What Do the Little Folk Do?

This is the title of a song from Camelot, the Broadway musical. In the original cast, Julie Andrews and Robert Goulet sing this duet. Charming to witness this royal couple finding love and wondering what other people do in life. So they sing about it and think of themselves, of course, as royal and elite. Everyone else are the ‘little folk’ and they wonder what they do?


This is a favorite ditty in my memory. I saw Goulet in the role on Broadway way back when, but not Julie Andrews. That song and its light, airy melody comes back to me often in the shower. A good way to awaken the vocal chords!


The song, however, is a reminder that differences among us – whether of class, wealth, education, birth, nationality – do not lessen us. We live, love and laugh. All of us. Some more often than others, but life is filled with wonders whether rich or poor, beautiful or ugly, smart or dumb.


Truth be told, the little folk are all of us. What we do is the duty we accept day by day, moment by moment. Currently, we folks man the cash registers, cook the meals, swab the restaurant floor, vacuum public carpeting, run the hotels, the schools, the businesses, and what all else. We research, operate laboratories, engineer new gadgets and whole technologies. We test them and teach others about them. We help society adapt to new things – ways of doing things, thinking and behaving.

We live with problems and find solutions to them. We help new generations understand their new circumstances and how to adapt to them well enough to evolve a better template for them to use in the future; and subsequent generations as well.


We experiment with art forms. We write plays and movie scripts. We envision story lines and character roles. We even act in those roles and bring them to life for others to experience. In doing so, we expand the experience of discovery of ideas and follow-on conclusions. We feel. Sense. And better understand what is difficult to put into words.


We play instruments, not because they are there, but because they become a voice of our inner selves. We now can express ourselves in manners unimagined before. Even recreating the music of Mozart or Beethoven, or Bach or thousands of other geniuses. We are able to feel and wonder at the intellectual process that created the music. Not just the notes or the tempo; but of the sounds, the chords, the blending of instrumental voices. The vibrations and nuance of emotions are present. Glorious. Mysterious. Experienced so as to discover more.


We little folk think. We organize our households, our businesses, our social interactions, and our reading and understanding of our universe however large or small. It is a personal life that thrusts dimensions outward and large.


The elites are little folk, too. They decide and cause things to happen. But someone must do what follows. That is for the rest of us. Our roles are varied and often unwritten. We create the answers to all that happens. We live the details.


In all of that we live, love and laugh. Just like Sir Lancelot and Guinevere.  


Imagine.


November 29, 2019

Happy Birthday

Rocky is 75 today. On Thanksgiving Day. No need for a huge party because the entire nation is celebrating by gathering over a festive meal. Mostly that is turkey and all the trimmings, but some will have beef roasts, pastas of all kinds, or ham, fish or lamb. All are good as long as they are in keeping with the family traditions and culture. Ours will be turkey.


Looking back, Rocky’s journey has been rough of late and likely will continue so. The dreaded cancer surgery was successfully survived. Gaining expertise to speak with the electro laynx is an uphill battle, but the medical side of things is super good. Tests continue to indicate he is cancer free.

The continuing challenge – other than the electro larynx skill – is the advance of Parkinson’s Disease.

That enemy continues to sap Rocky’s balance, gait, and range of motion. Tremors are an annoyance, but swinging the arms and legs in walking is hampered. Shuffling, lurching and falling are common. That is what we both live with in battling his disease.


The bout with cancer was unknown for a long time and affected the efficacy of the drugs prescribed for PD. With that behind us, the regime of prescription drugs will be adjusted to find a better balance to push back the disease. This process takes patience and close observation to discern what works. Nothing is every clear enough, but we accept all victories however small.


Meanwhile, Rocky’s life goes forth with vigor and resolve to make the best of the time we have now and in the future. That is as it should be.


And we are grateful for that. Thankful on Thanksgiving Day.


Happy Birthday, Rocky!


November 28, 2019

Why Bloomberg?

My personal rule is not to vote for a presidential candidate over the age of 70. Why? Two reasons standout: first, age is a factor in longevity of the person in office; the older they are, the higher the odds they will die in office, or become unable to perform their full duties; second, younger voices and perspectives are valuable to the body politic; these voices keep the social order fresh, vibrant and relevant to what’s happening in the lives of the electorate.


So, what do I think of Michael Bloomberg’s entry to the presidential primaries?


Here are some of my thoughts that readily come to mind:

1.      He is experienced in complex governance demands that leap from local to national scope; New York City is a place that demands attention to every detail. Voter blocs, population diversity, international relations and national policy implications are all involved in being mayor of the Big Apple

2.      He speaks truth to power. No compromise is possible unless the parties are conversant and knowledgeable of the details and then speak those to others involved in decisions. That is how compromise comes about fully. If debates are cautious, they omit too much detail. If debates are over-the-top emotionally, and demanding, too much irrelevancy and drama is included; that clouds the discussions. Compromise comes from truths honestly shared and weighed

3.      The election is about removing the trumpster. Bloomberg clearly has targeted that goal. The other candidates assume the people know this of them, and quickly poke at each other for votes. No; how are you going to win an election with the incumbent? That is the primary reason for your candidacy

4.      Beating fellow Democrats in the primary is not the goal. Laying out the issues for debate and popular support is an educational process. It does not need to be solved in the campaign. Do I want Medicare for All? Maybe; but I really want equal access to excellent healthcare. Whether that is Medicare or something else has yet to be determined. Please don’t weigh down the primary elections with such heavy details

Enough said in this respect. What needs to be added is this: all Democrat candidates need to weigh in with their ideas on vanquishing the donald. Help discuss important issues that separate Democrats from the republicans. Agenda items of hoped-for programs are premature in a primary. The national election is when the programs and policies need to be presented. And then, only if compromise is coalescing among the electorate. The rest of the agenda is exploratory on possible solutions of worthy topics.


