random thoughts for January - er, February already?

A few random thoughts before heading off for work:

Our lives are marked by little pieces of paper we collect along the way, beginning with birth certificates, then high school and college diplomas, honorable discharge certificates from the Army, professional licenses to practice, and so forth. I got a horrible one in the mail yesterday - a Medicare card with my name on it. I have my parents' cards around here somewhere, but this one is mine. Holy cow. Most guys my age, who grew up during the Cold War, never thought we'd live so long. I'm tempted to ask, "God, can I really be old enough for this?" But God's answer would be, "Yes, dummy, and you know it. Now leave me alone so I can worry about 300-pound athletes who think I'm supposed to protect them from injury while they run over each other at 30 miles per hour."

Changing subjects: If the feds want to pump money into infrastructure to get the economy going, why not give it to state and local governments that build and maintain the roads, bridges, sewer treatment plants, and so forth? God knows how many of Florida's bridges are ready to crumble.

By infrastructure, I do not mean Clearwater's proposed new marina. The waiting list at the marina on the beach is so long they expected a huge demand for the new marina but only three or four people have paid deposits for slips. Give that idea up, commissioners. Put that money where it will do more good.

I also do not mean those miniature traffic circles I see under construction, so small they fit within street intersections. Those things are traffic hazards and a waste of money.

I can understand why several of President Obama's appointees have serious income tax problems. When you see federal tax money going to the banks so they can spend millions to redecorate their offices, pay huge bonuses to the "good people" who ran them into the ditch, and plan getaways in Las Vegas, you wish you could get away with not paying, too. Those appointees are powerful, successful, big-time politicians; you wonder how many smaller fish simply haven't been caught yet.

Isn't it refreshing to see our president look at a TV camera and admit that he screwed up? The American people can forgive someone who 'fesses up and does not play the duck-and-cover drill we are accustomed to seeing.

My children haven't "blogged" for weeks. I wonder whether FaceBook has taken the place of blogging? The kids went to FaceBook and now us old folks have, too. I've contacted several high school friends I haven't seen since graduation. I suppose that means the kids will abandon FaceBook and find another place where they can hang out, electronically, without us old folks looking over their shoulder.

More later -