A metaphor for life
The Ironman Triathalon in Hawaii was the first and remains the most famous. For those who don't know the specifics, contestants swim 2.4 miles (wetsuits that would improve buoyancy aren't allowed), then jump on a bicycle and ride 112 miles, followed by the last leg, a 26.2 mile race (traditional marathon distance).
It is a perfect metaphor for life. For everyone, not just those who undertake the major commitment that training to complete an Ironman entails. It begins with the swim. The swim represents our childhood and teen years.
The swim is the "fastest" event in terms of actual time, but seems to be the slowest. It seems like you'll never get to the next stage of life, where you gain more rights and more freedom, along with more responsibility. It separates the pack, with those who are blazing a trail to be the leaders of society finishing faster, while others plod along in the middle of the group. At the rear are those who plod through childhood, those we refer to as "late-bloomers."
Next comes the event that takes the most hours but seems to be the shortest event in terms of how quickly it passes. Young adulthood through middle age, until we wake up one morning and suddenly find that we grew old overnight. The cyclists race through the 112 miles at high speeds which matches how life seems when you're an adult prior to entering the stage where most consider you old. We know when we get there that we aren't really old. We don't feel old. We don't think we look old. But that's how others perceive us.
That's where the third stage begins, the marathon. Because while the adult stage of life seems to race by, retirement seems to drag forever if you don't find ways to occupy yourself. I have the unique perspective of watching a group of people navigating this marathon daily. Some enjoy it by keeping busy, engaging socially and not just sitting around waiting for the race to end. Others just sit there, waiting to cross the finish line. They don't want to get there, as we don't know what's on the other side. But once you stop caring about the race and enjoying it, the inevitability of that finish line can be overwhelming.
Life is a triathalon. Savor every stage. When you run (or walk or crawl or are wheeled) over the finish line, that's it. There's no next race that I know of.
* * *
Time to give outgoing City of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa his report card. I give him a C+.
Yes, he went out and found a way to spend billions on the Metro rail system. How well it will continue to attract riders once they finally lock the gates and stop freeloaders from riding without paying remains to be seen. Also remaining to be seen is if a large enough number of residents will abandon their cars to ride the rail system. Some certainly will. For some it is a necessity. Rail is faster than riding the bus. But far too many people are married to their cars and aren't willing to consider a trial separation; let alone a divorce.
Yes, violent crime is down. But DOJ stats tell us that it's down all over the nation. Yes, Mayor V finally managed to somehow push the number of officers employed by the LAPD over the magic mark of 10,000. That seems laudable. Right up until you look at some numbers:
Area
Los Angeles - 469 square miles
New York City - 303 square miles
Chicago - 234 square miles
Washington, D.C. - 68 square miles
Philadelphia - 142 square miles
Number of police officers per 1,000 population
Washington, D.C. - 6.7
Chicago - 4.7
Philadelphia - 4.7
New York City - 4.3
Los Angeles - 2.5
Something is horribly wrong with those numbers. The City of Los Angeles covers far more area, with a smaller force per capita. Fewer cops per person, fewer cops per mile.
The city's finances remain a mess, a mess worsened by Mayor V's choice to cave in to the unions and approve increases in salaries and benefits the residents simply can't afford. There will come a day when the unfunded pension liabilities that were worsened by his choices will come due.
Businesses continue to flee the city and they aren't being replaced by others as fast as they depart. The gross receipts tax incentivizes people who work from home to consider living elsewhere, if they don't qualify for the small business exemption. Remember it's a gross receipts tax. So if you sell $500,000 worth of something that cost you $400,000 to buy, ship and so on, you are taxed on the $500,000 worth of sales, not your net profit. Having to pay two or three percent of your gross sales is a big hit in a situation like that.
I don't know if Eric Garcetti will do any better, but we can hope. Mayor V might have gotten a B- if he hadn't been so scandal-plagued.
* * *
Alec Baldwin is the latest in a long line of celebrities who were forced to apologize for things they said on Twitter or elsewhere in social media. Amazing how people will say "those words do not reflect how I feel or believe" after they've said something.
