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Editor's ViewpointMeditations Of A Minnesota Mossback |
Building Blocks . And Powerful Door-Openers.
I'm older and - I hope - a little wiser than I used to be, but I still learn something new every day.
On one enjoyable afternoon, for instance, the Rambergs taught me that there are a lot of different ways to train horses. You can use sugar, and spoil them silly - or you can allow your horses to make mistakes that don't hurt them, and use the opportunity to teach.
Sure sounds a lot like raising kids to me.
I've concluded that the more new stuff I learn, the more everything I've already learned makes sense. It all seems to fit together somehow, but I'm not sure why.
It reminds me of the physicists who are trying to find matter's smallest building block.
As far as we know, the concept of atoms was initially theorized by Democritus, who ran around in 460 BC. Of course, much later we discovered that atoms were made up of electrons, protons and neutrons; the building blocks of protons and neutrons were discovered to be quarks; then leptons, another elementary particle, entered the fray.
Now we're rubbing elbows with neutrinos in particle accelerators.
And we haven't even talked about gluons and bosons yet!
The theory is, if we can find the absolute smallest piece of our world, the rest of the world will make sense.
I'm really not too sure about that.
But I'll tell you some things that are certain in an uncertain world.
If you leave a plate of chocolate chip cookies on the counter, either the kids or the dog will find it, and those cookies will disappear.
Now that's an absolute.
Here's another one: I've learned that if you back out of the garage and forget to look behind you, you will encounter your husband's truck. I've actually proved this more than once, thereby demonstrating that some lessons just don't stick the first time.
So, as I approach my birthday next month, I admit that I know a lot more than I did five decades ago: I'd hazard a guess that all of us who are old enough to be grandparents do.
But that doesn't mean we should ever stop learning. Learning is one of life's simple pleasures.
Ten years ago, I had the opportunity to hear former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove read her wonderful poem, "Maple Valley Branch Library, 1967," at a bookstore.
In this composition on the love of learning, Dove describes her feelings as a 15-year-old, armed with one of life's most powerful door-openers-a library card:
So I read "Gone with the Wind" because it was big, and haiku because they were small.
I studied history for its rhapsody of dates, lingered over Cubist art for the way it showed all sides of a guitar at once.
All the time in the world was there, and sometimes all the world on a single page . There is no substitute for curiosity.
And so, in this election year, be curious. Stay informed.
Just last Sunday, the St. Paul Pioneer Press warned on its front page of the dangers of believing everything you read on the Internet.
That's good advice for all of us, and that advice extends beyond just the blogs posted in cyberspace. It applies to political advertisements that arrive in your mailbox. It also applies to unsigned letters that appear in your paper box.
Read all you can - and then ask as many questions as possible.
This fall, Hugo, Centerville and Lino Lakes will hold municipal elections. Hugo and Centerville will each elect two council members and a mayor.
In an election year, evaluating your personal priorities with regard to local issues is important. Attending debates to learn more about the candidates is critical.
And getting answers to your questions is absolutely essential.