In addition to the monthly Big Park Council President’s letter that I have been writing for the “Villager” for the last two years, I also write a bi-weekly column (now in its 13th year) that is carried on web sites here in Arizona, in Georgia (where we have a second home) and on many sites. The articles for the “Villager” have been specifically oriented to the Village and the greater Sedona Area. The others deal with broader issues and have not been community specific.

This one departs substantially from prior patterns. First, I am combining the two columns into one. Second, it deals with a specific community, starting with the greater Sedona area, extending to Cottonwood and then up to Flagstaff (call it Northern Arizona). For medical support, one can think of this as an integrated delivery system. Third, it is much longer than usual. And fourth, I have used the names of actual people and organizations – both to express my gratitude and admiration and because it will make things much clearer, especially to those readers who live in Northern Arizona

Finally, in one sense it is highly personal, but although I am the main character, the theme is not about me. It’s about people and specifically, friends and neighbors, doctors and nurses. Aside from geographic features, Sedona may not be unique. But it is a very very special place.

The Vision Survey we conducted some time ago, revealed that a key factor in the decision to move to Sedona (aside from the magnificent physical environment) is the people – people with diverse interests who care, who get involved, who create a sense of “community.” This is echoed in many tangible ways throughout the story.

One key issue that was identified in attempting to create a vision for the future was a desire for greater access to medical, and particularly medical emergency services. The idea of an Urgent Care Center is one that I am sure will emerge as a priority. However, given our size, an emergency room is probably not in the cards (unless some giant health care corporation decides that Sedona would be an attraction for both medical personnel and patients). But there is a system that surrounds us, and it works! In this case, beautifully.

The story began about three months ago. My right shoulder suffers from severe osteoarthritis, and I have been living with pain (but tolerable) for some time. About three months ago I noticed some additional symptoms when I used that arm. I would develop an ache extending from my jaw and extending down my arm and my right side, and I would break out into a cold sweat. These incidents were relatively infrequent and lasted only 10-15 minutes and then I was back to normal. I attributed this to the arthritis and didn’t see it as anything more than curious.

In December, just before leaving on a trip to visit our daughter, Erika, in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, I spoke with my primary care physician, Dr. Henning Ansorg (of Choices Integrated Health Care) about another health matter, and happened to mention these symptoms. Aside from being a fine physician, Dr. Ansorg is a caring, considerate person whose follow-up has always been impressive. He said, “Let’s be safe.” Within a short period of time I got a call from the Verde Valley Medical Center (VVMC), to schedule a stress EKG and vascular tests aimed at examining blood flow up the carotid artery to the brain. I scheduled them for immediately after our return from Idaho. As it turned out, I failed on one and passed the other.

Whenever I go to a medical appointment, I usually bring a book. The first surprise I got was that I was met precisely at the designated time – no opportunity to read. The second was the quality and professionalism of the experience. The nurse carefully explained the procedure, anticipating my questions, and in simple language – a person who made it clear that you were her first priority and everything would be done to make you comfortable and satisfy your needs. My anxiety level dropped considerably. The same caring behavior was shown by the technicians and others I met. This experience was duplicated later, when I came back for the vascular tests.

The final surprise was that, in preparation for the EKG, I came dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. But instead of the treadmill or step stool, I was asked to lie down. A slightly radioactive material was injected and readings were taken. Then I was given another substance that essentially dilated the heart arteries, just as if I had been running. This was followed by another injection of radioactive material, to determine the difference. It was the least stressful EKG I’ve ever experienced. This took place on Tuesday, December 27. I was told that the results would be available in two days.

Early Thursday morning the phone rang. It was Dr. Ansorg indicating that he had the results, and there was a problem. He wanted me to go for further testing to narrow the problem down and get it taken care of. He suggested Dr. Bruce Peek, a cardiologist at the VVMC. Of course, I assented. Next surprise, within 10 minutes Dr. Peek was on the telephone setting up the procedure for the following morning. I was amazed at the rapid and personal responses from these two very busy physicians.

We arrived at the VVMC Friday morning. Again, no time to read my book, and once again, the reception process was so efficient and friendly – something that I had begun to suspect existed only at the Mayo clinic. But Mayo’s attention to patient need, comfort and convenience is matched by the VVMC.

Being treated by Dr Peek turned out to be another wonderful experience. He had explained a bit of the procedure over the telephone, and what we hoped was that the angiogram (I may not have identified the procedure exactly, but it’s close) would reveal the blockage, he would insert a stent, and I would be back home that afternoon. It was not to be.

It was fascinating, lying there, looking at a monitor and seeing a catheter in my heart squirting die into the heart arteries and watching the flow. The images struck me as similar to the nightly whether report – with Doppler images moving across the map. Throughout the procedure Dr. Peek explained what was going on. When the test was finished, he called my wife, Beverly, into the room and gave us his summary. This was the shocker – one of the primary arteries feeding my heart had a 98% blockage. A stent would not do. Dr. Peek recommended bi-pass surgery. He suggested several alternatives, but highly recommended Dr. Steven Peterson, a thoracic surgeon at the Flagstaff Medical Center (FMC) Cardio-Vascular Unit. Again, Dr. Peek had made everything so clear, including options, that we had no problem coming to a decision. Here is another extremely capable physician who goes well beyond the standard for caring, explaining, anticipating anxieties and putting one at ease.

Remember, I walked into the test, feeling good. I obviously had been living with this condition for some time, so I suggested that Beverly and I drive up to Flag. Dr. Peek, in a humorous but authoritative manner said “no way.” Within a few minutes, I was on a helicopter, heading north. Lots of tourists take helicopter rides to see the magnificent scenery. Needless to say, on a gurney, I missed the sights. But again, what impressed me was the competence of the crew (pilot and technicians) who accompanied me. By now I had really started to believe that I was in the best of hands.

When we arrived at FMC, they were waiting and I was taken to the Cardio-Vascular ICU (CVICU). If it weren’t for the reason I was there, I would have been delighted. The nurses I met were incredibly competent, and genuinely caring. Here I was a perfect stranger, but the feeling was that I had just entered an extended family.

Dr. Peterson was returning from vacation that same day. One of his associates looked in on me and they decided to postpone the surgery, first until Saturday and then to Monday. Both Beverly and I were concerned, but we were told that a) treating this as an immediate emergency would limit options; b) I still had dye in my heart from the earlier test, and that could cause complications: and c) they could use the time to help adjust all my blood levels to the ideal for the surgical procedure. Generally, they only do emergency surgery on weekends, since staffing is low, and prefer to schedule any that they can during the regular week. So much for New Year’s Eve.

I don’t think I have every seen a doctor so revered by the staff as Dr. Peterson. I had not yet met him, but everyone assured me that he not only walks on water, he can float on air.
When we finally did meet with him, he took the time not only to explain everything that would transpire, but to answer the myriad of questions we had. That was typical of every meeting we had, despite his busy schedule. I later learned that the ICU had instructions to call him at any time if there was a problem with one of his patients. In my case, I know of at least one such call which was made at 2 a.m. Some of the questions duplicated the Q&A we had had with the nursing staff and all the answers were consistent, giving one a great feeling of confidence. By the time our several conversations were finished, between Friday evening and Monday morning, I truly felt relaxed and anxiety free.

I can’t sing the praises of the nursing staff loudly enough. Everyone was caring. It was a team effort. Nurses and technicians would often stick their heads into the room to ask if there was anything they could do to help me or to assist my primary nurse. The entire atmosphere was up-beat, despite the fact that they were dealing with critically ill people.

At one point, the head of nursing came to Beverly to talk about her experience and how they could make the ICU even friendlier. For example, although the doors were locked they wanted to put up a sign telling visitors that they are welcome to come in and the procedure to do so – and wanted to make sure the emphasis was “we want to make you comfortable” rather than “we have a lock on the door.”

Monday morning came, and I was prepped for surgery. Again, everything was clearly explained to me, Beverly, and Erika my oldest daughter. Dr. Peterson, Dr. Nick (the anesthetist) and the Nurses both in the ICU and in the operating room wanted to make sure that we were as comfortable and knowledgeable as possible. The risks were also explained.

