The Art of Loving is an marvelous book written by Erich Fromm back in the fifties. If you can remember back that far? The main gist is that we have to work at love beyond the initial swoon.It is incredibly complex.  It seems to be an apt title for this week’s missive in that my topic is self esteem. I have been batting around ideas with an old friend who is struggling right now. To me it is key to so many things in life it deserves a lot of attention. .

Self esteem is simply our subjective judgement of our worth in society. How do we stack up in relation to the rest of the world? The tough part is we are doing the grading as both pupil and professor. We are constantly under scrutiny as to our beliefs, looks, clothing and status in life.

A lack of it is one the prime symptoms of depression. We put ourselves down in so many ways it is tough to crawl out of the hole. We glare at people and say,”What are looking at?” when we are probably the furthest thing from their mind. We berate a waiter or supposedly lesser person just to make ourselves feel good. Doesn’t work. Then the feelings of guilt and frustration pull us lower and lower.

It is personified in strange ways. Perfectionism is one. We are never good enough. We keep trying to achieve the unachievable. We set absurd standards for us and others in the hope we will be more lovable. It can’t be done. On the other side of the coin it spawns procrastination. If I don’t make a move then I can’t be wrong. Inaction eventually leads to feelings of inadequacy. Sad but true.

The one I love is people being late. We stall and find stupid tasks that seemingly must be accomplished before our entrance. We crave attention and the “TaDa” moment. Fashionably late means I want to be noticed. If you piss people off, all the better. You have made your mark and the rudeness becomes self reinforcing. Kind of like a diva without the autographs.

In all cases we always see the world from our own point of view. It’s our game and our rules. We refuse to accept counter philosophies and we become infuriated at any hint of alternative thought. That is opposed to “alternative facts” of course. Which brings us to our current cause celebre, the Donald.

Narcissism is extreme selfishness, with a grandiose view of one’s own talents and a craving for admiration. This term is bantered around as it relates to His Hairness and may not be far from the truth. It is somewhat counter to lack of self esteem in that it is probably too much of it. The favorite letter is “I” and you had better fall in line. Some fear authoritarianism and dictatorship. I just look at it as another ego run amok. There are plenty of culprits in DC, Hollywood, New York and cites far and wide. Legends in their own minds.

The underlying feature of all this is the inability to judge oneself honestly. None of us are perfect and never will be. Who hasn’t dreamed of fame and fortune? It is holding onto that fantasy through life is where the trouble starts. It starts in childhood where doting parents praise your accomplishments in the same way your failures. You can do no wrong and will be great. No matter how good or badly you perform you look for the adulation and reinforcement. Look again.

Hopeless? Of course not, as long as you are willing to face facts. We are not talking about self flagellation but a good hard look. Dare I call it a dose of reality? We have to set bars but let’s be reasonable. I love it when a professional golfer eyes a 60’ putt and then bemoans it when it comes up short. A mere mortal is despondent because he or she only made $10 million last year. The average American thinks everyone is entitled to a new care every year or a 5,000 sf house. Get real.

I have stated before that our world loves to put us down. Not verbally but visually. From childhood to death’s door, everyone is prey to the fine art of promotion and advertising. Next time, study that 30 second spot. You will not get the girl if you don’t drive this truck or drink this beer. Every femme has to look like a Victoria Secret model. Get the latest in technology to hit your drive 6 yards further this year. Don’t be left behind. Don’t fail to measure up to our absurd fantasies. When you fall short, the drop is precipitous.

Getting back to that love thing it comes down to loving yourself for who you are, warts and all…and we all have them. Figure out how good your are not by what you have but what’s in your soul.There is a sense of calm when you get there. That old feeling comfortable in your own skin. Then you are not a fraud with a designer personality. You are just you. Doesn’t mean you can’t strive but don’t set yourself up for failure.

Even better look at the world around you. Do you get short because people are not living up to your standards? Do you want to change the world to your terms? Did you marry your spouse hoping they would change or do you love those annoying habits as part of their persona? Idiosyncrasies? I think a better term is unconditional love not only for those close to you but for you yourself. Look in the mirror and enjoy the ride.

As always,
Ted The Great

Factoids:

There are about 5,000 books listed on Amazon for self esteem. Probably the same is true for self improvement. Now does that mean we are unhappy with ourselves or just trying to be better? Dunno the answer to that one.

Ann Landers once said that when we are 20 we wonder what people think of us. When we are 40 we don’t care. When we are 60 we realize that all that time no one was thinking about us at all.

“That’s what real love amounts to – letting a person be what he really is. Most people love you for who you pretend to be. To keep their love, you keep pretending – performing. You get to love your pretense. It’s true, we’re locked in an image, an act – and the sad thing is, people get so used to their image, they grow attached to their masks. They forget all about who they really are. And if you try to remind them, they hate you for it, they feel like you’re trying to steal their most precious possession.”― Jim Morrison Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Note: My most wonderful friend Tom Cousins died of a massive heart attack Saturday in Denver. He was briefly on life support and then passed in the afternoon.Kathy and I are in Hawaii and there is no flight that can get me home in time for his funeral. If Ted’s Head is about what happens to be on my mind at a particular moment then this is all that has been on my mind since Saturday. I hope you understand.
Wish I Was There…

As opposed to wish you were here…. in Hawaii. Cousins always had a flair for the dramatic. During our stay he had been emailing me at 5:00AM in the morning Hawaii time from Command Central in Broomfield. He would say in disbelief, “Are you in a different time zone?” Really,Tom?

We loved to chat on the phone. He would call and as I picked it up and barked in a gruff voice,”What do you want?” (he loved it when I was petulant) he would always come back an exaggerated “Teddddddy” We would go on about this topic or that. He would listen to my rantings and ravings about something in the news and then he would take off on his own tear. After a period of insanity we would always laugh.I could hear his giant grin over the phone. I can still see it now. Kathy would always ask, incredulously “Who was that on the phone?” Cousins, of course.

