Well, it amazes me to say, my son is 13 now. I don't know whether I didn't expect HIM to make it this long, or ME to make it this long, but it somehow happened amidst living, life snuck up on me! This Blog is going to do some of the customary ramblings.. Be prepared, and don't say I didn't warn you.
To look back over the last 13 years and see how things have changed is interesting. The things that have came and gone, the dreams that have passed in the night. The hopes that still linger, even though the flicker seems more dim in the distance, but even the stars look dim from the city lights.
As I sat there yesterday, literally watching 8 hours of the Inauguration of our 44th President, I thought about the past, present and future. I do this type of thinking often, but it was amazing. When I was young, hell, even two years ago, I would have never have expected the Country to elect an African American (Black guy) to the office of Presidency. Is this racist of me? No.. I looked deep enough to see that I don't disagree with it on that point alone. No, I didn't vote for him, but he is MY President. My Commander in Chief.. I may not agree with him on everything, but that isn't something I have to do.
Having differences is what makes this country what it is. Until he enacts a law that I feel directly impacts me negatively, I shall support him, just as any other President before him. The President, by all rights, IS just a puppet for Congress, and Congress, IS just a puppet for Corporate America. Maybe we needed somebody who can reach out to Middle America, in the way he seems like he can. I supported Bush, for I felt I understood his simple mind in the midst of the complicated decisions he had to make. His hands were dealt for him by a crooked dealer, and I feel that although some cards could have been played better, he never folded in the face of adversity, or in the face of terror. No better Honor can be given to a man than that. I can only hope that when this, the 44th President is tested, that it doesn't become September 12th.
This is the world in which my children are being raised. Is it not amazing to sit back and watch history every day? We are in the middle (hopefully ending part) of financial devastation for our country, but what brought us here? Corporate Greed and Easy Money. Do I feel that the Government should have done more? Yes. Did I pay my $4.96 a gallon for gas, yup, did I like it? Nope. Should the Government have done something about it? Yes. Would they? No.. Their hands were in the pockets that were growing. Would you stop getting rich if someone else wanted you to? I wouldn't.. That is greed, I know, but the bettering of MY family is what is important to me. Not neccesarily the bettering of YOUR family.
Every day History is being made. I have now been vacationing for 11 months. I still sit and watch the news, I still sit and watch the stock markets, and I still sit and watch the purity in which my children live with all the turmoil in the world. I was remembering the other day, my 13th birthday. I was given a cake, with 13 dollar coins on it. I took that money and went downtown to the pizza place and played at the arcade. I was 13, and I walked the 2 miles to get there alone, with no worries about it, as I had done it several times before. Town was small back then. 3,000 people who kept an eye on you, and damn right they knew how to get ahold of your parents if you did something wrong! Phone numbers were 5 digits long in our area, and a quarter actually made a phone call. I actually got grounded for sitting on a "train" that hauled lumber to the mill. Can hunting (yes, the art of hunting cans at .05 cents a can) was something that I'd do once a week with my friends to get money enough to go and play at the arcade.
Life isn't that simple anymore.. That town is now falling apart at the seams, the arcade is now an Antiques store, and nobody seems to talk to anyone anymore. I used to get $2 a lawn that I would push mow in the neighborhood. My son? He mows the neighbors front yard with my riding mower and gets $20. I'm beginning to feel that birthdays aren't for the kids to keep track of how old they are getting, but as a reminder to the parents of how life used to be, for better or worse.
