WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.879 --> 00:00:04.040 All right, it's you and me at eight hundred eight 2 00:00:04.160 --> 00:00:07.000 four eight nine two two two. Eight hundred eight four 3 00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:10.519 eight nine two two two. It's the other side of midnight, 4 00:00:10.640 --> 00:00:14.640 which brings up the key issue. How many sides of 5 00:00:14.679 --> 00:00:18.679 midnight are there? Are there just two? Or are there four? 6 00:00:19.399 --> 00:00:22.679 Or they're ten? These are the existential questions of our time. 7 00:00:23.160 --> 00:00:27.199 These are the things that people are perspiring over right now. 8 00:00:28.079 --> 00:00:33.000 My existential threat at any given moment is the dishwasher. 9 00:00:33.799 --> 00:00:36.759 The dishwasher is always speaking to me. It has been 10 00:00:36.799 --> 00:00:39.640 speaking to me since I was sixteen when my mother 11 00:00:39.679 --> 00:00:43.320 first said to me, empty the dishwasher. It was my 12 00:00:43.399 --> 00:00:47.960 first chore. And you know, I have three teenage daughters 13 00:00:48.799 --> 00:00:53.359 and it exhausts them. The possibility of emptying the dishwasher 14 00:00:53.600 --> 00:00:58.520 is something they can't begin to deal with. If one 15 00:00:58.520 --> 00:01:02.280 of them does empty the dish washer today and then tomorrow, 16 00:01:02.320 --> 00:01:05.439 I say, could you eumpty the dishwasher please, they will say, 17 00:01:05.439 --> 00:01:09.120 but I did it yesterday, And I said, yes, I know, 18 00:01:09.319 --> 00:01:12.000 but could you do it today? And they will say, 19 00:01:12.719 --> 00:01:17.560 but I did it yesterday because it's such an exhausting task. 20 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:20.079 And then I think about the man I saw tonight 21 00:01:20.719 --> 00:01:24.280 who was standing behind the hotel on the loading dock 22 00:01:25.519 --> 00:01:30.120 with at least two hundred bags of garbage ten feet 23 00:01:30.359 --> 00:01:33.239 across at least and he was going to take each 24 00:01:33.280 --> 00:01:36.799 of them from the loading dock to the curb. A 25 00:01:36.879 --> 00:01:42.799 true midnight misfit, A true third no sorry, first shifter, 26 00:01:43.200 --> 00:01:46.920 the great shift. But again it goes down to who 27 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:50.560 we are. We are the ones, we are the task masters. 28 00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:55.159 We're the ones who get it done. We don't waste 29 00:01:55.159 --> 00:01:59.840 our time on theory. We don't waste our time filling out, 30 00:02:00.760 --> 00:02:03.519 we don't waste our time making forms. That's for the 31 00:02:03.640 --> 00:02:07.840 day people. The day people handle all of that because 32 00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:12.319 it makes them happy. It would make us miserable if 33 00:02:12.319 --> 00:02:14.400 you and I are put in a situation where we 34 00:02:14.479 --> 00:02:18.960 have to generate forms, create forms, if we have to 35 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:22.719 fill out forms, we're miserable. When they stick a form 36 00:02:22.840 --> 00:02:26.879 in your locker or your mailbox, I know what you do. 37 00:02:27.360 --> 00:02:30.280 You lose it. That's what you do. And then a 38 00:02:30.280 --> 00:02:32.719 month later they go, did you fall out that farm? 39 00:02:32.919 --> 00:02:36.439 And you go, I didn't get a form. That's what 40 00:02:36.479 --> 00:02:42.919 you and I do. Our day is made up of 41 00:02:43.280 --> 00:02:46.400 really odd things. If you break down the day, if 42 00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:49.759 you deconstruct it, what's our day made out of our day, 43 00:02:49.840 --> 00:02:53.479 is made out of pieces that collectively can cause us 44 00:02:53.479 --> 00:02:56.240 to say, God, I've had a great day today, or gosh, 45 00:02:56.319 --> 00:03:00.879 I had a terrible day today. But when you deconstructed 46 00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:03.719 is to like what was the terrible part of the day. 47 00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:09.199 Usually it comes down to the printer. Many of our 48 00:03:09.879 --> 00:03:16.800 joyful moments and tragic moments are the printer. If the 49 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:20.400 printer kick causes trouble, We've had a terrible day, Why 50 00:03:20.479 --> 00:03:22.879 do you have a terrible day? The printer, the damn printer. 