What Would Jimmy Do?

Over the years I’ve had a lot of unique, interesting friends. One of those friends was Gerald (Jerry) Siemienkiewicz. You may think, from his last name, that he was a character. To call Jerry a character would be a gross understatement. I’ve never known anyone like him — he was one of the smartest people I’ve ever known, as well as the kindest and most generous. I can’t think of anyone that didn’t like Jerry. He was certainly unique and marched to his own drum, but never to the detriment of anyone. Sadly, Jerry became a ’Silent key’ (a term a communications organization uses for eternal rest) in 1999. 

Stories about Jerry could fill several volumes, but here’s one that I particularly like….
We were in Saigon and most days wound up traveling “up country” to some pretty desolate and deserted, dirty places. Even though he had a maid in Saigon, I’m pretty sure Jerry’s clothes were never ironed and many of them were in need of repair. His shoes were pretty much on their last mile — the soles were coming off and were held on by duct tape. But Jerry, always concerned about others, traded shoes with a beggar on the street. The beggar’s shoes were no more than soles of old flip-flops tied to his feet with string. But Jerry gave him his shoes (such as they were)  and wore the beggar’s shoes. He rode a motorcycle that didn’t have any fenders and almost every shirt he had had a “mud streak” up the back because of the lack of a rear fender. At least two or three days a week we had to go into the embassy…. needless to say, Jerry never went unnoticed. 

One day, our boss called Jerry in and told him that he could never ask for a better employee, but the fact that he was representing the U.S. Government in a foreign country, even if a war was going on, he should look more professional — especially when he had work in the embassy.
 Jerry looked at him, and said that he was absolutely correct — he had just never given it much thought, but he should look more professional, and he assured our boss that he’d make an effort to present a more professional appearance. 

The next day, Jerry arrived at the embassy — his clothes still looked like he’d slept in them, he still wore the beggar’s “shoes,” still badly needed a haircut, and still had the mud streak up his back. But — he had a slide rule in his shirt pocket.
— 30 —

I was reading earlier today and and ran across this quote: “You are not what you think you are, you are not what others think you are but you are what you think others think you are.” I thought it was interesting and later I thought about it again. I guest it’s all a matter of perception — a kind of imbalance of what is and what we think it is. Who I think I am may not agree with what those around me see. There’s a lot of me’s… the me that Claire sees, the me that my kids see, the me that my relatives see, the me that acquaintances see, that strangers see, and so on. 

I guess I have too much time on my hands lately, but that got me to thinking about perception…. reading and watching the news, I’ve concluded that people choose what they want to see because it’s easier to see what they want. After a couple of weeks of watching the political conventions, and listening to a lot of different people speak, I’d say that many people (maybe most of us) often think we are better at something than we are. 

There is something called the Dunning Kruger effect. It states that the more incompetent people are, the less they are aware of their incompetence. The effect is named after David Dunning of the University of Michigan and Justin Kruger of New York University. During their research, Dunning and Kruger gave their test subjects a series of cognitive tasks and asked them to estimate how well they did. Most of the participants guessed their performance more or less realistically and a few people underestimated themselves. But the quarter of people that scored worst on the tests, wildly exaggerated their cognitive abilities. I’d say that an embellished self-image isn’t a bad thing, it’s probably a good thing. But to carry it to the extreme isn’t just enhancing self-image, it becomes self-deception. 

From what I’ve read and remember from a couple of psychology courses in school, the tendency for self -deception stems from a desire to impress others. To appear convincing, we must convince ourselves of our capabilities and truthfulness. Most successful manipulators are usually “quite full of themselves.”

I suppose my mind went down this track recently because the speeches I listened to during the political conventions didn’t contain a lot of substance — most were just perceptions — of the speaker or their party. So it seems like what’s becoming more important is perception. Even if someone takes the initiative to attempt to make people understand an issue, don’t expect them to simply compromise their views or bias. It’s easier to frame the world in a simplified perception — it takes more effort to not only acknowledge complexities, but to accept them. 

