A fair time ago, The Last Lecture was recommended to me by someone whose opinion I respect.
For those that have let the memories slip away, Randy Pausch was a Professor at Carnegie Mellon who was diagnosed with terminal cancer at the age of 46. In 2007, he gave a “last lecture” that got all kinds of attention and subsequently expanded upon it in best-selling book form. He died in 2008.
Back to me: I sure took my sweet time getting around to reading it. I really didn’t want to read it. We all have our own unique make-up, quirks, and traits. For better or for worse, I operate under the idea that the masses are always wrong. So as everybody was reading The Last Lecture, then by my standards, it was not for me.
As Mark Twain said, “When you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”
But in all due fairness, the masses are not always wrong. And they certainly weren’t wrong in their embrace of Randy Pausch’s memoir.
I’d like to say that I enjoyed reading it, and to a degree I did, but my overall take on it was not too dissimilar from my post funeral home introspection…in that having paid my last respects to the deceased and my sympathy to the family, I realize that the vast majority of the things that I have to do and deal with that seem to really matter, really do not matter all that much. I do my best to not get caught up in petty details, but I would be misleading if I said that I don’t get caught up in the petty details.
Professor Pausch’s book goes a long way in pointing out what is important and what is not so important. He does not get deeply philosophical. He certainly does not say anything that has not been said before. His take is refreshingly simple and straight forward. I would like to think that it is naturally intuitive, but even if that is the case, it never hurts to have meaningful things pointed out.
Randy Pausch
Occam’s razor dictates that the simplest explanation is the best explanation.
In fact, Pausch’s quote “We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand” should make Occam proud. I think, for ourselves and more so for our own understanding of the people around us, we would be well advised to embrace this principle.
My summary: It is a short, easy read that offers valuable insights – well worth the time I spent on it.
In closing, my too late thanks to Randy Pausch for taking the time during your last days to express your thoughts. I wish you were amongst us longer.
Recently, a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll found that 84% of Americans do not think that Congress has done enough to create jobs.
I’m reminded of:
“There’s no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you” – Will Rogers
But this is no laughing matter.
I would submit that if Congress had anything to do with jobs, it took them away from the working people in order to bail out their rich friends. That’s right, I said it.
Here’s how I see it: The relationship of business and government is like that of a sports game. Business is represented by the players on the field. The referee of the game is government. The problem is that government is not content to just play the role of referee – it also plays in the game itself. Sometimes it plays for one team, sometimes it plays for the other team, and often times it plays for both teams. And no matter how well intentioned, if you play in the game, you cannot be truly unbiased as a referee.
The President (as the Executive Branch) has a duty to regulate national commerce and the Congress (as the Legislative Branch) has an oversight duty to see that the Executive Branch is doing its job.
Had the government done its job of enforcing its own regulations, this economic mess that we are in may not even have happened, or at the least, been substantially minimized. Government officials should be sued for gross negligence.
Do you see the sick spin in all of this? Government didn’t do its job in the first place and then it is acting like it is coming to the rescue. And Americans are obviously buying into it. Yeah Government!
For me, it’s like being stuck inside of a Woody Allen movie…
Time to bring out the ”those that don’t learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them” line.
Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friedman detailed how the American government was complicit in the Great Depression and further went on to show how through its actions and inactions, the American government worsened and prolonged the Great Depression.
But again with the spin, who got blamed? Evil Unbridled Capitalism, of course.
However, there is nothing wrong with American business – there never has been. In reality, American business is the most powerful economic engine in recorded history. Our lifestyle and standing in the world prove that.
Business creates wealth. Government cannot create wealth – all it can do is take away wealth from one and transfer it to another.
“A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul” – George Bernard Shaw
And it is taking a lot away from a lot of folks.
As citizens, we are forced to buy from the government store. Expensive prices and poor product are what we get in return for our hard earned money. On the other hand, we do make some pretty, pretty good bombs and weapons…
How about we stop giving in to the temptation of all pervasive government? We must instead require government to be a good, responsible servant, within its defined role.
So I would suggest that government get out of business and return to its Constitutional duties before the American Dream becomes something that our kids learn about in history class.
And if you vote for the same old, same old politicians who promise you the same old, same old things, you will continue to get the same old, same old.
Let me tell you a little story about a couple of people – one famous, one not. This true story is centered in Dresden, Germany. It’s OK if you don’t know of Dresden or its history. I only know of it coincidentally and accidentally. However, the way that I do know of it is pretty powerful. And it bears telling.
It has been said that life is the weaving of thread into a tapestry. This is my very small thread of that tapestry.
