It never ceases to amaze me, whether in the supermarket, sporting events, on the street, during worship or even at funeral services, people seem driven to take pictures of themselves at every given opportunity. 'Selfies', as they are known, permeate the airwaves and digital footprint of media, including television stations, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and so many more. It is as though a picture of a sunset alone is never going to be enough, it can only be made better if our faces frame the picture! Oy! On the one hand, a selfie is a step higher on the palatability scale than a picture of a plate of food yet, on the other hand, most folk do not have the required equipment for a 'good' selfie, a 'selfie-stick', which extends the cell phone farther from those being photographed, thus making the 'un-sticked' selfies almost exclusively close-ups. No one wants to be that close to me, not even my wife and kids. Is it subliminal narcissism which drives us ...
It appeared this morning on today's edition of Sunday Morning on the local CBS network, a segment about the banning of books in our school systems and, by extension, in our local libraries. Much of the segment gave credit for the bans to an organization ironically named, 'Moms for Liberty'. Liberty must certainly have a different meaning today from when I grew up, but I digress. As I viewed the segment and the related story concerning the backlash from others across the country committed to making books, all kinds of books, available to anyone who wants to read them, it occurred to me that if we do not take this kind of oppressive authoritarian behavior seriously now and try to stop it, the next thing you know they will be trying to ban lascivious flowers and their colors, wherever they may be found - because, you know, flowers include the colors of the rainbow - and so much more. Having just received some absolutely stunning pictures of Spring flowers at Diamond Valley La...
Have you ever wondered how you look in someone else's eyes? A fair number of people I know keep that concern close in mind as they select the clothes they wear, have their hair done, think about where they might find themselves - and with whom, and even as they choose what fragrance to wear. All that - for what one imagines others might see and perceive. Truth of the matter? Far more people will see you than you will ever know and, to a great extent, they will draw conclusions about you and who you are more by what you do and how you treat others, than by any personal appearance or attitude you work so carefully to project. Don't believe me? Consider this picture. Our farming neighbor across the fields, Judy Feig, sent this picture to me last evening. Seems she was outside their home and caught a glimpse of the setting sun reflecting off the barn at my brother's place and just could not pass on taking a picture and sending it to me. Oddly enough, though, Judy told me that t...