Tag Archives: writing

I Hate You….

I have spent the last few days researching a topic that has intrigued me and alas at times consumed me. Ironically, my title is supposed to be attractive and catch your interest. We love anger and retribution. If I had said, I lLove You, that would probable merit a meh and you would move on. I hope you stay. 

Defined,hate is “a profoundly intense and enduring dislike for someone or something. It is not anger, resentment, or disgust. Those are emotions in a way. It is deep seated and hard to get rid of. It is in your gut from an experience or maybe a familial or cultural upbringing. Those SOB’s have been that way since who knows when. It attacks the core nature of another person, a group of people  or an institution. 

It comes from fear, hurt or insecurity that leads to hopelessness. Our political climate is a good example. We have the ins and the outs. The outs feel helpless and fear for their future. The ins want to put it to us. We have this feeling of disgust which over time becomes deep seated. To even contemplate discovery and compromise is totally out of the question. I would have to admit that perchance some of my ideas don’t make sense. Ha! Even worse I would have to look at you as a human being and not an abstract object. 

A lot is due to pure ignorance. We have been fed a line of reasoning and leave it at that. There was an instance where someone was homophobic. He or she decided to spend a month with a bunch of gays. At the end of the thirty days there was a new appreciation for what it is like to be homosexual. Wow, there were some pretty nice people. We actually had areas of common interest. It probably took a lot of guts and openness on both sides. The more you know the tougher it is to hate.

I know this sounds like a cop out but I have to mention social media from two points of view. We are bombarded with story lines all day long. As I previously stated this is all predetermined by algorithms. You think a certain way and you will get articles that reinforce your thoughts good or bad. They make money by riling you up not calming you down. Your feeling of camaraderie gets more intense. See, there are a lot of people out there that think the way I do. And the beat goes on. 

Secondly, the internet is anonymous. I can say anything I want and never be called to task. I feel so lonely and frustrated, I want to lash out. Inequities quadruple. It’s not my fault. They are against me. Better yet I have kindred spirits who will back me up. They have been screwed too. I am not alone. I think I will put out a manifesto. Tell them what I really think. And then the unthinkable. I am going to buy a gun and a boatload of ammo. I will show them who is boss. I will be famous. It is not as far out as it sounds and that is very scary.

As infants we do not know hate. We know love and even anger or frustration, but not hate. Our families have a huge impact. Biases and prejudices are passed down. Blacks,Jews,Arabs,Commies. They are all alike. There is not a decent one among them. Besides they are a threat to me. With Hispanics and Blacks we will no longer be a majority. There will be more women than men. Don’t they know the woman needs to have her place in the world and stay there. 

What really becomes sad is if you want to think a different way. Family and social pressures are  potent forces. Say you want to go to a different church or even church at all. The silence and the looks are intimidating. We don’t think that way and neither can you. Say you want to invite a Republican or Democrat to dinner. Even worse, marry one. Come on, you know it is true. We want to be gracious but that often is replaced by being gratuitous. Man, this is going to take a lot of work. 

Where do we start? For me it starts right here. I am not holier than thou. My Irish heritage has ruled me with a quick bolt to anger and prejudices have abounded. So I have to admit I am prone to getting pissed off and yes I hate certain people and ways of doing things. I can give you a zillion reasons why I am right and you are wrong. Yet the kinder, gentler TTG really does want to come out. 

I wear a bracelet that was given to me by one of Kathy’s buddies. Last January she asked me for my word of the year. It was EMPATHY and that’s where it lies on my wrist. I had just lost a good friend. I thought about my work in hospice and how I try to reach out to everyone. White,black,female or male with all sorts of ethnicities. Then as I thought further I realized what a fraud I am. For my four hours a week I was a nice guy but man could I be a jerk at other times. 

Hate is a learned experience. It is possible to unlearn it. Try to see where the other person is coming from. Try to figure out what is triggering their hate for you. Watch FOX to MSNBC and just listen. See if there is anything you can latch onto and grasp. I am trying but man do I have a long way to go.

As always 

Ted The Great 

Factoids:

Hatred negatively impacts the nervous system, immune system, and endocrine system. Extreme emotions trigger the release of stress hormones in the brain. Over time, these stress hormones lead to increased inflammation throughout the body, resulting in significant health consequences. 