Back to the quote I started with… there’s the me I think I am, there’s the many versions of me those around me think I am, and there’s the me I think others think I am. I guess that’s true of all of us, but once again I think Dr. Seuss got it right when he said, “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”
— 30 —

Today is the anniversary of one of those times that we can all remember exactly what we were doing 19 years ago — the September 11 attacks, or 9/11 attacks, are forever etched in our memories. 

None of us need to be reminded, but on September 11, 2001, a series of airline hijackings and suicide attacks were committed by 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Queda, resulting in the deadliest terrorist attacks on American soil in U.S. history.
 Some 2,750 people were killed in New York, 184 at the pentagon and 40 in Pennsylvania. All 19 terrorists died. More than 400 New York police officers and firefighters were killed.

The ceremony at ground zero will still take place today but added safety measures are in place because of the coronavirus pandemic. This year there will be no live reading of the names of those killed in the attacks — recorded readings of the names, made by 9/11 family members, will be used. 

Since 2002, the “Tribute in Light” has marked the attacks on the twin towers — initially that display had been cancelled. On a clear night the lights can be seen from 60 miles away. It takes a team of about 40, who must work closely together, more than a week to set up the machinery to project the lights. It was thought that the health risk during the pandemic was too great for such a large crew. Apparently those concerns have been resolved and the Tribute in Light will will return tonight.

America’s response to 9/11 was swift and positive — if there was a negative aspect, it was that once again America, the superpower, overreached its power and authority. That type of response used to be called leadership. Today, the nation’s “response” to another crisis (CoViD-19) has gone the other way, with America making no effort at leadership at all. 

Former Secretary of State, John Kerry said, “Remember the hours after September 11 when we came together as one! It was the worst day we have ever seen, but it brought out the best in all of us.” Wouldn’t it be great if this September 12 could bring out the best in all of us….
— 30 —

Our grandkids started the new school year this week — well, at least virtually. Kids, like a lot of people, have taken up residence in virtual worlds lately. Although virtual wasn’t a foreign word to me, since the virus outbreak, it is now appearing as a prefix to almost anything you can think of to describe a previous physical activity now being delivered by “electronic” means. Much, or most, of this virtuality has been because of the technical tools available. Zoom is another word that has taken on new meaning… now most people think of Zoom as the online meeting tool that people rely on for “virtual” meetings. 

And of course, the popularity of Zoom has spawned another brand new word — Zoombombing, which is the practice of people hacking into online Zoom meetings to disrupt them. 

I was reminded by the start of schools how the word virtual is being used “virtually” everywhere and that was what I intended to comment on today. But since we’re on the subject of new words, a new one (to me) popped up just the other day. Actually, I’m kind of fond of it — the word is Covidiot. It’s a new term used to describe anyone doing stupid things during the current pandemic, whether it’s stockpiling toilet paper or ignoring official guidance over how to behave to avoid spreading the disease. 

So speaking for one of us that have taken up residence in a virtual world, I’m looking forward to all the new words that’ll appear when we get back in the real world. I hope our grandkids get all virtual A’s in school this year.
— 30 —

For more than 125 years, Americans have celebrated Labor Day on the first Monday of September. It always signaled the unofficial end of summer, the dreaded return to school for kids, a time for great retail sales and initiation of the debate on whether or not you can wear white afterwards.
Well of course this year, Labor Day, like just about everything else will be a little different. 

The origins of Labor Day have been somewhat lost over time. Historians credit Peter J. McGuire, co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, as the first to propose a holiday celebrating workers. If you’re interested in some extensive research on the subject, you’ll find plenty of people that don’t believe it was McGuire — so do your research and take your pick. The story that I’m sticking with for today is that McGuire brought up the idea in an 1882 meeting of the New York Central Labor Union, saying workers should lead a parade to “publicly show the strength and spirit de corps of the trade and labor organizations.”

