You know the two Jewish maxims. “I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor…rich is better” and “You can never be too rich or too skinny”. I think I agree with both. Now the question becomes rich in what?

Lately the rich are under attack. Big time. People even accuse me of being against the rich. Au contraire, mon ami. I love rich people and just hope they keep inviting me and Kathy places. I am not talking about pseudos. I want the crème de la crème. Actually the diatribes are somewhat absurd. I know some very nice well heeled people.

The Sunday NY Times had a fascinating article as to what it takes to be in the top 1%. I guess it really depends on where you are living. Stamford is a lot different than Abilene. Let’s just say there are a boatload of people that make a lot of money and let’s get over it. And let’s just say we would all love to be there. Why else would we buy LOTTO tickets?

Growing up, I guess we were well to do but I never felt particularly wealthy. On the North Shore of Long Island there were some seriously rich people. The Whitneys, Huttons, Phipps et al were quietly interspersed in Manhasset, Brookville Sands Point, and Lloyds Harbor.

I actually used to take tennis lessons at Alistair Martin’s (of Martin Marietta fame) estate. My teacher had a deal with him to use the indoor court that looked like mansion in its own right. I played one Sunday at Sherman Fairchild’s (of Fairchild Electronics) estate. On weekends, Shermy had a jazz combo playing in the living room for no other reason than he liked to listen to music. No big deal.

I think where this thing goes awry is how the elite handle it. Do you flaunt it or take it in stride. My dad and mom used to have the heads of the bond departments of Citibank, JP Morgan and Marine Midland over on a Saturday night. All brought their wives and my mother cooked. No it wasn’t fancy restaurants or high priced bottles of wine or limos. It’s just the way it was. Times have changed.

I think the internet and 24 hour news has a lot to do with it. That and I guess  the ones I will call the nouveaus. In today’s world people love to tell you how much this or that cost. How big their house is and how many they have. Forbes 100 Wealthiest. Old line rich wore their Izod shirts forever and faded. They had long driveways for the most part to shun publicity not to have people ooh and aah.

Beyonce just had a baby at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. They had bullet proof glass installed in the maternity ward. No one could go out of their room while she was out of her’s. Are you friggin’ kidding me? Ellen Nordgren is tearing down a $17 million house in Jupiter because of termites. And will build an even bigger one will replace it. Maybe with a high wall to keep Tigers out.

Larry Ellison of Oracle has a 474 foot yacht which is only the second largest in the world. The Rising Sun has one distinction and an important one. It is larger than Microsoft Paul Allen’s. He is actually building a new one. And you thought size didn’t matter.

Now look, if you have tons of money I could care less. You earned it somehow and how you spend it is none of my business. But do you really get how this looks to the rest of the world? You say mind your own business. But I am here to tell you that unfortunately it’s in everyone’s craw today.

Years ago before the media and the incorporating of wealth, no one knew how wealthy people were. They just guessed. Now Wall Street is publicly held. Entertainment, the Internet, and biotech have created wunderkinds in both mind and salary. Subtlety and understated are not part of the vernacular today.

To the ultra rich I say, just get a little class. Understand that the world is not an easy place. It’s not so much empathy as it is brains. Or as I say, “Neat but not gaudy”. Enjoy it but don’t shove it down people’s throats. Larry Ellison actually made that new yacht smaller when he realized there were not “intimate” spaces on the old one. Whatever!

To the not so rich I say, get over it. They really don’t have to share a thing.They should to some degree but don’t bet on it. But there are also many ways to measure wealth and success. The grass looks greener but in many ways it is not all it is cranked up to be. There are a number of happy swells but then again there really are some things money can’t buy. Just ask them.

As always

Ted The Great

Factoids:

The largest private yacht in the world is 538 feet long and has 15 staterooms and a crew of 70. There are six onboard tenders and room for three helicopters.  It is owned by a Russian billionaire.

The largest private home under construction in the US is a 90,000 square foot cottage being built by Hollywood mogul David Segal in Windermere. Fl.

