Author Archives: tedsheadco

True Grit….

In a big country like ours, life is full of contrasts. We go from the canyons of New York City to the Grand Canyon of Arizona. We celebrate Senior Chief Edward Byers and give him the Congressional Medal of Honor for shooting the enemy and showing incredible bravery in the retrieval of a hostage. We wonder in disbelief how another human being could go into a lawn mower parts factory, take people hostage and cut them down indiscriminately? We admire people with plenty in our land and then we look askance at people with plenty of nothing. Amazing place.

We are known for our pluckiness and resolve. I wonder not at what makes people successful but what keeps them coming back for more when they are knocked down. You read of every manner of being who has put up with failure only to try for that brass ring or a new start time and time again. How about people who have overcome handicaps of every sort both physical, mental and financial? What is it that makes them hang in there in the face of unbelievable odds?

This is not just a romantic concept that finds its outlet in “chick” flicks. There is something going on here that demands study by all of us. Warren Buffett took many economists and pundits to task in his annual letter this weekend. He said we can figure out how to live on 2 1/2% growth rate and have a good life. But if you listen to the Donald, our country sucks and if you harken to Bernie and at times Hilary our good times are behind us unless of course you elect one of them. Maybe it is time for America to rebel not only against politicians but all the bad news we have been hit with.

We all have something that has gone wrong in our lives. We have lost jobs and loved ones. A child has been gravely ill or diagnosed with a horrible malady. Maybe we have lost our faith. Maybe we have lost our face. Anyone who tells you they have not been through a crisis of one sort has somehow missed out on life. Of course we all know one or two braggarts who have never lost money in the stock market or on a business deal. Their marriage and kids are perfect. Good for them in their fantasies. Don’t dare look below the surface.

Psychology Today tells us “Resilience is that ineffable quality that allows some people to be knocked down by life and come back stronger than ever. Rather than letting failure overcome them and drain their resolve, they find a way to rise from the ashes” Fair enough, but do we all have the capability? Strangely enough we all do but some just don’t want to listen to their internal “Knute Rockne” speech. You know that they take some sick pleasure in wallowing in self pity and the idea the world is against them.

There was an interesting study at the University of Michigan into bouncing back from adversity. It seems that those that recover have the ability to understand the gravity or sorrow in situation and deal with it while others keep reliving the vile experience over and over again. They can’t neutralize their emotions. “Get over it” is not in their lexicon. Yes, the sensitive are more prone to getting stuck. So are those that do not plan well or who are reticent to make decisions. Yet those traits are acquired not inherited.

As I think back on my life I can’t count the times I have been knocked down. Some incidental bumps and others head on collisions that have taken their toll. Some are self inflicted. I have a tendency to speak my mind which I know will shock all of you. That doesn’t always work well. I also am prone to taking chances and thank God I have a wife who is a good sport or at least she says she is. But I do have the ability to look myself in the eye and admit I have screwed up. There are two keys hidden here. A good support system and the ability to call a spade a spade.

But the rebound is not automatic. It takes work and that is where people flater. You mean there is no pill for this or that? Sorry,but no. I am too old, too tired,too busy, too stressed to deal with it right now is the common litany of excuses. I went back to weight training this week and of course overdid it. Walking like an invalid has me questioning a second day of madness. Something inside says forget it but there is another that says get off your ass and do it. Guess which one won out?

That was a frivolous example and many of you are facing much more trauma than a sore butt. There was a couple in church on Sunday with their severely palsied boy of 18 or 19. I know many of you who have lost loved ones and yet have faced things full frontal. If I were a 55-60 year old today who had lost his job I don’t think I would be up for TTG’s message of hope. But then again somehow we survive. Somehow we make sense of all this.

As I work in hospice I have been involved in many final hour situations. The human body no matter how diseased or broken is an amazing thing. There are telltale signs the end is near. One of the most dramatic is that the patient’s extremities get cold. The blood is no longer pumping there. The body knows it is in trouble and tries at all cost to protect the torso and use whatever it has to preserve the strength in its most vital organs. When you would almost expect a person to totally acquiesce they are fighting with all they know. That is true grit. Let’s hope we can fight as hard for our world that we so cherish.

As always
Ted The Great.

Factoids.

SEAL training is over 50 weeks long. The recruits are constantly pushed physically and mentally with each week getting worse not easier.Hell week has you sleeping no more than four hours a day and under incredible pressure for the remaining 20. Around 1000 start out and about 200 make it to receive their SEAL trident. During training they can opt out by taking their helmet off and ringing a brass bell three times. I imagine it would kill me to have to do that. Here’s to those that make it.

The Donald called out Sen. John McCain for not being a war hero. He flippantly said heroes don’t get captured. McCain broke a leg and both arms upon ejection from his plane and lasted over five years in the Hanoi Hilton. I call that resolve and a healthy pair of you know whats.

Special Note from my nephew :
Some of you probably know Glen Doherty passed away during the 9/11/12 attacks in Benghazi. Glen was a good friend of mine who made the ultimate sacrifice protecting his fellow Americans. In order to remember and honor Glen, his family set up the Glen Doherty Memorial Foundation to celebrate Glen’s life and his passion for igniting the human spirit through adventure and education.
The best way I can honor my friend is by asking for your help in locating Veterans that may qualify for one of the scholarships offered by the Glen Doherty Memorial Foundation. Additionally, I am looking for members of your community to donate to this worthy cause. Donations can be made directly at http://www.glendohertyfoundation.org/.

This fund provides scholarships, subsidies, and gifts to current and former special operations professionals in one of four ways:

•Scholarships for current or former Special Operation Professionals used for traditional education
•Scholarships for current or former Special Operations Professionals used for vocational and non-traditional training
•Subsidies and grants for the children of Special Operations Professionals to attend camps that build leadership
•Gifts for the families of Special Operations Professionals and Foreign Service Officers, where a loss or life-changing debilitating injury has been suffered, to be used for recreation as a way of supporting the family unit through positive outdoor activities

Any donations or recommendations for scholarship recipients would be greatly appreciated!

Inside Ted’s Head…

We are now into the fifth year of Ted’s Head. We have made new friends and we have lost some others over the years. Some have passed on and others have passed out from this insanity that I put out most weeks. Our numbers range from 200-500 per week depending on how bored people are. I am grateful for every one of them .

The plot line is simple. As my poor wife will attest my mind idles at about 75-80 MPH most of the time and when I get really wound up, look out. I hope I can be considered observant of people and events. It’s not ESP but just a fascination and wonderment at life and all the crazy things it throws at us. Rather than knowledgeable I would rather be considered intuitive or my old favorite, pragmatic. There is only so much we can control.

