Naive or Stupid?….

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As always
Ted The Great

Factoids:

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

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

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

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

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

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

About 8,200 Americans die annually from heroin overdoses

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

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

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

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

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

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

.

What, Me Worry?…..

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As always
Ted The Great

Factoids:

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

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

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

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

One plane takes off from Heathrow airport every 45 seconds.

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

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

GO IRISH! GO BRONCOS!

Peace on Earth…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As always
Ted The Great

Factoids:

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

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

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

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

Fueling Up at the BP

Tis the season and an austere group known as LOFO,Loyal Order of The Fat Ones (cigars, not body type) assembled at a den of iniquity called  Churchill’s, in the Brown Palace(BP) Hotel here in Denver.This crowd of reprobates numbered close to a dozen. It’s just good for the soul to smoke a cigar, drink some scotch and tell lies.

I immediately came under fire for sporting  a still sizable bandage on my bald melon. I had MOHS surgery on a squamous cell cancer two weeks ago and still have the stitches in. There was no mercy. Several questioned whether they went deep enough to find gray matter while others asked if it was a frontal lobotomy? I finally shut them all up by claiming their sympathy was fraudulent and besides we were not talking about a vital organ here.

The makeup of this crowd was significant. There were lefts and rights. Big wheels. Not so big wheels. One heads up the Small Business Administration for the Rocky Mountain Region. There was the Body Snatcher who owns a highly successful funeral business here in Denver. Alex calls himself a Blaxican because his parents were black and Mexican. He sells agricultural goods to the Ivory Coast in Africa.There were lawyers, oil men and Wall Street types. There was a great friend who is going to be spending his first Christmas without his dear wife who passed on this year. Another was ecstatic that his son was going to be moving to Denver to start a new job. So many twists and turns.

The conversation was energetic. People switched seats constantly to engage one another. No one was looking around the room to see if there was somebody more important to talk to. That person was right in front of you .We laughed heartily. I mean belly shakers that felt so good right down to your bones. There was no ISIS or Trump or stock markets. No agendas. We just had fun.

As I drove home I thought about my week. I have had interactions with people in the city administration in my quest to clean up the Cherry Creek.  People told me to stay away from this one or that because they were assholes.  Turned out not to be true. Funny how a civil tone and just treating someone like a human being can go a long way. Even more I dwelled on the thought that over the last year I have met a whole raft of people I would never had known if I hadn’t gotten involved. That’s a very cool thing .

Last Saturday my son in law and I drove out about forty miles from Denver to a place called Byers, Colorado. It was snowing and visibility was low but it didn’t matter because there is nothing but open plains to see there anyway. We were going to pick up a new Labradoodle puppy for his kids. Funny, we acted just like kids ourselves.

The breeder told us how she had lost her husband last May. She wanted to talk and the paperwork took far longer than it should have. Impatience could have come spilling out but somehow we thought that we should just let the woman speak about hospitals and doctors and whatever. It was the right thing to do. When we got home the girls were beyond elated. They screamed and giggled and welcomed the new member of the family with proverbial open arms. Life is good.

Sunday evening we fly to London to be with my son and his family. We are beyond thrilled to be able to go there. Nothing crazy or extravagant  but just spending a Christmas in their home even though we will be far away from ours. Seeing how their part of the world lives. My thoughts go not only there but to all the places we have been lately. I wonder what the holiday is like in South Africa or Zimbabwe? What about those kids in the orphanage at Victoria Falls?

Sorry if this all sounds corny to you. I truly hope it doesn’t. I guess I am just lucky, happy and most of all thankful. We all have so much and that is fine. I hope we just realize it and sit down and think about it from time to time. I have had a lot happen this year from surgeries to jumping out of airplanes to walking with lions. Shot a couple of decent rounds of golf and have a great wife and kids and grandkids. On balance I would say I am very much on the plus side.

I will write next from across the pond. I hope I can find a BP just like the one here in Denver. Maybe just sit down and enjoy a Scotch with my son or a glass of red with his wife. Filling stations are great wherever they are. They keep our motors running and the lube bays keep us from rattling or squeaking too badly as we get older. Don’t ever let your gas gauge go down to E . It’s bad for you .

As always
Ted The Great.

Factoids:

None to speak of.

Outcomes….

This whole thing with ISIS has got me thinking. I O’Ded watching talk shows that I have taped starting with my favorite, Charlie Rose. I wanted to hear from a bunch of different perspectives that were calm and deliberative rather than the nightly insanity of obscene tours of terrorists apartments and inane interviews with the neighbors.