It’s a fact that the first U.S. Labor Day was celebrated in 1882 — on Tuesday, September 5. The celebration was planned by the New York City Central Labor Union. The Labor Day “parade” consisted of about 10,000 workers that took unpaid leave and marched from City Hall past Union Square uptown to 42nd street, and ended in Wendel’s Elm Par at 92nd street and 9th Avenue for an organized picnic, complete with speeches and a concert. There is still (until this year) an annual Labor Day parade in New York City.

So what are we celebrating? The contributions and achievements of millions of men and women who are in the U.S. workforce. That seems like a good reason for a cold beer or glass of wine.
Happy Labor Day.
— 30 — 

Ten years ago today, this blog’s entry read in part “…. Emily weighed seven pounds (exactly) and was 21 inches long. If you divide 7 into 21 you get 3 which just happens to be the date she was born (and my favorite number.) If you’re one of those people that think numbers mean something (or even if you’re not) I think the meaning here is pretty clear — this is no ordinary baby ……”

You don’t have to be a real stable genius to figure out that today is our first grandchild’s birthday. From the very first time I saw her, I predicted great things from her… and once again, I was right. When Emily graduated from kindergarten, she was asked what she wanted to be when she grew up — her response was “a hula hoop dancer.” That was a pretty lofty goal, but I think she’s already exceeded it.

We don’t see her as much as we once did, but growing up means a lot of other interests and activities that take a lot of time. We still miss her sleep-overs but life goes on and Emily seems to be off to a good start. She’s adapted to this new “virtual world” probably better than most and next week will again be working from home when the new school years starts.

As I mentioned in my first blog about her, I figured that the numbers 7, 21 and 3 foretold good fortune for her — but today, we add another number. Not that she hasn’t always been, but today it becomes official — she’s a “Perfect Ten!”
Happy Birthday, Emily!!!
— 30 —

Well, here we are in September — summer is in the rear view mirror, here comes fall. Of course everything’s different this year, but usually September is a pretty busy month — start of school, football season, lots of crops are being harvested and people are beginning to think about preparing for winter. Seems like a lot of significant events take place in September, too.

I’m not sure why I thought of this, but in September, 1972 I spent a good part of the month in Jakarta, Indonesia. It was there that I learned about the murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics. There was a movie made about that, called One Day in September — I noticed it was playing on one of the TV channels recently.

But anyhow, September’s name comes from the Latin word septem, meaning “seven.” As has been discussed here before, September was the seventh month of the early Roman calendar.

In Old England, September was called Harvest Month. And we’ll have a lot to celebrate this month — Labor Day, Patriot Day (in honor and remembrance of those who died in the September 11 attacks in 2001,) Grandparents Day and Constitution Day, not to mention Talk Like a Pirate Day. But we can’t forget the Autumn Equinox, Yom Kippur and Michaelmas. 

So, hopefully we’ve got a good month ahead… September is the only month with the same number of letters as the number of the month — it’s the ninth month and has nine letters. That must mean something….
— 30 —

Since both the political conventions are over, we can now get back to the thing that’s probably the most troubling to most of us — COVID-19. Although I think I heard it referred to as the “China Virus” more than COVID or Coronavirus in the last week, those are the proper names. Maybe we should define them before going further….

Coronavirus — A family of viruses, seven of which are known to inflect people. They get their name from the crown-like spikes — coronas — that appear on the viruses under a microscope. Coronaviruses can cause the common cold (which can also be caused by other viruses, such as rhinoviruses,) as well as dangerous illnesses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS.) SARS CoV-2, the coronavirus virus first discovered in December 2019, causes the disease now known as COVID-19.

COViD-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) — Just as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 causes COVID-19. The symptoms of COVID-19 include cough, fever, and shortness of breath. While the disease appears to cause mild to moderate illness in most people, in others it has caused life-threatening pneumonia and death. Doctors and researchers continue to learn more about the disease, so information about symptoms, prevention, and treatment may change as more data becomes available.

