More Random Thoughts May 2025

Ted Reads Random Thoughts May 2025

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A friend wrote a piece about how Joy had been a lifelong companion. I’d say the same, although I didn’t know its name, I did know that there were times when my right eye would water up and perhaps a tear roll down my cheek, and my throat would close up. It took seven decades to learn her name was Joy. She kept coming anyway. Thankfully.

I read a study recently that suggested “Staying curious” is one way to help keep whatever marbles that I am in danger of losing, intact. I haven’t found that lack of curiosity is much of a personal risk.  Curiosity killed a cat once I’ve been asked to believe, and I understand the risk. Especially being curious about things that I am supposed to not notice about politics, religion, and human behaviors.

Some recent curiosities of mine include what’s with all the June bugs carpeting my driveway like a field of clover in April? Should they be renamed April Bugs? What’s with someone being dressed to the “T’s, not the “Q’s, or “A’s?’  And I know what someone’s “Swan Song” is but why not a Frog, a Cow, or a Loon’s song?

Hope is a powerful anti-depressant for me. Hope helps me as I live the dominant gross indecency that, in my opinion, tragically, represents America today.

I like Voltaire. Here is one reason. “People who believe in absurdities will eventually commit atrocities.”  It helps me understand what I am witnessing.   

I can understand something being ‘Underwater.’  Same for things being ‘Under the radar.’ How can one be ‘Under the weather’ though? What would that look like?

A friend was talking about a medical procedure, an operation, where he had been opened up from “stem to stern.”  If we are using a boat analogy in terms of the ‘stern,’ why not ‘bow’ instead of ‘stem’?

While I am at it, where in the world did, we come up with (and why) did we need to come up with the phrase ‘the gist of things? 

Then there is “my (our, your, or their) neck of the woods.”  Someone help me out here.

Back in the day, I had an opportunity to attend a gathering called the Clinton Global Initiative. It involved a competition among various groups of young people from around the world who had created and were working on various projects to make the world a better place. Sort of like the TV show Shark Tank, where various entrepreneurs highlight their products to try to get investors, to, well, invest.  The difference here was that these groups were trying to get funds to help people, not to fill their own pockets. 

Of course, the initiative was vilified by enemies of the founders. That is not unique to our culture or country.  Whose idea it is, or was, seems far more important to us human beings than whether or not the idea is a good one.  At the end of the day, who cares about people having clean water or something to eat, or whether babies unnecessarily die of disease? 

During that same visit I talked with a gentleman who headed the Walmart Family Foundation.

They were supporting scientific research on creating foodstuffs that could end world hunger.

If Walmart is one of those entities to be despised, what does one do when one catches them doing something good?  

My ear itched. On the inside. So, of course, I stuck my finger in it to “scratch” it. When it felt better, I pulled my finger out and looked at it. Why do we do that? If I couldn’t see, would I still do that? Then smelled it. Why do I and other primates do that? Like what are we looking, or smelling or hungry for?

Sometimes we humans have been known to put our newly discovered treasure into our mouths. Other times rolling it into balls, flicking it, or sticking it under a table or chair, so that some stranger could get a tactile experience of a part of us.  Even polite people who might use a Kleenex, or toilet paper, typically, at least look. What are we looking for? To admire our unique creation? I say it was probably important for our ancestors to do that. What do you say?

I was talking to a friend about the content of “The news” sources. My opinion is that if whatever source I am listening to/reading from does not include equal amounts of information (in a non-pejorative way) from opposing views, it is propaganda. Period.  Not fair and balanced news.

I don’t know of any current major “news” sources that do that, except for a magazine called The Week. And, I would say that even that attempt, is well, weak.  They at least give lip service to and sort of do that.  Even then, there is bias in what “news” or stories they choose to talk about.

It wasn’t always this bad. From the 1950’s until Ronald Reagan and FCC chair Mark Fowler (appointed by RR) abolished the “Fairness Doctrine”. In the 80’s, media outlets were required to devote some time to contrasting views on issues of public importance.

That’s why my “news,” these days, comes, primarily from reading articles and books based on peer reviewed, published research studies. Understanding that even they are biased in their own ways and can be and are totally corrupted.

Let’s do for the ‘News” world what the drug companies are required (at least for now) to do for the drug world. After the ‘advertisement’ or propaganda (the news cast) have a disclaimer as they do after the promotion of the latest miracle drug cure that essentially says, “Ingesting this stuff can also kill you (or your family, or other people.)”  Because it can.  Because it has.  Because it still does.

The same is true in terms of ‘sources’ of American History, World History, Religion, etc. Primary sources (not the CNN TV show) are excellent references.

I wonder how the word “Spend-Thrift” came to mean the opposite of (big spender) what it sounds like.

I was reading a book by Pema Chodron that suggested that my life was like a flash of lightning in terms of where it fits within the cosmos. I like that. It’d be cool if someone would see that flash and go “Oh wow, did you see that?”  Knowing the most likely answer would be “See what?”  😊 

In my work with people, I often ask them to draw me something that would represent what they are talking about. The nearly universal answer is “I can’t draw.”  My answer is “We can all draw, we just haven’t practiced for a few years or decades.”  Drawing was one of our first forms of communication, and under certain circumstances may be one of our last. Drawing was one of our first attempts to let people know what was going on inside us. We never lose that ability. After I encourage them to just let the pen or pencil start moving, they always produce something. A picture is always worth a thousand words it has been said.

I so wish I would have thought of that in my father’s last days, when his voice failed him as he was desperately trying to tell us what he was wanting and needing.  I can now see myself saying, “Dad, draw me a picture of what you are trying to tell us.”  Maybe someone could remember to tell me that, or perhaps I will remember to do that myself if I ever get to that point.