Opus 2026-097: What Age Accountability?

This rabbit trail was instigated while watching my grandson roam around the kitchen, singing to himself while munching on a rolled up tortilla which was coated on the inside with butter and cinnamon.  That is his breakfast of choice and since he’s at grandma‘s house, that’s the breakfast of the day.

He seems so unconcerned about the economy.  He wasn’t worried about global warming.  He didn’t even have to worry about his sister because she was home with mommy.  From there, my thought went to pictures I’ve seen of people living in more primitive conditions with a child wandering around naked, pot bellied, and seemingly just as unconcerned as my grandson.  At what age does life begin to press upon them and impress them with the fact that what was ahead of them was work and the unknown.

One of the issues we are facing with a large percentage of the younger generations is that they never had a rite of passage that reminded them they were adults now.  For me it wasn’t going away to college.  It was being drafted and sent to Vietnam.  After that I was ready for life.  I hear how many are still living in Mommy’s basement and expecting her to do their laundry.  It is one thing when a six year old doesn’t worry about where his next tortilla comes from but not so good when they are twenty-six.

Do what you can to help the younger people in your life grow up.  That will be painful but keep in mind that someday you will be dead and the drunk next door does not iron underware.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-268: The Switch

One of the problems that gets worse with age is the ability to remember names.

Spending time with my brothers family around his funeral was a great time in many ways.  One unexpected benefit was a bit of a surprise.  I found out the children couldn’t remember the names of the adults.  That is a switch.  And it will get worse with age.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-324: A Long Drive

As I was sitting, looking at the crescent moon that was rising the sky, I could see a vague outline of the rest that was not lit up.  I’m too lazy to dig out my telescope and take a look at it, but I thought about maybe someday doing that with the grandchildren.  Somewhere in that experiment they would ask how far away it is.

How do you explain the distance to the moon to a six year old?  How do you get across the concept of 238,000 miles?

They will be driving up to see their other grandparents over Christmas and it will be 1,250 miles over a 2 or 3 day drive.   I thought about trying to explain to them that if they were to take a road to the moon driving at the same speed that they drive going to grandma’s house, they might be 8 years old before they got there.  I’m not sure it is possible to get across the concept to a child.  It’s hard enough for me as an adult to understand but at least I have a general grasp.

Now take some of the bigger concepts that the Bible teaches us.  How about the eternal nature of God?  How about the Trinity?  How about the incarnation?  How about the glory of the new Jerusalem?  There’s so many things that we can kind of get a general feel for, but we can’t really put our hands around.

Just as the child has to accept from the adult general sense of reality, so we have to accept the teachings of God has given us in His word.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-314: Old and Young: Being a Dispenser

The Bible seems to feel that age is an attribute leading to wisdom.  I don’t think it assumes years always lead to wisdom, but it is an important element.  We are to honor elders, the white hair of age is a symbol of glory, and so forth.  Since I am in that demographic, I like this idea.

I think one clue we find about this is that God is the oldest of all.  God is so old that the word means very little anymore.  I guess if you turn it around and look at his existence into the past of eternity, then he’s also the youngest.

Young whiper \-snappers need to be listened to at times but they need to listen even more.  When you get a chance, dispense wisdom.  Even more important, live wisdom.  Don’t expect them to learn thrift if you spend like a sailor who just got paid or even worse, one who gets paid tomorrow.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-202: On the Street: Cranky Is Good

I was driving across town and reading signs as I went.  One of them started off, “Through a Child’s Eyes” and billed itself as a Child Development Center.  Not being sure exactly what that meant, my curiosity drove me to look it up on line.  Yes, I do have better things to do but sometimes questions keep popping into my head.  

It turns out it was a well marketed day care center.  I found the blurbs on line to be very depressing.  This group of adults were saying that they could become surrogate parents and provide all the leadership and foundations that the children’s parents were supposed to give.  I am not sure I would want people who think they are better parents than I am in charge of my children.  It reminds me of Groucho Marks saying he would not want to be part of any club that would have him as a member.

If there is anything that our culture does not need it is the tendency to look at things through a child’s eyes.  My grandchildren can’t get the concept that a quarter is worth 25 pennies.  How could such a thing be?  When I was a child I remember telling the adults at the table that I would take the money being offered to pay for dinner when it was refused for politeness.  There are so many important things children are not ready to grasp.  We endanger civilization if we try to look at our world through a child’s eyes.