Ok — now that that’s out of the way, back to what I intended to write about today…. I got to thinking about all the times that I’ve read about coronavirus lately that I’ve had to look up terms that I wasn’t familiar with. Coronavirus has not only disrupted our lives, it’s also caused an upheaval in our language. I checked, and sure enough Merriam-Webster has made unscheduled updates to its dictionary. Some of the new words (and terms) include: community spread, contact tracing, coronavirus, COVID-19, index case, index patient, novel coronavirus, patient zero, SARS-CoV-2, self-quarantine, social distancing, and super-spreader. A few days after I checked the update, I found another update adding even more….  acute respiratory stress syndrome (ARDS,) contactless, epidemic curve, forehead thermometer, hydroxychloroquine, immune surveillance, intensivist, physical distancing, pre-symptomatic, remdesivir, and WFH (work from home.) I’m sure that if I checked today, there might be a few more.

I usually make it a point to research words or terms that I’m not familiar with — it seems important to understand these words because they can mean different things… and the differences are important — for instance, isolation and quarantine aren’t the same thing. 

Some of the terms that I’ve come across recently that I didn’t know about or was wrong about their meaning include novel (not previously detected or reported) and fomites (inanimate objects whose surfaces can become contaminated with pathogens when touched by the carrier of an infection — and can transmit the pathogens to those than later touch the surface.)

And then of course some familiar terms like price gouging, profiteering, hunker down and containment have taken on a whole different meaning during this pandemic. Because the terminology is new or constantly being “re-defined” the confusion about the pandemic only gets more confusing.

Anyhow, whether we like it or not, we have to learn a new language — that’s the way it is. During the war, the British came up with an “inspiring phrase,” that was supposed to have the power to steady them through challenging times — keep calm and carry on. Sounds like as good advice as any….
— 30 —

Today is one of those very special days that a lot of people probably don’t know about. Today is Chinese Valentine’s Day. I know you’re excited, but don’t go marking your calendars and look forward to August 25 every year to get romantic in a Chinese restaurant. The date varies — for example, last year August 7 was Chinese Valentine’s Day. In case you’re confused, maybe I should explain….   This Chinese holiday goes by different names, but it was originally known as the Double Seventh Festival (Qixi Festival) and it falls on the 7th day of the 7th Chinese lunar month (this year, that’s today, August 25.) The festival has been celebrated since the Han Dynasty (206 BC — 220 AD.)

Over the years it has been known as the Festival of Seven Daughters, Seventh Sister’s Birthday, Festival of Double Sevens, Night of Sevens, and probably a few other names. 
Today it is popularly called Chinese Valentine’s Day. This romantic holiday evolved from an ancient love story from Chinese folklore. Like any story handed down from generation to generation over thousands of years, there are several versions of the story — here’s one….

The Goddess of Heaven (also know as the Queen of Heaven) had seven beautiful, young daughters. The seven daughters came down to Earth. They decided to bathe in a pristine river, leaving their clothes on the shore. Along came an ox herder named Niu Lang. He took their clothes to see what they would do. The daughters decided that the youngest, and most beautiful, named Zhi Nü should go out of the water and recover their clothes. Because Niu Land saw her naked, they had to get married. They fell madly in love, and shared several years of marital bliss. 
Finally, her mother became irritated by her absence from Heaven, and ordered her to return. Seeing how much Zhi Nü missed her husband, the Jade Emperor of Heaven brought the couple back together. Ultimately, Zhi Nü was allowed to visit her husband, Niu Lang just once a year. The annual reunion occurs on the 7th day of the 7th month of the Lunar calendar.

I guess whether or not a princess from heaven falling in love with an ox herder is more romantic than a little guy shooting arrows at people is personal preference, but they both seem like good occasions to have some Chinese food and drink plum wine.

