Warp & Woof

v.1.3

Welcome to Warp & Woof, a blog from William Sundwick. Its purpose is to share with its readers some ways to navigate the philosophical, moral and aesthetic dimensions of life.

It is not a scholarly blog, but the author hopes that his own life experience and reading can inform his readers’ journeys through such realms.

He wants to share some things that he believes matter, not “fake news,” and he will offer frequent enough doses to motivate you to keep checking in. Comments are welcome. While Blogger requires you to identify yourself via your email address, the author will anonymize any comments before publishing them.

Warp & Woof has a structure. There are five departments of thinking (pages) -- but some entries may be cross-posted in more than one department. These five “realms of deliberation” are:

The Present

    … what matters, for sure!

 

                     The Past

                              … what used to matter       

                                                               

                                                                              

                                             The Future

                                                      … what may matter, who knows?

 

                             Totems

                                    … objects that matter (or mattered)  

                        

Beats

    … sounds that matter, since we never get tired of hearing them! 

Author’s Introduction

Switching to the first person now and translating -- readers can expect entries dealing with health and wellness for seniors (that’s me) in The Present, along with musings on bigger psychological/philosophical issues. This includes a fair dose of writing on child development (I spend some time babysitting my grandchildren).  

The Past will be filled with lots of hopefully knowledgeable meanderings around politics, sociology and history. I’m a liberal arts type, undergraduate major in history, and professional librarian for something like 30 years before imperceptibly transitioning to IT professional. I retired from the Library of Congress in 2015, after 42 years at that institution. History and politics are very big topics for me, despite their vague and uncertain impact on the present or future.

Exciting (to me) developments in science and technology will be found in The Future, along with a healthy dose of fear about things like global warming and other planetary or civilizational catastrophe! Perhaps I have an apocalyptic frame of reference -- most of my thinking about economics and anthropology belongs in The Future. Economics covers consumer behavior and marketing, both interesting fields for me. Anthropology deals with primitive roots of tribal life, which I claim will become more apparent in the future, as more complex social arrangements break down, putting sociology in The Past. The Future is not the place for invective about the status of American politics -- that belongs on the page for The Past!

On the page for Totems, you will find lots of apparently senseless, but exciting for me, information about cars, past, present, and future. I’m a “car guy”, by virtue mostly of my upbringing as a General Motors brat in Flint, Michigan during the fifties and sixties. I’m not a car guy mechanic, however. I never open the hood or crawl under my own vehicle (much less anybody else’s!), but a car guy who was raised in, and by, mid-century American “car culture.”

Finally, on the Beats page, another personal obsession gets its due: rock music, from the origins in the Great Migration, through the British Invasion, hard blues, acid rock, punk, metal, techno. If anybody thinks these genres are still alive, please let me know! I’ve “got my ear down to the ground” to paraphrase Jim Morrison, When the Music’s Over. Yes, there is audio here, via YouTube videos.

That’s been the concept. Version 1.0 of Warp & Woof launched on Ground Hog Day, 2017.  I made some changes to the layout and design recently, for v.1.2 (sounds better than v.1.1).  And, true confessions, this v.1.3 is informed by two-and-a-half years in my Arlington, VA Writers Group. These folks may be my only audience – except when I beg my Facebook friends and relatives to read my posts. I hope my mission statement remains unchanged at least through version 2.0; i.e., helping my readers see the “big picture” more clearly, making the complex simple, and having fun while we expand both our peripheral vision and depth perception!                      

         

Me, at Filene Center, Wolf Trap, 2018

                                                        

Footnote to "Intimations of Mortality?" post ... TrumpCare only works if you're young and healthy (or rich). Inside the CBO score ...

Intimations of Mortality?

Random Thoughts on Approaching 70^th Birthday

William Sundwick

It occurred to me recently. I hadn’t thought too much about it until now … I’m going to turn 70!

