Help When Needed

In the past couple of days I have been unintentionally counselling students to "trust themselves" and their own thinking about their future, rather than just relying on their parents to "make decisions for them."  I am talking about students, some extraordinarily talented some not, who silently abrogate their own control over their lives and let "Mommy and Daddy" think for them.

This may apply to career choice (money first), or college choice if they transfer (get the cheapest education possible), personal choice (marry the first guy that seems interested in you), or every other kind of choice!  Why is it that so many of our 20 plus year old's are afraid to make decisions or to live their live on their own.

What are they afraid of? Is this an American problem because of "fear of failure" and "helicopter parents extended throughout our class system" (it used to extend just through the rich and privileged)?

What will be the final result of multitudes of young Americans following such weak and unsure advice? Stay tuned.  

Exams

There are daily tests in people's lives: this report due, that payment needing to be made, that drop-off happening "by the end of the week."  All kinds of little tests, and processes, and endpoints.

And we endure them all. Some of us make too much of them -- and don't allow ourselves to do well.
Others resist the pressure, don't really think about what needs to be done, and fail.

Which are you? Are you a success, a last-minute success (procrastinator), a partial success (I'll get that finished by next Tuesday), a failure, a partial failure (I just didn't have time)?

How do you cope with deadlines, endpoints, finishes, etc? How do you?

When the Doves Cry...

Prince was/is an amazing artist! No matter that he has died -- no matter that there will probably be "drugs" in his system (via the autopsy) -- no matter that he was a "good" person in spite of his lifestyle, his profession, his desire to be unique, his temperament!

His ideas live on; his music will live forever; his influence is undeniable to anyone who can see. Music soothes us all to different degrees. Prince brings out the "artist" in all of us. He is the Shakespeare of rock musicians.  

Prince is Now Gone -- But Not the Music

When a celebrity passes -- the grief is public!  Everyone remembers and cherishes their own link to the one passing -- the music, a song, an event, a memory.

Prince was the kind of iconoclastic icon that defied our sense of him.  His special music mix involved many genres, styles, moments, and especially lyrics -- that will live on in our heads til we pass. That is what "art" does for all of us. It extends our joys. It consummates and completes our own small moments.

Rest in Peace --- Prince. We will play your music and live it -- for as long as we are alive.

Again?

It's that time of year!  Please don't make me do my speech on Tuesday -- I promise I will be ready on Thursday, honest (not!).  And there it is.  Man's inability to stay focused, disciplined, complete the task, and move on to "bigger and better." Instead I will fight for my "right" to be a sluggard. 

Why are students the way they are? Why are workers the way they are?  Why are college students the way they are? Why, why, why?

As a student I was always eager to get it done; to get it over with; to complete the task -- succeed -- and move on! What has happened to American students, American education, America in general.

Don't ask Trump.  

Crazytime

This Presidential Election: this time in America, this time in world history, this time in the twilight of the extinction of humankind (think "global warming"), this time is racist history, this time in chauvinism, this time in social media overload, this time in cybercrime, this time in cyberbullying, this time in religious zealotry, this time in religious pandering, this time in faith lapses, this time in blessed capitalism (facetious, of course), this time in human neglect, this time in world decay, this time in technological miracles (think "nano" and/or "genomic"), this time in human sadness (think "refugees," war, and human degradation of human life), this time in life, this time in despair, this time albeit too briefly of hope, this time in memories (think the "happy" ones only), this time in time ------ is Crazytime!!!

Donald Trump Should Not Be President

The Republicans are being "hoodwinked" by a second-rate celebrity salesman. They are "falling in line" with a racist, misogynist xenophobe who believes only in the drivel that spews out of his brain.

He has fooled all the disgruntled Americans who need to have someone to blame for current problems: economic, educational, job-oriented, family, drug-related, etc. and so they blame who HE blames: the Chinese, the Mexicans, the criminals, the immigrants, etc. Stupidity reigns; and Donald Trump is the King with no clothes. Take a look -- and vote elsewhere!

New York, New York

It is perhaps one of my favorite places in the world. Why? The bustle, the energy, the plays, the restaurants, the people, the creative energy, the "life" teeming everywhere.  It is, for many, the center of the universe; and for others, the only center they will ever know. Short trips to Baltimore, or Washington DC, or Chicago -- ancillary, tourism, "just visiting." 


