I don’t know how many of you are familiar with the nonsense written about North Dakota by John Hoff. He’s a guy who came to Grand Forks, somehow won a local government seat, then proceeded to act like such a jackass that they threw him out. He landed back in Minnesota, where he now puts his pen to work making North Dakota seem like a vast wasteland of despair. You can read this stupidity here.

Now we’ve got this, a post on rakemag.com that sums up North Dakota as a place where only the trapped remain, attempts at productivity and happiness are futile, and the wise escape to Minnesota. Drivel.

I would agree that small towns and outmigration are a problem, but I have yet to personally talk to anyone genuinely unhappy about living in North Dakota. Making feigned complaints about the winters are almost a sport here. Sure, our high school kids want to attend a “big city” college after graduation, but what about the numbers that return back once it’s time to raise a family?

I don’t know why some Minnesotans seem to have a chip on their shoulder about our state. It seems to be a dandy place to hunt and fish, though, because they’re sure screaming about having to pay non-resident fees for that. But it’s not even the sportsmen writing articles like this. It’s just another sort of elitist, looking for perceived angst somewhere that they can use in order to spew nonsense in the name of insight.

So, go ahead and read the article here. After that, if you still want to live in “hell with the fires out,” I’ll see you out on the streets sometime. I’ll be the one with a smile on my face. I love North Dakota.

I couldn’t resist the term “hate speech.” I know, it’s a liberal term for anything that might imply a sense of right and wrong, or just something they don’t like or declare as “intolerant.” I, unlike liberals, still recognize the right of people in this country to say whatever they’d like. It shows us who the writer is, and where they come from. In this case, it also illustrates that they have no idea what they’re talking about. –Thanks to my friend Shari G for the heads-up on the Rake Mag article.

I’m taking a few minutes to eat here at work, with a bowl of my favorite canned pseudo-food. Saying grace before dinner, it occurred to me again that we really live like kings here in the Bismarck-Mandan area. The least among us has got life infinitely better than the majority of the people in this world. We make fun of “pseudo food” like this stuff; yet it’s more nutrition than many people might see in a week. It’s certainly more sodium!

And perhaps it’s just the theme of the day…while shoveling generic Cap’n Crunch into my head this morning, it occurred to me that there are millions, perhaps billions, of people out there who are so undernourished that their teeth probably couldn’t even handle Cap’n Crunch.

I think of Philippians 4:11 in the Bible: “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” Or Titus 6:8 as well: “And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.” We as Americans are very prosperous. I don’t consider that an accident, either. But it should occur to us daily to be thankful for, and good stewards of, all that we have. In today’s society, and with technology advancing as fast as it is, it’s very difficult to be content. But we should always be thankful…and not to Chef Boy Ar Dee.

I’m all for brand loyalty…but who’s the idiot who came up with this sticker? They must be a rich idiot by now; I see these things all over the place. Many of them use the character Calvin of Calvin & Hobbes fame, without license I’m sure. Then you just pick the logo of your least favorite car/truck/whatever and voila’! Instant jackass!

Wake up, people! You’re putting a picture of someone URINATING on your vehicle for all to see. Hasn’t that occurred to you? Are you really too crass to care? How do you suppose the world sees you? It makes me wonder what kind of person would put something like this on their car. Does it just not sink in? Do they think this kind of humor is funny? Do they show their own kids and laugh?

I couldn’t agree more with this guy’s sentiment towards Fords. But there’s such a thing as common decency, and I think a depiction of someone peeing is far over the line as far as decency’s concerned.

During a recent walk along the path I made this discovery. Some real tough guys descended on Sertoma Park to prove themselves with a can of spray paint recently. In a daring feat of epic proportions, they painted the hidden side of a remote park building, probably not in broad daylight. It’s amazing to think of the courage it must have taken to commit such an act!

I am not proficient when it comes to reading “gangsta” but out of this I get a crown, an unintelligble character and “PS Krew.” Well, PS must stand for Pusillanimous* Spraypainters or something. In any case, what’s the point? You’ve painted it where nobody’s even gonna see it till Spring.

I think that if someone’s so insecure that they need to spray paint their name somewhere, they should have the sack to do it somewhere out in the open. What kind of chicken goes and paints places where they’re guaranteed not to be caught? Who’s the tough guy in that equation? Give me a break.

So, if you’re looking at tagging around Bismarck or Mandan, do us a favor. Show a little initiative and do it where there’s constant traffic. Take some risks…and pay the penalty when you’re caught. Otherwise, just huff the contents of your spray can and save us all the inconvenience. Cowards.

*pusillanimous = “contemptibly timid”

Check out the court reports from this week in the local newspaper and you’ll see a shameful statistic. Not only are there several DUI charges in there, but nearly half of them also involve driving under suspension or revocation. There are also a number of drivers arrested for driving under suspension or revocation, two of them their fourth offense!

This is ridiculous. If someone has enough disregard for the safety of others to drive under the influence, they certainly are reckless enough to keep driving after someone takes their license away. The law needs to be tougher.

When someone is convicted of DUI they should lose their vehicle. Period. It should be confiscated and either auctioned at the police auction or turned over to the leinholder if it’s being financed. Obviously taking away a little plastic card is not enough to prevent these people from getting behind the wheel and putting us all at risk.

I’m not sure what this grotesque has to do with Lewis and Clark, thunderbirds, or anything else…but there it sits. No one I’ve talked to thinks it’s anything but an eyesore. Now I hear rumors of a second one?

I stopped in at JC Penney in the mall yesterday with my wife to exchange a jacket for a different size. While she was tending to that and perusing that 50% off sale, I grabbed a bunch of sale Nike stuff and wandered over the men’s suits department. Boy, am I glad I did!

First off: I’m like a lot of guys…I’d buy more dress clothes if 1) I only knew what the heck I was doing, and 2) I had any idea what my size is and how to buy stuff that fits nice. I was in luck Sunday. An older gentleman there by the name of Dick came up to me and started out by helping me find my shirt size. This guy helped me out as if I was at a custom tailor. So we ventured over to the suits after finding my proper shirt size.

I’ve been meaning to get another suit (I love suits) and they were 50% off yesterday. So with Dick’s help I tried on a few, he explained how they should fit in the shoulders, waist, and sleeves, and we found one that worked perfectly. He spent all the time necessary to make sure both my wife and I understood what we were trying to achieve in fitting a suit. All the while he was very professional, courteous, and great conversation.

At one point another customer came up with a question. He explained that he was fitting a suit and couldn’t help them right away, apologized, and found another employee to help them. Talk about feeling like I was being attended to – again, as if I were at a custom tailor. I forgot I was in a department store.

Employees seem to be treated as a disposable commodity these days, especially since many of them seem incapable of proper customer service. A gentleman like this suit salesman at JC Penney stands out as one in thousands, perhaps even more rare than that. I am going to buy all my dress clothes from JC Penney in the future, as long as a guy like Dick works there to help me out.

So, if you’re like most guys – willing to dress up, but uncertain about (even intimidated by) shopping for dress clothes, go to JC Penney and see this man. You’ll be glad you did.

Aside: I value good customer service and professionalism in general more than most, or at least I make a bigger deal about it. When I have a positive experience at an establishment, I make sure that someone in charge knows about it. They need to; most of the time the only people who seek out a manager are the angry ones. Employees who go above and beyond deserve recognition, and I am always more than happy to give it.