“The closing years of life are like the end of a masquerade party when the masks are dropped.”

Arthur Schopenhauer

Robert Redford is my age, and it’s clear that until recently he had an edge in the good looks department. I’d say it’s a tossup now. He still has the great hair and the penetrating blue eyes. I have neither. In the end it’s not about the faces although they do command attention. George Orwell said, “At age 50, every man has the face he deserves.” I’m happy with mine and I feel certain that Robert Redford is happy with his. There aren’t a lot of good options when it comes to growing old, but it feels right to allow age to arrive naturally. He obviously feels the same. Neither one of us wants to go under the knife and end up looking like Kenny Rogers or Bruce Jenner. At this point in my life I feel lucky be able to look in the mirror – no matter what I look like. Every day people I know or admire show up in the obituaries along with pictures that prove the point, and it causes most of us to think more about mortality than we like to admit. read more

I should be a big fan of Boeing airplanes. I live in Seattle. It’s where The Boeing Company began and where most of the planes are still made. I worked at Boeing while I was going to school. I have friends who have given their entire professional lives to the company, and as a former Pan Am pilot I have actually flown 5 Boeing airplanes. But, honestly, from a passenger comfort point of view Airbus makes better, quieter, more comfortable, smoother flying, and technically more advanced airplanes. I haven’t seen or flown the 787 Dreamliner and it is the cutting edge in aeronautical engineering, but I’m only a passenger these days and given the choice Airbus is what I want to fly now. read more

I’ve got my toes in the water, ass in the sand
Not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand
Life is good today, life is good today…

Zac Brown Band

This was the scene in front of our hotel at 6am yesterday. Puffy little popcorn clouds, clean white sand, glassy water in the Gulf of Thailand, and no one in sight. It quiets the mind to be in such a place. After two unsatisfactory hotel bookings in Seoul and Saigon I finally hit a home run with this gem on the island of Phu Quoc. At last we have family peace. Marilynn loves the place. read more

What’s wrong with Americans? 30,000 people in America are killed by guns each year. Why would any thoughtful legislator or citizen looking at these numbers buy the argument that background checks impose an undue burden on an individual wishing to exercise his 2nd Amendment right to bear arms? It’s preposterous.

If I had my way I would repeal the 2nd Amendment and put in place rules and regulations based on a European model that provides for reasonable gun ownership rights but also provides limits that help protect the rest of us. Not realistic? What is it about the 2nd Amendment guarantees that are so inviolable in the 21st century? Owning a gun so you can shoot the intruder that invades your home is a fantasy perpetrated by gun manufacturers and a bunch of fringe militants. You’re more likely to shoot the paperboy, your neighbor, or your own children than quick draw to drop the intruder. And, the idea that your AR-15 is going to protect you from over-reaching government agents trying to deprive you of your rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is based on an 18th century fear of government whose time is two centuries past its due date. If George Orwell’s world does come to pass the government will take that AR-15 and put it where the sun don’t shine. Get over it. read more