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Six weeks ago I made a life change and though each week is a bit easier, I am still struggling with the transition. When asked I explain that I retired from my full-time position and took a part-time job to stay active, but truthfully I did not retire, I quit my former employer and took a part-time job to stay afloat. I quit my full-time position for the following reasons:

Gold Medal: despite my pleas and efforts otherwise, there was no improvement for more than three of my five-and-a-half years; we merely maintained status quo.

Silver Medal: I was not appreciated as was reflected by my pay.

Bronze Medal: indifference; no effort to understand.

Honorable Mention: righteous indignation.

Honorable Mention: pretentious hesitancy.

The medals all go to power but because righteous indignation is from injustice it is more likely found outside of power and because pretentious hesitancy is from fear then ditto.

Mishandled righteous indignation can easily branch off to a perception by others of self righteous arrogance that typically redirects from progress to toxicity. I have been guilty. Power typically will not listen to righteous indignation and no one wants to listen to self righteous bombast and bluster. So to have a chance at improvement, righteous indignation must be tempered (or even replaced) with workable, reasonable, progressive steps toward improvement. The brick wall these steps often lead to though is the fact that power frequently prefers the status quo and not only hides behind bureaucracy to maintain their favorable circumstance but also encourages (or at the least does not discourage) pretense, indignation and arrogance from the powerless to further thwart and hinder progress.

So if the two options above (angry confrontation and rational discussion) simply serve the status quo, how does one properly handle righteous indignation to expose and correct injustice - to right wrongs? In my experience with this former employer, I was unable to find a way, so I finally felt I had no choice but to quit.

Silver Lining:

If I quit because there was no improvement and if my resignation (for a time) makes things worse, then this loss will create a more immediate opportunity for improvement and now that I am gone those who are left can work harder to make up for the loss and pat themselves on the back and feel like they’ve really accomplished something when they eventually get back to the plateau we previously occupied together and those in power have not only maintained status quo but have also refocused energies on the demands of day-to-day improvement thus distracting from the overlay of injustice.

Yay!

Go Team!

Allowing 4 points for the national champion, 3 points for the runner-up, and 2 points for each of the first round losers in the NCAA Men's Final Four, since the tournament began in 1939, (of 138 teams), following are those in the top 10%:

• UCLA - 62.
• North Carolina - 60.
• Kentucky - 54.
• Duke - 50.
• Kansas - 46.
• Ohio State - 28.
• Indiana - 27.
• Louisville - 26.
• UConn - 26.
• Michigan State - 25.
• Michigan -24.
• Villanova -21.
• Cincinnati - 17.
• Oklahoma State - 17.
• Florida - 17.

The list above is in order except for Louisville and UConn (tied for 8th) and Cincinnati, Oklahoma State, and Florida (tied for 13th). In this moment, (before the first round of the 2025 Final Four), Florida is in that tie with Cincinnati and Oklahoma State but may leapfrog both with one or two wins. The point again, (which I have previously written about here 4/2/22 and here 4/8/23), is that even in men's college basketball, the rich continue to get richer. To find a Final Four in which one of these teams was not a participant, we have to go all the way back to 1956, and even then (from 1939 to 1956) there were only 7 tournaments in which at least one of these teams did not participate. Alternatively, there have been 19 tournaments in which 3 of the final 4 were from this group and 5 times in which all 4 were from this top 10%. So though it took them a couple of decades to do so, since 1956 these blue bloods have asserted and represented well. So much for a level playing field.

Furthermore…

If we were to equate Final Four appearances with income and Championships with wealth, the inequality percentages are scarily similar. Updated recent comparisons (income and wealth data from Statista and Wealth Inequality Database) are below.

