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BBHQ Boomer Essays: |
| Our Boomer-In-Charge here at BBHQ, Hershel Chicowitz, writes frequently about current events... from a boomer perspective. He is sometimes funny, sometimes provocative, sometimes a little of each. We hope you get a kick out of our Boomer Essays. |
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October, 2004: One of the most under-rated and under-reported vacation destinations is the basic campground in the woods. You will not hear of great deals on camping vacations at Expedia or Travelocity. And, although Mickey has his Camp Wilderness at Disneyworld, his idea of camping is not in sync with mine - especially when a 20 by 20 plot of dirt rents for $55 a night. Anyway, as part of our annual BBHQ retreat, Princess and I went camping in the woods of northern Georgia last week.
Our campsite this year was at the Bald Ridge Campground at Lake Lanier, about 30 miles northeast of Atlanta. It was fabulous! For four days, we never saw a computer, never used (nor thought of) the Internet, never heard of nor thought about the election... it really was refreshing. I have some thoughts on that. But first I have some pictures to share with you.
Of course, no picture is going to do it justice. But this was the view of the lake behind our campsite.
Or Snap, Crackle and Pop, maybe?
Now... this family went over the edge, as far as I am concerned. You have to look close. But there is a television set mounted into the side of the RV, positioned so that they can sit outside in the open and watch TV. Echhhh!! They are missing the whole point here, folks! If John Kerry becomes president, I am going to write to him and suggest that he outlaw such things. This is the kind of thing the Democrats would just love to get involved in. I think they should start here. This is pathetic! One of the things that I noted when I wrote about camping before is that it gets dark at night. Real dark. This is our tent from about 40 feet away:
 Time to Think One of our regular visitors asked us what we did after dark, all night long. Well, I was tempted to reply that it was none of her business what we did; but I decided that her question was not only innocent, but provocative, as well. I cannot speak for Princess. But mostly, I thought. I sat and thought. About things: right and wrong; good and evil; plans; dreams; aging; directions; choices; family; what is important and what is not. It was a great exercise for me... very inspiring. I firmly believe that one of the reasons we make poor choices in our lives is that we rush into making decisions. We're too busy doing "stuff" to take the time necessary to think about and make measured, wise decisions. The (too often) messy result, then, is what one might expect. We see it all around us, every day Our ancestors were not that much smarter than we are. But, for them, it was dark at night -- every night. They had time to think about things. A lot of time. So, they thought. A lot. And from that, I believe, came wisdom - wisdom and good decisions. It is a wisdom that too few of us possess today. I believe that our ancestors would be appalled at the foolish decisions many of us make, in this so-called "englightened" age. Enlightened, my keister! I know my old Uncle Coot grumbles all the time at the idiotic decisions into which we stumble. And he's been dead for a quarter century. Though, I imagine, since they were not all that smarter than we are, that they could not program their VCRs any better than we can. And after a power failure, their VCRs flashed "12:00" - just as ours do. Oh wait.... they did not have VCRs, did they? A few generations ago, they did not have electric power, either. But they had wisdom. Great wisdom. Because they had the time to think. Why don't we have the time to think? Why don't we take the time to think?
Can you imagine the presidential candidates and their wives camping in the wilderness in a tent for a weekend? Can you see George Bush pitching a tent and cuddling up to Laura at night? Yeah; I can see that. Can you see the richest man in the Senate and his wife, one of the 400 wealthiest people in the country, sitting at a picnic table, tapping their feet impatiently while the servants set up the tent and prepare the sleeping bags? Can you picture Teresa Heinz Kerry snuggling up to the haughty, French-looking John Kerry in the tent? That settles it for me. I know who I am voting for.
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Exploring My Roots: A Chicowitz History
Membership details here.
Terrific boomer memorabilia!!
Remember this?
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If you like what we're doing here at BBHQ, please help us by buying stuff through our link to Amazon.com:
| The BBHQ Album of the Month is "Old Friends Live on Stage (Deluxe Edition) (2 CD/1 DVD)," by Simon & Garfunkel. If you were fortunate enough to see them in concert last year, I do not have to sell you. The concert was terrific! This album collection includes 55 songs, plus their new recording, "Citizen of the Planet," and one of the songs sung by the Everly Brothers during the concert. The DVD was recorded during their concert in Madison Square Garden in 2003. For any S&G fan, this is a must have! But then, you knew that already, didn't you? |
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The BBHQ Book of the Month is
"Vinyl Highway," by
Dee Dee Phelps. You remember her as Dee Dee, of Dick and Dee Dee.
Together, they took a decade long ride on the rock and roll roller
coaster. It was a heck of a ride! Dick Clark, Quincy Jones, the Beach
Boys, Glenn Campbell, Dionne Warwick, Bobby Vinton... Dick and Dee Dee
rubbed shoulders with all of them. This is her "behind the scenes" story.
It's pretty cool.
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