Minimizing the Punch List in Construction Projects

What is a punch list?

In all construction projects the divergence between the plans and specifications and the finished product or unfinished work can result in what is called in the industry a “punch list”. As a job nears completion construction personnel often find it valuable to create a list of items that remain to be completed by the various subcontractors employed on the project. This is an ever changing compilation of unfinished, poorly executed or incorrect work that has occurred during the construction project. On good projects it is regularly updated and culled until the final completion date and sometimes can continue past the point of occupancy depending on the urgency of the end user. Competent, conscientious construction professionals are acutely aware of the short comings of some of the work that has been performed by the various subcontractors under their domain and are constantly trying to manage these issues to their conclusion. Construction professionals are in turn reminded by the architect, and in turn the end user (usually in the form of an Owner’s construction representative), through the use of a separate punch list of items that they have deemed fail to meet their individual expectations or the design and intent of the drawings. This back and forth process often is repeated multiple times and can be daunting, time consuming, frustrating and extremely unproductive. It becomes inherently obvious that whatever one can do to minimize the need to generate these various punch lists, the more likely that the client will ultimately get a better end product with less stress, acrimony and at a lower cost.

How can we minimize the punch list?

Building projects are generally the result of a required or perceived need for a new structure for a specific use in a specific location. To this end architects and site planners as well as other professionals are engaged by the party wishing to create the new structure. The design and planning phase of any construction project is the most critical phase in minimizing the eventuality of a long and arduous punch list. Several factors can all be contributory to the smooth and accurate execution of the project:

• Architects must carefully spend the time necessary to evaluate the client’s needs and to ensure that the client is fully aware of what is being proposed, if necessary by the use of three dimensional simulation that visualizes the two dimensional drawings into three dimensional format that is more client friendly.

• Engineers and surveyors must methodically perform the necessary research to accurately determine the probable site conditions and peculiarities of the specific site geography and geology to ensure that the design meets the site requirements.

• Construction professionals in conjunction with the architect must establish a strong and cooperative link to local authorities having jurisdiction over the project to ensure compliance as well as to address local considerations.

• Qualified construction professionals should be brought to the project as early as possible, if necessary on a consulting basis in the planning stages of the project to ensure feasibility of execution of the proposed design and compatibility with project’s proposed economics.

• Lending institutional representation should be involved in the planning stages to ensure that cash flow requirements for the project meet the expectations of the project schedule so as not to impede the natural flow of the construction.


If all of these considerations are taken into account in the planning and design stage of the project they will go a long way to minimizing the generation of an untenable punch list at the end of the project.

Planning:

Punch list items are often generated by poor architectural planning. This can be the result of ill conceived ideas that have not been thought out to their conclusion and are simply a concept in either the client or the architect’s mind with no consideration for ultimate cost, feasibility of execution, time considerations or compatibility with site conditions. This is not to say that creative concepts done through unconventional methods should not be employed, to the contrary they should be encouraged, but they can only be properly executed and meet expectations if they are carefully planned and correctly implemented well in advance of actual construction.

In the past master builder’s were able to execute almost any architect’s concept given enough time, enough money and sometimes when attempting untried concepts, through trial and error. Some of mankind’s most impressive structures were the combined result of visionary ideas, unlimited budgets and master craftsmen who were given the necessary time to complete the work envisioned to near perfection. The magnificent cathedrals of Europe are testament to this process.

Today’s building projects are usually restrained by unreasonable limitations of both time and money. Modern buildings have become by necessity a practical compromise that try to achieve a desirable, functioning product at a reasonable cost and within a very restricted time period.

In order to achieve this architects and planners are usually required to create detailed drawings and specifications that meet or exceed code requirements, address their
client’s needs can be practically executed by a competent builder using conventional methods and can be accomplished within a specified time and for a specific cost.


Understanding the Clients Needs:

It becomes imperative that the architect first and foremost thoroughly understands the client’s needs. He must see the operation of the client’s business, take into account human engineering and determine the culture of the environment he is trying to create. Once he has settled on a design that meets both his and his clients aesthetic sensibilities, he must ensure that the client does, in fact, understand the design and can truly visualize the end product. Many punch list items are not the result of incomplete or incorrect work. They are the result of the client not truly understanding the space until it is built and walked through. When this occurs the change orders shortly follow and this jeopardizes the timing, cost and ultimate customer satisfaction.

Changes made after the fact are extremely expensive and counterproductive and while they are inevitable, especially with some client’s whose requirements at times seem transitory, they are a formidable part of many punch lists. It is helpful if the architect anticipates this problem by creating three dimensional visualizations to help the client understand the space. Actual samples of materials and finishes to be used can often time assist the client to come to terms with what they are actually getting. New more affordable computer aided tools go along way to making it a reasonably standard procedure to convert two dimensional plans into three dimensional perspectives and virtual reality touring of the proposed space.

It is also imperative that the architect coordinate with a qualified construction professional during the design process so that the feasibility and cost considerations of the proposed design are addressed prior to their actual construction. Long gone is the time when architects were mandated to perform years of training in the field with the trades, visually absorbing the techniques that they would be specifying and intimately understanding the use and limitations of some methods they would want to employ. Consequently punch list items are sometimes the result of poorly conceived ideas that are not made apparent until they are attempted to be executed. This results in compromises due to time or budget restraints and these compromises can often wind up on punch lists since they usually do not fulfill all of the design criteria as originally intended.


