View From The Ditch Bank

THE THINKER- We've all seen it. That sculpture by Rodin. I was giving some thought for this post and thought if I assumed that pose it might help. So I did and right away I had two thoughts. 1. If I stayed like that very long I would get a cramp, and 2. If I actually did that I would be arrested for indecent exposure or something. So I assumed a more natural pose and continued to think about how to say what I want to say, in a blog that is covering the subject of most news casts and thousands of other blogs. I am looking back to the past 10 years and just a smidgen of what has changed. Some good and some bad, and I'll leave it to you to decide for yourself which is which. 10 years ago, there was panic in the streets. Well. almost.
Y2K was a common phrase and people were afraid that the world would come to an end with the advent of the zero's. Planes would fall from the sky, ships wouldn't be able to ship, computers would refuse to work, electricity would not be coming in and a myriad of other things that I mostly can't remember. However, we woke up that morning to planes still in the sky, ships still shipping, computers working and the government still collecting taxes and spending more than they collected. But a few things have changed in the past decade that I will mention. Some positive and some not. With the advent of 9/11 we can no longer go to an airport to catch a plane without undressing, well removing our shoes, any way. And you could take a bottle of water with you. GPS and Ipods have come on strong. I could mention fashion, or the lack of it, but since that changes with the whim of whatever designer is popular at the time, I won't. well, except to say that there is much of it that I don't like. Blogs now number about 100 million. so who wants to read mine, or even have the time to do so. Blackberries are no longer a fruit but a phone/Internet item carried in your pocket or on your belt. Cameras are now in your phone, but a regular camera don't need film. How soon will it be before the younger generation will look at you blankly if film is even mentioned? Now about 85% of Americans use a cell phone ( yes, even me, at times ) and many have cancelled their land lines all together. Fat is going away with the biggest loser, and green is no longer a color. And if you want to know what it is, just google it and hope the information is correct. You can get an expensive cup of joe at the corner Starbucks ( Peppermint hot chocolate works there also ) and then there's texting, sexting, face book, youtube and twitter. Space travel will soon be available to the average rich person, and extended space travel might or might not go away. the 10's will tell I guess. So as we leave the zero's behind and enter the 10's, I can assure you that there will be some good times ahead, more innovations to make old codgers like me just shake their head, and there will continue to be wars, hatred, and contention. We can only try to make our own little corner of the world peaceful and hope it spreads outward. May you all have a happy and prosperous 2010. And that's the View From The Ditch Bank.