Tangents – Page 2 – Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

Are you a DD?

August 29, 2024

For years now I have volunteered my services as a designated driver. The reason I have done this is not because I limit my drinking when I go to bars or clubs. I am seldom at venues where beverage alcohol is served. I do not drink. When I was at business meetings, dinners, or gatherings with friends I was available to provide a safe ride home.

My first contact with overdrinking was at a business event offered by a company where I had just become their purchasing agent. There was an open bar for the customers that were invited. A man who worked for a company we did business with was inebriated. His coworkers and the people who knew him tried to convince him to let them drive him home. He refused.

He staggered to his car and attempted to unlock his car. The keys dropped to the ground. As he tried to find them, one of his friends helped direct him to the passenger door. He was so out of it that they retrieved his keys and helped him home without incident.

A few years later a friend and I were driving down a road when a car pulled out in front of us and ran a red light in front of us. They hit a small truck and flipped it on its side. The two men in it were fortunately both securely belted in. The driver of the car staggered away and was stopped by other witnesses. He had three prior DUIs and a revoked driver’s license but was allowed to plead guilty and enter a treatment program. He did not complete this treatment and was arrested again for the same problem.

Over the last forty years, I have heard of numerous occasions where this happened. I have heard coworkers talking about near misses while driving home from bars or parties. One of my friends was killed by a drunk driver. I do my best to try to help others get home safely.

Again, and again drunks kill people and politicians refuse to face the problem. Time after time legislators and other politicians have been stopped for DUIs. I am not mentioning the children and family members of these public officials who have also been arrested for these same offenses.

I have determined that drunks, their families, and friends should not be elected to political offices. When I consider a candidate for any office I check to see if they or anyone connected with them has ever been arrested for drug or alcohol charges. I seem to be one of the few who care about this.

Too many children, moms, and dads have died. Not enough drunks are taken off the roads. Judges let them out too soon. The offenders continue to drive without a legal right to be behind the wheel. I know some of you think that this is a minor problem. That makes you a major part of this situation.

If you have never done it, begin to help others who drink more than they should to stay out from behind the wheel. I don’t go to bars. If you do, cut down on what you consume, look for a designated driver, be one yourself, or call someone to get you home. The season for excessive partying is closing in on us. Don’t be part of those statistics. I want to see you next year.

Technology is ahead of the law

August 18, 2024

I heard this statement on the news tonight in a story about information that our smart vehicles are collecting about us. This data can be obtained by law enforcement agencies with a subpoena. It also may be sold by those who collect it. That may be the car company or a third party.

I had not thought about this. Your location at any time, calls you make including recordings, or even conversations in your vehicle are some of the things that you don’t know others have access to.

My wife and I have commented about product ads that we discussed popping up on Google. We have smart TVs and a smart vehicle. Where else may we be that someone is listening in or watching us. We do not have the devices many use to play music or answer questions on command.

The statement “technology is ahead of the law” did not surprise me. I have known it for years. Every new technological breakthrough has been used in ways that the government eventually restricts.

Manufacturers have been forced to make workplaces safer. Children have been taken out of the U.S. workforce many years ago. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was created to protect workers years after manufacturers failed to provide safe working conditions.

When telegraphs, railroads, automobiles, airplanes, and many other devices became widespread it took years for laws to be ratified controlling their use to protect the public. We still have problems with internet companies and Congress can’t seem to decide on what needs to be done.

If you are under thirty years old, you probably haven’t seen this fact of life. The government is always behind on everything. They promise us everything when they are campaigning and after forty or fifty years in office they retire and have not fulfilled half of their promises.

The talking head who made this statement must not have much experience. He probably still believes in the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus. We need to realize that Big Brother is not just a reality TV show. We are being watched and listened to when we don’t expect it. That is today’s reality. Welcome to the future.

50 years ago

July 9, 2024

Do you like nostalgia? I do. I like to think about everything I have experienced in the almost seventy years I have lived. This is not a column on the events of those decades I have lived through. I want to talk about where I was fifty short years ago.

I was a sophomore at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. It was called Southwest Missouri State University at that time. I was a creative writing major because they had no journalism program. In May I received my acceptance letter from Missouri University in Columbia.

My parents were surprised at my reaction to receiving that letter. I opened it and laid it down without saying any more than, “I’ve been accepted.” For over six years I had been talking about getting my degree and becoming a reporter. My love of writing grew through those years.

