Lately there have been incredible and heart wrenching stories about immigrants in all sectors of the world. The refugees of Syria have made their way to camps of Jordan and Turkey. Some of those settlements number 500,000. Even more tragic are the people that flee Somalia and other African nations. They pay smugglers anywhere from $3-5,000 to get them going in the right direction.

As they cross Africa they take two paths, some on boats others on foot. Many depart From Libya to Italy where the gangs load them onto old tubs of a ship and set the auto pilot straight for Sicily. Others make their way across eastern Africa to South America and then through an assortment of trains, boats and snake laden swamps to Central America, Mexico and eventually the US.

As some of us or our fellow Americans blithely comment to “send all them suckers back” I would like you to give some thought that these people aren’t exactly arriving on Air Emirates to demand hospitalization and welfare.They have truly risked everything to get here. I daresay we or some of our neighbors have trouble walking four blocks to the store or God forbid not get a spot close to the entrance of the mall. I wonder how we would fare if it was this hard for each of us to immigrate? Don’t know.

But all this begs a larger question. It can relate to a new arrival or a long time resident of one of our poorer neighborhoods. It can be anywhere in the world. Just what if anything are you owed? Okay I get the life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness thing but just what are the basics?

Let’s start with shelter. I think I can unequivocally work with a roof over your head. Now is infested with all sorts of vermin okay? Do we go two or twenty to a room. Let just throw in heat, water and electricity. AC? No I have to draw the line there. Hell, I didn’t have AC growing up. Now the accoutrements. TV? Interesting. Color? Big TV? Cable? Man we are going to have to set some boundaries. House phone or cell phone? Now some of my bleeding heart buddies will say that people have a right to be just like everyone else. We don’t want to have them feel like they are any different.

Food? Yes you have to have it. Should your food stamps buy Twinkies, booze or butts. No way (I was going to say Jose but you know how PC I am). The food pyramid still does not work in the ghetto or the rural heartlands. Clothes? Sorry but designer is out. ARC and Goodwill have sales every month. My worn out Izods will look great on you. Kathy had to steal them away from my armoire. Had several good years left in them.

Transportation comes to mind. Not as easy as it sounds. You have no money. You have no way to get to a job interview because you can’t even afford the bus. Now we can cram 8-10 into a Uber Ghetto sedan but then you run the risk of being pulled over by the gendarmes and then it is back to Mogadishu with you. Yes you can walk but we really have to set parameters as to distance and weather. You might make five miles in Denver and fifty yards in Nome,Alaska or Death Valley.

Schooling? Hmmm, now you are trying to stump me. I think we have to give you the basics of reading, riting and rithmetic. GED’s are desirable but not a slam dunk. Junior and four year college? This is a trap. We sell everyone on the concept that you have to have higher education. Forget about the trades. The real money is in being an accountant or communications major. What was your last bill when the plumber or HVAC man showed up at your house? Better yet how long did you have to wait? Forget it TTG. Image is everything.

I am getting close to my limit on what I will provide but I have to include medicine. Not as clear as I would like it to be. The first take is one of basic needs. You have a cold or pneumonia? That is a no brainer. But that doesn’t mean you can go to the emergency room at a gazillion dollars a pop. Speaking of which, let’s say you jump off a cliff and you have now multiplied the number of bones in your body by an order of three. Should I be responsible for you? I don’t think so. You know my feelings if you show up at the hospital after drinking or eating yourself for fifty years to 7/8 gone. Do I owe you to be healed ? Sorry not in my kingdom. I work in hospice for people like you. Cruel TTG. Cruel. Sorry about that.

We have talked about immigrants and the poor. You could use these guidelines throughout this wonderful country. If you have smaller means you have to think in terms of a smaller house. Smaller could even be the difference between earning $250k vs $1million. The concept is the same. You don’t go out to the finest restaurants if you are struggling to meet your mortgage, It’s the old champagne taste on a beer budget.

In pure fact you are owed nothing. That is a cold and pragmatic approach. You can see some poor bastard lying in the street and say “tough shit”. That is your prerogative. But as some one who sees his fellow man and thinks, “There but for the grace of God go I,“ I can’t just move on. I am not going to give you a free ride. But I will give you a leg up. A chance, but you have to make it work. I owe you that.

As always
Ted The Great

Factoids:

Poverty is a state of deprivation, or a lack of the usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions.Ergo my question. The poverty level for the US in 2014 was set at $23,850 (total yearly income) for a family of fourThe U.S. Census Bureau said more than 16% of the population lived in poverty, including almost 20% of American children. (approximately 43.6 million). California has a poverty rate of 23.5%, the highest of any state in the country.

$8 per hour wage yields $16,640 annually based on a 40 hour work week.
$10 per hour equals $20,800. The apocalyptic $15 per hour comes to $31,200.

There are 43 million refugees worldwide. Major refugee populations include Palestinians (4.8 million), Afghans (2.9 million), Iraqis (1.8 million), Somalis (700,000), Congolese (456,000),  Myanmarese (407,000), Colombians (390,000), Sudanese (370,000).They have been displaced by violence in their countries as well as famine and drought

I think Colorado is a pretty cool and modern state. 1 in 7 of our populace struggles with hunger. 1 in 5 kids aren’t sure where their next meal is coming from. 1 in 8 live in poverty UGH!

