Month: January 2017

Dear Sir

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

dear-sir-business-letter-4616080Dear President Trump,

By now you are no doubt getting to work in earnest. I suppose that I never dreamed that you would one day be our nation’s leader and I sometimes wonder if deep down inside you are just as surprised by your new title as I am. Anyway, many months ago I also wrote a letter to my friend, Hillary Clinton, giving her some well intentioned advice for her campaign. I feel comfortable calling her my friend even though I have never actually met her because she sent me a very nice letter in which she addressed me as her “dear friend.” She even sent me a bumper sticker which I saved in a special place with my treasured George McGovern buttons, so naturally I truly wanted to help her in her quest for the presidency. Sadly she had other advisors and didn’t take my well intentioned ideas seriously. Now I am offering you some unsolicited comments in the hopes that you will find a new voice that will speak to all of us as you guide our country.

I must be transparent in admitting to you that I did not vote for you. In fact, I wrote a number of blogs, tweets and Facebook posts in opposition to your candidacy. Nonetheless I am an imminently practical person and I understand all too well that if your term as president is unsuccessful we will all suffer. Since you claim to only be concerned about the well being of our nation and not your own personal gain herewith are some ideas that I think might help you to transition into your role and become the patriot that you say you are.

First and foremost you must rise to the seriousness and nobility of your new job with the example of our very first president, George Washington, in mind. That means that you must remember that you are here to serve the people of the United States of America. It is not about you, it is about us. Nothing else matters but upholding the oath that you made on Friday. Keep those thirty five words in a place where you can see them at all times. Think about what they mean anytime that you choose to speak or make a decision. Focus on the real issues and not the pettiness. Don’t allow yourself to go off on meaningless tangents that bait you into sounding small and selfish. So what if members of media post photographs claiming to show that the crowd for your inauguration was smaller than that of your predecessor. Nobody really cares about such things. Learn to ignore the ridiculous and definitely do not make yourself appear to be a bad sport by twisting the truth into a contortion of silly explanations. Let it go. Learn to smile and say, “It was a beautiful day that I truly enjoyed and I am excited about working for the American people. That is all that matters to me.”

The most beautiful and reassuring moment of inauguration day came when your beautiful wife and Mrs. Obama stood on the steps of the White House holding hands. That is the image that you should continue to display, one of generosity and reconciliation. The campaign is over. It is no longer about winning, it is about rolling up your sleeves and working with every citizen of this country, not just those who are your adoring fans. You have the opportunity to win over dubious souls like me but it won’t happen if you continue to be aggressive and petulant. Be willing to genuinely listen even to your detractors. Note to yourself that you missed an amazing opportunity to demonstrate your leadership when you neglected to compliment the women who marched around the world on Saturday. You might have reveled in the sight of democracy at work and reassured them that you have every intention of working for and with them. How great would it have been if you or your wife or one of your daughters had gone to speak with them and learn what was in their hearts. Taking that first step toward understanding one another would have been extraordinarily powerful and you missed it. Instead you chose instead to insult the CIA on the day of the march when you visited their home base. That is such bad form. We no longer need to hear what you think is wrong with America. We need to see you fixing the problems by working with the agencies and people that are experiencing difficulties. Start by noting what they are doing right and then asking them how you can help them fix what is wrong.

You have surrounded yourself with mostly incredibly loyal individuals who echo your beliefs. That is a natural thing to do but I would suggest that you also include people who are unafraid to tell you when they believe that you are making a mistake. You will fail if you live in a bubble of agreeable drones. You need to have a strong confidante who will face you with facts and not simply concur when it is patently obvious that you are wrong. Your press secretary really made of fool of you and himself this weekend when he argued about the size of the crowd at your inauguration. It was a really bad start to your administration. Find someone right now who will help you to turn things around. Don’t begin your tenure with a situation that is far too similar to the storytelling about a video causing a spontaneous attack in Benghazi. The people who voted for you surely expect better. Try to remember that the truth will set you free and as long as you are always honest you never have to worry about being caught in a lie. The American people will admire you more if you are willing to demonstrate enough humility to admit to missteps and show a genuine intent to set things right.