When Erika found out about my condition, she wanted to fly down from her home in Idaho. I said “no.” She is a lawyer with a prestigious firm based in Spokane, hopefully on a fast track to partnership, and had a big case going to arbitration the following Monday (January 1). She insisted and even more heartwarming, her firm, Winston and Cashatt insisted she go. This all took place over New Year’s Eve weekend. But they managed to contact the client, the arbitrator and the opposing council and get a postponement. In retrospect, it would have been a terrible mistake not to have her there. She was of such great comfort, not only to me, but to Beverly.

I had been reluctant to tell people about my situation. But we had a problem. On New Year’s Eve we had invited a number of neighbors over to briefly celebrate the arrival of the New Year (at least on the east coast). Obviously, that was not to take place. But suddenly an incredible support system (that I never knew existed) kicked in. Several friends came up for brief visits prior to the surgery. One set of friends came up specifically to be with Beverly during the procedure.

The surgery began about 7:30 a.m. Beverly was told that it would be about 6 hours before I was out. By buying the extra time, Dr. Peterson had decided he could use a procedure called a mini-CABG, where they approach the heart from the side, rather than by splitting the sternum. This was much less invasive than the “normal” procedure which is generally used in emergency situations.

Throughout the procedure Beverly and Erika received report of the progress. It was finally done (or so everyone thought). Of course, I was oblivious to everything.

In thinking about this experience it occurred to me that I was putting the most precious thing I have in the hands of these perfect strangers – but strangers who made me feel relaxed. I knew I was not just another set of charts and numbers. They truly cared. That precious thing wasn’t my life – whatever was going to happen to me was going to happen. It was the hope and aspirations and concerns of loved ones – the stress on Beverly and Erika was enormous compared to mine.

I woke up groggy back in my room in ICU, having missed all the fun. Beverly and Erika had been in the hall while they got me situated when all hell broke loose. It was a “code blue” which basically meant that my heart needed resuscitation. Just like the TV show, ER, CPR compressions were begun, the paddles’ were applied, and I was brought back. I have no experience of what took place. I woke up after all calmed down, feeling none the worse for wear.

There I was in ICU with tubes of all sizes running into or out of almost every bodily orifice, and a lot of orifices that I didn’t have before. It looked like I had been caught in this giant spider web. I don’t understand why more nurses don’t break a leg as they do ballet and gymnastic maneuvers through this maze.

Dr. Peterson had been there. He then explained that he felt further surgery was required to see what the problem was. The CPR and paddles may have moved the heart into the area where the ribs had been spread. In any event, he thought the safest way to do it would be to go through the front of the chest rather than attempt to fix it through the side.

Things blur when you are in the ICU. It is a surrealistic setting, with all the tubes and monitors hooked up. Some ding when a reading falls out of a range, some just ding to be ornery but you are subject to a constant stream of audible and visual stimuli, and then there is the blood pressure cuff (the boa constrictor) tightening around your arm just to make sure that, if you have dozed off, it won’t be for long.

Nights in the ICU are especially disorienting. My analogy is that it’s like being in a dark room (you have to shut and cover your eyes to achieve that state) where mice are slowly moving around. You are aware of their presence, but barely – the sounds are actually the drips from the i.vs and the gurgling of the machines attached to your chest. Then the cat appears (the x-ray technician comes in to take your chest x-ray), and the small scurrying sounds are replaced by something more demanding. Then, when that is done, it’s back to the mice.

Another phenomenon I found was the passage of time. I couldn’t sleep, despite the fact that they made me as comfortable as could be. I’d close my eyes and try to get rid of all the thoughts racing through my mind in hopes that I would doze off. After what I thought was 20 minutes, I’d give up – only to find that the minute hand on the wall clock had advanced from 3:05 a.m. to 3:06. I was in a different time warp. And I came to know the impact of sleep deprivation very well.

As an aside, I weighed in the morning I arrived at the CVICU. I was weighed every day. The peak weight I hit was 22 pounds higher. But again, I was told that with all the fluids being pumped in, I should expect this. But I was guaranteed that I would actually show a weight loss when all was said and done. It was hard to believe, but I am now 4 pounds below my “going in” weight and still have more to lose. Needless to say, I have spent a good deal of time making that happen.

Now back to the second surgery. Same thing. I slept through it all, but this time my awakening was different. I remember looking up into the face of a tall bearded man who was holding my shoulders down and repeating over and over: “Mel, look at me and breathe.” Despite replacing one of the bi-passes that had already clogged (by harvesting more vein from my leg) I had once again Code Blued. In this case, Erika had been in the room when she saw something go radically wrong and yelled for help. They already knew of the problem and people converged on the room – a replay of the prior experience. Interestingly, when I asked who the man was that was so insistent that I breathe, I was told he was a pharmacist who happened to be on the floor. Talk of team work. I hope you or your loved ones never experience heart failure. But one word of advice, if it must happen, there is no better place than in the CVICU.

So now back to drawing board. It was now discovered that I had a rare genetic clotting factor. Once that was identified we were out of the woods. It could be treated with medication and (one more trip back to the OR) for the implantation of a super pacemaker/defibrillator device, making me the first bionic man in my family.

Now we prepare for the next stage – recuperation. During the stay in ICU various specialists dropped by periodically to deal with blood sugar issues and others. Every one was patient, clear with explanations, and reinforced the idea that I was in the best of hands. For much of my life, I have been considered a management expert. I must say that had this been an academic exercise, VVMC and FMC would have received A+.

Now we started talking to people about going home. To make sure that my sugar levels did not get to high, I had to take insulin, and learning how to do the testing for blood sugar levels and administer insulin were part of the training. I would be on more medications than I had ever taken in my life, and just scheduling what and when was a formidable task. Dressings had to be changed, and on and on. The hospital staff spent hours with us making sure we knew what had to be done, and provided interesting documents outlining most of the procedures. I was even visited by a volunteer who had undergone bi-pass surgery years ago, to share thoughts, hints, and boost confidence. They set up home-care options to assist, physical therapy and anticipated virtually every need.

My last ICU experience was in New York when my Mother ended up in the ICU of New York Presbyterian Hospital – a very fine, huge institution that is a teaching hospital for both Columbia and Cornell Med. The contrast was startling – with the personalized care and attention that exuded from every pore at FMC vs. the more regimented and less flexible atmosphere in the bigger unit. I can’t help but believe that, all other things being equal (and I believe they are), the environment that can adjust to patient needs and be supportive and reassuring all the way is the one that is better for healing.

Fifteen days after I entered the ICU I was discharged, skipping step-down, to come home.

Two of our dear friends who had a vehicle that would make it easier for me to travel came up to Flagstaff to bring me home. When we drove into the driveway there was a big sign, with balloons attached to greet me. The response has been incredible with people bringing food (so much that another of our neighbors volunteered to coordinate the effort). As an aside, I learned that we have many gourmet cooks in the neighborhood. Beverly is concerned that she may not be able to meet the standards to which I have become accustomed. (Actually she’s pretty good too) Friend are constantly coming over for my Walk and Talk sessions – usually a lap or two around the drive way. Others have done shopping. Others have volunteered to drive me to the Cardiac Rehab unit in Cottonwood, when my home PT stops in a few weeks. The response has been incredible, both for me (frankly, I never realized that this would happen) and enormously helpful for Beverly, my care-giver. It’s hard to explain how deeply touched we both have been.

The morals of the story are 3 fold. First we live in an incredibly caring community. The Vision Survey didn’t lie. Second, although it would be nice if these great medical facilities were closer, population and economics deem otherwise – but they are nearby and they do kick into action without delay. We never had to call 911, but the Sedona Fire Department has is one of the most efficient response units in the nation – an added back-up.

