Grown old isn’t always grown up

Winter in Minnesota often makes me feel like a five or six year old stuck in the back seat of the family car on a too long drive to somewhere nice. I get testy and tease my fellow passengers, causing friction, while asking in a whiny voice “Are we there yet? When will we get there?”

maybe if I had a sled?

Photo by J. Harrington

The problem isn’t that I don’t know better, it’s that I find it quite difficult to do better. I’m bored! There’s nothing (fun) to do. If I go out to play, it’s too cold to have fun, especially with a runny, drippy nose. Is it April yet? When will we get there?

Fortunately, I have some toys to play with inside where it’s not as cold as outside. But, for example, there’s not enough room in the house to practice fly casting so when I get a rod, reel, and line cleaned up and ready to go there’s nought to do with it but put it away again. That’s irritating.

I fully realize that my complaints are petty and trivial in the context of the world’s problems. There’s food on our table, a roof over our heads, the heat makes the house almost comfortable. Now, try selling that to a bored six year old.

I’ve managed to grow old(er?) without growing up. That may make me like most Americans. We appear to have become more petulant and self-centered as individuals and a society as we’ve aged and prospered as a country. If you listen carefully, you’ll hear lots of “me, me, me, me ....” that isn’t a singer tuning up or practicing.

As an example, many in Congress are upset that POTUS notified Congress of the military strikes in Yemen but didn’t ask permission. Those are members of the same Congress that’s setting records for lack of accomplishment? Perhaps they should take a look at the US Constitution, Article 1, Section 8.

President Biden’s statement appears to me to be compatible with probable authorizations under several provisions of Section 8 and with historical precedent. If you want to delve into how messy this topic can get, try researching the “Gulf of Tonkin” resolution.

My point here is that I’ve previously expressed concern over Biden’s age but now must acknowledge that he has acquired maturity and experience as he’s aged. Unfortunately for the country, that’s more than I can say about any of his potential opponents in either (any) party.

The Wise King

By Kahlil Gibran

Once there ruled in the distant city of Wirani a king who was both
mighty and wise.  And he was feared for his might and loved for
his wisdom.
 
Now, in the heart of that city was a well, whose water was cool and
crystalline, from which all the inhabitants drank, even the king
and his courtiers; for there was no other well.
 
One night when all were asleep, a witch entered the city, and poured
seven drops of strange liquid into the well, and said, “From this
hour he who drinks this water shall become mad.”
 
Next morning all the inhabitants, save the king and his lord
chamberlain, drank from the well and became mad, even as the witch
had foretold.
 
And during that day the people in the narrow streets and in the
market places did naught but whisper to one another, “The king is
mad.  Our king and his lord chamberlain have lost their reason.
Surely we cannot be ruled by a mad king.  We must dethrone him.”
 
That evening the king ordered a golden goblet to be filled from the
well.  And when it was brought to him he drank deeply, and gave it
to his lord chamberlain to drink.
 
And there was great rejoicing in that distant city of Wirani,
because its king and its lord chamberlain had regained their reason.

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