Requiem for a Ladybug

Posted by Frankly Francis on November 23, 2014 under Personal | Be the First to Comment

You lie still less than a foot away on top of the soft mouse pad that protects me from carpal tunnel syndrome.

I noticed this morning, through eyes not yet clarified by my first coffee of the day, your presence in my study. Odd, I thought, that you would even be present this close to Thanksgiving. It is certainly past your time of the year in these parts.

I had the presence of mind to reckon that your life must be short. Rather than remove you from my space, both physical and mental, I decided that if these were your final moments then my study could be your Hospice and I your companion.

Your flight and movement were a little chaotic, seemingly random. You nestled in the heat of the light in the globe of my desk lamp, you circled my cranium, you landed in various spots, and in and on various objects on my desk while I got about the business of the day.

Sometimes I could see you, other times I did not know where you were. Then you would rise again to a new location. I wondered if you had any purpose in this, if there was more going on than my conscious programming allowed me to realize.

Perhaps it was, in your reality, some last business to be done? Or perhaps a ritual of your species’ existence?

I hoped that if there is any pleasure in being a Ladybug that it was satisfying in some way, even so far from your natural habitat.

Then you landed on your final resting spot and moved no more.

For me, my study is a place of many good things. I hope in your last moments it was to you as well. Rest in Peace my little Ladybug. And thanks for reminding me of the preciousness and fragility of life.

Frankly,

Francis
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Econ 101: Guns or Butter

Posted by Frankly Francis on November 8, 2014 under Social Issues/Politics | 2 Comments to Read

I’ve been thinking.

An American 13 year old has never seen the United States not involved in some form of war, combat or violent act. Welcome to the USA children!

It would seem that we, the people, are more than willing to spend enormous sums of our money on military weapons. We are willing to use our military power all of the time all over the place.

We weren’t always like this. Nor do we have to be.

That’s what I’ve been thinking about.

I heard that we recently fired something like 40 cruise missiles at a secondary Al Qaeda organization. A cruise missile costs over a million smackeroos. That’s a lot of smackeroos!

The overthrow and execution of Saddam Hussein has cost at least $1.7 trillion dollars.

So far.

Benjamin Franklin observed that “Wars are not paid for during wartime, the bill comes later.”

That’s just money. How about the price paid in blood? What is that cost?

I am very much in favor of limited government, but if I must have Big Brother looking out for my best interests, then I say to Big Brother, and I mean it – I know that my best interest is living peaceably with everyone through social interaction and commerce.

The cool thing is that we have the resources and capability available in quantities large enough to effect some real change …

…So back to what I’ve been thinking: Instead of destruction and violence, how about bombing people with love? How about covert random acts of kindness? How about special ops teams committing senseless acts of beauty?

I have a feeling that the results would be much better for all concerned.

We are, after all, One Planet, One People.

Frankly,

Francis