The traditional ways of celebrating this special day in China, even though they’re pretty much no longer practiced, are interesting:
“Showing skills” was the most popular custom for women during the festival. The longest standing way was to speedily thread a needle under moonlight. Young women also carved exotic flowers, animals and birds — usually on a melon skin.
Worshiping the weaver fairy (the star Vega) involved a table of offerings: tea, wine, fruits, dates, hazelnuts, peanuts, and melon seeds. In the evening young women sat around the table, displaying their needlework, gazing at Vega, and praying for a good husband and a happy life. They played games or read poems until midnight. 
Honoring oxen (in remembrance of the ox herder) — Children picked bunches of wild flowers and hung them on the horns of oxen in honor of the legendary ox. 
People made and ate fried, thin pastries of different shapes, known as “skill fruit.”

Sadly, these traditions are lost to history — today, Chinese Valentine’s Day will be celebrated by giving flowers, chocolates, and other presents to lovers and sweethearts. 
Still seems like a good day for Chinese food and plum wine to me… Happy Chinese Valentine’s Day!!
— 30 —

We’ve been getting a lot of texts from our granddaughter, Emily, lately. It’s probably safe to say that every one of them contains (lots) more than one “emoji.” Emojis are just one of the many things that I really don’t “get.”

You faithful readers may remember that back on November 17, 2015 I was astonished that the Oxford English Dictionary, that chooses a “Word of the Year “ every year, in 2015, chose a Word of the Year that wasn’t even a word. It was an emoji — specifically, a “smily face” with tears. You can check the entry for 11/17/2015 if you’re interested in more details.

But back to Emojis… these symbols originated in Japan in the late 90s. The word emoji means “picture word” in Japanese. It seems like these little digital “pictures” are everywhere — I almost never get a text without an emoji and they’ve started appearing in a lot of e-mails that I receive. 

Emojis have become a part of our lives… while I still don’t understand why, many people believe that emojis are a great way to add personality to text-based conversation. (I’ll admit that it seems that there are more text-based conversations taking place today than face-to-face conversations.) The texting generation thinks everything needs to be conveyed immediately, and sometimes sending one emoji is easier than typing up a response. And with the de-emphasis of writing skills being taught today, a lot of people think nothing is more expressive than an image. 

While poking around on the Internet for information about emojis, I ran across one study that claimed the use of “emoticons” amplify whatever message we’re trying to send. A sad emoticon makes a written message seem sadder — same thing is true for happy emoticons. I do remember in the early days of personal computers, often seeing something like “:-)” fairly often — I guess that would be considered an emoticon, so I suppose emojis are just an “improvement” that has taken advantage of the graphics capabilities of everyone’s computer — and phones. 

So with all this social distancing, probably more people are texting than ever before, and that probably means the use of emojis will continue to increase. I found a listing of the ten most-used emoji on Twitter so far in 2020… and guess what? The Face with Tears of Joy emoji was number one on the list. Sound familiar? Yep that Face with Tears of Joy was the 2015 Oxford dictionary’s Word of the Year. Talk about staying power… since 2015, probably thousand of emojis have been created, but Face with Tears of Joy remains the most frequently used emoji. It beat out the Red Heart and Smiling Face with Heart-eyes, that finished in second and third places.

The top ten list didn’t offer any explanation for the rankings — just that they were the most used. After a little digging, I found that most people use the Face with Tears of Joy emoji to underscore a joke, acknowledge a funny comment, or to soften a sarcastic remark.

A cognitive psychologist, Monica Riordan, indicated that studies suggest that 55% of human communication is through body language — gestures, posture, facial expression — and 38% is conveyed by a speaker’s tone and inflection. These clues vanish in text messaging, so people tend to exaggerate their response. Supposedly, the exaggerated nature of Face with Tears of Joy is what makes it so popular — you’re essentially trying to encode an incredibly complex set of emotional and social cues into a tiny little graphic and then hoping that the other person correctly interprets what you’re trying to convey.

Well, ok. But the confusing thing (to me) is that emojis don’t have a fixed meaning, like (most) words do. But I guess that just like any language, you have to learn to “speak emoji to understand….
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