CHILDREN, US AND THE FUTURE

I have always wondered why we behave as we do toward children in public places. Sometimes we are indifferent, almost as if the child is invisible. Sometimes we are easily annoyed if a child cries or is misbehaving. Sometimes we are almost deliberately rude to a woman traveling with a child on a bus, train or plane, rather than offering to assist in some way. When we fail to take a moment to recognize the child in our midst, do we send a message that this is a hostile environment?

It seems to me that when we fail to notice children or wonder about their treatment anywhere, we shut off our own opportunity to shape and influence, even ever so slightly, the future.

Beyond this, try smiling at a child and you will see real energy at work when your smile is returned.

MY GRANDFATHER,ME & TECHNOLOGY

The story goes that when my grandfather first heard a radio, he thought a man was hidden inside. He could not understand that the voice he heard was body less.

Internet Technology is almost incomprehensible to me. I cannot figure out how what I put on paper, now known as a window, gets from here to you my reader. With my trusted typewriter I was able to put words on paper, mail that paper and you would receive my message. True, I never did figure out how the postal system worked, but I knew it involved earth bound people and equipment. With my PC it's hard for me to comprehend how my message gets to the reader.

Recently, I had a problem with my computer. I was asked to describe the problem. I replied, "They were giving me directions which did not work." The person listening said, "Who is they?" Before I answered, I smiled and thought of the story about my grandfather and the radio.

ABOUT THE BIRDS: NOT THE CARDINALS

I do cheer for the Cardinals even though the Phillies are close to my heart. But this post is not about baseball. It is about real birds. How strange they seem to act at times and how, in some ways they mimic human behavior.

In the Spring, it was reported that Pink Flamingos dropped from the sky over Siberia. Later in New Jersey, red winged black birds were turning up claws to the sky dead. And here in St. Louis on a chilly day in September, I watched chicadees, wild sparrows, ugly starlings and a boisterous, large crow all fighting over a bagel in the street. As I watched, I thought how much like us are these creatures. Fighting with each other. None helping the other. Flying nerviously to and fro. Until the crow decided enough was enough and swooped down, picked up what was left of the bagel, leaving the others excited and bewildered.

There was no sharing of the bagel and I bet the kiddies back home never got a crumb.