COORDINATION:

Coordination of construction trades is probably the single most contributing factor to the development of punch list items. Here is where it is incumbent upon the qualified construction professional to actually mentally build the project prior to the start of the actual construction. By doing so, the construction professional can anticipate coordination problems between various subcontractors before they become insurmountable or require some compromise.

Since modern buildings require a multitude of engineering and architectural professionals to design the final product and since few architectural firms have all the engineering disciplines required on staff, the hiring of multiple outsourced professionals on a single project is a common practice. This means there can be multiple engineering professionals for structural, mechanical (i.e.; plumbing; heating, ventilating and air conditioning), electrical; telecommunications; security; fire protection; fire alarm; energy management; computer systems; process power; conveyance systems etc.) Despite the best efforts of the architectural team, the coordination of these systems with the architectural drawings and with each other is daunting.






It becomes the formidable task of the construction professional to as Harry Truman once said make sure that…”the buck stop here.” The construction professional must again mentally build the project prior to the actual construction and bring to the architect all conflicts of coordination that he can anticipate. He must often do this in conjunction with his mechanical trade subcontractors, who can aid in offering design solutions that can be practically achieved and integrated into the overall plan. These suggestions can then be incorporated into revised drawings prior to or concurrently with the commencement of the actual construction. These conflicts can be anticipated and properly designed for, thus eliminating a major source of potential punch list items.

During construction a conscientious construction professional can, by careful monitoring of the various trade professionals and by utilizing their individual expertise in a cooperative effort, anticipate problems through the use of weekly or if necessary daily progress meetings and can minimize or eliminate details in work that will not meet the client or the architect’s intended expectations.

The bottom line is that while it is inevitable that the punch list is a working tool in the construction industry that is here to stay, the onerous and unproductive nature of the lengthy and ominous punch list can be minimized by the use of careful planning and diligent monitoring by knowledgeable professionals throughout the project cycle. As in Japanese influenced production facility techniques, the use of feedback from qualified participants that are part of the process throughout the project can only lead to a more successful end product and a more satisfied client.

Chinese products can be hazardous to your health!

An article in the Toronto papers concerning China's planned execution of a government official. He was found guilty of accepting bribes from Chinese pharma companies without properly testing the products before their release to the general public, shows how rapidly expanding countries can let many products go to market without proper testing or government controls. How does that make all you Walmart shoppers feel? Aparently several people DIED as a result of his allowing some untested products on the market for a few yuan. Seems like China has their own solution to this problem....execution! You might want to check out where your dog food or toothpaste comes from too. Seems like the Chinese are fond of using a here to fore unknown tooth decay fighting ingredient ANTIFREEZE!

Now if we could only get our politicians to show some of our offending entities or their corporate leaders a fraction of this kind of punishment for unscrupulous corporate behavior we might get more thorough self management. Without it we will all be subject to the morality of the purse!

Here is the link.

<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070529.wchinadrugs0529/EmailBNStory/International/home> 

Steve Kuhn Solo Piano at the Fazioli Salon

Steve Kuhn Solo Piano at The Fazioli Salon : May 26, 2007

It was an almost balmy night in New York to start off this Memorial Day weekend as we strolled leisurely past Carnegie Hall and made our way to a small piano salon just down the street from the venerable concert hall. Tucked away at 211 West 58^th Street the Fazioli Salon is the brainchild of Jim and Genevieve Luce and it is a treasure of a concept that deserves our attention and support. They simply put together fabulously accomplished pianists with a work of musical and visual art , the Faziloi piano, and showcase both in a limited and intimate setting . The room is inauspiciously in the rear of the Klavierhaus piano showroom, which showcases these Italian made masterpieces of musical sound and aesthetic design. The size of the room limits the attendance to about twenty-five lucky individuals. Being one of the lucky ones for this solo performance by the pianist Steve Kuhn was a treat not to be missed.

Steve Kuhn is a local treasure who seems to have been somewhat overlooked by the jazz media and mainstream jazz fans. Although a contemporary of the more lauded Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea or Keith Jarrett, Kuhn is a fabulously accomplished artist in his own right that has created some memorable performances over the years. He has an illustrious career that included stints with Kenny Dorham, Stan Getz, Art Farmer and briefly with John Coltrane. In the trio format where the interplay between piano and base is so extraordinary and which he demonstrably prefers, he has been accompanied by such luminary base players the likes of Scott La Faro, Miroslav Vitous, Steve Swallow, Buster Williams, Eddie Gomez, Gary Peacock, David Finck and Ron Carter. His discography is astounding in its depth and variation. With this infusion of musical influences, Kuhn has forged his own unique percussive style of playing that was wonderfully alive and vibrant at his solo performance at the Fazioli salon.

