Spring 2014 June 10 Tuesday

68 degrees this morning.  Still wet outside, but not raining, able to exercise.

Listening to (and also readingI) the "Bully Pulpit", I was thinking of the amount of time "off" people used to take, it seems it would be impossible now.  For example, S.S. McClure spent months in "bed rest", Roosevelt went west for years, sometimes would on on a year long hunting trip and Taft spent years in the Philippines,  and numerous people would spent time in Europe, in a time when transpiration itself was probably measured in weeks or months rather than hours.  

Then I think that I spent 12 years in Tennessee (and counting), although I don't really consider it "away" from anything or anywhere, it is just life.  I guess they thought the same thing, but I really wonder how they remained prominent  in Washington D.C. (or other areas) when they were gone so much.  It isn't like they had e-mail, video mail/chat etc. or even telephones.  Probably the only communication was by letter and even that was slow.

I feel like there is a "common culture" created by our communications (news media, interment, rapid travel etc.) and I think today it would be hard to just disappear from that common culture for years.  Considering that back then the average lift span was probably 20 years shorter than now, it raises a real question in my mind on how they did it.  I will think on this some more and do some research.

Sometimes I wish I had majored in history, or at least had taken more courses in history, and more specifically, historical research.  Of course, I have time to do that now, so I may just do that!  Maybe especially on how history impacts current actions.  

Birds ware noisily this morning, maybe because of the rain (I"m not sitting outside since the patio furniture is still wet and it is slightly chilly.  

Back to history, I read "On China" by Henry Kissinger (well, I listened to it) and I was struck by how history is recognized as significant. Even the cultural revolution was (this is a very simplified statement) was designed to remove the Chinese culture from the influence of much of it's history.

The other day a question on Jeopardy was on a "spoken language".  Both Aliene and I instantly recognized the language was Chinese!  We remember more than we think we do!

Keeping it short today, may write more later today.

That's it for now, Tuesday, June 20, 2014.