Tag Archives: distractions

Staying On Point

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Community, distraction issues, Family, impediments, Personal goals, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

November 30, 2025, Grapevine- My sole tasks today were recording measurements of two rooms in the Plano house, using the Notes application on my i-Phone, and doing my laundry. It was not a hard day. Son had to navigate traffic across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, as he does almost every day. He had the harder job. There is a fair number of unfocused, impetuous motorists here, as there are in nearly every major city on the planet. He got the job done just fine.

Much of the difficulty facing the human race has come from one or more people, in any given situation, becoming distracted. There are plenty of diversions competing for anyone’s attention, at any given time of the day: Sunrises and sunsets; cute animals; cute babies; text messages; phone calls; road accidents; attractive members of the opposite sex; billboards; alluring announcements on the radio or streaming device; even someone riding a horse on the side of the road. The tasks, though, remain the same: Drive safely; pay attention to the person in front of you; finish what you start.

I think of this, as I plan out one of the most tightly-choreographed months in quite a while. Not since July, 2011 have I had to face a sea change in my living situation. It will need to be done carefully, and attentively, both because of time frame and because the feelings of so many people, who mean a great deal to me, need to be kept in mind. The most important, of course, are my little family. Others also matter, and so December will see lots of hugs and handshakes and “Thank you for being my friend, all these years.” The saving grace, in each instance, is the continuity offered by social media.

All I can promise anyone is that I will stay on point, and get the tasks of transition done, to the every best of my ability, doing justice for all concerned.

The Road to Diamond, Day 254: Roblox

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Education, Family, impediments, Personal goals, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

August 9,2025- I will be something of a “helicopter” grandfather, to the extent my little family needs my services in the care of a little angel, sometime early next year. We have, as a species, always had to protect our children from harm, whether from the forces of nature-or from those who mean to hurt them.

In the past few months, three rather high-profile cases, of intentional murder of young girls, have taken place in Arizona. More common, are cases of less than lethal abuse and neglect of children and teens, as those around them tell themselves that life is too complicated, even to the point that the kids are expected to behave like adults, or that adults ought to have room to act like children.

This brings up the matter of Roblox, a virtual world that presents itself as an entertainment universe. It is geared towards children and youth, and is presumably seen by some as a means to occupy their offspring’s or charges’ time, thus freeing them up to do their own business. In other words, it is the new TV, available on tablets or Smart Phones. Roblox has a certain appeal, therefore, to those who do not have good intentions towards children, or who seek an outlet for their frustrations or anger, by harassing or harming the vulnerable. It is not, in my opinion, suitable for anyone under the age of 16, or maybe 18.

I will do everything in my power to educate my granddaughter, and any siblings she may have, in the ways of discernment and self-protection. I expect that my role in that regard will be secondary. Son and daughter-in-law are sober and mindful adults, who have a clear idea of their responsibilities.

By extension, I continue to hold the same ethic regarding any young person who crosses my path. Whether in the remaining weeks and months of my time here in Prescott, whilst abroad, or in whatever new Home Base to which I am brought next year, the welfare of our rising generations is at the core of my being.

In any case, I steadfastly oppose those whose view of children and youth-or of other people in general-is that they are playthings, or trifles to be used-and discarded.

The Road to Diamond, Day 247: Under A Small Tent

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

August 2, 2025- Half of the large and amazing farm family were gathered under the little tent, enjoying the artificial, but soft, “grass” and managing to stay out of the heat, whilst enjoying the afternoon breeze. They stayed long after the crowds had departed the Market, but none of us on staff were eager to displace them while there was other work to be done. They are avid supporters of the Prescott Farmers Market and themselves run a family farm, about twenty-five miles north of here. They were, therefore, allowed to stay and relax, until “their” tent was the only thing left to put away.

