Category: Life

Life, Motivation, Safe Driving

The Other Guy

Anthony Dixon

Roadside Grave

People don’t take my Safe Driving Blogs seriously, you know why? everyone is smitten by Complacency. Everyone is satisfied with their skill level even when it’s poor. Can you imagine a Surgeon or a Pilot with the same mindset. An Alcoholic could be laying on the Ground, yet you can’t tell him that there is a Problem, same with Bad Drivers, they live on a Wing and a Prayer. So the rest of us inherit the job of always looking out for them. I would rather speak on any other subject but It always come back home to safe Driving. The reason for that is I live in Tampa where there is an Epidemic of bad Drivers. The Statestics for three years ago is seven Million reported accidents, Fatalities are astronomical. While thinking about how insignificant life is to these People, my Mind reflected back to  Christmas  Eve 2007. We were working for Maui Corporation, the Company showed their appreciation by giving us a Christmas Party with Raffles, good Food Dancing and Festivities. We were having a good time, then in a flash the party was over, tragedy came by way of a Phone call. One of my Coworkers a young Husband and Father, got the very worst News. His Wife who was on her Way to the Christmas Party to show off the Baby ran off the Road and hit a Tree. The Infant and Mother were Ejected from the Vehicle, she didn’t Survive, the Lord looked out for the Baby. Do you still wonder why I picked such a hard Topic such as Safe Driving to always be Bellowing about. The Bad Accidents that I have seen is enough to scare me straight. What I am trying to do do is Graft my Driving Nightmares into you, So that every time you get behind the wheel you act as I do, Safety first always.

The World’s Greatest DaredevilThe World's Greatest Daredevil

Every time I get behind the Wheel, two things my Driving Instructor told me resonates in my Mind. Drive like you are the only one out there that knows what you are doing, free your Mind of all distractions including your childlike behaviors. I always check my Mirrors, I listen to the Motor for any sounds other than the Lifters ticking like a Timex, also the very first Squeeking from the Brakes, they gets replaced. When I shift from park the tug should be no more than a tap on the Shoulders, more than that You should have your Brakes and Transmission checked. That is the difference between a Vehicle Operator, a Driver and a Motorist. A Motorist knows the Vehicle’s Limitations. A Trucker will only call you a Driver if you put in long Hours behind the Wheel and Exercise the utmost of safety in handling of the Vehicle.

A Motorist goes one step further, he has respect for his Vehicle and the Lives around him, he operates his Vehicle safely every time he is behind the Wheel, no Deviation. Whether he is going to the Corner Store or Cross Country, Safety is always first and Foremost. August 2019 I used a couple of my Vacation Days to take a Road Trip from Florida to South Carolina. Remember what I said about Complacency, it is Written in the Stone composition of the Median Walls up and down I-95. I saw People who struggled with a fifteen minutes commute out there driving the same way they Drove back and forth to Work, in a mindless Trance doing 100MPH, or better. The Old Adage give them a Yard must have been written for Speed Limits. If it says forty five, sixty is the norm, so what about seventy.

I travel at Trucker’s speed no more than ten to twelve MPH Over the speed limit. Yet inexperienced young Drivers and old Fools were blowing my Doors off like I was standing still. At 100MPH if a Mishap occurs there are few counter measures that can save your Life before you hit that Median Wall, where  Complacency and recklessness lands  you. The same Complacency that you never try to improve since the first Day you Drove without an Instructor in the Passenger Seat. If the DMV Employee who passed you had secretly placed a Dash cam in the Vehicle for twenty four Hours to see how you actually Drove, a Drivers License would never have be issued to you. The only reason he issued one to you is, for that half an Hour he observed you during the Road Test, you exhibited the basic skills necessary for the operation of a Vehicle.

Noticed the word Operation, that makes you a Vehicle Operator, not a Driver. It takes years of safe operation of a Vehicle before you become a Driver and many years of Contentious Safe Driving before you are considered a Motorist. So why does the majority of Operators think that they are Racecar Drivers until they drive themselves smack into that Median, the same one that Complacency never showed them. Or do 120 to catch up to me, then sit in my Blind Spot until I change Lanes unwittingly that you are there, and we both Roll and burst in Flames. I have been Driving for over fifty years and had one Roll over, a Commercial Truck that I intentionally Rolled to save Lives. On my way to Deliver Building Materials to a Construction Jobsite at the top of a ninety Degree hill climb, the Truck made it to the top grudgingly. On the way back down the first time I applied the Brakes I realized that this was going to be a Ride from Hell. The Truck was equipped with Air Brakes that wasn’t working.