Quit complaining about the press. Nobody likes a whiner. Do what you need to do to keep our country moving and let the people decide how well you are executing your job. We are smart enough to determine whether or not our journalists are reporting the facts or editorializing. We don’t need your constant bashing of their efforts. Be better than that. It is unbecoming of the office for you to be so combative. State your case and then let it go, which also means controlling those tendencies that you have to dash off insulting tweets. You need to lock your phone inside your desk and pay more attention to your job and less to those who troll and taunt you.

I can tell that you want people to like you. That is a natural tendency that we all have. The truth is that no matter who you are there will always be detractors. Even Mother Theresa was the subject of crushing critiques. Show that you are genuinely concerned about all of the American people and you will begin to win more hearts. When you are aware of the needs of others and not just your own people will notice. You don’t need to brag and boast, in fact it is an unbecoming trait. Be the kind and charming person that many who know you insist that you are. Let us all see that side of your personality which so far has been missing. In other words quit being so mean spirited. It is off putting and embarrassing. I know that there will be times when you have to be forceful but don’t make a habit of always humiliating anyone who disagrees with you.

Be willing to change course when needed. No idea is so sacred that it should be protected even when it is shown to be flawed. That even goes for your initial selections of individuals for your cabinet. It doesn’t take a great deal of observation to see for example that Betsy Devos is not suited to be the Secretary of Education. She has no real life experience in classrooms and her ideas are far too simplistic for the complexities of the problems that she will face. Surely there are people who are far better suited for the job. Thank Ms. Devos for her willingness to help but find someone who has the gravitas to actually make a difference. God knows that we need to shore up our educational systems. After forty years of working directly with children and teachers I know all too well that there is still much needed work and improvement to be done.

I don’t want to rattle on for too long. You have so much to think about and a letter that is too lengthy will surely be ignored. Once again I wish you the best. I love this country and thank God every single day that I was lucky enough to be born here. Please know that like you I have many ideas about how to keep our nation as great as it has always been. I believe that we have the capacity to be better but that will require all of us to work together with a willingness to consider multiple points of view. Nobody should be exiled from a seat at the table. Please at least consider some of my suggestions. They were presented with an earnest desire to help you to achieve the greatness to which you seem to aspire. I would like nothing better than to watch you evolve into a man for all of the people.

Yours truly,

Sharron Little Burnett

My Beautiful Web

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

spider-web-01I find myself caught up in a web from which there is no escape. What is my sin? I am too willing to consider differing points of view. I have no strict adherence to a particular set of beliefs that put me in league with an identifiable group. I am not a joiner or someone who will fight to death for one philosophy. Words that are tossed at me include “wishy washy,” “weak-kneed,” “phony bipartisan,” “bogus,” “troll.” Because I refuse to go all in for any single political, philosophical or religious institution I am considered by many to be someone of shallow intellect whose thinking should either be ignored or thought to be humorously naive. The very thought of advocating diplomacy or compromise is anathema in today’s supercharged environment. I am not allowed to see life in shades of gray. I must instead side with one position or another. There is no middle ground. That place is for those who have no courage which translates to the fact that many think me a coward simply because I walk a fine line between one way of thinking and another. My thoughts cannot be neatly categorized and for that I am considered by many to be a freak.

I am neither all democrat nor all republican. I would find it difficult to wholeheartedly join either party and advocate fully for their respective platforms. I see problems and hypocrisy from both sides. Because I am so, my thoughts tend to be ignored by both. If I suggest that reality is far more complex than neat demarcations I incur the wrath of all. Still I steadfastly hold to my belief that the best days for our country have been those in which we set aside our differences and attempted to see the world from the eyes of others. Doing so does not mean surrender but rather an acceptance of the fact that there has been and will never be a time when everyone sees eye to eye on how to solve the many problems that face us.

I’ve learned over almost seven decades that there is rarely a quick fix that works seamlessly. Even the most well thought out solutions will still have kinks and detractors. We will never please everyone but if we demonstrate a willingness to consider the multitude of voices with sincere respect our final decisions may be better and more widely accepted. To buy in, people must be part of the bargaining process. That is something that we seem incapable of doing very well these days. Instead we are encouraged to be unyielding. Heroism is defined by a willingness to buck the system and infuriate the opposing side. Those like me who give the benefit of doubt are thought to be without backbone or resolve.

