Not posting for a reason

I've found that my blogging has been overtaken by life.

I can barely do a post a month on one blog, and I'm pretty convinced that if I stopped even that, it would pass unnoticed. God bless Barbara for keeping me from feeling totally invisible!

I won't delete this one til I find an easy way to print what I want to keep (my mom and dad posts).

Buh-bye

Public Service Message

1. If you cough or sneeze, do it into a tissue...then throw it away where I won't have to see it.

2. Absent a tissue, do it into the crook of your arm. I know it looks a bit silly now -- but once we all figure it out, it will be quite the norm. Trust me. plus that way, when you keep typing on the PUBLIC keyboard in the hotel lobby your germy germs don't contaminate the keys for the next 6 to 8 HOURS!

3. Don't be offended if I don't shake your hand. I'm not just concerned about my own health. I spend many hours in large groups and on long flights and I have no idea what I may have already picked up or when.

4. Take care of yourself. If you do that and I do that, and we all do that, this will all be over soon.

Sadly, the people who need most to read this will never see it and the 2 or 3 folks who actually follow my blog are already smart and considerate folks.

Communication...or the lack thereof?

Are we becoming the most connected people in history or the least?

We - through our technology - can communicate with just about anyone, anytime, anywhere. But I fear that we are losing the humanity of it all.

If we are hanging out together, I'm going to be either talking with you or listening to you, or just silently enjoying your company.

I am NOT going to be tweeting, Facebooking, MySpacing or - God forbid! - talking to somebody else on my cellphone.

Why?

Because I was raised better than that. By parents who never even imagined the possibilities.

They taught me that the most important person in the moment is the person you are with.

And technology shouldn't change that.

Old age ain't for sissies!

Okay, folks. It's the 40th (?!!?) anniversary of Woodstock. And I'm here watching a Neil Diamond concert. That's just WRONG.

I like Neil -- but Woodstock was the real music of my generation. And something of a harbinger of sorts -- horribly planned (who knew??) and marginally executed, it still stands as a monument to peace, love and awesome music.

I have heard the GenX and subsequent generations mock the "drug crazed hippies". But that's the job of subsequent generations isn't it? To mock their elders. But there was so much more to the Woodstock Generations than acid and free love.

We questioned the powers that be. We challenged the status quo. We held ideals sacred.

Then we grew up.

Ragamuffin, drunken people and psychotics

Oops...can't imagine what kinds of whacko interlopers those keywords will trigger! Maybe at least get more than a half dozen responses for a change...LOL



I hope that this isn't too small to make out -- but if it is too small, just double click on the photo and a larger version will open up for you. It is the sign in front of the ticket booth for the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai, China.

I just love it for the wonderful turn of phrase (baleful biology...exquisite) and the total explicitness of intent.

And needless to say, I left my sword in the taxi.

Things my father taught me...

Just as Mom taught me far more than the 5 things I listed on Mother's Day, Dad taught me an awful lot, but for expediency here's my top 5:

1. Never be afraid to try anything just for fun. Dad dabbled -- guitar and banjo lessons in his 50s, even took a course in charcoal sketching. With varying degrees of proficiency, to be sure. But always willing to try.

2. Knowledge is a blessing. You are as smart as you allow yourself to be. Dad knew what our potential was, and was only disappointed when we failed to recognize and capitalize on it ourselves. Some might say he pushed too hard. I appreciate the confidence he had in us.

3. You never know it all...there is always opportunity for learning. Dad never really stopped teaching and never stopped learning...often taking courses WAY outside his chosen field.

4. The mind can only absorb what the seat can endure. My students appreciate this to this day. Dad was an amazing educator. I took two classes from him (Calculus I and Statistics) and he was relentless. I don't think I ever had a teacher before or after who made the material live like he did. I'd be thrilled if I can be 1/2 the teacher that he was.

5. Love takes many forms. Love can be putting the bandaid on the booboo when you fall, but can also be checking in on you 10 times in the night after you've had a concussion, to make sure that you are really okay. Unheralded, unrecognized, but solid and everpresent.

I miss you, Dad. I miss your voice. I miss your hugs. I miss your wisdom. Every day. I love you.

Whoa!
China!! What a wonderful vacation...met some great people, saw amazing things (bucket list: Great Wall and Qin dynasty terra cotta warriors), ate some yummy food. Everything a holiday should encompass. Terrific weather, good health. Can't ask for more.

Whuh???
Why do we (Americans) expect things to conform to our way? I know that Bush gets blamed for "the World's" opinion of Americans, but I can tell you from personal observations of Americans abroad...it has far less to do with that one man's politics than with a whooooollllle bunch of American's leaving their nasty little trails of xenophobic behavior far and wide.

This last trip (China) was an exceptionally pleasant exception. We were in a group of 27 like-minded folk who were exploring another country/culture because we genuinely appreciate it. Huzzah! Restoreth my faith.

I guess that makes this a Whoa!