September 1, 2013
In the mailbox: see end of article.
No one – including CBS, NBC, ABC, Hannity, Greta, Geraldo, and Billyboy – has recently requested my thoughts on life in general. It’s hard to believe, but it’s true; notwithstanding this embarrassing dilemma, I am forging ahead with the following 20 points of potential interest to the Theodore Newsletter readers.
• I no longer use the word “romantic” with the word “war”,
• Why can’t more politicians be like Maureen O’Connell?
• The holidays will arrive in four months. I suggest you send either hand-written or computer-generated greeting cards/notes. In your message, remember that you can’t negotiate with time.
• The three main jobs of an educator are to instill the value of scholarship, athletics, and intellectual honesty in his students.
• What unrenowned educator/author said: “Contrary to what many believe, I was something less than a mediocre student in college with a GPA of 2.4/4.0” (answer at end of article).
• Looks, height, sex (women have the upper hand here), personality, ethnicity, being a “doer”, and abilities to communicate verbally and in writing are the main predictors of an individual’s future success.
• Prior to marriage and becoming a father, I never gave a second thought to where my life, education, and professional world would take me. My education and early career decisions were (fortunately?) made by others. However, I did learn in my mid-teens that physical labor was not for me.
• One of the important keys to success for those who work for industry, business, education or government is to make oneself indispensible on the job.
• I believe most doctors start out dedicated to serving their patients, but then greed sets in. Speaking of doctors, I still remember my first encounter with mine who I called and informed him that I’d just broken my leg in two places. “What should I do?” I asked. He paused and then replied: “Don’t go back to those two places”.
• Someone once said that 80% of life is just showing up. Modern technology has reduced that to somewhere in the 20-30% range.
• Relatively speaking, and family commitments aside, I never let my education or job get in the way of having a good time.
• I dedicated one of my books to Bill O’Reilly. I sent him a copy. He never acknowledged receiving it. I requested the book be returned. I’m still waiting.
• I never had a one year, five year, ten year, etc. plan in my adult life. NEVER. Daily or weekly plans – yes. I don’t believe in long-term plans work – they hinder originality and can create unnecessary problems and stress. The technology explosion revolution has all but eliminated long-range plans.
• I have been involved in a lot of different “outside” activities. But, W-2 forms were received from the same organization for 50 consecutive years. Conclusion: I never had the guts to leave.
• Why can’t caring parents tell their kids that they need to read, write, etc. in order to succeed in life?
• I was a Depression baby.
• The Great Depression affected many. Despite growing up in the slums of Hell’s Kitchen, it wasn’t until the mid-50s that I became aware there had been a depression. I wasn’t rich, was never a big spender, but can’t ever remember not having something I wanted or needed during that era.
• I’m proud to say that my parents never said a negative thing about any race or religion.
• For those of you my age, I still remember Gabriel Heater and The Lone Ranger radio programs.
• I still pal-around and vacation with approximately two dozen friends of 50+ years. One of them was recently observed arguing with a stop sign.
The unrenowned educator author is none other than Mr. Modesty himself, Lou Theodore.
Visit the author at
http://www.theodorenewsletter.com
And refer your friends, colleagues, enemies, etc., to the site.
Lou Theodore
Here is what is on tap in the coming months:
October 1: On the Barack Hussein Obama Legacy
November 1: The OHI Day III
December 1: Play Ball
January 1: Revisiting the East Williston School District
Mailbox (re: The New Cooper Union)
Sad what has happened to Cooper Union and to America. With 51% of Americans voting for this Muslim/Communist, it will take decades, if ever, to overcome his purposeful destruction of America.
Name Withheld
Mr. Theodore: I loved the Cooper article! I hadn’t known a lot about the institution but I really liked your perspective. You also asked for my comments on the NYRA article. Candidly, you do seem a little bitter in the article and it wasn’t my favorite but, in fairness, I think I’ve put NYRA in my rearview mirror and it’s no longer interesting to me. I’ve lost hope that my children will be able to enjoy a “Day at the Races” with their families and/or friends 20 years from now. I think NYS has ruined the Sport of Kings.
B.
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