Findings 1 -- We are who we are

21 September 2010 -- I have been and am still sitting here (in the place I always am – my own skin) and ask myself these questions: Did I learn anything as a result of the Tour? Have I changed? What’s next? The answer to these questions are (as Air Force personnel with whom I work like to say, and in varying ways) “That depends.”
How so you ask? What did you learn? To which I start by saying “No new first principles, no mystical moment of revelation, no clear and unifying prescription for what ails our country (I still believe we are ill)”, but continue by adding, “I learned that my father is satisfied with his life and for all the traditional reasons: He says he was fortunate to have two different women to love and be loved by, to have four sons raised into productive adults of whom he is proud, to have had a career doing work he loves. I also learned details of his life of which before I was only dimly aware: His lifelong friends were all high school friends; he managed a bookstore; he has no desire to document his life for others.” It was illuminating to see how, at 92, he copes with the limitations that age has visited upon him; to observe that together we created a process that led us from the Minnesota-Canada border to the Louisiana gulf (as he said we would without detailed preplanning); to appreciate that we could spend 25 or 26 days and nights together in close quarters; to celebrate the fact that he is still a vital human being who affects in a very positive way the people in his life. These alone made the Tour worthwhile. “Is that it? you ask. No there’s more. For about ten years now I have made my political views known (in articles written for the East Valley Tribune, and conversations with anyone who would sit and talk with me). Ideas like this: The R and D political parties are corrupt – don’t vote for them; Taxes are too high (There must be a legal limit on the total takings (of all levels of) government can extract from an individual, and all individuals must pay taxes (so they have an interest in the use of taxes); Government should set standards, enforce laws justly, defend its citizens, and get out of their way; and, we would all be better served by more tolerance. I am happy to see a lot of the country is coming around to these point of view – as I am not much for devoting energy to movements myself. I learned (before and after Geoff told me he undertook some efforts to raise national and local [in New Orleans] awareness of the Tour, and despite these efforts – no water balloons) that most folks are focused on their own lives and it takes a fair amount of conversation to get in there. Most seem to manage their lives pretty well -- this I take to be a positive finding (in the vein of a great flywheel of society sort of way). On a personal level, I learned I could pedal a bicycle 40 miles a day, day in and day out. At 65, this is a reassuring finding, as it provides hope for a future like the present that my Dad lives in. I learned that I am still Bill because as I sit here I still like to smoke good hand-rolled cigars, go to small casinos and gamble, eat well, and most of all can’t wait to say to those former lunch time companions and friends, “Na Na Na Na NANA, who is crazy now?”
More tomorrow.

Thought for the day: Tea party folks are crazy like me! What’s wrong with that?