Once the primary is past, the losing candidates must gather round the chosen standard bearer to help build a winning campaign to remove ‘he who shall not be named.’


We know impeachment will be supported in the House. We also know the Senate will not go along with that. In the end mr. trump will only be removed from office by losing an election, one he should not have won in the first place.


Right now, however, our job is clear. Find the best candidate who can beat the incumbent. That may be Mr. Bloomberg, or Pete Buttigieg or Elizabeth Warren. But only if they learn to beat trump, not each other.


November 27, 2019

Oh Please!

I remember the ramp up to the impeachment of Richard Nixon. I was fascinated by the process and the content of that process. It was deliberate. It was accumulative. It was logical. It was stolidly progressing toward an end.


And then Nixon resigned. Certain of his fate and not wanting to be removed from office, he resigned and left the office to be filled by his Vice President. The nightmare was over. Long and grueling, the end of Nixon’s presidency was thankfully over. And for good reason.


Then Bill Clinton’s impeachment. Not at all like Nixon’s, the Clinton impeachment was done by a thousand howling dogs bent on removing the sitting president by hook or by crook. And embarrassment. They achieved the latter. The hook or crook, too. After all was said and done, the president had received a blow job in the Oval Office. That was not an impeachable offense. It is an offense of our public civility, but not of law and governance standards.


Now we have an impeachment of a sitting president who has done just about everything to be impeached. And yet he denies it. Wait a few minutes and he tweets the opposite. He is a victim of his own techno-quirks. And his ego.


The impeachment process advances steadily toward its conclusion. The crimes were political. They were also not allowed under the US Constitution. And so, the process is implemented to remove a person unfit for office as described in the Constitution.


Yet, his political supporters obfuscate and block all progress toward the impeachment. They claim it is political. Well, it is; he has violated the spirit and the law regulating political process. That’s why he is being impeached. The process, however, is not political. Only the republican party has defined it as such. They have done everything they can to cloud the process, scoff at clear evidence, and attempt to redefine the meaning of common words. Their efforts are political. The Democrats’ efforts are not. Their efforts are clearly directed by the Constitution.


Meanwhile, nothing much gets done by the Congress. They are blocking each other’s work. That too, is Constitutional. For all to see: the inmates of the institution of Congress are running amok and accomplishing nothing.


Impeachment will occur. The House will vote for it. It will become the indictment – bill of particulars – that will be sent to the Senate for trial. And that trial will take place. The trial’s end, sadly, will end badly for all. The impeachment will fail in the Senate because it is politically in control of the republicans. But then the Senate will have failed both the Constitution and the People of the US.


All because of political gamesmanship. Nonsense rules the affairs of humankind.


It is a wonder that the good of our nation continues in spite of its leadership. But then, that is what America is all about. Its people is the heart and soul of the nation, not its leaders. Those have failed their people.


It will thus be time for the people to speak again and set matters aright.


Time will bring justice. Time will heal a broken nation. It is up to all of us to make this a reality.


November 26, 2019

Thankful

This is the week for thankfulness. Thanksgiving Day is this Thursday. A day for gathering those closest to us. Not all can join the grouping, but they are with the rest in thought. Separation by space is not always solvable, but we can call, email, write or in some way connect with the other. That is a snap these days; not so in years gone by.


I remember the $5 long distance phone call, if not more! Writing took several days for the letter or card to reach the intended party. A telegram seemed idiotic when a phone call was faster and more certain.


Getting in the car and driving 5, 50 or 500 miles was an option. Often that was preferred. To be with one another. That was the goal.


When I was in college, I was 1000 miles from home. Thanksgiving Day was thus spent with others who became very close – college roommate and his family 100 miles from campus. The long four-day weekend provided time for us to meet other college mates in Chicago and explore the city. We attended the symphony, Broadway musicals traveling the country, museums and theaters. Always we met for dinners in special restaurants. We had a great time and spread our wings.


My family, though, was in New York. My brother, too, and my sister in California. Spread out in those days, like today. We still reside far from each other. Sister is in Phoenix. Brother is in Rochester, New York. I’m here in Chicago area. Mom and dad are gone now. So too, all of the grandparents, aunts and uncles. Our cousins are old like us and distant in both space and relationship. Those ties have grown dusty and nearly forgotten. Too many unshared life experiences. Not quite strangers, but certainly not close.


Friends now have become like family. We choose them often with which to dine, talk, commune. Life experiences determined by our ages often define our ready closeness. We have shared the comings and goings of historical change. We understand the present with common sight of the past. We also can envision the future with similar experiences intact.

We can view news together and recall where we each were at critical times. Recently, John F. Kennedy's assassination was 56 years ago. That not only reminds us of days long gone by, but the 'when' of our lives at that time. Our budding awareness of the possibilities of our lives yet ahead. Our yearning for connecting with those possibilities and to try our hand at doing better than current leadership. Our hopes for professionals, study, research, extending knowledge, teaching and building a wholesome future.

We remind ourselves of 9/11 and what it meant to us then and today. We are reminded of the three impeachment efforts of presidents in our lifetimes. What is similar; what is not.

We are thankful for perspective. And wisdom; somehow we have garnered that. Like old pooh-bahs of earlier times, we remember elders sharing their perspective with us. Then we didn't appreciate it. Now it is ours to appreciate and understand.

Perhaps we can be thankful to listen to one another this week to find the wisdom we can share. And value one another. And be thankful for all of that.

