Twilight

In another time, in another place so far removed from the present-day whispering shadows summon me to remember my distant past. I have always been a romantic at heart but as always the reality of my life had all ready been played out before in those wondrous daydreams of what should be. The joys and the sorrows of those memorable years just seemed to linger endlessly then. Precious memories that have sustained my entire life through the turbulent times rekindle a personal quest to again capture moments in between time and space where harmonious union clings to all humanity.

The age of innocence prevailed over those years of yesterday. So vivid are those flashbacks. A kaleidoscope of memories always play out in my minds eye as I reminisce of those endless days of my youth. More than a half century later how I long for the tranquil, carefree, lazy days of those summers so long ago. Today I am continually thinking about our youth and all the modern technology that they have now become so obsessed with. Granted most of the modern marvels have some very important uses but they also have propelled two generations even faster toward a lifestyle that is completely void of a culture that was filled with so much harmony, dignity, respect, and grace of the society of my youth.

It was the summer of 59' the Chicago White Sox were on top of the American League. Nellie Fox and Louis Aparicio my favorite players always keep me trying to imitate their every move whenever I played. During that summer a most precious of memory continually floats in my mind as it all happened on Lake Geneva. A most memorable of summers. Not just because of the Chicago White Sox but for all the adventures that I and my circle of friends always seemed to get caught in. Unlike most of the youth today imagination of the generation of my youth sustained our days with wondrous adventures. Whether it was building rafts to carry us off on the lake or hiking the trails around searching for lost Indian folk lore we always managed to engross ourselves in creativity and ingenuity with sometimes surprising results.

If only today's generation could be swept back in time to that period of innocence just for a moment to experience a lifestyle of substance and not quantity a benevolence toward others would ensue. Modern technology even with all their attributes people, especially the youth of today, still have to learn to use the human factor wherever they are and in whatever they do. A renewed perspective toward humanity just might bring this nation and the world that much closer to resolving the many differences of societies today. No longer can we continue to ignore the consequences of our inactions and actions that through the advances in technology alone have rendered today's society almost so callous and unforgiving toward our fellow man. Back in a time of imagination and benevolence actually did spawn the technology of today but it also failed to pass along the attributes that yesterday's society embraced.

In the Autumn of my life now I still am encouraged by what I have witnessed despite all the anger, resentment, and apathy in America today. The qualities that made America the nation that prevailed in both World Wars still exists but has been dormant since the late mid 60's. The ability to rekindle that same spirit now rests with all Americans. A national sense of purpose in securing the future of the United States is going to take action by every citizen in shedding that cloak of deception that has been brought down upon this nation by the evolution of the political process. Only with this renewed purpose to resolve our petty differences and focus on a total plan of direction for this country {which this nation hasn't had since John F. Kennedy} will the United States finally emerge from this quandary of economic, social, cultural and financial set of crisis that are plaguing this country.

There is still time but failure to recognize that technology alone won't begin to change the course that this country is headed will prove disastrous for all. Remembrance of a time long past with the attributes that sustained that society which made the United States the greatest country the world has known has to be reunited and infused into the realities of today. History is life's greatest teacher. We should all utilize the events that history has taught us so that the direction we choose today will be avoidance of the mistakes of the past. An America with the courageous attributes of the past incorporated with the technology of today will ensure the future for tomorrow.