Waking late here in the Canadian northwoods we decide to be bold and utterly other and jump into Salon for some stimulus to the day rather than check the weather online (Our normal first task). Garrison hits all my buttons with his words reminding me of all that bind the species together by way of age & demographics.

Our daughter flies in from Luxembourg tomorrow with our first grandson ... a glimmer of joy in the otherwise joyless colony of ants. His mother is the 'wired generation' od which Mr. Keillor speaks and with her firstborn has opted to raise hime with Mozart and literature sans much digital input ... There is a strange deja vu here as we did the same with her and her sibling brother to what oft appears as fleeting result/effect.

Garrison knows my life even though he resides in an alternative dimension of the sun seekers universe ... Why is everything so the same for those of us who have been looking far too long at the weather gauge? We 60'ish types who flitter from depression by way of engaging to much of what is available for input and then rejoice at any brief respite when we shut down certain stimuli. So it seems from this little rural rusticana where the snows are deep and spring is yet but a whispered promise ... and so it goes ...

Thanks for a moment old Wobegonian!

As a Canadian I have always marvelled at the 'miracle' that the USA represents ... The fine works of David McCullough have certainly helped me to understand how the country came into being despite what seemed truly long odds ...

I hope that the series lives up to the book in some complimentary manner and also trust that it will stir a greater interest for many who are 'digitally' beguiled/compromised to read more books about history as is told by such skilled writers/researchers as McCullough.

To ascertain that something is meaningless one must have some concept of "Meaning" and hence the conundrum ...

Having wended my way down this path of pathos we call life for some six decades (and what seems is almost a thousand years of emotional angst) I can offer but a few words that would improve upon the responses given thus far ...

"Be grateful always for something to do ... Balm is oft found in being 'Busy' both physically & mentally ... and yet one should be still at times just so we can hear our souls".

In the words of the Gambler "There’ll be time enough for counting when the deal is done" so try to let go of daily depression .... Each of us has a path and yours is so much like that of the millions of the rest of us ... take comfort in the 'garden variety sameness' of your life for there is seldom greater grief than in holding onto a concept of "Terminal Uniqueness" ...

If one gives equal weight and balance of burden to their troubles as well as to their delights then the days are less irksome ... one becomes aware of the 'Tide' of life ... and the crests and valleys are oft seen as just the sea that we venture to cross in an unknown span.

You are not alone ... we are all in this enigma together ... take heart from the care and concern of others ... Give good and Give love and you will have filled your days with some purpose!

Regardless the topic it seems to this old Geezer that everything is a product whether it be a computer or a political position ...

The debates about technologies wonders or mankind’s follies (Maybe they are all part of the same entity) will rage until the dying of the light ... in the end all people are confounded by others observations that seem slightly or greatly different than theirs ...

The truth seems elusive but it is not that difficult to come by ... we get what we pay for ... regardless of the outcome for each of us ... and we do pay … my god do we pay!

"a female suicide bomber blew herself up in a crowd of Shiite Iraqis at a mosque near Karbala. At least 32 people were killed and an additional 51 were wounded, (Crippled, Maimed, Disabled and/or Amputees??) - according to one report." and also "Four (other) attacks in Baghdad killed a total of four people and wounded 13."

Thus we turn to the comment by the 'Vice'-President ... "If you look back on those five years it has been a difficult, challenging but nonetheless successful endeavor ... and it has been well worth the effort."

More distressingly ... He who would be leader had the following to say on the same day as this continuation of the savage tragedy in Iraq ...

McCain said "The surge is working,"

This Geezer says ... "Working or Successful for Who Gentlemen"????

This is another one of those times when remembering the sound wisdom and insight that could be heard & had from Sen. Robert Byrd ... It should should be heard again ... and it is also good to remember the lack of wisdom uttered by Sen. McCain ....

Good luck America ... you will need it if you do not chose wisely in November!

From a Canadian who sends you all his best intentions...