Smörgåsbord

     Smörgåsbord!

     What a great word! I had one particular student from probably 35 or 40 years ago, and all I remember about him is that 'smörgåsbord' was his favorite word. He used it whenever he could. He might have been ahead of his time.

     Those who know me also know that I spend too much time online, but is it truly too much? There is a wonderful quote that states."Any time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time." Way back in the day when I was working toward my master's degree, I remember proclaiming that if I could be a student for the rest of my life, I would! I love learning new 'stuff,' and for every new piece of valid information that comes into my mind, countless other pieces have to be moved around to make it fit, which intellectually results in a ripple effect. 

     In today's world, a world I never thought I'd see outside of literature or movies, there's a lot of that happening. By introducing new information, conclusions are discarded or renegotiated. The good guys maybe aren't so good, and the bad guys are maybe worse than we could ever imagine. Maybe a bad guy even becomes a good guy.

     Anyhow, I am a person with a smörgåsbord of knowledge. Unlike others, I know a little about a lot of things, but I don't know a lot about much, which is both a blessing and a curse. When I have exhausted my knowledge of something, I sit back and listen to someone who may know more, and the reshuffling on information begins - new ideas are formed while old ideas may be discarded. 

     The most dangerous people are those with limited 'knowledge' - Pope's 'A little learning is a dangerous thing' or Heinlein's 'Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.' If people have limited knowledge/intelligence, they need to understand their limit of knowledge is not surrounded by an impervious wall. It should be just the opposite - that's what learning and growth are all about.

     People need to watch, listen, and read beyond their mental limited mental fortresses and move the pieces.

     "It's what you learn after you know it all that counts" (John Wooden). 

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION....

I love stage plays! Whenever I had the chance and could afford to go, I would. 

In high school, I had a small part in our school play, which made it to the New Englands (I think); we performed at John Hancock Hall in Boston and lost to "Spoon River Anthology." 
    
Back in a former life, I remember going to Portsmouth, NH, to see a play called "The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds." The one moment I most remember was the meet-and-greet. I found the actress who played Beatrice, the horrible mother, and took her by the hand, looked her in the eyes, and said, "I so hated you!" She replied, "Thank you; that's the best compliment I could receive." She was actually a nice lady.

I thought about this with the recent passing of Brian Dennehy. An actor brings to a life a character created by a writer/playwright. We tend to forget that the part we see is not necessarily the actor's real persona, but an interpretation and creation s/he has brought to reality. When we forget we are watching an actor but a character, that character becomes real through our willing suspension of disbelief. 

The thing is, though, these created characters are reflections of real life (maybe even bigger) - the good, the bad, and the ugly. There are real-life Sheriff Teasels, Hannibal Lecters, Nurse Ratcheds, and Beatrice Hunsdorfers (and on the other hand - Jean Valjeaans, Randle P. McMurphys, Dororthy Gales, and Forrest Gumps), and the rest of us have to deal with them, 

We are all really actors, unfortunately, we have no script to read to answer comments or respond to sometimes horrible actions - we're on our own. We create and develop our own characters and respond and act as we think we should. Some of us are complex, deep characters, while others are one-dimensional stereotypes.

How many times have we thought to ourselves after a conflict, "I should have said...."? By doing so, we should have learned something and grown (even a little bit) so that the next time we may do better. The media suggest so many things can be solved and resolved in an hour or two. Real life? Not so much.

When I was in the classroom, every quote, poem, short story, play, novel and movie had a purpose to help students sort out good qualities in people (Atticus Finch) and not-so-good qualities (Bob Ewell). When students understood whose character was desirable and whose was not, in theory, that should get them to decide who they would rather be like. 

I can only hope sometimes I was successful.

1649

     So a recent Facebook post garnered some 121 mostly charged comments with the action fast and furious. Here, I only have a few followers so far. As a result, my numbers remain fairly steady here. On Facebook, I lost two 'friends' but coincidentally picked up three other people for a net gain of one - woo-hoo!

     In my last post, I couldn't understand why people cant see who and what he is, and that is truly disturbing. It's no longer right and left - it's right and wrong. I have to question the character of his supporters. Are they as disturbed as he is? Every time he says or does something that shocks me and should in itself be grounds for removal, nothing - crickets from his base. I casually started collecting links to some of his failings - I am up to 21 pages!

     During the fray, I asked a couple of his supporters if they thought he is a liar. Two particular responses: (1) "They all lie." (2) "No."

     My current feeling is Harry Truman was right about where the buck stops. I also believe (1) tRump is fully responsible for the current destruction of our once-wonderful country, and (2) if you still support tRump, you are complicit! 

     I pray for the people of the country and know that history will not be kind to 'the stable genius' that knows more about everything than anyone.

     I really don't swear, so I will stop there for now.

1648

     So as this whole virus/pandemic thing is unfolding, it has finally had a major impact on me. I had been hanging in, maintaining a fairly low profile, but there came a tipping point. 

     As of this writing, in the U.S., nearly 2,000 people have died, and we're just getting started (hold my beer). After over two months of poo-pooing and golfing, denials and outright lies, tRump is declaring how well we are doing because "the mortality rate is, in my opinion ... way, way down." The Peter Principle personified!

     When tRump was first elected, I posted something saying if people are ignoring the sea of red flags and can't see what he is, we are in trouble - there is little depth of thought - I was adamant because I did see so any red flags (at least I thought I did). I also said, "Down the road, I will either say to you, 'Yes, you were right. I am sorry," or I would say, "I told you so."

