Wholesomeness and Hope

Our topic this week comes to us from Sanjana, the youngest member of our little blogging quintet-  Wholesomeness and Hope. Interesting things to think about while we are in the midst of this world-wide pandemic.

Merriam Webster online has this to say about wholesome: promoting health or well-being of mind or spirit. 2 : promoting health of body. 3a : sound in body, mind, or morals. b : having the simple health or vigor of normal domesticity. That is a reasonable starting point for today's topic. Think Shirley Temple. She was a rarity in that not only did she play wholesome characters, she was wholesome in reality as well.  Clean cut and innocent - a rare combination. Even rarer today then in yesteryear. Interestingly enough,several male wholesome types were not so innocent - guys like Tab Hunter, James Dean and others as their images were fabrication of movie studios.

I started this little ditty with entertainers for a simple reason - we in our society love to emulate the characters our entertainers become. That begs the question - does emulating wholesomeness - be it real or fake - actually make one wholesome? I say if the net result is someone who embodies the traits of wholesomeness, then they certainly should be considered wholesome. Hannah Montana was an example of a wholesome young lady but I doubt anyone would make that statement about her portrayer - Miley Cyrus. And if the envelope continues to be pushed will wholesomeness even survive? Yes - within the cultural norms wholesomeness will survive.

Ah yes - it is all so confusing. Every culture has its own definition of wholesomeness. That variety makes it like comparing apples to oranges but the core of the definition - promoting a healthy mind, spirit and morality makes it possible to find wholesomeness in any culture. As one ages and hopefully matures, the definition should still apply to that culture although I'd say mature wholesomeness is a bit different from youthful wholesomeness.

This group of kids look like a fairly wholesome group - in fact they look a lot like my neighborhood friends  back in my youth in Hayward CA, where we literally spent every summer day heading off en masse to a ball field or vacant lot. Were we more wholesome than my friend Vicky who spent her youth driving quarter midget race cars at Kennedy Park? Of course not. Oh, and by the way - she won a bunch of races and grew up to be an exceptional glass artist. Vicki Lee Glass Art So, you see, there is much that can be used to define wholesomeness. It might change from generation to generation - no doubt the Millennials of today hold a different standard for wholesomeness than do we aging Baby Boomers.

Hope means different things to different people, and is the state of mind that believes and desires a positive outcome to situations in your life. Hope is the feeling that things will turn out for the best. Hope consistently looks forward to that positive outcome to something planned in life. 

So how does hope relate to wholesomeness? Simply stated, wholesomeness relates to things that make you feel better so hope is a natural contributor to wholesomeness. There is some legitimate debate I suppose over there is hope without faith but that is a topic for another time. To spend your time doing things that offer you hope is a simple prescription for your wholesomeness.

My prescription for your wholesomeness today are not surprisingly musical 

On those harmonious notes I will remind you to please visit the other members of the 5-on-1 team to see what they have to say about this week's topic, chosen by Sanjana. Ramana, Padmum, Sanjana & Conrad

See ya next week, same shack time and same shack channel. 

Hero Worship 5-on-1 Topic 04/24/2020

This week's topic is Hero Worship. We've all had heroes at some point in our lives - my first was faster than a speeding bullet.

 It took me a while to switch to cowboys but I have loved Superman since the first time I saw George Reeves on TV. I have seen the movies and TV series. Yes I will likely watch the newest version next year.

Like most American boys I also had cowboy heroes, starting with Hopalong Cassidy. Those of you on Facebook may recognize this shot of me in my Hopalong Cassidy outfit as it is my annual post Thanksgiving profile picture.

 I frankly was never as enamored of Roy Rogers as most kids, but I was very fond of The Cisco Kid and Wild Bill Hickock. I had every souvenir gun used by a television cowboy from the Rifleman to Steve McQueen's Mares Leg in Wanted Dead or Alive to a genuine imitation Buntline special that Hugh O Brian used as Wyatt Earp. The NRA would have loved me.

Alas, as we grow older and up we tend to become enamored of real people instead of TV and/or movie heroes. Don't get me wrong - I still love my fictional stars - I was a huge John Wayne fan but enjoyed Robert Mitchum more. As a big music fan I particularly enjoy the makers of my favorite tunes from the 60s through the 80s, especially the British Invasion stars of the 60s and 70s, especially the Beatles - IMO the greatest band of all time. My all time fave rock tune is Born to Run and these days I am particularly fond of 2 Cellos but none of these reach the level of hero worship. My real hero these days is my brother, Mike.

