Daydreaming Never Stops

I take great pleasure in heading to the back porch, dropping the back of the lawn chair and staring at the sky, daydreaming about a lifelong pastime – daydreaming.

My daydreaming passion developed when high school sweetheart Sally and I would hold hands and walk to the small lake at the back of her family’s farm. The bank was angled, and we would lean back and stare at the distant sky and cloud formations.

I was soon to graduate and leave home. Sally posed questions I’d never thought much about – together we wondered, “What’s life really all about? What does the future hold?” It’s the first time I remember peering over the horizon, contemplating the future, wondering what comes next.

Ten days after graduation, June 20, 1958, I was on a train to boot camp, Parris Island, SC. Every day, over that long, hot Carolina summer, I got her letter with a return address HOLLAND. (Hope our love lasts and never dies) I’m forever grateful. Like most young romances, soon after we went our separate ways.

I didn’t see Sally again until I was 60 years old. She is still the same wonderful person, married another classmate who is a cool guy. They raised a nice family and are happy. As we hugged, I thanked her for her wonderful letters to a young man who had just left home. I’m happy for her; she is a good person who deserves a good life.

I’m probably a silly romantic, regularly daydreaming about childhood memories, then life experiences over several decades – rocking my infant children and grandchildren, divorced, remarried, starting over – while staring into space wondering what the remaining future holds.

A quote from the famous philosopher (Unknown) hit my inbox, “When you realize there isn’t one more day, but one less, you start to give value to what truly matters.” I’m heading toward 90, currently cancer-free; my past long and each passing day is one less.

Daydreaming, alone, staring off into space is something I cherish. I never run out of things to dream about. This week I decided to start typing, let some feelings flow and see where it goes….

I recall emphatically telling Sally, “I want a nice little house with a white picket fence.” When Jo and I built a home on the beach in Pensacola, I insisted on the white picket fence. I realize it wasn’t the house and fence, but what it represented, that I yearned for.

My childhood wasn’t like the TV show Ozzie & Harriet. My parents divorced before I could walk. When my mother remarried, I was off to boarding school. I yearned for stability, a loving family, financial and emotional independence. Today, I count my blessings. In my mid-80s I feel comfortable, independent and (using my best Frank Sinatra imitation), “I did it my way.”

My daydreams are more frequent because I have more free time, but they are different. I’m often wondering, not what the future holds for me, but our children, grandchildren, and even the country.

Our world was different.

WWII just ended, our country was booming, many of our teachers were WWII veterans, and patriotism was cool. Each morning at school we would stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Memorial Day, Independence Day and Armistice Day (now Veteran’s Day) were taken seriously by our elders, passing those values down to our generation.

We were taught to love our country. The framers of the Constitution were ordinary men building a government based on Christian principles like the ten commandments, not the divine right of kings. The Constitution, and government that followed, was unlike anything the world had ever seen before.

Our history lessons were not political propaganda, we learned about the good, bad, and sometimes ugly. I’ve not forgotten the traumatic childhood lesson being screamed at by a red-faced, total stranger for drinking out of the wrong water fountain in an Atlanta bus station.

Our history teachers covered the good and bad, always concluding that the Constitution has allowed our nation to right the wrongs, explaining we have legal ways to continue to do so. The government was run by and for the people. Capitalism and a freely elected government ushered in a standard of living for the world that previous monarchs could not even dream of.

We recently moved to The Villages, Florida, the largest retirement community in the world. Jo and I have joined some clubs. Each meeting begins with the pledge, senior citizens standing as best they can appreciating their country.

Today’s world is also different.

I’m appalled by some of the things I am seeing today. Olympic athletes refusing to participate in the National Anthem.

Recently a female basketball player criticized the league for having players wear 250th anniversary patches. Her justification, “No WNBA players would have been free 250 years ago. …. The majority wouldn’t even have their freedom 100 years ago.” To nitpick, some of the WNBA players would have been free, and the civil war ended over 160 years ago.

The bigger issue is today. It wasn’t until 1920 that women were allowed to vote. All governments do bad things; however, those injustices have been remedied.

A few years ago, friend, and former colleague, David Galland wrote an essay, “On Average”. David highlights a major change that troubles many of my generation:

“When push comes to shove, you can rest assured that the political class will do whatever it takes to avoid losing power. They can and will change the rules as needed, devalue a currency, renege on a debt, slap on tariffs, start a war to grab another nation’s wealth… literally whatever it takes to keep the wheels on.”

The political class has partnered with media and educators to promote hatred and divide, not unite our country. We no longer celebrate the good, and work towards better. Since biblical times, rulers have learned that by keeping the population fighting among themselves, worried about survival, they are less likely to unite and overthrow the king. Wars, both internal and external work for them.

Hate and class envy not only keeps many politicians in power; it also pays very well.