Today, April 19th or 2016, it is also the center of the political "universe" in the USA -- the biggest primary to date -- determining the fate of  "Bernie," Hillary, and the "Donald." 

Trump -- America's Worst Example

Americans can be many things: genuine, empathic people, misogynists, racists, extremists, white power fanatics, KKKer's, xenophobes, and every kind of other "crazy" you could imagine.

And Donald Trump is the worst of us. He is a pig; a racist; a snarky and ridiculous blowhard, an "ugly" American in the worst possible sense of that term, a jerk, a moron, and a candidate for President of the United States. He could even "win" that Presidency if Americans don't wake up and listen to their better angels.

We are "in trouble" if Trump is able to command the Republican convention and scare that party into nominating him -- so that he can lie, deceive and obfuscate his way to the Presidency. Beware all!

Unbridled Youth

Students often don't learn enough about discipline, and personal responsibility -- until it's too late.  Until the grades are posted and there is nothing that can be done about them. Until the two weeks of missed classes has turned into four -- and they have been removed from the class.

Unless a student from high school learns the lessons of personal responsibility -- she or he can never succeed in college. Unbridled doesn't mean "free" -- every gambol must be paid for.

Unflappable

As I watch my many students maneuver around the remaining assignments from all their classes this term, I am struck by the unflappable though misguided thinking that underpins their approaches. They just don't "sound" capable when they talk about "all they have to do" in "how little time they have left."

It is the way of all students, the way of all procrastinators, the way of all survivors. Not many of my students actually detail how they will really "overachieve" and "exceed even their own expectations" -- instead their words are related to "survival," "hope," and "please God....let me pass" kind of thinking.

One does wonder how Aristotle's peripatetic "Academy" students dodged their assignments, complete with whining narrative, until the last possible conversation.  

The Discomfiture of Age

I can anticipate the time --- perhaps not too long from this date --- when just dragging oneself out of bed will be a chore almost too difficult to take on.  That day will feature: tiredness, aches and pains, and a general malaise perhaps related to having no fixed plans, no goals, no focus.

Now mind you, I am not anticipating such times with any hint of acceptance or pleasure. I am just acknowledging what I have seen in others, and what I anticipate in everyone at some time in their own journey. It is not a "sin" to just feel worn out, or used up, or perhaps just unmotivated. It is however a sincere reality in all those who have reached that time -- when life is more implausible than enjoyable.

Rain, Finally

So, it's raining today.  The gentle kind of warm spring rain that we get in Savannah -- no big storms, just steady light rain. It's going to be warm as well -- in the 70's --- no wind to speak of: a pretty spring day.

But for students it's a day to slough off and stay in bed; to refuse to think; to stop their focus and just rest...again.

After all --- it's raining.

Monday Equals Tired

Don't exactly know why it is -- the weekend was not overly bustling -- but Monday mornings (and afternoons) are like "death walking." Students drag themselves around -- and it takes every ounce of energy to assure their involvement in the "education process."

Of course the weather is a bit of a factor -- even though it is sunny it is cool and almost uncomfortable outside at night.  And the pollen.  Oh, the pollen --- coats everything and rides the wind everywhere: including onto every part of one's body if one ventures outside at all. And the workload at the end of the day is immense. Almost too much. Almost.  

End Times

The end of a semester to me always carries with it the distinctive feeling of the "end times." The wrath of God (grades) descend on the Faithful (unfaithful students) and show them that their responsibilities overcame them (they didn't do their work) and now they are doomed to hard time in limbo (studying for exams).

It also means some students will be transferring to four-year schools; others will be dropping out to earn more money (to take more classes in the future); and some students will be giving up entirely (they don't see the merit in more education no matter what people say; they consider themselves "complete" just as they are -- living 'da life).

The End Times are a biblical story -- but they are repeated each term.

America Will Be Okay !

There is a "shaking out" period going on in American politics.  America is hearing about "revolution" from the Democrats -- but they have come to understand that the "revolution" would not kill the essence of what America truly is. And we have a choice -- fast (impossible) or slow (likely).

