Saying Good-bye to an Old Friend

 

Kurt Bailey

Art and Story by Michael Hooper

About 20 years ago, I saw this blind man walking up and down my street. Finally, one day I said hello to him and we became friends, sharing a love of music, The Wizard of Oz, and dogs.

His name was Kurt Bailey, he had become blind as a young child, but did not seem bitter about it, rather he adapted to his condition and found a way to live independently in his own house. 

Some people overlook people with disabilities; I knew one "Christian" couple who refused to give Kurt a ride home because they feared he would become dependent on them. How sad. If our yardstick for helping others is whether or not they become dependent on us, then we may never help anybody. I helped Kurt over the years, I’d given him rides, I fed him and we hung out together, but he never was dependent on me.

Indeed, we went on some adventures together, including one time when we got in my car and drove to a house where a man was selling well over 10,000 records. We had a blast going through the record collection and buying numerous records and then listening to them together. Old Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Seals & Crofts and the band Kansas. I told Kurt that I had seen the band Second Chapter of Acts when I was a young man in Montana in 1982, and he later found an album by this band and gave it to me. How wonderful, thank you Kurt.

Kurt Bailey contacted me recently because he was dying. We had a long and sad conversation. His kidneys were going, he was told he could go on dialysis or hospice, he chose hospice. This broke my heart, but it was his choice. We shared a few tears, knowing that we had shared many good times together, and that our time together was near its end.

Kurt was not self-loathing, he was able to see a greater world outside of himself despite his blindness. One time, on his own, he took a plane somewhere and attended A Wizard of Oz reunion and met several dwarfs who played the Munchkins in the movie. He talked about that for days, he was so grateful for his adventure. The Wizard of Oz is a deeply meaningful and inspiring movie, especially in Kansas.

When you see a person with disabilities, don’t just assume they’re going to become dependent on you just because you talk to them or help them. They might provide something to you that you might not have ever thought of before, Kurt's insights and compassion are intrinsic values that lie deep in my memory, they are values that are greater than money or possessions. 

Kurt used to take his guitar down to a pizza place and perform songs to the crowds there. He loved karaoke. He corresponded with people all over the world, using cassette pens. He loved the Lord and found peace in praying together with other believers.

Kurt lived with his dog, Snowball. Their companionship was real, they needed each other. He liked my dog Willy too, and they became friends.

A few years ago, I decided to paint Kurt’s portrait. He sat for me while I took some pictures and drew some sketches. I worked on this portrait for a long time, it shows his contemplative countenance, but Kurt was not an unhappy man, rather he was a generous and kind man who liked to laugh, listen to music and share stories.

Kurt died April 8, 2026 at age 59. He was a good soul and a great friend and I’m going to miss him. Rest in peace Kurt. I hope some day to reunite with you "somewhere over the rainbow, (where) skies are blue and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true."

Topeka: Life Is What You Make It

Backyard Beauty 

Art and story by Michael Hooper

I was with a group of friends, when we were talking about our favorite places in the world, like Paris, Rome, New Orleans, and Vieques, Puerto Rico. Chris Wright said, "why not Topeka, I like it here."

In 1999, I asked that question — why Topeka?— and decided yes and moved here. I took a new job as a reporter at The Topeka Capital-Journal covering business. We had been living in Grand Island and Kearney, Neb. Kearney had a terrible selection of real estate, mostly split-level houses, ours had five levels, I hated it. Heather and I wanted an English cottage, but there was none in Kearney. 

When we first arrived in Topeka, we were impressed with Collins Park, Potwin, and Westboro neighborhoods, we were like gaga, here’s some cool neighborhoods and classic houses. We found a charming limestone cottage with three bedrooms, surrounded by 18 trees, near Gage Park. We made a new life for ourselves.  

Living next to the 140-acre Gage Park with shopping nearby with a 15-minute commute everywhere in town. Easy access to the interstate. Could go west to Salina or east to Lawrence or Kansas City pretty quick. You can fly to any place in the world from Kansas City. Lawrence is only 25 minutes away. It’s like wow people, you don’t realize how good you got it right here. Great real estate, professional jobs. Cost of living is reasonable.

