A creeping malaise

I fully intended to spend some time tonight checking out the action on the Web, and churning out a whole series of posts. I wandered around the MSM sites, checked out some quirky references (nothing came of it), and meandered around, trying to find something interesting to post about.

Nada. Zilch. Nothing.

There's just not a lot out there. Cripes, you know it's a dead night for excitement when the Democratic Party doesn't even have anything on their site to inflame their sensibilities.

To tell the truth, I had just about given up on finding anything of note today - then I read John Derbyshire on Thanksgiving:

If the New Horizons mission reaches Pluto intact, my entire adult life will have been encompassed by this most marvelous of all scientific adventures — the exploration of the solar system. I wouldn't have missed it for... well, for worlds.

That prompts other reflections about life in these past few decades, and in the next few. The sum total of those reflections is that I have been living in a golden age that will soon end. Born between VE Day and VJ Day, I missed all the greatest horrors of the 20th century. If granted a normal lifespan**, I shall miss the horrors of the 21st, too. If my parents' generation was the greatest, mine has been the luckiest. For that, in this Thanksgiving season, I give sincere and heartfelt thanks.

It is not just space exploration I am thankful for, but I see that bold adventure as symbolic of the age now slipping away. It was a manifestation of our civilization's confidence.

You know, I sometimes focus on the wrong things. I wrote about Thanksgiving, without taking the time to list all the truly wonderful things that have been happening:

• My husband is recovering from a frightening illness, thanks to decent medical and nursing care, and a basically healthy constitution.
  
• My son-in-law is back at work, and none too soon, as Christmas is fast approaching.
  
• My son is healthy and surrounded by family and friends. He is making progress in college.
  
• My daughter is working hard in graduate school, and by 2007, will be certified to teach special ed.
  
• I'm working a job I enjoy, and learning more each day about my chosen profession. It's a delight to feel as healthy as I've been in the last 4 months.
  
• The Iraq war seems to be winding down, as the Iraquis take charge of defending and re-building their country.
  

Tedium can be a GOOD thing - it beats the heck out of fear and famine.

Have a Merry Christmas, and may all our holidays be so devoid of excitement.

Tags = News and Politics