I am sitting here in Denver, being held captive by society. The lovely Mrs K and I have found a new friend called COVID and we ain’t going anywhere. On the mend and probably a little pissed off, but such is life. 

When one is cooped up we think of all sorts of ways to amuse ourselves. The plethora of TV channels, podcasts, E books, crosswords and the occasional scotch will pass the day adequately. But then a scary thing happens. I start to think or should I say wonder?

My first bit of revery entails Kathy and me. For the first time in my life I realize there is an end game. At 78 whether it is 10,15 or 20 years from now. We have chatted about it not in a fatalistic but realistic fashion. This COVID thing has brought home our firm desire to not be a burden on our kids and their kids. 

Speaking of children we have three starting off at college in a few short weeks. What an exciting and probably nervous time it is. You come into an environment where you know few if at all. Everybody is sizing up each other. Who will be friends and perhaps soul mates? I have picked this place to be my home for four years. I hope it works.

Our world can be turmoil or opportunity depending on the glass theory. There is so much out there that makes for success or disaster. I hope we don’t arrive at simple conclusions. Our problems are complex. They require thought, wisdom and collaboration to resolve. Forget about blame on how we got here. Egos and mistruths are are distractions. 

It is interesting at this time in our world we are so full of know it alls. Whether locally or nationally the last thing we need is a “my way or the highway” approach. Compromise is a melange of ideas.  A little from there and a little from there. Whether it is EV’s or immigration we have this need to go all in. If you are right that is wonderful. If you are wrong you go down a path that requires a U turn and a terrible loss of time and resources. 

With these critical times I wonder about out ability to govern ourselves. It is more than representatives. It is bureaucracies, municipalities, hospital systems, companies, churches  and armed services. We have failed critical tests in so many ways. 

I find it hard to trust people not for their abilities but for their morality. We have been let down by bishops, CEO’s, leaders of countries, coaches and universities. Am I being too harsh? Can we fall back on ,”We are all humans “ or is there really a disconnect between our definition of right and wrong?

Conscience is a crazy thing. Depending on your upbringing it is formed over time. The wardens are parents, neighbors, local customs or laws. The prisoners see a very narrow road or a six lane highway. As you move forward it probably gets wider. You go from black and white to grey in many ways. Many of us go right over the guard rails. Do you take off on an exciting journey or wind up hitting a tree without a seat belt? Interesting question. 

The role of parents and family is so underrated. Psychologists debate the proper way through countless books and articles. Schools often opt for personal freedom before the training wheels are ready to come off. To this day I believe we don’t let kids be kids. Probably we are forgetting to train parents to be parents. It all seems like such a bother. Eat, drink and be merry. 

Money is always on my mind. No, I think Kathy and I will get out the door with some to spare. Our last check doesn’t have to bounce. I harp on what I consider to be obscene wealth. How much does one person or family need? The absurdity of spending thousands on a concert ticket for our kids or the millions for a work of art is not just an observation by me. What is behind it?

Why do we want stuff? We all do to some degree. Some out of necessity. I get that. Some want to pick up their spirits. I will give you that. But upon introspection we do it to look good. We want people to think we are cool. When I drive my Ferrari or tricked out truck down the street I want people to look at me. It’s crazy but true isn’t it? We are defined by other people not ourselves. 

We are social people. We like to fit in somehow. We want to belong but we also want to stand out. We crave creativity but embrace normalcy. I chuckle at how often I ask myself should I speak up? Is this idea too wacky? Is this concept unique or have 15 million before me said the same thing? I think you know the answers to those questions. I don’t have a social death wish but I usually say,”Screw it!”

My biggest worries are homelessness, education, immigration, runaway healthcare costs and our ability to get things accomplished. Not necessarily in the order. I get frustrated by inactivity and foot dragging. I try to do my reading and studying but when it is time to do something I head out. There is hopefully a fifty fifty chance I get it  right.  

These are a few of the things that are buzzing around my little brain in quarantine this Sunday morning. I hope you have many things in yours. We are a great country and wonderful world. I hope we all think about it a touch more. God bless!

As always 

Ted The Great 

Factoids:

A study showed we may have 6 thoughts per minute or 6,000 a day. They can be divided between positive and negative but the latter seem to linger longer and eat at us. We ruminate without seeking an active solution. 

The number of single parent homes has decreased slightly over the last ten year. These are predominantly female single parents. Fewer couples are having children. 

Kathy and I are just two of 692 million people in the world who have gotten COVID. 6.9 million have died from this virus.We have had over a million deaths here the US. Probably 1/3 of those could have been avoided by vaccination. 

Wonder as a noun: a feeling of amazement and admiration, caused by something beautiful, remarkable, or unfamiliar.

Wonder as a verb: desire to know something; feel curious. 

If you are not necessarily religious your conscience can be derived from evolution. Survival has taught us to band together to keep one another safe. Aha! Could this perchance be, Do unto others? 