Heather and I raised our son Reid and daughter Hannah in Topeka. We are proud of their history and accomplishments at Randolph Elementary, Landon Middle School and Topeka High School. My son played 12 years of soccer in Topeka and made lifelong friends. Our daughter has been living in Hawaii but plans to move to Colorado where our son lives today.

After the 2008-2009 financial crisis, speculative building of homes stopped in Shawnee County. Overtime the real estate market recovered from the financial crisis. But Shawnee County ended up with short supply of real estate. In recent years, after 15% annual increases in property values, I think prices have plateaued. The Fed raised interest rates so now the cost of a 30-year mortgage is more expensive than it used to be. This may slow sales, but I still see young people buying homes and fixing them up.

Topeka is a better city in some ways than I found it in 1999. The NOTO Arts District didn't exit. Today, NOTO is a thriving arts district with more than 30 practicing artists there in studios, with thousands of visitors on first Fridays with music and entertainment in the Red Bud Park.

Topeka lost big employers like the Menninger Clinic, and Payless ShoeSource, but has gained Advisors Excel and a new generation of entrepreneurs building Topeka in their businesses and organizations. The spirit of kindness and acceptance of the mentally ill is still here, the legacy of the Menninger family. Hence the Menninger pocket park in downtown Topeka. Across the street the Evergy Plaza at Seventh and Kansas is a great place for music and entertainment. The Jayhawk Theatre continues to dazzle and entertain. I’m so impressed by entrepreneurs like Debra and Randy Clayton and the chocolate people Nick and Terry Xidis.

I've gained wonderful friends: thoughtful intellectuals in my book and art clubs. The Topeka and Shawnee County Library and its brilliant minds and books have cultivated and enriched my mind. I just loved digging into the art of Mary Huntoon with the help of Sherry Best and others at the library.

It is worth studying the lives of these three Topekans: Mary Huntoon, Cyrus Holliday, Karl Menninger. They all show us vision, persistence, genius and character. Mary Huntoon studied art in Topeka, New York and Paris before returning to Topeka to work as an art therapist for Dr. Karl Menninger at the Menninger Clinic. Holliday is co-founder of Topeka and The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway, and, Dr. Karl Menninger was author of The Human Mind and co-founder of the Menninger Clinic.

My motto for Topeka: Life is what you make it. Make it great. How? Surround yourself with people of high character who are ambitious. You want to be a published author? Hang around other published authors. You want to be a successful real estate investor? Hang around successful real estate investors. You want to own a great business? Surround yourself with business owners, people who own a house cleaning service or car washes, laundromats and candy machines or staffing firms (stay away from bars and restaurants). You want to be a great stock investor? Study Warren Buffett and join an investment club. You can be anything you want to be in Topeka. There's an expert here in just about everything.

Ken Daniel Builds Fortune in Roofing Business, His Company sold for $67.2 million in 2021

Ken Daniel

By Michael Hooper

Ken Daniel, a Topeka businessman who founded Midway Wholesale and The Topeka Independent Business Association, died March 25, 2026, at the age of 80, according to his obituary.

In 1971, Ken Daniel founded Midway Sales and Distributing in Topeka (later called Midway Wholesale) which went on to be his life's work until his retirement in 2019. Midway is a supplier of building and roofing supplies.

Beacon Roofing Supplies bought Midway Wholesale for $67.2 million in November 2021, according to a  SEC filing dated May 6, 2022. Beacon said the deal to purchase Midway Wholesale valued the company at $28.7 million in goodwill, and $38.5 million in tangible assets, for a total of $67.2 million, said David Tangeman, Houston accountant.

At the time of the sale, Midway Wholesale had 170 employees and $130 million annual sales in 10 stores in Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. Founded by Kenneth Daniel in 1970, Midway Wholesale was incorporated in 1974 at 218 SE Branner, Topeka.

Beacon distributes roofing supplies and building products in 400 locations in 50 states. In 2025, Beacon was acquired by QXO, Inc. (QXO), a conglomerate of roofing and building supples. I wrote about the sale of Ken Daniel's company in this article.

