Seventeen: In Times Of Political Turmoil

     "When you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing - When you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors - When you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don't protect you against them, but protect them against you - When you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming self-sacrifice - You may know that your society is doomed."
                                                                                               Ayn Rand
                                                                                               Atlas Shrugged 1957

     Normally we do not have political posts, but recently in cleaning out my notes on my I - phone this quote popped up. It was something that struck my senses very deeply. It is hard to make your way through the fear of Coronavirus, dying, suffering untold agony, isolationism to the extreme and the outright lying and deceit that is cable news media these days. We have never been the type to bury our heads in the sand. To not recognize the truth and post it would be beyond any reason that we would ever have for writing. While there are no other answers than to see it and to say it, we all must find the truth to believe in and hold steadfast to it. When we were young we protested, we believed in what we were doing so much we fought in the streets. When we see the people in the streets now, we can't help but to understand their frustration. We believed these things were addressed and yes even taken care of. Enter our President and Disrupter in Chief and in a few short years, chaos reins supreme, with the above quote being the truest words that have been spoken in years.
     Get out and vote, protest, become an activist but do not go quietly into the night. What ever you believe, you had better believe with your entire heart and soul, because you are being sold a bill of bad goods by those that are elected to serve you. They are serving themselves to whatever you and your children thought you had in the way of a society and a country. You need to speak your mind and your peace, you need to do it loudly and with great conviction. Change takes place with you, me, and the next American. Be the change you want to see in the world. If you sing, sing, if your write, write better, if you paint, paint your masterpiece!

Art of Hitch Hiking

     I briefly touched on the art of hitch hiking in my last blog, but I firmly believe that there is a fine art to it. I suppose that you can make the argument that people that hitch hikers are destitute or down and out. However there are, or there once was, a group that did it because it was fun. Even if you are destitute you have to present yourself as someone who you would pick up. You don't have to wear your Sunday best, but being filthy is not the answer. The rules as I see them are Look like you want a ride. Be attentive to the road and traffic so that you can make eye contact with your potential driver.
So that when and if they are going to pick you up you are at least aware of it happening. Circumstances put people in all kinds of positions, I never thought that it was beneath me to hitch a ride. Once I hitched on old route 20 from Albany, New York to Rochester with my old dog Dusty. We actually did well and got good rides. Although he was a very cool dog. It was a great experience.
     Many of my short stories have the central character as a wayfarer. In fact I once got a rejection letter telling me my central character should have obvious means of support to be a role model for young children. I think that only fueled my Pied Piper Complex. If traveling and hitching were truly to be an Art. My characters would be stellar examples of it.
     So I will continue to make The Art of Hitch Hiking a theme to write about. For all the children out there I will leave you with one of my Poems from Of Mountains and Men.

                                                       Upon The Mountains


Go upon the mountains
My beautiful innocent children
Leave the cities far behind.
For they in their ingratitude
Condemn themselves to their solitude!
Today's Song
Take To The Highway, James Taylor