It is easy to hate today. Israelis-Palestinians. Illegals-citizens. right-Left. America vs Europe in the Ryder Cup. Haves-have nots. Brian Kelly at LSU. Old thinking vs new thinking. Oops! Some of the are mine. 

Through the miracle of neuroplasticity we can change the way we think. It is almost like working out and it takes a lot of work and discipline. Or you can be a couch potato and just say,Screw It!

Rhetoric is a strong tool. It can incite and it can calm. We value celebrities. I wish they would speak out more. 

Justice….

“Justice, at its core, is the concept of fairness and impartiality in the treatment of individuals, often involving the application of moral principles, laws, or rules to ensure that people receive what they deserve.” Humbly, I will try to grind through in a few hundred words what people have tried for millennia to figure out. Pick out a few words like fairness, impartiality, moral principles and what people deserve. Tell me if we all agree. 

I am not on a personal Kamikaze mission. This whole idea of fairness splashes through dozens of news items these days. Ukraine, Bam! Weather, Socko! Trump, Gaza, Equality, DOGE, Reparations. Yikes, I could go on for days. If you don’t at least consider the concept, shame on you. 

Ideally, the rules should be the same for everyone. You play by them and you get ahead. You break them, you get punished. It is that simple. I guess you might call that a pure democracy but I think that is leaving a bit to be desired right now. 

The current discussions on Ukraine offer a glimpse of the obvious. Russia began the invasion of Ukraine in 2014 in the Crimean Peninsula. Putin, always the villain, invaded with soldiers showing no insignia or identification. Obama was at the helm and basically looked the other way. The full-scale invasion was in 2022 with Biden presiding. Putin had been professing for months that they were on training exercises while massing a huge force on the border. He is such an upstanding citizen of the world, who wouldn’t believe him ?

The Trumpster says Ukraine started it. If your jaw hasn’t dropped enough, he also says, as of press time, that Putin should get land he hasn’t even come close to capturing. By anyone’s count, the Ukrainians are suffering a pretty serious injustice on a number of fronts. Morally, geopolitically, legally, and yet they have to come, hat in hand to get assistance. This just ain’t fair or is it?

The whole law thing gets me going. Does everyone get a fair shake? Let’s say you live in a blue-collar neighborhood and your son or daughter goes out one night and gets picked up for drunk driving or vandalism, or doing drugs. Chances are, they are going to get tried and convicted in short order. Hop over to the gated side of the tracks. Either you get some hotshot lawyer to get them off, or even better, you know somebody who knows somebody, and the whole thing goes away. I forgot. That is why we haves and have nots.  

There was an article last week about a couple who bought a piece of property a couple of years back near the Bourne Bridge crossing the Cape Cod Canal. They both worked and built a house they were proud of and looked to enjoy in retirement. The only problem was that the state is going to take over the property by eminent domain and tear it down to make room for a new bridge. Legally, the state has the right to do so. Morally, shouldn’t something be done to help these people? Nobody told them, even though the realtors and townsfolk knew beforehand. 

I often wonder if there can be any justice in capitalism? The economic theory would hold that people with money want to create a capital endeavor or service. They might even pool with other monied people. They build this fantastic business that makes them even wealthier. They now have stockholders who want to see a return. We have to squeeze every last dime out, which means we have to go with a smaller employee base, boost productivity, pay them as little as possible and maybe even cut a few corners. Let’s not say whether this is right or wrong, but is it just, in the truest sense of the word? 

I have thought about the education thing. We need an education to get ahead. It cost money to go to school. There is a lot of aid but even given that, there are a lot who can’t do it without signing up for debt for a major part of their lives. The rich don’t really have those problems. Is it really an equal playing field? 

Okay, I am not espousing revolution or even playing with your minds any more than I do mine. But it really becomes a quandary. I would like to see a fair world where people get what they deserve as human beings. But just what do they deserve? We can’t all be the same financially. There have to be rewards for the daring and the ambitious, or else you have a stagnant world. What are the boundaries for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Great question. 