Finally, I spent a lot of time thinking about the following question: how can a collection of small communities such as ours, provide such quality service? The answer, in part, lies in the fact that we live in a part of the nation that is so attractive, it brings some of the best people here who want to share in the life style.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could find a way to clone this loving and supportive environment, with strangers treating strangers, into all the other walks of life? It obviously can be done on a small scale. How do we expand it and eliminate much of the strife that resides in much of our world?

I want to end on a personal note – just to thank the many well wishers here and around the globe, who have sent their prayers and been a great source of comfort. It’s like Erika said: “Dad, it’s almost like being there to hear your own eulogy.” Any measure of thanks to our friends and neighbors can only be totally inadequate. They have been marvelous. My family, most of whom live afar, has been of constant support – my other daughter, Susan, my sister Gennah, my biggest fan – my 96 year old Mother who is still going strong – and many many others. And of course, my admiration, appreciation and gratitude to Dr. Ansorg; Dr. Peek and the staff at VVMC; and Dr. Peterson, the other physicians I saw, and the incredible nursing staff of the CVICU up in Flagstaff – without whose ministrations you wouldn’t have had this lengthy article before you. And of course, my wonderful daughter, Erika, and the love of my life, Beverly.

New Years is a time for reflection. So I thought I would update an article I wrote about New Years Day about a decade ago.

In reality, there is nothing special about January first. It’s the day after December 31 and the one before January 2. Its only tangible element is that it comes 365 days (or 366 in a leap year) after the last New Year’s Day celebration, recognizing the period of time that the earth makes a complete circuit around the sun while spinning on it’s axis approximately 365 ¼ times.. The selection of a date could have coincided with any point on the earth’s orbit. But it truly is nice that it falls on a holiday.

In a way, it’s kind of strange to celebrate the New Year, particularly in January. The original logic made primitive sense. The first celebrations took place more than 4,000 years ago as the Babylonians celebrated the return of spring, and the planting season. The Egyptians, Phoenicians and Persians, not to miss a time to party, then followed suit, but to be different, they used the fall equinox. The Greeks weighted in with the winter solstice.

Initially, the world used many calendars of varying start-points and length. Some, particularly those based upon lunar cycles, changed their start points from one year to another. January 1 was set arbitrarily, after thousands of years of study to determine the length of a year, and several thousand more of haggling and political intrigue to finally fix a “beginning” point (which is still not accepted by everyone today).

The early Roman calendar consisted of 10 months, starting in March. Ever wonder how September (7), October (8), November (9) and December (10) got their names? In about 700 BC, Rome switched to 12 months (it’s a good thing, or all our calendars today would be obsolete). But it wasn’t until 153 B.C. that the beginning of the year was moved to January 1 – why? Simple! That was the day the Consuls of Rome began their 1 year term of office. In 46 B.C. when Julius Caesar reformed the calendar, January 1 became firmly established as the first day of the Roman calendar. But the month of January had been named after the Roman God, Janus (a two-headed god who looked forward and backward – perhaps the first to publish a list of the “best of the past year” and predictions or resolutions for the year ahead).

But in medieval Europe it was eventually judged that celebrating on January 1 was too closely tied to this “pagan deity” and in 567 AD, the designation of January 1 as the start of the New Year was banned. Obviously the party-goers and manufacturers of hats and noisemakers were not about to take this lying down. So other dates were selected in different parts of the world: December 25, March 1, Easter, and so on.

Then, in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII redid the calendar, which had gotten a bit messy, and reestablished January 1 as the start of the New Year for all of Catholicism. Since then, January 1 has become the secular standard for the entire world, although many religions and nations continue, additionally, to celebrate their own New Year’s Day based on historical traditions. Interestingly, the Gregorian Calendar was not adopted in the UK and the US until 1752 – previously, New Years had been celebrated in March.

The true wisdom and significance of a fixed date of January 1 for the start of the New Year has only become apparent with the passage of time. Even more amazing is the fact that at the time Mr. Caesar and the Pope made their decisions, neither football nor television had been invented. But without their perspicacity, imagine the problems we would have today if, for example, they had picked a date in April, or July (months after the end of the football season and the Bowl games.

But arbitrary as the selection of January first may be, the start of a New Year holds a special aura for most of us. We like things wrapped up in nice neat packages. The end of a year is a great time to reflect on the past. And the start of a New Year provides an opportunity to plan for a future filled with positive expectations. Because nature, in her infinite wisdom, made “the end” and “the start” coincide, we can combine the two efforts into a single process for each cycle. Most critically, the establishment of a firm New Year gave rise to one of mankind’s greatest inventions – the New Year’s Resolution.

The art of “New Year’s Resolving” was developed over many centuries of human effort. The first attempts were rather tentative – like: “I’m going to make it through this day.” Then people realized they had a whole year to address, and so resolutions changed to: “I’m going to live to see another year.” But a lot of people didn’t, giving the process a somewhat tarnished image right from the start. As people became more adept at the process, resolutions became more specific. They started dealing with bad habits people wanted to relinquish, or good things they wanted to achieve. In the early days, one could plan on tomorrow being more or less like today. These days the situation is more complex, however, since repetition and stability have become anathemas and woe to anyone who has to live yesterday, today.

More recently a new school of thought has developed, as people began to recognize that giving up bad habits and making New Year’s Resolutions is somewhat akin to giving up food and going on a fast – natural forces seem to lead to breaking them. Some people have become very adept at this. The extreme illustration came from one of the world’s greatest “Resolutionists.” After analyzing the subject for years, he was determined to change the pattern. So one year he resolved never to make New Year’s resolutions – and set the world record before he realized what he had done.

On a personal basis, the actions that led to the establishment of January 1 as the New Year have had substantial repercussions. My wife, Beverly, is a serious fanatic for setting goals and objectives. The process starts weeks before, with not-so-subtle hints to all members of the family that the time is coming to review the past and ponder the future. By January 1 everyone is walking on eggshells, dreading to hear that inevitable request – “so tell me about your goals for the coming year!” Woe to anyone in the family who does not have a complete and satisfying answer. But if you, like me, have to, or chose to go through the process, a few serious points that may be of help.

First, remember that there are usually good reasons why one has developed bad habits or has not accomplished things in the previous year. It will take more than wishing to change things.

Second, reflection over the past is an important starting point to identify these reasons and to make sure that plans for the future are realistic and have any hope of fulfillment.

Third, don’t shoot for the moon. Think in small steps instead of big leaps. Rather than make resolutions in the form of an eventual goal (e.g. I will loose 20 pounds) build your resolutions around smaller steps (e.g. I will loose a pound a week). Short term, “clearly achievable” goals are much more motivational than long-term, “possibly achievable” goals. (The latter will get you to your goal in 5 months and is clearly “doable,” whereas 20 lbs. may be too far off in the distance to be very inspirational and sustainable).

Finally, if you can, build your resolutions around the process that will get you to your goal, rather than the goal itself (I will go out for a 2-mile walk every morning, or I will give up that dish of ice cream after dinner). These are much easier to focus on and adhere to and will lead to tangible results. (As you might guess, I have a few “weighty matters” on my mind).

And finally, if you are absolutely determined not to break or bend any resolutions, don’t make them! Spend the time enjoying the bowl games or whatever you enjoy doing when the earth hits that point in space that says: “Whoopee! We’re here again.”

I hope the coming year is especially happy, healthy, bright and productive for you and your loved ones, filled with joy, peace and much contentment. By the end of the year, may we see a better and safer world, and all be able to take satisfaction in what we have done to make it so.
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Every now and then, issues arise which I believe are important, but which can be dealt with in substantially less than a full column. When I accumulate a few, “points to ponder” is the result.

The First Amendment to the Constitution contains the wording: “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech…” Never, in the history of human language, have so few words been stretched to cover so much ground. They seem to form their own expanding universe, covering more and more concepts with the passage of time. I’m particularly sensitive to some of the odd items that show up in the news. Let’s look at a few from recent times, and an interesting anomoly.

