Happy official 24+ hours after July 4th. As I was sitting outside on the eve of our nation's so-called birthday, I thought about how revealing such a night was into the personality of the country in which we live. People in all neighborhoods were, in the American spirit, celebrating their country by blowing stuff up. It also seemed odd to me that people should find fireworks so entertaining. I personally get bored watching fireworks. After the first few, there's not much you can do with them that's you haven't seen before. Sure, you can change the colors around, alter how fast you set off the next one, but in the end it's really just bright lights and loud noises. It just don't get the job done for me.
Last night was my last night to drive in Fresno. Interesting how simple a thing like the ability to drive changes over time. When you're young, the privilege of being able to drive makes you the slickest fish in the school. When you're old, having people drive you around makes you the coolest cat in the litter--something that you had all along when you were a kid.
I fear that the good conversation--the really satisfying type--is becoming extinct.