I am one who will gladly give people the courtesy of lingering, so long as my teammates and I are not taken for granted. The family mentioned above would be mortified if they felt that they were being inconsiderate. (I have visited their homestead several times, and they are most gracious.) Conversely, on Monday evenings, I wait long enough so as not to rush Soup Kitchen guests through their meals-but 5:30 p.m. is the limit set by those on the team who have worked since 10 a.m. So, sometimes it means things might get a bit tense, with those who have little sense of time. It is important to show them that courtesy goes both ways.

We have reached a point where those whose primary value is self-reliance and those who cherish achievements as a group have somehow separated from one another. There is what I consider an artificial division between the two, largely fueled by our culture of anonymity, the overvaluing of personal opinion and of course, the wirepullers- opportunists who alternately whisper and harangue. When I go about tasks of service, working with some at various points along the political spectrum, I find that when the goal is understood, the results are the same.

When profit, a worthy pursuit to the extent that it provides for the well-being of many people, is allowed to exceed the public weal in importance, there is an imbalance. When one’s stated opinions, valuable to the aggregate of the community, are given more importance than the views of others, there begins a process of stagnation. I believe that, once views are stated, they belong to the group to which they are directed. They become part of what is hopefully a healthy conversation and ideally contribute to a solution.

I believe that, big tent or small, there is room for many.

The Road to Diamond, Day 76: Peeling Unripe Mangoes

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, distraction issues, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

February 13, 2025, Manila- I have, through careful attention to the matter, managed to peel three unripe mangoes and a ripe one, without slipping and slashing. This is something that is expected of people who live in tropical areas. Even in temperate places, like Malta, being able to peel fruit without cutting oneself is just a natural element in the rhythm of life.

Now, the present operation, if you want to call it that, of the United States government, looks for all the world like a combination of a Jackson Pollock paint-a-thon and a game of Crash-Cars. Whoever can cause the most distraction gets a prize. Whoever takes the most advantage of the distractions, gets a bigger prize. Those looking for services from the government get a booby prize.

There are solutions to some of this: Those government services that are cut can be replaced by services from non-profit organizations OR they can be provided by entrepreneurs, for a hefty fee. Time will tell whether the cuts take hod. If they do, then we will see which type of organization takes the place of government agencies.

Some of you are bound to tell me, “Oh, come off it! Human beings don’t do bad things to one another, on a large scale, anymore!” Hmm. Hitler’s genocide happened a bit more than 80 years ago. Stalin’s pogroms ended only with his death, in 1953. Mao’s depredations came to an end in 1976, when he died. The Ku Klux Klan only faded into the woodwork, in the 1970s-and it’s not dead. by any means. Pol Pot was ousted in 1979. Rwandan butcher Felicien Kabuga was only brought to justice in 2020.

Human beings may presently be less inclined, on average, to do bad things to one another on a large scale-for ideological reasons. (Ukraine, Gaza, Myanmar and Sudan are exceptions) The profit motive and the personal power card, however, are still very intense incentives to do bad things, especially to people who one may never know on a personal level. Before you tell me that those now in power have no need of more wealth, let’s steer clear of that dis-ingenuity. Many have heard the fable of the man who asked a djinn for a larger house, then for a mansion, then for a palace and finally, to be equal to God. Guess how the story ends. Money and power fill a hole in the psyche of someone who has wanted to be needed, almost since birth and certainly since childhood. Read the biographies of anyone, from Chinghiz Khan to our current President-and that of the CEO of Space X, for that matter, and make the connection.

The mango peeling analogy is this: Sooner or later, those engaged in the devolution of the United States government are going to get carried away, depend too much on Artificial Intelligence and do something ridiculous, because they can. They will then engage in the equivalent of peeling the mango with their eyes closed, or at least whilst looking away from fruit and knife.

I was recently cautioned to not make key decisions while in a state of revelry. I repeat that caution to those who think they don’t need the good will of the common people. “The frowns on the faces of the jugglers and the clowns” that Bob Dylan mentioned, in “Like A Rolling Stone”, are mere grimaces now, but that will change and get more ominous.