In his dapper signature black pants and jacket, he was introduced by Jim Luce, the master of ceremonies, as the maestro and he surely proved that to be the case. He started off the first of two sets with a wonderful medley of “Once upon a Time” that slowly transformed itself, ever so subtly; into the Johnny Mandel Johnny Mercer tune “Emily”. He played several of his own songs including “Two by Two” from his recent album “Live at Birdland”, which he recorded with Ron Carter and Al Foster, and a wonderfully textural version of his powerfully rhythmic “Oceans in the Sky “ which he originally recorded back in 1989, with Miroslav Vitous and Aldo Romano, and is now wonderfully rethought on his newest release “Promise Kept”. He seamless melded Claude Debussy’s La Plus Que Lente into Billy Strayhorn’s Passion Flower, a performance so perfectly blended as to make the two songs seem destined to be paired with each other in precisely this way. During the performance the maestro showed a particular affinity to the saxophone greats of the era that have apparently had tremendous influence on his musical sensibilities. His homage to Coltrane, Rollins and Parker was paid separately by brilliantly executed renditions of “Countdown”, “Airegin” and his ending piece of “Confirmation”. His connection to the spirit of these players, especially Rollins, cast a spell on both him and his audience.

Since the Fazioli salon is such an intimate setting, I was able to intently watch his technique and fully appreciate the sound that he created from the depths of this truly magical piano. I was told that each piano is made by hand in Italy and that perhaps only one hundred a year are fashioned. The piano’s wonderfully full resonance was especially adaptive to Kuhn’s particularly percussive but lyrical approach His fluttering left hand created a wave of sound that builds tremendous tension in his playing while never losing its sensitivity. His masterful use of the entire keyboard with both hands being amazingly free to cross traditional boundaries of base chords left and melody right showed a technique not often exhibited with such confidence and ease. His subtle use of singular notes at appropriate times done with a distinctive stab of his right thumb or the precise pounding by his left fist verified his mallet like approach that was reminiscent of a drummer’s punctuation on this marvelously percussive instrument. The result was surprisingly never brash or discordant, but to the contrary created a wonderful counterpoint to his amazingly beautiful and lyrical interpretations rendered by his incredibly swift and sensitive hands..

The night proved to be awe inspiring on several counts. The maestro Steve Kuhn is a treasure that should not be missed. The Fazioli piano is an instrument to behold both sonically and visually and the Fazioli Salon piano series is a true New York music lovers treasure. You can check out the salon’s remaining concert venue at www.pianoculture.com.

Copyright Ralph A. Miriello 2007

Loss of Bees Revisited: The LUC principle

A follow up article from der Spiegel magazine, which was thoughtfully sent to me by my cousin in Toronto, gives a German perspective on the bees issue for those who are interested. The problem may very well be the result of a concept that my friend Al from Detroit likes o call " The law of Unintended Consequences" or as I like to shorten to LUC.
I am unaware where this concept originated and would appreciate any learned feedback on its origins or authorship.

With LUC in play, whatever we attempt, however good intentioned, often times creates other more serious problems than the ones we are trying to solve. This is especially true when it has to do with modifying naturally developed processes. In our quest to do it faster or better we change those naturally occurring processes through some scientifically inspired manipulation and upset the balance of nature. This balance of nature is an evolutionary development that has taken thousands of years to be refined and we in our scientific hubris believe we can unlock the secrets of this delicately balanced ecosystem and somehow make it better. This is not to say that important strides cannot be made with careful and patient study of the various problems at hand. It is however a symptom of today's need to achieve at any cost, and at record speed, that we find ourselves prematurely introducing new means and methods that have not had the careful and thoughtful scrutiny or qualified peer review that is necessary . This is a beautiful example of the LUC principle in action. It is a symptom of what Thomas Friedman calls the "flattening of the world". In our rush to compete in this flattened and highly competitive world, we accelerate the rate at which we introduce new and inadequately tested technologies. The recent rash of pharmaceutical recalls for their unintended side effects bespeaks loudly to this trend. Who knows the lasting effects of the genetically modified meat and poultry and dairy we now ingest. Most of the time we are uninformed about the nature of the products we are sold. Truth in packaging is far from truthful. We must tread cautiously in these areas.

In this case the jury in out on the cause for the actual, some would say catastrophic, reduction in the bee population. Reductions of 25% to in some cases 75% of bee colonies used for crop pollination in both the United States and Europe are now being studied. The suspected causes range from genetically engineered crops, to cell phone tower transmissions, to parasites that are enabled by immune deficiencies caused by the ingestion of DNA altered crop pollen. One thing is for sure LUC is in full swing.

Here is a link to the der Spiegel article :

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,473166,00.html

Governor Bill Ricardson Announces!

Governor Bill Richardson Announces!

Yesterday after much speculation and to no one's surprise, the Democratic Party had one more hat tossed into the ring for its coveted presidential nomination. This one I believe is different. Governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson, formally announced his candidacy for the Presidency in his birth state California. I discovered that his presidential eligibility came by chance when his Mexican born mother was sent from her home in Mexico City to California by his American father while she was pregnant and thus he was born here making him legally eligible to run for office, unlike his counterpart, the Austrian born and rising star Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Bill actually returned to his home in Mexico City where he apparently lived through early childhood until he was sent to schooling in Massachusetts.

This multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-geographical upbringing is the kind of life experience that is sorely missing in most candidates and should be a source of strength in Richardson. He also has a broad base of experiences that are truly unique amongst the extremely crowded field of both Democrats and Republicans. He has first hand experience with dealing with the immigration problem that vexes much of American society, since he is Governor of a border state with all the travails that this implies. He has been a peace broker cast into some of the very lairs of our most difficult adversaries for the purposes of negotiating the release of hostages, and he has done so successfully on numerous occasions and with great aplomb. For his diplomatic skills he has been nominated four times for the Noble peace prize an achievement unparalleled by any other candidate. Diplomacy seems to be a lost art in Washington these days and his appearance on the scene would clearly signal our allies and adversaries that we have not abandoned this useful tool. He has been fiscally responsible as Governor of New Mexico and has made great strides in improving public education by placing greater value on teacher’s compensation. He has been on the forefront of energy conservation and the use of tax incentives to encourage alternative energy development in New Mexico. Education and energy: two key issues facing our country.

He would be the first President with a Latino heritage and as such can utilize this common ground to forge a more strategic alliance favorable to our interests with our presently estranged Latino neighbors in the Southern Hemisphere. This by itself can be an important strategic step to strengthening our security against potential terrorist threats from our southern borders.

In these very tenuous times it is refreshing to see an accomplished candidate that seems to have no apparent allegiance to special interests groups. He may not be the leading Democratic candidate in the opinion polls, Hillary Clinton has that distinction presently, although he has risen from nowhere to a respectable 10%. ;nor may he have the financial resources available to an Obama, a Clinton or an Edwards, but his candidacy gives hope that a eminently qualified candidate can still be taken seriously without the backing of machine politics and special interest lobbying.

I will be doing more intensive research into the man and his positions, but in the meantime to paraphrase what Chris Mathews said to him on his show, Hardball last night. It's good to have you aboard Governor; you would make a fine President.

"Brave New War" Winning is no longer an Option

In a recent editorial by David Brooks of the NY Times this past Friday, he referenced a book by a former special ops counter terrorism officer, John Robb. The book entitled "Brave New War" (which, I confess, is now on my short list of must reading) stimulated the columnist into making some serious assertions about the how we should be approaching the new global war of terrorism. I found a passage particularly enlightening in its simplicity and perhaps oft overlooked reality.

In referring to terrorist organizations as they are presently configured Brooks writes " They merely seek to weaken states, so that they can prosper in the lawless space created by collapse of law and order." If this is really true then many of us are certainly not dealing with the insurgents in Iraq or any place else in light of their true goals. I was listening to Newt Gingrich debate Christopher Dodd this weekend on Meet the Press. Despite his admitted distrust of the execution of the Iraq war by the inept Bush Administration, he as do many Republicans candidates, still clings to the idea of "winning the war".

How can we go about "winning a war" if it really isn't a war at all. If as Brooks intimates from his reading of Robb, that the terrorist intent is simply to proliferate social disorder and eliminate the rule of law, then how can we possibly treat this like a war which can be won. Like a traditional conflict with an aggressor who wishes to take over a geographical area. With tactics that try to defend boundaries. With the notion that somehow some entity is organized in such a way that it can be routed like the central command of the Nazi Germany in WWII.

This is like being in denial about the very nature of the way technology has changed the world. From the notion of centralized power bases to the reality of a new de-centralized, constantly morphing enemy. Their power lies in their skill at what Robb calls, "systems disruption".

They have learned that...."its better to weaken target governments, but not actually destroy them." In this way they can foment continued disruption, with no intent of full occupation as would be the intent of a traditional war opponent. Since they are not looking to actually win anything! They are simply interested in maintaining a disruptive state of confusion that allows their existence to "be". They never have to deal with any of the economic and social obligations or leadership that would be required to actually manage the myriad of responsibilities to the people who they are supposedly liberating. We cannot "win" this type of conflict.

One thing is for sure, traditional war type planning and perhaps even weapons systems are at best ineffectual against this type of foe. Lets stop the rhetoric that winning or losing implies. The best that we can hope for is to educate ourselves about how to best deal with this new type of threat and stop hiding behind these outdated concepts of machismo and bravado.

It is clear that our presence in Iraq is not being viewed by the Iraqis with the same type of overall enthusiasm that a liberator should expect. It is in fact impossible for us to stop the type of violence that has become an every day occurrence without the people's help. If the population at large does not participate in the identification and apprehension of the terrorists that continue the violence, than no amount of troop surges will be able to improve their daily life and we will be sending more troops into needless danger.


Winning is no longer an option.

George Will's Environmental "Fuzzy Math" is Missing the Point

In the interest of fairness, I am listing a link to a recent column in the Washington Post by columnist George Will. I respect Will's commentary while, often times disagreeing with his conclusions

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/11/
AR2007041102109.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

In this case he makes the point that in the rush to find answers to everything that is presently wrong with the direction we are taking environmentally, we often times over react by implementing ideas that on the surface seem to address the problems, but upon further inspection may actually be detrimental to our designated purpose. In one very clever example he likens the usable life and its environmental impact of a Prius hybrid to the usable life and impact of a Hummer and calculates by some very convenient "fuzzy math" of his own that the Hummer is actually less damaging over its lifespan than the Prius. This is done by taking into account the full environmental impact of some key elements of each vehicle from their extraction from the ground to their processing into parts, to their shipment to various portals for assembly. Every step of the way there are environmental consequences to these processes and often times they merely transfer deleterious environmental impacts from one area an another. Or so the theory goes.

