Things to ponder

I am feeling terribly virtuous today. John loaded all those garbage bags of stuff I've been collecting into the car. It totally filled up the trunk and half the back seat. I went to the GoodWill and they took it all. I didn't want a receipt, so didn't have to wait while they went through it. Or endure the humiliation when they didn't want any of it. Fortunately, they have a dumpster right next to their loading dock door, so they can just pitch it right there. But at least it's GONE!!!!

And then once the car was empty, I managed to get the car washed. I took it to what John calls "the expensive place". I want somebody else to do the washing, and I want the inside done. It had gotten pretty yucky looking, and I had promised that I would get it done before his sister and BIL got here.

Bill Moyers' Journal was not on tonight. Since PBS is having a begathon, our station showed an Elvis program. But he (Moyers, not Elvis) posted several questions on his web site. I don't have any answers to recommend, but they're guaranteed to make us think.

Since we all have different lives, and inhabit various circles, we are each affected by a diverse group of people. So who do you believe is worth remembering? Which individual, for good or ill, do you believe is most important for generations to come to understand and learn from? And why?

And then he writes in another segment: Barbara Ehrenreich said,"There was one woman who said something to me that was so poignant. Speaking of her hopes for the future, she said, 'My big wish would be to have a job which if I missed work one day, like for a child home sick or something, I would still be able to buy groceries for the next day.' And I thought, yeah, that's quite a hope." How would you define the American Dream? Has it changed for you over time? Do you think your children or even your grandchildren will define it the same way?

This one I can answer to some extent. I remember, when the girls were little, saying to a friend, "I guess being rich would be being able to have more than one pair of shoes for each kid." She said, "Being really rich would be having more than one coat." I guess using those criteria we're pretty rich now.

Our friend, Dalton Roberts, had another one of his exceptionally good columns in the paper today. Here's a link to Dalton Robert's column.

Today's picture was taken at the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in Washington D.C.