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!