Can the unwinding be rewound?

It's been unseasonably cloudy and rainy here in the middle west these past few weeks. And while it's been great for the crops in our (vastly smaller) version of a back forty, the weather does dampen the usual carefree summer exuberance a bit.

And, in part, because I'm not crazy from the heat this year, it gives me the inclination to reflect on the state of the nation in these waning days of June before the 4th is upon us.

In the big picture, there are things to celebrate: the Supreme Court finally knocking down DOMA, this past week is a big one. (For a great piece on the heart of the 'debate' over the rights of gays to marry, read Mr. Sulu/George Takei's Op-Ed this week in the Washington Post. He succinctly identifies the stance of people opposed to the notion of two men or two women marrying, rightly, as 'the ick' factor. And while that reaction might be fine for the demographic that watches Sesame Street--i.e. little kids who don't know any better--thank GOD the Court finally (albeit narrowly, sigh) came to its senses that a bullshit, childish, uneducated, narrowminded reaction shouldn't be the basis for laws that discriminate against millions of this country's citizens. Also: I give little kids more credit than that--they, by nature, are not homophobes. Unfortunately, that shit is taught and reinforced by a chilish not a childlike mentality.) [1]

Then there was Obama (possibly just for show and definitely late) making his big speech on climate change. Good for him, because I predict that despite abundant evidence to support the notion that the weather is seriously messed up—see recent examples like the Moore, OK EF5 tornado, raging wildfires in Colorado and well, the recent rainy conditions here in the Midwest—it's going to, grievously and unfortunately, take another Hurricane Sandy-level event to finally knock some sense into the climate change deniers.

Not until Megyn Kelly is all but drowning in Fox's Times Square studio will the Koch Brothers and their moneyed cronies of the same ideological bent—many of whom have anonymously funded the messaging campaign against climate change—stop with their jihad of nonsense and get on-board with reality all-fucking-ready.

(By the by if you're like me, you enjoy daydreaming about Megyn Kelly disappearing under the waves, never to be seen or heard from again. According to this study by Climate Central, that day could be just a blessed 7 years off. Perchance to dream. I just mourn the fact that most of New York would go down with her.)

Again, maybe it's been the moody skies or maybe it's because I'm pushing onward to 40 during this year's trip around the sun...but I've been thinking a lot about the tone of this country and how we came to be where we are: saddled with a completely dysfunctional Congress, years behind the rest of the world on social and environmental issues and still arguing about whether we can 'afford' to pay for elements in the social contract that, duh, led to the rise of the middle class, which, in turn, fueled the great wealth engine that's driven the whole damned thing since the end of WWII.

New York Times staffer George Packer calls all this and his new book, "The Unwinding." It is still summer, so if you're not down with being down over the (sorta sorry-ass) state of these United States, then just read this article in the Guardian by Packer that neatly sums up his book's thesis. He identifies 1978 as the year the American character changed from one that at least acted like it cared about the welfare of its citizens to the more unabashedly mean-spirited, gleefully greedy, recklessly short-sighted one that reigns today.

I was 5 in 1978 and far too caught up in Bert & Ernie and the rest of the Sesame Street gang to know about or understand what was going on in this country. (I'm sure I even thought B&E were straight then...)

But I do vividly remember August 1981—that's when Ronald Reagan fired the air traffic controllers, breaking their strike. And was the moment when my Dad, a union electrician who had, in fact, voted for Reagan in 1980 (which he remembered as 'the biggest mistake of my life') turned to the 7-year old me and said:

"This country is screwed."

He probably got, in a way that I couldn't possibly have at the time, that the tone, the character of this country was changing and not for the better. That with a sweep of Ronnie's hand, the pendulum swung away from workers and the middle class, firmly into the corner of business and its strictly bottom line-driven interests. And the swing in that direction has only become more profound and more debilitating for this country in the thirty plus years since.

Needless to say, the book is next on my list.

And it's a good reminder, as we head into another Fourth with cookouts and fireworks and some justifiable national pride—made sweeter this year with DOMA gone and Obama hopefully, finally taking up the issues his base voted him in for in the first place—that the reality of The Unwinding means there is still a profound amount of work to be done in this country to put us back on...well, not even 'the right' track, but any track that doesn't lead us further into despair, decay and dysfunction.

Can The Unwinding be rewound?

This is 'merica and I do have hope—but my guess is it'll take double the time (probably more) to build back up all that has been undone in those 30 years. And if we're talking at least 60 years to make things better, then there's a good chance I won't be around to see the change.

Which is maybe why, for me anyway, things like DOMA coming down are sweet and to be savored.

Because progress is slow...and summer is short. And we have to enjoy our victories in the moment, for as long as we can.

Happy July 4th, everyone.


