A reader writes in with two comments: one complimenting Matt’s sunglasses as shown in a recent Blog photo, and another expressing optimism about the Presidency of Barack Obama.
Matt responds:
Thank you! I love sunglasses. They let me hide in the crowd.
In fact, whenever I go to a flea market close to our home in the Keys, we buy approximately 40 pairs of glasses. The last time we did this, the total bill was $183.
The guy who sells them knows us well. When we first met, he asked me, “What the hell are you going to do with all these glasses?" And we told him, “Well, it’ll take us 12 months to lose these in great places all over the world!"
I’m sure whoever finds them lying around will wear them and enjoy them... Little will they know they cost about $1.50 a pair. So if I lose them, I just say, “Oh, well...” and get out another pair, and away we go!
Your comments about Obama bring forth that the sun has come out today, not tomorrow, as Little Orphan Annie sings in her song.
I believe that one man can show the way, but if we don’t follow and lead in our own communities, then we’re not going to find that wonderful city on the hill. We can make all the plans, we can talk about all the great conclusions, but talk is cheap; action is hard.
It seems to me that over time, we have let a lot of the niceties, the humanity of our relationships, fall by the wayside as we rush for the ever-present and elusive silver or gold ring. What we ought to be looking for is the happy ring, the “Let’s get along together” ring, the principles that this nation were founded on.
I believe our Founding Fathers and Mothers foresaw how this nation would become a magnet for people of all races, creeds, and religions from around the world.
Recently I watched with great interest a program on The History Channel talking about all the U.S. Presidents. I didn’t know how many times we were almost dissolved as a nation, until one man came along and all people followed, and victory was pulled from defeat.
I think the vision is extremely important. Leadership and the blueprints for getting out of a crisis are absolutely important. But I think it takes all of us getting up every day and worrying a little bit about this country, and then doing something in our own small spheres to make our part of the world a little bit better.
Where do we fit in? I don’t think anybody’s going to come to your door and say, “This is what you should do.” We have to look around ourselves and discover what we can do, and then do it. It’s going to take some time, thought, and meditation, and then, when that’s all over, it’s going to take some action.
All of these things about change remind me of the great old spiritual that says, “Heaven, Heaven, everybody talking about, nobody going.”
We cannot depend upon one man to do everything. He can inspire us, show the way, lead, but democracy is not a spectator sport; we have to get out, get off our asses, get away from the television, stop talking bullshit, and do something positive.
Can you imagine if 300,000,000 people did that for one day? All the ice cream would be gone, and definitely the chocolate cake would be out by 10 o’clock in the morning, if not sooner.
Good luck, and thanks for the good words,
Matt