Most weeks I start thinking about what interests me most around Saturday or Sunday. I am a bit of a news wonk, reading at least two newspapers a day and spending a fair amount of time on line and making PBS news somewhat mandatory. I just like the fact that their news stories are 10-15 minutes in length rather than a 60 second sound byte. I love the WEEK because it takes a news piece and gives you contrary viewpoints. At no time are you told it has to be this way or that. And then I just put thoughts on paper and somehow they seem to make sense….or at least I hope they do.

I am always asked if I am conservative or liberal? Or should I say someone will say, “Oh yeah, I know the way you feel about this or that.” You probably don’t. I have worked with the homeless and in hospice so I am going to try to help my fellow man. Yet the easiest way to get me going is to say,”You owe me.” I will help, but you better be putting in the effort.

Government is a necessary evil…to print money and safeguard the populace.I think we have gone way too far in its involvement in our lives. People were never meant to be lifetime politicians. They were supposed to come, serve their time and then go back home to their livelihoods. I think the whole idea of civil service exemptions from punishment and firing are an absurd overreach of a concept that started out one way by the founding fathers and now has taken on a wholly different life of its own. The government itself has grown so bloated and out of control there is no way to trace money and programs. But it is the grist for the politician’s mill and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

I am not anti capitalist nor anti rich which from time to time some of you have suggested. I find “obscene” wealth to be tawdry. Conspicuous consumption and a desire for things are just childish to me. Those are personal feelings but not a cause celebre. Do what floats your boat! At the same time my most detested trait is arrogance. To act in a way that refuses to take into consideration your fellow man just goes against my grain. I have never felt above or below anyone. My archbishop told me once he thought I had a problem with authority. I probably do, but it is a healthy irreverence for titles and supposed superiority. I always call priests by their first name. Not to be disrespectful but to say we are all in the same boat. Otherwise, Father you can call me Mr. Kenny.

I am not a tree hugger per se but I do think we are screwing up this blue marble we live on. If you study the planet and its systems you realize very quickly this is a well oiled machine. Everything whether it is a food chain or the Gulf Stream makes sense and is part of a process. In the Industrial Revolution we were eager and avaricious but weren’t privy to the data and science that we have today. Today as rational people we have to take steps to change. I guess it comes back the that old hubris thing that I hate so much where we say up yours, we are going to do what we want, no matter what.

As far as the world I don’t think we can or should be the world’s policeman. I think our allies have been playing us like an A Flat wherein we are the beef in any alliance and they pay little more than lip service. For the last decade and a half we have spent over 2 trillion dollars and have very little to show for it. The rest of the world was doing its thing while we were jackassing around in the Middle East. Brings back memories of Viet Nam. It actually is a self fulfilling prophecy because contrary to Dwight D. Eisenhower’s warnings we have a marriage made in heaven with defense contractors and our government living up to the specter of the “military industrial complex.”

I hope you all don’t agree with me. We all have disparate opinions. But and it is a huge BUT that we should have to ability to discuss it rather than immediately drawing sides. People are petrified of discourse because they fear if they listen they might find out they agree with some thought or ideation that is contrary to what they have put stock in for so many years. If they are iron clad stubborn they don’t have to worry about it. “That’s my story and I am sticking with it. End of discussion.” We will never grow as people or a country if we adapt that position.

All I can really hope for is that I get you to think. My buddy,Leonardo Da Vinci would think about a problem for several days. On one hand he might look at it this way. That afternoon, a totally different perspective. And then another. More often than not his solution was an amalgam of thoughts over the several days. I guess this is why he is one of the few people in history that I would attribute word “Genius” to. He was.

Lastly everyone asks what is this whole thing with Ted The Great? Very simply, I grew up on Wall Street with many buddies.They went on to become mucky mucks in high places. I called a glitterati one afternoon and his rather officious secretary answered with all the stuffiness she could muster. When I attempted to engage her in light banter she demanded,”Who is this?” I calmly said,”Ted” Really irritated, she sneered, “Ted who?” I just blurted out,”Ted The Great” and the rest is history. It’s a total spoof.

Thanks so much for listening today and as often as you can.

As always
Ted The Great

Factoid.

I figure I have written around 250,000 words of blather over these years. The are all included in the archives of the website, https://tedsheadco.wordpress.com I hope you would think enough of this lunacy to pass the web address to some fiends or mailing lists you may have . Always fire back at me when you think I am out of line or God forbid you might agree.

Sea Changes….

Sea Changes….

I have always been a proponent of the pendulum theory. Call me a student of history or just a cockeyed optimist. It always seems that no matter how crazy things get, there occurs a righting moment. That’s a nautical term where the ship can list over only so far. If it goes beyond it, the mighty vessel capsizes. If it holds there is soon a return to equilibrium or and even keel as it were.

Last Saturday morning as I opened the Wall Street Journal’s Review section I was hit right between the eyes by Charles Murray’s discussion of “Trump’s America” which I think was poorly titled. I passed the article on to a few of you stating it was not political and I don’t think it was. It defined an anger and frustration that could have been amped up by either The Donald or Bernie. A frustration that can only be described as an alienation from what has made America great.

Let’s say the American tradition or creed as Murray puts it has been egalitarianism, liberty and individualism. Fair enough. Point being that the  middle class doesn’t feel the love and are backing the two outsiders. They feel and its true that over the last few decades that have at best been treading water financially. The old formula of work hard, raise a family and do your best has produced a bitter taste rather than the sweet nectar of accomplishment.

They want to lash out at Wall Street but that is just an address. There is an elite of the media, legal fields, finance and technology that embodies raw power and separation from their lesser brethren. When I was growing up I guess you could say we had money and many of those around us did also. But we never knew it or even more importantly betray any sense of elitism. We were part of the town, church and school in every sense of the word. If you got on a high horse there was mom or dad more than willing to knock you off it.

Egalitarianism was alive and well in Manhasset, NY. You played ball with every ethnic and racial group. Yes, there were plenty of blacks. It seems the affluent, whatever that means, were neat but not gaudy. We lived in nice homes but if I were to go there today I would not describe them as opulent. If people had wealth they did not flaunt it. They wanted to fit in rather than stand out. Their weal was not hidden as much as worn well. Then things changed.

Probably the seeds were sprouting some twenty five years ago. A lot was not enough. Some wanted it all. Everywhere we became driven by ROI. Find the fastest,cheapest way to deliver product and mom and pop did not enter the discussion. This is not a diatribe against capitalism a much as a description of what happened to a whole lot of people as a result. Wealth no longer described a nice lifestyle but a race to have it all and fast. And there were casualties. Those were not bums but nice guys who saw their way of life and dreams shattered. And they are fodder for our opportunistic politicians.

