NOT A DEBATE-FLOWER WARS-SENTIMENTAL THROWBACK

WOULD RATHER HAVE WATCHED THIS

    Soccer enthusiasts abound in Cambria and that is even more so for some folks of Mexican heritage. Strong family ties are evidenced in the volunteer coaching by moms and dads in Shamel Park. Maybe some future world cup players being groomed in the village.
    As we watched a recent afternoon drill I wondered what these kids thought of Donald Trump and some of his immigration worrying debate colleagues.

NOT A DEBATE

    Let me give you my bona fides.  I've moderated many state and federal debates-Governors, Congress and Senate. Having said that I thought Jake Tapper did a good job according to his assignment-but there in lies the rub.  

      CNN was not so interested in serious examination of issues, solutions and philosophy as they were in stirring up a verbal fight. The brain trust at CNN decided they'd pander and play "Real Candidates of The Campaign Trail."  They could have called it Sass and Ego at the Reagan. 

     Tapper had instruction to set up verbal sparing and he did that well. He did a pretty decent job of controlling the bombast and the real journalist in him even snuck out a few times where he got to questions that were not merely set ups for more verbal warfare. From inception it was more about atmospherics and theatrics than real substance and analysis, but such is the business of politics when twitter and trending is as important as intellect.
     Dana Bash was able to ask a few real questions. Hugh Hewitt should have been left in the make up room or in the GOP pom pom squad. What a joke he was!  
     In three hours of gab and BS we probably learned a bit more about the candidates, due to time and exposure more than it was to the format. Next time CNN should arm the candidates with paint ball guns and Nerf bats.

MYSTIQUE

    Now that I see the bromeliad bloom above and the bloom below they don't look as much alike as I thought they did. Boomer memory you know…

   The plant above is called a cama or Indian Hyacinth. Native Americans in the Northwest Territory, including Indiana were said to fight over them.  In some tribes they were considered "old ghosts," "old spirits" and the tuber or bulb was a source of food or medicine.
   It is a Camassia, a kind of asparagus. We had large patches of them growing on our old growth forest acreage on the Indianapolis north side.

   There were times of day, early morning or late evening especially when the camas seemed to radiate the gloaming light and appeared to be small ghosts dancing as they tossed on the breeze.

 SENTIMENTAL SEPTEMBER THROWBACK

   Back at our Indianapolis home late September was time to begin marking the change of season by tending to leaves and winterizing the house.
   One September was particularly sentimental, the year our eldest moved to Florida. Graduated from IU she was ready to "leave home."

   She left at the height of "leaf season" and I teased her about timing the move so she left fall chores to mom, dad and younger sister Katherine.  On 3 1/2 acres of old forest we had a lot of clean up.

     This September she is busy building a nest for her own growing family and sister Katherine begins work as an RN in cardiac telemetry. Lana and I are pleased that our boomer backs, shoulders, arms and legs are not putting up winter shutters.  We do hope for California rain, but no shoveling is required!

      See you down the trail.

      

YEP, THE SEASON'S TURNED-THE WEEKENDER

JUST WAITING

   I remember hearing a Harry Reasoner commentary many years ago where he said "Labor day was like a new, new year."  His logic was that everything sort of stars over then.

   Well, he was right that with summer ending there is a kind of final lap of the year, but as I got older, raised daughters, discovered more home owner chores and lived in the country I found that fall is something different than Reasoner's idea.

    As my friend Frank now does, I put up wood for the winter and put Hatteras shutters on a screened porch, and styrofoam around foundation, basement and/or crawl space openings. And I got out the snow shovel.

    Each step along the path toward winter reminded me, the summer party is over, the beach is closed.

     A lot about this time of year is an homage to waiting.  Maybe some fitness or travel dreams are put on the shelf until next year as we go about preparing for the oncoming end of the year holidays, a distant patch of light.

    Again, my friend Frank had a "wisdom" about the time from Thanksgiving to the New Year.  He said "nothing gets done."  
    At the time he and I were journalists who were looking to improve our lot by developing and producing a television series. I can't begin to tell you how many times I have quoted him over the years.

   But I've also learned there is a special quality to fall.  It seems to be a natural frame for reflection, gathering with family and friends, contemplating a kind of intellectual or spiritual pre winter-hibernation preparation.  

   Putting up wood, winterizing, cleaning a garden and the like are all cues for a recognition that we have about completed another circuit of the sun.  But the older we get, the more quickly the beach seems to open again. Even our waiting seems to fly by.

THE WEEKENDER VIDEO

Please take six minutes to see this

fascinating display about the real wealth 

distribution in the US.  I suspect that regardless of

what you think, you'll be amazed.

See you down the trail.