It was the same smile and handshake that was omnipresent as I would walk into that den of iniquity, Churchills at the Brown Palace. He was almost like a political boss assembling his troops in some smoke filled room….literally. As John Horan put it, he was a chemist at getting people in the right spot to get the conversation going. He would have a cup of tea or a diet Coke until he gave the proverbial “Well,I will have just one”.

He would tell me to come down and it would just be me and him or maybe John for a quiet get together. When you got there, the table numbered at least 7 or 8. He would corral one reprobate after another and too often got stiffed with the bill because he was always such a big hearted knucklehead. I still say he had the best Rolodex in Denver.

I would bring my own stick but he always had this cigar or that hidden in the cherry humidor that was brought out for him and Horan. The robusto had some strange name and he had the requisite story to go with it. You could almost see it being rolled in some far away cigar factory. He was the consummate politician and salesman rolled into one. He was simply the best.

When Horan called me on Saturday morning I sat there in disbelief as he described the tragedy in the making. It was as if someone belted me in the stomach. I sent an email to some of you and as I hit the send button I hesitated as I wanted to make sure I had heard things correctly. This couldn’t be….but it was.

I kept eying my phone for John to tell me that it was over. His daughter Leigh had made it in some miraculous way from LA. God bless that airline, however it worked. His son Tommy and his loving wife Diane had their time to say good bye. In a horribly selfish vein I wish I had mine. Kathy and I played golf for nothing more than something to do. The news of Tom’s passing flashed as I got to eighteenth tee. I cracked one of my best drives ever. Then I had a bit of difficulty on my next few shots. It is hard to see the ball through tear filled eyes.

Later on I went down to the beach, lit a cigar and began to sip on a very stiff vodka and tonic. I called Horan and as we talked I began to really cry. The crescendo of emotion overwhelmed me. This was simply heartbreaking. I felt for John and Andrea and Tommy and Leigh. Most of all I felt for Diane. She had called me and I could not believe she had the presence to do so. We chatted briefly because she sounded so tired and wrung out. Yet she described the whole day and I was beyond gratified. Somehow she knew I wanted to be there.

It had been cloudy all day here in more ways than one. The ominous storm clouds went all the way to the horizon. But as I sat there on the shore, thin shafts of light began to pierce the gloom. Then they got larger and before you know it there was a whole lotta sunshine streaming down. The Big Boy was already working his magic.

If I was with friends at the wake on Wednesday night, I would recount some of the tomfoolery (no play on words) of our fishing trips to Black Lake. Tom organized a dozen or so screwballs for this annual trip. He saw to every detail. He was so incredibly thoughtful of everything. After cocktails he would preside over dinner but giving everyone their do. He would feed you a question and he knew you would take the ball and run with it. He was an artist and this was his canvas and he was truly in all his glory.

The most important thing to note once again was his ever present huge smile. He had the heartiest of laughs that I always describe as a “belly laugh”.It came from his generous gut but more importantly it came from his soul. He was a showman, a provocateur and a Damon Runyon like character. He just had that way.

He was so happy son Tommy had moved to Denver. I would catch him micromanaging every so often but he was just so proud of him. He was looking forward to Leigh’s wedding in California and you could see the wheels already turning as he was probably planning out the seating arrangements.

Most importantly was Diane. She was always so caring and loving and most of all accepting of all his screwball moves. A lot of wives tolerate their husbands, mine included. Diane seems to revel in it. Who else would travel to a cocktail party and dinner in Chicago with people you didn’t really know? She even showed up at the “Church” one afternoon with His Nibs nowhere in sight. My and Kathy’s heart goes out to her.

I will close now before I get incredibly sad all over again. I will go to mass at a little church Thursday morning at 7:00 AM which will coincide with the 10:00 funeral in Denver. I will pray for my buddy but just as much for Diane, Tommy,Leigh, John and Andrea Horan and all of us for what we have lost. Rest in peace, brother. We love you.

As always
Ted The Great

Posted from the Kohala Coast,Hawaii

I have been confined to quarters. It is my own doing. No, I did not get arrested nor fall ill. On Tuesday I got this brilliant idea I was going to take a run. Now mind you, heretofore I might take a two or two and a half mile jog but this day I was going to do more. I ran 4.6 miles and didn’t feel too bad. Of course when I got back I had to do my weight routine. Then to finish things off nicely I played 18 holes of golf. You get the picture. Most of my major muscle groups are frozen in place.

Looking for the most comfortable chair I could find, I chose the veranda off our room. I settled in with nothing more than my notebook. I looked out over this resort and marveled that a couple of decades ago someone saw these acres of lava and envisioned greenery and villas and homes. This whole concept of creativity got in my brain. It seems to me it is not especially new ideas but a different way of looking at things. Kind of like Leonardo’s Curiositae. I was going to give things a closer look.

DaVinci’s best exercise is to see how many different shades of green you can see in a landscape. There are a bunch. Then I heard the sounds of birds. Not just the loudmouth outside our window but all sorts of shrill tweets and perhaps a melodious coo here and there. What were they saying to each other? Was it romance or a dire warning of predators nearby. My senses piqued and I began to just look and listen. The cacaphony was stunning and the vista came alive in a totally different way.

Scribbling frantically I happened to think of my little environ. I looked at the chair I was sitting in and wondered where it came from. It was a plastic rattan and that alone made it a product that was formed from a petroleum derivative. How many people and materials went in to manufacturing and transporting this one object on this porch. The cushions? How was the material woven and who made the dye to form the pattern. There were designers and factory workers, middlemen, shipping clerks and loaders and drivers. Jeez Louise this is getting nuts.

