Published: April 16, 2008 04:07 pm            

VALLEY: Time isn’t on our side

I have difficulty sleeping some nights. There are issues out there that won’t give me the peace and comfort to drift off and get a good night’s sleep. I try to find answers to these insomnia-inducing teasers but it’s usually to no avail. I offer them up in print today and perhaps, you can alleviate my obsessive quest for answers.

First of all: Why is it that whenever I read or hear anything about the legendary rock band The Rolling Stones, their age is ALWAYS brought into play — whether it be that they are in their 60’s or how old they look, it is, without fail, always mentioned. And even if the writer or speaker doesn’t admit it (or even realize it), the message is draped in sarcasm. Do people expect them NOT to age? You never read or hear someone talk about how old B.B. King is. Nor, Chuck Berry or Tony Bennet. It’s only with The Rolling Stones — no one else!

It’s my belief that those who criticize the band (or anyone, for that matter) for loss of youth are shallow individuals who resent their targets’ success. And, quite frankly, are jealous.

I say: Leave the Rolling Geezers ... ah, I mean, The Rolling Stones alone. If you don’t think they should look any different from when they first started in 1964, get yourself a mirror and check out how much you’ve changed in the last 44 years. And if you weren’t even born, yet — I rest my case!

Another thing that keeps me tossing and turning at night is: How important is the role of a senator? I had always considered this job to be not only a prestigious gig, but also, one that carried an enormous responsibility. I assumed that it paid well and I would even go out on a limb and say that any person who held that position was probably given an office with a fancy desk, nameplate and pencil sharpener. An important job, right? And it’s a job that is necessitated by important work that HAS to be done — by somebody.

Here’s the deal: I’m not so sure how important the position is anymore. That comes from this scenario: If a senator decides to go out and look for another job while still in office and on the payroll — and it takes a year or longer to do such — how is the senator’s work getting done and who’s doing it? If the senator’s job is such that others can handle it — for over a year — then why do we need a senator in the first place?

Furthermore, when someone is away from their job for that many months, aren’t we dealing with an attendance problem, here? No boss would put up with that sort of dependability (or lack of such). Isn’t this something that the taxpayers should address?

You see, here’s how I look at it: Over the years, I’ve seen extraneous levels of management — that pop up like unneeded crab grass — routinely eliminated by major corporations after cost-effective analysis. A trimming of the fat, you could say. And I thought that maybe, just maybe, I’d sleep better if our government looked into that kind of philosophical approach. My opinion is: If you don’t have to be there — then, you don’t have to be there!

By the way, as a side note: Has anyone gotten a load of Hillary, lately? Can you believe how old she looks? Even though she’s on the go all the time, she’s got more wrinkles than King Tut’s body wrap.

Apparently, a rolling stone DOES gather moss.

And that’s the way it looks from the Valley.

Tom Valley is a Medina resident. His column appears every Thursday. Write to Tvalley@rochester.rr.com.

        

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