Some of you know Mike as my little brother - you met him between the ages of 5 - 12 and there is an 11 year difference in our ages. I typically introduced him as my little brother but when it dawned on him that at 6'3 he had surpassed my 6'2, he informed me he should be known as my younger brother, not little brother. Fair enough.

Like any family, mine has had its ups and downs. My brother, sister and I share the same mother but different fathers. Jack McConvey - the man most of my friends know as my father was really my step father and since he legally adopted me his name is on my birth certificate. What that means is Mike constantly had me thrown in his path as the one to beat in anything and everything he did. I was a moderately successful jock so that was lorded over him constantly. From his first day in Little League Mike had me to contend with as his benchmark. Then, when he hit high school it got even worse - I was a 3-sport jock, adding football and wrestling to my resume. No problem - Mike played all three of those sports. I got farther in wrestling with my second place finish in the league,  3rd place finish in the North Coast Sectional, an invitation to the state tournament and a 3rd place finish in an AAU west coast tournament but Mike wrestled in a much tougher weight class - 191lb. I was a heavyweight aka, Unl. He made all league in football and baseball. By the time he finished high school I had graduated college with a BA in Political science and had a modestly successful JC college football career but I ceased athletics beyond the  recreational level from then on. On a return home trip I had occasion to attend one of Mike's JC football games at my alma mater Chabot College.

One of Mike's coaches was an old friend and teammate of mine named Ed Galigher. We were teammates at Chabot and went to competing high schools - Ed to Sunset and me to Mt. Eden. We had known each other since our Little League days. I ran into Ed after the game - it should be noted that Ed played in the NFL for seven seasons for the NY Jets and SF 49ers. After competing bear hugs, Ed smiled at me and said "Damn Chuck - your brother is a legitimate stud and would handle us both easily." Ed did not embellish things - he simply told the truth. So much for athletics - Mike bested me, but I did get a BA and that remains the only instance in which I bested him. Mike earned a scholarship to Boise State after Chabot.

Then life interceded while we were both busy making other plans. Again, as in most families there were good times and bad, Our parents separated and divorced. I ended up in Texas and Mike stayed in the SF Bay Area. He married his wife Margie, and they have three daughters and so far 4 grandchildren. Sammy - the youngest - had a scholarship to Notre Dame De Namur - she got the family pitching genes -and a Masters degree. She works with autistic kids. Rachel -the oldest - has 3 kids and her own business and Becca - the middle girl has a BA and lives in SoCal. Since  our mother's passing, Mike has been the family goto guy - he has been there for us all, including having our dad live with him and Margie for the last several years of his life. That job usually falls to the oldest but in our family it has been the youngest. I spent most of the last seven months living with him and Margie while sorting through issues of my own. He has a stressful job in the concrete business and coached kids through the years as well as played the protective father when his girls were dating. His tales of intimidating young men are legendary as well as hilarious. He has been and remains the family rock and I am extremely proud of him. While having dinner the night before I returned to NC, we were discussing a family issue. I laughed and said since he was the family honcho, he should take care of it. He grinned, leaned back in his chair and said "I am the boss, and I am assigning this one to you". Damned if he hadn't bested me again.  That's Mike, Margie, Samantha, Becca and Maverick in the photo below along with Sammy's dog Ray and Margie's dog Mickey

Please visit the other members of the 5-on-1 team to see what they have to say about this week's topic, chosen by Ramana. Ramana, Padmum, Sanjana & Conrad  

See you next week, same shack time and same shack channel.

Emotional Investment 5 -on - 1 Blog 4/17/20

Our 5-on-1  topic this week is Emotional Investment. In your time on this third rock from the sun, you will find people and things that you become emotionally invested in.To be emotionally invested is-'can you let me be there for you and trust you to do the same when the tables are turned? ' It is a proactive showing up in times of trouble to support each other, offering to help even if the other wants to manage on their own. Without those things and people life just seems to be lacking. Lacking what? Pretty much everything at one time or another. Emotional investment is in many ways like that secret spice in your favorite recipe - you aren't sure exactly what it is but it makes it taste better. It's that friend that is always there for you or that television show/book/movie that you love. I - for example - have seen the movie Camelot over 25 times and still love it. 

