Not For Long?

Can I chalk it all up to being a bit depressed?

The first story is that when I glance out the window on my right I can see close to 2.5 feet of freshly fallen snow, and I am not a skier. No, that’s not it, by itself. This is winter #11for me, living in northern Vermont, and I’m past being too upset by normal weather, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bother me.

So, I am bothered a bit by the blizzard, and by four other (not so) disparate stories that have somehow collided in my mind, and left me feeling sad and angry.

The second story is that I borrowed a book from our local library on Saturday titled "Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town," by Nick Reding. It’s a true reporting of what has happened to so many little towns in the heartland of this country – the horrible story of being addicted to methamphetamine, and how it has come to be rural America’s answer to urban America’s heroin/cocaine mixed addiction.

The third story is that a little over two years ago, one of my oldest and closest friends died in a prison hospital from cancer. I don’t know what caused the cancer, but I do know that methamphetamine was the reason he was incarcerated.

My friend had had what most folks would agree had been a pretty successful life for the better part of 50 years. He had many friends that loved him, and made more than enough money to have a nice home, and most of the other material things a person generally wants. I’m not going to try and tell the story of how this all happened, just that it did, and it destroyed him before the cancer ended his life.

The fourth story was aired on "60 Minutes" last night. It was about how children are the largest segment of the American homeless population. Some estimates are that 25% of the children in this country are lucky if they are sleeping in a shelter or crowded with parents and siblings in a weekly-rate motel room. Some "couch-surf" with friends, family, or neighbors – often in what must feel like a never-ending cycle. Some aren’t lucky enough to have any of those places to live.

A large part of my job is managing public housing authority (PHA) family developments, so I work with people on the fringe of homelessness by definition. I probably have over 200 children among my tenants, and untold more whose parents are trying to secure an apartment from my PHA. Most of the kids that are in the safe and affordable housing we provide are often hungry. Some have parents that are drug addicts. If I catch someone using illegal drugs I am required (by HUD) to terminate their lease. The language in a standard approved HUD lease mentions "methamphetamine" specifically a number of times, and makes it very clear that a tenant will be evicted if caught using, selling or manufacturing the drug.

So, maybe this is all my fault, that I am feeling a bit down? I think I picked up the book because I was looking for some answers to why my friend lived out the final years of his live as a speed freak, tweaker, addict, meth dealer, and then a convict.

I had no idea that the story about child homelessness was going to be aired last night, just as it never occurred to me when I checked the book out of the library that the word "crank" is perhaps the most popular nickname for ‘meth.’ "Crank" is also an old term for "fan," or fanatic. It’s funny how things work out sometimes.

The fifth story is that I have wanted to write about the NFL owner’s impending lock out of the players for some time, but haven’t done so because so many people with infinitely more knowledge on the subject have already beaten it to a pulp.

What bothers me about this story is the money that is at stake in this negotiation, and how the owners seem to be greedier than the worst of the Wall Street swindlers in history?

I have tried to tell myself that they really won’t ‘kill’ a season set to generate 9-billion dollars because they want a bigger share, but I am having a hard time convincing myself.

I heard that a writer calculated that between 32 NFL owners and almost 1100 players, they could divvy up that $9,000,000,000 and all end up with 5-million each. I’m not sure what that means, but it’s an interesting number, and 5-million a piece calculates out to about $13,700 per day.

The US government has set the poverty level for a family of 4 at about $22,000 per year.

Adding it all up we have close to three feet of snow, methamphetamine, a friend’s death, child homelessness, and 9 billion dollars.

Maybe all this noise by the NFL owners is just that? Maybe it’s just posturing and positioning to get a better deal, and they won’t cancel games, or give fans another series of games with replacement players? Maybe the owners get their way, and add 2 more games to the schedule, then the league can suspend players for needing to use illegal drugs like meth to ‘survive’ the season?

Maybe this is all just a random confluence of stories that are on my mind right now, and I’ll get over it?

I care about a lot of things, but maybe I really don’t give a crap about pro football anymore regardless of how this situation resolves?

Maybe I do, but not for long.