Life is neither fair nor unfair. Just or unjust. It is a very subjective reflection by each one of us. What is considered good or bad in your part of the world might not be so in another. There are cultures and norms that are substantially far apart. Is there any underlying tenet that we can live by?  

Do unto others is a great precept. Really concentrate on it for a minute. Am I going to blow someone’s head off if I am pretty sure they are coming back and do it to me or my loved ones? Am I going to steal from you, try to seduce your wife, or cheat you in a business deal when I know it will come around and hit me in the same way? It is neither religious nor pompous. It is simply recognizing that we are all the same. I know that won’t happen, but it isn’t something to strive for, rather than winner take all or to the victor belongs the spoils? 

Our current path does not seem to be going down this road. A lot of us are just out for ourselves. Might work for a while. Long term, you will probably get screwed just like the rest of us. On this, life doesn’t feel like playing favorites.

As always 

Ted The Great 

Factoids:

Justice can be distributive,legal, procedural, social, and corrective to name a few. Yikes, this is complex. 

The financial crisis of 2008 saw tens of thousands lose their homes in loan default. Not one banker or mortgage broker went to jail. 

Our current illegal immigration crisis is replete with injustice. For years, we left the gate open and looked the other way.. The farmer used them to pick crops and till his fields. Then we cut off the supply. Now those crops are unpicked only to rot. Who gets sent back? Kids were brought here at 2 and 3 years old. Are they at fault? At the same time people have been waiting on line to get in for years.  What’s fair? 

During WWII 120,000 American citizens who were of Japanese descent were relocated and sent to relocation centers that were really internment camps. 

Sometimes there is no black and white in justice. That was not a play on words. Circumstances or mores really come to bear. Justice is not always perfect. People can get burned one way or the other.  

Talk To Me….

Well kids,I have come to the conclusion that the whole world is nuts. Many of you have already gotten there but I always hold out hope. A couple of great friends, who used to be Army brass, have told me many times that hope is not a strategy. Tragic flaw on my part. 

I keep looking for a middle ground on anything. Israel seems to be starving Gazans but Hamas and friends brought this on themselves. They are living in underground tunnels and so you have to bomb the crap out of them but everything is already back to the stone age. Where is the solution?

Ukraine blows my mind. We supply them with arms but only so much. We don’t want to get Putin mad. Putin is certifiably stark raving mad already! His Hairness says he and Vladimir are on good speaking terms. I would love to know what language they are speaking.

And young people on both sides are being wasted in a war of attrition. Haven’t we made any progress since the Huns and the Tatars?

The stock market has always been risky, but it is now the world’s’ largest casino. You can bet long,short, buy, sell and the wizards of Wall Street come up with a different wrinkle every day to figure out how to make money out of you and me. Meme stocks are the rage and the only thing good about them is that they confound the big shorts. Crypto,Sports gambling? What is the harm? Samo,samo.

I read an interview this morning with Yuval Harari, a very heavy duty thinker about AI. I have gotten through a good portion of his book, Nexus,and I am still as lost as ever. We have Generative AI which digests enormous amounts of data and spits out some translation or analysis. Like reading mammograms or analyzing an impending pandemic. Now we have Agent AI. This little beauty can create its own thought process, edit and correct itself and make decisions without any human interaction. It is said it can read your emails, respond to them and then give you a list of ones you should review. Not trying to be an old fart but isn’t this bordering on mega(not MAGA) dangerous? Maybe that too. 

It seems to me a whole lot of things are about to go TILT. We mess with tariffs, DOGE and going back over Russiagate, impeachments, stolen elections and Hunter Biden. Yet the looming imperatives of immigraton, Social Security, Medicare and unfunded pensions go wanting for lack of interest. Congress is taking six weeks off. The Trumpster is playing golf in Scotland and NYC is going to elect a socialist or pervert, depending on the results. Is it just me? 

Kabul is out of water. Nada, zilch! Who cares about Afghanistan? I really don’t, but is this the canary in the coal mine? Wildfires everywhere from the vast wilderness of Canada to the Western slope of Colorado to the Greel isles. Coincidence? Our oceans are now chock a block with microplastics, which are ingested by fish, that  healthy people are supposed to eat to live longer. Makes perfect sense. 