51 00:03:23.280 --> 00:03:25.120 And then we start to explain what a curse the 52 00:03:25.120 --> 00:03:27.919 printer is. We have to get a new printer ran 53 00:03:27.960 --> 00:03:30.520 out of stuff. It said that it was empty, it 54 00:03:30.560 --> 00:03:33.960 had no more ink, but then when it kept printing, 55 00:03:34.039 --> 00:03:38.319 it still had ink. That's the lie. That's their installed 56 00:03:40.439 --> 00:03:44.319 expiration date. That's the installed obsolescence, which is it tells 57 00:03:44.360 --> 00:03:46.400 you that it's out of ink when it's not out 58 00:03:46.439 --> 00:03:49.680 of ink at all. We've experienced that with the battery 59 00:03:49.800 --> 00:03:54.520 in the iPhone. Eddie Arrogant or Eddie Dragon explained that 60 00:03:54.639 --> 00:03:58.840 to us that the iPhone heats up on purpose. They 61 00:03:59.080 --> 00:04:03.280 and by the way, you you can search iPhone too hot. 62 00:04:03.319 --> 00:04:05.199 The battery is too hot, and it tells you the 63 00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:07.960 settings to change that I've done on my phone, and 64 00:04:08.039 --> 00:04:10.120 all of a sudden the battery was fine and it 65 00:04:10.159 --> 00:04:13.840 stopped heating up. But really, that's what it is. The 66 00:04:13.879 --> 00:04:17.879 iPhone's annoying us. The iPhone's heating up. My gosh, the 67 00:04:17.920 --> 00:04:22.199 printer is out of ink, the paper jams. Those are 68 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:26.879 the things that ruin our day. And one of the 69 00:04:26.920 --> 00:04:30.839 things that has been really stupid. Not true of the 70 00:04:30.839 --> 00:04:32.839 company I work for here, not true of the Red 71 00:04:32.879 --> 00:04:37.439 Apple Audio Networks, in fact, quite the opposite, but one 72 00:04:37.439 --> 00:04:41.120 of the things that many companies has really screwed up. 73 00:04:41.839 --> 00:04:44.319 There are people in other companies you won't believe this, 74 00:04:44.680 --> 00:04:49.720 in other businesses and other retail businesses that have people 75 00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:53.439 to fix the printer. What yeah. They they have guys 76 00:04:53.920 --> 00:04:56.519 just to fix the printer so you don't have to 77 00:04:56.519 --> 00:05:01.079 waste your time and energy. There are people actually hired 78 00:05:01.480 --> 00:05:05.040 to fill out the FedEx form, to do the postal stuff. 79 00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:11.600 What yeah. They're called assistance. If you want to get fancied, 80 00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:14.879 they're called executive assistants. Some places call them secretaries. Most 81 00:05:14.920 --> 00:05:18.439 of them have been eliminated, especially in industries that are 82 00:05:18.439 --> 00:05:23.360 consolidating and consolidating industries, those people are eliminated. That is 83 00:05:23.399 --> 00:05:27.600 the biggest, stupidest, the falsest economy. A company can make 84 00:05:28.279 --> 00:05:30.800 the dumbest economy. I'll tell you. I'll tell you what 85 00:05:30.879 --> 00:05:34.199 company not to do business with. If you get off 86 00:05:34.240 --> 00:05:36.560 an elevator, you're going to go see a company, you're 87 00:05:36.560 --> 00:05:41.720 going to go deal with, maybe a new doctor or 88 00:05:41.759 --> 00:05:45.399 a lawyer or some horrible thing. And you get off 89 00:05:45.399 --> 00:05:49.959 the elevator and you're looking for a receptionist. You're looking 90 00:05:50.040 --> 00:05:54.439 for somebody to smile at you and say hello. But 91 00:05:54.519 --> 00:05:58.160 you don't see them. Now at this company, you get 92 00:05:58.160 --> 00:06:00.800 off the elevator, you see somebody who smile and say 93 00:06:00.800 --> 00:06:03.879 hello to you and greet you. That is the proper 94 00:06:03.920 --> 00:06:09.480 way to do it. It's almost common sense, but way 95 00:06:09.519 --> 00:06:11.800 too many don't have that. Instead, you know what they have. 96 00:06:12.240 --> 00:06:15.639 They have the dumbest greeting, the most inefficient greeting possible. 