THE WORST JOB I EVER HAD

People doing a job I absolutely hated! Photo courtesy of outbounders.tv

IT WAS DURING THE SUMMER OF 1990…

I was a student at UCLA and looking to earn money to help pay for the next school year, which I had planned to be my last as I was getting ever so closer to earning my bachelor’s degree.

I was hired as a UCLA camp counselor, but it unfortunately failed to work out for reasons that I don’t want to go into as I was let go literally the Friday before camp was supposed to begin the following Monday.

Which obviously left me up the proverbial creek.

I spent the rest of that June and the bulk of July looking for a job mostly in Santa Monica, where I was living at the time,

With nothing remotely close to luck of course as I particularly remember going into a store on Pico Blvd asking for a job only to be, figuratively speaking, shoved out the door.

I think it was late July when I came across an ad in either the Santa Monica Outlook or the Los Angeles Times for some marketing assistant or something like that; being that it was over thirty years ago I don’t remember what that ad exactly said.

I called the number shown and felt a sort of gladness when the guy at the other end said that he wanted to interview me; I then headed over to this office building on Pico just a few blocks east of Cloverfield Blvd, where after answering a few questions I was hired.

Which normally would be good news,

Except for the fact that it would turn out to be roughly five weeks (I’m not exactly sure; it was over three decades ago) of a virtual hell as the place I was hired was a telemarketing call center.

And a pretty bad one at that as looking back, it was a dodgy-looking place where I and the other workers were expected to do cold calls from the phone book, fundraising for various law enforcement charities much like what was seen on HBO’s recent documentary miniseries “Telemarketers”, which exposed the many scams those companies performed through folks calling people who didn’t want to be bothered, using aggressive tactics to get their money.

Add to that the fact that the callers, me included, were expected to work on commmission only, meaning that if we had a bad day with no sales, we didn’t get paid,

Which made us, in a way, slave labor – or at least indentured servitude labor,

And the fact that I had no idea of my being on the autism spectrum at that time and thus my having Asperger’s rendered me as completely ill-suited for telemarketing,

And it was a labor of hate for those few weeks.

I particularly remember two episodes which illustrated the practical hell I was in…

The first episode was during one evening – I was expected to work nights and Saturdays – when for whatever reason I had a emotional breakdown to the point where I was allowed to go home; I believe it was the way the supervisor was managing me as I felt like a slave picking cotton on a plantaion and he was my overseer.

The second episode had nothing to do with me and my personal animosities toward the job, but it showed how shoddy and scammy the whole thing was and how it preyed on innocent people trying to get their money…

I had managed to make contact with who I figured during the call was an elderly woman in nearby Venice, who was apparently lonely for some conversation and companionship as she kept me on the phone for a while talking about various things.

I managed to get a sale from her, but didn’t really feel good about it.

As one could perhaps imagine, I continued looking for a better job within the first couple of days of my being at that hellhole as along with everything else, working on commission only was and is a bad way to make money.

I eventually found a job at a clothing store in Westwood, which ultimately turned out to be a bad expericence as well as I found that I was not cut out for retail;

But that’s another story for another time.

Looking back on it all now…

I had quite a few jobs during my time in the workforce, around a dozen in all within a span of nearly 25 years,

Which I know is not good, but for a person with Asperger’s who didn’t know he had such for roughly half of those years, and for which there was no program geared to help those on the high-functioning end of the spectrum succeed in the workforce in those years, was more or less par for the course.

But if I was asked what was the single worst job I ever had,

It would definitely be that telemarking gig in 1990 that was so bad, not only do I not remember the name of that company,

I’m about 99% sure that I didn’t even include it on my resume in subsequent years.

Overall,

That telemarketing job serves as a bad memory, one which I would obviously like to forget.

Telemarketers aiming to get people’s money. Photo courtesy of rediff.com

THE DEMISE OF THE PACIFIC-12 CONFERENCE: My One and a Half Cents

The UCLA and USC football teams engaging in one of their annual Crosstown Rivalry games. Photo courtesy of moorparkreporter.com

THIS IS A RARE SPORTS POST FROM THIS PERSONAL BLOG OF MINE

But being that what is essentially the end of the Pac-12 Conference coming to pass with UCLA and USC leaving for the Big Ten Conference in 2024 is a fairly substantial piece of sports news at the moment,

I think my thoughts regarding this upcoming development mandates some thoughts from me…

THE PACIFIC-12 CONFERENCE: 1915-2024

That’s the perfect description of the conference that my alma mater had been an indelible part of since 1928.

To put that in pespective, my grandparents had just gotten married the year before – and they passed away forty-one (my grandfather) and thirty (my grandmother) years ago.

And none other than Babe Ruth had hit his legendary sixty home runs the same year.

Anotther equally perfect description and analogy of what will officially be the death of this Pac-12 Conference a year from now is this…

111 years after the sinking of the Titanic, history – in a sense – is repeating itself.

