Once upon a time there was a man who was smarter than God. At least that is what his friends said behind his back. Michael was indeed one of the smartest men you could ever meet. Now some might call this a blessing while others might call it a curse. His mother was fond of saying that “ignorance is bliss” while his father believed, (though he did not practice it himself) that intellect and knowledge was everything. A man who was smart enough could rule the world. His father continually berated Michael to think and to use his intellect. Michael’s father demanded that Michael read only non-fiction and in an argument stick to the facts. The only things that mattered in the world were facts, data and evidence. Emotions ruled stupid people and decisions based on emotions were decisions that were stupid.
Michael grew up with very little respect or tolerance for anyone or anything that was not logical and rationale. When the first Star Trek series became popular, Michael was surprised at the admiration for Lt. Commander Spock. Many people saw Spock as the epitome of logic and rational thinking versus Kirk’s impulsiveness and McCoy’s rampant emotionalism. However, Michael saw Spock as divided between emotions and intellect. He could not accept that Spock was a role model for logical thinking. Nothing was as important to Michael as mind and intellect and the ability to ignore and suppress emotions. This of course had its negative side as far as Michael’s social aspirations were concerned.
Michael had few if any male friends and zero female friends. Men did not like Michael because they feared his put downs and lack of acceptance of their often biased and illogical thinking. Michael was very intolerant of what he saw as inept thinking and has no qualms about correcting anyone. It was hard to deny that Michael was usually right, but this meant that being around him would make you feel inferior and stupid. No one wants to associate with anyone who makes them feel insignificant.
Michael was attracted to women and would have liked to date and have a social relationship with the opposite sex. However, most women saw him as wooden and unemotional. This was a state that Michael was rather proud of. Moreover, compassion and love were traits that Michael saw as incompatible with a rational human being. There traits would lead to decisions based on emotions and not logic. Dates that Michael went on with the opposite sex usually lasted less than an hour and calls for a second date by Michael would always go unanswered.
Somewhere along the line, some of Michael’s friends (more like acquaintances really) tagged him with the moniker “The man who was smarter than God.” This was the source of endless jokes and laughter, all of course behind Michael’s back. Michael grew more and more isolated from any human contact, particularly after his mother and father passed away. Michael never even bothered to attend their funerals. “They are dead” he reasoned, “So my going to their funeral is not going to bring them back.”
As the years went by. Michael became lonelier and lonelier but also richer and richer. Michael was a genius with computers and also finance. He invested his money earned from writing software programs into a stock portfolio that he managed. This portfolio grew to nine figures and Michael never had to worry about working for a living or where his next meal would come from.
Michael loved to take walks to break up his work and enjoyed being outside. One day while taking a walk, he stopped at a little bench in a park and sat down to take a short rest. A young man about 16 years of age walked up to the bench and sat down next to Michael. “Hi,” the young man said, “My name is Joshua and I am special.” “That’s nice,” replied Michael, hoping to end the conversation quickly. “I am running away from home” came back a reply. “Oh”, said Michael, not particularly caring why. “Nobody likes me” explained Joshua. “My sister makes fun of me and my mom and dad don’t do anything about it.” Somewhat curious, Michael asked “Where are you going to go?” “I always go to this bench until its time to go home” said Joshua. This did not make any sense thought Michael, so he continued the conversation to find out more about this strange boy.
Joshua was fifteen years old and a developmentally disabled child. He had suffered a fall when he was very young which left him with a severely diminished cognitive capacity. He also suffered from some physical limitations. He was now in high school but spent most of his time in special needs classes. From early on, his family told him he was special. They were very loving parents and did their best to help him cope with his limited capacities. They knew he would never be able to live on his own. His older sister Inez, whom Joshua loved dearly, frequently became exasperated with him. She did not quite have the patience of his mother and dad, but right about now, she would go out looking for Joshua. The typical pattern was that Joshua would become angry with her and “run away from home” to this park bench. Inez would come and “find” him and take him home. She loved him as much as he loved her.