I continued on as I had a new insight into construction and supply chains. The windows, doors, door hardware, bannisters, counters, appliances, appliance parts, phones, TVs. All were the fruits of a bunch of different people’s labors. Probably thousands of mere mortals had some hand in this condo and I dare say I was one of a infinitesimal group of people whoever gave it a thought. When I looked down my scribblings already consumed four pages and this was after no more than 15-20 minutes.

I would go on to think of the tourist industry. The hotels, buses, planes, flight crews, ground crews, controllers, executives, marketing, reservationists, golf carts, golf clubs. Yadda Yadda Yadda. It is astounding how many people I come into contact with and never give a thought as to their whereabouts or welfare. Never stoped to say hello or thank you. Imagine if we did? We are so short, impatient, demanding, obtuse and uninterested. Perfectly understandable in our frenetic world but still sad.

Now some will say I am creative but I would like to tell you that we all are. I can prove it. Several years ago Kathy and I went to an Italian restaurant in Vail with some old friends. They were teachers in a local school and they would laugh at the start of dinner waiting for one of TTG’s leading questions. The tables were covered with white butcher paper and every seating got an ample supply of crayons. Perfect for kids just like us.

This time I decided to put a word in the middle of the paper. It could have been Vail or mountain or Italian. It didn’t make any difference. Then in rapid fire I asked each one to give me a word that came to mind. I started drawing strings of words at a feverish pace. We might go back to the center and try a whole new track. This went on for about fifteen minutes and of course now fueled by some vino we could probably use some more paper. In the long run we had been creative and just let our imaginations run loose without any fear of judgment or retribution.

As I cogitate about this we might be onto something. Get a large piece of paper and try it yourself. Bring other members of the family or perhaps a work team. Kids are the best because they are totally uninhibited. There are no economic boundaries. Rich man, poor man. Mansion or hovel. We are talking paper and crayons and nothing more except our God given brains. In a school or office we don’t have any expense except for a white board and some markers.

Two things happen here. There is a sense of collaboration that we all did something. Almost as if we were making a tapestry, mural or mosaic. We can look at it and take pride. We break down walls between us and get a new appreciation of the other person. The fantastic part is that is in there and we now have a perfect way to get it out. Granted there will be naysayers and stick in the muds but hey, they will miss out on all the fun.

Now all of this started by my looking around and trying to see better what had been there all along. I am not special. It does not take an MBA or PHD. The marvelous thing called our brain just needs to be brought out of cold storage. It is exhilarating and doesn’t require a computer or game console to reach those heights. The world is a fantastic place all on its own. Just think about it.

As always
Ted The Great

Factoids:

3M Corporation is the epitome of creativity in the business world. One of its strengths is how it treats promising employees: give them opportunities, support them, and watch them learn and thrive. They literally sit around and bounce ideas off one another. Trial and error is encouraged. Probably 90% of their ideas are shelved or trashed but it is the process that makes them great.

We are actually thinking about 50% of the time. Most of us are plagued with thoughts that arise seemingly without cause.It’s not ADD but part of our multi tasking, intrusive world. It’s rare to experience more than a few moments without some thought arising. Many of the thoughts that arise in the mind are supportive of emotions of anxiety, ill will, neurotic craving, and self-doubt. Ugh!

Our mind plays tricks on us. We tend to gravitate towards ideas and concepts that we have been exposed to and accept. There is a natural tendency to go to a comfort zone. It is only through experiencing alternate points of view that our observations and judgments become more valid.

When you land at the airport in Kona, Hawaii the runway is surrounded by huge lava fields.Your first reaction is you have landed on the moon or Mars. It is somewhat alarming as you have anticipated swaying palm trees and hula girls not a rust colored mountain of rubble. Then as they open the door and roll up the open air stairway you know why you came.
The first of many Alohas greet you on the way to the terminal if you can call it that. It too is open air and just a shade above functional. Who needs anything else as simplicity is the word? There is none of the glitz or opulence that dots Oahu and Honolulu. The rental cars are Mustang convertibles or Ford sedans. Just perfect for some luggage and two sets of golf clubs.

You travel down a two lane highway where people do the speed limit. Not sure why but hey, when in Rome do as the Romans do. Get used to it because the tone throughout is not lackadaisical but measured. The people are gentle and welcoming but please don’t bring your big city attitude. It just doesn’t work.

The Big Island is the largest of eight which are inhabited although the archipelago is fifteen hundred miles in length. This the heart of Oceania and the nearest land mass is over 2,000 miles away. It all started hundreds of thousands of years ago as the ocean floor started belching magma. The process continues today on the other side of the island. You have probably seen lava creeping down the hillside on TV. It is not as scary as you would think.

Of course everything from diet tonic to soup comes by boat. The distribution channels must be awesome, however impracticality does sometimes prevail. There is this crazy little thing called the Jones Act of 1920 which prohibits any foreign flagged cargo ship to travel between two American ports. So ships on the way from the Orient cannot drop off whatever on the way to the US. It has to go to a west coast port and then be transported back to Hawaii. The Donald has to get to work on that one.

This whole new version of Ted’s magical mystery tour has been conjured up to give the divine Mrs K some warmth in the winter. After a brief stop off at home we are going to continue this quest in Florida. Several questions rear their ugly head. Not the least of them is whether or not our brains will go soft or thrive in such a relaxed atmosphere? Considering the proximity of mine to senility the danger could be looked upon as imminent.

Mornings are simple. It starts off with a mega walk along the ocean path. You say hello to people as they pass and believe it or not they say hello back. This trek is not a mission to prove my athletic prowess but a chance to think about all things essential. The only big difference is we have had no time of viewing the boob tube. We check on line headlines but we have ignored the mayhem in DC and elsewhere. We are not checking out of society but seeing what other parts of our craniums need attention.

