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Writer's pictureLucian@going2paris.net

I Got That Wrong


Agoura Hills

November 8, 2024


Funny times. I thought he would win although I hoped otherwise. But thinking he would did not help my feelings when I found out he did. I’m trying to sort out that disconnect. Reality is a tough pill to swallow. And I already have a constriction in my esophagus. 😳


A couple of weeks before the election I sold my position in Tesla. All 100 shares! I had bought into the company’s solar panel installation business years ago and ended up with Tesla shares when they bought out the outstanding shares of the solar panel business. I initially supported Tesla as a positive force fighting climate change. Finally I had just grown tired of what I consider to be Musk’s antics. I appreciate that others think differently.


Since the election Tesla shares are up what 50 percent?


I’m such an emotional person. INFJ? I admire people who have viewed the election — and life’s decisions — dispassionately. Or at least with more objectivity than I seem to be able to.


When I heard he won, I immediately canceled my NYT and WSJ subscriptions. That was an impulsive reaction, but several days later I know it was the right one. I am avoiding all broadcast media.


I’m thinking about the Serenity Prayer a lot:


Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.


The fact is I cannot change much. I can still live by my simplistic goal of each day making a positive (albeit likely very temporary) difference in one person’s day. Reading or hearing the news doesn’t help me do that any better; it just spins me up no matter the political bias of the outlet.


I’m an old dog. The severe effects of climate change will not happen in my lifetime. (Man’s contribution to climate change is not going to make Earth uninhabitable everywhere but nor is it a hoax.). Unless the stock market falls 50 percent I can afford my expenses. Until Social Security benefits are cut. The national debt is morally wrong but may not damage my financial condition in my lifetime.


Oops — there I go again. Climate change, the stock market, Social Security and the national debt are topics I can’t change.


Same for immigration. Inflation. Housing prices. Homelessness. Crime. Gun violence — violence in general. Lack of statesmen/women. Belief that God had a hand in writing the Constitution. Supreme Court decisions. Kindness. Racism. Wars. Flat earthers. Conspiracy theories. Media bias. Lies. Russia. Iran. China. Extremists on both sides. UVA basketball. Football, too. Bipartisanship. Pizzagate. Hannity. Ingraham.


I do look forward to not paying tax on my Social Security benefits. I’m excited that my gasoline and electric bills will be reduced by 50 percent by the end of next year. And I’m looking into how to declare my income as tips.


My sarcasm is pointless. Sarcasm is only good when it’s funny — and mine is not. Sorry.


I wish Jamie Dimon had been on the ballet.


I worked with a fellow who liked to play the stock market. He would regale me with his stock picks and his logic. He was so sure. If I had taken the other side of all his ideas I could have made a lot of money.


Looking in the mirror, maybe I am that fellow in the stock market and elsewhere. I am so often wrong on my positions.


Maybe Huey Lewis was right…










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