The Man Who Hated Fire Trucks

Once there was a man who hated fire trucks.

"I hate ALL emergency vehicles," he said. "They are expensive and most of the time they just sit around. If there is a fire, I can hire some foreign workers to put it out in another country, where labor is $1 an hour."

One day, he woke up to the sound of sirens. There was a fire truck in front of every house on his block!

"This is so wasteful!" he grumbled angrily, and went outside to confront the scandal.

He went up to the first fire engine and demanded an explanation.

"The owner of this house had a heart attack," said the fire chief. "With no-one to keep up the payments, the house burst into flames."

He went up to the second fire engine.

"The owners of this house was a young couple, both employed," said the fire chief "When one of them lost their job, the house burst into flames."

He went up to the third fire engine.

"The owner of this house was a dummy," said the fire chief. "When he couldn't re-sell it at any price, the house burst into flames."

The man was enraged at this waste of taxpayer dollars by unionized government workers. "None of this is helping ME! I demand that you stop putting out these fires!"

"Ok," said the fire chief, and the fire trucks drove away.

The fires spread throughout the neighborhood. The man's own house caught fire and burned down.

MORAL: If you don't help your neighbors in an emergency, you're a dumbshit.

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St Eddie's at the Roanoke

Some pretty strange stars aligned for a small reunion of St. Edward's alumni (and spouses) this Sunday, at the Roakoke Tavern on Mercer Island. tom Dunne and I both live in the Seattle area, but rarely run into each other. Jeff Holy of Spokane can to Renton/Federal Way for his daughter's volleyball tournement in Renton. Martin (Marty) Phelan and Bronze (...sorry I just *can't* remember his last name, give me time ...) were flying in from their delayed honeymoon (they got married last summer) and were in town for a few days. We just *had* to meet somehow, somewhere. But where?

I figured the Roanoake Inn Tavern would be conveniently on Jeff's way back to Spokane, and not hard for the rest of us. When I mentioned the name and offered to give directions, he just laughed and said he knew the way, he'd spent a lot of the 1970s there. Oh, yeah, I forgot that he was originally from Issaquah. Tom's car with Marty & Bronze came later, and we talked them in with cellphones just like, in an old movie, the control tower might talk in the novice at the controls of a stricken plane. "Ok, now turn right and watch for flying bicyclists!"

It was a pretty good reunion. We're all very different each from the other, but we have an experience in common and ... more to the point ... everyone loves a good story. And there were a couple of hours of good stories.

Thanks guys! Let's do it again sometime!

About "India Climate Solutions"

I found this interesting and inspirational:

About India Climate Solutions

"Climate change is a rapidly escalating global crisis. With greenhouse gas emissions rising faster than the IPCC worst case scenario, and with the growing threats of climate shocks and resource conflicts, rapid action to mitigate and adapt is paramount. Yet as we seek solutions at every level of society, the challenges of historical responsibility, uneven distribution of resources and impacts, and conflicting global economic and political interests is proving an immense challenge to navigate.

In the face of this challenge, however, humanity is responding. A movement towards a low carbon economy and a sustainable future is beginning and we believe that this needs to be catalysed by a network that can promote increased awareness, collaboration, leadership, innovation and inspiration.

In India, a nation of creativity, diversity and dynamism, inspirational climate solutions already exist in pockets, demonstrating significant co-benefits for the economic, social and environmental welfare of the country. They are however poorly documented, analysed and communicated in general. To avoid a replication of efforts (reinventing the wheel), and to convince governments, businesses and communities to take action, these success stories need to be shared widely. India is a nation open to new ideas, with a strong intelligence, deep spirituality and profound respect for the natural world. As such, we, the Indian youth, believe that India can take a leadership role on climate change, for its own welfare and security as well as for that of the world as a whole.

With this in mind, the IndiaClimateSolutions project is a collaboration of individuals, communities, academics, corporates, policymakers and artisans to catalyse action on climate change...."

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