Oakland

"...no country can be well governed unless its citizens as a body keep religiously before their minds that they are the guardians of the law and that the law officers are only the machinery for its execution, nothing more."

-- Mark Twain, The Gilded Age

Although you wouldn't know it if you get your news from "liberal" sources like the New York Times, CNN, or even MSNBC, the police in Oakland, CA got a little medieval on the local branch of the Occupy Wall Street movement, first driving them out of their encampment at Broadway and 14th, then using a bit of crowd control -- in the form of flash grenades and tear gas -- when the displaced protesters staged a march that evening. As is often the case in situations like this, it's not clear exactly what happened, although the video images proliferating online suggest that the violence appeared to be largely perpetrated by the police. (Expect to see many law suits alleging brutality in the coming weeks.) 

As much as I hate to say it, I suspect we'll see more scenes like this before the 99 Percent movement completes its journey through our culture. They are challenging the wealthy and powerful, and history shows that those who have power are not afraid to use it when threatened. So as this story unfolds, notice that the "machinery" seem to be the source of most of the violence, which is largely directed against the citizens they're supposed to be serving. 

42

Douglas Adams* fans will immediately recognize "42" as the answer to the question of Life, the Universe, and Everything, which is commonly interpreted as "What's the meaning of life?"

42 is, of course, a non-sensical answer to that most important of all questions. But I think it's also an appropriate answer, because the question itself is absurd: There is no one "meaning of life"; everyone must make their own meaning. Whether you find your meaning in your religion, your work, your family, or elsewhere, we each need to find it for ourselves.

In addition to each of us having our own meaning, I think meaning can change throughout our lives. For a time, meaning may come from trying to forge a career. At other times, you may find meaning in raising children. And in other periods of your life, meaning may come from devoting yourself to a cause. I think that's common, and I think it's OK. Who says there's one, single meaning? I don't think it's important where you find meaning, merely that you do. That's the thing.

*For those who aren't familiar with him, Douglas Adams is the late, lamented author of the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" trilogy (in five parts), which I highly recommend to fans of fantasy, science fiction, English humor, or just humor in general. 

A Mulligan?

OK, not really. This isn't a do-over. It's more of a re-start. My original intent with this was to document my journey to grad school; apparently that wasn't a compelling enough topic to keep even me interested, let alone my vast legion of followers (heh).

Therefore, I'm starting again, only this time my theme will be considerably broader. Not just grad school, but life as a middle-aged dad who is making a late career change.

So where do we start?

How about with a quick catch up? Here's where things stand:

• Byron is 22, living in San Francisco, and has become a responsible adult working his way towards his career of choice. He's doing great, and I'm intensely proud of him.
• Flannery is 16, in her junior year in high school, and preparing herself for college applications. She's a stellar student -- smart and disciplined, a killer combination -- and has focused a steely eye on her goal: Wesleyan University, in Connecticut. She's become quite popular with the boys, is funny and self-assured and caring and... can you tell that I'm hugely proud of her, too?
• Barb is... well, she probably would prefer I not give away her age. We've been together almost six years, and I love her deeply. She's been a self-employed consultant for a couple of years now, and is doing very well. We're looking forward to Flannery's graduation... that's when we sell my house and finally move in together.
• The cats -- Bianco and Marrone -- think they run the house. To a large extent, they do, of course, but I resist giving in.
• And me? I've finally begun the Marriage and Family Therapy Masters program in the Ed Psych school at CSUN. I'm having a blast, and my only regret is that I can't quit work and devote all my time to school.

My plan is that this will be the last "about me" post. Instead, I'm going to try to share thoughts, things I've learned, observations, etc. So stay tuned.