Been Dreaming About Mom and Communication

I gave my story at a meeting Friday night (New Year's Eve) and since then I've been having dreams of Mom. As in life, the encounters end in screaming matches, but I've at least not had to wake up that way. I just have the bad feelings and wake, instead of waking up screaming.

As was usual, she didn't understand my words. Maybe that's where I get my communication problems from....

I speak in what I think is plain language, but she read all kinds of stuff into it. When people speak to me, I don't get the missing parts - the emotions and feelings or motivations behind it. Am I missing a piece of something in my head?

I take language for what it is - a way to communicate ideas, plans, requests and thoughts. If emotive words are used, I put the communication into that context. I did well in speech class in school. I can listen and get the meaning of words. I understand what people say when they talk. I can string ideas together in verbal communication and generally not get lost in the string - I don't always have to have it in black-&-white in front of my face in other words. I can follow along with logic or fancy. I can follow the progression and development of ideas.

So why is it that when I communicate with some people, I'm slow on the uptake? Am I trying to or expected to read minds? I don't have that talent. Are others trying to read my mind? I'm lost at that point.

Maybe things will become clearer as I grow older. But I sure wish it would get clearer now! I'm almost 56!

I've Always Liked Dick Cavett

Dick Cavett has always had a quiet intelligence that confounds most of today's youth. His command of the language is amazing, and he thinks before he actually opens his mouth. If only other public figures would do the same.

I bet he'd make a heck of a speechwriter! Or a politician!

Here is a sampling....

http://cavett.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/14/the-wild-wordsmith-of-wasilla/?em

Immigration Post

My wife, Rosemary, wrote a wonderful letter to the editor of the OC Register which, of course, was not printed. So, I decided to "print" it myself by sending it out on the Internet.

Pass it along if you feel so inclined. Dave LaBonte (signed)

Written in response to a series of letters to the editor in the Orange County Register:

Dear Editor:

So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear down the Statue of Liberty because the people now in question aren't being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island and other ports of entry.

Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any longer. Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States, people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented. Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground.

They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home. They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture. Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them. All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity.

Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. My father fought along side men whose parents had come straight over from Germany, Italy, France and Japan. None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from. They were Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan. They were defending the United States of America as one people.

When we liberated France, no one in those villages were looking for the French-American or the German American or the Irish American. The people of France saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that represented one country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country's flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl. And here we are in 2006 with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country.

I'm sorry, that's not what being an American is all about. I believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Islandin the early 1900's deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a better life. I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags.

And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty, it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about dismantling theUnited States just yet.

(signed) Rosemary LaBonte

I hope this letter gets read by millions of people all across the nation!!
Ever onward!!
MAY GOD BLESS AMERICA