November 25, 2019

The Beat Goes On

The beat is the rhythm of life. In public matters, in private, too. Things happen. Frequency shifts to up or down repeats. Phone calls dribble in or pour in. Email traffic is constant, falters, or comes in torrents. Same with Facebook, mail and happenings in the news.


I might add that medical appointments multiply with age!  And when you are the coordinator for self and one other, wow! Lots of appointments, tests, drug store visits and all the rest.


Some days it is an avalanche of details to manage. They are manageable. Somehow the rhythm calls us to attention and things get done in rapid fire. Other days the rhythm is irregular and the traffic light. It seems to take ages to manage the details on those days.  Yes; busy-ness helps us get things done well and in proper time sequence.


The irregular is more a problem.


There are backdrop environments to deal with as well. Weather is one. We get things done pretty much on schedule even though a snow storm rages outdoors. Hurricanes and tornadoes pretty much stop us in our tracks. That is their power over us. But most weather is livable. It accompanies us in daily routines. We live with it.


Family obligations is another backdrop. Some families live with constant drama and trauma. It is their personality or ethos. Other families are downright boring; nothing much of significance happens that demands attention or emotional investment. Our lives are humdrum. We do what comes our way. We live with the consequences and move on to the next challenge. Isn’t it interesting that not all families are like that? Like us?


On closer inspection big things do happen in our lives. We learn to live with them if they are upsetting. Each challenge prepares our sinew for the next one. Maybe that’s how old people get old? Their mettle strengthens with each challenge?  I think of my dad dealing with his own decline. He did so quietly and with resolve. It was pretty much hopeless, but then each day brought its own reward and he survived big odds until the very end.


May we all be able to live with the tempo of our lives. It is a challenge, but it is the spice, too. And from that we gain mighty tastes of what it means to be alive.


Joy to you this day. It is there to savor. First we have to see it!


November 22, 2019

Middle East Policy Shifts

Israel now has America’s blessing to build settlements in the Gaza Strip.


This is a policy change torpedoing 40+ years of American foreign policy. If peace is to be brokered in the Middle East, someone with power and influence has to give both parties to the conflict something to negotiate with. For Israel, it was a combination of military and financial aid from America. Billions of dollars annually. Israel as subsidized nation. Israel as love child protected by America to keep Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabi and the rest of the Middle East from attacking Israel. Meanwhile, the Palestinians had America’s pledge to bar Israel from building lasting settlements in Gaza. And a few other things, too.


Israel broke the rules over and over again. Then Netanyahu would abandon settlements in some areas, bulldoze them, and a while later sponsor building new settlements somewhere else in Gaza. This is foreign affairs by bullying. On again, off again, constantly changing tactics. Israel is good at it.


Unfortunately, Israel also is good at fomenting violence in their region all the while play-acting as the big brother of peace. America usually has bridled at these practices; under trump, however, Israel has finally received what it has demanded for years: freedom to develop the conquered areas of Gaza anyway they wish.


There is a problem in all of this: peace is only earned by all parties by compromising what they don’t want to do. It is this mutual discomfort that builds peaceful solutions. One state or two state architecture? Whichever works. Or not. Evidently not. No one will agree. And so Israel continues to bully its way around the region saying it gets no respect.


Sure, it is respected. And feared. That is respect in a different color.


The problem grows with this tactic, however; fear expands discomfort to the point that violence is preferred to doing nothing. Risks are viewed as worth it by those in Gaza living on little and starving more each day. Poke them in the eye often enough and they will lob missiles into Israel. Israel relies on this reaction and claims provocation so they retaliate by firing guided missiles into Gaza.


The stalemate continues. Perhaps America should withdraw its protections of all parties and let them slug it out? Why not? Energy supplies? At this point in world history, who cares? Fossil fuels are killing the planet. Shouldn’t we reduce fossil fuel usage by 50% or more to save the planet’s ecosystem?  We have means to replace fossil fuels in the main; and we now have technology to reduce use with improved efficiencies at the same time.


Fossil fuels are passé. So is Middle East peace paid for by the global community. What would happen if we all walked away and left the killing field to the residents of the region? Think about that long enough and we may learn that they would find peace with little violence because that would be in their best interest. Stark but true.


Israel is not in the right in much of this. Neither are their enemies in the region. Nor is America in the right, either. We all play a role to keep this struggle alive and divisive.


Isn’t it time we changed this up? International leadership has played this game of safety too long. And badly. Something needs to change. And quickly.

America has been playing her cards badly in recent years. Today it is downright stupid.


November 21, 2019

Impact of Nonprofits

A quick rummage through some government labor data suggests nonprofit organizations account for 14 to 15% of all economic activity in the United States. That conclusion only deals with employment. What about accumulated assets on their books? What of their activities and the lasting value created among their beneficiaries? What downstream impact do nonprofits have in our economy?


Indeed! The nature of nonprofits is investment in people – education, healthcare, rescue of unfortunates (animals and humans!), housing, music and all the other arts, social services and so many other ‘causes’ with value to our communities. The latter certainly includes environmental protection, beautification, and so much more.


Our society invests in people. We help educate citizens from pre-school through higher education. That benefits not just the individuals involved, but society at large. New technologies are not just discovered, invented and brought into the full light of day, but people are taught how to use, benefit from and advance the same technology.


Housing the homeless or marginalized, we focus on people in trouble. Helping them with immediate shelter is stop gap. What follows are social services that may rescue a person from certain death back to healthy self-sufficiency. Turning an unproductive, troubled life into a valued contributor to community is a worthy goal.


Helping people with addictions find a new way forward without the drugs or booze, builds a better future for the community one life at a time.


Helping a homeless teen mother protects her and her child for a better future benefitting the rest of us.

