Moon Landing

If you are too young to remember where you were this day 46 years ago, try asking someone older than yourself. No doubt they will have a memory of waking early, adjusting the rabbit ears (antenna) on the TV set, and watching as Neil Armstrong become the first human we know of to step foot on the moon.

I'm not sure it is possible in this day and age for this country to come together and collectively hold our breath while someone does the seemingly impossible. Yes, it was extremely difficult to go to the moon, but don't forget nobody had ever returned from the moon either, and that was their next challenge.

Ridgewood High School Alumni Association (RHS AA) Update

We are on track to launch the RHS AA website during the summer of 2015. Expect to see plenty of photos and ideas on how you might contribute to this 501(c)(3). With an estimated 25,000 graduates spread across the globe there will be a myriad of ways and opportunities to further this lofty venture along. I expect many goals and ideas to be proposed, some more locally significant than others. Here is my hope for the RHS:

My goal for the RHS AA is to create opportunities for alumni in our connected age. To facilitate their coming together to solve collective problems through mentoring, networking, and revealing a wide variety of role models as to what it means to be successful and a contributing member to our common welfare.

Connections and Laughter

Isn't that's all we are looking for in this life: "A little connection and a little laughter."

Connection can from a variety of sources. The above quote is from Bob Lefsetz. We
have never met but I look forward to his email every week. He is a 21st century phenomenon, the curator. Curators assist people with sifting through the myriad of information available to us in a wide variety of formats.

In the 20th century we made appointments to watch TV programs, listen to radio DJs, go to
the movies, and check out books from the library. Now entertainment and culture is all on demand when we want it and the younger generation cannot fathom how we oldsters lived without this convenience. And the older I grow I tend to agree with them. How did we stand the wait?

I do know what we did while waiting in line for the movies or for a show to come on TV.
We talked and observed the world around us. We connected with one another and tried
to make each other laugh. 

Now we are heads down in our entertainment, while our movie theatres, book stores, 
and live TV shows become a thing of the past.

There is a trade off for everything in this life. I'll miss the grand old movie theatres
which played one movie at a time on a huge screen. We would then all have something to
talk about for a while, and maybe even consider seeing again.

Today we see an increasing number of opportunities to outsource our communications. 
I read on the Internet that for some people, eliminating the need for one-on-one contact is appealing, and many young people prefer online conversations instead of face-to-face exchanges. I guess you cannot miss what you have never experienced. There is also no definitive way to measure whether or not this new type of connectedness isn't producing just as many laugh, if not more, than the old style I can easily recall. It's just different, no better or worse is how I view it now. Maybe I'll change my mind as I grow even older.