The Characters:
Dresden – Located on both banks of the Elbe River, it is situated in mid-eastern Germany, near the Czech border. It is a beautiful German city with historical importance as the Capital of Saxony. Dresden is known, amongst other things, for the quality of the fine china that it crafts.
Kurt Vonnegut – Renowned American author born into a family of German immigrants.
Marianne – Born in Germany, but now a long time American.
Frankly Francis – Curious social observer and commentator.
The Story:
Act One – World War II
Dresden is fortunate, as a German city, in that it has very limited, if any, military value. It is considered a “safe” city.
Kurt Vonnegut, like so many young men of his day, is a private in the U.S. Army. Because of his heritage, he could be shooting at his own family and they could be shooting back at him. War can be like that.
Marianne could have been any teenage girl anywhere at anytime, but she happened to be in Germany when the Germans were about to lose the war.
Vonnegut is taken prisoner by the Germans and is held in Dresden.
Marianne, being as young as she is, is relatively oblivious to understanding what is happening all around her. What is crystal clear is that she must travel and find her way to the advancing Americans. At all costs she has to avoid the advancing Russians.
Dresden is an easy target for Allied bombing. The British are really pissed that the Germans have bombed their old city of Coventry virtually out of existence. Plans are made and set in motion.
Marianne’s mother is apparently skilled at hiding her teenage daughter from the men. Nonetheless, Marianne, to this day, cannot forget the cries of the women being raped by the soldiers. Can you imagine living through that? You see, the Russians felt that they had been treated terribly by the Germans and now it is their turn to inflict a little treatment of their own.
Dresden is Fire Bombed shortly before the end of WWII. Historical reports estimated deaths in the range of 150,000 to 250,000, which would be more than those directly killed by the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. A recent report has substantially lowered the estimates to no more than 25,000 deaths. Whatever the actual total, it was a horrendous, apocalyptic event. 13 square miles of city were leveled.
Kurt Vonnegut survives the Fire Bombing of Dresden underground, in a meat storage locker. Can you imagine living through that? He later uses that address as the title to his book, “Slaughterhouse Five.”
Act Two – After the War
Marianne makes her way to America. She becomes close with my family. I think of her as family.
Frankly Francis, becoming sentient, rabidly reads everything Vonnegut writes. Frankly Francis concurs with John Stewart, who would later say, “Kurt Vonnegut made growing up bearable.”
Marianne and Frankly Francis are together at a birthday dinner for Maria, sister of Frankly Francis.
Frankly Francis, never one to waste an opportunity to mention that he had lunch with Kurt Vonnegut, talks of that meeting and Vonnegut’s past, including his having survived the Fire Bombing of Dresden.
Marianne, never one to waste a word, says simply and succinctly that she passed through Dresden on the day it was Fire Bombed and watched the destruction from just outside of town.
THUD!
Frankly Francis has made a loud sound by falling off of his chair.
Dots are connecting! What are the odds that this little thread would come into direct contact with two others who lived through an event of that magnitude?
Kurt Vonnegut and Marianne were within miles of each other on that day that so many died. Both were in very adverse, but dramatically different circumstances. Both hoped for something better to come. Both were able to move forward, but both were never the same.
Have more than thou showest, speak less than thou knowest – Shakespeare
Fortune favors the prepared mind – Louis Pasteur
There are those who would say that the liberation of humanity, the freedom of man and mind, is nothing but a dream. They are right. It is the American dream – Archibald McLeish
There are no shortcuts to any place worth going – Beverly Sills
The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do – Thomas Jefferson
You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear – Ambrose Redmoon
The real measure of our wealth is how much we’d be worth if we lost all our money – John Henry Jowett
We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run – Roy Amara
Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be – Abraham Lincoln
The good people sleep much better at night than the bad people. Of course, the bad people enjoy the waking hours much more – Woody Allen
Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it – P.J. O’Rourke
If you’re going through hell, keep going – Winston Churchill
In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable – Dwight D. Eisenhower
Laughing at our mistakes can lengthen our own life. Laughing at someone else’s can shorten it – Cullen Hightower
A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul – George Bernard Shaw
Communism doesn’t work because people like to own stuff – Frank Zappa
For all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, “It might have been”-John Greenleaf Whittier
I used to think that the brain was the most wonderful organ in my body. Then I realized who was telling me this – Emo Phillips
A synonym is a word you use when you can’t spell the word you first thought of – Burt Bacharach
Try to learn something about everything and everything about something – Thomas H. Huxley
Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved – William Jennings Bryan
Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life is made of – Benjamin Franklin
When your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt – Henry J. Kaiser
If at first you don’t succeed, before you try again, stop to figure out what you did wrong – Leo Rosten
The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget – Thomas Szasz
Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend – Theophrastus
Mistakes are a part of being human. Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way. Unless it’s a fatal mistake, which, at least, others can learn from – Al Franken
It is always wise to look ahead, but difficult to look further than you can see – Winston Churchill
I watched only a small portion of President Obama’s State of the Union Address.
