Famished Writer

US Army jump, Mt. Rainier, Washington, via Wikimedia Commons “Why would you want to jump out of a perfectly good plane?” That is the question my grandfather posed to me when I was 19 years old and seriously considering a career as a smoke jumper.  Call it a death wish if you want, but being a firefighter is every young man’s (or woman's) dream, so why not mine? You know, people do skydive as a form of recreation.  It's an adrenaline junkies sport perhaps, but then so is any great feat of athleticism.  Defying those natural “laws” that keep us mortal humans grounded, or anchored in the fixed elemental realm, creates a curious carnal excitement. Athletic events are the only honest form of real “Reality TV” anyway. Anything can happen. Both disaster and miracle, either of which stimulates the endorphins for both the doer and watcher.  Aside from living vicariously through those brave enough to consistently exercise their Risk muscle, some (like me) observe dar...

Photo by By Charles Fletcher Lummis (1859-1928) (http://www.scvhistory.com/scvhistory/hs3008.htm) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons In this Age of Innovation and Information infiltration, it still amazes me when I learn new history. Aside from the blatant oxymoron, what I mean is, when I uncover what seems to be a significant piece of human or cultural history that should have been learned during the accrual of basic education- it feels like Ive been lied to, important information has been withheld and I feel ripped off- why didn’t I know this ?  Ultimately, Historians have a vast responsibility with Father Time as a heavyweight opponent and infinite miles to cover. I remember watching an episode of Jeopardy where one contestant was a Smallsville Highschool History teacher and he relayed a story about his students challenging him to teach his syllabus backwards-alleging that he would not make it to World War II-they were correct. Those omnipotent teachers only ...