97 00:06:16.839 --> 00:06:20.279 They have a trimline phone. And the trim line phone 98 00:06:20.319 --> 00:06:23.879 is hanging on that wall, and next to it is 99 00:06:23.920 --> 00:06:28.439 a directory of extensions. What Yeah, they like to have 100 00:06:28.519 --> 00:06:32.319 ten names and you're supposed to die the extension of 101 00:06:32.360 --> 00:06:35.279 that person. That's how you get in. And then you 102 00:06:35.319 --> 00:06:36.959 look at the list of names, and is the name 103 00:06:37.000 --> 00:06:39.240 of the person you're there to see on that list? No, 104 00:06:39.560 --> 00:06:42.399 it never is. And then you got to guess. You 105 00:06:42.439 --> 00:06:45.759 got to guess which three digit code should you dial, 106 00:06:48.319 --> 00:06:50.920 And that's how you're greeted. That's not a greeting. That's 107 00:06:50.959 --> 00:06:53.839 a challenge. It's not even a video game. It's not 108 00:06:53.879 --> 00:06:58.040 even a good challenge. But that's how stupid companies will 109 00:06:58.079 --> 00:07:01.120 greet you because why because they wanted to save on 110 00:07:01.199 --> 00:07:05.399 a receptionist. Meanwhile, that receptionist can be doing many other 111 00:07:05.480 --> 00:07:07.959 things and does do many other things if they're good. 112 00:07:08.519 --> 00:07:11.959 It's called a starter job. Or there are people who 113 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:16.120 love it. They're task people, daytime people. But that's where 114 00:07:16.199 --> 00:07:20.720 that's where it gets stupid. When assistants and secretaries get 115 00:07:20.759 --> 00:07:24.360 cut and you're expecting an executive to fill out the 116 00:07:24.360 --> 00:07:28.079 FedEx's form and to fix the printer, and to deal 117 00:07:28.120 --> 00:07:30.759 with the challenge of the printer, and to deal with 118 00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:33.079 the challenge of the copier in addition to all of 119 00:07:33.079 --> 00:07:39.120 their other tasks. Here's the danger. A person who works 120 00:07:39.240 --> 00:07:42.519 on the part of their brain that's fixed the printer, 121 00:07:42.639 --> 00:07:44.920 the fix or fix the printer part of their brain 122 00:07:46.319 --> 00:07:48.399 at the end of the day, can think they've really 123 00:07:48.399 --> 00:07:52.160 achieved something. They can decide, Boy, you know, I had 124 00:07:52.160 --> 00:07:55.040 a really good day. I got stuff done. No, you 125 00:07:55.160 --> 00:07:58.439 fix the printer. If they didn't do anything, that can 126 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:02.120 generate new money for the company. If they didn't do anything, 127 00:08:02.120 --> 00:08:06.000 they can generate profits for the company. They haven't done anything, 128 00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:11.399 but they fix the printer, they fix the copier, and 129 00:08:11.959 --> 00:08:15.920 they start to believe that that's an achievement and are satisfied. 130 00:08:16.240 --> 00:08:20.680 It's much harder to come up with new ideas ways 131 00:08:20.720 --> 00:08:28.120 to sell things. Selling things, that's much harder. But many 132 00:08:28.160 --> 00:08:31.240 a company will give their workers a false sense of economy, 133 00:08:31.480 --> 00:08:33.960 a false sense of achievement by letting them think that 134 00:08:34.360 --> 00:08:37.360 filling out that FedEx form, My god, that's a great day. 135 00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:42.480 That's just fantastic. Is any of this familiar to you? 136 00:08:42.799 --> 00:08:48.879 Have you experienced this? There was a time when the 137 00:08:48.960 --> 00:08:51.559 guy who came to fix your phone in your house, 138 00:08:52.159 --> 00:08:58.480 he had a truck, and in that truck was extra phones, 139 00:08:59.639 --> 00:09:05.679 cable nick knacks to make your phone work better, And 140 00:09:05.960 --> 00:09:10.600 if you two got along, he'd give them to you. 141 00:09:10.759 --> 00:09:12.559 He'd give you a couple of knickknacks, he'd give you 142 00:09:12.600 --> 00:09:15.480 an extra cord. He'd give you an extra phone. And 143 00:09:15.519 --> 00:09:17.919 you loved that guy, and you loved that phone company. 144 00:09:20.159 --> 00:09:25.840 Now all of that's inventoried, cataloged. You say to the guy, Hey, 145 00:09:25.879 --> 00:09:27.480 you got one of these on the truck. He goes, 146 00:09:27.919 --> 00:09:32.000 I used to I don't anymore. Lots of false economy. 147 00:09:32.799 --> 00:09:35.200 Jim and Staten Island. Welcome to the other side of 148 00:09:35.240 --> 00:09:36.639 Midnight with Walter Sterling. 149 00:09:36.679 --> 00:09:41.639 Hello Jim, Hey, Well, I was a printer technician. I 150 00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:43.799 repaired those crazy things. 