“TallPockets At Fifty Seven”
(The Times They Are A Changin“ - Bob Dylan)

*NOTE: For the past few years, TallPockets has written about the prior 12 month cycle as a new birthday milestone approaches. These are his current sentiments.*

Another calendar year is about to expire on old, grumpy TallPockets. The body is fast telling him what he USED to do is NOT always do-able. The brain is telling him that as smart as he ‘thinks' he gets each year, he truly does NOT comprehend MOST of life. In FACT, it seems each year brings MANY ‘answers’ but FAR more ‘questions’.

The FIRST word that comes to what’s left of this feeble mind at the time of this year‘s writing, is ‘’PROGRESS”. As in, the evolvement of something that ENCHANCES situations and life experiences and growth. SADLY, and admitting there IS alot of GOOD ‘progress’ I’ve seen over this short earthly spin, I think we are often OVER Progressing? Let me see if I can explain that description, given my lack of the English language compared to many. Please, I most humbly ask those reading this to not hold ‘’how’’ I ‘talk’ against me. After all, it seems to have elected a Prez’. TWICE. WINK.

TallPockets was born the first of NINE children in June of 1951 on a Sunday afternoon. When he was born, the doctor slapped HIS MOTHER! (Sorry, couldn’t resist folks. Old Rodney Dangerfield joke. R.I.P.!)

It was a different time and place. Those who are of his ’generation’ knows of what he speaks. Those far ’younger’ may not. A little history is now due for those such ’youngsters’ and maybe a MUCH needed ’reminder’ to some of us OLDER folks, also?

In T.P.’s day and time, he could walk the local neighborhood, ride his bicycle anywhere to and fro. As he often did. One could even safely hitch-hike and get many kind folks to assist. If one’s car broke down along side the road, almost everyone passing by STOPPED to ASSIST those in need.

Were there BAD people in the world back in those days? Of course. There have been since time began and always will be. But, there seemed to be a less ’coarseness’ in society during that time. People could disagree and be AGREEABLE while doing so. It was not a ’venomous’ type of atmosphere that exists these days.

When we moved into a new country home, for the next few days, all the neighbors would stop by and introduce themselves by name and tell you where they lived. They offered HELP anytime we needed it. Many brought their children along and a ’dish’ to WELCOME a new family to THEIR neighborhood. Most folks did not even HAVE to lock their doors at night in those days. We then RETURNED said favors and niceties to the next NEW move in of our neighborhood.

They further told us they’d look out for ALL the local children and ASKED that WE do the SAME for THEIR children. Not like today, sadly, where if anyone even DARES to ’question’ another parent about THEIR children, we’re seen as BUTTING IN to their personal business. Yes indeed, the times they are a changin’. And NOT, to THIS old man’s views, for the BETTER, necessarily.

I’ve seen the advent of some AMAZING ‘technological’ gadgets and wizardry of my ‘57’ years. COLOR t.v. My FIRST experience with it was watching the classic movie, ‘’The Wizard Of Oz’’ at my uncles home. WE were far too POOR to afford ‘color’ t.v.s back then. Can you say “OUTHOUSE” even, boys and girls?

I watched on t.v. as the Russians launched the first ‘satellite’ into space, called SPUTNIK. It shook America awake, BIG time. I then watched America enter the ‘space race’ and the historic summer night MOON landing. Out of this world stuff, to use a bad pun for a stunning achievement by ‘man’.

Then came cable t.v. Over ‘300’ channels to watch and choose from. And STILL can’t find much GOOD to watch.

And, what has sprung up on ‘cable’ from MY view, is NOT always a GOOD thing by any means. That, along with TALK RADIO, has seemed to bring out the EXTREMISTS of the EXTREMES on BOTH sides. WAR on the airwaves is what passes as TELEVISION and RADIO far too often these days, from my humble perspective.

I wonder what would happen IF all these TYPES of ‘news’ shows (really POLITICAL points of views shows) would take a YEAR hiatus or so? Would folks be FORCED to actually TALK with their neighbors about their DIFFERENCES in PERSON? And realize that no matter any one’s viewpoints, they ALL were not EXTREMISTS in any way near the manner of those SEEN from BOTH sides on the boob tube?

Along comes “CELL PHONES”. MANY folks have them these days. I see them all talking on them as they HURRIEDLY drive to wherever they THINK they HAVE to be and can’t WAIT to call in a few minutes where and when it might be SAFER to them and others to do so.

You can be reached 24/7. By your BOSS or by a relative you wouldn’t spend more than a few hours with on any HOLIDAY! (“Fish and visitors smell in three days - Benjamin Franklin).

I see and hear about teenagers talking on them to their friends at night. For HOURS. What’s THAT all about? In TallPocket’s day, IF he ever tried talking at night on his parent’s telephone, after five minutes my father would say, “Hang that thing up! You SEE him or her at SCHOOL EVERY day! Talk to them THERE!”

Heck, dear folks, when TallPockets was growing up, his family had ONE phone. A ROTARY type. AND, he and a few neighbors were on a PARTY LINE system. That was when a few families all ‘’shared’’ a telephone line.

If someone HAD to get a call through and you’d picked up your phone and two ladies were chatting, you simply KINDLY interrupted and asked if YOU could use the phone (it was also where IF you were able to ‘lightly’ pick up the phone at your house, you could ‘listen in’ to what the local ‘gossip’ was).

Enter the COMPUTER age. These days they proliferate the landscapes in higher numbers than the number of times that a ’young’ TallPockets got his behind whacked for being ‘bad’.