For this approach to be conclusive it requires a diligent documentation of each step of each process for each vehicle, from the raw material stages to the actual finished product stage. The exercise of using one key element like the zinc in the battery portion of the Prius's hybrid engine, and following its pollution laden processing from mines in Canada through processing in Wales to its eventual installation into a finished product in Japan, as a indictment against the use of hybrid technology over conventional internal combustion technology is patently unfair and blatantly misses the point. It is not apparent that in his argument the same rigor was used to identify all the various components of the Hummer's creation to make a fair and unbiased comparison, but let us for a moment assume this to be the case.

We are all well aware of the environmental impact that a gas guzzling 10 mile per gallon vehicle does to the quality of our air and the subsequent costs to our health care system. We are all well aware of the dear price we pay and continue to pay for our unflappable dependence on foreign oil. The costs in lives and resources of at least two wars can be safely ledgered on this side of the argument. And so are we not better off making attempts to minimize the use of hydrocarbons even if our initial attempts may be awkward or have some unintended side effects. We can't allow ourselves to become immobilized by fears that we will make some mistakes! As with any technology the initial steps are often crude and even at times counterproductive, but nonetheless necessary steps in the development of new technologies that ultimately take us in the direction we all want need to move. In this case away from hydrocarbon emissions.

This is also no less true of the assertion that the Kyoto protocol is a misguided attempt by some "Chicken Little's" to force the nations of the world to actually implement some costly changes that will in balance amount to very little. Again,the point is to start this type of dialogue and not be quagmired by the immediate efficacy of the results. The fact that so many countries, with so many disparate needs, can agree on anything provides a promising platform that can be used to establish better controls and future gains that may not be immediately apparent. To arrogantly withhold support for this ground breaking global agreement on the argument that the money needed to implement these reforms can be better spent elsewhere is to create a diversion from the problem at hand and still not address those other pressing needs. Let us not be fooled by the man behind the curtain as he feverishly manipulates our priorities and directions, like the Wizard of Oz, leaving us doubting our direction by presenting us with a virtual high hurdle field of reasons why we shouldn't proceed on our quest to a better environment, no matter how bumbling the journey. It can't be better to simply sit back and serve more of the same.

Where are the bees?

In a recent post from David Byrne, of Talking Heads fame, I came across a quote purportedly from Einstein that to paraphrase -gave mankind as we know it, four years from the time there were no more bees to before the human race would vanish! It seems with no cross pollination the entire ecological system would fall apart and with it our existence. This quote was made in conjunction with his observation that many beekeepers around the world are apparently finding it difficult to keep enough bees in their hives to keep honey production going. Reduction rates of 50% to 60% were touted as being currently witnessed. If this is indeed true we are facing a crisis that has a window of opportunity to solve that could be much smaller than anything else we have had to deal with to date. This is alarming to anyone with eyes enough to see and a brain big enough to think that we as a species have changed things on our planet so much so with no consideration for the consequences that we may have indeed started a spiral into our very own non-existence! As a parent with the hope of someday attaining the merriment of grand parenting (i.e. the joy of enjoying children with none of the responsibility) this is obviously a big kink in the armor of my modest future plans. In speaking with several contemporaries about the many continuing developments that seem to be plummeting us into the abyss, I am disheartened by the universal attitude of helplessness that seems to be so prevalent amongst most of my generation ( the baby boomers) . What ever happened to the generation that wanted to change the world for the best. What happened to the mantras of peace, love and communal spirit. Well friends it seems to have been lost by way of the getting married, having children, obtaining that car loan and getting our condo or house with its related mortgage payments. In an effort to grow up and become part of the "real" world with all its inherent responsibilities, we capitulated our dreams and soul to others who we have let destroy the very world we want to raise our children in! Oh sure, we all lament, its those big businesses with their unscrupulous win at all costs practices that have made our environment into the precipitously dangerous place it has become. Or perhaps it is a result of political crony ism that we all believe is impossible to restrain. But is it really? And is it just this "they did it" attitude that has us all in the very predicament we find ourselves in right now?

My belief is that we ourselves are essentially to blame. And while I can see you all shaking your heads in tacit agreement you really don't believe it any more than I did. I still drive my Nissan Pathfinder with a tremendous 17 mpg on the highway. Even now when it is costing me $60 to fill the tank with regular I do it week after week (or actually every three or four days) with little or no action on my part to change this and I suspect you do similarly. What will it take for us to see that the bees are going and may not return! Do we need to see a world without color, fragrance, arboreal beauty before we realize we have gone too far ?

I have done some things in my business practice to try to build with a more earth friendly conscience. This is a start but it is not nearly enough. I expect to start to look into a more ecologically friendly vehicle. Perhaps a hybrid ( Whatever happened to those propane gas conversions for normal cars?). So what if I can't carry everything I might need to carry when I might need to carry it. I will cope and so must you! We all must make the effort and not tomorrow but right now. Today in whatever way we can. And we must all stop bitchin' and moanin' about all of them.....because my friends we are the enemy within. We grant the power to those whom we elect to be stewards of our resources and when we do so with such complacency we have no one to blame but ourselves. So we must be diligent in our careful evaluation of those of us to whom we grant such authority and when we see them going astray from the goals and ideals that we hold true and sacred we have a moral obligation to not let it linger and fester and spoil. We can n longer afford to stand by idly while the earth is ravaged by our ill-chosen delegates of profiteering and greed. We must use the power of the purse, sometimes even at our own personal detriment, to speak to those purveyors about what it is we value and what it is we eschew.

