I have three daughters, and though they have given names, I prefer to refer to them by their numerical birth order. Thus, my daughters are One, Two & Three.
(From left to right) Three, Two & One
My Dad turned me on to Charlie Chan movies (the black & white days), and Charlie always referred to his eldest son as “Number One Son,” so that is probably where my numeric system comes from…or perhaps it is that no matter how hard I try, I just can’t escape my background in accounting.
I think this is also a very practical way to talk about my kids with anyone else. Why burden other people with the responsibility of remembering your children’s names? My numeric name system to those outside my family is clear and easy. And from my experience, seems to work well.
So as you can figure, in discussion, if I inadvertently say my child’s name, my listeners usually tend to ask: which kid is that? One, Two or Three?
When One became pregnant, I had to consider my numeric nomenclature.
The answer was not difficult to arrive at. Since One is my first child, therefore her first child, in relation to me, is 1.1. Ah, the joys of fundamental mathematics.
1.1
My first grand child, 1.1, is two years old now, but she is still too young to be informed of her designation yet. I can’t wait.
Now the plot thickens, but the methodology holds up. Daughters Two and One are presently simultaneously pregnant, in that relative order. A first child for daughter Two and a second child for daughter One.
According to my system then, One is having 1.2 and Two is having 2.1.
1.2 and 2.1 makes for reciprocal grand children – what a delightful coincidence!
And maybe, I just have too much time on my hands…but most certainly, I have very understanding daughters.
Doom and gloom can be an easy trap to fall into. After all, does not misery love company? Well, obsess negatively if you must, but I do not. I think that this is a most wonderful time to be alive.
The Last 100 Years
Let’s take a look at just a few of the advances over the last century. To start with, we had this thing called the Industrial Revolution, the catapult for all to come. Municipal electricity and the telephone were great advances. Then we have readily available automobiles (the horseless carriage, in the vernacular of the time) soon followed by the airplane, television and walking on the moon. Of course my personal favorite advancement during this time period was in-door plumbing.
The Last 25 Years My youngest daughter, at age 18, has no conception that we ever lived without the Internet, much less computers or 3,147 television channels. Cell phones are ubiquitous. GPS is readily accessible. Digital everything. But, remember that even within this very time frame, pocket calculators and LED watches first became economical to everyone.
The Present
The Technological/Information Revolution may make the Industrial Revolution look like a hiccup. The rate of technology turnover is at an unprecedented level and appears to be only getting faster. People are living longer, coupled with a much higher quality of life.
Ray Kurzweil, technology visionary, is planning on living forever and not in the “so far, so good” sense. He believes that if he lives responsibly, in the near future, medical science will be able to fix him before he breaks permanently. Kurzweil is a brilliant human and his opinion is not to be taken lightly.
The Future It is not only reasonable, but also highly likely, based on the march of technology, that within 20 years we will be able to derive ALL of our energy needs from solar power. That does not factor current advancements in electric, wind, geo-thermal, hydrogen and nuclear technologies. Also, nanotechnology and robotics have some really interesting aspects.
So if you are worried about global warming and even if that concern is valid, the greater likelihood is that we will stop greenhouse gas emissions much sooner than the end-of-the-world guys would have you think.
My Concerns
Any technology that can be used for good can also be used for evil. I expect that there will be bad uses of technology, but I think that the good will outweigh the bad overall.
I know that there are those out there rooting for the Christian Apocalypse or the Mayan 2012 calendar end of the world, but I think that in the foreseeable future they will be disappointed. By the fact that we have not managed to nuke ourselves into extinction yet says some good about us.
You know what my biggest worry of all is? It is the possibility that Americans are so fat, dumb and happy that they just don’t care about what happens. Apathy could be our biggest enemy of all. This is a threat and we need to be cognizant of it.
Conclusion I know that the only constant is change. Because of that, I know that life should continue to get better for all, but realistically, it will be a roller coaster ride. Hey folks, change is never easy, even if it is for our benefit.
So be of good cheer, the odds are overwhelming that the best times are coming.
Well, my first concert occurred on April 1, 1972 with Dr. John opening for Emerson, Lake & Palmer at the venerable Buffalo War Memorial Auditorium.
While I was broadly schooled in most varieties of music, Dr. John’s New Orleans style, coupled with his Mardi Gras costume and pixie dust was overwhelming to me at 15 years of age. It changed my perceptions.
Dr. John
Ever since, I’ve been drawn to the music of the Big Easy: Jazz, Blues, Dixieland, Gospel, Cajun, and Zydeco. That Voodoo sure has some draw.
If you haven’t let it into your heart and your head, I would urge you to try what you’ve been missing. I’m not preaching and I don’t want to convert you (I got past that), but it is some wonderful stuff.
A couple of summer’s ago, I saw Dr. John perform at an outdoor venue. Many, many years had passed since I lost my aforementioned concert virginity…
Number Two Daughter (I prefer to refer to my daughters by their birth order) went with me to the show. Out of nowhere, I thought, it would be pretty special to meet Dr. John.
