Author Archives: tedsheadco

This and That

　
Earthquake; The sheer force of nature was never more evident than last week and even continuing now in Japan. As has been written by many, Japan is one of the most technically advanced countries in the world. Their foresight and training for just such an event probably saved hundreds of thousands of people.
 
 

 

Yet the startling fact to me is that against forces of nature, even the most brilliant minds are no match. The sheer power of the Pacific Plates is both wondrous and scary. The thought of that occurring 15 miles below the surface of the water is mind blowing. That is 75,000 feet  into the earth’s crust

Almost simultaneously, the shuttle Discovery was setting down from another and final trip into space. The program is shutting down after several decades. There are going to be scientists and support staff out of work. Why don’t we explore the oceans?

Compared to outer space we have spent nothing in finding out what goes on thousands of feet below the surface. Approach this frontier the way we have the heavens. Think of it. It is a source of food, water, oil and who knows what minerals. How many other problems can we solve here without going to war. Just another pearl of wisdom from a dumb civilian.

The Japanese people are incredible in their demeanor and outlook. There isn’t a hint of ill will or looting or despair. I am sure it is somewhat religious and cultural but everyone treats each other as family watching out and being one. There is no pushing in line. Share and share alike. Neat concept.

Most of all is their resolve to rebuild and literally start over again. They are assessing the damage and going back to the drawing board in spite of constant aftershocks and threats of new Tsunamis. Can you imagine the fear and anxiety that must happen when they hear the dreaded air raid sirens again and again? Talk about resilience.

I watched a two hour show on the prophecies of Nostradamus. Like everything else you can read into it anything you want. But it was eerie that I watched this ten days ago. It speculates that the world will end on December 21,2012. This was all written several centuries ago. Very interesting. If you are the faint of heart, make sure it doesn’t hit your must see TV in the coming days

Church: Kathy and I tried a new church this week. We were welcomed openly by a wonderful young priest and very enrgetic congregation. His homily struck an interesting similarity to my blog last week. He must have copied it. The real gist was our preoccupation with things that go wrong. Charlie Sheen. The earthquake.The nightly news always features the latest murders, rapes and car crashes.

I have often wondered about our obsession with all things disastrous. Do we revel in gore and disease as long as it isn’t happening to us? Do we feel lucky or smug? When we say I am so sorry for this or that I wonder if we really mean it? Does misery love company or do we just move on? Thank God it wasn’t me. How many people checked the site where we feed the poor or tend to the sick.

There was  a four month old found in Japan yesterday. She had been torn from her parents arms by the Tsunami. She will be just fine. How many of you heard this heartwarming story?

Football: Maybe it is posturing for negotiation but this thing really gives me a bad taste. We are talking about two sets of spoiled brats trying to figure out how they are going to split $9 billion. The worst part is that the seats aren’t filled by corporate execs but Joe Six Packs. It’s this guy’s country club and they just closed it down.

Fines: For some reason after seeing the report on the financial crisis that absolved everyone, I got to thinking about my old stomping ground of Wall Street. I tried to quantify how many fines they and corporate America have shelled out.

$550mill for Goldman. $400 mill by Fannie Mae and $1.45 billion for Eli Lilly.Leo Mazillo of Countrywide fame paid $47 milllion personally. No one went to jail. Everybody is still in business. And they all paid without admitting any wrongdoing. Just their largesse. What a country! Tell that to some dude that got sent up the river for robbing a bank.

Conclusion: Well, Kathy and I are on the road to visit several old friends in Phoenix. She is playing in a member guest. I really enjoy driving. Sounds corny but you have no idea how big our country is until you travel it. Talk about diversity of people and ideas. If we were any other country we would 6-8 different nations. It really is a miracle it works.

 Sorry it’s a mishmash of ideas but there is so much happening. A lot to process. Of course a lot to ponder. I hope I listen. I hope I learn. I hope you all stay safe. Say Amen.

As Always

Ted The Great

Mouths of Babes:  My five year old grandson Jack Kenny, told his mother that “smooching” was kissing longly. May you all smooch sometime today.

Now Anders Mc Keever, my 4 year grandson, went for a ski weekend with his father. His mother is about to give birth to #2 child in 3-4 weeks. He gave his mother a kiss and ran out the door only to return. “Hey Mom if you have the baby while we are gone make sure you get in touch with us.” Enough said.

　

　

I Am Not As Dumb As I Look

　

As I may have told you, in the car I spend one week listening to conservative radio and one week listening to liberal. I am not a glutton for punishment but it just makes sense…listening that is.

As is appropriate, one is in attack mode all the time and the other plays defense. But you do get glimmers of sanity here and there. With the true exception of Olbermann and Beck. They are certifiable.