With the two icebergs sinking that “unsinkable ship” being…

• Larry Scott, and
• George Kliavkoff

For those who don’t know, those are the last two Pac-12 commissioners that because of what has turned out to be an pronounced level of ineptitude in their television deals in particular;

I, along with millions of others, have never been able to get the Pac-12 Network due to Direct TV, the provider in my area, refusing to pay the excessive amount of money that was required to carry that station, resulting in those conference’s schools getting far less money than their counterparts in the Big Ten and the Southeastern Conference,

That sub-par TV deal, plus the current television deal that was proposed by Kliavkoff that will require fans to purchase Apple TV to see their teams play and will pay the soon-to-be four Pac-12 institutions a paltry $25 million per school – as compared to the Big 12’s $37.7 million, the SEC’s $49.9 million, and the Big Ten’s $58.8 million,

Was the last straw and the top factor in, with Oregon and Washington joining USC and UCLA in the Big Ten and the Arizona schools, Utah and Colorado moving to the Big 12 Conference on August 1st of next year,

Essentially killing what had been a significant staple of collegiate sports since 1915.

With two-thirds of that conference soon to be gone for greener pastures, how else can I describe that terminal situation?

UCLA’s and USC’s beach volleyball teams clashing. Photo courtesy of dailybruin.com

The two women’s basketball teams going after it in Pauley Pavilion. Photo courtesy of pinterest.com

As for my personal thoughts and opinions regarding all of this:

The best way I can express such thoughts here is,

It both had to happen and didn’t have to happen.

On one hand,

As far as my alma mater is concerned, and as is quite well known among my fellow Bruins,

UCLA had a debt of $108 million due to problems with Under Armour, who served as their gear and equipment provider, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

If they hadn’t accepted the opportunity to join their crosstown rivals in the Big Ten, those Bruins would have most likely had to cut some of their non-revenue sports programs.

As much as I would have preferred UCLA to remain in the Pac-12 in a perfect world,

Bruin Nation had virtually no choice but to go, and because they have chosen to do so, they will be getting $58.8 million from the Big Ten and their network as opposed to the $25 million from the new Pac-12 deal.

That’s more than twice as much dinero, folks.

On the other hand,

If Scott and Kliavkoff had any competency at all and worked out a deal that paid anywhere in the vicinity of the other NCAA Power Five conferences,

Then UCLA wouldn’t have had to make the decision to leave something that they had been a part of for what will be ninety-six years.

While I certainly cannot speak for anyone else,

As much as I’m looking forward to seeing teams like Michigan, Penn State and Ohio State (who will be coming to the Rose Bowl next year),

I’ll miss the Pac-12 Conference, particularly since with only four schools remaining, which will both probably and eventually shrink to zero as Stanford will likely go independent and California, Oregon State and Washington State will merge with the Mountain West Conference and play schools like San Diego State, Fresno State, Boise State, Air Force, and UNLV,

Well, let’s put it like this…

The thought of a NCAA Power Five conference with only four schools induces one word in reaction:

PATHETIC.

In other words, those Golden Bears, Beavers and Cougars will pretty much have no choice but to become Mountain West schools in 2024.

At least, that’s the way I see it.

In the meantime,

Saturday, November 25, 2023 will be a historic day for my alma mater in Westwood.

Because that will be the day that the Bruins will play their last game of football as a part of the Pac-12 Conference as they will be facing their Golden Bear brothers from Berkeley in what will be the last time for a while, as the Bruins’ non-conference schedules are full until at least 2027.

It will be at the Rose Bowl, and I will make it a point to be there;

Being a former history major with a degree in that subject from UCLA, how could I miss it?

It will be the golden opportunity to say good bye to something that was synonymous with Bruin Nation for nearly a century.

And I reckon that many of my fellow Bruins will be there for that big farewell, too.

A scene from the men’s basketball version of the Crosstown Rivalry. Photo courtesy of conquestchronicles.com

An Interesting Story About A Guy Who Won The Lottery (And what I would do if I won)

What almost all of us who play the lottery are trying to get. Photo by John Guccione http://www.advergroup.com on Pexels.com

SOMETHING I READ REGARDING THIS WELL-KNOWN WAY FOR FOLKS TO ATTAIN INSTANT WEALTH THAT CAUGHT MY EYE

A few weeks ago I was on Yahoo (I believe) when an article caught my eye and piqued my interest.

This article was about a man who had won multi-millions in the lottery, and told absolutely no one about it, particularly anyone in his family as he bought a nice-sized house, paid some bills, and that was pretty much it.

Unlike seemingly many other lottery winners, he didn’t go crazy in overindulging in his newfound wealth; no huge mansion in Beverly Hills or Bel-Air, no Rolls Royces or Bentleys, or anything like that.

When asked why he kept the news of him winning a secret, his answer was something that I immediately and completely understood;

He had family members, one in particular (I think), who hen knew would have their hands out and, for lack of a better term, try and mooch off of him.

Which is often the downfall of many a lottery winner.

It reminded me of how I would react if I had won hundreds of millions in the California Lottery or Lotto or Mega-Millions or something of that nature;

First, I would pay off any and all debts I had or may have had. That would be an absolute priority, as would I reckon every other lottery winner.

