Fear(ful)? Boo(who)?

    That rather famous phrase --"The only thing you have to fear is fear itself"-- actually came from Teddy's cousin, fifth removed, FDR (just as Jimmy Carter was related to George Washington, sixth-removed, wrote History Facts).  Personally, I'd never heard of those terms "x-removed" but I guess it's sort of like that six degree of separation theory (or think Kevin Bacon if it's easier).  What??  Did someone say bacon?  Okay, I'm drifting off again so let's get back to being fearful...seems that I was doing fine, even with all that is happening in the news, until I read a piece in The New Yorker on just how unprepared we in the US may be for another war.  Here are just a few tidbits from the piece:      --30% of our Javelin antitank systems went to Ukraine, and it will take around 3 years for us to build that supply back up (that is, assuming we stop sending over more of those weapons; and don't even bother asking how low we are on bombs and such since a chunk of those continue to resupply Israel as well); --China has 200 times more ship building capability than we do today (each of our newer class nuclear submarines takes at least 2 years to build, and China is way ahead of us on that end as well); --each Tomahawk cruise missile costs $2 million (we launched 20 of them on a single night in that questionably successful attack on Iran, all of which was later dwarfed by the 1100 attacks the US launched earlier on the Houtis which cost just over a billion dollars...the Houtis reportedly also suffered little damage); --the next war anticipates almost all communication (especially that of satellites) to be knocked out, opening the door to autonomous (AI-controlled) weapons (which means, no human control).  And then there was this quote: In 2024, Govini, a software company hired by the Pentagon, traced supply chains for U.S. weapons and found that nearly forty-five thousand suppliers were based in China. Yikes!  Unfortunately, I'm old enough to have heard many of these scare tactics before, the fear-instilling predictions that filtered their way into my middle school where we were told to duck under a desk and sort of play hide 'n seek with radiation.  Fear, after all, sells (especially to the Pentagon).  But today's world is far different as children duck and hide in drills not to avoid bombs but to hide from mass shooters; and the threats these days --even for those in primary school-- are real.  What a charge from what many of us may fondly remember as childhood...

Pookie & Peaches, Soupy Sales.  Photo: Alarmy

                    Pookie & Peaches, Soupy Sales.  Photo: Alarmy

      But rather than keep this up, I thought that I would pivot 180 degrees to something that was equally scary when we were young: children's books.   I have always enjoyed reading children's books, even today; not so much the Good Night Moon-type story books, but rather the "guide" books along the lines of Math Made Easy, and such.  How could anyone resist these opening 3 reasons from National Geographic's How Things Work: 1) It's for kids who aren't afraid to think. You know the type: the ones who always have questions. The kids who stop to watch how a crane hoists a beam to the top of a new building, the ones who want to tear open a cool gadget and figure out what its parts do, the ones who can watch a fish swish, swish, swish through the water for hours. They're the kids who want to know how something works and why.  They want answers today, not tomorrow, not "when you get older." ...2) This book tells secrets.  Think you can handle that? ...3) This book is infectious.  You'll read about inventors, scientists, engineers, and architects who dreamed big and didn't stop -- not when they were told to quit daydreaming, not when they were told something was impossible, not even when they failed.  Their stories are contagious.  They'll feed your inner dreamer...

     Or take these tidbits from Nat Geo's sister book, Awesome 8: --a dragonfly can see more colors that a human; --Easter Island had its own written language which has yet to be deciphered (early colonists destroyed virtually all records of it); --the fastest speed of something in sports?  A hockey puck that moves at more than 100 mph?  A ping pong or tennis ball? (both are nearly 2/3 faster than a hockey puck)   A golf ball, the fastest speed of which was 217 mph?  The answer is actually that whiffle-like birdie in badminton, which was recorded at over 253 mph!  What??  Or tackle this fascinating tidbit about mazes: In Egypt, the pyramid complex of King Amenemhet III (ca. 1860-1815 B.C.) was an ancient wonder.  As an elaborate series of courts and passageways, the complex was so stunning that the Greek historian Herodotus described it as rivaling the great pyramids of Giza.  The king's burial chamber was located at the heart of this maze, protected by false doors and crisscrossing paths.  Over the centuries, however, the maze fell into decay, and its materials were even used to build a small town.  Nothing is left today except the crumbling remnants of Amenemhet III's pyramid.  How could you not be drawn in to such mysteries since truth be told, I don't remember ever hearing about such a maze, much less one that rivaled the complexity of the great pyramids of Giza...