What happened? Why did I transfer to Southwest Baptist College in Bolivar, Missouri? God called me to become a minister of the Gospel. In March my youth pastor had asked me to serve as our pastor for youth week. I preached my first two sermons on Sunday morning and evening. I had never considered the ministry before this.

As I recovered from my week following our pastor around Springfield I began to wonder if my desire to become a reporter was what God wanted me to do with my life. Was it possible that Jesus was calling me to become a preacher? As I prayed about that, I asked if I should continue to plan for transferring to Columbia.

My decision was made early in the spring, and I transferred to SWBC to study for the ministry. I thought I was supposed to become a pastor. After graduation, I continued working at secular jobs. I realized that my calling was to be a workplace minister. That is a Christian who works inside businesses with a calling to serve his fellow employees.

My careers in purchasing, sales, and management allowed me to have contact with numerous businesses and their staff. Becoming a confidant and advisor to those around you is not always easy. My training as an interviewer and observer helped me in this regard.

After fifty years, I continue to train other Christians to be workplace ministers. You could be one of those. We are all called to be there for each other and to proclaim the gospel to everyone we can. The best way to do this is through a personal one-on-one relationship. That is how Jesus taught His followers. That’s good enough for me.

Off to see the wizard

February 29, 2024

I have three doctors that I visit at least once a year. My general practitioner, cardiologist, and dentist. There are others that I see as well when needed. I was thinking about “The Wizard of Oz” and how that movie can give me some insight into why these visits are or are not conducive to a healthy lifestyle.

When Dorothy lands in Oz and wants to return home, she is given the ruby slippers from the feet of the deceased wicked witch of the East. Glenda the good witch magically transfers them to her feet. She can’t return them to the family of the dead witch, and this sends her on a journey to Oz to find the Wizard.

If you have not seen this film in a while, I urge you to watch it again, or even for the first time. It may be old. It is still a classic. You may be wondering how Dorothy’s trip to the Emerald City is like our visits to our physicians. No, you do not have to take three friends with you. Some of us may need another to interpret what they say or to aid in our remembering what we need to talk to them about.

The main similarity is in the interaction between the two parties. The Wizard instructs Dorothy to complete a task when she sees him for the first time. This encounter is frightening for her and her friends. The problem is with bringing back the broomstick of the Wicked Witch.

When our doctors tell us to revise our eating habits, take prescribed medicines, or follow an exercise or therapy plan, it may be as hard as getting that broom. Keep in mind that if you don’t follow the doctor’s orders, you will not have a good time at the next meeting.

Dorothy brought the broom and still had trouble. The problem was that her Wizard was a humbug. Her words. He did not have the abilities and training needed to get her home. They finally found a solution. It was ruby slippers. That is a modern-day fairy tale.

For most of us, there is not a simple trick to correcting our health. It may be more than an hour’s trek through a scary wood. We may spend months or years seeing the same or different doctor many times. My heart condition must be monitored at least once a year. My diabetes requires more frequent checkups. Now I must have an annual examination to satisfy the Medicare folks.

What about the humbugs or quacks that we may encounter. Before you make an appointment, answer the questions that the scheduler asks. Be as specific as you can. Do not go to an ophthalmologist if your toe is hurting.

Have you heard about the man who had gone to five different doctors and decided to try one more? The physician asked, “What is the problem?” He explained, “When I touch my nose it hurts. When I touch my ear, it hurts and when I touch my foot it hurts.” The doctor’s reply was “That’s an easy one.” The astounded patient responds, “Easy, five other doctors said I was a hypochondriac.” His new doctor simply tells him, “Your finger is broken.”

America is great, still

February 18, 2024

I remember this commercial. Do you?

I am a child of the fifties. I began school in the fall of 1960. When the decade changed to the seventies, I was in high school. I wrote a feature story about how it felt to begin a new decade which was published in my high school newspaper. I wanted to become a journalist. That was where I was headed.

I remember when Allan Shepherd became the first American to fly in the first Mercury manned spacecraft. I watched Walter Cronkite in front of our TV as Mr. Shepherd took that historic ride. I was there for the launch of all six Mercury flights including John Glenn’s Friendship 7 orbital flight and Gordon Cooper’s final Mercury flight in Faith 7.

The original plan was for the first three flights to be sub-orbital.

I watched every launch of Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. I saw most of the splashdowns. My life revolved around the NASA space program and the astronauts. When I graduated from high school, there was one more moon mission to be flown. In my opinion, the manned space program showed the greatness of America.