Establishment is not selling. Each party is wringing their hands trying to find the right message but the natives are restless. They are galled and they are impatient. They have been buying the Kool Aid for too long. It no longer slakes their thirst. As we grow larger and larger we have to deal with the masses. Treat people as groups not individuals. Gotta have a rule for this and that and the government becomes stifling rather than empowering.

Add them up and our American creed as we knew it seems to be fraying at the edges if not completely threadbare. We lash out at the immigrants and if we send them all back home everything will be all right again. Really? A lot of these people are more than hard working and resourceful. Family and religion for all it defines are terribly important to them. We started off for the most part as Anglo Protestants. Gradually that morphed into Catholic, Judaeo Christian and yes a melange of Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists and whatever. Pardon me but I think that is what makes us great….or at least did.

This election cycle as obnoxious as it is becomes defining. There is a considerable part of our populace that are pissed off for one reason or another. I happen to believe that the middle class have a case to make. They are not on the dole as so many of our lower class are. They see the poor as living off the fruit of their efforts and the dependency is not easing. Men don’t work and fewer and fewer are married. Numbers of unwed mothers are soaring and the resources to sustain them are incomprehensible. They have also been outed by the upper class. The rich and famous like things just fine but a lot of what they have has to a large degree been on the back of productivity and cost cutting. Trickle down is exactly working out as planned.

Somebody or some party might figure this out. We can’t have healthcare and free tuition for all. At the same time we can’t be insular and pay lip service to the shills of conservatism. It’s ironic that Nino Scalia died this week. He was a strict wordsmith when it came to the Constitution. It’s not today that set the end lines but what was happening in the 1700’s. The founding fathers laid down the rules and we agreed to live by them. But once again those were based on egalitarianism, liberty and individualism. Do we still believe it?

I am not sure if the ship is going to right itself or if it should? I just hope we put some real thought into our collective cultural future as well as our economic one. I would hope the WSJ and other media outlets would put in as many articles as this one as they do on the IMF, The Middle East, the price of oil  and the Fed. That would really be a sea change…and for the better.

As always
Ted The Great

Factoids:

None to speak of.

 

Dream the Impossible Dream….

I am not sure which was more fun,Sunday or yesterday here in the foothills of the Rockies. The boys in blue and orange came through big time in the Hyper Bowl and the victory parade that ambled down 17th Street was typical of our ways. Simple and by most accounts somewhat homespun.

I went with my 9 year old grandson and we staked out our spot about two hours prior to the start of the celebration. Little by little others streamed in and soon we were seven deep up and down the avenue. Then there they were, riding on fire trucks from the city and neighboring municipalities. No one was left out of this party. Some of the players were wearing their game jerseys and other were definitely Casual Friday. Anders noted that Aquib Talib was drinking a beer and another Bronco was smoking a cigar. At least no one was smoking pot that we noticed or smelled.

Now please understand there were one million in attendance. No big deal for the east and left coasts but our metro area has a population of only 2.5 million. The state comes in at 5.3. No one was minding the store and no one really cared. The fascinating part was that everyone dispersed within 45 minutes of the end of the ceremony and there was only one arrest. We then came home and watched “Martian” and then my man had hockey practice at 6:00 PM. We didn’t pull up the sidewalks but things got back to normal without an abundance of debauchery.

What struck me most about the game was that no one was giving us a chance. Hey, the spread was 5, not 25 points but no-one cared. Superman was going to run over us until we found some kryptonite and a has been but brilliant defensive coach in Wade Philips. Sunday and yesterday I started thinking about this thing called Hope. Not Clinton’s Arkansas or Obama’s punch line but that little nugget that resides in all of us.

Sorry to be somewhat redundant on the psychological vein but it bears repeating. Our world is full of terror and turmoil. We have naysayers like the sportscasters that say no way. Fear and cynicism have turned a lot of us into a rather jaded lot. Listen to me son, I know what I am talking about and you don’t have a chance. That idea! How stupid and we can all go back to our cocoons of stability and yes mediocrity to exert our smugness once again. Not me. I can dream with the best of them.

The real distinction is the one between fantasy and possibility. I was one of the millions of whackos who bought a Powerball ticket but I really didn’t think I was going to win. There were some that were betting their life on it and therein lies the tragedy. I cogitated more about what makes something happen.

A business plan is essential, not only for some crazy new idea but perhaps for life. Whenever I start a project I try to clearly state what my objective or goal is…that is beyond saving the entire world. Is it achievable and worthwhile? One or two sentences at most. Then you look at the ways or steps you are going to employ to get it accomplished.If I am going to make something, how do I get the necessary manufacturing capability, capital, distribution etc.

Lastly do I have the requisite knowledge or talent to pull it off? Believe it or not that last piece is the biggest stumbling block. Very little beyond nuclear physics is beyond our purview and yet day after day people do not dare to dream the impossible dream. Quixote and Sancho tilting at windmills? Our landscapes are littered with good intentions and great ideas. I wonder why people fall short? Is it the inherent nature of man to fail or quit?

What is that thing that says, step out on a limb? I think it resides in dog headedness or determination. The eye on the prize. It is tough to run the gauntlet of doubt and criticism. Only the foolhardy or incredibly tenuous survive against all odds. It isn’t a win one for the Gipper speech but rather a real belief in what you are doing that propels one beyond the realm of concept. But what teaches that?

I think we here in the free world and especially the United States don’t know. We are soft and supplicant. We would rather have things done for us than do them for ourselves. Whether call it the Nanny or Welfare State we constantly have our hand out both financially and psychologically. Tell me what to do and you can also do it for me if you like. Seems that when things get tough we sit on our collective asses and wait for someone to bail us out. Who or what is this savior? Is this why we look to Bernie or Donald? I think we have to look within ourselves.

Success does not come in a pill. There is no You Tube for striving and resourcefulness. Everything good or bad in our lives is the result of a decision we made. On the other hand all this does not mean we cannot have a soul. People need a hand from time to time but should not seek help forever. How can we preach responsibility and compassion at the same time? We have to figure that one out to go forward.

In the current election cycle we are told the people are mad as hell and maybe they are? But what are they really mad at? Life is pretty damn good whatever your echelon. Surely the system is screwed up almost beyond repair, but who put these people in office? Is a country that lives on revolving credit with 16-20% interest rates really ready to come to grips with $19 trillion in long term debt? Doubtful.

Is the dream impossible? Only if we look at it as fantasy. The goals are achievable and yes we can create systems to fix the deficiencies. The two key ingredients are grit and a person or persons to enact the plan. Unfortunately I don’t see either just yet. Let’s just keep hoping. Go Broncos!