151 00:09:45.039 --> 00:09:46.240 How hard was that job? 152 00:09:48.120 --> 00:09:51.200 Dealing with people? People get a little frustrated when they're 153 00:09:51.240 --> 00:09:55.279 dealing with the printers. I did copyist too. But a 154 00:09:55.399 --> 00:09:59.720 great scene in the movies Office Space when the guys 155 00:09:59.720 --> 00:10:03.120 again fired, they take the printer out into a park 156 00:10:03.919 --> 00:10:06.919 and the three take the three guys that did software 157 00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:08.960 or something, they beat up the printer. 158 00:10:10.200 --> 00:10:13.360 Two weeks ago, Jim, two weeks ago, I took out 159 00:10:13.399 --> 00:10:16.440 a printer. I took it to its final resting place 160 00:10:16.480 --> 00:10:19.159 in my backyard. I beat the hell out of it 161 00:10:19.519 --> 00:10:22.480 for exactly that reason, and it felt good. Did you 162 00:10:22.519 --> 00:10:24.440 ever do that, Jim? Or did you have too much 163 00:10:24.440 --> 00:10:26.360 of a relationship with the printers? 164 00:10:26.639 --> 00:10:26.799 Oh? 165 00:10:27.080 --> 00:10:31.120 No, you know, I was intimate I'm I have relationship 166 00:10:31.240 --> 00:10:35.639 with inanimate objects. I fixed things, so I can't beat 167 00:10:35.759 --> 00:10:40.639 I can't do that. So but I know hooking them 168 00:10:40.720 --> 00:10:42.799 up now is a nightmare because you got to hook 169 00:10:42.840 --> 00:10:47.120 them up through the router. Now a nightmare and they frustrated. 170 00:10:47.759 --> 00:10:50.840 I struggled with that for hours and then I took it, 171 00:10:51.000 --> 00:10:52.799 stuck in it. My son gave it to me. I 172 00:10:52.840 --> 00:10:54.720 stuck it in the closet. I'm not going to use 173 00:10:54.759 --> 00:10:55.440 it ever again. 174 00:10:56.200 --> 00:10:59.639 As an expert on printers, which brand do you like best? 175 00:11:00.559 --> 00:11:03.720 The old IBM lasers are the best. I would stay 176 00:11:03.720 --> 00:11:06.240 away from the cartridge stuff, and I would stay away 177 00:11:06.279 --> 00:11:09.360 from anything that goes through your router because that gives 178 00:11:09.399 --> 00:11:13.200 them a path into your home for the weird, you know, 179 00:11:13.399 --> 00:11:17.519 the the sci fi stuff, thee once once you give 180 00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:20.759 them your password to your router to print a piece 181 00:11:20.759 --> 00:11:24.960 of paper, they control you. So you want to stay 182 00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:25.559 away from that. 183 00:11:26.360 --> 00:11:29.720 Jim, that is insanely useful advice. And I thank you, 184 00:11:29.799 --> 00:11:32.000 I really do, thank you. Thanks for listening and thanks 185 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:35.320 for calling. Eight hundred eight four eight nine two two two. 186 00:11:35.360 --> 00:11:37.679 Eight hundred eight four eight nine two two two Walter 187 00:11:37.840 --> 00:11:41.240 Sterling The Other Side of Midnight Red Apple Audio Network 188 00:11:42.279 --> 00:11:45.879 eight hundred eight four eight nine two two two. Eight 189 00:11:45.960 --> 00:11:56.240 hundred eight four eight nine two two two. Let's see, 190 00:11:57.360 --> 00:12:08.720 let's see the I I'm challenged when I talk to 191 00:12:08.759 --> 00:12:13.080 my gen zer when she says that she and her 192 00:12:13.080 --> 00:12:16.480 friends are sharing information on their new jobs, about what 193 00:12:16.519 --> 00:12:20.159 they do for a what they get paid, what they 194 00:12:20.159 --> 00:12:24.320 get paid, and I'm like, I don't know. It seems 195 00:12:24.320 --> 00:12:26.960 like a really bad idea to me. And I'm thinking 196 00:12:27.000 --> 00:12:29.399 about our day when you and I go to work, 197 00:12:30.120 --> 00:12:32.679 when we work on the first shift, the great shift, 198 00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:39.120 and we are challenged by the fact that it isn't 199 00:12:39.320 --> 00:12:42.360 a bad day, and it isn't a good day. It's 200 00:12:42.639 --> 00:12:46.440 one thing. There'll be one thing that bothers us. There'll 201 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:49.279 be one thing that makes it a great day. But 202 00:12:49.559 --> 00:12:53.080 we generalized, we make it to something much bigger than 203 00:12:53.080 --> 00:12:55.720 it is, or