At a crossroads in history, the Internet changes everything

Have you ever wondered why it’s so easy to look back in time and see the major turning points in history? I suppose the reason lies with the complexities of day-to-day life that so many crucial things go by us without notice. Does it have to be that way? No. Let me throw a few points out for pondering to get the ball rolling:

The Industrial Age pressured our society into becoming individualistic. This was necessary to keep members of the available workforce separated as much as possible so that workers couldn’t organize and the fear of losing a job to an immigrant could be reinforced. Yes, the system thrives on a racist, discriminating society.

Church on Sunday was about the only chance that laborers could get together socially, with the church responsible for moral and ethical leadership that, often, echoed the wants of the local industry more so than Biblical teachings.

Individualism was reinforced more and more as the consumer market had to be “stimulated” in order for capitalism to continue to grow. At first, it was a matter of breaking up the cohabitation of extended families. As each family unit – father, mother, children – set up house, the more need there was for houses, appliances, furniture, etc. The demands of the job and now the distance between extended family members made it difficult to maintain social ties and family influence disintegrated.

Up is up, no matter what

Just a bit of rain fell, just enough to leave behind a few puddles in the parking lot. Walking around with my head down, deep in thought, consumed by worry and not far from falling into a deep depression, I saw the puddle under my feet. There, reflected in its wondrous glory was “up” – the fluffy clouds in a deep blue sky with infinity the ultimate presence. There, right there at my feet, was “up” just as persistent in getting my attention as my “down” state of mind was working to blind me to it. Up is down, and down is up.

Sometimes, there’s just no point in giving in. Sometimes, everything yells that giving in just isn’t a choice. No, there’s no way to give in..

…or give up.

The art of diplomacy in the face of indignant disregard

Diplomacy.

It took me years to understand the concept, and even longer to build it into my …presentation. Truth is truth, right?

Sometimes, practicing the diplomatic delivery of truth ends with a very bloody tongue. I had thought my tongue would heal from Monday’s practice session, but it ended with yet another round today:

“I am well educated and worked at the corporate level. I demand what I have coming to me.”

Oh, bite my tongue, and bite it hard. What I wanted to say in reply was “So, you’re better than everyone else?”

What I did say was, “This is based on law. The applicable laws were stated in your determination. The law is the law. Where there is any room for interpretation to apply those laws to your situation is outlined in the Reasoning and Conclusion section.”

Embarrassed to be a member of the human race

On the rare occasions that my father had the time, he would sit and watch our first color TV and laugh with the same fervor that we imagined Santa Claus laughed. He would watch Roadrunner with glee, and the Honeymooners and Archie Bunker. I couldn’t understand the comedy of cartoons, couldn’t relate drawings to what my eyes saw around me. I couldn’t understand the jokes on the Honeymooners or Archie Bunker; couldn’t understand why the people on TV behaved like they were reading out loud from a book and pretending so badly to be whatever it was they were pretending about.

From the get-go, my mind translated what I saw on TV to be nothing like reality. I didn’t have to be taught that what was on TV wasn’t real. It was way too obvious. What was shown on the news became the same; it was pretend, fake, put-on, farcical and made up. I could understand Captain Kangaroo, but not the shooting of President Kennedy that they interrupted Captain Kangaroo to show. I didn’t understand why Mr.Green Jeans didn’t step onto the screen to explain what I just saw. Instead, there was Walter Cronkite in tears, saying the president had been shot. Not long after, it was Martin Luther King that was shot, and then Malcolm X. Still, it wasn’t reality.

No. It was on TV, so it wasn’t real. No one ever said otherwise.

Smarts in a bottle?

I guess if you dress anything up with a young, nubile, pretty girl - a naked pretty girl - it will sell like hotcakes, right? I can almost forgive the underlying nuances of such an advertising tactic considering how hot and thirsty I was when I bought a quart bottle of this smartwater stuff. And while I reached for the bottle in the store’s cooler, men weren’t knocking me down to get at that beautiful model hidden in each bottle, nor were there women gnashing past me to get the stuff that makes that beautiful model beautiful. I was safe. I was thirsty. I managed to satisfy that thirst and live through it.

Then, I fell into a guilt trip. That purchase was not exactly a “green” thing to do. To be honest, it was the bottle that got me. Very tall, slim and crystal clear. And who couldn’t use some bottled smarts? I popped the cap, tipped it up and drained that bottle in two gulps.

That bottle ain’t just an average single-serving bottle of beverage. It’s made with a heavier, sturdier plastic that your usual, run-of-the-mill soda bottle. It doesn’t collapse in your hand when you suck hard on it. As cool looking as it is, I figure there has to be a few more rounds of usefulness to it. No sense in wasting a perfectly cool bottle, is there?

Oh, the advertising tactics are amazing. It says it’s “vapor distilled,” like what happens to water falling from clouds. It’s in its purest form, the bottle says. Um, haven’t you noticed the pollution in said clouds and atmosphere? What exactly is vapor distillation? Is there really even such a thing? I want to see it.

And, it’s not “pure” water. Why bother doing this special, unheard of purification process if you’re just going to turn around and add electrolytes? Aren’t those the things added to Pedialyte for dehydrated babies or the things you give a horse after a long trailer ride? No. These electrolytes are added to smartwater “for taste.” Taste? Isn’t water supposed to be tasteless?

I’m confused, and frankly, I don’t care. I gulped down that bottle of vapor distilled, electrolytes added for taste water so fast that all that just never crossed my mind. And, to assuage my guilt trip for buying water in a bottle, I filled that bottle back up and popped it in the freezer when I got home. Hey, that heavier, sturdier plastic bottle came in handy after all.

Bottled water. Jeesh. Water that sits around gets old and rank, and that’s when water has a taste. Yuck. But hey, the bottle is cool.

Sad and glad for all the challenges and changes

July has been baking. All the ingredients for major change have come together, all at once, to form obstacles far greater than just bumps in road. While it's a bit crazy, a dark cloud hasn't hung over all the challenges. In a matter of time, what all comes out the other end will be complete with some form of icing on the proverbial cake.

You all know I love my place. I love that Odin is right here, up close and a major part of my little pack of animals that is my home. If I had my way, I’d build a house that included a stall for him so that he could come inside at night with the dogs and I. Ah, maybe one day… But now, I am moving. The reality of it all is that I can’t afford to go through another winter here. Heating this house ate all my income and threw everything else into the wind. I have to move.