Good Deeds

I read "Sometimes we under estimate the good things we have, chasing after the mirage of false treasures. " The politics of today comes to mind, but so does voting, and that might possibly mean that balance will once again enter the House and hopefully the Senate and we will continue to be who and what we are.

During the nightmare of the miners being trapped for months in an underground mine the President of Chile was a prime example of a great leader and he had no qualms of asking for help and then thanking each and every one that came to his aid. If we did not have instant communication we would never have heard of the American companies that came through in a big way. "Schramm Inc of West Chestser, Pa and Center Rock Company also from Pa., built the drill and bits used to reach the miners. UPS delivered 13-ton drilling equipment in less than 48 hours. Crews from the Layne Christensen Company of Wichita Kansas and its subsidiary Geotec Boyles Bros. worked the drills and machinery to locate and reach the miners and then enlarged the holes to ultimately rescue them. Jeff Hart of Denver, Co. was called off his job drilling water wells for the U.S. Army's forward operating bases in Afghanistan to lead the drilling crew that reached the miners. Atlas Copco Construction Mining Company of Milwaukee, Wi. provided consulting on how to make the drilling equipment from different sources work together under differing presure specifications. Aries Central Ca. designed the special cameras they lowered nearly a mile in to the ground sending back video of the miners. Zephyr Technologies of Annapolis, Maryland, made the remote monitors of vital signs that miners will wear during the ascent. NASA Engineers designed the "Phoenix" capsule that miners would be brought to the surface in, and provided medical consulting, special diets and spandex suits to maintain the miner's blood pressure as they're brought back to surface. Oh, and Canadian-based Precision Drilling Corporation and South African company Murry and Roberts, drilled a backup rescue shafts in case the American rig failed. Which it didn't." Did you read about this in our newspapers, or hear it on the TV talk shows or the news? Nor did our President publicly congratulate or even mention the American private enterprise for the miracle rescue of the Chilean miners. No . . . neither did I. But, we heard about the argument on 'gays' in the military and we hear constantly about the sport world figures who make enormous salaries and have no idea how to live or how to spend them, as they look for 'false treasures.'

I read that writing is 'like unraveling a sweater' and that can be tricky as you want to tell all of the story and this is a blog not a novel, but there is the story about . . . "In January, 2010, on a very, very, cold winter's day the eagles were cruising over houses in Alton,, Illinois and in St. Louis, Missouri hoping for a quick meal. They could not access the fish at the bottom of the rivers so a group of kind and benevolent men took it upon themselves to feed the eagles. The eagles sensed their kindness and didn't even fly away as they closed in to take pictures. They had an early Thanksgiving feast. Makes you smile and know that there are really truly good, kind and great Americans in each and every one of our states.

So today, know that there are many reasons to be proud of our fellow Americans and just as many reasons to be ashamed of our fellow Americans as each of us struggles against the forces of 'evil' and there is plenty of that around. Just take one step at a time, you have today . . . Saturday, with Sunday following, and you do not have to do anything you really do not want to do . . . the house or apartment will not fall apart if you do not clean it from top to bottom; the stove will still work after you ignore it and go out to eat in a 'fancy' restaurant . . . why, you can even light a candle and ask for faith, hope and be charitable as you drop off a coat for the children who do not have a warm one with winter coming. The drive is on, so help out, and you too can smile as you make your day as special as you are. Hugs to all.