Pappa Hardy’s Musings on Life.

Today marks the end of the line. The Traveling Wilburys wrote a song called “End of the Line”.

(Chorus 1)
Well it’s all right, riding around in the breeze
Well it’s all right, if you live the life you please
Well it’s all right, doing the best you can
Well it’s all right, as long as you lend a hand

You can sit around and wait for the phone to ring
Waiting for someone to tell you everything
Sit around and wonder what tomorrow will bring
Maybe a diamond ring

(Chorus 2)
Well it’s all right, even if they say you’re wrong
Well it’s all right, sometimes you gotta be strong
Well it’s all right, As long as you got somewhere to lay
Well it’s all right, everyday is Judgement Day

Maybe somewhere down the road aways
You’ll think of me, and wonder where I am these days
Maybe somewhere down the road when somebody plays
Purple haze

(Chorus 3)
Well it’s all right, even when push comes to shove
Well it’s all right, if you got someone to love
Well it’s all right, everything’ll work out fine
Well it’s all right, we’re going to the end of the line

Don’t have to be ashamed of the car I drive
I’m just glad to be here, happy to be alive
It don’t matter if you’re by my side
I’m satisfied

(Chorus 4)
Well it’s all right, even if you’re old and grey
Well it’s all right, you still got something to say
Well it’s all right, remember to live and let live
Well it’s all right, the best you can do is forgive

(Chorus 5)
Well it’s all right, riding around in the breeze
Well it’s all right, if you live the life you please
Well it’s all right, even if the sun don’t shine
Well it’s all right, we’re going to the end of the line

I wish that I were that positive about what I see at the end of the line. Today marks the end of the Presidential Campaign process, which in this country started well over two years ago. I am sick of the process, of the incessant finger pointing that goes on in this country between the Republicans and the Democrats. If I had my way, we would through all of the office holders out and elect new ones. Unfortunately, that won’t happen.

We have got way too partisan. I fear that Barack Obama is going to be the next President of the United States. In my mind, he is way too liberal. However, we have got to make sure that our elected representatives get the work of the people done, and that hasn’t been happening for at least the last 30 years, if not longer. Whomever is elected, must get the work of the people done, doing it in the best interests of all the people, or we need to through them out and find someone who will do the work of the people. We can’t bicker any more.

I fear what is going to happen in a socialist America, because that is where I believe we are heading. However, if the voice of the people is to make this a socialist paradise, then let’s do what is reasonable and get the work done. No more pointing fingers. No more disenfranchising or favoring whole sections of the population. Lets do the work of the people, or this great nation will truly be at “The End of the Line”.

My, how things change over the course of 17 years. That many years ago, the family took a vacation to Michigan to visit for the last time. Since then, we have not been back to that state. One of the first stops was a trip through the Black Hills with a stop in Rapid City, South Dakota. We went and saw the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, better known as Mt. Rushmore.

Today we made the same trip from Rapid City. We saw the faces of the Presidents carved and chiseled into the side of the mountain. That was all that was the same. Everything else had changed. They had a brand new parking garage complex, a new visitors center, an avenue of the states, and many other things. It was really quite pretty and very nice. I enjoyed the visit thoroughly. The President’s are still awesome and they make me proud to be an American. I love this free land. I just hope that in less than a month we make the right choice for President. I fear that we won’t.

It was a wonderful day in a wonderful trip. I have been glad I came.

Today was a special day for me. We visited Martin’s Cove (actually the Sun Ranch) for a second time. My Great, Great, Great Grandfather, Richard Collings and his family were part of the Martin Handcart Company that suffered such great challenges when crossing the plains in 1856. This handcart company suffered many deaths and much misery, yet my ancestors and many others remained true to the faith. I just pray that I will have similar courage when the challenges mount in my life.

I don’t quite know what kind of a country we are going to be passing on to the next generation. We are seeing events of truly historic proportions right now, and they are not good things that are happening. As a nation we are mortgaging the future of our children through irresponsible financial management of the nations economy, and through our own personal mismanagement of our own financial futures.

We have been told time, and time again that debt is not good. We are seeing first hand the results of a nation that revels in debt. We must change our habits or risk destruction as a country, as a people, and as individuals. These are unprecedented times. They are going to require unprecedented leadership and solutions to the problems and challenges we face. The fact is, we must change if we are to survive.

Once upon a time, in a land long ago, a new entity was born. This place was called a mall. It was a huge, magnificent building that was constructed for the sole purpose of selling goods in an atmosphere of comfort for the buyers. These buildings were the result of cheap fuel, transportation systems (automobiles) that allowed people unlimited mobility and opportunities to leave there homes and travel somewhere to shop.

Later on, a new concept arose called an Outlet Mall. The shoppers desire to get those name brand goods at ever cheaper prices caused outlet malls, so named because they were name brand stores in an outside mall, to sprout up all over America. These “new malls” grew up quickly in vacant fields, and were few and far between because they were supposed to be special.

Quickly they stopped growing because of several new changes. First, fuel became more expensive and the cheap outlet malls became more common and less competitive. Then, a thing called the internet grew up, and the new mall became the monster mall in cyberspace. Now, the ever diligent and suffering shopper can buy his or her goods without ever having to leave the house. All one needs is a good computer, a marvelous modem, and lots of band width so one can shop at ease without leaving the home. Now, we can all shop in the cyber mall and the physical mall is becoming a thing of the past.

The World has truly changed in my lifetime. Nowhere is this more evident than in Las Vegas, but you can see it everywhere. When I was young, children had to know how to play because organized sports and activities for them were few and far between. We would play baseball in someone’s backyard, or on the street, or at a play ground for hours. We had a great time. We had snowball wars, we built snow forts, we played catch, we played hide and seek.

There wasn’t much to watch on TV. We only had three channels, and often times the TVs were not working because we had electronic tubes in those TV’s, that had rabbit ears, and they were darn expensive to replace. Of course, black and white TV was the norm and you only dreamed of color TV, that we heard the rich people had.

We had one phone in the home, and it was hooked to a party line. We got our information from newspapers and from talking to people, and we “weren’t in touch”.

Now, we live in a world where nearly everyone has a cell phone. On that cell phone you can get live internet feeds with news, entertainment, text messages, and of course, you can talk on the phone. Text messages have taken over as the way to communicate, rather than talking to someone live. We are detached as a people. Everyone has color TV, and of course, they are big, huge flat screen TVs, sometimes hung on a wall in the living room and taking up a whole wall. You can view hundreds of channels (with absolutely nothing worth seeing on them) and the selection of various channels available is mind boggling.

A major event around the world is known by everyone in a hurry. We are a people in touch, yet strangely enough, I believe we are more out of touch. People want to interact with other people less, preferring to be able to text message each other where they can measure and edit their responses rather than talk to people live.

We have huge buildings and massive ways to entertain ourselves. Everything is programmed for us, and nothing is spontaneous. I miss a lot of the old world. I think we had a lot more fun then. I am not sure our change has brought us happiness.