Looking for humility

Today's Tids Issue 4,073

For slowing down and thinking:

I listened to the entire Billy Graham memorial service on the radio Friday. I found myself moved, often. I loved the words of his sister and the beautiful poem by a 13-year-old girl named Ruth, who would one day be his wife. He was a man of passion for one single quest -- that all would know what he believed; that all would find the truth in perfect love. He was an adviser to leaders around the globe, and changed the lives of hundreds of millions as he preached in massive stadiums and simple villages. Yet, he was teachable, always learning. What I remember most, was that this same man revered by throngs, was the simple man, the caring father who wrapped his arms around a scared and insecure daughter seeking only his unconditional love. He was never bigger than the smallest circumstance. Maybe that’s our lesson.

I went to a zoo and saw a baguette in a cage. Zoo keeper said it was bread in captivity.

I am sincerely humbled and apologetic today having actually missed a weekday Tids last Friday. But the good news is that you all had a three day angst free weekend.

Speaking of humility, a reader notes another choice in response to my Thursday Question of the Day about the most often misspelled word. He suggests it is actually the often misplaced “Fro” instead of “For” in the subject line of most daily Tids. I suggest that fro was spelled exactly correctly, just perhaps the not the word I had in mind.

March Madness is upon us, with just this week of Conference tournaments preceding Selection day. As I look around, I don’t see a clear favorite. I thought for a while, that some of the “one-and-done” schools would be seeing a maturation of their anointed young players, but judging by recent loses by Kentucky, Kansas and may others, that is not the case. We are truly in an anybody-can-beat-anybody-on-any-given-day era. The media may call lesser teams beating better teams on paper, upsets -- but I am just seeing the better team winning.

I love the way technology is going. It was a great leap when you could talk into your smart phone and it would type a text. Then, I learned that the text at the other end could be transformed into a voice. Now, think how great it would be if they found a way to get rid of the text in the middle. I wonder…

The Question:

Doctor Roger Bannister died yesterday. What did he do? He had an Australian rival. Name him.

The Headlines:

--Dow Opens Lower; Nasdaq, S&P Higher; Trade War Threat Disconcerting; 23 Retail Companies Plan Store Closings, Including Macy’s And CVS.

--Soule Says Kim Jong Un Meeting SK Officials In Pyongyang.

--Trade War Escalating Before It Begins.

--Nothing Happening On Today’s DACA Deadline.

--Germany Government Lives After Months Of Indecisiveness; Social Democrats Vote Fir Renewed Coalition With Merkel’s Conservatives.

--Oscars: Best Director and Pic -- Del Toro For Shape Of Water; Best Actor – Gary Oldham; Best Actress – Francis McDormand; Best Supporting Were Allisson Janney and Sam Rockwell.

--Italy Elections End In Deadlock.

I missed my music, the soaring strings, the silent rumble of tympani neath the strains. I miss the emotions of a rising crescendo, the promise that would come. I miss the satisfaction felt when the final notes cease, and sense the beauty lingering on. I miss my music when it is not there. I never knew until it was gone.

I think one of our biggest problems is not enough people having any idea of history. In fact, I believe that the Pols, and certainly activists, count on voters not knowing what happened in the past. Maybe History should be one of the prime subjects taught; history that is, without the personal opinions of teachers thrown in.

Just think if there was more humility. People might begin listening to ideas foreign to their own.

I have a great new idea for a new vegetarian cereal – Fried potato bits.

The market is in a period of consolidation, which is to be expected after a runup that was basically beyond belief.

I’d be a lot humbler if I could find a way to stop using “I” and “Me” in the Tids. I like myself when I am humble.

The Cows aren’t coming back, Department:

This tariff suggestion bothers me. It seems like a clear-cut solution to declining manufacturing jobs, but it isn’t that simple. In RI in the 1950’s there were over 400 dairy farms. Today there are nine. There are also only nine integrated steel mills remaining from an industry that was the basis for American wealth and power. (Note: There are 114 “Mini-Mills” – small and profitable steel makers who create new steel mainly out of scrap.) Just as the farms gave way to urban sprawl and new land usages, steelmaking waned, opening the door for a new economic era, replacement jobs in the lower paying service industries. Not a great trade-off at all, but that’s what happened. Like the mighty textile industries before them and other key manufacturing businesses, wage escalation forced. first, intra USA movement and finally offshore capitulation. Wages were just too high for US companies to be competitive in the emerging global market place, which now is more dominant than ever. We’ll never get the cows back in RI, and we have moved on from steel making too. Today, getting back steel as it was is a nice dream.