Providing education for those without resources discovers playwrights, poets, engineers and inventors we otherwise would have lost.


There are those among us who declaim nonprofits as feeders at the public trough. Such complaints discount the work done that we the people don’t do otherwise. Government may have the financial resources, but it doesn’t have the people power or organizational structure to get the job done. Nonprofits are the engines working the streets and producing the results.


I’ve spent most of my career working in and for nonprofits. I didn’t consciously do this, but one day after 50+ years, it was pointed out to me that I had spent my adult life in the nonprofit world. You know what? It has been a wonderful ride! The rewards are tremendous. Satisfaction is but one of those.


The impact of most nonprofit organizations is terrific. In fact, it is so huge, we often don’t recognize it. Take the output of colleges and universities. They produce immediate economic value in operations, salaries, services and physical structures. A university often is worth $1 billion in buildings and equipment. It may spend another billion on operations annually. That money works into the surrounding economy immediately. But then comes the impact of its students working and growing into mature careers and economic activity in the broader economy for generations to come.

And that is only the impact of one sector of our society.


Nonprofits may start small, but they end up large enough to make a difference in our economic life. What they do to make that happen, impacts our values, our senses and so much more.


Today I am thankful for all the nonprofits among us making America strong and purposeful. That’s a worthy impact to cherish.


November 20, 2019

Evidence Mounts

You can tell the impeachment inquiry is stacking up against the president. Evidence continues to flow. One revelation after another, even with the closed door hearings used to vet witnesses, new allegations continue to appear. Witnesses that are credible. Their demeanor representative of what we grew up knowing about our government – quiet, resolute, polite, careful wording, respectful of the past, the present and the future that we all must prepare for. That’s how it was.


Nice to watch the impeachment hearings and see such adult conduct.


The newscasts are anything but. The president and his administration reps speak continually of how poorly the proceedings are going - "the Dem's case is falling apart. No impeachable offense is yet visible." And so on and so on. They speak the words they want us to believe.


But we can’t. Their words are empty signals of political bias for the man who has given them much – fancy salaries and benefits, gamesmanship aplenty, and ideological skews that make grown men cry. Embarrassing, really. Simply embarrassing that these people exist in their bubble and do not believe facts of history, facts of science, logic of math, or common decency of humankind.


Their mission is different from everyone else’s.


What that mission is remains a mystery. Not transparent. Not logical. Benefitting whom, you ask? I ask as well but know no answer. Nor do they. Empty. Illogical. So much so, it is scary.


No, the impeachment inquiry and related hearings are going quite well. The constitutional process is open, transparent, and filled with due process. It is not a court of law and does not contain the same process, but it maintains fairness and openness. Just like the impeachment preparations for Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton. The same process. The same diligence of detail. hard work. Logical and factual.


Our times are not of old. They are of new. Divisive, nasty, personal. The ends justify the means.

Really? Are we going to let that hatefulness rule our nation? And that shallowness?

We can do much better. We will. Time is on the side of truth.


November 19, 2019

Permanent Fixes Needed

Have you ever wondered why something hasn’t been invented to permanently fix a common problem?  Perhaps some examples would help.


Why do automobile tires go flat?  Because they have air in them. Why can’t tires be made that don’t need inflation? Always hard enough to take a beating from the roads, but soft enough to cushion the bumps. Why is air even needed? Why can’t tires be permanent for the life of the car? Or, if wear and tear make them too slick for traction, then replace the entire wheel with permanent treads?


Why hasn’t a permanent fix to diabetes been found?  Is it because a fortune is made from forever selling the test strips?  Really?  You’d think with nanotechnology a gadget would have been invented to test the blood sugars frequently internally and trigger correcting insulin doses accordingly.  


Bad knees and shoulder joints should have a lubricating gel inserted by needle to cushion the joint and relieve the pain. Some of this is already in use, but surgeries are still the major solution. Why not eliminate most surgery and use the gel? Imagine the suffering avoided healing from surgery?


How about pot holes in local streets?  Why can’t cement roads be elasticized? This idea, if possible, would minimize or eliminate cracks and thus water seeping through the roadway to the base where freeze/thaw cycles do their damage. Furthermore, why not elasticize macadam? That would slow down crack formation and hole pops as well.


If airport landing strips can take a pounding from huge jets landing and taking off, how come they don’t have potholes?  Hmmmmm?


Those are four ideas that should be worked on and solved. What keeps them frozen in time?


Is someone or some industry making a financial killing from these problems and thus blocks long-lasting fixes? Am I being too suspicious?. Like energy companies should be looking into all forms of energy production and conservation, not just enormous oil drilling, fracking, coal powered generating plants and all of that.  Develop solar panels, windmill farms, household off-grid systems that are not hackable or controlled by other parties. Just produce your own juice and use what you need, but take care not to run out! Think of the cables, wires, and power poles that would be eliminated from our landscapes?


Speaking of which, why are power, phone and cable TV wires strung on poles where the weather and auto traffic await their destruction?  Why not bury the cables in readily accessible conduits disguised as sidewalks and eliminate the above ground hazards and aesthetic blight?


OK. Enough. Big problems persist that are annoying and could easily be fixed.  Why?


November 18, 2019

Little Things Matter

The light bulb needs replacing. The floor needs mopping. Clothes need washing. Dishes need cleaning. Same with the stove and refrigerator. Don’t forget the windows; they should be cleaned, and the screens vacuumed or washed down.


These are simple tasks. Recurring and necessary acts of living.


Until they become unmanageable. That happens with injury, illness and age. Simple tasks become large ones; maybe even impossible.