Now, if you are the average earthling, you probably have three responses. First is, I really don’t give a shit. Your little corner of the world has no effect on mine. Secondly, I have my own worries to think about. Food, rent, entertainment and travel are in my wheelhouse, so get out. Lastly, these problems are so complex that I can’t possibly have any effect on them. I am going to go with one side or the other and just roll the dice. 

Why don’t people speak up? I have thought about this quite a bit. With what I do, I spend a lot of time talking to people. Some special friends say I can talk to a tree. Thank you so very little. But it is true, I love to engage people. I revel in a good deep conversation. Someone’s wife told me once that her husband never talks to anyone…but me.  How does that happen? 

I could take you through the difference between monologues and dialogues, but I think you get it. I ask questions. Look for common ground or hot buttons. I want to be interested in what they have to say. Of utmost importance is that they know, It Ain’t going anywhere! 

People don’t like to look bad. They don’t like to buck the party line. There is a big air of vulnerability that happens in good conversation. Are my ideas stupid? What will the other person think of me? It is so sad, what you really want to say, never comes out. We put people down. Bury them with criticism. Bully them and bowl them over. That is the surest way to success. 

I have a couple of good friends I can go down and dirty with. We have talked at times for hours and I treasure it. I have patients and families in hospice that are beyond kind and trusting to let me into their world and their hearts. No matter what they say or feel is incredibly valid.They are more than worthy. They are so important. 

Bottom line is that we really run the risk of losing that. We have sacrificed our point of view to pundits and politicians.Bottom line is that we really run the risk of losing that. We have sacrificed our point of view to pundits and politicians. I don’t think we remain silent because of shyness or embarrassment. We all have very valid viewpoints and philosophies. We just have no one who will truly listen. We are all too busy or just not interested. You know when you are at a cocktail party and meet someone who, while talking to you, is scanning the room for someone more important to talk to. Hey, good to see you. Let’s get together soon. They never do. 

I am going to go out and look for a tree to talk to. Maybe I will just send you a note because it has been so long. I have no special talent. We all can do it. Maybe I will just get out of myself. Who knows? It might work.

As always 

Ted The Great 

Factoids:

A lack of communication can lead to misunderstandings, damaged relationships, and increased stress, particularly in personal and professional settings. Emotional distance with family and friends. Damaged morale and missed opportunities at work. 

The line “What we have here is failure to communicate” is a famous quote from the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke.

“Talk To Me” is a creepy horror movie about kids with an embalmed hand. which I have not seen. Maybe Ted’s Head is a horror flick in its own right. 

We think faster than someone else can speak. On average words are spoken at the rate of about 125 words per minute. However, our mental capacity to comprehend what was spoken is much higher; around 400 words per minute. As we are using only 25% of our mental capacity, this leaves ample room for our minds to wander. It takes work and practice. 

People have many sides to themselves. A person can be a Teddy Bear at one time and an Orca the other. Not a Jekyll and Hyde but just something that makes life interesting . 

Ridiculous To The Sublime. …

If you describe something as going from the sublime to the ridiculous, you mean that it involves a change from something very good or serious to something silly or unimportant. Kind of describes our world today. It is not new. Thomas Paine used it in the Age of Reason: “One step above sublime is the ridiculous.”

Another way to put it is sublime is a feeling of awe,euphoria, out of an out-of-this-world type of thing. You see an incredible sunset along the shore. You listen to music that just lights you up. You see a child or old man and you feel all sorts of emotion from joy to sorrow.

Ridiculous is more of a puzzlement, disbelief, absurdity that no matter how hard you try, you cannot make sense of. People say stupid things in the middle of a poignant moment. In the vernacular, it is more like WTF?

I read a column in the New York Times this AM. It had to do with the lack of desire for the milenials to have children. It could be money,one’s career, age but this seemed to gravitate towards their upbringing. Yikes!

It seems that all their anxiety, depression or crappy attitude towards life was a result of their potty training or the lack of attention from their parents. It could also be a mean sibling. I had an older brother whom I swore was one of the original Al-Qaeda cohorts from his brand of torture. Probably didn’t feel all that great, but is this a reason not to have children?

