Is The American Dream a Nightmare?

Are those Wall Streeters, bankers, movers and shakers really in charge of all that matters in these United States? Does our vote or that letter to your Representative really amount to a hill of beans? Is corporate profit some nasty plan to beat down the middle class?

Being a child of the sixties, I find the Occupy Wall Street movement somewhat interesting. Personally, I can dismiss the whining about college tuition debt and the inability to get a job...no one promised a job to the holder of a BS in (you name the course of study). On the other hand, does 1% of the population control all legislation coming at us from Washington? Did you see the 60 Minutes piece on lobbying and corruption at the federal level of government a couple weeks ago? It was both amazing and disgusting. 

How many elected officials are there because of some inner desire to serve their country? How many are there to line their pockets and insure their own financial security? 

On those angles, I side with the OWS crowd. Things need to change and they must change soon. Change how? There's the question folks. Honestly, it seems rather fruitless to think about or try to do anything about this lack of real patriot leaders. How will we turn this ship 180° after so many years of sailing in the wrong direction? I know, lots of questions and no real answers. 

Below, I'd like to share two videos presenting views that are somewhat different, yet similar. Take ten minutes, watch each of them and comment your agreement or disagreement below. It could be quite interesting and I promise I won't use one of my many pepper spray containers on you if I don't agree. 

> the following video is not suitable for minor children or those with tender ears! <

School Days

After graduating Lutheran High East in 1965, I spent a couple summer months “proving myself” at Concordia College (now University) in Ann Arbor, Michigan. They weren’t sure a guy with perfectly average high school grades could cut it in college, so I had to take a summer course to show I could handle it. Mission accomplished, thankfully.



Concordia University, Ann Arbor, MI

As it works out, I only completed one year at Concordia, due to a change in direction rather than poor grades. Originally, I had it in my mind to enter the teaching profession. After learning more about what that entailed, I felt it was not the right career path for me to follow. Unfortunately, as is the case with so many 18-year-olds, I had no idea what direction I wanted to head. I enrolled in the Business Administration curriculum at Macomb County Community College in Warren and moved back in with my parents.

Macomb County Community College

A part-time job at Simco Pattern Co. helped pay the school bills while I helped build dies for the auto industry. The time at Macomb CC was good, but being this was 1966-67 the draft for the Vietnam War kept nipping close at my heels. During this period I was married, but that didn’t help my deferment status either.  So, having no desire to take the “walking tour” of Vietnamese jungles, I signed up for a four-year stint in the U.S. Air Force and entered active duty in March of 1968.

The Air Force years will be discussed in another entry, but suffice it to say that the time spent there qualified me for the G.I. Bill, which would help tremendously with educational expenses after my discharge in December 1971. Actually, the G.I. Bill payments for attending school amounted to very decent income which I used to enroll at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. Ah, but the lure of making more money pulled me away from school after just one semester, regretfully.

Oakland University

I didn’t return to college until after moving to the west side of Michigan in search of work. In 1975, I began my employment with Dykema Office Supply in Kalamazoo, moved to Allegan soon after and then enrolled at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, where I spent two years in part-time general study.

Kalamazoo Valley Community College

This disjointed ramble from one school to another didn’t qualify me for an actual degree, but fortunately the jobs I’ve held did not require a “sheepskin”. Looking back, I enjoyed the various schools and programs, but I do regret not having put together a well-planned journey that would have resulted in a formal degree.

The People that Touch Our Lives

I don’t know about you, but it amazes me that I have a hard time remembering the name of someone I met last week, yet a name from 50 years ago is right there waiting to be retrieved from its memory cell.

I’m talking about those people that made a huge impression, those that touched my life in such significant ways they’ll never be forgotten. Let’s trip back to 1953 and kindergarten class led by Mrs. Ross. Black hair brushed straight back and formed into a bun and the type of kind personality that helped a scared and confused kid get settled in his first class.

Fast-forward to third grade and Mrs. Carey comes to mind; a rotund lady with perfume that announced her presence from across a crowded classroom. She, too, made a difference in the life of this kid just beginning to grasp the intricacies of solving a seemingly complex math problem. Those two teachers at Kramer Elementary in Center Line, Michigan touched my life in very positive ways and it appears I’ll never forget them.

The one teacher that holds the first prize for “making a difference” is Clayton Hufnagel, my instructor (and mentor) through four years of English classes at Lutheran High School East in Harper Woods, Michigan. Mr. Hufnagel instilled a love of language and impressed upon a young teen how important expressing oneself clearly would be throughout life. Know what? He hit the nail on the head. I tried to throw him a curve when we were assigned the task of memorizing a “classic” poem and reciting it in class. I chose a very short excerpt from Chaucer’s Prologue to the Canterbury Tales and can still let it flow at a moment’s notice…in the original, Middle English, of course:

     Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote
     The droghte of March hath perced to the roote
     And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
     Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
     Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
     Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
     The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
     Hath in the ram his halfe cours yronne,
     And smale foweles maken melodye

Enough of that, you get the idea. I can still remember Mr. Hufnagel standing at the back of the room, smiling, and his question, “so what does it mean?” when I finished. Whoa! Talk about a frozen moment! I took my best shot (guess) and must have done all right judging by the A+ grade received. He made me learn, to think and to remember. Great teachers and memorable folks will do that. Thanks, Clay.