Today is a double whammy; what was posted this am, was last night’s blog… This one came on after a prolonged exercise routine late this morning… Often, the true thinking pattern of those around is really uncovered when one listens in (not by choice but by circumstance) to conversations being had by people who are nearby, while sharing a communal space.
Such has been the case during these past days, when my ever frustrating non productive efforts take me to the exercise room at the condo community where I live. Usually (not this am, however), my day starts there at around 8am or so, all depending on the time I am finally able to peel myself from the bed sheets, pillows and cover, have some coffee to open my eyes (no, I do not pour it in with a dropper and no, it is not Cuban coffee) and don my regular gym apparel: an old, ratty looking almost matching two sweat pieces (well, I can’t truly call it a sweat suit since top and bottom are of different makes and of slightly different blue color) but extremely comfortable and which I usually put over another set of light exercise pants and undershirt. A primary purpose of my visits is to try and lose as much excess sweat producing matter (actually, fat… but it sounds somewhat better) and therefore the extra layers.
In any event, my arrival time of before 8:30am usually puts me there ahead of a small group of older (actually, they are my age or just a little older, but I refuse to put myself in their mental category) folks who come in to what turns out to be a session of social griping wedged in between a couple of weight pulls here and there. A major boon to being there first is that I get to choose what goes on the TV and usually it ends up on the history channel… Better than Fox, CNN or MSNBC… anytime!! Better look at the history of WWII once again, than look at the current versions of Alice-in-Wonderland-Without-a-Clue-Meets-The-Clueless-Wizard-of-Oz.
As my legs are pumping away and I look at the treadmill’s board trying to understand why is it that the timer is going so slowly, they start talking. What is their main concern? There are several actually; First and foremost is the economy and what this mess we are in is going to do to their retirement funds. This is a real concern, as well it should be. Some are into stocks and have already lost part of their projected funds, and usually they all put their heads together in order to come up with some answers which, in the end, collectively turn out to be “calling their broker”. Poor people don’t realize that most brokers have as little a clue as to what to do, as do they.
Then, other topics begin to show up. Folks, these are middle income, well right of center white North Carolinians or NC imports, for the most part.
-“What do you think of this guy Rubio?” (pronouncing it “rooobehu)
-“Well, he’s from Miami
I am actually smiling under the duress created by the treadmill, as it goes into an “uphill” routine. They look at me but, at 6’2”, dark hair and moustache, and very white skin (courtesy of my maternal grandparents from northern Spain
-“Well, you know that if more of them get into government, we will have all the illegals running around” This sadly uninformed comment automatically equates illegals with Hispanics; those speaking do not realize that a growing percentage of illegal immigration in this country comes from Asia and Africa .
One of the folks, who seems to be better informed, explains to the two ladies that Mr. Rubio, a Senator, is actually a young conservative endorsed by the tea party, not at all in favor of softening the stance with illegal immigration. –“Well, then that’s OK” says the lady who had made the comment but who, after a moment of silence adds, just to put her last two bits in… -“He’s still one of them, you know” thereby arriving at a conclusion which is clear, understandable and all encompassing… at least to her.
The conversation then turns to these “awful” children who seem to be invading the condos, bringing music and noises with them. Actually, the average age in these condos is probably around 38-40, there being many families with young children and animals. These are not “retirement” condos where no one under 58 is permitted to live and where, if you bring children to visit grandpa and grandma, you better have them on a leash. God Forbid they were allowed to be children while there!!
The conversation drifts into several issues, mostly having to do with their churches and what they plan to do with their time over the coming week end. Then, we are back on the political scene. –“This useless president we have is going to sink us all” says the older of the two ladies, “I remember Reagan and he was a really good president”. Now, I do not profess to like Mr. Obama or what he is doing to the country’s structures but, in the end, he is the president until voted out. Reagan was a superb front man, being used to the camera and some have said his best acting was done while acting as president of the country. This group's frustration with the current situation the country is in, as they see it, is actually palpable; the feeling they project is one of impotence to counteract what they perceive as an eroding system.
This is a generation that worked hard; children of WWII veterans and themselves coming off The Korean War, Viet Nam
As they enter the years when the fruits of their labor should be ready for picking and slowly savoring, something seems to be out of place… what is it that is not right and what is their fear? On the first count, they can’t quite put their finger on it, too many ifs and too many people running around without much direction; on the second count and for the most part, they seem to be afraid of the changes they see happening… changes which are taking place without their understanding of the causes or their mechanics; changes in those beliefs which formed their basis of living for three decades or more; changes in the way the world is now “virtually” managed for, to most of them, this is not understood; changes in the meaning of those values which they worked so hard to uphold; moral, religious and just plain living values; changes they cannot control and which are affecting the future of their kids and grandkids and, for that matter, their own future as they see it; changes which show that the wave of tomorrow in this, their country, may possibly not even speak the same language, much less have the same culture.
To the generations which come right behind and to those who follow, change has become a way of life; this is now the new, accepted continuum. Everything changes on an almost daily basis; new discoveries, new frontiers, new gizmos, new thought patterns, new everything at some point or another. But, to that generation which now is retired or on the verge of retirement the concept of fundamental, seemingly uncontrolled change, in of itself, is an alien concept.
And what is most important, this group is becoming the biggest voting block in the history of this country. Something to be considered, when politicians preach change and the disruption of the status quo; not that it cannot and, even, should not be done… just that it has to be done in a way it is understood by the newer generations' binary fed as well as by the older, biological dependent brains.
Hmmm… I think I will change my exercise routine…
Be Well… Be Back!!
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