That goes double for college age students who have been brainwashed by the media and public schools.  I find it depressing that when they turn 18 they can be depended on to vote in conformity to the obvious evil of their keepers.  

What we need are more cranky old men and fewer sensitive flower children.  And, yes, I am a cranky old man.

homo unius libri

Opus 2023-314: Memory Lane

Memory is always a challenge.  People of all ages have moments when they can’t wrap their mind around a specific word.  It just gets more frequent and frustrating as you get older.  Much of what we experience is just an increase of the brief spells as youngsters.

I am working to fill in the gaps.  This comes when someone will share something I was a part of and I have no memory.  I think I already shared about getting my son to eat green beans.  I don’t remember, so I will repeat it.  He was stuck at the table until he finished his green beans.  I kept warming them up and they kept getting drier.  He claims that what finally convinced him to eat them was that when the ones on his plate were too desiccated to eat, I opened another can.  At that point he knew he was not going to win.  I had lost that memory.  Now I have added it.

More recently my daughter shared how I used to take her to the men’s room to use the bathroom.  I don’t remember ever doing it but she said I would check to make sure it was empty, get her installed in a booth, stand guard in front until she was done and tell her when the coast was clear.  I can’t believe I don’t remember, but she does.

I expect to know more about my past next year than I do today.  What anticipation.

homo unius libri

Opus 2023-203: Don’t Die Young

Being old I find that I am surrounded by people even older.  Many of them seem to be more mobile than some young people.  Meanwhile we hear that the average life expectancy of Americans has gone down, especially white males.  Does that mean we are living shorter lives?  The fact that the life expectancy today is close to 80 and 200 years ago it might have been 40, does that mean people live twice as long today?

The answer of course is yes and no.

This is a matter of statistics.  We are talking about averages and what most people forget is there are at least three different types of average:  Mean, mode, median.  The mean is what most people think of as an average.  You add up all the numbers and divide by how many numbers were in your sample.  Median is the score half way between the bottom and the top.  Mode is the most frequent.

Give examples.

Assume that a couple has four children and only two survive to adulthood and they live to be 80.  The other two died as infants.  The mean average would be 40 years.  The median would be 40 years and the mode would be 80 years.

Take the same family and three live to be 80 and the other dies in infancy.  Then it is mean, 60; median is now 80 and the mode is still 80.

Again you have one that lives to be 80, two to sixty and one as an infant.  Now it is mean 50, median 60 and mode 60.

Notice that the life expectancy is actually 80 in all cases but the averages are changed based on how you figure the numbers.  It has been pointed out to me that the life expectancy is higher because with modern medical advances and improved sanitation, children survive to adulthood.  The top number does not change significantly.  It is what happens before that number is reached that changes the statistics.

So you have as good a chance of living to 100 as anyone ever has and the longer you make it the better your chances because you have already gotten past childhood diseases, the foolishness of youth and the age to be drafted for a war.

Keep in mind the example of Moses,

(Deu 34:7 KJV)  And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.

All you need is a diet of manna and quail with an exercise routine of walking through the desert for 40 years.

homo unius libri

Opus 2023-040: Starting Time

“Don’t trust anyone over thirty.”  That used to be a common sentiment.  Today I would find myself saying, “Don’t trust anyone under thirty.”  This of course speaks to the different ways that generations view things.  One of the books I read recently was Bowling Alone.  It had a lot of interesting information and a lot of boring nonsense.  One of the points the book made was that there has been a lot of parallel changes in many areas of our culture from voting to church attendance.  On the subject of voting it says,

“Very little of the net decline in voting is attributable to individual change, and virtually all of it is generational.” p. 34

There is a lot of discrimination that goes on across generations.  Some of it is warranted, some is not.  In many career paths older workers have a hard time getting a job that pays well even if they have the abilities and experience.  

I have reached the golden years of retirement.  If the government does not totally ruin our society and I don’t do something incredibly stupid, I will have enough to live on.  My health is good.  My family is awesome.  I am enjoying the time I have.  But I sometimes wonder if I should be doing more.  This hit me when I saw the following verse,

(Gen 12:4 KJV)  So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.

Abram was 75 when he started out on his adventure of obedience and faith.  I can’t picture that.  I am ready to rest on my laurels, Abram was starting the nation of Israel.  

Maybe I should set my goals a bit higher.  Maybe not.

