A post by Maynard

What does one say in times like this? The nation’s leadership is in the hands of lunatics and hateful scoundrels; meanwhile the media watchdogs worship at the altar of their flailing-and-failing child-god. Evil days are upon us, and I’ve got nothing to offer but irrelevant personal reminiscences that will be of interest to nobody. Read no further.

It happened like this…

Upon graduating from Starfleet Academy, I went to work with a miniscule engineering firm. With my up-to-date (for the era) technical expertise, I played a vital role in designing the new warp coils that were to become a central component of our modern starships (although of course we’ve subsequently moved far beyond those early prototypes that I worked on). We had been contracted by one of the major supply firms; a household name you know very well. As is typical of bloated bureaucracies, their in-house “talent” was anything but; they called in outsiders (that is, us) because their home-grown project was falling apart.

I put together a small team of people, and we did some of the very best work in the industry to make this thing happen. We worked hard and for low wages, and in fact sometimes our paychecks were late by weeks or even months. But we did not complain. We had been reassured by our employer that, when this came to fruition, we would all be sitting pretty.

What followed is a very long story, and some of the details are confusing to the extent that they can never be sorted out with certainty. I’ll try to put it in a nutshell. The successful completion of the project initiated squabbling between the two partners that ran the business, and we were told the company would be liquidated to settle the dispute; thus we should all start thinking about other employment. In retrospect, I realize a lot of lies were told, presumably for the purpose of manipulating us to join one faction or the other. At the time, this all went over my head, young and naïve as I was. I played along as best I could, alternating between helpful enthusiasm and angry frustration. My actions were, I subsequently realized, completely irrelevant to the outcome. When all was said and done, I found myself out of a job and uncompensated; meanwhile the prevailing partner had transferred the income from the company and the profits of the project into his personal accounts. When I and my associates sought employment elsewhere, he spread the word that the demise of the company was the result of treachery on the part of disloyal employees (that is, us), and he also threatened to us with legal action if we did any further work involving warp coil technology.

This happened many years ago, and it served as my rude introduction to the real world of hardball business. I’ve never been clear on what lesson to take away. I don’t have the temperament to play the game so ruthlessly, but neither will I willingly be the lamb to the slaughter.

Yesterday it was brought to my attention that the man who had treated his people so unfairly had run afoul of the IRS. It was nice to hear that this malicious cheat had finally met his match. But as a practical matter, what does it matter? I learned some numbers I had not known before…the take from his ill-gotten gains was on the order of $50 million (!), and the IRS liability might have been about $8 million. So this is not exactly a devastating blow. (By the way, the judge who nailed this guy was appointed by Ronald Reagan.)

Ah, $50 million. Some of that should have been mine. But what would I do with a piece of $50 million?

Nothing. I have no need for $50 million. Maybe that’s why I don’t have $50 million. I’ve got my share of problems, but none of them would be addressed by money.

I think my lot is common in this respect. Money is well and good, but it’s not really what we need.

I could certainly have some fun with $50 million. Let me see, I’ve got some fantasy notions. I’m tempted to speak of these things, but this post is already far too long. Maybe another time.

Anyway, I was mildly depressed to hear the magnitude of my ex-employer’s ill-gotten gains. I decided a long walk was in order. Walking is my solution to all life’s problems. Don’t knock it; it works pretty well. As long as one can walk, one is not bereft of hope.

I must now interrupt my tale to mention that, in the course of my pedestrian travels, I tend to notice things on the ground. I pick up coins when I see them, even pennies. Also I pick up sharp objects that might puncture the tires of cars. Ah, what a thrifty, good Samaritan am I! No, I will not make my fortune this way, and I wonder whether I’ve even saved a single tire from getting popped. Maybe it’s all just a smug delusion. But we need an excuse to pat ourselves on the back every now and the, don’t we?

Actually, there’s a Biblical basis for my inclinations. I’m thinking of Moses and the burning bush. God was there, waiting for Moses, in the form of a bush that burned and was not consumed. That’s the key point, the oddity of not being consumed. Otherwise it would have just been another dry plant that caught fire in the heat of region. Most people wouldn’t have noticed the miracle before their eyes. The lesson of Moses is to keep our eyes open. Maybe God has something to tell us.

So I’m walking down the street, and I see a coin. A funny-looking thing. So I grab it and find…this:

A plastic coin
Hmmm. A plastic toy.

In the next block, I find this:

A slug
A slug.

Hmmm. Is God talking to me, do you think? What is He saying?

There are several possibilities. Let me see…

  1. Maynard! Don’t worry about that dirtbag! Riches are coming your way!
  2. Maynard! Riches aren’t coming your way!
  3. Maynard! We’re laughing at you up here! Thanks for being so amusing!
  4. None of the above. This incident means something else, but I can’t say what.
  5. This incident means nothing. It’s all just a cosmic accident.

I can’t answer this yet. But I figure maybe if I keep walking, all will eventually come clear. It always does.

Are you still with me, dear reader? Have you achieved enlightenment yet? If you have, please let me know.

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12 Comments | Leave a comment
  1. LongviewCyclist says:

    Yes, evil days. 🙁

    Sending a big hug your way, Maynard.

  2. ffigtree says:

    Yes, keep your eyes open!

