A Microcosm of Life, Something Extraordinary, Racial Equity

“Fear of the mob is a superstitious fear. It is based on the idea that there is some mysterious, fundamental difference between rich and poor, as though they were two different races, like Negroes and white men. But in reality, there is no such difference. The mass of the rich and the poor are differentiated by their incomes and nothing else, and the average millionaire is only the average dishwasher dressed in a new suit. Change places, and handy dandy, which is the justice, which is the thief? Everyone who has mixed on equal terms with the poor knows this quite well. But the trouble is that intelligent, cultivated people, the very people who might be expected to have liberal opinions, never mix with the poor. For what do the majority of educated people know about poverty?”
— George Orwell 

Thursday morning, beautiful morning on top of the mountain, the temperature is slightly chilled.  The coffee is strong; the fireplace is kicking out some heat, my dog just returned from her morning hike, she’s back in bed with my Queen, the world is Frank Lloyd “Right.”

Another great day yesterday, we got up and ran our appointments, we had our all-staff meeting.  Most of the team is doing well; we have a couple of teammates going through surgery, one with cancer, our team is a microcosm of life.  I worked around the bar; my wife did some chores; about midday, we went for a 2-mile hike around the crown of our mountain.  The aspen trees are popping!

We got home and worked a little more before heading down the hill to get some groceries for our supper.  My wife had decided to make breaded cauliflower tacos with blue cheese crumbles and buffalo sauce. After that, we went to town to pick up some things from Bay’s crashed vehicle; the damage is not bad, but not lousy, meaning maybe five thousand dollars.  We got some stuff from the car and then headed home.

Oh, I forgot something extraordinary, it was about 7:30, I had written my soup, my email inbox is very clean, I grabbed my American flag speedo and got in our new hot tub.  I had some coffee, some music; it was a perfect morning.  Then my wife came out and well got in the tub with me.  It was a great morning and utilization of our new mountain top toy.  Bay came over last night and ate with us; she is watching our friend’s dogs a few miles away; she had some whiplash, so she too got in the tub, and it helped her back.

She left; we watched the last episode of Midnight Mass, a little cheesy but worth the ten-hour investment.   The actor Hamish Linkletter is one creepy dude.  We were in bed by 8:45; we slept until 6:45, that’s 10 hours of sleep; when was the last time you got 10 hours of sleep without waking up? So we did, and let me tell you, rest is an understated component of life.

I’ll pen a few thoughts this morning, clean up my email.  I will say again; my email inbox has not been this clean since the start of the email; I’m in the habit of cleaning it daily, leaving maybe five items in my inbox; it’s a feeling of accomplishment.  I’m on a podcast at 10:00, a Servant Leadership Podcast, and then at 10:30, I’ll pack up and drive about 90 minutes west to a ski chalet and meet my men’s group.

We are working on becoming better humans beings; we are focused on the aspect of play in our lives, what is “play,” how do we individually play, how can it improve our lives?  When I think of a “play,” I think of my wife, my kids, our family, and friends; spending time with those you love is the epitome of play.  Add in hiking, music, reading, travel, I could go on, but my life is not built around work; my life is built around life, and play is a significant factor in my life.

We have friends coming in from the south.  Mike, his wife, and two kids will stay with my wife tonight.  It is their daughter’s birthday, they will have a party, and I will sadly miss it.  But I believe in the power of commitment; I committed to my friends, I’m happy my wife will not be alone. So I’ll return midday, and then we have family flying in from Indianapolis to join us at Dave Matthews Band in Denver.

Saturday, we will get our home ready for our departure, the family will stay, we will pack our car for our 3-day journey back east.  I need to book our Air B and B’s for Sunday and Monday, arriving home Tuesday.  Our mountain dog will become a city dog for a couple of months; we will see how she fairs.  I expect morning and evening walks to keep her from going crazy.

While home, I’ll hang with my family, I will get to see my granddaughter and help build excitement for the coming future grandkids; we have another on the way. Still, I suspect it won’t be too long before we have another and another, and we will have a brood of the next generation of Thompson’s ready to change the world. 

One thing that has been on top of my mind lately is this push for equity.  I agree, not everyone has been born rounding second, but I think we are missing a critical point. So many of the government programs discussed today are for people with dark skin, latinXYZ, or other groups that have been “suppressed.”  We never hear about the white folks who live in Appalachia that were not even born at the ballpark. I hope that we don’t remove the money from those that have worked hard and give to only a specific type of poor; I think neglecting the white poor is a form of racism.

I would guess my perception might be considered racist; what about the white people?  No, what about the poor people? Poverty does not discriminate; we need to lift all black, brown, purple, red, and white.  This current robin hood narrative seems focused on only a particular segment of or population.  When discussing equity and equality, let’s make sure we include all who struggle, not just those with a certain amount of melanin.

“Fear of the mob is a superstitious fear. It is based on the idea that there is some mysterious, fundamental difference between rich and poor, as though they were two different races, like Negroes and white men. But in reality, there is no such difference. The mass of the rich and the poor are differentiated by their incomes and nothing else, and the average millionaire is only the average dishwasher dressed in a new suit. Change places, and handy dandy, which is the justice, which is the thief? Everyone who has mixed on equal terms with the poor knows this quite well. But the trouble is that intelligent, cultivated people, the very people who might be expected to have liberal opinions, never mix with the poor. For what do the majority of educated people know about poverty?”
— George Orwell