Our low tire pressure warning light flashes on our dash. I know it is because outdoor temperatures are far below freezing, and tire pressure drops with the temperature.  The dashboard indicates the psi is 27 and 28 for all four tires. They don’t look soft, but they require 35 psi to operate properly. Getting to a gas station, positioning the car correctly, pulling out quarters to operate the tire pump, then stooping to uncap the tire valve stems, and operate the pump properly, becomes very difficult to perform. Recapping the valve stem, moving on to each of the tires, only extends the difficulty.

So the tire pressure remains low until I visit the dealer for other service and hope he doesn’t charge me a fee to service the tires.


The guest closet/pantry light is burned out. The light fixture is 10 feet overhead. The fixture lens cover needs to be removed and the florescent bulbs removed. Number of bulbs and their wattage needs to be determined. Then a trip to the hardware store to buy the right tubes. Returning home to install the tubes is the final act but that requires a step ladder, an overhead install of the tubes and finally reinstalling the lens cover.  This task ends with the thought of a step ladder.


The guest closet/pantry light remains burned out. We learn to find items by feel and in shadows.


Housework we do carefully, one day at a time. just like my parents did before they died, just like all our elders before us. We learn to live with limitations. It is a natural part of life and its rigorous order.

The inconvenience is tolerated because our recliners await our next nap. On balance, it is a good life!

Best we count our blessings and accept what we cannot change. And realize the little things matter.


November 15, 2019

Communication as Building Block

Tuesday we visited Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Downtown in the thick of urban life. Complicated to get to, park, debark the patient, move him to the assigned space for therapy, and then repeat the process in reverse to once again reclaim home. The process took five hours. We chose a 1 pm appointment time to miss both morning and evening rush hours, and that worked just fine.


One day prior we had 3 inches of snow and extreme cold temps. Tuesday the weather was clear, sunny but very cold, -7 windchill in the morning. The roads were clear and dry and visibility was perfect. So we had cold but great travel conditions.


We are 75 and 76 years of age. Restricted mobility for both, we had not dared drive in by ourselves in previous months. Too much complexity during a time of personal angst over cancer, surgery and healing. But this day we tried it on our own. We did fine. Scary a bit, but we still have our faculties and able to function. Impatience is a factor, but that comes at any age, eh?


The speech therapy for Rocky was important. She stressed the quality of life relying at least in part on our ability to communicate with one another. We are heard and understood. We hear and comprehend. We build on those transactions to experience the richness of life.


Therefore, relearning speech via an electro larynx to make up for the loss of the voice box, is an important goal. It is a goal worthy of effort, training, practice and patience.


Patience on the part of everyone. Family, strangers, service personnel, whomever…it is intentional to hear and comprehend the attempted sounds of new speech. Learning is needed by the sender and the receiver. Just like any communication transaction, both parties (and often many more!) must be engaged in a mutual process of understanding one another.


Quality of life…participating and sharing in life’s activities and meaning. Yes, a building block of life itself is communication.


Not all speech of course is uttered. Some is by body position, or hand signals, or telegraphed attitude. It still communicates intent and meaning. Not all such speech is positive.


Thus, the quality of life is challenged.  By word or deed, we seek quality of life in our expressions. Best they be positive. After all, our voices are unique to each of us.


Are we making the most of it?


November 14, 2019

Sharing

We share with others. Unbeknownst or not, we share time, presence, space with others. That is automatic. We share space on the roadways, in the elevators, in the halls, in offices and stores. In classrooms, too, and libraries, hospitals and institutions far and wide.


That sharing is a physical reality.


But other realities are not physical. They are intentional, caring, thoughtful and mission oriented. That takes presence of mind and a willingness to share.


Some people are aware of others and their needs: the lame and halt elder struggling to get in or out of a car, or with a heavy door into a building; or the same elder as she strives to rise from her seat in a restaurant and wend her way out through the congestion of the eatery. Strangers come to her aid. They lend a hand to open the door, hold the chair, help with donning her coat, whatever. They note her need and share their abilities with her.


A retired person shares his or her knowledge with another person in a program of strangers seeking to improve their business or start a new one. Sharing experience from one generation to the next helps smooth the way and make for better success.


Teaching a child the logic of math and science is a way to help youth understand themselves in a world of possibility. It is not the fact of math or science that is important, but that those disciplines exist to manage their journey through life and make the most of their opportunities. In the doing of this, they help themselves and the rest of humanity, too. What a reward for an investment in kids!


Sharing helped make me who I am at this very moment. Others gave me that gift. I do the same; not to repay, but to experience the thrill of giving. It is so easy. It means so much. To everyone – the giver and the receiver.


There is no season for sharing. Although we are approaching Thanksgiving, the season for sharing is now and always. Thanksgiving is a holiday that reminds us to recall the importance of the good in our lives. We all have good in our lives, even those in the depth of loss, depression and need. It sounds counterintuitive, but that statement is true. From the depths of despair come the fruits of happiness.

Without the one the other is not fully known.


Share what you know. Share what others give you. Share yourself.


You will surely receive an amazing gift.


November 13, 2019

Beyond the Present

We focus on today and the past; often too much so.


Let me explain. Living in the present is a gift. All too often we avoid the present while preparing for the future or remembering the past. Living in all three ‘tenses’ is a gift (past, present, future) but only if it is balanced.


Knowing the past and the roots of today is important. It is perspective. It is anchorage in values and hard won lessons. Who we are and what we are comes from our past. However, if we focus only on that we will mislead ourselves.


The past is a mish-mosh of things good and bad. Knowing what is good from the bad is important. What in the past should we keep as we push forward? That takes discernment. It is not an easy job. But a necessary one.


