Never make forecasts, especially about the future.

Hello world on this Thursday, May 28, 2015. I was born in 1946. That supposedly makes me a Boomer. The generation that preceded the Boomers was called the Silent or Traditionalist generation. I've always felt conflicted between these two. My birth year puts me on a fence with one leg in the traditionalist and the other in the boomer world. Pulled. In both directions. The year of 1946 produced two presidents, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. It also brought forth Donald Trump and Steven Spielberg. There were a total of 3.4 million post war babies born in 1946 of which some 2.8 million of us are still alive. According to the actuarial tables the remaining men can expect to live another 22 years on average, the ladies another 25. We are living in a remarkable age where folks hang around longer. By the time the first of the 1946 edition reach 84 in 2030, those over 65 will have grown to 20% of the population compared to just 13% today. That's a whopping 75% increase. I've said all of that to say this. This day, today, is truly the only day I can be sure of and even it is very fragile as we all know if we think seriously about it. However, I do, you do, we all need to use each and every day wisely and I am going to start thinking about trying to do that very thing, one day soon.Very soon. And, that's a good idea even if I am being pulled by those forces I told you about. You know. The complex deal. Not the apartment. The other one.

Some of that was just playing around. Time is an important feature of our environment and it waits for no one. Here's a quote from The Fellowship of the Ring written by J. R. R. Tolkien, "I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. 'So do I,' said Gandalf, 'and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.'" Maybe for a confused Boomer like myself Dr. Seuss' words might be more appropriate, "How did it get so late so soon?" It could be that I fall into the category pronounced by the 17th century French Philosopher, Jean de La Bruye`re, "Those who make the worst use of their time are the first to complain of its brevity." Although I'm not sure I'm complaining, just confused. Or really none of the above. I might just be filling up the page with words. However, there's no doubt a message in there somewhere for us all. But, it will take a moment of our time to find it and even more of it if we choose to use what we find in some productive manner.

And, just so you know, I am aware the cartoon in the previous paragraph had little to do with the point I wasn't making even though I acted as if I was making one. I chose that cartoon for two reasons. First of all I liked it and secondly I got tired of looking through the others. Speaking of a sign of our times, the IRS has been hacked again. This time they only got the tax information on about 100,000 of us tax paying citizens. We should feel good. They actually tried to get many more. The acting commissioner had some more soothing words, "We're confident these are not amateurs, these are actually organized crime syndicates that not only we but everyone in the financial industry are dealing with." Did you get it? Everyone is having to deal with this problem. Not just us. Folks, we are talking about the most sensitive data that we share with our government. We don't have a choice but they cannot protect our data. That's clear. I don't have to wait for a hearing to find out what they think they need to fix this problem. More money. More people. And, of course, more understanding from us poor slobs who pay all the bills. Sorry about the minor outburst. But, give me a break. Please. One last little ditty about the time stuff. This one comes from the Holy Spirit via the Apostle Paul. It's that verse he wrote to the folks at the local assembly meeting in Ephesus, Greece about redeeming the time. Here's how the NET Bible puts it: "...taking advantage of every opportunity, because the days are evil." (Ephesians 5:16) Chew on that one. Amen.  ...More later.