     And you have to love both of the books' easy-to-follow graphics (why wasn't this done while I was in school?).  So here's just one example from the book discussion of wind turbines: The bumps on a humpback whale's flippers inspired improvements in the blades of horizontal wind turbines.  The bumps increased the turbines' performance by channeling air flow across the blades more effectively...Fish save energy by riding the wakes of others while swimming in a school.  They position themselves in a staggered formation to get a boost from their neighbors' wakes.  Vertical wind turbines maximize energy production by being close together so they can work with each other's air currents.  Researchers at the California Institute of Technology found that two vertical turbines spinning in opposite directions produced the most power...Bumble bees inspired a new type of small wind turbine, which has large wings that move in a figure eight pattern...At various times during one year, wind power provided 43 percent of the total electricity in Texas and 65 percent of the power in Colorado.  Bah humbug, or so it would seem as future wind power* grinds to a halt, according to the wishes of he-who-must-not-be-offended (especially by late-night television hosts).  

Poster photo: Disney

      My childhood was an age when you still believed in fairy tales and Santa Claus, when you were more fascinated by the parade than you were the Matterhorn at Disneyland; and when haunted houses still seemed haunted, even (and especially) at a theme park.  Even as an adult it was the magic of Monsters, Inc., and of watching CoCo, not so much to think about the afterlife but to somewhat relive the story of a boy's imagination.  There was also Up (still one of my favorites) and me watching it not to learn about old age but to again identify with a boy out on an unexpected adventure.  Childhood back then was a time when being scared was fun...sort of.  Movies and stories made you scared, which was different from being scared of a spanking (does that happen these days?) or a whack with the belt (even I know that doesn't, or shouldn't, happen these days).  But for kids now, there is something far scarier happening...social media.  Wrote The Independent: ...97 per cent of children have a smartphone by the age of 12, according to Ofcom data.  And a study done by The University of Chicago noted: Thirty-three percent of teens use AI companions for social interaction and relationships, including conversation practice, emotional support, role-playing, friendship, or romantic interactions.  Go younger, as the Weill Cornell Medicine did, and you'd find that 22% of those 11-14 who considered themselves "highly addicted" to their phones are likelier to consider suicide.  Wait, suicide?  As the study noted, 20% of such children were considered to have "a mental health condition," adding: The number of US children struggling with mental health challenges has hit historic highs.  In 2023, four in ten high school students reported experiencing persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and two in ten students seriously considered attempting suicide.  Reported Psychology Today: Many adults mistakenly believe that young children are unable to conceive of killing themselves or make a plan to do so, and thus are not at great risk.  But sadly, children as young as five have been known to experience suicidal thoughts.  We live in scary times, but I always felt that scary times like that were meant to be viewed as an adult...

     So imagine being a child in today's world, especially if you're well past that point and your children have graduated or are close to it, or you're now a grandparent (or as with my wife and I, only see the children of friends).  I picked up the book, Kids Stuff Italian: Ti ho spaventato? which translates to: Did I frighten you?  It was a phrase from the opening chapter which wrote: During these months your baby's listening sense is developing to the point of where he is looking for sound sources.  He is able to distinguish speech from other sounds.  It, and phrases such as chi sono io ("who am I") were meant for babies in their 2nd and 3rd months!  Yes, months.  Wait, there are also now books on teaching your baby sign language, as in authentic ASL (American Sign Language) or the British version, BSL.  When I told my friend this (her daughter is now 4), she nodded in agreement in that teaching babies ASL was more or less both expected and an accepted practice.  What?  My other friend, whose son just entered 1st grade, told me that his son has half of his school day hearing English and the other half being taught only in French (other primary school immersion languages in my area are Mandarin Chinese and Spanish).  My, my...I guess my memories of childhood today are indeed more than a bit dated, or should I say, a bit squirrelly?  Derek Li, the founder of Squirrel AI said today's version of teaching kids is altogether outdated; his AI learning system doesn't have teachers or blackboards: This is not tutoring, it’s self-studying.  It made me think of that scene when Captain Hook (in the Disney tale, Peter Pan & Wendy) tells Peter that their meeting is just like old times, Peter casually replies: "Well Captain, all your times are old."  Ouch...