It was as if I had a socially allergic reaction to all of the camaraderie amongst the “politicos” in the pre-address portion. Apparently, the Club of the Nobility had assembled. They looked rather pleased with themselves. A veritable wing-ding on the Hill.
You see, I just don’t get that kind of behavior, especially in these times.
I’m more interested in seeing a serious, somber understanding that they have real obligations to the people they represent kind of attitude amongst the gang at the political soiree.
Very early on in the Address, the President got a big hearty laugh from everyone when he mentioned the politics of the bail-out. Everyone had a smile on their face, happiness throughout the room. Now that’s bi-partisanship! That was it for me…all done.
Same Old, Same Old
There are 535 elected federal officials who legislate what happens in this country. What we are facing, in any regard, cannot happen without their blessing or at worst, their lack of action. And it seems to me that they need to do a much better job.
On the other hand, the apathy of the American people is a wonder in itself. So, if I think that through…So, maybe they don’t really need to do a better job…And, they are bright enough to understand that…And – Hey, wait a minute…
Obama is politically positioning himself to have two terms of office and use the Machiavellian technique of handing out good in bits over time.
Here’s my thought:
When government does something it will be half as good at twice the price.
Even better, here’s a thought from C.S. Lewis:
“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. “
But don’t blame government. Something is what something is. Government is government. It’s just the way that it is. The Founding Fathers knew that and did their best to contain that beast. So if we do need blame – the comfortably numb, the people get my vote.
Look, I’m not getting any younger. I do not want my descendents to look back upon me and say that I was part of the generation that gave America away. I have to believe that you don’t want that to be said of you either.
I really enjoy reading Michener. And fortunately for me, he wrote a lot of books. I have historically travelled through time to Alaska, Spain, Poland, Texas, Hawaii, Africa, The Caribbean, Chesapeake Bay, Colorado, Mexico, and so forth.
Not too long ago I stumbled upon “Caravans” – a book centered in Afghanistan, written in the early 1960’s. Funny how the more things change, the more they stay the same. Michener could have published it today with minimal updating if he were still alive. And the foregoing is more than a subtle hint to remember the lessons of history. But I digress…
Anyways, that led me into the abyss of my library to look for other Michener gems yet to be read. Low and behold, “The Source” was still waiting for me. Published in 1965, the story alternates between the histories of the initial inhabitants of the land that is now Israel to the modern dynamics of building a state in a hostile place.
Jewish history is primarily delved into, but the Arabs, Romans, Greeks and Europeans get their share of attention. Along with Baal, the Greek and Roman Gods are profiled, but the main focus in this regard is upon the Creator that the Jews do not refer to by name.
Let me say that I am pleased that I was not placed in direct lineage of God’s Chosen People. I do not think I am worthy. And even if I am, I much prefer not to have that target placed upon me by the other dwellers of planet Earth. I’ve got enough problems.
For the record, I do feel a very deep affinity with and respect for the Jewish People.
As usual when reading Michener, I found it interesting and enjoyably educational. He does have a tendency to write at length, but when you have a big topic, what choice do you have? There are other authors on my “must read” list, but I am looking forward to perhaps finding other books by Michener that I have not had the pleasure of reading yet.
Oh, I should mention that it was Michener who sparked my determined interest in running the bulls – something that I look forward to doing before this is all over, whatever this is.
I’m thinking that if I were a racist, these would still be some pretty good days. And from the Emancipation Proclamation forward, here’s how I reach that conclusion:
Following the Civil War, I would terrorize newly freed slaves – they would know that nothing really changed and if indeed it had, that they were going to suffer for it. There would be no practical equality regardless of what the U.S. Constitution said.
I would do my best to prevent interference from the federal and state governments.
Making voting registration difficult, if not impossible, through every conceivable legal or illegal means, I would minimize representation and participation in government.
Of course Segregation would be one of my most effective tools. Through the philosophy of “Separate, but Equal” I could ensure that things would certainly be separate, but just as certainly not equal.
I would make a common practice of community lynchings. It would send a strong message. Milder forms of torture and humiliation would be even more routinely dished out.
Of course there would be losses along the way, as Adolph Hitler found out at the Munich Olympics when Jesse Owens made a statement. The sports world followed with openness that could not have been expected.
