Pent Up Demand

I have a number of blog subjects rattling around in my head but no time to spend writing. Hopefully, sometime in the next week I can find a few minutes, my psyche needs the release.

Amazing Grace

This song was written in 1779. I learned that by watching the movie of the same name about a true story that took place in 1797. It's a song that stops people in their tracks to listen and to understand. I don't know how many times this has been played or sung in the last 200+ years, irregardless, it is timeless, beautiful, moving and reverent.

In fact it's difficult to imagine many other songs, other than those that make you feel patriotic, have a similar impact. In this case, it's the title of a movie about the abolition of slavery as led by William Wilberforce in the late 18th century. He introduced himself to the "mob" by singing this song to them, the first anyone had heard it. And, he got their attention.

I had also forgotten the king was crazy at this point. There is so much more history than I can remember. I can't remember 10 years ago let alone 200. The time it took to abolish slavery was maddening, aggravating and frightening. In the meantime, hundreds of thousands of black men, women and children we killed and worse. This movie certainly brought the courage required to oppose the trade into stark reality. Much of the economics and wealth of the world was truly dependent on it. Such a sad and depressing state of human affairs, or perhaps I should say inhuman affairs.

Worthy of Celebration

This is the way it works, I don't post for weeks, then I write 3-4 in a row. I guess they call it a brain dump. At least I've divided my thoughts across a few days.

This year there are a number of significant celebrations going on; my Portland Festival Symphony is celebrating their 30th year, Ringo Starr is celebrating turning 70, The United Nations is celebrating its 60th year, but the anniversary I think is most worthy of celebrating is the 50th anniversary of the writing of "To Kill A Mockingbird".

One of the best all time books (stories), Pulitzer Prize-Winning, and and an equally good movie. Could you imagine having the hutzpah to write such a thought-provoking and accurate portrait of the prejudice and racial injustice so prevalent in her part of the country. It was written by a woman lawyer, Harper Lee, from the small town of Monroeville, in Alabama literally based on her own experiences growing up which made it very accurate.

It has sold over 30 million copies and has been published in over 40 languages. It has been rated as second only to the Bible as a book that "is most often cited as making a difference" by the Library of Congress. It's quite interesting to read the many conflicting views on the value and appropriateness of the book. My favorites are those who decry it for it's shabby treatment of white Southerners...yea, right.

Anyway, I'm thinking I might find time some time before the year is over to celebrate the book's anniversary by rereading it, even though man's inhumanity to man is always difficult for me to take.

The Knees Have It

We were watching a dog walk this last weekend and realized that two of it's knees bend backwards. That observation, of course, spurred the larger question, what other animals or birds have backwards knees.


Birds (all including seagulls, ostrich, flamingos, etc.)
Dogs (all including coyotes, foxes, wolves, etc.)

Cats (all including cheetahs, mountain lions, etc.)

Horses (all including zebras, etc.)

Lizards

Crocodiles

Deer (all including antelope, etc.)

Frogs

Hippopotamus

Giraffes

Sheep

Cows

Goats

Lots of bugs

And, if you count our arms, humans!


Yet another indicator of the evolution of the human race ... ooh, a four letter word (x2).

Advice

I don't know what it is about the beach but it always puts us in a thoughtful, even philosophical mood. You know, what if this and what if that. So along those lines I was asked what advice I would give to our grandkids based on what I've learned in my life. Here are a few things that came to mind:

- Always believe in yourself; if you always try to do your best and stay true to your values, this should be easy

- Don't let others sway you into doing something that's out of your comfort zone; trust your gut, if it doesn't feel right, don't do it

-Never pass up a golden opportunity when it's true gold vs. fool's gold

- You can't be successful in any relationship until you are happy with yourself

- Tolerance is the best gift you can give to someone; accept what is different, don't fear it just because it is

- Different perspectives aren't always wrong, they're just different

- Care for your body; get exercise, eat responsibly and find peace - it is the only one you will have to serve you for many years

We were marveling at the fact that we are both on either side of 60 and after all these years, we still see so many young people (I'm talking teenagers) getting pregnant, we see so many people killing themselves or others driving drunk, we see so many people who eat or drink themselves into oblivion with no thought as to what it costs them or those around them, etc.



What will it take for the human race to wise up? Are we destined to make the same mistakes into perpetuity? It's feeling that way to me. All we can do is try our best to influence those closest to us to break these backwards and unhealthy molds. I'm hopeful we will be successful.

Up In Smoke

We were right there with the rest of the country on Sunday night watching the gorgeous and amazing fireworks displays in Washington, D.C., New York City & Boston. And of course there were the fireworks all around us in the neighborhood throughout the evening. And yes, I'll admit I love to watch fireworks as much as the next person. I don't think I would be exaggerating if I said we probably saw over $ 5- $6 MM in fireworks on the 4th, maybe that's even far too low compared to the real cost.

Not to sound like a Socialist or anything but how many homes could have been built in Haiti or even New Orleans for that amount of money? How far could that have gone in upgrading the dikes in New Orleans, how many homeless people could have been given 6 mos. to a year of shelter for that money, not to mention feeding them. How many kids who are terminally ill could have gone on a last family vacation with that money? How many transplant surgeries could have been covered with that cash? How many single parents with dead beat ex-spouses could have been given some of that money in lieu of the child support they are not receiving to enable them to buy decent child care so they could work? How many jobs could it have created?

The answer to all these questions is undoubtedly not much, but anything would have been more beneficial than the way the millions of dollars was spent. Could we all have lived without the fireworks one year knowing the money was being used instead in more worthy ways? Did anyone even ask?

It's as if the more extravagant the display, the more they are hoping we will forget about the economy, the scenes of so many natural disasters, the wreck of the Gulf, schools scaling back to the point of ridiculous, the cost of everything going up while the cost of our homes goes down. I guess my point is, it didn't fool me. I wonder how many others think that since the fireworks were better than ever, everything is hunky-dory?