As always
Ted The Great

Factoids:

World wide, there are about 300 million persons trying to start about  150 million businesses. About one third will be launched, so you can  assume 50 million new firm births per year. Or about 137,000 per day. As  firm birth and death rates are about equal, the same number of active  firms, say 120,000 probably terminate trading each day–world wide. Were there that many bad ideas?

The man who is a pessimist before 48 knows too much; if he is an optimist after it, he knows too little.
Mark Twain

It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default.
J. K. Rowling

You have to have hope. The opposite is despair and that ain’t no life at all.
Unknown

In La La Land…

The Magical Mystery Tour is wrapping up another segment. Due to my medical hiccup last year we didn’t go anywhere. Kathy of course has accepted this as a challenge for this winter and it is almost like the bags are never unpacked. Considering the fact Denver is knee deep in snow I think I like her style. We are spending our children’s inheritance.

As I sit looking out over the water I do wonder if I was meant to be a beach bum for the rest of my life. This thing called happiness comes to mind and you contemplate on what it really is. I went to the net for guidance and as one might imagine there are anywhere from 6 to 100 rules to define happiness. I will try to distill them down to a manageable few.

When I started my topic sheet for the week it was going to be “Compared to What?” For most of us we define our lives by comparing it to someone else’s. At the beach, am I shorter, taller, fatter, thinner, tanner or as in shape as this guy or that? Walking down the shore you see this or that mansion. You wonder who the hell can afford a pad worth $7 or 8 million that they only go to two or three times a year? Maybe they need a house sitter? I think we will send Kathy instead of me with that proposal.

This brought me to the concept of positive psychology as espoused by a very cool doc by the name of Martin Seligman. We are not going to delve deeply into your toilet habits as a kid to figure out why you are unhappy. We are just going to change your way of thinking. Sounds simple and some ways it is. We are defined as a person by 50% genes and about 10% environment. That leaves you with 40% you can work on. It defines the concept of working with the hand you are dealt. You are defined by you.

That is the first and foremost premise. Love yourself. Don’t beat yourself up. This is not an egotistical, narcissistic brand. It is being honest with yourself and realistic in your expectations. You can dream big and you should but don’t make it so absurd you will never realize your goals. I am not going to shoot 65, dunk a basketball or have a billon dollars. But I can work out, work on my golf game and try to manage my resources in a meaningful way. You are in a word honest with yourself.

If you are authentic then should not feel uncomfortable with letting others in. Happy people are social and outgoing and at the same time genuine. They don’t hold back. They smile like they mean it and it comes from the soul. They have an ability to get below the surface of you and life. They don’t wear their heart on their sleeve but are not afraid to bare their innermost feelings. They will expect the same of you. They will listen and respect what you have to say rather than jumping on you for your beliefs or background.

They surround themselves with positive people. How many times do you get sucked into a conversation with a bunch of grumpy old men or women? The conversation turns to politics, religion or the economy. You can feel the temperature rising and the venom gets more unbridled. Let’s really get things cooking with Obama, Hilary, Cruz, abortion, Muslims, Jews and throw in your favorite sports team for good measure. People love to sing from the same hymnal and everyone storms out the door feeling much better for having vented their spleen. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? Huh? To what end?
Happy people listen. They don’t fight for the conversation to show their brilliance but want to learn from you. Let me sit down and consider an alternate point of view. Your problems or accomplishments do not have to take center stage. I really blew this one earlier this week. A friend was going through a tough time and I couldn’t wait to tell him about my latest insights into that end of life thing. What a jerk I was. But on another note here I am admitting it. I screwed up and as friends I hope he will forgive me.

Ah, but the unhappy people want to take on that grudge forever. It gets deep in their gut and they will never let you up for air. Somehow bile is not in that recipe for happiness. Resilience is such a part of life. Live in the now not yesterday. I have often said I can’t take back what I said five seconds ago regardless of how I might try. Move on mes amis.

Most of all you have to work at it. I took a variety of tests at authentichappiness.org. Go ahead, try them. They are free and no one will ever know the results. It puts you somewhere on a chart of others your age and lot in life. I found that I need work on a lot of things which is fine. I consider myself a pretty happy guy but there is plenty of room for improvement.

Doc Seligman says there are three types of happiness. One is purely pleasurable. That ice cream, fast car or big house. Feels fantastic..at least for the moment. Then there is an enjoyment that comes from being engaged in life. You are working hard, winning small victories every day, taking pleasure in simple things and this is usually more than enough for all of us. Lastly there is the joy of fulfillment. You really get that you are doing what you are put on this earth for. You are using your talents to the best of your ability and maybe just making this world a little better place to live.

All of this is highly subjective. We are all so incredibly different. You don’t see the same hues that I do and we hear a musical note oh so differently. We can make generalizations but must realize the answer lies within and for us alone. La La land is good for the soul. It doesn’t have to be at the beach. It can be in a set of headphones at your home or office or just a walk in the park I hope you will join me in trying harder. It should be fun.

As always
Ted The Great

Factoids:

Happiness..noun “the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile.” As good as any.

“If you want happiness for an hour — take a nap.’
If you want happiness for a day — go fishing.
If you want happiness for a year — inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime — help someone else.”
Chinese Proverb

Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.
Groucho Marx

When I was in grade school, they told me to write down what I wanted to be when I grew up.
I wrote down happy.
They told me I didn’t understand the assignment,
I told them they didn’t understand life…Unknown

“A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.”
Herm Albright (1876 – 1944)

Some of you might think this is all a bunch of crap. That is your prerogative I feel for you because you have never experienced the highest of highs and lowest of lows. You have never understood the euphoria of success and the nobility of defeat. You have never smiled and seen a face light up.  Ted The Great

One Year To Live…

I am taking a bit of a sabbatical from working at hospice. It is not from burnout or disbelief in a wonderful discipline. It is just a time to step back to see if there is a better way to use my crazy talent for dealing with death and those that it affects from patient to family to friends. I wish I could tell you why the thought of the final days does not give me the willies. I guess I just view it as much a part of life as being born.

I have spoken many times of the fact that I don’t know of anyone who has beaten the rap. We have all been subject to the gut wrenching suddenness of a car accident or an airplane crash to a relative or someone we know. Death by disease is more commonplace but when it strikes a child or beautiful young mom or dad, the poignancy is magnified and find ourselves asking the perennial question of why? I am always amazed that people question how God could let this happen?

I am looking at all this in a variety of ways. Is there a better way to do Hospice? More importantly how do I get people to understand it better. It was always a bit of deep frustration to see a gurney roll through the front door and know that person had only a little more than a few days if not hours to live. We were glad they came but we could have made things so much more comforting if the had talked to us weeks and months earlier. I remember an eighty something man who accompanied his wife and the sheer acquiescence in his voice as he sobbed,”I just couldn’t do it any more.” Why have we failed to get the message out properly? Dunno.