I interviewed Ken Daniel multiple times over the years. He is a founder of the Topeka Independent Business Association. He supported efforts by small businesses to increase access to health insurance.

Ken Daniel was elected to Junior Achievement's Topeka Business Hall of Fame. He is widely regarded as one of the sharpest minds in business.

Ken was a personable man who excelled at sales and management. He hired the right people and promoted them.

But in the beginning, it was just Ken Daniel in a tiny office at 218 SE Branner. He told me he started in 1970 as a manufacturer's representative in Topeka, a position that grew into forming his own company.

One time, Ken actually took me inside the tiny room, where he got started. It was a dusty old room with gray walls, more of a storage area when I saw it. He said as business got bigger, he took over more and more space inside the old building, eventually acquiring the entire building. Midway Wholesale's Topeka operation is next to the BNSF Railway tracks. To expand operations, Midway Wholesale purchased some land from BNSF.

In 2008, Kenneth Daniel, chairman, retired as chief executive officer at the company's annual stockholders meeting. Bruce H. Myers, president since 1999, was elected chief executive officer and president. John D. Ossello has been vice president since 1999.

Midway Wholesale originally started out as a roof coating business for the elevator industry. The business transitioned into a commercial roofing distributor. And later expanding into construction materials. Now the company sells products for both residential and commercial properties. "Buildings can now have Midway Wholesale materials all the way from their foundations to their rooftops," the company says.

Midway Wholesale's other locations are in Lawrence, Manhattan, Garden City, Overland Park, Salina, Wichita, St. Joseph, Mo., Joplin, Mo., and Grand Island, Neb.

Ken Daniel was a great leader, businessman and mentor. A Celebration of Life will be held at Countryside United Methodist Church in Topeka on Saturday, April 25th at 2:00pm with a reception immediately following.

Bad Bunny Promotes Pride in Latin Culture

Bad Bunny Halftime Show at Lazy Jack's

By Michael Hooper

Vieques, Puerto Rico -- Days before the Super Bowl, there was a lot of excitement for the Bad Bunny halftime show.

On the day of the big event, my wife and I walked down to Lazy Jack's bar, where big screen TVs were carrying the Super Bowl. The place, located along the ocean in Esperanza, Vieques, was so crowded, people were watching from the street.

The halftime show was incredible. Bad Bunny showed us the strength of his people, from the struggles making sugarcane to the power outages, and the people playing dominoes. Bad Bunny did good. He made me proud to be a Puerto Rican (mi Madre es de Guayama, PR). There are so many cultural icons in this video, including sugar cane fields, coco frio, bananas, Jibaros (PR hillbillies), Ford F150 pick up, boxing, the electric poles, the little casita. Bad Bunny named off multiple countries like Venezuela, Cuba and Columbia, near the end of his performance, celebrating Latin culture everywhere. People from those countries went wild with excitement when they heard their country's name.

Puerto Ricans are proud that one of their own celebrated their culture on the biggest stage in the world. Hundreds of people worked on his show. There were some people like President Trump who disapproved of the NFL's choice, but a record 135 million viewers watched Bad Bunny's halftime performance.

I see a lot of pride in Puerto Rico, a pride in its history, its music, food, culture and its exemplary Caribbean lifestyle, with some of the finest beaches in the world. The Puerto Rican islands, Vieques and nearby Culebra, are well known for their great beaches, good for swimming and snorkeling.

Last summer, Bad Bunny's 30 concerts in San Juan generated about $300 million in economic activity. People from all over the world descended on PR to attend the concerts.

Now I see continued resurgence in Puerto Rican culture. I've met several people with Puerto Rican blood who grew up in the states but found their way back here, like me. One Puerto Rican author of children's books told me Puerto Ricans sold their soul for money, they left the island to pursue higher paying jobs in the United States. But some of these Puerto Ricans are coming back here, and they are buying houses and fixing them up. That is why we can relate to Bad Bunny's lyrics, "No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí" (I don't want to go from here).

