Jesus appeared to me last night as I was placing a log into my Vermont Castings wood stove while listening to Coleman Hawkins palying "Hanid" with Roy Eldridge,Hank Jones,George Duvier and Mikey Sheen.Jesus is about twenty-one now and has short hair,blue eyes and a nice athletic body of a college basketball player.He doesn't want the Knicks to get Carmelo Anthony because he thinks his name should be Anthony Carmelo(He has always favored Italians).He also stated that he hangs out around college campuses lately to see what the future might look like.Jesus knows that the health of a country falls to the college boys and girls who run our companies,teach our children,protect our lives and disperse the income generated.He talked with me about the many choices college people have when they start their careers in the public or private sectors.He remembered me making the decision to go into teaching instead of marketing because I just didn't want to take orders from anyone or fake an interest in a bunch of products I didn't use or believe in.Jesus remembered I wanted more time off to do the things I enjoyed instead a working hard for someone who might not appreciate my efforts.Also remembering, that I hated the simple act of putting on a suit and losing my identity.The Son of God also stated that I didn't care about money that much or the things money can buy but loved to meet new people and listen to their stories.
So,I became a teacher.I could wear any type of clothing I wanted and joined the union so I had some protection from a manager who was inexperienced,unprofessional or power hungry.I worked with forgotten kids who primarily came from broken homes and low income levels.Teaching was interesting and the final product was intellectual growth in a human along his/her road to happiness.I had time off to be with my family as I got older and spent every summer playing with my two daughters as they grew into wonderful humans with loads of compassion.I never thought about my income much because we got by as a family.I did borrow too much from credit cards in the early years to provide toys at Christmas and parts for my cars(didn't get a lot of money until my twentieth year in teaching...never enough to invest in stocks,bonds,etc.).We never went on vacations(my wife stayed home and only worked part time during the first ten years with the children)but enjoyed the free time together around the house and neighborhood.I made a choice at twenty-one to live that type of lifestyle.A choice that most college students have because they are fortunate enough to have the resources to go to college.I was the lucky 25% in our country to go four years and graduate.Eventually, I went another two years to graduate school(not paid by my district) and studied Educational Psychology and used that degree to help myself and the students that I taught over a thirty-eight year career.
Many college people my age decided to go into business and had successful careers, made a lot of money and invested in the stock market.They had bigger houses,vacationed in Europe and had a lifestyle that one needed a good source of revenue to maintain.It was their choice to do so.They had the freedom to take my road or stay on their path.I don't begrudge their decision and I know they just wanted the best for themselves and their families.I do have a problem with them if they participated in decisions that hurt other workers in an unreasonable way.If they looked the other way when their company avoided paying federal taxes,undermined environmental regulations,moved or closed company factories to save on labor costs,lost worker pensions,deprived health insurance to employees,refused membership in unions,continued dangerous working environments for employees and discriminated against females with lower pay scales.My main problem with these fellow college graduates is that they forgot where most of them came from(union fathers).The ones who turned their backs on the poor and lower class(voting with the conservative republicans) and rationalized their perspective that everyone has an equal chance to succeed like them.The college boys and girls forgot they are the priviledge ones who made it through four years and had the option to go down many roads to fulfillment.The 75% in this country who didn't make it must rely on the 25% who did to make good decisions for the entire 100%.
Jesus wants us to make good decisions for the entire 100%.He said so to me last night but he has always said so.He loved the poor and cared for their welfare before anyone else.He is very unhappy with how this country's money is unevenly distributed.Jesus doesn't want to throw anyone in jail but he is hanging around today's colleges to secretely infultrate the minds and hearts of potential leaders to make the appropriate decisions that would help the majority of the population that wants a good life for their children.Coleman Hawkins was an angel sent by Jesus to bring beauty to our hearts and love in our souls.Compassion,for me,is the primary goal of education.I hope more of our privileged class opens up and lets this light shine in.
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