Aging

 As I continue to age, I also continue to wonder just what my life is all about. Indeed, I even wonder what Life itself is all about.  I am now at an age at which none of my family achieved or exceeded this age.  I sit outside and observe the trees and the sky and ask, WHY?  Occasionally, I am near one of my several great grandkids. And I look at them, and ask, so why are you here and what can this world expect of you?

But why should this world expect anything from them, or indeed, why would the world even be aware of them?  Yes, I know, we have humans who the world knows and asks questions of them. Our elected government for example. Yes, we have this dude called Donald Trump. He will soon die, but he might actually destroy much of what is left of this Earth. Or he might just go to bed one night and then fail to awaken the next morning. He is also at that age,

But why are we all here? And yes, I understand that, once you are here, it is better if you show kindness to other humans, and also that not all humans do. I mean, we have Adolph Hitler, and Bibi Netanyahu, and Donald Trump. But we also had FDR, and JFK and so many women who act as angels.  But does it matter that we have women who act as angels towards the little ones they produce? Well, yes it does matter. Why? Well, because living in a world without angelic women is much less pleasant than it might be.

I mean, everyone wakes up in the morning, and opens his eyes. That’s true for almost everyone who isn’t blind. But then, the day treats every individual differently, and that treatment mostly depends on the humans around them.

But however each human is treated determines how they view LIFE. Whether they spend part of that time looking at a butterfly scampering on a hibiscus flower, and then smiling, or they wonder whether they will get any food that day matters a lot.  I rather imagine that the little ones who may or may not get any food that day think of life and this world very differently from the little ones who are smiling at butterflies and awaiting a call from their angelic human parent calling them to breakfast.

In both cases, perhaps, when those littles ones age and are now 80, or 90 (or 100?) they may well look out the window and ask, “well what has this Life thing all been about”? Cuz the answer to that question is not obvious.  Is Life about looking at the sky and smiling at its color?  And what do folks think about when they ask, “Why am I here”? Does it matter whether they were raised by angels or by devils? Does it matter whether they ever seek to answer that question about Life – why are we all here?

LIFE . . . this is a very odd condition. I mean, some of us are termites, and when I step on a termite, what happens? Does that creature “stop thinking”? Was it thinking before I stepped on it. Or what about that squirrel wandering up my tree? Does he ask questions about his life, like “Why am I here?” And if he does, is there a squirrel up there somewhere overseeing his daily activities? No? You mean, squirrels, or termites don’t have overseers up there in the sky somewhere?  No?? How come?

Oh well, I guess, tonite, I will simple pour myself a nice glass of wine, and stop thinking, as I turn on the TV, which is my way of stopping thinking. Yeah. And then I will go back to my nice glass of wine and stop asking stupid questions (well maybe they’re not stupid, but, since there are never any answers, they are the equivalent).

So, Nite Nite folks.  Think on . . . or Not. You're Human. You don't actually have to think.

Life As An Old Man

What’s my first real memory? It was me at age 6, sitting alone on our front room floor, listening to the radio. And what was playing? Why it was FDR, telling us that the Japanese had just bombed Pearl Harbor. Yeah, Sunday, December 7, 1941, so I had not yet turned 7.  That would be in ten days. I wonder now, whether we went off to have dinner that Sunday with GM Schmidt and the Aunties as we did on most Sundays.  Likely not, but I do not actually remember anything beyond listening to that broadcast. Obviously, our world changed as of that moment.  For one thing, my uncle Bill went off to fight in the War. He joined the Seabees and was then stationed in the Pacific.  No one else in our family was in the War. Well, technically, I guess, my mom was, since she worked as a bookkeeper for Gibbs and Cox, a naval architecture firm located in Manhattan.

But I kept on with my usual daily activities, playing in the streets of Manhattan and attending school at PS 82, vaguely around the corner.  And then everything changed. So, instead of living in a depression, you know that 1930s thing, we now lived in Wartime.

But then it all got better  when that war thing ended, right?  Well, occasionally, I guess, but not really.  Hey, guess what, I’m 91 and we have rarely seemed at peace.  After WW II (and that followed WW I) we had Korea, Vietnam, Persian Gulf, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the list just goes on. Even, when we are not technically at war, we seem to be at war anyways.

Oh, and then President Stupidhead, singlehandedly decides to declare war on Iran, without technically declaring War. He can’t do that, but he did it anyway.  Just Cuz.

And we’re not alone in this war thing.  I mean, look at Russia. After they finished with Germany, I guess they decided that War was really not such a bad thing. Kept life exciting, I guess. And look at the Indians and the Pakistanis.  I mean, they became violent and threw out the Brits, but then they decided to start shooting at each other and that went on forever.

But really, everywhere you look, War seems to be the most common behavior.

So, did GOD implant wars and killing into the Human psyche?  Or maybe God’s design for/of humanity was simply so flawed that War was the inevitable outcome of humans being alive.  You know, if you want something and can’t negotiate peacefully, then buy guns and begin shooting people for whatever it is you want. Is that what we want our grandkids to know?  When in doubt kids, begin shooting.

So, now that I’m 91 you might think life was slowing down. You know, my beloved Carol passed on and so I should be looking/seeing peace right? Well, some dumb asses voted for one of the stupidest humans on the planet and that idiot seems to love War and shooting other people more than anyone else on Earth.  I mean, technically he declared War on Iran, without ever actually Declaring War, cuz he never asked anyone. He just did it. See, he is a total idiot-malenfant. BUT, American Humans actually voted for him, and still support him. So, War is and always will be just around the corner with the Trumpie. And I know, we find ourselves saying, “yeah, but his support is really falling”.  But what does that actually mean?  Well, it seems to mean that 60 or more million people still support him.  See, it ain’t 30 or 40 idiots around the corner. Nope, many millions of Americans still support and arguably would vote for him again if they could.  Now that is scary for what it says about this Land in which we all live. So, at the ripe old age of 91, my thoughts continue to return to a 6-year old, sitting on the floor, listening to a president tell him that we are now at War. Will it never stop? Hmmm, maybe we should elect a woman next time. AOC, are you ready Dear Heart? Kindly step in and show us what life could be like under the care (President) of a smart, ethical woman.  Now that thought just made me smile. Yeah, keep on thinking good thoughts Richard.