Squirbs Redux

My head, like any large, empty container, gets a little cluttered from time to time. But, unlike the jar on my desk that holds, among other things, pennies, pencils and used-up batteries inexplicably awaiting a miraculous resurrection, my mind is chock-full of squirbs. A squirb is, if you’ll recall, a combination of a squib and a blurb, according to Mrs. Sloan’s Revised Standard Dictionary. So here they are:
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A person in west central Illinois during the past few weeks would probably conclude that we--not Mount Washington in New Hampshire, which usually claims the title--have the worst weather in the world. The unenviable combination of snow, sub-zero temperatures, wind, freezing rain, fog, rain and more snow and wind brings to mind a forecast talk show host David Letterman delivered back in his early weatherman days when he predicted “hailstones the size of canned hams.”
What’s next?
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Speaking of Letterman, I can’t help wondering what’s going to happen next in the hubbub surrounding the current Talk Show Host conflicts. Then I wonder why I should care.
Raise your hand if you think Johnny Carson and Dick Cavett had the late-night format figured out way more than the current self-serving crew.
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Yes, it’s a bungee cord.
With our “good” car in the shop, my traveling companion has found herself riding shotgun in the trusty, rusty Trooper for the past few days. She has, therefore, been treated to the sight of my new safety system, which involves a heavy-duty bungee cord stretched from the apt-to-open-at-high-speeds driver’s-side door to a handy hooking point on the center console. The resulting tension keeps the door from flying open at will, plus adds an additional measure of security, as it stretches across the driver’s lap and acts as a kind of auxiliary safety belt. I’ve always said God invented bungee cords, duct tape and vice grip pliers for us poor souls without advanced mechanical skills. So there.
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I will not be walking the floor at night wondering if Brett Favre will play next year.
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Statements surrounding the ongoing debate on health care reform mostly fly over my head or bounce between my legs, but there was one going around on the internet that hit the nail on the head:
“No one should die because they cannot afford health care, and no one should go broke because they get sick.”
Of course, the dissenting view is that it might cost some tax dollars to make it happen, but if that’s the concern, think about this: We consider national defense an integral part of our freedom. We don’t expect our armed forces to turn a profit, so, in my view, a fair, comprehensive healthcare initiative is an equally important part of the freedom we should all enjoy.
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I like the sound of some of President Obama’s latest recommendations for the economy, especially the increase in child care support and the cap on student loan payments. It seems to me, if we are going to attain true economic recovery and stability for all Americans, we must give people the ability to both work and get an education. Again, I’m not opposed to paying my taxes to help.
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Galva lost a good one recently with the passing of Chuck Hay. Among his other civic contributions, Chuck was the “voice” of Galva football and a plethora of downtown events and parades over the years. After I started manning the mike for a few events myself, people would sometimes say, “Gee John, you could be the next Chuck Hay!”
No way.
There’ll never be another good-spirited, well-informed voice like Chuck’s.