Steve Tilford

I saw this article over at Marketwatch. It is a commentary by Brett Arends. I know most of you won’t click the link, so I have copied the contents, which are below. It’s a spin on the Super Bowl add by Chysler, “So God made a farmer.”

To be read in the voice of Paul Harvey.

And on the eighth day God looked down on his planned paradise and said, “I need someone who can flip this for a quick buck.”

So God made a banker.

God said, “I need someone who doesn’t grow anything or make anything but who will borrow money from the public at 0% interest and then lend it back to the public at 2% or 5% or 10% and pay himself a bonus for doing so.”

So God made a banker.

God said, “I need someone who will take money from the people who work and save, and use that money to create a dotcom bubble and a housing bubble and a stock bubble and an oil bubble and a commodities bubble and a bond bubble and another stock bubble, and then sell it to people in Poughkeepsie and Spokane and Bakersfield, and pay himself another bonus.”

So God made a banker.

God said, “I need someone to build homes in the swamps and deserts using shoddy materials and other people’s money, and then use these homes as collateral for a Ponzi scheme he can sell to pensioners in California and Michigan and Sweden. I need someone who will then foreclose on those homes, kick out the occupants, and switch off the air conditioning and the plumbing, and watch the houses turn back into dirt. And then pay himself another bonus.”

So God made a banker

God said, “I need someone to lend money to people with bad credit at 30% interest in order to get his stock price up, and then, just before the loans turn bad, cash out his stock and walk away. And who, when asked later, will, with a tearful eye, say the government made him do it.”

So God made a banker

God said, “And I need somebody who will tell everyone else to stand on their own two feet, but who will then run to the government for a bailout as soon as he gets into trouble — and who will then use that bailout money to help elect a Congress that will look the other way. And then pay himself another bonus.”

So God made a banker.

I’m not sure why our society tolerates this. When I was a kid, bankers used to watch out for the less fortunate and the people who didn’t have the ability to watch out for their own money. I remember getting my first saving passbook. I looked at it everyday for a month. Kris had to empty his bank account to buy his first Colnago (from the Boulder Spoke) when he was 15. I’m sure he had to sit down with someone at the bank and have a talk. Can you imagine that happening nowadays? It was all much like Jimmy Stewart in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Now it’s purely business, all fees and, like the above commentary so elegantly states, raping our society legally. They seem to think it’s a game of Monopoly, not people’s lives and well being there are messing with. It isn’t like it used to be. I sure wish someone with some scruples would keep a better eye on these guys.

I have to admit, I’m pretty beat up. Maybe more beat up than any other time in my life, and I’ve been pretty beat up before. It is so strange how badly you can be injured from racing bicycles, but I’ve really been fortunate never to have been hurt worse than having to spend a few weeks off.

I guess the worse I’ve been hurt was when I crashed in the British Milk race, broadsiding a stationary car, going over 100km a hour. I broke my leg, collarbone and hand. But even then, I was riding within a month and racing less than a month after that. Bones seems to heal, but this soft tissue stuff is something completely different.

I don’t really know for sure how long I can’t ride for after this shoulder surgery on Wednesday. I’m thinking maybe 4 weeks, 6 weeks max. I’m going to be real careful not to do anything stupid to jeopardize the chances I have for the best outcome as possible. I say that now, but maybe after 3 or 4 weeks, I might be crazy enough that I do something stupid. My left knee that I hit on the bars a couple days before Nationals, when I fell, is still smarting, plus I have an issue with my right hand that needs surgery too. I might see if I can get an all inclusive deal while I’m there.

I’m gonna throw an ergometer into my van, just in case I can just sit on it and ride no handed. A recumbent ergometer would actually be best, but I don’t happen to have one of those laying around. Michael (Fatka) has one up in Ames. Maybe I’ll drive by there on the way back and hijack it for a couple weeks.

I don’t get along all that well with altitude. Actually, I didn’t used to get along all that well, but maybe that has changed. The last few times I’ve been out to Colorado, I’ve felt pretty great riding. I don’t do much with Strava other than download my rides. But, last year I noticed that I had a couple Strava KOM’s from just riding in Colorado. Both were on the same ride, one riding along I-70 and the other from Frisco to the top of Vail Pass. I have no idea how these could of been, since I was just out for a ride from Silverthorn to Vail and back. Over 1200 people have ridden one and 700 the other. I assume that some guys out riding to Vail would be riding much harder than me just riding by myself. I think both of these segments are on the Triple By Pass ride each summer. I don’t get it.

I was straying, sorry. Anyway, I’m wondering if the recovery the first few days is going to be bad, sleeping over 9000 feet, plus being wiped out from the anesthesia and trauma to the shoulder area. I have to admit, I’m a little spooked about the pain and discomfort that I’ve been told I’m going to experience. I usually have absolutely no issue with pain from injuries. But, I’ve been warned by lots of people that this particular procedure is really, really painful. I know that ripping the tendon/muscle off the humerus was pretty uncomfortable, especially at night, So, I guess having a few holes drilled into the bone and big screws stuck in will probably be worse. Maybe it won’t be as bad as I anticipate.

So, today is the last road ride I’m going to be doing for a little while. It’s my birthday, so I’m going to be happy to get out. A group is meeting at my house at noon. I’m not one much for tradition, but I do like riding my bicycle on my birthday. It is supposed to be in the lower 50 today, just like yesterday, but it is going to be really windy, gusts over 40mph. I think it is going to be tough keeping our group as a group. Too much diversity in fitness levels for that strong of wind. I usually try to ride side wind both directions in wind like that. Headwind, tailwind doesn’t really work that well.

I’m driving out to Denver, tomorrow, Monday ,and have an appointment with the surgeon on Tuesday afternoon, with surgery scheduled on Wednesday. I now wish I would have done this last Tuesday and Wednesday, but I really just lucked into this situation. I’m sure the time will fly.

Vincent, my friend who lives in Denver, texted me and said he has a scanner that scans two sides at once. He wants me to bring out old articles and photos to scan, to use later. I think that he is thinking I’m going to go a little nuts, but he does have a good idea. I’m just not sure I have the energy to pile a bunch of that stuff into the van and haul it out to Vail. It is a good idea though.

I’ve been trying to catch up on things that take two arms. I changed the oil and filters in the van. I saw this pile of tires, some that need to be put back onto my cross wheels. I didn’t have enough time or energy to do it though.