Understanding comes with the exchange of ideas. Words like death, mortality and even hospice cause a drastic tune out of the senses. It is said that many people who receive the bad news from an oncologist or cardiologist never hear what is being said past the first few fateful words. So many of our patients over the years said they never had the conversation. Docs are an egotistical lot and that is a good thing. They think they can cure you of anything and to tell you that you are going to die is a devastating prognosis that no one wants to tell another human being. Even more so it is an admission of defeat. Finally we are teaching in med school how to improve one’s bedside manner. They are making progress but it is slow in coming.

A friend sent me an article about a group out of New York (where else?) who have put together a series of seminars called, “How to Live This Year as if It Were Your Last.” It actually runs nine months but who is counting? It is not so much for just the dying but for everyday blokes to contemplate mortality. From Wall Streeters to housewives. Now if you look into this it is actually done by two Buddhist monks. Here and now thinking. Don’t put your life on automatic.They probably get a little too mystical for me but I love the idea. What the hell would you do?

To begin Kathy and I have travelled a lot lately so I will not be visiting the Taj Mahal. I am growing weary of long flights and besides the slums and crowded streets of India aren’t exactly beckoning. I would go back and hang out in Amalfi or Hawaii for at least a month or two.Got to have my water fix. I could then eat plenty of pasta without any guilt. Nice glass of red and perhaps a cigar after dinner. Would I opt for the $250 vino? Probably not. Not being frugal but practical. A good question to ask though.

I would of course have my buddy Kath by my side if she could stand it. We just celebrated 45 years last Saturday and at dinner she was still smiling. Do you think she was acting? I have had so many wonderful friends over the years I would at least want to let them know how much they have meant to me. Undoubtedly I would try to wrench every last fun time out of my kids and grandkids but I would have to do it without being maudlin.

I would want to write. A lot more than I do now. No, don’t worry, Ted’s Head won’t become a daily occurrence. Just something to be put away and looked at someday. Then you could decide if I had anything worthwhile to say or if this guy was really as whacky as he seemed.Somewhere I would have to sneak a letter to my wife telling her just how much she has meant to me. I would want to figure out some way to reach out to people I have wronged in some way. Try to just make it right but then again that it might be a tad selfish to think that way. “What the hell took you so long, asshole ?” might be a very valid reply. Hold that thought.

Lastly I might try to put together a course like those far out priests of Zen did in the Big Apple. I would try to free people of their fears and prejudices. That is the most striking thing of knowing the end is near. You would no longer have to put on airs. You could bring out that crazy whatever that resides inside of all of us but convention says no way you can let out. You might want to sing or act. Critics be damned.
Isn’t life nuts?

Alright, enough of this madness or as friend told me my stream of consciousness. I hope I don’t bore you but on the other hand it is fun to look at life from a totally different slant. Just letting it rip. As if I had one year to live. It is wild and crazy and well, liberating. I hope in some way you can enjoy that same type of zaniness I put on these pages. With that end so poetically near I can’t tell you how alive it makes me feel. Life is good. I hope you can taste all its beauty. One year to live? I have a lot to do I’ll let you know how I progress.

As always
Ted The Great

Factoids:

When we are near death we don’t worry about how much money we have, whether you are white or black or Muslim or Christian. I don’t care what you think of me. There is a strange devil may care attitude which in the most ironic of moments is the first time in our lives that some of us actually live.

Every day 250,000 die for one reason or another.

In that seminar in NYC one couple divorced. He wanted to buy a motorcycle and she said he was riding alone because she was moving to Paris…without him. C’est la guerre. Another woman with breast cancer went to live with her sister in Hawaii.

With death facing one in the eye we say we want to do this and that. We make our laundry or bucket lists. Why do we have to wait? Why not now? Oh that’s right. You are too busy.

Too Big Not To Fail…..

 

We were at a dinner party the other night and I sat next to a lovely young woman who by her own admission was an avowed liberal. Fair enough. She said she was for more government and power to the people. I asked her if she felt that universal healthcare was appropriate? Of course. I then asked if we could afford the ultimate in treatment for 320 million Americans. For instance there is a new drug for cancer that would give someone with cancer an extra three months of life but at a cost of $250,000. Needless to say there was a pregnant pause in the conversation.

In these days of presidential aspirations we are being treated to all manner of hyperbole when it comes to what this candidate or that will do for you. Bernie is selling the everything for free Kool Aid and there is a large group that is drinking it up much to Hilary’s dismay. On the other side the Donald is going to build the wall that is bigger and better than anything in China and of course we are going to build a hundred more ships and yada yadda. How are we going to pay for it? Just leave it to Carl Icahn.
Leaving all the discourse aside I have reached the conclusion that we cannot afford one more iota of growth in government. No more programs, departments, sub secretaries or weapons systems. We have grown too unwieldy and beyond any genius of management. We spend $3.8 trillion per annum which is about 20% of our GDP. About $450 billion of that is money we don’t have, ergo the deficit. Including defense we have about 4 million employees in the federal government and nationwide there are 20 million in the employment of the public sector.

We have had a fiasco here in Denver which is the problem in a nutshell. As a center for veterans in the Rocky Mountain region, Denver is home to a rather large and antiquated medical facility. Some 20-25 years ago it was determined a new or renovated medical center was needed. Coincidentally the University of Colorado was building an entirely new campus in nearby Aurora. A proposal was made to share facilities with the Vets with equal advantages to both. The cost was to be around $325 million. Not so fast, TTG. The American Legion of all groups weighed in and said our boys needed a stand alone independent operation. Presto chango our congressional delegation fell in line and now we were headed to a singular development at much higher cost.

The story gets worse. The architectural firm got out of control and started designing block long atriums and zigzagging and curved walls. If you have ever built you know the cost of these versus squared off walls. Beyond belief the whole operation was started without a firm price. Finally they agreed to $604 million on the fly but only if the design was changed to more normal specifications. This agreement was handwritten on a legal pad which the builder and the VA signed. That’s for 1.2 million square feet and 12 buildings….on a yellow piece of paper.
Long story short the bill has now climbed to $1.73 billion and the number of beds lowered from 182 to 148. They still have the custom doors, windows and wooden floors. That does not include furnishings and equipment which add another $340 million. I can’t make this stuff up. And construction will not be completed until 2017. An aberration? No, the VA are having the same types of problems with hospitals in New Orleans and Florida.

Now you say let’s make someone pay for this lunacy. Can’t do that because the project managers and internal designers have taken early retirement. By the rules of Civil Service they are untouchable. I wish it was just the VA. The F35 jet fighter is overwrought with overruns and capabilities that are far less than first envisioned. The web site for Obamacare was originally pegged to cost $465 million but came in at $825 million. Go back to those 4 million workers doing who knows what with little management oversight. I guarantee there are people working in offices on programs that were shut down years ago and nobody knows why they are there.

