Sunday, October 15, 2023

8 Days a Week

If you are reading on a smartphone, use landscape / hold phone sideways. 

Facebook Memories Feature...today

Steven Wright is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and film producer. He is known for his distinctive lethargic voice and slow, deadpan delivery of ironic, philosophical and sometimes nonsensical jokes, paraprosdokians, non sequiturs, anti-humor, and one-liners with contrived situations. He tells a joke about going to a 24 hour convenience store, that was closed. "Hey, the sign says open 24 hours..." Yeah, the manager says, but not in a row... Over the years I stole that line for myself. 

"I work 7 days a week, just not in a row."

Ever since we were kids, grown ups would tell us "Gotta get a good education..." where Education = Quality of Life. This is why for the past 100+ years, people from around the world would send their kids to America - to get a good education. Or, parents would scrub floors or work double shifts, to earn enough money to send their kids to college - or even medical school. "Education" was considered to be the key to a good life - access to quality education was the pathway to a better life. 

When I think of the pain and suffering in the world, sometimes we call it evil - I think about the cause, the root of that pain and suffering. And, many times I feel that it comes from the dramatic difference in quality of life. Food, shelter, medicine. Clean drinking water - the things that I take for granted. And then I think back to being told, over and over all my life: Tommy, you gotta get a good education. Education is the key to everything. 

I found a career with NYDLA.org | USDLA.org | NADLA.org  that allows me to promote education - to enable quality education to anywhere - to everywhere - to everyone. To create a path forward where there was none. To change lives, via technology, regardless of time zone. Education transforms. Access to quality education is transformative. Education changes lives, and those changed lives are now empowered and enabled to pay it forward. We all know the saying "give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime". It is more worthwhile to teach someone to do something (for themselves) than to do it for them (on an ongoing basis).

As I write this post on Sunday October 15, 2023 the news is full of reports of tragedy. Reports of evil acts, the most horrific reports of the worst of humanity. And I think how there would be less suffering in the world if there was food, shelter, medicine - for all. I think about how quality education for all could change everything for everyone. "Oh, how I wish my children, my family, my community had less food, less shelter, had poor health, and had less access to quality education" said no one ever. 

Education = Quality of Life. I think this is why I can easily work 7 days a week... just not in a row. And if there were 8 days in a week, I would work 8. 

Everyone - Everywhere: Teach Everything You Know. Ask for help - get the help that you need - and then (one day) you too can pay it forward. Circle of Life and whatnot...

[ From my upcoming book ] TommyCapone.com book tour goes LIVE in 2024



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