Putnam, Robert D.  Bowling Alone.  New York:  Simon and Schuster, 2000.

homo unius libri

Opus 2022-042: Firsts: What Is That?

This is a first for a guy delivering a mattress, not me.  

As he was walking through our living room where my wife was playing some old records for our granddaughter he looked at the record player and said, “What is that?”  He had never seen a turntable before.

What is strange about this is that vinyl is making a comeback.  You can buy records all over the place and most people would figure there must be a place to play them.  Totally off his radar.

So when you run into people who believe in global warming and the China Flu plague keep in mind that there are still people who don’t know what a record player is.  And they outnumber us.

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-163: Snowflake Removal

Do snowflakes really live in mommy’s basement?  I vaguely remembered reading about parents who went to court to force their son to move out.  I finally found it again at BBC News.  I guess it is a real thing.

I would suggest that you could get rid of them without going to court.  Start by cutting off the subsidies.  I imagine that in these cases the parents are often still feeding the kid.  Cut off the meals.  Refuse to wash their clothes.  Have an electrician cut off their electricity.  Use a little creativity.

If nothing else works, change the locks when they are out of the house.

I might also suggest that the federal government do the same for deadbeat Democrat controlled cities.  How long could they keep going without rent subsidies, food stamps, free health care and a subsidized transportation system.  Watch them grow up or die.

Hard problems demand hard answers.  I suspect that the problems in the cities are caused by the same mentality that causes the problems in the basement.  I doubt if the spoiled brats downstairs developed this overnight.  They were the ones who never picked up their sox.  They were the ones throwing tantrums in the aisle at the grocery store.  At school they dropped their trash on the ground instead of using the can five feet away.

If the Marxists in control of government succeed in destroying the country, the problem will take care of itself.  The socialists will just move a couple of families in to share the basement with him.  He will yearn for the good old days.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-324: Old and Young: Lending a Hand

I was our following my granddaughter around the yard.  The house is new to her and she has not explored it fully yet.  We added to her mapping.  There were porches on front and back that needed to be visited, repeatedly.  She developed a pattern.  She would boldly take the first step and then look around for my hand.  Awwwww, how cute.  It is.

It also reminded me that I am getting to the place in life where I am going to be looking for a hand or at least a handrail.  I wondered how much longer I would be able to give her the help she needs.  How much longer would I be more stable that she is?  I am hoping I hold on until her younger brother gets past the give-me-a-hand stage.  I have already caught my son reaching out a hand to make sure I am stable.

Life has been good and continues to bless.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-174: Digging into Deuteronomy: Memory Loss

(Deuteronomy 4:9 KJV)  Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;

Why is it that we seem to need to keep repeating things to remember them?  When I was in high school and college I knew everyone’s birthday.  Now I have to write down the dates for my wife and kids.  I once had long passages of scripture memorized and now can’t even remember which ones they were.  I could quote the Gettysburg Address.  I used to know the proper mixture for mixing mortar.  I could look at a baby and tell you how many months.  The list goes on.  I would give you more examples but I can’t remember what I have forgotten.

This verse tries to alert us to the danger of forgetting.  The fade starts as our eyes stop looking at them.  Then they get vague in our minds and eventually they wither in our hearts.  You may not have any tools to study the Hebrew but “give heed” and “keep” (8104) are the same Hebrew word.  The antidote is given twice.  We remember by repetition.  Every year when I was teaching I had to work through how to figure percentages.  I knew there was a formula, I just didn’t remember what numbers went where.  After a few times reviewing it all came back and I didn’t need to think about it any more, until next year.  Every summer the knowledge would hide because I wasn’t using it.

One of the best ways to remember the important things is to teach them to your children.  That reinforces by repetition but it also puts you on the line.  You have declared something you believe to be important.  You have demanded that they learn it.  Now you better live up to it yourself. 

There may be a few people with perfect memory but that isn’t me and probably isn’t you.  We have to work at it.

homo unius libri

Opus 2017-221: Digging into Deuteronomy: Age of Accountability

(Deuteronomy 1:39 KJV)  Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.

There are a number of questions that sincere believers have.  One involves people who die without hearing the gospel.  Another, which this verse deals with, is “At what age does a person become responsible for their moral choices”.  Or to put it another way, what is the “age of accountability?”

In the context we see that the nation of Israel, except for Caleb and Joshua, have refused to trust the Lord to lead them into the Promised Land.  As a result God has withdrawn the promise from that generation and said that none of them would live to see it.  In His mercy and grace God explained that you don’t held the children responsible for the actions of the parents.  He excludes the children from the curse.