Each of us is a product of many different interactions with people and thoughts. We first learn from our parents and decide to either accept much of their thinking or to rebel and become the masters of our own ideas. As we read and intersect with others we hear of new philosophies and considerations all the while picking and choosing what best works for us. How we ultimately view life will be based on a lifetime of experiences and how we interact with them. All the while various groups and organizations will be vying for our attention and our hearts. Those who become wholeheartedly for or against particular causes will use their skills to entice us to become followers, soldiers in the fight to spread the word about the best way of seeing the world. For whatever reason I have always been loathe to join the ranks of any such groups because I invariably find areas of disagreement that make me too disloyal to be a member in good standing.

I suppose that my upbringing contributed to my stubborn personality. My mother wanted me to be an obedient child but she didn’t think to realize that I would see her modeling the heart of a dissenter. She always told me to think for myself and to remember that the people that I would encounter were no better or brighter than I was. It taught me to carefully consider what they were saying to me. She also took great pains to make me a very religious person in the mode of the Catholic Church but unwittingly sent me to a school that advocated the kind of critical thinking that taught me how to see the flaws in even the most perfectly executed arguments. My favorite past time was debating and analyzing. It became a way for me to navigate through life and become my own unique person. I was able to overcome barriers by maintaining a determination not to be victimized by the propaganda that so pervades every aspect of society today. Now I find that rather than being cherished, my tendency to ask questions and note that most institutions and philosophies have inherent flaws is viewed with suspicion and negativity. I make enemies on all sides.

I steadfastly maintain that we must return to the art of compromise but I seriously doubt that I will see much unity and willingness to to find bipartisan agreement in the next few years. Give and take has indeed been evidenced in my lifetime. More brilliant tacticians than I have been able to work toward the common good by inviting even those with whom they differed to take a seat at the bargaining table. They are the ultimate heroes of history and we should begin to celebrate their achievements lest we be fooled into believing that only those who are continually defiant are the courageous. Surely if we take great care and honor one another we can find common ground whether we are discussing healthcare, education, climate change or the economy. These are areas where the answers might be found in a continuum of ideas. It is in such undertakings that I will hold steadfastly to my beautiful web built from questions and diplomacy.

Children Will Listen

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

banner2For some this will be a day of celebration, for others disappointment. Forty four times we have inaugurated a new President of these United States and in each instance the transition of power from one man to another has been peaceful even if not enthusiastic. It is how our government was designed to work. Today the forty fifth man will utter the Oath of Office that has been repeated so many times according the Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution, “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of the president of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

Those thirty five words invest an awesome responsibility into the hands of someone who is only a human being, which makes fulfilling the mandate even more difficult than any of us might ever imagine. Not everyone who has held the highest office in our land has been up to the job but in virtually every case our country has somehow muddled through even the most tempestuous times. I would like to believe that the majority of the men who sat in the White House have felt the full import of leading our country. It has been said that taking that oath is a sobering moment.

Donald J. Trump will soon be the president. He was not my choice but many of the individuals who have held that title were not the person for whom I voted. There have been twelve different heads of state in my lifetime starting with Harry Truman and ending with Barack Obama. Now Donald Trump will be a member of that very exclusive group. I honestly wish him well because if he fails we will all feel the effects of his ineptitude. For the sake of our country I pray that he will embrace his duties in a spirit of considering all of us. I want him to see his job as one of serving each and every man, woman and child without reference to party affiliation. I hope that he will rise above partisanship and that his motives in making any decisions will be based on careful consideration of what is right and just for we, the people. I wish more than anything that he will be able to set his own selfish needs aside and that he will work with humility and a realization that nothing that he does should ever be about legacy or popularity. It should always be based on the oath that he has sworn to follow with God and mankind as his witnesses.

I pray that Donald Trump will be safe from harm. Violence toward our leaders has never lead to solutions of our problems. There are proper avenues for voicing our concerns. Our system of checks and balances will function well as long as all of us remember how necessary that way of operating has always been. It will also serve us to give President Trump credit when he does something right rather than being against his every move and utterance. We have had so much of that type of behavior for such a long time and we have accomplished little more than alienating ourselves from one another. We have in many ways stagnated because of politics based more on winners and losers than what is needed for the progress and vitality of our nation. It’s time for more of the kind of profiles in courage that President John Kennedy lauded in his Pulitzer Prize winning book that told of individuals who bravely stood up for what was best for the nation.