I also scour the various newspapers for editorials and columns. I hope others do too. I took note of how the papers played the employment report last Friday. They said it wasn’t bad but the gains might be weather related. They want to see 4-6 months of the same before we are declared cured. Can we please get positive?

This has nothing to do with politics or Obama. It has to do with feeling better about things. Is it me or do we see one crisis after another ? I have been five down on the golf course more than once…and come back. Not because I am good but because I always try to think on the up side.

Having been involved in depression in both an academic and personal sense, I can tell you it is not so much the facts of life but how you view them. Cognitive psychologists will speak of erroneous thinking. Basically you read things wrongly and draw the darker conclusions.

If I let out a loud yell, someone might think I am upset. Another might think I hurt myself. A third might think I am nuts. Maybe I am calling the dog. Same action. Different responses. You have the power to think positively or negatively about anything. Half empty or half full. It is really your choice.

I guess it is the plight of man, but it still fascinates me that we can get so down as a city, a certain demographic, a country. Elizabeth Edwards wrote a book on resilience. Now if that isn’t a poor woman that should have been depressed. Sure there is bad in the world but there is a hell of a lot of good.

I watched a segment on 60 Minutes last night. It had to do with impoverished kids in the county which encompasses Disney World in Florida. Over one thousand children in the school district are homeless. Incredibly sad and sobering as I sheepishly sat down with my dinner and glass of wine.

But the real truth was the families that were hell bent on making it. By hook or by crook. I have seen people in a homeless shelter that are determined to get out. What separates them from some one who has given up or wants to wallow in self pity? A little thing called soul. They reach down, look life in the eye and say let’s get on with it.

Johnnie Miller was announcing the Honda Classic last weekend. I was astounded how many times before the player hit a shot he pointed out what could go wrong. The water. The sand. Out of Bounds. Is this the way the guy naturally thinks? Do we?

Let’s take something near and dear. The Boomers. We are all talking about this group as a boat anchor. How about the potential for good? Schools are hurting. Can’t they be volunteer teacher aids? How about CFO’s helping out school districts and non profits?

A good buddy of mine drives a bus for senior citizens. These are not just nice to do things but the difference between a program continuing or being dropped. Yeah, I am trying to get your butt off the couch but I am also trying to demonstrate how you can look at a generation differently. Goes for all of them. The X’s, the Y’s, the Me’s.

Think about all the negative energy we expend by bitching and moaning. And in true Irish fashion the bad feelings stay with you a lot longer than the good times.

Imagine if the pundits and lawmakers spent their time coming up with positive solutions rather than calling press conferences to put something down. How about the daily emails you get? What if instead of taking shots, those fertile brains came up with solutions ?

I am “pondering” over Social Security and Healthcare. I am wracking my meager brain to come up with a good course of action. Not because I am bored but I think that I as a citizen have to do so. It’s okay, we are padding the walls to my office.

We all have so much talent, both young and old. If we ever harnessed that power in a positive way instead of all the hand wringing, we could be scary good…or at least scary happy.

Yes, I am not as dumb as I look. Neither are you!

As always

Ted The Great

　

Factoid: They estimate over 200,000,000 golf balls are lost in the US every year.

Prayer: Lord, let me be one half the person my dog thinks I am. (Sorry, I forgot it last week)

Broader Meaning

 
I’ve moved..and moved..and moved. And I can’t tell you why. Call it wanderlust. Call it escape. I am really not quite sure. I have never been forced to move. I just have done it a number of times with my wife and family. Somehow it seems to have worked out pretty well for all concerned.
 
Some call me crazy. I have given up promising careers and beautiful places. That is not so all important. People, life, excitement and fabulous experiences are my just rewards. I have had plenty.
 
When we go on vacation somewhere I immediately start looking at the glossy real estate brochures. Whether it is in the frozen tundra or tropical isles. Am I running or searching? Or just an adventuresome sort who gets bored quickly? I can’t say I have a good answer.
 
It is not really in my genes. Very few of my family have gone far, if at all. It’s not in Kathy’s genes either. Her dad lived on the same street for 89 years in only two houses. The rest of her family lives in that same town. Where did I get this?
 
 As a youngster I loved going to camp. In those days it wasn’t for one or two weeks but for the entire summer. It was a marvelous adventure on a most beautiful lake in the mountains of New Hampshire.
 
I never got homesick but it wasn‘t because I didn‘t love my home and family. But what an adventure living in cabins, swimming in the lake, going on hikes. Just the train and bus ride from Grand Central to Lake Ossipee was the best journey an eight or nine year old could have!
 