Whether you were for it or against it this thing started with the invasion of Irag in 2003. Osama and his band of Al Quaedas were holed up in Tora Bora while we went hell bent for leather towards Baghdad. When we arrived Louis Paul Bremer III was our man in charge. He was a decent diplomat but hardly a top flight manager. The first thing he did was fire 300,000 of Sadam’s soldiers. Seems on the surface to make sense but the absurdity was these guys were making about $200 a month. For $6 million a month we could at least keep them under a watchful eye.

They became the Genesis of ISIS. They were trained, had a command structure and did not exactly turn in all their weapons upon departure….and most of all were out of a job. Unemployment being what it was they literally had nothing to do. Now some enterprising radicals approached them with a better idea. And they were off to the races. Slowly at first but picking up steam. It is a theme for ISIS recruitment today. They go to the unemployed and disenfranchised and promise them notoriety under the guise of religion. You can be something. We will even let you rape women and chop off heads to boot. What’s not to like?

So we started off with a good idea and it blew up in our face. Please don’t go on about whether we left too early or all we need is a little more time. Somehow it seems if ten years and $2 trillion couldn’t do the trick then I think we have to cut bait. Worse is the fact that I don’t think we really thought through what a power vacuum would be created and their idea of democracy was not really simpatico with ours. Outcomes became nightmares.

Let’s get off wars and get to something more fun. The Internet. It happened almost by accident. People wanted to send messages in a simple way and the rest is history. As it grew exponentially we graduated from laptops to smartphone to tablets and we were all connected electronically. Very cool. But wait a minute nobody told me that my life would be subjected to scrutiny, sexting, parsing by major companies and of course Lord Snowden blowing the whistle on the NSA.

This marvel of media or shall we say social networking had an incredible capacity to let little known people become famous. You could publish a book, musical composition or even a manifesto on line without the hassle of corporate America. But wait, you mean you can steal downloads of music and movies without paying for them? You can reach millions just by Facebook or Twitter? Damn, if I am a radical or malcontent I now have a voice. Hmm, I don’t think we thought of that.

I love to hack around but I never thought my life would be invaded by what you call hackers. These guys can steal your identity, trade secrets, access to our power grids and even the Department of Defense. Was that really in the cards at the onset? Why weren’t some of these geniuses really thinking ,”What hath God wrought?” There is always tomorrow.
Back in 1965 we put in a little thing called Medicare. It was supposed to ensure that old people would not go without medical help. No one was living that long so it seemed like a palatable and even cheap solution to a problem. Now the government figured for Part A hospital expenses in 1990 would come in at $9 billion. It was actually $67 billion. For physician services the number today was to be $500 million. Sadly the actual number is $168.3 billion.

It actually gets worse. Many of the medical advancements today are the result of government funding in a round about way. It never argued about high priced procedures and exorbitant drugs. The bigger and better, the more we paid. Now these treatments helped people have a longer if not questionably a better quality of life. We were discovering new and better ways to prolong life for a mere 3-6 months at the cost of Who cares? That sounds harsh but it is a dilemma that only grows more complex by the year. We may someday have to pay this bill in full and nobody will know how we got here. You know ,”The guy behind me is paying.”

Nobody could have foreseen these things but the real question is should they have? The Industrial Revolution put millions of people to work and created a financial bonanza that has lasted over 150 years. Now that we have developed our ways of life around a manufacturing society how do we make the transition to a technological society? Should somebody have thought that through or was it even possible? I think when we look at these things they evolved through that marvelous thing called man’s ingenuity and creativity. It just seems to me now that we are traveling at such a warp speed we may just go off the cliff without even knowing it.
Nobody has a faster hair trigger than me. I can take an idea and run with it without carefully considering the consequences. Don’t bug me with naysaying and pragmatism, I am on a mission. I am an innovator. And that is where the practical has to come into play as much as I hate to admit it. We should develop the ability to temper both. Yin and Yang. If it was 500 years ago it would not be so complex.Today? Oi Vey. Somebody should turn the music down so we can at least take a break at this party. You are right. That is an outcome that will probably never happen. Hey, I tried.

As always
Ted The Great.

Factoids:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been one of the most debated fields of science. Simply put we are trying to endow a machine with all the attributes of the human mind. The most difficult part has been ethics,empathy and sensitivity. It is projected that by 2050 AI will enable a machine to be smarter than man. Thank God I don’t think i will be around for the outcome.

