Milestones

Milestones, the bench markers of our lives. As I get older, I realize the dreams and ambitions of my life rather silly and unrealistic. Grad and law schools I looked at and forgot how choosy they are, the dropout rate, and how expensive they can be. Being a senator and executive, I realize now, were never in the cards for me. But that was what I thought I could become and that what drove me through college.

Being in the rat race, an expensive home, the hour commute along a choked highway, and huge bills from keeping up with the Jones's all exert a price I was never willing to pay, and frankly have no sorrows about it anymore. Stress and debt are the results of so called "success."I live in a double wide trailer and commute less than a mile to work, and keep my bills in check. I live in a community where friends and relatives are nearby, low cost of living, access to bike trails and woods, and small towns with a growing arts community, and the feeling of bliss and satisfaction couldn't be greater.

Friends

I seen a Facebook page where a person had over 2,000 "friends" listed. In viral world, the term friend can be relative. In the cold universe of cyberspace and anonymity, people are looking for meaningful relationships, but perhaps don't know how to make them. The isolation of the internet perhaps creates a further desire of true community.

Friendships need cultivating like living things. It's hard and time consuming, but real relationships demand it. I just looked at my list of Facebook friends, and were friended when I briefly met years ago, and haven't been in contact since then.

As I get older, I treasure the older friendships I developed over the years, and regret how I took them for granted, and let the bonds slip away as time passed. Don't let your real friends become relegated to the cyberworld. Maybe it's time to pick up the phone and say hi.