Are Parents Facing Up or Copping Out?

Parental Teachings Extinct?

I like to start something like this with a few declarations. 

1. I am a baby boomer.
2. I don't have kids but once upon a time I was one (still am!)
3. I said sure, sure, sure when my parents said stuff like this. 
4. Now I am saying it just the same

How many of you in my generation are tired of seeing nostalgic pictures and videos somebody Emailed you about old commercials, TV shows, cars, sayings, gadgets, games, and things you can't even recognize? They get a little boring so this is a different list.

This one is about teachings that were usually part of a parental responsibility to make sure their kids were going to grow into strong, respectable offspring who could face the world and make them proud grandparents. The list is random. Do today's parents even try?

1. Don't use that kind of language in my presence. Today parents use it themselves. 
2. No you can't have this or that until you get a summer job and buy it yourselves. We don't make as much as Jimmy's / Sally's parents.
3. Just to throw in a positive, praising your kids' accomplishments is always a good idea. Hard to do today when the kids are so self-absorbed that you don't know what those accomplishments are, especially if they are some score on their phone or game box.
4. No more TV. Outside and play! Good luck with that today. 
5. Get off the phone. Now they all have their own VERY expensive ones.
6. No sex. Well at least late high school. Now I suspect it happens in primary school. 
7. You are not leaving this house looking like that. Today the problem is that the parents often look like "that". 
8. Call your grandmother (aunt; uncle etc.) and thank them for that gift. Say what?
9. Eat your dinner - all of it. We did. Does anyone now? Dinner is usually fast food for the whole family. 
10. Turn down that music. OK this is a good thing. Now parents can't hear it but the kids' ears are damaged even more.

Many more could be in the list. I know that for years both parents have had to work so there is less time to be a positive influence. 

This is the modern day generation gap. The kids I see were born to parents who themselves were raised without hearing any of the above. These parents don't see any problem. If they do they are too busy worrying about how they are going to pay off their credit card or get another one.

The Brewster

In Praise of Good Authors

Ditch the Phone, PC, and Television

There are two forms of entertainment that are dying slow deaths. It is too bad. They used to be so strong - in fact they were the only games in town for in-house entertainment.

Once upon a time not so long ago, if you wanted to entertain yourselves in the evening or on the week-end, your choices were limited. I am talking pre-television. You listened to the radio, read a book or magazine, or played a board game, card game, did a jigsaw puzzle or whatever. There were movies, but you had to go to them.

Imagine - no motion or colour, no graphics or animation - in fact no visual at all. With radio there is sound. With a book there is sight. With both you use only one of the 5 human senses. However in each case you have to use that magnificent forerunner of all machines or electronics, the human brain and it's ability to imagine, think, and deduce.

I am no psychologist but I can certainly dream and with this suggestion I know I am dreaming! But I believe it would be great therapy for people to just sit as I often do all alone and read a good book. I never used to read much - the odd time. I credit my partner for getting me back into it - she loves to read. I used to think like many people that it is hard and it takes time. That is an excuse. In my opinion the author that wrote the book is even more clever than any movie producer precisely becuse he or she has only the written word with which to work. It is great mental exercise because that forces your brain to work. When you watch all the latest visual effects on TV or at a movie it is all done for you. They have two senses with which to excite you sight and sound.

Think of the other benefits. You can treat yourself to total silence while entertaining yourself. That drives some people nuts - they need background noise. Try it outside one a beautiful morning with the sounds of birds and the smells of nature. It is truly amazing. Think of it - no electricity or game controllers. No texting with others. You can also read anywhere in the house or yard - not so with TV or video.

Now think about radio. Here we are sadly lacking in options. When I was young everyone listened to a radio and once again the producers of the shows we heard only had sound with which to work. There were great comedy programs and fantastic scary, intriguing mysteries. Today in fact - especially for people with hearing disabilities - you can combine both by listening to books in audio form.

I can't imagine kids doing either of these unless their parents encourage or even enforce it. Today most kids really can't read or find it too much of a chore! Like it or not, there will come times when they have to read. It is good practice and it could be such a blessing in their elder years. I wish radio networks would make an effort to provide more verbal entertainment. In my opinion radio advertising is more effective because the message or brand is not lost in all of the other senses.

It will never happen en masse but that is a shame and it is probably why I blog. The writing is as therapeutic and satisfying to me as the reading. Try a compromise. If you have to watch your favourite sport OK and one or two shows but do yourself a favour and try reading. Libraries make it totally free.

Your brain will thank you and so will bidding authors and print journalists


The Brewster

Last CNN Democratic Debate

First Impresions

Let me say it again. I am Canadian but I watched the CNN debate last night as the best of lousy alternatives. I always find it entertaining even though I am not a voter.

First impressions: They are all going to have a very busy "First Day in Office" given the promises! You have to admire any of them for doing this in front of millions of people.