Space travel and its science has created a wonderful array of products from freeze dried foods. memory foam mattresses, cochlear implants,water purification, solar cells. Unfortunately contrary to common belief it was not responsible for Tang, Velcro, nor Teflon

Robotics is simply the use of machines to perform human tasks. There have been usages in physical therapy by helping people with missing limbs to walk. The self driving car can be considered one. Ditto drones. The development of robots in every aspect of our life has created the reduction in the manual workforce manyfold. Some jobs will never exist again.

Good ideas with bad outcomes.”The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry”.(idiomatic) A proverbial expression used to signify the futility of making detailed plans when the ability to fully or even partially execute them is uncertain. I concur.

Aha Moments….

I am siting here in the Cutaneous Oncology department of the University of Colorado Med Center. They are performing MOHS surgery on my forehead or as a golfing buddy says,”they are taking a divot.” Now this being Ted’s Head I am not sure if they will tap into my grey matter or even more terrifyingly if there is any? I will try to write fast.

Mindsets, creativity and innovation have been cruising around my cranium for the last few days. I look at everything going on in the world and rather than succumb to depression about the course of events I find myself looking for where the solutions will come from. I noted the other day that technology of the future will be able to examine my stools on a daily basis to see if I am healthy or not. Surely such a noble pursuit should make it easy for us to solve more obvious problems.

Now do we look to the octogenarians, millennials or infants for salvation? I happen to think it is going to be all of us. From just a few months after birth we begin on life’s journey for better or worse. We develop mindsets which may encompass our intelligence, personality and aptitudes. We become us. Science has taught us that through genes and environment that somehow the dye is cast one way or another. You only have so much to work with and we will do our best but please realize your limitations.

Aha, there is a different dimension. It seems that may best be described by the concept of fixed and growth mindsets. Fixed is as we described above and the resulting implication is eye opening. If you believe you can’t be any better, then you are preoccupied with the hand you are dealt. You then seek out attribution, praise and judgment based on that. You are looking at the same face in the mirror every day and seek approval over and over again. As one pundit put it,”You have been dealt a hand. You would like it to be a royal flush but you are petrified you are just a pair of eights.” Interesting.

Now the growth mindset is more fluid and in a way forgiving. You are encouraged to try or experiment but you also make mistakes. That is how you learn. You look at your ignorance not as an ugly birthmark but something to be corrected and enhanced through hard work and persistence. You don’t worry about your self esteem because you really don’t have time for it. You develop a passion for learning because that is how you get better…and brighter, whatever the hell that means.

Today we mark everyone on material accomplishments which is fine. But you could take a billionaire who although rich is not realizing his potential. His gauge of measurement is completely out of whack which is why we find major portions of people from all economic strata trying to find themselves or at best merely unhappy. I was in a meeting last night with a young woman who is a paleontologist for the Colorado Department of Transportation. What ?? As she explained what she did there was a wonderful element of passion for finding bones or whatever at the site of a new highway in the mountains.

Passion is a wonderful word. How about zeal,ardor, love, fervor, fire, enthusiasm, relish, gusto, vigor, energy, intensity. When was the last time you felt any of those? It is about having a vision for who you are or what you want to learn rather than just marking time. You potential becomes unknowable because each turn opens up a whole new roadway.

We hear the word talent and feel it is innate. Ben Hogan was a klutz in high school. Gates and Jobs were flops in academia. Oprah Winfrey grew up dirt poor. Henry Ford was a farm boy. Lucky or just driven by what could be? We seem obsessed by have and have nots, blue collar and white collar, right or left. We want to put people in categories because it is a lot simpler than having a zillion people with an equal number of conflicting beliefs. We fail to see each of us an individual with deep inner worth and yes incredible potential.

I am truly concerned about our kids from preschool to college. The recent university upheaval over the desire for a warm and nurturing place is not going to prepare them for a tough world but just an extension of the coddling first 18 years. Universities should be places of conflict and resolution of those travails. We praise, we pamper and most of all we make excuses for their inadequacies.We teach them how to cop out and not how to grow up. I am not saying beat them over the head but a critical evaluation provides a plan for betterment in the future rather than a cushy throne when they fall.

Just them? Think on. Through life we face the same fork in the road. I have this or that and it will keep me in whatever as time goes on. Happy? Sorry TTG, that is a state of mind that I can ameliorate through the finer things in life. Old farts? I have earned my life as it is and I am going to just sit back and enjoy it. As a matter of fact you owe me. I am entitled.

