Catch-44, the progress trap, and the greedy monkey PT 1

I’ve recently discovered that the term Catch-44 is pretty popular.

By ‘recently’ I mean within the last few hours and after coming inside from my shop.

Not only have I used the term twice today - thinking it was a product of my own imagination - but a Google search reveals Catch .44 is an indie crime drama filmed in Shreveport, LA., starring Bruce Willis and Forest Whitaker, among others.l

Stink. I wanted the term all to myself, just like the litre of ice-cream loaded with Smarties I found in the downstairs freezer a few days ago. (Somehow my wife knew about it!)

I like the term Catch-44 because it conjures up memories of Catch-22 (a gripping book and film with later connections to the movie and TV show M*A*S*H) and... it’s twice as bad.

Feelings that I would describe as Catch-44-ish come up almost every day. Sometimes early in the morning before I’m even out of bed.

(The feelings are unrelated to having to get out of bed. I like getting out of bed - eventually. Coffee awaits. Sorry, I digress).

I used the term first while describing our predicament with rising costs - and not just related to hydro, which much on the minds of many Ontarians.

I said:

“Because no government is effectively encouraging the move toward smaller cars, homes and lifestyles, our roads will continue to support more cars per capita (and the related expense), our homes will continue to grow and demand more energy and production of household goods, and the associated costs of our lifestyle will increase."

It’s a Catch-44, which is twice as shocking and frustrating as a Catch-22 and any hydro bill.

I elaborated a bit on my use of the term in a later post when I said, “In other words, we’re in a Catch-44, a bad trap, twice as bad as a Catch-22.

We’re building and paving roads today that we’ll never repair or replace in the future as far as present home owners are concerned, because they’ll be dead.”

Now, where did I get the idea that we’re in a bad trap?

Stay tuned.

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I’d say more now but Corrie St. starts in a few minutes and I have many miles to ride for the sake of ‘fun and fitness.’

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