From The Chief Editor's Desk...

So, as we were preparing this issue of the magazine, we started chatting amongst the magazine production staff (basically, myself, Meemaw, and tbs), we got around to talking about societal values and how literally “screwed up” they are.

This is especially evident in the world of professional sports. These grown men and women literally MAKE BANK with contracts that pay them obscene amounts of money … Just. For. Playing. A. Game. Yet, aside from bringing fans and a community together, sports have no real or lasting impact on society. Hence, it's why I say that sports have no socially redeeming value.

Meanwhile, other members of society whose occupations do have socially redeeming values … educators, police officers, firefighters, healthcare workers, garbage collectors, chefs, etc. … are paid wages that just barely (typically) put that person above the poverty line.

It seems we place more value on those playing games than those whose socially redeeming value of their jobs is (and remains) untold, with greater impact on society as a whole. Educators are especially underpaid, seeing how they are charged with educating our children, and the results of their efforts may remain hidden for many years.

Where would you be without firefighters to extinguish a fire in your home (which I hope never occurs for any of you)? Or where would we all be without law enforcement officers to maintain the order and enforce the laws? Or, who would you turn to when you're sick and infirm without healthcare workers? Without garbage collectors, there's no one to properly dispose of our wastes. Chefs and cooks prepare our food, while waiters and waitresses serve that food to us. Construction workers build our houses and buildings, and pave our roads. The list goes on and on and on. Most of these occupations pay barely survivable wages in a lot of cases.

The same could be said for those in the entertainment industry and of our legislators. Can you imagine how different things would be if those serving in those roles in our society had to live on the median income of their fans or constituents? Then, there's a vested interest in making sure everyone gets a “piece of the pie.” I'm sure you can imagine many different scenarios, but none that would ever come to fruition. The “machine” that powers this current set of standards is deeply entrenched, as deeply entrenched as the greed that spurred it.

I realize that this sounds somewhat like communism, which is NOT what I'm advocating ... at all. Communism has been an epic failure in most of the cases where it has been embraced or tried. But there's room within a capitalistic society for a different set of rules to be in place, from which springs forth a vastly different set of societal standards. In essence, it levels the "playing field" for everyone.

I'm a huge baseball fan (no big secret there!), and I'm happy that one of the best players in the game today (Bobby Witt, Jr.) plays for my favorite team (the Kansas City Royals … I've been a fan since their inception in 1969). And, even though I'm not as big as a football fan (that's American football for everyone living outside the U.S.), I'm happy that one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL (Patrick Mahomes, III) plays for my favorite football team (the Kansas City Chiefs). I don't begrudge them for their ability to work within the current system to nab a significant amount of wealth during their playing years (in Mahomes case, over $500 million dollars over a 10 year contract), but at some point, you've got to ask yourself when is that wealth too much wealth?

With June comes summer, and summer means B-A-S-E-B-A-L-L! Actually, by this point, the baseball season is in full swing, and the major league season is almost one-third over (it officially started in late March). I'm a much bigger fan of baseball than I am of any other sport (karate ranks a very close second, and is one I've started training in a little over a year ago). Around our house during baseball season, you can count on seeing every Kansas City Royals game on our television when we're home. So, this month features Tux gracing the cover of the magazine, taking a hack at a baseball, wearing a PCLinuxOS batting helmet. The image was created by Bing Image Creator, using AI powered by DALL-E 3.

Until next month, I bid you peace, happiness, serenity, prosperity, and continued good health!