I was making breakfast for myself this chilly but beautiful morning in Flalaland. A couple of eggs, cheese, bacon and anything else that was lying around looking for a home. It occurred to me that this was a wonderful simile for my brain right now. Contra indicators galore. A little right. A little left. What is a guy to do? 

Reflective as always, I have been reading this and that before I venture outside. One article depicted the plight of a DACA person in Georgia. He came to this beautiful country at 10 months of age. He had no say in the matter. He then just did something stupid like growing up as a normal kid in a small Southern town. 

He went on to get a good job, be involved at the local church, and participate in helping young kids find their way. In his twenties, he has a wife and two kids. In a few weeks, his whole life could get turned upside down. He is illegal by definition, and under the new administration, he is a target for removal. I have a problem with that. 

Under the law, he is wrong to be here. In my poor little brain, I wonder how we can be so stupid but even more inhumane.

Should we round up the criminals and ne’er do wells? Of course, but what is the percentage out of 11 million that have that scarlet letter? I told you last time of our Christmas celebration that The Hope Rural School. I am sure there were illegals there. Should I back throwing them out even though they provide some valuable services to our little Playland?  If I am a Christian doesn’t that go against my beliefs? TTG, you just don’t understand. I guess I don’t. 

I was giving platelets a while back. It is a two hour procedure which is really pretty simple. As I sat there twiddling my thumbs I took a chance. The phlebotomist was black. Stupid Ted said, “Can we talk about the black thing?” Holy Shiite, I am not supposed to ask that. She was more than gracious by saying yes. Her story was beyond revealing. 

She had worked as a phlebotomist for seven years, and her husband was a boat mechanic. Their combined income was above $100,000. They had paid rent on their apartment and never missed a payment for eight years. They wanted to buy a house west of I95 in Broward County, which includes Fort Lauderdale. They could not get a mortgage. I figured it was because it was way beyond her means. Rashly, I asked how much the price of the house was. $250,000 was her reply. WTF? Is that equality? 

She went on to relate what her life was like. She was not bitter. She simply said if you are in a crap neighborhood, you got crap doctors. If it was a school in a black or Hispanic neighborhood, you got shitty teachers. Tragically, it all made sense. Garbage in. Garbage out. I asked how we could change that? She replied, “by talking to more people like you.” Yikes !

I will probably lose my elite card for thinking about these things. I am an old fart. Who cares if I am troubled? This is not hand-wringing or woe is me. It is things over my life that I have believed in and sometimes cherished. I have now seen them cast aside and minimalized. Please forgive me. 

I hope I am a moral person. This does not mean I am without sin. It just clearly states to me what is wrong and right. If you do something that is wrong you should not get a pass whether you are Hunter Biden or Donald Trump. I have listened to the cognoscenti try to explain away this or that. It just doesn’t hold water. 

In some ways, it comes down to what you think your place is on this big blue marble.

If you feel the world is out there to serve you and meet your every want, then we don’t have a lot to talk about. That is not blowing you off, but just saying we are on different wavelengths. My quandary is wondering if you are right or am I? Better yet is their some sort of common ground? A starting point. Those are kind of rare these days. 

The word that comes to mind is humanity. Humanity can refer to all people in the world, both past and present. It can also refer to the shared values, experiences, and aspirations of all humans. Kind of why are we all here? We see violence in Nola and Vegas. Mass shootings to make a name for oneself. Manifestos that scream about intangibles. Psychological problems and PTSD are the villains. That makes sense, and now let’s get on with life. Sorry for your loss. 

I wonder if this makes any sense at all? I can’t solve the world’s problems. Why even try? Do I just give up and crawl back under my comfortable golf cart or make merry at the club bar. All that outside world is so far away. And that to me kids, is just scrambled eggs. It’s tough to swallow. 

As always 

Ted The Great 

Factoids:

Perfect Storm. By different estimates we are short 3-5 million homes. Interest rates are stubbornly high. Investors bought 15% of housing stock in 2023. Rents increase by 1 1/2 to 2 time annually. 700,000 homeless are not just mentally ill or on drugs. 

In an oft-cited study, as many as 66.5% of people who file for bankruptcy blame medical bills as the primary cause. As many as 550,000 people file for bankruptcy each year for this reason. This data has been known for many years and has continued even with the passage of the Affordable Care Act.

There are approximately 1,000,000 illegals that would qualify for DACA. They were brought into our country by their parents. Their average age is 31. Their average length of stay is 25 years. 83% are in the labor force. 96% have high school diplomas. 49% have some sort of higher education. We have not revised our immigration laws in 37 years.