There are three pieces to the puzzle. First and foremost is the agency. People have champagne tastes on beer budgets because it is not their nickel. They put everything into the design and then proceed to submit change orders well into the project. They have no profit and loss statement to worry about. They intentionally lowball the estimates. Usually the viability of a project is judged by its ability to make economic sense. They know that once we get into this or that the government vis a vis the politician will come through with the additional funding. But if the real facts were known if never would have gotten off the ground in the first place.

The second piece is our elected representatives who have gotten there because they have brought this to that governmental spending piece to their home district. He or she will do everything in their power to keep it there and crow to the electorate. And of course the supplier is there contributing to his campaign. Northrop Grumman, Raytheon et alia have strategically made sure that some portion of that ship or plane is manufactured in every congressional district in the country.

That is just bricks and mortar and hardware. We have not even begun to speak of medicine and wellness. Day care, food stamps, anti poverty programs, housing, transportation, airports…shall I continue on? The enormity and complexity of the problem boggles the mind. Forgive me if the latest and greatest idea doesn’t give me a warm fuzzy.

My solution is this. For the next two to four years we do nothing new. Congress and the executive branch twiddle their thumbs.They can do that. We put the departments on a budget. You want to do this? Then eliminate that. Forget about balancing the budget by 2020. Do it now at all cost. Now you and I can vote the bums out.We can all give up our sacred cows. But you and I know that won’t happen and that is why I say we are too big not to fail. It’s inevitable and incredibly sad.

As always,
Ted The Great

Factoids:

It is estimated that due to fraud and poor management the US Government pays out over $125 billion on funds annually that are unnecessary or illegal.Over the last five years, the GAO said it has made 440 recommendations across 180 areas where federal agencies can cut back on fragmented, overlapping and duplicative spending programs, but as of November 2014, only 29 percent of the actions were fully addressed, according to the report. Congress refuses to hold their feet to the fire and bureaucrats stonewall.

We have a debt of over $18 trillion. How much of that as noted above is the residue of waste and fraud ? We pay interest on that every year. That is the most galling of all to me.

Over the past three years, the Government Accountability Office found 162 areas where agencies are duplicating efforts, at a cost of tens of billions of dollars. Government agencies are spending billions on new mapping data — without checking whether some other government agency already has maps they could use.It took the GAO three years to identify the federal catfish inspection programs in triplicate, inefficiency of fragmented military uniform procurement, and overlap in almost 80% of drug treatment programs. I rest my case.

Naive or Stupid?….

There are times when I stumble upon things that have been under my nose for months or years and of course never noticed. It can be an occurrence or a modus operandi that causes me to shake my head. Sometimes in disbelief. Sometimes in disgust. Just part of everyday life and I missed it.

I had to go to the dentist upon my return from London. A week long toothache forced me into it. I thought I was Superman. Not to go into detail but it was a problem to be addressed and not in one sitting. The dentist prescribed an antibiotic and some painkillers….Vicodin by name. I really never gave it a thought.

By sheer happenstance there was a vignette on PBS that evening of a young man who had been a rising gymnastic star in the 90’s. A severe injury required surgery and you guessed it, Vicodin was prescribed. This wasn’t some nee’r do well loser but a highly dedicated and accomplished athlete. He got hooked and rehabbed on three separate occasions.He has now been clean for two years.I ripped up my scrip and put my investigative hat on.

This has been described to some degree as a heroin problem. A bit of a misnomer as the epidemic had its start in opiods. For whatever reason people were given pain killers but not for a couple of days but in some cases years. Doctors, lawyers, teachers, moms, dads and their kids. When they either ran out or the pharma supply became too expensive people turned to heroin as a more affordable option.

The causes are multiple. Yes, as in alcohol or other related addictions there are genes passed on in about 40% of the cases. To the rest it is an acquired taste. Got to be hip, got to be cool, man. In all of these areas dopamine is enervated and it feels good. The reality of pain is present but so is the euphoric state one gets in and it sure beats reality for a lot of people.

This is a relatively new phenomenon. In the late 80’s to early 90’s the wunderkinds of the world starting coming out with some impressive arrays of drugs to handle a lot of things. Cancer, high blood pressure, and of course pain. For some unknown reason back problems, neck pain, arthritis, headaches became more prevalent or at least more obvious. This was also the time the drug companies were allowed to advertise directly to the consumer via print or electronic media. If you had an ailment they had a solution for you and wanted you to ask for it by name. No, as a matter of fact you should demand it. And people did by the carload.

At first the doctors weren’t so much complicit as obedient. I have got a lot of pain and you owe it to me to prescribe or I will go elsewhere. What is a guy or gal to do? The multiplicity of regimens and specialties compounded the problem because no one knew how all these things would affect someone if taken in unison? The companies paid for studies and for testimonials. In essence we got more and more hooked. Some of it undoubtedly was an improvement in symptoms and quality of life. But some of it was downright abuse.

There were alternative forms of pain management from physical therapy to meditation. Wonderful ideas but time consuming. It is so much easier to take out pad and pencil. Besides we have been indoctrinated, and willingly by the way, that we can take a pill for whatever ails us. It is the proverbial three legged stool of patient, doctor and drug company.

I am not the Women’s Christian Temperance Union nor am I without sin as it relates to an occasional alcoholic beverage. But after working on Wall Street et alia I watch it like a hawk. How would I handle a la la cocktail? I have no idea but I am not about to roll the dice to find out. Do I want to accuse my fellow man out of disdain? Not really, but when I see the cost to us as a society I have to sit up and take notice.

The outcomes are staggering. There are 12 recovery centers in Manchester, NH where the TV show originated. The woman director who was recovering herself said the wait lists were endless. If she put in 20 more centers there would still be backups. These aren’t only the big cities but small to medium sized America. I hear of a heroin problem and I think Detroit or Chicago. Not Greeley, CO or a small hamlet in Maine.
In 2012, 259 million prescriptions were written for pain killers in the US. We are 5% of the world’s population and yet we use almost 90% of most name brand opiods. The chain starts with the doctors but amazingly 70% of the time ill gotten goods are provided by family and friends who get them written by their local GP’s. They either got their own doc to prescribe or the infamous “pill mills” that have really had made their name in Florida.

We can call them victims of a progressive society and its ability to come up with incredible products without real knowledge of long term consequences. We can cite the greedy docs and pharma who will always figure out a way to turn a buck. Or we can look at ourselves as being dismissive or all of the above. Name your poison The problem is not going to go away and in the long run it is you and I that will pay for the remedies. You don’t have to be naive or stupid to figure that one out.

