Rejuvenation

Anyone whom has been a faithful reader of this blog might remember an entry a year ago when I talked about friends and Las Vegas. Every year or so, my two best friends and I try to meet in Las Vegas for a few days. Each of us comes from life in different stages. Alfredo is a multiply married now a single childless man facing the uncertainties of retirement. Dave is closer to my age but has three kids, one overcoming cancer. With 20 years of service in his stress filled field he is also eligible for retirement in the not to distant future. Myself, I am 44 years old and well past the midpoint of my career. We all have given our lives to Federal service and each of us at this stage of life is asking questions about our futures and our pasts. We wonder if our careers have been what they should have been and question the Federal deal. We joined the Federal Government knowing we would never be rich. We decided to trade prosperity for security. A guarantee of a respectful retirement and an adequate salary to take care of ourselves and our families. In exchange, we gave our lives to the once noble cause of public service.

It was a fair bargain, or so we thought. Increasingly in times of budget austerity the long boney pointed fingers of the haves point toward us in an accusing manner. They try to paint a picture to the nations suffering that were it not for those bloated Federal workers, we would be living in an economic Shangri-la. The mountains of debt the United States faces, the result of wars and excess is our fault and we should pay the price. They don't try to explain to the people that it should be the right of all to have a retirement, health care and a basic level of security. Instead they use the formula that has for generations been used by those in power, find someone to blame. It doesn't have to be real, just find a convenient excuse.

In the late 19th century the nations of Chile, Peru and Bolivia fought a war. At the time Bolivia touched the Pacific ocean. They might have even owned a ship. The belligerents were Bolivia and Peru and the fight was mainly over the rights to lucrative deposits of phosphates other wise known as bird shit. This chemical was essential in gun powder and commanded a high price world wide. Chile was victorious claiming the coastline and Bolivia became land locked. To this day, nearly 120 years later the Bolivians still celebrate Dia Del Mar or Day of the Ocean. Quite conveniently, every time there is a problem in the country the government points its finger at those terrible Chileans and reminds the people how perfect life would be if they only had an ocean.

Increasingly in America, public sector employees have become our societies version of the Chileans or, even more potentially explosive, our Jews. It is so easy to point a finger, there need be no logic, no sense only anger. The people demand an answer and even if it is not real, a simple accusation will make them feel as if it is.

Never mind what we do. We keep the air safe to breath, the food safe to eat. We seek out the evil that walks among us and try to lock them away. We search the world for those that would do us harm and deal with the threat. We make sure the citizens have health care when they grow old and are not sentenced to poverty. We fund our schools and create standards that emphasize science over opinion. We invest in research both technological and medical. We make sure the skies are safe and provide the rules for competition. We defend the nation from armies at our gates. The list could go on for pages and pages each thing meaning something to someone.

Tomorrow my friends and I will unite again. We will compare notes of our lives, talk about frustrations and quietly share our successes. We all work in fields that don't allow us to boast about what we do, we just go about our jobs behind the scenes and try to do what is best for our nation. We will all start to wonder about futures we once thought secure and possibly even question the paths we chose in life.

Seeing my friends is a rejuvenation. It happens so seldom the time we are together is golden. I think about it daily before it happens and relish every moment when it does. We don't do anything too special, gamble, drink beer and perhaps smoke a cigar. We might visit a strip bar and be the stereotypical men we are supposed to be. At the same time we will each look at each others bodies and see the years adding up. We are no longer young, no longer beautiful. At the same time, we are the same men inside we were the day that we met. In my life, Dave and Alfredo are two men that truly understand me and I love them for it. They are both a piece of me and will always be my brothers.

As quick as they will arrive the day will come when we say goodbye. At that moment, I will start longing to see them again. I came to Vegas before them this year and I will be here for a day after they leave. I wanted the time to process my emotions before I return to normal life. For me, it will be time to say goodbye and dream of the day I will say hello again.