something much less than it is. Right, 204 00:12:56.240 --> 00:13:02.519 That's what we're up against. That's our challenge. And when 205 00:13:03.759 --> 00:13:06.879 so I was thinking about today, I had a tough 206 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:09.840 day today. All day it was a tough day. I 207 00:13:10.039 --> 00:13:13.000 was at home. I was staying in my sister in 208 00:13:13.039 --> 00:13:17.639 law's apartment and my sister I had the apartment alone, right, 209 00:13:17.720 --> 00:13:20.600 I had the apartment for the whole day. And then 210 00:13:20.639 --> 00:13:22.960 I found out that others were going to be staying there, 211 00:13:23.039 --> 00:13:25.279 that I was going to have to have others staying there, 212 00:13:26.279 --> 00:13:29.919 And then I had to deal with my sister in law, 213 00:13:30.879 --> 00:13:36.000 my daughter, my wife, all of whom had deep thoughts 214 00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:40.200 for me that I should I'd have to change my bed, 215 00:13:40.279 --> 00:13:43.039 I'd have to change the bedroom. I'd have to oh 216 00:13:43.120 --> 00:13:48.240 my gosh. And then I'm like annoyed, Oh annoyed, you 217 00:13:48.360 --> 00:13:54.039 can't have that. And those those are the actual challenges. 218 00:13:54.159 --> 00:13:56.600 Those are the mysteries of what you and I have 219 00:13:56.720 --> 00:14:03.000 to deal with when we are dealing with relatives. And 220 00:14:03.000 --> 00:14:04.919 what I have found best. I don't know how this 221 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:06.840 works for you, but what I have found best in 222 00:14:06.960 --> 00:14:11.679 my relationships is that I'm not actually part of my marriage. 223 00:14:11.960 --> 00:14:15.519 I view my marriage as none of my business. Let 224 00:14:15.519 --> 00:14:18.000 her talk to her sister, let her talk to her 225 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:20.279 brother about it. But my marriage is really none of 226 00:14:20.279 --> 00:14:23.080 my business. As long as I stay out of my marriage, 227 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:28.840 things go well. There was a situation today in New 228 00:14:28.919 --> 00:14:31.840 York where there's a group of kids in a special 229 00:14:31.879 --> 00:14:36.320 section of a school called Eyebrand. And these kids are 230 00:14:36.320 --> 00:14:39.840 in Eyebrand, and you and I don't have any problems. 231 00:14:39.879 --> 00:14:42.440 You and I don't have any problems. The Eyebrand kids 232 00:14:42.840 --> 00:14:51.440 are kids who have been physically have physical head injuries 233 00:14:51.559 --> 00:14:54.799 that you and I can't even imagine what it's like. 234 00:14:55.440 --> 00:15:01.360 We just can't even imagine what it's like. And the 235 00:15:03.200 --> 00:15:05.639 let me just see you and I can't even imagine 236 00:15:05.639 --> 00:15:07.919 what it's like. So there are thirty kids in the 237 00:15:07.960 --> 00:15:11.240 special group. It's called Eyebrain. I'm sorry, Iebrain. I'm like, 238 00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:15.320 why am I saying, Ibran, They're in Eyebrain and they're 239 00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:18.720 thirty kids special aid kids, but they have severe brain injuries. 240 00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:23.679 But there's a federal government subsidy to the school district 241 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:26.600 that takes care of them, gets them to school, It 242 00:15:26.679 --> 00:15:29.360 gets them to class, it makes sure that they have 243 00:15:29.480 --> 00:15:33.879 lunch and make sure that they're fine. And that's been 244 00:15:33.960 --> 00:15:38.399 so for a couple of years. This week it was stopped. 245 00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:44.879 This week it was stopped. And as a result, these 246 00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:46.559 kids who thought they were going to go back to 247 00:15:46.559 --> 00:15:52.080 school tomorrow, they're not going back to school tomorrow. There's 248 00:15:52.159 --> 00:15:56.679 been a bunch of lawsuits and what the what was 249 00:15:56.799 --> 00:16:04.519 changed as a federal judge throughout a I don't know 250 00:16:04.559 --> 00:16:06.399 what they call it. It was a hold. It was 251 00:16:06.840 --> 00:16:10.080 a delay of doing anything to the kids until the 252 00:16:10.159 --> 00:16:13.679 lawsuit between the parents and the school district was stopped 253 00:16:15.279 --> 00:16:18.519 and settled between the kids and the school district was settled. 