In 1964 LBJ declared the War On Poverty. We have spent up to $22 trillion by today’s standards on every conceivable program. Sadly the rates of poverty have barely budged the needle. Interesting is the fact that 85% of the poorest counties in the US are rural. So much for the governmental approach. Any ideas.

Culpability, or being culpable, is a measure of the degree to which an agent, such as a person, can be held morally or legally responsible for action and inaction. I am struck by the word as well as the definition. It can call to mind pure evil as well as a much milder form in the substance of mediocrity and neglect. If you overlook something or just decide just not to address it are you culpable?

We have been witness here in Denver to a total fiasco during construction of our new Veteran’s Administration Hospital. Conceived in the early 2000’s it was to cost $328 million. It was planned to be an adjunct of a new University of Colorado campus that was started from scratch in 2004. The economies of scale were more than attractive until the VFW intervened and said veterans should have their own site and facilities. The new price tag was estimated to be $650 million.

Blame fingers were pointed everywhere but essentially the project was started without final plans. The VA said the needs were changing and the fact there were design factors that seemed over the top never seemed to be forthcoming. There is an atrium connecting several of the buildings that alone cost $100 million. They wanted vets to have a good experience walking between buildings. There were also curved walls to break down the institutional nature of the place. If you have ever been involved in construction you would know that curved walls are a huge expense. The estimated cost of completion several years from now is now $1.73 billion!

The head of project management retired with full honors after the new budget announcement and receiving several bonuses over the years. Kind of like when “W” said “great job Brownie” after the Katrina fiasco in New Orleans. Benghazi, Rummy’s tutelage of the war effort in Iraq, the $3.7 billion PATH station in lower Manhattan causes one’s eye’s to water not out of respect and nostalgia but the absolute incompetence that has been demonstrated…and rewarded.

Barney Frank who along with Bill Clinton set all the underpinnings in place for our financial disaster in 2008 by wanting everyone to own a home are all lauded as “we thank them for their service.” I wouldn’t mind if all these dudes and dudettes faded off quietly into the sunset but they continue to flaunt their arrogance as lobbyists and leaders of think tanks and foundations.

We just have had an upheaval in our sheriff’s department in Denver. The corruption, malfeasance and mismanagement go beyond the pale and we are wondering seriously if we just blow the whole thing up and start over. I wish these were rare occurrences or limited to one section of the woods or another but you and I know better.
Rigging Libor, currency manipulations, selling securities that are crap and insider don’t exactly create a mantle of virtue for our boys down at Wall and Broad. Bribery, theft, bogus charitable organizations, and pollution from all sources are sending a very bad message.Stop gap bills to keep the country running so Congress can take its break or just never ending investigations and committee hearings perpetuate the lunacy. Then again maybe it is a great message because crime or mediocracy does pay.

If you are good Catholic or Jew or Protestant you know that there is consequence in sinning. I know we have done away with fire and brimstone but there is still the thought that at the end of things we do have to meet our Maker and square things one way or another. There is a consequence to bad acting. I have the feeling the people that stole $80 billion from Medicare last year feel the odds are on their side. A team of investigators last year only recovered $4 billion.

Ethic is a system of moral value. Years ago it was assumed that this was a good one. It is interesting over the years how we have hemmed and hawed about its true definition. Fear of punishment is now paying a billion dollar fine without admitting guilt. Cops hide behind Blue Walls and the blacks can ransack  crying poverty. Corporations will tell you right to your face that the back room dealings are necessary to stay in business because after all everyone is doing it. Black and white has turned to a very vague shade of grey.

People worry non stop about Russia, China and ISIL. I worry about this. I will tell you that we and I include me have become complicit in all this. We are pros at looking the other way and rationalizing. You know TTG you have a point but I just don’t want to get involved. It’s just not my thing. Even worse is you might get a funny feeling when you watch Frontline to 60 Minutes. You become indignant about this or that and then wander off to check your tee time or see what else is on TV. Like the government, Congress and corporate America, just keep your mouth shut and maybe it will just go away.

If I sound pissed, I am. If I sound despondent I am not. There are a bunch of people out there that are decent and worried about someone else’s skin beyond their own. I am in receipt of a tribute from Notre Dame they put out in honor of Fr Ted Hesburgh. I wish I could send it to all of you. Forget the religious part although it was the most important part of his life. It told of a guy who worked to make the Golden Dome great but even moreso the world. His dedication to his fellow man and students was incredible.

Was he culpable? You bet, but in a good way. I sat and had a drink with him in his brother’s den one night in Vail. I asked him what drove him when he was then in his 80’s. He said. “every day of my life I want to to correct injustice.” I gotta stop on that note. He could not have said it better.

As always
Ted The Great

Factoids:
The University of Colorado Campus has been in operation over 7 years now and the VA won’t be open until 2017 at the earliest. The cost per bed for the VA will be triple the cost of the university hospital. It is also assumed the hospital at completion will be 550,000 sq ft short of the necessary disciplines.

A recent article put the final tally for Wall Street from the financial crisis at $100 billion. There was a recent settlement for currency manipulation for $5 billion. The fines for the most part go into the general fund but some may used for reimbursement of injured parties.

