Getting old is like a dying animal

Getting old is like a dying animal

Getting old is like a dying animal waiting for its time to turn to ashes and back to the earth it came from

Whether extinct, endangered or a plentiful species, the world stands not still for death as it revolves from day to night and night to day

Even the mightiest eagle will one day fall from the sky one day as its wings tire and its soul weakens

The young will see them all but none can catch them as they fall as they sit high upon the trees and sing them dying songs

Even the young realize that whatever is born will eventually die and whatever passes will also die

Walking along with the sky on fire, the grizzly bear looks up high and feel the wind of death upon him

No more salmon, no more fish or flesh crowded streams will come as their summer ends and their strength gives in to nature’s call to lay down on the grass and rest his head forever.

Caught in a most spiritual moment, the bear knows the ends of his magnificence or beauty

His claws, his powerful limbs will no longer roam the windy snow covered grass and hunt for food

Like a dying animal he knows his time is ending and whatever is born must die

I have experienced several dying generations of man and animals of all kinds

I have seen the light and heard the music that God’s gift has scattered amongst us

I am old and I am dying and I have no will to live beyond my calling or desires as I await God’s call

For my eyes have seen the glory of heaven and await the warm amber flames of God’s own fire

As I submit my heart and soul for my time is near hoping not to fall into the artifice of heaven but rather a chance for eternity with angels around me

An aged man but not a feeble man I remember my wants and my desires

I have worn a tattered coat as well as having worn a crown of a king in my days

I know whatever is begotten and born must die but having no regrets I am caught in a moment of desire, I know my hands are wrinkled, my ears still hear music and together they clap harder in rhythm  

There is no country for old men as heaven is just a step away unless I failed in moral dress

As I prepare myself for the eventual mortality that each and every man faces when they are young

Why First Responders Commit Suicide

Why First Responders Commit Suicide

There appears to be a disturbing trend happening in the public service sector when it comes to suicides. There are too many incidents of suicidal deaths among police officers, correctional officers firemen and emergency personnel and although it cannot fully be explained as to why they did it or why it is happening because we cannot speak of certain circumstances except that these employees all share common thread as first responders, veterans of a military service branch and an enthusiasm for serving to protect and serve in various occupations within the public service sectors. 

When you begin to research suicides the results are frightening. Their rate of killing themselves is much higher than the average rate nationally and should show a natural vulnerability to having suicidal thoughts while engaged in their jobs. It seems the toll takes on several concerns that include mental health stability, their physical health, addictions and their ability to deal with stress and secondary stress such as vicarious post-traumatic stress as a result of job related incidents. 

The first step needing to be addressed is the provision of confidential counseling services to help cope with the stressors while recognizing the warning signs. Unfortunately despite of some of these individual efforts, there are no mass recovery tools available that allows many to fall between the cracks of this phenomena. Their job is filled with acute stress, social isolation, pre-existing mental illnesses, and substance abuse. A common link too many professional occupations has been found to exist among this group of workers and many others including doctors, nurses and lawyers.

One may wonder if the social pressures of the job or the workplace culture might push them into these critical conditions that sets them up for suicidal ideations and feelings of no hope for recovery. Normally filled with workplace energies and motivational spirits abound, there appears to be a force within this culture that drains them beyond their reserves of resilience making them vulnerable at times. 

For both men and women in this work-related force, fearlessness and courage is a required ingredient. This puts a tremendous strain on their own psyche to feel pressured to project emotional and physical prowess, confidence and an ability to deal and manage anything placed on their shoulders. Carrying such pressures of expectation takes a toll on the best of the best and can create many self-doubting moments for them. 

They feel they must masquerade as being strong and confident at all times. They must pretend to be untroubled even when they are struggling within themselves and identify sound judgment and decisions based on the moments in front of them. Many won’t admit they need help themselves. One thing is for certain – these internal pressures to excel and perform are real and won’t be reduced anytime soon. Their need to be infallible to make mistakes will not lessen as the world they live in changes rapidly and requires quick thinking and a limited legal ability to get the job done right. Their jobs as first responders will require them to step it up another notch as well as their ability to maintain a comprehensive understanding of what is expected of them by their agency and the public. 

Monday morning quarterbacks and hindsight observations makes it emotionally hard for first responders to accept poor outcomes. They know that being blamed comes with the job but with the drastic increase of responsibilities they know the public and their own leadership does not realize how much the job overwhelms them and how it is marked with severe fatigue, errors on the job, fear of being harmed by others. 

All this plus dealing with a severe sense of inadequacy as their job requirements change from moment to moment making up to date training almost impossible at real time strides. Keeping a charade of composure and humor to blend in with coworkers they sometimes believe they are in this struggle alone when in fact, their plight is more common than realized. 

A fear of being exposed of this subconscious feeling they go into denial and refuse to confess there are issues they need to deal with in a timely manner and very often ignored until it is too late. The workplace culture does not allow them to be able to express or voice these self-doubts or fears. They are unable to talk about them and their emotional or physical impacts for the fear of embarrassment and possible shunning from others keeps them silent.

A culture that encourages us to share these vulnerabilities could help us realize that we are not alone and find comfort and increased connection with our peers. It could also make it easier for first responders who are at risk to ask for help. And I believe it would make us all better public servants.

