Now and Then

Ice and Milk

Karl — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:55:14 +0000

On the morning of June 17th 2008, I celebrated the passing of my Dad, Ernie Shifflett by having a glass of milk and ice. When I was in the 11th and 12th grades, Dad and I would watch TV in the evenings, each with our glass of milk filled with ice. Once the milk was gone, ice crunching began. I think I’m the only other Shifflett that still does milk and ice.

During those years, my after school snack was a coffee cup of frozen chocolate milk. I would scrape the frozen chocolate milk with my spoon while watching reruns of Highway Patrol, Sea Hunt or Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

When I think about Dad, I remember the last 16 months, calling him 2-3 times per week just to speak. We both found a way to laugh at our, “glitches, surprises or bumps in the carpet.”
I’ll also remember forever these times:

In 1978 I had just returned from my first Western Pacific deployment and fell asleep at the wheel while driving my car from the storage garage back to base. I waited a few weeks before notifying Mom or Dad of the accident and 46 days of hospitalization. By the time I called them; I could walk and was moving fine. The next day, Dad showed up at the hospital unannounced. He just wanted to be sure I was doing well. We walked around Waikiki Hawaii and went to a new movie that was just released, “Cross of Iron” a great James Colburn movie.

When I graduated Marine Corps Drill Instructor School, I was the honor graduate and received a Marine NCO Sword from the General. Dad flew out to Beaufort, SC to see me graduate.

Dad liked the idea of doing it yourself. He really liked making homemade ice-cream and pizza. He liked building things, working with his hands and he really liked cooking. He liked the idea of being rustic. He had the coolest waffle iron and old fashioned recipe to go with it. It’s a waffle iron was just the mold without an attached heat source. So to turn out perfect waffles, you had to know your heat, iron and recipe. Like my Dad, I love to cook and have my own waffle iron just like his; he helped me purchased in Seattle. I too pride myself on making the best Belgium waffles and even make my own homemade blueberry syrup. I’ll be celebrating Dad this Saturday by making these waffles.

For the last few years he was a big advocate for green cars and humanity taking seriously the responsibility of caring for the environment. My next car will be a green car for sure.

Dad was very generous towards his kids, providing assistance with education, cars, travel and other expenses.

Dad was also very smart and an outstanding bridge player. In his last weeks, they would wheel him to the bridge table and he and his partner would win.

So at night I’ll have my ice and milk; remember the times I had with my Dad and the person he was.

Dad I will miss you very much.

Love,

Karl Shifflett
18 June 2008

Redistricting: Having Your Vote Count For Something

Ernie Shifflett — Sun, 25 May 2008 11:20:33 +0000

This November there will be a proposition on the ballot to change the way our political Districts are drawn. Instead of having our incumbent Representatives (for state and Congress) choose who gets to vote for them, Districts would be defined by an independent body not concerned with forming “safe” Districts that reelect incumbents almost all the time. Instead of concentrating on guaranteeing the continuation of their employment, perhaps then the Representatives would have to deal with problems, issues, and the desires of their voters. At least there would be more of a chance of this happening.

I would feel more like taking an interest in who’s running for office and deciding who to vote for, if I thought it made any difference what I did. Now, it won’t make any difference how I vote, since the outcome is determined and known in advance based on the whimsical composition of the District.

In the continuing and growing efforts to restore our democracy and governments to the control of citizens and voters, neutralizing the power of political Representatives to further their own interests instead of listening to and acting for their voters, is a major issue. One that will help restore governmental power to where it was intended; to us, the voters.

