Thoughts Approaching Sixty (updated to "Seventy" from a post dated 8/12/13)

 

Definition of ANACHRONISM

1.  An error in chronology; a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other.

2.  A person or a thing that is chronologically out of place; especially: one from a former age that is incongruous in the present.

3.  The state or condition of being chronologically out of place.

4.  Noun - see, Frank A. Villari. (Yeah, that would be me.)

 

In 2013, I wrote that I was "a bit more than two months away from becoming an old anachronism."  I have always felt that I am an anachronism, an error in chronology, out of place, from a former age that is incongruous with the present.  I am a closet Luddite, brought kicking and screaming into any new technology.  It was bad enough when I was young, but at 60 I threw up my hands in resignation that I will always shy away from technology.  I use it as a means to an end, not an end to a means.  I am five months from turning 69, and I still shy away from technology. 

And, I still tend to ramble.  I am going to do more of that now, in an effort to update this post.  It might offend some, so I offer an apology upfront, as this is just my opinion.  I could be wrong, but, in all humility, I have a pretty good track record.  After all…I’m getting older and wiser, right?

I used cell phones because they were needed for my job.  I did fine without one in Mexico and  I would do fine without one, now, in retirement, except that I am a caregiver for my aging mother  If I didn't carry a phone it would only bother those that can’t reach me.  Sometimes I don’t want to be reached.  I use a car because I have to buy groceries.  I have a golf cart for anything else.  I would be just as happy walking or using a bike.  And, I use a computer, as a means to reach out, as a medium to communicate to a mass audience.  When I’m done, I turn it off.  I also turn it off when the League of the Perpetually Offended feels the need to rise to some imagined occasion, like ragging on me.

I see kids blowing money they don’t have on crap they can't afford and complaining that they can't get ahead nowadays.  No shit. I see kids and adults with blue tooth devices welded onto their heads, talking to themselves, and laughing like idiots in a quiet crowd (like everyone really wants to hear their one-way conversation).  I see adults dressed like teenagers with their pants down around their knees like so many other white, preppy, gangstas that need to pull their pants up so they can actually outrun the cop, or look their age.  Don’t bother grabbing your junk and giving me "the look."  You have to have something down there to grab in order to make it look believable. Oh, and girls, as much as I enjoy it, the slut look will never be a good fashion statement, especially when you're over 50. 

Chests puffed up and bared to show off tattoos that will soon melt into unrecognizable, colorful, crap as the owner approaches 80 and develops man breasts that sag to their knees like the ones on their overweight wife.  I can see them standing in front of a mirror wishing they could remember what the hell it was, the shapeless tattoo, his and hers.  His might be a battleship, going down at the bow.  Hers?  It is impolite to stare.  Everyone else wanders around with earbuds shoved into the sides of their heads so they don’t have to worry about interpersonal communication, or staring.  

More states are legalizing marijuana since 2013.  Now everyone in those states can, legally, remain stoned and zoned out, oblivious to the world around them.  Maybe that is for the best.  They are caught up in the "zombie" genre streaming on their UHD TV, not realizing that they are the personification of the "walking dead."

Homelessness has gotten out of hand since 2013.  Did we ever truly have a handle on it? Folks still populate street corners begging for money they haven’t earned, with a sign stating how hungry they are as they smoke through a pack of cigarettes while petting their dog crapping the late morning fast-food burger at their feet.  They'll be moving on and someone will step in it. I would tell them to stop smoking and eat the dog, but they aren’t any more hungry than they are willing to work, and the dog probably eats better than I do.  Hell, the guy probably owns a Mercedes.

People still have more piercings than common sense.  Human pin cushions striving to be something different and failing miserably.  They fail to realize they are just like everyone they hang with.  They march for a political system that they don’t have the time, or desire, to understand, and then bitch like spoiled brats when everything falls apart.  White people march to proclaim that only Black Lives Matter, not realizing the goal is death to anyone not black.  Why can't all lives matter?  (Oh, I'm sorry.  That was politically incorrect of me.)  The flag?  The symbol of freedom so many people have died for? It is just a piece of cloth to be changed at some ignorant whim.  And, how about God?  God is just a prefix for damn, and it seems most people would say that God is as dead to most people as they are to Him.  I meet people every day, and I would have to agree - they are figuratively dead.