The present should be fully experienced and valued. It is our life in full abundance right this instant. Many of us are not able to focus on the present because we are so distracted by the past and what we are asked to do in the future. Our attention is split into many pieces. We are unable to fully appreciate the present gifts: family, health, aromas, sounds, environmental factors of warmth and comfort, and so much more. We tend to focus on the uncomfortable, timing of events, order of things, and so on. We are so busy with the details of tasks we forget what will never happen again. This moment right now will never repeat.


A balance of past and present is needed to value the present. This balance teaches us the values of things, relevance and importance. Life is not all pleasure. Or effort.


The future will happen come what may. It is best done with preparation and a balance of past and present, however. Remember the old marketing tag line of Prudential Insurance?  “The Future Belongs To Those Who Prepare For It.”  A great line. Worthy, too.


But part of preparing for the future is fully appreciating both the past and the present.  Those two realities provide the perspective and value of what we want for the future. Getting beyond the past and the present helps us deal with the future. What do we want the future to be? What are its most important components? What resources will be needed to make it happen the way we want?  How do we get from today to tomorrow?  What should we be working on now?


This is work. It takes contemplation and serious analysis to determine what is valued and needed.  

The past informs us of many things. the present tells us where we are and the circumstances. But the future, that is for us to dream and shape and work toward. With all our effort and wits, we toil to make the world a better place. For reasons of value we do this. Those values are important. They are the gifts of life lived fully and yearn for many tomorrows to continue living so.


Are we prepared to do this work? Are we engaged in it? Or are we buried in the past? Too pleasured in the present? Distracted from the hope of the future?


In what tense do we live? Where ought we be?


November 12, 2019

Say It Ain’t So!

The uncivil society in which we live is something else. Used to be conversations in the school yard, on the bus, among friends at a party or in a diner, were private, jocular and filled with euphemisms and vernacular terms.  We said ‘ain’t’, ‘dork’, and ‘spick’. We had names for Jews, Catholics, Bronx Indians and a host of other people we didn’t really know.


At times I had to ask my brother and sister for help understanding the terms.  I didn’t dare ask my parents!  God no! My siblings usually knew what the terms meant so I wasn’t in the dark for long. But I usually didn’t use the terms because I was never quite certain of their meaning and correct usage. Besides, these words seemed unfair and mean.


Of course, correct usage is not a thing in this case. These terms were awful then and more so now. We know so much more of our language and its derivative meanings. We know when social norms are being broken. It just seems that those norms are broken more frequently today, and in growing horror of intent. Many mean to mean.


American social norms exist on at least two basic levels. One is the vernacular and the other is proper. The first is idiomatic and sloppy; casual and slangy. It isn’t meant to be proper but then that’s when bigotry is allowed its freedom of expression.


Proper is the polite language we speak of in front of audiences, print in the newspaper, utter in news reports on TV, radio and internet. These are the norms of proper society.


Trouble is, the internet has exposed the vernacular as everyday language seeping into the proper.

Counterpoint language accuses others of bigotry while being bigoted at the same moment. Perhaps that is the modern definition of incivility.


Whatever it is, anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, anti-Hispanic, anti-Black or African-American, Asian, or any other nationality, it is just plain wrong. Separating people by religious belief or expression, by nationality, by region of residency, or by any other differentness, is bigotry and unworthy of us.


Political talk is sassy today. As awful as it has become, we are inured to it being worse and becoming so. People get away with this. Like being caught lying, nasty public discourse is allowed and laughed at. Public rallies are filled with such rhetoric. Even highly placed elected officials are guilty of this sagging social norm. They even get elected because of their use of the vernacular.


Beware: such behavior lowers our own value standards. Where we might get away with it in our own nation, it will not and does not play well in the international arena.


International relations require proper language and manners. We have brought meanness, trickery and lying to this arena because the officials couldn’t tell the difference between vernacular and proper. It has debased America’s reputation and trustworthiness accordingly. Slipping standards at home do not mean they are OK slipping away from home.


Yes, beware. All of us as we pen or utter thoughts without choosing words carefully. We might just be understood to be something we don’t like.


November 11, 2019

Creating the Good

Many of you are aware that I mentor entrepreneurs in forming their own small businesses. That also includes small firms that have met with challenges and need help to overcome them so they can stay in business. The common denominator here is small business. One to a handful of employees defines small. The dollar flow of sales or asset accumulation are not the benchmarks we focus on. It is the mission and vision of the firm, checking the need for it to exist, will it be competitive, and what will it take to make it a reality?


These are the core questions. But there is another key question: will you be a for profit or a nonprofit?


This is not something most people think about. I do because I have spent most of my career in nonprofit organizations.  I didn’t do this on purpose. It just happened. When it did, I was embraced by a world of good things happening. I remained in this environment for a lifetime.


Mission is critical. Why does this organization exist? What will it attempt to accomplish and why?

Creating good outcomes for others is the common mission statement. There are particulars of course, like through education, or housing the homeless, or empowering the undereducated, helping women achieve their full potential, expanding awareness to the general public of……  And so on. You get it.


Once we nail down the mission, we focus on a vision statement.  What will be happening 15 years from now (or more) if our mission has been successful?  What impact will our organization have?  You see the wisdom of this, don’t you?  It is not about what we want to do, or why; it is about the impact if our work is successful.


Note, please, this has to do about the effect on others; not the self. And that’s the whole point about nonprofits.


A world of good comes from the many people who devote their lives to nonprofit organizations.  It is an amazing array of activity, accomplishment and devotion. All good things. All good outcomes.


