Huzzah, I woke up with my alarm and I’m blogging in the morning. My head is in a better space, at least my sleep pattern is. You might have noticed that yesterday was hot. It was hot on Saturday too. When I went to leave to see Deni at Don’s I wanted to wear my sandals. I don’t wear shoes and socks when it is hot. I found my shorts and wicking fabric shirt but not my Tevas. I looked high and low and went out with the next best thing canvas sneakers without socks. Yesterday I wanted to find my sandals. Even though they are footwear I don’t think they can walk off on their home. They had to be in my room. They were, in the most obvious place. I bet you guessed it. They were under my bed. Whew. That meant I could take the trek to Stop & Shop properly dressed; except I didn’t. I wore a baseball cap instead of a brimmed hat. That was foolish. I won’t do it again. I didn’t get sunburned. I go out late in the day when the UV is lower to prevent that but it’s still cooler with the back of my neck protected. On the way there I stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts. I had enough bonus point for a free drink. Whenever I get that and it’s hot, I order the Cocoa Mocha Iced Signature Latte. Those are delicious and refreshing. If I order a donut two Mondays in a row, I earn one; that’s a good deal. I have to remember to get a donut today. At Stop & Shop I bought everything on my shopping list including my first ice cream of the year. That proved useful when I got home all hot and sweaty. I made myself an ice cream soda. I also prepared my first batch of cold brew to drink today. Oh yeah, it’s 64º. I had to get out of my shorts, put on flannel pjs and a hoodie. I’ll still enjoy the cold brew.
I listened to the Met game the entire time I was out. The Mets won 2-0 in Colorado. How big a deal is that? This was only the second time the Mets shut out the Rockies in history. Thanks to the think air of Denver the ball travels far there so there is a lot more scoring. This was also only the second time the Rockies were shutout at home in four years. Taijuan Walker and the Met pitchers were masterful. Have you noticed that I’m excited about this year’s Mets?
What I didn’t do yesterday is record Gord’s Gold. The people that were partying outside on Saturday night were out there again and it was too noisy. Thankfully, they stopped around 1 AM as I was going to sleep. They were not nearly as loud as on Saturday, but I need silence to record.
I got a text addressed to Anthony. That happens, People get phone numbers wrong. I text back that there was no Anthony here. She seemed to think there was a misunderstanding and told me her name. I told he that she got the wrong number. That wasn’t the end she started apologizing. I said it was OK. Then I got this message. “Thank you for your understanding, you are a kind and polite person, although I got the number wrong, but it’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m _____ in Los Angeles, where are you? I told her and haven’t heard back. Is it really noteworthy that someone doesn’t get mad and understands when they get sent a text by mistake? I’m a good person but I don’t think unusually virtuous.
Before this happened, I questioned if I think about morality and the consequences of my actions more than others. Why I don’t think I’m unusually virtuous, I know I have friends much more selfless than me, I do suspect I spend more time thinking about it. One thing I’m actively doing is avoiding tribal signaling when discussing politics. People often call it “virtue signaling” but that’s not right. It’s not always about doing the virtuous thing. Republicans do it by making baseless accusations that Biden’s electoral victory was achieved by fraud. Bearing false witness is the opposite of virtue but they know if they say it, they will get the accolades of their fellow tribesmen. Part of me thinking about morality is examining if I do the same thing. The left does much the same thing, though we are more often truthful. What we do, what I do, is skewer those that disagree with us and describe them not just as wrong but as evil. That’s clearly not good for the world. It does not advance our cause; it won’t convince anyone. We do it to get the accolades of our tribe. Puritanical thinking is done by people that we don’t think of as Puritans. We try and show how virtuous we are by pointing out the sins of others. We get rewarded with social cohesion in our tribe at the cost of cohesion of society at large. That makes it selfish. It feels so good when I do it, but I fight, sometimes successfully, not to. Others seem to do it without the internal battles I have. I really enjoy skewering people I disagree with. I have to constantly remind myself that doesn’t make it right.
OK, I told you what I did and what’s been on my mind. That’s almost a full blog. You know what I’m missing? What I ate. It’s not a real Wise Madness without food. Last night I made bratwurst and plantains. I haven’t made plantains in a while. I made them perfectly. Now I’ve done my duty and my reward is I get to eat breakfast. Grits ala Horvendile is on the menu.
Wise Madness 