As soon as I realized that the Compressor wasn’t working I started pumping the Brakes frantically, to no avail.  I then dug deep into my bag of Skills, first I hit a Medium Sized Tree to slow me down, that didn’t work, I took the Tree from its Roots and kept going. I knew that I had to stop the Truck before I made it to the foot of the Hill where a busy Intersection awaits. I deliberately slammed into the high Dirt Mound to further slow the Vehicle down, it worked. Approaching the Intersection the Brakes had further deteriorated from no Air being supplied to the Tank. My last and only resort from causing Calamities at the Intersection was to crash through a Fence into someone’s Yard and Flip the Truck. It came to a stop on it’s side ten feet from the House, a ten years old Child watched it all from the Window that the Truck was heading for. This is why I write Blogs about safe Driving, to let you know that even Dale Earnhardt can run into situations behind the Wheel That can and will take your Life. Knowing that, why would I ever in fifty years of Driving in all kinds of Weather treat my Driving Skills with Complacency. Every time I get behind the Wheel is a new opportunity to sharpen my Driving Skills and not to act like an eighteen years old spoiled rotten Kid. If there is only one thing that I have Learned in sixty seven years of living is, with Complacency there is no Motivation to Excel.

Two years out of High School my second Job was working in the Mailroom of US Plywood Corporate Office. Back then USP was a Major Conglomerate, it was one of those Companies where you could start in the Mailroom and work your way to the Top. It was there that I met Charlie, he left an Impression on me for the rest of my Life. He stayed in the same Job in the Mailroom for twenty five years, that’s Complacency. To be that way with Driving not wanting to be good enough to save Lives is Negligent. Knowing that your Number one Objective when Driving is to always be looking out for the other Guy. Not you becoming the Other Guy. About a Month ago on the Main Strip to my House I noticed about ten Police Vehicles, also First Responders including the Ambulance that was in no Hurry to depart. I Video Recorded the Scene, it Captured an Adult Tricycle totally Mangled, in a 45 MPH Zone. Six months Earlier fifty feet further a Woman was ran over And Killed. Like Pac said can you see me now, that’s not what Driving is about, showing me that you are Chic burning up the Blacktop. My Car does 170 easy, two weeks ago I ran the Engine up to 89 MPH going over one of Florida’s long Bridges for the first time in four years of Ownership. Using the same Bridge to go Home Eleven at Night 100 is done every other fifty Cars, at least one an Hour, I call them Bridge Jumpers, if a Tire blows while he is passing me, my Wife gets the Phone call. Now you see me now you don’t, that is the childlike mentality I deal with daily, oftentimes the outcomes are Catastrophic. This is why you need to be good out there, being able to save Lives, even yours. Always watching out for the Other Guy, don’t become the Other Guy.

Life

I will always be there

Anthony Dixon

via I will always be there

Excerpts

One Day you tell him of your intentions of going back to School. His male dominance surfaces, I would prefer if you stayed home he utters. I will always be here to provide for the family. Magnanimous gesture for sure, nonetheless finishing your education is as tangible as an insurance policy. Matter of fact more so if his testicles leads him from you.

Life

I will always be there

Anthony Dixon

 


You are young and in school, you meet  mr right, your heart tells you so. Things get hot and heavy,  bam you are pregnant, you marry him all is well and good, it’s the logical thing to do.  Baby is thriving well, it’s time to go go back to school. One Day you tell him of your intentions of going back to School. His male dominance surfaces, I would prefer if you stayed home he utters. I will always be here to provide for the family. Magnanimous gesture for sure, nonetheless finishing your education is as tangible as an insurance policy. Matter of fact more so if his testicles leads him from you. I have been married for thirty seven years, never once unfaithful, had many opportunities though I stayed the course. Whenever one of my friends got busted in their extra curricular activities, all I hear from her is, Men are Dogs.



I say to myself, not necessarily so they just think with their Testicles. A childhood friend of mine with a beautiful loving wife, taught that he  was too much for one woman. He had a woman in just about every State, he was away from Home more than a Traveling Salesman. The grief he caused this Woman, also a friend of mine made me despised him, her mother cared for me like a son. I had no choice  but to distance myself from him. I hope you are following my drift. Not all men is led by their Joystick. I stayed true to my wife and have no regrets for not being a Dog. There are so many contingencies why he may not be there for the long haul other than being unfaithful, it is of the utmost for you to be able to provide for yourself if the day comes. Not only that but two Incomes takes the Stress out of paying the Bills and living largely . Also the Days of the Wife staying Home and making Babies is long gone. Another friend of mine had a good marriage and a nice family, his wife however was an overbearing woman who taught her job was to mold him into the perfect Husband, always correcting and criticizing. One day he packed an overnight bag, telling her that he was working on a project that had to get done. No one have ever seen him again, nothing in this life is guaranteed.