In my work (all volunteer) I am constantly in touch with people who want to create their own nonprofit, or already have a small one that needs help to progress. Their energy and commitment to their mission is a reminder that people are good and do good things for others. They may earn a living doing this, but that is not the point of their commitment. No, their point is to solve a social problem, help someone in trouble, or help others make the most of their talents and abilities.


Thank God these people populate our communities and nation.


For those who continually think negatively about America, or their city or state, know that good people exist among us doing good work. And these are private people, doing private work for private beneficiaries in need. All without taxpayer money, or mostly without it.  Yes some programs are able to access state and federal funding for a portion of their work. But if our people didn’t have the interest to do the work, the taxpayer funding would not be used for the good. The government simply cannot do everything for everybody. It requires you and I to do this work. A little help with the costs is appreciated.


So, smile! We have much to be thankful for. Others are working hard to make this a better world. Perhaps you as well?


November 8, 2019

Imbalances

Political discussion these days centers on power and money. Below the surface, however, are the specifics of individuals, there needs, their abilities to self-sustain their lives, the health and wealth of the nation and each of its component communities.


There is an unspoken balance needed in all things – pleasure versus work, love/hate, wealth/poverty, economic equilibrium or crashing chaos, power to a few versus misery to many, and wealth to many while others go begging for the basics.


Whatever we do as a person, company or organization, the well-being of our community and its citizens should be held in high focus. Why? Because the overall health of the community, indeed the nation, relies on everyone having opportunity, meaningful life pursuits, and rewards consistent with their interests without harming others.


If society is in gross imbalance, societal problems erupt and grow in menace to the security and order of the rest of society.  Some examples:

1.      Homelessness creates disorder, messy lives, crumbling property values, sick people without access to healthcare services

2.      Poor education leads to an imbalance in employability and adaptability to changes in the labor pool and so much more

3.      Unbalanced economic markets create greed and uneven distribution of wealth; it demeans the underperforming and over-rewards those already graced with plenty

4.      Power imbalances create voids and struggles that may lead to the instability of the social order. Violence may follow. Unnamed and expensive problems are surely creatures of this condition

5.      Vision and invention untended by the status quo limits opportunities and innovation

These are just a few. Some people may aspire to wealth and elite status. Once there, however, one wonders what reward they truly gain. Do they quickly become self-centered, self-satisfied and bored? What then follows in their lives?


Imbalances are best treated with broad minds and outward bound interests. Serving others broadens minds, builds creativity and strengthens community bonds. Not treating the imbalance only builds narrow retreats in the mind of similar thinking and suspicion of others. Not a healthy alternative.


What works at the local level doesn’t necessarily work on a national scare. However, if communities are strong, then regions, states and the nation get a boost as well. Best we pay attention to balance so we are healthy and aware of the basics in life.


Now that is a good definition of wealth and health, too.


November 7, 2019

Problem Blaming

I have friends that grumble a lot. It matters not that we are on an errand, or going to a meal out. Casual conversation leaps readily to a social problem and an opinion on why something isn’t done about it? You know the type. He or she always has a point of view that attacks something in the public. An intersection is poorly designed, or has a flaw that needs correction. Instantly the local authorities are blamed for the problem. Why didn’t they see that and do something about it? Or, a local land development succeeds and creates traffic congestion. Why didn’t the planners see that coming? Why didn’t they prepare for the congestion and have a plan to manage it? What were they thinking? Or not?!


Oh, “and the schools these days, why don’t the teachers straighten these kids out?”


Yes, hindsight is usually 20/20. And the speaker isn’t one bit attached to the problem before, during or after. He leaves that work for someone else and then jumps on them when perfection is missed.


Meanwhile, others are making a tasty public stew from whatever local resources are on hand. If more resources are needed, they look for it elsewhere and corral such benefits to serve the community. Grants from the federal or state governments are examples of such resources. Also, private entities may be interested to partner with the project and share in the cost, risks and rewards. This is the work that makes good things happen for a community.


When they do, reality sets in an uncovers natural flaws. The local authorities go back to the planning table and study the problem, its causes and effects, and create possible solutions. In full view of onlookers, they discuss the solutions and costs, and decide on the course of action required. The emergent problems from the past project are thus attended to. It takes time, but the right thing gets done eventually. Inputs from everyone are welcomed and considered.


This is our form of government. Usually on the local level. Open for all to see. In the main it works pretty well.


That doesn’t stop the negative folk from sharing their statements of blame and characterizing the authorities as dumb, lazy or worse, corrupt.


It’s OK to speak one’s mind. It’s OK to identify problems. It is not OK to characterize others as the person to blame.


It is our job as citizens to come up with ideas that are good and make the community better. Or state. Or nation. We have the responsibility to be a collaborative partner in our own government. That’s what it means to be OF, FOR and BY the PEOPLE. Be a cheerleader. Be an idea person. Share your thoughts, both insightful and analytical.


But also be willing to be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem.


It is OK to point out flaws and defects; but what is your idea to solve that same defect?


Hmmm?  And then how do we go about doing just what you suggested? Can you lend a hand to this process?


November 6, 2019

Not News

In the old days – pre trump – when the President spoke, media listened. The assumption then was a President’s message was important for the whole nation to know. Such instances were rare. TV networks broke into their normal programming to cover such events. Those interruptions were few and few minutes in length.


Not today. It seems rare that a film clip of trump misses a single day. Or a mention on a newscast.

And then there are the Tweets.


Oh yes, the Tweets.  Never has a President had a social media presence while in office. Facebook, Instagram or Tweet. Webpages were reserved for official campaign relations.  Of course, prior to trump, social media was not a thing. It is still a new phenomenon.