It is difficult for me to be particularly excited about this day and yet the very fact that we are able to pass the baton of leadership from one man to another in such a peaceful manner is cause for joy. I celebrate that I have been and will be able to assert my beliefs without worry of being silenced. There are few places in the world where that is a  reality. I don’t actually feel that we have to make America great again because I think that it is already one of the most wonderful places to live on the planet even with its issues. Our goal should simply be to continue to make it better and to realize that such a task is never truly complete.

We all know that there are a multitude of difficulties that we face as a nation. I’m not nearly naive or idealistic enough to believe that we will do so without major disagreements. It is virtually impossible to please everyone in a family much less a country as populated and diverse as ours. Still I desire more than anything for our leaders to demonstrate the wisdom and nobility that is needed to understand and bind our wounds. We citizens must do our parts as well by helping to dispel so much of the anger and divisiveness that has characterized our society for far too long.

There is a song in the musical Into the Woods called Children Will Listen which seems quite appropriate on this day as we watch our government at work:

How do you say to your child in the night?

Nothing’s all black, but then nothing’s all white.

How do you say it will be all right

When you know that it might not be true?

What do you do?

Careful the things you say

Children will listen

Careful the things you do

Children will see and learn

Children may not obey, but children will listen

Children will look to you for which way to turn

To learn what to be.

Careful before you say, “Listen to me.”

I do not and never have pretended to know all the answers. Audacity and self-righteousness can be lethal. It is all right to admit that we may be wrong about certain things and that answers are not always as clear as we might want them to be. To tackle the issues that lie before us will require a willingness to listen to one another just as the children listen to us with an eye to remembering that what we do today will affect our little ones tomorrow. As the song says, the spell we cast may last past what we can see. Let us all pledge to encourage our leaders, especially our new president, to make choices that are in keeping with liberty and justice for all. God bless and be with the United States of America. The children will be listening.

Meh?

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

winter-dayThe twinkly lights are gone. The tinsel is packed away in the attic. It’s that time of year when the year stretches alarmingly in front of us with more work on our schedules than entertainment. We’ve made resolutions to avoid all of those yummy but unhealthy foods that we secretly love so much and find ourselves munching on raw carrot sticks and celery. The days tend to be dark and dreary with winter storms popping up again and again. Here in my hometown a series of training storms dumped several inches of rain yesterday leaving roads flooded and impassible in many parts of the city. The memories of the recent holiday seem to be in the very distant past rather than just a couple of weeks ago. It’s back to the routine with a vengeance and for some of us it’s the time of year when we have the most difficult time being enthusiastic.

We have taxes to pay and have to face those bills that we accumulated over the holidays. We get notices that our heath insurance premiums will rise once again. We wonder if we will even have health insurance with all of the arguing in Washington D.C. We hear of layoffs in businesses near us and watch the price of gasoline rising again. Some of us look forward to the inauguration of a new president with the same level of excitement that we would feel in undergoing a root canal. We dream of hibernating like a bear until the sun returns in April. Even better are thoughts of escaping to a tropical paradise.

In the schools so many teachers are noticing that their students have seemingly shut down. They arrive unprepared and listless. Their grades are tumbling and they appear to not even care. Motivating them is sometimes a Herculean task. Frustration abounds.

What is it that causes us to become so lethargic and sometimes even depressed each year as January rolls around? Only days after making all of those noble promises to be better so many of us lose interest. It feels as though we are in our sophomore year of high school once again. The best part of the year feels so far away and seemingly endless piles of work loom ahead. Why is it so ingrained in our natures to hit the doldrums in the grey days of winter?

We’ve all heard about people who become so despondent in January that they are said to have SAD disease, seasonal affective disorder. It is the tendency of some individuals to suffer with deep feelings of melancholy at the same time each year. Notably there appear to be more cases of SAD disease when the days are short. It is often linked to a surfeit of sunshine and one of the recommended treatments is to spend time under lighting that mimics the rays of the sun. Somehow this therapy actually works in many cases because we need a certain amount of daylight to feel balanced. As with almost anything, some of us need more than others.