The highest paid exec in the land is McKesson’s John Hammergren who weighs in at $131 million last year. Jamie Dimon only came in 12^th at $42 million. Piker

The highest paid athlete is still Tiger at $75 mill. Kobe and Lebron are around $50 million. $50 million is the equivalent of earning $500,000 for 100 years.

Why are they occupying Wall Street and not movie theaters, sports arenas, Oracle and Facebook?

With all due credit to Muhamed  ElArian of PIMCO, the New Normal is upon us. We see it in the markets, in our technology, in our everyday lives, in our politics and most of all in our world. This is not a slow moving local. It is a high speed train that you either get on or get run over by.

Now some will espouse the theory of singularity. It is the time when man feels he can create a machine that is smarter than a human brain. Some put that time at somewhere in the 2030’s. If they were comparing it to mine, it might be a lot sooner. A little out there. I think I can wait.

That’s not what I am talking about. It’s more about a breakaway from the past. Of course we all long for the good old days of Leave It to Beaver, the Fonz and live TV. Sorry gang. Ain’t gonna happen. Politicians crave for a more simplistic world with no regulations. The way they get things done I would not hold my breath there either.

I think most of us really understand the meaning of progress as well as regression. We ride this fad or good time and then can pretty much figure out the bubble. Usually a little too late but we still get it.

Take markets. Buy and hold really isn’t appropriate any more. Not so much that companies don’t work as much as when you buy them. Supercomputers have the edge and you can be up or down 2-5% in a matter of moments. If it is the darling you are in clover. If you are being shorted, you are dead.

Housing is another good example. Being a market, it tends like all others to exaggerate swings for better or worse. Did you really think you could not lose money on real estate? Probably in the 60’s to early 2000’s you couldn’t go down but all good things must come to an end….or a least a pause. How incredibly naïve we can be.

High school diplomas don’t amount to much and unfortunately doing a cost analysis on that college sheepskin is not going to guarantee untold riches. They are now telling us, thank God, that we have too many lawyers. Sorry Dick. And MBA’s. But we are missing scientists, math doctors, and engineers. My how the pendulum swings.

Cars last ten years. You don’t buy one every two or three years unless you are my daughter Megan. You can’t put too many more bells and whistles on the flat screen TVs. The world seems to have drawn a line at 3D. You really look like a dork wearing those glasses.

We are in a global world. The internet has enabled the masses to make themselves heard. And whether they are in Egypt, Libya, Syria, or Greece,  it throws economies and markets into turmoil. We have an amazing clash of cultures and moralities. Religion? I wouldn’t dare touch it with only a passing reference.

And all the while people will clamor for peace and quiet. Their lives are a blur. I love solitude but it is pretty nigh impossible to find. Six days at sea was a dream if you left the internet alone. But I think we are hooked.

The pundits will tell you that a third party does not have a chance because of boots on the ground and support from big money. Tell that to Mubarak, Quadaffi, and maybe even Putin. Cyberspace does not cost anything except for content. Money? With the right message you can raise million in a matter of hours.

I watched fiasco after fiasco in Washington. Eric Cantor calls it just part of the political process. I call it a lot of jaded men and women that don’t seem to get it. They won’t know what hit them.

In sum I am expectant and intrigued. I really believe that a lot of us have gotten that New Normal. We have made adjustments financially as well as to our principles. Doesn’t mean we have given them up but we have reexamined them and found out what works and what doesn’t. At least we are giving it a try.

The Jesuits have an education philosophy that teaches you to question everything. It is throwing old hat and conviction by osmosis aside. It is only by casting doubt on a principle that you can really understand what it is you believe.

Look. I love Oldies but Goodies. Would I love to put my life on automatic for the next 20-30 years? It is a nice thought. But I am a citizen of the world. It is throwing new challenges at me that textbooks don’t always solve. I want to be aware and ready. That train is not going to get by me. I’ll get used to the modern interior and besides  I like the view.