I quiz my kids as to whether we were too strict or harsh in grounding them or giving them curfews. They laugh and say they probably deserved it. Can you not look at your kids or grandkids and feel an immense pride in who they are and what they have accomplished? Could you in any way say you wish you had not brought them into the world?

Our world is bipolar. We constantly try to be perfect at this or that. There is always one more peak to climb. Part of this is a desire for achievement and recognition. Part of it is just sick. If you think you are the first to try to make sense out of your surroundings, think again. Plato, Socrates, Kant, and Camus have been down this road without much success. And yet we keep trying. 

The sublime to me is when I just kick back and look around me. This is not the disease of old age or too much time. It is just plain and simple reverie. Forget about how big your house is or how cool your car is. Look at a piece of furniture and figure out how many pieces there are and where they came from. How many different people from all over the globe had a part in making it? Sorry, the Donald is going to change all that last part. Absurd? Maybe. 

I do try to make sense of all this. I look for the common denominator. What is going to tie this all together? The fact of the matter is, this calliope plays a different kind of tune for all of us. You and I see different shades of green. Different colors of red. We all want to fit in and be part of something. We seek fame and fortune and compare ourselves to others. Yet the biggest part of belonging is that we are all incredibly different. 

I love reaching out to people. Some respond and some don’t. I like to recognize them. If I am in Publix, I look at their ID and call them by name. I like to hear about them. I am probably the anti-Christ of the Progressive insurance commercial, where the guy is trying to teach people not to be like their parents. My father taught me to say hello to everyone to make sure I never thought I was better than someone else. Ridiculous? I hope not.

The sublime is seeing someone smile back. I cringe every time His Hairness speaks. He is trashing some person, institution, or belief, whether it is a head of state or a member of the court. He likes to make fun of them. Put them on the defensive. Sure, his cost-cutting makes sense, but does his lying and ill will have to be accepted also? Maybe that is his sublime? Who knows?

People of all shapes and sizes are fraught with anxiety today. Believe me, if you really think about it, there are reasons aplenty. By the same token, there is so much good. Think of the world as a physical place. It really hasn’t changed for millennia. It is how we view it and react to it that shapes our psyches and way of life. It’s the old, half empty,half full deal but it really is true. There is so much out there 

I am not a psychologist by any stretch. I do try to find what works. I am at my best when I am myself, warts and all. Yes, I piss some people off. But I do cause some others to laugh or smile. Just like you, I am just another schmuck trying to make my way in the world. What a wonderful world that is. Just thinking about that is my sublime, no matter how ridiculous that may appear to you. 

As always,

Ted The Great

Factoids;

Ridiculous could be a form of alternate reality. 9/11 was a hoax. We did not land onthe moon. It was all done on a sound stage.  January 6 was just a bunch of unruly tourists. You really didn’t commit a crime so I am going to pardon you. Murder, theft, tax evasion are just figments of one’s imagination. Really?

.The sublime can be seen as a psychological state involving feelings of awe, wonder, and even a sense of one’s own insignificance in the face of something greater. 

Sublime can be experiencing a hurricane, a starry night, or a volcano. It provokes a feeling of awe. It could be just the waves crashing on shore or a sunrise. All very cool in their own right. 

The word “sublime” originates from the Latin word “sublīmis,” meaning “lofty,” “elevated,” or “raised up.”

The word “ridiculous” originates from the Latin word “ridiculus,” meaning “laughable” or “that which excites laughter”. 

Seize The Narrative….

A narrative is simply an account of a series of events. To almost everything in life, there is a way of looking at an occurrence or occurrences and developing a feeling pro or con. You adopt the theorem or you fight it. There are a bunch of variables. 

If you look at your personal belief system over time, you have watched the movie or read the book many times over. These viewings could range from family to world affairs to morality or even something as simple as what floats your boat.  You come to a conclusion that is yours and yours alone.  

Religion or morality is a great example. You have somehow developed a theory that starts off with some sort of belief and it is related or taught to you by parents or some sort of organization. They are telling you a story that has been passed down to them over years and centuries. Depending on their gravitas and authenticity, you accept it as gospel(no play on words). 