Charles L. Ryan needs to go - Gail Melone

Prison tragedies proof the director needs to go - Glad to say I am not the only one who sees this imminent need to replace Charles Ryan -

Editorial written by Gail Melone 6:39 p.m. MST June 24, 2014

(Photo: Mark Henle/The Republic)

Regarding the Associated Press article about the teacher at an Arizona prison who was sexually assaulted, allegedly by a convicted rapist: I don't know which is more shocking, the details of the incident or the fact that Department of Corrections Director Charles Ryan is allowed to continue to oversee Arizona's prisons.

This incident happened almost six months ago. According to the article, a prison spokesman said no administrative investigation was launched because there was no need and no one was disciplined.
Inmate Marcia Powell died while locked in a cage in the summer sun at Perryville a few years ago, and that wasn't anybody's fault, either. And Tony Lester died in his cell while begging for help and — guess what? — nobody was responsible for that, either.

This incident is one more example that we don't have the right person in charge. Once again, Ryan was not following accepted corrections practices nationwide and somebody was seriously hurt.
Lots of changes need to be made within the Arizona prison system, and it's obvious that the first one should be to replace Charles Ryan.

— Gail Melone, Scottsdale

 http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/letters/2014/06/24/prison-tragedies-proof-the-director-needs-to-go/11338003/?fb_action_ids=10201776063123726&fb_action_types=og.comments&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582

Why we sometimes act stupid when we are actually smart people

Having studied people for decades as it was one of my job requirements to read and learn human behaviors I have concluded that smart people don’t think other people are stupid and that acting stupid is actually being smart. An avid student of life I try to find useful things and share them with others to make more sense to the crazy world we live and work in. 

First off, there are not smart people or stupid people. The key words are “smart” and “stupid” as that appears to be an inference or an observation based on what you see rather than what you know about the person. People can either choose to be smart or play it dumb. Sometimes they do both and are the same person throughout the entire scenarios we are discussing. 

Being smart means you have the capacity to think things thoroughly with a significant level of information or a complete analysis at hand to find an answer or to do something required based on a situational awareness. On the other hand, being stupid means you are avoiding the capacity to think things thoroughly with complete ignorance of the situation at hand and decide to either jump to conclusions or make irrational statements that have no connection to the situation at hand in a most deliberate format.

Either way these two actions appear to be a strategy of someone who could in fact be the same persons but making a deliberate and conscience decision to act one way or the other. How they acted was based on information available, provided or sought to make a response. There are always motives attached to the response and that’s the key to whether a person is perceived to be smart or stupid. 

One can say something stupid and yet be seen to be smart because of the appeal the answer produced while on the other hand, one can be seen stupid because they chose to stop thinking about it and blurted an answer that is not appealing to the answer expected. 

While this may have exceptions to the rule, smart people normally feel that they don’t others are stupid but rather, they chose to act that way for deliberate and calculated reasons.

So what can make a person decide whether to act smart or stupid? In my opinion I think it has to do with the environment the question or situation is posed in or around. Whether they are social awkward, introverts or extroverts, they have a problem of being uneasy to be around certain types of people sometimes and act either defensively or offensively. 

The choice is based on the encounter, their past experiences and the level of comfort taken away by the other person or the environment. On the other hand they may be over confident in dealing with this issue and talk too much.

What kind of people can stifle or overtake conversations you ask. Socially awkward people do not respond very well to super outgoing people who like to socialize and mingle with the crowds. They may appear to be really confident popular and charismatic individuals that overwhelm others and cause them to shut down. Opposing such a feeling, it may trigger an outburst of your own confidence in you to show what you have to offer in your social circle. 

Another group of individuals who may trigger your choice to act smart or stupid are those who you think may make fun of you or judge you without knowing you. Likely this is preempted by rumors or gossip about them and makes you aware of assumptions whether they are real or not. It may cause shyness or extreme belligerence depending on the approach or it can draw out an aggressiveness delivered in your own style of dealing with any potential “put downs.”

Then you have the elite group of people in power or authority who create a nervousness about them by just being there. High status positions such as doctors, lawyers, religious leaders, police officers etc. have power in social and community establishments. You may feel either scared or uneasy to talk to them so you limit your interaction based on your own fears. Some would call that as acting dumb or stupid to avoid being noticed. 

Competition is always present when people meet. It’s an unwritten rule when two or more smart people meet they tend to show off their knowledge, competence and cause you to fear you may say something stupid around them even if they don’t call you out on the subject.Thus you avoid them at times to control your own fears. On the other hand, you competitive nature may cause you to strike preemptively and show them you are capable of hanging with them in equal form. 

Summing up your relationships with other kinds of people who may impact your willingness to communicate are the tough thuggish types who intimate you because you either lack the experience around such kinds of people or you just think they are dangerous to talk to thus keep you words to a minimum. This includes rule breakers or criminals that reflect an impression you are either too innocent, nerdy or socially unacceptable to them as a group cause your mentality does not match theirs. 

Finally, you may have trouble expressing or being yourself around people of your own gender. Hanging out with members of the same sex can and does create unwanted friction and you have an awareness whether you are being too different from them to create a level of animosity or resentment due to someone being too aggressive, unpredictable or just feel that way because of prior experiences as a kid. 

Regardless, we all have different reasons for how we act and why we do the things we do. It’s human nature to react the way you feel and how you feel can only be determined by your own analysis of your life, your experiences, your upbringing, cultural influences and your social skills developed over the years. Basically, it comes down to your own social biases and judgment of other people how you react when approached. throughout the entire episode we are discussing.