Letter from home
You know how sometimes you just don't have anything in particular to say? I mean, sometimes, like tonight for instance, I read other posts, and lash out a comment or two when the mood strikes, but no real post of my own comes to mind. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those who follows the "news cycles" and never writes on an off day such as a weekend, on the contrary, I write when I should. And on this Saturday night, I was content on chasing someone called "4truth" from post to post and poking fun at his inability to tell the truth.
And then I got a letter from home. Home as in Dallas, where I grew up, from Dad to be precise. My Dad has escaped the joy of my penmanship here, something I have usually reserved for Mom, but not tonight. First, a bit about Dad. Retired Professor with a Doctorate from a "Texas Ivy League University", taught Humanities, he was a Methodist preacher as I grew up, father of three, pioneer in the Media Services industry, (literally took a couple of 16mm Library projectors and turned them into one of the country's finest Media Service Departments in all of our fine University Systems). And oh yeah, he's Gay now. Well, I suppose he was always Gay, but that is a complicated and yes, a story for another day, to be sure. My point in describing Dad is to say that he is and has been a very active person when it comes to social and political topics. He has had an input on, oh so many different levels, and if I did him wrong by starting out in the Republican realm, well, I can at least thank him for instilling in me a unique and individual outlook on life. I deeply admire Dad, and try to live up to his Social Consciousness today, even if I am a day late and a dollar short. Enter the letter.
Underachiever and nut case that I am at times, seems Dad has taken to reading my blog, et al, lately and really has enjoyed (so it seems), so I get this e-mail, short and to the point, from him and, BAM!, I gotta write this post. (Cause and effect, see how that works?)
This from a man who has been there through so many "leaders", and not just in the tidy mode of "mainstream America", but one who has actually done battle from an array of pioneering perspectives. Finding it more comforting and healthy to not "keep up with it much any more". And as I take my Nexium for heartburn, and my Lotrel 10/20 for blood pressure, I once again see the wisdom in those who came before me. He finished his short but brilliant e-mail with:
Simple, short, sweet, and straight to the heart. That is what living does to you, scans a better perspective onto your soul, so to speak.
I guess what I gleaned from that letter, and what I might ask you to take from this post is, like it or not, we have to keep up with it if we want anything to happen. Not all of us maybe, perhaps Dad and a few others have stayed the course long enough. That leaves it to you and I to "carry the torch", (I know, lousy melancholy metaphor), but for real. Who is going to lead the way on Social Security? Who, indeed , is going to demand our troops out of Iraq so that my Dad and your's don't have to worry about their grandchildren coming home by way of Dover? Who will see to it that the "Supreme's" of the future don't just have an eye on the bottom line, or the Bible line? Let us al hope, and prey if the mood strikes, that the "leaders" are never "smart enough to run it forever."
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Letter, Social Responsibility, Activists, Dad, Future, Caring, Acting
And then I got a letter from home. Home as in Dallas, where I grew up, from Dad to be precise. My Dad has escaped the joy of my penmanship here, something I have usually reserved for Mom, but not tonight. First, a bit about Dad. Retired Professor with a Doctorate from a "Texas Ivy League University", taught Humanities, he was a Methodist preacher as I grew up, father of three, pioneer in the Media Services industry, (literally took a couple of 16mm Library projectors and turned them into one of the country's finest Media Service Departments in all of our fine University Systems). And oh yeah, he's Gay now. Well, I suppose he was always Gay, but that is a complicated and yes, a story for another day, to be sure. My point in describing Dad is to say that he is and has been a very active person when it comes to social and political topics. He has had an input on, oh so many different levels, and if I did him wrong by starting out in the Republican realm, well, I can at least thank him for instilling in me a unique and individual outlook on life. I deeply admire Dad, and try to live up to his Social Consciousness today, even if I am a day late and a dollar short. Enter the letter.
Underachiever and nut case that I am at times, seems Dad has taken to reading my blog, et al, lately and really has enjoyed (so it seems), so I get this e-mail, short and to the point, from him and, BAM!, I gotta write this post. (Cause and effect, see how that works?)
"I see you are still keeping at it. I would read your blog – and others like it – more often but I am so fed up with all the bullshit of the world’s so-called “leaders” that I just don't think I want to keep up with it much any more"
This from a man who has been there through so many "leaders", and not just in the tidy mode of "mainstream America", but one who has actually done battle from an array of pioneering perspectives. Finding it more comforting and healthy to not "keep up with it much any more". And as I take my Nexium for heartburn, and my Lotrel 10/20 for blood pressure, I once again see the wisdom in those who came before me. He finished his short but brilliant e-mail with:
"I heard something I liked yesterday: Thank god the people who run this world aren't smart enough to run it forever."
Simple, short, sweet, and straight to the heart. That is what living does to you, scans a better perspective onto your soul, so to speak.
I guess what I gleaned from that letter, and what I might ask you to take from this post is, like it or not, we have to keep up with it if we want anything to happen. Not all of us maybe, perhaps Dad and a few others have stayed the course long enough. That leaves it to you and I to "carry the torch", (I know, lousy melancholy metaphor), but for real. Who is going to lead the way on Social Security? Who, indeed , is going to demand our troops out of Iraq so that my Dad and your's don't have to worry about their grandchildren coming home by way of Dover? Who will see to it that the "Supreme's" of the future don't just have an eye on the bottom line, or the Bible line? Let us al hope, and prey if the mood strikes, that the "leaders" are never "smart enough to run it forever."
Technorati Tags:
Letter, Social Responsibility, Activists, Dad, Future, Caring, Acting
posted by p_jordan_sr at 3/26/2006 12:50:00 AM
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