At the same time, I would absolutely keep my mouth shut about my newfound riches, as like the guy I read about I would NOT want tons of people to be coming out of the woodwork demanding money, and getting upset and angry and saying how much of an ungrateful jerk I was if I refused.

Not that I wouldn’t want to help out any blood relatives in need, of course;

Like the Bible said one should do – the book of St. Matthew to be precise – I would donate with an order to keep it anonymous and a secret as in “…do not let your right hand know what your left hand is doing.” – Matthew 6:3

Whoever I gave money to would be told in no uncertain terms that the money received from me would be the only time that would happen;

If they asked a second time, the answer would be an unadulterated and forever NO

I would even have them sign a agreement agreeing to that condition with the stipulation that they would be refused the cash if they didn’t sign.

In fact, I would consider setting up a trust of some kind where anyone who wanted money would have to go to such, and not to me.

The other significant thing I would do with any new riches can be described in two words:

Real Estate.

Like the guy I had read about, I would not move to Beverly Hills or any other extremely affluent areas, but would likely buy a house in a gated community in Culver City, Marina Del Rey, or elsewhere in Los Angeles’ Westside because of the cooler weather (I hate hot!)

As well as buy some other property or land, sit on it for a number of years, and likely sell it when the values go up, like they did in the Inland Empire in the early 2000s.

I would make sizable donations to established organizations that help the homeless population, as the situation regarding the un-housed in L.A. is desperate in a pronounced fashion.

I would also make a sizable donation to the schools I had attended in Santa Monica and UCLA, particularly the bands at “Samohi” and at UCLA along with certain sports programs in those places, as well as Santa Monica College, where I got my Associate of Arts degree and was able to matriculate in Westwood from there.

And yes, I would travel. At least when this COVID-19 pandemic was completely over.

So in a nutshell,

While I would make the news of my winning the lottery more or less a secret, unlike the guy I read about on Yahoo people would benefit from my positive fortune.

There would just be absolute, etched-in-stone conditions to it if they wanted me to share my newfound wealth.

And as someone on a Christian TV show said what should be done with wealth…

• Spend some
• Save some
• Give some

That’s what I would do.

As far as any realistic chances of these plans coming to pass,

One can dream, can he?

Wishful thinking for about 99.99999% of all of us. Photo courtesy of abcnews.go.com

AN OPINION: Regarding Adult Living Situations & Where I Think Things Are Heading

My early childhood hometown: Riverside, CA…

 

COMMENTING ON, CONSIDERING THE CURRENT HOMELESS CRISIS, WHAT I THINK IS A CHANGE IN MINDSET AMONG ADULTS AS TO THEIR LIVING SITUATIONS

It seems that for as long as there has been an America and an American culture,

There has been a mindset of grown-ups living with their parents well beyond childhood being seen as “losers”.

“Overgrown children” who can’t – or more commonly, don’t want to – stand on their own two feet, pull themselves up by their own bootstraps, and be the independent adults that American society seems to require.

Or, at best, they are seen as disabled somehow, either developmentally or otherwise.

I want to emphasize that this is not intended to be a diatribe saying that I think it’s perfectly okay for grown men and women to live with and mooch off of their parents for their entire adult lives, living in their childhood bedrooms or the basement of their homes, not working or going to school or doing anything to try and better themselves.

That’s not what I’m saying at all.

 

However…

If one just goes out and about in pretty much any town in this country, specifically in the greater Los Angeles area, where I live,

They would find many clusters of tents full of people who, for lack of money, don’t have the means to live under their own roofs.

Not to mention the folks who don’t even have the money to own a tent and sleep on the sidewalks, which is particularly common in downtown L.A.

I know that lots of people will say that it is the fault of these unfortunates that they’re in the situation that they’re in, that if they just didn’t use drugs or alcohol and stopped being lazy and made better choices for themselves, then they wouldn’t be in their mess.

I also know that many of those homeless people do have jobs, but because of what landlords say is “market value” but what I see as evil greed by too many of them,

Their pay, which back in the day would be more than sufficient for them to rent an apartment, doesn’t even come close to pay for even a week in a tiny studio as the average monthly rent for a studio in L.A. is $1,995 a month.

Which means that a person needs to be making, when factoring in funds needed for food and various bills, roughly $4,000 to $5,000 a month to stay off the streets and out of the shelters.

 

Because of all this…

I think that in the coming years, the cultural mindset of adults living with their parents being seen as losers and failures in life will change.

 

Let’s put it this way…

As I told a man holding a sign saying that he needed money and help outside a store a couple of months ago,

If I were in a situation where I would be sleeping on a sidewalk, with the shelters turning me down for whatever reason,

And if I had a mother and/or other family members who cared about me and loved me to the point where they didn’t want me on the streets and wanted me to live with them, thus giving me that option (which I, thank God, am blessed to have),

As sure as I am typing this, I wouldn’t be sleeping on the streets or living in a tent under a freeway.

Between living in a parent’s home or basement and sleeping on the street, I think I know what people would choose.

And I think it will increasingly be seen as more understandable and acceptable for folks having a difficult time to do such than in the past.