The key is the ability to know the difference between good and evil.  What is that age?  It would be different for everyone.  Children mature at different speeds.  I think that a lot of children are aware before we want to admit but God knows when we question.  I think this also would apply to those who are mentally deficient.  Again, God will know.

If you are reading this I would assume you are old enough to know good from evil.  God waits for you to decide whether the promise or the curse applies to you.

homo unius libri

Opus 2017-148: On the Street: Lap-snowflakes

Snowflakes are like dogs and I mean no disparagement to dogs when I say that.  Maybe I should say they are like little, happy lap dogs when they are out for a walk.

What stirred this was an observation on a street corner as I drove to work.  Some local resident was walking a little dog and was waiting for the light to change so they could cross the street.  The dog was all perky, vibrating with energy and wagging its tail.  It looked past the collar and leash which anchored it and showered adoration on the human at the other end of the leash.  It was happy to be out with its master.  It was so happy to be going that it didn’t care that it had few choices.

Thus the parallels with the snowflakes of today.  They are on a leash and don’t even know.  They are full of energy and look with adoration at their handlers.  Their handlers make them feel important and throw food their way.  An occasional pat on the head is also a bonus.  EBT cards for their daily wants, free clinics to get shots for their STD’s, a bus pass and legalized pot round out their day.  One big advantage is you don’t need to pick up after yourself.

What they don’t see is the other side of being a lap dog.  If you get to be a pest, a quick trip to the vet puts you out of your misery.  You can be locked in a cage and kicked off the couch.  You have no choice about where you go and when you go but since you don’t know any better it doesn’t bother you.

I am afraid I have seen too much of life and enjoyed too much liberty to want that kind of life.

homo unius libri

Opus 2017-004: Headlines: Dabbing Is the New Snuff

One of the big issues of the morning was Paul Ryan’s son trying to dab on national television.  Everyone acted like it was a childish attempt at a dance move.  As a middle school teacher I will admit that it is the latest cool thing that kids are doing.  At least it was before the Christmas break. 

Like so many things in the youth culture it is not as innocent as you might think.  The move is from a pattern by drug users to sniff an illegal substance from the elbow.  It can be placed there and avoid detection.  From there is was introduced into some dance move and now everyone is doing it.  Picture the way cool people used to take snuff. 

We need to be thoughtful in adopting the ways of the degenerate segment of society.  Wearing your pants hanging to show your underwear got its start in prison culture where belts were not allowed.  A pimp is a guy who runs a string of prostitutes.  “Dis” is not a word. 

Let’s grow up and think about what we do and what we let our children do.  Is that asking too much?  Maybe.

homo unius libri

Opus 2017-003: Melt, Snowflakes, Melt

I have a certain sympathy for the snowflakes as they dissolve into tears and futility.  I have been there.  I was there as the Republican field narrowed and the many people that I thought could do a good job dropped out.  I went through my Trump denial along with millions of other voters.  Eventually I had to grow up, look at reality and decide to support Trump in spite of my doubts.  I am still leery but beginning to have a bit of hope.

Maybe it is time for you to do the same thing.  Maybe it is time to take a deep breath, grow up and admit that if you are a citizen of the United States of America, Donald Trump is am much your president as Barak Obama was my president eight years ago.  I don’t care which of the three you do first but I would suggest that the other two will be easier if you start by growing up.

But of course many of you are not voters.  You didn’t bother, or you are not a citizen.  If you didn’t bother then stop complaining.  If you are not a citizen then I understand that he is not your president, but honestly, who cares.

So get off the street.  Tell your mommy you are going to get a job.  Get a job.  When you do those things you will find it easier to take a deep breath and that you have already started down the road to growing up.

A democratic republic is not a place where you always get your way.  The only people who get their way are the top dogs who can have everyone else shot and the sheep who are satisfied with bread and ciruses.  Liberty is about disagreeing, partisanship and compromise.  It is about getting half a loaf and not being jealous about the half the other guy got.

homo unius libri

Opus 2016-315: A Non-Snowflake Tantrum

I want my welfare check.  I am ready to go on public assistance.  Where is my EBT card?

Don’t worry, I am not serious.  It is just my version of a snowflake attack after being off work for a week and the requirement that I get back in the harness.  Today I am going back to the classroom.  I don’t want to go.  I am too used to getting up when I feel like it and having all day to get a few things done.

