Changing of the Seasons

 Autumn arrived yesterday.  Winter will soon be upon us.   As an old farm boy, I am quite aware of the seasons of the year.  I notice the change of the length of the days and the way the light angle of the sun changes as it shines upon the fields and through my windows.  Each season brings a new set of activities.  On the farm the onset of spring started the planting season and as fruit farmers we anticipated the bloom of the orchards and prayed for no frost to kill the crop!  Summer involved monitoring the weather for hailstorms and the appropriate amount of rain for the crops.  Autumn was the harvest season.  A time to gather in the largess of the orchard and fields.   Winter became the season of rest and preparation for the new year.   All of this was the rhythm of the agricultural economy.  Fond and not so fond memories of those events.

I left the farm over 70 years ago, but the imprint of the seasonal experience still abides with me today even though I have spent a long career as an academic followed by many years of retirement.  I will always be aware of the seasons.  And now as I get ready to prepare for the autumnal chores of leaf raking, I will enjoy this interlude until the start of winter and the joy of being on the slopes.  It is good to live in the season we are in while anticipating the variety another season will bring.

A mantra for me now is live each season as if it may your last.   Great to be alive.

Super Agers! Anything to do Special to be One?

    Somehow I have become connected with frequent commentary about super agers.  Perhaps it is because I was invited to respond to a survey that would predict my continuing longevity based on a multiple of factors.  Some of it is genetic, some is life style, some is attitude and some is a matter of socialization.  What is most important?  More or less the bottom line seems to be keeping  active physically, mentally and socially.  I suspect being a geezer skier meets social and physical needs! But what about mental acuity? Researchers seem to think certain mental exercises stimulate brain cells and neurological connections that will contribute to wellbeing and probably to a positive attitude.  

    As a personal note, I find welcoming each day as a gift one day at a time and having activities that I look forward to serves me the best.  Frankly, I am puzzler nut.   Each day I look forward to solving crossword puzzles, working to genius on the Spelling Bee puzzle of the New York Times,  and solving the Connections puzzle.  Also as an AARP member, I have access to several more crossword puzzles.  All in all it is a full day of puzzling.  Yes, I do have socialization! Volunteering brings many rewards from that angle.  Finally, I must say I enjoy multitasking.  An hour on the recumbent bike goes by rapidly as I read the New York Times and various daily newsletters.  Time to close this blog!  Haven't finished all my puzzles!  My best wishes for a long life for all of you readers.  May you become and remain a super ager.

Ironies: Major and Minor

     I was reminded today that life is full of ironies, both major and minor.  While enjoying my mid morning coffee, the doorbell rang and expecting our handyman who has been repairing some dry wall I yelled "Come on in?"  To my surprise it wasn't him.   As the door bell ringer came in, Nancy, my wife, greet her!   In her hands was a gift.  She is a parishioner at one of Nancy's pulpit gigs and has been very supportive of Nancy while recovering from her fractured wrist.  Casseroles and whatever unexpectedly arriving at or door over the last several months.   That is no irony.  But what she delivered today struct me as ironical.  One thing was a mature zucchini!  This being in the context that we have a vegetable garden producing a plethora of zucchinis!   In fact, today we had put aside four of them to take to my Living History Museum fellow volunteer guides.  We graciously received her gift with thanks while hoping she would not see the largesse we had set aside in plain sight further in our home. She is a joyful upbeat person and we in no way wanted to dampen her joy in giving.

    One would hope that ironies could be as minor as the one above.   In contrast, on this same day as I  guided an "elderly couple" through the the Living History Museum barn and agricultural component who exhibited significant impairment of their mobility.   In our chat, they revealed they were in their mid 70's.   The shocking irony to me was here I was a post 90 year old assisting these people.   I feel incredibly fortunate that I have maintained my mobility this long.   Clearly, there is no formula for predicting what each day will bring.   Each day can bring any number of ironical situations.   Perhaps the best we can do about that is to get a good laugh out of it and move on.

Bindings!

     Skiers are well aware of bindings as a device to keep them attached to their skis and to release the boots at critical times in falls.   I have had the thought that bindings are metaphors for other kinds of bindings in our lives.  Just as ski bindings are designed to keep us attached for most of  the time, they are also made to release at critical times.

    Thinking in the above terms in relation to personal bindings of our lives, the message is that most of the time we want to remain in relationships that nurture us and engender mutual benefits and respect.   However, there also seem to be times when the relationship can falter and be non productive for both parties. There is a certain fall from grace that demands a separation for a while.   However, just like getting up from a fall, recovering our skis, dusting ourselves off and resuming our run that is probably a good thing to do in a broken relationship.  Again carrying this farther, if you have broken a leg in the ski accident there will be an interlude to recover.   Such is it is for our human relationships. So there is work to be done in healing in the case of physical injury and also healing in emotional relationships.  Something for all of us to think about.