Provided that such folks do things to help out, whether offer a portion of their salary to their parents or to do their share of the chores to keep the house running; I am definitely NOT advocating mooching.

Unless things change to where rents are much more affordable and more affordable dwellings are built to the point where we don’t see homeless camps anymore,

I see the mindset of adults living with their parents even into middle age being seen as losers as continuing to gradually change.

That’s all I have to say about that for now.

 

Be honest; would you rather stay with your parents if allowed or live like this, if they were your only two choices? Photo courtesy of westsidetoday.com

 

 

An Encounter With Someone “Down On His Luck”

Paper cup standing by the handmade sign of a homeless and hungry man. Photo courtesy of 123rf.com

 

 

A few days ago I headed to the Ralphs supermarket across the street from where I live to pick up a few things that I needed.

I noticed at the door of the store a man in a wheelchair with a sign asking for money; people in that situation have done the same thing, often mothers with young children, outside of that Ralphs every so often for a while.

Since I accepted Jesus as my Savior and Lord, I have usually felt nudged to do something to help those folks, namely in the form of buying food for them due to my not wanting to possibly enable whatever bad habits – drugs, alcohol, cigarettes – they may have as while I am not in any way saying that every homeless person or everyone who needs help does those things,

I never want to take that chance as buying them food – as opposed to giving them money – guarantees that my help does some good.

Anyhow…

When I saw this man with his sign, once again I felt God telling me to buy him something (I had done the same thing with another guy a few weeks before, and with other people in need), so I told him to wait outside while I did just that, buying him some chips, a banana and a bottle of water.

Of course he was quite grateful at my offering, as anyone in that situation would be.

The unique thing about my encounter with him – and any other homeless person who panhandles – is the part of me that is very curious about how and why they got into that situation in the first place.

I’m sure that it’s the journalist side of me that has me needing to find out and understand about the true root causes of this issue in particular, the need to personally find out about such from the homeless themselves.

Which is why when I gave the gentleman the food I bought him, I told him that I had some questions, starting with how did he get into that situation in the first place.

While I won’t mention his name, he told me that he lost his job when the guy he was working for as a laborer died.

I asked him if he had any family, and he said yes, a mother who he could go home to.

It was commendable for him to want to continue to assert his independence and sense of adulthood, but I couldn’t help thinking that if someone in a dire situation like this man was in had a choice between panhandling and going home to a mother who apparently cared about him, unlike those parents who give up on their wayward kids and “throw them away”, well…

I certainly wouldn’t be panhandling.

 

I’ve seen this all the time for a LONG time now. Photo courtesy of winknews.com

 

The man did tell me that he was on Social Security Disability and receiving monthly payments from that, so he was able to afford a motel room, which was good.

Apparently his money was running low, being that it was nearing the end of the month and he was in front of the Ralphs with a sign asking for help.

He also told me that he had made some bad choices as a youngster, including, in his words, “…ran with a bad crowd,” and dropping out of school at fifteen.

I made it a point to tell him that it was not my intention to judge him or make him feel that I was superior and he was an inferior for doing what he did.

But I did suggest and try to encourage him to get his GED and go back to school, West Los Angeles College being, like my house, across the street from where we were.

I also told him that as far as making right choices, with him being a fellow African-American, to try and think of it like this…

With times being what they are today in this political and cultural environment, with our President-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in office and Blacks and virtually anyone else who is not…

• White
• Conservative
• Male
• Wealthy (or at least rich)
• Christian
• Heterosexual
• An English speaker with that being his predominant language,

Being targeted and practically and seemingly hunted down and oppressed in numerous ways,

Anything that individual African Americans do, good or bad – in this case dropping out of school, running with a bad crowd, and doing other things like joining gangs, dealing drugs and committing other sorts of crimes – reflects on the entire Black population, especially those conservatives in the red states who see young black men doing things they shouldn’t be doing on TV and say, “See, look at how they act,” which reinforces their often negative and racist views.

While any positive thing that black folks do reflects on the rest of that (our) community, too.

And, most importantly, breaks the negative stereotypes that have been hanging over African Americans for 400 years.

That, more than anything else, is why I have never joined any gangs, done drugs, been arrested, or have done anything to try to fit in to something that I felt wasn’t right,

Heck, I have never even smoked cigarettes or used ANY nicotine, as I have always HATED everything about all forms of tobacco, especially cigarettes; and always will.

And while I am far from perfect, and will never pretend to have behaved perfectly as like the rest of the 7.5 billion people on this planet, I have certainly sinned and will always need help from the Lord to keep from willfully sinning,

I have always at least tried to “Do The Right Thing” in the form of going to school, getting a college degree, working, and generally not doing things that I feel would make me and other black people look bad to society in general.

Anyway…

I did my best to encourage the man in the wheelchair, told him that I was going to pray for him (which I did), and went home.

Being that he at least has a motel room, he seems to be better off than the folks living in tents and sleeping on the streets.

I certainly hope that God leads him to better his life.

