MY GRANDCHILDREN & THE FUTURE

My grandchildren, Hoben (16) and Emma (17) took me on a tour of their school on Grandparents Day recently. Both are heads taller than me. Both are articulate, good looking, avid readers and accomplished in many ways.

Emma, who from an early age rode horses many times her size, now has her own horse which she rescued and cares for at a barn in Illinois. Her imagination lends itself well to writing and music and I was told excels at both. She plays guitar and piano and has a lovely voice like her mother and gets her musical ability from her father.

Hoben, now taller than his six foot father, has always had a curiosity about the way things are put together. His understanding of math and geography far exceeds my own. He plays drums, idolizes the Beatles and has his father's sense of humor. When he pitches for his baseball team, I am reminded of a choreographed dance.

Both children's illustrations and special projects were displayed in classrooms and hallways. When their science teachers spoke of their abilities I was hard pressed not to show my pride in them. When I left I was sure that both Hoben and Emma,like many of their peers are capable of shaping their country's future in a good way.

HOW A SEVEN YEAR OLD SEES THINGS

As I went for coffee this morning I passed a table filled with five children and an adult. I stopped to ask if they were all from the same family. Their mother told me they were sisters and brothers. She pointed out a set of twins, another young boy and girl and her oldest, a bored adolescent who seemed in need of attention.

I mentioned to the younger children I thought it was wonderful to have a big brother. One of the girls, about seven years old, piped up, "No its not!" I leaned down and whispered in her ear, wait until you are a little bigger. Without skipping a beat she answered, "Why? Because I will want his inheritance?"

It took my breath away and I wondered, how many more seven year old children see our world this way?

"ANGER" ON THANKSGIVING?

When I write, I describe events and opinions of importance to me and hopefully the reader. Readers have suggested that I was less than clear with my Thanksgiving 2011 message when I wrote, "Her anger came in biblical proportions."

The sentence in question was an acknowledgement of the horrific natural disasters that have occurred here in Missouri, in our country and around the world in the past year.

We share this planet with uncountable other species, animal and otherwise. Thanksgiving provides the opportunity to recognize and respect nature's ability to bring about major disasters unanticipated by people, even as we can be grateful for our own specific good fortune.

SEVEN BILLION AND COUNTING?

Sometime during the month of November, the seventh billion baby was born. Mind you, that was not an exact figure but an approximation. I don't know about you, but I can't get my head around a number like that, or around budgets of trillions, or the hundreds, thousands,millions or more of one individual being worth more than another.

The resources of this planet are finite. How do we manage ourselves as well as others when there are seven billion of us? When we were children we played the game "Monopoly." We were able to count and collect each denomination and hold the bills from one to 500 dollars in our hands. We rented properties. We bought and sold utilities. It made sense!

We stopped playing "Monopoly" a long time ago. I wonder what kind of "game" will these new children play as they join us on this planet and will it make sense?

SIGN OF THE TIME: SWITCHING GEARS

For a number of years, I have sent a small, plain Thanksgiving card to friends, family and colleagues at the start of the holidays.

This year I will send my greeting electronically by e-mail on the first of November.

I hope my verse will be as well received in this format as it was in the other.

IMPOSSIBLE! NEVER HAPPEN!

Just a few weeks ago, the St. Louis Cardinals did not seem to have a chance to take the Pennant, much less get to the World Series. And now, look at them!

I don't usually get excited over baseball, except when my grandson pitches. He's terrific! Yet, I found myself cheering the Red Birds and listening as their games were broadcast, even though I am loyal to the Phillie's. I joined in the announcer's "gt yp, gt yp, gt yp" when the ball was hit.

It was impossible! They were so far back. Beat the Phillie's? It would never happen! But beat them they did and became the National League Champs. Can they win the World Series? Well, I wouldn't bet against them.

NEW YORK'S TAPPEN ZEE BRIDGE

Recently I learned that New York's Tappen Zee Bridge, built in the 1950s, will be torn down. It is one of many bridges that need to be repaired or replaced because of neglect or because the structure can no longer safely serve ever increasing traffic.

Yet, understanding all this and agreeing that neglected structures are unsafe for man, woman or beast, I will be sad to see the Tappen Zee torn down.

Sometimes,when I visit New York, I go to Tarry Town where I stop at a dockside bar across the Hudson River facing the Tappen Zee. When I see her, she reminds me of a grand dame's elegant tiara. I know that if I had to use the bridge, as thousands do daily, the Tappen Zee's elegance's or lack of it would not be on my mind as I crawled along in traffic.

But sitting in Tarry Town facing the Bridge I wonder will she be replaced by an impossibly high, cold cement overpass? Will that overpass be as satisfying to the senses as watching an elegant tiara sparkle in the sun or moonlight. I think not, but everyone will get home quicker!