“I glory in this world of men and women, torn with trouble, yet living on to love and laugh through it all.” (Carl Sandburg) Fires, floods, tornadoes, water shortages, wars, foreclosures, hunger, global warming…Trouble all around us! I admire those who are able to persevere. My father lived in Galesburg, Illinois, when Sandburg lived there in the early 20th century. Those were hard times, too. And, yet, there was love and laughter among those tough old Swedes. ;-) Jack
FROM MOLINER, G.S.: I don't think we can exist without challenges of some kind - sometimes they can be mis-directed but still serve a purpose. Galesburg is living in hard times again - the 2 largest businesses closed in the past few years.
FROM J.L. IN MICHIGAN: Fires, floods, water shortages, wars, hunger, global warming, sound like problems from Moses' day. Yes, global warming, that has been a problem several times in this earth's short life, as has ice ages, it's all cyclic. But, with God's help, man perseveres. The will to survive is deeply embedded in each one of us. The will to smile and love and survive is the key. Many cancer survivors, many acts of nature survivors, war survivors, everyday survivors, claim the reason they survived was for their loved ones and their strong will. I pray I go out laughing, full of love for life!
MORE FROM J.L.: Well, God is still here....are they looking??? That's the problem. I was listening to a Christian radio station and the question of the day was "Is the United State of America domed, and if so, when will it end?" Everyone but one fellow calling in said yes, and within 20 - 50 years. Interesting....
FROM R.I. IN BOSTON: I believe that's because all the things that are truly vital to human survival can't be destroyed by "fires, floods, tornadoes, wars..." and all those other troubles you mentioned that confront
us. (FROM JACK: See. Here's something from Boston that concerns the World Serious.)
FROM B.S. NEAR ORLANDO: Tough life, gosh, you can say that again. kids today don't know what tough is. I remember grandma Hammer saying to me, Bobby, chop me some wood with knots in it, because at 5 in the am, the knots are still glowing and I can then start another fire. Grdma and Grndpa were in their 80"s and looked very frail. They didn't have a stove in their room, the stove was outside their door in the front room, so their heat came from the external source. The heat in my room came through a 10 x 12 grate in the floor "deck", from the one kerosene ( coal oil ) stove in the room below my bedroom. But in 1941 I was young, and wonder if the exposure to all that cold is the reason for my arthritis today.
FROM E.A. IN MICHIGAN: One could always see the optimism in Sandberg's writings. I however look about me and wonder----are the fires and floods and global warming, and foreclosures and global warming AND STARVING CHILDREN(ldo not even include wars) themselves not signs of the prophosy of Apocolypse?.
FROM MOLINER, C.F.: And we thought we held the franchise on trouble. Even in Carl's day
FROM GOOD DEBT JON: I wonder if we reminisce about tough times for reference or comparative glory, to “bask” in how far we have come. I believe we live in the best time period possible. Certainly troubles abound, but the list of life threatening catastrophes that affect us is far shorter than at any other period in history (30 was an old man in the Renaissance). I had this conversation a few days ago with a friend about the early years; I decided to file those memories as “happy times, I do not miss.” Ancora Imparo.
MORE FROM GOOD DEBT JON: I am always amazed at how some people recall the bad things [first] about the past; it is a heavy burden to bear and I have worked hard to leave the past behind (at least the unhappy parts). I hope I can grow old without saying, “Kid’s nowadays don’t know what rough is.” Every generation in recorded history has been saying this, and in many respects it is true. I am by nature a pessimistic person, so it is an effort to be positive. H.L. Mencken said, “A pessimist is someone that when he smells a flower turns to look for the casket.” It is hard to live the lessons of Ecclesiastes; there is a time for everything under the sun. One thing I know, I am blessed far beyond what I deserve and I would not change a thing—not even my father’s death. After he was gone more than 30 years (he died when I was 10), I realized that I could not have become the person I am without passing over some of the unpaved road I was tasked to travel. It is pure fantasy and time wasted to regret or lament the past—the best we can do is use the past to become bitter or better.
FROM R.I. IN BOSTON: You said earlier you admire those who persevere. Well that's the Red Sox all right. Despite that, I don't take the Series Seriously!
FROM C & A IN MICHIGAN: I remember little as a youngster during World Warll,but it had to be hard on my Parents maintaining a household and raising kids.Only thing I ever heard my Dad complain about was people not turning out lights during airraid warnings;he was a Warden!
1 comment:
It's been sad listening on the news to all the people losing their homes. The thing that really helps is realizing then that we are all called to a right relationship with our possessions and we and they need to be on the same page with this. We can all together live on to love and laugh through it all having our concern for each other and our priorities set straight. I guess the key is willing to be really together.
Post a Comment