12.15.2009

Days of doing nothing

I honestly believe I came along at just the right time – 1942. The days of my childhood were a wonder – moments of happy play filled with imagination and creativity. Only those who are old enough will remember mud pies, paper-doll plays and adventures begun with the phrase, “Pretend like …”

In my opinion, new generations of children, my own included, have been overprogrammed, to fulfill some desire of parents, I suppose. Free time is filled with activities to make our children, as the Olympics slogan goes, “faster, higher, stronger” or mold a future Miss America.

Throw in TV, video games and too much homework, and there is no time to let children be children, to let the imagination play and creativity ignite.

Rejecting the idea of a second childhood at my age, I do yearn for days of doing nothing.

We bloggers are a hapless lot, spending unpaid hours in an endless endeavor to keep readers informed and entertained. Toward that end, we must keep ourselves informed. I gave up cable TV because I found little of value in my affordable plan's offerings, particularly so-called “cable news.” I can now tell you with authority that the Web’s the place to find opinion and plenty of it, but here, too, there is scant reliance for “real” news.

This past week life interfered with the news cycle, and this morning I yearn for Infidel753 to come to my Cooments Zone and tell me about the Copenhagen summit. I have no clue what all the current fuss about the “buy out” means. And, just what is it that Lieberman has done now to piss off the Democrats? (I assume it’s his stand on healthcare reform, but with him, who knows?)

As you come to DemWit throughout its author’s holy season, you might or might not find a post, for I will be, well, doing nothing.

Keep checking back, though, it only takes a renewed imagination and a tempting bit of chicanery to get my spark a-going!

***

Since you took the time to visit, I offer the brief post which follows, one written last week and bumped by other thoughts.

13 comments:

tiny said...

Well, lovely lady, we will just have to check and see what word, or phrase might stir up that ole creative juice and have your fingers dancing across the keyboard. Keep us informed and in line.

As an admirer of your spunk and stick to it attitude. Looking forward to more of your words of wisdom. If we have to wait for them, then have a very Happy Holy Holiday/Christmas season.

Sue said...

BJ there are many times I yearn for the old days, the days before this computer came into my life. What did I do with my spare time back then? I was more creative thats for sure! Can you believe I have had this computer for just 4 short years. well it'll be 5 years come Spring. I envy your down-time, enjoy it!

Frodo, an Op-Ed, said...

Frodo will speak this evening about a couple of things, one of which will be the "buy-in" for Medicare coverage for some as young as 55. The other will be a brief presentation with which many will disagree. Frodo is an admirer of the present functions of the Federal Reserve Bank, and he happens to think that Representative Ron Paul (?-TX), who is a physician, and who has been lobbying for Congressional oversight of the Federal Reserve, has been sniffing baggies filled with prescription drugs.

Leslie Parsley said...

I'm one year ahead of you, but I guess not being on the computer is a choice I don't want to make. I love doing research above all else - whether I'm writing a blog or not. I love the contacts - the wonderful friends I've made, like you. I've been a news freak and a political animal since 7th or 8th grade and this is as close to attending a meeting or political rally as it can get.If I didn't have this, I would only have knitting and quilting and music and reading and . . . .

Over-programmed children are a huge problem when parents register them at Harvard the day they're born. And if the kids don't have after-school activities, it means the parents might have to spend more time with them. Horrors.

I will be checking in on you to see if a spark has been sparked. You sound a bit tired/burned-out.
Hopefully, with a period of doing nothing, you will re-emerge with all your usual insight and humor. Best for the holiday season.

Infidel753 said...

I've sometimes wished I had been the right age to enjoy the 60s but not be drafted. That would be a narrow needle to thread, though.

Childhood these days doesn't need to be hectic, distracted, and obese. I know some people who took care to shield their kids -- no TV, no Disney stuff. They grew up smart and healthy.

Of course, I was born in 1960 and don't remember the period you describe, so it's hard to compare. In 1942 my parents were spending their childhood with German bombers flying overhead (they were British).

