Reflections at the 70 Year Old milepost

Yes, today I turn 70 years old.  No, not 70 years young…70 years old.  I am not ashamed of my age, I’ve earned every one of those years and I intend to claim them! 

I was treated to breakfast at La Madeleine’s this morning, one of my favorite places to go.  The food was fantastic as usual:  Quiche Florentine, Potato Galette, fresh sliced bread with preserves and coffee.

Mmmmm!

However…on the way there, riding along in the truck, I was looking out the window and wondered…

What would our ancestors have thought of our world today, could they see it through my eyes?  Poles of all sizes, shapes and kinds which have replaced millions of trees, sticking up all over out of the ground, concrete, metal and glass everywhere the eye can see with only patches of green and appointed trees here and there being passed off as landscaping.  Wires, transformers, coils, signs, advertising, etc., etc.

I believe they would hang their heads and cry.

Recently I replied to a post on Facebook when a middle aged lady said that she thought she was living in a much better world today than the one her grandparents lived in.  She preferred living in a diversified neighborhood after living in all kinds of situations, including affluent areas.  That is beside the point, actually.  The point I was making was that our grandparents had a much better world.  I said it was sad.  Yes, we do have some improvements today.  There has been progress, but at what cost?

Today, people are scared to death to let their children run around their own neighborhoods for fear they will be shot or they may never see them again.  I remember leaving the house after breakfast and sometimes not showing up again until dinner time.  It wasn’t because my mother didn’t care where I was; it was because she had all the names and phone numbers of all my friends…and besides, she basically knew where we would be, riding our bikes around the neighborhood park about a mile away.  I grew up in that kind of world.  A world where talking to strangers was the polite thing to do, not something fearful.  A world where when a police officer told someone to “Stop,” they stopped because they knew if they didn’t a warning shot would be whizzing over their head.

My children grew up playing in a smaller neighborhood, but still, they took off on their own.  I had the names and phone numbers (addresses as well) of all their friends.  They would check in now and then, no not on cell phones but actually ride their bikes home and say, “Hi, Mom.”  Maybe grab a bite for lunch or a snack and out the door again they went until dinner time.  They didn’t spend their whole day on a computer.

Ah…now there’s another piece of progress.

The computer.  Yes, I’m glad we have it because I’m an author and my work is much easier done on the computer, the research is easier, the editing is easier.  But—

When I see a child outside riding a skateboard or their bike, it’s always a surprise today.  Most spend their days in front of a screen, PC or cell or Ipad or notebook, staying in touch with…who?  Looking up stuff they probably don’t need to be seeing or even knowing about?  Talking to people they don’t know and sometimes shouldn’t know?

My reflection of today’s world is pretty bleak.  I think our grandparents had a much better world regardless of what the lady on Facebook said.  Yes, they were probably poorer, had less advances in medicine, had less “adult toys,” had only one means of transportation for the family, didn’t have a dishwasher, maybe not even a washer and dryer and certainly not A/C or TV, much less the computer.  But I believe they had something we have lost.  Peace of mind and a beautiful country, at least more of it than we have.  And their grandparents?  I wonder…

Yes, we have progress…but at what cost?

My Tribute to America the Beautiful

As we launch into this 239th birthday of the land of my birth, I’d like to offer a history lesson to those of you who do not remember why we celebrate.  I learned some additional history about this date, which I thought was very interesting.  Read the following.

The information comes from Wikipedia.

During the American Revolution, the legal separation of the Thirteen Colonies from Great Britain occurred on July 2, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia declaring the United States independent from Great Britain rule.^[5][6] After voting for independence, Congress turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining this decision, which had been prepared by a Committee of Five, with Thomas Jefferson as its principal author. Congress debated and revised the wording of the Declaration, finally approving it on July 4. A day earlier, John Adams had written to his wife Abigail:

The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.^[7]

Adams’s prediction was off by two days. From the outset, Americans celebrated independence on July 4, the date shown on the much-publicized Declaration of Independence, rather than on July 2, the date the resolution of independence was approved in a closed session of Congress.^[8]

Historians have long disputed whether Congress actually signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, even though Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin all later wrote that they had signed it on that day. Most historians have concluded that the Declaration was signed nearly a month after its adoption, on August 2, 1776, and not on July 4 as is commonly believed.^{[9][10][11][12][13]}

Coincidentally, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the only signers of the Declaration of Independence later to serve as Presidents of the United States, died on the same day: July 4, 1826, which was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration. Although not a signer of the Declaration of Independence, but another Founding Father who became a President, James Monroe, died on July 4, 1831, thus becoming the third President in a row who died on the holiday. Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President, was born on July 4, 1872, and, so far, is the only U.S. President to have been born on Independence Day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!

morning light…

morning light….

Independence Day 2015?

Yesterday, one of my friends on Facebook posted what was supposed to be a humorous post.  It was a message “to the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.”  It said, “In light of your failure in recent years to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately.”

I laughed and made the comment, “If only!”  For the rest of the day I pondered that idea.  I think, if she actually could have made those statements, she would have been right.  Not that she could revoke anything at this point, but would we have been so bad off if we had remained part of the UK?  From what I hear, they are not in any better condition than the U.S.  God help us all.

John Hancock, one of the most famous of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776, was said to have signed his name in such a large hand so that King George could see it without his spectacles.  Sometimes I wonder if that’s the only way anyone in government ever sees anything, if it’s large and put right in their face.  Sometimes I wonder if they even see it then.

People need to read about what led up to our country declaring independence from England.  I have.  I see a lot of what was happening back then regarding how England was treating the colonies actually happening now…from our own government.

The result of many grievances by the colonies back in the years leading up to Independence Day here in America, provided freedom to these lands from the bully they deemed England had become.  Now I wonder about the government we have today.  I see them as being a bully.  It would seem that the American people no longer have any voice in the decisions that are being made for us.

What happened to the vote?  An election is held, but do the citizens really decide who gets elected?  An issue, not even a bill mind you, is made into law, but has it been offered to the citizens of this country to deliberate on?  The “courts” decide to change what God clearly set forth as a marriage, a man and woman.  Did they take a vote with the American people on what the majority wanted, even if they totally disregarded Almighty God?  No!  They decided what we should think.

I am appalled at their arrogance, thinking that they can make such serious decisions without my approval.  WE the People, of the United States of America are those who pay your salaries.  You are sitting in our buildings, and that goes for you too, Mr. President (and I hate to even give him that title at this point).  YOU ARE MESSING WITH OUR LIVES.  I RESENT IT.  I am ashamed of what you have made of our country.  I WANT IT BACK!