I got to spend a few hours with my grandson yesterday. I had taken him, or rather he came along, to buy some dress slacks. He is in College now and involved in many pursuits. Mark is one to dress appropriately for the occasion and so a jacket and tie is a necessity in his eyes. Dress for success, although I don't believe anyone has ever told him such, he just has an instinct for that, if you know what I mean. Whatever the case, we did spend a few hours together without other distractions like television, social media and the like. Yes, he did text or whatever, the phone was present, but all in all we had time to interact with one anther. We went to lunch, if having a slice of pizza at the mall is having lunch.
We discussed current events, politics and sports. Somehow we got around to mentioning my blogging. Mark had started a blog of his own some years back, he called it, Coffee with Mark. If I recall he made two postings. I reminded him that his blog was still available on the internet. We were talking about how, in theory anyway, it will be there forever. Something celebrities and politicians are finding to be a bit of a thorn in their side's at times. Things can come back to bite you! In that discussion I mentioned I had posted over three thousand blogs. Mark was a bit surprised as he said he hadn't realized I had been writing that long a time. He went to say that perhaps after I died he would have them all made into a book. I chuckled and said you had better have a lot of money, those blog books are costly. I've had two made and they cost about 80 dollars each and don't have many blogs in them. Presently if you had all of mine printed it would take about 4500 pages! I did tell him why I started writing them in the first place. I wanted to leave a record of my thoughts and my memories. I was telling him how I thought some descendant of mine, perhaps a great, great, grandchild might be interested in my thoughts. I told him how I wish I knew the thoughts of my great grandfather that served in the civil war, what were his thoughts on all of that?
Mark agreed that might prove of interest in the future. Then he began to laugh saying. you realize if someone in the future reads that stuff they are going to think you're, I forget the term he used, but the implication was crazy. I understood exactly what he was saying and he is correct. The things I believe or support today are already in conflict with society in general today, fifty years from now, they will most likely be quite the departure. Choose just about any negative adjective describing a social attitude and it most likely will be applied to me. Remember it wasn't that long ago when the prevailing attitude was don't ask, don't tell and today we have parades celebrating that! That's the type of thing Mark was referring too and I get it. My stance on abortion will most likely be looked upon as unreasonable, at its' kindest. I'm hoping there will be a reversal on that thinking however. Hey, at one time slavery was an accepted practice and then rejected, so there is hope for a return to common sense. But, yes Mark is correct, I'm certain anyone, especially a descendant of mine, would be amused or possibly taken aback by my postings. I did explain to Mark that I wasn't concerned about that because, well, I'll be dead and judgement will have already occurred. I also pointed out that I could be " discovered " as an ancient thinker, like Socrates of the twentieth century! That got chuckles from both of us.
It was a pleasant few hours. Grandfather and grandson solving the issues of the world. Me looking back and he looking ahead. And that's the beauty of that situation, you have a view in either direction. It's a satisfaction to be with a young man that you have helped mold. It's like seeing the results of your work. Yes, I'm taking credit for some of his personality, some of his views. We butt heads occasionally and that is a part of the process. If you never argue with one another, one of you ain't thinking! Yesterday however was different, it was just a nice time together, like two old friends. A simple pleasure in life, You know it isn't things, it's moments that bring happiness. Yesterday was a happy day.
We discussed current events, politics and sports. Somehow we got around to mentioning my blogging. Mark had started a blog of his own some years back, he called it, Coffee with Mark. If I recall he made two postings. I reminded him that his blog was still available on the internet. We were talking about how, in theory anyway, it will be there forever. Something celebrities and politicians are finding to be a bit of a thorn in their side's at times. Things can come back to bite you! In that discussion I mentioned I had posted over three thousand blogs. Mark was a bit surprised as he said he hadn't realized I had been writing that long a time. He went to say that perhaps after I died he would have them all made into a book. I chuckled and said you had better have a lot of money, those blog books are costly. I've had two made and they cost about 80 dollars each and don't have many blogs in them. Presently if you had all of mine printed it would take about 4500 pages! I did tell him why I started writing them in the first place. I wanted to leave a record of my thoughts and my memories. I was telling him how I thought some descendant of mine, perhaps a great, great, grandchild might be interested in my thoughts. I told him how I wish I knew the thoughts of my great grandfather that served in the civil war, what were his thoughts on all of that?
Mark agreed that might prove of interest in the future. Then he began to laugh saying. you realize if someone in the future reads that stuff they are going to think you're, I forget the term he used, but the implication was crazy. I understood exactly what he was saying and he is correct. The things I believe or support today are already in conflict with society in general today, fifty years from now, they will most likely be quite the departure. Choose just about any negative adjective describing a social attitude and it most likely will be applied to me. Remember it wasn't that long ago when the prevailing attitude was don't ask, don't tell and today we have parades celebrating that! That's the type of thing Mark was referring too and I get it. My stance on abortion will most likely be looked upon as unreasonable, at its' kindest. I'm hoping there will be a reversal on that thinking however. Hey, at one time slavery was an accepted practice and then rejected, so there is hope for a return to common sense. But, yes Mark is correct, I'm certain anyone, especially a descendant of mine, would be amused or possibly taken aback by my postings. I did explain to Mark that I wasn't concerned about that because, well, I'll be dead and judgement will have already occurred. I also pointed out that I could be " discovered " as an ancient thinker, like Socrates of the twentieth century! That got chuckles from both of us.
It was a pleasant few hours. Grandfather and grandson solving the issues of the world. Me looking back and he looking ahead. And that's the beauty of that situation, you have a view in either direction. It's a satisfaction to be with a young man that you have helped mold. It's like seeing the results of your work. Yes, I'm taking credit for some of his personality, some of his views. We butt heads occasionally and that is a part of the process. If you never argue with one another, one of you ain't thinking! Yesterday however was different, it was just a nice time together, like two old friends. A simple pleasure in life, You know it isn't things, it's moments that bring happiness. Yesterday was a happy day.
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