Edgar Bergen & Charlie.  Photo: RadioSpirits

     Old times for me meant that puppets were still being used in kids shows, especially in goofy shows such as Soupy Sales and ventriloquist Paul Winchell.  These had moved on from the Edgar Bergen (father of Candice Bergen) of my parents' days and the hand-behind-the-back operation of a wooden puppet, in this case, Bergen's famous Charlie McCarthy.  The show would move to on emphasize a push for world citizenship and eventually prove to be one of the longest-running comedy shows, wrote the Museum of Broadcasting.  But Charlie McCarthy was not to be confused with Joe McCarthy, the 1940's Senator and creator of the opposite goal, the Red (Communist) Scare, which targeted Hollywood stars and others, and ruined the careers of many famous actors who had to swear loyalty to the Republicans' version of government (at the time, they controlled all three branches).  McCarthy was eventually censured by the Senate when Democrats regained power (he died at the age of 48).  Wrote The American Heritage Disctionary: The term "McCarthyism", coined in 1950 in reference to McCarthy's practices, was soon applied to similar anti-communist activities. Today the term is used more broadly to mean demagogic, reckless, and unsubstantiated accusations, as well as public attacks on the character or patriotism of political opponents.  Hmm, sound a bit familiar?

Poster image: CineMaterial

     In a way it would seem that we're returning to that Disneyland of old, a land of imaginary history where bad times are erased and everything is just peachy keen.  Slaves and Indians?  Why no, this is/was a time of paddlewheel steamboats --showboats-- and Davy Crockett.  Mistreated immigrants and racial discrimination?  Why no, this was a time of barbershop quartets and smiling tap-dancing (albeit mostly black) performers.  Wars and destruction?  Why no, this was a time of rockets to the moon and Tomorrowland.  Isn't it all so wonderful, Mrs. Stepford?  Now where oh where did my "help" wander off to?  Indeed, I wonder what it will take for this imaginary bubble to pop, to lift this tranquilizing fog away from so many of us?  Would a dinosaur-type asteroid unite us, or an asteroid the size of a microscopic virus?  Would rising seas or slipping coastlines do it?  Would melting ice caps or hotter summers do it?  In virtually ever war "games" scenario run recently, the human losses prove equal to any of those scenarios, as in the hundreds of millions (Russia's losses in Ukraine have already been estimated to be as high as 250,000, wrote the BBC).  Cripple food production (a common goal of many war strategists, along the lines of the Civil War's slash-and-burn techniques)?  Target radiation for long-lasting devastation (another common scenario, breaking away from larger Hiroshima-like events and more towards multiple smaller "dirty" bombs)?  Cause germ or atmospheric disruption (along the mustard gas of WW I)?  Reduce vaccines but approve a drug not manufactured for decades?  None of these look good, but are indeed plausible.  And at that point, no matter how much a one-sided media would show us,* our coughs and wheezy gasps would still echo down the hallways.  Indeed, we would long for our childhoods once again...

