In March of this year, the U.S. began a new Daylight Savings Time (DST) schedule, which was set forth in the energy bill passed by Congress in August 2005. This Bill provided for three extra weeks in the spring, and one in the fall in an effort to conserve energy. So, this year, instead of setting our clocks back on the last weekend in October, we will be making that transition on Sunday, November 4^th.

Earlier this year, IT professionals diligently worked on patches for calendars on our computers and electronic devices. While it was perceived to be the next Y2K disaster, the transition for most was pain-free, and nothing more needs to be done for the fall turn of the clock. However, if you have purchased a used piece of equipment recently, whether from a vendor, e-bay, or other source, make sure these patches have been put into place. If they have not, your appointments and any automations triggered by date and time will be affected that week of October 29^th through November 4^th, and you will have problems in the spring of 2008 as well.

In the same respect, if you have a PDA that you will be synchronizing with your used piece of equipment, make sure you do this after downloading the patch and also do it regularly. As far as making sure you have the patch in place on your PC, you can do this by going to your “Start” menu and clicking on “Control Panel”, then open up the icon labeled “System”. From there, you will see the tab for Automatic Updates where you may select to receive those by clicking in the appropriate box. If you are using an operating system other than Windows, instructions may vary, and if you are using open source software, patches are available for that as well. You can check for that at www.gnu.com, or just do a search for “DST patch”.

Many of you have heard of the Chronicles of Narnia movie, and you may think this commentary is based on that. Not even close. I just could relate to the title. Think about it. We all have people in our lives like the three things listed here. 

1. The Lion. The lion has little patience for nonsense and is rarely afraid of conflict, sometimes even running to meet it head on. Many times, the lion leaps before looking, rushing into conflicts without thinking about the consequences. Ultimately, the lion will come to a reasonable resolution
2. The Witch. The witch can be sly, schmoozing others with sappy sweet words, while at the same time seeking ways to satisfy personal needs at the expense of everyone else. After all, the witch IS the center of the universe and all must revolve around this person .
3. Then, there’s the Wardrobe. The wardrobe opens its doors to everyone. Everything is rosy; everything is good, but be careful. Once inside, the wardrobe will close its doors at even the slightest hint of a problem, locking you in and not allowing any resolution to ever take place. Allowing that would mean conflict would first have to take place, and we can’t have any ripples in the universe. Everything must be peaceful.

We have a situation in our family now that involves these exact players. The lion has finally come to terms with the fact that resolution of the conflict can never take place without upsetting the wardrobe. After two years of strife, the lion has wised up and realized that the witch is continually using her power of guilt over the wardrobe to try and get the best of the lion. But, the lion now knows that the witch doesn’t care about the wardrobe, except to the extent she can use her to get what she wants, whatever the cost.

What the wardrobe doesn’t realize is that  by closing her doors to avoid conflict, she  feeds more power to the witch to hold over her in the future. The wardrobe should fling open her doors, letting it all fly out. Once the witch realizes she has no power over the wardrobe, peace will once again settle in, and the witch will turn into a lamb. Then, the lion will lay down with the lamb in peace.

Recently I was on an e-mail routing comparing school conditions in the 1950s to conditions we face today. Many of these comparisons reflected how school officials might respond to situations such as a student who carried a rifle to school in the 50s because he wanted to go hunting that day vs. a student carrying a deadly weapon for the purpose of intimidation and potential murder, with the student viewed as a potential assassin in today’s realm. There were also references to medications vs. drug paraphernalia, as well as references to terrorist suspects. While this comparison was intended to be thought provoking, one of the recipients took the liberty of assuming reactions to such situations in the schools today resulted from 9/11 events, and he responded with a “reply to all” stating that we should forget 9/11 and focus on 9/12.

There are simply no words to describe my fury at that statement, so I put the e-mail aside until I could form a rational response, and I did indeed respond, replying to all. Aside from the fact this responder completely dismisses the ever increasing drug problem in schools, he never once acknowledged that current rules, procedures and responsibilities are based on past events such as Columbine, the Amish school shooting in Pennsylvania, and the Virginia Massacre. No, he simply blamed current conditions on 9/11, nonchalantly treating that attack of war on the United States as something that was big news for the day, but “let’s get over it and move on.”

Personally, I will never be able to erase the memory of that day, nor would I want to. How can anyone forget seeing the impact of those planes on the twin towers, and how some jumped to their deaths to avoid being burned alive. How can anyone forget the gaping, burning hole in the Pentagon, and Flight 93’s plummet to the earth in Pennsylvania. How can anyone simply move on after witnessing the collapse of each tower. My heart still races any time I see a video of that. To do that would be a dishonor to those who lost their lives on that horrible, to their families, friends, and to the men and women serving in our military to protect us from such attacks in the future.

How can anyone forget that flights all over the world were grounded, as air travel came to a screeching halt. I still think of that day every time I fly. What did those victims go through, and how did they feel knowing those moments would be the last of their life. What did they feel as their plane ripped through steel, exploding on impact.

Forget 9/11? If we do that, then we must forget the Oklahoma City bombing, Pearl Harbor and Vietnam, too. And while we’re at it, how about forgetting that the U.S. is a constant target for terrorist attacks. After all, if we forget these things, then we can live in blissful denial and not worry that we are still vulnerable, right?

Putting the sarcasm aside, I truly hope that one day our e-mail responder will meet a family member of one of the 9/11 victims, or be significantly touched by a soldier who has sacrificed all for the sake of protecting the very soil he walks on and his right to freely express his opinion in that e-mail. Then, maybe he will realize that the measures put into place in our schools and in our homeland today are part of that protection of our rights, and serve to ensure that we never have to site in front of our televisions again, witnessing the horror of thousands of lives being destroyed, all in the name of Allah, and for the sake of the hatred of one evil man who perpetrated the events that set into motion how we would live our lives and be governed in the future. Forgetting that would be to say that we’re no longer in danger of a repeat attack, and that our military are serving in vain.

Forget 9/11? Not as long as I live, and especially not as long as those I love are serving in the military. In closing, I would like to say a special thanks to all our military, past and present, and to my son, David Gleitz, who is currently serving in Iraq, and as well as my friend’s son, Darren Rogers. May God bless you all and keep you safe as you keep us safe.