Maybe somewhere down the line, someone else enters the picture with an alternate set of rules. It could be the same story but just told by a different author, looking at things through a different prism. Hmm… Now what do I do? You feel unease, because you are petrified of giving up on what you have known for all those years. Yet something deep down says they may be right. Aha. This is the critical moment. It is when you really start to think for yourself. 

To me, it is like a kid in a candy store. Dark allies and rabbit holes get me going, if nothing more than just feeling alive. It is probably because I have been out on a limb so many times that I am used to it. The counter to that is, I am so stupid that I don’t realize how perilous this is. Tragic flaw. 

If I am going to listen, I have to be wary of the author. Do they really know what they are talking about and are they being straight with me? Do they have their facts straight or are they playing fast and loose. Are they thoughtful and eloquent or are they bombastic with little regard for the truth? Do hyperbole and vagueness pervade their delivery or perhaps it is just an intended deceit? 

Sorry to be so unforgiving, but today’s discourse leaves me wanting. I have found myself casting a wary eye in all sorts of arenas. Google or Bing, deliver answers to my search. They are creating a narrative but sadly, it is skewed. Over numerous inquiries, they have figured me out.  That’s great because I haven’t figured me out. But I digress. I only hear one side, be it left or right. That is all I see. Are they telling me the truth? Sorta,maybe, kinda. But most of us will never know. 

I love to listen to pundits expound on this or that. I also like to listen to cold, hard facts and develop my own conclusions. Unfortunately, the lines have become blurred beyond distinction. People watch the news and will take it once again as gospel truth. It had to be right because I watched it on FOX, CNN or MSNBC. And they all play to their fan base and sing to the choir. 

So what, you say? Just ask Francis. The now-gone Pope was a treasure to some and a curse to others. During his papacy, the reformers were jubilant and the conservatives despondent. But he had the upper hand. Infalible or not, he was doing the driving for a billion plus Catholics. There were murmurs of discontent but for the most part, the faithful got behind him. 

Where am I going with all of this? Think about all the narratives of your own world. Who are you listening to? A variety of people or the same old hacks. Is their agenda in sync with yours or one you are not terribly comfortable with? Are you overcome with the blare or are you able to discern what you are comfortable with and able to defend?

Most of all is the sheer number of inputs to our psyche. Each one tells a story. Interestingly, the core elements of a narrative include: plot, characters, setting, theme, conflict, and point of view. They meld but each part is distinct and subject to scrutiny. How far we go is probably a combination of how important it is and how hard do we want to work? 

Right now, there is a section of our society that feels lost. They have no coherent story, and even worse, they have no lead singer. On the other side, there is one faction that is dominating the airwaves. I am not saying one is right or wrong, but I would like to hear an alternative thought process. I feel that when one or the other dominates, the message can be flawed. No discussion. No original thought. Boring to a degree and at the same time scary. What do you think? What’s your narrative?

As always 

Ted The Great 

Factoids:

A narrative starts with a fact. JFK was shot in Dallas on November 22,1963. You can only imagine the plot line or lines that ensue. People can twist and turn and play with facts. 

Controlling the narrative refers to what is being told, by whom, and what outlets one employs. Totalitarian governments don’t let anything get out without careful review and squash any contrary opinions. 

Spin doctors” refer to individuals, often public relations advisors or media consultants, who develop or manipulate messages to influence public opinion or portray a situation in a favorable light. Politics and corporate image creation are fertile fields that are there for the taking. 

Life can be broken down into several key narrative threads: the journey of self-discovery, relationships with others, and the pursuit of purpose and meaning. These narratives weave together to create a unique and evolving story for each individual…..This was from AI. Not bad

Scrambled Eggs….

I was making breakfast for myself this chilly but beautiful morning in Flalaland. A couple of eggs, cheese, bacon and anything else that was lying around looking for a home. It occurred to me that this was a wonderful simile for my brain right now. Contra indicators galore. A little right. A little left. What is a guy to do? 

Reflective as always, I have been reading this and that before I venture outside. One article depicted the plight of a DACA person in Georgia. He came to this beautiful country at 10 months of age. He had no say in the matter. He then just did something stupid like growing up as a normal kid in a small Southern town. 