254 00:16:18.919 --> 00:16:22.919 Until that was settled, they were not they didn't have 255 00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:25.039 to stop taking care of the kids. Well, a federal 256 00:16:25.159 --> 00:16:28.240 judge said that pause is not okay, it's not all right. 257 00:16:28.279 --> 00:16:31.240 We're not going to respect that and instead we're going 258 00:16:31.279 --> 00:16:36.879 to cease funding. So here are these kids. They're young 259 00:16:37.000 --> 00:16:39.360 kids who are like eight to twelve, and they're not 260 00:16:39.399 --> 00:16:41.200 going to let them go back to school. They're not 261 00:16:41.240 --> 00:16:43.879 going to have the funds to go back to school. First, 262 00:16:43.919 --> 00:16:47.960 it has to be settled in court. And the delay 263 00:16:48.679 --> 00:16:53.080 in enacting that was lifted by a federal judge. This 264 00:16:53.320 --> 00:16:56.399 is the challenge of special ed if you have a 265 00:16:56.440 --> 00:16:59.039 special ed kid, if you know a special ed kid. 266 00:16:59.639 --> 00:17:03.000 There's a part to it that is not discussed, and 267 00:17:03.080 --> 00:17:06.440 I'm going to discuss it. It's this that special ed 268 00:17:06.519 --> 00:17:10.519 kids need special funds. That for the school to take 269 00:17:10.559 --> 00:17:13.920 care of a special ed kid. The law says that 270 00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:16.880 a school district, a public school district. The law says 271 00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:24.240 a public school district must educate that kid. Then the 272 00:17:24.359 --> 00:17:26.599 parent has to agree to what it is that they're 273 00:17:26.759 --> 00:17:30.079 being educated, how they're going to be educated. The school 274 00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:32.880 district is only obligated, you're ready for this, to put 275 00:17:32.920 --> 00:17:36.000 the kid in a classroom. That's all they're obligated to do. 276 00:17:36.599 --> 00:17:40.039 Is to put your kid, a special ed kid with 277 00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:45.240 extraordinary needs from autism to a praxia in a classroom. 278 00:17:45.359 --> 00:17:49.960 That's all they're required to do. Meanwhile, if they can't 279 00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:53.119 accommodate your kid, listen to this. If they can't accommodate 280 00:17:53.160 --> 00:17:58.440 your child, they have to say. You have to then 281 00:17:58.519 --> 00:18:01.799 say you're not accommodating my And there's all this form 282 00:18:01.880 --> 00:18:04.720 and all this paperwork, and these kids are screwed. Part 283 00:18:04.759 --> 00:18:08.680 of the reason that they're screwed is that accommodating special 284 00:18:08.839 --> 00:18:11.799 ed kids is an enormous task for a school district. 285 00:18:11.880 --> 00:18:18.559 It's an enormous task. And not every teacher is capable 286 00:18:18.920 --> 00:18:22.240 of working with these children. Of course not, because every 287 00:18:22.319 --> 00:18:26.720 kid who has special needs is different. You can say, gee, 288 00:18:26.720 --> 00:18:29.119 they have a praxi or they have autism, they have 289 00:18:29.480 --> 00:18:32.400 this motor skill challenge, they have this reading challenge, they 290 00:18:32.440 --> 00:18:36.200 are uh have they have dyslexia. But those are all 291 00:18:37.160 --> 00:18:41.759 a huge variety A huge variety, a huge scope of 292 00:18:41.759 --> 00:18:43.960 those things. And you and I are on the air 293 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:49.200 in Chicago on WGN, Thank you, WGN with Walter Sterling 294 00:18:49.279 --> 00:18:51.440 on the other side of Midnight at eight hundred and 295 00:18:51.480 --> 00:18:54.240 eight four eight nine two two two, And what I 296 00:18:54.319 --> 00:18:56.680 came to learn with my special ed kid? And the 297 00:18:56.720 --> 00:18:59.279 minute you have a special ed kid, what do you learn? 298 00:18:59.400 --> 00:19:02.519 You learn that all the other parents have similar challenges. 