The Federal and State Courts (including various State Supreme courts and the Supreme Court of the United States) have handed down decisions, based upon these 10 words which justify: politicans knowingly lying about their opponents; politicians lying about military decorations they never received; tatoo parlors being able to locate where they wish, violent computer games being able to be sold to children, and to paraphrase former Supreme Court Justice Stevens, finding that when it comes to corporations engaging in campaign advertising, spending “money is the equivalent of protected speech.” Note the direction all of these go – “protecting” political and corporate interests.

Now the odd one A Federal judge ruled that graphic warnings that the FDA required to be placed on cigarette packs “constitutes advocacy” which violates rights of free speech. Figure that one out. Notice any sort of bias?

The Medium or the Message: I was recently intrigued by a home-imrovement product that I saw advertised on TV in a frequent infomercial. It looked great. Then next time I was in an hardware store I asked about it and, surprisingly, was told that they neither had the product (or anything similar) or knew about it, except that they had recently had a barrage of customers asking the same question I did. So I turned to the now-universal-source-of-information, the Internet. What I discovered also came as a bit of a surprise.

The Internet was choked with people complaining about the product and the company. Charges included false advertising, false billing, numerous cases of legal problems and problems with Better Business Bureaus, and even a video, done by a consumer rights organization, which showed that the product did not perform as claimed.

The infomercials are still running. Question. What is the responsibiltiy of the medium which conveys these messages to the public – particularly once the furor has reached the level where it is impossible to ignore the fact that it is possible that fraud is being committed? Does the medium have any responsibility? Clearly there is a broad spectrum of situations. At one end we have the product that does exactly what it claims. At the other, we have the total sham. Many promotional efforts fall in the middle. When is censorship justified and in what stage does it kick in? Whose responsibility is it to protect the public? Does the organization that is conveying the message (and making money from it) share in the responsibility – a form of aiding and abeting? Or do we want to establish “caveat emptor” as a firm rule of the society in which we live?

Rip-offs vs Reasonability and Responsibility. In August the FDA approved a new scorpion anti-venom for use in the United States. It actually wasn’t a new product as it had been used in Mexico for many years. Three to five doses are required in those cases, particularly for children and the elderly, where severe reactions to scorpion bites occur.

In Mexico, where the drug is produced, the cost is approximately $100 per vial (a single dose). The situation is somewhat different in the US – largely blamed on the cost of clinical trials and other high expenditures required by the FDA in introducing new drugs. The Arizona Republic checked hospitals administering the drug and found a price range of $7,900-$15,000 per vile. No! That is not a typo. Something seems a bit awry – with the approval processes, pricing or hospital overheads – or perhaps all of the above. Bottom line – stay away from scorpions.

Congressional Perks – should members of Congress receive pensions, in addition to their participation in the Social Security System. On the one hand, the founding fathers never envisioned professional politicians. Citizen legislators would derive their primary livelihood from their farms or businesses. The business of government was a part-time activity. But now we do have “professionals” who build their careers around Capitol Hill. Should they, like corporate employees, have access to separate pension plans? If so, why should their plans be better than that of other government employees? No one expects a member of Congress to starve, but shouldn’t serving be a priveledge, rather than a path to wealth?

The TV show, 60 minutes recently did a segment on another element of Congressional privilege – in partial explanation why many members of Congress retire with much greater wealth than their salaries would provide. Unlike corporate executives, who can go to prison for trading on insider information, there is no such restriction on members of Congress. So a member of a key committee who learns of a new development (e.g. in a defense contract or a pharmaceutical product) is free to buy or sell stocks – well before the information becomes public.

These are only two of the many areas where Congressional “perks” outpace those of the public. There is a growing movement to seek an amendment to the Constitution to limit such benefits. But unless a major grass-roots effort takes hold, it’s kinda like having the fox watch the chicken coop. It would be nice, for example, if the next elections to the House and Senate went to individuals who, among other things, vowed to restore some sense of equity.

The great FaceBook/Twitter Society: I’m obviously a Neanderthal. I neither use FaceBook nor do I Twitt. So perhaps you’ll write this off to my ignorance. So much of the time of our young people is spent in what I would consider non-productive time on these latest miracles of our modern civilization. I wonder, as we backslide on basic mathematic, scientific and reading skills, how many of them truly understand the technologies they are captured by – no, I am not talking about how to use them – I’m talking about underlying scientific and engineering principles that will lead to new and creative efforts in the future. And I wonder what our nation would look like if all that time spent on “linking up” was instead devoted to studying math and science (history, geography, art and philosophy too) and improving reading abilities. Can’t help but think it would lead to a better future. But again, I sometimes find myself looking backwards rather than forwards.
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Yes, we are still alive and kicking! There’s a lot of life still left in this Nation, but we are ill, very ill. We face many challenges, not the least of which is a dysfunctional leadership structure that doesn’t seem to understand the nature of the problems and has neither the will nor the integrity nor the common sense to address them in a constructive manner. I want to focus on one aspect – possibly the most critical of all – building positive expectations for the future by creating jobs.

Ours is a consumer based economy. More than 70% of what happens, economically, in this nation, is based on consumer attitudes towards the future. It becomes a self fulfilling prophesy. When consumers feel good, they buy, thereby creating jobs and more optimism for the future. When they do not, the reverse is true, leading us into a downward cycle.

Clearly, there are things government can do in the short run to improve the situation – and there is ample precedent. The Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930’s was a good illustration. Today, for example, rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure (roads, bridges and the like) would be a quick way to put people to work to increase both psychological and physical confidence in the future.

But that is a temporary solution. Our real concern should be with the future and that can only be solved by rebuilding this nation’s manufacturing base.

We went through an incredible evolution within the workforce during the last century or so. We started as an agrarian nation, with most of the population engaged in some form of farming. During the early 1900’s a major shift to manufacturing began. And now we boast of being a service economy. Today, less than 2% of the workforce is engaged in farming, and less than 10% in manufacturing. But are these statistics symbols of pride and prowess, or of worry and decline? Let’s look more closely.

The shift from agriculture to manufacturing was made possible by enormous increases in productivity in farming. A good deal of this was fueled by government research efforts. Today, that small segment of our population feeds our nation and a good bit of the rest of the world – one might say all to the good. But the shift from manufacturing to services is another matter.

Like agriculture, the learning curve helped us become more proficient in manufacturing. American produced products set the world standard. Productivity increased, freeing workers to move into the service sector. But then something happened – a change driven both by the search for increased profitability and by the preferences of the American consumer.

As nations that were hard hit by the impact of WWII started to rebuild, they did so using the latest technologies while we were still wedded to investments in older methods that had served us well. Emerging nations started to develop production capabilities to mimic those that of the more industrially advanced nations. Opportunities to utilize cheap, young labor (who did not require expensive health and other benefits), fueled by tax incentives both at home and abroad, led US companies to start outsourcing and moving operations abroad. The desire of American consumers to pay less for the products they purchased made this a kind of “perfect storm.”

Initially, we took pride in the fact that we were becoming a “service economy.” The rationalization was that the brainpower would still reside here – developing new technologies, creating new products and retaining a monopoly on intellectual content while the “messy stuff” (including processes that had negative environmental consequences) went abroad.

But several things happened. First, we failed to realize that much of the intellect in this country was not home-grown. Thousands and thousands of the best and the brightest from abroad came to study and learn here. Many went into industry, many into research, and many into academia, replenishing the intellectual supply of the nation. However, as opportunities at home increase both in employment and education, that pattern is changing dramatically. Much of this change has been fueled by the decisions taken in US board rooms to move manufacturing abroad. And as the intellectual capabilities of these nations has increased, more and more of the service economy has followed – e.g. service (call) centers, research and engineering facilities have been outsourced in search of skilled workers who will work for less. And as Internet and other communications capabilities have increased, that trend has accelerated.

The behavior of US consumers ignores long term implications in the sense that “cheaper products” are still the mantra. Hidden in all this is the possibility that the savings coming from purchasing a foreign-made product for less may be offset by higher tax burdens (and deficits) to provide for unemployment benefits, welfare programs and the like. We need to educate Americans to realize that a healthy nation requires effort on everyone’s part – not just the government.