He went on to get a good job, be involved at the local church, and participate in helping young kids find their way. In his twenties, he has a wife and two kids. In a few weeks, his whole life could get turned upside down. He is illegal by definition, and under the new administration, he is a target for removal. I have a problem with that. 

Under the law, he is wrong to be here. In my poor little brain, I wonder how we can be so stupid but even more inhumane.

Should we round up the criminals and ne’er do wells? Of course, but what is the percentage out of 11 million that have that scarlet letter? I told you last time of our Christmas celebration that The Hope Rural School. I am sure there were illegals there. Should I back throwing them out even though they provide some valuable services to our little Playland?  If I am a Christian doesn’t that go against my beliefs? TTG, you just don’t understand. I guess I don’t. 

I was giving platelets a while back. It is a two hour procedure which is really pretty simple. As I sat there twiddling my thumbs I took a chance. The phlebotomist was black. Stupid Ted said, “Can we talk about the black thing?” Holy Shiite, I am not supposed to ask that. She was more than gracious by saying yes. Her story was beyond revealing. 

She had worked as a phlebotomist for seven years, and her husband was a boat mechanic. Their combined income was above $100,000. They had paid rent on their apartment and never missed a payment for eight years. They wanted to buy a house west of I95 in Broward County, which includes Fort Lauderdale. They could not get a mortgage. I figured it was because it was way beyond her means. Rashly, I asked how much the price of the house was. $250,000 was her reply. WTF? Is that equality? 

She went on to relate what her life was like. She was not bitter. She simply said if you are in a crap neighborhood, you got crap doctors. If it was a school in a black or Hispanic neighborhood, you got shitty teachers. Tragically, it all made sense. Garbage in. Garbage out. I asked how we could change that? She replied, “by talking to more people like you.” Yikes !

I will probably lose my elite card for thinking about these things. I am an old fart. Who cares if I am troubled? This is not hand-wringing or woe is me. It is things over my life that I have believed in and sometimes cherished. I have now seen them cast aside and minimalized. Please forgive me. 

I hope I am a moral person. This does not mean I am without sin. It just clearly states to me what is wrong and right. If you do something that is wrong you should not get a pass whether you are Hunter Biden or Donald Trump. I have listened to the cognoscenti try to explain away this or that. It just doesn’t hold water. 

In some ways, it comes down to what you think your place is on this big blue marble.

If you feel the world is out there to serve you and meet your every want, then we don’t have a lot to talk about. That is not blowing you off, but just saying we are on different wavelengths. My quandary is wondering if you are right or am I? Better yet is their some sort of common ground? A starting point. Those are kind of rare these days. 

The word that comes to mind is humanity. Humanity can refer to all people in the world, both past and present. It can also refer to the shared values, experiences, and aspirations of all humans. Kind of why are we all here? We see violence in Nola and Vegas. Mass shootings to make a name for oneself. Manifestos that scream about intangibles. Psychological problems and PTSD are the villains. That makes sense, and now let’s get on with life. Sorry for your loss. 

I wonder if this makes any sense at all? I can’t solve the world’s problems. Why even try? Do I just give up and crawl back under my comfortable golf cart or make merry at the club bar. All that outside world is so far away. And that to me kids, is just scrambled eggs. It’s tough to swallow. 

As always 

Ted The Great 

Factoids:

Perfect Storm. By different estimates we are short 3-5 million homes. Interest rates are stubbornly high. Investors bought 15% of housing stock in 2023. Rents increase by 1 1/2 to 2 time annually. 700,000 homeless are not just mentally ill or on drugs. 

In an oft-cited study, as many as 66.5% of people who file for bankruptcy blame medical bills as the primary cause. As many as 550,000 people file for bankruptcy each year for this reason. This data has been known for many years and has continued even with the passage of the Affordable Care Act.

There are approximately 1,000,000 illegals that would qualify for DACA. They were brought into our country by their parents. Their average age is 31. Their average length of stay is 25 years. 83% are in the labor force. 96% have high school diplomas. 49% have some sort of higher education. We have not revised our immigration laws in 37 years.