Surfing the TV channels, I ran across a show about archaeology. Since I like this subject, which is odd because history was another of my un-favorite subjects, I pushed the select button on the remote.
The show was about some ancient civilizations, previously unknown, that had been lost for many millennium. It seemed to go along with a book I had read about how archaeologists had discovered remnants of the humans species, several hundreds of thousands of years old, that were anatomically correct. Meaning, they looked pretty much the same as the rest of us do today, albeit, they were probably thinner. This particular piece of information shreds the missing link theory because.... there is no missing link.
But, discussion about from where we descended is fodder for another day.
These archaeologists had unearthed not only grave sites, but entire ancient cities. These once thriving communities had dates of 4000 to 6000 B.C. and were far more sophisticated than anyone thought possible for that time period. While doing all this excavation, the scientists had stumbled onto something they did not think was possible for this era in time.
The graves that they had explored told stories of the time these people had lived. Some graves were very simple and some were extremely ornate, with many pieces of gold jewelry and other gold items. Lo and behold! The archaeologists had unearthed social status! They were amazed, because they really believed that when humans lived that long ago, they all lived on an equal scale.....one for all and all for one.
I pushed the off button, while the experts were still scratching their heads, and began to ponder on this incredible find. If social status was alive and well thousands of years ago, what makes modern man think they can change that?
I'm all about equality, to a point. Yes, we are all born equal, so to speak. Mostly, we have the same chances and opportunities laid out before us. What we do with those things is what makes the difference. We can choose to grab the bull by the horns and make the very most of what life has to offer......or we can sit on our haunches and watch the world go by without doing one single thing.
If we choose the latter, then no amount of encouragement, money, grants, whatever, is going to make a difference in our outcome. If we do not like where we are in our social status, or life in general, then it is up to the individual to do something about it. Whining about how unfair things are and expecting someone else to do something about an unfortunate plight in life, is, ludicrous. Pouring endless amounts of energy and money into making sure everyone has "stuff" to make them feel equal, or important, is like remodeling a house and not fixing the four square foot hole in the roof.
There are doers and there are watchers and, according to the ancient archaeological digs, there always have been. The only thing that will change this is when people start using the grey matter between their ears to decide if they really want to do what it takes to climb the ladder..... and learn to be kind in the process.
These incredible finds were in the lands of the Middle East......where, basically, we all came from. Unfortunately, some whack jobs have probably blown the smithereens out of the digs so the truth cannot be passed on to the next generation. But, before I turned the TV off, there was also mention of a drastic climate change that may have led to the demise of the old civilization. As far as I know, they had not unearthed a 6500 B.C. Studebaker to place the blame on.
Monday, November 23, 2015
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Encroaching Darkness
It is very quiet this morning. Even the 4:30 a.m. train did not seem to make as much noise as usual. There are no stars, at least none that are visible, only clouds, left over from the last two days of rain. It is unseasonably warm and the breeze feels soft on my face. It tries to tell me spring is in the air, but I know better, after all, it's past the middle of November.
I stand in the darkness and look to the south. The cloud cover is just right to allow me to see the lights of St. Louis, Missouri reflecting on its ceiling. This always fascinates me. To drive there is nearly a two hour trip. As the crow flies though, it is only about eighty miles.
I look at the reflected light and I wonder. I wonder if somewhere in France there is a small town that can see the lights of Paris eighty miles away. There probably is. I think about the recent bloodshed in the 'City of Light' and the thought leaves me with a sense of bewilderment. What did it solve? What did it prove?
My thoughts turn to reasoning. I am a peace maker. I do not like conflict and will go out of my way to smooth rough waters. But, in order to reason, there has to be willing parties on both sides. People whose main slogan is "Death to the Infidels" do not leave much bargaining room on the table. There is only one way and it is their way.......period.
Mother always said that young men make good soldiers because they are not afraid. The ages of the extremist tells the story of impressionable minds. Minds that have been fed propaganda of death and destruction and that anyone who does not follow their belief system needs to be destroyed. They use fear as their most powerful weapon. They are no different than a derelict who beats an animal into submission. They breed hatred among themselves and their victims.