Along the way there are people sitting on the rocks or benches just looking out at the sea. I think back to our recent trips to the Cape of Good Hope in Africa or the southeastern most point in the UK. Perhaps it was our voyage across the Atlantic. Either way you get this incredible sense of the vastness of the world and sorry to say our real insignificance in the grand order of things. If you consider the Pacific with its island nations and the awesome depths of the Marianas Trench your swelled head gets taken to task.

Devoid of blabber you consider a bunch of things. You think of family and friends and especially those that are in the middle of a particular strife. I am going to write to them for no other reason than to let them know they have someone out there. You begin to ponder what is really important in life. The homes here are gorgeous but they are subdued. Rather than wowing you with glitz they open up to the outdoors and the sea. A very special place.

Not all is sleek either. When you travel across the island to the windward side there is a time warp. In Hilo the buildings are from the 1900’s and are showing their wear. There are homeless and they seem more desperate even though they never face freezing temps. Whether ravaged by drugs of a Hippie era or alcoholism they appear lost in time and space. The climate is good but the way of life gritty.

At a local farmer’s market the fruit is right form the fields. I learned how to tell if a pineapple is ripe. You smell its bottom. What else? We went to the Volcano National Park and then completed our circumnavigation of the island. I hope all tourists do this trip. It puts everything into perspective.

Pardon the travelogue. We are so fortunate to be here and I just wanted to tell you there is civilization out there if you just look. You probably can’t walk along the ocean but you can find a park or a walkway in your town or city. You can clear your head and breathe in a little bit of fresh air. You can just say as Izzy does, What A Wonderful World. “This is Tranquility Base to Denver et al, Over and out”

As always
Ted The Great

Factoids:

Polynesian seafarers travelled north hundreds of years ago in outriggers with family and possessions aboard. How they found these Hawaiian Islands literally blows one’s mind? The Polynesian heritage has blended with Asians who came here in search of work.

Hawaii became a state in 1959. This was the end result of foreign and American businessman who had previously turned out the monarchy around 1900. There are those natives on the islands who would like to see it turned back to an independent nation. Non natives are not held in the highest regard and if you want to be in business you better have local as partner.

Because the islands of Hawaii are distant from other land habitats, life is thought to have arrived there by wind, waves (i.e. by ocean currents) and wings (i.e. birds, insects, and any seeds they may have carried on their feathers, in their beaks or droppings). INCREDIBLE!

Hawaii’s tallest mountain Mauna Kea is 13,796 ft above mean sea level; it is taller than Mount Everest if measured from the base of the mountain, which lies on the floor of the Pacific Ocean and rises about 33,500 feet

In 2009, the United States military spent US$12.2 billion in Hawaii, accounting for 18% of spending in the state for that year. 75,000 United States Department of Defense personnel live in Hawaii.

My apologies to Robespierre but after this weekend the femmes take top billing. I almost didn’t write this week. Inaugurations, marches, playoff games. What’s a guy to think? Even good old Fr. Pat tossed a grenade into my poor little brain on Sunday but here I am for better or worse.

At first, the Women’s March was startling. Not for the incredible attendance throughout the world but for the tenor of the rhetoric. As Madonna et alia F Bombed their way through their cheerleading, the vitriol was beyond evident. I understand the problem and have been beyond supportive of women in all walks but this seemed over the top. Are things really that bad? I mused throughout the day at what I had seen.

Then we went out to dinner Saturday night with some great friends. The wife had gone to the march of some 200,000 here in Denver and her husband was the driver for several of her compatriots. I got a different story. There was grace and civility and a sense of the original purpose to seek equality for all people regardless of sexual orientation, color, religion or whatever. They really were one and I had my faith restored not so much in women or gays or blacks but in some sense of sane discourse.

Enter Fr. Pat stage right. In his homily he proposed that equality can’t be reached because it is not in our nature to do so. Huh? Now my favorite Irish prelate is not a puppet for the conservative wing of Catholicism so I took notice. He reasoned that we want to help the poor so long as they stay in their place. The way we judge ourselves and society is by some sort of pecking order. He did not say it was right but it is so. That really got me  pondering.

There are rungs in all parts of our populace. I just read The Hillbilly Elegy and it was enlightening. Poverty isn’s confined to the inner city or blacks but is evident throughout our nation and world. The hollers of Kentucky and West Virginia can be just as desperate as the south side of Chicago or the bowels of Baltimore. Yes, there are a chosen few that escape and even some come back to resurrect but as a whole these people are devoid of hope. The haves and the have nots have become institutionalized.

And now we are eating our way into middle class America. The Donald can preach about the resurgence of the Rust and Bible Belt but there are just too many people who will not know life as it once was. In a sadistic turn these are the people that advertising is aimed at. They are the ones that religiously watch soaps, game shows and football because quite simply they have nothing else to do. They are told they need a new pickup, that Bud is the only way to get loaded and Duluth undershorts will soothe their chafing bottoms. It is almost like consumerism is the salve that will make it all go away.

If you think I am just being stereotypical, think again. Even in the upper echelons there are judgement calls which you cannot deny. Everyone wants to drive the latest symbol. It used to be a forest green Eddie Bauer Explorer but we shifted to BMW’s and Mercedes. Then that not being good enough we now seek Teslas and Bentleys. What is going to happen to us when we have driverless cars and all that horsepower and luxury will appear mundane?

Ok TTG, we can still look to our domiciles can’t we?.Not exactly.  Of course we have  to live in a gated community but even that alone may seem passé. Now we have to be in a gated part of the gated community. That is where the really rich and famous live. Imagine spending a couple of mill on your house and feeling like a low life? Where do your kids go to school and where do you vacation? Some of life’s burning questions.

