What Is, Is

I was having breakfast the other day at Baldy's, one of the eateries in Seymour, MO. I like Baldy's. The food is good, the atmosphere is NASCAR, and the service is well above average. That day I was having my usual; biscuits and gravy, hash browns and burnt bacon. Baldy's is one of the few places that I have been able to train to cook my bacon, I'm picky.

Usually there are two tables that engage in political discussion; one table is predominately Democrat and the other is usually Republican. Prior to the election, the battles were almost daily and quite entertaining. Now, a couple of weeks after the election things had settled down - a little at least.

As my waitress April refilled my coffee I noticed the two tables were actually agreeing on something for a change. They both were wondering what "is" was going to be.
I remember when Bill Clinton was going through his tribulations over his cigar. He said, "It depends on how you define 'is'". This may not be a direct quote, but you get the idea.

"Is" is a fascinating word. I remember after I got into the martial arts and was studying Zen Philosophy, I was having difficulty grasping the concept. Then one day I saw a three word sentence that cleared it all up for me. "What is, is." Being me, I added - "ergo, what ain't, ain't". Bingo, Zen philosophy expressed in seven words. I threw away the sixteen books I had bought trying to figure out what can be expressed in seven words.

Good news - WE HAVE CHANGE! Bad news -WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS YET!
Strange, we're still talking about the bail out. In fact, now we have the auto makers, ice cream makers, and the lobster men trying to get bailed out. Amazing isn't it how far 700 Billion dollars will not go in today's economy.

Strange, we still don't have a fence on the Southern border. Hmmm!

Strange, we still don't have proof the President Elect was born in America. Hmmm!

Strange, we are giving all of this power to the very people that created this economic disaster. Hmmm!

Strange, they have had all of this emergency money - for how long now, and the issues still exist. Hmmm!

When I was in Iraq, I extrapolated my "What is, is. Ergo what ain't, ain't" and changed it to "It is what it is, 'till it ain't that no more!" Kind of like "Kilroy was here" during WWII, I peppered Iraq with "It is what it is, 'till it ain't that no more!"

Here is the deal. We don't know what is, is - yet. My word, I'm starting to sound like Bill, but it is the truth. Already on both the state and national levels, the politicians are waking up to the fact that most of their campaign promises - CAN NOT BE FULFILLED! There is NOT enough money to do all they campaigned on - go figure!

In the days and weeks to come, you and I are going to learn a lot more about what "is" is going to be. I predict we ain't gonna like much of it. I predict it won't be as bad as the Republicans fear, NOR will it be as good as the Democrats expect. That is the nature of politics.

I'm still waiting to see who all we're going to bail out. Each day the list seems to grow longer. Each day, the number of folks who made bad investments and stupid financial deals grows longer, and they are waiting for you and me to pay for their mistakes.

I can't accept that, because accepting means it is all done. Accepting means you are a victim. Rather, I embrace the current mess. That means I think there is a train wreck coming and I embrace it. That means I'm not going to be on the train.

What can we do? My gosh! I have had that question asked of me many times over the past few weeks. Here is the deal - WE must make sure we have our own house in order. WE must make sure that we can take care of ourselves and our loved ones. WE must make sure we are as insulated from the train wreck as we can be.

Gun sales are going through the roof and ammo is flying off the shelves. Guess what, that stuff is being tracked! Assaults on freedom of speech - continuing. Assaults on freedom of religion - continuing. Assaults on the 2nd Amendment - continuing. Stupidity - continuing.

Now, you and me will be learning what "is" is going to be. Not just at Baldy's, but at Pappasito's in Houston, TX, Macaroni Grill in Springfield, MO and at kitchen tables all across this land; we'll be talking and find out what this change is going to be all about.

I'm originally from Texas and to a Texan, making good Chili is very important. A couple of years ago, I learned something I never knew - chili powder and cinnamon look just alike. If you don't taste the chili while you're making it you can end up with something that even the dogs won't eat (like I did). Heck, even the fire ants won't eat that mess. That mess of chili looked real good, it smelled great, but I failed to taste the chili while I was cooking.

Folks, the chili is in the pot. You have a lot of folks putting spices in. Remember - taste the chili!