Emotional investment is the special ingredient in a relationship that makes the relationship work. Lose that investment and the relationship flounders and probably dies. The perfect line is in this tune by Gordon Lightfoot - I don't know where we went wrong but the feelings gone and we just can't get it back.

Emotional investment in a friendship is like an all in bet for a gambler. You will do anything for that friend - including and especially disagreeing when you think it is necessary - you always have their back. Emotional investment in your career means you are all in and your work  is much more than a job.

Emotional investment does not guarantee a life without a check engine light. If that person you are emotionally invested in does not feel the same way about you, you need to be able to recognize that fact and move on. To me the anthem of unrequited love was written by Terry Kirkman

Being unable to let go of an emotional investment can be very harmful. History is full  of tales of unrequited love that ended tragically. Everyone has their heart broken at some point - it is simply a chapter in our book of life that adds the experience we need to be a well-rounded and thoughtful individual. Failed relationships are learning experiences.

Emotional investment in one's work makes me think immediately of a couple of guys from my generation that were all in that work, and so they have both made huge differences in the world. There is a saying that if you have made the world a better place than it was without you than you have had a successful life. I'd say Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were very successful. But would they have been so successful without their partners Paul Allen and Steve Wozniak? In the beginning Allen and Wozniak were as invested in their companies as Gates and Jobs, but once a large degree of success was maintained they moved on to other things. Allen, in particular, led a fascinating life after Microsoft - check him out on Wikipedia 

People get emotionally invested in many entertainers and their sports heroes. Think Frank Sinatra, the Beatles, and many other successful entertainers. Think Tom Brady, Joe Montana and Bobby Orr among others. Authors? Few have as rabid a following as Stephen King. Each of the named individuals was emotionally invested in their particular field and attracted fans of their works that were emotionally invested in their careers.

Look at the political career of someone like Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. They both attract rabid followers of their particular ideologies. Regardless of your opinion of the ideologies of these individuals, their devotees are among the most passionate around.

As we travel on our paths down our roads of life we will undoubtedly make emotional investments in many people and things. Some will enjoy success, others not so much. The key is to keep moving and making those investments. You never know when one of those investments will pay dividends - some may not show their real value for decades and suddenly pop up and enrich you when it is least expected but most needed. We should all be so lucky.

Please visit the other members of the 5-on-1 team to see what they have to say about this week's topic, chosen by Padmini. Ramana, Padmum, Sanjana & Conrad  

See you next week, same shack time and same shack channel.

Individuality and the Common Good 4/10/2020 5-0n-1

We here in the USA are proud of our individuality and the choices we have in our lives. We are also cognizant of the common good - aka the benefit or interests of all. 

As we are in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic, we find ourselves in the midst of competing ethics. The primary act that is apparently slowing the  spread of the virus is a rather simple concept - stay at home. Now we Americans typically like our homes and have no problems being there - until we are told  by our state, local and federal authorities that we need to be there. Suddenly the common good is taking a big, wild swing at our individuality. The culture that was and is defined by the automobile and the freedom of movement it affords us is suddenly at odds with the simple thing we can do that offers the best hope of ending the pandemic and saving a not insignificant number of lives.

Now most of us seem to think saving lives is a good thing, so we stay at home, and are told if we must leave home, wear a mask. We are allowed to take advantage of essential services. Grocery shopping, gasoline and the like. Of course states vary in their definition of essential business, Mississippi for instance labeling gun shops as essential. We are told not to congregate in groups of 10 or more. Bars and restaurants are closed save for pickup and delivery orders.

Alas, not everyone feels that way about following the guidelines designed to save lives. Fueled perhaps by misinformation disseminated by members of the current administration and their friends at conservative media outlets that the virus would do little if any harm to the young, spring break showed way too many young people partying heartily. 





And when suddenly those being placed on respirators and fighting for their lives included many of the young a major news corporation started beefing up their legal representation in anticipation of expected lawsuits over their coverage. Conservative pundits like Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham and more started singing a different tune. Suddenly the health crisis was real though not really more so than a severe case of the flu. As of this writing, the USA leads in total cases - approaching 428,000 and deaths over 14,500. Globally, 1.5 million cases and approaching 90,000 deaths. And the numbers keep growing. It appears it will be at least a year before a scientifically tested and vetted vaccine is ready. Of course even then some people will not have their children vaccinated, thereby leaving them as potential carriers that could well harm others.