As always

Ted The Great

Factoids:

We all worry about us or our kids getting a job. A plumber, mechanic or electrician will charge $75 and up to come to our house. And if you don’t think he has work, how long does it take him to respond to your phone call?

More Americans approve of polygamy, pornography, Nixon and even Obama more than they do the Congress.

High frequency trading is highly quantitative using complex algorithms to analyze data and automatically buy or sell huge amounts of stock.  These trades now account for 75% of the volume of stock trading on any given day

Internet Usage

Africa 1billion pop. 4.5 mill users(2000) 118 million(2011)                                                            Asia 3.9 billion pop.114 million users(2000) 922 million(2011)                                            Europe 816 million pop. 105 mill users(2000) 476 million(2011)                                              Mideast 216 million pop.  3.2 million users(2000) 68.5million(2011)                           N.Amer.    347 million pop. 108 million users(2000) 273 mill (2011)                                       Lat Amer. 597 million  pop.18 million users(2000) 215 mill (2011)                                    Oceania 35 million pop.  7 million users (2000) 21 million (2011)

World Tot  6.93 billion pop.  360 mill users(2000) 2.1 bill (2011)

Your mission Mr. Kenny should you choose to accept it is to continue wandering through space and cosmic thought for the foreseeable future. If not your keyboard will self destruct in 30 seconds. Okay, I am in. Are You?

This is my 58^th posting of Ted’s Head. People from every angle probably can’t quite believe those numbers. If you are loyal your sanity should be questioned. If you have avoided opening “New Post” most weeks, you might feel a bit smug but I also think you have missed a fair chunk of fun and rapprochement.

Looking back in the archives we have really covered a fair amount of ground in the last year. We have moved from politics to religion.Tragedy to triumph. Big things. Very simple things. Zany to serious. Annoyed to hopeful. We’ve touched third rails. I hope we have touched hearts. Yup, that’s Ted’s Head alright.

I am not quite sure where to go with it. We have a mailing list of about 130 and 100 of you are faithful readers. Some one told me that was very good. Maybe I have something to say or maybe I am just your voice? I hope both.

I have tried not to takes sides in my musings. Everyone seems to be fair game. I have cajoled and skewered where necessary. I probably have not praised enough. The pickings were slim. I really want to observe and comment and not pontificate.

I am attempting to go in one additional direction this year. I am going to see if there is room for my show on the road. No, not to a town near you but just around Denver. I do not want to get on a soap box but facilitate of sorts. I want to gather a group, pose a problem that we face and ask for solutions not diatribes. How about the deficit? Entitlements? Infrastructure. They won’t go away. How would you solve them?

I think my first audience will be people of my generation. It might be a small group or a cast of thousands. Maybe no one will listen. When I mentioned this profile to Kathy she looked at me in a cross between wonderment and incredulity.(Not the first time) Hey, maybe I will get booed off the stage or out of a barroom. But I am still going to try.

I spent a portion of my day trying to figure out a new internet and TV provider. Comcast has cast aside any semblance of customer service and it is time to move on. As I picked through various websites I was caught by the number of channels you can get. On some services there are over three hundred.

Now that is really kind of scary. Not only that they provide them but that people actually watch some of this stuff. It also reinforced some of my feeling that a lot of these people broadcasting were thrust in front of the camera and told to look smart. Forget about content. Just look good. They will believe you. About that image part, maybe I will stick to radio.

There is a great new show with Erin Burnett called “Outfront.” Maybe it is not earthshaking journalism but she tells it like it is. When the boys and girls in Congress punted for the umpteenth time she let them have it right between the eyeballs.

Another great new publication is “The Week”. It takes both U.S. and international stories and capsulates them. Then they take commentary from all sides and presents it as such. Very snappy. Very easy reading for all of you that have limited time and concentration. I am one of them.

These and others will help us keep a shoulder to the wheel. We can’t beg off for lack of time or interest. The most  pressing and incredibly complex problems of our times will require us to sift through a myriad of facts. Not only to find solutions but see if we can come up with some leaders who can truly help us find the way clear.

