Smarts Vs. Action

Knowing the right thing to do is not the same as doing it.

That's today's theme. I read it in an interesting book about black men playing around with other men. It's a topic I've broached in the past in my discussions of my dating rituals, and a topic that I've been interested in even before actively dating an African American male.

Seems some time ago, there were a series of studies done in Boston to try and discover exactly why young men were becoming infected with HIV despite the best efforts to counter the spread of disease. It became known as the young men's study popularly because it dealt with that demographic exclusively.

I remember an animated discussion at an epidemiology workshop that I attended at UCSF some time ago They presented the YM study, and it's findings. Several people in the audience, including the fellow I was sitting next to (who happened to be Antony Fauci--Google him, it's fun!) suggested that some enterprising soul ought to sponsor an adjunct study called the Old Men study to approach the demographic that I belonged to.

One of the interesting things that the YM study unearthed is that 99% of polled men knew precisely what transmitted HIV. Impressive to be sure, but the folk shouldn't rest on their laurels quite yet. Another function of this study was to draw blood to detect incidence of HIV and syphilis. Another question in the study was "What is your (HIV) status?" Taking into consideration that the researchers were later able to compare the number of positive people with their responses, the result is startling. 71% of those who tested positive for HIV admitted that they were negative or did not know their status. That's right, children, 29% actually knew the truth.

Sooooo it's not enough to know what the right thing is, you actually have to do it! True words!!

I'm offering the above merely as a suggestion to demonstrate my theory. The same maxim is true for things in relationships. For instance, you don't need to simply acknowledge that monogamy is necessary in a serious relationship, you actually have to keep your dick in your pants. In the field of employment, you must do more than make promises to your employees to placate them, you actually have to follow through on them.

This brings us back to Bob...and after all isn't it all about me? You don't like it, get your own fucking blog! I had a moment at work the other day when everything came to a boil. I got tired of being micro-managed. I got tired of my boss running around asking about me instead of confronting me and actually managing me. Most of all, I just got tired of not having much to do to occupy my day. It's all well and good being paid to sit on one's thumbs, but I would rather have something more substantial to occupy my time.

Long story short, I quit. Now, I'm on my final 10 work days and welcoming my going away party Shortly thereafter, I enter the wild and wooly world of flying. Uh huh..we're going to be a 2 f/a household, keeping the exit rows clear of obstruction.

Can I keep the 'perma-smile' and offer to take airsick bags with poise and grace? Uhhhhhh yeah. It's what I do right now, or at least used to do. Besides, according to the Social Security Administration, I have 25 more years of useful work left, and it's high time I did something fun like traveling to exotic places like Syracuse.

I'll say it one more time, because it's so important. Knowing the right thing to do isn't enough. You must also do it.