I hear a number of people complaining that life is just not as good as it once was in the United States of America. The grumbling comes from liberals and conservatives alike. Some worry about the economic state of the average person and others are more concerned with the state of health of our laws. Still others ponder the moral fabric of society and see things that frighten them. I sometimes feel as though we all doth protest too much. I’ve been around for sixty six years and for the most part I think that we have never been better. We tend to stretch our concerns way out of proportion as though these are the worst of times. History tells a very different story. Continue reading
Month: June 2015
Fast Cars and Good Times
These days whenever someone mentions fast cars in movies virtually everyone instantly thinks of Fast and Furious. If you’re my age you may instead remember the car chase to end all car chases in Bullet with Steve McQueen. For true aficionados this was indeed the quintessential pioneer of that genre. Set in San Francisco the climactic scene lasts a full ten minutes while Steve McQueen drives a muscle car through the steep and winding streets. It was innovative for the times back in the nineteen sixties and it still holds its appeal even with the somewhat dated music and the iconic dress of that era. I remember seeing it in one of the downtown theaters when Mike and I were still dating. If memory serves me we saw it with one of his buddies from St. Thomas High School. On the big screen it was almost as good as IMAX. Continue reading “Fast Cars and Good Times”
Setting Them Free
I’ve always most appreciated the people who allow me to be me without judgement. We humans seem to do a lot of nit picking with people whose ideas and values are unlike our own. I’m not certain why we are like that because I suspect that every one of us wants to be able to determine the best way to live our lives. It’s irritating to have someone always questioning our motives or even second guessing why we do things a certain way. The fact is that we never really know all of what is happening with the people that we know. To attempt to interpret the reasons for their actions is generally impossible and mostly none of our business and yet we all too often wag our tongues. Continue reading “Setting Them Free”
When the Emporer Has No Clothes
We humans have done some strange things throughout history, often in the name of good. Slavery is an obvious blunder and for the life of me I will never be able to fully comprehend how anyone at anytime was able to believe that owning another human being was not wrong. Indentured servitude was bad enough but at least my ancestors who found passage to America by binding themselves to a contract for their labor knew that they would one day be free once they had worked off their debt. Slavery is just so heinous and so much of history is replete with stories of conquered groups of humans being used to build cities and fortunes. It took Moses to free the Israelites from Egypt and Abraham Lincoln to do the same for African Americans in the United States. Continue reading “When the Emporer Has No Clothes”
Keeping Promises
Have you ever agreed to do something and later wondered what you were thinking? I’ve got that dilemma starting tomorrow. At the end of the school year I said goodbye to my tutees and began to dream of long days with no obligations. Surprisingly an email appeared in my inbox asking me to be part of the summer school program. I quickly pointed out that I had already made plans for a camping trip during the second week of the session believing that I would be off of the hook but soon a reply came. The sender announced that it would be just fine if I had to be gone for a time. Before I even took the time to reflect on the pros and cons I had agreed to take part in the session. Now that I am one day away I find myself wondering why I assented to doing such a thing. Continue reading “Keeping Promises”
All It Takes Is A Little Love 