On that note I was on a Georgetown trip with the Inspector General of Health and Human Services. I asked why they did not hire more investigators. He said they could prove a 11-12 to 1 return on investment by recouping ill gotten funds. Why don’t you do it then? Congress won’t let me was his reply because they didn’t want look like they were hiring people.

You can get 10 years to life for peddling heroin. You can get 5 years for possession with intent to sell marijuana. I don’t recall any corporate types being put in jail for the BP oil spill, bribery charges or securities violations. I am sure they are out there but few and far between.

There was a terrible train crash in North Philadelphia this week. Three people were killed and many injured. Still derailments and deaths are quite rare when one considers the number of trains that roll throughout the United States and the world every day. Commuter, long hauls, subways etc. have created an exceptionally safe mode of transportation. Yet there are cries from every corner of the spectrum for more stringent measures of all sorts. It is an interesting study of our national psyche.

We want to install Positive Train Control (PCT) on every stretch of rail in the Northeast Corridor and eventually on every dangerous bend in our 60,000 mile national system. Monies had already been earmarked to do that on the fateful link but AMTRAK decided there were more important priorities. I am not arguing against safety but think about the reasoning.

We want to foolproof everything. There is no danger or steep cliff of life that we cannot eliminate or at least ameliorate. The implications are intriguing. That was a human mistake of some sort that created the carnage. Thousands upon thousands of trains have travelled that exact turn for the many decades. To my knowledge there had never been a derailment prior to and so thousands of train engineers knew of the threat and took appropriate action. We now want to be able to override that decision making and put it in a box. Interesting. I guess we are saying we are not as good as machines….and maybe we aren’t.

The broader context has this not only on railways but in so many parts of our everyday lives. There was a rogue pilot who for whatever reason of insanity took a plane to the ground with hundreds aboard. Immediately there was a call to be able to take over a flight from the ground in mid flight. Sounds great except people would be a little wary if Hal was at the wheel. Google has a car that can drive coast to coast without human intervention. Supposedly had four or five fender benders but it was John Doe and not Watson that was at fault.

We have high speed trading on Wall Street. Everything is done by computer. They get a news flash nanoseconds before anyone else and through a series of algorithms decodes key words and puts out buy and sell orders for millions of share before you can even say Dow Jones.Plug in name rank and serial number and goals in life and we will do the investing and balancing of your portfolio for you. Easy peasy. No human intervention.

Relax TTG you are overdoing it. Really? Ok I will play golf. I now have a rangefinder that will tell me the distance to the hole, whether it is downhill or uphill and what club I should use. If I am sneaky I can adjust my driver for loft depending on the hole.Don’t have the latest golf ball? You lose. My computerized scorecard will tell me where I need work and what my choke threshold is. The Royal and Ancient might be me. Then my Fitbit will tell me how many steps I have taken, calories I have burned and whether I beat out Meehan, Yeoman and Farrell for the day, week and year. No sweat.

Enough of that physical exercise I am just going to sit back and enjoy some music….The Denver Symphony. What? You mean that is not a symphony but a computer generated concerto? What about art? Sorry but your painter’s  palette has been replaced by a mosaic of 4 million pixels. Don’t you understand how much clearer you are seeing things? Sorry but we have decided to forego the creativity and spontaneity of human thought for efficiency and expediency. Just check your Apple Watch to see how much better off you are.

I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t tell you I like progress. I went through a four hour operation a few months ago and the doc never laid a hand on me. It was something called DaVinci that did all the work. I love anything with Leonardo’s handle on it. But that was a great example of a tool being used by a very talented surgeon. I just hope we don’t step over the edge in the future and take that wonderful human brain out of it.

For that MD and train engineer and human stock trader there is a thing called culpability. You have some sort of vocation that requires you to take responsibility for your actions. The machine didn’t screw up. You did. As a corollary the wires and diodes didn’t create something beautiful and successful. You did. That is an incredible force of HUMAN nature that I hope we never lose. Robots are cool but they can’t kiss or cry or smile with warmth or hold with tenderness. At least not yet.

We can have drones do our dirty work. We can probably overmedicate, self lubricate and overeat and look to machines and say the devil made me do it. In the long run we are responsible for this world. If we create monsters it is our fault not their’s. No matter what happens for better or worse in our lives it is because we made a decision and therein lies the culprit or hero as the case might be. I am all for progress but let’s not let technology take over completely as we take a back seat. The next complex equation might make us expendable. Is that a far out concept? Maybe not as far as you think.

As always
Ted the Great.
Factoids:

There are 6.8 billion people on the planet and 4 billion of them use a mobile phone. Only 3.5 billion of them use a toothbrush. There are 500 apps added each day to the Windows Phone Store. Android users were able to choose between 1.3 million apps. Apple’s App Store remained the second-largest app store with 1.2 million available apps as of July 2014.

In the computer security context, a hacker is someone who seeks and exploits weaknesses in a computer system or computer network. They can and have taken control of your financial data, automobiles, security systems, as well as infiltrating the Department of Defense computer system. This is probably the largest vulnerability of our technology age. Even if we install PCT on trains there is a good chance there is someone out there that can override it.

A company called Holosonics developed the Audio Spotlight system, which uses tiny speakers to focus sound into a very narrow beam. In a food or department store it may be able to project a message specifically for you. If you do eat that Ben and Jerry Chunky Monkey ice cream then maybe the devil did make you do it.

