A Fighter Pilot Looks At the World Upside Down

This is the fourth in a series of books expressing my observations about humankind, society, and the universe. The content of the books in the series is laid out in chronological sequence. The tidbits of wisdom, called "blurbs," (or vignettes, if you prefer) are headed with four items: a sequence number; the date on which the blurb was made; and a slashed number which indicates the blurb sequence for the day and the number of blurbs made on that day, for example 1/1 or 3/5. On most dates there is only one blurb; on a couple, there were in excess of twenty. Last in each heading is the particular topic in which the blurb fits, of the 15 topics in the series. The sequence numbers allow manipulation in a spread sheet catalog. Topics were assigned as I prepared the books for publication. I gave no thought to topics as the blurbs were written. There is no significance to the sequence; the topics were assigned at random. For example, topic #1 holds no special precedence over topic #15. All topics are addressed in this fourth book. Topic #1, "Birth, Youth, Age, Death," deals with life's temporal chapters. Topic #2, "Civilization," addresses where humanity finds itself today, plus or minus a century or two. It reveals my impressions of how we got where we are, and how we might take ourselves on into tomorrow. Topic #3, "People," deals with the human animal, individually and collectively. It is how I sensed the nature of who and what we are. Topic #4, "Education," is of significance because I spent a goodly portion of my years as a Sunday School teacher, a military flight instructor, a high school teacher, and a junior college teacher. Topic #5, "Geography, Nature, Science," expresses my sense of the physical world and the universe. Topic #6, "Military, War," is an obvious category for a professional military officer. Topic #7, "Pets," addresses the uniqueness of some non-human life. Topic #8, "Politics, Statecraft, the Press, Money," is widely inclusive of public life. It's how I sensed the corporate entities in which we all hold membership. Topic #9, "Species, Ethnicity, Gender," is my sense of how we and nature categorize human and animal life. Topic #10, "God, the Bible, and Religion." So much of human behavior is shaped by how we deal with power and intelligence greater than our own. Topic #11, "Romance, Sex, Procreation." It's the spice of life, and none of us would wish to be without it. Topic #12, "Professionalism," differentiates the movers and shakers from the hangers on. Topic #13, "Food and Drink," is much like Topic #11. We don't want to, indeed we cannot, be without them. And we are all connoisseurs. Topic #14, "Funnies." Our world needs all the laughter it can get. Topic #15, "The Movies, Show Biz." I eventually wound up in the entertainment business. Also, in my sunset years, I find being entertained is somewhat less strenuous than other activities I engaged in when I was younger. Plus, it presents opportunity to fulfill a secret desire we all harbor — being a critic.