Category Archives: Wonderment

In The Car On The Way To Work – Episode 3

https://soundcloud.com/soundbroker/episode-3-jan-landy-in-the-car

Money can’t buy you happiness, but it makes misery much more tolerable.

I remember David Lee Roth plagiarizing Errol Flynn by saying in an interview, “People who say money can’t buy you love, just don’t know where to shop”. Personally, I think that just sounds funny but it is not true. Sure money can’t buy you happiness, but it sure is better to be unhappy with money than unhappy and broke. I know I have been on both sides of that fence and make no mistake that I am much happier now that I have money, then when I was broke. I even wrote a song about it called “Broke as a bloke can be”. Maybe one day I will play it for you.

To clarify, I am not equating being in love to happiness, but if you are in love it can make you happy and true happiness, one can say only can come from within, thus money cannot buy you love, money can only temporarily rent it.

I have never really had a problem with money, my problems always stemmed from the lack of money or having too little money. Having too little money as I remember it, makes you become a juggler. And although juggling is the secret of life, I don’t like jugglers. I didn’t always feel that way, but somewhere in my past, I was in a talent contest at the Mayflower Theater in Santa Monica, CA and I came in second to a juggler and ever since then, I am just not a fan.

So now I am 62 years old and have been working for myself for the last 16 years and I have made a good living but not a Bill Gates type of living, I have enough F-U money, but not enough retirement money. I own a house, an office building, a couple of cars, a Rolex, a bicycle and iPhone.

All in all one would say, I live a comfortable life, with all the creature comforts that money can buy. You would think that I have nothing to complain about and you should be right, but I can find plenty to complain about. And that is the challenge. With the amount of success in my life, I should not have one thing to complain about, except taxes and corrupt politicians. It is hard to believe that I still find things to complain about. Does that make me a bad person? I think not.

I have been dwelling on this the last few days, because I have been depressed. Not the type of depression that will cause me to drive to the Grand Canyon and take a leap of faith over the edge, or overdose on Twinkies and run nude on highway flailing my body parts and giving a policeman cause to shoot me, but a depression that made me think just how lucky I am and that I have a lot of nerve to be depressed. Maybe it is good to be depressed every once in a while. Maybe by being temporarily depressed, I can appreciate how good it feels to not be depressed and to be happy for who I am and what I bring to the party of life.

Those that know me, know that my favorite expression (and the one I want to be remembered for) is “You Make It Happen!”. I like the way it sounds. It just flows off the tongue. It probably should be “I Make It Happen,” but when you say it to someone, you sound too conceded. But when you repeat and say” You make it happen” then it sounds great. Either way, we make happen together. And to know that I am associated with a great phrase like that and having a lot of money in the bank, gives me reason to live.

Although I have been married and engaged and have had numerous love affairs, I never had any children. Unfortunately, that is a regret that I have. A selfish person might comment “but look at all the fun that you were able to buy yourself not having to give any money to your child’s college fund or for that matter doctor bills, birthday presents and the lot”. It is true that I have traveled the world and have enjoyed the company of strangers everywhere I have been. I might not have been able to do that if I had a wife and children.

Now I think that the time has come for me to settle down and find a woman that I can love and be loved by. A woman that will take care of me and one that I can take care of. One that finds me funny and lovable and one that I find that funny and lovable. I think that is a positive and rather than look at it as if I where alone, I look at it as I if am between marriages.

I have always chosen to look at life from the perspective that the glass is half full and that lemon is best when it is lemonade. That “No” is a term of endearment and love. I’ll explain. The first word we learned as baby from our mothers is the word “No”. We are taught that word only because our mothers care about and love us. They do not want us to hurt ourselves. Okay it is a stretch, but it is true. Delusional, but true.

I have heard the word “No” my whole life and I am sure that I will continue hearing it until I can’t hear any longer especially considering the fact that I am single and dating again in my sixties and want to be in a relation with a younger woman that has a teenage or younger child. I know what some of you must be thinking. I know that it will take a special woman to find me attractive and lovable. I know that it will have to be a woman that believes that age is only mind over matter and if she doesn’t mind, it doesn’t matter.

I am a lucky man and that although I have felt depressed the for the last week, I am confident that it will be short lived because I have a positive outlook on life. I know that I make it happen. I know that I have a lot to be thankful for.

I wish you all the best and hope that your life is filled with as many things to be thankful for as mine, and if you find yourself depressed, remember the good things that have come your way and that nobody cares that you are depressed.