INAUGURATION

My son-in-law tells me that he has been teaching my grandaughter to tell jokes. Apparently she hasn't quite gotten the hang of it. Part of this is probably because they didn't start with Why did the chicken...? No, this is what he started with:

Barack Obama, after his first full day of work, dismissed all his aides so he could finish a few loose ends and just sit and savor his new position. After a while, he got thirsty. He decided to go down to the White House kitchens rather than calling down and disturbing the staff from their well-earned rest. Once in the corridor, he saw that a soda machine had been installed just a few steps away from the door to the Oval Office. Immediately, he delved into his pockets for the wherewithal to get a Coca Cola.

He was appalled to find there was no change.

Perhaps this a bit subtle for a five year old. She has been telling this joke, but substituting George Washington for Barack Obama—both achronistic and surreal. I suppose I will have to call and teach her a few elephant jokes to counteract Ryan's nonsense.

The word of the day for January 20, 2009 is "inauguration" — Pronunciation: \-,nȯ-gyə-'rā-shən, -gə-\
Function: noun
Date: 1569
: an act of inaugurating ; especially : a ceremonial induction into office.

Our quotation is from Robert Frost (1874–1963), U.S. poet, Reply to invitation from President-elect John F Kennedy, NY Times 15 Jan 61:

If you can bear at your age the honor of being made president of the United States, I ought to be able at my age to bear the honor of taking some part in your inauguration. I may not be equal to it but I can accept it for my cause—the arts, poetry—now for the first time taken into the affairs of statesmen.

;^)

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RANDOM

Cybil and Ryan came down from the KC area Friday stayed over night. They played with the dog, watched Batman cartoons (their choice) and went shopping with me Saturday morning.





Actually, Cyb (she's my shopping enabler) and I went shopping while Lloyd napped and Ryan stayed at the house and worked on a new D&D scenario for their gaming group. I bought her a cast-iron skillet and a laser toy for their cat.

Lloyd had gone for a checkup by his Primary Care physician Friday morning. Although he got a good report, he was very morose because I had driven him in my car instead of his. He thinks I am lording it over him because he can't find the keys to his car. Well, I put them away for good reason. His driving skills are deteriorating from lack of use as well as the Alzheimer's. The last time he drove, my teeth were on edge the whole time.

Anyway, we went out to Riverside Park late Sunday afternoon - in his car (but he asked if I would drive, so I said "Sure"). That seemed to make him happy. He agreed that he would wait for the weekend to go to Omaha to see his elder daughter, so that I can go with him. As he doesn't remember the last couple of times we have gone to Omaha, I am developing a reluctance to go in the future.

WOOHOO! The count meter is over 1000 today.

The word of the day for January 19, 2009 is "random" Pronunciation: \'ran-dəm\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, succession, surge, from Anglo-French randun, from Old French randir to run, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German rinnan to run — more at run
Date: 1632
1 a: lacking a definite plan, purpose, or pattern. b: made, done, or chosen at random [read random passages from the book]. 2 a: relating to, having, or being elements or events with definite probability of occurrence [random processes]. b: being or relating to a set or to an element of a set each of whose elements has equal probability of occurrence [a random sample] ; also : characterized by procedures designed to obtain such sets or elements [random sampling].

Our quote for the day is from Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1845), U.S. poet, critic, short-story writer (as it is the 200th anniversary of his birth). quoted in Julian Symons, The Tell-Tale Heart: The Life and Works of Edgar Allan Poe, pt. 1, ch. 12 (1978). Broadway Journal (1845):

Their hotels are bad. Their pumpkin pies are delicious. Their poetry is not so good.

;^)

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TERMINATION

Jeanie says that in Britain legally they couldn't terminate my employment while I was on leave. Well, technically they can't fire me here while on leave, either. Actually, I wasn't sacked, but fell victim to a real comedy of errors. First Boeing decided to sell our division. Our division management found a buyer so we could be a stand alone company—Spirit AeroSystems, Inc.—owned by Onex, a Canadian holding company.

Those of us with a certain amount of time-in-service and at least 55 years old were allowed to retire from Boeing with a Boeing pension and retirement benefits (health insurance, very important here as there is no National Health in the US). However, Spirit would transition those of us who wanted to work for the new company into their workforce with our Boeing “hire date,” thus giving us the same salary, benefits and retention ratings. I thought that sounded good: get paid a pension and a salary and get the same benefits as though I'd been working at the new company for 25 years.

The catch for me was that I had to be in hospital (surgical removoal of intra-uterine cancer, which was uneventfully successful, thank God) when the actual change-over happened. Before the changeover, I asked specifically if being on leave of absence was going to mess up things for me. Representatives from both old and new companies assured me that there would be no problem. I was to set things up on-line for my retirement, and nothing would happen until I “pressed the button” to start retirement when I got back to work. Everything else was to happen seamlessly. When I received the doctor’s release, I would go through Medical for their release, and then back to work at Spirit.

So I got my doctor’s release and went through Medical, who said they would see the paperwork through the Leave of Absence Office. At the badge office, I exchanged my Boeing badge for a Spirit badge.

On Monday morning, I went in to work. The time charge system would not allow me to enter my time. My boss had a pointed conversation with the Payroll people, who fixed things. The next Monday, I went out at lunch to feed Lloyd. When I came back, the computer was locked up; I couldn’t get it to respond. Off I went to the Boss, who has a few pointed conversations with several offices. He came back and said, “Looks like you aren’t employed at Spirit. Boeing retired you, and as you were on leave, Spirit didn’t pick you up in the “snapshot” of employees to transition.” The humor of the situation was not apparent at the time. Before I left work that day, I had been reinstated.

Although my computer access was up and running the next day, it took them two weeks to get the financial aspect sorted out. I ended up with a “Day One” hire date, but got all my benefits except my vacation/sick leave, which Boeing cashed out, rather than reserving as with everyone else. It took Spirit more than a month to get all my computer systems reinstated. So now I am doing the same job, for the same boss, at the same desk as three and a half years ago.

The word of the day for January 15, 2009 is "termination" — Pronunciation: \,tər-mə-'nā-shən\
Function: noun
Date: circa 1500
1: end in time or existence : conclusion [the termination of life]. 2: the last part of a word ; especially : an inflectional ending. 3: the act of terminating. 4: a limit in space or extent : bound. 5: outcome , result.

Our quote for the day is from Gaius Sallustius Crispus (c. 86–35/34 B.C.), Roman historian. Jugurtha, LXXXIII:

It is always easy enough to take up arms, but very difficult to lay them down; the commencement and the termination of war are not necessarily in the same hands; even a coward may begin, but the end comes only when the victors are willing.

;^)

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