This year is going to be a Mission Impossible for all of us. There will be death defying stunts and very narrow escapes. But beyond the whole thing is that undeniable feeling that Tom Cruise is going to pull this thing off.

I feel that way about us. I feel something that you don’t see on accident and murder driven TV. You won’t hear the good news from either side of the abyss of political talk shows. But it is there in the hearts of all of us. Maybe we can turn at least half of those 300 channels positive. Our mission is simple. No matter what your calling stand up, take whatever medicine we have to and get our butts in gear. Not at all impossible. Details to follow. Happy New Year

As always

Ted The Great

Crazy Factoids:

Think you have it tough? Queen Elizabeth has been cut back to $150 million pounds per annum to run her household.

Since 2004 Congress has seen their net worth go up by 15% while America has gone down 8%

The average American breaks 4 laws each day before noon.

There are three bones in the human brain. Richard Cranium!

Americans spend 6 times as much on video games as they do on school library materials.

The microwave was invented when a scientist walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bare melted in his pocket..not in his hands.

Joyeaux Noel

This is the title of a little missive I put out on the front fence of our house. It goes like this.

“Kathy and I are finished putting up the Christmas decorations inside and out. The goose is in her Xmas outfit and no, she won’t be cooked. We hope you enjoy them all.

We are going to do a “lumenaria” on Christmas Eve. For us it is lighting the way of Christ. We would love you to join us. Someone say “I am Jewish”.  Another speaks of atheism. I said why don’t you just do it and think of peace or of a loved one long gone. Somehow the idea of peace on earth and good will towards men doesn’t seem like a bad idea for any one regardless of persuasion.

You need some paper bags, votive candles you can buy at Bed Bath and Beyond  and some sand. We might have extra.

Hope you all have a great holiday.

Kathy and Ted Kenny”

I always put a pen on the placard. People sometimes write comments. Some are even clean. The ones we got this week were really wonderful. I guess there is still hope.

We watched a special from Rick Steve’s on Christmas in Europe. There were no big boxes. There were just some great traditions in each country. I hope we are not celebrated for Black Friday as ours.

I took my seven year old granddaughter, Harper, skiing yesterday. We went to a simple local resort. The lift tickets for the beginner slope using her young and my old fart discount was $43. We made 20 trips on the short lift and went down the race course and she “caught air” on a jump. Life is good.

We stopped in a little mining town of Georgetown on the way home for a homemade  ice cream cone. She said the town looked like a Christmas place and it did. We talked about fancy and simple. She said she liked simple. She also said she didn’t think there was any Padge quite like me. I think she meant it as a compliment.

My message this year is simple. No matter what you think or believe there was a guy born 2000 years ago. To some He was a savior. He was of no means. He wore sandals and a cloak. He didn’t have a limo. He slept in simple surroundings.

He talked of a place called heaven. He also spoke of love. Do unto others. Most of the commandments His Father brought down are the basis of law in almost every civilized country in the world. After two thousand years the bible is still the best selling book every year after year. I think They are onto something.

Sure in our own unique way we have lost much of the symbolism. We have morphed a very basic message into some sort of extravaganza. We all have used religion as an excuse for tyranny and violence over the centuries. Peace has become power.

When I put out the “lumenaria”.  I will think of all of you. I will think of New York and San Francisco. Providence and San Diego. Scottsdale and Vail. Ireland  in a special way.  I will think of my brother and my parents. My friend John. A special lady named Rosemary

I will then go in and have a glass of red or a special Irish whiskey. I will sit in front of the fireplace and say Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

As always

Ted The Great

Factoids: Not this week.

I have gloated over my grandkids and especially our new baby granddaughter, Phebe Kathryn. Sorry about that but it is Padge’s prerogative. I have truly marveled at all of their first eight years so far. The progressions they make but also how they develop their sense of self and yes, a personality.

Just look at an infant’s facial expressions. They hear a noise. They see a light. They feel a touch. They react. In the very early days and months this is an incredible adventure. Nothing goes unnoticed. It is all going into the memory bank.

