Do you ever just sit down and wonder any more? Or do you just sit down and react with your thoughts? Do you have time to reflect or are you on the go, 100 miles per hour, zigging and zagging, fixing this jam or another, plugging this or that hole wherever there’s a leak, every waking moment?

I find myself sitting a lot these days. I sit on the couch. I sit in the living room chair. I sit in my car on my way to work and then sit at my desk. Much of that time, whilst sitting, I’m thinking. I just find myself letting my brain go blank, then think.

Or maybe I find myself not thinking so much as wishing. Now, before you jump on me with the old cliches, I know. “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.” And, I’m fond of another old saying, “be careful of what you wish for, because you just might get it.” That said, it can’t be all bad to have a little wish list, can it?

For example, I wish I would have saved some audio recordings of my sons where their voices were young and sweet. There’s nothing wrong with their deep, manly voices they have now and I love hearing them, but I sure would like to hear their young, three, four and five year old voices. Just thinking about that makes me smile. And, the things they used to say, “Poppy, why are we taking a short cut. Where’s the long cut?” “Poppy, will you still be my dad when I’m 10?” They asked a lot of questions, those two.

I kinda’ wish NASA, or maybe Elon Musk, with all their satellites flying over us and taking pictures down on us, that on July 4 they broadcast from space, all the big firework shows. They could start on the East Coast and move west as the sun goes down. We have all seen the fireworks from ground level, but I think it would be cool to see it from the heavens, downward. I bet they could “stitch” everything together and make a pretty awesome presentation.

Those two wishes couldn’t get me in trouble, could they? Okay, how about this next one:

I wish we were such a narcissistic society. Our kids haven’t got a chance truly living a full, wonderful life if their parents petulant children-like. Seems, just like very little kids who have no sense of time or history, today’s adults are concerned only with how they “feel” or “want” now. Seems decisions are based feelings and wants without understanding nuance or repercussions of decisions. I hear parents, or older people all them grousing about the “younger” generation because “they don’t do this” or “they won’t do that.” To which I oft say, “Is it any wonder? Look who taught them.”

Everything, I mean everything these days is “deserved.” There is little discussion on risk or rewards or working for something you desire/want. There is little talked about “life ain’t fair,” and “things happen,” and “you’re gonna’ have to get over it sooner or later.” Move on or forever go through life stuck in the rut, with your hands out asking for someone else to fix things for you.

Was that a wish or a rant? Maybe we can call it a “rash,” or a “wint?”

I’m thinking I sit to much doing nothing but thinking too much. What say you?

Speaking of “what say you,” I got the following email in regards to my column on old newspapers and how they wrote about things “back in the day.”

Wrote Deb L (I presume of Lake Orion): Greetings, I really enjoyed your column July 13. I think if this Lake Orion Review could always have a section on “what was then and now” it would be something I would look forward to reading. The old Review in the 1990’s had some funny passages in the criminal stories (for lack of better description) on recent arrests made in past week. I cannot elaborate on any but I do remember reading things like, “suspicious man was seen at corner of M-24 and Clarkston Road.” I laughed because I wondered what is meant by suspicious?
Anyway, reminded me of keystone cops kind of report. So passing on my compliment to you for sharing some of those “wild headlines.” Truly we do have some awful things going on today but to look at the bright side is my antidote for living each day with a smile and knowing God is in it! Thank you. You brought back some thoughts of “good old days.”

Thanks, Deb. Those criminal stories were in the police log, or police blotter and taken from police reports and yes, we used to have fun with it. In the Oxford police log, you could bet a buck and win that every week there would be a “barking dog on Athlone.”