Levels of Humanity

 

Working out in a large family gym, you see all ages.

From 5-year-olds up to older people like me, and beyond.

When walking, I'm taken back to one or another age.

The boys playing basketball, taunting each other,

the happy-go-lucky runner who looks all of 10,

just eating up laps like it's nothing, with a grin on his face.

The two teenage gals dishing the tea on the mats,

pity their poor target getting lacerated.

The older retired guys by the weights,

barking out certainties or possibilities,

chuckling and glad-handing with their towels.

Serious-minded twenty-somethings

walking to or from the weight area,

determined to make it through more sets,

flush-faced from the efforts exerted so far.

More oldsters walk on the upper level track,

chatting, or zooming along or huffing.

Some people with walker or cane make their

slow way down the track, gaining strength with

each painful step taken towards a healing process.

This can get crowded, with folks passing or lagging...

But at least we are out of the weather, and also

we can be around other human beings –

loneliness abated for an hour or two.

There are worse places to spend an afternoon,

and one feels fortunate to be here at least,

on this side of the ocean,

out of harm's way.

War is (still) Hell

 

It is always amazing how fast the years go. And when I sit and watch some show made 20 years ago, and then see how history is unfolding, making old plot points moot. Like watching (on TV) Iranian spies and the Mossad, and the CIA, all 'interacting' on a spy thriller series. And meanwhile today, Iran is being bombed heavily. At one time, even Iraq seemed like a formidable country, before we went over there and whooped them. But to me, it seemed unthinkable that we would attack Iran. Of course, their proxies Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis have been causing endless trouble over the years. In effect, the US has been in a low-level war with Iran for decades, by having to fight or counter their small-scale terrorist attacks. The attacks on oil tankers, their speedboat harassment of shipping, the attacks on Israel, etc etc etc. So I suppose just trying to finish them off makes a kind of logical sense.

It is just that they are a larger, formidable nation, and this won't be easy. If we do have to put troops on the ground, then surely we'll be stuck in a giant quagmire for years. Which makes me wonder just how much of this endless war our country can withstand? I guess we'll find out. A lot of innocents will surely lose their lives, as so many have in the past. War is always messy, always costly, always uncertain in the outcome. We'll see. Sure wish I would have bought an e-bike when they were cheap.

Thoughts on Travel

 

Travel can be such an adventure, in ways both good and bad. For instance, I recently took a trip to the Palm Springs, CA area with a friend. I was really looking forward to it all. When we flew there, everything seemed to go smoothly. The whole aviation experience seemed pleasant. The professionalism of the crews, the screens to track our flight progress right there on the seats, including at times a virtual altimeter. When we arrived, we had to wait for a while to get a rental car. That process is always time consuming, as the rental co's try to upsell you, and find a car close to the one you reserved. On at least three different trips, they have ended up substituting a different vehicle – but they tend to be upgrades too, so that was good.

So we drive out of there, and manage to find our way to the resort. That is another process – first time visitors to the resort have to fill out background check-type apps. Sheesh – it seems like every business needs to know every little thing about their customers. I came from a different time, and this always irritates me. But, we got through that, and got some entry wristbands. Once we got to our room, I was pleasantly surprised. It was an elegant, modern room with clean minimalist design, and had all of the amenities. (They made the same mistake a lot of places do – they have a bathroom sink with just narrow counter space around the sink. No place to put toiletries.) Still, I overlooked that. Everything else was nice, from the fully stocked kitchen to the TV fully loaded with many premium channels, along with all the basic cable ones. Our room had an outdoor patio area, with glass-topped table and chairs, facing the pool area. The beds were comfortable, and we had daily towel service, with room cleaning on request.

When we went downtown, we enjoyed seeing the usual tourist places, eating at some delightful restaurants, and visiting nightclubs. But there will always be some letdowns. Maybe a long wait, or someplace will be hard to find, or the prices shock you, or the crowds annoy. The nightclubs were mostly packed. That's a good sign – the place is popular.

The first three days were a lot of fun, with good weather, a fun jeep tour, and good times back at the resort. But when it came time for our open-air bus tour, the weather stopped cooperating with us. It got rainy and cool, and we got soaked, despite the gratis 'rain ponchos' they handed out. Well, the tour guide kept on narrating places despite the rain. And no one can control the weather that I know. But it did put a damper on the day. Still, we managed to get back to the resort, and even get our laundry done. The next day, the sun came back out, and we spent an enjoyable final full day, touring around. That night, rain and high winds came back to haunt us.

The day we left, we turned in the car, and got into the airport, checked our bags, went thru TSA, and all. Then we got to our gate, and waited. And waited, and waited. The plane that was going to take us to Denver could not land due to the high winds, and had to divert to Ontario (LAX). Sooooo – we got to wait for around four hours, until another plane could get there, and we could board that one. But, kudos to our airline, United, for automatically re-booking us on a later flight out of Denver. We arrived in Denver, and were able to make it to our next gate with around 15 minutes to spare. That flight left on time, and we made it back home to Des Moines later that night.

This all goes to show that travel for fun and leisure is not without various risks. You assume those when you leave on a trip. If you're lucky, everything goes smoothly and you enjoy a great vacation. Most of my vacations have had their “bumps”, like this last one described. But it was still worthwhile, with a lot of fun moments. A warm desert resort in the middle of February is delightful all on its own. One just has to pack a fair amount of patience along with their clothing and suntan lotion, and then you'll do fine. (Barring any real disaster, of course) . Travel is an adventure, one that I enjoy, and one I'll be doing more of in the future. Hope you all can too.

