PUTTING ON PANTS +
Putting on pants requires dedicated thought.
“Pay attention!” Did you ever have someone tell you that?
I’ve been known to say it to rambunctious-minded children from time to time.
Well, when it comes to dressing for the day I need to tell myself the same thing. The problem is my “list” of things to do. I didn’t write them down, so I am keeping them in my head and that is why I sometimes dress poorly.
Some years ago I solved the mismatched socks problem by buying only one type of black socks and one type of athletic socks. Any two black socks will match. Any two athletic socks will match. Thus, you will never find me with one black and one blue, or with one orange and one brown.
I did the same thing with shoes. Two pair. One dress pair (dark) and one casual (white tennis).
Yet, my dressing is not foolproof. This morning my pants were unzipped until after everyone in my weekly meeting had LEFT. (They didn’t leave because I forgot to zip. It was because the meeting was over.)
It has happened before. Always for the same reason: The “list.” My brain is running on “list,” but I need to focus on THIS THING. When I concentrate on my pants I always remember to zip at the end. However, on “list” days, I’m buckling my belt and zipping while walking toward the kitchen (or some other location) to deal with the next item. There is great significance to the admonition “pay attention.”
I often thank God I am a man for a singular reason…getting ready to go out the door. I would hate to have to put on make-up and lipstick, blow-dry long hair and curl it, and wear adjustable underclothes. Honestly, I have trouble enough with the simple undergarments. I can’t imagine why women would volunteer to wear thongs. Seriously! My body doesn’t do well with being that uncomfortable. If something “rides up” once, I am ready to go change into something more comfortable. (Plus, I’ve been known to toss uncomfortable clothing so I’ll never have to wear them again.) I can imagine in detail exactly how things would go on “list” days. One eyebrow plucked, one shaggy; one eyelash extended (probably the left one); two colors of lipstick (red-red on the upper, peach-red on the lower); ¾ of the hair curled just so. (Half of the tasks I never learned the names of … so I will stop there.) I would be … interesting?? Even so, I bet my zipper would not be zipped.
WISE THOUGHTS (some think so)
Wisdom is not knowledge. Knowledge can be bought; and we offer it “for free” in public schools. Wisdom, on the other hand, must be earned and exercised.
It is the morally correct thing to pursue wisdom. Without it all is lost. Don’t just make a quick decision. Avoid the easiest choice. Do that which will solve the issue at hand AND….(something else, like “will please my spouse,” or “will save money in the long run.”)
Charlie Munger once gave a graduation speech in which he said, “Be reliable. Unreliability can cancel out the other virtues.” Well said. I surround myself with reliable people. They show up and commit to doing what they have promised they would do. They pay their obligations. They honor their relationships. It all goes back to being reliable. Since they are trustworthy, I know they won’t abandon me if things morph to tough. I treat them the same way.
Persuasion. Ben Franklin said, “If you want to persuade, appeal to interest not to reason.”
Best business practices. There is no legitimate business which cheats its customers. I once signed up for an internet service plan for “up to” 12 MB (temporary housing and we just needed email and news). After several complaints we still only had “up to” 2 MB service. They never charged “up to” the full amount. After talking to several other former customers I found we were not the exception. They were purposely cheating every customer out of the service for which they paid. Just yesterday a friend mentioned that his parents were with the same company and were paying for 600 MB but only getting 26. Treat your customers the way you would want to be treated or get out of business! The company I helped lead had a determination to treat the customers well. They often got more value than they paid for. For instance, if their home was in a heavy termite area I would often “inspect” for that while doing ant service. It wasn’t uncommon to tell customers they DIDN’T need the service requested. “These flies will be gone in 3 days whether we treat them or not. We’d love your money, but recommend against treatment.” Honesty made the best long-term customers. On the other hand, this internet provider would go out of business if they didn’t send salesmen door to door and junk mail.
“Follow the science” sounds like a reasonable comment. It usually isn’t. Like statistics, “science” is a catch-all term for “the things I agree with.” It is much more malleable than it should be. That is because what is left out (outliers) are often of greater significance than those things included. Example: In a few recent posts I have shown how reporters often leave out significant facts when talking about increases in diseases. For instance they say “We are seeing more cases now than ever before…” but they fail to notice or report that the population grew by 10% during the study period, or fail to report that the way that disease is reported has changed. A specific example in the last year was the report that there are far fewer “white” Americans than ever before. What was left out of the report: They changed criteria which determined the races of Americans (if born in South Africa you suddenly were “black” even though of Dutch descent).
The 2025 Common Sense Media Report highlights just how integral tech has become in young children’s daily lives.
- 40% of 2-year-olds have their own tablet (58% of 4-year-olds)
- Nearly 1 in 4 kids (23%) have a cellphone by age 8
Totally unnecessary. I still don’t have a tablet and I’m retired. If my wife was not working we probably would ditch the internet, too (have cell phones anyway and have better uses for the $900/yr.). Library is free.
Absolutely unnecessary for the 99% of Americans to have a toaster, stove, refrigerator, or thermostat that “connects.” Simplicity is best. Just because I CAN have lobster for every meal doesn’t mean I SHOULD.
Copyright 2025 Donald Whelpley
[PLEASE NOTE that Don is always open to discussing the thoughts and opinions he shares here and welcomes comments as shared in the comment section. He doesn’t use other social media platforms and won’t see whatever you’d like to share with him if you post it elsewhere.
ALSO, Don is always open to offer his thoughts on various topics. If you have a specific request, you can let him know in a comment; he reads – and replies to – them all. ~ Sherry]
See more GUEST POSTS from Don!
Comments