House flies, hornets, spiders, ants and cockroaches can all be evident this time of year. They truly earn their nickname. I forgot to include those invisible pests that twirl around in your head. We all get bugged by something or someone, as human nature can produce a secondary crop each year that requires no watering. Why is it important to talk about nagging topics that creep into our daily lives. You only get change if you voice your opinion on why these issues are not healthy. Experiencing close to three generations I have seen some changes that are bewildering. I appreciate the opportunity to get my bugs off my noggin plate and you can certainly comment with your thoughts or your own list.
I will elaborate on three but by no means are these listed in order of importance.
- Work Ethic. Work ethic continues to baffle me as I personally shop for household goods and also hearing numerous stories from friends and relatives. Don’t take me wrong, there are plenty of diligent, responsible and hard-working people out there but there seems to be a very lacklustered group of employees that are more interested in their phone or getting the next job that they barely go through the motions of meeting their job obligations. Please explain to me the sound reasoning for why this is happening. Are employers resigning to the fact that the job pool is slim pickings so they have to accept inferior labor? A published survey of highly regarded workers should be shared to all potential new hires on what it takes to be successful and happy at your job. I suspect the common denominator has something to do with how these conscientious employees were raised. Ask an industrious person who has put in their 40 hours or more a week how they feel when they are the customer and the person on the other side of the counter could care less.
- Litter. What happened to not only respecting your own property but doing our part to keeping this country a beautiful place. I hear many weak excuses. New citizens haven’t adjusted yet to our laws or how about the real beauty, leaving loose trash / papers in an open truck bed or shopping cart is totally acceptable. I forgot, with electives being tossed out of many schools, wind or the force of air didn’t make the education cut.
- NCAA Division I College Sports. University Presidents that hide behind their Athletic Director’s trash can and fail miserably in articulating that our academics are more important than money. This huge outlay of funds comes from television networks and other media revenue that gets distributed to the higher-ranking athletic conferences and their schools. Ever since June of 2021 when the NCAA adopted an interim policy enabling athletes to earn money from third party endorsements, the highly coveted full ride college scholarship enabling working class families to have a debt free college education for their child is a yawner. Dollars being contributed by alumni, university donors and fans make up the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) fund to buy the top athletes particularly in football and basketball, where the largest tv ratings sit. (The Los Angeles Dodgers are nervous that they will lose their U.S. title as spending the most money to buy a championship team) These sought after players can change schools each year via the portal depending on the most attractive offer. As these professionals, let us be honest, rotate schools, they are thankful their jersey tells them who they are playing for this year. What happened to the saying chanted by universities for decades, “the degree is most important.” I believe many old school college graduates think the NCAA should change the railroad property on Monopoly to B & S Railroad.
Seven others complete my list with articles specifically written about a number of them:
Hate generated by a few and blown out of proportion by our mainstream media
Politicians that are not true patriots and underhandedly approve or simply ignore fraud
When our military is overlooked for their courageous work in defending our freedom
Vehicles that continually float over the center line. Apparently, I missed the memo that the center line / double yellow line{s) are Now, Just a Recommendation, to where on the road you cannot touch or cross.
The sky rocketing cost of entertainment
Passwords for everything
AI – There are genuine upsides to this technology but there should be much concern about what it does to the concept of creative thinking and how will teachers deal with this touch of a button student resource.
One of those pesky bugs was swirling in the back of my brain saying you really are sounding whiny even though that is not your point. Then, what appears from above the clouds to add more clarity, but a movie we caught, “The Last Word” with Shirley MacLaine. A thought-provoking film on an aged woman, Harriet Lauler, a successful businesswoman, disliked by so many with her unfiltered interaction style. Her main objective for those that came in close contact with her was simply for people to get the most out of themselves. Harriet in her own convoluted but very effective way was stimulating emotion and hoping for personal growth.
If you check out on the web “Quotes- The Last Word (2017)- IMDb,” here are two exchanges from Harriet:
“You don’t make mistakes. Mistakes make you. Mistakes make you smarter. They make you stronger, and they make you more self-reliant.”
“Please don’t have a nice day. Have a day that matters. Have a day that’s true. Have a day that’s direct. Have a day that’s honest. A nice day? Mm-mmm, you’ll be miserable. Have a day that means something.”
“The Last Word” brought to light what I think many of us yearn for and that is just, what can we do to improve the quality of life. That attitude got me motivated to walk the walk too picking up some additional litter at my part time job. Such a small action step but it gave me an extra boost. There are so many invigorating examples of conscientious folks doing so much more, from volunteers helping the handicapped to medical workers who go the extra mile in comforting patients. I am glad I saw that movie as it propelled me to do something more than type. The Good Book has an inspiring verse on the topic.
Colossians 3:23
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”
Adding to those precious words let us end on a high with a stunning photo that my wife took above the clouds flying home at sunset this Spring.