The conversation finally ended when Inez showed up. Joshua introduced his new friend Michael to Inez. She said hello to Michael and that she was very happy that Joshua had a new friend. Joshua asked Michael if he could come to visit him after school sometime if he did not live too far away. Michael reluctantly agreed thinking that he would never see Joshua again. In some respects he regretted this since he actually felt a stirring of compassion towards Joshua and he was moved by Joshua’s openness and lack of pretentiousness. Goodbyes all around and each left to go home.
A few days later, much to Michael’s surprise, who should knock at Michael’s home but Inez and Joshua. Inez said that she would drop Joshua off if it was okay with Michael and pick him up in an hour or so. Michael agreed and spent the next hour or so talking to Joshua about many different things. Joshua was surprisingly able to comprehend many things that Michael would bring up and they had some interesting if eclectic conversations.
Michael learned that Joshua loved science and animals and nature. He also learned that Joshua’s parents were not very wealthy. Michael deduced that they did not have enough money to buy some of the things that Joshua wanted and that they often struggled to buy some of the things he needed. Apparently, the fall did more than just brain damage to Joshua and he had some severe internal injuries which needed ongoing treatment. Joshua never complained though and saw most of these hardships as simple facts of his life.
The first day that Michael and Joshua spent together turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months. Each week, Michael and Joshua would spend at least an hour together. Some days, Michael would play video games with Joshua and other days they would do “walk and talks.” Inez would drop Joshua off and Michael would take Joshua home. Michael looked forward each week to seeing Joshua and spending time with him. Michael often tried to buy Joshua some of the things that he wanted, but Joshua’s parents were very proud and explained that they would prefer that he did not. Michael accepted their request but would take Joshua out for a hamburger or pizza whenever possible. His parents did not mind this as Joshua had a prodigious appetite.
A few years went by and Michael s life became less lonely and much happier. Michael greeted people on the street and spent time talking to other people without correcting them or giving them advice. Every week Michael and Joshua would get together. Then one week, Joshua did not come by. Michael was disappointed but simply thought that some event had come up and Joshua had to attend it. The following week went by and again no Joshua. By now, Michael was very worried. He called Joshua’s parents. Inez explained that they were at the hospital with Joshua who was very sick. She said she was sorry she had not come by to tell Michael about it, but things had been rather chaotic. She said Joshua had asked about Michael and when would he come up to visit. Michael told her that he would go right now.
When Michael arrived at the hospital, he found Joshua in bed with many tubes sticking out of him and his worried parents at his bedside. Joshua looked up when Michael entered his room and his face turned into a big smile. “I knew you would come,” he happily exclaimed. “I am dying,” he whispered to Michael. “But don’t worry about it, I will be OK.”
Michael stayed for awhile until Joshua fell asleep and then went out of the room followed by Joshua’s parents. “We are very sorry we did not call you sooner”, they apologized. “We always knew this time would come but we thought he had a few more years.” “Isn’t there anything they can do?” replied Michael. “No”, said his father. “We wish there was, but they have done everything they could.”
Michael came up every day to visit Joshua for a week. Then one day, when he came to the hospital Joshua was no longer in the room. The nurse explained that Joshua had died in his sleep the night before. Funeral arrangements were made by Joshua’s parents and Michael attended the wake. At the funeral, Michael gave his condolences to Inez and Joshua’s parents. Michael was nearly as devastated as they were. Joshua had a simple funeral, but Michael made sure that there were plenty of flowers there.
Michael went home and for the next week did nothing and said nothing. Then one day, he thought. I am not going to forget Joshua. I am sitting on a pile of money that is not doing anything for anyone. I am going to start a home for “special” children where they can come each day to play games, have meals and interact with toys that their parents could not afford for them to have. My home will have first class aides that are well trained in caring for special needs children and we will have all the security needed to ensure that these children have a safe and secure environment when not home. This will be someplace that parents can drop their children off when they need a break or rest.
So Michael started this home. It had the capacity for about 150 children. The home had numerous playrooms, security cameras in each room and a full kitchen staffed by cooks with degrees in dietary nutrition. The home was free to qualified children which was based on need and not income. Parents would fill out an application and it was reviewed by a board of professionals versed in the needs of special education children.