299 00:19:02.559 --> 00:19:06.359 And the challenges are these the school district says, we're 300 00:19:06.400 --> 00:19:09.240 taking care of your kid, and then you find out 301 00:19:09.240 --> 00:19:13.400 that the school district really can't and isn't. And you say, well, 302 00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:16.279 we want this money to go to this special ed 303 00:19:16.319 --> 00:19:20.079 school or to homeschooling or to tutoring or whatever it is. 304 00:19:21.720 --> 00:19:24.359 They have to agree to that. And if they don't 305 00:19:24.359 --> 00:19:28.119 agree to it, here's the magic word mediation. You find 306 00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:31.880 yourself with a mediator, You find yourself starting to have mediation, 307 00:19:32.839 --> 00:19:38.839 and you walk into these wacky settlements that are involve 308 00:19:39.079 --> 00:19:44.039 enormous amounts of money, incredible amounts of money, and they 309 00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:50.000 are mysterious in that there are no guidelines, there's no consistency. 310 00:19:50.599 --> 00:19:53.480 You have to hire a lawyer. If you hire a lawyer, 311 00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:56.119 you find out that in the settlement. The school district 312 00:19:56.119 --> 00:19:59.359 paid for the lawyer, and in fact the lawyer is 313 00:19:59.480 --> 00:20:02.799 working for the school district. Oh my god. And it 314 00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:07.079 goes on and on eight hundred eight four eight nine 315 00:20:07.079 --> 00:20:09.839 two two two eight hundred eight four eight nine two 316 00:20:09.960 --> 00:20:15.640 two two. I have a tremendous empathy with these thirty 317 00:20:15.759 --> 00:20:18.640 kids in the New York City school system that are 318 00:20:18.640 --> 00:20:22.880 in a special program called I Brain that was put 319 00:20:22.920 --> 00:20:27.319 on hold this week. And these kids, they're not going 320 00:20:27.359 --> 00:20:30.599 to school until the settlement is made, until there's a 321 00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:37.839 settlement between the school district and the kids parents. It's 322 00:20:37.920 --> 00:20:44.359 a crappy situation, all right, Walter Sterling. Exciting to be 323 00:20:44.480 --> 00:20:53.240 with you. And now we're starting our work week. This 324 00:20:53.359 --> 00:20:56.519 is the special time that you and I get where 325 00:20:56.160 --> 00:20:59.880 we're getting back to work, which is much better than 326 00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:03.359 being back with the relatives, much better than the existential 327 00:21:03.400 --> 00:21:08.599 threat of the dishwasher, the existential threat of the teenager 328 00:21:08.640 --> 00:21:12.400 who doesn't think, Oh, I love the cats. I enjoy 329 00:21:12.480 --> 00:21:15.400 being with the cats so much. You love the cats, Yes, 330 00:21:15.519 --> 00:21:18.759 I really do. Oh that's fantastic. Are you gonna empty 331 00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:22.279 the litter box? No, no, no, I'm not emptying the litter box. 332 00:21:22.359 --> 00:21:25.240 But you said, you love the cats. I'm not emptying 333 00:21:25.240 --> 00:21:29.160 the litter box. They're threatened by the litter box. The 334 00:21:29.200 --> 00:21:33.079 other side of Midnight, Greg in Brooklyn, Welcome to the 335 00:21:33.079 --> 00:21:34.160 other side of midnight. 336 00:21:34.200 --> 00:21:39.079 Hello, Greg, It's an honor to speak with the Walter helped. 337 00:21:39.119 --> 00:21:41.240 Things are well with you this morning, sir. 338 00:21:41.359 --> 00:21:44.279 I hope things are well with you and Marinnie Brooklyn. 339 00:21:45.279 --> 00:21:48.240 Yeah. Yes, I'm a Franciscan brother of Brooklyn. 340 00:21:48.359 --> 00:21:48.680 Wow. 341 00:21:48.720 --> 00:21:51.759 And I live with the other brothers, and my favorite 342 00:21:51.759 --> 00:21:55.119 house tour, because we all share chores, is to empty 343 00:21:55.160 --> 00:21:55.960 the dishwasher. 344 00:21:56.440 --> 00:21:58.279 Now why do you think that is? Do you view 345 00:21:58.279 --> 00:22:01.240 it as a spiritual event to this dishwasher? 346 00:22:02.240 --> 00:22:05.759 Well, one thing, it is serving my brothers. But the 347 00:22:05.839 --> 00:22:08.680 other thing is it simply means that I've eaten. 