I suspect that most of us experience particular days or times when we don’t feel as energetic and enthusiastic as normal. We feel a certain sense of dread when we face tasks that appear to be almost insurmountable. We have a difficult time envisioning how to break down our demands into doable chunks. We are often overly doubtful about our abilities to maintain the strict routines that we need to ultimately lead to successful conclusions. When the days are long and we have opportunities to end our work days with rewarding relaxation in the sun, we feel a bit better about our responsibilities. When our days begin and end in the dark it is less likely that we will be able to shake the feeling that life is filled with drudgery. We get low and just want to crawl under our blankets and wait out the long winter months.

The trick to finding the happiness that we seek is to keep moving forward, one step at a time. Each of us has more power within ourselves than we have the capacity to imagine. We just have to push ourselves enough to free the talents that are always there. We also need to accept that true achievement is rarely easy.

I saw a news item about a young man who was born with no arms or legs. He has pushed himself to overcome his disabilities from the time that he was a young child. In the process he has mastered a number of athletic skills. He runs with prosthetics. He learned to use the stubs that should have been his hands to type and catch and throw. The one thing that he most wanted to do was climb a mountain. It at first seemed to be an impossible goal but with the help of skilled adventurers who had reached the summit of many a peak he began to practice moving over rugged rocks. He had to literally crawl using the four stumps of his appendages. He wore specially designed leather covers to keep from tearing his skin as he slowly pulled himself along. Because of his disabilities it took him four or five times longer to cover the same ground as his fellow climbers. Even with the protective gear that he wore his skin became raw and excruciatingly painful. For many it seemed as though he was embarking on a hopeless task that was far too dangerous to even try but he was insistent that he only needed to concentrate on making one small bit of progress at a time. With a will of steel he not only made it once but has now climbed multiple mountains and has no intention of stopping. Instead of drowning himself in sorrow and regret he has constantly pushed himself to accomplish his dreams by realizing that all that it really takes is a willingness to face each day with a spirit of can do optimism, rather than wasting time worrying about what he lacks.

My husband’s famous words to our family have always been, “Stick with the plan.” That doesn’t mean that there will not be delays or that our routes will never change direction. It simply implies that we need not give up in frustration when things get really tough. Realistically we can all expect to have some days when our energy wanes and we just don’t have the oomph that we need. There is nothing wrong with giving ourselves a mental health vacation now and again. Sometimes that may take the form of sleeping in and staying in our pajamas all day long. The important thing is to get back on the path again and follow our individual yellow brick roads. Happiness really is to be found inside ourselves and nothing makes us feel better than overcoming our fears and realizing that we are capable of far more than we had imagined.

We’ve all experienced the elation of a wonderful moment when we manage to tame the voices inside our heads that hold us back. For me it was connecting a bat to a baseball and watching it soar over an open field. I have known that feeling of elation when I managed to bring true understanding to a struggling student. Getting to the end of a difficult road is as wonderful as the merriment of Christmas. As we begin our journeys anew each January we need to remind ourselves that it will be spring before we even know it so there is nothing to frown about in the dreary days of winter. Instead, embrace the moment. Enjoy the diversity of the year and never forget that there will always be fellow travelers to help us as we crawl along. We’ve all got this no matter how difficult it may seem, so don’t grumble with a “Meh,” just smile.

A Better World With Simple Hacks

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

Grant's jeans 2.JPGWhen I was first married my mother-in-law gave me a book entitled Hints from Heloise. I learned so much from the pages of that modest text. I don’t know what eventually happened to it. I moved it from one apartment to another and then to my first home where I resided for well over thirty years. I eventually became confident and adept enough at cleaning and repairing things that I no longer needed to refer to the dogeared tome and eventually the Internet provided me with all of the answers that I needed to take care of everyday household problems so I wasn’t too worried when I was unable to find it.

I’m a firm believer in keeping my appliances and purchases in good order so that they last longer. I seriously want to get the last possible dime out of every investment that I make and so I’m always puttering about attempting to prolong the life of all of the items that occupy my home. I learned all of the basics from Heloise but I find that there is always something that I did not know. Luckily I have friends who seem to be experts in the trivia of home maintenance.