 



Early in my Marriage I once told my wife that she was driving me crazy. Her response, it’s a wife’s job, to some Men that’s reason to run. No one knows what the future holds for us, that’s why you need to cushion yourself for whatever life throws at you. Janice was  sixteen years old when she hooked up with an older Man with plenty of money, by twenty she had three children for him. He told her there was no need to finish her education and no need to further her ambition of becoming a nurse, because he made enough money and would always be there. Ten years later he was convicted of murder never to walk the streets again. She was now twenty six with three children to feed, no education and no skills entering the workforce for the first time. All that I am saying is, don’t get caught up in the Honey Trap when everything is so sweet and cushy that you are unable to be objective and pragmatic about the rest of your Life. Don’t forget that Momma may have, Pops may have, Husband may have, Boyfriend may have but God bless the Girl that’s got her own. I once knew a Man who was married for twenty five years, he told me that he had fifty thousand dollars that his wife knew nothing about. I asked him why, he responded that it was his runaway Money if the day comes.

 

 

Anyone can wake up with their Running Shoes on a Sunday morning. Like No Doubt puts it, you came up with the Breeze ( running out on a Relationship) without a warning. Life is filled with uncertainties especially in Relationships, don’t put all your Eggs in one Basket, sleep with one Eye open. You might not get a restful Night’s sleep but there will be no surprises. Many Men are intimidated by a Professional Women or an independent one. The Old Days were Brutal, when I was fourteen I lived next door to a Man who didn’t allow his Wife to spend Money. She was a Seamstress with good Skills, every Penny she made was handed over to him, whatever the Household needed he did all the spending. This Scenario parallels a Woman doing the same Job as a Man and getting paid less for doing a better Job, As you can see History repeating itself. I was only fourteen but I knew that there was something Deathly wrong with this situation, it was like a Scenario extracted from Oliver Twist, mean and Dominating. Worse of all he had four Daughters who were getting a bad Education of what a Relationship should be. One of the Daughters married the Man who had a Woman in every State, how Paradoxical Life can be. Life is like reaching in a Grab Bag, you never know what you are going to get, and that is your reason for being self supporting.

Life

Reading Is Fundamental

Anthony Dixon

via Reading Is Fundamental

Excerpts

My Teacher picked on me daily to explain what the Author isn’t saying. At first I taught the question to be silly, you would think that what is written is so. Then I remembered Einstein’s Words ” The Intuitive Mind is a Sacred Gift and the Rational Mind is a Faithful Servant, we have created a Society that Honors the Servant and forgotten the Gift. Figuring out unspoken Words is a Gift, because the World takes things at Face Value and so creates People with Sheepish Mentality. “Blind Belief in Authority is the Greatest Enemy of Truth” ( Albert Einstein). Just about everything that has been written have been taken out of Context. Personally I do not

Life, Motivation

Reading Is Fundamental

Anthony Dixon

In the fourth Grade I wrote my first Essay titled what I did on my Summer Vacation. It was an absolute disaster chock full of incomplete Sentences. The most memorable one was a Sentence telling how one of my Uncles gave me money. It read he me Money, when I read it to the Class they broke out in a Thunderous laugh when I got to the part that read he me Money. For the longest time my Classmates called me he me Money. That was my Motivation to learn to Read and write. Whenever something was taught in Class that I didn’t fully grasp, I would go Home and study it until I fully understood it. Pretty much the way an Actor studied his Lines. From then on I was never frustrated with learning. It was that early in life that I learned that if you applied yourself you can do anything.

In High School I was comfortable enough with my Reading Skills that I added English Literature to my Curriculum. Though I struggled with Shakespeare and Dickens I didn’t drop the Course. Taking that Class was one of the high points in my Life I learned many reading Skills including how to Exercise my Figurative Mind. The greatest reading skill I acquired was to figure out what the Author isn’t saying, but allowing you to figure it out. My Teacher picked on me daily to explain what the Author isn’t saying. At first I taught the question to be silly, you would think that what is written is so. Then I remembered Einstein’s Words ” The Intuitive Mind is a Sacred Gift and the Rational Mind is a Faithful Servant, we have created a Society that Honors the Servant and forgotten the Gift. Figuring out unspoken Words is a Gift, because the World takes things at Face Value and so creates People with Sheepish Mentality. “Blind Belief in Authority is the Greatest Enemy of Truth” ( Albert Einstein). Just about everything that has been written have been taken out of Context. Personally I do not write in innuendos I leave nothing to the Imagination, that is how things become misconstrued. Anyway we are not talking about Writing the subject is Reading, this is the Motivation for this Blog. Mother was Big on Education, I believe that she was twelve or thirteen when her Parents took her out of School.