In the very beginning they don’t care what you are doing as long as you are feeding them. As a matter of fact I guess that goes on for all of us for too many years. They smell the food or eye the bottle and you are numero uno. But much more is their smile. They approve of you and want to be appreciated as well. There is cooing and billing. Life is good everywhere.

When her brother Anders comes into the room, Phebe lights up. She hears him and the grin appears. Being true show people they now have a Mutt and Jeff act that can be performed on demand. Very cool.

I started thinking about this whole smile thing. It really is a reflection of who you are inside. I can see the older kids force a mug for the camera as if to say “Do I have to?” I also see them chortling full bore and there is a glow that is hard to ignore. Who cares if they are nailing you with a water gun? It’s the best.

I see smiles in the teens. They are sometimes forced. They are awkward. They are embarrassed. They are in the midst of puppy love. They don’t want to show those braces. They are trying to hidebullies and putdowns. They want to show something but they are so confused.

College and post studies give you more of an air. Be cool. Sophisticated. We have got to be thinking of a career. Don’t want to seem too blasé. Sure I can keep my nose to the grindstone. Know your spot. Know your place. You are on display.

Later in life your smile matches your standing. You are important and you want to show it. Don’t flash at just anyone. Remember you are really in the big time now. Be reserved about everything you do. The world is your oyster and there to serve you.

Then it is time to retire. You don’t have to care about anyone else except close friends and family. You have your own little life and let’s not have anybody mess it up. You’ve got plans but they are solitary. No need to involve any one else. You have earned it. Is it a smile or a smirk?

Now life moves on and the smiles are hard to come by. God it hurts when I get up in the morning. Those grandkids are coming by. I love them but only in small doses. My time is valuable you know. Make it between two and three. I have a full schedule.

And you draw further and further into your self. People think you are getting a little grouchy. They are right, but they haven’t been through you have been through. “I’ve worked my ass off like you will never know.” Oh yes I forgot. You earned it.

Then that time comes for it to run out. People gather with frets and fears. They fawn and the fuss. They want you to feel comfortable. You don’t think of the deals you missed. You think of opportunities for love lost. It is so hard to smile. Your body and your heart ache. Maybe just one last time I can force just one more. It is the way I want to be remembered.

I am not sure where I am in the process. And neither are you. I am going to reinvent my smile at least one or two more times. I am going to try to be warm and not superficial. I will have love not hate in my heart. I will forgive and hope that I am forgiven. I just want to tell you how good life has been to me.

I want to be like Phebe. I want to light up when people enter the room. I want to listen so hard and strain my eyes so I can pick up every detail. I want to put them in my mind to treasure. I can think of so many reasons to smile. Here comes another one now.

As always

Ted The Great.

There was a study that measured smiles in high school yearbook photos and looked at what the students were up to decades later. The bigger smilers were more likely to be in a long-lasting marriage and to have a better sense of personal well-being

.

Another study found that the size of major league baseball players’ smiles in their trading-card photos predicted longevity. Players who didn’t smile at all lived an average of 72.9 years, those with some semblance of a smile lived 75 years and those with a “beaming smile” lived to be nearly 80. Right on.

Smiling is contagious, and children do it as often as 400 times a day. How many times have you smiled today? I bet you are smiling right now.

In brain studies, a smile stimulates the brain as much as 2,000 bars of chocolate and lowers stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline and while boosting positive ones. Let’s have a smile run for office.

It takes 17 muscles to smile and 43 to frown.

It’s been tough writing this week. Not for a lack of material but too much. I could have taken you to the campuses of major universities. Pakistan. The EU. The Broncos. But I really had to get to first things first.

I have to admit I am still riled by the impasse provided by the Six Stooges. Twice the bang for the buck. I am blown away that half of our elected representatives are being held hostage by a promise they made to a dude named Grover Norquist. Then the other half is shaking in their boots by an ad from the AARP claiming 55 million senior citizens will nail them if the touch the golden trough of Medicare and Social Security. They don’t speak for me.