    Just a little clarification of what led me to the above thoughts.  My dear pastor wife Nancy preached a sermon yesterday on the subject of prayer. It was a masterful exposition of the elements of prayer grounded in the Lords Prayer which is a fundamental Christian tenet.  What really shook me to the core, was her leading the congregation to take a moment to pray for someone that would spring to mind for whatever reason.  What shook me, was the desire to pray for a grandchild that I am estranged from. We are living in separate worlds.  His is so foreign to me that I am stricken both with anger and grief.  However, Nancy's pastoral exercise revealed to me that I must find a way to forgive, forget and heal even if my estranged grandchild and I can't reconcile. Release and reconnect is the goal. Think about those things the next time your ski binding release.  And if you are not a skier, maybe a good thing to think about in a metaphorical sense.

Trickle Down Economic: Does It Work?

    Last night on the game show Jeopardy the final jeopardy answer was Trickle Down Economic Theory.  It stimulated my thinking about wealth inequality in the United States.   As far as I can tell this theory is supported by many politicians has not worked.   As the wealthy one percent has gotten wealthier from tax relief, the result has impoverished the bottom ten percent of wage earners.   If this theory is not working, why are we continuing to foster this policy?   In fact, this approach has significantly increased US debt by trillions.   At the same time more of the lower income individuals have not reaped the benefit of national domestic product growth.  Today I did a bit of research to understand the complexities of this issue.

    First I was led to Googling to get a some inkling what it is all about. However, my memory was jogged to recall the days when I would have lunches at the Cornell University Statler Hotel Faculty Club with the famed behavioral economist Robert H. Frank.  (Google him if you want his full story.  He is now retired to emeritus status living in Florida). Then I reached down to my bookshelf and pulled out my autographed copy of his 2011 book The Darwin Economy.   After skimming the preface and a few salient chapters that elucidate elements of taxation benefits versus costs, I find no justification for extensive tax cuts that move wealth upward. In fact it does not result in investment that gives support to the economic middle and lower class of United States. It would seem that greed has no bounds and seeking to outdo our fellow human beings is a bugaboo to the development of a just and civil society.  That's my screed for now.  However, I will try to put my outrage aside and seek a better understanding of how we as Americans have arrived at this state.  

If I Were a Rich Person?

    I have been pondering the last day or so, how I would behave if I had amassed a billionaire fortune. Would I really want more?  Would I be dominated by greed?   Would I do ostentatious things? Would I be generously charitable? I would hope that the answer to last question would be a resounding yes!  

    As I read about the billionaire class, I find that overwhelmingly there seems to be competition to see who can amass the the greatest wealth and who can put on the most elaborate display of how they can spend multi millions on pleasures to feed their egos. On top of that they seem to be impervious to developing empathy for the poor and downtrodden where they could be generous to give them a hand up out of their distress.   What am I missing?   It is inconceivable to me that a human being with any kind of moral compass, can't see the need to share the wealth. I think that the billionaire could share at least a tenth of their income with those in need and for good works without making a dent in their desire for an ostentatious life style.

    Now that I have pointed a finger at them, I am reminded when you point your index finger at someone or something, three fingers are pointing back at you.  Greed rears its ugly head wherever you are on the wealth spectrum.  I am reminded that especially as Christians we are to give sacrificially regardless of our station in life.  However, we are flawed human beings so we don't always live up to that ideal.  Today I reviewed the lyrics of the song "If I Were a Rich Man" from Fiddler on The Roof. I had forgotten many of them.  I had thought that in Tevye's dream of being rich he would think of some generous allocation of the wealth he dreamed he would have. However, that is not the case.  His dream of riches centered on how much he would be honored and how much ostentation he could create.  What a bummer to realize that was his desire.  

    I conclude with the desire to shed my disgust with the greed of the one percenters, and to live up to being generous in my own station in life.  

    

Observations on the Ranges of Human Types

    Today I was a volunteer docent  at my local museum. My duties primarily involve greeting and guiding visitors to the four different venues. I consider myself to be sufficiently versed in the collections to do an adequate job in some sections and a more expert job in others. However you could say I have a range of expertise more suited to some sections than others.  Regarding ranges, I find it fascinating to observe the ranges of characteristics of our visitors.

    First, today was a study in the range of ages of visitors.   Our youngest visitor was a four year old who was extremely bright and inquisitive.  He was a delight to interact with.  On the range of responsiveness, he was extraordinary.   Moving along on the range of age we also had visitors of young adult to middle age to more senior and perhaps even as ancient as I am. In each category there was also a range of responsiveness to our overtures to assist the with their visits.   Some were satisfied to simply walk around on their own without hearing any of the background stories we as guides can deliver.  Others, accept limited historical introductions.  A few were interested in more extensive information that we can deliver. Such it is to be interacting with the general public. At the end of the day, our guide group gathers to debrief our range of experiences with the guests.  The debrief often leads to amazement that there are so many different behaviors of the human species.

    Finally, I am continuing to think about the ranges of human types of authors of poets and prose.   More to come in a few days.