My Life As A Hobby

My older brother, who is a reasonably intelligent man, believes that if America ever faced another situation like World War II, we couldn’t stand up to the likes of Hitler and Tojo again. And I must say, he makes a powerful argument for us not having the national resolve to be able to defeat a dictator hellbent on taking over the world. Sadly, he may be right. That may be why we’ve seen the Pentagon push for more drones and robotic soldiers. They probably believe that the pool of people to fight wouldn’t  be tough enough. There are a lot of reasons why this could be true; one theory I have is it’s partially because of the television shows.  The current generation watches Paw Patrol and Peppa Pig. The previous generations watched the Three Stooges.      I think I’m qualified to make this statement. Any time a grandchild comes in over it’s a safe bet that Paw Patrol will be on our TV for the duration of their visit. It’s so, for lack of a better word, mushy. ...

    I’ve always believed that it’s not a good idea for anyone to burn bridges. The way I look at it, there are lots of paths  in life, and some them will intersect with people we have dealt with before. So why take the chance?   But there was one time  when I didn’t follow my own advice.  I not only burned a bridge, but I blew up the supports, and watched it fall into the river. I still think it was justified.   During my final semester in college, one of the last courses I had to take was called GBA 490, known to everyone as The Business Game.  In this class, you played a computer game in which you managed a business that competed with your classmates.  Every week you inputted variables like product pricing, advertising budgets,  inventory levels, etc. Then a report was posted showing if you made or lost money. It was fun, kind of a palette cleanser for graduating seniors before they went into the real wo...

When I get in my car, the first order of business after turning the key, is to say, “Hey Siri!  Play The Beach Boys Greatest Hits on YouTube Music.” Within seconds, a pleasant voice acknowledges my request, and in an instant “I Get Around” is blasting through my car speakers. This is one piece of modern technology I truly appreciate.  The way we consume our music has drastically changed for the better in the last half century, and I like it.  In my pre-teen years, the only way to listen to rock n roll was either a transistor radio, or my big sister’s record player with her collection of 45’s. Eventually, I began to use my older brother’s stereo unit.  Then I began buying an album or two.  At the time, music in an automobile was quite limited.  When I began to drive my Mom’s 1967 Plymouth Fury, the only song source was the AM car radio. Unfortunately,  there were only a couple of stations playing Top 40 songs. What’s worse, many of them signed off...

I’m visiting the gulf in early August and I don’t really know why, but I think it’s because I love my grandkids, or didn’t look at a long term forecast.  After a couple of hours on the sandy shores, I realize it’s a little of both. Love to watch the kiddos play in the surf. Hate to be in weather so sunny and hot that it makes me understand what a baked potato feels like.   I’m a people watcher, and the beach is great for that. You see all kinds: fat ones, skinny ones, tall ones, short ones, people who lift weights, and people who do 12 ounce curls. However, there are two general categories that everyone falls into - tan, or not tan. And because of my hair color, I’m certainly in the latter.  I have red hair, or used to. Now some of it has turned another color and some of it has turned loose. That’s ok, because I know red heads serve a very important purpose in this world. You see, God created red heads to make everybody on else on the beach look tan. To give you an i...