{"id":133,"date":"2013-01-27T10:29:48","date_gmt":"2013-01-27T18:29:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alfieland.com\/?p=133"},"modified":"2013-05-01T09:00:52","modified_gmt":"2013-05-01T17:00:52","slug":"alfieland-the-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alfieland.com\/?p=133","title":{"rendered":"Alfieland… the story!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Pontificating…as usual<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2026for years I have mused and mostly joked about a non-existent, mythical and fantastic place called Alfieland where \u2018Alfie\u2019 (that would be me) creates the laws, rules and modus operandi for all of its citizens. \u00a0It is not for everyone, but for those who can pass the entrance exam, I think it might be a pretty cool place to reside\u2026especially for Alfie who would essentially enjoy the station of \u2018benevolent dictator.\u2019 Then again, Emperor for Life\u2019 has a nice ring. \u00a0I\u2019d be the first to admit there is nothing inviting about being a citizen in a dictatorship, but Alfieland is not that of Pol Pot\u2019s Cambodia or the like, but rather a place where all of its citizens are reasonably like minded about taking responsibility for themselves and those within in their charge like children, students, elderly parents, employees, etc.\u00a0 That \u2018like-mindedness\u2019 is nothing more than applying common sense in how one may come at the world which has apparently gone mad. \u00a0Citizens in Alfieland are free willed rather than disciples who are sworn to loyalty and forced to subscribe to dogma and ideology of any kind. This is not Stepford. It is a place where individuality is respected. \u00a0If uncomfortable with life in Alfieland, any citizen may exit via a simple demand with or without cause and absent fear of reprisal. \u00a0\u00a0Sound interesting?\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Hey Man…like far out<\/p><\/div>\n

The entrance exam is quite simple.\u00a0 It poses only one question to which the correct answer is one of a possible two.\u00a0 You have to choose between: \u201cCriminal\u201d, or \u201cNot a Criminal.\u201d\u00a0 The scenario is\u2026a man walks into a liquor store; pulls a ski mask over his face; produces a .38 caliber pistol; points the weapon at the clerk\u2019s head; demands all the cash from the register then threatens the clerk with his life if not compliant.\u00a0 If any exam taker answers anything but \u201cCriminal,\u201d he\/she\/they may not be admitted.\u00a0 In the real world, that question may beg more questions such as: What time of day was it? What race is the perpetrator? From what kind of family did he emanate?\u00a0 What did he have for breakfast?\u00a0 Is he on meds?\u00a0 Is he a victim of society\u2019s ills, etc.?\u00a0 Anything other than an immediate response selecting \u201cCriminal\u201d denies you admittance. Any additional questions posed, the poser will suffer a similar fate.\u00a0 Simple?\u00a0 One might think so in a reasonable world.\u00a0 I\u2019ll bet my Christmas\/Chanukah money ( I am half Italian and half Jewish) that when asked, most people would want to learn more prior to providing an answer\u2026very admirable.\u00a0 But this is where we begin to discriminate between two distinctly separate groups\u2026 those who have cognitive brain function where reason prevails and those who are without common sense whom we colloquially call\u2026morons. That is not intended as a clinical term but it is a disorder closely related to another\u2026\u2018shit for brains\u2019 which is an incurable disease.<\/p>\n

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Vito<\/p><\/div>\n

I know, I know\u2026you might think I\u2019m some sort of right wing Nazi zealot who is insensitive to those who may be under served.\u00a0Not so!\u00a0 Gun totin,\u2019 tobacco chewin,\u2019 pick up drivin\u2019, gay hatin,\u2019 sheet wearin,\u2019 god fearin,\u2019 Rush lovin\u2019 rightys are entitled to their belief system just as those who are Birkenstock wearing, hot tub soaking, merlot swigging, pot smoking, Clooney loving,\u2019 beard growing, tree hugging \u2018 lefty libs\u2019 are entitled to theirs. Both ilks are rife with emotion and absent reason when drinking the proverbial Kool-Aid. I reckon those to be fundamentalists in their own way.\u00a0 In Alfieland, there is freedom to believe in what you will, but reason and common sense must rule the day.\u00a0 I, Alfie, welcome all provided that unconditional subscription to dogma and ideology without critical analysis is left at the threshold.\u00a0 Trust what you believe more than those who are selling it\u2026but no Kool-Aid!<\/p>\n

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Alfie and his ‘Girlfriend’<\/p><\/div>\n

If admitted to Alfieland, there are three requirements for all to maintain citizenship:<\/p>\n

You must\u2026<\/p>\n

1\u2026<\/span><\/strong>watch edited versions of The Godfather I and II, multiple times (editing is for the benefit of young children).\u00a0 All components of our lives are examined such as loyalty, family, prioritization, accountability, responsibility, honesty, hypocrisy, compassion, wisdom, strength, self control, discipline, commitment, competition, courage, preparation, and vision to name a few.\u00a0 This is the fabric of that saga.\u00a0 Puzzo got it right in telling his \u2018fictional\u2019 tale of Don Corleone and \u201cfamily,\u201d and its lessons may be applied universally.<\/p>\n

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That Was Then<\/p><\/div>\n

2\u2026<\/strong>participate or have participated in competitive sport and it does not matter which one(s). \u00a0The lessons gleaned from training and competition are a real slice of life where the stakes are relatively small.\u00a0 So you loose a game, or a meet or a match.\u00a0 Big deal. You can seek redemption next time out.\u00a0 What are the benefits of sport (aside from the physiological ones) you might ask?\u00a0 Well\u2026refer to requirement one.\u00a0 Other lessons learned by participating are goal setting, following rules, socialization, visualization, expectations, and to win with grace and lose with dignity.\u00a0 \u00a0Further, the art and science of de-constructing failures becomes an integral part of the process so that next time out, there is progress toward a better outcome.\u00a0 Like I said, sport provides a real slice of life in the gyms, fields, courts and pools which are laboratories where good coaches make \u2018menches.\u2019\u00a0 Competitive athletics was and still is a \u2018builder\u2019 of character despite its creep into becoming a \u2018revealer.\u2019\u00a0 Good coaches know this and do their best to inspire the notion of doin\u2019 the right thing.<\/p>\n

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Al and Bull Over Taboose Pass-July, 2012<\/p><\/div>\n

3\u2026<\/strong>you must commit 2 years of life to service without any \u2018meaningful\u2019 financial compensation.\u00a0 This may be fulfilled in many possible ways, but you must make \u2018it\u2019 better (what ever that\u2019 it\u2019 may be) and you must be part of something that has purpose and meaning beyond self.\u00a0 The military, municipal venues, charitable endeavors, the Peace Corps, missions (other than religious), etc. are good for starters but service is not limited to those few.<\/p>\n

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Citzens in Alfieland like the following quote entitled “The Ten Cannots” written by William John Henry Boetcker and published in 1916.:<\/p>\n