In high school I commuted to school in New York City. The Long Island Railroad and three subways made up a 90 minute trip. I knew my way around New York better than most. The MOMA and Guggenheim were just around the corner. Jazz and theater became second nature to a high school senior. I wasn’t fazed or star struck. It all seemed quite natural.
 
College was in Washington DC at Georgetown University. Strangely, I never felt at home in college and had trouble applying myself. I didn’t want to breeze through a syllabus. I would have much rather spent time on one subject. Alas, sometimes that was partying.
 
The Navy followed soon thereafter and I was off to sail the seven seas. There was an excitement coincidental in getting underway. The soft rolling of a 450 foot ship gave way to severe storms and thrashing seas and it was all quite exhilarating. Viet Nam had a little different type of emotional rush.
 
In the end my wanderings were not so much a distaste for home as much as it was an inquiring heart. I say heart instead of mind because I am an incurable romantic. I have always fallen in love easily with both people and places. I find everything very interesting and life a thing to be savored.
 
I love to run when I get somewhere. The pounding of the pavement throughout neighborhoods and byways give you a feel you can’t get from a car. I ask residents about their hometowns and friends about their soul. I hold court in Starbucks. I love to hear.
 
I relish getting deep into conversation as if I am unlocking someone’s secret thought they may never have told anyone. The fact I do so is not so much devilish (well maybe a little) as enabling. Yes it is OK to think that. You are not weird, although I do get strange looks from time to time. Well, lots of the time.
 
Maybe it is hard to commit to one thing or place but I have been married to the same neat lady for some 40 years. My poor wife has seen the good the bad and the ugly.
 
I don’t have a problem opening up and that is probably a fault. You tend to get to know people well but you can wind up getting burned. Such is life.
 
I love to ponder the imponderables. And this is a big one. My writing has given me a lot more latitude. You can read it or not. I can be open without fear of rejection. I can really have thoughts and dreams and express heartache and love without looking for something in return.
 
You ask about broader meaning? I don’t have a clue. Or if I do, I am still not ready to admit it!
 
As Always
 
Ted The Great

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

Our Declaration of Independence says it. Our morality implies it. Everyone is entitled to Life, Liberty and The Pursuit of Happiness. We have fought battles near and far to uphold it. We have had numerous discussions about its meaning but dare I say, they really are self evident.

America wanted to get itself out from under monarchs, despots and tyranny. We wanted a system that would just do the basics. The last thing they wanted was a new form of domination. You can argue the above philosophically but that was the situation. They also could not have dreamed of a world as complex as ours. Fair enough?

Okay Life says you can’t go running around killing people. It is from the fact you are entitled to that life that the other two rights flow. It is the starting point.

Liberty means two things to me. First is you should be able to roam the country without constraints. No one should own you. No slavery. We really blew it here. It also means you should be able to think whatever you want. The government and others should not be able to coerce you into doing, saying or thinking anything.

Lastly is the Pursuit of Happiness. Define your own idea of heaven. But it does not mean you are assured of its achievement. You can strive for it but there are no guarantees. If you want to sit on your butt that is okay too.

Now all these things feed into a social contract. It is an agreement between government and the people saying you give me this and I will give up my right to do that. Money, airports, courts etc. Still simple enough.

Now it gets dicey. Enter conservatives, liberals and independents alike.

How much government is enough? How much is too much. We really have changed the original plan.

As a result of the depression in the thirties, we saw the entry of the government as the savior of last resort…the safety net. WPA, Social Security et al were envisioned to be the stopgap of total devastation. One for all and all for one.

Ditto Medicare and Medicaid in the sixties. Well meaning but really dangerous because now your pursuit of happiness was getting a boost from an outside source. And it became an opiate for political pushers.

The insidious nature of this conversation is that it slowly creates an underlying philosophy….you owe me. No matter how badly I screw up. No matter what I do to my finances. If I fail in school. If I badly abuse my body. You owe me. Heal me. No repercussions. Just do it. Ergo, “Entitlement”

But it goes further. If you were making $150,000 a year and you lose your job you think you are owed a $150,000 job. If you moved up to a 4000 square foot house, you wouldn’t think of sizing down to save money or avoid foreclosure. Somehow you would think you were being screwed.

The word entitlement goes far beyond Social Security and Medicare. As a country we have marketed unrealistic expectations. We advertise and entice. The American Dream. And then we rebel or cry ignorance when it results in disaster.

For every right we have there is a responsibility. If we really want to be free, we have to realize the risk it entails. If we want life, it also means you have to take care of your life. Pursue happiness but no one should think they are assured success.

Incredibly, we don’t think suffering is a part of life. Daddy Warbucks of all sorts will bail me out whether it is my house, my body or my soul. Maybe we are too soft. Maybe we are brats. Maybe we have never had it real bad. We will.

