Going back to the old days, good times and missing old friends

Going back to the old days.....

Recently I was send an interview by Conan O'Brian. I can not remember off hand who he was interviewing, but the comments these man made were brilliant! He started off by saying that we live in a wonderful time in history, but nobody is happy. He said that sometime he thought that it would be good if we suffered another great depression. His thinking was that if we went back to the old days where we would be taking a horse drawn carriage, or walked to work we would probably be happier.

To back up his statement he went on to say that we have access to all of the technology, and information in the world but we take it for granite. Remember when we actually "dialed" a phone? We used to hate when we had to call somebody with two zero's in there number. Then we would call and the people may not even be home. The phone would ring and ring and ring and we would Wait. Think about that for a moment...We were actually using technology that created sparks to communicate with people. If they were not home we didn't send them a text, or left a message. We would call them back later if it was truly important, or we would talk to them when we saw them.

Another fine example that this man used was the opportunity to use the Internet while flying. As the plane reached altitude the flight attendant came over the intercom and announced that it was safe for passengers to use the Internet while they were in flight. So this guy was cruising around on the Internet for approximately ten minutes. Then the attendant announced that they were having difficulty with their WI-FI connection. The man next to this guy immediately uttered that not being able to access the Internet during his flight was BS! Imagine that. Apparently everybody on the plane, and the airline OWED this guy because he should have complete access to technology he found out about ten minutes prior.

Good Times....

I have never been a fisherman. I could never really see the point. Yesterday my neighbor talked me into going to Tucannon for the March 1st opening of fishing season. We hiked into a little picturesque lake. Lucky for us we were able to find one that was not clogged with avid fisherpeople (trying to be PC). MY neighbor went to one side of the lake and I decided to go the other side. It was quite. I started to get bored. Then I started listening. The white noise in my busy, hustled life faded away and I heard something that I have not heard in a while. I heard wind...and running water. I heard an occasional fish jump out of the water gasping for a feeble inspect that looking more appealing then my hook. I heard deer. Then I heard "Fish on!" Then a few cuss words as my neighbor lost a big bite.

In that brief moment in my life I think I understood what Emerson, and Thorough wrote about. I almost understood what Chris Chandless was looking for and eventually gave his life for in the book (and now movie) "into the wild" By John someguy (totally forgot his last name, but it is my moment). In that brief glimpse of life I felt at peace.

Will I every become an avid fisherman like my neighbor and Ty. Probably not. But it is fun to watch people obsess about things. Oh...And I like nature, and solitude.

Missing old friends

Recently two people that I admired and respected passed away. They were both men that the world is lacking now days. They took responsibility for their actions. They were always there to lend a hand to their communities, and never asked what they would get out of it. They never complained. They looked after my family even though they had families of their own. They were men of honor. They were hero's. They were veterans. They will always be my friends.