READ
EXCERPTS FROM TED'S MOST RECENT COLLECTION......................................................................................................
When
I was young, life seemed like a hormonal joyride
without an itinerary; a series of false starts,
rude awakenings and half-hearted simulations of
experiences I only dimly understood.
"Big
Day for the Little Dude"
It
may be the stress and grind of living beyond our
means, of working for goals with which we can no
longer identify, that gives us consumers that
lean and hungry edge—and the gnawing sense
of incompleteness that the economy thrives on.
"Easy"
The only hearts that break are those brimming
with a devotion to something beyond the
commonplace. A person without a dream, without a
single-minded passion, poses no threat to the
powers that be, or to himself. Better to be a
serene boob than an exasperated artiste. If
stress kills, indifference makes us immortal.
"Indian
Summer"
I would hope that providence has long since
plucked you from the Valley of Inadequacy, as it
has me, and handed you the Real Deal. I’m
talking about that One Special Person in your
world who adores you, not for whom you pretend to
be, but for the unique somebody you didn’t
know you were.
"Bad
Boy's Bad-ass Past"
It’s no coincidence that auto manufacturers
have appealed, not to our restraint, but to our
love of speed by naming their dream machines
after swift, powerful animals, like the cougar,
the mustang, the jaguar, and the eagle, to name a
few. Think about it. How many “Slugs”
have you seen on the road? How many
“Aardvarks?”
"Confessions
of a Speed-oholic"
It’s hard to separate the facts from the
froth. I suspect there’s more to being a
genius than choosing the wrong socks or dropping
pizza sauce on one’s pants. (What a shame. I
might have been somebody!)
"Thoughts
on Thinking"
And
just suppose that the natural order were subject
to man’s revision. To whose personal
specifications should it conform, seeing that
there are as many human wills as there are human
beings?
"A
Message in the Quake"
Be diligent. Rate the content of network shows
and movies. Issue parental warnings. That way: a)
Concerned parents can know what garbage to avoid;
b) Hardened viewers and unsupervised youngsters
can locate it more easily; and c) You guys can
receive credit for taking a moral stand without
really changing anything.
"A
Modest Proposal to the Television Networks"
No
amount of blood that man has ever shed since time
began could cleanse our hearts and reconcile us
to God. Holy wars have not made man more holy.
Just causes have not justified him. Right
attitudes have not made him more righteous.
"Where
Do You Stand?"
If we deny man his natural propensity for evil,
we must deny the dramatic and musical geniuses of
the world the freedom and the resources with
which to enrich our lives. We would also deny
ourselves the joy of seeing our dismal reality
reinvented before our eyes (and ears), of
witnessing our most profound trials acted out by
individuals other than ourselves. If we want God
to put an end to war, cruelty, sadness,
infidelity and death, then we might as well offer
up our theaters, concert halls, movie houses and
TV sets as sacrifices.
"The
Necessary Evil"
Blind compliance is that proverbial binky people
drag around with them to ward off those forces
they cannot master or comprehend. Like nightmares
or boogeymen. Like having to think for
themselves.
"The
Air, the Frogs and Other Things"
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