Growth mindset requires constant challenge and uncertainty. It is contrarian in so many ways. We can’t stand the unknown and what we perceive as impossible. You can give me a thousand reasons why something won’t work. Don’t bug me with all your foolishness. I am not a risk taker. I have never been good at science or math or art. Thinking outside the box is too scary. What if it doesn’t work or God forbid I lose everything? Are you really thinking about yourself or are you wondering and measuring by what other people think about you?

What if you just could pursue what you want to? What if you didn’t have a spouse and kids? What if you were impervious to judgment and criticism? What if you could just be you…the real you that lies within? If you can get there my friends, that is a real Aha Moment.

As always
Ted The Great

Factoids:

Only about 7% of the companies today are considered dynamic and open to change. Contrast that with the fact that we are by far the most innovative country in the world.

Change evokes several fears. First and foremost is the fear of failing. Secondly is insecurity. You get used to who and what we are and don’t want to risk the alternative. Third is the fear of being judged by others.

3M is a marvelous company. It thrives on innovation and failure. The Post It Note was accidental while trying to find an all purpose adhesive. They have a 30% rule where 30% of their business has to be from products developed in the last 4 years.

The Torrance Test for Creative Thinking has been administered to grammar schools students for the last fifty years. It does not test IQ but rather creative thinking. The test scores have descended significantly significantly. One possible cause is lack of free time and helicoptering parenting.

Study Hall….

We all at some time in our high school careers, no matter how long ago, remember that part of our day that fell under the heading of study hall. To some it was the only time we even looked at a textbook and for others it was a chance to get a head start on the evening’s homework. Then again it was an even better time to socialize and lob the occasional eraser or spitball. In our lives today maybe somethings never change.

My South African high still has not abated and the sheer volume of things to dwell upon envelop my psyche. Don’t even come near me as I expound upon the geographical, cultural and political issues that I look into with great regard. I studied my National Geographic Guide with a vengeance and felt I had at least a decent handle on what is going on there. Upon further reflection I asked myself if I had the same intellectual curiosity for the issues facing our great country?

I don’t go to an encyclopedic volume to study the US of A, but find myself at the whim of this channel or that, replete with their so called experts. The mantra of today is I am too busy and so jammed that I have to get my knowledge in snippets or sound bytes. Fair enough until I think about how I spend my free time. Over the weekend I spent the better part of nine hours or so watching football. I devoured the college games between The Fighting Irish and Ohio State. Sunday I ensconced myself in my beloved Broncos hoping they would come through and then Monday night praying the Patriots and those arch villains of Brady and Belichek would finally get their comeuppance. Such is life.

But then this morning I was brought back to reality by ISIS and a incredible interesting article in the Wall Street Journal on of all things, demography. I found myself debating my own leanings and was struck by my lack of in depth study of so many things. If knowledge is power I am the 100 pound weakling. Now some may say my admission of guilt is quaint but I had to think to myself, “What the hell could be more important?”

The ISIS thing has so many tentacles it defies understanding. I can have a visceral reaction and curse everything Muslim but hopefully reason will prevail. Bomb the crap out of them seems reasonable until I am faced head on with the reality that I will kill a lot of civilians.Tough call.  I can get pissed at Obama and his professorial detachment or meandering foreign policy but I have to ask myself what are the alternatives? Should I just say I am too busy or it is too complex to understand or I can get to work and in some way, shape or fashion forge my own solution. I have to keep at it. The Donald? Sorry, not my style.

The article on demographics tried to lay out a scenario that the world in its very being has taken some serious turns. Let’s assume for the moment that the world is indeed getting older. Two outcomes are striking. First is that if the populations are getting older they save more. Wonderful you say until you realize we are a consumer oriented world wide economy. Everything we do is based on people buying “stuff”. I have long held that we are running out of stuff and gadgets to buy. We just have too much. The lesser off want to buy stuff but now they are having bills to pay and at least for some eating is more important than a flat screen TV. We want things as cheaply as possible but that means we have to pay as little as we can in wages. Catch my drift?

The second logical outcome is that older people want more services from healthcare to recreation and that does not exactly entail hard goods. The services are expensive and are reliant more and more on government sponsored programs and high priced drugs. Now one of the ways to lower the average age is to have more young people. But the cost of having kids and educating them is soaring. The trend is to urbanize and that means less children as we look to two wage earners instead of the old one provider. There is one solution and that is to attract immigrants but I think you already know the way we look at that. What a kill joy you are TTG and right before Thanksgiving.
This does not portend disaster in the next few years but it is something we have to consider and especially among our millennials and next generations. We have taken our best and brightest and put them in professions while although lucrative are not especially long on innovation. The end result is our planners and administrators are thinking up new ways to merge and acquire or come up with some whippy new algorithm to trade faster. That’s not a shot at their livelihoods but the result is a bureaucratic mediocrity. If we get ticked at the lack of leadership and boldness in our elected officials they are creatures of our own design.

