Sometimes I just get lost in the music. This's one of those tunes that does that for me. Here's hoping you find it much the same. For me, it's another night in the foundry. My Tuesday. May your week be peaceful, easy and filled with many smiles.

    Do you ever wonder what the world will be like fifty years from now? When I was young it was my favorite thing to wonder about. I imagined rocket ships and trains that could run so fast it seemed like they were flying. I imagined that maybe one day I'd have a "real" wrist radio like Dick Tracy had in the comic section of the Sunday paper. I dreamed of exploring planets and poking around on the ocean floor.
     Some of what I imagined is now just part of our every day lives. For all my abilities to imagine I would never have guessed I'd have a telephone I could use anywhere I went, a microwave that would heat my food without a flame or an element, a computer sitting on my desk that's more powerful than ten of the first computers developed and small enough to carry with me. I couldn't envision a television I could turn on and off from across the room, or being able to carry on conversations with people from around the world by simply typing on a keyboard.
    When I was young coffee perked in a huge pot on the stove. The old farmhouse I grew up in was heated with sawdust from the local lumber mill and our neighbors still used an outhouse. We didn't have a television, it was too expensive and those that did have one watched shows in black and white. It was the 1950's. The Korean War was underway and I remember my cousin sending reels of tape home so we could gather around the kitchen table and listen to him tell about his experiences.
    Now, a couple've months from my 59th birthday I find myself wondering what the world will be like in fifty more years. Here's my predictions, for what they're worth:

Many of our vital organs will be artificial.
We'll be implanted with computers the size of a molecule that will monitor our bodily functions and transmit the information to a physician.
Automated devices will clean our homes, cook and serve our meals and mow the yard.
The moon and Mars will be colonized by humans.
The majority of the population will work from home. It will no longer be necessary to commute to a place of employment.
Transportation will be automated. Automobiles as we know them will no longer be used.
New forms of propulsion will make the internal combustion engine as extinct as steam engines are now.
Education will evolve into a more individualized process and will begin much earlier in life. There will no longer be classes such as first grade, second grade, etc. and the grading system will cease to exist. Learning rates will be measured by a pass/no pass system.
Currency will no longer be necessary.

    This is just some of what I see through that magical telescope called imagination. What do you see through yours? Maybe the discovery of a parallel universe? Could it be Einstein was right?

   
    If you've ever looked at my profile and checked out the "100 things about me" you'll probably notice that down the list somewhere I wrote the statement: "I never sell my writing." Someone told me once "there ain't no such a thing as never". I s'pose they're right. As many of you know, I submitted a manuscript for publication awhile ago. Now . . . it's published. And for sale. When I began writing again I didn't really plan to sell any of what I created. But then I'm the same guy who twenty-eight years ago said he'd never marry again. Then twenty-seven years ago I DID get married and I've been sharing life, love and laughter with Mrs Morgan ever since.
    Now it's time to share again. This time I'm sharing the mysteries and the wonder that comes from somewhere deep in the desert and is transported to you by a mystical, magical conveyance known as the Hitchcock Railway. The title of my book is "Riders On The Hitchcock Railway" and I authored it in my given name, J.L. Seventree.
    You can order directly from Lulu.com or you can order a book from me. If you choose to order from Lulu, you'll need to set up an account for yourself. Once you do, and when you search for my book title, be sure your search preference is set to "mature", otherwise it won't appear.
   Happy reading my friends! Enjoy the ride!

You Are a Dare Devil

For you, life is one big dare. And you're all in for any adventure. Others find you exciting, inspiring, and a bit intimidating. You're biggest challenge at this point is trying to top yourself!

    So when's the last time you did something just to see if it'd work? I'm not suggesting jumping off a tall bridge just to see if you can swim, but it's fun to explore and sometimes exploring means taking chances. While you're pondering the quiz, here's a tune to make your endorphins dance and maybe get a little daring.

Fourty-one years ago today I was hang'n out on a dock at a place called Lake Chelan with my friend Skip. I had a bottle of Four Roses within my reach and warm sun bake'n my body brown. I'd just finished four days of final exams and within a few hours I'd be sitting with several hundred school mates anxiously awaiting the presentation of my high school diploma.
I s'pose I should tell ya right off. I hated school. I had a tough time with formal education. I learned more by reading books in the public library than I did in the classroom.
When the school principal met with our graduating class and insisted that ANYONE even APPEARING to be under the influence of liquor would NOT graduate, he was looking right at me. Even then I didn't listen well. And I figured I'd have time to get straight before graduation. The effects of the summer sun and way too much Four Roses caught up to me and my friend. We fell asleep and when we FINALLY woke up we realized we were only a couple've hours from graduation time and we were fifty miles from home. At least I was reasonably sober. We drove down Highway 2 like a couple've bats right outa hell and slid into our seats at the graduation ceremony just as it was beginning.
I did my best to remain upright and awake as one speech after another droned on and on and on......yep....I finally fell asleep! The next thing I knew my name was being called and I came awake with a start. Somehow I managed to get to my feet and made it up the stairs without falling on my face in front of the entire crowd.
There I was, in front of an applauding crowd, shaking hands with a principal I couldn't stand. Four years of struggling just to get through one day at a time came to an end. Me, a sixteen year old farm kid filled with hopes and dreams and plans as big as Texas, standing there convinced that I'd learned all I needed to know for a lifetime.
Who would've guessed I'd go on to become addicted to learning. Who would've guessed I'd spend countless hours learning a trade, learning to write, to play music and do all the other stuff I found myself driven to do as the years slipped by. The most important lesson I learned along the way is that education's different for each of us. For me it's simple and basic. I discovered the magic of something I call RSVP: Read, study, visualize and perform.
Just like magic, knowledge is everywhere and not exclusive to a classroom environment. To all those who've shared their knowledge with me over the years, all I can say is this. I am forever in your debt.
Knowledge, like love and music, is best when it's shared with someone else. It's my Friday, I'm in a funky kind of mood and because sharing's what I love to do, I thought I'd share a funky tune with all of you.