As always
Ted The Great

Factoids:

Fully 52 million of our fellow citizens have participated in recreational prescription drug use. Last year there were over 25,000 deaths attributed to prescription drug overdose.

The US and New Zealand are the only two countries in the developed world who publicly advertise pharmaceuticals.

Opioid Addiction Disease Basics
Opioids are any of various compounds that bind to specific receptors in the central nervous system and have analgesic (pain relieving) effects including prescription medications such as oxycodone and hydrocodone and illicit substances such as heroin

Opiod addiction is federally described as a progressive, treatable brain disease

Any type of opioid can trigger latent chronic addiction brain disease
Opioid addiction disease occurs in every American State, County, socio-economic and ethnic group

Over 100 Americans died from overdose deaths each day in 2013
Drug overdose was the leading cause of injury death in 2013, greater than car accidents and homicide

About 8,200 Americans die annually from heroin overdoses

About 75% of opioid addiction disease patients switch to heroin as a cheaper opioid source

Adolescents(12to17yearsold) Every day, 2,500 American youth abuse a prescription pain reliever for the first time

Nearly 1 in 20 high school seniors has taken Vicodin, 1 in 30 has abused OxyContin

Over 50% of individuals 12 years or older used pain relievers nonmedically from a friend or relative

The number of opioids prescribed to adolescents and young adults (ages 15 to 29) nearly doubled between 1994 and 2004

In 2010, more than 6,600 women died from prescription painkiller overdoses (18 each day)Every three minutes, a women goes to the emergency department for prescription painkiller misuse
or abuse

.

What, Me Worry?…..

I am back in World Headquarters once again after our trip across the pond. It was a marvelous sojourn that lasted but one week. We did a variety of things but the pace was perfect. A sight here and there but moreover a chance to spend some QT with the Kenny’s of the UK. Christmas there is steeped in tradition and there was an air of festivity as we went to dinner on Christmas Eve and then on to carols and Mass at what seemed to be at least a century old church. Splendid!

There was one notable absence during our stay. News! The kids don’t watch the telly that much and as is true throughout the world, our goings on in the States don’t demand all that much attention overseas. So upon our return I curled up in my old leather chair with a week old copy of The Week which remains on of my favorite sources of update. This of course was the year end edition and I was struck by a section on polls of what we Americanos think of the current state of affairs.

It seems our mood is dark. 70% of us think the US is on the wrong track. An equal number think we are not as great as we used to be while 60% think the American Dream is broken. Ironically we tend to blame this all on Washington with Obama, the Congress and even the Supreme Court in our crosshairs. Unless we changed our mode of government while I was gone I think in two cases we elect these representatives. And don’t we have the power to get rid of them? Sorry. Why screw up a good story with a touch of reason?

It goes on to enumerate our acceptance of same sex marriage and pot but religious intolerance is on the rise. A fascinating discovery was our distaste for technology. More than a plurality thinks it makes us lazy,illiterate and is ruining our interpersonal communications. How many I Phones and Android devices were given this Christmas? Like Nancy Reagan championed awhile back, can’t we just say No? Ah yes,when in doubt blame someone else.

The section that captivated me was devoted to our fears. It seems 85% think that a large scale terrorist attack is just a matter of time. I believe there will be an attack but I am not quite sure how large it will be.However I can tell you I am not staying up nights thinking about it. A whopping 60% think there are sleeper cells imbedded in our society. 45% think our government could use the military to seize control of certain states and 44% believe machines with artificial intelligence could wipe out our civilization. That’s scary. Not the events but the fact people are having these notions.

Intriguingly this all supports our current political maneuverings. I am going to figure out what is petrifying you and tell you I can fix it. Even better I will chastise any opponent in sight who thinks I am not right. He or she is the Anti Christ and damnation will occur for anyone who doesn’t vote for me. Now you may think think this is absurd but then again you may think it is true. As if this whole thing was not whacky enough we can refill our popcorn box because William Jefferson Clinton is about to arrive on the scene. The sheer prospect of Willy and the Donald locking horns over sexism should sell better than Star Wars.

This whole fear thing is becoming endemic in our society. Growing up I had to learn to “Duck and Cover” in the basement of St Mary’s grammar school. That was nothing compared to our present day world. We worry about germs and allergies. ISIS is right alongside the food we eat, the air we breathe and the water we drink. We freak out that our kids won’t get into the right school or won’t have the right friends or God forbid not marry well, whatever the hell that is.

I have mentioned it before but I really think we are losing it. Incredibly we are paranoid about the government prying into our innermost thoughts and yet will tell the world of our every moment and thought through Facebook and Twitter. We worry about Big Brother but we are buying drones by the thousands. This thing called anxiety or worry seeps into our vey pores. I meet people who can’t believe Kathy and I would have the balls to fly to London. Okay maybe that last one is just me. I am not being critical but quite frankly laughing on one end and feeling very sorry for these people on the other.

I am an optimist but at the same time a pragmatist. I am either too stupid or too old to be afraid. Life comes at you in so many ways if you try to hit every curve ball thrown at you,you are going to be terribly disappointed. Shit will happen! I think the difficult part today is that people haven’t seen the bad in a really long time if at all. We don’t focus on the root causes of things but as usual just try to treat the symptoms. There are very specific reasons for our maladies and yet we don’t have the time to sit down and understand what they are and how to take evasive or corrective action.

All these fears and percentages above are just a state of mind. A matter of perception. We crave the good old days. A sort of Norman Rockwell, Mayberry notion. Fuggedaboutit! We got it good here. Real good. In 2016 my simple resolution is to look at things squarely but with a particular bent to the upside. Alfred E Neumann used to appear on every Mad magazine cover with a goofy grin that smacked of innocence and not taking himself too seriously. That is one vestige of yesterday I can embrace. What,Me Worry? Never. Happy New Year to all and

As always
Ted The Great

Factoids:

On Christmas Day in London all public transportation (trains and buses) are closed for the entire day. You can drive car or walk but that’s it. The Queen comes on the telly at 3:00PM to address the Commonwealth. Doesn’t say all that much but people watch. They have parties to view it. Beats Obama.
Heathrow Airport in London is fascinating. These are some facts I “borrowed” from their site.
More than 70million passengers pass through every year – six million more than the UK population. Heathrow is now the third busiest airport in the world after Atlanta in the US and Beijing, China.

Heathrow sells more than 26,000 cups of tea, 35,000 cups of coffee and 1,050 bottles of champagne every day. More than 974 tons of chips(French Fries) are sold every year

One bottle of Chanel No 5 is sold at World Duty Free at Heathrow every nine minutes.
Breakfast is the most popular meal of the day at Heathrow with almost five million eggs, 6.4million croissants and 4.5million rashers of bacon served every year. The number of pastries sold annually would line a runway in both directions 350 times
.
Safety vehicles are fitted with a digital scarecrow system that plays the distress calls of various bird species to scare them away from runways.

