We Are All Immigrants

 

This land we call the United States is full of immigrants. Around 10,000 years ago it is theorized a race of Asians migrated across a land bridge into the American continent from Eurasia. They formed the basis for many “Indian” tribes that populated the area, before the whites came. These were the first immigrants. Then, early white settlers came over from Europe, and established their own colonies. More immigration. They pushed the first ones back, and took their lands by various methods. In the 1800's and 1900's, more immigrants arrived from European shores. Italians, Germans and scandinavians all came, and settled here in America. Newer immigrants. Finally, Hispanics have been coming over a lot in the last century or so, seeking a better life here. Just the latest Immigrants.

And now we seem to have this hysterical hostility to the newcomers, when in reality, we are all newcomers. Some just more recent than others. The Caucasian or white peoples were not the first to arrive, yet somehow that culture has established predominance. When one takes a long view of things, this seems rather odd. What makes one culture so much better than any other culture? Who decides this? Melatonin in skin color does not automatically mean a better morality or behavior.

And this situation may not last forever. The peoples of color are out-breeding the so-called whites by quite a bit, judging by some of the latest demographic statistics. In a hundred years, whites will be a minority. POC will have the majority. So it seems that the latest racist policies emanating from our centers of power are a last, desperate gasp and grasping for control, of an uncontrollable change. It is just a shame that they are causing so much pain and disruption. Why not just concede and accept the inevitable? But they (we) won't. Get ready for a lot more mayhem ahead.

Older is still not Dead

 

No climbing Mt Everest for me,

nor swimming down the Amazon.

Just drive by major mountain ranges;

And those 1,000 mile trail hikes?

Nah, I think I'll just watch it on TV.

Not every one of us can be superhuman;

But I'm still pleased at the things I have done.

No. 1 is staying alive and reasonably conscious.

No 2 is housed and well-fed, and enjoying friends.

I've traveled to various places in the US,

and to some European cities when I was a student.

I've watched the forward march of technology,

from the early clunky computers and calculators,

all the way to today's slim handheld marvels.

I've witnessed the construction of an enormous

orbiting space station, built and staffed by many nations.

A second one was lofted by the Chinese, who are currently

planning a human-crewed Moon landing. They'll do it, too.

I've enjoyed some great times with friends,

and warm, congenial holidays with Family.

While there has been the painful loss of a sibling,

her descendants have achieved many wonderful things.

Let the billionaires pat each other on the back,

Our humbler lives are full of simple novelties;

The future rushes at us without any slack,

but we can stay content with friends and families.

Freddy, get me some coffee

 

In the near future, there will likely be some production and sales of humanoid robots. Likely playthings for the rich at first, they may eventually seep down into the middle classes. Perhaps we will call them Hu-bots, for humanoid robots. Like, “I just bought a new Hubot today, think I'll name it Freddy. Freddy will be able to answer most any question, wirelessly attached to the Internet. It/he will be able to back itself into a charging port at night, and go quiescent. But Freddy will have an “off' switch, to entirely shut down his power source – Freddy will (or should) have numerous safety protocols built in. It will probably have a way to disconnect from the Net, and go into a 'local' mode. In Local, it might be able to perform simple tasks, but could not answer any deep questions.

New home construction (expensive homes) could incorporate Hu-bot docking stations or areas, so your one or two Hubots could park themselves and charge up. Some Hubots could have specialized programming to care for older or sick folks, or to help care for infants. And yes, some might even be adapted to satisfy sexual needs – and why not? We already have a plethora of sex toys – the Hubots could just take it to the next level. Hubots would add some interesting changes to our society – but we could adapt to them. We already live with a lot of technology that can be dangerous if used wrong or breaks or whatever. We may as well take the next step.

Some thoughts on the humanoid robots: Businesses that make and sell these should be publicly traded, so individual investors can get an opportunity to invest. They should be regulated similar to automotive companies, to ensure a very high degree of safety. But not so strangling of regulation to slow or prevent adoption. China is already working on these. We better get going on it ourselves, here in the US. Informative videos and posts and general info should certainly be put out to the public to help us adopt to the new 'companions' in our society. Perhaps in homes there could be a 'dead zone' where the Hubots could not enter or operate, so any nervous people could seek refuge. Perhaps the Hubots would simply shut down or off if they left their zone of operation – a totally fail-safe zone.

This can be done, I have no doubt.

Here in the US things have looked grim in the past. But somehow, we have been able to recover, and generate whole new industries. With our multitudes of intellects, we have risen to ever greater heights, and achieved the seemingly impossible. We can add to this with the creation and production of a series of humanoid robots, to use and to sell to the rest of the world. It will be exciting to see the changes coming ahead.

The Best Dance Carries a Happy Stance

 

Outside there are four yellow umbrellas,

with compact wooden tables underneath.

It all looks tiny, a simple local food joint.

Until you walk in thru the front door, and it opens up;

Bright yellow colors tinged with magenta meet your eyes;

A hostess welcomes you warmly, and offers

you the choice of a booth or table.

You follow her to your chosen spot,

and get seated, then handded some simple menus.

The Happystance doesn't have a big selection,

Just four or five breakfast dishes,

some lunch items and entrees for dinner.

A happy simplicity pervades this bright space.

A cheerful waitress takes the drink order,

then returns to take your food requests.

You are offered an array of sauces for your eggs,

with salt and pepper included, of course.

The workers all show happystances in this dinette.

The food comes soon enough,

eggs done to order, two wide pieces of

sliced toast, with homemade jam on the side.

The coffee tastes good, and the décor gives

a fun vibe, another happy stance in this dinette.

Walls covered with pictures of eggs,

sunny side up, run into the decorated ceiling.

Hexagonal lights hang down from above,

purple, yellow and white shapes hovering over.

What an interesting place this is!

Complete with soft and hard rock music

coming from hidden speakers around;

Full of diners, yet containing muted joys.

No one asks your political party or

heated partisan opinions at the

Happystance Diner – just if there is

anything else you need today.

Happily for you and others,

no, nothing else besides the check.

Another day made brighter,

at the Happystance Dinette!

Unpleasant Exercise

 

Huffing my way down the trail,

waving away the mosquitoes and gnats;

Wondering why I just had to

walk this river trail once again.

Oh yeah – daily exercise.

I wanted to make it interesting, I thought.

Something to break up the routine,

to motivate myself to get out and move,

I thought.

This darned humidity is making me sweat

enough to soak the front of my shirt,

and the cloud of skeeters is making inroads

on my neck and back – or new roads of red bumps.

The river nearby is high and light cloudy green -

any sensible aquatic life is sheltering in deep crevasses.

Only the stupid human is clomping along a narrow trail,

trying not to trip over rocks and roots.

Well, at least I'm getting exercise,

and sharing my blood with hungry insects.

When I finally make it back to the car,

gratefully start it up and crank the AC,

A decision is made.

Tomorrow,

my walk will be indoors at the fitness center.

Bye bye, river – maybe I'll visit again in the fall,

when you show clear vistas and are dressed in

bright fall colors. Then you'll be sexy indeed.