The Choice is Yours.

Hundreds of years ago natives of the west coast had an abundance of food and wonderful weather. They could gather crops, fish and sleep under the stars. They were easy going, relaxed, laid back.

Midwestern civilization had to endure long and difficult winters. They were nomadic, always on the move searching for food and shelter. They were much more aggressive.

From an anthropological point of view I'm positive growing up in various geographical areas had more to do with early psychological and emotional development then than it does today.

Today everything is within a nanoseconds effort. Anything you want or need to know is available at a finger (or thumb) tip. 

I like this and I'm a better person for it. But once in a while I'd like to slow things down. There is much more competition for our time. People are inventing new things to say and do for attention.

As I age my conversations often turn toward the "good old days." These were the days of my youth, when life seemed never ending. The most difficult thing to remember was homework. The days were filled with sunshine and exercise. It was before PlayStations and hundred channels big as the wall televisions

It was before Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Sunday Night Football and Cyber Monday.

We rode our bikes to visit friends, played ball in vacant fields and stayed outside until the streetlights came on. We didn't hear about mass shootings on a regular basis and the term "going postal" was years from becoming part of our vocabulary.

Now I'm not saying it was better but it was simple.

In 1979 my older brother, who lived in Michigan, came to visit here in California. It was June or July. He was here ten days. The first morning he slept in. I was working out in the backyard when he wandered out with bed hair; he still had a little at the time. He looked up at the sky.

"Beautiful morning," he said. "There isn't a cloud in sight."

In response I grunted something like, "Yes, it is," as I was busy cleaning dog shit at the time and had a surgical mask over my mouth. This was one of my many chores when the bad spouse and I were married.

The next morning we went through the same routine minus the dog shit. With two dogs going once a day I had my clean up down to a science. My schedule was three times a month unless my father-in-law came over for dinner and fed the dogs table scraps. 

After having this basic morning weather conversation for about a week he finally realized I didn't care and said, "You don't care do you?"

And then I told him I didn't. 

"It's always like this here. You can count on it from late April until mid October. It's nice, warm, sunny and blue. There's never an urgency to get things done."

You see, growing up in the Michigan you learned to take advantage of the beautiful days. You also learned to live with disappointment; plans could be rained out at any time.

In the old days it was sunny or cloudy. It could also be partly or mostly sunny or cloudy; I never did ascertain the differences. It was wet or dry. You could say things were basically black or white with a shade of grey for some contrast.

Now I try to be positive about most things. I know life is a series of ups and downs. I don't get too excited when I'm riding up just as I don't get upset on the way down. 

I often write about the difficultly of ageing. Some of you probably would just as soon not be reminded of this since you're riding in the same boat. I have no words of advice or wisdom other than, roll with the tide and enjoy the tea.

Tell you the truth; I was never much of a tea drinker. Irving (who may or may not be my father) was a big tea drinker. He didn't use a proper Russian Zarf and I was traumatized as a young child watching him slurp Lipton out of a glass. 

Now even with the thermostat (and no I don't have a NEST) set at 68 I find myself wearing a hat and sweatshirt in the house. I can't drink coffee in the evening because of the caffeine. Hot chocolate has calories and too much sugar so tea is my evening drink of choice. 

Oh my god, now I'm drinking tea to help stay warm.

When I start eating, drinking, or is it having soup with grilled cheese or tuna fish sandwiches for dinner I'll know I'm in trouble.

Will someone please just shoot me?

Don't get my wrong here I'm not trying to be Mr. Grump always walking around crying doom and gloom but things could be better. There is so much negativity floating in the air it's bound to get you down from time to time.

We're expecting rain in the area, a lot of rain. In the blog yesterday you read about the drought problem here in California as well as the potential for mud slides should be get the much needed wet stuff. I live on flat ground so I needn't worry about slipping down a hill or getting buried in a slide. I can concentrate on overflowing gutters, leaking windows and water spreading up through the slab and warping the floor.

It's always something.

So last night Wanda, who needs to plan her early morning commute time, checked Acuweather.

When I was young I had sunny, rainy, cloudy and parts there of to contend with.

According to the forecast, several days over the next week will be DREARY.

Fucking DREARY.

drear·y

ˈdrirē/

adjective: dreary; comparative adjective: drearier; superlative adjective: dreariest

dull, bleak, and lifeless; depressing.

"the dreary routine of working, eating, and trying to sleep"

synonyms: dull, drab, uninteresting, flat, tedious, wearisome, boring, unexciting, unstimulating, uninspiring, soul-destroying; humdrum, monotonous, uneventful, unremarkable, featureless, ho-hum.

Just think of it.

Your day is yet to begin and what have you got to look forward to.

With a forecast like dreary it's really hard to have a positive disposition.