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I’m a Seeker, too
In the original Planet of the Apes, our “hero” Taylor, a cynical and misanthropic astronaut, is asked by another character why he is involved in such an optimistic enterprise. Taylor responds with, “I’m a seeker, too.” He explains that though he may not have had much good to say about his society he was…
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MONDEGREENS
Mondegreens You are familiar with mondegreens although you may not know them by that name (I didn’t until a couple years ago). Essentially, they are misheard lyrics. The origin apparently comes from a column by a 1950s journalist. She recounted hearing a Scottish folksong in her youth with the line “they have slain the…
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ANALOG MAN
Analog Man I am an analog man. It’s not that I don’t have digital devices, I do. And a couple of them are quality products and actually are improvements over their predecessors. My word processor is infinitely better than my old typewriter. Although digital cameras are expensive, they don’t begin to match the cost…
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Pilgrimage
WALDEN POND Henry David Thoreau has been an influence on my life since I was in high school. It wasn’t just his great “sound bite” quotes, although they continue to act as reminders, but the entirety of his writings, the complete thoughts and philosophies. I’ve never been able, in this crazy world to simplify…
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Abandoned Luncheonette (apologies to Hall & Oates)
I am fascinated by abandoned places. I have tendency to wonder about things anyway and closed and abandoned sites just beg for explanation or supposition. Even incomplete places are intriguing. When I was in high school, they were putting up a brand-new school out of town not far from my house. Once it took…
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Future Shock
In 1970, “futurist” Alvin Toffler wrote a book entitled “Future Shock.” In it, he described the way that our society was changing at an ever-increasing rate. Toffler mused on how this accelerated alteration of our reality could cause psychological and perhaps even physical stress. He called this phenomenon “future shock.” The idea was somewhat…
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My Letter to JFK
In 1960 the U.S. elected John F. Kennedy as President. He was younger than what we were used to, had a glamorous wife and two small children. My family; my Republican father and Democratic mother (yes, hard to believe, but that kind of thing was possible back then) and two older brothers embraced this…