Fortune

Very young Rodney

I've been meaning to write about this for a very long time. The final impetus was Fiona Hill's There Is Nothing For You Here. In particular, her descriptions of what Thatcherism and Reaganism wrought. 

In short: I think the long-lived idea that your children will live better than you did is dead. I am part of the luckiest demographic, and now things are getting worse.

Sure, old-timers often complain the current generation is going to hell, but that's not what I'm talking about. 

I think it's the world, not the people, that's going to hell. There are many serious issues that were not a concern when I was growing up. Global issues such as climate change, overpopulation, energy crises, plus U.S. economic issues such as drastic inequality, housing costs, cost of living,  lifelong student debt.

For a white middle class kid, growing up in the 1950s and 1960s was the best. World wars and polio were behind us. The biggest life-threatening external event for a boy born in 1950 would be the Vietnam War, and I dodged that with a sufficiently high draft lottery number. 

In addition to my lucky demographic, I had a fortunate personal upbringing. A classic idyllic childhood. An intact family, a stay-at-home mom, a perfectly normal education, the usual family vacations and childhood activities such as scouting. As a first child, my parents gave me more opportunities than even my brothers, such as music lessons, symphony subscriptions, and summer camp.

SLO and Hearst Castle — December 2023

 

At Apple Farm Inn

Link to more photos. As always, view the photos individually to see the captions.

We went on this short 3-day tour of San Luis Obispo and Hearst Castle. I was worried about the December weather, but it was fine — mild temperatures and no rain! I had visited Hearst Castle once before, in 1975, but Victor had never been there.

Our first group meal was lunch at Pea Soup Andersen's in Buellton. I love pea soup, and hadn't been there in decades. We next visited the Madonna Inn, with its over-the-top pink decor and stone sinks in the men's restroom (see the photos).

After checking in at our SLO inn, we stopped at the weekly evening downtown farmers' market, including the large Tom's Toys store and nearby holiday lights in Mission Plaza.

The next day began with animal viewing at Giving Tree Family Farm and then on to the Point San Luis Lighthouse. The lighthouse tour was fine, but Victor had an unfortunate incident with Pam, the woman who runs the tours and the volunteer docents. As we were all returning to the bus before lunch, I went to the bus while Victor stopped at the men's room, so he was then approaching the bus alone. Pam stood in his way, and as he tried to go around her, she moved to block him. He said he was on the tour, and she didn't believe him. He pointed to his tour name badge, but she was unimpressed. She even made a cutthroat gesture. The bus driver saw all this, and came out of the bus and vouched for Victor being a member of the tour group. (And even then, when the bus driver was approaching, Pam made another assumption and asked him, "Is he a friend of yours?")

After a brief afternoon rest at the inn, we went on a Holiday Twilight Tour of Hearst Castle. 

The last day was our return trip. In Lompoc, the group had a tour of La Purísima Mission State Historic Park, but I'm not interested in missions, so Victor and I skipped the tour and stayed in the Visitor Center. Afterwards, we saw more animals and had lunch with wine tasting at Vega Vineyard. 

Thoughts I dare not ponder

 

As I've always said, I decided in high school that my goal in life was to retire. And in retirement I wanted to read, write, and travel. After I retired, that shifted to read, travel, and exercise.

But lately, I've begun to think that the "why" is no longer self-evident. 

To what end? To what purpose? What's the point?

Yes, of course, increasing thoughts of mortality are part of this. So I quickly labeled these "thoughts I dare not ponder".

About those retirement activities:

 - Reading 

I have always been a print media junkie (including online print). 

I love news, information, learning. I'm even rather competive about it. (See here.) 

There are still tons of books on my reading list, and I still add more, but now I sometimes wonder why.

It's no longer self-evident. 

Similarly, I check the news repeatedly. But what if I stopped?

 - Travel

There are tons of places I've never been, but I've hit the top places on my list. (See here.)

TSA, airlines, and my aging body make the journeys (not the destinations) increasingly unpleasant.

And to what end?

 - Exercise

In my first year of retirement, I lost more than 50 pounds, and I kept it off for years, but lately, I've began to put some back on. 

Arthritis slows me down and makes hills and long walks ever more difficult. 

Diabetes is ever-present. 

Dietary self-restraint in the face of mortality: Why?

Just what are homophobes afraid of?

The LATimes ran a lengthy profile of school board book banning activist Sonja Shaw. I dashed off a quick letter about what it seems such folks are afraid of, and why that's pretty stupid. I wrote:

Sonja Shaw says she is fighting policies that "pervert children." She should think back to her own teenage years. If she had been taught that gay people exist, would that have made her a lesbian?

For my first sentence, I quoted a phrase about what's she's afraid of, but I should have left that out, because in context, it sounds like I agree that being lesbian is a perversion. 

I usually wait at least a couple of hours after drafting a letter to re-read it later and maybe revise it. I did not do that this time, but I should have. Shortly after I sent it, I wished I could re-write it.

The Times printed no letters about the article.