There is also a large expat community of Americans who fell in love with the island and purchased property here. The number of Airbnbs have exploded in Vieques and mainland PR. I recently picked up a hitchhiker, a native of Puerto Rico, who said Airbnb people are taking away valuable housing opportunities on the island. Rents have gone up, housing prices have gone up, squeezing out low-income and middle-income earners.

One of reasons the cost of living is relatively high here is The Jones Act; a law from 1920 that requires international goods to be unloaded at a US Port and then reloaded onto a US boat with a US crew to Puerto Rico. Congress should abandoned the Jones Act so goods could move here freely without a stop in a US port.

Some critics of Bad Bunny didn't like the fact that he sang in Spanish. I'm glad he did sing in Spanish because that is part of his culture. Puerto Rico is a US territory. People born here are US citizens. Several countries get along fine with more than one language, in Switzerland, they speak German, French and Italian; and they haven't had a civil war since 1847.

Bad Bunny captured the heart of Latinos everywhere. I praise the NFL for having the courage to make him the halftime show of the Super Bowl. The Who was once the halftime show and they are not even US citizens, they are from the United Kingdom. Bad Bunny is Puerto Rican American. One of our own. Let's be grateful we are a country with diversity.

That is why I'm against President Trump's crackdown on immigrants, using ICE as a bully, yanking people off the streets and killing at least two innocent American protestors in Minnesota. Congress should stand up against this unconstitutional fascism. Those who remain silent or favor this unconstitutional behavior are complicit in Trump's crimes against humanity. 

Trump is a hateful man who is trying to starve out Cuba with an oil blockade. What did Cuba ever do to him? The island nation has a different political government, but so what? If Trump is the face of Democracy, I want nothing to do with it. I favor the kind of Democracy that was championed by the founders of the United States, followed by many presidents, including Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama.

Bad Bunny didn't go into the politics of immigration, he kept his message simple, "The only thing more powerful than hate is love."

Banco Popular Stock Looks Attractive As It Grows Profits in Puerto Rico

Esperanza Bay, Vieques, PR

Story and photos by Michael Hooper

VIEQUES, PR -- In the investment world,  smart investors always pay attention to what they see in the real world, on the street, in the store, at the bank, in the coffee shop. They also look hard at financial statements. I've looked at both with Banco Popular and I'm impressed, I recently bought stock in the company (BPOP).

When I go to the Banco Popular branch office in Isabel, Vieques, PR., where I opened an account in October 2025, I often see lines of people inside the office waiting to see customer service agents. I also see customers using the ATM outside the office. 

A real estate investor told me Banco Popular could use some competition in Vieques, because it's the only game in town and it's customer service is slow. One could say that's the pace of the island, contractors are in demand, so they cannot show up for a job at a moment's notice. "Manana."

Yet banking services here are in demand. I think the busy Vieques branch is a microcosm of the entire Banco Popular business in Puerto Rico. The recent financial statements for the fourth quarter and the year show the company's profitability is growing.

Banco Popular's fourth quarter net income of $233.9 million was up 10% compared to net income of $211.3 million in third quarter 2025. Earnings per share of $3.53 in fourth quarter 2025 was up 12% over $3.15 in third quarter 2025. 

The company's net income for 2025 was $833.2 million, up 35% over net income of $614.2 million in 2024.

Banco Popular, founded in 1893, provides retail, mortgage and commercial banking services in Puerto Rico and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, as well as auto and equipment leasing and financing in Puerto Rico. 

Banco Popular also offers broker-dealer and insurance services in Puerto Rico through specialized subsidiaries. In the mainland United States, Banco Popular provides retail and commercial banking services through its New York-chartered banking subsidiary, Popular Bank, which has branches located in New York, New Jersey and Florida.

Banco Popular has 9,200 employees with 153 branch offices in Puerto Rico, 39 offices in the United States and nine in the Virgin Islands.

I've been coming to Puerto Rico since I was a little boy. My mother grew up in Guayama, PR. For many years I didn't come back (during college and early married life in Nebraska and Kansas) but I returned with my parents and my wife and children in 2006, reuniting with cousins, aunts and uncles. Since then my wife and I have come here many times, finding a great deal of happiness on the island of Vieques, which is about six miles east of mainland PR.

