A Day in the Life of Chaos

Rio Mamore, Bolivia Beni, Bolivia Recently I read a book by Charles C. Mann called 1491.  In it, the author spends a significant amount of time discussing the land that comprises the North Eastern side of Bolivia known as the Beni.  To the naked eye it seems to be an endless grassland punctuated by trees that spends large segments of the year under water.  Rivers wind their way through the land like snakes toward an eventual confluence with the mighty Amazon river itself.  At the time when I was flying over it as a younger man I remember trying to make sense of it all.  From my perch in the machine gunners position on a Vietnam era Huey UH-1 Helicopter I looked out and watched parrots fly in pairs over the trees.  While the noise made it impossible to communicate there was something transfixing about sitting in front of an open door watching the ground pass below me.  I remember seeing patterns in the countryside but I had no idea what they meant.  It is a strangely vacant lan

Today as I look out from my window from the 12th floor of a federal building I stare over the top of a picture I hung on my desk as an inspiration.  It is a picture taken not long ago of President Obama sitting in the seat that Civil Rights icon Rosa Parks once occupied on a bus in Alabama when she refused to leave and move to the back of the bus.  He is looking out the window almost as if someone might request the same of him.  It is a sad reminder of a time not long ago when people were not equal in this country.  Yet step by step we move forward yet it is a constant struggle.  It is a lot like a crying child reaching for a candy bar in a grocery store, eventually they will be pulled along and assume a proper course.  It might hurt and embarrass the child's mother in the process but she knows what has to be done and eventually the screaming child will learn as well. Yesterday our President took such a step in acknowledging that LGBT people have a right to join in marriage just

The other night my son asked me to sit with him in his room and help him study.  He typically does this for one of two reasons. First, he really needs help with something. Usually it is Spanish, trying to help him with math would be like asking a two year old for help with English. Guess who the two year old is?  Hint:  It's not Noah.  If it is not homework, the other possibility is that he wants to talk and pretend it is about homework. I went to his room and stretched out length wise on his bed and stared up at the poster of Green Day affixed to the ceiling.  Hmm... I thought, I did a nice job on installing that ceiling fan. Noah had been distressed during an early conversation about money and desires.  To put it simply, his desires far surpassed my money.  I had suggested he get a job. He was fourteen now and for the first time in his life a part time job was a real possibility. At least it was in my generation. Looking over at him we had a conversation about needs and wan