• To have or have not.

    It’s not like I’ve got a whole lot of choice. I’m not a disciple of “The American Dream.” I will acknowledge that people have some influence over their affluence, but I am a firm believer that dumb luck plays a role for some people. I believe that I may perhaps have had some choice, but I made it. Many people have a great drive to achieve monetary success and don’t. Don’t tell me that they didn’t try hard enough. Don’t tell me they all weren’t smart enough. In my case, I never cared to try, but that’s another story, one that I probably won’t tell. Most of the time I’m happy with what I have, but occasionally I lust after what I don’t. I don’t go looking for those things, but sometimes they are thrust in front of me. Most of the time I easily come back to my contented, satiated state. Today, for reasons I don’t wish to specify, I’m having a little more trouble. It certainly feels better believing that I don’t have a choice.

  • Girth.

    I have the impression that people see me as a thin person. Until about three years ago I shared this image of myself. It was always something I took for granted. Then I discovered my midsection. It is the region between your rib cage and your hip bones. Ideally, I would not have a midsection, not that you would notice anyway. For many years I didn’t. Then one day I woke up to the fact that there was some convexity where there used to be concavity. Most people would say that I’m still not overweight (at least I hope so), but I’ve noticed and I don’t like it. I’m not losing any sleep over it though.

  • David vs Goliath.

    A little while ago I was siting with a group of people when the topic of Apple computers came up. One of the folks in the group voices his disdain of all things Apple, and pledges his allegiance to the evil empire, by muttering two syllables in a sarcastic tone “Apple!?!” Another member of the group suggests that there may be more disciples of the Apple faith in the crowd and suggests that everyone play nice. The conversation ends there, but not my scorn. Despite what people may say, most people like the favorite, the powerful. Sure, they like an underdog, but only when it wins. But then, it’s not the underdog anymore if it wins is it? Where are all of the people saying how much they admired the Buffalo Bills of the early 90’s; or the New England Patriots when they lost to the Chicago Bears or the Green Bay Packers? Sure they loved the Patriots when the beat the Rams as a big underdog, but when they lost as big underdogs they just sucked. The way I see it, rooting for Microsoft is the same thing. We wanted the Patriots to get hammered by the Bears. We laughed at the Bills loosing four in a row. The romans never wanted the Christians to survive the lions. In the same way, picking Microsoft is safe. We bask in the glow of a perceived shared glory, but in the end the joke’s on us.