To make a long story short I think we need some serious thinking to go on and the government as well as the electorate has to get up to speed. We can’t say we are too busy or a problem is too complex to contemplate. Leave it to the professionals has left us bereft of understanding long term implications. We have to get out of our quarterly mindsets and look at it as OUR problem not someone else’s.

We have challenges in every aspect of our lives from immigration to foreign policy to infrastructure. We have got some fabulous minds to attack these opportunities. Fantasy Football? What about Fantasy Government where we put together our dream team and then win or lose on how we did our picks. Research their stats and pick the all stars. Me? I gotta hit the books. There is so much to learn.Watch out for spitballs.

As always and Happy Thanksgiving
Ted The Great

Factoids:

Since 9/11 we have spent over $7 TRILLION on defense. We have mismanaged Afghanistan and Iraq from the get go. Up until four years ago we did not know ISIS existed. We have been bombing them for a year but France, pissed off about the Paris bombing, took out the ISIS Command Headquarters on their first bombing runs ??????

The Boston Marathon bombers numbering 2 shut down and held one of our greatest and largest cities hostage for 3 days. Paris is frozen in place by 6 terrorists. Brussels where I only think of Belgian chocolates has been in lockdown and will continue to do so through next week. All because of a handful of terrorists. Kathy and I are going to London for Christmas to visit my son and his family….no matter what. And that is a factoid.

Lastly….Google “Perpetuum Jazzily  Africa”  and just sit back and listen. Very cool. Happy T Day All.

Rubber Meets the Road….

Ted’s Head was fried last week. After a 22 hour plane ride from South Africa and a bunch of time zone changes my fragile brain needed awhile to get back into equilibrium. I had hoped to revel you all with tales of wild animals and deep philosophical insights I had gleaned from the African continent. I was incredibly moved by so many things but my local Trader Joe’s was fresh out of locusts and honey and Brooks Brothers no longer sells loin cloths….and also a thing called Paris occurred.

One of my title’s for this week’s missive was going to be “Reality Sucks”….and sometimes it does. We all have our cave of some sort. We may roam our estates, find a niche at that perfect little cafe or just curl up and veg out in front of the TV for about nine straight hours of football. We have gotten good at avoiding conflict or bad news. We live in a fantasy world. I am not trying to burst bubbles but we have developed this great facility to explain away things.

The Irish have a great saying about Uncle Joe who arrives shit faced for the family celebration of one sort or another. He slurs his words, becomes argumentative at the table and then either falls over a chair or hurls on the brand new living room rug. The mother or wife looks on forlornly at the debacle and announces in a soft voice,”You know, he has the weakness.” Code words for we know there is a problem but we are not going to address it.
ISIL’s massacre was as wanton and heartless as you can get. I found myself agreeing with Hollande for a change as he put his French savoir faire aside and declared war with righteous indignation. Although I hate war it was appropriate. I found myself cursing out Obama for saying hours earlier how we had the zealots contained. Just like when he had called them the Junior Varsity and Bush had proclaimed triumphantly, “Mission Accomplished”so many years earlier. Arrogance or ignorance? Name your poison. Just SHUT UP!

We live in Fantasyland whether we shop on Rodeo Drive or Walmart.We buy stuff for the sake of stuff. Our kids are spoiled rotten. We dream of more and more wealth and riches when what we have already goes beyond the pale. I am not trying to talk down the commonweal but man couldn’t we be a little more tasteful about it?

