Busy Little Hands

Not sure how this came up but I have been troubled lately by the number of things the Prez and the Congress are trying to change. There doesn't seem to be a plan that would handle things in some kind of sequential order-just the need to get everything done now. How can anyone keep track of all of this?

Well perhaps there is a plan behind this.

Years ago I had a brief stint in the Merchant Marines. My only trip started from Baltimore through the Panama Canal on the way to Viet Nam. Due to a backup at our destination port, we were sidetracked to Manila for about a week.

I learned that seaman really take advantage of being ashore. Those that drink start partying as soon as they get ashore, and believe me there was no shortage of San Miguel beer. Often they would return to the ship either suffering from a hangover or still inebriated.

On their way from the cab to the shuttles that brought them back to the ship they would often be surrounded by a group of street urchins (not sure what else to call them). Some of them appeared to be as young as 4 years old. About five or six of these kids would all approach their target asking for change or food and grabbing the seaman's shirt, sleeves, jacket or whatever they could grab hold of. At first I felt some sympathy for these kids who had to engage in this kind of activity in order to survive. But I was soon informed that while all of the imps were pulling and tugging on the seaman's clothes, one of the kids woud deftly steal the guy's wallet without him even noticing. Shades of Oliver.

So while we are trying to pay attention to all of this activity in Washington, exactly who or how many have their hands in our back pockets? The seaman would notice that he was being robbed the next time he looked for his wallet.

When will we take notice?