Skepticism, Swamps, and the Spirit of Christmas

Do you remember the Gary Larson cartoon showing the kid pushing hard on the door of the “Midvale School For The Gifted”, wherein the door was clearly labeled “PULL”?

I have great empathy and feelings of kinship for that kid. I’ve often had to answer the question, “Can’t you READ?”

Answer to “Can’t you read?” “Read?  Sure. Observe? Not so much.”

But fear, not Gentle Reader and Faithful Investor, I am doing my best to observe the world with rigor and discernment, so you don’t have to. My synopsis is this: People are nuts out there. You and I, however, will stay in our lane, not worry about the noise in the system, and let the devil take the hindmost. That may be a tad harsh, but it’s a good bit of advice in spite of it. At least I think so.

A Florida Man’s Guide to Bad Decisions

I want to sneak in a “Florida Man” story that really doesn’t fit with today’s message, but I believe this story shows the folly of human beings so well, I need to tell somebody, and you are elected. There was also the fellow over near Deland who stole a truck with a couple of buddies and was almost immediately pulled over by police. His solution? He tried to outrun, on foot, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Department. The Sheriff’s Department, I believe, has cars, cars with radios, trucks, boats, helicopters, and even drones. Drones with cameras. I forgot dogs. The Sheriff’s Department has dogs, too.

Our intrepid villain decided he would evade capture by running through the De Leon Springs State Park cypress swamp with no destination, assistance, or survival assets in sight or mind. He spent 36 hours in the swamp. I figure he must have encountered about 2 million mosquitoes. The capture “was effected by K-9 officers. “ Yeah, that probably hurt.

His complaint upon being led out of the swamp was, “My legs hurt, and I’m thirsty.” Oh yeah, he had lost his shoes.  All this I understand. Swamps have fetid water, mud, and rough terrain.  He also lost his pants.  This, I refuse to even think about.

So, there is some life advice for us: when wading through the swamp, keep your wits about you, your water bottle at the ready, and your pants on. Also, don’t try to outrun the man.

Finding Peace Amid the Madness

But let me now turn to matters a little closer to heart. It’s Christmas, and Christmas is a time when Peace and Joy came to live among us. It’s ours if we choose it. If you are inclined to open your Bible this December, make sure you read Isaiah, chapter 53, once again, and reflect on the fact that it was written about 800 years before the first Christmas.

Life has plenty of challenges, some too awful to contemplate. We, however, do not have to worry about the craziness in the world, the ups and downs of our investment portfolio, or where the road leads.  We stand on solid ground, whatever may come, and live a life of faith and positivity. And we have each other to give us strength in the storms.

PS: The word of the month is: Scepticism

This is not particularly interesting in that it is merely the British spelling of Skepticism, but when I read it in the context of last month’s novel, I thought the hero was being poisoned by his entire world becoming septic.

Them durn Brits need to learn to speak English properly…

PPS:

“Whoever created the spelling of receipt is an idiopt.”   – from my internet wanderings.

December 2025