Michael came each day and spent at least four hours at the home. During these visits, he would meet the parents of each child and spend time with all the children to find out how they were doing and what they liked and did not like about the home. Michael was constantly making improvements to the home. When he was not at the home, he was using his genius to earn more money that he would then plow back into the home. Michael named the home: “The Joshua Home for Very Special Children.” Michael was admired by parents and loved by the children for the care and compassion he put into this home.
Twenty years or so when by and Michael passed away. In his will, he set up a foundation and trust to manage the home. Every penny he had was put into this foundation. Michael specified that he did not want an elaborate funeral and wanted a very simple burial. Despite his request, the number of people that called to inquire about his wake and funeral soon dictated that his request would go unheeded. A number of unnamed benefactors put up money to have the funeral moved to a larger venue. Even with a bigger church, there was standing room only. Estimates were that over a thousand people attended Michael’s “simple” funeral. Many people stood up to talk about his generosity and compassion and all the children that he had helped not only with the home but often with medical expenses and care that they could not afford. And no one referred to him as: “The man who was smarter than God.”
The End
Now less this sound too much like a soap opera, I should point out some of the character flaws that are obvious with Dick. He once had a battle with some beavers that resided on his property. These beavers were adept at building a dam using a stream that flowed near a road leading to Dick’s house. The dam would cause the water to back up flooding the road. Dick would go out there and break up the dam but faster than you could say “Dick the Stick” the beavers would rebuild the dam. I asked Dick why he did not shoot the suckers. Dick replied that he promised Gladys that he would not kill them but try to get them to relocate. So periodically Dick would come in with his back aching from breaking up the dam and I would say “Give me your rifle and I will shoot the suckers for you.” Dick would never do this. I finally bought him a t-shirt with “Beaver Advice” on it.
I mentioned that Dick does not want to travel anywhere (Except maybe Duluth). I would attribute his “been there, done it” to a possible birth or brain defect but to be fair Dick did go to England, Peru and a bunch of other countries when he was younger. Furthermore, unlike some people, he is always interested in hearing about the travels of Gladys and others in the group. I am going to Russia this coming year and I keep telling him that I am going to have an audience with President Putin. Dick often jokes about Putin and his strong political resolve. I may bring him a Putin t-shirt when I come back from Moscow, assuming that I am allowed to leave the country.
The most obvious metaphor for this topic is that we are all on a River of Time. Some of us are on long rivers, some of us on short rivers. Some of our rivers are very rocky. Some of our rivers are very shallow and rapid. Some of us are on rivers that are deep and wide. A lucky few of us may live our lives on rivers that are very tranquil and 
placid. Most likely though, most of us will live on rivers with many twists and turns that will suddenly go from peaceful and placid to wild and rough. We will all no doubt eventually have unexpected obstacles that arise causing some of us to suddenly capsize. Those of us who are lucky will find our way back into the boat. Many will not be so lucky.
If you have spent your life on a wide tranquil river, it would be very difficult for you to appreciate anyone coming from a rough whitewater style river. The converse is also true. Maybe that is why it is difficult to walk in anyone else’s shoes. We are all on different rivers and it is hard to understand the perspective of someone whose river is one we have never paddled. At this point, you might say: “Well, I disagree, life is simply one vast river and we all have rocks and logs and rapids to manage.” Maybe so.
When we are very young, our parents do the paddling for us. As we become teenagers we decide we want to paddle alone. We want our independence. Some of us go to school to learn how to paddle and navigate. Learning a language will help those who want to navigate foreign rivers. Circumstances or choice will eventually force many of us to leave our first river and go far away to try a new river. The bold among us will switch rivers many times in their life and continually attempt more challenging ones.
If you think about the ideas or premises or nostrums that guide your life, you will soon notice that we have many ideas that along our journey we have adopted. The sources of these ideas are vast. Fairy tales and children’s stories give us ideas such as “A stitch in time saves nine” or the “The race does not always go to the swift” or “Those who do not plan ahead may starve in the winter.” Many of our ideas about living no come from our parents and family. My mother used to say such things as “Ignorance is bliss” and “If you give them enough rope, they will hang themselves.” My father was fond of saying “Believe nothing of what you hear and only half of what you see.” He also used to like to say, “You have nothing to fear from the dead, only the living.” These two later beliefs have guided a great deal of my life.