We have also witnessed our "dark side." We have seen the unabated racism, the hatred of "color,"  the veiled-but-not-too veiled hatred of women and equality, the fear of strangers and new ideas, the moronic anger at nothing in particular except some of our own failures. We haven't gotten a raise -- blame someone. We haven't been rewarded with a new position -- blame someone else. We haven't achieved all we wanted to achieve -- blame everyone! And Trump and Cruz are our mouthpieces!

In spite of it all -- we will triumph. We will still have the "dark side" and it still will be a threat to normalcy. But the best candidate will win -- and America will win. Because it must.

Wisconsin and Bernie

There is such a things as "Quixotic stupidity" -- that unfortunately is Bernie's revolution.  It is true that there is a disparity in wealth distribution in America -- and something needs to be done. But we cannot simply talk about it and then "declare a Socialist state" and pass the money around.

We are a Capitalist economic system -- the "bottom line" is everything in America, including in government. And the bottom line in government is possibility -- the possibility of change. How does "change" happen in America -- legislation yes, but in slow increments not in "revolution." The "delusions" that are owned by Bernie Backers are legion -- "just elect Bernie and 'watch things change?'" Yikes. How naive can one be?

The corporations and wealthy 1% will just "give over" their money to help the poor and the disadvantaged? In what universe?

Finances

"Finances" don't just mean "money." They also include the other staples: time, energy, interest (as in "concern"), and a dozen other things.

Finances are a way of being afraid. I am not afraid.

Beauty Girl

I knew a woman once, who was so beautiful she was incomparable. She was unique -- a flower unto her own reflection. A smiling and giving woman who would not allow her eyes to look away, who would not allow her voice to gain an edge of anger, who would not persist in being anti ---- anything!

I knew this woman very, very well. So well that in my dream I married her. And lived a life of seeming happiness -- amidst the roses, and the rain; the sun, and the pain. I married her --- and then she was called away. She grew too hurt to continue; and then she even died, in my dream.

And I was at fault. Some way -- I was at fault. She died; and I was at fault. Or so the dream goes.

There are women now just as beautiful as she was then -- but I am no longer able to dream. I died during that last dream you see.

On Wisconsin, On Wisconsin!

"...Grand old Badger State..." Tomorrow, April 5th is an important day in contemporary Wisconsin history. It is the day of the 2016 Primary election in both the Democratic and the Republican parties.

The Primary in Wisconsin, if I remember correctly, allows all voters who are Independent (or claim to be for this election) can "cross over" to vote for either side. I only hope that the "smart stuff" I know to be part of the Wisconsin "idea" holds true and rejects Trump, and Cruz, and yes, even Bernie Sanders. I like the "Bern" but he cannot govern as a Socialist, no matter how Progressive his young followers would like to see him act.

There are "few" if any "Progressives" in the 2016 Congress and that is not going to change before 2017. So, if Bernie "wins" we all lose. No Progressive "revolution," more rampant obstructionism (now perhaps from both parties) and the "end" of new thinking about change.

We need "change" obviously -- but it has to be directional, and incremental, and focused. Congress has to first relearn how to "play nice" before it can actually solve our many, many problems. We need Hillary as President -- no matter how much some individuals may dislike her (because of Bill? because she is smart? because she is strong?).

Savannah Sass

What is a typical "Savannah Girl" like -- well, I can sure tell you a lot about this particular query.  Using my "surrogate daughter" as a partial example I can say that she is: confident but internally panicked; flirtatious to a strong degree yet apparently totally oblivious to her own needs; smart but achingly dumb about some things; willing to be fearless, but ridiculously afraid to fail; beautiful, but aware of every physical flaw she possesses!

I have seen so many of these "Savannah-born" women in my life that I have become able to pick them out from any crowd, anywhere, anytime! She is the woman in the bar smoking the small cigar, wearing the tight jeans, leading the strongest conversations, and most likely to go home late -- and probably alone.  She is "loyal" to a fault, and to a guy with many, many faults!  She goes at existence like it was a 2-lb steak, and comes away with her hunger only partially satisfied. She is a creature of pure whimsey, and purer deliberation. She is the classic description: "a beautiful girl with a dirty face."