REFLECTIONS ON THE PAST DECADE, AND THE UPCOMING ONE
HAPPY TWENTY-TEN!
When the last decade rolled around, I was too wrapped up with working, trying to design an exit strategy to retirement, and a new grand baby, to really reflect much on the end of one millennium and the beginning of the next. I didn't think much about the new decade or any of the hoopla that was a constant noise revolving around what was for me an anti-climactic Y2K. I didn't write any lists or resolutions. I try not to do too much of that sort of thing anyway.
The last memorable list of that type, I committed to paper as a 17 year old. I didn't keep the list. I lost track of what became of it over 20 years ago. I still remember much of what I wrote, and surprisingly accomplished much of the list over time, not always in the ways originally imagined. But DONE is DONE!
This isn't so much of a list, as some random thoughts, observations, expectations and realities of the upcoming decade. Not many specific definable goals will be found here. There will be a couple, but not many. There will be a few things I'd like to see or do.
Places I'd like to visit include: Hawaii, the Canadian Rockies, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and the Galapagos Islands. I'd like to revisit Europe and see Germany, Luxembourg, the UK, Ireland, Scotland, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Italy. I'd like to see Turkey and Greece. I'd like to go on a photo-safari in Africa.
For the next year, I do plan to walk at least 500 miles, and recumbent cycle 500 miles. That would be something specific I plan to do each year until twenty-twenty.
During the next decade I will likely experience significant losses in the two generations ahead of mine in our families. People still wear out and pass on to the next plane, remaining in our memories, our hearts, and the fabric of our being. By the time 2020 rolls around, my present grand kids will be adults. I will be eligible for Medicare, and ALL senior discounts will apply. My kids will both be in their mid 40s.
Some of the general things I'd like to see our world working on:
desalination plants and wind farms along our vast coastal regions,
greater use of cisterns for water supplies to use in swimming pools, yard watering, car washing, etc
use of more drought resistant plants in our landscaping that are consistent with and suited to their local climates
greater recycling
increased use of solar panels, solar roofing and solar-siding on homes to generate personal electricity and heat
What after all, are the really important things in life:
clean water
clean air
available food supplies
shelter
love
a sense of peace, and freedom from fear.
I would like to see people making rational decisions which are
information and fact-based,
which assist in preserving life, health and well-being of selves and others,
which reduce unnecessary conflicts,
and are not based on exaggeration or magical thinking.
Let's all work on these important things.
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