Hold on

 

Please remain seated until we come to a complete stop.

 

 

There was a time, not long ago, when we had to lick the back of postage stamps to get them to stick to an envelope.

 

Radio stations would disappear from your car radio whenever you drove under a bridge.

 

You could buy a pocket watch for $5.00 at the drug store.  They would last about two to four hours, that’s it.

 

Alexa, back then, was in your wall phone.  You had to dial 411 for information.

 

Schools considered it cheating if you carried a pocket calculator to class.  Now everyone carries a cell phone or laptop.

 

And the ride isn’t over…

 

 

30-Y

        I remember, it wasn’t long after that when they came up with the 30 Year Pill.  Just taking it one time and it would take 30 years off your life.  The government had come up with it in order to increase the size of the draft pool.  If you had not served in the military, but now were too old, this pill would once again place you in the realm of active-duty possibilities. 

        They had not counted on it overloading other areas of society, such as hospitals, traffic and overcrowding in general.  Tampering with the evolution timeline turned out to be devastating, and the flood of counterfeit pills was a nightmare, not to mention, it was fatal if you were too young and took the 30-Y pill.

        Insurance companies ended up in continual legal battles, medical records became useless and people who had once suffered debilitating aliments now showed no trace and could discard their walkers and canes.  Vision issues disappeared, and drug companies launched a massive lawsuit against the government claiming loss of profits.

 

       zc

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are all on the same wheel

 

All the philosophers and all the scientists in all the world have only questions.  Teachers, professors and world leaders can only react or respond.  Hamsters can only run between the pages of invention. 

 

 

zc 

 

 

 

The Apparition

 

 

I saw her as she walked by and the camera obviously saw her, as here she is in the photograph, but trust me when I tell you, she wasn’t there.  Not in the way people are there.  There were no sounds of her footsteps, the shadow cast by the sun was going in the wrong direction, and although she passed through the air, the brim of her hat never fluttered, not one bit.

There was a definite something about her that not only caught my attention but caused me to raise my phone and snap this picture.  The area was a parking lot at a strip mall, but I have erased all the cars from the picture for clarity.  I can’t describe the feeling that came over me at the time, except to say – something here was off.  Something about this person wasn’t right.  Don’t ask me what, I don’t know.  But the feeling I had told me it wasn’t off in a good way.

 

zc

 

Out for a Walk

 

I just felt like taking a walk today, even though it is only a mental excursion, I need it.  I started at the edge of the woods, not sure why, just thought nature would be a refreshing change from streets and building and so-called progress.  It was a little cool starting out but I knew it would warm up during the day. 

It isn’t all that thick and overgrown right here, so walking isn’t a chore.  I did just step over a downed tree.  That got me to thinking about the ants crawling over and around the bark.  I wondered if they knew they were no longer traveling up and down, but now simply horizontal.  From their vantage point it must all look the same. 

I don’t even think about it when walking through the city.  When I encounter a downed building, I simply walk along the construction fence that has been put up to keep people out.  There are no fences around this tree, just more woods surrounding it on all sides.  Off in the distance I can hear a woodpecker working hard for his breakfast. 

I’ve had some jobs like that, beating my head against the wall just to make enough to keep food on the table.  Seeing it from the woodpecker’s view, the trees are his pantry and Man is the creature who doesn’t see it as a food locker, but just as something to cut down and haul away.  Two very different creatures on the planet, each seeing the world differently. 

That isn’t so much good and evil, but it made me think like that for a moment.  Often it becomes very difficult to see evil.  The woodpecker might see humans as evil, and yet we are seeing the woods as a resource.  Some in the city may see the corner bank as a pantry for their money, while those less honest might view it as a resource. Just one more thing to rob.

Being deeper into the woods I notice more the varying spots of light and shadow, as the Sun struggles to keep up with my journey.  The sounds too are not the same as when I began.  Birds, of course, singing and chirping here and there, but also the sounds of scampering.  The leaves on the ground announce the movement of squirrels and other animals as they make their way to wherever. 

It’s the same in the city, but instead of crunching leaves there are car horns and noisy garbage trucks.  No one stays put, for whatever reason they need to get over there, and now across to that side.  Obviously, it is no different here between the trees.  

I guess if there weren’t any noises it would seem quite eerie.  The same as walking downtown early Sunday morning.  Not a soul on the street, no traffic, just maybe the sound of your own steps echoing off the buildings. That is usually enough to trigger the imagination and elevate our senses.  Are we really alone out here, or am I being watched?

Okay, I going to turn around here, before I get too far along and start imagining some massive woodpecker waiting just behind those trees, ready to get the evil human.

 

 

 zc

Attitude Adjustment Center

 

A Prize - perfect for regifting

 

Maybe it was our fault.  We had gone there with very low expectations.  We’d been to this restaurant years ago and it was bad back then, so why should we think they had improved?  Here’s the thing… we won a gift card to this place during a contest. 

And I'm not talking about the food, although it would have had to come up several notches to achieve mediocre.  No, I’m referring to the continuous bombardment of hideous music.  Truly, it was a seemingly endless collection of the worst noise ever pumped through a cheap sound system there ever has been.

The record producers must be the same people who make those little gadgets that send out sound waves to repel rodents.  Those were actually my thoughts as I sat there poking at my food with a fork, this is awful, they must be trying to chase me away. 

If they had been brave enough to have suggestion cards at the table, I believe I may have said, know your audience.  99% of their customers were in their 70’s or more.  Hardly the folks who enjoy heavy metal or off-key rap.  But hey – what do I know?

 

zc 

 

Side note:
        There is a reason the place is empty during the lunch rush.