I had a thought that occurred to me today on my way to work that blindsided me. Sometimes there are moments when someone is fiercely outraged about something only to be brought a piece of evidence that makes them reconsider their whole argument. There is that pause (sometimes mid-sentence and it is written all over their face "What if I've been wrong this whole time?"
I was driving to work and decided to stop at my favorite BP to get a drink. As I was pulling in, I glanced at the price of unleaded and was momentarily relieved to see that it had dropped below four dollars per gallon. That warm caress of relief was then roughly thrust aside by my righteous anger at being conditioned through the numbing effects of shock value to accept four dollars a gallon as the standard price of gasoline. It was not four years ago that my anxiety over gas prices found its central median at one dollar per gallon and I was outraged if the price climbed over fifty cents past the bench mark. Further more I was annoyed at our government's inability to deal with this problem. But here is the twist.
"What if it is all on purpose?" And crazier than that "What if things are better this way?" On the United Nations list of major issues there are a few that line up with the top seven things the American government listed as this millennium's issues. Energy consumption was on both lists. Maybe this is too "conspiracy theory" but whether it is intentional or accidental "being green" is only at the forefront of the news these days because Americans finally found a common ground with the hippie environmentalists... our wallets. Of course, no one would come out and say that. That would be political suicide. However, people are paying attention now. Save the whales... eh. Save the Rain Forest... you mean the cafe'? Why wouldn't I use oil indiscriminately... it is cheep. Why would we change the combustion engine?
Taking care of our planet is not a priority for most. Doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do is not our natural inclination. We need insensitive. We need to know what is in it for us. I don't like paying four dollars per gallon for gas, but let's face it... when the price doubled, Americans didn't even flinch. When just kept consuming. Triple, still going. If this is what it takes to make us wake up and find new energy sources and take care of the planet then I will endure.
It was just a lot to process when all I wanted was a beverage.
Inovate.
Nerfed.
As one grows older, stories or yesteryear seem to just come streaming from your lips before you can dam them up and contain them under the heading "No One Cares But You Grandpa." However sometimes one has to relieve the tension and allow some current lest the levy break.
There used to be one and only one measure of success when it came to building, owning, and operating a swimming pool. The diving board. Is there a diving board? How is the spring on the board? How high is it off the water? After all, the fun of swimming is not actually being in the water, but getting in and out of the water in the most creative ways that we can find. This mindset is the explanation for the line of shivering, wet boys holding there elbows while standing in a line outside of the pool. They and their chattering teeth are waiting their turn to show everyone else how spectacular their entrance into the cool blue can be. And so, they go in and out and back again because they push their art form to be bigger, higher, and better executed.
Disappeared. Where are the heroes of the high dive? Maybe it was one too many faulty flips ending in painful belly flops. Perhaps the duties of life guarding is too stressful, the whistles being abused by power hungry teens headed for careers in the post office. Who knows why, but we all saw it coming. First the high dives were replaced with small slides. Then the low boards were abducted leaving only bolt holes in the concrete... a monument to the fun that once was. Are they gone completely? In our quest to turn the globe into a soft foam ball so Sally doesn't scrape her knee, are we wiping out fun faster than we can down the rainforest? The boards are extinct and the deep ends are endangered, but shhhhh... it will be okay because you can play Wii diving in the safety of your home. So label all the risks "X-treme", stay in the shallow end, and enjoy your padded room. Me and my skinned knee will be outside playing on the concrete at dangerous heights and break neck speeds.