It seems, like ‘cell phones’, every KID has access to one or has their own.
With often FAR too little parental watchings or understandings of just HOW much TROUBLES their kid can get into with one.

I’ve always wondered and asked and told my siblings who have children (TallPockets has NONE. HE’s never grown up enough yet to even CONSIDER having/raising his own and he helped raise the younger ‘8‘ in his teenager years) just WHY they think it OK to allow the full use of cell phones and computers given their ‘ages’?

When I mention to them that they would NOT let their kids, at that age, view ’adult’ magazines and pictures, talk with ‘’certain people’’ (who MAY or may NOT be WHO they SAY they are) let along correspond with them on an ongoing basis or find most ANYTHING about life ONLINE in a regular STORE or BUSINESS, they all look ‘sheepishly’ my way. Still, they say, “It’s the way things ARE these days, TallPockets”.

To which TallPockets kindly replies, “Kids have to be a certain ‘age’ to get a DRIVER’s LICENSE, to get ‘married’, to buy ‘alcohol’, to have their OWN telephone ‘account’ BILLED to THEM, to buy a ‘gun’ and to purchase even a PLAYBOY type magazine at a local store. So WHY, he asks them, do THEY feel it OK to access many of the above mentioned things ONLINE? (Again, more ‘sheepish’ looks and stammerings).

I submit to all, YES it IS a different world we all live in. MOST for the BETTER. But, to THIS dumb old man, it seems WE have LOST that which BINDS US as ONE in GREAT numbers. That of HUMANITY. Human to human CONTACT.

*** Not sure what to DO some weekend? ***

Try going to and/or taking along your children, (age appropriate of course) to a local FOOD bank/pantry, to a DOMESTIC ABUSE shelter, to a local VFW in your area or to a Veteran’s Hospital where you live or a HOMELESS shelter. SHOW your ‘humanity’.

More often than not these days, one is known by their USERNAME online. NOT by their REAL name. (By the way, if you’ve never seen BRAD PAISLEY’s video called “ONLINE”, give it a view! A funny and often SAD, true version of the world above from my humble perspective).

So, as this old geezer HOPES to enter the beginnings of the ‘58th’ cycle of his planetary life (where he currently measures ’years’ NOT by birthdays but similar to how one measures the age of TREES by the number of it‘s TREE RINGS), his fervent hope is that mankind can once again “CONNECT”.

Not just ONLINE, but IN PERSON.

Every so often TallPockets ‘dreams’. His FIRST and most feeble dream, of course, is legendary(?) to those who know him. That of the lovely Miss Halle Berry becoming his first lady and bearing him a son. TallPockets Jr. ~SIGH~

However, he also experiences NIGHTMARES, at times. As in one ‘holiday’ encounter whilst he slept one night he vividly recalls. He envisioned the upcoming THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY. In his dream, he saw EVERYONE was ONLINE with a WEB CAM showing everyone else. Each participant showed a picture to the others of the ‘dish’ that THEY had prepared for the “FAMILY GET TOGETHER”, as it were.

Furthermore, EACH participant uploaded the BEST picture of themselves to the others (Those who knew how to use PHOTOSHOP had a DISTINCT advantage, btw.)

So, TallPockets being TallPockets, did similar. He hopes that Mr. ROBERT REDFORD won’t ever hear of some IDIOT named TallPockets using HIS picture! (YOU won’t rat out TallPockets, will you?).

Lastly, in THIS part of my year review, to THIS old man, what REALLY changed the DYNAMIC of America was when TWO parents HAD to work in order to compensate for rising living costs. Costs that wages did not keep up with. In MY day, ONE parent was the NORM, by FAR, that it took to support a family.

To THIS old geezer, THAT was the ONE MOST INFLUENTIAL SOCIETAL sea change among many along the years/way, that took the MOMS out of the FAMILY unit it once was. In MY day, I would guess that about 90% of moms stayed home to raise the children.

Don't get me wrong here. I think it should be a MOM OR a DAD who is HOME with kids for the MAJORITY of time for the BEST end results. It makes NO difference to ME, WHICH sex does that part of the equation. PLEASE, the LAST thing TallPockets has been all his life or NOW is a SEXIST. He has FIVE amazing sisters and a SAINTLY 79 year old mother he'd DIE for if the situation so presented itself, without hesitation.

I just DEEPLY feel that when TWO parents HAD to work to pay bills, the kids were left ALONE for far too many of them without a substantive 'network' of support and oversight.

SADLY, to MY thinking, we now have PRISON GUARDS doing PARENTAL duties of MUCH older once teenagers. At a MUCH higher price, I might add, to SOCIETY. In MONETARY costs/terms AND in SOCIETAL and HUMAN costs to those victimized.

On the eve of this upcoming Memorial Day Holiday weekend, TallPockets asks EACH to remember:

Soldiers wore the uniform for US. So that we may live in as PEACEFUL a world as is POSSIBLE”. Every soldier who has done so should be ‘saluted’.

However, and THIS bears REMEMBERING dear folks, they will ALSO TELL you that WAR is the LAST resort -- ALWAYS. It is this man’s HOPE that We, The PEOPLE, will ALWAYS give said returning vets ALL they NEED and WHEN they require it. Without regards to MONETARY costs.

Since THEY have always done THEIR ‘duty’ as it were, how about WE PEOPLE decide to do OUR part. As in treating HUMANITY as HUMANELY as possible? Just a simple thought and idea from a simpleton, old, GRUMPY man.

Progressively UN-Progressive these days yours,

TallPockets - 2008

(C‘mon now, dear folks .… Sing along with old, GRUMPY TallPockets:

“Those were the days my friend .… We thought they’d NEVER end”