Bush Explains Medicare Drug Bill

[munk]

I wasted a number of years, alright.

You should feel pity on the slackers, though. They haven't learned life is for being and doing. They are disengaged. It may madden you to see their apparent indifference, but it is a kind of illness.

I once had a discussion with a man who sold tomato products to restaurants and food services. The product line was the best in the industry and well known. He did quite well for himself. His belief was that he was the best salesman for this product in the US. I contended lots of people could do his job. "Where are they? How come they aren't doing it?" He replied smugly.

CEO's and Rock Stars have this in common; they believe they are special and chosen- or earned their spots through talent and hard work.

I'm not saying this is not true in it's way. But I am saying on the Streets of Santa Cruz California in the 1970's I heard musicians every bit as good or better than Bob Dylan play.

My father worried about my generation.
"How many people do you think get to grow up and be Rock Stars?" He wanted to know. "How many openings do you think there are?"

And what makes anyone think the best win?


munk

 

[bwray]

Actually Cliff, I've heard historians become pretty excited by a President who is willing to take casualties.

For my 5oth, Bwray, I don't intend on doing a thing- black balloons? No.



munk

What a person does on his 50th birthday is pretty personal I guess and perhaps I should not have intruded. But you had mentioned your age a couple times and seemed to have some misgivings. So I took the liberty of suggesting an approach that had worked for me. Attitude is everything for most of life, but especially so in crossing such a milestone.

My circumstances were probably fairly unique and I needed to make a gesture that said I'm still here and have no intention of quitting. I had a bad accident on our local ski hill, followed by two surguries that both further aggravated the problem. I was stuck in a hospital bed in my living room that I could only leave for about 20 minutes a day. My wife divorced me and remarried in less than a year. Then she tried to turn my sons against me so they would accept her new husband as their father. I was afraid of losing my sons, losing my job, getting all wierd from the isolation, and growing long yellow fingernails like Howard Hughes.

Well, I kept my job by keeping records that showed each month I could stay out of bed 20 minutes longer than the preceeding month. In order to avoid being put on disability I had to prove I could return to the office within a year. Meanwhile, I could work at home over a modem. After a year I could stay up 3 hrs. a day and returned to my office to work out of a recliner. It took four more years to wean myself away from the recliner.

My sons, it turns out, were revolted by their mother's criticism of me; they moved out of her house, and came to live with me full time. This was my first experience with poetic justice, because I had never criticized my ex to her sons. They formed their own conclusions.

Anyway, I guess the whole point is that when I approached 50 I had a need, for personal and professional reasons, to change my image from invaiid back to vital human being. People tend to write you off when they only interact with you in a recliner for four years. Wheel chairs are more acceptable because people recognize them as indications of a disability, but a recliner just makes you look lazy. My 50 mile, 16.5 hour hike set the record straight and helped me regain some self esteem. I ultimately remarried and have had a great life ever since.

When my dad retired from the government a few years early, people would ask him,"But what are you going to do Wray?" He would fix them with his steel blue eyes and say "Nothin". That was Dad's way of saying "Whatever I damn well please if it's any of your business." He was true to himself and had a great retirement.:thumbup: