Here’s why I feel sorry for you.

You, the youth of today, there is something missing for you. What is it? It’s the magic and mystery of the world. It’s the effort you need to put into things today. It’s the ease by which you don’t have to make a decision.

"How is that?" you might ask... Here’s how...

Let’s start with mystery.

When I was a kid and things were lost at sea, they were lost at sea. You couldn’t raise them up, dig them up, you couldn’t find them, see them, take pictures of them, lay plaques on them, rob them, and get rich from them. Not so much the case now. It's not that I'm against the fabulous technology, it's just that really it's a little sad that every mystery gets solved. Now I know exactly what happened to the Titanic, the flight of the lost Avenger's, etc, etc. I'm just not sure I want to know exacly what happened to everything. Maybe I do.

I read a lot.

I've read many books that have created fabulous images in my mind. Thought provoking mystery that made me think and look further and deeper into a subject. This made me more knowledgeable, this gave me additional skills, this taught me how to research, where to research, how to make a decision, how to form an opinion.

I just finished a book about some Marines in Iraq. In it was a description of events that took place in Fallujah. The book described the area and the streets in which this event took place. Without stopping to think I simply picked up my notebook which was lying beside me, and opened up Google Earth. I went right to spot described in the book.

No mystery.

As a matter of fact using Google earth I can visit the whole world. I can see things and places that are not only difficult to get to, but I may even be forbidden to get to. Luckily, I get to travel some in my job, and one of things I’ve started doing is marking places I’ve found interesting on my Google Earth app. I was hoping that long after I’m dead my kids may travel to some of these places and stand, sit, eat in some of the place I’ve stood, sat and eaten. They can take a few moments and see with their eyes, what I saw through my eyes. Maybe think of good-old-Dad for a few minutes. They could wait a lifetime to visit Munich and sit in the old little restaurant just off the Platz (where I had the best Schnitzel by the way), remembering the stories I told, the descriptions I gave. Feel the satisfaction of raising a glass of red wine and saying just under their breath… “Here’s to you Dad", "It took awhile but I made it here, and now I understand what you were saying”

...or they can just look it up on Google Earth.

“Virtually” walk down the same street, stare at the restaurant from outside, click on the link and “virtually” tour the restaurant including looking at the table I sat at on the 2nd floor. To me, it just doesn’t make for the best dreams.

Who’s dead, who’s alive, where is this, what does it look like, who said this, who makes that, who invented this, how can I… lose weight, get smarter, find a job, a mate, a car, a house, what kind of dog should I get, etc. etc. how do you spell this, what rhymes with that. No mystery and no work. From a social point of view, there are people I haven’t heard from or spoken to in 20 years. Now, I’m not sure there is anyone I couldn’t find with ten minutes of effort. I used to buy stuff based on my opinion or the opinion of some expert. Asking my “Social network” which cell phone I should buy would never cross my mind.

No mystery.

Does this bug me? Yes. If you don’t try to formulate experiences and images in your mind, I think you’ve lost something you can never recover from. I think you’ve lost your creativeness or at least a piece of it. I think you give up some of what makes you, you. To quote Elton, “Just allow a fragment of your life to wonder free”. Keep some magic. Keep some mystery. Let it drive you to explore. Let it make you better than you currently are. Try to bask in a little mystery FIRST, then Google it.

Would I undo what we have today? No way. It awesome! Just don’t give up your ability to play the piano, because you want to play the guitar.

Got to go now, have to lookup the Tab for "Revolution"...
God, I love the Internet.

The People You Owe.

Merlin by ~Karaes-Father on deviantART

Merlin by ~Karaes-Father on deviantART: "This is a model airplane engine I'm working on for a Spitfire.
I'm building it for a gentleman I know in England. So far this has taken about 10  hours to make. The whole kit should take me about another 30 hours."

“On a tour of one night stands...”

Rebutles to my daughters Blogs... ;-]