We have a fabulous country. I am not espousing we undue so much of the good we have created. I abhor the huge divisions between classes. I hate to see poverty. But we have changed the plan in principle and thrust and it will bankrupt us.

Part of the contract says I will give you X and you give me Y. No more No less. We all expect more and more. Rich and poor both have to understand what’s happening. There has got to be a lot of give on both sides. Liberals don’t despair. Conservatives don’t get smug. All are responsible….especially me.

As Always

Ted The Great

 

 

Say Amen….

Some of you may remember Don Imus’s famous Discount House of Worship for the Church of the Gooey Death in Del Rio, Texas. Playing the Rev. Billy Sol Harkus, he would verbalize several spiritual exhortations and then there was a rousing “Amen” from the church chorus. I have heard those same responses this week from the Nile to the halls of Congress.
 
The nothing short of titanic results in Egypt are at one time glorious and tragic. The ability of the people to topple a thirty year old regime in 18 days is nothing short of miraculous. They did it without violence. Cell phones replaced IED’s and rocket propelled grenades. A bad day for Al Queda.
 
At the same time it showed us and other nations for what we are. Manipulators for our own advantage. Mubarak was no worse and probably no better than the Shah of Iran. We kiss this guy’s butt because he helps us. We look the other way when human rights are trampled. All’s fair in love and war. A bad day for diplomats.
 

 

I hate hypocrites. I know some of you will say it is a necessary evil but I can’t agree. I saw first hand the idiot act in propping up puppets in Viet Nam. A Swift Boat friend sent me pictures of how the people of Viet Nam are suffering today. The Navy base and surroundings where we parked our patrol boats 40 years ago, now sport high rises and a beachside resort. 55,000 servicemen gave their lives to fight that arch enemy of democracy?
 
Once again I think what is going on is fabulous. Neither the CIA nor KGB intervened. They didn’t have a clue. Says something for all the billions spent on intelligence and foreign aid. I am not mad. I am bewildered.

　

Senator Rand Paul was on the TV tonight and I have to admit he made a hell of a lot of sense. The was a young newsman from the Middle East and he gave one of the most erudite and concise analyses of the uprisings in Egypt and Iran that I have heard to date. Both are out of the mainstream.

I taped all the panel news shows from Sunday. I had MOHS surgery today on my poor Irish mug, so I came home and watched them all in a blitz. They all spoke of Egypt but the close-ups now centered on the US budgetary process or lack thereof.

Republicans, Democrats, the Budget Director, all to a man would not address the Entitlement predicament. Boehnner said we had to educate the people first. Like the Prego commercial, the budget man said “It’s in there!” The Prez said tonight that we all had to get together. Yadda.Yadda

Sen. Paul eloquently pointed out that even if we took out the entire amount of discretionary spending in the budget we would still not balance the budget for this year. Everybody is cutting the 16% apart. Not the third rails. Everyone say Amen…

I am beyond encouraged because all of the party hacks are really beginning to look stupid. Rep. Paul Ryan is now the reigning genius on the budget and I think he is getting it. Not only intellectually but air time as well.

OK, it is a stretch, but do any of you feel a little like the populist crowd in Cairo? Years and years of politicos as well as diplomats are being called to task. Sure Obama’s State Department is in disarray but I think Foggy Bottom has been an apt moniker  for a long time. No further comment on Congress.

I will admit I had another blog ready for tomorrow but my intense research in the news world today put me over the top. Yes, I saw the light. Yes, I have been baptized. Yes, I am saved. No, I have not been drinking.

I still have to rant and rave about our financial problems. We have to cut spending. Sorry gang but we have to raise taxes. We have to cut into Medicare. We have to replace our infrastructure. Polls say the public knows we have to cut but they can’t agree where. I disagree.

I think we all know the facts down deep in our heart. I think we all know the party is over. We have got to take some pretty tough medicine. You know we will not be displaced. Just discomforted. Denial is not a river in Egypt.

Compare that minor hurt to those felt in Teheran, Cairo, or Khartoum. In the long run, say “Amen” brothers and sisters…..and let’s get on with it.

As Always;

Ted The Great

　

Factoid;

Since the 70’s there have been 100 attempted overthrows of totalitarian regimes. 85 have succeeded.

 

Leonardo DaVinci

　
Leonardo DaVinci was probably one of the greatest minds to come down the pike. I really don’t care for the word genius but I think it is apt. Maybe a better way to put it is that I think we all have great minds. He just knew how to use his a lot better than most.
 
I have talked before about a book by Michael Gelb, “How to Think Like Leonardo”. I will admit to plagiarism beforehand. I highly recommend it and will make a feeble attempt to describe a few of the “Principles of Thought” that make up DaVinci‘s genius.
 