Yes, we beat the Russians to the moon. We do not know for sure, but it is assumed that more cosmonauts were lost during their programs than were killed in our entire history of space flight. Does this make America great? I think that depends on your perspective.

The Russians who put themselves at risk were willing to risk their lives just as Americans and others have. America has never been great because of our government. We are great because of our people. Our government started the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; however, it took courageous men to go into space. These men were my heroes.

As a boy, teenager, young man, and eventually a father I looked at these heroes as people that I wanted to emulate. I knew I did not have the courage, physical stamina, and intelligence that astronauts had. I did have the courage to become a husband and father. My dad had been my hero for many years. He was up there with those astronauts.

I had given up my dream of being a journalist to surrender to be a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As I trained to be a preacher, I learned that what made America great was the gospel of Christ as it has been represented in the American citizen. Not everyone born in the United States does things that make this country great.

Today there is a slogan used by a political group Make America Great Again. This is abbreviated MAGA. Because of the person who started using this slogan while running for President, many of us do not view MAGA as a positive force. My personal viewpoint has always been that America is great because of great Americans.

You are probably one of these people that I am talking about. How do we make our country great? We must be good citizens. That means respecting others and being willing to work. We must be kind to others. Patience is a virtue. There are many virtues.

I find it depressing that some believe that America is great or not because of whoever is President. He is one man. An entire country is not good or bad because of one man. Our constitution says that our government is by the people and for the people. A person is singular. We the people is plural.

I believe that it is our responsibility to Keep America Great. Would you comment below if you agree that we must keep America great? I would like to see as many of us who are making this a wonderful world adopt the slogan Keep America Great, not Make America Great Again. Which do you believe in, an America that needs to be made great or keeping it great by treating others as we want to be treated?

Labor intensive

February 1, 2024

We all work too hard. Or do we? On weekend mornings when my wife is off work, we fix a nice breakfast wash dishes, and clean up the kitchen. When I was a boy, we had no dishwasher. When my mom was a girl, the water had to be carried from the pump outside the house.

Her father and brothers butchered the hog and cured the bacon. Her mother made the sausage. Her sisters gathered the eggs, milked the cow, and helped make the biscuits and gravy. Grandma told Mom stories of helping to harvest and thresh the wheat each year and take it to the grist mill for grinding into flour.

Mom’s grandma told them she had to grind the corn and wheat by hand. They only processed enough each day for what they needed for that day’s meals. Her father went out in the woods and shot game for each day’s meals. Some days there was nothing in the area and he tried to catch fish. If that failed, bread or mush was all they had.

I work too hard when I plant my garden or mow my lawn. Some days the old push mower is hard to start. Last year I had to have someone help me put the belt back on my rider. Gas and oil are so expensive that some weeks it can feel like I would like to go back to the old push mower my dad used when he mowed their lawn on Nichols Street.

He told us, boys, that sharpening the blades on that mower was much more difficult with a file than taking the blade off our gas-powered mower and sharpening it with a grinder. He often wished that he was like his grandfather and only had to plow and harvest the garden and did not need to mow the yard because the goats and sheep took care of that.

In one of the jobs I had, I worked fifty hours a week for the same money I was paid at my previous position for a forty-hour week. I worked too hard for that money. At another company, I worked for sixty hours or more each week to get that business back on its feet. I spent three months with only one other employee to help.

I’ve read that in the early history of this country it was not unusual for factory and office workers to work an eighty-to-ninety-hour week for less than a dollar a week. That is why they came here because they had a chance to start their own businesses and not be dependent on an owner and would have something to hand to their children. Social Security did not exist until the 1930s. Most people could never retire unless their families could support them when they could no longer work.

I don’t even want to think about the farm by Marshfield that I went to with my brothers for two weeks each summer to help shovel out the silo, harvest the garden, and pick wild blueberries, strawberries, and gooseberries for little pay. Well, maybe come to think of it, I don’t work as hard as I thought.

Thanks for reading this, now I must go take my lunch out of the freezer pop it in the microwave, and wait a few minutes before I can eat. Life sure is hard in the twenty-first century.

Commercials # One

November 8, 2023

I watch commercials. I am a fan. Not all advertising meets my criteria. I am critical of those copy-writers that make fun of us. The ads running with the councilor that is helping young homeowners not become their parents is especially offensive.