 

 

How many of the nearly 60,000 homeless people in Los Angeles are living; quite sad, isn’t it? Photo courtesy of washingtontimes.com

 

 

 

“WORK IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ENJOYABLE”: A Rebuttal To That Mindset

This young teacher looks like she enjoys her job! Photo courtesy of better.net

 

WHO SAYS YOU CAN’T ENJOY WHAT YOU DO FOR A LIVING?

About nine years ago I read an article online about people who were stressed, burned out, and unhappy in their jobs; the article offered suggestions on how to cope with those feelings when they arose.

In the comments section, one comment that was posted upset me.

The comment said, in effect, said that people who were miserable in the workforce were nothing but whiny crybabies who needed to understand that work is not supposed to be enjoyed.

According to the person who wrote that comment, work is supposed to be difficult – which is why it’s called work – and people who feel otherwise are losers who need to simply get over themselves and be glad that they have a job.

I found myself vehemently disagreeing with what that individual said, or anyone else who sees being in the workforce as necessarily being a life of drudgery and humiliation.

In short, a career does NOT have to be unenjoyable.

It does not have to be eight hours in the proverbial salt mines.

After all, it is said that one third of a person;s life is spent working and earning money at a job, which is obviously a lot of time.

So if such is the case…

One better be full well sure that what they do as a job or for a career is something they want to do.

Don’t misunderstand me – I also know that sometimes, especially these times, folks have to do whatever is necessary to make sure they have a roof over their head, electricity, clothes on their back, and food on the table for his/her family.

I worked in jobs that I absolutely hated, that remains a source of post traumatic stress to this day, I hated them so much.

However, while in a large sense I felt feelings of relief and gladness when I was let go from those jobs, at least I was earning a paycheck.

The significant thing that I learned from working as a telemarketer and a luggage salesman in the early 1990s, the two jobs that I hated the most, is this…

Money cannot be the only motivator for being in the workforce.

I used to feel that money was the only motivational factor in working, and that led me to nothing but misery and depression to the point of having suicidal thoughts..

It all led me to this conclusion…

You have to like what you do, or else it will never be worth it. No matter how much money you make.

In my case, the money I earned in the jobs I hated was like blood money, as I felt like a paid slave because of the way I felt I was feeling treated, having to deal with bullies, I mean bosses, and overseers, I mean supervisors who I felt saw me as something similar to the field hands on the pre-Civil War plantations in the South.

 

 

An illustration of what I’ve been doing for the past eleven years. Photo courtesy of healthyplace.com

 

 

ALL RIGHT, HERE’S MY POINT:

I can’t speak for anyone else, but it’s my strong opinion that people need to have a passion for whatever job or profession he/she is involved in.

Happiness in the workforce, enjoying what you do for a living, is both essential and crucial for one’s mental and emotional well-being.

Which was probably the number one reason why I became an online writer and blogger, because it was and is the only line of work where I can freely express myself and do my own thing without bullies (bosses) breathing down my neck and deliberately finding faults.

Simply put, I was absolutely sick and tired having my livelihood – whether or not I was going to be able to eat and pay my bills – dependent on someone else.

I realized that I will never be truly 100% happy in that situation; being at the mercy of someone else in the workforce.

While I haven’t gotten J.K. Rowling-level rich from this career of mine, at least it has given me more of an emotional peace.

Which in many ways is just as important as the peace derived from getting a paycheck, if not more.

 

So for all you folks out there who are hating your jobs, who are sick of being humiliated by you supervisors who seemingly sees you as a lesser being…

Unless the definite alternate is living in a cardboard box, you don’t have to like in that kind of misery.

In other words, find your passion.

Paint or write a book (like I did).

Whatever you dreamed about doing, do it now – or ASAP – in order to avoid regret when you’re on your death bed.

Find your true happiness; as Confucius famously said,

“Choose a job you love, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.”

 

Being a nature photographer looks like such fun, taking shots of spectacular scenery like this! Photo courtesy of naturephotographers.network

 

 

 

 

REPARATIONS FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS: My Thoughts

Protesting for reparations. Photo courtesy of news.gallup.com

 

HOW I FEEL ABOUT REPARATIONS FOR SLAVERY, JIM CROW, AND GENERAL RACISM AGAINST AFRICAN AMERICANS, AND WHAT I FEEL THE BLACK COMMUNITY SHOULD DO WITH SUCH IF APPROVED

It’s been a growing issue for a while now, the African-American community advocating for reparations from the United States government as compensation for…

• 246 years of slavery
• 100 years of sanctioned Jim Crow
• 35 years of redlining
• The general institutionalized racism that continues to plague the black community

Like more or less every other racial issue in American these days, blacks and liberals generally favor some sort of reparations while conservatives, white conservatives in particular, are rabidly against it.

I’ll get right to how I feel about it all:

 

While I don’t think it’s a terrible idea for descendants of American slaves to get reparations for their ancestors’ bondage,

And while there’s a precedence in the form of the Japanese who were interred in camps like Manzanar during World War II getting $20,000 each afterwards,

Former President Barack Obama allocating $15 million for Holocaust survivors in 2015, with the German government awarding $125 million for such survivors in 1988,

And South Africa giving $85 million to families of those who were victims of apartheid in 2003,

To be perfectly honest, while I would be glad to see my fellow African-Americans get some kind of reparations for slavery; of which, being a descendant of slaves, I and my family would directly benefit,

With the political, social  and cultural climate in America being what it is right now,

I don’t see any reparations money coming anytime soon.