But I took a deep breadth and just started thinking. The bottom line of our problems seems to come in two colors: Money and Longevity. The Supercommittee itself was lobbied ad nauseam. Millions upon millions have been tossed around pushing this plank or that. The politicians need that money to ensure their reelection and assuage their egos. There are currently 11,140 registered lobbyists and they have doled out this year so far $2.5 billion.

On the matter of longevity the average term for both sides of Congress is about 12 years. 6 House and 2 Senate terms. You say great but that is the average. The devil is in the details. On the powerful subcommittees high rank is by years in service and loyalty to the party. And of course the higher the rank the more money pouring in from K Street.

Untold members have come to Washington with every bit of reform vigor they could muster. And every one has succumbed to the siren’s call of the Beltway. The rules are also jiggered, so you are immune from every crime just short of treason. You can trade stocks on insider knowledge. And the power of an incumbent to hold his or her seat is absurd. Throw in a little thing called gerrymandering and it’s a lead pipe cinch.

So if you are following me, longevity is power and that is where you follow the money. How do we get rid of it? Take longevity out of the equation. Here in my best Herman Cain look alike (please I hope not) is TTG’s 666. That numbered is feared by many and Congress as well as the President better beware.

I propose that no one be in office longer than 6 years. One term in the Senate, one six year term for the President and two three year terms for a congressman. As an added attraction, no member of the Executive Branch, Congress or the military above O5 shall be able to do business with the government for five years after their departure.

They all worry about reelection from the day they are sworn in. They get pushed and pulled and vote with their war chest in mind. They claim they have to spend so much time on fundraising they can’t do their job properly. So with my 666 they don’t have to worry about it.

The lobbyists are now stymied. This guy doesn’t need their money. He really can’t use it. Tromp down really hard on boondoggles and junkets and legislating might be just a job after all. The only one running again is a congressman and that is only once.

With 666 the career politicians are now gone. When was the last time Barney Frank, who has been there thirty years had a creative thought? Robert Byrd died after 57 years in the Senate. Strom Thurmond was 100 and they had to prop him up to make votes. Some claimed he was already dead.

Think that is crazy. It is estimated that only 10-15% of the upcoming House seats are in play. Sure the demagoguery and partisan bickering may make this better, but why not take it out of the equation completely?

We have got to take the money out of the system. We know they are not going to legislate it out with so many nests to feather. Let’s propose our own. Now the president won’t be a lame duck in a second term. There can be continuity and the ability to govern with God forbid, a longer term perspective. If you can’t get it done in six years you sure as hell can’t get it done in eight.

Well I promised to be creative and come up with answers and not just more questions. I promise to work out harder and stop pounding my head against the wall. My fellow Americans I come to you with a heavy heart. (Only you old farts will remember that.)

Have a good week and come back at me if you think differently.

As always

Ted The Great

Factoids:

11,140 lobbyists = 20.7 per representative.

The $2.5 billion they have shelled out so far this year is $4,646,840 per representative. That is through October 31,2011.

Old Timers:

John Dingle. Mich 55 years

Daniel Inouye Hawaii 52 years

John Conyers  Mich      46 years

Ted Kennedy  Mass 46 years when he died.

Charlie Rangel New York 40 years

6 Senators 36 years

Congress is usually in session 100 days a year.

They get paid $174,000 plus staff, plus expensesThey oversee spending $3.5 trillionWe take in $2.3 trillion

Approximately 22.5 million Americans work for some form of government entity. About 2.8 work for the Federal Government but in the numbers there were 236,000 they couldn’t allocate properly.I rest my case.

It is a gorgeous day in Denver. I have taken my meds, sucked down sufficient amounts of coffee and prattled on with a good friend about the state of our country. That requiem will be printed under a separate cover. Read at your own risk.

I am going to work the evening shift at Porter Hospice this PM. There will be 14-18 people on a road that to all is inevitable. They are brave. They are proud. Some might die this evening. Some maybe tomorrow. All in due time. They are very special people.