A very cool thing is the Atmoph Window. A digital window that opens to beautiful scenery from around the world with 4K-shot videos and sound. Place it anywhere, be anywhere. Complete with sound effects you can have anything from tropical beach to a blazing fire hanging on your wall. Should cost about $350 per which is probably what it would cost you to stay per night.

I am a little late this week. I had picked a topic, done my due diligence and was ready to roll when I changed course. I was going to delve into one of our problems du jour and make one of my earnest but often unsuccessful attempts to crack the code. Then a random act of random hit me and I was off on a new trail.

I met a fellow for a drink last night in a local tavern. Local in every sense of the word. The building and the decor were at least fifty years old. A simple brightly lit bar had chrome spinning stools a la the soda shop of yesteryear. The dining area was series of tables and booths where I am sure the fare was hearty and simple. A place you could just be yourself whoever you are.

We were talking about how we could make what was an Army Corps of Engineers flood control project of the 50’s into a vibrant amenity for all to enjoy. If you are from Denver you understand the Cherry Creek is more of a marketing scion for a well to do area than the creek itself. People drive and ride bikes past it but never stop to smell the roses so to speak. Bordering its banks are ample swathes of green space named as parks in a city that is looking for development acreage anywhere it can find it. The particular stretch of a mile or so, although unruly and overgrown is truly a diamond in the rough.

The Creek empties into the South Platte River to the west. Enter my friend. His dad and he in succession have turned the Platte from what was beyond a dumping ground for sewers and chemicals as well as a repository for Denver’s junk into a sparkling waterway. Pop is gone but Jeff carries on the love of the river and nature itself. Through the Greenway Foundation they have shaped not only a scenic wonder but an educational resource for kids to learn of nature and how to preserve it.

There is a not a lot of fanfare to this man although his eyes sparkle and these two lunatics got really wound up when we spoke of what could be. Born and raised in South Denver he is I guess to use a term a public servant although that somehow would seem to denigrate him. He has been a teacher, a politician, a conservator but most of all a person of vision and enthusiasm. As the Platte has cleaned up and become more commercially viable for development it is too bad he can’t share the financial fruits of his labors. I wonder if anybody ever says thank you. I do.

As we talked it was like we were on crack instead of beer. The beauty of this man is that he not only talks the talk but walks the walk and is getting things done. He does most of his work with only a smattering of public funds. Ingenious not only because of his contacts but by doing so he can get things done rather than being locked up in waves of bureaucratic pondering. In seeking support and guidance for this new project I was more than content to let him drive the steam engine while I just shoveled the coal.

As time went on we spoke of other things like families,wives, kids, grandkids. More than a business meeting we got to know each other. We spoke of the city and the country and the world not in any ominous but optimistic way. We both agreed that we had to do it for our kids and not our personal improvement. I also met the bartender and and those around me. People of all walks. There were old people who barely shuffled in for an evening meal of whatever. It was a daily event and they knew the menu and specials by heart. It might have been their only contact with their fellow man all day. There were kids meeting mom and dad for a pizza. Rockwellesque and oh so neat.

We derived a game plan and said adieu but the repartee rolled over and over in my mind as I drove home. I threw in a dash of conversations I have had with my kids over the past few weeks and I was on a trip. Megan is running a leg in the Denver Marathon on Sunday. My daughter in law is getting more and more involved in her kids’ school in London as she coaches and cajoles. I have had exchanges on the whole concept of education today with my niece who teaches school in the mountains. I will watch my grandson play lacrosse this afternoon. A thing called life was coursing through my veins and it was exhilarating.

Now I am not avoiding Putin, income inequality, ISIS or Baltimore. Yes we have problems and we must meet them head on. It’s part of the scenery as we go down the highway of life. But so is what I have described above. It’s is the going down of a backroad every now and then. It is finally discovering the beauty of this world and its inhabitants that have been staring us in the face and we have been too blind to see.

This veering left or right goes beyond the office or the country club. It takes you out of you and into the rest of the world. It finds pleasure in small things that don’t cost a lot of money. When we get the Creek project finished as I know we will, you will have to come out and have a beer with us and dangle your feet. Even better maybe you will have found a project to sink your teeth into in your own burgh. We will have to schedule home and aways. Until then.

As always
Ted The Great

Factoids:

Our little stretch of the Cherry Creek is part of a 48 mile wandering from its headwaters in El Paso County to the South. The South Platte is integral to our water supply and provides irrigation to good portions of the farmlands of eastern Colorado.

Access to and views of water throughout the world are probably the single most contributor to commercial and residential property value throughout the world. It can be an ocean, creek, pond or bay.

Since 1974 he Greenway Foundation has partnered with numerous public and private agencies, corporations, and individuals to create over $130 million of environmental, aquatic, recreational, and open space improvements along the South Platte River and tributaries.It has facilitated more than $13 billion in residential and commercial development. That’s a bunch.

At the tavern I met a young man who volunteers in a program called Healing Waters. It is dedicated to the physical and emotional rehabilitation of disabled veterans through fly fishing and associated activities including education and outings. I went to one of these as a observer and believe me you walk away a different person.

