They say that earlier generations displayed the moral fiber and steely nerves that our present dissolute generation lacks in spades. Looking around at current groups of youth, I can hardly put up an adequate defense against such beliefs. Awash in technological addictions and moral subjectivity, it is a wonder the barbarians at the gate just don’t knock on the door. We would surely let them in, if only for the short amusements our sensory overloaded attention spans could revel in.
That is not to say that this steely core has been entirely expunged. Even today, we have our Marcus Letrell, Michael Murphy, and so many others. Maybe it is even harder for these men and women, as we have sanitized the war and violence so far away from out of our lives. Dominated by the grind of dull work (if we are lucky) and frequent trips to the mall to expand our already burgeoning waistlines, our nation hardly glances up at headlines whispering such as 2 killed in Afghanistan today. It has so much competition with Poll Numbers, Debate Commentaries and the latest scandal by some over-tanned unwed mother in Jersey.
Perhaps this explains why those in the past hold such an interest for me. That I buy into the argument of this generation’s moral decay. I myself can not measure up to the heroes of my day, so those of the past are god-like to me in their superiority. I understand that they were normal men, with all the foibles and failings that come with that. But, damn those were MEN.
The reason for this inward analysis of myself as representative of a fallen modern world is the passing of Command Sgt. Maj. Basil L. Plumley (Ret.) at the age of 92. A veteran of three of America’s wars, he leaves behind a daughter, a grand-daughter and 2 great-grandchildren. My knowledge of this man is limited to Wikipedia, the movie We Were Soldiers and several obituaries on the web. I do not know the inner soul of this man – his strengths or weaknesses. I only know he was mighty, as are all others who guard the sheep.
This weeks’ events in Louisiana football were bittersweet for me – LSU with its first loss and the Saints with their first win. It really stinks losing to Florida, although it will be much worse losing to those “people” two states over. I really want to gloat to Mr. Cy (my brother’s ex-father-in-law) on Facebook. He is always posting about those menstruating pachyderms. Other than this issue, I have always had a great deal of respect for him. I really want to upset their national ambitions. I would like a SEC team to win the National Championship again, consolidating our football superiority on the rest of the nation, but not Alabama. Saban is the devil, to bring in a Water Boy paraphrase.
I was invited to this restaurant to meet up with some friends that I had come to know through our study abroad trip to Tianjin in 2009. I keep in touch rather regularly with Lisa using Gchat, but I had not seen or talked to Quincy since that trip. The setting for our reunion was a delightful place up near Sugarhouse at 21st South and 21st East. The owner knew Lisa since she was a regular visitor to this place.
This past week has been an eventful one. First, I finished writing a very rough draft of the introduction to my thesis that my Advisor praised a little. We discussed where I should be headed and she gave me quite a few insights that I can use in writing my thesis body. Luckily, quite a bit of it is already there because I did a great deal of it before my mental crap out in December 2010. I feel way more confident this time around than last time. I still have to control my impulses for procrastination and such, but I have a much better handle on how this is all going down.