I just dropped my daughter and son in law off at the airport with their two young ones in tow. They really represent the other end of the spectrum with dreams and hopes for a bright world to come. As I drove home it felt good. This is a very positive side of life.

Many around the world do not celebrate Thanksgiving. The 900 million in China who will make no more than $1500 this year don‘t. The starving 12 million people in Africa don‘t. They will bind their stomachs to reduce the pain. They are dropping dead on 50 mile treks to refugee camps.

The Syrians, the Libyans, the Egyptians, the Somalians, and the North Koreans don’t. Not the Japanese who were devastated by earthquakes and tsunamis. Not the Turks who have been digging out of a catastrophe for a month. Funny how you can forget when the news stories die out.

Three billion people or half the world’s population live on less than $2 a day. 1.6 billion have no electricity. 2.6 billion have no access to fresh water and sanitation facilities. 3900 kids die every day from some sort of waterborne illness.

15,000 people are homeless in Denver tonight. The weather is temperate and they should be fine for the next few days. In my house the lights are on. The temperature is subject to my comfort levels. I am cutting down on my eating so I can lose a little weight. I am going to the Fridge to get a glass of ice cold water.

This isn’t an ad for CARE or Feed The Children. Some may say if those Africans and Chinese and Indians would stop having babies, then there wouldn’t be all this hunger and strife. Those people act like savages and just rape and kill each other. And you know in a lot of ways they are probably right. But at least in my heart I can’t write them off.

I took a long walk yesterday and passed a school yard of kids, probably ages 4-7. As I groused to myself about the Super Committee, I thought these kids have no idea. They are just playing and laughing and enjoying life. It is not complicated. They love one another whether white, black, brown or yellow. There no Republicans or Democrats. Conservatives or Liberals…Yet.

Maybe sometimes I think too much. People say why do you want to bring that crap up for anyway? After all the traveling we have done, I guess I really feel like a citizen of the world, the United States, the state of Colorado, and the city of Denver. I feel a compulsive urge to try in any way I can to solve problems, not create them. For me. For my kids. For my grandkids. For you.

Sometime today, tomorrow or at least over the weekend I am going really say thanks. I might sit in a chair or kneel down. I am going to try to make sense of things. I really am lucky and it is not just an idle thought that looks good on paper. I feel it inside.

I am going to think of those that have passed on. I will thank them for all they taught me. I will worry about friends and family who are having a hard time. Some have broken hearts. Others broken dreams. Others just can’t get it right with life. It’s so hard but also very doable. I hope they make it.

That’s it. Enough philosophizing. I am going to take another walk today and will think of all of you. I will make believe we are all playing on that playground. Young. Without a care. Hey! I can dream can’t I?

As always

Ted The Great

Factoids:

-The first Thanksgiving in 1621 lasted for three days…until they ran  out of Alka Seltzer. There wasn’t a second one.

-Mashed Sweet Potato is the most popular side dish.

-Turkeys have been around this earth for ten million years. And we thought Congress started the breeding cycle.

-In an adult turkey there are over 3500 feathers

-Americans eat 535 million pounds of turkey.

-In the beginning many states fought Thanksgiving Day as a national holiday because they felt the government was exercising too much influence on their lives.

-Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul want to outlaw it. Perry says please repeat the question. Romney isn’t sure yet. And Cain says is the turkey male or female?

-The Democrats want a turkey in every pot. That’s after a week in Cabo as guests of the turkey lobby. Same old, Same old.

As many of you know Kathy and I just returned from a fabulous trip to Italy and parts of the northern Mediterranean. It was notable by its breadth. We covered so much ground. So many experiences. Of course people ask what did we like best? I like to ask what did I learn?

In Rome we went to the Vatican Museum which was off the charts. Tapestries, statues and paintings as far as the eye could see. But a more important thing to me was a concept presented by our guide, Antonio. He put forth that we do not see things as an inert process but as a series of refracted light beams that are then focused by the cornea and transmitted to our optical nerves.