Where manufacturing goes, the rest of the high level activity will follow. The interplay between making something and research and technology is too intimate to allow for much separation for very long. Sadly, we are falling behind on preparing our young people in basic areas such as science and mathematics – the cornerstones for the scientific and engineering skills that have gotten us to where we are. As other nations leap forward in these areas, we will find ourselves struggling to catch up. Manufacturing creates a demand for these skills, and with an eroding base, the services we will be able to provide will likely become less and less technology oriented and more menial in nature. And as we become more dependent on other nations for “things” our very independence is likely to be threatened. (If an emergency arose, would we ever be able to mobilize again like we did for WWII?)

This is one of the biggest challenges we face as a nation – rebuilding our manufacturing base. We need government incentives and perhaps “dis-incentives” to make industry see that short term profitability is not the only path. We need to waken consumers to realize the results of their actions. Entire industries that were once the sole provenance of the US have vanished from our shores, taking the jobs with them. And those that have been created in their place are on shaky ground. If, the switch from manufacturing to service economy had been based upon productivity (like the switch from agriculture to manufacturing) we would be in good shape. Unfortunately, boasting of a service economy has aspects of rationalizing and hiding a nation in decline. We can change things – but we have to start now, before we lose the critical mass to make it happen and before our position in the world has been indelibly claimed by others.
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I’ve often written about a concept from the world of physics that fascinates me: entropy. One simple definition is that “things left to themselves tend to disorder (or ‘chaos’ if you prefer).” It requires outside infusions of energy to restore order. The concept seems to apply to almost everything from an expanding universe to the appearance of your front yard.

But what happens the energy that is added contributes to further chaos as it seems to, if one extends the concept to political systems or, in the case of this article, to the wonderful world of electronics. I am convinced that young people must now carry a new gene that not only makes them comfortable with chaos, but gives them inspiration to create it.

Those of you who are old enough, think back to the time when a power failure in your home had a simple consequence. Everything that was electrically powered stopped, and when power was restored, pretty much everything came back on. The clocks – which were there to tell time – had to be reset, a relatively simple chore. In today’s electronic world, when the power goes out my house becomes a minor disaster area. The default position of some electronic devices is “on,” so the voice mail system that is built into my telephones (that I keep off) comes on and directly conflicts with the service I buy from the telephone company. Most of our television sets remain off, like I believe they should, but the manufacturer of one decided the default should be “on.” A fan that cools an important space stays “off.” And then there is the task of resetting everything that is on timers, from the driveway lights to thermostats, to drip systems, to the oven and microwave, and on an on. And yes, invariably I miss one – not a big problem if the outage was a few minutes long, but if the timer on the water heater has been off for hours, that blast of icy water when you get into the shower serves as a dramatic reminder. Yes, all of these issues arise from “progress” in providing “more and better” service, but life seemed so much simpler when there were two modes – on and off.

Our television provider just switched to an all-digital system. Every old set in the house now requires a digital box. Fair enough. A simple hook-up and you’re ready to go. But what about the DVR – in our case, linked by telephone to TIVO? You can no longer take the signal off of the cable. No, you need IR cables so that the TIVO can communicate with the cable box (the cable company takes no responsibility either to inform you of the problem or to help you resolve it – (but I must say that TIVO is extremely helpful). After two hours effort, it is up and working, but alas, I now need a manual relating to the proper care and use of remote devices. The new remote that came with the digital box will turn the TV on and off and change stations. But it will not change from one input channel to another (the various gadgets attached to the set use different input jacks and technologies). So I still need the old TV remote to do that. But then if I am using TIVO, only the TIVO-supplied remote will work. But if I accidentally use the cable remote while the TIVO is recording, it will change the station being recorded. And then there is the ROKU box for on-line streaming of movies. You probably guessed it – I have to change the input channel (using the TV remote) and then operate the set with yet another ROKU remote. And the VCR player has still another (although I have been clever enough to figure out how to make the TV remote operate the VCR).

I’m sure, if they were near, I could get one of my grandchildren to replace all of this with a universal remote but, alas, they are not and for the time being, I’ve just got to struggle on. Of course, every remote is quite different – each with many many more buttons and functions than it’s humanly possible to remember. Now, when watching TV I feel like I am in the dentist’s office, with that huge array of tools laid out in front of me. Normally, by the time I’ve figured out which one to use and the sequence in which to use them, the show is over. The good news is we miss a lot of commercials too. Even when I am successful in following the proper sequence of button pushing, finding the right channel among the hundreds that are offered is a daunting task particularly for one who likes to channel surf. I remember the days when all it took was one knob to turn the set on and control the volume and another to select one of a dozen or so channels. And the exercise, walking back and forth was an added benefit.

I’m not going to even begin to talk about cell phones. Once upon a time you said “hello,” had a conversation, and then said “goodbye.” That was it. Today the smart phones have thousands and thousands of apps. Every one requires a new learning experience – in many cases in an intuitive mode, since instructions and manuals are either non-existent or written for those who have already been initiated into the inner circle. And every day the old technology, which only works some of the time, is being replace by new – which only works some of the time. It’s not worth getting the bugs out because the life of a particular cell phone and cell phone technology seems to be measured in terms of nano-seconds.

Then there are cars. I can still remember the days when all you needed to fix things was a screw driver, a wrench and a few other assorted mechanical tools. It was actually fun. Today, the car has turned into an electronic monster. If it won’t start, it might be the computer chip in the key. Enormously expensive computers are necessary to provide service. And then there are all the bells and whistles. AARP’s Bulletin recently discussed all the wonderful new technologies being incorporated into vehicles: beep warnings when a pedestrian walks by, lights that illuminate if you are driving too close, automatic breaking systems that also kick in if you do, signals if there is another vehicle in your blind spot, chimes if you are getting drowsy and driving erratically, cameras for backing up, assist devices for parallel parking, etc. The point – all the signals and noises, designed to enhance safety, may possibly be so distracting, that anyone not prone to “multi-tasking” has a problem. Consider the beep or signal that takes one’s eyes from the roadway and focuses them on the dashboard while one is trying to identify the fact that the signal means you are too close to the car in front. Bang!

How much is enough and how much is too much. I don’t know the answer, but it is clear that with all the fantastic capabilities the electronic world has brought us, there are certain human factors, particularly with my generation, that create problems. It may be physiological in that brains and the muscles they control don’t react as quickly, learning comes a bit more slowly, or the right instincts have not been developed. But it also may be the remembrance of simpler times, when, without all the bells and whistles, life was still pretty good.
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Educationally speaking, we are in a mess! And as one who has spent much of his career in higher education, the situation is especially painful.

Merriam Webster’s first two definitions of the word “education” are:

1: the action or process of educating or of being educated; also: a stage of such a process b: the knowledge and development resulting from an educational process

2: the field of study that deals mainly with methods of teaching and learning in schools

The first is gobbledegook – which, unfortunately seems to characterize much of the debate and substance related to today’s educational efforts. The second seems comparable to Gracie Allen’s statement that she “always made out her laundry list when she got it back from the cleaners – that way she never lost anything.”

I’m not trying to single out a particular dictionary. Most will provide similar definitions – in essence they don’t know how to define “education” – and that is the crux of one of the key issues we face as a nation today.

Any good definition of education is much too complex to be summed up in a few words. It has many components. At the simplest level, it involves teaching and learning new facts, concepts or skills. At a higher level, it helps develop a framework to deal, creatively, with one’s environment. But most of all, it is the stuff upon which future hopes and dreams are built.

Part of the problem lies in the fact that the “pay off” from education is long term. Good educational processes are cumulative, with each step building upon the one that came before. The time scope is in years (whereas budgetary outlays are scrutinized from month to month). In a society that thinks more and more about “me” and “today,” sacrificing for an uncertain future for the next generation seems to have lost some of its luster – particularly when those who must make the effort may not reap direct benefit

Here in America, we seem to have lost sight of what education really means and its critical significance for our future. In many cases, it has been reduced to numbers – test numbers, and budget numbers, the latter part of a trend that has become more pronounced with the economic decline and resulting budget cuts. Let’s look at some recent developments.