Last Friday I turned 70. My daughter Lindsey was kind enough to put a picture of me celebrating on Facebook and many of you responded. Thank you for the fact there were more thumbs up than down. I have discovered than it is almost impossible to look forward and backward in the same breath without tripping over yourself. Advanced age brings great wisdom.

We went to the Broadmoor with two of three offspring families for the weekend. We will do an encore in London with son Scott and company in 10 days. My mom used to say when we all got together, “Can you imagine that JJ and I started all this?” I think I get it now.

The kids were beyond funny staying at a big hotel for the first time. Sorry. For those who do not know, the Broadmoor in Colrado Springs is a beautifully updated version of a bygone era of luxury and class. A large lake with bridges and geese provided plenty of entertainment for 4-10 year olds. You couldn’t help but think of what this all must look like to these young wide eyes. They found hidden spots and nooks and crannies throughout. There was a library that could belong in any baronial manor and the oldest found their way up the book stacks on a movable ladder.

Daughter Lindsey gave me a digital picture frame loaded with pictures that really did go back 70 big ones. I don’t know where she found them but they were beyond fun. A lot of streams and bridges. I hope I didn’t burn too many of the latter. There were friends past and present. Some had died . Some had just faded away. The grandkids all marveled at the sight of Padge when he had hair. So did I.

As the pictures passed in the slide show you could almost feel the emotions of particular times. The security of a big house as a five year old. The uncertainty of a prep school in New York City or a college in DC. Be cool TTG. The world is your oyster but don’t blow it. The Navy provided a whole different sense. Sitting on a Swift Boat late at night in some God forsaken place 10,000 miles from home was not one’s idea of a road trip.

Then a new chapter with a wonderful wife and the tiny beginnings of a family. Careers, houses, station wagons and clubs. What more could you want? But then the wanderlust and adventure kicked in and we were off for the West. Seemed to suit us just fine and always called us back.

Time doesn’t tarry but roars as the years roll by. You look at your peers and say there is no way I look that old and gray. I put 19,000 steps on my Fitbit on Saturday as I tried to prove once again that I was Superman.Working out, golf, tennis and of course the victory cigar. I did this for my kids, grandkids and wife but most of all for me. Not to show off but to set the tone for the who knows how many years to come.

We drove back north to Denver on Sunday morning. It was a sparkling day and lot to think about. I25 may seem boring to some but to me it was a panoply of sights and thoughts. The Air Force Academy was a symbol of youth and leadership and at the same the war machine I have learned to detest. Mesa and buttes under Monument Hill hid farms and those anonymous families that ply the land. A huge Burlington Northern train hauled gigantic vanes for wind farms, Dozens and dozens of them. Ironic these are the same rails that carry the coal trains out of Wyoming. To each his own.

Beyond birthdays I have had some truly touching and difficult meetings this week. At hospice yesterday I sat with a woman for almost three hours as she lay dying. I was incredulous at the human spirit as she fought to live and yet knowing the inevitable. Later I talked with a great friend who is battling cancer. Nothing special. Just talk. I heard from someone who has been estranged for over five years. We talked for an hour. Some things change and others never do. I had to put distance with another. I wish I was more tolerant.

I lit into our local bishop over what I considered to be some serious insensitivity and ignorance. Predictably he told me to buzz off with a “Sincerely yours in Christ.” C’est la guerre. I am working with some incredibly civic and energetic people who want to try to make Denver a better place to live. They amaze me. All in all, situation normal.

Strangely enough this curtain came down on Sunday while watching the Masters. Jordan Speith is one hell of a golfer but an even better human being at the ripe old age of 21. Must be his Jesuit training. I didn’t marvel at his score as much as his grace and maturity, His posse was his family. The groupies and pariahs could wait and maybe never appear. He was decent and wholesome in a world where every one wants to get a piece of you.Just a nice way to end things.

I am going to use that as my plan for the future. In spite of all the mayhem abroad and nominations at home there is a beautiful world out there. So much to do and see and most of to all learn. Thanks for reading and for your friendship one and all. It’s what keeps me going.

As always
Ted The Great

Factoids:
I have been alive during the terms of 13 presidents and 7 popes. A half a dozen major wars and countless skirmishes. A good friend, Sue Rush told me at a cocktail party many years ago if I had married any other woman I would have burned through three wives by now. No doubt.
Our first house in 1972 cost $42,500. I went to bed the night before closing convinced no one would ever pay more for a house ever again. My dad bought a house from Bill Levitt himself in a luxury neighborhood in Manhasset , Long island in 1937 for $9,000. Levitt went on to build hundreds if not thousands of homes for GI’s coming home from the war in the late 1940’s.

Jordan Speith in not even three years on the tour has earned over $13,000,000. He will be 22 in July. His caddy has earned $375,000 in the last four weeks alone. Where did I go wrong?

The Broadmoor sits on 5,000 acres 60 miles south of Denver. It has over 800 rooms consisting of bedrooms, suites. brownstones, cottages, and ranch accommodations. The height above sea level is 6230 compared to 5280 for Denver. We always say going down to Colorado Springs but in actuality it is up.

It’s Easter, Passover or whatever your flavor of celebration of the season and it ain’t pretty. One can tiptoe through family, road rage, Congress, Europe, the Middle East and beyond to say we are not exactly singing out of the same hymnal…or Torah as the case may be. The older you get the more you look back at the way things used to be.

