The tea party is tomorrow. Not a reenactment of the Boston occurrence that led to the eventual separation of the America from its tax burdening British hierarchy, but a simple little afternoon luncheon that my Queen’s-English speaking Mum is conduction tomorrow at her San Diego residential complex, honoring Queen Elizabeth’s II sixtieth year on the throne.

My wife, daughter and I have arrived a day prior to the function in our support of her event. We are delighted by the stories of her neighbors who have come together as con-sponsors of the festivities.

The room is cute: a British flag covers the pantry at the East wall of the recreation area, fresh whipped cream is chilling in the refrigerator, and the china is set. There is one last piece of furniture that need to be set, the buffet table.

Enter “Ed,” facility engineer and today’s Master-in-Arms, overseeing the heavy lifting in his gentlemanly oversight of the women who are in-charge of the room

A gentleman to the core, and with his Southern charm, Ed expresses his outlook towards the senior citizen ladies that he is so graciously serving. “’You have to respect the mama’s. I remember my father telling me that, and it is the way I always looked at my mother. She brought me into the world and I have to respect her for that. We always have to treat them right. Also, men, don’t forget, behind every good man there is a good woman.’”

Ed reflects on life, “Life is fast. I remember as a child how slow it went; going to play ball or to the river for fishing. Now at forty-six it is going faster and it speeds up every year.

“I have a seven-year-old son and a two-year-old daughter. If there is any one big lesson that I have learned it is to give the extra five to ten minutes, to live for today and don’t worry about tomorrow.”

I ask, “Do you see any difference in the people of the Carolina’s and San Diego? — a relatively unassuming inquiry, but one that opens the doors to a conversation of global proportion.

First off Ed talks of the South, “The Carolinas are a little more old school, everything is a slower process. That’s all, but the major issues are similar.

“And there are more people in San Diego than in the whole state of Carolina.”

We transition into a topic of major perspective: the population problem.

Per Ed, “’There are a lot of people in the world. Just recently I read a statistic: 400 thousand students in the school districts of San Diego County alone. The country doesn’t even have that many jobs. I was out of work for five-years, and it has been extremely difficult for me to find employment. One recruiter even said to me that he received four thousand applications for a single position.

“We have to look at reality, and being a father of two, I have to admit to one worry, ‘What is in-store for my children’s future?’

“The population is a problem. And the government is not addressing it. Things like the way the welfare system is enabling people to not work, to the greed of big business and government as they cut workforce all the while not adjusting the compensation of their officers and high profile political positions.

“Look at the CEO of Chevron, a $25,000,000 compensation in 2011 (up 52% over 2010) and uncountable similar abuses at other corporations. No one needs that kind of income.

“There are people trying to get jobs to just support their families. The American dream is no longer alive. Now parents are putting their kids through college, and when they graduate, there are no jobs for them. And worse yet, these parents are in debt from helping their kids get an education.

“And all the while, the richer are getting richer and the poor poorer.

Money like that can be put to good use in giving people jobs.

“The government is turning a blind eye to the problem, even numbing them in support of new technology. I think that they are very much behind the social network in using it to keep the public entertained, not truly informed, and purposely diverting the citizens of America away from what they are planning.

“It makes me mad to see the Police, Fire Department, Education and Public Services take the hit from endless cutbacks and layoffs, while the Governors, Mayors and City Councils see no salary adjustments.

“We talk about the abuses of the rich and the entitlement that we are embarrassed to admit that many US residents display. We need to be working, to take any job we can that will lead to bettering our situation. America needs and it’s citizens need to become self reliant,” Ed suggests as he shares a note on a possible partial solution to the problem.

“I think an 8% pay cut across the board would be a good idea. That would open up more jobs for everyone.

“All people need to be working, to do their part to get off any government aid and become more independent in taking care of themselves and their families. I am not talking about any one group and I am not a racist. My family is mixed; my great grandfather was a Native American and my grandmother Irish, so I’m comfortable is saying this to everyone.”

Ed and I have spoken of a very sensitive topic, the right and privilege to bring children into the world and the world that they are coming into. We talked of real life conditions, politics, big business and, in a way, morality.Yet in the center of all these topics, Ed gives us the greatest of advice, with the eloquence of an impassioned seeker of peace, “Love is a powerful thing… it makes the world go round.”