Getting back to the Reverend Dolan’s premise that we all can’t be equal, one is struck by a further element of his oration. What is your vocation or better yet your lot in life? This not a grin and bear it situation but what do you think you are here for? If it is wealth and fame you probably won’t find what you re looking for. You will always need just a little more to make you happy. Just doesn’t happen.

Maybe I am getting old but this stuff just does not matter like it used to. I will not make any more money or achieve fame in the years to come . There is a finite nature to that and I sometimes wish I had learned it sooner. That doesn’t mean I am going to assume the fetal position for the rest of my life but my lot is cast and indeed I am more than fortunate to have a  comfortable one. Not particularly in an economic sense but maybe in my soul. I think I finally figured out where I am in the pecking order and that is just fine.

I look at the Women’s March and say good for you. Not in a condescending tone but  I really hope you can find what you are looking for. But I also would caution that this is not a perfect world. Maybe over time with prodding here and there, the battleship will slowly turn but the progress depends on an open and accepting world. We are far from it. Equality would be a great thing but men and women would have to forsake some things they are sure bring them happiness. On every rung of the ladder. We are just not there but it doesn’t mean we can’t keep trying.

As always
Ted The Great

Factoids:

Just eight families in the world control more wealth than poorest 3.6 billion people on this planet. Nearly 1/2 of the world’s population — more than 3 billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day. More than 1.3 billion live in extreme poverty — less than $1.25 a day. 1 billion children worldwide are living in poverty. According to UNICEF, 22,000 children die each day due to poverty. That is pretty scary no matter how skewed the numbers.

In 2015, 43.1 million people lived in Poverty USA. That means the poverty rate for 2015 was 13.5%. The threshold for a family of four is less than $24,000 per year. You would have to make at least $12 per hour in a 40 hour work week to make $24k

The U.S. rates 28th out of 145 countries in an annual world ranking of equality for women.The World Economic Forum “Global Gender Gap Report 2015” bases its equality ranking on economic, educational, health-based and political indicators.

Amazon recently announced that of their employees, women receive 99.9% of the pay that is earned by men. Minorities receive 101.1% of that number.

I was going to go quietly into the night on inauguration eve. Might have had a glass of wine or scotch and watched the news on PBS.I also watched NBC news the other night. More a force habit than a rational decision. Lester Holt is the anchor of the day at least until something drastic arises from his past. Then he can join Brian Williams in that high priced Siberia of MSNBC.

My final AAARGH moment occurred when his much ballyhooed Trek Across America started in Sacramento. He claimed to be gaining deep insights in cities from west to east. This group of five citizens of the Golden State were each given 10-15 seconds to spill their guts as part of a grand total of 2 1/2 minute segment of the news. Why bother?

Wolf Blitzer of course has his hourly “Breaking News” segments which are more mundane than sensational. Fox News has their “Fox Alert”. Fox seems to be the operative word as everyone from Roger Ailes to Bill O’Reilly are paying out of court millions for trying to bed down the staff. The thought of Roger trying to sidle up to Megan Kelly is beyond disgusting. As I move on remember these are the clowns that are supposed to get the stories right.

This whole Russia thing gets more bizarre by the day. Now let me get this straight. We are ticked off because Russia hacked us. Now can you tell me we don’t hack Russia or China or Germany and in turn no one hacks anyone else? Interfering in our elections? Do you think over the last several decades we have not tried through the CIA et alia to have an effect on elections everywhere from South Viet Nam to Israel to Venezuela to Cuba? Everyone howls in mock horror.

The point I have asked over and over is if we weren’t doing anything wrong then who would really care if our emails were hacked? Debby Wasserman Shultz and the Democratic National Committee was colluding with Hillary’s campaign to bring down Bernie. Donna Brazile was feeding questions to Hillary’s confidantes before the debate. I am sure the Republicans were guilty of the same missteps. Puuuhleaze, do not tell me you think someone is getting a raw deal. John Lewis is a great guy. Just look at what happened to him and what an effect he has had on the civil rights movement. But John, please don’t tell Meet The Press you think this is a vast right wing conspiracy and you cannot accept the outcome. Didn’t look good.

I have told you time and again that Washington is a cesspool. Look at how long pols reside in DC. They all come hoping to change the climate. Many leave in disgust but many find that the forecast of hot and steamy is to their liking. The place oozes influence peddling and hands extended for their largesse. It is slimy to the core. Why else would you pay an average of $11.5 mill to obtain a Senate seat that pays $175,000 per annum? The way they perpetuate their status and wealth is by creating more and more programs that require constant funding and contracting.

 
About 35 out of 435 congressional seats were considered competitive in the last election. Less than 10%. I have railed on about how long they stay. How can you possibly have creative ideas and be open to reducing government if you have been in office for 20, 30, or 40 years? And yet I watch them as they have their day in the sun taking prospective cabinet members to task for this or that. I am by no means an apologist for Trump but rather a critic of our manner of governing.

For example Sen Bob Melendez, who is the senior senator from the great state of New Jersey was grilling Rex Tillerson who would like to be Secretary of State. Now Bobbo has a close personal friend who is an eye doctor in Miami who out of the goodness of his heart gave him at least $750,000 in campaign funds. He also entertained him at his little hacienda in the Dominican Republic. I know you will be shocked but there was ample booze and ample women. No play on words. How would you like to have your sense of right and wrong questioned by this guy?

I derive a great deal of amusement in the goings on. Hollywood is boycotting the festivities as a matter of conscience. People everywhere are snorting their snuff and harrumphing in self righteous indignation. They are offended. Don’t worry, we go through the same soap operas at every swearing in. You didn’t like Obama or Bush or Clinton et al going back 20-30 years.You cry in mock protest. And then we fall back on this crazy sense of ritual and dignity and honor and to that I say, BULL SHIT! I hope you are not taping this.