1. Joe Biden: Lived up to expectations. You have to like the man but unfortunately every time he gets excited it seems that his brain and vocal chords disconnect. He stumbles verbally and although he recovers, the negative impression has already been formed. Trump will play this to the max. It makes him sound too old.
2. Amy Klobuchar: My favourite (Canadian. spelling). Along with many others I like her more every time. She would make a great President and get al LOT done. Probably not going to happen. Hope she tries again. She speaks well and thinks quickly on her feet. I doubt she would take any crap from DJT.
3. Elizabeth Warren: Another strong candidate but tax the rich just never seems to make it in a society totally controlled by them. Another quick thinker. Just don't think she will project as well as Hillary for example, on the world stage. How do we travel the day after she kills oil? It has to happen but gradually. Personally I do think the super rich have to pay and a lot more than she is proposing. 
4. Pete Buttigieg: Always liked him. Sharp as a tack. Great military experience - the real thing - unlike DJT. As good a thinker and talker as Klobuchar. He might make a good VP for her. If America is still not ready for a female POTUS, they will self-implode with a male POTUS and male First Husband! Too bad but true.
5. Tom Steyer: Always like him and what he says. I believe him when, even though he is very rich, he says he will put that experience to good use against the super rich and corporations who own politicians. Unlike Trump, he will put his business knowledge to good use. If he survives any longer, he has to stop looking at the camera after he wraps up any statements with the look of a little kid wanting a lollipop as a reward for what he just did. If an independent is nominated, it will be Blumberg who has a better track record in politics.
6. Bernie Sanders: Again a really likeable guy but I doubt it will happen. How many times do I have to tell you Bernie, stop jabbing that finger in our faces! Well intentioned. Well educated. Well we hope, in health. Well past his time. The super rich will remove him if he is elected. The means won't matter. Could he stand the pressure in a real world military crisis? Preaching will not halt armies or missiles.

My picks? As mentioned above, how about Klobuchar for Pres. and Pete for VP? Let's REALLY go wild with Klobuchar AND Warren as a tag team? Both could fill either role. However, and yes this is the M.C.Pig coming out in me, before the first year one would have scratched out the eyes of the other. Naturally they would then say they are still friends .

If they would elect a woman and an elderly one the best choice would be Pelosi. Too bad. That leaves Blumberg. There is your best bet my good friends to the south. He could slaughter Trump AND get things done.

The Brewster

Death and Something to Think About

Maybe It Has Another Purpose

The world is still mourning the recent loss of some 176 people after Iran used missiles to shoot down a plane. In August we said good bye to my mother. This week-end I will attend my long time neighbour's funeral.

Death is not fun. Some believe it has a purpose, other than keeping population growth in check. I am one of them.

In a reversal of tragedy, these are some of the things that run through my mind and perhaps yours. 

1. You are still here even though they are not. However you can't help but ponder your own destiny. Will I be here tomorrow; next year; in 10 years?
2. If the death was peaceful and pain-free, you think at least there is that. If not you try not to imagine how they suffered.
3. Certainly in my case and when the death is horrific or involves innocent little children, I question the existence and nature of any higher being or deity. 
4. For most it makes you glad that you and those you love are still here.
5. If you are religious or believe in spirits, you wonder if they can now see you or know what you are thinking.
6. It makes you think about the person if you knew them and THAT for me is the "spirit" part - the legacy.
7. Along with #6, you wonder about things you should or shouldn't have done with the departed or said to them.
8. If you believe in such things you wonder where they are now - in a better or worse place.
9. It makes you realize that you damned well better enjoy all the things and people you can, starting RIGHT NOW before it is too late.
10. Finally it SHOULD make you wonder how you can accomplish #9 while making life a little better for others so that one day others will be experiencing #6.

If you don't experience at least some of the above, you should start to question if you really are alive or ever have been.

The Brewster

Urban Centres of the Future

Will Personal Vehicles be Banned from Cities?

In my lifetime this is what I have experienced as trends for of living and working. I am referring here to a working class or middle income family. The very wealthy can always do whatever they want.

Families had a basic choice - buy in the city if you enjoyed that kind of living and could afford it, or buy further away in the "burbs" where property was cheaper and lots were bigger.

My parents chose the "burbs" - Scarborough, Ontario, Canada and bought car(s) to commute to Toronto where dad worked, which at that time was easy to do. 

I did both. With my first job and first car I lived and worked in the city as a young bachelor. I rented an apartment and travelled on public transportation. When I finally bought and settled down I switched to the burbs which had spread even further away from the core of the city. Depending on job location, I drove or took public transportation.

I expect that most large North American cities and residents went through the same phases, as did European cites but often centuries ago. Now things are changing rapidly.

1. Populations are exploding, primarily through immigration 
2. City property is becoming way out of most peoples' range financially 
3. Land and housing in the burbs is undergoing the same inflation of prices
4. Commuter expressways are becoming impossible to travel - most are at standstills
5. Petroleum fuelled vehicles are being phased out. But even if we all drove electric ones, that wouldn't solve the traffic congestion problem
6. The vehicles themselves are getting beyond the financial reach of many people
7. Many investors often foreign are buying up what properties are still available
8. Most of the jobs available to my parents' and even my generation are gone
9. Now there are many high rise condos being built close to trains. Most are for young people who still work in Toronto but can't afford housing anywhere. Traffic is even worse. Older generations (mine!) want to hold on to what they have

What can we do? Here are some thoughts but I welcome your input. Please comment below. 

1. Make it financially unviable for most people to drive their cars to work. Put the onus on companies to say a car is needed for an employee if that is the case. Punish companies who falsify this
2. For self-employed people, they would also have to declare in a suitable fashion that driving is necessary and prove why. Special officers could do random checks on people to see who is cheating
3. For 1. and 2. to work massive spending on public transportation is needed. It has to be close, frequent, reliable, and inexpensive
4. Considerable incentives should be available to large companies to locate their major offices outside the cities taking the jobs to the people
5. If they have not done so already, political leaders should visit other cities who have solved many of these problems and Paris is a good starting place
6. Wealthy people have to follow the same rules
7. Nail today's non-paying cheaters on public transit with massive fines

Personal flying craft are the stuff of dreams. There are enough horrible drivers. Don't even think about it. Also I'd rather walk than trust an auto-pilot.

The Brewster