An Old Man's Podcast

As you know, travel has been going on.  The podcast went on.  I prefer to drive, never in much of a hurry.  I like to stop when I feel like it, maybe to see biggest ball of twine.  My propensity for driving is probably really a trust issue.  My second favorite means of travel is by rail, but where you can go is limited.  Flying is the last option for me. It's of interest to me just for going from "here to there" when speed is required. I don't like flying.  I get the physics behind it, that doesn't scare me.  I don't trust flying, specifically whoever is the pilot. Let me fly and we'll be fine.  Am I a pilot?  No, but I won't know if the one getting paid to fly the plane is either until we get there…. or it's too late.  I don't trust very many people on the ground, and not any at 30,000 feet.  When I travel by driving I get to see stuff, stop for a wine tasting, an interesting local meal, and get some of Grandma's jam at a roadside stand.  Not on an air plane.  Both of us drive, we'll typically go two tanks of gas a day so 600-800 miles… just depends.  My wife's a good driver, it's not fair to unilaterally say all women are bad drivers, that isn't true. It's just that they are "directionally challenged".  Get off the road for a pit stop and most women have no hope of finding their way back to the highway and going in the correct direction.  Put gal in phone booth (if you know what one of those are… substitute closet) then spin her around a few times and she has no hope of finding her way out….. she would use her phone for directions. By the way, real me don't usd a GPS.

The word is Arrogance and for most of humanity it's something we are often guilty of, even when we don't realize we are being arrogant…. People who think they know more than they really do AND are eager to provide you with unsolicited advice designed to solve your every problem.  That sounds pretty much like arrogance, doesn't it?  We all recognize arrogance when we see it, but how about when we don't see it?……. we wouldn't see it because we are the perpetrator, most often unwittingly, but none-the-less we find ourselves playing the much despised role of a know-it-all.

Is that you?

Negotiating life's minefields while trying to build and maintain quality relationships is hard enough.  Let's not get into our own way by accidentally ruining friendships by being that know-it-all.

Have you ever thought much about all of the things you want to accomplish in life?  The things you want to do, the places you want to see…. the experiences you plan to enjoy?  Here's another question for you; if you could do "it" all over again, would you?  A young man or women wonders if he/she can do it all.  An old man or woman wonders that if he/she could do it all over again, would you?  I've got answers to both.  And which you have a more solid answer for… tells me where you are on this journey we call life.  Young people, go for it, get all you can from life.  But warning, life does get in the way.  Your work, your family… all sorts of things can bump you off that path to the adventures you dream of.  I'm not suggesting those are bad things, that you've lost your dreams if you pursue a career or business and a family.  It's encouragement really, to set your goals and to be determined and dedicated, and be creative to make your dreams a reality while handling what life will throw at you.  The youthful exuberance life brings to us, no matter how old that youthfulness is, should not be tempered… don't let it.  Stay young, no matter how old you are.  I say NO to both.  You won't be able to do it all… but that doesn't mean you shouldn't work for that.  Set your goals for a championship in life.  Be focused, stay determined, be a winner.  For us older people, would you do it all over again if you could?  For starters, if you knew then what you know now, wouldn't that make you DANGEROUS?!?!  Do you have the energy to be young again and start everything all over?  And that feeling of "I would like do this again" is completely natural, you want to correct those things you think are mistakes or would have done differently.  But, thats not really a good idea.  It's those mistakes or failures that provided you with the life experiences you needed to become who it is that you are.  Maybe that question, would I do it all over again, is actually just the result of a life well lived, one that did include the work and family part. You just did it right.  Two important questions to ponder on your life's journey.  Can I do it all, and would I do it all over again?

On "I Remember When" I remember when using the word "color".to designate a tv type.  The emergence of TV in the 50's, the boom that followed in entertainment choices, which really exploded with the advent of cable, really changed lives. Now you can take your TV entertainment, your screen, with you wherever you go with your device… whatever that device may be.  The evolution of screened entertainment is a study of how pop culture has changed.  In my lifetime, that evolution has been at a breakneck speed and fascinating in it's outcome. I can't wait to see what comes next! Come on kids…. I'm counting on you guys to make it happen!

I had a funny thought in my head, how old age is like a sloth sneaking up on you.  I saw a national geographic animal show about interesting creatures of the amazon and thought the sloth is one of the most interesting.  It just hangs out in trees just moving around ridiculously slow…. so slow no other animals really notice it. Yep, slow movers are sneaky dangerous.  Staying with the theme of aging, and earlier trying to encourage young people to get as much from life as they can, I've got a funny thought, an analogy really.  Your life,  particularly related to aging, is like a sloth.  It's moving… but slowly, and you hardly even notice what's happening.  You're living day to day, doing what you have to do each day and life is just hanging out, like a sloth in a tree and you're not even noticing that it's just slowly marching on,  day after day.  Don't let the ridiculously slow pace trick you into not noticing what is going on around you.