COMMENCEMENT SPEECHES ARE MOSTLY B. S.!

Every year, at graduation time, successful people are invited to address the graduates. They spew out worthless advice about how to succeed.  They give a lot of false hope to the average graduate. Their advice is usually some variation of the following. “You can be successful if you do these four things: Follow your passion, master your craft, learn from history, and study philosophy for leadership lessons.” Sounds simple enough but it is not the truth. These people have had the advantage of very good genes and lucky opportunities. The average graduate is not blessed with the intelligence of a Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. And, they are not blessed with the fortunate opportunities and physical abilities that enable them to achieve their dream in the long haul. Theodore Roosevelt had better advice, "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are”.

My favorite advice for success in life was expressed by Ralph Waldo Emerson: “To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;  to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded”.

ROMAN HOLIDAY, PART TW0

Two airline tickets to Rome_$2346.  Two train tickets to Florence_$140.  7 nights in Italian hotels_$1100. 7 days of Chianti, pasta, pizza, and gelato_$998. Admission to the Accademia Gallery Museum_$30. Seeing Michelangelo’s statue of David in all its unmutilated glory_priceless! The world’s most famous statue was created by the world’s most gifted sculptor to emulate a young David who is quoted in the Bible as saying to Goliath, “"Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of God?"  That is ironic considering that David is standing there with his foreskin hanging out and Goliath is covered with full body armor. Obviously, the artist did not use ‘David’ as his model. In keeping with the Italian Renaissance, he used an image of the perfect man without any mutilation.

In reality, David was a skilled warrior and politician who went on to create the only empire ever to arise in Palestine. He did it the same way other great warriors created empires, including the Roman Empire. He raided and killed his neighbors and invited the survivors to join his army. More and more warriors joined him for the promise of booty.

The Vatican tour was too crushed with tourist to be enjoyable. I think it had something to do with the popular new Pope. Otherwise, we found the Italian people to be nice to us. All the steps in the Coliseum, museums, and churches were tough on my knees. Even our hotel was up 4 flights of stairs. It reminded me of climbing the Andes Mountains to Machu Picchu. All and all, we had an enjoyable and educational trip. Next time, I will vacation in a very flat land without steps. Ciao! 

"Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of God?" 

A ROMAN HOLIDAY!

By now, you know that I am a seeker of truth and a student of ancient history and ancient religion. I believe that the past is the best indication of what has lead up to our present situation and why we believe what we believe. The history of the rise and the fall of the Roman Empire is one of the best sources of knowledge about where we came from and where we are going. The Roman Empire lasted for 500 years and the Republic of the United States has existed for 300 years. The Roman Empire started out as a dictatorship (Romulus and Remus) but became a Republic (the Roman Senate). There are many parallels of the two Republics. Eventually, the Roman Empire became a dictatorship which became weak because of greed and immorality of its leaders and it was defeated. Let’s hope we can learn from history.

500 years before the Roman Empire came into existence, there was a settlement on the seven hills that mined salt and traded with other tribes. Their God was a winged phallus that emerged in a dream from a fire. This God was protection against evil and also was the God of fertility. The Vestal virgins were put in charge of keeping the fire burning to protect Fascinus, the winged phallus. A monster came onto the scene and was killing people and eating them. A God called Hercules saved the people by killing the Monster. Hercules became another important God of the Roman settlers. Ancient historians used their own imagination to describe the Gods. That is why they are considered to be myths. But who knows. There could be some truth in these stories. The Roman emperor, Constantine saw a cross in a dream and decided that Rome should take up Christianity. You know the rest of the story.

Nancy and I are going to Rome on Friday to check all of this out. We will let you know what we find out. Oh yeah, we will be drinking Chianti and eating good Italian food.

                                Ciao!

GOOD NEWS ABOUT TWEETS, BAD NEWS ABOUT PRESSURE COOKERS

The good news is purple martin scouts have arrived from Brazil at my martin house. I always leave the doors on until they arrive because of the darn sparrows. I took the doors off and after a few tweets the whole family arrived and moved in. Forget what the weather is and forget what the calendar says, it is not springtime until the Brazilian birds move into my luxury apartments.

The bad news is we are in a pressure cooker. Since the Marathon blew up, it is clear that, once again, the terrorists are attacking us at home. It seems they are able to attack us at will and there is no way to stop them. Where and who is next? Eventually, there will be retribution but that does not stop them. They like to die for their cause. That is why terrorism is effective. I am terrorized; how about you? Where is God when you need him?!

NEW INSIGHTS INTO ORNITHOLOGY AND THE PRESIDENT’S BRAINS

This morning when I went out on the deck to fill the bird feeders, I looked around and there was not a bird in sight. After I went back inside, within seconds, a whole flock of birds descended on the feeders. Sassy blue jays, brilliant red cardinals, and ordinary sparrows were fluttering around enjoying the feast. I said to myself, “how the heck did they all suddenly know that I filled their feeders?” Then, I realized their secret. They all know how to tweet!!

To show his concern about the ever growing national debt, President Obama cancelled public tours of the White House and cut his pay by 5%. These two measures will quickly eliminate trillions of dollars of debt and balance our budget. He is even smarter than I thought he was! Our troubles are over because of these brilliant ideas. It is too bad that the Twenty-second Amendment of the Constitution sets a two term limit on the election of our President. I will really miss this guy_NOT !

A QUEER THING IS HAPPENING IN AMERICA.

First of all, let me say that whatever you want to do is alright with me as long as it does no harm to me or others. After all, this is a free country with equal rights for everyone. However, I do think that homosexual activity is an unnatural way to satisfy your need for sex. I also think that aids and other harmful diseases have increased because of it. Yes, sexual diseases are also spread by prostitution and that is also bad for society. The dyke has broken and homosexuals want to extend their relationships to include the right of marriage. I find this to be offensive because it does seem harmful to a society that has been based on the traditional marriage of a man and a woman for thousands of years. Marriage was never intended to be a “gay” thing. It involves children and families. A mother and a father are the natural basis of marriage.  Same sex marriage is wrong and harmful to our society.

PHILOSOPHY IS EASY. MATHEMATICS IS HARD

I passed my first course about philosophy. I am now able to think like a philosopher. I am still struggling with mathematics and am nowhere near being able to think like a mathematician. Without a doubt, learning advanced mathematics is extremely difficult. It is much harder than learning a foreign language. If you think about all the extraordinary human advancements that came from mathematicians, it is not surprising that it is one of the most difficult skills to master. The list of impressive advancements that evolved from Calculus is astounding. Astronomy, space travel, computer science, the Internet, Google, and who knows what is next! I may never be able to fully understand it but I am sure learning to respect mathematicians and appreciate what they have done for us.