Various Thoughts and Musings...

*You look for the secret code to understanding your fellow human beings, and the Economics Professor and Opinion Writer tells you, "It's all about race and class." And you think to yourself, "I already knew that, but I always forget."

*You think maybe everyone has one Superpower, and one Fatal Flaw. And you think, "My Superpower is my sunny disposition. And my fatal flaw is being way too sensitive."

*My Generation, if I was thinking of it like that, is the Drug Generation. We grew up thinking there were two kinds of people - The Heads and the Straights. A Leading Head, for example, would be John Lennon, A Leading Straight, for example, would be Richard Nixon. All the cool people were Heads. This led us down the path to major drug abuse, early death, wrecked lives & rehab. We all just thought the carnage of taking drugs were the "wages of sin." And sin was hipper!

*There are the Miracle Drugs that help save and extend lives. And then there are all the rest of the drugs that destroy our minds and bodies. 

*Abstention. Abstinence. Complete. It's the only thing that really works. "Say no!" Or since we all lack any kind of willpower at all, say yes, to the drugs that do the least damage, for instance, my favorites: caffeine & chocolate!

*The worst of the drugs amongst us are those most socially accepted (nearly required!), prevalent and legal - alcohol & nicotine. Especially alcohol. Go to any bar, any party, any college campus, any sporting event. The mind-numbing, soul-crushing reality of alcohol abuse is stunning. Opting out of it is a radical, necessary move. The life you save may be your own!

*It's now the pharmaceuticals, prescribed by doctors, that are the new scourge. Better living thru chemistry. Big Pharma clouding our brains and bodies. Living for the next dose!

*It's easy to diagnose and suggest solutions to problems of other folks. Much harder to do for yourself.

*As I get older, I can really "see" time passing. Everything seems to go by so quickly nowadays. History just gets longer and farther away. The future is tiny, just a glimmer. The present is like a blur, gone before I can even blink an eye.

*You learn things. But you realize that maybe the greatest lesson is that you can also unlearn things. What you "always knew," isn't always right. There's humility in that, and humility is a good thing to know.

*You just try to live. With grace & love & humor. That is the best of it...