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RE: Wanted To Rent
Section 8 Housing
By Thomas Crane
Dear Dude
(Professor) and Fellow Members,
Well, Spring is here and duty calls. This "Old Man" can hardly afford to hire a
lawn care crew as he has to do most of the work around the house himself. I
guess this type of work is what keeps me limber and able to "pluck" away on my
computer. But, as one knows, it hardly allows for getting anything else done
and as my Dear Father often said, "Things don't take care of or correct
themselves." That being the case, I will try once again to divest myself from
this group, but in order to let you know how much fun I have had, I should
probably add, with sadness in my heart.
There is one thing that I would like to request, however, and that is that some
of you please refrain from projecting your view of the world on others according
to your own mind-set. I have tried as best as I could to describe who I am and
what I am, but I sometimes find that difficult to do. I know that it may be
difficult for some of you because you see the world and interpret things by the
way in which you were raised or schooled. In other words, sometimes the brain
processes thoughts or ideas according to your own way of thinking and then you
define someone else accordingly. That is a problem that we all have, I guess,
and given the manner in which we have all adopted the new school of thought or
un-thought, society has placed upon us a great amount of psychological thinking
or conditioning.
We have been programmed to think according to a new set of rules and
terminologies and "catch words" that we sometimes mistakenly project upon others
that give a false picture or idea of who and what someone else might be. In
summary, about all that I can say is be a little flexible in your thinking
because it is a vast world out there with many variables in the human makeup or
condition. After all, we all have our own prejudices because there are probably
some of you out there who do not like "Old Men." If you want to play a little
game, I would suggest that you try to construct a little picture of who it is
that you are corresponding with. I am sure that you would be somewhat shocked
if you should ever came face to face. That being the case, I would appreciate
it if some of you would please refrain from "throwing daggers" at me after I am
gone as I would have no way of defending myself. That is a "Cheaters game."
My apologies to "The Professor" and the other members of this forum for causing
you to become fixated on one advertisement or incident of someone wanting to
rent a Section 8 house. People seemed to have zeroed in on this one aspect
without taking in the big picture. As an instance, I include The Professor's
question to me and that is, "So you are saying crime is on the pick up again. I
am failing to see the connection between that and a section 8 housing ad." The
fact of the matter is, I was trying to dramatize how pervasive and insidious the
Section 8 Program has become that an individual could place an ad for this type
of housing in the newspaper. In actuality, the individual in question "Tawanda"
probably should have waited for her governmental agent to make arrangements or
referrals for her to inspect whatever house might have been available, but I do
not criticize her for her originality or ability to act on her own. The old
idea, "If you really want something, then go after it," still applies.
Never-the-less, I found it rather interesting to see how many profiles or life's
situations that people had constructed for Tawanda. They would probably be
could be material for a movie plot or TV show. I can think of one title, "The
Perils of Tawanda," but given this group you might have ideas of your own.
Now then, after all is said and done, I would like to request that you lift your
sights a bit and take in the "Big Picture." Tawanda is not an isolated
event. There are many Tawandas out there. All that you have to do is conduct a
search of the web and you will find that every large metropolitan area in the
nation is struggling with the Section 8 Program. The Federal Government is
administering this program on a nation-wide scale and it is having an effect all
over the country. Just look at Baltimore or Philadelphia and you will see that
they are all trying to keep things in some semblance of order.
Now then, in getting back to the subject or idea of conducting a forum. I would
like to suggest that instead of becoming emotional and jumping on "buzz" words
that you should apply some critical thinking. I do not operate your computer,
you do. That means that you should scan the web for sources of information
before you, as they say, "Go off half-cocked." Some people like to get their
"two cents in" without looking at the big picture.
As far as idealism is concerned, I guess that one could say that I am a bit of
an idealist myself. The only problem is that whenever I try to fix things
around the house and try to make it perfect, I find that it costs money. As my
Beloved Wife would say, "Just leave it." And so there I go leaving things that
I know could be so much better. In other words, I have sacrificed my principals
or ideals for the sake of money. Now, on the other hand, if it were one of my
neighbors, I might suggest, "Why don't you do it this way or that way?" I
probably would be met with the reply, "Don't you know that costs Money!" I
guess the moral behind this whole idea is that as long as it does not cost
ourselves money than it all right. So long as it costs somebody else something
then everything is fine. I hope that you get my idea.
Professor, I must commend you on your "rapid fire" use of the computer. As an
old "hunt and pecker" and being self-schooled on the computer, I find your
technique a bit overwhelming. Still and all, I find that speed does not
necessarily overcome substance. Also, I admire you for wanting to set the stage
by having used my comment and your subsequent follow-up, " When someone chooses
to adopt the title, "Professor," it is assumed that person will not only impart
knowledge, but also will engage in impartial discourse towards the purpose of
reaching a final consensus of opinion or solution." "Dude, be nice so we can
keep on debating."
The fact is, I like that term, "Dude," it brings a bit of commonness or
familiarity to the table. Not only that it shows just how "hip" someone might
be. On the other hand, if I was to coin an expression from the "Roaring 20's"
such as "23 Scadoo" you would probably wonder where the heck I was coming
from. Well, I guess, whatever it takes to place one in with the "In crowd."
I guess that all that I can say is, Touché, my Dear Professor! Nice try, but in
using an old boxing term, "I have learned to bob and weave." In other words,
"You do not have me backed into a corner." As they say, "I come out
swinging." Still, I hope that others will not be overcome by this technique as
a course of intimidation in the course of their own debates. My purpose was not
to "debate" but rather to educate and to inform and not bring home any debating
trophies. My comments were directed towards the Forum at Large and not
necessarily directly addressed to yourself so I hope that you can appreciate it
if I tell you that I am not nice, but rather a rotten old ########. Hey,
Professor, lighten up and have a few laughs. This makes for good conversation
over a few beers. The next time that I subscribe to a forum , I think that I
will use the title, "The Enlightened One." How do you think that would fly? It
just might place me head and shoulders above the rest.
Best wishes,
Tom (The Enlightened One) Crane
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