Last year I watched the DVD of Ed Wood starring Johnny Depp as the title character. Wood, of course, was a director who made weird movies. His movie Plan 9 From Outer Space could very well be the worst movie ever made. I can speak from first hand experience because after seeing the movie Ed Wood, I watched Plan 9 From Outer Space. It was bad.
There is no doubt that Ed Wood aspired to make good movies and he was passionate in what he did. Unfortunately, he just wasn’t very good. You have to give credit to the man, however. He may have been a cross-dressing weirdo and he may not have had the artist’s eye or the journeyman’s skill, but he pursued his passion. Many of us have a passion for something and we never get the opportunity to pursue it. For example, Jimbo has always thought he would like to handle the rock in the NBA. Unfortunately (or possibly fortunately) his opportunity has not materialized. You just don’t see enough retirement-aged fat, bald white guys, who can’t run or jump playing in the National Basketball Association.
On some occasions, however, one sees examples of men who have a passion for something who manage to achieve a position of influence—like Ed Wood—who share Mr. Wood’s lack of competence for what they do. I saw an example last week of such a man, when I tried to sit through a TiVo-ing of the State of the Union Address. I quit watching after a while. I was reminded that we actually legitimately elected this guy once. I’m sure the man is pursuing his passion. I just liked it better when his passion was dope and booze and he was not steering the ship of state—or trying to.
I was hoping that the image of Leonard Pynth-Garnell would come on to the screen and tell us, “Oh, that was really bad, wasn’t it? That was our own Ronnie Bateman playing the part of the President of the United States.”
By the way, I quit watching right about the point that I thought there was a possibility that Bush was going to tell us the terrorists hate our freedom. If I hear that one more time it will have been a couple of times too many. The truth is the terrorists hate us for our cosmetic surgery. Not to disrespect the terrorists (okay, maybe I am disrespecting them) but they are, in general, a homely lot. Let’s face it, we’re better looking than they are (not me, just us in aggregate). Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and George Clooney have nothing to fear from the terrorists, if their concern is the terrorists taking acting jobs away from them.
All of this leads me to the point I originally was going to make before I wandered off, somehow.
Ed Wood had a story he wanted to tell, but he couldn’t be taken seriously. It wasn’t just the zombies from outer space, the pie pans suspended on strings that fluttered in the breeze, which were the zombies’ vehicles of transportation to earth, or their bad acting (and bad directing). It was that the story itself was not believable.
The Bush Administration reported this week that unemployment has dropped to 4.7%, which means we have virtually full employment. That would seem to be great news, except there is something wrong with this picture. When one uses the practical test of circumspection of the society around him, the numbers being reported to us appear to be as fictional as Ed Wood’s zombies. If you know anyone who is looking for work, please tell them about these figures and tell them they just aren’t looking hard enough because the jobs are out there. Well, maybe you shouldn’t do that, as they might reply with the proper response and deck you.
I would contend that you know, or know of, several people looking for jobs who seem to have been looking for a while. The ones who do find jobs seem to be take them for less money and less or no benefits.
How many raises have you gotten since Bush took office? Are you working more hours for less pay? Does someone cover for you when you go on vacation, or is the work waiting for you when you get back? Do you even have any vacation time? Do you even still have a job? Has your net worth increased or decreased since 2001? How about your benefits? Are they a lot better, now? Is health insurance more affordable? Is housing more affordable?
Is life more fun?
Do you feel safer from attack from terrorists?
Do you have it better than you did in January of 2001?
The measure of life is progress and that progress has slowed dramatically in the last five years. Is our problem the team or the coach? I look around myself every day and look at my teammates—the people I work with, my family and friends—and I say we have a damn fine team. It is the coach. He isn’t getting the job done—never has; never will—and it makes the team’s performance suffer.
So, President Bush can stand before congress and the American people and tell us that we have it good and his administration can show us numbers to convince that life is grand. Numbers lie. The proof is all around you. Believe your own eyes.
At least, that’s our take, here in Jimbo’s world.
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