Politics? Sort of

It was hard to completely avoid the back-slapping mutual admiration society that is a political party convention these last couple of weeks. "We're great and the other guys (and a few token women) really suck" seems to be the basic message. It is still mostly old white guys deciding what should happen. Even as an old white guy I find it appalling. After the Republican convention I had a picture in my mind, but it wasn't quite clear. I was reminded of something I had seen in the past, but could not put a finger on it. Thanks to the interweb and the many great minds out there in cyberspace someone had brought that picture to clarity. You may have seen it already, but for the sake of clarifying my own thoughts, here it is.

I knew there was something familiar about those guys!

I have voted in all the major elections in the last forty years or so as I felt it was my civic duty. The reality is that voting is like buying a lottery ticket. It makes you feel good and gives you hope for just a few hours or days, but in the end nothing much changes and life just goes on. No big cash rewards, no more security or even better health care. Any changes that come are very gradual and mostly unnoticeable. Tax increases or cuts are not noticeable for someone of my income. Two or three dollars a week doesn't make much difference other than helping to offset the price fluctuations of gasoline, or not.

I usually don't go into politics much here because there are more eloquent and intelligent people that do it much better. A recent post from Robert the Skeptic asked to share this video. And a good point it makes.

The leaves are changing and the bright colors of summer are starting to fade. I tried to catch a little splash of color by the greenhouse and I think I did.

Even though it is Saturday I sometimes have to work at my day job. It's not too bad, really, but sometimes the rewards of just going to and from town are quite enjoyable. Rush hour is about 4 vehicles on the road at the same time. Most of the vacationer families have gone home and school has started for most of the school kids and college kids. The crowds of summer have dwindled except for the leaf lookers over the next month or so. Usually they only come on the weekends. About halfway home I stopped and looked back toward the little town where I work and took this pic (with a vintage lens). Even though work was busy, the ride home was quite calming.

   
It has been very busy around the farm and I have not been keeping up with all the blogs I love to read. Most of you know who you are. I should be able to catch up soon. Thank you all for your comments. It is good to know that when you reach out a little there are those who understand. Sharing joys and struggles is part of the human experience and I appreciate all that has been shared.