Day 3,942 —Running before the Conference—

 

         I wasn’t sure how much I would be able to do, but I figured I would start as early as I could, I needed to be at the start of this conference before 8 a.m., and I am about a mile from the main area.

The hills were insane, which made it fun to go up and down, but I wanted to find a good route, which took me a few miles. Eventually, I found a path and saw a group of deer that stared at me for a while and ran off when I started running. I pretended for a moment that I could catch up to them, but they were gone by the time I made it over the next hill. I love watching how they run.

         I made it out to the main area and it was a narrow road. I saw a big, gated fence, and I thought about how some people use land as a way to put up barriers between them and other people. I turned around again and saw another group of deer, now they were closer to the water. I went down to the water and took a picture. I wish there was a path that took me around the lake, but I couldn’t find one.

Maybe tonight I will go out for another run and find a path. I doubt it, but if I go out early enough, and it is still light enough.

This conference I am at is not great so far. The first speaker made sure we knew she worked for Mike Parsons and that he cares about education in Missouri, which is a bunch of nonsense. Now, I am listening to a speaker who just told us that not everyone needs college! Hot take guy! There is an agenda to prevent kids from going to college because if people go to college they might not be as easy to manipulate!

         There is this misconception that there are all these great manual labor jobs for everyone. I’ve worked manual labor and talked to people who have done it their whole life. Some guys do make a career and when their bodies stop working, they can transition to something else, but most guys get hurt and get destroyed by all the medical bills. It doesn’t happen in their 20s, but by the time they hit 50, they don’t have a career, but they do have a mountain of medical bills. And, I am tired of everyone assuming everyone who goes to school has debt for their entire life.

 

I have no student debt, and I will finish my second master’s degree next year, and I have never had to ask my family for a loan. I know I am fortunate and my wife and I both work, but the idea that what we have done is impossible is just silly. I am not that smart or savvy. I don’t even like to think about money, but I don’t spend a bunch of money on my car or my house every month. I do spend a lot of money on food because food is medicine.