It is also our obligation to see to it that enough money and effort is spent on our an our children's behalf to fund research that defines the most effective path to solving our energy and environmental problems (which seem to be inescapably joined like Siamese twins) and to establish a Manhattan project type impetus to solving these problems now. It is unfathomable to me that we can spend such inordinate amounts of our national wealth on such low priority matters ( fill in the blanks with your favorite pork barrel project) and yet have such pressing issues be scantily provided for by meager apportionment's that only pay lip service to actually trying to solve them in this century. We must all join forces and become the activists we once aspired to be as in the days of the Weathermen, The Black Panthers, The Chicago Seven and even the Woodstock Generation, a fledgling Greenpeace and an good intentioned Peace Corps. . While I did not aspire to some of these radical notions at the time, they all represented a firebrand zeal that seems to be missing in our present souls. I for one, miss the passion of being so thoroughly inspired by the principal and righteousness of the cause that the inconvenience to everyday life is not even an afterthought. We have the power to change for the better and change now! We are a bright and able generation that did not have the burden of a major world war to carry on our shoulders as our parents before us so brilliantly geared up for and overcame. As a recent article I read mentioned, when we started WWII we had virtually no air force to speak of and by the time the war was over we were cranking out bombers by the dozens on a daily basis. Our capacity is enormous and should be duly employed for such good. We brainstormed atomic energy in a few short years and we now have the computing power hereto for not even imagined; and with Moore's Law in play we are growing our technological achievements exponentially! So why not direct these resources to save our planet now before it is too late!

And so when sometime in the near future one of our grandchildren ask us what is that yellow insect buzzing around that beautiful flowers, we can reply with pride ...That is a bee, honey, we almost lost them all.

Parking Lot Encounter

A Parking Lot Encounter 4/20/07

The squat, sloppily dressed woman ungraciously parked her dust covered, pearl grey mini-van directly in front of my car as I was just about to pull out of my parking space.I marveled with some distaste at her utter disregard for parking etiquette since there were ample other spots open for her to choose without my easy exit being discourteously disrupted. I mused that she was obviously a parking Cretan with no driving manners and resigned myself to backing out of my space with no further regard for the matter. But as I maneuvered out of the parking space and began approaching the exit of the lot, I could see that her choice of parking locations was recklessly chosen to cause the maximum discomfort for anyone who would have to subsequently leave the lot. It now required that a car squeeze through the narrowest of passages that she left between her car and the building adjacent. This was starting to smack me of total disregard for humanity and as I proceeded to gingerly make my way through the canal like passage she had created. I realized that some of the elderly patients that frequented the chiropractic office that shares the parking lot would be totally befuddled by her lack of consciousness. Over the years I have watched many older drivers have a hard time negotiating the already narrow confines of this often crowded lot and have shivered at the thought of coming down from my office only to find my SUV’s side panel the victim of some slightly challenged octogenarian driver with a back problem.

Having determined that this inconvenience was totally unnecessary and probably the act of an otherwise decent person who simply was unaware of the potential trouble she was causing, I watched her walking to the chiropractor’s door and as I was passing I opened my window to offer a friendly comment. “Excuse me Miss you parked your car in such a way that it partially blocking the exit.” She was wearing one of those uncomfortable neck braces that you often see on people entering chiropractic offices. This probably should have elicited sympathy on my part for she might be in real pain, but in a flash my cynical mind could envision her being part of some insurance scam where see was feigning whiplash so she could milk the system. This cynicism was reinforced daily by the parade of visitors to Dr. Mel’s office. His office, it seemed, did a thriving and recurring business in treating all types of physically malcontented individuals who somehow had been wronged by some celestially driven event covered by an insurance claim or workmen’s disability. This could, if properly worked, open the gates to the Leprechaun’s gold for some or a life of fashionable freeloading for extended periods for those willing to exploit the situation.

The mini van lady turned her head within the confines of her padded neck brace. This gave her a high collared almost Elizabethan countenance as she faced my window. The Exorcist like ease with which she swiveled her head on her neck would have been proof positive to any insurance investigator that her injuries were suspect. The look on her face was not one of bemusement or thankful appreciation. Her contorted features immediately took on a warlike demeanor that was more fittingly framed by a piece of warrior’s armor than a simple therapeutic neck brace. It was obvious hat her response was not going to be conciliatory or for that matter polite.

She growled back “Shut up you stupid!” with a slightly eastern European accent and gruffly entered into the office door totally ignoring my plea for parking consideration.

In retelling this episode I was shocked to find the universal response to be “What did you expect?” or that I should have “Thought it but not said it.” Have we become so isolated from each other that we dance around each other’s aberrant behaviors? Do we allow ourselves to tolerate unseemly actions to avoid confrontation, and if we do for convenience sake are we not encouraging the continuance of the very behavior we all eschew?