There is nothing wrong with “accountability.” Yet the way standardized test scores have been applied has proved, in many cases to be counter productive. When resources, pay raises and other important decisions are tied to those sterile numbers, the incentives for people to misuse the system become substantial. Recent scandals across the country involving teachers and school administrators who have “cheated” to raise test scores are indicative of this problem. Obviously, raising scores in this manner does nothing to improve the education of the affected children.

Teaching to the test, without the presence of cheating, is commonplace. But learning sterile answers to questions, rather than learning how to think through and solve problems, or to understand the essence of the question is also counter productive. But that’s where much of our educational effort today is directed.

For budgetary and other reasons, States have introduced new programs. In several, students can now obtain a high-school degree in 2 years. One reason given in support of the program is that it will reduce the drop out rate???. Little weight seems to be given to the possibility that education also includes the process of maturing, and that learning social skills may be just as important a part of what takes place in school as “book learning.” The logic seems to be: “If we can’t do it in 4 years, then we ought to be able to do it in two.” Should not the focus be directed towards making the four years more meaningful and productive? It’s sad to realize that this program is based on the idea that “the problem with 4-year programs is that we are filling them with only two years of content, so let’s cut back to those two years.” And where will the teachers come from to handle this “condensed curriculum” when we can’t seem to find sufficient numbers to teach, effectively, ordinary arithmetic?

In another jurisdiction, there are proposals to cut the school week to 4 days. One proponent argued that so doing will help reduce the budget crunch and there is nothing taught in the 5th day that can’t be covered in the other four. This would all be funny, if it weren’t true. And look where it is getting us.

US students, who will live in a much more competitive world than their parents or grandparents did, are not faring so well. The Programme for International Student Assessment, under the auspices of the OECD runs comparisons of national educational skill levels. They look at the competence of 15 year olds in reading, mathematics and science. The test is run every three years with a focus on one of the three subjects in each of the first three test years (e.g. 2000, 2003 and 2006) and then a comprehensive look at all three in the 4th (2009).

The results from the earlier years were disheartening. The sample in the first three years included most of the countries in Europe, Turkey, North America, Australia, New Zealand, S. Korea and Japan – in essence, most of the industrialized world. The U.S. ranked 15 of 27 in reading, 24 out of 29 in Math and 21 out of 30 in Science. So much for our great educational leadership – at least at that level!

The 2009 study was expanded to include 65 nations. The US rankings: 17/65 in Reading, 30/65 in math and 23/65 in science. A decline in every category! However, part of that decline was a function of the inclusion of a number of other nations, particularly China – which ranked first in every category. In fact, with the exception of Finland, the top 5 spots in every 2009 category were held by Asian nations.

One can find a similar pattern if one looks at the amount of time children spend studying. The US school year is one of the least demanding. For example, students in Japan experience a school year that is 30% longer. If one looks at the exposure to classroom learning and homework time, the discrepancy is substantially greater. Obviously, just time spent in school is not the key element. It is what occurs during that time that is important. But clearly, all other things being equal, more time devoted to good education will yield a better result.

The US still sits on top of the world with regard to the caliber of University learning. But how long can we stay there – with the declining quality of output from our elementary and high-school education. Other nations are building excellent university systems and as they grow and improve, one of the mainstays of our system will disappear – the large number of foreign students, many of whom stayed, and a good many of whom went into teaching and research here in the United States.

We must find a way to break this mentality that trivializes education and sees it solely in terms of numbers – be they test scores or dollars. Neither of these measures is unimportant. But with so much of our nation’s future resting on the education our young people receive, the places for compromise should be elsewhere. We need to address the drop-out rates, find ways to motivate teachers, and find ways to assess educational outcomes which do not end up driving the entire system. We need to create individuals who are knowledgeable about the world, who can think creatively, who can seek solutions and are motivated to continue learning as they grow.

As a nation, we have achieved enormous heights in terms of the accomplishments of mankind. Education has been its mainstay. This is not a time to back off. I am reminded of a quotation that I cannot attribute to its author, but it seems relevant: “Upon the plains of destiny bleach the bones of countless millions who, having reached the threshold of victory, paused to rest and having rested, died.” The rest of the world is not resting. Our focus has to be on improving the system, not dismantling it.
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These days, many Americans have lapsed into a feeling of despondency, helplessness and pessimism toward the future. This is a great nation, and all the ingredients for continued greatness are still here. But many challenges and lack of faith in the government to deal with them, both domestically and abroad have, for many, eroded faith in the future. Some of the important elements include: the need to generate job opportunities, the weakness of the housing market, the inability to obtain loans, the crazy gyrations on Wall Street, the growing gap between the rich and the poor, and the many problems that have been ignored or glossed over by Congress too engaged in infighting and battling with the White House. Causes which led to the economic decline of the last few years still persist – some of them in even more intense forms than before. Special interest groups have been especially adept in avoiding penalties, some even reaping financial rewards for their screw-ups, and much of the “regulatory legislation” that public opinion forced Congress to enact has turned out to be toothless.

How do we break this malaise that grips so many Americans and get back onto the road to a bright and exciting future? It can’t be done overnight, but it can be done, one step at a time. Let’s look at one possible measure relating to the video game industry.

The budget deficit and what to do about it has been a major battlefield. The basic solutions proposed either involve cutting programs (social security and Medicare among them) or raising taxes or some combination of the above. But just focusing on making programs more efficient and weeding out miss-use and corruption would do much to narrow the gap. But that seems to be lost in the struggle for which side will have its way. But there is another approach.

A few months ago I wrote about what I thought was an amazing and perverse decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. In “Brown vs. Entertainment Merchants Association” the Court struck down a California law banning the sale of violent video games to minors. The court said video games were subject to full protection of the 1st amendment and that California does not have the “power to restrict the ideas to which children may be exposed.” In writing the majority opinion( for 5 of the 7 Justices), Justice Scalia compared violent video games (defined by the California law “in which the range of options available to a player includes killing, maiming, dismembering or sexually assaulting an image of a human being”) as equivalent to the violence in Snow White, Cinderella and Hansel and Gretel. The difference between reading about violent activity in fairy tales (all of which, by the way, has a happy ending) and committing violent activity (and being rewarded for it) doesn’t seem to register with at least 5 of the keepers of our Constitutional integrity.

I thought that was the end of the story, Unlike Congress, I still harbor the hope that the Supreme Court can’t be bought, although their role in the Florida election dispute in 2000 started to raise serious questions of credibility. But then a recent story from the New York Times (September 10) by David Kocieniewski put things in a somewhat different perspective.

Video games represent one of the most profitable industries in the nation. Except for excited teenagers and the employees of that industry, it is hard to see much of social redeeming value – particularly for games built around violence Yet it is one of the most highly subsidized industries we have. “Because video game makers straddle the lines between software development, the entertainment industry and online retailing, they can combine tax breaks in ways that [other companies] cannot.” The author goes on to state that “even oil companies have questioned why the government should subsidize such a mature and profitable industry…”

The article cites one company which showed a total of $1.2 billion in global profits for the last 5 years but, largely because of these subsidies, reported a net loss, and on a global basis, paid a total of $98 million in taxes. In most cases, the justification for providing tax incentives is to help new and struggling industries, particularly those that provide social benefit, to establish themselves. The article points out, the Video Game industry, with annual sales of $15 billion/year – needs no such incentives. But rather than cut incentives, the lobbying efforts of the industry have actually resulted in increases. Many of these incentives were designed to encourage software development related to national security – but were not written specifically enough to exclude video game development.

The author indicates that corporate tax incentives amounted to $123 billion in 2010. Originally, most were written for specific purposes, but as in this case, were written broadly enough to open the door to all sorts of other operations. And Congress has had neither the will nor the desire to close many of the loopholes, possibly because a portion of the funds generated by some of the major recipients finds its way back to the campaign coffers of individual Congressmen who have been supportive.

