A virus panic

I remember growing up hearing stories about what the United States of America was like during World War II.  Women working.  Ration coupons being traded between families when special family events were coming up like birthdays so that they could make certain things.  People going door-to-door asking if you had any work for them.

The only thing that I read about it I've seen in movies I've seen in newsreels that I've written books was how young men would volunteer to go kill the enemy.

With this coronavirus thing happening I don't see much of that.  It's a panic!  A panic induced by an entertainment in industry so focused on something our raw nerve with dystopian futures.  An entertainment industry focused on the bad things happening in life.  In entertainment history telling stories that twist reality and religious beliefs into entertaining vignettes that are so far removed from reality it's astounding.

An entertainment industry that brings us news.  People put in front of cameras as authorities that are actually just Teleprompter readers with ugly editors and producers yelling in their ears what to say.  Outlets of information that are biased toward one goal: controlling our behavior.

Granted, the behavior that they want is for us to spend our money willingly on products we don't need or require an effort to reach an artificial level of what's represented as beauty, success, strength, sexiness.

And then when the panic reaches full swing after being fanned into a big bonfire by reporting that excludes death rates, people are not told how they can help defeat the enemy.  They're told to stay home.  To isolate themselves.  To socially distance themselves.  All behaviors that were considered at least in my childhood has punishments.

In today's socially connected world it's amazing how this is being done!  And it's amazing how people are so panicked and so scared and so fearful.

People in forts

I'm reading The Frontiersman (thanks Mark for the steer).  And it tells a story about a man who goes to the great frontier in the late 1700s and learns all about the Ohio River, the Kentucky Indian lands, and learns all about dealing with the Shawnee, the Cheyenne, and other Indian tribes.

What I'm seeing so far is that the people that went into the forts and waited for the Indians to come and attack them died horrible deaths.

The people like the frontiersman who went out and were careful and work their way across the land were successful in living and learning and doing well in life.

Amazing?  No.  Did they get rich?  No.  But they had adventures that everybody else were was eager to hear and they were able to navigate the world.

So many people are hunkered down and waiting for the virus to come to them.  I fear that all the people strapping on protective gear and lathering up every 10 minutes with antibacterial and other corrosive chemical wash is will get to the point where they'll be taken down by any virus that comes along.  Immunity is built in small daily battles with every bug that we encounter in our world.  Our skins are covered in living things that grow and die and then shed along with the flakes of our skin to become the dust in our house and our cars.  The battles that raged inside our bodies between our white blood cells and all the various bacteria and viruses that live inside of us are epic.  And yet they happened in the dark and nobody knows.  I like to think that the flashes of light that I see when I'm about to fall asleep with my eyes closed that I see if I just keep my eyes closed for 10 minutes or so are lasers passing between the different styles that are fighting, almost like a Star Wars like tie fighter excluding battle going on.  Sounds stupid, but it makes me happy.

As Americans we don't put up with being caged and cooped up for very long.  Get back to work!  Start a business based on the opportunities that are being presented right now.

It's time to live, thrive, and survive.  Enjoy!

No longer afraid that way

I grew up afraid of lots of things - pick pockets, eye injury, murder, theft, dislike, new places, and many other calamities.

I carry a small card wallet in my front pocket to this day. Why? My parents taught me that there were pick pockets everywhere and that they could steal my wallet from my back pocket without me even knowing it. While I had a normal-sized wallet I would move it to my front pocket of I went anywhere new. I felt like a dork. So I eventually got a business card wallet and put my driver's license and debit card in it. I would keep that wallet in my right front pocket and my cash in my left front pocket.

I loved to mow when I was a teenager. We had a long driveway and I would get out there in the middle of the day to get the most tan from the sun; I would almost always come in sun burnt. Mom said that mowers throw stuff and something fly up and poke me in the eye so I should wear sun glasses. So after mowing I would look like a reverse raccoon. I don't do that anymore. Still have both eyes.

We watched the 6 o'clock news every night when I was growing up. That way Mom and Dad could be informed and know what was going on. They would tsk at the stories of theft.