The message is the same as it was in 2008 and 2012. The public is fed up. They don’t want to be lectured and dismissed. They are tired of being run over by the governmental, financial and academic cognescenti. When it comes to haves and have nots we want to measure by wallets but could just as much turn to grey matter as the standard. Just shut up and do what you are told. We know what we are doing. Unfortunately we are being exposed from Oval offices to Board Rooms to Faculty Lounges.

America has relied on leaders for centuries. Right now they don’t feel there are any. If electing The Donald was grasping at straws so be it. In this election we did not provide any viable candidates. If you are upset at the results look in the mirror. We have not encouraged leadership but prolonged mediocrity by our own neglect. We and I mean all of us are the Gang That Can’t Shoot Straight. By the above I am trying in a small way to start here.

As always
Ted The Great

Factoids:

114th Congress The Senate had 54 Republicans, 44 Democrats, and 2 Independents, who both caucused with the Democrats. The average age of Members of the House at the beginning of the 114th Congress was 57.0 years; of Senators, 61.0 years. 79 have been in office at least 20 years.

Winston Churchill through the SIS, their intelligence agency worked for 18 months to ensure the election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It was believed that only FDR would send supplies and eventually enter WWII.
The U.S. has a long history of attempting to influence presidential elections in other countries – it’s done so as many as 81 times between 1946 and 2000. That number doesn’t include military coups and regime change efforts following the election of candidates the U.S. didn’t like, notably those in Iran, Guatemala and Chile.

The United States Intelligence Community is a federation of 16 separate United States government agencies that work separately and together to conduct intelligence for the country. In 2010 that there were 1,271 government organizations and 1,931 private companies in 10,000 locations in the United States that are working on counterterrorism, homeland security, and intelligence.The intelligence community as a whole includes 854,000 people holding top-secret clearances. I am sure there is no eavesdropping or hacking going on here.

When one thinks of tradition our minds wander to scrapbooks and photo albums or old 45’s. It is the glue that gives us comfort in the midst of chaos. It is the security of knowing somehow it worked in the past and it will get us through. It is also a symbol of each generation’s work to sustain the lineage as we pass it on to the next whether they be Xers or millenials. If they accept it we have somehow succeeded. If they toss it back at us it is the ultimate rejection and no one likes that.

 
We are binge watching The Crown and nothing could be more appropriate as we near inauguration day. Brits are justifiably proud of their heritage but as we watch Elizabeth’s reign unfold post WWII, one can see how their intransigence to pomp and ritual might foretell their descent into comparative irrelevance. They all portray painful intellectual snobbery. It is only “They” who can deliver the unwashed masses from desperation. No one else has a clue. Pardon me but didn’t we just see this happen on this side of the pond.

As for us Yanks we have chosen a new course….at least some have. As we watch the stuffy and moldy Cabinet room at #10 Downing are not our Congressional halls and Cloak rooms similar? I watch the tottering and unstable Winston and the Ancients of the Senate and House come to mind. As I shout “Get with it, you old fool” at the Netflix, couldn’t that be at C Span as well?

His Hairness is shaking things up in lots of ways. I watched parts of the news conference yesterday. I have had just short of contempt for the Fourth Estate lately. With the multiplicity of cable channels it is obvious the true grit reporting has taken a back seat to Nielsen and bottom lines. The fact there is an unwritten code of how the Oval Office is to treat the press is comical. It was raucous, bawdy and probably a symbol of who we are. But have no doubts, things will not settle down quickly. Fasten your seat belts!

 
That is beyond disconcerting to many. Times have been crazy over the last few years. Bubbles have burst starting with the Second Great Depression.Banks and brokerages were the bastions of security and wealth. Now they must humbly submit to “stress tests”.Culturally we are now inclusive of LGBT sexual orientation. Technology has soared at warp speed and left many far behind. We crave consistency and civility but the genie is long out of the bottle.

And in the midst of all this mayhem fear has grown from an occasional thought to foremost in our minds.We worry about our health, global warming, our financial future, kidnapping, murder, molestations, and most importantly will the brass ring be ours whatever our age be? Whoever thought Clemson would beat Bama? The Donald as President Elect? George Soros is rumored to have lost over a billion dollars on that losing bet. Will things ever get back to the way they were? Don’t bet on it

.

Before we become apoplectic at the thought, let’s consider some of the plusses to change. By sheer evolution our world and its inhabitants have adjusted to change. Animals grow wings or gills to obtain food and survive. Cities have grown and provided for their inhabitants both spiritually and monetarily because of new ideas and infrastructure. Robert Moses was a pain in the ass and wild eyed to many but his creation of highways, bridges and parks in the New York metropolitan area was prescient if not brilliant.

The Edisons, Bells, Salks, Gates and Jobs were considered out of the mainstreams of science. If someone had not sought the secrets of the genome or the marvelous complexity of fiber optic cable where would we be? Tennis rackets, golf clubs, composite materials for planes and cars would never have occurred in a pleasant but dowdy existence.

Sure there are downsides. People used the marvel of the atom to create death and destructive capabilities. The internet has become a vehicle for theft, terrorism and malice. Institutions like banks and religion have become suspect. We have made a business out of making people well. Cures benefit the stock price. Oh yeah as a by product they help people too. But all this is maybe because we have been all to happy to derive the benefits with personal regard rather than seeing the ultimate outcomes for mankind.

I think a huge part of the problem is that we think tradition and change exist separate from one another. If you believe in one you are an old fart and if you want to blow things up intellectually of course that means you are a radical or terrorist. We need both. We seem unable to accept that.