Two of our three daughters and their husbands own their homes. The finance company is also a shareholder. They are not becoming us. They all have some similarities to us and our in-laws. They are their own individuals. However, I shave my father in the mirror most days. On other days I do not shave.

My children’s parents do not post pictures of meals and parties. Some of them and their children do. My life is not boring. If it was, you would not be reading my columns and books. I rest my case and my backside.

I am friendly, even on elevators. I also have bad jokes. At least my kids and grandkids say they are bad. I do not understand why they use my material if it is not worth laughing at. Some of them have been handed down for generations.

Then there is the TV commercial about the in-house composter. I recycle a lot of things. I follow the adage “reduce, reuse, recycle.” However, I believe that composting is best done on the ground. I have buried the leaves and food waste for many years. My garden beds are raised. That makes it easy to recycle food and yard waste. I no longer dig 3x3x6 foot trenches in my garden. It was an effective visual for the young men who wanted to date my daughters.

All the insurance commercials drive me up the wall. While I am sitting on the ceiling I compare Flo, Evie, the Allstate guy, the cartoon general, the toucan, and all the other spokespeople. You can insure your car, life, health even for your pets, and all the expensive toys you own.

There is even insurance that is represented as warranties. Everything stops working at some point. Pay a monthly fee and someone else will pay some of the repair expenses. Be sure to read the fine print. What they tell you in the commercial is not what you thought you heard. Listen for “starting at,” “beginning with,” “from,” and all those other words that require thousands of words to cover their rears.

The ads for the portable fire pits that show their product in many settings with different folks around them are some of the best I have seen. They are simple and understated. The main purpose of advertising is to make you remember their name. I remember some of the company’s names I have shared here. There are those that I couldn’t give you even if I wanted to.

What are your favorite commercials and why? You may not see many except for the ones that pop up on your phone or streaming service. Mostly those are short and sweet which is what makes the best advertising. If there is a small print on the screen or *, &, #, or other non-verbal communication do not agree to anything before you read everything. Happy hunting.

Are you more important than anyone else?

October 19, 2023

Driving through Springfield streets it can often be noticed that certain people do not obey traffic laws, signs and stop lights. As a Christian you may wonder who these people are or, hopefully not, you may find yourself participating in these unlawful and unsafe practices. The only explanation for this is that those who ignore common sense or instruction and posted ordinances believe they are better than everyone else.

Why you should stop at yellow and red lights.

Some examples of this observed behavior are those who do not attempt to stop when the traffic light turns to yellow. When the Springfield Police cars and Greene County Sherriff cruisers do this it is common knowledge that they do not have to obey the laws they are paid to enforce. Why should they set the example by stopping just because the light has turned yellow. Those who drive through red lights must just be off duty officers that know they won’t get any tickets. How many people are killed in accidents when the instruction of a light is ignored? No more than two hundred or so each year. Who cares about that small a number?

It isn’t always the motorist’s fault.

Bicyclists can go anywhere they want to because they are cutting down on the pollution by riding. Sidewalks are alright unless you look at local ordinances. Just because there is a marked lane showing the cyclists to follow the flow of other vehicles that doesn’t mean you can’t travel on the wrong side of the road and cuss the drivers that aren’t paying attention to you being where you aren’t supposed to be. If you are hit and killed by a motorist, they will be blamed and must live with it, not you.

Roundabout gymnastics.

Do you like round-abouts? Is that why you do not yield to traffic that is going around the circle? Those of you that drive your trucks over the center destroying the expensive landscaping do not care that we all had to pay for it. What is even better are the medians that are placed between the lanes on small two-lane roads for no good reason other than for idiots to drive in the wrong lanes.

Both motorists and cyclists can be in the wrong.

I won’t even talk about the motorcyclists that we are all reminded to keep safe by watching for them as they speed between lanes of traffic to get in front of cars. It is especially enjoyable to watch them pop their wheelies as they race down the road. The last thing I want is to drive over them when they wipe out on a grease spot.

Another accident averted.

The two biggest problems are inattentiveness and impairment. Missouri finally has decided to make texting and the use of handheld phones while driving illegally. It only causes ten percent of the traffic fatalities each year according to the CDC. Many of these are single car accidents. They account for sixty percent of deaths. Thank you for not taking me with you.