The Rite Of Spring always engenders pretty thoughts like daffodils or easter baskets and knowing that Opening Day is not far away. That is not saying yesteryear was always idyllic but I am struck by how many really earthshaking events occur today on a pretty regular basis. I always ask myself the question,”Is it chaos or growing pains?”

When you live in the Rockies the mountains are omnipresent. It may be sunny and mild in Denver but you can still see the snowcapped peaks in the distance. I can remember when we lived in Vail all you had to do was step outside your door and the landscape jumped out in front of you. You could take a hike and marvel at the thought that maybe no other human being had set foot here before.

I used to wonder to myself what those mountains thought. Over millennia they had seen just about everything from T Rexes to early settlers. People with incredible foresight and likewise immense folly had trouped through those valleys. Some had prospered and some had perished. Yet the continuity of rock and seashore endure. We are just travelers along the way.

As I approach the wonder age of a septuagenarian there is a part of me that says “Stop the world I want to get off”. Sure I could just put my feet up and chill. If I grew some hair and a stache I could be Don Ameche in Cocoon. How depressing. The world is a dynamic place and it is as satisfying as it is enigmatic. The challenge is to make it work.

Now everyone has the right way to pull this off. We seem pretty intent on spreading democracy throughout the world but the jury is still out as to its applicability everywhere. There are countries that will defy equal participation by their breadth of geography as well as multiple ethnicities. We got rid of Hussein but that created a vacuum that all manner of zealot wanted to fill. Egypt, Libya and Yemen got rid of the tyrants but maybe they weren’t the worst thing in the world at least in terms of stability. Putin’s Russia spans 10 time zones.

I have always been intrigued by Lee Kuan Yew who died last week. He appeared on the scene of a former British colony, Singapore and had nothing to work with but swampy slums. Even Indonesia cut them loose in the late 70’s and they were forced to fend for themselves. Educated at Cambridge Yew had a patrician accent and a vague idea of political science but he built and lorded over a peculiar brand of whatever. He was playing it by ear.

Slowly with a little chutzpah and a lot of resolve he created a miracle. He was dictatorial but benevolent. There were no guns nor chewing gum allowed. You don’t like it? Go somewhere else. And that crazy rag tag country grew to be the most successful nation per capita in the world. This wasn’t looking to the past because they had none. He and his subjects embraced change and innovation. They broke all the rules.

Every planner, MBA and political wizard was proven wrong. I get that same feeling today in so many areas. There was story in the Denver Post about a guy that is growing vegetables vertically in hydroponics two to three stories high. Weird arrays of pastel colored lights warm the plant to not only survive but thrive. Why didn’t I think of that?

In medicine we have a promising cancer therapy that is derived from the polio virus. There is an Israeli researcher who discovered that tissue from your nasal cavity can be grafted onto the spines of paralyzed people and they may regain sensation and perhaps walk some day. Are you kidding me?

Herein lies the rub. Let’s say I am a Republican or conservative if you will. I am a strict constructionist when it comes to the Constitution. I want less government and more defense. Free markets will conquer all. Not quite sure of all that. On the other hand if I am Democratic or liberal I think the government should provide for all. Bring up the downtrodden and all will be successful. Tax and spend beyond one’s means. It will all work out in the wash. Don’t think that is my mantra either. Still searching.

So with all this insanity going on everywhere what does a nice guy like me do? I have to learn that we as a country cannot control the world anymore. We can do pieces but not the whole magilla. That terrifies some but are we giving up power or making more nations responsible? Saudi Arabia feels deserted but is that really a bad thing? They seem like they want to step up to the plate. Ditto Europe and ditto the Far East.

Terrorism is here to stay. I don’t say we give into it but we realize that by virtue of everything from world trade in arms or the ability to harness the internet for all forms of evil it is just too easy to be in the bad guy business. Sadly there are going to be more young copilots that fly into mountains and whackos that are willing to blow themselves up in search of vestal virgins. That is life pure and simple.

Technology is both good and bad. It will drive you nuts and then save your life. Accept that fact. You can’t separate the wheat form the chaff. Just make sure there is more of one than the other.

Bottom line this a wild and wooly world. We will have to think on our feet and be open to all new things. Will it hurt? Depends on your outlook. You can embrace change and revel in it or you can let it scare the shit out of you. I am too old to worry and too dumb to be scared. I think I am just going to enjoy the ride and hope I don’t fall out.

As always
Ted The Great.

Factoids:
1 million domain names on the internet are reserved every month.At the end of 2012 there were 17 billion devices connected to the internet.

Apple, Microsoft, HP and Google all started in a garage.

Terrorism is actually quite rare in the West with 4.6 deaths per years since 2006.Over the last 20 years (which includes 9/11) average deaths from terrorism total 162 Americans per year.To put that in perspective, compare it to the 679,853 who die of heart disease each year, 52,823 who die of the pneumonia and the flu, and 17,961 who die of “falls.”

The pejorative connotations of the word terrorism can be summed up in the aphorism, “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter”. This is exemplified when a group using irregular military methods is an ally of a state against a mutual enemy, but later falls out with the state and starts to use those methods against its former ally. This was too good. I plagiarized it.