We often are confronted by people’s apparently oblivious actions to those around them. We can choose to ignore them or confront them, but if we do decide that their thoughtless actions require a response we must always be prepared to accept an equally egregious reaction. “Shut up you stupid.” could easily be escalated, under some unforeseen circumstances, to the mad ravings or homicidal reactions of a psychopath who feels oddly disenfranchised from the community around him and whose breaking point is somehow triggered by a seemingly unrelated and innocent event. From this we have no protection. The indiscriminate shooting at Virginia Tech offer fresh proof of these present day facts of life. But to abdicate our responsibilities to each other by failing to approach unacceptable behavior in some civilized manner with out fear of repercussions is to hold our society hostage. Perhaps a more proactive response to anti-social behavior in our everyday lives by each and every one of us is now demanded. We must be willing, as individuals, to accept our role as guardians of socially acceptable mores. Whether we are faced with offensive slurs in any venue, misogynistic and inappropriate lyrics under the guise of hip music or rude and obnoxious responses to common courteous behavior we all must demand a higher standard so as not to allow our society to revert to a state of disrepair and discomfort.

© Ralph A. Miriello 2007

Memories of A Childhood Television Experience

A Lesson Learned

Recently, I was retelling a story from my childhood to my companion. I had not thought about it for quite some time and it was a memory that, for whatever reason, has stuck with me in some profound way.

I was about ten or eleven, as I recall I was in grade school, perhaps it was fifth or sixth grade. I remember some of the teachers like Mrs. H., not for any particular reason other than she seemed to have had a somewhat pudgy face with an upturned nose that reminded me of a cartoon bull dog for some reason. The teachers were not particularly harsh or for that matter kind. They dutifully took us through our rote exercises of English vocabulary, sentence structure and arithmetic times tables. Nothing was especially notable about this period in parochial grammar school. It was at St. Mary’s in suburban Northern, New Jersey back in the late nineteen fifties to early nineteen sixties. Eisenhower was still President and we were fighting the cold war. Not that I had any idea of what was going on beyond my neat little world of schoolwork and playtime. My memory is often cloudy about these days with few details that I can conjure up from the depths of my brain, but I do recall that we sat in uncomfortable desks, many with ancient remnants of chewing gum stuck to the undersides of the well worn, wooden tops. Some adorned with carved epitaphs of former notorious student mavericks.

Being in parochial school, (read that as code for Catholic), there were always nuns , in our case Dominicans, keeping tabs of the progress of all the classes. It was common knowledge that the “lay” teachers, as they were called, were usually older dedicated but somewhat dated teachers, most always women. For whatever reason they didn’t or couldn’t work in the much more advanced and progressive public school system. It was the prevailing thought of the day, at least in my parent’s mind, that a Catholic school education would teach discipline first, classical studies and also allow for some spiritual education. The boys were supposed to wear pressed white shirts with ties, clip-ons weren’t fashionable yet, and clean and pressed trousers. Trousers, not pants, not blue jeans, usually just scratchy wool trousers. The girls would wear uniforms of plaid dresses, starched white tops with a small collar tie and white bobby socks with saddle shoes. To be sure, some of us wore the clothes better than others; some were neater and crisper depending on our parent’s individual attentions. But with all this decorum and formality, the thinking was, we would develop into responsible young, educated citizens. We would always represent our parents, our school, our community and ourselves in a professional manner that would make everyone proud.

With all this buttoned up responsibility on our heads, it was no wonder that any venture or break from the routine was welcomed with great enthusiasm. For me, the most memorable excursion of this year was the unlikely opportunity for our class to be taken to participate in a television show in New York City! Television was still young and predominantly black and white, color sets were a real luxury, but the programs they brought into our homes were shaping the way American families viewed American life. For kids like us, the shows that influenced us were shows like The Lone Ranger, The Roy Rogers Show, and The Andy Devine show (I still remember the line “Pluck your magic twanger Froggy!) And a myriad of other action and children comedic oriented fare. Two shows broadcast out of New York, that actually engaged kids as participants in their wacky games, were ones that particularly stick in my memory banks. An engaging master of ceremonies named Sonny Fox hosted them both. If I had to describe the appearance of Sonny Fox now, my mind’s eye brings me to a present image of a smiling Alan Alda, as he is enthusiastically engaged in various extraordinary findings on the Dscovery channel. Back then Sonny Fox was the front man for the two shows that kids my age drooled over. On Sunday mornings it was Wonderama, by far the more popular of the two, and on Saturday morning’s its more humble brother, Just for Fun! Just for Fun was the stealth star of the two shows to my way of thinking, because it was the show that allowed kids on the show to actually win prizes. What terrific prizes they were, it was like being in FAO Schwartz with no cash registers.

So it was with great fanfare that we were told that we were selected to be participants on this Saturday’s “Just for Fun” show. How did this happen, how could it be. As it turns out, one of my classmate’s fathers was a cameraman for the show. He had somehow convinced Sonny to have our class on the show. There was naturally some trepidation on the part of the Sisters, who felt that this might be damaging to the tranquility of the class regiment they had so skillfully maintained. But somehow they were convinced that the trip would be a worthwhile learning experience with few downside risks. In retrospect, I think there was a huge curiosity factor playing out here in the hearts and minds of the Sisters, who probably innocently fantasized a little about being on TV. We all felt we had been giving a gift from heaven, and, in fact, the nuns made sure that we would offer thanks to God during prayers in church, for having such good fortune. Needless to say the classmate, Patricia B., whose father made this all possible, became an instant celebrity of the fourth grade despite her previous obscurity.

