Qaddafi : Despot Soon Gone

Well in 2 days I turn 60. No big deal , feel 41.2 yrs old. Anyway as I comb news sources like the BBC World Service much attention is being given and rightly so to the fall of Mohammar Qaddafi. The long running despot of Libya. To show you how long the man has been around I was in my second week of my high school senior year when he came to power so long ago. He has remained through college, marriage , kids , career etc. A shadow of the desert. On my desk is an old Pan Am ashtray a relic of airlines past. Lockerbie Scotland is where many people come across the old airline name. I still remember the day it was blown out of the sky from a Qaddafi inspired bomber. But as I watch the revolt and joy on the streets of Libya his greatest crime as with all despots is the repression of the souls of a people. The scar that can remain over generations. Repression. So as I watch his shadow begin to fade I will actually have a happier birthday......for ding dong the despot's dead.

The Guy from Upstate

So here I on sit at 11509....in the middle of down state New York. Well , I wasn't born here. I am an upstater. Albany New York area to be exact. By downstate terms I am a have not as opposed to being a have.....meaning I can't possibly be as urbane and smart as them. As I kid I grew up on a farm ........worked some summers on my aunt and uncle's dairy farm during Haying Season. That's right I helped bail hay. I think I am the better for it. Small town lifestyle and the whole lot. But as a teenager I did long for a bigger life.....away from small town America. Watched TV shows like The Saint , saw movies like Goldfinger and wanted something more from watching that model. To be educated with a drink and a smoke and of course a good looking car. I got all that and more though I deeply regret the smokes. After observing these well off people in lets face it a fairly segregated part of the world I have discovered something interesting. Some of my role models were better than theirs. The Saint or Bond treated many lesser people with honor. He wasn't rude to waiters like a couple were dining near me last evening. Many around here have little sense of how much of the world functions. I do and at this point in my life find that to be one of my accomplishments that I actually feel proud of. Sorry if I boast. I am a proud upstate guy with all my hick elements still somewhere there within me. I am a guy from upstate and probably in one way or another always will be.

Waiting for the Brains to Come Back Home.

As I write I have just come back from the beach. It's August. I have taken a news break over the last couple of weeks. Just sick of the news. Most everyone in The Civilized World ....what ever that is.....has been on vacation or will be. Atleast in some form summer changes everything. But Stock Market plunges and riots in England along with general American dysfunction in our political arena has caused me to pause. The Prime Minister of England has returned from his Villa in Italy along with good old Boris Johnson , blond mayor of London to appear to quell the riots within London and other cities. The President goes on TV to attempt to ease the crises feel to the economy. Some say he may call back Congress into session to deal with our economy. My advice........enjoy your summer. As August begins to end Europoe slowly begins to return home......half of Europe shuts down for this month. America hits it's Labor Day and prepares it's self for a return to some normal routine. Our Brains shift into the more serious. Right now ....enjoy. Feel the warm sun and the breezes , time away from work and school. We will be serious enough soon enough. Better to be serious when you are slightly more sane after a summers rest.