Most out of character thing I've done

Sang in the Variations in college.

I wanted to spend time with my girlfriend (now wife).

The only stage experience I had was in school plays where I stood there wishing we were done.

By the end of the college school year I was able to sing a solo backed up by a friend playing guitar. I sang the John Denver song "You Fill Up My Senses". It was glorious!

Make-up on women

It's so hard to see women cover their faces with layers of makeup.

I'm married to a beautiful woman who naturally beautiful. She uses very little makeup and when she does she applies very quickly and keeps moving. She does not start at her neck and go all the way up to the middle of her head. Instead, she applies a little bit of cover up under her eyes and maybe a little bit of blush to her cheeks in that spot. Sometimes you put on eyeliner and eyeshadow, but otherwise not very much.

I like it that way! That way when I go to kiss her she doesn't know who will and tell me don't touch you to mess up my makeup. We can do this! It's great and sloppy and fun!

But I see these women on Facebook that I knew in high school and I thought were so cute and they were caked on their face. I saw women at the football game last week at the high school with cake on their face. And while their skin looks smooth with the cake makeup on their face and their coloring is awesome you can see the line where it stops. See the layers in how much is on there. And some women wear so much the they look like they're wearing a mask, which they are!

I really wish that more women would just go with their natural look or as natural as possible. And let their beauty shine!

On the natural thing is always funny looking at the makeup it's in magazines. So many of them talk about get that natural look with your makeup and they show this woman the looks very healthy and shiny but is obviously wearing plenty of makeup to make herself look that way.

I just think it's funny. And I think that more women should stick with the way they look underneath so that everyone around them can see their natural wholesomeness and beauty instead of seeing the products that they spent a lot of money on and a lot of time smearing all over their skin. That they just gonna smear remover on so that they can take it off their skin at night.

Mosaic of events

As I get older I understand more and more that there are no solid things but everything is made up of groupings of things.

Like cool art where you can see these squares of colors hanging from the ceiling but when looked at from a distance it looks like a picture, our bodies, our work lives, and our families are a lot like those pictures. Moments and individuals grouped together to form this beautiful whole

How I make people feel

I've heard this phrase a lot from speakers lately: People won't remember what you say but they will remember how you make them feel.

While I disagree with the sentiment I can see it could be that way for a lot of people. I can't remember any of Bob Hope's specific jokes but I do remember that he made me feel like he cared about me and the rest of the audience. So many of the comedians and entertainers I have seen have been uproariously funny but I don't remember exactly what they said. Even in church, where this phrase seems to have taken hold, I don't remember specific sermon points but I remember the energy and guilt/positivity/whatever that was expressed and how it made me feel.

It seems like it is a play on how the brain works. We can go through something that is extremely painful but years later all we remember is that it hurt but we made it.

Smoking comes to mind. I've never smoked, but from what I've read and been told is that it is a horrible experience of coughing and gagging the first time, but the chemicals that hit brain from whatever is being smoked make you feel great so you want more despite the bad feelings it brings. As your body gets used to harsh stuff it becomes numb and the brain drives us to get more of that in us.

So if we can figure out how to make people feel good about something they'll want more of it. Give them a positive experience that builds them up. Help them feel like they are worth more than they think of themselves, even for a few minutes, and you've got them. Hmmm

So that got me wondering: How do I make people feel? I try to be a good listener, which people seem to enjoy. I ask questions and get them talking, sharing some about others or myself to keep the conversation going.

I don't think I made my kids feel very good. So when they have the bad memories they don't desire to be around me. Hmmm

At work I strive to stay positive and upbeat even though there are so many challenges around me and my people. Less resources, more work, less experience to draw from, different attitudes and actions from the newer people in our workforce all contribute to a lot of negativity. But I try to bring a ray of happy puzzle solving to what we are doing there. It seems to help, I have more people around me than when I see my peers. Weird.

After mulling this over for several weeks I've set a goal to try my best to make people feel focused on and worthy, to feel like they are doing good and not in trouble. Should be a good challenge.