Old Legends Never Die.

There was a time when I worked for my best friend's (Ernesto) mother's boyfriend. He was a Plumber, and his name was NOT Joe. His name was Roy, and he was a Chippewa "Indian," or Native American, and always had great stories to tell us.

Some were just everyday life stories. For example, he told us about the time he got so drunk that he drove his car on the sidewalk. When the Police stopped him, he said "It's okay, I'm FBI." The Police said, "You're FBI?" He answered, "Yes, Full Blooded Indian." He was then arrested for drunk driving.

His two business partners at the time wanted to go to Las Vegas. My friend and I had never been to Las Vegas, though we did drive through it on the way to Utah once, and were invited to go. We drove two cars to Las Vegas, one with Roy and his two business partners, in the "Adult" car, and the other with me and my two friends, in the under 21 car.

We had a good time in Las Vegas, even though we got kicked out of the Casino for being under 21. We didn't know you had to be over 21 to gamble, we thought that being over 18 was good enough. My other friend Ramon had a "baby-face" and was approached by a Security guard while playing a slot machine. Ernest and I both had mustaches and looked over 21. After being told to leave the Casino, Ramon walked up to both of us at another Slot machine, and told us that he had been kicked out. Almost immediately, the same Security guard came over and checked our IDs. We all got the boot.

After our trip ended, we were driving back to Los Angeles, and Roy decided to take a detour. I had no idea where we were going, but we ended up going through Death Valley. Somewhere along the road, there was a turn-off to a dirt road that led up into the mountains. It was beginning to get dark, and all I could see was their car in front of me. There are no street lights or any other extra ambient lighting.

As we drove up this dirt road, we wondered where Roy was taking us. Was it a short cut? An old friend who lived in a cabin? We were confused, and as it got darker and darker, we were a little scared.

Finally we came to a plateau, and stopped. It was PITCH BLACK. There was no one and nothing around but us, but we were whispering as if we didn't want to wake the dead.

This is how our conversation went:
"Where are we?" "I don't know..........." "Why are we here?" "I don't know............" "Why are we whispering?" ?????

Roy got out of his car, and we joined him out in the pitch blackness. He said, "We're too late." Late for what????? He told us this story of an old Indian legend.

"A large group of Indians were here having a celebration. When food was running low, they sent Scouts to get more. When the Scouts returned with more food, the rest of the Indians were gone. Disappeared. Not a single trace of them being here, or where they went.

So, legend has it that if you return here at Dusk, and do a special Indian chant, you will be able to see and hear them celebrating in the distance. But we're too late for that."

In our opinion, we were kinda glad that we were late.............

Made in America

There are a lot of products sold in the USA, that are made in other Countries. Mostly due to the cheap labor that these other Countries provide. One good example is something made in China.

There are "Standard" items that are made that have no bearing on a person and their individual differences. CDs and DVDs are an example of this. It doesn't matter if a person is Tall or Short, Thick or Thin, have 2 or 3 arms, the design of a CD/DVD is not important.

However, when it comes to clothes, that is a different story. Clothes have to come in all different types of cuts and sizes to fit any individual. One size does not fit all. Well, maybe with the exception of a Mu-mu....

So, even though items may be "made" in China, they are not designed for the Asian body. They are provided with designs from "American" designers, cut for the "American" body.

Anyway, as an Asian man, I usually have trouble finding the right size shirts. Most of the time I'm an "Extra Large," sometimes I'm a "Large." Most of the time I need the shirt to be "Long." If I look hard enough, I will find what I need.

But then, there are other things. Some things that are just made one way. Some things that may or may not make a difference to you, but they might to me.

I went swimming at the beach, and as usual, I put on my Speedos. No, not the tight-fitting shows-every-little....... um, er, .............I mean, BIG-bump bikini trunks, I'm talking about the swimming goggles.

Whether you're in a heavily chlorinated pool, or salty sea water, Goggles are great to have while swimming. Seeing clearly is a big advantage and causes less anxiety when you swim. Out in the ocean, you don't have to worry about a shark sneaking up on you while swimming with your eyes closed, or blurry from being irritated.

