Opinion: Plenty of morals come from everyday life

I grew up with plenty of fables. Tortoise and the hare. Icarus and his wings of wax and feathers. Always double down on 11 ... oh wait, that’s from “Swingers.”

But they’re not the only places where there’s a moral to the story. Everyday life gives them if you’re paying attention.

• I was watching an NBA preseason game this week, and the broadcasters marveled at center Robin Lopez’ emergence as a 3-point shooter.

In 2008, the 7-footer entered a entered a league where centers still played with their back to the basket and powered the offense.

Then Stephen Curry broke the season 3-point record three times, the Houston Rockets embraced the 3-pointer as a team and another dozen examples I won’t bore you with.

Lopez changed, too. He went 0-for-7 from the 3-point line his first six seasons, 3-for-24 his next two seasons and 246-for-712 his last two seasons.

Moral: You can’t stop change, but you can adapt.

• I’ve received about 20 mailers for just one race, and neither candidate will even tell me their political party. One’s probably concerned about a possible Democratic wave, and the other is probably concerned he campaigns in a few counties that are heavily Republican.

I saw one today in reference to Sen. Martin Heinrich. According to “Our Western Values,” Heinrich lives in Maryland, receives 67 percent of his donations from outside New Mexico, has a wife who works in Washington D.C. and raises more money in Washington, D.C., than Santa Fe.

Martin Heinrich can’t take Amtrak’s Albuquerque-to-Congress route every morning, so it kind of makes sense for him to live near the job we sent him to do. It also makes sense for his wife to work there too. Plenty of money for congressional candidates comes from nationwide donors, because plenty of people believe control of the Senate often matters more than your 2 percent of the Senate.

A lot of state-focused work gets done in D.C. And Our Western Values proves it — their PO box is in Alexandria, Virginia, eight miles from D.C.

Moral: Political ads are silly.

• I eat out more than I should (go Team America), and I far too often come across the cashier who asks, “What is the name on this order?” When I just handed them a credit card with my name on it. I asked my friends, doesn’t that seem like an unnecessary question?

First friend has been a cashier: You’ve got to put yourself in the cashier’s shoes. I’ve been that person and most customers get offended when you take information off of their credit card without asking permission first.

Second friend: Careful what you wish for. Your food will get cold because you don’t know, “Mr. Bank; Chase, your order is ready,” is for you.

Third friend: It’s an opportunity to be Batman.

Moral: Good friends keep you centered.

Kevin Wilson is managing editor of The Eastern New Mexico News. Contact him at: [email protected]