From The Mouths of

So my grandson came over this morning a little later than normal.   Usually, he comes over before I'm even out of bed and my wife takes care of breakfast.   Today, it was just us two guys.

So, Josh tells me all about the fantastic "double chocolate" doughnut his parents had gotten him this morning when they were dropping off Dad at work.  His mom had one also.

Anyway, I'm getting my breakfast ready and chatting with Josh, and I'm almost ready to sit down with my bowl of cereal.  Josh is watching everything and finally says, "So Pop-pop, that doughnut was just to hold me over."

I looked at him and didn't immediately understand what he was saying.   So, I say "OK."  Joshua, who long ago realized his grandfather was not the sharpest knife in the drawer, repeats: "Pop-pop, the doughnut was just to hold me over."  My son also used the explanatory technique of repeating the exact same words when I didn't understand his question or explanation.  It generally didn't help.

Anyway, I finally realize what's going on.   "Josh, you mean you didn't have breakfast at home?"  His face noticeably relaxed and he nodded.   Suffice it to say, I asked what he'd like, we got his breakfast prepared (he chose rice krispies, with milk) and all was well. 

It's a very good thing Josh and I are so simpatico.   Neither of us stands on any formalities and we just like hanging out together.   I could easily have him remain 5 1/2 for a long, long time.

Remind me to tell you about the quest for free air to inflate my Mustang tires (that was after breakfast).   He shared some choice words of wisdom for me that I should probably heed.  But not today.

The More Things Change

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

The older I get, the more often I feel that I'm in some sort of time warp, in which events of today seem to be reflections of events that occurred in my younger days.   In today's topic, the current events mirror some even older events, namely the anti-labor rhetoric and demonizing that led up to the "Haymarket Riot" in Chicago, back in 1886.  Just as it is today, the labor union movement in the 1880s was under attack and made the scapegoat for the nation's economic problems.   The effect of Haymarket and the resultant trials and hangings, was a setback to labor organization and development in this country for decades.   Then, workers were struggling to form unions; now workers are struggling to keep them.  Haymarket became the focus of May Day memorials around the world, but hardly at all in this country.  

All of this is described in detail in a timely article in the Chicago Tribune which can be found here.  We need to ensure that today's workers know what happened in Chicago in 1886 and how it relates to their lives today.   Because it surely does relate to today.