     "I told you so!" 

     BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER because over three years later, seeing who and what he is, his worshipers are more convinced that ever that he is a god, the second coming, and can do no wrong! Along the way I learned there is nothing he can do or say that will change a single mind in his base.

     I know that as I am beginning to post more comments, it won't matter, but it will make me feel better letting some of it out, and that's why I am doing it - I need to. I have no illusions it will make a difference. It won't, but that's okay. 

     And I'm okay.

     

IT'S ONLY MONEY...

     A brief life lesson from my good friend.

     Some years ago, a former student called me. She was sobbing and said she didn't know what to do. I asked what the problem was. She choked back tears and said she was out of work and had run out of money; she had her kids to feed and had nowhere to turn, and she thought of me.

     The last time I had seen her was when she needed to be bailed from an arrest. I don't remember what the charge was, but I was there for her (and didn't even collect my fee because I had her in school and liked her).

     This time, she sounded so lost and desperate... and her kids.... I advanced her $100 (I was working then and thought it was the right thing to do).

     Longer story short, it turned out she used the money for drugs. I tried numerous times to have her do the right thing and pay me back, but it was clear it wasn't going to happen.

     I was angry and told my bestie about it (I actually have two). He set me straight. He said I had to decide on an amount of money I could let go - money that wouldn't make me if I had it or break me if I lost it. It was a life lesson, and I should move on. As I thought about it, he was right, and $100 was a good place to settle on.

     Along the way, I have helped numerous people since with no expectation of return. I have not been disappointed.

    Good advice.

EXTRAPO...WHAT? EDUMAC...WHAT?

     You know, extrapolation. 

     When I introduced the Science Fiction class I taught, I used the term extrapolation. In my context, it meant to look at a current trend and, assuming nothing intervened or changed, predict future possibilities and outcomes. So many works of science fiction or speculative fiction do just that; they were warnings. Cutting edge science provides much fodder for such consideration (runaway viruses, over-population, nuclear power, robots, cloning, genetic engineering, AI, etc). Good science fiction is based in science. Or, as had been said, many science fiction move starts with people ignoring a scientist's warnings. 

     Now, on to edumacation. That's all that stuff you supposedly learned and carry with you after spending years in school supposedly giving one tools to help navigate Life. One question that has been successfully avoided for years (but still answered wrongly year after year) is what should a student know and when? When a person is graduated from high school, do they know enough to successfully navigate their way through Life, and, again, what is it they should know? Should a diploma guarantee a certain level of knowledge? (That was a thing for a while.)

     Learning never stops (at least it shouldn't). "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." Aristotle. These days are unlike I have ever seen. If a thought/idea is presented and goes against what a person believes s/he knows to be true, to them, it is wrong. Period. It is a generational tribal model. The great grandparents passed along their learning to the grandparents who passed it on to the parents who passed it along to you. And when people don't move around much, pockets form, and where all think alike, no one thinks at all.

      You can pretend to be stupid, but you can't pretend to be smart. Anyone who is smart can see stupidity, but anyone who is stupid can't see smart - especially when it goes against their beliefs (and what's happening in front of their face.

     Sad.

A GOOD SPORT

 "Good is not good when better is expected." Vin Scully

     I like sports! A lot. Although nowhere near as knowledgeable as others, I know enough to enjoy what I watch. I love excellence.

     The only sport I never got into is basketball. I never learned the details of the game beyond throw the ball and hope it goes in the basket. My experience was limited to playing 'HORSE' or 'GHOST' in my best friend's driveway (it's the same game - just spelled differently) I rarely won.

     In elementary school, I was the 'Carrie White' player, usually getting picked last when it came time to make teams. I now know my problems were because of lack of confidence and not so much my lack of skill. I never played in any development leagues, so the skills never came. I was so uninformed, I once even fell for the first-baseman pretending to throw to the pitcher and got tagged out when I stepped off the base. Sad.

     In junior high school, besides the usual stuff, we climbed ropes, wrestled (not while climbing the ropes), and boxed. Yes, boxed! I had arranged with a friend to pair up and go easy on each other. The teacher had other ideas and paired me with someone else. I think there were three one-minute rounds, and I actually held my own (mainly to protect it). 

     When high school rolled around, I actually tried out for baseball thinking all those hours with my friend tossing the ball back and forth in the field next to my home was enough. I remained on the team until we went outside from the gym, and then things got real. When the roster was posted (much like a cast list in theater after tryouts), my name was missing. 

     I split the difference and ended up as the football manager for a couple of years. It was neat being around and helping the team.

     All of the above was a lead-up to my college years. I ended up at Emerson College in Boston (Emerson Football - Undefeated since 1880 [true]) and was a frat boy and served in the animal fraternity (we made "Animal House" look tame). Our faculty adviser was Jim Peckham (a big name known to real wrestling fans - he wrestled in the 1956 Olympics). In the pre-Pinocchio-ad days, he looked at me one day and said, "You have potential." He talked me into going out for wrestling! Really!

     I lasted one day! On the first day of practice, we had to piggyback teammates up four flights of stairs.

     I ended up playing ice hockey for the school and made the team, but that's another story. I also played fraternity sports (all but basketball) and did okay.

     Those were the days!