Racism is remarkably strong and can take many turns. When the “form” loses its direct appeal because of greater understanding and tolerance, the next thing is to hit the “substance” even harder. When the foregoing started producing diminishing returns, I’d turn it up a notch and start playing the really big cards…
I’d establish a “White Man’s Burden” program and give it a well meaning title, such as “The War on Poverty” – a political/socialist system to eliminate the poor in America. Of course it wouldn’t work because I never intended it to work. What I intended was to keep people in their place.
Welfare & social programs would be designed to encourage the break-up of the nuclear family and promote soaring birth rates, thus lowering traditional community values. And the programs would provide just enough to reduce the advantages of becoming employed.
Applying the death penalty disproportionally would be a useful tool.
To put the icing on the proverbial cake, I would next create a “War on Drugs.” This would drive the street value of drugs higher and create a more lucrative market in the inner-cities. That would produce a lot of violence – they’d be killing each other in their own neighborhoods.
In an effort to avoid equal opportunity at all costs, a program like “Affirmative Action” could be used to place less qualified people into jobs. That would further cause racial tensions to increase and be a superb cover for the continuing underlying lack of equality.
It goes without saying that the schools that “they” would go to would be grossly inferior.
Yeah, this would still be a good time to be a racist.
But, I am not a racist. I am big on equal opportunity. And I think that we will eventually get there…just wish that it would not take so long.
In closing, the words Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. -
Darkness cannot drive out darkness;
only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate;
only love can do that.
Hate multiplies hate,
violence multiplies violence,
and toughness multiplies toughness
in a descending spiral of destruction…
The chain reaction of evil -
hate begetting hate,
wars producing more wars -
must be broken,
or we shall be plunged
into the dark abyss
of annihilation.
How can the Holidays be complete without experiencing The Trans-Siberian Orchestra?
For reasons of obvious bias and lack of neutrality, I must state that I have known Trans-Siberian Orchestra Co-Founder and Musical Director, Bob Kinkel, since childhood. We have never been close to BFF and in many ways are very different, but we have enjoyed performing together back in the days . Yet, our mutual interests make knowing Bob that much more special to me. As I am, needless to say, rather proud of him, I look forward to profiling Bob in a future post.
TSO in concert is Spectacular Spectacular! The combination of so many musicians, the musical arrangements, lighting & pyrotechnic effects, and choreography make for an intense experience.
Each season, the performance (in two sets) is based on the traditional program consisting of the story and songs of “Christmas Eve and Other Stories” followed by a set of selected TSO songs, this year featuring songs from their new release “Night Castle.”
This was the second time that I have seen TSO perform. I enjoyed it more than the first.
They certainly have a great outlook. Here’s what Co-Founder Paul O’Neill recently said in an article in the Detroit Free Press – “”We spend more on pyro in two months than most of the rock world does in an entire year,” O’Neill said with a laugh. “Our first duty is to the fans, to give them the best show for their dollar. We realize that entertainment is not a necessity of life, but human beings need moments of joy, or at least moments that are stress free. When you’re not worrying about what’s outside the arena, the body gets to recharge its batteries. The underlying story is about hope.”
And they are obviously doing something right as Billboard recently ranked TSO as the highest grossing winter tour.
Frankly Francis, Bob Kinkel & Debbie Backstage 2008
Next Holiday Season, do yourself a favor and spend a night with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I am already looking forward to it.
First off, I humbly consider myself lucky and blessed because of the people and circumstances that I have been fortunate enough to have experienced.
Judged by conventional standards, my life has had a lot of high highs and low lows. For me it is just my adventure. However, the last few years have been the most difficult of all. I am intensely curious to see where this all leads me to.
So, as the year begins, I find myself looking forward, more so than usual, to my next revolution around the sun.
Didn’t we just celebrate the new millennium? A decade has passed?
And this Internet thing…any chance it will catch on? The impact of the World Wide Web is both amazing and fantastic.
It’s difficult for me to believe that marijuana has not yet been legalized, regulated and taxed.
Furthermore, we’re making more of this than needs to be made – Gays should be legally allowed to enter into civil relationship contracts that some call marriage. And the exclusion from the military thing needs to go too.
Been watching more TV than usual lately. Dexter, Sons of Anarchy, Stargate Universe. Also been catching up on House and Stargate Atlantis. I know that TV is a legal drug induced vacation from living my own life, but…
Been reading more than usual lately (although I have always been an avid reader) and this pleases me.
I think that we should pay a lot more attention to the Rights of States as opposed to the Federal Government. The United States of America is a Union of States first, not a federal government imposing national rules upon every individual. The foregoing within the Constitution, of course.