In my universe, that’s not even middle-aged any more. People have written that the boomer generation is the one that refuses to grow old. Perhaps. But, if I’m honest, I must admit I’m beginning to notice things … especially, compared to younger folks around me. Call them “intimations of mortality” (after Wordsworth).

Advancing years are clearly a mixed bag … there is the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.  First, the Good: I’ve been damned lucky throughout my life -- financial security, good health, amazing 34-year marriage, great family. There is a possibility that a nursing home could wipe out the finances, but I’m not thinking of that now (maybe never?). And, I do feel compelled to follow my doctor’s orders, keep exercising, watch my diet.

But, whatever inconvenience “doctor’s orders” causes is more than compensated for by that “wisdom card,” which I can frequently play for younger friends and family. My wisdom regarding life’s dramas is a source of some pride, and (so far) seems to garner at least a convincingly polite acknowledgement from others. However, I do have a responsibility to share that wisdom. It’s what blogs are for! And, I think people respect me for it.

So, that’s the positive side of turning 70. There is a less enjoyable part, too. The Bad: mostly, my life is past … I’d have to live to 140 to say that it is less than half over! It’s not an issue of accomplishment -- I’m happy with that. It’s more about feelings and memories. It’s about hopes and aspirations, about excitement. It’s about whether she thinks I’m sexy!

All these things are rapidly fading from reality, except in my mind. Memories, for sure. But, is there anything that can really excite me, anymore? Travel? Some new technology? Something that would make me say: “I’ve never done THAT before!” -- or, “someday, I’m gonna’ ______” (fill in the blank). Unfortunately, my typical feeling these days is “been there, done that” or “I’ve seen this movie …”. And, the cost of self-knowledge is it becomes very difficult to fool (flatter) yourself.

Perhaps I spend too much time alone these days, more socializing could be a balm.

Then, there’s the Ugly: what lies ahead! Physical and mental limitations are likely to play an increasingly important role in my future. My own father, who knew he was likely to go quickly from heart disease, took some comfort from that knowledge … but, he was still an invalid in his last years, aware that he had lost much stamina, even mobility. My mother, on the other hand, had no idea what it would mean to slowly decline over nearly a decade, from the onset of Parkinsons, until her death. Fortunately, neither of them suffered the imprisonment of the mind that comes with Alzheimers … as my stepfather did (although he died only a week after my mom, we never knew whether he was aware of her death). The future could be grim, indeed.

The early signs, possibly only a couple years away, might include no longer being able to drive at night. That, right there, would be a major freedom-reducing development. You’d then have to be dependent on somebody else to drive you to evening engagements, or church meetings!

And, what about those memories? They sustain me now, help me cope with the fact that my life is more than half over. But, when they start disappearing? Recently, I was distressed when I couldn’t remember the brand of paint we’ve always used for home projects (Benjamin Moore) … drew a complete blank, had to go to closet where old paint cans are stored before I could come up with that everyday brand name. This block (more than a lapse, I think) is likely to become more common in the future. And, merely two years since retirement, I’ve already forgotten almost all the acronyms and IT functions that were so familiar to me in my day-to-day life only a short while ago.

I expect major tax headaches when I’m forced to sell my house – a good reason for postponing that action as long as possible. But, eventually, maintenance will become too much of a burden. It WILL be necessary, someday!

Then, the loneliness … who goes first? How would I deal with being a widower? How solid are my connections to my kids, and grandkids? (Only one of those, so far.) Continuous care? I’ve seen that, physician-assisted suicide might be preferable.

Where does all this leave me? It seems that, despite the anxiety associated with a possibly grim future, for now I’m doing well. This really is the best game in town. I want to play it for all it’s worth! If I trust my doctor, who keeps declaring me healthy, and continue to feel good after workouts at the gym, or neighborhood walks, why should I complain? If I can keep people’s attention by spreading words of wisdom, why not go for it?

In the meantime, I can always look with great pride at my progeny … they make it all worthwhile. And, I should be able to morph those intimations of mortality into paths toward immortality – if I can remain convinced that a good person is remembered longer than a not-so-good person!