What is that next step? I would suggest removing the subsidies from the video game industry. By itself, this step would only make a small dent in the deficit. It’s not the Video Industry. Instead it’s an important statement that says: “we demand that you exercise integrity and stop being frivolous with taxpayer money or you will be history.” If enough members of Congress get the message, something will happen. That’s only step one. Each of the next steps needs to follow in quick succession – moving on to other issues where matters of economic reality, conflict of interest and integrity are important. It shouldn’t take many such steps before a change in the attitudes and behavior of our elected representatives will occur.

One might argue that singling out the Video Game industry is not particularly significant. True. But the issues here are matters of morality and integrity – and these are things which should not be compromised. If people are willing to toss politicians out on their ear for not upholding the highest standards, three things will happen: some will get tossed; others will “see the light;” and, finally, the new pattern that emerges may encourage more good people to run for office.

Before cutting important programs, let’s eliminate waste and frivolity – including those built into the tax incentive programs. If enough people speak out to their representatives in Congress and challenge the benefits going to special interest groups, major inroads can be made. We’ve got to start somewhere. The Video Game Industry is as good a place as any other.
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I firmly believe that a major benefit from traveling abroad is the new perspectives it gives on what you have at home.

My wife, Beverly and I have just finished a week of driving on the “wrong” side of the road. We were traveling by car, with friends, through southern England and Wales. Staying in B&Bs all the way gave us a great opportunity to interact with local people, and despite the typical on-again-off-again rain that followed us the entire time, it was a great trip.

As the journey progressed, a number of things related to my driving experience started to coalesce in my mind. The first related to driving on the “wrong” or left hand side of the road. But is it wrong? We have adopted that principle of “the right of way.” But it really only makes sense if you are driving on the left. When you come to a roundabout (and the roads in the UK seem to consist entirely of roundabouts linked by short stretches of pavement) the car in the roundabout has precedence. In the UK it is coming from the right. (In the U.S. it is actually coming from the left.) Similarly, when coming to an intersection, the car crossing in front of you that you must be most concerned about is coming from your right (again in the U.S. it will be from your left). And the immediate threat to a pedestrian crossing a road in the UK comes from the right. (In the US you better look first to the left.) We seem to have adopted an old rule, without recognizing that the “left of way” makes more sense for our driving patterns (a concept that all of us Lefties would strongly endorse).

A second observation related to the way roads are “designed.” Many were in existence centuries before the car was even a notion in anyone’s mind. Property rights go back for centuries. As a result, in converting the countryside to accommodate modern vehicles, compromises were made. I enjoy driving and looking at the surround countryside. Not so in the UK. First most of the lesser roads, and even many of the major connecting roads, are very narrow – in places not much wider than a single car. Meeting another car becomes an interesting exercise. Second, the roads wind and twist, requiring the drive to concentrate on the road – no time for sightseeing, particularly with 60-mile-an-hour speed limits. And finally, most of the properties are demarcated by high hedges – making it impossible to see anything beyond. So driving on many of the roads is like hurtling down a narrow tunnel, hoping the road gets you where you want to go, and praying that any vehicles you meet will be moving at a prudent speed (far below the limit) and be met at a place where the road allows passing (or at least within a short distance where one of you can back to.

The next observation related to the shoulders. There are none. Fortunately, I never found our what one does if one has a flat tire???

Then there was the question of finding places to have lunch. Sometimes we would travel for an hour or more before we came to a town. On one Wednesday, we found a place only to learn that all the pubs are closed on that day. We were directed to another location, arriving a bit after 2 p.m., only to learn that the chefs go home at 2.

Finally, we drove on many dual-carriage-ways (divided highways with two lanes in either direction). Speed limit was typically 70 miles per hour. But often the roundabouts were less than a mile apart. You would have to have jet assist and extra sets of breaks to make that speed limit seem plausible.

In all fairness, there were a number of super-highways (the “M” roads) that approximated our interstates. But they were not built with “sightseeing in mind.” Although they lacked shoulders in many areas, they did sport occasional rest areas, with both food and lodging available.

In thinking about the experience, it is interesting to note how our roadway structure has been build around the automobile (and the truck) and the needs of the traveling motorist. Wide roads with shoulders are the norm. Restaurants, gas stations, motels and other tourist services abound. But we were able to build around the technology, whereas the UK had to adapt a new technology to an infrastructure that had been locked in for centuries. Most of us take what we have for granted, and it is only in contrast that things start to come into perspective.

The crowning glory of our road system is the Eisenhower Interstate System. The Interstate system had is origin in the Federal Highway Act of 1938. The project really got underway with the 1956 Federal-Aid Highway Act. It identified 41,000 miles, set standards, and defined the relationships between the Federal Government and the States and committed the Federal Government to provide 90% of the funding. A Highway Trust Fund was established to fund the project. This fund received all federal gas and other motor-vehicle user taxes, with the intent to carry out construction on a “pay-as-you-go” basis.

In October of 2002, the Federal Highway Administration reported that all but 5.6 miles of the system was in place – a system like no other in the world. It consists of more than 46,000 miles of highway, of which 42,800 were federally funded. Through 1991, when most of the initially authorized construction had been completed, $128.9 Billion had been spent: 4.5% for engineering, 13.1% for securing rights of way, and 82.4% for actual construction. It was a massive undertaking that took more than half a century.

The best way to appreciate this incredible effort is to experience it. But again, unless you’ve had other experiences, the tendency is to take things for granted as you drive, mile after mile, across this great country, without a stop light or a roundabout to interrupt. After a while, on some of the longer stretches, even billboards look inviting.

The purpose of this is not to draw a comparison of which is better or worse. Each is different, and I would heartily recommend driving around the UK, not for the driving pleasure, but for being able to interact with the people, reach places of great historical interest and beauty, and get a feel for important antecedents of what we have here. The point is that being in other environments gives one a better perspective (and perhaps appreciation) of what we have at home. The road system in the U.S. didn’t just happen. Much of it was planned, and enormous amounts of resources and energy were spent to make it what it is. As an important addendum – we can’t forget that substantial resources will be needed to maintain and improve what we have.
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I’m tired of writing about “disfunctionalities” in our nation’s governance system, in the foibles of much of corporate America or the erosion of civility that seems to be occurring. As this column starts its 13th year, I thought I would focus on “something positive.” Even the jokes being directed at Congress and the economy seem to add to a malaise that is creeping over this nation. So I decided to take a break from the subject material and literally, a break from the normal routine. I figured “if they won’t go away, I would.”

During the last few weeks, my wife, Beverly, and I spent time wandering, with family, along the Coast of Maine and New Brunswick. It is a wonderful area – endowed with natural beauty, picturesque seaport villages and fascinating elements of history. I thought I would share part of our experience – with the thought that it might entice others to get away and, at least temporarily, put aside the cares of the world.

The Maine coast is only a bit more than 200 miles long, as the crow flies. But if you got your information from that crow as you started to walk it, you would be in for a surprise. You would reach the end of your journey 3,400 miles later – and that is if you skip visiting any of its islands. Approximately 3,000 of these dot the coast line, some little more than a few rocks above water when the tide is in, others substantial, supporting thriving communities (some of people and some of seals and birds), and everything in between. The largest of these, Mount Desert Island, houses a number of charming villages and the magnificent Acadia National Park.

The southern portion of Maine’s coast line is well developed, with many villages catering to tourists and sandy beaches. But as one goes further north (actually “down east”) the signs of human encroachment become fewer and fewer and the coast becomes rugged, met by dense forests on top of impressive rock cliffs and pounding waves.

I have traveled here many times before, although this was Beverly’s first time in New Brunswick. Aside from a specific (and successful) intent to decimate the lobster population as we traveled (lobster for lunch, for dinner, and occasionally for breakfast and in-between snacks) our focus was on some of those off-shore islands.