If that isn't what you believe or how you feel, why in the world would you say it? He was very angry with a reporter over a story about Baldwin's wife tweeting at the funeral of James Gandolfini. Understandable.
However, if someone truly believes in equality and supports LGBT rights, would he use the phrase "toxic little queen" as an insult? Probably not.
The underlying theme in these apologies seems to be "judge me by what I do, not by what I say" and in that respect Alec Baldwin has definitely supported LGBT rights by his words and by his actions. Give the man his due. Right up until he tweeted what he tweeted.
I don't think we should revile the man forever over this. He said he's sorry. The apology should be accepted. I just hope he doesn't do this again.
* * *
This Date In History:
On this date in 1613, the Globe Theater burns to the ground.
On this date in 1864, 99 people die in Canada's worst railway disaster.
On this date in 1880, France annexes Tahiti.
On this date in 1927, a U.S. Army Air Corps aircraft completes the first transpacific flight, from the mainland U.S. to Hawaii.
On this date in 1956, the Federal-Aid Highway Act is signed, creating the U.S. Interstate Highway System.
On this date in 1974, Mikhail Baryshnikov defects from the Soviet Union.
On this date in 1976, the Seychelles become independent from the United Kingdom.
On this date in 2007, Apple releases the first iPhone.
Famous Folk Born On This Date:
George Washington Goethals
William James Mayo
Harry Frazee
Nelson Eddy
Slim Pickens
Robert Evans
John Bradshaw (longest hours of my life were being forced by my 2nd wife to listen to one of his talks)
Little Eva
Gary Busey
Fred Grandy
Colin Hay
Rick Honeycutt (he had a bad night last night)
Maria Conchita Alonso
Rosa Mota
Sharon Lawrence
Amanda Donohoe (one-half of TV's first "lesbian kiss"
Melora Hardin
Nicole Scherzinger (yes, if I had a girlfriend, I'd wish she was hot like her)
Today's movie quotes come from a film Robert Evans was involved in producing, "Urban Cowboy":
Aunt Corene: Damn Bud, Ya'll live like pigs!
#2
Bud: Now, you gotta learn something - there are just certain things a girl cain't do.
Sissy: Name one.
Marshall: I can name serval, pissin' on the side of a wall, gettn laid while your pants are still on...
Sissy: Why would you want to?
It is a perfect metaphor for life. For everyone, not just those who undertake the major commitment that training to complete an Ironman entails. It begins with the swim. The swim represents our childhood and teen years.
The swim is the "fastest" event in terms of actual time, but seems to be the slowest. It seems like you'll never get to the next stage of life, where you gain more rights and more freedom, along with more responsibility. It separates the pack, with those who are blazing a trail to be the leaders of society finishing faster, while others plod along in the middle of the group. At the rear are those who plod through childhood, those we refer to as "late-bloomers."
Next comes the event that takes the most hours but seems to be the shortest event in terms of how quickly it passes. Young adulthood through middle age, until we wake up one morning and suddenly find that we grew old overnight. The cyclists race through the 112 miles at high speeds which matches how life seems when you're an adult prior to entering the stage where most consider you old. We know when we get there that we aren't really old. We don't feel old. We don't think we look old. But that's how others perceive us.
That's where the third stage begins, the marathon. Because while the adult stage of life seems to race by, retirement seems to drag forever if you don't find ways to occupy yourself. I have the unique perspective of watching a group of people navigating this marathon daily. Some enjoy it by keeping busy, engaging socially and not just sitting around waiting for the race to end. Others just sit there, waiting to cross the finish line. They don't want to get there, as we don't know what's on the other side. But once you stop caring about the race and enjoying it, the inevitability of that finish line can be overwhelming.
Life is a triathalon. Savor every stage. When you run (or walk or crawl or are wheeled) over the finish line, that's it. There's no next race that I know of.
* * *
Time to give outgoing City of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa his report card. I give him a C+.
Yes, he went out and found a way to spend billions on the Metro rail system. How well it will continue to attract riders once they finally lock the gates and stop freeloaders from riding without paying remains to be seen. Also remaining to be seen is if a large enough number of residents will abandon their cars to ride the rail system. Some certainly will. For some it is a necessity. Rail is faster than riding the bus. But far too many people are married to their cars and aren't willing to consider a trial separation; let alone a divorce.
