YEAH, I'M A LUDDITE. SO WHAT?

From Wikipedia:
Luddites were 19th Century English textile artisans who protested against newly developed, labor-saving machinery from 1811 to 1817. The stocking frames, spinning frames and power looms introduced during the Industrial Revolution threatened to replace the artisans with less skilled, low wage laborers, leaving them without work.

Well, DUH. It's 200 years later, and guess what? We now have even more less skilled, low wage laborers, except they're in other countries, leaving Americans desperate to find a decent job. And leaving me to conclude that each 'revolution' further screws the people of this world.

We all know what happened to farms and farmers when the Industrial Revolution hit. What on earth is going to be the ultimate result of this creepy technological take-over?? I sometimes wonder if the big switcheroo from analog to cable for this country (under the guise of 'national security') was just another way of observing us right in our homes. It's entirely possible if you think about it. I think even George Orwell would be shocked by how invasive the world has become.

Seriously, I don't even own a cell phone yet, and hope I never have to. I hate the intrusive little bastards. IF the telephone had to be invented, the graceful one pictured would be what I'd use (although I really do wish it stopped at smoke signals.) The 'technological revolution' has, in my Luddite opinion, not only radically changed but also totally ruined life and 'society' as we once knew it.

My reaction to any and all new stupid "app" gadgets is similar to Downton Abbey's Dowager Duchess (Maggie Smith) who *sniffs* her disdain, with understandable exasperation, for newfangled phonographs and telephones, and longs for simpler, more civilized times.

What on earth is going to be the ultimate result of this truly bizarre technological invasion??

Nah, I'll take the good old days any day of the week. Call me whatever you wish, but I prefer to have all of my senses at full attention whenever I venture outside, or drive or shop or do ANYTHING that requires a focused brain.

Others may stuff their ears with pods or (good grief) have computer chips implanted in their brains, but this particular 'Lud' will continue to resist, kicking and screaming all the way.

As for 'texting'...try lugging this around instead.

FARE THEE WELL, MISTER MOOSE...

It was November 1966, and I had just turned 20 years of age when, to my utter shock, a chance interview with CBS-TV turned into a job working for the popular 'Captain Kangaroo' show.

I loved the fact that the show was not at stodgy CBS headquarters (known as 'Black Rock') but at the Broadcast Center on West 57th Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues...far enough off the beaten track to actually become friends with a police horse (they were stabled around the block from the Broadcast Center and I couldn't have been more thrilled.)

And I especially loved the fact that I was surrounded by so many brilliant, talented and well-educated people. Working for Captain Kangaroo was my college education. It was the mid-60s so the conversations, still vivid in my mind, were often about Vietnam, politics (JFK's assassination was still fresh and raw) and of course, the hippie movement sweeping the country at the time. My co-workers and friends, Carol and Sam, actually attended the first 'Be-In' at Central Park in 1967. That solidified my love and admiration for them both!

Of all the puppet characters on the show, I think everyone loved Mister Moose best. He was such an irreverent little screwball, especially when he teamed up with Bunny Rabbit and cooked up yet another plot to drop ping pong balls on the poor Captain's head. Whenever I visited the studio, I always expected the Mister Moose puppet to come to life, that's how real he seemed to me.

Sadly, the man behind the puppets ~ Cosmo ('Gus') Allegretti ~ has passed away at the age of 86. Gus was a talented guy, but had the personality of a cactus. Not an easy person to get along with, we still struck up a friendship that lasted pretty much till the end of his life.

The Captain, Mr. Greenjeans, and now Mister Moose (and his other puppet characters) are all gone now...I hope to a sparkling new Treasure House in the sky. Be sure to give my love to Phoebe.

And thanks, so very much, for the memories....

POST CARD FROM ______________?

Well, all I can say is that any and all dealings I have had with my new home town-to-be have earned that stamp of approval. Be they banks, moving companies, medical offices, each and every response was respectful, informative and friendly.

Wow. After living in an increasingly rude New York City my entire life, nice people are certainly welcome at this point in time!

So are mornings so quiet, all you hear are birds singing...I can't even imagine what peace that will bring after hearing barking dogs, car alarms going berserk at all hours of the night, fire engines (do they really have to use that ear-splitting HONK while their sirens are going full-blast??) and all the other nerve-shattering noise served up by the "city that never sleeps" 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

My ears HURT!

I once met someone who was born and raised in a rural area. She said the NOISE of NYC made her "feel alive" and part of a city. Say WHAT? Would you care to trade places for a while? Because no place can be rural enough for me. Birds, crickets, wild life...and the trees communicate their spiritual beauty in silence, or through the soothing whisper of their branches when ruffled by a breeze. Winding roads, exploring new territory with more trees than buildings and, when you absolutely must interact with society, NICE people! What a concept.

I'll admit, it's a little scary to leave a city in which you were born and raised. But there is harsh truth in the saying "Familiarity breeds contempt" because I cannot remember disliking New York City as much as I do now.

So where will my new home be?? Sorry, I still cannot divulge that detail until I am physically there.

To quote Bob Dylan from a recent '60 Minutes' interview: "I don't like putting stuff out there that hasn't happened yet. The universe will steal it from you."

And I can't go against my lifelong mentor's advice now, can I?