The human mind and its maturation within each one of us has always intrigued me. A baby is born without predispositions, fears, or prejudices and is for the most part a pretty happy camper. It does not take too long for tendencies and personality traits to become manifest. They are shepherded or inhibited by the the actions of caregivers. I am sure the same is true whether it is homo sapiens or a lion cub.

Now fast forward to that wonderful age of puberty and beyond. Away from the womb and the nest you really have to find your way in the world. You are adjudged by athletic talent, book smarts and of course social acceptance or lack thereof. The is a wide gap between BMOC’s and dweebdom and you have to find your spot on the scale.

In our youth and beyond we adopt a series of defense mechanisms. They protect our psyche and present a prism through which we view the world. We tinker and fine tune so that we now have a consistent manner of looking at our surroundings that makes us comfortable. That grows into a habit and I guess we call that personality. I hesitate only in that today’s science says that persona is inbred or determined by DNA. I can’t buy that. I can’t surrender that we have no control over it.

What I think happens is we get comfortable in a soft pair of slippers. I may discover that if I am serious or even grouchy people will give me sway. Ditto a bully. If I am happy go lucky that doesn’t play well. People will think I am a pushover and even weak when actually the exact opposite might be true. Better to be a prick and let the world beware.

Moving right along we have now set some ground rules on how to operate. What’s more is we look for people of the same ilk. A club so to speak with its own set of initiation and membership rules. Misery loves company. Do you ever get in a conversation where every one is a grump? Partly cloudy not partly sunny. Obama sucks. Cruz is a whack job. Every word, email and news channel will back up their way of thinking. Makes no sense to screw up the world with alternative thinking. I’ll just sit here and wallow in it with my buddies.

In my newfound world of doctor’s offices misery is a joy to behold. Now there are people who are really hurting. I feel for them. Then there are those who know that if you are feeling chipper you ain’t going to get the attention. Moaning and groaning are strong suits. Fire back at your spouse. Sorry honey it’s just the pain is so bad. And watch everyone circle the wagons to ease your pain. I feel better already.

Now today’s media and government world have figured this out. You will not elect me if I tell you things are fine. I ask you how many New Americas and taking back Washington can we stand? But one election cycle after another has a new vision. This is the reason we don’t resolve issues like taxes and immigration.Wait until the next election. How are you going to grab a headline steering the good ship Tranquility that just tries to make decisions?

Speaking of the press if you don’t pillory Mitch and Boehner or Hilary and Obama you can’t be worth your salt as a beacon of journalistic excellence. There is an urgency and stridency to every news item from ISIS to a lost kitten. Open the Journal and there is nothing but anti Obama. Open the Times and they roast the GOP. Day in. Day out. Even if you are died in the wool doesn’t this get tiresome after a point?

I have told you of a battle with depression I had some 25 years ago. The most telling breakthrough of all my treatment was that we can change our whole way of looking at world not by gene therapy but by making a conscious effort to change our way of thinking. I and not you or others had the ability to change my outlook on life. It was startling. I had gotten myself into that pit but by tapping into a place in my mind I could get myself out.

Every day we are hit by events whether we are six or sixty. In their basest form they are nothing more than an elapse of time. It is like a lightning bolt passing through us and discharging somewhere into the ground. The residual effect is a thing called emotion. With every event we have the ability to react positively or negatively and that tends to be constant as a normal course of action. That in turn creates a predictable form of response that might be called a habit. The devil didn’t make you do it, you did.

We all want to think liberal or conservative. We crave to find our niche.Guidelines and borders. Looking at this crazy world we live in nothing could be worse. Whether it is in government or industry or world politics we have to understand our sphere is totally new and dynamic. We have to look at each situation not as an event where we can take plan A or B off the shelf but how can I look at this from a totally different perspective.

Maybe fearing the worse shields us from disappointment. If I bitch about the weather (especially those in the Northeast) then somehow that makes it more bearable. But it also robs us of possibilities. Sure life is bummer at times but if I can surmount the negative can’t I take some sort of pride in my resilience? Boston Strong and I Survived aren’t acquiescence but triumph.

Let’s attack our problems in the world and at home as challenges. What is the most practical way to combat ISIS or pot holes? Not the old hackneyed and predictable ways but a very tough but cool mountain to climb. And when you get to the top you can say I done good rather than we should have done this or that. I participated rather than sitting on the sidelines and carping. Now that feels good.

As always
Ted The Great

Factoids:

It is estimated that pot holes cause $6.4 billion in damage to our vehicles annually. A pot hole cost $30-40 to fix. Couldn’t even hazard a guess how many gazillions are out there. We have sent people to the moon and beyond. We have created incredible technologies. Don’t you think over the years we would have figured out a way to deal with these buggers?

“It takes 43 muscles to frown and only 17 to smile, but it doesn’t take any to just sit there with a dumb look on your face.” Clever as this may seem it actually takes an equal number to frown or smile.

There are somewhere in the neighborhood of 35 million radical Muslims who want Sharia law and a new Caliphate. This is the prime recruiting ground for ISIS and Al Quaeda. This requires some serious out of the box thinking. Calling them the JV is probably not the smartest thing in the world.

