Sunday, April 25, 2021

And So It Goes April 18 - April 24, 2001


 When it comes to their marriage she asked me in front of her husband after talking with the two of them about their relationship for an hour, “Is there any hope?” What do you say to a question like that? I had an opinion but like a good counselor said, “What do you think?” She seemed to deflate and her husband looked anxious. I wanted to say, “Hope is my business. I sell several different varieties. What kind of hope do you have a hankering for?” Of course, I didn’t say that. I am a professional after all. So I said, “Yes, there is. Do you want to meet again and talk more about it? They both agreed and we set up a time. We’ll see.

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Philosophers and theologians have long emphasized the value of gratitude, and this is now buttressed by research. When we ask people to think about a time in their life when they have felt grateful, it diminishes unconscious thoughts of death. There’s a lot more work that needs to be done in this domain, but I find it to be one of the most uplifting directions of our research. Be humble. Be grateful. It’s good for you. It’s good for the world. 

Sheldon Solomon, The Sun Magazine, April 2021

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The father said about his developmentally disabled overweight 32 year old son, “He has trouble emptying his bladder.” Frank asked, “Does he pee standing up or sitting down?” The father said, “Sitting down.” Frank said, “Have him stand up.” The father said, “He often misses the mark.” Frank said, “What about the bushes?”

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A simple observation for the Trumpists and others, “Just because you want to believe it doesn’t make it true.”

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A guy told me that his biggest fear about retirement is running out of money before he dies. I said, “Well, sorry to hear that. I’m set for life as long as I die next week.”

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Jesus said that unless we become like little children we can’t enter the Kingdom of heaven. What Jesus meant was curiosity, reverence, an enchantment with the mystery of life is the doorway to heaven.

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I was wrong, always, about everything. Nothing was ever good enough. Tolerance was the most I could hope for I now realize in retrospect. Finally, I said, “If you’re that unhappy. Maybe you should get a divorce.” And she did after 35 years. And that was that.

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There is also an urgent need to root out extremism in law enforcement and the armed forces. Among the first 150 people arrested and charged with federal crimes after the attack on the Capitol, 21 were current or former members of the U.S. military, according to CNN. Some were affiliated with the Proud Boys. Last year police officers in North Carolina were fired after posting racist videos, and an FBI threat-assessment report dating back to 2006 expressed alarm about supremacist infiltration of law-enforcement ranks. Scientific America, April 2021, p.8

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What do you do when  most of the reporting on fake news is fake news?

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I had the thought all day today that something is seriously wrong. I was in my office on Saturday doing my billing to get the money I need to pay my taxes this year in three weeks on May 15th  for 2020.. I am very aware that the money I am making to pay my taxes for 2020 will be income that I must pay taxes on for 2021. Tennessee Ernie Ford’s song, “!6 Tons” comes to mind. “Sixteen tons and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt. St. Peter, don't you call me for I can’t go. I owe my soul to the company store.”

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The title of the book was “The Death Of Truth: Notes On Falsehoods In The Age Of Trump.” In referring to the book in a post I miswrote the title as “The Death of Trump,” I followed up the post with an apology for the Freudian Slip and someone commented, “No apology needed. I wish he were dead too.” I replied to that comment that I do not wish Donald Trump dead, but wish him well and feel sorry for what he is facing in his post-presidency life. I stated that I would not want to trade places with him for all the tea in China, would the commenter? The commenter replied, “No. They certainly wouldn’t want to trade places with him either.” As Jesus said, “What good is it for a person to gain the whole world and to lose their soul?”


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