I really chuckle when I think of where we are today. The right has taken to Trump. His unorthodoxy is playing well at the country clubs and the cooth squads are conveniently looking the other way. The progressives are trying to retain the status quo and the elements of creativity and innovation at least in government are looked askance. Fascinating isn’t it?

In golf they say every shot makes someone happy. So goes our body politic. Our country is in a bit of a maelstrom right now and that is okay. I am not an anarchist but I really do believe we have to shake things up. We might be greatly surprised or sadly disappointed but rather than cataclysmic it is a thing called life.Somehow we will make it. We always have and that is our tradition. On the other hand change is what has made us what we are as a dynamic and incredible nation. The new show is about to start. I am going to get a big bag of popcorn and watch. Care to join me?

As always
Ted The Great

Factoids:

Change Is Hard Because People Crave What They Already Like. People as whole are reluctant to try new things be they food, books or travel.

Nearly 60 percent of projects aimed at achieving business change do not fully meet their objectives. Harvard Business Review … The brutal fact is that about 70% of all change initiatives fail. Doesn’t mean we can’t try.

It is our country’s tradition to have tail gate parties, watch Super Bowl commercials, give Presidential Turkey pardons, have Black Friday and Ground Hog days. In the South we give people crazy names. In the Northeast there are about 60 different dialects. In the West there are fruits and nuts. It is us. Maybe the Donald will give himself a Turkey Pardon.

Prince Charles’ personal valet, Michael Fawcett, used to squeeze his toothpaste onto his toothbrush for him.He is definitely the most high-maintenance of the royals: he employs well over 100 staff including chefs, cooks, footmen, housemaids, gardeners, chauffeurs, cleaners, and not one, not two, but three personal valets whose sole responsibility is the care of their royal master’s extensive wardrobe. A serving soldier polishes the prince’s boots and shoes every day, and Charles’s valets iron the laces of his shoes whenever they are taken off. Probably not tradition but I couldn’t resist.

From the great state of Marijuana I can report that things are gong swimmingly. I am probably naive but a couple of years of legality doesn’t seem to have much effect on the everyday workings of Denver. They are finding teenagers are turning more to alcohol than to the weed. Probably easier to raid the parents’ liquor cabinet than to break into their stash of hash.

The rise of heroin as a cost effective alternative to Oxycodone and Vicadin bespeaks a pain prescription dispensery run amok. One of the more curious aspects is its ehttps://www.themonastery.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/addiction-help.jpgpidemic proportions in rural America. Does that mean there is more initial pain there or is boredom and lack of “other” diversions contributing to the malaise?

That being said I heard a startling statistic in passing that caused me to perk up. Apple logged $28 billion in app sales in 2016, including $3 billion in December alone. Incredibly the sales for just New Year’s Day were $240 million. Currently they offer 2.2 million apps in the AppStore. Numbers can be boring but these are astounding for their implications.

25% of them are games, followed by business, education, lifestyle and entertainment making up 60% as a total. If you take out business and education it means there are almost 900,000 downloads for leisure time. I see my grandkids logging a lot of screen time and the latest edition of Super Mario should keep them entertained for some time to come. Today’s youth spend about 7-8 hours per week playing all sorts of strange stuff. Habits at this age are tough to break. We not only use them as babysitters but perchance should I bring up the word “addiction” of a sort. No TTG, it can’t be that bad. Sorry mes amis, tis true.

Getting back to dollars and sense to play on words, where does one get the money to buy all these things? Some are free but others cost x initially and y over a period of time. There is a thing called Clash of Clans that grosses $12 million per month in user fees.The answer to everyone’s prayers? A little drum roll please. Enter King Visa and Queen MasterCard and various other royalty. 80% of all purchases are put on plastic and that number grows exponentially each year. Convenience is wonderful but does it forestall reality?

It seems the average American(whoever that is) maintains a balance from month to month of $16,061. The average interest rate is 15.36% You can go from a low of 12% to 23% for the worst credit. That is $747 billion on loan with an annual interest payment of $111 billion. I have not mentioned, mortgage, autos, student loans et al but suffice to say that all comes to $132,529 per household or a grand total of $12.35 TRILLION in consumer debt. Should that be listed in the opiate or hallucinogenic form of treatment?

Another dirty little secret is the porn industry. Worldwide it is a $97 billion industry with $12 billon from the US alone.In America, the Beautiful, child pornography is tagged at $3 billion per annum and growing steadily. People spend more time on porn sites than Netflix, Amazon and Twitter combined. 30% of all data transferred across the Internet is porn related. No deviance here just people having some good clean fun.

Sorry if I have bored or boggled with the above numbers but I think it tells a lot about ourselves. Whether it is booze, boobs or gaming we have a variety of ways to while away our hours of leisure. I don’t say this so much in a moralistic way as much as reflective. You can do whatever floats your boat. You can also say it is the other guy or gal and not you. That might be very true. But in essence if we base our standards and expectations on who we are and how we act as a people doesn’t this become part of our national persona?

We constantly complain there are not enough hours in the day. We don’t have time to read, become educated on current events, volunteer, exercise, vote, pay attention to our kids or our spouses. Yadda Yadda Yadda. Really? Come on man I just want to kick back and relax. You are no fun at all. For instance,Children aged 2-11 watch over 24 hours of TV per week, while adults aged 35-49 watch more than 33 hours, according to data from Nielsen that suggests TV time increases the older we get. The average American watches more than five hours of live television every day. I am so sorry for interrupting your free time.

Trust me I am as bad as you are. I get borderline comatose on New Year’s Day watching bowl games or on Sunday watching my Broncos. I love playing solitaire or just beating golf balls until my hands bleed. In a big golf tournament on TV I can watch every shot. Do I feel guilty? Probably not but I do often admit to a tremendous waste of time. I guess what I am trying to say is no one should get nuts in overindulging in anything but when it becomes a regular occurrence we should have a talk with ourselves.