I think about all the thousands who have risked and lost their lives trying to get someplace where they are not afraid. I cannot imagine what that must be like. To stand and see your child's lifeless body washed up on a foreign sandy beach because that risk was the only option available has to be indescribable heartbreak.
The universe works in mysterious ways. Order comes out of chaos. Things happen for a reason. My hope is that the order comes soon, before the seeds of darkness that are being planted take root. I do not know if I would stand and fight, or flee in fear. But I do know this, I don't want to find out.
I stand in the darkness and look to the south. The cloud cover is just right to allow me to see the lights of St. Louis, Missouri reflecting on its ceiling. This always fascinates me. To drive there is nearly a two hour trip. As the crow flies though, it is only about eighty miles.
I look at the reflected light and I wonder. I wonder if somewhere in France there is a small town that can see the lights of Paris eighty miles away. There probably is. I think about the recent bloodshed in the 'City of Light' and the thought leaves me with a sense of bewilderment. What did it solve? What did it prove?
My thoughts turn to reasoning. I am a peace maker. I do not like conflict and will go out of my way to smooth rough waters. But, in order to reason, there has to be willing parties on both sides. People whose main slogan is "Death to the Infidels" do not leave much bargaining room on the table. There is only one way and it is their way.......period.
Mother always said that young men make good soldiers because they are not afraid. The ages of the extremist tells the story of impressionable minds. Minds that have been fed propaganda of death and destruction and that anyone who does not follow their belief system needs to be destroyed. They use fear as their most powerful weapon. They are no different than a derelict who beats an animal into submission. They breed hatred among themselves and their victims.
I think about all the thousands who have risked and lost their lives trying to get someplace where they are not afraid. I cannot imagine what that must be like. To stand and see your child's lifeless body washed up on a foreign sandy beach because that risk was the only option available has to be indescribable heartbreak.
The universe works in mysterious ways. Order comes out of chaos. Things happen for a reason. My hope is that the order comes soon, before the seeds of darkness that are being planted take root. I do not know if I would stand and fight, or flee in fear. But I do know this, I don't want to find out.
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Dog Years
The time is fast approaching the end of the first year of the dog. The tiny white puppy that graced our home last Christmas. Much has happened since that time.
There are times I have to remind myself that I really wanted a dog. Times like finding the roll of toilet paper strung from one end of the house to the other, shredded into tiny bits. Or realizing that as we entered the house from a recent walk, he had successfully snatched a piece of dried manure, usually from a feline source, and then wants to play 'catch me if you can'. Even the time I found the chewed up ink pen on the white comforter made me second guess my sanity at wanting a dog.
But, as these words flow from my fingertips, I can think of far more times that this dog has brought joy, happiness and laughter into this home. Those times outweigh his mischievous antics.
I have even tried to convince myself that I got lots more things done before the year of the dog. After all, it is like having a four legged toddler in the house. A living ball of energy whom makes it necessary to know his whereabouts at all times. I was even going to prove this point by checking on last years' business records, but I was wrong, sales are up. In fact, I have actually accomplished more this past year than I thought possible.
Runtly, the Jack Russel Terrier, has past his first birthday. In dog years, compared to human years, that makes him eight years old. I guess that figure comes from the fact than an animal physically develops so much faster than the supposed smartest species of the planet, us.
I think there is another reason for this gauge of longevity measurement. Since dogs, or any animal, have no time keeping method, they do not have a clue as to what day it is......nor do they care. Most of us have experienced one of those times when we have taken a long nap, wake up and then wonder what day it is. I knew someone, a long time ago, that did this very thing and upon awakening, demanded to know why the sun was rising in the west......Anyway, every time Runtly wakes from a nap, of which he takes several throughout the day, it is a brand new day to him. So, if my math is correct, which it often is not, a dog year consists of 2920 days. If the dog naps eight times a day, the dog has experienced 8 days to our one and therefore by the end of the year, the dog has lived 8 years. That makes perfect sense to me.
Every waking moment for Runtly is a happy one. There are things to do, things to explore and he does not have one thing to worry about. We should probably learn something from this. That it is much better to be happy than to worry. That it is much more fun to explore and play than to sit around and stew over some useless tidbit that has no real bearing on our life or maybe is not really any of our business in the first place.
