Let Freedom Bling!

2005-07-04T13:31:00.000-07:00

Well, once again it's the good ol' Fourth and I thought it's pretty appropriate that this morning on MSNBC there was a great show on Walmart and how it's come into it's own power. It talked about their fast moving communication system that is 2nd only to the Pentagon, their incredible warehouse that has enough conveyer belts to cover several football fields and their systematic ability to maneuver their way into small towns as well as at least 10 other countries! You'd think they'd be happy with that but they have their sites set on at least 2000 more Wmarts in Asian countries. The special also talked about Wmart's hardwon intelligence when it comes to making it big in other countries and how important it is not try to do things the same way they do them in the US. For example, in China, the store (across from the statue of Chairman Mau) that takes up a good size block in the center of a major Chinese city features many types of live seafood and gigantic mounds of dry rice. Customers in China are flocking to the new store by droves. When it comes to customer satisfaction, Walmart is technologically advanced. They have a system that moniters everything being sold in different stores and automatically ships products that are in demand. They even keep track of the weather and alter their shipments accordingly.

My question to you is this: how can small business or even medium size businesses compete with this sort of monolith? And if we don't have the simple choices that include where we shop, are we really as free as we think we are? What happened to the "American Dream" where anyone can hope to open a business and succeed through shear hard work and dedication? Also, if the job market in a small town is driven by the largest business there, what does that say for the opportunities available to the poor but hardworking American?

I enjoyed learning about Walmart but I was also profoundly bothered by the fact that not only is our country being systematically dominated by this retail giant but that now even other countries are becoming "Walmartized" and that open air markets and small produce farmers will soon disappear from their way of life as well. It truly is a global economy and soon we will all be dressed the same and have the same furniture---is this the American way?

Star Wars--Revenge of the Sith

2005-05-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

When I went to see Star Wars last week, it was with a need for completion. I saw the first Star Wars installment in the summer of my 12th(?) year. My best friend, Sherry, and my big sister and her boyfriend went up to Medford, Oregon that day for fun. We played miniture golf and ate out. It was a great day. On the way home, Sherry and I rode in the back of the pickup and the wind was hot on our faces. It was an exciting time in our young lives, boys were the new topic of discussion and they were noticing us too! When we passed by the drive-in on our way home, my soon-to-be brother-in-law decided to stop so we could all watch that new picture that promised us a reprieve from dull ol' earth--Star Wars. Imagine our excitement at seeing Luke Skywalker aka Mark Hamill as he battled the bad guys with his light saber! Prior to that we had been so ecstatic to watch the "foxes"of primetime TV. Parker Stevenson and Shaun Cassidy in the Hardy Boys mysteries. Suddenly, we were offered a veritable buffet of eye candy. There he was bigger than life on the drive-in screen and a hero! We hated Darth Vader and we cheered our newfound hero. My sister was more into Han Solo and I wasn't old enough to appreciate Harrison Ford, my sister's boyfriend liked the action. So everybody found something they liked in this movie.

Over the years, new editons came out and here and there I was able to see them--usually on video. My life had become more complicated and I was in high school when Return of the Jedi came out so I didn't go to the movie to see it. I remember though the excitement that my whole town felt as the news spread that Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford were in town and shooting part of the movie there! There was the day I was standing by my locker at school and several girls came running down the hall yelling that they had seen Carrie and Harrison dining at one of our better restaurants in town (which must have been pretty grim for them)! Then there was the report that Mark Hamill had walked in to a take out burger joint in town and that the girl at the counter had fainted. This is the stuff that young girl's dreams are made of! Whether or not any of it is true didn't matter to us.

Through my life different Star Wars movies have visited the screen and I had much more to deal with than movies at those times. During my ten years of marriage I experienced quite a few arguments being drowned out by the sound of laser shots and wookies in the background on the TV. It wasn't until I had my son, and my older sister showed him Episode One that Star Wars had reentered my life. At that time, my son was about 6 and I was divorced for 3 years. My son loved watching Annikin flying the podracer and becoming the young hero. He suddenly loved podracing, Star Wars and light sabers! He would spend hours drawing podracers and even got a video game so he could race them. After a while, he lost interest and went on with new obsessions. Then Star Wars---Revenge of the Sith came out and all the old excitement was back! When we saw it together we completed the circle. I passed on the torch. Just as the movie went forward through the generational story, so did mine. I related much of the movie to my life. I had started out so green and excited just as Annikin, ready to change the world. But, in our pursuits of goodness, sometimes there are deep life changing regrets. I can't say that my life is as dark as Annikin's, I can only say that life is the teacher and the lessons can be difficult, but each generation brings a new hope for enlightenment. I'm teaching my son to banish fear, to follow his heart, to still the mind and to follow the path and not to fall into the dark side of the force. Star Wars made it easier for him to understand these concepts.

Rewind the Mind

Let Freedom Bling!

Star Wars--Revenge of the Sith