Brown Eyes

Last week I was privileged to visit the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. My wife and I took our son, who is nuts for trains and anything related to trains. The equipment in these photos looks ancient to us in 2010, but some of it was in use as recently as the 1970s. To me, this environment doesn't just look old; it looks more comfortable than anything I've traveled in. The people who worked on these trains dressed for success, even the men who shined shoes in the toilet compartment. Believe it or not, there was a time when Americans dressed well. Granted, these employees were forced to dress well, but the benefit was the same.  Everyone contributed to the atmosphere of competent service. Always and everywhere, it helps to look like you know what you're doing.  Their dishes. It hardly seems possible, does it? I flew first class once. I appreciated the service, but it was a backyard barbeque compared to this royal table.  All this beauty remind

PLEASE NOTE: I do not crusade against television; the whole world may watch it and love it. Enjoy. The oldest game between people is: "Look at this!" All my life, I've struggled with a small mind, limited attention span, limited mental and physical energy. I'm easily distracted and easily exhausted. My tank is never far from empty. I feel like a kid, let loose in Disneyland, with only twenty-five cents to spend. I often envy people who can keep many different interests going at once. They can work their job, volunteer at the zoo, study Tibetan and train for a triathlon simultaneously. I can't even keep houseplants alive; that requires more bandwidth than I have to spare. This poverty of resources forced me to give up watching television when I was nineteen years old.  This development surprised me, because TV was a constant influence my parents' house. It was on every single day, like a light switch. I heard many more words from the TV than from my parents.