  3. Ripper says:

    Obama, who insults or cold shoulders our friends – Britain, Eastern Europe, Israel, and who does obeisance to our enemies – Syria and Iran – is even worse then I feared. These are dark days indeed. I can find absolutely nothing positive to say about the first 2 months of this administration. Well at least I can say that I did not vote for this mess.

  4. Ripper says:

    Maynard – I too pick up coins (even pennies) on the street. I figure that in the course of a year I find maybe $5.00. Enough for a slice or two of pizza and a coke!

  5. Ripper says:

    Maynard I am not usually a viondictive guy but back in 1986 I was fired for the only time in my life (as opposed to being laid off) by a supervisor who just did not like me. I think she resented me because she was not the one who hired me. Anyway she was a major league alcoholic and the way she fired me was cold and cruel (not that there is a good way to fire anyone). Anyway I went into a deep depression and felt humiliated and a failure, and then one day 4 months after she fired me , my co-worker called me up and told me that my former supervisor got fired herself! Seems she spent too much time at lunch getting wasted and finally the dumb president of the company had his eyes opened up, confronted her and she went into a huff into her office and typed out her resignation (so technically she could claim she was not fired but quit). So I got a lot of schadenfreude (before I ever even heard that term) out of that incident. When I
    was at the company (3 years) she fired (inluding me) 7 people in a department that would have no more then 20 people in it. I actually felt that she enjoyed firing people. Here is the funny
    part- her next job was as an office manager in a wine company!

  6. Dave J says:

    If we’re going off on random tangents, then let me be the first to say on here that the finale of Battlestar Galactica TOTALLY SUCKED.

  7. pat_s says:

    Maynard if you are keeping your gaze downward picking debris off the road and have not been hit by a bus, God is telling you He loves you.

  8. KWH says:

    Davej, I also feel “empty” after watching the whole series from start to finish, only to have a cheesy finale like that. The final battle scenes were pretty good though.

  9. Dave J says:

    It wasn’t just cheesy, though it certainly was that: it was 1) incoherent, in that it really DIDN’T tie up all the loose ends and 2) completely, ludicrously unbelievable, as there’s no way 38,000 people would all agree to give up technology, which anyone with any sense would recognize would result in most of them dying of starvation and/or easily preventable/treatable diseases within a matter of a few months at most.

    Technology isn’t just “stuff”: it’s the ideas and knowledge behind that stuff. As has been pointed out elsewhere, they agreed to give the locals language: did they agree NOT to give them writing along with it? Because otherwise, 150,000 years is WAY too long. Clay tablets to men on the moon was only about 5000 years.

  10. artgal says:

    Thank you for sharing your story with us, Maynard. Always appreciate the contributions you & Pat Ess make to the TB site.

    With all the things taking place around us and the very real evil looming in our way, we have to remind ourselves this little space in time on earth is not our final destination! That brings me both peace and even some nervousness. We’re such finite creatures on this planet, yet we are infinite beings. We cannot fully comprehend what’s outside our familiar human existence.

    Life isn’t fair. Though I would like to believe most of us try to treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves, we see more and more evidence that it just is not reality.

    On Feb. 5, I was laid off from my teaching position at a charter school along with 3 other teachers. For my 3 years of service, I was given no warning of such a thing taking place. I was the teacher with the most tenure (we have a difficult student population, so many people leave w/i their first year)who was able to work with our at-risk students successfully. Perhaps it was due to all those years teaching in Chicago’s Humboldt Park region where gunfire (in a gun controlled city…) was exchanged right outside of classroom windows by rivaling gangs. I was told by our principal – an incredible, wonderful woman who retired this past December – that I was the best teacher in the school and the most patient. Even in art classes, I had kids writing in both formal education & personal journalling styles & also gave them projects to shape their critical thinking skills. I had a very successful Economics class as well. So the idea that I would lose my job was not at all a thought. But since I taught art and economics, those classes were not ‘core subjects’, so I was dismissed. One of the things that infuriated me at first was the fact that the school kept a substitute teacher on board (not the subs fault, mind you), but let 4 full time teachers with certifications lose everything they worked for (yes, I know I’m ending this sentence with a preposition).

    We don’t always understand why certain things happen, but I have always believed God doesn’t shut one door without opening another.

    This past November, I called a new local art college out of the blue just to see if they were hiring for night classes. The dean called me the next day and interviewed me right away. I begin my new role as an animation instructor in two weeks – and I’m psyched! If all goes well (like if Obama shuts his mouth), I have the opportunity to be brought on full time in the fall.

    For a few hours after being laid off I wondered what I was going to do. By that evening, I knew I would be fine. I’ve managed to secure some freelance work in this difficult time, and had some savings to get me by. But more than anything, I think this whole thing is another test God allows to see if we’ll trust him when the chips are down. So I’m not going out as much – probably a good thing because it gives me time to hike through Sabino Canyon and appreciate the sunsets more.

    But perhaps these major challenges are also a test to our very souls to see just what it is we value in this life. Maynard, I hate that you missed out on the wealth you were promised and worked so hard for, but there are treasures a good, humble soul as yours will receive that will far outshine anything we have here.

    And keep picking up the sharp items off the street – God is watching even if no one else notices 😉 Just for the record: I appreciate that you do that! I had a tire get punctured by a metal pen cap in the road once!

  11. Ripper says:

    ARTGAL

    Very sorry to hear about your job loss.In my next life I am going to take my late father’s advice “Get a government job!”

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