Leonardo was a guy that ran full bore all the time. He was constantly thinking, questioning and absorbing. He would look at problems or disputes from three entirely different angles, often spending days or weeks on each side.
He developed detailed drawings many centuries ago of helicopters and submarines. He was at the same time a procrastinator and perfectionist which actually aren’t mutually exclusive. He was in great physical shape and a vegan. Trust me. I am not going that far.
Some Principles

 

 

Curiositae is his unending pursuit of how things work. He would look at both science and nature to see what made them tick. He never took anybody’s word on anything. It wasn’t arrogance but a real desire to internalize something once it was understood. Some things he could never figure out. That didn’t matter. The fun was in the pursuit.
 

Sensazione is the desire to use all the senses. This heightened awareness actually got his and should get our minds ticking. I listen to classical music when I write. In repacking my bags, I have repainted my office. I love the smell of flowers, garlic. Many times in the summer I like to see how many different shades of green there are in the landscape. Right now, unfortunately it is all white.

They took a group of students who had to learn a complex procedure. It took place over a month. They split in to two groups. One was in a modern classroom with neutral colors and adequate but bland lighting.

The others were in a class painted vibrant colors. There were flowers and classical music. There were textures and carpeting. I don’t have to tell you the results. Not only did the latter learn more quickly but had a retention rate that far surpassed the “ordinary” group. Maybe that’s where we should spend our money on education

Sfumato is the last one of the seven I will mention. It is really thinking at its utmost. It takes a problem without an obvious solution. Paradoxes, enigmas and ambiguities are the bedrock of this way of thinking. You treasure their complexity and rejoice in even a small piece of solving.
 

He would cringe at our current form of education. He would argue that there are no right answers to tests. Not to be a pain in the ass but to say that if we accept everything as fact, there will never be creativity or a totally unique way of looking at things.

This all really begs the question of heightened consciousness. Being aware of where we are in time and of those around you. We can view ourselves as part of a world or one of several billion pieces of random drift. Call it living life to its fullest. Not spending any day on automatic. Realizing that time and life is indeed precious.

To me these are really cool thoughts. If I am aware of my world, I can’t in any sense of good conscience be bad to you. I have got to realize that I have to take care of my surroundings. I can’t be self absorbed. There is an innate beauty in every person and thing around us. I think in our hectic world we are really losing that.

As I travel I have made a habit over the years of asking in Starbucks and restaurants how many people say please and thank you. The results have been notoriously bad. The worst was in of all places, Vail. It is not just a demonstration of courtesy but recognizing that there is another human being on the end of your “gimmee a latte !”.

It really takes a step towards religion. Do unto others. Realize how lucky we are. In this highly scientific world we tend towards narcissism. We can fabricate body parts. We can create life in a test tube. All in the name of science. I think that is dangerous ground. We get to the point of believing we are God no matter who your god is. I ain’t going there.

I guess you can probably figure out why I like Leonardo so much. It really has inspired me to “ponder”. He forces me to think….to be alive.

It is a dangerous thing to espouse my theories for fear of proselytizing. I hope I am not doing so. I am just telling you each time a little more about me. I just hope it gets you to think. Just writing to all of you gets me pumped. Thank you so much for that.

As always

Ted The Great

Factoids:

The U.S. ranks #1 in the world in obesity, teen birth rate and personal spending as percentage of GDP….. USA!USA!USA!

We spend 4.08% of GDP on defense. Russia..3.74%, Korea…2.58% , China..1.98%, Germany…1.35%, Japan…0.97%

The Devil Made Me Do It!

 
This last week we had the report from the committee analyzing the financial collapse of the last two years. This was right on the heels of the deficit reduction committee. Even though these two bipartisan groups met for several months, they could not reach a unanimous conclusion.
 

 I don’t know if it is really impossible to reach accord or if it is our penchant as Americans to blame the other guy. Don’t fess up. I had no idea. My fault? No way.

 We are not good at taking medicine. We love the good times. We tend to get lost in our own egos. We want to be individuals, but when things go sour we are all screaming for help.

I have been involved in real estate for a long time. When I was selling I looked at everything as a business transaction. I really tried hard to never fall in love with a piece of real estate. It tends, like romance of all sorts, to cloud the mind.

Recently I have been privy to two disasters on this front. One is a fellow that at one time was wealthy. He got hit from all angles. He had a large inventory of properties and unfortunately the liquidation is not finished. But he has faced the music, priced things to sell and is moving on to try to rebuild his life. A brave man.

