September 2011
“The fact is you’ll never have all the information you need to make a decision—if you did, it would be a forgone conclusion, not a decision.”
—David Mahoney
“The finest eloquence is that which gets things done.”
—David Lloyd George
Dear "The 99%"
“My college debt” - I didn’t go to college because my family and I couldn’t afford it. You took out a loan for services rendered and it’s only fair that you pay it back as agreed upon.
“I can’t find a job” - Have you tried everywhere? Factories? Fast food? Are you looking right now or are you complaining on the internet?
“My medical bills” - They suck. I know. Trust me. I work three jobs to make sure my debts are paid off. Nonetheless, Wall Street won’t pay them for you.
“They foreclosed on my house” - Because you didn’t pay the mortgage that you agreed to pay.
What would you do if you were among the “1%” right now? Give away all your money to strangers will outstanding college loans? You’re rallying against the rich because you are in debt. We live in a capitalist society. No one is going to freely distribute their wealth to you. You have to earn your money.
I don’t understand you at all.
I’m just going to add a little story here. At a time before I was a twinkle in his eye, my dad had, from what I know, a good job, high-clearance position with the Army Map Service. It was a specialized field so once he left, there weren’t a lot of jobs that he wasn’t either really over-qualified or under-qualified for.
Many of the years of my childhood were during a really sucky economic spell. But I can’t remember my dad not working. At 50 years of age he took a job as a manual laborer on a lumber yard in the steaming hot conditions of a NOLA summer. He had the type of skin the dermatologist told him would get too much sun if he lived in a cave. But he slathered on as much sunscreen as he could, downed salt pills and hot, heavy steel-toed boots and went to work every day.
I doubt that was his dream job. It might not have been the job he wanted but it was the job he had. And he did it and he did it well and he moved up the ladder as best he could. He developed skin cancer at one point but kept working. Then he was diagnosed with colon cancer. He had surgery and didn’t require any additional treatments but we then learned that his company had discontinued part of the medical coverage and so we were left with the thousands of dollars of bills for the surgeon.
My mom found ways to save and worked out a payment plan with the doctor. She would pay $25 a week. And she did that over and over until we had paid off the bill. And when I wanted to come to New York with the rest of my dance class to a dance convention and competition, she helped me set up a yard sale. And when I wanted to make a few extra bucks I would go to work with my dad on weekends and I would get the half from his time and a half overtime hours.
When my mom lost her home after Katrina I told everyone not to wait for people to do things for them. If they wanted to rebuild, they would have to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty. I worked countless hours of overtime and now take side projects because I made a commitment when I signed those mortgage papers.
Capitalism offers opportunities, not guarantees. That is not to say that there are not those truly in need of a hand up. But when those who are able choose to stand on the side and complain they are as guilty of arrogance as those who don’t accept the responsibility that comes with extreme good fortune. Sharing the wealth can take on many forms.
You know you're in the south
Mom is nervous about people coming to the house but there was this one guy who did our yearly termite inspections that she liked. He didn’t come last year and when she asked about it she was told that he had gone to the fire department academy. He’s now graduated and is working as a fireman and loves it but is also back to doing some work for the exterminators. He just came to check the house and after chatting with mom and catching up, he gave her a hug before he left.
“Strange as it sounds, great leaders gain authority by giving it away.”
—James B. Stockdale
“
Words are nothing but a combination of letters joined together. Words are nothing but ink on a page or pixels on a screen. Yet, words scream the thoughts we hide in our minds.
Words are nothing unless they are given emotions. Words are nothing unless they are given definitions. Words are nothing unless they are given something to remember them by. Words are just with words if they have no meaning.
Words slice. Words stab. Words pull the trigger on our feelings. Words leave scars, and tear open new ones. They can be a tease, a threat, or a death sentence. Be a scene described, a moment defined, a memory revived. Be it whatever you will it to be, and you will know that words are… everything.
” —Dan Can Tumble!: On WordsWhy I do what I do (and no, this post isn't about your mom).
Semi-Deep thoughts after the jump. Pretty long for tumblr and it’s not a funny post so, as always, your mileage may vary…
I created “Well That’s Just Great” (WTJG) because the creative part of my brain was getting little to no exercise. This is for reasons that I unfortunately cannot discuss here yet.
Oh, but the book I’ll publish one day…
I am proud to have been an early adopter of Ducky. I mean Ag. Well mostly Ducky. OK, just kidding. Although I may or may not have once asked if Ducky was seeing anyone. No really, it has been great following this guy.
NOLA did the Festival of Fins
lilykily replied to your photoset: I love public art projects like the Cow Parade…
I remember NOLA doing something similar in 2000. Can’t recall what it was…can you remember?
Yep, NOLA had fish swimming all over town back in 2000 in the Festival of Fins. They also did streetcars more recently.
Maybe that’s where my love of these exhibits came from. The Festival of Fins started the same time my mom was starting to get out and about after her devastating accident in 1999. For those of you who are just tuning in, she was a pedestrian hit by a cab that left her, among other things, with two broken legs. She had spent months in hospitals and rehab and was still relearning to walk in 2000.
She heard about the fish and thought that would be a fun way to get out and get her sea legs, so to speak. We would chart out an area and go fishing. It was a wonderful way for her to get her walking time in.
