Earth Hour

Well, Earth Hour has arrived in all its darkened splendour. The chance to show our dedication to our environment, rise up against greenhouse gasses and rally the troops to battle global warming!

Or not.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I quite like polar ice caps and fresh air. It’s ‘token gestures’ which annoy me to no end. Little ‘feel good’ displays of global concern from a society that thrives on consumption serve no purpose to me.

Turning our lights off for a hour on Saturday will allow millions of people to pat themselves on the back for demonstrating environmental concern. How many will jump in their cars on Monday for their single passenger commute, idle their engines while in the drive thru for their morning Timmies (in a disposable cup with plastic lid) all the while planning their well deserved RV, plane or boat trips this coming summer??

It’s not the idea of Earth Hour I find bothersome, but the hypocrisy.

I am just as, if not more so, guilty as many of us. There is little in life I enjoy more than cruising in my Chev convertible going nowhere in particular while getting 12 mpg fuel mileage. I like NASCAR, drag racing and water skiing. All activities whose environmental impact cannot be undone by shutting my lights off for a hour.

I choose to participate in activities which will make a true difference. Low flow shower head, thermostat at 70*, combining outings to accomplish as many tasks as possible and the like.

In my professional life as a mechanic I saw true improvements in tailpipe emissions under the past Drive Clean system. Measurable results. The new system, not so much, but that’s for a future blog.

There are many things we as a society can do to reduce the environmental harm we do.

I’m just not certain shutting the lights off for a hour is one of them.

Clarity

Do you remember being young? When everything seemed so defined, so black and white, so…

So clear?

Is it just me? Lord God above, I hope not.

I can distinctly remember my father, my uncle, my waterski mentor and my step-father being men of action. Guys who would jump in and solve any dilemma. Fix a car, drag a snowmobile out of the swamp (don’t ask), or know the answers about life’s most confusing subject…girls.

Very soon I will be asked many of the same questions by my spouse’s kids. Fix a vehicle? No brainer, I do it every day. Sled from the swamp? Experienced.

The fairer sex (can you still say that??), well I’ll fumble through I guess.

It’s the big questions that concern me. “Am I on the right path?”, “Is it ok to be mad because my dad left?”, “When is it safe to trust again?”. All questions I asked but never got the answer to.

Clarity.

I’m not certain there are black and white answers to the questions I know I will encounter. I believe the best answers will come from reflection, guidance and patience. If I accept the fact that I need not have all the answers all the time, I may have the right answer some of the time. If I provide a good example, I will foster an environment where such questions may be freely asked and, perhaps, answers found together

Clarity.

If I accept I don’t have to always have the answer, that it’s ok to take time to reflect or seek guidance, I may have the chance to be the one thing I clearly must be; a role model.

Perhaps the men I held in such regard in my youth were just doing the very same. Accepting they didn’t have to always have the answer, that being a role model was the best they could do. And they did their best everyday. I trust they did.

Seems so clear, now that I think on it.

first blog

So I’ve decided I want to start a blog. Truthfully, I have always wanted to write. Those who know me; please snicker now…

What to write about was my first and most terrifying thought. So I went for a ride, went to a meeting, went to a Starbucks…
On my ride, I couldn’t understand why everybody was going so slow, at my meeting, why the hell was everybody whining??, on my way to Starbucks… Get out of my way… Then Elton John has the nerve to speak of Philadelphia Freedom… A song bout acceptance .. A thought I should convey.. I know as far as angels go, I require the black wings , but the purpose of this blog is to encourage others to accept themselves …. Stay tuned, it’ll get better