I prefer the features and interactivity associated with MySpace, but I continue to surrender to Facebook, being a willing victim of fashion…
Still cannot understand how in these most politically correct times, females, it seems to me, are more denigrated than ever in pop culture, especially music. Even more confused that there seems to be no one objecting. Ladies come on. Your sisters have fought hard before you in a battle that should not even had to be fought.
I am hoping that Stephen King’s “Under the Dome” comes even close to “The Stand.”
Most Americans are a lot more libertarian than they realize. See where you really stand (if you dare) by taking The World’s Smallest Political Quiz at: http://www.theadvocates.org/quizp/index.html
I’m a grandpa now, but in these ever life span expanding days, I consider myself a “junior grandpa” as opposed to my personal concept of a grandpa in my younger days. Gotta say that for me it is pretty cool to have grandkids.
No Chicken Little, the sky is not falling. We need much less emotional reaction and much more empirical evidence in the debate over global warming.
The advances in our technology are incredible. There is a lot to look forward to in the immediate future.
Did we not occupy Afghanistan for the purpose of hunting down Osama Bin Laden? And increasing the current mission there is for what? I don’t like how this is playing out. Oh, and could we please rebuild Iraq already and get our troops home?
As a citizen and even more so as a veteran, I support our military members, but I question our leaders’ use of our military.
I don’t vouch for the accuracy, but if you are feeling the need to Keep Up With The Joneses, check out how you are doing on a world wide basis at: www.globalrichlist.com
If I was silly enough to make New Year’s Resolutions, I would resolve to spend more time on music performance, foreign language study, creating creative travel opportunities, engaging the people I know, meeting new people, and treating writing more as work, as opposed to pleasure.
Through various quotes through the years, I’ve been aware of irreverent conservative writer P.J. O’Rourke.
One of my favorites is from an address at the Cato Institute in 1993 (well worth the read at: http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6857 ), where Mr. O’Rourke endeared himself to me with this statement – “If you think healthcare is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it is free.” Tremendous foresight into the future, which is now of course.
So, when I got my hands on “Give War A Chance” I did not wait long to read it. The introduction is entitled, “Hunting the Virtuous – And How to Clean and Skin Them.” Did I mention irreverent? And that is just the introduction.
Published in 1992, a little while after the end of Gulf War I, it is a collection of various articles written regarding the fall of communism (The Birth, and Some of the Afterbirth, of Freedom), some random topics (Second Thoughts), comments about various public figures (A Call for a New McCarthyism), and his dispatches from the Gulf War (Give War a Chance).
Most I thoroughly enjoyed. I can’t say that his comments on Dr. Ruth, Lee Iacocca, and Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter were the best parts of the book. Still, I am looking forward to reading anything this guy cares to write or has written.
I picked the book up at the Salvation Army (one of many sources of books for me). It turned out that it was originally a gift to John from Kate & Chuck. Kate or Chuck or Kate & Chuck had inscribed the following to John: “This guy may be 180 degrees off of what any of us thinks on some issues, but he does think, and he puts his radical thoughts down so flamboyantly, you’re bound to get some fun out of what he says, whether you agree or not.” Well said Kate & Chuck!
I would like to think that P.J. O’Rourke has been significantly influenced by the writing style of Kurt Vonnegut, but I do not know if this is true, nor am I inclined to research it.
The title appears to come from something O’Rourke saw during the interminable waiting period from the amassing of troops in Saudi Arabia to the actual beginning of the ground war. Some Marines had written in the desert sand, “Give War A Chance.” Marines just want to have fun.
In closing, to give you a taste of P.J. O’Rourke, the following dedication appears before the introduction:
Like many men of my generation, I had an opportunity to give war a chance, and I promptly chickened out. I went to my draft physical in 1970 with a doctor’s letter about my history of drug abuse. The letter was four and a half pages long with three and a half pages devoted to listing the drugs I’d abused. I was shunted into the office of an Army psychiatrist who, at the end of a forty-five-minute interview with me, was pounding his desk and shouting, “You’re fucked up! You don’t belong in the Army!” He was certainly right on the first count and possibly right on the second. Anyway, I didn’t have to go. But that, of course, meant someone else had to go in my place. I would like to dedicate this book to him.
I hope you got back in one piece, fellow. I hope you were more use to your platoon mates than I would have been. I hope you’re rich and happy now. And in 1971, when somebody punched me in the face for being a long-haired peace creep, I hope that was you.
Having been a hippy orientated peace creep in my youth and then resorting (when I got past the drugs and free-love, not that there’s anything wrong with drugs and free-love) to a very conservative constitutional & fiscal perspective, coupled with a very liberal personal liberty point of view, I get where this guy is coming from. You might too.
Be the First to Comment 