I for one was beside myself with joy. Having come from relatively humble economic means, the chance to have the opportunity to perhaps bag some really extravagant toys on the show was a peek at the good life. Our class was formed from an economically diverse group of lower and middle-income families, so I am sure I was not alone in anticipating scoring some treasure.

The day of the show is a bit of a blur. I remember riding a chartered bus from the school to the studio in midtown Manhattan. Despite the short ride, for many of us this was itself the beginning of a fantastic voyage in previously unchartered waters. We filed out from the bus in a single line, the Sisters, maintaining an impenetrable shield between the ominous city and us. We were barely able to set foot on the grimy, Robert Wagner era sidewalk before we were whisked into side door of the studio.

In the studio the excitement began. We were split into two groups and filed onto bleacher type seats with a camera pointing toward us. The one set of bleachers were painted gold and the other blue, representing the two teams that would be matched against each other in the pursuit of unimaginable toy bounty. There may have been three teams but I recall only two. The television camera, with Patricia B’s father dutifully behind it, was pointed at the bleachers and we were given some brief instructions to look at the camera, have fun and scream our heads off with joy when we won something. These seemed like pretty easy instructions and no one raised their hands with any questions. The obvious question that was never asked was what do you do if you lose? Sonny came out to say hello and calm our enthusiasm a bit. Soon the red light on the camera went on and he introduced the show, our school, as well as some of the Sisters to a waiting public somewhere behind that cameras lens.

Soon we were all engaged in various stunts and tasks that would be featured during the hour and half long show. Sonny would ask for volunteers for the next feature, we would all violently, flail our hands in anxious anticipation of being chosen for something that could lead to various prizes, I suppose it made for exciting television for the kids at home, but it was pure pandemonium for us in the studio. I watched as my classmates were chosen to wrestle with greased baby pigs to see which team could be the first to diaper their pig. The winner received a pile of the latest toys. I marveled at two of my classmates struggled to try on various ill fitting coats attempting to be the one that looked the most ridiculous. The winner was once again rewarded, this time with an enormous erector set. Then there were the treasure chests, one blue one gold, each with a pile of keys before them and the task was to be the first team to find the correct key and open their chest. The winner was showered with every conceivable game from Risk to Monopoly. Slowly the various stunts were parceled out and I was becoming desperate to be chosen for a worthy challenge so I could score my rightful bounty. At last Sonny, asked for a volunteer to perform a tongue twister. The prize was something to behold.A beautiful Emenee electric organ. This was my destiny; I had to have this musical marvel. If only I could snag this piece of technological magic. This was something that I could never expect to see some Christmas morning under my tree; it was just too much to hope for.

With the goal firmly set in my mind I concentrated at the task at hand. Sonny simply and eloquently stated “ All you have to so to win this beautiful Emenee organ and give your blue team another 10 points toward the team victory is to say this three times fast. Are you ready?” Say Six Slick Silk Slips. Go! It was such an easy thing I thought to myself, I got this one nailed, but as I started my first attempt I slurred the words together. I begged for another try and Sonny graciously let me have at it again. I took a deep breath. Time started to slow down, I noticed my blue teammates jumping up and down in slow motion, screaming encouragement at me, but I couldn’t hear a sound except for a feeble attempt from mouth trying desperately to utter what my mind was so easily saying. Six Sis Skilk Slips , no Six Slip Silk Skips, no, no no!

After several attempts, Sonny, seeing my obvious difficulty, compassionately relieved me of the challenge. I watched as the stagehand removed the Emenee organ from the set. I scanned my teammates faces and only remember the look of disappointment they all shared at my utter and complete failure.

I know this story seems to be no more than an inconsequential snippet from the life of a grade schooler and it probably would be, but for one lasting thing that came from this humbling experience. I immediately set out to conquer the challenge that so completely disappointed and humiliated me. I practiced this tongue twister endlessly, faster and faster until I was able to say confidently and with no equivocation that I could bet my life on being able to say it three times fast with no hesitation or slip up. Six Slick Silk Slips; Six, Slick, Silk, Slips; Six, Slick, Silk, Slips!!!!! The lesson for me in all this is that sometimes it takes the most humbling of experiences to motivate a person into accomplishing a formidable challenge. If we could only find the necessary ingredients from this formula and impart them onto our teaching methods without the embarrassment, disappointment or humiliation factors, we would have found a marvelous tool for implanting permanent knowledge. A tool to stir the memory and keep what we would like to remember as vivid today as the day so many years ago when I couldn’t get the words out. Perhaps, on the other hand, it is precisely the embarrassment, humiliation and disappointment associated with of our life lessons that are the only real motivating factors we have for imprinting whatever it is we need to learn as we grow. Like the scorching sensation of touching that first hot surface. I for one have learned my lesson well. Sonny wherever you are you can never trip me up on that one again!

©copyright 2007 R.A. Miriello