Ebbecke Answers

Frank Ebbecke emailed me to offer his perspective on three of the proposed questions for this month. Frank used to be one of our local regulars in Charlottesville, Virginia, many years ago, but now resides in San Antonio, Texas. We are in the process of trying to coax him into partaking in our dialogues once again as one of our cyber participants. Here is his take on suggested topics 1 through 3:

For a good life I think you need a since of purpose and some measure of security.

To be reasonable and rational is to first realize that we live in a world that is not reasonable or rational. You are not emotionally devastated when you encounter this lack of reasonableness or rationally. This helps one to be consistent to purpose toward a worthwhile goal in the face of a temporary setback.

Big picture, how big? Ultimately there is nothing you can do. We all die. The sun will supernova some day. In the shorter run, yes we can influence things, but to a lesser degree than what we would like to think. If you lived in Charlottesville in 1861 and you are against Secession you could have a problem. Here in Texas, you would not have the problem for long after mentioning it, because you would be hung. We may be for or against the Iraq war, but if we are not in a policy making role, there is not much we can do about it.

Having spent a career in public education, I've seen children from the best backgrounds go bad. I've seen kids with the cards stack heavily against them go on to make something positive of their lives.

So, I guess the best answer is that we can influence the "big" picture of our lives, but again with a lot of qualification. I can apply myself, save and invest, and work hard. I can't do anything about gas prices, interest rates, the job market, tax policy, home prices, the stock market, or the emotional state of those around me. These qualifiers almost make me want to abrogate personal responsibility altogether. This is abanding too much to fate, I think. Speaking broadly, I've noticed that those who are responsible, apply themselves, plan ahead are over time better off than those who do not.

Best wishes,

Frank V. Ebbecke
San ANtonio, TX

Thanks, Frank, for you thoughtful reflections. Good to hear from you again. Hope you will be able to join us long distance in our next discussion in August. Would be nice to include the Texas perspective in our deliberations.

Cheers,

Steve