Show #287

Hello Friends of the Garden!

It’s always nice to be back at the coast. Yesterday, instead of my typical sea-glass hunt, it was time rebuild my little potting bench. I think it turned out pretty good considering it was built completely from scraps!

The real down side of coastal living is the constant deterioration of anything man made! The minute any person puts the final touch on anything, whatever it is, it feels like the Sun, wind, ocean air, and rain all conspire together to return things to its elemental state! The imperceptible decimation seems to lull one into complacency!

I built that workbench at least fifteen years ago and I’ve been coming here regularly over time. The odd thing is I saw the bench falling apart and getting all loose and wobbly and I just dismissed it to be handled on another occasion. This weekend I realized it was time to forego the sea-glass hunt and get it done.

I’m a fairly handy person, I know that, but compared to some of my friends I wouldn’t even claim to know what a hammer is! It has become clear that my parents combined to pass on their dominant self-deprecation genes to me! However, after having spent this much time with myself, I am learning to justify the praise of friends and loved ones against my perceived fatal flaws.

Perfection seems impossible and exasperating! We have religions built around perfection, from Baptists to Scientologists all seeking some unattainable form of perfection. We see perfection as rare and mystical. We actually are blind to perfection! Anything in its elemental state has to be perfect! From that standpoint, my old workbench was slowly working its way to perfection!

I knew I wouldn’t build a bench as well as my friend Mark. I knew it wouldn’t be bad or at least not worse than the old rotting first effort (even I hear my own self-deprecating way). After reconciling between skill and need, I was prepared to accept the implications. In the end, the bench turned out better than the last one, not perfect, but better. I learned a little from the design flaws that helped accelerate the bench’s return to perfection!

Can you imagine a reluctant Henry Ford saying, “Yeah, sure, I can build a car but it wouldn’t be perfect! I mean eventually there would be horrible accidents and I’d need to know about airbags, and I don’t! Think about it people would be killing themselves with my invention! Who knows what else could go wrong! No, I can’t do this.” Cars have come a long way since Henry Ford’s time! Perfection can be imprecise and subjective.

I think we have the same problem with Health Care. The government wants their version of perfection. The people want their version of perfection. The ridiculous thing is that all along this has felt like an “our” plan or “theirs”! As if it’s a yes or no issue.

What if the Federal Government’s job was just to support each state’s preferred health plan? Even better, maybe we could see how dedicated the government is to the protection of the citizenship by really working together to get the very best thing for everyone! Honestly, wouldn’t that affect more people than any losses we’ve had foreign and abroad?

I really don’t get it! Name a political party. Let’s say the party you picked eventually gains complete dominance and everyone else is relegated to compliance. How is that supposed to work? Really, isn’t that the goal right now? Both groups give all outward appearances of it being bad to work together! How remarkably ignorant is that?

A perfect health plan, are you kidding? Our best hope is that we aren’t hurt too much by their sluggish efforts to help us. I mean hey, we’re counting on millionaires to figure out a fair tax code for our poor, uneducated souls! I’m sure it’ll work out! Maybe we follow Henry Ford. We build a car and plan on it getting better each year! It’s not a perfect plan but it works! C’mon man!

Peace and love to you all!

Mike