Mostly I am in decay... but then so is the country...

I have heard that every generation feels like the younger generation is out of control, in danger of making the whole civilization collapse and as I have gotten older I feel they are absolutely correct.

They will bring out translations from ancient Greece, Rome or China and use that to prove their point. But I notice that those are all fallen Civilizations - we do have some great thought, art and history from those civilizations but we don't live like Rome and the Romans, do we? I also don't think that King David would be excited about trying to live in America, or even Western Europe.
My generation is not my father's, grandfather's or beyond -- my son and I have different views of many things, and similar views on important stuff - but it is all colored by our perception.

So as I get old and reflective, wondering where I went and why, I hope that the best our generation has will be listened to and read in the far future. I don't think Alexander Dumas thought his tale about the Three Musketeers would spin off so many movies - can't anyone in California write a story worthy of cinema production, many times? Yes, we are still telling the story of Troy, although I am sure most people don't understand how far Troy with Brad Pitt was from Homer's Iliad, but I liked it. Another tale of times that we don't live that define our idea of what is important, honor, bravery, family, mercy and love.

If you were to pick one hundred pieces of today's art (music, poetry, literature, theater, dance) how many of them would be celebrated and studied in a hundred years? You would not know, most of us aren't going to live hundred years from today. Some of my favorite reads are no longer in print, or found in used book stores (at least to the point I wouldn't have to win the Lotto to pay for the search to find them).

Since the paint weathered to nothing on the Grecian statues, and left the beauty of the bodies most of mankind will never reach, what will stand the conversion from parchment and paper to digital commands for switches of whatever? My county library says they are prepared to lend me kindle ebooks, two weeks worth. If we were closer to the Starship Enterprise I might not worry, but we have all kinds of books on the shelves that would cure most of our trials - but they take reading and it is so much cooler to do what feels good. Once everything goes electronic and digital one super EMP will take all that away so quickly... oh, they have already done that book, about five times five.

Got to go, movement is important and the Sun won't be shining forever between the clouds. Although I am sure enough that it will keep shining...