Old Men Aging Well

Five of us old guys at a nice German restaurant had just finished a good dinner. The fraulein, dressed for effect, was showing us a dessert tray. One of us said "Look at that!" and all of us looked at the desserts rather than at the amply endowed waitress. After we drooled and ordered no-sugar, low-fat cheesecake, another said "Yeah, you can get the dessert a lot cheaper than the girl."



The youngest old guy had just told us that he's just gone through a divorce in which he lost pretty near everything. My own divorce drove me insane and took a couple of years to recover.

Pitiful, but expected... both about the dessert versus girl and about the divorce settlement. This is the South, where the judges are biased. One urban legend goes that the feds, a few years ago, entrapped a judge in chambers after a divorce ruling with a wired undercover policewoman on her knees and his legs spread open for payment. And (some) women start preparations for divorce before they marry, believing of marriage as a very good tax-exempt long-term capital gains investment. Sex has always been a currency for (some) women. Men will throw away their whole lives and their careers for sex.

What a sad state of affairs.

The solution: Some of us finally learned to order dessert. That is a decision that we can still make that will prevent a future problem.

OK, solved that problem, let's go on to another.

None of us old men had a good solution to the economy. What's a solution to the plundering of this country by some politicians, bankers and CEOs working in cahoots? We must be insane to let them get away with this, we can't just order dessert to solve it, and it will take a lot more than a couple of years to recover... it will take throwing more bums out by electing fiscally responsible people. And where can we find responsible professional politicians? WHY does anyone want to run for office? What's his gain? Anyone who will do whatever you have to do to get elected shouldn't be allowed to run for office.

How about something like jury duty or military service draft? Twenty-five years after college graduation you are inducted into office... compulsory... for one term. This may be even better than term limits, and/or Tea Party. Heck, let's try something different... what we are doing now is not working.

You think about it while I go to the gym and work out that cheesecake.

- text © 2011 by Willy

Which Is Scarier?

Once upon a time, if a tall ladder didn't do it, you used two and got it done. But things have changed.

On the one hand, many politicians, bankers and CEOs are brazenly robbing the tax-supported treasury to the staggering tune of trillions while grandstanding and BS-ing us. The infrastructure is crumbling and Nero is playing the fiddle, and somebody keeps re-electing and re-hiring these crooks... other crooks, perhaps.

On the other hand, the "young" have languished. Most are a waste: overindulge; don't grasp the concept of work; chose part-time, dead-end, low-paid work instead of striving for better careers; passively amble about, caring more about their looks than their careers; live irresponsibly avoiding paying bills or sharing duties but use their disposable income for frills; and/or deal with anxiety by completely withdrawing from society to the point that they lock themselves in their bedrooms and belittle parents or spouses while parents or spouses allow and enable them. They BS us too. It's the gime-gime-gime entitlement mentality. They have no sense of purpose. They have no dreams. And they refuse every chance to do the right thing. Love and kindness is wasted on them because they will always be unhappy. These ahole parasites don't contribute.

In the middle is us.

I'm not sure how to fix it because I can't even explain it... we somehow lack the mental health to do it. I see a crash coming.

I'm not sure which is scarier, but I'm scared. I don't like it and don't want to accept it nor develop a positive but false attitude of hope about a rosy future. We need to proactively develop a real nasty, kickbutt attitude instead... an "I'm mad and won't take it anymore" one.

Lord Jesus have mercy on us.



- © 2011 by Willy

It Does Matter

Lending a hand with loving kindness can change everything.

Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas? Edward Lorenz in 1972 stated that the flapping wing could cause a chain of events leading to large-scale phenomena.

We each start changing the world the second we are conceived. Day by day, action upon action, smile upon smile, act after act, one decision after another we form our character and that of others, and change the world in significant ways. If a butterfly's wings affect the environment, what you and I do matters powerfully... beyond our imagination.

We're stronger when we think. Life is a game in which every act that we undertake... working, hiking, helping... each of those choices is a move, and every move forms the next, and that changes us. One action has a chorus of consequences. Like moves on a chessboard. The way to win is by playing.

Nothing in life comes without a struggle. The butterfly struggles out of its cocoon. Turmoil, conflict and chaos are all parts of life. Screaming and laughter occur simultaneously in every playground, and in every life. Out of that mayhem come relationship, love and joy.

Life is always surprising.

We are always stronger than we think.

We can't control everything but we can think and control ourselves and by that we indirectly affect others. Every new decision is another chance to do the right thing... it's all about what you do next.

Everybody matters. Everything matters. Everybody and everything is connected. Pass it on.


- © 2011 by Willy

P.S., The problem is the aholes... Lord Jesus have mercy on me.