Pay attention to your surroundings; the people in them are paying attention to you.

Inside Track

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Posted by on in children, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Striving

August 30, 2024- Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau decided to spend the eve of their sister’s wedding bicycling near their family home in southern New Jersey. Not far away, someone else decided to spend the evening getting drunk. In a matter of an hour or so, the twain met.

Driving home, the drunken man became annoyed by the driver in front of him, who was going the speed limit, and then “inexplicably”slowed down. The careful driver eased to the left, so the impatient one decided he’d show who was boss, and passed on the inside-in Driver A’s blind spot-and…..hit the two bicyclists, killing both of them. Thus were the lives of six families- Johnny’s wife and children; Matthew’s wife and unborn child; the greater family Gaudreau; their prospective brother-in-law’s; the family of Driver A and that of the drunkard himself ( a decorated military veteran, and father of two) , irreparably upended and altered.

It is time to make passing a vehicle on the inside an illegal act, especially in areas where cycling is active. The practice used to be actively discouraged-at least in my home state of Massachusetts, when I was learning to drive. Back then, roads were seemingly half as crowded as now, and there was a lot more civility-and accountability. Errant drivers were more likely to be cited by the police, and called out by their fellow drivers, not by road rage or a raised middle finger, but face to face, in an admonishing manner. End of digression.

There is much about the culture of driving that makes no sense anymore-and it all derives from tunnel vision, a lack of awareness that there are in fact others around, whose lives matter as much as one’s own. We go about, almost on auto pilot, many “burned out” by life, or distracted by what’s next on the agenda and absolutely convinced that there is nothing more important than that next big, or little, thing.

Now, three children will grow up without their fathers and two others will probably see theirs only fleetingly. A loving couple will wed, in time, and two widows will raise their children, with a vow to “make their Daddy proud of them.” The horror of August 29, 2024 will ebb, but never completely go away-as such horrors are wont to never do.

Impatience, impaired judgment and insolence will continue to claim innocent victims, until the day comes when we look the beast in the eye and say “No more”. Such is the legacy of the Inside Track.

Thus Mom Still Says

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Posted by on in children, Family, impediments, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, Social, Striving

September 10, 2019-

Mom turned ninety-one, and doesn’t care who knows it.  She’s earned the right to think, do and eat whatever she wants.  That’s my opinion, anyway.  In our conversation, this morning, she gave me two thumbs up, for taking the joyful, positive view of life, which is mine, most of the time.  She expects me to keep on caring for myself, not depending on anyone else-for which I’m grateful.  My mother has lost none of her fire and spunk.

I woke this morning, to a report that a 13-year-old girl was sent home for wearing one comfortable outfit that was deemed “distracting for boys” ( I saw the outfit, and as a former school administrator, who held the line against bare midriffs and mid-thigh shorts, I think it was overkill, on the part of the school).  Her father brought a second outfit, which the Principal also found objectionable.  He took his daughter home, then launched a campaign to revisit the dress code.  Good for him; there are many men who still don’t take enough interest in the healthy self-concept of their children, especially of their daughters.

Body shaming has been with us for a long time-both against people of size and of slenderness.  Children are also sexualized, far too soon and far too often.  The father, in this case, pointed out that his child doesn’t flirt with her male classmates; she just wants to be a kid, and be comfortable, in 90-degree heat.  I heartily agree, as does my mother, who raised us boys to not dwell on a girl’s, or woman’s, physical attributes-one way or another.  My sister was always held in high regard, and was taught to think well of herself.  She has passed that on to her own daughters, and granddaughters.

I took a healthy lunch, this noon, at a local cafe (Ms. Natural’s) that thrives on its salubrious menu.  I was one of two men in the place, which was packed with mostly young women, all of whom take care of themselves and carry themselves with dignity and grace.  This is what I wish, for everyone, especially for those who have been kept in a dark emotional space, for far too long.

Mom wants that, also.  I hope she’s around, to reiterate the point, for several years to come.