His name is/was Ken. We were in the Class of '70 in a small college. I haven't seen him since graduation

[3Hotdogs]

and yesterday I got to thinking about him. He seemed smarter than me. The kind of guy you looked up to for answers and understanding. School would close on May 6, a couple of days after the Kent State Massacre. The college president was worried that riots would break out so he issued a proclamation that there would be no more formal classes. You could accept your posted grade for the courses you took or you could opt to take the final exam in the hope your grade would improve.

My grade average was 3.9 or something close so there was no purpose to taking any exams. I went home. I guess Ken did the same.

He came to my mind this morning on a radio program where a polling company published the results of a pole that asked if you were confident about the future and your ability to make your way in what the future might bring, The optimists have declined over the years this pole has been conducted.

That brings me to Ken. He was 22. Maybe 23. And he had a vasectomy before he graduated. He didn't want to bring a child into the world, given the directions the world was going. At that time, "ecology" was one of two new focal points of the media and young people. 1970 was the April of the first Earth Day. The other concern was Viet Nam. Both showed a world heading down the shitter, Imagine if the youth of the 60's and 70's had a trip to the future to see Bush II or the Anal Fistula now occupying the White House..

Anyway - how this relates to me. I regret having children. I got two. They will probably be alright. They got inexpensive houses and jobs to pay for the houses.

It's the grandkids that I worry about. One graduated last year, from a second tier university at a cost of about $200k. His girl friend (whom I really like) graduated from the same college.They plan to spend this winter working at a ski resort. After that, they don't know.

The other 7 grandkids ---I don't know. They are all smart -creative and not afraid of physical or intellectiual hard work. But where will they find the place to use talents they have or will develop?

And it's beyond the question of if they will be able to afford a house - the American Dream. Will they even be able to afford e square, health care and a rented roof over their heads.



After 56 years, I think Ken was right.

[marble falls]

1. We've all had "after this, I just don't know" moments. But most of us have muddled through in at least some degree. ...

... I'd rather be living now than then. There were some mighty screwed up shit in the twentieth century: wars, economic crashes, crooked Presidents surrounded by crooks, a President who segregated the Army after WWI and brought about Jim Crow, race riots that killed hundreds, times when entire black populations were forced out of towns literally overnight (my own town and several neighboring towns did it, put blacks on the train by force and sent them to Austin, all sort of disease and plagues, gangsters ran rampant, atomic weapons were used, and on and on and on.

I'd much rather be around now than then, and your grandchildren will do alright, just like we did in spite of our grandparents despairing over our futures. We'll get through this and we have to fight.

[FadedMullet]

2. Fellow optimist. I agree completely and have faith in my grandchildren too.

[marble falls]

9. This last generation has my hopes up. These kids think about whats going on and their place in it.

[rubbersole]

3. The little lady and I decided we don't want children.

We plan to tell them after dinner.


(Stolen from the internet.)

[orleans]

4. lol

might be stolen from the internet but i never heard it before.
thanks for the last chuckle before bed. i had a shit day and actually this is the only chuckle all day.

[stopdiggin]

5. yeah - just as well get one last meal out of it .... (hope they're paying ?) - - - - - - - - -(nt)-

[no_hypocrisy]

6. A couple of things:

1. Around 1972, I announced to my mother that I didn't think I should have children. (I was 17.) She asked why and more or less I gave her the answers that Ken gave. My mother sighed and responded that there never was a good time in history to have children. I think she begged the question by avoiding my premise.

2. My friend is 78. Both his children weren't planned (accidents). He made the best of the situation and worked his ass off to pay for them. His wife made it her mission to turn them against him every step of the way. His son never completed even community college but got a decent job with UPS. His son might have been able to afford a house, except he lost whatever savings to two failed marriages and three worthless children. He has returned home to live with his elderly parents and is an alcoholic. My friend came from a nearly ideal nuclear family. They did everything together until their parents died. His own version just didn't come close to his childhood.

[OldBaldy1701E]

7. " But where will they find the place to use talents they have or will develop?"

If those talents have anything to do with anything other than making money, then they are in for it.

There is no demand for much other than business grads and Tech people. (And, that market is already flooded beyond belief.)

In short, if they want to survive, they will need to find talents in those fields. STEM is the only thing that is allowed to prosper, and even a few of those letters are starting to lose their place in this greedy society.

Of course, all of that is dependent on there being a civilized society that one can try to survive in. Considering just how insistent we seem to be on not understanding why we are here and what we have to do to fix it, I am not holding my breath.

[3Hotdogs]

8. One is computer savvy. I don't mean that he can program stuff. He build two gaming computers from scratch at the age

of 12. He searched what he needed to build it and bought the parts online, These are computers like BB sells for over $2k. He can also fix your cell phone or laptop. He is 17. He will be able to pay his way through college with fixing other kids' broken stuff.

Another grandson will also be ok. He can look at a comic and build a life-size replica of the armament the hero or villain uses to defeat enemies. He has sold some of them for hundreds and thousands of dollars, depending on the size and complexity. He is 21and will probably get an apprenticeship for prop building or stagecraft. That will be followed wth a union card. He will also be ok.


Then there is John, He is 13 and an excellent musician. But will a.i. eliminate the need for musicians like how a dj with speakers and a file of tapes eliminated thousands of wedding gigs over the years.

That accounts for 3 of them. God knows about the remaining 5.

[lostnfound]

10. Oh no, don't fear the future for youth; believe in their resilience, imagination and power of re-invention

First of all, how beautiful it is to see snow in the mountains. To be in love while young. ‘Smart-creative types have the.power to reinvent themselves..

Look at Ukrainians. They have gone through hell, but what they still have is bravery, resilience, inventiveness, determination. They have purpose — clear purpose.

When it all collapses, if it does, the youth will find their purpose — to rebuild a new country, or to pursue their dreams elsewhere. They aren’t pinballs bouncing passively between bumpers. They may be experiencing the joy of teaching a four year old how to ski in a few years; or opening their own new quilting business;, or backpacking in the Andes, or studying octopi. Or just experiencing the sublime pleasures of glimpsing a pileated woodpecker or tasting the fresh tomatoes and peppers they grew on their patio.

As older generation, we had a path to follow, rather boring at times — laid out for us — go to college, get a job, buy a house — but when society or the economy is disrupted, more of life must be invented.

Lastly, i was walking an infant in a stroller a few months after 9-11. Lost in thought about the state of the world, but then being present. I talked to my infant as we walked: Life can be scary, but that’s why God made you brave. Life can be hard, but that’s why God made you strong. Life is complicated, but that’s why God made you smart.
Life can be beautiful. Life IS beautiful. A walk in the woods, by a stream or lake, is all it takes to remind one of that.