Anyway.

     Isn’t it just the easiest thing in the world to put off today what one can do tomorrow, and what others so rarely even notice is as yet undone? Especially these days, when so many things are being done so frequently, and in so much more easily consumed mediums then the tedious, uncolorful, noiseless, and overly adjective laden written word. Alas, friends and neighbors, I cannot sing or paint, and have no desire to spew my ramblings in front of a camera and beg for subscriptions like a dying magazine, and so I find myself once again attempting to get the attention of others by tying together as many strings of words as I deem worthy, and likely more than most would prefer.
     However, it has been a pretty lengthy stretch of time since last I strung my strings, so I have a lot on which to catch up. So let’s see, where to begin, where to begin…
     Let’s do a little political stuff, get it out of the way, shall we?
     I’m pretty tired of how Republicans are always saying that “you have to respect the office, if not the man.” Why? I’m not even going to point out the hypocrisy here, the way they all spoke about Obama, because what’s the point? Even Republicans and their voters know they’re now the party of hypocrisy and denial, which is why so many of their voters are single issue voters, choosing to ignore all the selfish, short sighted policies and actions nonsense, as long as they get to keep their unnecessarily dangerous guns. Of course, I know the Democrats have had their fair share of scandals and corruption as well (Anthony Weiner, anyone?), but even when Clinton was being impeached, I never heard that insipid phrase. I certainly didn’t hear it from any Republicans. Nor did I hear it when Obama was dealing with all his scandals, like the one with Russia-no, wait, that wasn’t him. Or the one about infidelity and harassment-nope, not him either. Oh! What about the one where his self named university scammed people out millions of dollars- no, dang, that wasn’t him either.
     And yet here we are, being told that we should respect this person who is Perpetually Oblivious Though Unrelentingly Sure (P.O.T.U.S. - yep, it’s still happening. It’s a habit now, like biting your nails or picking your nose) of every ridiculous thing that comes out of his mouth. Until an hour or two later, when he swears he never said it.
     Hey, you want everyone to “respect the office?” Try electing someone who doesn’t behave like a toddler. A racist, sexist, failed businessperson, criminal toddler.
     The whole White House probably still smells like McDonald’s french fries, for crying out loud.
     Anyway.
     When did “I feel like” replace “I think that?” Why is it that more credibility is being given to irrational emotions than actual, critical thinking? Is it because we haven’t been teaching critical thinking for enough generations now that the notion seems outdated and lost to us? Or is it because expressing a thought invites conversation and perhaps dissent, whereas for some unknown reason feelings are now beyond reproach? Now, I understand that everyone has feelings, and those feelings should not be ignored, but the idea that feelings deserve a higher priority than actual thought is, I feel, pretty poorly thought out.
     Anyway.
     You know that old saying, “A good deed is its own reward?” Well, it doesn’t have to be. When you notice someone putting in the extra effort, or doing someone else a kindness, or going out of their way to be helpful, take a second and acknowledge them. People get plenty of attention for poor behavior, even television contracts and social media sponsorships for it. Those unknown decent folks, who don’t get six figure salaries for being self obsessed, thoughtless cretins, deserve at least the occasional, “hey, good job”, “thanks for doing that”, or “Mr. Rogers would be proud of you.” Or a six figure salary, if you have an extra one lying around somewhere.
     Anyway, I know there’s a lot left that I could cover before we’re all caught up, but I think for now that’s enough attention retention strings from me. Thanks as always for stopping by, I hope the few minutes it took you to read this were enjoyable ones, and of course, don’t forget to subscribe!
-John