This President seems to think his opinion is needed on all things. Social, sports, personalities, public taste in current events far removed from governance. Every waking minute we seem to know what the trump thinks, feels and is certain about. Only this is opinion and feeling, not fact or logic.


The largest economy in the US is the entirety of the state of California. The most population, too. And yet, a state that returns so much to the nation as a whole – economically, socially, artistically, natural landscapes, etc. – is belittled because of natural disasters like forest fires? Somehow this is a state’s duty to manage when the bulk of public lands are owned and managed by federal agencies?  The state gets the blame from trump on not instantly managing the problem, and threatens to withhold federal dollars to pay for help?  And yes, the bulk of those dollars have been paid into the treasury from taxing Californians and their companies in the first place.


One wonders if the trump will blame California on its next major earthquake?


Blame. Always someone to blame, and not him. Always a finger pointing away from him and excoriating someone for the problem. Yet, let water-swamped Florida properties get deluged with more rain and hurricanes, the federal treasury is opened. No blame there, right?  The trump knows his own properties in Florida are sited on prime ocean front land and will need help repairing storm damage.


Obviously, there is trump and everyone else. If you support him, he tends to support you and avoid blaming. But blame he does. It is one way to remove heat from himself and what he doesn’t do to help the situation. Only worsen it. Fog up the news with empty words and non-action.


He is the newsmaker in chief. He is the creator of fake news all the while claiming all other news is fake. Only in his mind. Only in his mind.


The nation loses from this stupid handling of the news. Just because the trump says something, it is not news. In fact, hindsight informs us just the opposite is true. If fact checking is a strength of the media, then news programs ought not cover the president at all unless the facts bear out. Now, wouldn’t that be refreshing?  A day without trump in the limelight? Perhaps a week of silence on the Great Cheeto?


Well; one has hope. Yes. One can hope.


November 5, 2019

Weather Blahs

Late summer and early fall were atypical in the Midwest. We had long days of gray clouds, a lot of rain, and gloomy skies. With gusty winds and cooler than normal weather, it seemed more like a November day than August.


Jump to Friday, November 1st, and the morning is bright blue sky, white snow covered ground, steam vapors from cars waiting for the red light to turn green, and the thermometer claims 21 degrees.

These past two days bore witness to slush storms: 30 to 33 degrees, rain that turned to snow slush falling from the sky. Warm surfaces turned wet; cool surfaces accumulated 4 to 5 inches of snow. Winter has come. A little early, but here none the same.


The trees have shed much of their leaf load, but plenty remain to provide more autumn hues. Soon these trees will be bare until spring. That is the blah that bears down on us. Cold, wind-swept landscapes will greet us each morning. Thoughts and actions will turn indoors. The only respite is preparation for the Holidays and family gatherings.


That is something to look forward to. And naps under a blankie in my favorite chair.


Now if only a pet were perched on my lap. That would make it perfect.


Close the drapes, think spring, and plan your summer ahead.


This is life in Illinois. At least we don’t have to shovel snow!


November 4, 2019

Gifts

So, Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, recently said that his being gay is actually the biggest gift. I know what it means. So do many others.


They don’t have to be gay to see the gift.  In fact, this is not about gay at all.  


This is what it is all about: knowing, feeling, experiencing the pain of anything – differentness, off balance from society’s norms, loss, grief, disability – gives the person the gift of knowing the ‘other.’


Otherness is innately feeling and knowing what others feel at times of stress. With the shrouds removed, we see beauty, make sense out of chaos, see complexity as a potential’s lace, hear music with total senses, taste food with all senses roaring, and so on.


My brother once told me he thinks my gayness has made me more sensitive to the needs of others. When he said this, I think he was still horror struck realizing I was gay. But he was right; I am more sensitive to others. The fires of struggle being different gave me that gift.


The needs of others are not always pleasant. The sorrow and pain they feel is felt by others; they respond with care, hope and action. Not easy. Not comfortable. But necessary. To ease the problem or at least its effects. The pain and sorrow become one with them as well.


This is not a feel-good thing. This is not a pain and reward transaction, either. No, it is a heightened sense of being that then unlocks entire spheres of knowing other things. Things like –

·        Beauty in simple landscapes more breathless than ocean vistas, majestic mountain peaks, or exalted views of the Grand Canyon

·        Literature as gateway to understanding, creation of new thinking, and discernment

·        Spotting potential in ideas simple or complex, and their breathtaking benefits

·        Making sense of complex problems and why they must be solved

·        Clarity in seeing the obvious when obscured by chaos

Here’s an example of what I’m getting at:


I was born in southern California, Pasadena. I lived in the foothills of the San Gabriels, below Mount Wilson, and later at the foot of Mount Baldy. We also lived for a while in the Mojave Desert. I know what California was like then; its majesty, weather, vistas, hope and potential. Beauty was just about everywhere. But today?


The complexity of California has produced a mosh pit of problems that is destroying itself. Wildfires are mostly manmade from arson, technology burps or happenstance. Their frequency is driving out residents for the foreseeable future. The unsustainability of California (population, water and sewer needs, electricity, roadways, bridges and basic amenities) makes for a complex future that likely isn’t.

Even California’s housing market is unsustainable. Wealthy people can afford the homes, but rich people don’t do their own work. They need middle class folk to do the daily work and services. But the middle class cannot afford to live within commuting distance.


The natural order of California is a warning to the rest of America: Keep balance in our lives or lose life itself. Whether this is economics, ecology, or mental or physical health, balance is necessary. It is not an option.


See the meaning of things. Know the value of our surroundings. Seek the obvious when it appears less visible. Some people can see these things; they are our alert systems.


Best they be heard. And heeded.

That's the gift: to see, to say, to be heard. And make a difference.


November 1, 2019