I see a lot of pride in Puerto Rico, a pride in its history, its music, food, culture and its exemplary Caribbean lifestyle, with some of the finest beaches in the world. 

Bad Bunny's 30 concerts in San Juan in summer 2025 generated about $300 million in economic activity. People from all over the world descended on PR to attend the concerts.

Bad Bunny's halftime show at Lazy Jack's, Vieques

When Bad Bunny performed the 2026 half-time show in the Super Bowl, there was a lot of excitement. Puerto Ricans are proud that one of their own celebrated their culture on the biggest stage in the world. Bad Bunny showed us the strength of his people, from the struggles making sugarcane to the power outages, and the people playing dominoes. There were so many cultural icons in his show, including sugar cane fields, coco frio, bananas, jibaros (PR hillbillies), Ford F150 pickup, boxing, the electric poles, the little casita. Hundreds of people worked on his show. There were some people like President Trump who disapproved of the NFL's choice, but a record 135 million viewers watched Bad Bunny's halftime performance.

Now I see continued resurgence in Puerto Rican culture. I've met several people with Puerto Rican blood who grew up in the states but found their way back here, like me. One Puerto Rican author of children's books told me Puerto Ricans sold their soul for money, they left the island to pursue higher paying jobs in the United States. But some of these Puerto Ricans are coming back here, and they are buying houses and fixing them up. That is why we can relate to Bad Bunny's lyrics, "No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí" (I don't want to go from here).

There is also a large expat community of Americans who fell in love with the island and purchased property here. The number of Airbnbs have exploded in Vieques and mainland PR. I recently picked up a hitchhiker, a native of Puerto Rico, who said Airbnb people are taking away valuable housing opportunities on the island. Rents have gone up, housing prices have gone up, squeezing out low-income and middle-income earners.

Housing needs create opportunities for investors. Banco Popular makes money on loans to homeowners.

I recently spoke with David Tangeman, a Houston accountant and banking expert, who reviewed the financial statements of Banco Popular. He was impressed with the bank's 35% increase in earnings in 2025 over 2024.

Stock in Banco Popular is up 133% over the past five years, up 34% in 2025 and up 17% already this year. One of the reasons the stock is up is the company has been aggressively buying its stock back in the open market. Last year the company made $833.2 million in earnings but spent about $500 million buying back stock. Such aggressive buying by the company reduces the risk of a downturn in the stock.

Banks, in general, have benefited from a higher risk-free rate of return on US government bonds. By paying a lower return for savings accounts, banks generate a healthy net interest margin between what they earn on their bonds and what they pay on savings accounts. This could change when the Fed lowers interest rates. Banks will have to lower their interest rates on savings accounts in order to accommodate lower earnings on bonds.

The stock in Banco Popular is trading at 1.55 times book value, which is a low valuation considering a lot of major banks, like JP Morgan Chase (JPM) are trading at over 2 times book value. 

Banco Popular's price/earnings ratio is 11.98, which is below its peer group.

"The stock is high but obviously they are performing very well," said Tangeman.

Most US banks don't have operations in Puerto Rico.

"I don't think they have much competition," he said.

One disturbing trend at Banco Popular is that while the bank has grown to $75 billion in assets, the bank's nonperforming loans have also grown to $498 million. The bank has more than enough reserves -- $808 million -- to cover problem loans.

"It's a fairly well run bank. They have a nice franchise, they dominate the local market," Tangeman said.

Conclusion

I believe Banco Popular is still trading below the metrics of its banking peers in the United States, representing some value here. Banco Popular has been growing its earnings, but does not have much competition. Risks include a possible downturn in the economy such as through a hurricane. Another risk is the possibility that the company stops buying back stock, reducing demand for the stock, that could lead to a pullback in the stock.

