I’ll readily admit that I can be a Negative Nelly.
(OK, I begrudgingly admit it – true to form.)
A Debbie Downer.
“It’ll never work.”
“What will go wrong next?”
“We’re screwed.”
As Mr. Clear (great name, btw) points out, seeing the positive doesn’t involve putting on rose-colored glasses. It’s just – as Amy Krouse Rosenthal put it – paying attention to what you pay attention to.
“Good work can be good without being popular.” Amen to that, Brother Seth! In keeping with the music reference that Seth made, I know dozens of bands who have created brilliant music but never got popular. There’s the famous Brian Eno quote about the Velvet Underground:
“I was talking to Lou Reed the other day, and he said that the first Velvet Underground record sold only 30,000 copies in its first five years. Yet, that was an enormously important record for so many people. I think everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band!”
But the key part of Seth’s gospel passage is “begin by becoming comfortable with what good feels like to you.”
To YOU. Not anyone else. When it’s good, you’ll know it in your heart. And if you stay true to your heart (and gut) and keep doing the work, your good will get better.
Batman & Robin are blasé compared to the real Dynamic Duo.
It isn’t Batman & Robin, it’s Carol & Robin:
I met them eons ago in college. They were a couple of years younger than our gang, but they became our pseudo kid sisters… mainly because two of their friends actually were kid sisters of two guys in our gang. At a small school like Xavier, it wasn’t long until all of us knew all of them and their larger group of friends.
[I’m not sure if Carol’s in the photo above – someone’s giant hair may be blocking her – but this is their squad, for sure.]
They’re NOT two peas in a pod. More like yin and yang. Or sugar and spice. Or sugar and hot sauce. Carol hails from Indianapolis. Robin’s a Cleveland kid. Carol’s a gentle soul, and Robin’s brash and bawdy. But the alchemy that happens when they get together is nothing short of amazing. It’s also usually nothing but trouble — in the best way possible.
Every time they meet up – which is often – it’s like they’re 18 all over again. Robin instigates. Carol aids and abets in the shenanigans. Robin starts laughing. Carol starts laughing and can’t stop. Next thing you know, everyone is laughing.
Even though they live in different cities (they’re back in their hometowns), they are inseparable soul mates. (Just don’t tell Carol’s husband or Robin’s boyfriend… actually they both already know it.)
Best friends are never apart, maybe in distance but never in heart.” – Helen Keller
If you’ve found the Carol to your Robin, or the Robin to your Carol, consider yourself truly blessed. Even if you just know a Carol & Robin, you’re lucky. They bring joy to each other, obviously. You wouldn’t invest 40+ years into someone who brings you down. But the special bond they have radiates outward. Twin suns, brightening up our days. They bring joy to the world — especially the folks like us who are lucky enough to be in their orbit often.
By all accounts, the Iran “don’t call it a war” war has been a unmitigated disaster, an utter folly, a colossal mistake.
Oh wait, not by ALL accounts. There are some bank accounts who have rated it a rousing success, based on their totally coincidental investments in oil and S&P500 futures, just minutes before a Trump tweet last Monday hinting at an end to the war.
Hmm, who could’ve had such insider information? Perhaps the ED boys? (That’s Eric and Donald Jr.) They learned grifting and cheating and gaming the system from daddy, just like Donald did from Fred.
Trump’s approval rating is in the dumper, but here’s the only stat he really cares about.
Now the Pentagon – led by a man who thinks he’s the star of a Jerry Bruckheimer action movie, where the death and destruction are merely CGI – is asking for another $200 billion for the war. If approved, here’s what it’ll cost the average taxpayer, compared to other allocations.
Grocery prices – which the Orange Oligarch promised to bring down on Day 1 – are soaring. As are gas prices. Here’s our daily life in a nutshell:
And there’s another crisis looming – the AI bubble could easily burst and take the entire global economy down with it, thanks to Operation Epic Fury Failure. Check out this story from The Atlantic. Here’s a key excerpt:
These are dark days indeed. But there may be a glimmer of hope. And that glimmer is coming from the sun.
It’s my buddy Matt, his wife Danielle, and their kids Hannah and Donald.
Matt’s a great dude. We worked together for 14 years. Fellow Xavier alums. You won’t meet a more gregarious guy than Matt. He knows everyone, and is always quick to help folks connect. A true “glue guy” in the best sense.
He’s a giver too. When his wife Danielle was diagnosed with breast cancer a few years ago, he took it upon himself to spearhead our company’s involvement in the Ride Cincinnati event that raises funds for local cancer research, education, and care. Heck, he even rode a bike into one of our all-company meetings to drum up more riders and support.
A couple of years ago, he had nice things to say about our Ride ride (no, I didn’t stutter) and about me.
Right back at you, Matt!
Here’s the All-American family today:
Danielle fought the good fight. She was beating breast cancer. But then, a few months ago, the cancer had not only returned but had spread rapidly. She passed away last month. She was 49. So young. So unfair.
“Heartbreaking” doesn’t do it justice. To have been side by side with your life partner through the cancer battle (double mastectomy, chemo, radiation, dozens of doctors visits and tests…) and to hope and pray that maybe you were one of the lucky ones… only to have the cancer come back with a vengeance, and have your whole life upended in the blink of an eye.
And now Matt’s a single parent, raising two young kids. The math doesn’t work nearly as well – not just financially, but also from a practical standpoint. Soccer, baseball, theater, whatever… one person can’t be in two places at the same time. We take “watching the kids” for granted when we have a spouse. When that partner passes away, it creates an enormous void, across the board. Emotionally. Mentally. Physically. Practically. And yes, financially. Friends of Matt have set up a GoFundMe for the puzzle that will always have a piece missing.
“If you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you”
My dad faced that same void. Four kids under age 7, and a wife passing away from leukemia at the age of 33. So young. So unfair.
I don’t think my dad ever really recovered. How can you? But I’ll do my best to make sure that Matt, the gregarious guy I know and love, has my support. Not just this month, but ongoing. It’ll take a lot of love and support. Which can be as simple as giving one of his kids a ride to practice.
We can’t fill the void, but I hope we can make it slightly less scary.
Kevin Sullivan on They greed. You bleed.: “love the smash mouth football D, keep it going !” Mar 31, 10:17
Kevin Sullivan on War… why? And now what?: “I read your post Damian and I like it very much. As we move from a Saturday morning headline of…” Mar 3, 09:22
Damian on Smartphones are making us dumb.: “Thanks for (not) reading the post, Kevin. And thanks for mentioning several other formats (article, essay, poem) that can train…” Feb 23, 19:55
Kevin on Smartphones are making us dumb.: “You know I didn’t read your post because I don’t need to. The lack of reading of all generations reveals…” Feb 23, 10:32
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