I know, I know.  Most of you only had Thanksgiving day off and maybe Friday also, but I am a teacher and spoiled by all the government largess that comes my way.  Most of you get two weeks vacation a year and I just got one for Thanksgiving.  Think about that next time schools want more money.

Okay.  My temper tantrum is over.  I won’t be going to the streets and burning police cars.  I will simply be trying to get your children to think. 

That is my revenge.

homo unius libri

Opus 2016-229: Discernment Watch: The Hope(less) of the Future

I think that youth should be labeled as a handicap status.  I am so tired of younger people acting like I can’t do things because I don’t like new things.  What a farce that is.   In reality they don’t have enough experience to know what is new and what is just recycled failures.  When you have been down the sidewalk a few times you begin to realize that “new and improved” often means “since you are too young to remember what we tried to pull ten years ago, we will try again”.

Young people are severely handicapped by their lack of experience and surplus of ignorance.  Their lack of real education has doubled down on that to make them easy victims.  They can be manipulated and controlled.  Think of the masses of millennials who idolized Bernie Sanders and his failed Communist dreams.  Most of the children I know think that all the government needs to do is print more money.  They can’t understand why we would all starve to death if food was made free.  They need to Google “Venezuela” and do a little reading.

Unfortunately they are too busy trying to master Pokemon Go.  Meanwhile someone is stealing their liberty and limiting their future.  Or is it the other way around?

homo unius libri

Opus 2016-226: DEFCON: Banking the Fire

One thing that is growing more rare at DEFCON is the sense of rebellion against an oppressive government.  I have noticed this developing over several years.  I makes me sad to see but it is the normal process of life. 

Young people are short in vision and lacking in understanding.  They see something wrong and want to fix it, now.  Often what they see as being wrong is what keeps them from satisfying their self-centered wants.  If that can be presented in such a way as to sound like it will benefit all of mankind it is a win/win for them and a potential disaster for everyone else.  The enthusiasm and idealism of youth can be refreshing and can motivate change.  That is good.  Since they don’t get the big picture it can also have the opposite effect.

Young people grow up.  That is happening at DEFCON.  Many are marrying and having children.  Many are buying homes and gathering some wealth.  Most are in jobs that pay well and allow them to live their dream of techno-toys piled in every corner.  All of that means that they now have something to lose.  It is one thing to defy the government when you still have peach fuzz on your chin, live out of a backpack, can’t buy your own booz, think you are immortal and have mommy drive you to DEFCON.  It is another thing to defy the government when they can get you fired, put a lien on your house, and put you on a no-fly list.  It is hard to call for revolution when you have a mortgage and two children looking to you for security and support.  It is a natural process.

At the same time I miss the sense of correcting evil and not knuckling under to the man.  More and more often they are looking to the government for answers instead of seeing the government as the limiter of freedom.  There are fewer sessions at DEFCON involving politics and warnings against loss of liberty.  There are more calls for redistribution of wealth instead of destruction of regulations.

I will keep attending as long as my son is willing.  I will continue to see the potential of the hacker community.  I will continue to hope.  I will mourn the loss.

homo unius libri

Opus 2016-177: On the Street: What Are They Mad About?

Walking and getting exercise are difficult when away from home.  I have tried walking when I stay at my son’s house but it is in a semi-rural location and the narrow roads make walking more adventure than I can handle.  So I have tried to hit the malls to do a spin through.  This week I was walking past the promise of a new store and the barriers had pictures of young people dressed in the latest, promising to change my life if I would plan on shopping there. 

No thank you.  I don’t think I would want to be infected by whatever the models had been breathing.  You have seen the look.  I see it in my passport picture.  I was told to stare at the camera and told not to smile.  They wanted me to look like I was an antisocial thug.  That is the look on the models faces.  The guy, in addition to needing a shave, looked like he still had ten days in solitaire to do and he wasn’t going to show them he cared.  The girl looked bored out of her mind. 

You have seen it.  It is a reflection of our modern obsession with thugs and criminals.  It is a nihilistic philosophy of life that has expressed itself on the faces of our physical role models.

It is sad.

If you are a Christian this is not a face that should sit well on your soul.  It does not express faith, hope or charity.  It radiates nothingness. 

Just another way in which I am reminded that “This world is not my home...”

homo unius libri