WOPIE

          It shaped up to be a busy day. Your loyal blogger had work to do, errands to perform and equipment to purchase.

          Mrs. Leeway, the happy retiree, was preparing to plunge out into the vast winteriness that is northeastern Ohio in November in order that she could attend a luncheon with neighborhood friends.

          “I’ll finish writing this masterpiece,” I said, indicating a business assignment. “Then I’ll walk the dog, put gas in the car, go to the bank and then go to the store to buy the equipment. When I’m done, I’ll take care of world peace.”

          Mrs. Leeway is accustomed to these confident assertions. Your loyal blogger is no mystery man to her. She replied, “I’m going to lunch. Email me if you settle world peace.”

          Her answer sounded like a challenge. Generally, Mrs. Leeway doesn’t challenge me too often. We are both happier that way. She saves her challenges for really big stuff, important stuff that needs to happen soon. Mrs. Leeway likes to call it, “Bringing out the big guns.”

          But I distinctly heard that challenging tone in her voice when she said, “Email me if you settle world peace.”

          So I did it.

          While walking the dog, I elected to multi task and began thinking of ways to develop world peace. Then I realized that the secret is not making everyone happy. I’ve been the Sports Editor of two small newspapers and the Sports Director of two radio stations. I know full well that you can’t make everybody happy.

          You need to make everybody happy enough.

          So, as the dog and I walked around the soggy Ohio landscape, I developed what I call the WOrld Peace Initiative – Elder, or WOPIE.

          The terms of WOPIE are really very simple: Do what Elder says.

          Forget negotiating. What a fantastic waste of time. You find two parties who kill each other out of habit and tell them the same thing: “You knuckleheads have been fighting each other for a thousand years? Okay, you’re done. Don’t kill anyone anymore.”

          That’s it. World Peace in one easy lesson.

          There’s the blueprint. Go do something with it, world.

          I’m not going to spend much more time on this. I volunteered my time and I was walking the dog at the same time. Nobody is going to pay me for my mental effort and I doubt the time spent will be tax deductible.

 

          I don’t expect any thanks, but I will thank you for reading.