Showing Compassion to Those in Need

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.”
— Plato

Well, there you are, ready for some words from a man you may or may not know; how goes it this morning, this afternoon, or evening whenever you have found these words from an aging white man, trying to make sense of this world.  I trust you had a good day; we did, early to bed, early to rise, living like nuns.

I worked around the house yesterday, answering emails, working on a couple of client projects, reading my book, taking the dog for a walk, and my big event was heading to Costco to get a couple of things for our “Air B and B.”

I ran a call in the morning with Mike, my new friend from Orlando; he randomly sent me a gift; I scheduled a call to say thank you. A friendly chat with a good lad; thank you, Mike, for the time.

In the afternoon before my major trip to Costco, I had a virtual meeting with Josh, my New York connection.  He found me early in the pandemic, he reached out, and we now chat about once a quarter.  Josh is a brilliant man; he leads a large company that coaches corporate leaders of major companies across the world.  I am constantly perplexed by his interest in my thoughts and ideas, but every chat with this man provides energy; never miss an opportunity to chat with Josh from New York!

Then, finally, my wife got home; we drank water, no food, watched a couple of shows on Amazon Prime, and went to bed at 8:00.   We caught up about her day, she slew some work, and today will produce her finished product for her clients.  I admire my wife; she is a true professional working in a male-dominated field, showing the boys how it’s done.

My wife has fasted for the last two days, no food, just water, and some weird solution that cleanses her body.  She will have a protein shake for breakfast and lunch, and then we will have a sensible dinner tonight.  I’m subtly joining her; I have a little breakfast, skipping lunch and eating a light dinner.  This journey ends next Friday; we then have another week of no booze before slowly returning to our everyday lifestyle.

We have an appointment with a friend tomorrow; we are both getting a medical procedure done; I’ll head up to my doctors today to get some testosterone; older people’s maintenance is what we call it. With science and medicine, you can cheat age, just a little.  With our lack of food consumption and alcohol intake, we should be ready for our daughter’s wedding in November; then, we can go back to living a sloth existence. 

My book is a little closer to publication; I’m working with my designer on the cover; there was a problem with the margins, we should have that fixed today, and I suspect we can get a finished product before November 1st. So it will be my twelve books; if you ever want to publish a book, let me know, I can walk you through the steps.

I heard a narrative about the supply chain issues and a possible reason why.  In most countries, they can process the goods coming in from other countries quickly, but in the U.S., labor is suppressed due to the Longshormenas Union contract, and the time they can work is limited.  This reality puts our country at a disadvantage on the world stage.  It’s not just poor policy affecting our way of life; it’s the bad deals negotiated by politicians that get their money from the underbelly of society.

Speaking of poor policy, how about those gas prices? It is incredible how we remove our energy independence and rely on OPEC to feed our hunger for crude.  This scenario might result in prices going up.  Remember the Keystone pipeline?  Remember that clean and effective way we were to get crude from the North.  No longer having to truck the product from the hither lands, but just pushing it through a 24-inch pipe?   But those in power are so damn worried about climate change; give me a break.

But I digress; I’m just trying to make sense of these Jimmy Carter-type policies and looking for my Bill Beer.  Those too young to remember should research the Jimmy Carter years and then create a road map for the next three years; God helps us, the attempt to turn our country into a socialist government are getting a little closer.

But we have elections every two years; I’m confident the wind will blow a different direction; people are watching in awe the quick and sudden downturn of our lives, the supply chain, inflation, and high murder rates now hitting every major city. So are you watching our reality?  Or are you listening to those who would have you believe there is nothing to see here?

As I have written many times, my wife and I are fine. My family is fine. It is not us I worry about; we have positioned ourselves capable of navigating any situation.  It’s the single mothers; it’s the middle and lower-income people that will struggle to make ends meat. For example, I stopped by to get a large bag of ice yesterday; a woman had all her change on the counter to buy some items.  I watched her struggle to count her coins before the clerk gave her the goods and said, “thank you.”  She looked in disbelief.  As she walked by, I handed her a $20.00 and said, “I think this fell out of your pocket.” Again, she was shocked “thank you.”  I turned as she got to the door, walked outside, and blew me a kiss. 

I don’t share that story to show my compassion for those in need; although it is a good trait taught by my parents, I share the story to encourage you to help others.  Most people you see are in need, if you have an extra dollar or two, give of it freely, don’t make a big deal, just say it was on the floor, maybe it fell out of their pocket, give those in need grace to know that somebody does care about them. The hope is always they will get their feet on the ground and pay it forward, and if not, you can go home and sleep well knowing you made a small impact on the systemic needs of the greatest country in the world.

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.”
— Plato