Wednesday, August 25, 2010

#227 - Frontage Path

“The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who in the name of charity and good will shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper. And I will strike down upon those with great vengeance and furious anger, those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know that my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.” Ezekiel 25:17

LaFevre’s take: it is good to walk the path, but that path dictates that there be no exceptions, and you have to help when you can, those that stray from the path; and turn the other cheek, when challenged or confronted by those off the path.

LaFevre accepts, but also rejects, the path. LaFevre walks the path, helping when necessary, but turning the other cheek simply does not work today. Sometimes, the other cheek shows that those off the path, refuse to accept the path, and need to be shown, the path.

Therefore, LaFevre walks a similar, but different path. LaFevre could blaze a new path, which would be the more difficult path, considering you have to clear the way to establish that path, encountering obstacles and resistance that will test and challenge you along the way, and occasionally stop you in your tracks.

LaFevre prefers the path beside the path. It is the path less traveled, but still in view of the original path, running parallel. The perfect analogy for that path is called the "frontage road". Every freeway/highway in America has a road that runs along side it, on the other side of the fence. And no matter where you are, everywhere you go, anywhere in the US, this road has no name, but is simply referred to as, the "frontage road".

If you cannot maintain the proper path, at least run along side it, the “frontage path”.

#226 - Brain Cloud

Here’s another example of an existing term (sorta), that LaFevre has added to. The term comes from the film, “Joe Versus The Volcano”, starring Tom Hanks as a loser who is manipulated into jumping into a volcano, to placate the island chief (Abe Vigoda), as a favor to a doctor (Lloyd Bridges) who wants to mine the island for precious materials (also starring Meg Ryan in three different roles). He tells Tom Hanks he has a terminal condition, called a “brain cloud”, to convince him to jump into the volcano, as a selfless act of valor. Unfortunately, because it was completely fabricated, there was no real definition of this “brain cloud” provided. Until now!

LaFevre recently was at a loss to figure out something that was right there in front of him. Common sense and logic were nowhere present. So LaFevre remembered this “brain cloud” term, and thought, this would be the perfect definition for any situation where our intelligence takes a coffee break, and the brain is left to fend for itself, in empty space. And it’s temporary, not terminal. So instead of life-threatening, it’s only ego-embarrassing.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Longstreet - an excert from My Chequered Life, the LaFevre Autobiography

During the fifties, Dad was in the Army, stationed at San Francisco’s Presidio base. Mom worked on the base, as well. Probably how they met, no doubt. So, they would often go down to Fort Point, an old brick stronghold built in the 1800’s to guard the golden gate against invading armadas. It is located under the span at the southern end of the Golden Gate Bridge. The road down was a dead end, ending at Fort Point, but the road didn’t have a name. Hell, it was probably considered just a side road, for military support reasons. After all, there were no residences or other buildings between the main road and the Fort Point. Dad’s friends use to badger him about his and Mom’s romantic trysts at the Point. Back in the day, that’s what it was all about. Making out. Soon after, Dad was shipped out to Korea to drive supply trucks to the front line during the Korean War. Mom stayed behind to do her part to support the war effort.

Dad, ever the joker, told me that because of their trysts at the Point, the street was later named after him; that being “Long Avenue”. It was true that the road was named shortly after he left, but for the reason Dad gave, it was highly coincidental. It is official and on the map as Long Avenue. But I knew my Dad. He was always about pulling our legs. One story that stands out: driving through the country, Dad would point out the cows standing on the hills. He called them side-hill cows, with shorter legs on one side, to stand upright. We bought it, and didn't realize till years later, the legs were simply extended forward to compensate for the hillside. Oh, dad.

So I thought, ‘Long Avenue’. Sounds right. But Dad was a private. And I seriously doubt the Presidio, a military base dating back to the 1800’s, would consider naming a street after my dad, however short and inconsequential that street was, and that he was a private, even if he and Mom made it famous, albeit locally. So I decided to research it. Inquiring minds want to know.

So I called the Presidio Office of Archives and told them my situation. I knew they would assume I was jerking their chain, but after hearing me out, they actually sympathized with me, based on all of the details as I outlined above. They said they’d research the origin of the street name and who it was really named after, and get back to me.

I received a call a week later with the news for which I was seeking. I wasn’t surprised, but I was impressed; not by the Presidio and their actions, but the presumed actions of my dad’s service buddies. I was told that the street was named after a Brigadier-General who served in the Navy during the late 1800’s. It wasn’t exactly stated that he was stationed at Fort Point, per se, but was a frequent visitor to the Presidio base.

This is where it obviously becomes purely speculation; but considering the facts and the coinciding with my dad’s visits to the Point, and the name being issued shortly after his transfer overseas, it’s easy to surmise the following: his buddies wanted to commemorate Mom & Dad’s ‘sessions’ down there, for which his buddies had so much fun watching from above, and the fun they had with him after; and since the street had no name at the time, they attempted to have it named after him, after his departure. The Office responsible for this effort couldn’t do it. The case wasn’t enough to support a street name, especially for a private. So they asked to see reference material on names in the military of notable stature; enough to support a street name. Had to be someone famous. We’re talking a street name here. Forever emblazoned on signs along its path, and on every map in distribution.

They found it in the form of a Brigadier-General, last name ‘Long’ - a Navy officer who frequented the Point back during the turn-of-the-century. They submitted the paperwork. It was accepted. It was official. The turnoff street leading down to Fort Point was now named “Long Avenue”. Named officially after, and in the guise of, a turn-of-the-century Naval officer; but in reality, dedicated to my dad. What a wonderful tribute. I wish I had actual proof, but the circumstances are good enough for me. A nice piece of history to pass on for generations.

#225 - Legendary Iconics

Legends vs. Icons. a subjective point of contention. But only between people who like to argue the point. To LaFevre, it’s a non-issue. What exactly is the difference? Longevity. Consistency. And impact. all legends are icons, but not all icons are legends. Icons reach legendary status, in a short period of time, achieving the status of icon. But icons become legends when they maintain iconic status for a lengthy period of time. you want examples, LaFevre can tell.

In all your major sports, the legends are those who set records decades ago, who have yet to have those records broken. Icons are the superstars of today, on track to break those records, but haven’t come close yet. In Monster Trucks, Tom Meents/Maximum Destruction holds the most titles, but is only an icon, whereas Dennis Anderson/Gravedigger, is the legend here. In wrestling, Hulk Hogan and Ric flair are your legends, while the icons the likes of Undertaker, Sting, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, etc. how about basketball – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain are the legends, but Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Byrd would be icons. Even though thewy’re all retired, in a few years they will classified as legends. It’s all about the matter of time. Other legends: Pele (futbol), Wayne Gretsky (hockey). And golf: Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, etc, all legends. Tiger (the other tiger) is still only an icon. sure, it may a matter of semantics, and subjective, but some things are given. to that, there is no argument.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

#224 - Moronic Idiocracy

For years, I've been using two terms interchangably, to describe people and their actions. Idiots, and morons. I never gave much thought to it until today, when I realized, there is a slight difference. Idiots are so, because they're ignorant. Morons are just plain stupid.

But Hutch made the case for training purposes. Hutch is one of Tiger Claw's original 7 samurai, and regularly consulted for his opinion, along with that of the other 6 samurai. LaFevre says, maybe so, but idiots refuse to listen, and morons fail to understand. In the long run. Good luck with that one.