This week I was getting sliced and diced by my friendly dermatologist for the umpteenth time. I keep waiting for him to run out of things to extract from my smiling face. First we have to numb things up and that of course requires a jab. I asked how many of his patients were afraid of needles?  The answer surprised me. A whole lot are in the habit of cowering. I decided to do some research. 

This fear thing has a lot of variables and sources. Some are real and some are imagined. Some are physiological and some psychological. There is an innate sense of recoil when something threatens us. The rattle of a diamondback sends an electric shock through you. Adrenalin soars and your hairs actually do stand up on end. Now do I stand there and act cool or kick my Hoka running shoes into high gear and get the hell out of there?

After the fact am I scarred for life or just a little wiser? This is where it gets interesting. Some of us will move on and others will never set foot on anything resembling the desert, a mountain trail or a tropical marsh. Kind of limits where you can go on vacation. The fear grows into a phobia and you either seek out a shrink or relegate yourself to your home or apartment during peak season. 

Let’s talk geopolitics. Believe it or not the machinations of Chairman Xi and Putin are driven by fear. Both countries have been through centuries of invasion and chaotic dynasties. The Chinese have put together this production juggernaut that requires safe passage for all those container ships full of stuff. If you study a map of the South China Sea the islands of the Philippines, Japan et al can create quite a roadblock. 

Russia’s is huge but its population centers are right on Europe’s doorstep. The terrain is relatively flat and the only mountains to block invasion lie to the west and places like Ukraine, Poland et al. All were part of the former USSR via the Warsaw Pact. Not any more. NATO scares the crap out of them and each time another country joins the worse it gets. Irrational to us but probably not to them. 

The most interesting aspect of all this is cultural. If word keeps getting out how nice things are in Europe, America or Taiwan the stranglehold of totalitarianism becomes that much more difficult. Then the only way out is to shut down all news of our evil kingdoms. Spread propaganda and eradicate anything contrary to your belief. I hope this all doesn’t sound too elementary because to deal with it we have to understand it. Farfetched? Maybe not.

Think about our own little world. If we were any other country we would be at least ten in number by now. We have the east and left coasts. We have the southwest, southeast, midwest and New England states. We have counties and burghs, neighborhoods and gated communities. What do we fear the most? Change! Some don’t want it to happen and others fear it never will. 

Conservatives say the nomadic hordes that are sweeping the country will ruin everything. They don’t understand history, tradition and the ways that have always worked. Look at their dress and their mores. They do drugs and only want to think of themselves as they figuratively rape and pillage. Repel the boarders!

If you are progressives you have made big strides. You have enacted new and liberal laws to give power to the oppressed. You have unseated titans of industry and challenged every aspect of government. You want reparations and justice of sort. But all of a sudden, some are fighting back. Clean out the bums. Take back authority. That all sounds pretty scary on that side of the fence too. 

Fear is necessary to survive. That is a good thing. It is also irrational in its worst context. It is visceral and in being so evokes incredible emotion. We have had pandemics, shootings, riots and raids on the Capitol. COVID hit close to everyone. The others were distant but then again so close. Block parties, schools, churches and parades are part of our ethos. Is anybody safe?

The saddest part of all this is we are often paralyzed from moving forward. We worry about our job, our kids, our homes, our future, our climate. We become more rooted and not inclined to creativity. Why try? There is nothing I can do. There is an aura of insecurity and hopelessness. That ain’t good for anybody’s psyche. 

Fear alters your sense of reality. We let our imaginations run wild. We see boogey men omnipresent. Sharks are everywhere. Interest rates are going to soar and wipe out your savings. Your kids are going to be abducted. Your wife is going to leave you. Wait, maybe that is not so scary. (Ha! I just wanted to see if you got this far.) We have lost faith. 

When we fear we are not in control. I guess it comes down to believing in yourself and all of us. The way to overcome it is to stand up to it. It is called flooding. Rather than hiding, you put a toe in the water and then get in with both feet. Hug a leftie. Take an old fart to lunch. You would be surprised. 

We are not weak if we are afraid. We are stupid beyond compare if we don’t address it. It has been around for millennia. It can be overcome but it really takes work. Try it! You’ll like it. 

As always 

Ted The Great 

Factoids:

Major fears. Spiders, snakes, injections(25%), closed spaces, heights, social interactions, public speaking  and germs. I am afraid of heights but skiing and jumping out of an airplane  have gotten me through that. 

Fear can be a pleasure. People like to go to scary movies, test their limits by skiing off cliffs or going to a shipwreck. Better skip that last  one. 

30% of the population now fears being murdered. 18% by someone they don’t know and 12% by someone that do know. Yikes

You can be scared to death. Although it is rare that surge of adrenalin can get out of control and damage your heart beyond repair. 

Around 30% of the people who died from COVID could have been saved if they got vaccinated. Who knows how many were afraid of needles?