The history of these islands is fascinating – it includes Native American settlements, pirates, battle grounds between the French and British and again during the Revolution, booze smugglers during prohibition times. Some were major ports of entry for trade between Europe and the fledgling U.S. Only 40 or so are inhabited, many with permanent populations under 100. Some relics of the past exist but today, artists’ colonies, lobster fishermen, picturesque light houses and magnificent seacoast scenery predominate.

The first Island we visited on this trip was an incredible experience – Machias Seal Island. A half-hour boat ride from the coast of Maine, the island is claimed by both the United States and Canada – although Canada currently has possession. Only 20 acres in size, it houses a lighthouse and its keepers and, at this time of year, about 1,000 nesting pairs of Puffins, along with Razorbills, Common Murres and other birds – but the Puffins are the show. From blinds erected on the island you can watch these little, colorful, adorable, flying footballs as they go about their daily routines – just a few feet away. They live in burrows beneath the piles of rocks. You don’t have to be a bird-lover to enjoy the antics of these little creatures. It’s a photographer’s paradise. And then, as we left and circled the island, a colony of seals on the rocks and in the water showed as much curiosity towards us as we did towards them.

We also visited Campobello Island which is about 15 square miles in size and has a permanent population of approximately 1,000. The island is Canadian, but it was the summer home for many years of the Roosevelt Family. Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s parents established a summer home here in 1883. He spent much of his childhood on the island and it served as his summer retreat through 1939. Unfortunately, it is also the location where, in 1921 he was diagnosed with polio. The “cottage” and surrounding gardens (beautiful flowers, well maintained – as is so typical of many parks in Canada) is somewhat unique in that it is operated by both the US and Canadian governments, although it is on Canadian soil. One could easily see why the President sought out its peace and tranquility in the midst of the nation’s turmoil in the early days of his administration. An additional and major charm of Campobello is that it is connected to the mainland by a short bridge to Lubec, Maine, a small (population 1600), extremely picturesque seacoast town.

A very different experience was Grand Manan Island. Also Canadian, Grand Manan is big enough to support a large, car-ferry service. About an hour and a half out from the mainland, the 53 square mile island is home to a permanent population of 2,500 and many more in the summer months The southern part of the island is almost completely undeveloped, with dramatic cliffs and heavily forested areas – a great place for hikers and people who just want to get away. An added bonus here is the strong likelihood of sighting whales, dolphins, seals and many sea-birds on the ferry trip. Grand Manan is at the mouth of the Bay of Fundy, and although the tides are not as high here as they are further up, they are still impressive (tides in the Bay are the highest in the world and can vary by as much as 50 feet).

We also revisited one of my favorite spots – Monhegan Island. About an hour’s boat ride from the coast, it covers less than a square mile and has a permanent population of approximately 60 people. With a picture-perfect light house and a simple but beautiful harbor, entry to the Island is charming. The island now sports a number of shops and places to eat and stay – much more than on my previous visits – but many who come out, as we did, are day-trippers. The fascinating part of the visit is to cross the island through its deep moss-covered forests and emerge on the other side on top of spectacular rocky cliffs where you look down on the birds flying over the crashing waves. On at least one of the trails, people have used sticks, leaves, rocks and other native materials to create dozens of fairy houses. It’s easy to see why the island attracts so many artists.

There are many other islands to explore, and much to do and see along the Maine and New Brunswick coasts. But the important thing is, from time to time, to just get way and put everything else aside. It’s hard to think about the trials and tribulations of the nation and the world or to entertain negative thoughts when you are surrounded by the beauty of the islands and the sea. Perhaps we should relocate Congress to one of these isles???

During most of the 18th century, the British and the Russians were engaged in a head-to-head rivalry to dominate Central Asia. Interestingly, a good deal of this centered on Afghanistan, as the British feared that Russia expansion threatened their position in India and Afghanistan was seen as a key staging point. The political and military actions that were carried out by both sides came to be known as “the great game.”

Perhaps that was the first time that political maneuvers were tagged with the term. But today, politics has become perhaps the biggest game of all – affecting more people than soccer, basketball, football and baseball combined – mostly people who aren’t even players. And the most important arena in the world is the Congress of the United States.

Something strange seems to happen to people when they are elected to Congress – even if they have the best of intentions. Their campaigns focus on political issues, enumerating the programs they will support and tearing down the ideas and records of their opponents. But then something happens – some call it “Potomac Fever,” named after the Potomac River which flows so majestically by. In a very short time, they become part of the game – a game with rigid rules and serious penalties for non-conformity.

It’s not the waters of the Potomac that are to blame. A newly elected member of Congress realizes that the day he or she is declared victor is the first day of the reelection campaign. Getting reelected takes money which generally flows through party lines. So supporting the party is key to long-term survival. But survival is meaningless without “power” – power comes from being appointed to the right committees and “working one’s way up the ladder,” all of which requires conformity to and support of the ideological positions of those in power. It is the rare maverick who bucks the system – recognizing that his/her term in Congress is likely to be short and unproductive.

The net result is that the best of intentions seem to be lost and replaced, these days, by a zero-sum game: anything that benefits you is to my detriment and vice versa. There seems to be little appreciation of the need to think of the nation’s long term needs first. The game is much more immediate and assuring that one plays by the “rules” dominates behavior. Compromise is seen as weakness. Winning is everything.

Currently, the nation is in the throes of what could be a calamitous situation – a national debt ceiling that, in theory, could bring government to its knees in a few days and affect the nation’s financial standing with both foreign and domestic borrowers. The Democrats want to hold the line on entitlement programs which the Republicans want to cut. The Republicans want to hold the line on taxes while the Democrats see areas for reduction. And so it goes, on and on.

And now we have a new twist to the game plan. Substantial factions within each party seem to be intransigent to allowing any compromise by their designated leaders. If that isn’t the definition of “disfunctionality,” I wonder what is!

The problem has much less to do with the debt than with the impact that Congress is having on the nation. We are in the midst of a protracted period of economic hardship for many. We are also a consumer-based economy – approximately 70% of our economy is based upon consumer actions. When people feel positive, they buy. When they buy, companies add employees and build inventory in an upward spiral. Consumer confidence is key and that requires a solid belief that the government is in good hands.

I am convinced that this problem will be resolved – probably in the last hours before the absolute deadline kicks in. That’s also part of the game. This way, no one can be criticized too heavily for giving in. At this stage, compromises become “patriotic” gestures. The drama is enormous – but it is also what the public seems to want.

I wonder what it would be like if several months ago, Congress engaged in meaningful dialog, examining possible at trade-offs and making compromises. Frankly, a good bit of the problem could be alleviated by establishing programs to target waste and inefficiency. Pet programs of various members of Congress could have been highlighted (fat chance) so public light could be shed on the cost/benefit analysis to the nation (rather than to reelection campaigns) and these could also become the objects for trade-offs. The whole question of whether or not we need a debt ceiling – and what an appropriate debt level might be – could be discussed. [For example, Gross Domestic Product in 2010 was $14.7 trillion. The national debt level is now in excess of $14 trillion. Is that too much? Last year per capita income in the U.S was approximately $39,000. In August of 2010, the Federal Reserve reported average per capita household debt of approximately $50,000. Are there parallels here? ]

To continue the dream, wouldn’t it be nice if, with a positive process taking place, a compromise was announced several weeks in advance. That might do more to stimulate the economy than any financial stimulus programs the government might provide.

We must get Congress away from playing games and focused more on the good of the nation. There will always be a diversity of viewpoints – but most families, small groups and communities learn to live with them – some very productively. Unless and until we demand more from Congress, we can probably expect no better than we are getting. The system has to change – campaign finance reform, the seniority system, term limits, the ability of self interest groups to unduly influence legislation – all of this should be part of the discussion. But like the fox guarding the chicken coop, reform is not likely to come from within. Most major reform that has been proposed has either been defeated or resulted in token legislation that maintained the status quo.

Again, the current “crisis” will be resolved. But the long term crisis will continue unless we, the people, get more involved. It is the only way to realize Lincoln’s characterization of a “government of the people, by the people and for the people.”
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