I remember in the 1970’s sitting in the offices of a company that was the largest steel mill construction company in the world. They told me then that building steel mills in the US was long gone andd all of their new facilities were being built in mainly third world countries, and other foreign fledgling manufacturing places, like Korea and China and Brazil.  

The art of making TV commercials should be focused on creating messages that make sense in the “Fast Forward” mode.

I didn’t stay with the Oscars very long last night. In fact, I didn’t get any further than the first interview where an Actress said on the Red carpet, “This is a religious experience.” If there ever was a Golden Calf in today’s society, it would be Hollywood. –A fashion observer noted that many the gowns of the female celebrities were of the new so-called “Nude” styling. Hmmm. This at a show dedicated to Time’s Up, #Me Too et al. –Jimmy Kimmel was not very funny at all last night. In fact, Trump had many more laughable jokes at the DC Touchdown Club Awards two nights earlier. --Ryan Seacrest was snubbed by the elite during the Red carpet, even after being fully exonerated from the accusations. –Last night was deemed most predictable Oscars of all time with absolutely no surprises. –Most people would agree that H-Wood can be very good at entertaining. That’s why they exist, but politics has taken the fun out of their big night. –-One thing that I notice is missing as the stars congregate and self-congratulate – humility.

Over in Poland, the government is afraid younger generations will not have enough knowledge of history to fully understand the past The Legislature is voting to abolish the phrase “Polish Death Camps”. The reason of course is that some historically uninformed activists may overreact thinking the that the Poles ran the camps that were indeed in Poland, but fully owned and operated by Germany.

Caterpillar is a US manufacturing giant. It’s huge world rival is Komatsu of Japan. So, what happens to the competitive edge when Cat has to used higher priced tariffed steel and Komatsu doesn’t?

Networks should allow the Republicans to have a response message after the Oscars, similar to that of the out party speaking following the SOTU Message.

As I drive around the country I have observed that all skinny people riding bicycles look exactly the same.

Mr. Humility: President Trump said yesterday: “Nobody does self-deprecating humor better than I do.”

A phrase that bothers me which is often used to in lawsuits is “Or, should have known”. That unfairly opens the door for the accusation of just about anybody remotely associated with some event.

One of the problems with the media is that they don’t seem to understand that there are lots of Americans who think entirely different than they do.

Oddly as noted above, I often misspell for as fro. But for some bio-cerebral reason I also always first type “From” as “Form”. Go figure.

I hear that there is a guy running for office in Chicago solely on the platform of “We need Pot”. I have to believe that Chicago has a lot bigger problems than the absence of Pot in society.

83% of the faculty of Lehigh University have voted to take back Donald Trump’s honorary PHD given to him in 1988. I don’t believe in take backs, form degrees and honors ot and tearing down statues. In 1988 DT was probably awarded the honor for his success in business. Because you don’t like him today doesn’t change at all what precipitated the award in the first place. Maybe if people really knew history of specific times. the rush to dishonor the past accomplishments would not be quite so crazed.

I should note that a fairly right of center talk show host, an alumnus of the University Michael Smerconish, did a poll on the subject, receiving about 3000 answers. 79% agreed with the professors. How sad is that. (Note: this was a call-in response poll, not scientific.)

Being able to make our own steel in times of conflict is certainly part of a complete national security model.

The Answer:

Of course, you all knew that Roger Bannister was the first to accomplish something that nobody ever thought could be accomplished – breaking the four-minute mile. His big adversary was Australian John Landy, and their races were considered major world sports events.

I’d like to think we could begin to view the world more simply, more from the heart and less from the emotions of manufactured cultural ideals. That the standards that define humans would be internal rather than material. That we would look at people as they are, and not dismissively by comparison.

Poem written by 13-Year-old Ruth Bell:

Dear God, I prayed, all unafraid

(as we’re inclined to do),

I do not need a handsome man

but let him be like You;

I do not need one big and strong

nor yet so very tall,

nor need he be some genius,

or wealthy, Lord, at all;

but let his head be high, dear God,

and let his eye be clear,

his shoulders straight, whate’er his state,

whate’er his earthly sphere;

and let his face have character,

a ruggedness of soul,

and let his whole life show, dear God,

a singleness of goal;

then when he comes

(as he will come)

with quiet eyes aglow,

I’ll understand that he’s the man

I prayed for long ago.