Taken Way Way Back

 

One moment, I'm the usual 68 years old, huffing my way around a walking track. But then that song comes on through an overhead speaker, at the fitness center. A song that takes me back to 1975, and a bunch of us are in a school van, driving back from Chicago, after going on a long field trip. We had had some conflicts between individuals, and there was some ongoing tensions. But when the song came on, someone started singing the refrain. Old Mississippi, I'm calling your name. Old black water, keep on flowing, Mississippi moon gonna keep on rising... And before I knew it, I was singing along too. We were all singing it after a while. At that moment, we were all joined in good vibes. It just resonated with all of us. And for the first time in days, I felt completely happy. It was at the endpoint of the high school days, with some college and life all way ahead. Now, to hear it again at the “endcap,” after a retirement, and a few years beyond that. It is an eerie feeling, but also fascinating. A lot of years have passed – 51 since the van singing group. No thoughts of tech changes or anything, just the memory of that group of us, sharing a happy moment together, resonating across so much time, yet seeming fresh and new again. Shared camaraderie seems the most valuable currency, since it is never spent and never dies. Happy February (2026) all.

Do or See or Be Anything

 

How much knowledge can a brain take?

Two companies tested a new kind of scramjet,

combining existing tech in novel ways.

Before that was a history of US military

wars and interventions over the years.

There were the videos about old mines in the Southwest,

abandoned testing sites in the Mohave desert with cool old

tunnels and lots of strange ruins. All human-made. But cool.

Teams of Youtubers are out there filming more places every day.

There were the easy oil change lessons, brake repair, etc, etc.

There are more Hollywood exposes than there were movies

made in the “golden heydey” of the 1930s-1950's!

Every movie star had some kind of hidden secret laid bare...

Want to learn about building some weird legacy circuit?

There's a video showing you how to hard-wire computer memory.

Want to work on your plumbing? Videos for that. Bored with how to's?

There are many others that are amateur home movies, or comedic shorts.

Nowadays the problem isn't finding entertainment,

it is deciding which amusement to choose.

And limiting your time stuck at a screen,

when there is something called “the real world”

out there beyond your door, beckoning.

Who knew that having the world at your fingertips could be so...

stressful? Stay calm and enjoy the views.

Happy New Year 2026

 

Maybe this is the year that Peace will break out,

that humans will stop the killing,

and start to take better care of each other.

Maybe this will be the year leaders wake up,

and see that almost everything they do leads

to more senseless killing of human beings.

Maybe this will be the year more people get housed,

more enlightened social policies take hold,

people are better cared for in every respect.

Maybe reasoned, rational thinking will take hold,

and religious fanaticism will mercifully recede.

The only think that is known for sure is that

there will be more meteorites in the sky,

more babies born into squalor and warfare,

more foolishness and greed in political circles.

There will be way too many more humans

fouling up the earth in so many ways.

But when that date rolls over it gives rise to

hope that somehow, we can clean up our

hopeless mess.

Good luck with that.

Happy New Year anyway!

Extraterrestrial love songs

 Here are a couple of sonnets and a villanelle about romance beyond the boundary of Earth.  (With a lot of help from Gemini, thank you G.)

Love Affair in Space

In deep blackness where stars like diamonds shine,

We drift in silence, held by gravity's bond,

No earthly clock can rule this love of thine,

Past moons and rings, in realms that lie beyond.

Your silhouette against the nebula's light,

Outshines the sun in my confined sphere,

In zero G, our souls ascend the height,

A future together beyond the stratosphere.

Our vessel hums a constant, low refrain,

A lullaby beneath the glass dome's curve,

You are the airlock shielding me from pain,

The sustenance for which my feelings serve.

Forgetting the divides that used to be,

My universe is now centered in thee.

Young Lovers on the Moon

The dust of ages settles on our dome,

Where we have made a garden, strange and new,

Beneath the pale, bright curve of Earth, our home

Is marked by footprints only we walked through.

No whisper here of judgment's shadowed voice,

No narrow gaze to tell our hearts we err,

We chose this quiet crater, by free choice,

To build our solace in the thin, cold air.

Your hand in mine, we watch the azure rise,

A distant marble, beautiful and whole,

Reflecting secrets in your knowing eyes,

The shared, wild longing of a youthful soul.

Let all the miles of space between us lie,

You are my Moon, my purpose, and my sky.

Lovers Living in Space.

The silver ship spins slow in silent night,

Our two hearts beat in rhythm, free of earth,

We hold each other close within the light.

Beyond the glass, the cosmos takes its flight,

No need for words to prove our human worth,

The silver ship spins slow in silent night.

No gravity can claim this pure delight,

To drift with you past where the planets girth,

We hold each other close within the light.

The distant blue globe fades from mortal sight,

A memory of the place that gave us birth,

The silver ship spins slow in silent night.

In weightless bonds, our future is set right,

No rules constrain the love that we unearth,

We hold each other close within the light.

Until the journey ends, our solemn plight

Is simply to confirm our life's true hearth,

The silver ship spins slow in silent night,

We hold each other close within the light.