 

According to the magazine Newsweek, the money given to the African-American community for reparations could be as much as $14 trillion.

At last count, according to the website infoplease.com there are 45.7 million black people of African descent in the United States.

If one does the math, if reparations were approved, that would mean every black person in this country eighteen and over – I should emphasize that, as those are the people who I feel should get the reparations money – would get $612,691.

Which is certainly a nice piece of change and, for individuals and families struggling to get by, would solve a lot of problems.

 

A strong supporter for reparations. Photo courtesy of blackagendareport.com

 

However…

I have a rather unique idea as to how reparations could help the African-American community as a whole, as opposed to merely help individuals and individual families.

Here it is…

Everyone getting reparations should be asked to give at least $300,000 of that $612,691 (roughly half) to a community fund , which would total seven trillion dollars.

That money would be used to improve the black communities in cities across America, in the form of…

• Establishing businesses, specifically places like grocery stores and fitness centers
• Buying out places that harm the black community such as mom and pop fast food restaurants that serve food full of fat, sugar and sodium, smoke shops, and liquor stores, and replace them with businesses that are not harmful to the community
• Establishing jobs and job programs to reduce unemployment and lessen the risk of young people joining gangs
• And speaking of gangs, establishing more gang intervention and prevention programs to reduce gang-banging and gang violence
• Establishing programs to significantly reduce the number of homeless people
• Establishing programs that significantly improve healthcare and the cost of such
• Giving significant funds to schools in the black community for librarians, nurses, physical education teachers, teacher aides, after school programs and expanded enrichment programs; things that the more affluent (mostly white) communities have in abundance.
• Giving significant funds for college scholarships and to help pay off student debts, much like what billionaire Robert F. Smith recently did for this year’s graduating class at Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA.
• (VERY IMPORTANT) Establishing black-owned banks to approve loans for homes, businesses, and college educations.

The root of these ideas can be summed up in two words, words that the African-American community needs most of all in my opinion:

ESTABLISHING WEALTH.

Comedian Chris Rock put it  best in one of his standup routines when he said that wealth is something that passed on from generation to generation, as opposed to merely being rich. As he remarked:

“Shaq (O’Neal) is rich! The guy who signs his checks (Former Los Angeles Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss in this case) is wealthy.”

In other words,

The black community in this country needs to collectively build up WEALTH.

That is the only way to achieve true success; Marcus Garvey advocated such back in the 1920s, as well as Malcolm X in the 1960s.

If the reparations were used to build collective wealth, many of the issues that blacks face in this country would significantly decrease.

Of course I reckon quite a few folks will scoff at what I’m saying here, feeling that reparations should be used any way they want in a “Who does he (I) think he is?” and “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about!” kind of way.

And I know, as sure as I’m writing this, that people who are completely against giving reparations will be heard from.

But in my humble opinion,

The only way that reparations will truly help African-Americans as a whole, if they are given at all (which, as I have said, I don’t see as realistically happening), is if they are used to improve the black community as a whole.

That’s the way I see it.

Feel free to agree or disagree.

 

If the black community did what I suggested in this article, we wouldn’t see buildings like this anymore. Photo courtesy of theatlantic.com

 

 

 

What I Would Do If I Won $500 Million In The Lottery or in Las Vegas

Photo courtesy of abcnews.go.com

 

I, LIKE MORE OR LESS EVERYONE ELSE, HAVE GIVEN THIS SOME OCCASIONAL THOUGHT…

First of all, I completely understand that after taxes and fees,

My take of any lottery or Las Vegas casino winnings, after being the beneficiary of such extreme fortune, would be roughly $250 to $300 million.

So that’s the amount that I begin with as I speculate what I would do with these gains (after paying off debts, of course; that’s a given and should go without saying):

 

1.  Invest In Real Estate

As I once heard someone say in a movie, “Land is the only thing worth fighting for, worth dying for; because it’s the only thing that lasts.”

I would particularly buy some land in the country, much like the place where I spent my early childhood outside of Riverside, CA, which was an idyllic time for me.

I recently saw this movie where the main character lived on a ranch with tons of land, wide open spaces, spectacular views of mountains and meadows, and various animals.

That was pretty much my experience during my single digit age years living with my grandparents, and as I was watching this particular movie, I found myself getting a sort of relaxed and contented feeling as the ranch, while considerably bigger than where I lived in Woodcrest, reminded me of those days which I can honestly say was the only time that I was really happy and felt like I really fit in with life.

Of course I’d buy other real estate as well; for example, I would upgrade where I live in Culver City to a condo with more bedrooms and more space, while keeping the current place.

 

2. Assist Family

What kind of jerk would I be if I didn’t intend to help my blood relatives with any of my gained fortune?

