Not That Much Playtime Left

This realization occurred while watching the solar eclipse (only partial in Northern California). Everyone in North America seemed to be focused on this event. No arguments, no conspiracy theories about it being the Real Thing...the Sun tucked behind the Moon and we were in awe...the networks were all focuused on this indisputable event. As the curtain closed and then, thankfully reopened, people began planning for the next eclipse...August, 22, 2044...best seen in the Northern Tier states. Hey, we have to call our son and arrange a rendezvous. His birthday is August 22...How about Montana? Possibly Chester, Montana. And then, it hit me....twenty years from now I'll be 94 years old! Will I still be able to drive to Chester, Montana? I'm getting older. We need to rendezvous more often. We need to pack in dozens of adventures and do it soon. We pedaled our fully loaded bicycles through Chester, Montana in 1978... the halfway point between Anacortes, Washington and Kalamazoo, Michigan. The people of Chester were incredibly gracious. They gave us the key to the fire dept. showers and the mayor (so he said) bought the groceries that we gathered on the grocery store counter before settling down next to our tent in the city park. "We'll make sure the Friday night teenagers don't bother you when you decide where you want to pitch your tent."

Honesty, Is That So Hard?

I learned all that I need to know in Kindergarten...it's the title of a book I read decades ago. It seemed incredibly simplistic but, I dove into it anyhow. Sharing, being honest and playing by the rules, being kind to one another and cleaning up after yourself...(we call this 'cover your trail'). Robert Fulghum wrote down these simple precepts in the early eighties. These are the first words out of your teacher's mouth when you begin your journey through the education process. If you have been paying attention during these last forty years you'll agree, all is lost. Politicians, lawyers and business executives have led the way down into this behavioral pergatory. We have become a delusional collection of selfish adults. America leads the way here, as I see it...advanced degradation of societal norms. I wish it were a different story...that we took to heart what our kindergarten teacher first laid down as 'rules to live by'. Of course parents were responsible for the first lessons in honesty and caring. I am not really sure where we went wrong. When I was developing in those early years, Presidents Truman and Eisenhauer were universally trusted and looked up to by everyone I knew. I didn't know that many people outside my immediate family but, I'd never heard of disingenuous, deceptive strategies for 'getting ahead'. I was quite naive, as you can see, but I think our entire civilization has gone over the edge. Public name-calling and flat-out lying is everywhere, on every channel of communication...the Internet is the ultimate 'deal with the devil'. I don't think there's any possibilty of climbing out of this hole. All we are left with is being able to trust a few close friends and maintenence of our own personal integrity.