I recently purchased one of those shower caddies that hold shampoo, soap and such. It kept falling onto the floor of the stall and I assumed that I had just made a bad purchase. I had used it a few too many weeks to return it but not enough to make it worth the money that I had invested in it. It wasn’t particularly expensive to begin with so I wasn’t too worried about having to purchase a new one, just a bit annoyed. I happened to mention to a friend during a phone conversation that I was irritated at having to find another style that would hang more securely when she suggested that I wrap a rubber band around the shower head to create enough friction to keep the hanging shelf from slipping off. Since I had nothing to lose I tried her idea as soon as I finished our call. It’s been four months now and my shower caddy is still in the exact spot in which I placed it on that day. My problem was so easily solved and I felt as though I had won some kind of lottery by being so clever.

I have often suggested that my friend who provided me with the successful hack should  write a book outlining the many ideas that she has. She is the type of person who is able to take a seeming pile of junk and turn it into useable items. She operates on a strict budget and somehow appears to live like a queen because of her uncanny knowledge about how to use virtually everything in unusual ways. She has shown me how to use lemon juice to get rust out of an antique tablecloth and peanut butter to remove gum from my daughter’s hair. She has memorized hundreds of healthy recipes and is like an encyclopedia when it comes to using everyday items in ways that nobody ever thought of doing. I find her insights to be quite interesting and hope that she one day finds the time to write a blog to share her ideas.

Just after Christmas my automatic ice maker simply quit making ice. I drink lots of cold water during the day and I was gravely missing the convenience of having those lovely cubes proliferating in a bin for my use. I was thinking of calling a repairman but chose instead to enter the world of YouTube videos that seem to run the gamut from music to relationship advice. I found a plethora of guides to troubleshooting an ice maker. Mike and I followed the instructions that I found by first turning off the water supply and unplugging the refrigerator. We then checked the water tubes for signs of blockage. When those appeared to be operating properly we focused on the ice making mechanism. We found frozen ice cubes stuck in the mold. It appeared that the little arm that determines whether or not ice is dropped or not was bent and in the wrong holes. We adjusted it a bit and reset the entire mechanism. I guess we will know in a few hours whether or not we have fixed the problem or need to purchase a new ice maker. Since we now know how easy the installation process is we will come out ahead either way.

I can’t really explain why I get a kick out of knowing how to perform such simple repairs. It gives me a sense of accomplishment and makes me feel as though I am doing my part to keep our planet from becoming a gigantic junkyard. I find that as people we tend to be a throwaway society. We would rather just go get something new than take care of what we already have.

It hasn’t always been that way. People would live in the same house for most of their lives. They would drive their cars until the wheels fell off. Most folks ate dinner at home every night and used every scrap of food for something useful, even creating compost heaps with the less edible parts of food. Which brings me back to my friend who is so creative in her habits. She told me recently that she saves all of the peelings from her vegetables in the freezer until she has a bag full of such items. Then she simmers them in water to make a lovely broth that she uses for making soups. I think we might all learn from her frugal and planet conscious habits. After recycling and using things to the maximum she has very little garbage and less expense that most of us.

Our ancestors made quilts from the fabric of feed sacks and old articles of clothing. Everything was used and reused. Tin cans held nails and screws. Paper bags wrapped gifts, covered books and sometimes even became makeshift suitcases. Cardboard was a special gift that covered windows or lined shoes that had holes in the bottom. Every woman had a grease jar to hold fat from bacon that might be used in recipes. Tea bags were used multiple times. Baking soda was a household miracle cure for a multitude of problems. My friend has studied all such things and created many more ideas for household maintenance from her own experiences.

I think that we all enjoy learning about ways to save money and our planet all at the same time. We really should think twice before simply tossing our refuse on the curb. There are so many ways that we might give our items new life or even new homes. I think that if we were all to consider such saves before rushing out to purchase the next new thing we might soon find that many of our planets’ environmental problems would begin to dwindle. If we think of ways to keep those trash bins as empty as possible we will all be better for the efforts. We might also learn a thing or two about saving our hard earned money in a world that seems to be on the verge of bankruptcy.

Find yourself a copy of Hints from Heloise or locate a friend who is already an expert at such things. You will declutter your life and have fun at the same time. There is nothing quite as rewarding as repairing a problem that may have seemed impossible to fix. We humans like doing that but haven’t been as skilled as we once were. Perhaps its time for all of us to learn how to do such things again.