Yes, violent crime is down. But DOJ stats tell us that it's down all over the nation. Yes, Mayor V finally managed to somehow push the number of officers employed by the LAPD over the magic mark of 10,000. That seems laudable. Right up until you look at some numbers:
Area
Los Angeles - 469 square miles
New York City - 303 square miles
Chicago - 234 square miles
Washington, D.C. - 68 square miles
Philadelphia - 142 square miles
Number of police officers per 1,000 population
Washington, D.C. - 6.7
Chicago - 4.7
Philadelphia - 4.7
New York City - 4.3
Los Angeles - 2.5
Something is horribly wrong with those numbers. The City of Los Angeles covers far more area, with a smaller force per capita. Fewer cops per person, fewer cops per mile.
The city's finances remain a mess, a mess worsened by Mayor V's choice to cave in to the unions and approve increases in salaries and benefits the residents simply can't afford. There will come a day when the unfunded pension liabilities that were worsened by his choices will come due.
Businesses continue to flee the city and they aren't being replaced by others as fast as they depart. The gross receipts tax incentivizes people who work from home to consider living elsewhere, if they don't qualify for the small business exemption. Remember it's a gross receipts tax. So if you sell $500,000 worth of something that cost you $400,000 to buy, ship and so on, you are taxed on the $500,000 worth of sales, not your net profit. Having to pay two or three percent of your gross sales is a big hit in a situation like that.
I don't know if Eric Garcetti will do any better, but we can hope. Mayor V might have gotten a B- if he hadn't been so scandal-plagued.
* * *
Alec Baldwin is the latest in a long line of celebrities who were forced to apologize for things they said on Twitter or elsewhere in social media. Amazing how people will say "those words do not reflect how I feel or believe" after they've said something.
If that isn't what you believe or how you feel, why in the world would you say it? He was very angry with a reporter over a story about Baldwin's wife tweeting at the funeral of James Gandolfini. Understandable.
However, if someone truly believes in equality and supports LGBT rights, would he use the phrase "toxic little queen" as an insult? Probably not.
The underlying theme in these apologies seems to be "judge me by what I do, not by what I say" and in that respect Alec Baldwin has definitely supported LGBT rights by his words and by his actions. Give the man his due. Right up until he tweeted what he tweeted.
I don't think we should revile the man forever over this. He said he's sorry. The apology should be accepted. I just hope he doesn't do this again.
* * *
This Date In History:
On this date in 1613, the Globe Theater burns to the ground.
On this date in 1864, 99 people die in Canada's worst railway disaster.
On this date in 1880, France annexes Tahiti.
On this date in 1927, a U.S. Army Air Corps aircraft completes the first transpacific flight, from the mainland U.S. to Hawaii.
On this date in 1956, the Federal-Aid Highway Act is signed, creating the U.S. Interstate Highway System.
On this date in 1974, Mikhail Baryshnikov defects from the Soviet Union.
On this date in 1976, the Seychelles become independent from the United Kingdom.
On this date in 2007, Apple releases the first iPhone.
Famous Folk Born On This Date:
George Washington Goethals
William James Mayo
Harry Frazee
Nelson Eddy
Slim Pickens
Robert Evans
John Bradshaw (longest hours of my life were being forced by my 2nd wife to listen to one of his talks)
Little Eva
Gary Busey
Fred Grandy
Colin Hay
Rick Honeycutt (he had a bad night last night)
Maria Conchita Alonso
Rosa Mota
Sharon Lawrence
Amanda Donohoe (one-half of TV's first "lesbian kiss"
Melora Hardin
Nicole Scherzinger (yes, if I had a girlfriend, I'd wish she was hot like her)
Today's movie quotes come from a film Robert Evans was involved in producing, "Urban Cowboy":
Aunt Corene: Damn Bud, Ya'll live like pigs!
#2
Bud: Now, you gotta learn something - there are just certain things a girl cain't do.
Sissy: Name one.
Marshall: I can name serval, pissin' on the side of a wall, gettn laid while your pants are still on...
Sissy: Why would you want to?
posted by me at 12:46 PM
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