Good Will Hunting and Mentoring

Robin Williams is remembered as the GOAT of comedians. David Letterman's tribute is here... Interestingly, Robin's Oscar was for a serious role in Good Will Hunting. (This is the movie that propelled Matt Damon & Ben Affleck to stardom.)

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On this day in 1942, Bill Spellman was born. He went on teach and coach football at Coe College where he mentored hundreds over the years. Not simply an academic advisor but a life mentor. 

Spellman was taken away from us in 1997 with a couple of massive heart attacks. I was honored his wife Donna allowed me to give the eulogy:

A key line in my eulogy: "Help from Spellman was born of compassion, not sympathy." Meaning, he wanted to help people, not express sadness for their circumstances.

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In 1998 the movie Good Will Hunting was released. In an early scene I realized Robin Williams embodies everything Bill Spellman was to me and so many others. And, to be clear, this is the scene that won Robin the Oscar, beating the odds on favorite Burt Reynolds for Boogie Nights. 

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I am, unbelievably,  now older than Doc Spellman was when he died. 

The final lines of my eulogy: "I've always believed the best thing you can say about a man is that the world a better place for his having been here... by helping us to be better people the spirit of Bill Spellman lives on."

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I am a truly lucky man to have had him as a mentor. It is because of him that I am in higher education. I hope someday someone is able to give a my eulogy and declare the world is a better place because I was here. 

What's love got to do with it?

Steve  and Michelle were HS sweethearts. Steve was the cool guy who played guita and Michelle was sweet cheerleader whose Mom a school secretary who quietly ran the place.

After HS they stuck together and eventually married. Everyone was happy for them.

At our fifth year class reunion Michelle and Steve seemed happy. As the party was winding down, we were all exchanging hugs. Liquid courage led Michelle to express a side of herself that she had been keeping back.

"Woah," Christine exclaimed, "I was not expecting so much tongue." 

Michelle had decided she preferred women over men. Within a year she divorced Steve and dropped contact with most from our HS.

I was happy to get her friend request on FB. It was good to reconnect. The surprise? She was married and had 2 sons.  Huh?

Happy for her and her family but I'm confused. 

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Dave has been married for many years. He gets along well with his in-laws and loves doing romantic things for his wife. 

The problem?

They haven't had sex in more than 4 years. Although I've never met her I did suspect she might be playing for the other team. When he finally confronted her she confessed she is probably bi or maybe a lesbian. 

I hope the best for the couple. 

It reminds me of this great scene from Sex and the City:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHBjjIC9Eq0

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Which leads me to the question: Can a couple remain a couple if there is no sex?

Addiction

 We all have addictions.

Some addictions are a good thing. At one point I was programming Apple assembly language in hexadecimal. Had I pursued this path I would be a very rich reclusive geek now.

Some addictions are bad. Addiction to gambling can lead to very bad places. (NYU Professor Scott Galloway says its the number one cause of suicide. I'm not gonna take the time to fact-check him.) 

Two of my addictions are caffeine and alcohol. Years ago I went a few months without alcohol to see if: 1. I could do it, and 2. Are there any positive changes? The answer for me is that I could do it and I saw no measurable change in health.

My "Dry January" experiment in 2024 was to go without caffeine. I've ridden the caffeine roller coaster for years. My morning routine is to have a Coke Zero before I head to shower. After awhile I reach a point where I'm having six pack of Coke Zero and two coffees just to get through the day. So I'll go cold turkey off caffeine, endure a few days caffeine withdrawal headaches and then slowly reintroduce caffiene again. It's caffeine roller coaster and I've been riding it since high school.

Fun Fact: In college I went to every class with a Coke. I was known as the Coke guy even among those who never met me or knew me.

Deciding to go three weeks without caffeine was supposed to give me some insight. Is my life better without nature's energy elixir? Will I sleep better? Will I be more or less productive? What will be the great secret I learn from this experiment.

I wish I had some amazing insight. Here are my two take-aways. 1. No caffeine reaffirmed my belief that mornings suck. 2. I jerked off much less. 

I doubt I could get a paper written on that.

Iowa Caucuses - Winners and Losers

Winners

Trump

If you asked the Trump campaign what they wanted to happen before the caucus the answer would have been:

• Get more than 50% of the vote
• DeSantis comes in 2nd, taking away the “Haley momentum” story
• Win by the largest margin in Iowa Caucus history

Done… done… done… I do not see how anyone/anything can stop the Trump run for the nomination.

Ron DeSantis

By placing 2nd he lives to fight another day and has saved face to drop out in the future when he returns to Florida with his tail between his legs.

Iowa media

The news that $120 million was spent in Iowa is simply unbelievable. 

Joe Biden

Two reasons:

1. Joe Biden cannot beat Nikki Haley. He can beat Donald Trump. In the last few days Trump has given Democrats all the fodder we need to win in this cycle: Claiming with pride he gutted Roe v. Wade, dismantle Obamacare, dictator comment, etc. The ads write themselves.
2. The turnout in Iowa was only 107,000. That's pathetically weak turnout. 

There is no enthusiasm on my side for Joe Biden but it's hard to argue there is much enthusiasm for Trump beyond the MAGA base. 

Losers

Nikki Haley

Her big goal was to come in 2nd and claim this is now a 2 person race. Hillary was seriously wounded by coming in 3rd in 2008 in Iowa (Obama came in a powerful first and Jon Edwards beat Clinton by a few percentage points). Haley could go on to win New Hampshire and still will not be enough to make DeSantis drop out before South Carolina.

Vivek Ramaswamy

Spend $15 million of your own money to earn 8449 votes. That comes out to $1775 per vote. Vivek would have done better if he had staff at soup kitchens in Iowa offering patrons $500 to show up on caucus night. 

Caucuses

Only a little more than 100,000 people came out on Monday night. Those not from Iowa will blame it on the weather. Those from Iowa know cold weather stops nothing. Heavy snow? Yes Simply being cold? Nope.

Kim Reynolds

Historically, Iowa governors have remained neutral during the caucuses. Why? There is no upside in endorsing. She put her credibility on the line and got nothing for it. Iowa's Republican senators were smart enough to keep their powder dry. 

Bob Vander Plaats

Very happy my least favorite Iowan's endorsement of DeSantis didn't help. 

Republicans

Only 7% of the caucus goers were under 30.  That doesn't bode well for the future of the GOP.

Thoughts:

$120 million in spending means more than $1000 per vote. Contemplate that. 

These results have left me deeply depressed. Had the Haley campaign followed my suggestion of reaching out to Dems with nothing to do on Monday night she could have secured a 2nd place finish.

I wonder how Monday night could have different had Haley's campaign reached out to people like me: https://youtu.be/obf-VK7uwcI?si=JNWziHjk64EE0JPM