Rambling Prose...

Rambling Prose...
.Let's take a walk together.....

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

"MOVING" THOUGHTS...AND OTHER UNRELATED THINGS!


Well...I just can't believe it's been months since I've written anything in my blog.  That's not to say that I have been sitting on my hands.  They have been quite busy in our recent move from Prescott, AZ to San Diego, California.
Initially, they were busy doing research on the internet to locate our next home.  I'm sure I developed carpal tunnel syndrome stroking the keyboard, palming the mouse, not to say anything about eye strain and terminal stress in my shoulders from hutching over my desk.  (But I'm not complaining; we did find a wonderful new place to live in Rancho Bernardo.)


Moving furniture and all our possessions to a "staging area" in the garage keeps your hands moving too...along with every muscle you swear you've never used before. On moving day, your using hands, arms and legs, and bending and stretching limbs that are not especially forgiving, lifting all manner of furniture, over- packed boxes, china, kitchen appliances, BBQ's, tools, computer towers & monitors, and tons of books, into a 26 foot Penske truck, praying that you've measured correctly and accounted for everything, and getting it all inside that "moving box on wheels" so you can  close that truck gate, securing all your worldly possessions in one place!  It's truly a humbling experience!  Humbling because you thought you had accumulated more "things" and "toys" than that; further humbling because you feel stupid for having kept any of these things....most of which you seldom use!


Thanks to the help of family and friends, we had survived the trek across the Arizona/California deserts...much in the fashion of Depression Era travelers...out of a Steinbeck novel... (Okay, I exaggerate.)  Now, all we had to do was to unload our cargo and squeeze it all into our "Casita".  Understand that all of this stuff had previously resided in a 1800 square foot 3 bedroom 2 bath 3 car garage, and was going into a 2 bedroom/1 bath condo which allegedly was "about 1200 square feet."  Also understand, that Casita in Spanish is "little house!"
Needless to say, we have experienced the "mother of all downsizing," and after giving away and selling items we have needlessly hauled around for years, we are in our home!








For those of you who are part of the "Social Media" scene, we will be posting photos of our new place on Facebook.  It's actually quite charming, and we look forward to entertaining family and friends at our new "diggings."








Now..."Ramblings" about other unrelated things.  (Well, what did you expect from a blog titled "Rambling Prose?")


We have been away from California for about 6 years, and I fully expected that it would have undergone some changes.  But I wasn't prepared for what I'm about to discuss. 
 Perhaps it's easier to see when one has been living in an entirely different environment like we have.  Northern Arizona, made up of primarily small towns and rural areas, is significantly different from Southern California.   Life goes on at a much slower pace.  People walk and drive slower, they speak at a slower tempo, they seldom "multi-task, they take their time eating, and they probably have lower blood pressures as a result.  They appear to take more time to talk with each other, (you remember...conversations), they tend to be friendly and neighborly, and for the most part, their children seem to be well adjusted and happy.  ( I guess you understand that there are exceptions to the above.) However, politics and ultra-conservative beliefs are another thing! Will talk about that some other day.


Time for a definition.  Civility:  Politeness, courtesy, good manners, respectfulness, cordial, and pleasant.  Maybe you can see where I'm going with this line of thought.


What has struck me the most since coming back to San Diego is the increased  number of people I run into who are impolite, unfriendly, and down right hostile.  It's expressed in how they view and treat other people; how they recklessly drive their vehicles; how they speak to others, and in general, how they appear to be unconscious of those around them.


You are probably thinking there have always been unhappy and hostile folks around…and you would be right.  During the past 10 years, we as a people have certainly been exposed to a great deal of societal stress:  9-11, terrorism, wars, the Great Recession, mass unemployment, political polarization, 24/7 news coverage…the list goes on.  Those are reasons enough to make folks just a little cranky.  But it seems to go beyond the obvious and is less apparent at first glance.  Something rather "basic" has changed.


Today, not only in San Diego, but throughout our country, basic values of respect toward others is lacking.  Simple kindness seems to be out of vogue and “old fashion.”  A smile and a kind word seems to be viewed with suspicion.  Everyone seems to be in a hurry to get some where, any where, as fast as possible!  



Now…having said all of the above, that is not the case with all people.  There are many who respect the rights of others, who look you in the eye and smile, and who “take time" to really listen to you.  We all like to be “heard” and understood.  Face to face conversations seem to be the exception rather than the rule. 
 Now days folks are “talking” to their cell phones, “listening” to endless music, developing a case of "pink eye"staring at computer screens of all sizes, all the while creating arthritic hands "texting”as they walk across a parking lot, seemingly unaware of the outside world!   So, while we spend hours “communicating”with all manner of electronic devices, little in the way of dialogue...you know, conversation between two or more people...takes place!

What's the answer?  I'm not really sure.  But perhaps we need to push the universal "reset" button, and see if some balance, some equilibrium, can be reestablished in our lives.  No, I'm not proposing a return to pencils and phones with cords, but I believe one can use modern day conveniences and still carry on meaningful relationships with others.  










See you next time.  Love to hear your comments.

















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































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2 comments:

  1. I'm glad to see you back doing what you do so well...using a clever turn of phrase to share what you're observing around you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This was fun, Larry. Thanks. But I have some reservations about the underlying notion of civil discourse...

    ReplyDelete