jubilationtcornpone

Not so much what I did as what I didn't do. I was picking up a birthday cake for one of my kids and I was standing in line behind a lady who was obviously doing the same thing. Based on her appearance and the fact that she was fumbling through her wallet while on the phone with the bank, I got the sense that she was a little short on cash.

Something told me I should go ahead and pay for her cake. I could easily afford it so why not? For whatever reason I chickened out. I don't know why.

I left there with my kids birthday cake, feeling very ashamed of myself. It was a small thing and yet to me it was a serious moral failure.

Neither AI nor OpenAI's management are capable of understanding irony.

"Softly" by Gordon Lightfoot is one of my favorite songs. On the surface it appears to be about a woman but I don't think it is. I was listening to it one time when it just popped into my head, "Holy shit. He's talking about the moon."

I thought about writing him to ask if I was right and I kind of regret that I didn't while he was still alive. The man was a poet of highest caliber. If you like or can at least listen to folk music, the album "Gord's Gold" lives up to it's name.

Headlines a short time later...

"GOP Proposes Banning Sacrificial Death Miracles"

AP News - Decrying the seemingly miraculous events of last week as "blatant socialism" and, rather ironically, "part of the woke agenda", house Republicans have introduced a bill that would make sacrificing ones life altruistically a felony. When asked how they planned to prosecute the rotting corpse of the accused were the bill to pass, House Speaker Mike Johnson acknowledged the steep uphill battle, stating, "we will leave no gravestone unturned when it comes preventing ordinary Americans from having God-like benevolence and generosity forced upon them against their will."

Starts off OK but ends in disappointment?

It's not just you. That pretty much is your thirties. Most of the people I know in their 20's (at least their early 20's) are still making a point to hang out. Most of the guys over 60 are playing golf or getting a beer.

And then there's my group: the ones who are working at their job all day, working at the endless list of projects around the house in the evenings, and spending the few spare moments they have in between with their family.

Sometimes I think maybe it would be nice to have more actual friends. But it doesn't really bother me that I don't. I'm pretty busy being a husband and a dad and everything in between and I'm happy with where I'm at right now. I know the way things are now is not permanent and nothing is set in stone.

On another note, the 30's are good times. My favorite decade so far. Not always fun, but still good.

Can confirm. Am 34 and, despite numerous setbacks, my 30's have still been my favorite decade so far.

Knew one family that had a big rear projection in their "media room". Going to watch movies at their house was a legit event.

Forgot "Pasting it into a Word document".

Don doesn't love himself or believe anyone else could love him. That's understandable since he grew up being told very clearly that was unwanted. He keeps trying to fill this massive void in his life with professional success, drinking, and philandering but it all just leaves him feeling empty.

Don needs some serious therapy, which would have been incredibly difficult to come by in the 1960's.

The Brave Little Toaster. I loved that movie cause what little kid doesn't want to watch a bunch of singing appliances? It's actually a really good movie but the themes about existential crisis and the need for purpose are way over a kids head. Also, the clown scene gave me nightmares.

Don't do anything you're going to have to lie about. If you do, don't lie about it. If you do, make it right as soon as possible.

This is something I learned from experience. I have plenty of problems in my life but a heavy conscience isn't one of them.