I have often tried to calculate how many thousands-of-hours I have spent talking with people as a therapist. I would venture to say some 13,000. Now, I’ve met many-a-therapist who has logged many tens-of-thousands more, but when I couple these psychotherapy hours with the tens-of-thousands of hours that I have spent teaching – I feel like I’ve heard more stories than most people have in-a-lifetime. I forgot to mention the many people I’ve met in my travels (which I hope are far from finished). And when I hear a story – it is subjected to my photographic memory, er, perhaps my phonographic memory (though my Mother would suggest otherwise…that I have the memory of a sieve – and prefer to fabricate my past whenever possible). I disagree, and, don’t forget that she is a German.
I try to convince people daily – that all-of-this un-jaundiced experience with my fellow man (and woman) — has made me a fairly good judge of the human condition. In fact, I would venture to say that all-of-my-experience in the education field; mental health field; music field; sports fields; and, that all-inclusive traveling experience – has left me a better judge of human character than just about anyone around. But most everyone I know is nonplussed. Every-now-and-then, however, someone does validate me by saying that I was “Spot On!” And Man! That feels good!!
Please realize that I don’t assume an air of authority in my analyses of my fellow man. Rather, I am far more Chaucerian in my approach: laughing-at-myself as hard (if not harder) than I laugh at my fellow man. Indeed, I would like nothing better than to reach that Chaucerian vantage point – where I can look out onto that sea of humanity and see nothing but a brother (and sister) hood – where we are all joined in the Great Circus of Life to do our performances.
God! It’s not an easy thing to become Chaucerian!
Brother Paul’s second wife, Cristina, just bore him Son #3 (Big Hans). And Brother Paul knows that he will be working till he’s at least 60! I would like to retire 5-years-from-now: at age 57 – though I would love to keep teaching college for another 10 years – say, till I’m 67. But who the Hell knows what we Americans will have to do to retain the standard of living we have right now. That’s why I am hoping that my beloved South Africa endures the newly elected Zuma – so I can live down under for 6-months-of-the-year. Wow! Zuma’s a wild man (so is Brother Paul) – and I simply hope and pray that South Efrika can host a great world cup and blossom from there. Hope, hope, hope – I truly think that S. Africa is the greatest multi-cultural experiment of our time.
So, as I attempt to sing myself, and battle that self doubt that we all taste, (and we probably wouldn’t taste if we didn’t compare ourselves to Moses, or Jesus or Mohammed or the Virgin Mary [for my female readership]) – we’d probably set sail with Jimmy Buffet each-and-every-day, to have that cheeseburger in Paradise.