So what's this got to do with the price of tea in China? Well, have you seen those goggles? All of the models have round lenses. I'm a slanty-eyed Asian. The round lens fit around my eyes and keep my eyes open in a very un-natural way. In fact, I think the whites of my eyes show.

I have no idea if I can get slanty-eyed goggles made for Asians anywhere in the USA. I wonder if they sell them at the local "Hello Kitty" shop................

Is there a cure?

I've been going to the same Doctor for my debilitating illness. Unfortunately, I've been getting worse. It's so bad now, that I'm starting to hurt, and may not recover soon. Oh, don't worry about me, I'm not dying. I'm just really sick.

But, I have to do something. And the way I see it, I have two choices. Both choices involve changing Doctors. I can pick one that's older and had more experience than my original Doctor when he started seeing me, or I can try someone brand new.

The first Doctor I'm thinking of going to, has been a Doctor for a while, and like most Human beings, is not perfect. He's saved some, and lost some. And though he could find a cure for my illness, he works for the same Medical group as my former Doctor. He might get the same recommendations on how to treat me as my original Doctor. Who knows if he will try different medications, or has the "permission"to do so. He may give me medications that keeps me going, but doesn't cure me. There is a chance that he may treat my illness differently, because he's smarter than my original Doctor. But, I don't trust the Medical group that he works for anymore.

The other Doctor is fresh out of school. He has some new ideas he wants to try, and has told me that he will treat my illness in a different way. But he's never treated anyone, much less someone with the same disease that I have. He promised to cure me, but at the same time, with untested medicine. How do I know I won't have bad side-effects, or get sicker?

The original Doctor was also new and fresh out of school. He basically had on-the-job training with me. He didn't do very well.

So, do I choose the Doctor who is smarter than the original Doctor, but works for the same medical group?

Or, do I try another new Doctor to give him on-the-job training, and hope that he can cure me?

Speaking of Toes...

Do you remember those old AT&T commercials, "Reach out, reach out and touch someone....."

It reminded you that there's always someone out there you haven't talked to in a while. Most of the time it showed family members talking to one another.

We have become an isolated society, where we can now distance ourselves from friends and family because of work or education, or just because. In the old days, travel was difficult. It took time, and a lot of effort. Now, you can hop on a plane and be halfway around the world in a few hours. Imagine trying to get 50 miles in a covered wagon.

Anyway, separated by letter writing, then by telephone, now we have come up with many new Electronic ways of keeping in touch. There's E-mail and Networking sites like Facebook.

Several years ago, a friend of mine from Elementary school, who left after the 5th grade, and I hadn't seen in 30 years, found me via E-mail. He had first moved about 20 miles away, then eventually moved to South America. I have met him 3 times in the last 5 years, when he traveled back to the US to visit friends and family, and in between business trips. Friends are friends no matter how long you are apart.

Then there's this unique way of saying "Hello."



Now how many of you out there have a leg for a friend? Yeah, that's right, I'm Special!

Evolution?

Have you ever stubbed your toe(s)? Doesn't it hurt so much, you end up hopping and limping around for a while? Of course you have. Have you ever heard of Athletes who couldn't perform because something was wrong with their toe(s)? Depending on the severity of a toe injury, it can be difficult to push off and make certain moves that an Athlete needs to do, to...... um, athlete?

I once went on a Motorcycle Police Officer who crashed, and who's only complaint was breaking his big toe. It was injured bad enough that the blood circulation in his toe was compromised. Because there is some thought that losing the big toe makes walking and standing awkward, we rushed him to the hospital.

What's this got to do with Evolution? My thought is, if Evolution was a valid theory, wouldn't our toes be stronger? Sure, I may be biased, since I believe in Creationism, but really, we wouldn't be here today if we Evolved from lesser than our current form.

Think back, and imagine with me .......... there you are, "Krok." Krok hungry. Krok go hunt for food. Krok go into jungle. WHOA! It's T-Rex! RUN! He's catching up! OW! OH SH*T! Krok stubbed toes on rock! Krok on ground writhing in pain. (I'm not too sure if early man could writhe or not, but hey, it's MY story.) That's it, *CHOMP CHOMP*, eaten in two quick bites. Krok is history, and so is the rest of Human kind.

The Human Race had no chance of surviving without stronger toes. Yet, here we are, with weak toes.

Too deep?