Candor

Art Linkletter made a decent buck off kids saying the darndest things. They’re not the only ones. I have found that childlike candor is part of some cultures so I was not entirely surprised by what occurred today. Part of my regular workout at the gym includes laps on the track that rings the tennis courts. As I was cooling down from my run, one of the tennis instructors approached me. He was short and dark. He smiled and asked if I was a real Hells Angel. I asked why he asked. He indicated my mustache and the bandana I wear to keep the sweat out of my eyes. “No, I’m a pirate.” He smiled more broadly and walked away. That seemed to make him happy.

The Golden Age of Stupidity

Fads and fashions come and go, so I usually don’t pay much attention. However, I believe I detect a new trend that is a bit disquieting. Stupidity – it’s the new smart. The signs are all over but probably most evident on Facebook where many choose to reveal themselves, whether or not they intend to. Let’s begin with a couple months ago when a purchasing co-op publicized a private sale on its FB page. I responded that I did not recall seeing mention of that in my member (owner) bulletin. The response was that that was the reason why it pays to be a FB “like” on their page! (Their punctuation/excitement). Really? You proudly publicize that you sell memberships (ownership in the co-op) and those who are loyal enough to buy them and faithfully purchase through your co-op are given back seat treatment compared to those who merely click a box on your FB page? Smart of you to post that. I read a news item about a sales tax that was to go into effect at the beginning of the year. It occurred to me that the tax was based upon purchases that were mandated by a new law. That mandate would be unconstitutional except that the Supreme Court sidestepped that by ruling that these purchases weren’t actually purchases; they were taxes levied upon us. This caused me to ponder, we’ll be taxed upon paying a tax? How is that legitimate? I must be missing something. So, I posted my question on FB, hoping someone could point out where I might have erred in my thinking (okay, that was stupid). The initial response was that he couldn’t believe someone spent their time thinking about stuff like that and I needed to get a hobby. Excuse me? Paying attention to and thinking about how the government might be confiscating our property and infringing upon our rights is a waste of time? As opposed to ignorance and blindly accepting anything imposed upon us and attacking those who dare to question it? And you openly proclaim that’s your position (with two fellow yahoos liking your comment)? Ten years ago, would people be advertising their oblivion? A leader of the county chapter of a political party posted one of those fallacious memes that circulate the web. She had done something similar a few days prior, been corrected and obviously had learned nothing from her mistake. I posted a response that her meme was a hoax, explaining why it misrepresented the facts of the issue (read that, outright lied). She answer that she knew, but the chart was so much “fun” she wanted to post it. Yeah, she posted that on the extensive public forum of FB. This is someone who continuously promulgates information supporting her party’s position and promoting that to the voting public. And here she admits – nay, celebrates – that she knowingly puts out deceptive material. At what point in time did that become smart? Welcome to the golden age of stupidity. Enhance yours and trumpet it to the world.

Appreciating the Power

The dramatic photo that came up on my computer screen rang a bell. It showed a thunderous river wave the size of a tour bus. A kayaker was inverted and airborne above it. He is a world-class paddler and had skillfully harnessed the power of the brute to propel himself toward the ionosphere. It obliged, tossing the 230-pound package high into the air with no more effort than you would expend flicking a fuzz ball from your sleeve. It was vaguely familiar because earlier this year I had journeyed to this location, reputedly the biggest whitewater this side of the Rockies. Like him, I had taken on this beast. Unlike him, I’m not a world-class paddler. Probably not even township-class. His intent was to employ the wave to perform an acrobatic maneuver and he succeeded. All I asked of it was safe passage and that was not to be granted. While it did raise me up to knee-knocking height, it also then slam dunked me and retained me in its turbulent maw to administer a repeated drubbing. Fortunately, I overcame the initial shock and awe, gathered my wits, reached for a downstream vector with my paddle blade to extract myself and rolled up. I thought I had appreciated the power of this beast and enjoyed the thrill, but this photo gave me new perspective. When I had paddled it, this was the last challenge of the day. Its upstream kin had already exhausted my resources and I approached it in a less than optimum state. And, I engaged it at water surface level. The photo revealed all of its magnificence. Awesome. Appreciate the power.