I yearn for Infidel753 to come to my Cooments Zone and tell me about the Copenhagen summit.

Not much to tell so far -- one round of brinkmanship overcome, no doubt more to follow. I'm optimistic though. If everyone follows through with the targets they've tentatively committed to, we'll actually manage a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by 2020.

I have no clue what all the current fuss about the “buy out” means. And, just what is it that Lieberman has done now to piss off the Democrats?

He's been doing far too good a job earning the bribes the insurance companies have been paying him. Pretty much any left-wing blog will have some of the scoop; mine's here.

The Democrats wanted to expand Medicare to people as young as 55 as a substitute for the public option. It's an idea Lieberman himself was pushing not too long ago. Now he's threatening to filibuster it.

As another blogger said, how can you deal with someone who's so determined to frustrate you that he'll even oppose his own ideas?

bbj said...

BJ, take a rest, but please please don't end your blog. Your comments and the comments of your faithfuls are interesting and enlightening. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with this Mississippi Deltan. - bbj

B.J. said...

“Buy-in.” Right. See how out of it I am!

Leslie: No, not burn-out. Most here can tell you I could write (as a Southern girl you’ll get this) until the cows come home. Pity is the very last thing I want, but since I live with a vision problem, it’s as natural to talk about as Frodo talking about his dogs. Everything I do on my computer requires far too much time. At the end of my life I will wish I had the time I’ve spent just trying to locate the damn arrow! Time consumption is the problem.

Guess I’m feeling like Henry David Thoreu, who threw away his favorite rock because he got tired of picking it up to dust under it. Imagine having a favorite rock. Imagine dusting.

I-753: I’ve told you this before. In every comment you’ve left on this and other blogs, I’ve been so impressed by your reason and clarity. Thanks for this comment.

Everyone: thanks!

Don’t miss my second post – an opportunity to experience Frodo in agreement with me, LOL.

BJ

tiny said...

Joe Lieberman has done more flip flopping than a fish out of water. Maybe he thinks he's president after all these years and will twist any rope in the direction he wants it. Can't depend on him to say the same thing two days in a row anymore. Could that be a sign of Alzheimer's?

Debra said...

Remembering the good Old Days are nice. Playing outside, it was actually safe to do so back then. Reminiscing about ones' earlier years keeps us young. It is sad that children don't know how to play without having some expensive devices to hold their attention. I can't tell you how many children ride in the backseats with the in-car t.v. playing. What happened to children looking out the window at our beautiful world or just falling asleep with the motion of the car rocking them to sleep. It is a hectic pace the kids of today are growing up in. No one is allowed to be a child anymore. I guess if you have "distractions" for your children you never have to take the time to have a real conversation with them-HOW TERRIBLE SAD!!!!! Just don't have kids if you don't want to invest YOUR time in them. MORE is not always better. I bet if more people turned off their t.v and actually played with their child they would find them more entertaining than anything on t.v.

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B.J. said...

Dear readers:

I have left this last comment to show you how anxious scam artists are to bilk you of your money. For some time, my archived blog, I See My Dreams, has been spammed with these comments – a real nuisance when they come into my email inbox. I finally put up a “word verification code” on the old blog to prevent such spamming. I refuse to put up the code on DemWit, because I find it such a nuisance on other blogs. So, in future, when you see that a comment has been deleted by the blog author, it will probably be one of these spam comments.

BJ

Infidel753 said...

I've gotten that exact same spam "comment" on my blog maybe a dozen times. Since I use moderation, it never actually appears.

At Copenhagen, progress is grinding forward (link here).

B.J. said...

Thanks for the link. I was just wonderfing how the summit wound down. I read a very good analysis by David Corn yesterday. I suppose this is a start, but not as aggressive as hoped. Did China agree to verification?

I came back on and left the COLA post, because this year I included my blog link in my Christmas mailing, and I didn’t want first-time visitors (friends and family) to find my post about goofing off, LOL.

Snow is in my forecast for tonight, a very exciting thing in the South!