A total of 27,260 separate items have to be stocked on to a Boeing 747-400 before it departs on a long-haul flight. With space at such a premium careful calculations are made to ensure sufficient quantities for 377 passengers are carried without waste and to keep down fuel costs. The items loaded include no more than 233 toothpicks, 58 loo rolls, 2,000 ice cubes (five per passenger), 1,263 items of cutlery, 340 safety cards, 1,291 items of crockery, 650 paper cups, 337 blankets, five first aid kits, 220 drinks stirrers, 735 glasses, 99 full bottles and 326 quarter bottles of wine, 435 sickness bags (1.15 per passenger) and 164 bags of nuts in Club World.

One plane takes off from Heathrow airport every 45 seconds.

.Terminal 5, which is humongous, has 30 miles of baggage conveyors, 2.8 miles of tunnels and 44 baggage reclaim belts. Around 53million pieces of luggage are processed every year.

The Heathrow Animal Reception Centre (HARC) receives and cares for more than 80million animals each year, including 45million invertebrates, seven million live eggs, 28million fish and 13,000 cats and dogs. ?????

GO IRISH! GO BRONCOS!

Peace on Earth…

We are here in merry olde England for the holidays with our son Scott, his wife, Dionne and their two boys Aiden(12) and Jack (10).
They live in Wimbeldon which aside from its tennis fame is a suburb about 5 miles from Central London. The flight from Denver on British Airways was 8 hours which seemed like a ride around the block after our South African jaunt.

We of course had many questions about how the Brits and Europe as a whole viewed terrorist activities after Paris. Our driver appeared well dressed and wearing a turban. Welcome to multiculturalism. Walking through the airport we quickly woke up to the fact there were people of every sort from Indian to Muslim to African. How did they let this happen? You only had to think back to the former British Empire which contained some 50+ countries of all nationalities and sizes. London was home plate and presto a melting pot that has been centuries in the making.

People are aware of the possibilities of attack but they seem to take it in stride. Maybe nightly fire bombing by the Germans in WWII inured them to the concept. Even more meaningful is their attitude towards political correctness. It started in Denver as we boarded our flight. A very pleasant woman took our ticket and wished us a Merry Christmas. Wow! I said thank you for saying it and she smiled gratefully.

It was not a single occurrence. Throughout London it has been repeated constantly. There are carolers at the Tube station. Yes, there is a Church of England but it goes beyond that. There are only about 55% of the population that consider themselves religious but that does not hold them back. My daughter in law says she receives greetings from all regardless of age,creed or nationality. Rather than get bent out of shape as to whether or not you are going to be offended, people use the opportunity to carry on a wonderful tradition. Refreshing.

We went to the Orangery at Kensington Palace yesterday. Very elegant and festooned with ornamental beauty that can only be described as neat not gaudy. You had your choice of tea or luncheon served in a quiet but stately fashion. Everything seems more subtle here. Yes, people are shopping of a sort but it just doesn’t feel over the top. Maybe it is because we are on city streets and not mammoth mall parking lots? Perchance it is due to the fact that most ride public transportation and you can only haul so much that you keep it sweet and simple.

You are struck by the minimalistic everywhere. Of course there are McMansions but for the average Londoner space is at a premium and very expensive. Rooms are multifunctional but charming. Everyone shows their Xmas trees in windows but they are not the big fat ones we are used to. They’re just fine. Beyond that, cars are small not only because to the price of gas but they are easier to find parking spaces for. Buses are double decker not for the view but because you can get more people on in a limited space. Lorries are snub nosed to get around tight corners. Their fire engines even seem more compact. Why didn’t we think of that?

The locals do put me off a bit. They avoid eye contact walking down the street or on trains. Even when you buy a cafe`and scone. But there is an interesting phenomena. If you do somehow engage them, they light up and become more than friendly to the point of almost seeming to be bubbly. Now you know TTG is always going to try to make them smile. As I engage this one or that of course my grandsons duck for cover in embarrassment Hey, it’s what I do.
We went to see Star Wars VII in 3D no less. I wanted to wear a Darth Vader mask but was voted down. It was quite a show. Harrison Ford didn’t look too bad but Princess Leiah and Luke Skywalker certainly had put a lot of miles on those bodies. I kept wondering if I showed that much age. As I watched the First Order try to subdue the Resistance and crazy weaponry galore I had to begrudgingly realize that this is probably the way the world is supposed to be. You have got a lot and I want it. There is never enough to go around. It is that simple. C’est la vie. C’est la guerre.

Kath and I took a long walk this morning. It is a treat to see grass flourishing in December. The trees are bare but the holly and evergreen bushes abound. People walk dogs and kids ride bikes. Couples loll over coffee in the local tea room. By jove, there is even a Starbucks here and there. The tree lined streets could be anywhere in the states. We really have so much in common.

Going back to British Empire, it once held over 20% of the world’s population and a higher proportion of its wealth. It started as a collection of trading posts and colonies. It had the largest navy of the world in the 1800’s. It was not only the world’s greatest power but by default the globe’s policeman. One by one members gained independence and became significant in their own right. Even in a Commonwealth they became desirous of stature. Most times the way that was exhibited was by war or economic dominance.

It makes one wonder if forms of governance are fleeting as we seek the perfect method. Monarchies, totalitarian states, democracies, theocracies, oligarchies all rise and fall. Maybe we just keep tinkering. I love what we have but will we too change as democracy outlives its usefulness? Who knows? I hope not. I am continually impressed by the universality of this place. Christmas is Christmas. No more . No less For now, our very best wishes to all far and wide. Life is good.

As always
Ted The Great

Factoids:

Multiculturalism can be viewed as a strength or a plague. People must be assimilated and a common language is foremost especially as the nation becomes larger. At the same time new settlers bring new ideas and customs. It is a balancing act.

The British Empire had areas as diverse as India, Australia, Canada, Ghana. Nassau,Botswana and Afghanistan.By 1922 the British Empire held sway over about 458 million people, one-fifth of the world’s population at the time. The empire covered more than 13,000,000 sq mi (33,670,000 km2), almost a quarter of the Earth’s total land area.

High tea which is usually served at 4:00 PM became popular by royalty. In Victorian times there were only two meals,breakfast and a formal dinner which was usually served at a late hour. Towards mid afternoon the queen was getting hungry and started having tea and sandwiches sent to her quarters. And so it began.

Boxing Day is the day after Christmas It was named in olden days for when the employers gave their staff boxes of goodies.