ABOUT ME

The older I get, the less I seem to know. Or is it that I didn’t know much in the first place?

I find writing essays and short stories easier than writing a bio for myself. Perhaps I’m too self-conscious or come from an earlier time when privacy was an issue. Still, I’m dumbfounded about many posting their lives with pictures of their family and friends on social media. I cringe at the thought and must wonder what they are doing. It seems propriety and privacy have gone out the window.

Then some write improper and often outrageous thoughts. Many convey negative racial, religious, cultural, political, and gender undertones. It is beyond my comprehension at some vehement, hateful ideas I often read on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Reddit, and other sites. What amazes this writer is the level of agreement these inappropriate comments will garner under the guise of free speech.

Of course, I’m an 80-year-old Vietnam veteran who grew up with hand over heart pledging allegiance to the American flag, becoming a Boy Scout, participating in Civil Air Defense, and going to school in a white shirt, tie, and dark trousers, hair combed, hands cleaned. Speaking back to a teacher was as strange as an extra-terrestrial, and my mom always sent me to class with a sandwich, a package of Hostess cream-filled chocolate cupcakes, a fresh fruit, and ten cents to buy a small carton of milk.