[1] Personally, I think the Court should next take up the issue of whether or not girls have 'cooties.' If they did, you can bet all the usual suspects of the lunatic fringe Right would be screaming that God, Ronald Reagan and the Founding Fathers all agree both should be banished from this fine nation of ours. Think of how much fun it would be to watch Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin insist on Fox that 'girls have cooties and cooties are against God's law and what makes this country great!'

If that day ever comes, I'd happily vote those two morons off the island of girldom/womanhood in a heartbeat. If only because they drag the fucking bell curve down, big time.

Happy Father's Day

As I sit here on our deck in da 'burbs, beer in hand with the sun slowly fading in the west just below the treeline, I'm thinking about my father today. 

Dennis Akers

It's not just Father's Day that I reflect on my dad and his life: since his (completely untimely and universally unfair) death in 2005 at 65, there's scarcely a day that goes by where I don't think about him and all the stuff he tried to teach me.

My dad was a working class guy--dropped out of high school at 17, got his GED in the Marine Corps and was an IBEW union electrician for nearly 40 years.

Sure, he worked hard for what he earned. One of my memories of him as a little kid—on the rare occasions I'd be up early enough—was him packing his lunch bucket and methodically putting on his workboots at 5:30AM. In the summer heat, in the dead of winter, the calendar didn't matter, he worked.

But beyond the solid, working class man story (all too rare now and he knew he was one of the last generations to enjoy a very good pay for a good day's work) was the other, essential side to my dad:  he was an extremely engaged father and his speciality was what I like to think of as 'long-game parenting.'

He had a knack for saying stuff that sticks with me to this day.

To wit—on dealing with life's frustrations, recriminations and just general bullshit he'd say:  "The sun comes up in the east and sets in the west." Meaning, time passes, wounds heal. And if you hang in there long enough, you see that time marches on...with or without you.

On money: "It only costs a nickel more to go first class." Even though he came from a working class background, it was my dad who taught me to enjoy good food, good hotels and that money, essentially, is a tool. It passes through your hands for a little while and if you're smart, you'll see it as a mechanism to get where you want to go, while not letting the pursuit of it rule your entire existence.

But the thing that he said to me that sticks with me the most was, "You're a writer. You are." 

This came out of a conversation with him, during my waning college days (days that he paid for, all of it, out-of-pocket) where I lamented to him that I had no idea where I was going or what I was going to do professionally. 

At the time, I argued with him, "But I haven't written anything that's been published...and you can't be a writer if you aren't recognized as such by other people."

I remember him being so insistent, "No. You write, that's what you do." 

On the writing part and getting published:  I'm still working on it. 

But for me, now in hindsight, that conversation was more about my father saying that he knew he was financing my dreams and the only thing he asked for in exchange...was that I go do the thing I wanted to do. And to try to find some happiness in the pursuit.

And so. That's my charge—and believe you me, just being happy in the moment has been a big enough job these past few months.

But I have the benefit, now, of being able to conjure his voice, his words, his wisdom...his keen sense of the world and the daughter he raised.

It's a vast understatement to say that I was lucky to have him as a father.

So Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there...and remember that the time you spend with your kids is so very important. And if you do it right, your efforts will far outlast you. 

And your words will continue to serve your children throughout their lives.

And here I thought Bokeh was just for old people...

*bah-dah-bump*

Thanks, I'll be here all week.

ANYway, it's been a few weeks since I've posted. But I've been busy playing with various camera goodies I've acquired.

The big one is the Canon 5D Mark III. I mostly bought it for video, as there's so much amazing DSLR-shot documentary work out there now...

But of course/duh:  this thing takes freaking amazing stills, too.

I've never been a huge shutterbug, but I think I may be turning into one with this camera—even though I'm still learning (feeling blindly?) through the menus and the whole world of adjusting ISO vs. aperture vs. f-stops.

(I have to say, though, I'm going to check out Scott Kelby's books—he's a pro photog who has a series of very down-to-earth books that present real world scenarios with tips on improving your shooting...)

Along with the body, I went ahead and got a really nice lens, the 50mm f/1.2L, and I've been blown away (again, even with marginal skills) at the image quality.

My other favorite new toy is the GoPro Hero 3 Black. These little cameras (and they are tiny) are cool for landscape shots, driving shots (with a suction cup mount) and for timelapse. The Black edition also has a WiFi remote and with the free app on my iPad, I can control the camera remotely and get a preview of the shot—helpful, since monitors for the GoPros are an add-on.

I shot a timelapse as I planted our small vegetable plot yesterday. Everything went swimmingly until the damned suction cup gave out... But in a bit of nice serendipity, it falling gave me a second angle, at near ground level.

Next up:  doggie cam....brace yourselves.