Final Four Appearances:

• Top 10 – 48.0%
• Middle 40 – 43.5%
• Bottom 50 – 8.5%

US Income Inequality:

• Top 10 – 46.8%
• Middle 40 – 39.8%
• Bottom 50 – 13.4%

National Championships:

• Top 10 – 69.4%
• Middle 40 – 30.6%
• Bottom 50 – 0.0%

US Wealth Inequality:

• Top 10 – 66.7%
• Middle 40 – 30.8%
• Bottom 50 – 2.5%

Based on this information, I pick Duke to beat Florida in the championship game Monday night. Houston would not be a big surprise (currently only 1 point behind Florida, Cincinnati, and Oklahoma State) and could vault into the top 10% with one or two victories. Auburn, (win or lose) will be rewarded for their efforts by moving from the bottom 50% to the middle 40%; probably the most difficult journey of all…

Go America!

Tax Avoidance, Tax Evasion, Tax Fraud - However you choose to phrase it Trump is guilty. Yet he is the harbinger creating an uproar over social security fraud. It appears that social security fraud amounts to less than .02% (that is less than .0002) of all payouts, which in dollars is 270 million. To me that does sound like a lot but compared to the tax gap each year (in the hundreds of billions) it is paltry, as are trump and musk. Tax Avoidance alone (in the tens of billions per year) is at the very least more than 35 times Social Security Fraud yet we are focusing our energies on disrupting the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans who are just trying to keep their heads down and make it from one paycheck to the next; and yes, social security payments are paychecks. It is another sleight of hand - focus on the poor while the rich get richer.

Over the last six-and-a-half decades I have worked very hard to be a part of the world, to improve process, to play by the rules, to learn and grow, to do Good. I thought hard work would pay off and in its own way it has, but somewhere along my path I overlooked the dictate that said “It's all about my access to wealth and power.” More than once I could have had a little piece but instead (more than once) I opted to stand on principle and not sell out. I thought there was more. I thought the rules were just and I thought the rules applied to everyone. I thought the American Dream was attainable. I was wrong. I see now there is only wealth and power and the rules are malleable essentially only benefiting those with wealth and power.

So now, after six-and-a-half decades, I am sad. I feel I have been forced to retire because (just as I overlooked wealth and power) wealth and power overlooked me. I was forced to retire less comfortably than if I would have sold out somewhere along my way. And because the world has kicked me out, I must now figure out how to ignore the world, I must now figure out how to live my remaining years graciously - peacefully - gracefully; with less money. I have been wronged but I am sure no more so and likely less so than a majority of the people in this country; (and I realize this acknowledgement is not a very good start to ignoring the world).

To ease the financial discomfort, I have taken a part-time job. How else to ease discomfort and ignore the world? The following come to me as potential distractions:

• Cooking.
• Reading.
• Walking.
• Writing.
• Spectator sports.
• Netflix.
• Board games.

But as much as I enjoy the endeavors above, each one is loaded with sneaky (or not so sneaky) reminders that I missed the memo; (you know - the one about personal wealth and power).

On Cooking: My life philosophy, (that I should always work to improve and do better in and for the world), is strongly reflected in my cooking, reminding me that wealth and power have a different agenda.

On Reading: Of all the items listed, reading is perhaps the most brazenly obvious reminder of past, current and (potential) future misdeeds and injustice. Sure, I could avoid nonfiction (and of late I have more so than I should), but good fiction is often as glaring and in some examples more effectively so. That said, I will continue to read and thus (in this regard) fail in my efforts to ignore the world.

On Walking: Time for deeper reflection that can lead to anger, sadness and stormy thoughts and questions, but more often seems to provide calmer direction.

On Writing: Like walking, an opportunity for deeper reflection but with more conscious focus on resolution so it obviously must consider wealth and power.

On Spectator Sports: If I can stay on the surface and enjoy the competition for its own sake, then this is a nice place to hide. Unfortunately it is difficult for me to forget that where wins are currency, this is just another example of the rich getting richer; (see this previous post).

On Netflix: Action, adventure, and competition are my typical hiding places here, but (as in reading) I am often presented with real life; i.e. wealth and power performing misdeeds and practicing injustice.

On Board Games: Games of skill and strategy deal in the currency of wins and those in which luck is a greater factor I am reminded of the luck of being born on third base. Still, on the surface, games can be a temporary distraction.