     But then what do I know since as Bloomberg reported: ...a decade after millennials were mocked for buying avocado toast instead of saving up for homes, the generation is on average nearly a third richer than baby boomers were at a similar point [and] If you thought graduating in 2007 was hard, try graduating in 2025.  As artificial intelligence advances, job growth has slowed in US occupations that AI can do -- specifically for workers age 22-25.  That trend has led to warning after warning: AI could sever the career ladder, leaving younger workers permanently disconnected from the economy.  Not so fast, Walter Frick writes.  History suggests young workers are often best placed to adapt to new technology, and we may look back in a few years and see today’s tough job market for them as just a blip.  Bots would never feel any of this.  Homelessness or the mentally ill would be removed or eliminated as easily as Disneyland's workers sweep the park's streets.  And sadly, more and more of us appear willing to enter a state of what we hope is a temporary dementia, letting our memories of what is happening in the present quickly dim while reverting to the "good" memories of our childhood.  Perhaps that is why so many are welcoming Therabots, the AI therapy program that is receiving surprising acceptance.  In an article in The New Yorker, half of Americans over 60 said that they feel lonely.  Wrote the piece: It's easy to think of loneliness as simply a lack of being respected, needed, or loved.  But that's not the whole story.  The philosopher Olivia Bailey suggests that what people crave, above all, is to be "humanely understood."  Empathy, in this light, is not just a way of feeling but a way of caring -- a willingness to try to understand the particularity of someone else's emotions...If that kind of loneliness feels foreign to you, you're lucky -- and probably below a certain age.  Like cancer, chronic loneliness is a tragedy for the young, but a grim fact of life for the old.  And if the old are finding comfort in someone or something listening to them, even an AI chatbox, what about children?

     Psychologist Joshua Coleman alluded to divorce and other possible reasons for children shifting towards online relationships: Why would divorce increase the risk?  In my clinical work I have seen how divorce can create a radical realignment of long-held bonds of loyalty, gratitude, and obligation in a family.  It can tempt one parent to poison the child against the other. It can cause children to reexamine their lives prior to divorce and shift their perspective so they now support one parent and oppose the other.  It can bring in new people --step-parents or step-siblings-- to compete with the child for emotional or material resources.  Divorce --as well as the separation of parents who never married-- can alter the gravitational trajectories of a family so that, over time, members spin further and further out of one another’s reach.  And when they do, they might not feel compelled to return.  But in other cases, estrangement is born from love.  One of the downsides of the careful, conscientious, anxious parenting that has become common in the United States is that our children sometimes get too much of us -- not only our time and dedication, but our worry, our concern.  Sometimes the steady current of our movement toward children creates a wave so powerful that it threatens to push them off their own moorings; it leaves them unable to find their footing until they’re safely beyond the parent’s reach.  Sometimes they need to leave the parent to find themselves.

     Times are not only changing but have already changed.  And from my older perspective, I see the scary parts of my childhood as almost being the fun parts of growing older, those Halloween scares on top of those Frankenstein and Wolfman movies.  It was period where one respected (and feared) teachers, if only because offending them meant that word would get back to your parents, whom you respected (and feared) as well (it was a time of discipline).  Then came the teenage and working years and a morphing into a feeling of invincibility.  But come one's later years, reflexes fade, bones break more easily, memory becomes scattered, and the fact the you were suddenly mortal became glaringly clear.  You began to grow afraid of heights, or running rapids, or diving off a ledge, or climbing up ladders, or anything that "may" cause an accident.  You were now once again scared but in a much different way...wars and viruses, rising costs and declining savings, then a pain in your stomach that you'd never had?  And that dribble...dang.  What on earth was going on?  

     Even as a non-parent, I tend to worry about what's ahead for today's children and whether their childhoods are being accelerated and/or shortened.  Will their memories of "childhood" be one of innocence and play, or one of simply being a fast-track to adulthood?  And what of all the "older" parents, the ones who had (or now decide to have) children later in life, perhaps in their late-30s or even into their 40s.  Famed author Tim O'Brien had his first son at 56, and realized that his kids would likely never know much about him, so he began writing notes to them, even when they were still babies.  As he wrote in his book, Dad's Maybe Book: ...as you wobble into your sixteenth month, it occurs to me that you may never really know your dad.  The actuarial stuff looks grim.  Even now, I'm what they call an "older father," and in ten years, should I have the good luck to turn sixty-eight, I'll almost certainly have trouble keeping up with you.  Basketball will be a problem.  And twenty years from now...well, it's sad, isn't it?   And yet, adults do seem to be thinking more and more of heading back to their children, or at least their childhoods .  Wrote the Morning Briefing: A post-covid boom, parental nostalgia and “kidults” --grown-ups buying their own toys-- has boosted Build-a-Bear’s stock from a 2020 low of $1 a share to $73.

