Theos-Talk Archives (November 1994 Message tl00090)

Re your answer of 11-21 to my "encouragement".

Sorry it wasn't enough to the point.  I should know whereof you
speak.  My brother once changed deanships because of this kind of
garbage, & the change wasn't for the better.  I myself had other
kinds of unacceptableness while I worked for 23 years for the
State of NJ, and, other jobs before that.  I have a sneaking
suspicion that most people do on their job.  I think it's more of
a consolation to me than it will be to you who are still working
to hear what rules I've made for myself since I retired.  I
absolutely & categorically refuse to do anything I don't really
enjoy doing wholeheartedly.  Several years ago I got the whole
local AAPR board mad at me, because when I found out that my new
job as V.P.  entailed nothing but addressing & mailing out the
monthly bulletin, I just refused to do it.  Paperwork was that
part of my job as unit supervisor which I abhorred but had to do.
Paperwork under any guise is one thing I now relentlessly refuse
to do.  About a half a year ago I ran a music program at the
Senior Citizens' apt.  complex where I live.  I did it
successfully for 3 months.  I have lots of experience at that
sort of thing.  Every time I gave a program either the recreation
director or her asisstant (both fresh out of college, & green)
got into my hair in some way or another.  I ran the program for 3
months.  I got aggravated for 3 months.  I tried to tell them.
Nothing changed.  Then I quit.  It's too bad.  We have no more
music program, & there are music lovers in the building ...  Let
me tell ya.  I lead a very busy retiree's life doing things I
just love to do.  My only restraints are my health & my finances.
But that's the way the cookie crumbles.  When I feel good, which,
thanks to Harry, & to Timothy Schaub DC, is most often, so far, I
have a ball.

As for the "new barbarians crossing the Rhine via the electronic
super highway" I'm hoping to have an amaryllis blooming by
Christmas.  It's putting up a shoot.  My friends are people who,
like myself are working in some small way to civilise the new
barbarians, & I'm hopeful that there are enough of us in the
world today to eventually prevail.  Of course, the bubble got
burst the other day, when 4 suburban football hero bullies
sadistically beat up an 11 year old boy I know.

Now there's an attempt to heal the boy, & to rein in the bullies,
if possible.  I try to be optimistic, but it's hard sometimes.
What else can I tell ya? You try.  DYB, DYB, DYB, my Cub Scouts
used to say, you "do your best!"

Re: yours of 11/22

You've had your say, & I've had mine.  Suppose we now say "fins"
& go on from there.  I'm not too interested in fighting anymore,
especially not fellow Theosophists.  OK with you?

JH-E "Things change when the majority of the people are fed up
and are ready to change them" Right on.  & do something
constructive about it.

Re your quote about "distributive karma".  I agree, but wouldn't
you say that, since what happens to one affects all, the
obligation to try to mitigate a situation in a foreign country is
not only a moral one, except if you call self preservation
"moral", it's also imperative.

I've had several experiences with violence, like having 2 kids
with a knife take my purse in an elevator.  I also know of the
husband of a colleague of mine who was an insurance agent who
collected money in the projects every week.  One fine day some
guys choloroformed him in an elevator, & when he woke up, all his
money & his jewelry was gone.  To the contrary, a dear friend of
mine was a black chaplain who worked in the county jail.  He felt
it as one of his duties to visit people in the ghetto hospital
(probably family of inmates, who were worried about their kin or
girl friends.) He did this when he had time at night.  One night
he was just about to get into his car, when 2 guys started to
hold him up.  Then they got a look at his face, said "Reverend
Salters!" and went the other way.  But these aren't tales where
you chose what to do, you just did.  I can't think of any like
that.

The State Police came to our offices once & trained us on how to
defend ourselves a little.  Nevertheless one of my colleagues
once got approached from behind & beaten up by an unknown woman
who had just been released from a mental hospital.  Our guard, an
off-duty police man, frequently chased addicts out of our waiting
area, where they lay sleeping, completely spaced out; & once I
found a pusher working in the corridor in front of our men's
room.  What did I do? I tried my damndest to get decent jobs for
my applicants, so they could move out of the ghetto.  There
surely wasn't enough training available, & often they didn't want
training, because they needed bread immediately, or if not bread
then diapers.  (& if you asked them "well what kind of work can
you do?" the usual answer was "Anything.  I'm quick to learn."
But when I retired, Reaganomics had us so wrapped up in
paperwork, & producing statistics, that there was hardly any time
left over to refer applicants to jobs.  At that point, I decided
to retire.  If I'd stuck it out for 2 more years, I would have
gotten my Major Medical Insurance paid for.  As it is, I shell
out 120 odd Dollars every month for it.  I guess, here's another
answer to William Allen.  You stick it out, until you can
reasonably quit, or find some other kind of work.

You know WILIIAM I remember how worried we were during World War
II, because we realized all the mistakes the Allies were making.
Well, you know how that one ended.  We won anyway.  Same when
McCarthy came.  I remeber taking a current events class at that
time, when no one dared open their mouth.  Well, Mc Carth went
after a while.  It gave me faith.  Somehow, we seem to make it.

Let's find ways to change business ethics, shall we? Or maybe we
should first try to dealienate the kids in the ghettos.