Second Thoughts

I need to head out quickly, in the hopes of out-running the next snow storm due to hit the Northwest. As I got up the this morning, the news was already on and there was a special report on the Arizona shooting. 
Watching the stories of the victims, sipping coffee by the fire, watching the news and trying to figure out what was going on in the head of the shooter, I thought instantly of this blog and yesterday's post.... which showed a lot of graphic gun violence.
The beauty of the blog is if you post something you think is a hoot, a.k.a. "funny" one day....
and the next day you re-think that post and decide it is distasteful... you can take it down.

So given the mass shooting, and given the fact that the "Bambee" video I posted on this blog is no longer funny to me.... and no doubt, offensive to many, I am censoring myself and pulling the video off the blog after I write this.
As a P.I. you must be fast on your feet and even faster in your head.
You have to read the world around you and remain fluid, become like a shape-shifter.
It is very important to establish rapport in this business with people you interview and deal with and that's where the shape-shifting comes in.
You talk to a gang member and want info, you want them to think you respect them to elicit the info you need. You are not a police officeer, you are a P.I.... which gives you certain liberties in how you dress and act to match your subject's success.

You talk to someone who is incredibly wealthy and you're not, you need to step it up, to up-scale.
You need to acknowledge their success without showing awe.
Investigators are much like chameleons, we blend into our surroundings to make our subjects think we understand the subtle shades, colors, hues, of their lives.
As the economy continues to tank.... as people self-medicate with booze or drugs...
or, go off the meds they need because they can't afford them...
there will be more of this violence like we have seen almost everywhere.

I am not so naive as to believe we can stop it.
I am smart enough to know we can change ourselves, in the same way I am changing this blog to remove  a piece  I now feel is offensive.
So today, I leave this quote, written many years ago, in my wake.
It has been on the blog before, however, it is an inspiration to me and I hope it will inspire others.
To anyone whose path crosses this blog today, consider the following carefully.
There is truth and genius in Sir Arthur Ward's words, so many years after they were written.
Please be safe and well out there today.

"Before you speak, listen.
Before you write, think.
Before spend, earn.
Before you invest, investigate.
Before you criticize, wait.
Before you pray, forgive
Before you quit, try.
Before you retire, Save.
Before you die, give."
                    
                             William Arthur Ward