 On the other hand is a fellow who is a victim at least in his own eyes. Woulda’s, coulda’s, shoulda’s abound. He has not faced the music. He has not made a payment in over three years. He is wallowing in self pity. A sad and tragic man.

 That’s okay. Bankers are blaiming appraisers. Wall Street is blaming the rating agancies. Buyers are blaiming the mortgage brokers. Congress. The Fed. Obama.No one is to blame. All innocent bystanders.
 
 In many ways it is a microcosm of our society. We are in a fix. No two ways about it. Whether our best days are in front of us or behind us remains to be seen. But regardless, WE are the ones that got us here.
 
 We have built an economy that is 75% based on the consumption of goods. We have built big houses, bought lots of furniture and have to have the latest fashions and electronic gadgets. We want a new car every two or three years. We want our kids to go to the best schools. We have failed to save.
 
But it goes even further. We shop at Wal Mart and Costco. Not downtown. We buy Chinese.Japanese.Korean. The cheaper the better and all the more we are able to buy.I have two brothers in law who are union men and good ones. But they don’t really have an answer when I ask why over all these years they didn’t buy American and how many union jobs would have been saved?

We smoke. We drink. We do drugs. We overeat. And then we come to our medical systems to heal us. Didn’t you know that’s my right? You owe me! I want you to do every possible thing you can regardless of the cost.

I am continually confronted with the realization that everything good or bad in my life is the result of a decision I  have made. No one forced me to do anything. If it turned out right I can take credit. If it turned out wrong I have no one else to blame.

I also feel the world owes me nothing. Sure I want good medical care but I feel there are limits. Yes, I would like a roof over my head, but it does not have to be a mansion.

And here comes the real kicker. Nothing is guaranteed. If my way of life and status in the world has to change, so be it. Will it be fun? Maybe in a crazy and uncertain way, yes.

My trip to Hawaii gave me a totally different outlook. We stayed at a condo on the ocean. Next door was the Four Seasons. Probably at two to three times the price. Was the view of the ocean any different? Go next door and a drink was $15. Go a quarter of a mile the other way and Happy Hour had Mai Tais for $5.

The moral is simple. Life is what you make it. Let’s get away from our penchant for bigger, better, faster. It is not a matter of “settling” for less but rather really appreciating what the hell we really have and how good we have it..

No matter what, it is what you and I have done to the world. Not what the world has done to us. The devil didn’t make me do it. It was all me.

As always

Ted The Great

Factoid: The highest mountains in Hawaii are about 12,000 feet. If you realize they they have been created from the floor of the ocean over 13,000 feet below the surface, the mountains are actually higher than Mt. Everest. Moreover all the flora on the islands was brought to the volcanic rock by seeds in the beaks of birds that travelled over 2500 miles from the nearest land mass. Now is that evolution or creation?

Repacking Your Bag

　
Life today is hectic. We would all like to sit down and smell the roses. Deadlines, crises and anxiety fills the air. In spite of all our technological advances we seem to be more frenetic every day. Our kids don’t remember the early days of micro computing. It promised to make us more efficient and ergo have more spare time. Au contraire.
 
Let’s just take a moment and put the laptops and IPads away. Kathy and I are celebrating our fourtieth wedding anniversary on the beautiful island of Hawaii. It is in a word magnificent for a number of reasons.
 
I brought only two books. One is by Michael Gelb on Leonardo DaVinci and the other “Repacking Your Bags” by Leider and Shapiro. Both are escapes from the everyday. Both are fabulous.
 
In “Repacking” the concept is really quite simple. The sum of life’s experiences and relationships make up your bag. Like an attic or basement or desk drawer, from time to time it gets terribly cluttered. Some things mean a lot to you and some have absolutely no bearing on where you are in life.
You unpack your bag. You lay it all out on the bed. You separate into piles that have to do with place, love, work and purpose.
 

 

 

Place is everything physical. Where you live. Your country. Your state .Your county. Your town. What does your house look like? Your favorite chair? Your car.? Your clothes?

Love encompasses every person you have a relationship with. Good or bad. Social or work. It can be your club or your religion. Your husband or wife. Your neighbor. Your close friends.

Your work is obvious. It’s what you do. Do you love it because it makes you money or hopefully because it also makes you happy? Not always an easy distinction.

Lastly is purpose. It is a very lofty but important facet. Why am I here on this earth? If you believe in God what did he have in mind? If you believe in fate where do the stars cross?

In doing this some things will become readily apparent. First is the amount of useless or negative stuff we have in our bag. These accumulate over time by sheer habit or neglect. The second is how incredibly difficult it is to leave some things behind. An old sweater. An nagging avocation. A long lost love.