Ernie Shifflett

If I Don’t See You Again

Ernie Shifflett — Sun, 25 May 2008 11:19:10 +0000

If I don’t see you again
It was a hell of a ride
Don’t need to say let’s be friends
Don’t need to promise you’ll write
We rode that train through the night
And never cared where it went
If I don’t see you again

If I don’t see you again
We ran a whole other race
Two strangers meet on the road
And find their time and their place
We never once had to lie
We’d passed the age of consent
If I don’t see you again

I know it’s crazy out there
I hated sleeping around
I went out looking for love
And never liked what I found
Don’t pay to make it alone
God knows it’s lonely out there
I made it once on my own
And hardly anyone cared
If I don’t see you again

Who are you gonna run to baby
Who are you gonna hide behind
When the nights get suddenly cold
Who’s gonna hold you who’s gonna know
Who will you go to

Who are you gonna call if it ain’t me
When you’re feeling lost and there’s
Nobody out there looking for you
What will you do where will you go
If I don’t see you again

If I don’t see you again
You made it happen somehow
I think I gave up on life
But I feel better right now
Something you said turned me ‘round
Don’t even know what you meant
If I don’t see you again

And at the end of the day
I hated sleeping alone
There’s nothing worse when you’re lost
And you don’t want to go home
It’s gonna work out some way
I just don’t want to be found
I’m waiting here ‘round the bend
And I’ll be hanging around
If I don’t see you again

Who am I kidding I’m going nowhere
I can’t even get through an hour without you
Should be ashamed
Just want to hear you calling my name
Two of us missed connections
Guess we must have somehow missed
something more
‘Cause we’re here alone
I know we’re together
But too far apart to know how to get back home

It’s time for saying goodbye
‘Cause if I stayed for too long
You’d get to know me too well
And find that something was wrong
The time is perfect to go
Before the curtain descends
Right now when both of us know
That everything’s got to end
If I don’t see you again

What’s it gonna come to baby
Who are you gonna to hide behind
When the nights get filled up with doom
Looking to run you run out of room
And will you be the one to save me
Doesn’t look like the future is clearing
Need you to hear me playing in tune
When nobody hears me
I end up playing to the moon

If I don’t see you again
Somehow we both made it through
I would have gave up on life
Before I gave up on you
You went and turned me around
Could be was something you said
I couldn’t make out the sound
I didn’t care what it meant
If I don’t see you again
If I don’t see you again
If I don’t see you again

Neil Diamond, from his CD album released Mar., 2008 – “Home Before Dark”

Commentary: Our Pretend National Elections

Ernie Shifflett — Thu, 15 May 2008 09:13:59 +0000

Many people think it matters who wins our elections, think their vote matters, and believe our votes will influence our representatives to do our bidding. All such people are mistaken. Corporations and big money contributors to campaigns are the only beneficiaries of the election results. They make sure of this by making large contributions to both political parties, not caring much who wins, since they have paid for the support they want on issues they care about. By doing this they are able to have their way on the issues important to them. Voters and citizens be damned.

As long as we allow corporations and big money contributions to control our government, what the majority of voters want on critical problems is irrelevant. These problems include the war in Iraq, universal healthcare, global warming, energy independence, unfair taxation system, guaranteed fair elections, and preservation of our constitutional rights. The corporations will continue to have their way to maximize short term profits as their highest priority.

Given the current system of providing funds for running for office, there is no playing field, much less a level one. The only hope we have and the only issue that matters is to disenfranchise corporations, and only allow small political contributions or publically funded campaigns. We need our representatives to work on our problems, not primarily on raising money for their reelection.

Many may claim we can’t change the system, but we have to if we want to restore democracy. Several organizations have been working this single, overriding problem, including Program on Corporations, Law, and Democracy (www.poclad.org) and Reclaim Democracy (www.reclaimdemocracy.org). Our courts have given corporations absurd powers, and we must see this change to have any hope for government by the people and for the people.

Ernie Shifflett

Blog Established

Ernie Shifflett — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 03:17:59 +0000

Welcome to my online “bookstore”, where I’ve written a few things that might be of interest to you. I will probably add to my writings occasionally, and certainly will read your responses and reply to them as warranted.

Now and Then

Ice and Milk

Redistricting: Having Your Vote Count For Something

If I Don’t See You Again

Commentary: Our Pretend National Elections

Blog Established

Initial Blog Sections

Computer Lore

Before

After