We generate around 50,000 thoughts per day.The vast majority of them are pure nonsense. We often dwell in the past or the future, obsessing about mistakes we might have made, battling guilt, planning ahead or worrying. We are constantly drifting into fantasy, fiction and negativity. Yes it is sad but true that 70-80% of our thoughts are negative. Doesn’t have to be that way.

Well here we are again. As I mentioned last week I have not been goofing off but quite the contrary. Dealing with a bunch of different issues but most of all trying to steer the starship TTG upward to look at things from 30,000 feet. I am attempting to view current events dispassionately as moments in time without wringing out every bit of rancor and calamity as some of our esteemed pundits do.

It has been difficult to start writing again. Not because of writer’s block but rather a cornucopia of ideas and observations. I keep trying to refine all that mess into a few salient points but I am not sure of my progress. I keep looking for the silver bullet of cognizance that will help us all move forward in a positive and fulfilling way but alas it remains elusive.

I am struck by attitudes and two in particular. Let’s call the first a sense of survival. No matter what our lot in life we view the world as a tough place. If we have money and the good life we want to lock our selves neatly inside. See a heart wrenching story on TV or in the press and quietly say there but for the grace of God go I. Sorry to hear about your misfortune but I am a little busy right now.

If you don’t have it, making things work is a constant ordeal. Over 50% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. One misstep and you are done. Some deal with it and plod on. Some bitch and moan. I am a victim and the world should bail me out. Others just give up and succumb.

The commonality is this vision of success. For most it is defined by money and possessions. If you have them you are going to do everything in your power to keep them. There is never enough. If you don’t life is not only a struggle to survive but to demonstrate that you are worthwhile person. And both sides say, “you don’t have clue.” Distrust and rancor prevail no matter what is in your wallet. And that is a sad thing.

The other attitude is not so much one of optimism but blind faith. Some might call it denial. We tend to feel that somehow some way everything is going to be okay. As part of a daily regimen that is a good thing. As part of a long term strategy I am not sure that is in our best interest. We take things at face value without much question. For us old farts maybe that is just a technique to say let’s hope this thing doesn’t spring leak before we get out of here.

For the young generations of many names it is almost a disinterest. I am just going to keep on trucking. I don’t understand how this all works and I don’t have the time to read or study. I can’t really blame them. You watch government in stall mode or industry sacrificing everything in the name of share price and ambivalence seem the only sane way to operate.

Everyone seems to take the word of experts. I heard this from so and so and he or she really knows what they are talking about. From sports to the market to miracle cures we are beset by people you and I have never heard of but if they are in print or on TV it must be so. Dr. Phil, Dr Oz, Rolling Stone, Fox News, CNN, 60 Minutes, and now Brian Williams, all have come under scrutiny for less than factual expertise.

This may be a broad brush but I think our vaunted connectivity has had a debilitating rather than particularly positive role to play. We want everything fast and furious. Don’t bore me with details. A matter of morality or conscience? Just tell me what to do. You are hurting? You need help? Geez, I didn’t get that feeling in your last text. Why didn’t you speak up?

I think we have to get interested in our world and just as importantly in one another. We have got to see people as living and breathing organisms and not just a means to an end. How many of us really look at the world and say how can I help you? How can I make you better? How many of us just take the time to notice a fellow human being and even wonder how their life is going? This is not just a lofty goal but I really believe tantamount to our survival as a country and possibly a world.

The way we do this is a change of attitude. Not as difficult as it seems but it would take some work. Right now in your face is the national anthem. We need a consistent albeit positive message. We tell people to save for retirement but then the market goes down because consumer spending is off. Healthcare costs soar but we want our freedom to eat what we want and blow each others brains out with guns. We want to cut back on government spending but not for defense. And congress votes itself a raise every year. We want moral values but then take our 12 year old to a concert where the tickets are $600 and the bump and grind would make a stripper blush. As the old saying goes,”Me Thinks ye speak with forked tongue.”

A wonderful buddy of mine threw up his hands in disgust after reading one of my missives and said “Why can’t we all get along?” Well we can if we get serious and attack problems. But right now our DNA is soft, complicit and complacent. We are worrying about our own lives but not the motherland. Let someone else do it. I am too busy. Please tell me I’ve got it all wrong.

As always
Ted The Great

Factoids:
Pew Research has demonstrated that people are as conversant in public affairs as they were 30 years ago. This despite the vaunted Information Age. Rich more than poor. Men more than women. Old over young.

A study by Portland State University asked twelve questions regarding today’s news. 2% got all the answers right. 6% got no answers right. Only 42% got half right. Lower income and less educated people were up on local politics more than national. Of those that voted 25% were deemed LIC, lower information citizens. I think that means they voted with their heart rather than their heads.

Success is defined as the accomplishment of and aim or purpose. It seems the most successful are those that view this a dynamic process. You don’t “make it” but rather go on from there. Constantly questioning and creating and reaching out to your fellow man or woman yield more inner peace. Money may be a measure but does not assure it.

Your resume can and probably should be the most random document you own. Uncertainty breeds creativity.

The most trusted people in US? Actors and actresses: Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock(she gets my vote) Denzel Washington and Meryll Streep. In the top ten are Bill and Melinda Gates and Alex Trabek. Nursing is the most trusted profession and politicians and used car salesmen the worst. .