Pappa Hardy's Musings on Life.

One of the less pleasant experiences on the open sea is when the seas are rough and you end up bobbing and weaving over the surface of the ocean. However, I am blessed that I don’t get sea sick and therefore it just becomes a matter of bobbing and weaving down the hall, trying to decide if you are going to run into that wall or this one. You learn after a while to adjust to the movement, and when you go on shore, it is weird not to be a bobbing and a weaving. I feel lucky that it doesn’t make me sick.

I sat recently on a cruise ship up 15 floors from the surface of the ocean. It was a full glass window and gave me a terrific view of the ocean for as far as an eye can see. I was not afraid of the height. Likewise, I can sit in an airplane, look out the window, and think it is most marvelous thing that I have ever done. I can be at the top of Taipei 101 looking out the window, checking out the horizon for as far as the eye can see, and not be afraid.

Take away the glass, take away the wall, and then I am a bowl of jelly. I feel temptations to jump, I feel fear that I will fall, and things are not good for me. It is amazing that a wall or obstacle between me and that long way down can be such a comfort.

I recently engaged in a brand new, at least to me, activity that I had never been engaged in before. I attended a Community Planning Seminar in North Salt Lake and I started thinking a lot about things that I had not considered as much, like the number of exits from a subdivision, roads, there width, and so on and so forth.

This seminar went through a lot of the things that really needed to be defined and handled as you develop a community, and as I have since gone about my “Planning Commission” business, I have realized that there is more to building a community than erecting buildings. I am really in awe of all of the things that should be considered and used in making planning decisions.

In the Star Wars universe, you had Jedi Masters who had learned the discipline of the Jedi and who understood the Jedi universe and all that was part of that. When you go on a cruise, you sometimes meet someone who has been in 50, 60, or even a 100 cruises. To those of us who have only been on 2 or 3, they are a Cruise Master. The first thing one does is ask which cruise line they like the best. You next ask which was their most favorite cruise, and deep inside, you vow to become a cruise master yourself. After all, you want to become a Cruise Master like them, sailing the seven seas and becoming a master of all the water that you can see.

I was recently watching the inauguration of the new President of the United States, Barack Obama. I thought of America’s place in the world. Once, we were the pre-eminent superpower and our power extended throughout the known world. Now, we no longer have that luxury. We no longer can afford to be the world’s policeman. Our economy is no longer the dominant one in the world. We have loft our will to lead the world, both by our moral example but also by the example we set. We have chosen to give up our place and soon another may replace us. I never thought I would see this in my lifetime.

Recently on my cruise in the Caribbean I saw a site that was quite interesting. I saw three different wedding parties around the ship. It was really very interesting. I thought of the new brides and grooms, starting their lives together and during this cruise and how they have so much to look forward too. This recent cruise celebrated my 35th Wedding Anniversary with my dear wife. We have experienced the good, the bad, and the fun. I treasure my time with this wonderful woman. I hope to have many more such wonderful experiences.

Riding in a Jet Plane can be a very unnerving experience, depending upon where you sit. I recently sat in a jet plane right next to a jet engine. It was incredible, looking at that unit, realizing that just 10 feet away was a controlled explosion. There was so much violence and chaos happening just the other side of the glass. If that engine were to blow up, I would have easily been a dead man. However, for the most part we as a people have been able to control that explosive power and harness it to our needs. I was glad that we were able to fly 2600 miles to take me to Florida.