Zeitgeist 2018

The zeitgeist of 2018 has to be strong rumblings followed by sighs and upheavals, sort of like an Earthquake and it's aftershocks.

I read a recent Facebook story where the man firmly asserts his righteousness and being a virtuous person to his fellow man. But he lost me. He started giving an opinion on politics.

I get his drift, you know what I mean jelly bean. I've worked apologist logic too. There comes a point you accept that what will be will be. It all boils down to where you stand as an individual.

My observation about people and politics is that it sometimes has more to do with a cultural inclination that is hard for anyone to change. Realities cause and affects are going to happen no matter what. I like the idea that Jews eat something sweet and something bitter during Passover. Life will have it's sweet and bitter moments.

The rescue of the children trapped in a cave in Thailand gives us all something to rejoice. You can imagine those poor kids. You know they had to be scared. Then you could fit the queasiness in the pit of your stomach that their loved ones were feeling. The Thai people know they rose to the occasion. I love that people from different countries pitched in their might and expertise to get those kids rescued.

I listened to a joking on the View about who should be in the movie. It truly was a cliffhanging drama much of the world was held in suspense. In reading the few details coming out, when they make the movie, I will go. I truly feel they had the prayers worldwide got everyone out of the cave. The pump broke that was reducing the water level as the last three rescuers were escaping the cave.

What impressed me most with the rescue were the airtight oxygen cocoons they created for the children. One of the biggest dangers they had was a child getting panicked. Did they sedate any of the kids? Sedation would hinder their ability to help themselves. I heard on CBS news that the kids were given anti-anxiety medication.

Skilled swimmers and scuba divers navigated that cave and those kids just had to have faith. I remember most kids could not swim when I was a child. We called ourselves going swimming to play in a pool or creek. But mostly, we just splashed and played in the water. That lack of experience in water had to be a detriment. I've read where the kids wore several wetsuits to deal with the icy coldness of the water.

As thin as those kids were, swimming would be difficult with so little fat on their bodies. I remember a guy in college who the swim coach had us to walk beside to lift his body up to the surface in the pool. He was so slim, he just sank to the bottom of the pool as he swam. You had to be able to swim across the pool to satisfy a PE requirement when I was in college. It was the only way the guy could pass the class.

Before the kids were located in the cave, I talked on the phone with my older brother and he brought the topic up. I was honest with him, I was avoiding the news. It was difficult to have hope for the kids. I felt sick for the coach. He was 25. But 25 is still an age where nothing really bad can happen to you.

It is such a shame that the Navy Seal Saman Gunan died within the cave. There is such a loss felt when anyone passes but there is a special angst for someone who dies in the prime of life and offers so much to society. If Valhalla is real, I'm sure Saman Gunan got a rousing reception.

The boys were marginalized people in Thai society. I'm glad they gave the Thai's something to rally around and hopefully it will help people change how they perceive them in Thai society. One of the greater gifts of our humanity is to give a gift that you know can never be repaid. Apparently the 14 year old who did the translating was quite a scholar. I hope this bodes well to help him advance in this world.

The rescue of those kids was remarkable. Besides being happy those boys were saved. I feel a relief that so many people from so many countries and walks in life joined in wanting those boys saved. The world is still a dangerous place but we still get to experience the Grace of God.

I spent some time mowing the same grass I mowed yesterday

We got that rainy thunderstorm weather in the afternoons. I remember summer camp. They would caution us to be careful as we walked under the electric lines in the open going to dinner in the evening. With blank minds, we said we would.

My latest dog, Little Red.

Being careful about what can't be controlled. We should have taken another route.

I went to a psychic about a week ago. I've heard of this woman over the years. I guess she was about ten years older than me. My sister had gone to see her years ago and wanted a reading. So I spent part of my reading telling her my sister had had a stroke and asked her to be careful what she told her. Even a psychic needs a heads up.

A teacher I had worked with who was probably glad my "hardass" left hosted the get together. I'm a quasi believer in psychics. I don't think anyone has the ability to tell you the future. But sometimes, I think there are some gifted. I watched a show about psychic detectives on the ID channel before they sanitized their shows so much.

When she was talking to me, I listened and chatted a bit with her. She told me I had to get my blood pressure and blood sugar under control before it affected my health. At my age and at my size, that was a given I would have problems with either one.

What surprised me is that she mentioned me being a care giver without any prompt. She said I needed to not be so generous with my money. I admit I spend my entire pension each month in support of my family. It has been weighing on me to get a bit more serious about saving. I'm 62 so there is a piece of me that wonders why.

I went ahead and applied for social security. I worked 19 years in a school system that did not take money out for social security. That reduced my benefit by 60 percent due to the Windfall Provision. I get $561 a month. I was a bit disappointed. But hey, I get something. I wanted to use the money to save and retire my mortgage a bit early. I hope to just save it for a rainy day or household repairs which will happen in time. I had worked second jobs for about 8 years during those 19 years. I thought that time would help but I guess not.

Now that I shared my personal business about money, I will tell you about my love life. Well I'll let you know if one happens.

My sister asked the psychic if she would get married again. I felt sad. The psychic said no but she would have romance. She is handicapped by the stroke. I hope she continues to recover and the psychic is wrong.

The early years of being a senior citizen is much like getting out on your own in your late teens and early twenties. It is a big shift is relating to the realities of this world. My older brother had a nurse sit him down and tell him he is getting older and he needed to slow down.

I'm back to blogging about who knows what. I wanted to sort of start writing book reviews. It's difficult to finish books when you have eight in different locations at various stages of being read. I wound up buying a hard copy of Shawn Coyne's book The Story Grid: What Good Editors Know.  It was too hard to follow on a Kindle. I've started from the beginning which is a chore. He wastes the first part of book basically selling his book.

I forgot to ask the psychic about how my writing career will fare. If you want to know the truth, that is my love life. I would like a boyfriend. But they are a lot of work. If I could find a man who loved to mop floors, clean out my closets, cook a yummy meal for my family, there would be some real romance in my life. I don't know how he would feel about me using my free time to catch a movie or go to water aerobics while he was watching Price is Right with my mother.

But I remember romance. It was fun.