In South Africa I watched people dealing with life straight on. Funny how 25% unemployment, HIV/AIDS and living in a cardboard container in a township can do that to you. Walk 5 miles each way to school and sometimes you can’t study because there is no electricity. Just a ride means so much. Forget about whether or not it is an ox cart or truck. BMW, Mercedes? Are you kidding? My first Monday back I opened the Wall Street Journal to an ad about privately leased jets. They were going to redo all their fleet by some famous designer to give you the ultimate in luxury. As if the non hassled ride was not enough?
Look at where we are today. As a country we have to address illegal immigration, tax reform, the deficit, entitlements and foreign policy. We have to meet end of life head on and realize that we can’t afford to give people an extra three months of lousy quality of life for $250,000. We have to address our addictions for food, booze and or drugs and not rely on some sort of rehab or pill to bail us out. We always think it is the other guy to blame but if we are honest we see it in our own lives every day.
In days gone by we used to identify in our cities by a neighborhood or a parish. Then we went beyond to a state or region. Soon it was by country and then a hemisphere. Sorry kids but today we are a world. Jet travel and the internet have made us one. You may not think Syria affects you but it does. Warfare begets refugees that wind up somewhere. I can play it cool and say not in my backyard but that creates a whole new set of problems. Globally there are vast numbers of unemployed 16-25 year olds. They have no jobs and no hope. All of a sudden 5 seconds of recognition as a suicide bomber doesn’t look so bad. You think it is an exaggeration to say it involves all of us. Think again.

I don’t want to spoil the party or rain on the parade but yes, reality does suck. I want to have as much fun as the next person but this horrible thing called pragmatism keeps jumping in the way. The crazy thing is I am not campaigning for total withdrawal nor absolute sobriety. I am talking about a sense of propriety and yes civility. We are going to have terrorists. They are fact of life and we are easy prey because of our shallowness in understanding and dealing with today’s problems. Dunno doesn’t cut it anymore.

In these presidential debates, however laborious they are, there are answers. Not from one side or the other but both.It is not an either or but all of us collaborating and yes giving up some our treasured goals and sacred cows. We all have the weakness. We better get working on getting rid of it…before it is too late.

As always,
Ted The Great

Factoids:

The number of followers of ISIS range between 30-100,000. They are trying to hold the 7 billion or so inhabitants of the world hostage and doing a fair job of it. That’s about one creep for every 700,000 of us. Terror thrives on fear. How comfortable do you feel today? This is the only factoid we need.

Chilling in Cape Town…..

Posted from Cape Town, South Africa.

We have just arrived in Cape Town, the last stop on our whirlwind tour. We have probably covered over two thousand miles as we have wound our way from the top to the bottom of this wildly diverse country. The parched and drought ridden landscape of the north gave way to spectacular vistas of wheat fields, vineyards and the Indian Ocean coastline. You could feel the bustle come out of the air as the sea seems to round off rough edges. Of course my water fix is a remedy for all that ails.

This country continues to amaze me. In one or two weeks I have walked with a lion and petted elephants if that is something you can really do. We have come upon white lions no more than ten feet from our jeeps. Thereafter we had an exquisite formal lunch prepared by a young black man of 22 years and he has already been at his trade for three of them. In Durban we lunched in a burger shack on the beach and the boardwalk revealed only one or two whites among a large throng of black bathers. It was uncomfortable being a minority and the experience was more than unsettling.

We stayed two nights in a picture postcard seaside colony named Knyzna (Nizena) where one night we did a cocktail cruise on a boat shucking oysters and drinking champagne. How decadent! What country are we in? That day we were escorted around the cliffside nature preserve by a young gal from the UK by the name of Allie. We descended from high up on a steep rocky trail leading to the landing. On the way down we chatted and she said was engaged to the young lad that tended to the boats and Unimog that had hauled us up the hill. She was uncertain of the date of the vow taking in as much as they had to save 40,000 rand which is about $3,000US. We suddenly came back to reality.

There is the black and white thing in this place and it is still pervasive.It is not an annoyance but rather a problem that has to be faced. They have such vast riches but are embroiled as to who gets what and a lot of things go undone. The ANC which is de facto black, rules the roost right now. They are the children of a sort of Nelson Mandela. He became a symbol of the plight of blacks as he sat rotting in a cell on Robben Island. Please understand this country is 80% black,10% whites and 10% others known as coloreds. Mandela forgave his captors and truly believed all he wanted was for the blacks to be on an equal playing field. Nice thought but much more difficult in application. His political descendants liked the whole idea of power. They fed upon the feast of corruption because it felt good and properly used it could keep them in power. They gave everything from housing to schooling at no cost. We all know that when we don’t have to earn things they somehow become an entitlement. But then coffers run dry and people begin to turn.

This is taking place all over the continent. Enter the super power and in this case China. The despots are open for business. The nations are laden with all manner of energy and ore of strange names and many utilizations. The voracious monster needs these and trades that for infrastructure of all sorts from new airports to railways to roads to nowhere. This is right up the alley of the war lords because infrastructure proves they are doing a good job and an obvious need for reelection. Sounds like a marriage made in heaven but somehow the people are catching on.Wonder if we in the US ever will?

