Slope of Hope Blog Posts

Slope initially began as a blog, so this is where most of the website’s content resides. Here we have tens of thousands of posts dating back over a decade. These are listed in reverse chronological order. Click on any category icon below to see posts tagged with that particular subject, or click on a word in the category cloud on the right side of the screen for more specific choices.

Pendulous Crystal Balls

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Even though there are a few weeks left in the year, it’s started to really feel like 2020 is over. Things are quieting down, and the end-of-year “wrap-up” articles are increasing.

I don’t tend to be a fan of the “predictions for next year” kinds of articles that appear, mainly because I have yet to see a meaningful prediction actually come true. Try to find me a list of predictions from December 2019 that came even close to anticipating what 2020 had in store. Still, I’d like to offer three general predictions in which I believe.

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Candy Cane Horses

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Where I live, the amount of wealth surrounding me has done nothing but increase. Considering the growing number of desperate, impoverished people that I see – – – there’s a huge homeless camp right near the Apple headquarters! – – it’s quite grotesque.

Tim Cook, a billionaire, lives four blocks from my house. Marissa Mayer, a couple of blocks from Cook. Mark Zuckerberg is five blocks away, and I’ve lost track how many billions he’s got. The place is awash with personal assets that are borderline criminal, and yet this holiday season, I am thinking of a worthless tree.

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Inspiration from Hypocrites

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We humans looks for patterns in things. I am especially prone to this habit. Patterns help us understand. They help us group. They help us sort things out and try to learn. Sometimes they mislead us. Other times, they light the way.

Following my discovery of the works of Alan Watts – – far too late in life, but better late than never – – I have been trying to reconcile his inspired philosophy with his early death. Here is a man who, from earliest adulthood, spoke with the eloquence and power of a prophet. He spoke of reality, the art of living, and the paradoxes of our existence. He is the sort of man whom you would want to see live past 100 as a revered sage, helping to lift humanity.

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In Hot Water

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“We’ve got no hot water!”

Hoo boy. Yep. Plumbing. That’s on the Dad Duty Roster.

So there was no hot water on the second floor. And I had to figure out why. And I had to figure out how to get it fixed. And, believe it or not, this all ties back to my newfound obsession with Alan Watts. Naturally.

I should state early on that I’m not the handiest of handymen. I was the baby in my family, and I was never raised as a “man’s man.” I don’t know how to change the oil in a car. I can’t change a flat tire. And if something serious goes wrong at the house, I’m on Yelp in no time.

But I’m not totally helpless. I’m a problem-solver at heart. If I weren’t, there’s no way Slope would exist. Or Prophet, for that matter. These entities have been replete with problems, and solve them is my sworn duty. I hate the responsibility, although I’m glad for it after I fix whatever it is that needs to be cured.

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