Like a flat stone skipping across a body of water, I suppose the best strategy may be to skim the surface from one hidey-hole to another so as not to immerse myself too deeply into any one hair-pulling, head-scratching insinuation that good guys don't win and I should have prioritized differently. And perhaps within this approach I will be able to maintain the affability, the peace, the grace that is both expected and necessary.

As an amateur home cook I love the process of preparing and cooking a meal. It appeals to my sense of organization and (on the other end of the control / chaos spectrum) within each effort a number of mistakes are invariably made providing invaluable learning opportunities that also remind me that the only certainty in cooking (as in life) is uncertainty. And on the rare occasion when the stars and grains of salt accidentally align and all components work together to create a shared harmonious experience, I take a moment to enjoy the sights and sounds and smells and tastes and textures, then I remind myself that it is not my best effort …yet.

Definition: Command Performance - a recipe for which a taster has graciously acknowledged its potential.

Sure, I could follow a recipe exactly, each and every time, and potentially practice enough to where my efforts are nearly duplicated, and there are a select few command performances in which I (for the most part) do; but then I also think, where’s the fun or opportunity in that? So, often instead, before I begin I study the recipe, then look at notes I may have made from previous critiques, then I tweak it and/or (if it is not a command performance) make wholesale changes and/or note mistakes and anxiously anticipate the outcome. The result ranges anywhere from (sometimes) horrendous to (mostly) incremental to (on rare occasion) glorious. All that said, many of my frequent recipes are command performance works in progress, meaning I ask for (and listen to) criticism and from there I more consciously make incremental rather than wholesale changes.

Definition: Process - A systematic series of actions focused on an end result and with an eye towards improvement from effort to effort.

Definition: Preparation - Plan, gather, wash, rinse, scrub, drain, peel, chop, cut, slice, dice, mince, grate, shred, sift, knead, add, whisk, beat, stir, mix, fold, spoon, puree, layer, pour, scoop, scrape, grease, top, turn, rest, cool, chill, pickle…

Definition: Cooking - Preparation with the addition of heat; simmer, grill, smoke, bbq, boil, saute, toast, roast, reduce, warm, melt, fry, wilt, blanch, caramelize, soften, broil, steam, stew, baste, sear, poach, braise, bake…

The process starts with a single thought, typically a base thought like “I'm hungry” or perhaps a slightly more advanced thought like “for dinner tonight…” Once I move past instinct or need, preparation begins with a plan first in my mind, often followed closely by a perusal of my pantry, fridge, food stock and stores, and perhaps a trip to the garden or the grocery. Once resources are gathered and I have reviewed the recipe(s) and laid my hands on the first ingredient, the fun begins - I am now moving across the spectrum from preparation to execution and from control to chaos; and I will continue to move back and forth like a ship tossed about in a storm until I reach safe harbor at the dinner table to notate course corrections and adjustments for next time.

Definition: Skill - Competence strengthened with practice.

Definition: Talent - Natural ability or aptitude; opportunity to strengthen one's skill.

My smoked salmon is a wonderful example of this food preparation process. Declared by one in-law friend and family member (over 65 like me) as one of the top five things she has ever eaten in her life, I have to wonder - which version? Was it the time I brined it for 4 hours, cured it in the fridge for 2 hours, used a greater proportion of cherry wood to charcoal, left it on the smoker for 2 hours and 15 minutes, and let it rest in a warm oven for 45 minutes? Or was it the time I brined it for 5 hours, cured it for 3 hours, Used a lesser proportion of hickory wood to charcoal, left it on the smoker for 2 hours and 45 minutes, and brought it directly to the table? Was it the windy day with low humidity? Or was it the warm day with high humidity? And was it the 2.5 pound filet or the 3.25 pound filet? I promise you, each one was different and I suspect that in a room with ten tasters there would be disagreement as to which one might be worthy of a top 5 consideration. Even on the same filet the thinner portion will be a different experience than the thicker serving. Though skill and talent may play a small part, this all substantiates my belief that (especially for the home cook) good food is far, far more a result of planning and preparation on the control end of the spectrum and acknowledgement ahead of time that there will be a chaos end of the spectrum, and the more I practice the more I am also reminded that when my food sings, I am far, far more lucky than I am good or talented.