Some right-wing southern preachers are in denial of the danger of Covid-19 - here is a link to a good article on that Preachers in denial

A church choir in Washington (State) held a practice that led to at least 1 death and 45 cases of people with the disease.

There is now evidence that there are a disproportionate number of Black and Hispanic people sick and dying from the virus. Perhaps the southern GOP governors have stumbled across a new way to suppress the vote. What the hell - former intellectual thug Bill O'Reilly says many of those dying of Covid-19 were on their last legs anyway. O'Reilly on Covid-19 deaths

So is individualism taking a back seat to theCovid-19 Pandemic? That rugged individualism that touts self and making  money above all else?  That most noble thing a person can do/be according to Ayn Rand?

Sadly, we are also living in an era wherein common sense has seemingly left the room and headed out to the playground with civility. What seems like a common sense solution to a very real problem is being resisted on several fronts. Scientists and Doctors like Anthony Fauci are receiving death threats 
After Threats, Anthony Fauci to Receive Enhanced Personal Security

If the US Congress can present a 2 trillion dollar plus economic stimulus package with both parties contributing and 45 agreeing, surely the common good, the greater good and individualism can all play in the same sandbox, and, just maybe there will be enough toilet paper for them all.

Please visit the other members of the 5-on-1 team to see what they have to say about this week's topic, chiseled from the future by Conrad
Ramana, Padmum, Sanjana & Conrad

Courage

This week's topic is Courage, defined by Merriam-Webster online as the

mental or moral strength to venture, persevere and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.

Courage is a first responder continuing to do his or her job every day in these troubled times we are navigating - navigating by staying at home.

Courage is  healthcare workers working day in and day out treating patients with a highly contagious disease without sufficient protective equipment.

Courage is getting up every day and doing whatever is required to protect yourself and your family - including social distancing and  self-quarantining or simply staying at home as we attempt to mitigate the growth curve of the corona virus that has seemingly declared war on humanity. Projections indicate a mortality rate of somewhere between 100,000 to upwards of 2+ million victims. And yet there are those who are convinced it is a democratic hoax designed to take down 45. 

Conservative talking heads from Rush Limbaugh to Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and the rest all shouted hoax when the coronavirus pandemic was in its infancy. Now that the numbers are rising exponentially - both infected and dying - suddenly some of them are coming around and recognizing the emergency is real. Fox has fired at least one talking head over her outlandish comments and there is a rumor FOX is worried they may face  legal difficulties over their knowingly false narrative in the early days of the pandemic. Rush, though, continues to stoke the fires of conspiracy. Courage? I think not. Perhaps a day at the  controls of a forklift loading bodies of Covid-19 victims into refrigerated trucks would convince Rush. Then again, probably not.

Courage is doing your part in this crisis - especially if that part is something as simple  as staying home. Even if it means you do not get paid. Even if things like grocery shopping and other things are inconvenient or difficult. Consider the alternative. Consider this a chance to  revisit some of those old family values people claim are missing from our culture these days. Reopen lines of communication that have vanished over time. Consider this a time wherein we can save lives and effect some positive cultural changes.

If perhaps you fall into a category that is a prime target of coronavirus - like me - be extra cautious. Wash your hands often. Practice social distancing. Clean surfaces as often as practical. Order groceries and takeout with the no-contact option.

Interestingly enough, 45 seems to be coming to the party, albeit a bit late. He seems to recognize the seriousness of the situation and is now listening to his experts. Better late than never. Courage? Quite possibly. Honesty goes against everything he believes, and we can only hope it continues.

Yes the economy will take a big hit and yet our government is prepared to invest multiple trillions of dollars to  jump-start the economy. We are in uncharted waters here - facing things we have never faced before. All of us.  Many challenges lurk around every corner. Our resilience will be tested as never before, as will our resolve. Perhaps it took a pandemic to break the logjam that American politics have become. Time will tell.

That's my take on this week's topic - be sure to visit the other four bloggers in our group - there should be some interesting takes on the topic. They are Ramana, Padmum, Sanjana & Conrad