Our society lends one to being part of the crowd. As much as we love to think of ourselves as free thinkers, the maxims of today’s world make it more and more difficult. Look right. Act appropriately. Don’t deviate from the norm. What will people think?

As you repack your bag, you look at each and everything with great intensity. It this where I really want to be or who I want to be with? Am I traveling down the road to fulfillment or wasting precious time? Who are you kidding? Only yourself.

It is a difficult journey but fraught with excitement. It can’t be done in a day or a week. To be done right it takes time. It should be done by young and old. It tends to provoke mid life crises in all walks of life. And that is good.

I find myself more alive each day. I question and question and question. I seek out people. I want to learn. On this beautiful island there are palm trees and flora but there are also huge fields of volcanic rock. There is an absolute reality of creation. There is an incredible air of simplicity. The people welcoming and genuine.

I know this is more philosophical that political. And no, I am not drinking or smoking anything as I write. I hope this will inspire you to at least take a long look at your bag even if you don’t unpack it. In a very strange way we should probably do this as a country if not the world. Okay big fella, one thing at a time.

I have to go. I have to repack. I have a lot to do. So many decisions to make. And that is cool. I hope you do too.

The formula for the good life in the book is: “Living in the Place you belong, with the People you love, doing the right Work on Purpose.” Not bad.

As Always

Ted the Great

Factoid: When JFK was innaugurated the were approximately 3 billion residents on planet Earth. There are now 6.9 billion. At that time, 70% of the current population of the United States weren’t born yet.

Scalpel Please

 I have watched with great interest the inaugural speeches of several governors over the past few weeks. There is a sense of sobriety across this great country of ours.

 
 
  

There were of course the usual platitudes but there was a sense of urgency from everyone. Cuomo didn’t have an inaugural party and Jerry Brown had hot dogs. There are plenty of those in California. Our governor had a barbecue here in Colorado.

It’s been a binge, an orgy, a frat party or whatever. It’s the morning after. Now do  they have the you know whats to get it done? One of you pointed out in my New Years blog that I didn’t come up with any solutions. My apologies.  Here’s a start.

When I was a kid, we lived in relative proximity to the Long Island Railroad. If you cut through the woods behind Tom Troy’s house, you had a birds eye view of the single track line. And of course the dreaded third rail. It was covered by a protective wooden top piece but everyone knew that touching it was instant death. Zapped. Fried. It was scary in every way.

Well today that is what is going on in legislatures, both local and national. It is come to Jesus time. Incredibly the pols say you can’t touch Social Security, Medicare and the Military. The third rails. But that is where a great deal of the problem is.

Medicare will be unfunded over a period of time. To the tune of several TRILLION dollars. The boomers are coming in force. My view is I am happy to have Medicare. But only because I am now covered. I would pay more to get that. But as I updated my plan, I also discovered that my supplemental premiums went down substantially if I had a big deductible or opted to copay $25.

Last year there were over a billion doctor visits. Why not make everybody on Medicare copay something? Two things happen. One is you raise some money instead of giving it out. Secondly, if you have to pay when you go you might not be as quick to pick up the phone for an appointment. Brilliant TTG! Brilliant!

Last year we had $60 billion in Medicare fraud. One of the reasons is that we didn’t have enough inspectors. Let’s just say we hired 1000 inspectors at $70,000 per. That’s $70 million to save maybe $10-20 billion. Duh?

What if we paid people who reported fraud like whistleblowers? There was a woman from Maine who was as healthy as a horse. She saw on her statement that she supposedly had two prostheses, a liver transplant and was on oxygen. Her Medicare number had been stolen.

The prescription bill of 2004 refused to provide competitive pricing of drugs. The Veterans Administration is not under the same handcuffs and pays about 50% less by negotiating. Is it me or is this stuff really self evident?

There was a news piece on the Chief of Naval Operations. It seems the Navy had to replace some hovercraft used for amphibious landings. There was a tweek here and there but the design had stayed the same for the last 25 years. But the contract called for three years of testing of the “new” craft at the cost of $100 million. Someone finally nixed that provision. How many more are there throughout the government? Yeah, but Ted it is not all that much money in the overall picture. Right.

How about this? We can not account for or find $9 billion in reconstruction money for Iraq. Think that is bad? We can’t find $18 billion of the same monies in Afghanistan. But don’t dare touch our military budget. Leave all the outdated bases open. Not in my back yard.

Lastly that mighty mistress of all… Social Security. The bipartisan Deficit Reduction Committee said we should change the retirement age to 67 by 2050 and 69 by the year 2075. Please reread those numbers slowly and carefully. The screams of horror were heard around the country. Most of the most vehement won’t be alive!