Happiness does not come from an outside source, but there are things that can take place to make us realize how easy it can be to choose being happy. Like when I woke the other morning, looked in the mirror and thought, "Oh, great, another white hair in my eyebrow.". Then I discovered it was a dog hair, that indeed made me happy.
There are times I have to remind myself that I really wanted a dog. Times like finding the roll of toilet paper strung from one end of the house to the other, shredded into tiny bits. Or realizing that as we entered the house from a recent walk, he had successfully snatched a piece of dried manure, usually from a feline source, and then wants to play 'catch me if you can'. Even the time I found the chewed up ink pen on the white comforter made me second guess my sanity at wanting a dog.
But, as these words flow from my fingertips, I can think of far more times that this dog has brought joy, happiness and laughter into this home. Those times outweigh his mischievous antics.
I have even tried to convince myself that I got lots more things done before the year of the dog. After all, it is like having a four legged toddler in the house. A living ball of energy whom makes it necessary to know his whereabouts at all times. I was even going to prove this point by checking on last years' business records, but I was wrong, sales are up. In fact, I have actually accomplished more this past year than I thought possible.
Runtly, the Jack Russel Terrier, has past his first birthday. In dog years, compared to human years, that makes him eight years old. I guess that figure comes from the fact than an animal physically develops so much faster than the supposed smartest species of the planet, us.
I think there is another reason for this gauge of longevity measurement. Since dogs, or any animal, have no time keeping method, they do not have a clue as to what day it is......nor do they care. Most of us have experienced one of those times when we have taken a long nap, wake up and then wonder what day it is. I knew someone, a long time ago, that did this very thing and upon awakening, demanded to know why the sun was rising in the west......Anyway, every time Runtly wakes from a nap, of which he takes several throughout the day, it is a brand new day to him. So, if my math is correct, which it often is not, a dog year consists of 2920 days. If the dog naps eight times a day, the dog has experienced 8 days to our one and therefore by the end of the year, the dog has lived 8 years. That makes perfect sense to me.
Every waking moment for Runtly is a happy one. There are things to do, things to explore and he does not have one thing to worry about. We should probably learn something from this. That it is much better to be happy than to worry. That it is much more fun to explore and play than to sit around and stew over some useless tidbit that has no real bearing on our life or maybe is not really any of our business in the first place.
Happiness does not come from an outside source, but there are things that can take place to make us realize how easy it can be to choose being happy. Like when I woke the other morning, looked in the mirror and thought, "Oh, great, another white hair in my eyebrow.". Then I discovered it was a dog hair, that indeed made me happy.
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Under The Cover Of Darkness
Since I'm trying to make a new schedule for getting things done during the day, week, month, I thought getting up earlier would be a good place to start. Adding a couple more waking hours to my day would surely allow me to get more accomplished.
Going outside, with a steaming cup of hot tea, before the sun rises, is one of my most favorite things to do, regardless of the weather. I may be wasting part of the extra waking hours I gained, but for me, there is no better time to reflect and listen.
I enjoy standing outside in the dark, but I have learned that it is a good idea to flip on the back door lights first, just in case there might be an early morning visitor on the deck. This has proved to be a most useful tactic. I turned the lights on the other morning and a very large raccoon was on the deck. I stood at the door and watched him, watching me, for a few seconds. He soon decided it was time to look for an exit. Since the gate to the deck was shut and knowing that a raccoon is an expert at climbing, I figured he would go over the top of the deck railing. I watched in amazement as he morphed into a large flat furry fritter and slithered under the three inch space between the bottom of the railing and the deck floor. Seeing that answered a question that has probably been asked a thousand times, "How the heck did they get in there?". If the nose goes, the rest can follow.
Tigger, the cat, is always glad to greet me in the early morning hours and I fill his bowl with his favorite dry cat food. This way I can have a couple of minutes entirely to myself. Tigger's bowl usually sits on top of the railing so Runtly, the dog, can't get to it. This particular morning, I set it on the floor.
The early morning sky has been a sight to behold for the last couple of weeks. Venus, Jupiter and Mars have been rising in the east putting on a spectacular light show. When I look at this formation of bright glowing planets, I wonder what meaning this held for the ancient people who truly understood the importance of the celestial bodies.
