder about that dull ache in my stomach.  It certainly had something to do with Jess getting ripped off but I don’t wish we had raised her to be suspicious of everyone she deals with.  The naivety  Jessica possesses is a precious part of her personality.  As I lay in bed thinking about how bad jess must feel about losing the $200 she thought she had earned for herself I reflected back to my college years.  I had had a beautiful racing motorcycle I no longer used but didn’t want to let go of.  I had left it in the storage area of a house I had lived at.  When I went back to get the motorcycle (many months after moving out of the house) I found it was gone and the owner knew nothing about where it might be.  It was an expensive lesson for a nieve kid.

 

I think I need to find an opportunity to share the experience with Jessica and let her figure out the lesson part for herself.  I am confident she will take the lesson well and move on with life.

 

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