Here in Capetown they actually have. The West Cape province is running like a decently oiled machine. The streets are clean which is unusual for SA. There are construction cranes everywhere. The townships aka slums are being transformed slowly. The sheer irony is that after 1992 the cheapest housing which some middle to upper class blacks were finally allowed to buy were in the working neighborhoods. These were the “Joe six packs” who were the most conservative apartheid loving dudes in the country. But somehow they have made it work.

Over the centuries Capetown has been an amalgam of peoples. Whites. Blacks, Dutch, English, Malays, you name it. There are vested interests but they seem more muted. Walking on the oceanfront promenade you see mixed couples of all sorts and yes on our walk yesterday we saw a black and white lesbian couple. C’est la vie. I think the city’s relative sophistication makes it more open to political concepts and God forbid cooperation. One can say they are an aberration but maybe they are a true hope for the future.

We have seen abject poverty on our little adventure. Hovels made of scraps of tin and cardboard. The people in these townships think trash is a sign of affluence. You actually have something to throw away. All of this is affectionately called “poverty porn.” Humorous in a perverse way but incredibly sad. The problem is enormous as there is over 25% unemployment here. Even worse among them 50% of the population is under 24. That literally have nothing to do.The townships are homes to millions. It would be easy to throw up one’s hands and move on.Or if we were the Donald we could just ship 10 or 15 million somewhere else.

If I have even figured out 1/10 of this country I wouldn’t have even put a dent into the entire continent. It is the second largest geographically as well population wise being home to well over a billion people. 
There are 55 countries and it almost impossible to believe we are in the same location as Cairo, Algiers, Tripoli and Nairobi. There is so much promise and at the same time problems of astronomical proportions.

There is one thing I have learned. Polar opposites don’t attract and they get nothing done. You may have proved whatever extreme you purport to believe in but the overall and by that I can only mean the common good is left to flounder.They came incredibly close to civil war here in the mid 90’s. We can’t give without responsibility and requiring personal accountability. In the same breath we can’t keep padding our personal vaults and think the rest will somehow make it.We are in this together and I think we have to get our act in some sort of unified fashion. No man is an island was never more true.

As always
Ted The Great

Factoids:
City Populations in SA:
Johannesburg 15 millón
Cape Town 5 million
Durban 3.5 million

Nelson Mandela remained in prison for 26 years. He worked in a limestone quarry 365 days a year.With other inmates he taught the illiterate members of the chain gang as they worked and several received degrees from their work. They were allowed two letters out (no more than 500 words) and two letters in per year. They were only allowed to wear shorts and short sleeved shirts regardless of the weather.

In South Africa if someone puts any sort of a permanent building on a site for 48 hours they are considered to have squatter’s rights.

The flip side. Trevor Manuel as the Finance Minister of South Africa has been recognized worldwide as a leading banker and financial expert. He was overlooked in lieu of Christine Legard as the new head of the IMF. The unofficial reason was that he was black and the free world could not have that.

Sorry to be so long but I could continue on this whole topic for hours if not days.

Bwana Ted…….

Posted from Mhlambanyati, Swaziland

Africa is full of contradictions. South Africa, Zimbabwe and Swaziland, which is our next stop, are no exception. In so many of these areas the indigenous populations were conquered by colonizing nations such as England, Portugal and Holland during the previous 300-400 years. Throughout the 1960’s and 70’s the reigning parties were shown the door and the remaining entities vied for power. Most of the time these were the rich whites who were a minority but had the money. Depending on whose side you are on there was an uneasy truce if one at all. In many but not all the future is unclear.

Our first stop was Zimbabwe where the attraction was the magnificent Victoria Falls. Many times larger and deeper than Niagara it provides almost singlehandedly for the local economy.The cascading beauty of the Zambezi River has guides aplenty. Hotels are well staffed and the people cheerful. The country itself has 75% unemployment. The people do anything and everything to exist. Their long time black leader, Robert Mugabe can be considered hero and tyrant in the same breath. Be careful not to speak openly or you could be arrested.

Our guide Dummie(DOOMAY) and I hit it off right from the start. After a quick stop at our hotel he took us to a township which is best characterized as a poor run down area. The market where people sold foodstuffs was shabby at best. It was all some of them had. We went and had tea with Raymond and Priscilla in their home. They had built it themselves and if they stayed long enough they could keep it and call it their own. Probably about ten years. It was clean and of good size. They survived by selling vegetables from the backyard. They seemed affluent by comparison.