Each day I post a quote on Facebook. This one seems appropriate:

“If you don’t leave your past in the past, it will destroy your future. Live for what today has to offer, not what yesterday has taken away.” –Unknown

Over my lifetime, I have traveled and taught in many parts of the globe. Whenever someone complains about how terrible our country is, my reaction is, “Compared to what?”

My first morning in Abu Dhabi, a Muslim country, I read a newspaper story about a young couple convicted of adultery. They were immediately hauled from the courtroom and stoned to death. I read the article to the class the next day, jokingly suggesting they better behave on this business trip.

At lunch, a student, Muhammad, dressed in a white robe, pulled me aside and emphatically explained the young people knew the laws, I must respect their culture. He was right. Perhaps the WNBA player should visit other parts of the world and check out how they treat women as compared to the US.

I taught in Paris with participants from all over Europe, including those from both East and West Berlin. The JFK library explains:

“The Soviet Union occupied East Germany and installed a rigidly controlled communist state. The other three Allies shared the occupation of West Germany and helped rebuild the country as a capitalist democracy.

…. By 1961, four million East Germans had moved west…(illustrating) East Germans’ dissatisfaction with their way of life…East Germany was losing its workers.

In the early morning hours of August 13, 1961, (the Berlin Wall was built). …. Overnight, the freedom to pass between the two sections of Berlin ended.

…. The Berlin Wall was a chilling symbol of the Iron Curtain that divided all of Europe between communism and democracy.”

During a lunch table discussion about forms of government, the German members spoke up, “Some countries build fences to keep their people in, while others build them to keep people out.” Despite the warts, and problems, even before the government incentivized illegal immigration, millions around the world yearned for the American way of life.

David Galland concluded his essay, “As we can’t predict the future, …. in the end we need to look after ourselves.” As I ponder these days, I’m thankful Baby Boomers were not coddled; we were taught a good work ethic, respect for God and country. The struggles and hardships we faced throughout life have taught us how to survive – and look after ourselves.

The next generation has more tomorrows left than Baby Boomers. What does their future hold? John Jakes warns, “The greatest enemy we face is ourselves; it is our doubts, our fears, and our divisions that undermine our strength.” I hope and pray our generation has taught them the skills to not only survive, but right the ship once again.

Let’s end with some lyrics from the song, “I dream.”

Roaming this world
Something has gotten hold of us and baby we all hurt
We all try to fight it
And sometimes we win
As long as you’re dreaming
You’re not giving in….

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On The Lighter Side…

Sometimes I get totally fed up with all the news, political garbage, financial games, you name it. There are days I want to take a mental time out and just write what I feel. I recall my grandmother once saying the best stories come from the heart.

There are times I refuse to watch the hysterical TV news, needing to chill out and put things back in proper perspective. This week was one of them…. Another quote from the famous philosopher (Unknown) describes my feelings:

“The older I get, the more I realize happiness is quiet mornings, good health, paid bills, a safe home and people who don’t drain my energy.”

We will soon be celebrating our nation’s 250th birthday. Last night, after dinner we took the long country road. They used to say the corn should be “knee high by the 4th of July.” Baloney, in this neck of the woods a lot of it is already 6′ tall. We have had adequate rain and everything is healthy, green and beautiful.

I hope everyone has a wonderful celebration, 250 years of freedom, unlike any the world has ever seen before is pretty special – despite the blemishes.

Quote of the Week…

We will tie two together this week….

“In the end, more than freedom, Athenians wanted security. They wanted a comfortable life, yet lost it all; security, comfort, and freedom. When they finally wanted, not to give to society, but for society to give to them; when the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility; Athens ceased to be free, and was never free again.”
— Historian Edward Gibbon

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” — Ronald Reagan

And Finally…

Friend Tom G. shares some more puns for our enjoyment:

I used to hate facial hair, but it grew on me.

How much did the pirate pay to get his ears pierced? A buccaneer.

I once worked at a cheap pizza shop to get by. I kneaded the dough.

Why is it unwise to share your secrets with a clock? Well, time will tell.

When I told my contractor I didn’t want carpeted steps, he gave me a blank stare.

Bono and The Edge walk into a Dublin bar and the bartender says, “Oh no, not U2 again.”

Prison is just one word to you, but for some people, it’s a sentence.

Scientists got together to study the effects of alcohol on a person’s walk, and the result was staggering.

I lost my girlfriend’s audiobook, and now I’ll never hear the end of it.

I went to the toy store and asked the assistant where the Schwarzenegger dolls are and he replied, “Aisle B, back”

And my favorite, (took me a minute…)

What do you say to comfort a friend who’s struggling with grammar? There, their, they’re.

Until next time…

Dennis Miller

“Economic independence is the foundation of the only sort of freedom worth a damn.” – H. L. Mencken

 

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