Her Parents had twelve Children and needed her help Nursemaiding them. Even though she couldn’t refuse her Parents request for help raising their indiscretions, she knew that Reading was Fundamental. Over the years she Educated herself by teaching herself to Read. She started with the Hardest Book written, The Bible, if you can Comprehend Whereforth Whence and Cometh, If you can Comprehend that a Man can Sin seventy seven times seven and still be Forgiven you have it licked, Shakespeare can’t touch the Bible, even though the Language parallels. Many years ago I noticed Highway Signs with letters and Symbols telling what you would find at the next Exit. I was totally puzzled why would you write Food, then next to it you would put a Plate and utensils. Then I learned that the Symbols were for People who didn’t read English, or Read period.

My Mother was Born 1916, back then Reading wasn’t fundamental, hard work was. However she knew that in the twentieth Century Education meant Progress, I believe that during my Party Days if I had told her that I was dropping out of High School she would have thrown me out of her House.

Looking back on her Life I understand why I am one of the greatest DIY Person ever. Like her teaching herself to Read,  I Thought myself through Reading how to fix anything from an Automobile to a Computer and everything in between, Washer and Dryer including, I can Gut a House and install everything new, Electrical, Plumbing, Furnace and Water Heater including. All that from reading just about everything written on how to fix it yourself, all because I remember one of my Teacher telling us that you should never stop Learning even when you are finished with School. The reason she gave was that your Brain turned to Mush when not Nourished. Einstein puts it best” Wisdom is not the Product of Schooling, but the Lifelong attempt to Acuire it”.

My latest Project is Teaching myself to Write,  reading  Books on how to write Blogs was Fundamental for me, I also read the Greatest Book written about Parenting. Parenting through Love and Logic, it changed my way of thinking about Parenting. Love and Logic teaches that if you had a Child like I was, you either allowed them to burn themselves out, then coming full Circle with Consequences, or allowing them to come full Circle with themselves and their Potential all on their own. That was my Platform for Blogging about Parenting. Now you know why Reading is Fundamental for me, there is nothing like discovering things. So why is People of the Twenty First Century so Video Prone and anti Reading. Yet more Words from Albert, ” I fear the Day that Technology will surpass our Human Interaction. The World will have a Generation of Idiots”. Reading is something that exercises my Figurative Mind and stretching my Imagination like Elastic. I am sure that Einstein would have done a better Job getting the Point across how Fundamental Reading is.

It takes me to the time of The Emperor Menalik, the Travels of Hanibal, to Paphos the place where Aphrodite was born, and as far back as the Paleozoic Era and the survival of the largest Extinction in the History of the World. Why would I not choose Reading over a Video or Video Game, there is no Comparison. There is a Price to pay for everything, Technology changed the Medical Field forever and a Functional People to a Society of Android Babies. Occasionally one should put down the Android and pick up a Book. Those who read my Blogs knows that I like to keep it short and to the point, I don’t like to waste Pages on much ado about nothing.

I taught this Blog was finished then I remembered two Women with  opposite Mentality. 2017 while working in the Resort Industry I met a Woman from Mexico working in Housekeeping . she was in her late forties living and working in the U.S. for over thirty years, yet she never took the time to go to Night School and learned to Read, neither Spanish nor English. I was Livid that someone could live in the Twenty First Century and was Illiterate, even in her own Language. Two years later I met Jane, an Educated Venezuelaian who came to this country because she couldn’t find work in her Country. When we met she explained that her English was keeping her back so she was working and going to School to learn English. I explained to her that I took Spanish in High School for four years. We agreed to sharpen both our handling of the two Languages, I would speak to her in Spanish and she would speak to me in English so we would correct each others Grammar. The difference in both Women was that one was Complacent with her Illiteracy and the other was Educated but wanted to Learn more to better herself. My Hat is  off to the latter. In conclusion I would like to Reiterate, a Mind is a terrible thing to waste. Last Words belong to Einstein ” The Measure of Intelligence is the ability to change”.