Which way to go?
by Denise Novaky on 06/12/13Nick, this is your mother speaking:
So, what path in life should we pursue? Wealth? Fame? Happy family? Sometimes I think we never know where we are going to end up until after we get there. Then, upon arrival, we look around and decide whether to head toward another gate in the airline terminal of life. Should we catch a shuttle into the city or hail a taxi for places elsewhere? No matter where we direct the plane, shuttle, taxi, or stage coach, we should be compassionate and kind and live an honest life. I believe we should join with our fellow inhabitants of this spinning rock to help each other survive. Like it or not, we are here, together, on Earth. Until we inhabit Mars and decide to mass murder the land there, we have no other place to go. We might as well make our Earth bound trip as pleasant as possible for ourselves and the others sharing the roller coaster ride.
The Dali Lama said
Our prime purpose in this life is to help others
And, if you cannot help them,
at least don't hurt them.
In this and the next two blog entries, I will write about each of three (3) individuals who we tend to see in a negative light. Each of these individuals have been bullied by publicity that did not provide equal press to the positive. The reputation of these individuals have been battered through history by those of us who joined in the name-calling and did not confront negative press.
Howard Hughes
I am a Howard Hughes fan. He was a smart and courageous tycoon who did not give a crap about anyone's opinion of him. Hughes was a young man in his 20s when he wrote, directed, and produced the movie, Hell's Angels. The film was the first of its kind to depict an airplane dogfight from the pilot's perspective. It was massively expensive to produce; the competition in Hollywood predicted it was an impossible feat.
Typically irreverent, Huges seemed to respond to these seasoned Hollywood moguls with a sarcastic laugh. He filmed the movie not once, but twice, upon deciding to abandon the silent version for one of the first "talkie" films. Hell's Angels was a hit even though Hughes took a one million dollar loss. As per today's lingo, "whatever!" Hughes took a risk, the movie was a hit, and Hughes could afford the loss. (Photoplay Magazine, April, 1930).
"I'm not a paranoid millionaire, goddamit,
I'm a billionaire."-Howard Hughes
How many of us would have had the confidence and clarity to equal Howard Hughes, even if we had the cash? How many of us would have shrunk in fear being a 20-something with a dream while experienced movie producers laughing in our faces? I have not even mentioned Howard Hughes' pioneering efforts in aviation or his financial donations to the Howard Hughes Medical institute, one of the largest non-profit facilities in the US providing medical research from private funding.
So, who is crazy? Is Howard Hughes crazy or should we take a good look at ourselves when we point fingers at him. Could you have accomplished as much as he? I'll tell you....with or without the money, he's put the bar too high for me to grab!
As always I am
forever the mother to Nick and Ben
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