[GreenKeys] Lost Talent and CW

[tony j. podrasky]

Howard Weeks wrote:
> I have resisted commenting on this for several days but my resistance lost!

Me too.

Here goes...

OK - YEAH; I was one of the postees that mentioned that this was
a teletype group, but the mail isn't letting up and I gotta put
in my 2-cents worth now.

Let's take a look at some of the arguments:

   o I can't learn it because I'm too old.
   o I have this medical condition that makes it tough.
   o It's old and no one uses it much.
   o I'm not going to work cw so I shouldn't have to learn it.

These people, for various reasons, want an exemption from
the requirements.

How about:

   o I'm not going to work VHF+ so I don't need to know microwave stuff.
   o I'm not going to use digital communications, so skip that too.
   o Gonna use a store-bought rig, so I don't need to learn theory.
   o Buy a pre-made antenna, so no antenna theory either.

Well, that, in a nutshell, is the problem in the United States
these days, isn't it? No one wants to put out effort for
something. They want it now now! NOW! (may Heathkit rest in peace).

The flyers that come with my power bill are printed in 11
languages. That's right ELEVEN LANGUAGES. Why? Because some
people want an exemption from learning English.

Talk to the average high school student. Especially in a
less-than-middle-class neighborhood. What kind of mastery of
the English language does he have? Ask him a math question.
No wait: he doesn't need to learn math "because he has a
calculator so he shouldn't have to". Maybe he's [pick your
favorite politically-correct term] (stupid) - but he will
graduate high school because it's California.

The PGA got sued by a guy + the ACLU. The guy had some sort
of debilitating disease that made it nearly impossible for
him to walk - but he could stand and hit the ball - and darn
good, too. He DEMANDED they let him play in the tournament.
The PGA said they were sorry, but the rules were
the golfers walked the course. I don't know what ever became
of that issue. What's next - NFL players in wheel chairs?
NBA players on stilts? One-armed baseball players - "I can't
hit - but I can run really well - so the designated hitter
rule should apply to me"?

But best of all was the soccer game (in Mass. of course
which is like Northern California but on the East Coast)
in which the coaches did not keep score. When asked why,
the response was "we don't want the kids on the team that
doesn't win (you mean the team that *LOST*, RIGHT?) to feel bad.

Oh: that's really preparing those kids for life, isn't it!
Wait 'til they go out into the real world. Boy, will they
be in for a shock when they find out if they don't meet
the expectations the boss sets, that they're out a job!

"Yes, sir - I want to be a FIREMAN, but I'm afraid of
heights - so I want you to exempt me from climbing ladders".

Look: no matter how hard you try, you can't rearrange the
letters in "life" to spell "fair".

Odds are someone else has:

   o a wife that is cuter than yours.
   o a nicer house than yours.
   o a cooler car than yours.
   o more money than you.

Bummer!

Listen: there's a nice band made just for you - located between
the 12 and 10 meter bands. No theory. No code. No work. Why,
you don't even need a license to use it. You can buy a rig and
go on it now now! NOW!

Oh - and just for the record, I'm BALD - so I expect everyone
to shave off the hair on the top of their heads - just to make
ME feel better.

We now return you to your regularly-scheduled program.

-- 
Tony J. Podrasky | So, there I was: standing in the middle of the
                  | Interstate, wearing nothing but a fireman's
                  | helmet, waving a bottle of Old Grandad and a
                  | sawed-off shotgun, minding my own business, when...
                  | Naw - you're probably already heard this one.
                  |                                        -Mark Spence