348 00:22:10.319 --> 00:22:10.400 Ye. 349 00:22:10.480 --> 00:22:12.240 I don't know if you've I don't know if you've 350 00:22:12.279 --> 00:22:16.799 considered sharing with your children that they're probably about a 351 00:22:16.839 --> 00:22:19.559 billion or two billion people who would love to empty 352 00:22:19.640 --> 00:22:23.519 the dishwasher because that means they've had nice meals the 353 00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:25.279 day before or even that day. 354 00:22:26.279 --> 00:22:28.680 One of the mistakes that I believe people make with 355 00:22:28.799 --> 00:22:33.880 children is they give them math for an emotional issue 356 00:22:34.119 --> 00:22:37.279 or a practical issue. So, for example, when a parent says, 357 00:22:37.640 --> 00:22:39.240 you know you're going to have a time out, I'm 358 00:22:39.279 --> 00:22:41.599 going to give you a ten minute time out. That's 359 00:22:41.640 --> 00:22:44.759 insane because no nine year old has a concept of time. 360 00:22:45.480 --> 00:22:47.839 And if I were to say to a sixteen year old, 361 00:22:48.160 --> 00:22:51.519 two billion people would give anything to have a dishwasher empty, 362 00:22:51.599 --> 00:22:54.279 That'll mean nothing to them. But if I said to them, 363 00:22:54.559 --> 00:22:57.880 but if I said to them, the dishwasher means that 364 00:22:57.920 --> 00:23:00.920 you've you have food, that's all I'd have to say, 365 00:23:00.960 --> 00:23:05.240 the dishwasher means you have food, that would do it. 366 00:23:05.480 --> 00:23:09.880 Putting it on a grandiose and impossible do envision scale 367 00:23:10.279 --> 00:23:12.319 would not do it. It's like when people used to say, 368 00:23:12.359 --> 00:23:15.799 you know, children in China are starving, Well, they didn't 369 00:23:15.839 --> 00:23:22.000 know where China was. Sure, right now, a Franciscan friar, 370 00:23:22.079 --> 00:23:24.319 what do you guys make bread? 371 00:23:26.160 --> 00:23:30.200 No, we have ministries and our congregation has been here 372 00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:34.119 since eighteen fifty eight and we've been in education, so 373 00:23:34.319 --> 00:23:37.680 in high schools, grammar schools. I'm over at beautiful Saint 374 00:23:37.759 --> 00:23:42.200 Francis College in downtown Brooklyn. That's my ministry there. You 375 00:23:42.279 --> 00:23:46.200 got a good assignment, very very good assignment. Yeah, I 376 00:23:46.240 --> 00:23:48.559 love my work. I say thank God for Monday. I 377 00:23:48.599 --> 00:23:51.319 know it's Monday morning, so I say thank God for Monday. 378 00:23:51.680 --> 00:23:54.519 I say thank God for you listening. I appreciate your time. 379 00:23:54.599 --> 00:23:58.440 I appreciate your call. Thank you very much for calling 380 00:23:58.519 --> 00:24:01.319 the other side of midnight. All right, eight hundred and 381 00:24:01.359 --> 00:24:03.119 eight four eight nine two to two two. Do we 382 00:24:03.160 --> 00:24:06.240 have the answer to that dilemma? There? The printer problem. 383 00:24:06.240 --> 00:24:09.119 We have a printer problem, Ladies and gentlemen. We have 384 00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:11.759 a printer problem. And you know I could solve that 385 00:24:11.839 --> 00:24:14.559 printer problem, but I didn't get it any other way. 386 00:24:14.680 --> 00:24:19.160 I don't have it any other way. They want me 387 00:24:19.200 --> 00:24:21.720 to look at something, and I can't really look at 388 00:24:21.720 --> 00:24:25.200 something because this is this has been one of those 389 00:24:25.200 --> 00:24:30.279 special shows where everything's gone wrong technically, like every conceivable 390 00:24:31.000 --> 00:24:34.599 thing that could go wrong went wrong. It's rare, Actually, 391 00:24:34.680 --> 00:24:39.000 it is rare because things tend to be well run. Ready, listen, 392 00:24:39.640 --> 00:24:46.799 listen carefully. You hear that that's my phone. No spam calls, 393 00:24:47.240 --> 00:24:51.400 no spam texts. I love the silence. Your phone Probably 394 00:24:51.440 --> 00:24:55.160 not so quiet. Here's why data brokers are selling your 395 00:24:55.200 --> 00:25:01.279 personal information like it's on clearance. Your phone, number, address, email, 396 00:25:01.799 --> 00:25:08.000 family members, political affiliations, even where you bank. Those scammers 397 00:25:08.079 --> 00:25:10.599 blowing up your phone didn't didn't They didn't get lucky. 398 00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:15.000 They bought your information and they'll keep buying it over 399 00:25:15.240 --> 00:25:19.400 and over until you make it stop. I did within 400 00:25:19.599 --> 00:25:25.119 Cogni's help, I n cog n I in Cogni automatically 401 00:25:25.279 --> 00:25:28.960