People who are alcoholics, drug addicts, overeaters or over spenders do so because it takes them into another world. They are not very happy with theirs. Whether it is poverty in a monetary or spiritual sense it feels good to get away. The only way to overcome that is having that heart to heart talk with one’s self. You deal with reality and embrace it, not run away from it. I am not sure we personally or as a country are very good at that. Probably time for an intervention.

As always
Ted the Great

Factoids:
I have already given you too many.

In this season I get to pick from many nocturnal activities. It could have been last night. We are in Vail for a couple of days and we took my brother and sister in law to dinner in town. We have been helping daughter Lindsey with her newly purchased but mechanically challenged condo. Uncle David is an electrician and out of the goodness of his heart is overhauling her electric baseboard system. I am the Gofer, which is appropriate.

Before dinner we walked up Bridge Street and what to our wondrous eyes should appear? A whole bunch of new lights on every tree and every crossbeam. A group of a dozen or so foreign speaking visitors barreling down the street with little concern of who was coming the other way. And as we were gazing up at unlit and unoccupied condos I tried to explain to my kin why people spend $4 or $5 million on these babies, to come only a few weeks a year. Did I make sense? Probably not. Especially after the $10 ice cream cone.

Dinner was great and as only can happen in the mountains our waitress was from Galway, Ireland. Arianna travelled across the pond around 15 years ago and after a short stop in Boston arrived in our winter wonderland and decided to stay. Young people seek time off here after college and parents pull their hair out after dropping a quarter million large on their higher education. I was riding on the Vail bus one time and the young lady at the helm was sporting a Harvard sweatshirt. I asked her who did she know that went to Harvard ? She laughed and said, “Me,” of course.

We will assemble LOFO,The Loyal Order of the Fat Ones, on Friday afternoon at Churchills. This emporium of smoke, whiskey and good fun seems appropriate for this crowd. I am bringing my brother in law to demonstrate to him how really nuts I am. I have spoken to you before of The Church’s many charms. I made the mistake of taking a good friend there last New Years in the early afternoon. The light of day did not do any favors to the worn rugs and sagging leather chairs. A fitting metaphor for the crowd there. Hey, who cares?

As I write I can’t help but think back about Xmases past. I grew up in a wonderful old colonial house with numerous fireplaces. The boys were responsible for maintaining the hearths. We had a wood room in the basement which was the old coal bin for the house. Just outside it was an old pot bellied stove, Unused but a great keeper of the lore of the manse.

Dinners were peaceful as we lingered, feeling the warmth of the flame and the sound of pine sap crackling. My father held court at the head of the table and he had a habit of asking leading questions. These were not fast food hit and run affairs and it is probably where I acquired my gift of gab. Grandma made a mean minced pie that was ceremoniously set on fire with a lit bit of Four Roses or some other high octane spirit. Top that with hard sauce and you were in seventh heaven.

We have moved so many times and been in so many places we are not particularly imbued with sacred rituals. In some ways one feels a lack but on the other hand we have had so many different experiences we feel very blessed. In the early eighties we took hay rides on our first sabbatical in Denver. We sang carols and the kids had huge smiles as we meandered through the hilly roads of Genesee. The cold crisp Colorado sky was tamed by a little schnapps or whatever and we always wound up at someone’s home for simple chow. Our first Noel there greeted us with three feet of snow. The Reverend TTG had to perform services at home that Christmas day.

One Yuletide we were in Perth Australia. Another in Boston in the Navy. Last year we were in Wimbledon, England with son Scott and family. The one constant for 45 years has been Kathy at my side. Best present of all. This year we will sit in front of the tree or by the fire and think of the many that have moved on in every sense of the word. Great friends who have been so much a part of our lives. Strange as it sounds it is not a sadness but a warm appreciation for all they have given to us. We are a very lucky couple.

I will pay my visit to Fr Michael at Samaritan House with a wad of $2 bills in tow.He thinks I am being generous. I am just trying to buy my way into heaven because I know it is my only hope. We are going to 10:00 mass on the big day. I will be doing the second readings and I will say a prayer for all of you.Nothing crazy just a gentle nudge to the Big Guy so He will look out for all of us no matter what our beliefs.

I am corny and sentimental in Ted’s Head on this day. I know there is mayhem in the world and in our fair nation. I just decided to not pay heed to murders, bombings, insults and slurs as I look out at the hills. Not wanton disregard for the pain and suffering but just setting a different priority for my cranium on this spectacular morning. I hope you might be able to do the same. And so for another year as I ride out of sight,Merry Christmas to all and to all a Holy Night.

As always
Ted The Great.

Factoids:
There is a village in Peru where people settle the previous year’s grudges by fist fighting on Christmas. They then start the new year off on a clean slate. Hmm, they may have an idea there.

Paul McCartney earns nearly half a million dollars every year from his Christmas song, which many critics regards as his worst song ever.

During the Christmas of 2010, the Colombian government covered jungle trees with lights. When FARC guerrillas (terrorists) walked by, the trees lit up and banners asking them to lay down their arms became visible. 331 guerrillas re-entered society and the campaign won an award for strategic marketing excellence.
Most of Santa’s reindeer have male-sounding names, such as Blitzen, Comet, and Cupid. However, male reindeers shed their antlers around Christmas, so the reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh are likely not male, but female or castrated.

Each year there are approximately 20,000 “rent-a-Santas” across the United States. “Rent-a-Santas” usually undergo seasonal training on how to maintain a jolly attitude under pressure from the public. They also receive practical advice, such as not accepting money from parents while children are looking and avoiding garlic, onions, or beans for lunch

Many of the most popular Christmas songs, such as “White Christmas,” “Winter Wonderland,” “Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire),” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” were written or co-written by Jews. L’chaim!