The Flying Fickle Finger of Fate

I hope many of you had the opportunity to laugh at one of the funniest television shows ever: Rowan and Martin’s Laugh In. It aired in the seventies, when I was in college and thereafter. This was a time when humor was silly and ridiculous. One of my favorite bits was the presentation of the Flying Fickle Finger of Fate Award. But that program is not the basis for today’s post.

This post is about the true fickleness of our fates.

Fickleness is not necessarily a bad thing. When I graduated from the University of Iowa, I believed the world was my oyster, and I would be propelled to greatness by my education. Please don’t laugh. We were all young and ambitious in our twenties. At times, it seemed like fate was out to get me. My first job after graduation was at an iron foundry in Washington, Iowa. They did not roll up the streets at sunset, except on weekends. It was that small.

The only other job offer I had from was an SS Kresge store (later known as KMart) in Beloit, Wisconsin. So, I took the factory job. All went well until our plant manager retired. Oddly enough, his assistant shredded most of his files (interesting).

His replacement was the factory superintendent, who thought he was our Supreme Leader. No, he was a jerk. Our controller left. The cost accountant was promoted and promptly starting looking for a new job. Just before an inventory exercise, the new manager confronted my boss and I. He was cursing and pushing around the furniture, showing who’s the boss. As soon as the new controller got a new job, he gave me the name of his recruiter so I could escape too.

Next thing I knew, I relocated to St. Joseph, Missouri to work for a medical device company. I met new friends and felt right at home. A couple years later, we were acquired by another company (American Home Products). They bought a device company in San Diego, and I was made controller. Whew! No more cold winters!

A year or so later, a major flood hit St. Joseph. The plant was contaminated and had to be shut down. Many good friends lost their jobs that day.

I worked in San Diego for nine years. Most of the time, I worked at the plant in Tijuana. I became very adept at calculating cost savings from being in country. Multiple US factories were shut down and relocated. I take no joy in that accomplishment, however, companies do what they do.

The most wonderful benefit from that job was meeting my future wife. While the job eventually vanished (companies do what they do), I found new work on the US side of the border at a company that had just relocated from LA.

My fourteen years there were the high point of my career. I still have many friends from that company, including the guy who started it all, Howard Leight.

Then, a little company called Honeywell showed up. I have left out a lot of details, but Honeywell bought the company, and most of the leadership team was cut.

While my tale is still unfolding, this is just an overview of a forty-four year career. At the end of it, finding Aida was still the best part of the entire adventure. Thank goodness for the Flying Fickle Finger of Fate. She’s still my best friend.

No Truer Friend

Today’s topic responds to Nonnie’s request to meet my new dog, Akiva. Since the subject came up, I decided to share the stories of all the dogs we have loved over the years. Here is a picture of Akiva.

She is the sweetest dog ever, although she loves barking at everything and everyone. She isn’t angry, just wanting attention. She has lived with me for six months. She was two and one-half when I adopted her. Since she was older, I kept her original name. Akiva means protect or shelter in Hebrew.

Her hair is a bit shaggy, but with the cooler temps, I wait for warmer weather before grooming.

This is Zelda and Chachis. They were the best of friends, as you can tell. Chachis was my baby. Zelda lives with her mommy. I lost Chachis three years ago. That pain remains.

Our other dogs were:

Coco Chanel- she was a Bichon, and an athlete. She loved to play catch and performed acrobatic jumps, just to add a bit of flair.

Gigi- she was a mix of poodle and Shih Tzu. She was her mommy’s love slave. The two of them were inseparable.

Louis Pierre- he was a pure miniature poodle and knew it. He was a wonderful companion for almost 19 years.

Mimi- she was a tiny little poodle. Like the others, she loved her walks. She was so good that she did not need a leash. If she moved away, I could snap my fingers and she’d come right back.

So many good memories, punctuated by the passing of each one. Thank goodness Zelda and Akiva are doing well.

I may seem hard to believe, but I grew up with cats. My mother did not like dogs. For years, I thought I was a cat person too. You live and you learn.

Today I must start with the not-so-great news that my COVID infection remains. The great news is that I have no symptoms. It is difficult to accept feeling 100% when a test strip says otherwise. Well, I cannot change reality, so time to think about other things.

Those who have read any of my stories know I like to bend the lines between what we know or believe, and the endless possibilities of other truths. Calling my stories fantasies is the perfect alibi. I mentioned the hyena incident yesterday. To most, I suspect that seems unbelievable in today’s modern world. Believe me, it seemed unreal to the 17 year-old Karl who stood outside that gate screaming. Gratefully, that was the only such incident I can recall.

Oddly enough, my desire to see alternative truths or realities comes from my lifelong love for astronomy. In my freshman year at the University of Iowa, I took an astronomy class from Dr. James Van Allen. Science nerds like me know he discovered and mapped the Van Allen Radiation Belts around our world. Those magnetic fields protect our fragile planet from excessive solar radiation. Without those radiation belts, our Earth would look more like Mars. Solar flares and wind can destroy the atmosphere of a planet. The Van Allen Belts deflect them. Hence, we are all still here. Yay!

Over time, I was fascinated by the discoveries of Black Holes, quasars, rogue planets, and all sorts of new objects that litter the heavens. Then, I started to learn about quantum mechanics. If you every read about that field, you will find it turns Newtonian Physics on its ears. Yet, if not for quantum theory, our electronics and phones would not exist. My mind was officially blown. Quantum theory also disproves the old song lyric:

“How Can You Be in Two Places At Once, When You’re Not Anywhere at All.”

Remember, this is all science, not some voodoo that crazies like me made up. I say, “Bring it on!” Currently, I also follow the James Web Space Telescope online. The new things we learn everyday continue to boggle the mind. The one thing scientists seem to agree on is that space is inconceivably huge. Trillions of light-years across with too many galaxies to bother trying to count.

In all that vast emptiness, there is plenty of space for new and even radical ideas. More than enough room for my fantasy novels. Who knows? Someday, they may be proven to be factual. I hope you love science as much as I do. Regardless of what others say, science does not replace God. Keep the faith, and learn more about that modern miracles of cosmology and physics. Enjoy your day.