To the north of the planetary line up is the bright twinkling star Arcturus. It is part of the Bootes, or the Herdsman constellation. Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern hemisphere and if I stare at it long enough, I swear that it is bouncing around in the dark sky. Learning about the constellations has been something I have wanted to do. Having the Google Sky Map app on my phone has made the learning process much easier. When in doubt, whip out the phone, even though the glare from the screen gives away my position in the darkness.
As I was looking at Arcturus and trying to wrap my head around the fact that it is 36 light years from Earth, which figures roughly to about 180 trillion miles, I heard a crunching noise. I thought that Tigger must have had an exciting evening and worked up quite an appetite because he had already eaten when I first came outside. I was standing at the far end of the deck, the farthest distance from the door, when I looked down. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I realized Tigger was sitting at my feet.....something else was doing the crunching.
Since the food dish was right next to the door, bolting for the door was not an option. I shuffled my feet, the crunching continued. I began to talk to Tigger, still more crunching. I finally kicked one of the deck chairs, The crunching stopped and a few seconds later, the motion light over the steps came on. It was the neighbors' cat, who obviously likes Tigger's food better than his own. He stopped briefly to lick whatever remaining crumbs were in his whiskers and then sauntered off down the steps.
Being under the cover of darkness works great for those creatures who have eyes that can pierce the dark, but, from now on, the broom will accompany me in the wee hours of the morning.
Going outside, with a steaming cup of hot tea, before the sun rises, is one of my most favorite things to do, regardless of the weather. I may be wasting part of the extra waking hours I gained, but for me, there is no better time to reflect and listen.
I enjoy standing outside in the dark, but I have learned that it is a good idea to flip on the back door lights first, just in case there might be an early morning visitor on the deck. This has proved to be a most useful tactic. I turned the lights on the other morning and a very large raccoon was on the deck. I stood at the door and watched him, watching me, for a few seconds. He soon decided it was time to look for an exit. Since the gate to the deck was shut and knowing that a raccoon is an expert at climbing, I figured he would go over the top of the deck railing. I watched in amazement as he morphed into a large flat furry fritter and slithered under the three inch space between the bottom of the railing and the deck floor. Seeing that answered a question that has probably been asked a thousand times, "How the heck did they get in there?". If the nose goes, the rest can follow.
Tigger, the cat, is always glad to greet me in the early morning hours and I fill his bowl with his favorite dry cat food. This way I can have a couple of minutes entirely to myself. Tigger's bowl usually sits on top of the railing so Runtly, the dog, can't get to it. This particular morning, I set it on the floor.
The early morning sky has been a sight to behold for the last couple of weeks. Venus, Jupiter and Mars have been rising in the east putting on a spectacular light show. When I look at this formation of bright glowing planets, I wonder what meaning this held for the ancient people who truly understood the importance of the celestial bodies.
To the north of the planetary line up is the bright twinkling star Arcturus. It is part of the Bootes, or the Herdsman constellation. Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern hemisphere and if I stare at it long enough, I swear that it is bouncing around in the dark sky. Learning about the constellations has been something I have wanted to do. Having the Google Sky Map app on my phone has made the learning process much easier. When in doubt, whip out the phone, even though the glare from the screen gives away my position in the darkness.
As I was looking at Arcturus and trying to wrap my head around the fact that it is 36 light years from Earth, which figures roughly to about 180 trillion miles, I heard a crunching noise. I thought that Tigger must have had an exciting evening and worked up quite an appetite because he had already eaten when I first came outside. I was standing at the far end of the deck, the farthest distance from the door, when I looked down. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I realized Tigger was sitting at my feet.....something else was doing the crunching.
Since the food dish was right next to the door, bolting for the door was not an option. I shuffled my feet, the crunching continued. I began to talk to Tigger, still more crunching. I finally kicked one of the deck chairs, The crunching stopped and a few seconds later, the motion light over the steps came on. It was the neighbors' cat, who obviously likes Tigger's food better than his own. He stopped briefly to lick whatever remaining crumbs were in his whiskers and then sauntered off down the steps.
Being under the cover of darkness works great for those creatures who have eyes that can pierce the dark, but, from now on, the broom will accompany me in the wee hours of the morning.
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