Only 29 deaths every day nationwide are caused by impaired drivers. That is why they are allowed to offend again and again. They lose their licenses and keep driving. They kill others and continue to be released after a few years to kill again. Why isn’t this stopped? Check you local, state, and federal law makers to see what percentage of them have had DUI’s. Maybe we should check the records before we vote for them?

Thank you for letting me rant. I know you won’t do anything about it until someone you care about dies. Watch out for those other motorists who don’t care about you. Or maybe that includes you and I?

10 REASONS NOT TO RELOAD THE TOILET PAPER DISPENSER

October 14, 2023

The dispenser in the men’s room that is closest to the office at the Springfield business always seems to be out of TP when it is needed the most. While contemplating this sad state of affairs and reloading it, these reasons why one might not want to do this task came to mind. Most would not apply to a Christian because of the command to be a servant.

It is not your job. While working in food service, a printed job description was provided that included cleaning and restocking the restrooms every hour as needed. Since it did not specifically mention this product, it might not be your job.
It is below my pay grade. Why not perform tasks that are below your pay scale? It must mean that you are doing something and getting paid more than you should. Isn’t that what everyone wants?
It is above my pay grade. A philosophy of always demonstrating the positions above one’s capabilities and job can lead to a promotion and raise in pay.
There has been no training for the job. Really? You are not smart enough to know how to load a dispenser. The key is in the lock on the top. Anyone with half a brain should be able to reload it.
This is personal time. Yes, it is. But, if you are on the clock, you can take a few minutes to change a roll of toilet paper.
It is demeaning. No one will see you. They will not think less of you. They will even appreciate you if they are the next one to use the facility.
It is unsanitary. The paper is wrapped. You unwrap it, throw away the old core, and put the new roll on the dispenser.
Where is the spare tissue kept? In this case on a shelf in front of you. Open your eyes.
No one else seems to be willing to do this job. And that makes you another nobody.
If you wanted to, you could. There is not really a good reason not to. You are inconsiderate and uncooperative.

Stop and consider your place of employment. What are the small things that others ignore that you could accomplish for them? During my working years, I looked for any way I could learn more and become more beneficial to the company. I began as a fry cook when I was sixteen. I’ve worked my way up to management for more companies than I care to think about. That was by doing anything I could for anyone. I suggest that you try the same things I did to advance your career.

The end of political parties

January 7, 2023

I have opposed the two-party system for fifty years. If you have wondered why we should eliminate this antiquated system, turn on the news. Our Congress cannot elect a speaker. Apparently, no one can do anything about the gridlock between two factions in one of the parties.

I believe that the voters should contact our congresspersons and tell them that if they have been supporting the man that Trump wants and have lost ten votes already, you want them to get to work or you will recall them.

We elected these men and women to represent us. Stop messing around and get to work. This should be the last term that any of these people serve in congress. If you can’t elect the person that will lead you for the next two years, how can we expect you to get anything else done?

Josh Hawley the senior senator from Missouri announced the end of the Republican Party as it is currently known after the election in November. According to him, this is because of Donald Trump supports certain candidates nationwide. Those that were supported by the former President, failed to be elected. His statement was that independent voters did not approve of these men and women.

For myself, I did not vote for anyone on my ballot that had been endorsed by this treasonous, lying, the former president. Hawley’s statement is opposed to what he was saying two years ago. He still reminds us that he liked many of the things that Trump did as President.

It does not surprise me when I think of his election for Missouri’s Attorney General in 2016, where he promised us, he was not a politician and had no aspirations for other offices. Missourians believed him. A majority supported him in his 2018 bid for the Senate.

We are surrounded by liars and incompetence. It isn’t just the Republicans. Even the Democrats don’t seem to be making good choices. Political parties have only one purpose currently. They finance the election of those that toe the party line. I am sick and tired of the Republicrats and Demicans slowing down the process of passing laws.

It has been years since the US budget has been passed for an entire year. We constantly hear about last-minute approval of a stop-gap measure to keep the country from shutting down. We are told that one party doesn’t want to work with the other. Then the two parties have internal disagreements.

We need several things done by the congress, senate, and president. We need term limits, a balanced budget amendment, and a change in the primary process that allows all the voters to choose who will be on the ballot in November. The political parties have seen their day.

Help me get the word out and remind the congressman from the Missouri seventh district that those first two were campaign promises of his. And the first thing he should propose is that his and the others’ pay should be suspended until the budget is balanced. You think congress is in turmoil now. Wait until he suggests that one.

Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

Walk With a Servant

Category: Tangents