Forget about the science. What it really says is your and my view of things are in many ways totally different. They are our brain’s interpretations of light. My view of green and red and brilliance and darkness are a result of how my cerebellum processes it. So too the metaphor of life and moods. In a world that tries desperately to compartmentalize, each one of us are beyond different. Don’t get nervous. Celebrate.

I guess the sophisticated part of my retinal structure was malformed. I enjoy going to museums but I don’t have the true eye for fine art. I thought the Mona Lisa was too small. Ditto the Sistine Chapel. Especially with three hundred people in the room. I would have loved more to talk to the artist than to meditate over his or her works.

For me the real beauty of travel is the people, vistas and yes in a tacky way the ambience. You know how I feel about rhythms of a city. How about a country? There is a way of life that is just Italian. Nuts? You bet. The language has a romantic lilt and you feel like a Guillermo or Theo when you let Gratzie, Bonjourno or Ciao/ Prego roll off  your tongue. It was great.

I was not looking for the celebs. I wanted to talk to the hotel clerk, a waiter or just someone sitting next to you sipping cappuccino. I am not wowed by the fast and famous. I am humbled by the ordinary.

There was a woman, Gabriela, that served the dining room for breakfast in Rome. She and her husband were from Rumania. The population there was down from a peak of 25 million to the current 8. The young people had to go somewhere else to find work. She had a three year old daughter. They saw her once a year. They had to leave her behind in Rumania with her mother so they could work. Now that is something to meditate over.

Incredibly there were few fast food outlets in the cities as well as the towns. Cafes, bodegas, small shops were in. Big boxes and malls were not in evidence. There was an interdependency of life. Someone brought the vegetables. Another the fish. Flowers were fresh picked. Hand gesticulations and shouts abounded. There was élan. There was a stupid thing called communication and camraderie.

If I was an oncologist I would set up shop in Rome. There is smoking everywhere. Iran wouldn’t need nukes. Just send more cigarettes. If cell phones cause cancer this whole population is being wiped out. They take their time doing everything except driving. In all our meals only once did they bring a check without my asking for it. I don’t know if the Med is an anachronism in real time or if these people really do have the secret to a long life.

Whether  it was Italy, Monaco, Spain or Portugal, the views of the countryside and water were magnificent. I think I understand why the Renaissance exploded with emotion. You just want to paint, write or compose to try in some way to portray the emotions in your psyche. To have that scorned and locked in for so many centuries must have been devastating.

Men built statuaries, castles, fortresses and monuments to themselves. In churches it seemed to praise God but  it was more important to praise themselves and become noteworthy. I saw mega yachts lying at anchor or moored with no owners in sight. There were big and fast cars everywhere. But there were little ones too. Funny, they all got to the same point somehow.

I will remember the feel of  Rome with narrow streets and small bistros. I will remember the shorelines of Amalfi rather than a particular edifice. I reminisce about a bike tour of Barcelona. A small wine shop that our guide took us to. I will constantly wonder how 125,000 people live 550 miles off the coast on an island called Madeira? I will think of Annabelle, Massimo, David and Paolo.

Yes, I am unsophisticated in so many ways and that’s just fine. I am an incurable romantic. Now I will only eat my pasta al dente. Cheap red wine works fine. Am I happy to be home? Sure. But more importantly I am beyond happy to feel alive. Life is good.

Ciao Bela    As Always

Ted The Great

Factoids:

Kathy and Ted traveled approximately 15,000 miles on this little junket with over 11 stops.

Ted gained 3 lbs and Kathy none.(I think she cheated.)

Italy:

Population: 60million

Land: 116,000 sq miles (Colorado, New Mexico or Arizona)

Government: 946 seat holders get paid 140,000 euros per annum.(Highest in Europe) You only have to be present 30% of the time to get paid.

Unemployment: 8.5%

Spain:

Population: 40 million

Land: 195,000 sq miles (Larger than California)

Unemployment 25%

Portugal:

Population: 10 million

Land: 35,000 Sq Miles (Maine, Indiana or South Carolina)

Unemployment 11%