Simply put, we have to face the music. The way we get out of this is to cut smartly. Even the sacred cows. The healthcare system under Obamacare or otherwise is going to bankrupt us as a country. Nobody addressed costs. The Pentagon is fighting two wars and yet is obsessing over new weapons systems. Some needed. Some not. Social Security? Enough said.

Governor Chris Christie gets it. Notwithstanding his untimely vacation in Disneyworld, he is pretty sharp and says we have to have adult conversations. He takes special interests on full bore. Both left and right. People ask him if he realizes he might not get reelected? He said he doesn’t care. I hope he means it. Others take heed.

I am not a rocket scientist by any means but have stumbled on the above without even trying hard. Farm subsidies. Bloated bureaucracies. I am sick. I am mad. I have sharpened my scalpel. Is the above good for starters, mes amis?

As always,

Ted The Great.

Factoid: The autopsies performed on great nations and civilizations have shown death not by conquest but by self inflicted wounds…suicide.

It Takes A Village

 

I was skiing in Vail last week. The weather was Colorado perfect and the conditions just right for Corduroy Ted. I have that moniker because the old guy avoids bumps and stays on the freshly groomed slopes these days. I had the wonderful company of my nephew, Paul and his wife, Tania.

When we got back to the house, we found out that a good friend and neighbor had been involved in a rather horrific ski accident. Her femur was smashed and jammed into her pelvis. Not even the renowned orthopods in Vail could help her. She was on her way to Denver in the back of an ambulance.

Word spread quickly and the support group fell into place. Kids were picked up at school, dinners  were made and beds were found. Everyone pitched in. I imagine the same type of actions took place in Tucson over the weekend. Many of the endings were not so happy.

Kathy and I had lived in Arizona for a number of years. I can easily picture the shopping center. The people. Basically simple sorts, just trying to find some sunshine and live a nice life. Incredibly, the heroes disarming the madman ranged from a college student to a grandmother.

It was almost surreal the way the group subdued the deranged killer,quickly went to the aid of the wounded and consoled the families of the dead. A judge, a husband, a sweet little girl. All so tragic.

There was a doctor and his wife who were just going to the store. She was a nurse and they immediately went to work. Calmly and quietly. It seemed the media of all kinds wanted to make something more of the story. These people just wanted to start the business of healing.

Tucson is a sleepy town. The University of Arizona is about the only thing going on and that is just fine with the locals. The political bent of most college towns is not really that evident here. Just simple folk. Like Oklahoma City. Like Fort Hood. Like Columbine.

The reactions are so similar. Do away with guns. Let’s try to explain away the insanity on some political faction. Why didn’t anyone do something about this dude? Why don’t we lock people up? Why? Why?

We want our rights but get so upset when someone abuses them. That is part of the whole concept. Inherant in the privilege is responsibility. We want to blame someone. Anyone. I say look in the mirror.

I have friends who are hunters. I get it. But if you have ever picked up an UZI, shot an M16 on full automatic or watched the havoc wrought by twin 50 caliber machine guns,you get the difference. There is no correlation between a target pistol and a Glock semiautomatic with an expanded magazine holding several dozen bullets. None.

This was an act of a very sick person. Lock him up, you say. But where? We have cut spending on mental health. Shut down hospitals. Put people on the streets. We estimate 20-30% of the homeless here in Denver are mentally ill. They were discharged to our walkways and underpasses. They were left to their own designs. Yes, we so often look the other way. A lot of people in Tucson did. And they regret it.

The political rhetoric has toned down for today at least. I spent four hours watching different talk shows on TV. I listened to both the liberal and conservative. I just don’t think anyone gets it. Some were accusatory. Some were defensive. Why do we have this insatiable urge to be right all the time? No one wanted to give an inch.

For the record, I don’t think politics had anything to do with this tragedy. But that does not exonerate any of us. The level of discourse these days is plain old out of hand. Not just politics but everyday life. We tune into radio and TV or print matter that backs up our particular view of the universe. Kind of like preaching to the choir. Don’t even want to consider the other side.

When you live in a small town you know everyone. I think it increases the responsibility of all. Our world today increasingly revolves around cyberspace as our neighborhood. I can twitter, blog, decry and do it all under the veil of a tough to discover address. In an effort to communicate better and faster, I think we get farther and farther away from each other.

It takes a village. That village can be a state or a nation or the world. We are all part of it. Don’t duck. Stand up and bear the responsibility of all that freedom entails. Get out from behind that desk. Get off the couch.Take a walk in your village. Get involved. Help someone heal.

As always

Ted The Great

Factoids:

There are approximately 308 million people in the U.S There are 285 million guns.

Approx.20% of the population suffers from some sort of mental illness at any given point in time. 30% seek help. Over 90% could be cured.