Posted 11:13 am Sunday, January 06, 2013
Send to Kindle
Getting off to the right start
By NELSON CLYDE
isitjustme@tylerpaper.com
As far as getting the year off to the right start, we should reflect on a couple of things that last year brought us, in my estimation, follies of the highest order. Not since Y2K has so much attention been diverted from where it belonged with the Mayan calendar debacle and the fiscal cliff.
isitjustme@tylerpaper.com
As far as getting the year off to the right start, we should reflect on a couple of things that last year brought us, in my estimation, follies of the highest order. Not since Y2K has so much attention been diverted from where it belonged with the Mayan calendar debacle and the fiscal cliff.
Why we give so much attention to these productions is a sad and silly commentary on our society and its condition. They both involve concepts about which we have no control — the end of the world and the ineffectiveness of our government.
With the Mayan thing it seems not many people worried too much about it or you would have seen evidence of people selling everything they owned and putting all the cash on black in Vegas which may have better odds and more integrity in a fair game than say, putting your money in the stock market.
What would any of us do if we knew the world would come to an end on a specific date? You would probably have to look for me in Florence or somewhere on the island of Bermuda.
I've long threatened some who would listen, that if I vanish, I would place my shingle under a thatch hut roof and blend frozen drinks and dispense those and whatever my patrons will consume.
The fiscal cliff really just confirmed our federal government has become better at making theater than the folks on Broadway.
The idea those people would let us fall over anything would imply they would have to go with us and thus not get re-elected. Perish the thought. They are much too self-serving to do something so silly.
For those who worried about the government getting its hands on their money — if it failed to do so this time, don't worry, it'll be back until it gets it all.
So stop fretting about the chase, it's a losing game and it has more tools and lawyers to get what it wants. Come to think of it, once we have withdrawn all our troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, the only thing we have left to terrorize us is our elected officials in D.C. Maybe the president didn't think through the withdrawal strategy adequately.
President Reagan famously said he would not negotiate with terrorists. Has anyone wondered what such an approach would yield if we did the same with our overbearing federal government?
What would any of us do if we knew the world would come to an end on a specific date? You would probably have to look for me in Florence or somewhere on the island of Bermuda.
I've long threatened some who would listen, that if I vanish, I would place my shingle under a thatch hut roof and blend frozen drinks and dispense those and whatever my patrons will consume.
The fiscal cliff really just confirmed our federal government has become better at making theater than the folks on Broadway.
The idea those people would let us fall over anything would imply they would have to go with us and thus not get re-elected. Perish the thought. They are much too self-serving to do something so silly.
For those who worried about the government getting its hands on their money — if it failed to do so this time, don't worry, it'll be back until it gets it all.
So stop fretting about the chase, it's a losing game and it has more tools and lawyers to get what it wants. Come to think of it, once we have withdrawn all our troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, the only thing we have left to terrorize us is our elected officials in D.C. Maybe the president didn't think through the withdrawal strategy adequately.
President Reagan famously said he would not negotiate with terrorists. Has anyone wondered what such an approach would yield if we did the same with our overbearing federal government?
What if we stopped taking the bait and tell them to go over the cliff without us — turn the sound off and go fishing or duck hunting instead? We could render them powerless with our clickers alone.
As for me, all of the hysteria caused me to arrive at what I believe is an appropriate theme for 2013. Rather than turning my focus to what I have to lose or more on the point, what I do not control, the only correct response to living the life to which I have chosen is to reflect on the tremendous blessings in my life.
Just when I fire up my iPad again to see what the Washington crowd has done, it occurs to me there is too much I have they cannot take — my faith, my friends, my family. The list goes on and on.
Sure we all have moments where we cannot see the forest for the trees, but at the end of the day we live in a free nation with more advantages than most inhabitants of the planet.
Last year my theme was to be in pursuit of my “A” game. It was a good year and many decisions were made based on whether they aligned with my theme.
This year is shorter and sweeter and I hope you will hold me accountable if I forget. You can join me if you like in viewing life this year through the lens of my theme.
As for me, all of the hysteria caused me to arrive at what I believe is an appropriate theme for 2013. Rather than turning my focus to what I have to lose or more on the point, what I do not control, the only correct response to living the life to which I have chosen is to reflect on the tremendous blessings in my life.
Just when I fire up my iPad again to see what the Washington crowd has done, it occurs to me there is too much I have they cannot take — my faith, my friends, my family. The list goes on and on.
Sure we all have moments where we cannot see the forest for the trees, but at the end of the day we live in a free nation with more advantages than most inhabitants of the planet.
Last year my theme was to be in pursuit of my “A” game. It was a good year and many decisions were made based on whether they aligned with my theme.
This year is shorter and sweeter and I hope you will hold me accountable if I forget. You can join me if you like in viewing life this year through the lens of my theme.
Gratitude.
The books chosen for the B.U.N.S. book club are so voluminous the administration has, upon executive review, chosen to defer the meeting from the originally selected date of Jan. 20 to Feb. 24.
This will allow all parties involved to relax and read the approximately 1,500 pages of material selected between The Last Lion (part 3 of the Winston Churchill biography) and At Home in Mitford.
My reach simply exceeded my grasp. Apologies to all.
The books chosen for the B.U.N.S. book club are so voluminous the administration has, upon executive review, chosen to defer the meeting from the originally selected date of Jan. 20 to Feb. 24.
This will allow all parties involved to relax and read the approximately 1,500 pages of material selected between The Last Lion (part 3 of the Winston Churchill biography) and At Home in Mitford.
My reach simply exceeded my grasp. Apologies to all.