Because this stock has run up quite a bit recently, I would recommend buying a few shares to start a position, and then waiting for dips to add to your position. The stock market is near all-time highs; a correction would bring down all stocks, including bank stocks. Yet I have watched this stock for years, I remember when it was $65 per share in 2023, I thought about buying a few shares then, but stupidly sat on my thumbs and waited. I saw it go to $75, $100, $145. I think a position with an average price of $129-$135 is possible if there is a downturn in the stock.

Editor's note: Michael Hooper owns shares in Banco Popular (BPOP).

Former Westar CEO Now a Greek Winemaker

David Wittig on the cover of Fortune

By Michael Hooper

Whatever happened to David Wittig?

David Wittig is the former president and CEO of Westar Energy, 1998-2002. He served four years in prison for an illegal loan with a bank president in the early 2000s. 

Wittig also was charged with "looting" Westar Energy, but after several years of trials and appeals, the charges against him were eventually dropped in 2010. In July 2011, Wittig settled a dispute with Westar Energy for back compensation; he received $36 million in cash, $3.1 million for legal fees, and $2.7 million in stock compensation. 

In Topeka, Wittig purchased and renovated the Landon Mansion, 521 SW Westchester Road. In 2017, he sold the property for $2.3 million to Michael and Kathryn Franklin. 

Around 2014, Wittig became interested in Greece with encouragement from a New York priest, according to an article published in October 2024 in Greece Is. After a visit to Greece, Wittig invested in Euroconsultants. 

Wittig, now living in Athens, acquired 20% of Euroconsultants, which is a publicly-traded company on the Athens Stock Exchange. The company recently changed its name to European Innovation Solutions. He also owns Symposium Sellers. 

Wittig's son Davis encouraged his father to invest in the wine business. This led to the creation of Neoma Winery, located in the lake region of Amyntaio, Greece. 

According to Noema's web site, Noema started operations in March 2021, with some first, experimental efforts. As a result, the winery has now placed two wine labels on the market; Eruption, a 100% Xinomavro rose, and Invicta, a red wine with eight months maturation in the barrel. 

When I was a reporter at The Topeka Capital-Journal, Jim McLean and I covered David Wittig and Westar Energy. Wittig was so incensed with our coverage that he hired a big shot law firm to write a letter to us that was intended to frighten us and keep us from doing our reporting. We never backed down. 

I found Wittig to be pompous and egotistical; he liked to spend money, sometimes at the expense of the balance sheet. For example, he spent a fortune creating an opulent office in the Westar Energy headquarters that was unnecessary and never used by his successor. He also used the corporate jet quite frequently, often flying to Europe, sometimes his reason for going there seemed more personal than professional.

Wittig was trying to run a publicly-traded utility like a hedge fund buying and selling securities in various industries, including the home security business. He made money, he lost money, but he should not have been selected by the board of directors to run a highly regulated utility. He was almost always in conflict with the Kansas Corporation Commission. 

Wittig had come to Topeka after working on Wall Street. I think he saw in Westar an opportunity to enrich himself with millions. He worked out compensation agreements with the board that were outrageously excessive. 

For him to walk away with over $36 million in compensation was egregious and unfair to the shareholders, employees and customers of this utility. Greedy corporate raider wins again. 

Would I want his life? Absolutely not. Wittig spent four years in jail and millions of dollars with attorneys to clear his name with Westar Energy, but his name is not clear. The Greece Is article about the winery said nothing about Wittig growing up in Prairie Village, Kansas,  nor about his time in Topeka. But you can't hide your roots; his name is all over the internet. 

Do I begrudge him for starting a winery in Greece? No; good luck with that. It takes many years to get a winery going. The website for the winery suggests the land and climate for growing grapes there is excellent. 

Greece is a beautiful country. I lived there in 1990, I worked at a hotel for a while. I remember Athens as a catch-all for all kinds of people from all walks of life, some of them running away from something. 

Wittig may be running from his past, but Kansans have not forgotten how much he sucked out of the state's largest utility.

Westar Energy later merged in 2018 with Kansas City Power & Light, now called Evergy. It's interesting, around 1999, Wittig, while at Westar actually tried to take over KCPL in some hostile takeover but the deal never went anywhere. 

His corporate raider personality was too brash, bold and inappropriate for people in Kansas. Maybe Greece is a better fit for him. 

 

Living Weller Than Well

Iliff Commons

By Michael Hooper

I’ve long been fascinated by the works of Dr. Karl Menninger. His books about mental illness are still relevant today. He is a clever writer about illness, treatment and recovery. He writes with authority, often using real life examples from his practice.

In 1963, Viking Press published The Vital Balance, The Life Process in Mental Health and Illness by Dr. Karl Menninger, with Martin Mayman and Paul Pruyser.

The book includes my favorite quote by Dr. Karl:

“Not infrequently we observe that a patient who is in a phase of recovery from what may have been a rather long illness shows continued improvement, past the point of his former normal state of existence. He not only gets well, to use vernacular; he gets as well as he was, and then he continues to improve still further. He increases his productivity, he expands his life and its horizons. He develops new talents, new powers, new effectiveness. He becomes one might say, “weller than well.”

The author says this doesn’t always happen nor does it happen often enough. But it does happen and every experienced psychiatrist has seen this happen.

The author gives several examples of famous people who suffered severe illness and recovered, and then went on to do great things. Abraham Lincoln suffered from melancholy; on his wedding day after the guests assembled, Lincoln did not appear. He was found in his room in deep dejection, obsessed with ideas of unworthiness, hopelessness, and guilt. What Lincoln achieved after his illness “is part of our great national heritage,” the authors wrote. 

The book cites the lives of John Stewart Mill, Helen Keller, and psychiatrist William James. They suffered from severe mental illness and hardship, yet all of them went on to recover and do great things in their lives.

The author says illness is not the only way to learn. An enlightened person may on his own aspire to improve himself, to become weller than well, to reach out constantly toward a more perfect way of life. Benjamin Franklin was this way, trying to reach moral perfection in the areas of temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility.

I think another example of a person "weller than well" is the movie, A Beautiful Mind, about a brilliant mathematician who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, based partly on the real life of John Nash.

I could relate to that movie because my father, Charles Hooper, was a brilliant mathematician and scientist who also struggled with mental illness. My father suffered from depression, but his condition seemed to get better as he got older, especially in his 60s. He was very productive in his later years because I think he had achieved his own version of being "weller than well."

I have met many people over the years who have suffered from mental illness. In most cases therapy along with psychotropic drugs stabilize their life. But these drugs seem to hold some brilliance back, in my opinion.

There is a play called, Standing on My Knees, about a bright young woman, who falls in love with a man, she stops taking her medication and is filled with all kinds of poems, romance and excitement. She burns brightly. Without her medication, she is prone to mania. She crashes and burns and then has to start all over again in recovery.

Sometimes drug therapy seems to be the only way to stabilize some patients. But if you could go without the drugs and somehow parlay that energy, excitement, passion, and mania into something useful and beautiful and lovely, perhaps it’s worth it even if there is a crash? 

Nevertheless, I'm inspired by Dr. Karl's description of the transformation:

“He increases his productivity, he expands his life and its horizons. He develops new talents, new powers, new effectiveness.”

I went through a struggle in my teenage years; my life became a lot better after I got through that period.

I have a friend, a gifted learner, who became a PhD who discovered a gene that causes deafness and blindness; he picked up French in one semester, he plays every stringed instrument; and is now taking classes on how to record his own music. His model is Leonardo de Vinci, the Universal Man who was good at everything, science, art, poetry, theater, architecture, military strategy.

In my own life, I took up oil painting. I took classes, I painted every day, I read books, I studied artists. I got involved with the local art scene. I have displayed art in a few shows. I can say my art is now owned by collectors in Topeka, Paris, Austin, and Lincoln, Neb. I am still learning and expanding my horizons in this field, trying to figure out new ways of doing things. I have a couple of other passions that I want to explore further, including Puerto Rican culture, language, food and music; swimming, hiking and exploring, sailing, book writing and maybe poetry.

If going through a struggle, remember there is an extraordinary opportunity for you on the other side of an illness or hardship. We should all work toward being weller than well.