Two accompanied me in search of his tour bus. Did I mention that it is fortunate that my daughters look like their mother? Once found, I asked the bus door guard if we could meet Dr. John…
After a spell, the bus door guard returned and said that the Good Doctor would see us, but the Good Doctor would need a hug. I considered this momentarily and said, “Sure, I’ll give him a hug.” Door Guard looked at me with disdain and motioned to Two. Realizing, I looked at her and asked, “Are you willing to take one for the team?” Two assented (God Bless Her) and in to meet Dr. John we went…
I cannot begin to tell you how much I enjoyed meeting him or how open and friendly he was. I cannot begin to tell you how much natural grace and dignity he had. I cannot begin to tell you how comfortable we were made to feel. I can’t begin to tell you how many times he hugged Two. I was in the Court of the King of New Orleans. It was really special. And I got a hug too!
I abhor discrimination in any form. It is insidious – the social and economic costs are enormous. The lives that are diminished because of it reflect the real loss that our society endures. It is just plain common sense that we all lose out when we deny opportunity to those willing to take it.
Gay people cannot serve in America’s military. I’ve never understood the argument that someone’s sexual orientation affects their ability to do a job. I do understand that homophobic attitudes certainly impair the ability of gays to function in any capacity.
Under President Clinton, in order to compromise the rules regarding gays, the policy for all sides of the issue became, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” This is patently unfair. A person’s sexual orientation should not be a matter that needs to be revealed or hidden.
Yet, somehow this is still an issue. We need to get past it.
As a veteran of the US Air Force, I can say this… I was always proud to serve beside anyone else (gay or straight, black or white, believer or non-believer, etc.) who took the oath of serving in the military as seriously as I did. Can’t think of anyone I served with who didn’t feel the same general way.
And for those of you still clinging to the foolish concept that being gay is a choice, then I pose the following: If you believe being gay is choice, then you, yourself, should have the ability to choose to feel the same way emotionally and sexually to members of your own gender as you do about the other gender. If you cannot honestly do this, then you are on the road of awareness headed towards reality. On the other hand, if you can honestly do this, you probably have a suspicion that you may have been programmed bi-sexual.
However, the foregoing test is irrelevant when it comes to anyone’s rights as an American. It is important for all of us that gay people have the same rights as straight people because, ponder this, when anyone’s rights are infringed, everyone’s rights are infringed.
To the Gay Community, my apologies as you continue to face this discrimination, along with the other needless indignities you still endure. May it end soon.
I love words, phrases and quotes. Thought I’d pass some along that I have collected while revolving around the sun. I’ve done my best to get the quotes correct and to attribute them properly. Any quotes from myself are, to the best of my knowledge, mine, but I could have picked them up somewhere too. Do let me know if you have any corrections that should be made, but more importantly, please throw your favorite phrases and quotes back at me.
I’ve also added a much larger collection as a separate page labeled “Quotes.”
Here we go:
Without music, life would be a mistake – Friedrich Nietzsche
Whatever you are, be a good one – Abraham Lincoln
Do no harm
Commit random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail – Ralph Waldo Emerson
I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be – Douglas Adams
Make love, not war
Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity
The present moment is everything; there is no rewind button when it comes to life – Francis Law
And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years’ -Abraham Lincoln
Mark Twain
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect – Mark Twain
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind – Theodore Seuss Geisel
The real measure of our wealth is how much we’d be worth if we lost all our money – John Henry Jowett
Leave the world better than you found it, but if you can’t do that, then at least clean up after yourself
Treat others the way you want them to treat you
Too much of anything is bad. Too much whiskey is just enough – Mark Twain
Oscar Wilde
In life, I can resist all things except temptation – Oscar Wilde
The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain – Dolly Parton
If you’re going through hell, keep going – Winston Churchill
Kurt Vonnegut
Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be – Kurt Vonnegut (from Mother Night)
Know, first, who you are; and then adorn yourself accordingly – Epictetus
I don’t hate my enemies. After all, I made ’em – Red Skelton
Do not initiate violence, but be prepared to respond
Choose your battles wisely and never cut-off your enemy’s escape route
What’s so funny about peace, love and understanding? – Elvis Costello
It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory – W. Edwards Deming
It’s not the cards you’re dealt; it’s how you play them – Francis Law
The end is nothing; the road is all – Willa Silbert Cather
Believe me! The secret of reaping the greatest fruitfulness and the greatest enjoyment from life is to live it dangerously – Friedrich Nietzsche
Benjamin Franklin
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety – Benjamin Franklin
Liberty is the only thing you cannot have unless you are willing to give it to others – William Allen White
Love of one’s country is a splendid thing, but why should love stop at the border? – Pablo Casals
To him in whom love dwells, the whole world is but one family – Buddha
Let your actions speak so loudly that no one can hear your words – Marv Levy
If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to it – Jonathan Winters
Only those who dare to fail greatly can achieve greatly – Robert F. Kennedy
When it is time to die, let us not discover that we have never lived – Henry David Thoreau
May you live every day of your life – Jonathan Swift
There are those who would say that the liberation of humanity, the freedom of man and mind, is nothing but a dream. They are right. It is the American dream – Archibald McLeish
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Quote:
I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be - Douglas Adams
Quote:
The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time – Jack London
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