However…

I would set up a foundation where relatives of mine who needed money for anything would need to go to and file paperwork and stuff, just to make sure that they wouldn’t be using such money frivolously.

After all, I would NOT want to end up like MC Hammer or those former athletes on ESPN’s 30 For 30 documentary, Broke, where they talk about how they ended up with nothing after they made millions playing football, basketball or baseball and so many of their relatives and “friends” would have their hands out, and they would be afraid to say no lest they would angrily get called things like “stingy”, “ungrateful”, “selfish”, or accused of “turning their backs on their family and friends”.

There would be an iron clad, absolute, no exceptions cap of a certain amount of money per year – say somewhere between $10,000 and $25,000 – that folks would be able to get from this foundation, to avoid any feelings on my part of being taken advantage of; that is an essential and crucial factor.

If someone in my family had won the lottery, it would be difficult for me to ask for any money, because I wouldn’t want to depend on anyone; I think it’s a pride and want-to-stand-on-my-own-two-feet type of thing.

 

3. Donate!

There are TONS of causes out there that sorely need financial help.

Here’s what I’d focus on helping with any riches that I had won…

• The homeless:  I’d be donating to missions and organizations that focused not only on “giving a man a fish so he can eat for a day”, but – more importantly – “teaching a man to fish so he can eat for a lifetime”, otherwise I wouldn’t be helping the needy, I would be enabling them. And any organizations I donate to would have to show results of the folks they’re helping being successful, i.e., getting off the drugs, getting real help with their mental illness, getting a job and a stable place to live, for me to continue my support.
• My alma maters:  Particularly UCLA’s athletic and music departments (namely the football, baseball, softball, and especially the women’s gymnastics teams in athletics, and the marching/varsity band in music which I was a member of), as well as endowing a scholarship. I would also donate to various programs at my other two alma maters, Santa Monica High School and Santa Monica College.
• Adopt A School: I would find an elementary school in the inner city, perhaps South Los Angeles or Watts or anyplace like that, and donate funds for them to use to fix facilities or to hire aides, whatever they needed.

 

4.  Build Up My Sports Blog

I would expand my sports blog, SoCalSportsChronicles.com (http://www.socalsportschronicles.wordpress.com,  )

It would become a true online sports publication featuring, most importantly, interns and writers from inner city schools and areas as that would be my way to help the African-American community and help aspiring writers and journalists achieve their career goals; I plan on doing that anyway in the future.

 

5. Travel

Yes, that would be a reality of mine.

The first place on my list that I would want to go, however, is a place that’s not necessarily foremost on anyone’s travel wish list:

The Canadian Rockies in British Columbia and Alberta, as every scenic photo I’ve seen of those places is SO spectacular, I feel like they’re calling me.

Africa would be another place I’d be interested in visiting; a country that’s politically and economically stable, relatively speaking, like Ghana and (from what I hear) Botswana.

Going on a safari in Kenya would interest me, too.

Of course I’d check out Hawaii and cities like New York and London as well.

But unlike seemingly so many other lottery or Vegas winners, I wouldn’t go overboard on the traveling, only doing it once every couple of years or so.

 

6. And Now, For Something Completely Different…

Unlike SO many other lottery or Vegas winners, I would NOT move to Beverly Hills or Bel-Air or Brentwood or any of those other affluent places, for this main reason;

I would not fit in those places, as I wouldn’t buy anything from Rodeo Drive or anyplace like that; I would NOT buy any Porches or Rolls Royces or Bentleys or expensive jewelry.

I would still buy my clothes, groceries and other essentials from the same places that I had always bought those things.

In fact, unless I told you, if I won the lottery or struck huge in Vegas, you wouldn’t know about it, and neither would my house, because both would look the same.

Plus I would keep my mouth shut.

I would still live in the places where I had always lived in; why would I leave Culver City? I like it there very much!

The only extravagance of any kind that I would indulge in would be that ranch in the country.

That’s the gist of what I would do if God decided to bless me in such ways.

 

 

A nice shot of the Las Vegas Strip. Photo courtesy of visitlasvegas.com

 

 

 

 

The Best Way (for me) To Help Panhandlers and the Homeless

 

A feast for the less fortunate during Thanksgiving. Photo courtesy of csmonitor.com

 

 

The other day I was at a bus stop when a young man approached me and asked if I could spare him a dollar so he could get something to eat.

Being that I live in Los Angeles, CA, the homeless capital of these United States, such interactions are very commonplace as if you are out and about in L.A. on a regular basis, you can expect for the less fortunate to ask you for money.

I reckon roughly 98% of folks, out of compassion and conscience, give money to the panhandlers when asked.

While I have much compassion thanks to Jesus being my Lord and Savior, my way of helping those unfortunates are a tiny bit different.

Though I have given money to those I see living on the street, sometimes without them asking, there’s another way of helping them that I much prefer – and which I did for this particular young man…

To be brutally honest, I have never really felt comfortable giving cash to people on the street, for this reason:

 

You never know if they are going to use the cash to buy food, like they always say they are, or if they are going to use that money to buy alcohol, drugs or even cigarettes.