Our next stop was the Hope Orphanage which during the daytime was home to around 50 kids but they only had room for about 20 overnight.The rest were shipped out to other families in town.They all came back for their one meal a day. They greeted us by singing and dancing. They weren’t begging. They just wanted us to be at home. I sat on the ground in the courtyard and they were scrambling toward me to shake my hand and rub my bald head. They passed my old white floppy hat around taking turns putting it on and giggling. I was smitten as was Kathy who held a 6 month old girl in her arms to the point I thought we were going to be adding to our family again. As we left they were singing thank you and waving until we were out of sight down a dusty lane. Tough act to follow.

Why did we do all this? It put so much in perspective. There is so much natural resource wealth in these parts but the populace who are incredibly literate and industrious have no way to bring this to fruition. Foreign industrialists and governments are loathe to invest because of the political insecurity and the beat goes on. I asked my buddy Dummie if he was happy? He said his people were naturally happy and cheerful. They have learned to cope and he was so grateful he had a job. He shared with others less fortunate. He bade me good bye at the airport with a hug and a handshake and pronounced,”You are my brother, just by a different mother.” Incredible experience.

Fast forward to the ride from Johannesburg to Kruger National Park. We passed though mile upon mile of coal and corn fields, citrus groves, and banana plantations, while going up and down mountains of granite. We could have been anywhere from Florida, to Nebraska to Colorado. You keep thinking this was supposed to be the cradle of civilization as we know it and perchance the true Garden of Eden. South Africa is nothing short of amazing and we are just getting started.

A 4:30 AM wakeup call heralded the day to be spent at Kruger. In the lobby I did my best rendition of Wimoweh and luckily my fellow travelers were too sleepy to be throwing things. This national park is about the size of Massachusetts! We travelled probably 200 miles over the 10 hours in the park atop our safari Range Rover and yet we experienced just a minuscule part of the experience. The vastness was mind boggling.

We viewed, antelope, elephants, giraffe, kundu, Cape buffalo, lions,rhinos, hippos and leopards. We actually saw all the Big 5 which is not always predictable. Adrian, our guide chattered back and forth with his cohorts in any one of 11 official SA languages. They traded sightings and were probably making comments about their crazy American passengers. Toward the end of our trek we watched three lions try to peel off a Cape buffalo from the herd. They failed and the guide said the lions do not go more than 100 yards in chase. I of course said the Detroit Lions only ran 100 yards too. Boo,hiss TTG. Now cut that out!

Back at the hotel I sat on the patio and had my glass of red and a cigar. As I looked out I could have been in Tuscany or Napa.How much of our world is the same and yet why are we so far apart? The chef came out to tend to his barbecue. His name was Night and we talked for almost one half hour. He told me of his dreams to own a restaurant. He had been to culinary school and wanted a chance to show his stuff. A little difficult when you are feeding forty or fifty people at once on a buffet line. He asked that I tell folks back home that his people were friendly, gentle and welcoming. I said I hoped I would be back to eat in his restaurant someday.

As I said last week a friend told me when I saw the animals in their natural habitat it would change me forever. That may be true but I have a feeling that my new friends might do the same. It’s kind of fun to just know people on a human level regardless of their politics. Haven’t seen the news in a week….and have not missed it a bit. See you on down the road.

As always
Ted The Great

Factoids:

People in the townships build their houses when they have the money. It takes them a year to build one room. Then they all live in that until they have money to build another room. No mortgages.

South Africa has an enormous number of immigrants and most are illegal. The are 7 million Zimbabweans alone to add to SA’s population of 55 million. That would be like 50 million to America. They look the other way because it is right. Otherwise the interlopers would die. There is no welfare in Zimbabwe. They have to fend for themselves. In SA there is a small stipend.

There are huge forests of eucalyptus trees because they grow quickly. Amazingly these were brought from New Zealand and not a native species.

The antelope have coloring on their tails that looks like an M….the Golden Arches They number in the tens of thousands in Kruger and so they are considered fast food for lions. The old lion that was killed by the American dentist although illegally lured wasn’t of much use as a progenitor. Old enough to scare off the more virile young studs but not to increase the pride. Good press. Finally elephants are plentiful in southwest Africa. They when their 6th set of molars disintegrate and they are no longer able to eat their 250 kilos of greenery per day. They starve to death.

Africans walk everywhere. Several miles is considered a short stroll. Most are lean. There are very few bikes. They are considered too provincial. Of the 55 million people in SA only 10 million can afford cars.