     All of this seemed to echo what Orion was trying to convey when seeking writers for one of their workshops: With so many things to worry over, we need to keep finding joy and celebrating gratitude.  Where better to do so than in explorations of the natural world?...Learn how to move beyond the obvious like and love into the deeper and more magnificent why.   Editor Melissa Kirsch of the New York Times added: We are now able to divert ourselves so completely with our devices that a night spent at home feels as if it offers infinite dimensions.  We can watch a movie, any movie, while chatting with multiple friends, looking at other friends’ vacation photos, oh, and also paying bills and shopping for new shoes and catching up on the news.  We might not consciously say “I can’t go out -- I need to stay home and look at my phone,” but a night at home doesn’t feel quiet and boring in the same way.  Plus, when we’re in touch with our friends electronically all day long, seeing them in person feels a bit less urgent.  While we might muse that we want more real-life connection, we don’t always pursue it, or even jump at the chance to grab it when it invites us in.   But for some reason, it was Reverend Alice Grant's response to a New Yorker piece on psychedelic use in the clergy that appeared to encapsulate both of these thoughts: I can see the value of psychedelic trips—certainly, clergy with a wide range of life experience have more wisdom to offer their communities.  But I’m not sure that the trips will bring clergy closer to real spiritual maturity, which comes from grasping the Divine in other people—in the ordinary faces of the poor, and in the strangers among us.  Psychedelics, even when used in pursuit of enlightenment, induce an isolated, individual experience that is ultimately antithetical to that of the Communion table of bread and wine, where all are welcome, and all are nourished with the same Substance.  And that was what children and the elderly --all of us, for that matter-- seemed to be seeking, whether from an AI program or from parents...not the individual experience but the personal one, the touch, the caring, the unrequited love each of us says we need but may not always admit it.

    In the end, I returned to my routine and headed to the rec center for a swim, as if I could "wash" away all of these somewhat combobulated and mildly depressing thoughts.  Sure, the pool at the rec center wasn't the ocean or the sandy beaches, but fall was in the air and why not try --like my childhood-- to stretch out the good times.  I grabbed my towel, trunks and swim goggles and headed in.  But once changed and now standing at the pool, I put on my goggles and realized that I had grabbed the wrong pair.  It was a last-minute summer closeout I had bought for a dollar, a pair that was thrown into a cart of kiddie items such as inflatable swim "wings" and sidewalk chalk.  Ah well, I was here now so into the water I went with these bright pink goggles with red lenses.  I swam and swam and after about ten minutes, I took them off to adjust the fit a bit and realized that my eyes and brain had adjusted to the red lenses and left me with a "complimentary image" of green.(as All About Vison put it: The color of a negative afterimage is the complementary color of the one you saw in front of you.  If you stare at a well-lit, red apple long enough then close your eyes, the negative afterimage of the apple should appear in a shade of green — the complementary color of red.).  It was sort of cool in a way, this new view, but it didn't take long for my eyes to return to "normal," and to realize that not only was my childhood vision --where everything was indeed rosy-- gone, but so was my adult dream of the world turning green.  The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind, wrote Bob Dylan.  But it would appear that that too, was becoming only a dream.  Still, as the director of the amazing play 2 Pianos 4 Hands (now in its 30th year) put it: ...we get to decide what success is for each of us individually.  It gives us permission to look kindly on the kid inside us that had a dream, no matter what came of it.  May it continue doing that for a long time to come.

Life keeps zooming along, even during scary times...

*Trump's budget cuts will also shut down four major data-collecting satellites, including those used by the Mauna Loa Observatory, wrote The New York Times.