False Positive COVID Tests Abound, The Burning of a Family Business, Who is John Galt?

“People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.”

— Martin Luther King Jr.

Monday morning, hello world, greetings from the top of a mountain where smoke surrounds us, and the sun is just a pinhole in the sky.  It’s very smoky here, the forest fires are raging, but far enough away we have the comfort we are safe, for now.

My cat is sitting with me as I write these words. She’s now by my side almost every minute of every day. If you are new to the soup, she got left behind in Indiana for four months; she was a little angry we forgot her. But when we drove back, we brought her, and our other cat, and both seem like they are in heaven.

We watched the Indy 500 yesterday; we had company, the Queen cooked, we ate well, it was good to hang out. We got to bed early, slept great, and now are ready to take on the week. It’s a magical opportunity to do some fantastic work and impact society. We’ve got a friend coming over tonight to walk through our property. We are contemplating renovating our mountain home; it’s time, we’ve been here a couple of years—time to create our dream home.

We like to entertain, we want to host folks, and with the creation of our little red rocks amphitheater, our home will become a destination for entertainment. Our main room will become a large kitchen entertainment zone; the rest of the house will serve to support the focus of the home. My Queen is a designer; she has an eye for colors; she’s already laid out her vision; it sounds beautiful.

I woke up to some startling video from around the country. People are now pointing guns at police vehicles and demanding they stop. What the hell is going on in our country that groups can treat our officers with such disrespect? A young man was shot in Muncie, IN this weekend. He made it to the hospital; he should survive, his life matters.

I guess there have been 77 positive tests in the NFL of players with COVID. The only problem is they are all 100% false positives. Here’s a little anecdotal news. We had my daughter’s wedding two weeks ago, we hugged, kissed, did not wear masks, and no one got the virus.  We were told that 250 was too many, so we shrunk it to 120, I think 250 would have provided the same result.

Our wedding DJ hosted a two-day event before our wedding, 300 people showed up, guess how many positive cases were from that event. If you guessed the same number of positive cases from our wedding, you won a prize. 

There is a gym in New Jersey, they were using social distancing, they were open for their members, and the government shut them down, removed their license to do business. Understand protests are happening that seem ok with the leaders in control.  So the gym owners reopened but under the banner of a person running for senate. They now are having workouts in support of a senate member in favor of allowing businesses to open.

It seems that half the country wants to shut down, and the other half wants to roar back to life. I’m on team roar, but respect you if you are on team lockdown. If you are older or are compromised, stay safe, if you are healthy, let’s get out and get back to work. I was telling a friend it’s like life has given us a one year vacation, but some of us are choosing to work during our vacation. Where there is a will, there is a way.

In Denver, a peaceful protest attacking the police headquarters spilled over into a neighboring business. A Quizno’s sub shop, family-owned was destroyed,  the demonstrations under the banner of black lives matter did not think Quizno’s was supporting their cause enough. Damn sandwiches! Imagine working your entire life to build a successful small business, and then having a crowd of peaceful protestors destroys your life’s work.

As a small business owner, I feel sorry for the lack of protection for my fellow entrepreneurs. I also am frustrated at the lack of support for our police officers. In many large cities, the police headquarters are now the target of these “peaceful protests,” can someone share with me the purpose of the dare I say riots? What exactly are you looking to change? Defunding the police,  how about refunding with better training and some new testing to help weed out the rotten eggs.

My Queen is sitting next to me; she’s sipping coffee, she’s checking the latest most excellent news happening around the country. I think we align on our thoughts about how we see the future of our country, you may or may not agree, but the beauty of our country is we can have different ideas about how we move our world forward. I see a clear path void of riots and a return to law and order.

How are you? Are you enjoying watching our world burn down around us? Are you fearful that soon, the mob will come to your house and demand you move out and let the marginalized take possession of your home and personal property? How dare you work hard and build a good life for you and your family, it’s not fair. Shame on you for your success and drive to improve society. 

I got in a little struggle with a few folks degrading the line “Who is John Galt?” This phrase is timely. I share the following quote from Ayn Rand: “The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities.” It was not received well; I’ll leave it right there.

While we are at it, her is another quote from Ayn that resonates: “Devotion to the truth is the hallmark of morality; there is no greater, nobler, more heroic form of devotion than the act of a man who assumes the responsibility of thinking.” I think one of the most significant issues in society today is a lack of devotion—a following of some weird new religion that puts the focus on some and not the whole. We seem to be separating society in groups; I wonder what Martin Luther King would say about these divisive times. Oh, wait, while living, he penned this thought, “I have decided to stick to love...Hate is too great a burden to bear.” - MLK, I’m sure it was love that burned down the Quizno’s in Denver.  Who is John Galt?

“People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.”

— Martin Luther King Jr.