The Cheap Seats

My life was not always this easy. Now my belly's full - all needs are met, but don't be fooled; existence has not forever been this breezy.   There was a time when I was imprisoned, caged like a rat. Lean and starving, while my guards were fat.   Day and night I paced my cell, soaked with the stench of constant danger, after seeing too many fellow inmates tossed in a box to leave with a stranger.   Over a year I languished, my will nearly gone, resigned to a deadly fate I feared with each new dawn.   Then one day my routine was upended, I was granted access to the "yard", where a foreigner sat alone with a look that was kindly, not hard.   But like all my long-lost friends, I found myself roughly restrained. This was it - I thought - The End, before my freedom could ever be gained.   Has it been nearly two years ...

That's the Sinatra tune my son has been singing to himself since we returned from the Windy City a few days ago. And after four days of pounding pavement and riding trains, seeing all the nooks and crannies Chicago has to offer, I can't say I blame him. Whatta town . . . Prior to our visit and subsequent immersion, I had (and wrote of) a fair amount of anxiety I was feeling about the thought of my oldest child Drew alone in an unknown metropolis. Besides, this was my first real visit too. Some of that was irrational but a good deal of it was warranted. Chicago, after all, is a bustling, active, figure it out for yourself sort of city. So that's what we tried to do. Day One: To my pleasant surprise, Chicago is barely a seven-hour drive from the Twin Cities. Looking at a map, I knew that objectively - but it was reassuring for an anxious parent like me. Driving in Chicago - like any other metro area - is a pain, so we parked the car in a ramp for the duration of...

In late 1962, President John Kennedy boldly proclaimed, " We choose to go to the Moon " (see link ). When he uttered those words, the Space Race was still in its infancy, John Glenn having been the first American to orbit the Earth only months earlier. No one seriously believed such a feat could be achieved so quickly. Instead, Kennedy's urging was admired because of its " dare to dream " quality, much needed in the dark days of the Cold War. Land a man on the moon and return him safely to Earth? Someday, sure - but by the end of the 1960's? Highly unlikely. We all know how the story ends. Less than seven years later in July 1969 (only 66 short years after the Wright Brothers first got off the ground at Kitty Hawk, NC) Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on our nearest neighbor in space, 240,000 miles away. Four days later they were safely home. To explain why we went to the moon, one needs to understand the times. After World War II, the Unit...

Three months ago I was confused, and shared that confusion  with you. Time has worked no wonders on my state of mind. Rather than take any personal responsibility for this chronic condition, I will simply - again - blame curiosity. Which has left me more befuddled than ever. You see, I thought I would have more answers and fewer questions when I reached my mid-forties. Oh sure, I learn new things every day (curiosity). The problem is the storage capacity of my brain is like that of a vintage PC, very limited. And there seems to be no possibility of an upgrade. I've considered a hard shutdown reboot - undoubtedly painful - but there are no guarantees with that, only the likelihood of more lost data. Consequently, for every new piece of information that is "saved", there is an old, tattered fragment I drag to the recycle bin. Or worse, it is deleted unread. My brain - it appears - needs a file clerk....