 

Am I saying that all panhandlers use the money given to them to get drunk, get wasted, or pollute their lungs and ours with tobacco smoke? Absolutely not!

What I’m saying is, you don’t know if they are.

I can’t speak for anyone else, but I don’t want to enable those bad behaviors, behaviors that (for booze and drugs) may well have led them to being in that less fortunate situation.

No, I am NOT saying that all homeless are there because of booze or drug problems as I’m well aware that there are many young people on the street who are runaways or (worse) throwaways, but still…

Anyhow, fear of enabling is the reason why I did this for that young man who asked me for a dollar…

 

RATHER THAN GIVE HIM MONEY, I BOUGHT HIM FOOD.

 

I took him to a CVS store across the street and bought him an ice cream bar, which of course he was quite grateful for.

That’s how I prefer to help panhandlers and the homeless as I have promised myself that whenever someone asks me for money, I always ask if they’re hungry, which I’ll expect them to answer in the affirmative.

Then I tell them, “I’ll be happy to buy you something to eat.”

That’s when I go to whatever convenience store or fast food place is nearby – I once bought someone in a wheelchair a bag of potato chips and a banana from a 7-Eleven when he asked me for some change – and buy something for them.

It cuts out the middle man and more importantly…

 

It guarantees that your money will TRULY help that person, rather than possibly feed his alcohol, narcotic, or nicotine habit.

 

Of course if you want to give panhandlers your money, by all means do so; it’s not my intention to tell anyone how to do good.

But the bottom line, at least for me, is that it’s better for me to actually buy food and drink for panhandlers and the homeless rather than give them my change and risk enabling them.

Plus it obviously helps them in the long run.

Which is all any decent person wants to do.

 

Enjoying a meal during what I’m sure was some holiday. Photo courtesy of rt.com

 

 

“Work Is Not Supposed To Be Enjoyable” – A Rebuttal To That Notion

A good illustration of someone experiencing unhappiness in the workplace. Photo courtesy of noticias.r7.com

 

WHERE DOES IT SAY THAT YOU CAN’T ENJOY WHAT YOU DO FOR A LIVING?

 

A few years ago I was reading an article about people who were unhappy and burned out in their jobs and how best to cope with those issues.

As I read the written comments at the end of the piece, one comment upset me quite a bit.

This particular comment said that folks who were stressed out and miserable in the workplace due to things like too many hours, not enough pay or having bosses who were bullies, were nothing but whiny crybabies who needed to understand that work is not supposed to be enjoyed; that work is supposed to be difficult – which is why it’s called such – and people who feel otherwise should get over themselves and be exceedingly glad that they have a job with a paycheck.

That is an opinion that I vehemently disagree with.

While it’s true that people who are gainfully employed should be glad about that, work does not have to be an eight-hour hell in the salt mines.

It has been said that one spends a third of their lifetime in the workforce, which is a lot of time.

So if that’s the case, my stance is that one better be sure that what they are doing for a job or a career is something they want to do.

Don’t misunderstand me – I get that sometimes a person has to do what’s necessary in order to survive and feed his/her family if applicable.

As an illustration of this, during my first few years in the workforce I worked at a number of jobs which I absolutely loathed, most notably as a salesman at a luggage store for almost a year in the early 1990s. It felt like a minimum security prison sentence, and in some ways I was glad when I was eventually fired, but at least I was earning a paycheck.

I used to feel that money was the main motivator for getting and staying employed, but after being miserable at too many of the jobs I held – some of them leading to suicidal thoughts – I learned a very valuable lesson:

 

A quote from Einstein that pretty much sums up the point I’m trying to make here. Image courtesy of ffbsccn.wordpress.com

 

You have to like what you do, or else it’s just not worth it.

It was that luggage salesman gig in particular that taught me that, as I never worked in retail again after being let go from what I felt was being a paid slave at a plantation, the salary I earned peddling suitcases and handbags feeling like blood money to me.

Wanting to get enjoyment out of my work is the primary reason for me becoming a writer and online blogger, posting stuff on sites such as this one. It’s something that fits my personality well in that I can express myself freely and do my own thing without some bully or slavery-era style overseer, I mean supervisor, breathing down my neck.

I’ll be honest – the money I have made in this endeavor has been extremely minuscule.

But it has helped my mental state as for the past eight years that I’ve been writing and working on my book, “WAKING ON EGGSHELLS”, I can safely say that I have enjoyed what I do.

Despite the lack of financial compensation.

If I can say anything to those people who are suffering in misery at their jobs, it would be this:

“You don’t have to be feeling like crap and dreading going to work every day; you don’t have to feel like you’re entering a prison cell. If you would much rather paint, captain a sailboat, become a coach, write a book (like I’m doing) or whatever it is that you’re passionate about and would make you happy, I’ve got two words for you…”

“DO IT!”

In other words, go ahead and find your happiness. It will do wonders for your mental health and just might save your sanity.

 

“Choose a job you love and you will never work a day in your life”    – Confucius

 

 

Another good illustration of someone experiencing unhappiness in the workplace. Photo courtesy of onthe job.45things.com