This is a "modern" society.  This is what progress has brought us to, and I am an anachronist. 

At 60 I took up jogging again.  When I jog I don’t carry a phone, and I don't fill my ears with music.  I listen to the world around me, my breathing, and my heartbeat.  I have brought my weight down to 175, from a high of 208.  I eat better food and less junk.  I work because I want to and because I have to.  I firmly believe if I didn’t keep busy I would surely die from boredom.

Approaching 70, I stopped jogging.  I need a phone just in case mom needs me.  My weight has "blossomed" but I still listen to the world around me, my breathing, and my heartbeat.  I had to give up my cherished "flip" phone for some flat pocket computer/communicator I have little use for, except to make calls.  I can no longer scan you for cancer or beam you up.  I understand the cherished "flip" is coming back.  I can't wait.  One day, God forbid, mom will pass, and you can reach me by leaving a message on the house phone.  Until then, I have an anchor made of technology.

Yet, I am an anachronism.

One of these days someone is going to crash the system, the grid.  Power will fail and batteries will run out long before the power is restored.  I will put my pack together and hike to a hillside high enough that I can watch and hear the city below.  The sound of cars will soon die out and it will be easier to hear the screams and the crying, the terror of a people lost without their technology.  The wailing will die out, not long after that, as they fail to come to grips with their situation and have a psychotic break. Bodies will hang from tree limbs and light posts.  Others will become their fondest dream, as they wander listlessly through the streets like zombies.  But, unlike the TV genre, they will become prey for all the sick predators still capable of making a bad situation worse.

One dark, possible, future - with an unfortunate silver lining.

I will no longer be an anachronist.  I was born for this scenario.

Do you ever think about the future?  Do you ever take a break from technology?  Or, do you go camping and wonder why your cell phone doesn’t work, only to plan the next trip closer to a cell tower or a site offering Wi-Fi?

I don’t think we were intended to be mindless zombies, cookie-cutter versions of the worst of us.  I think we were intended to be loving, caring, individuals, exercising face-to-face communication with each other.  Technology isn’t communicating.  I am not communicating with you now.  I am sending a message, hoping you understand it, that it doesn’t get lost in translation between my fingers and your mind.  Communication requires attentive hearing, attentive listening, and attentive watching.  Those without sight magnify their hearing and listening by learning to be more attentive to those around them.

After 60 years I learned only a few truths in my life.  One is that most everything is just crap.  Love is paramount, forgiveness is sublime, face-to-face communication and interaction are a necessity, and children are a gift from God.  A little money is a good thing, more can be better if tempered with common sense and not greed.  There is nothing better for a private moment than a glass of good bourbon, a candle, a tub full of hot water, and a woman singing the jazz with a big band.  And, simply being like everyone else is boring.

After almost 70 years of life, I learned it is what it is until it isn't, and then it is what it is again. You should have a good, personal, spiritual relationship with your God.  Don’t be afraid to speak up, don’t be afraid at all.  God already knows.  Don’t fear God, and don’t fear life.  To fear life is to fear death.  Both are inevitable, as is the next great adventure.  You have been, you are, and you will be.  Change is the only true constant in the universe.  Everything else is in your hands.  It was all "gifted" to you.

Be polite, take the megawatt bass speakers out of your ears once in a while and say, thank you.  You won’t be able to hear the response.  That ringing you hear is tinnitus and it may pass.  In the meantime, strive to be happy always and in all things, regardless of your circumstances.  The alternative simply sucks.

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with the United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and, finally, a senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world-renowned, Western Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research.

Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, and wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteered as the lead chaplain at a regional medical center.

Feel free to contact Pastor Tony:  tolerantpastor@gmail.com