The survivors in Australia did not know the history of the Last War. The War happened so quickly, and recently, that no history was yet written. The people had some information, but there were many gaps. How many bombs were dropped? How many of those were hydrogen bombs? What caused Russia to drop a bomb on China? Who bombed Washington and London? Then there was the bomb on Tel Aviv... To the Australians, the War-without-written-history seemed like a mistake that should have been stopped. Now these survivors were dealing with fall-out -- atomic fall-out -- from the Last War.

On the Beach, written by Nevil Shute in 1957, is a timeless story about people, and how people choose to live their lives when they believe that the end is minutes, hours, days, or weeks away.

I first read this book in the late 1960's. This was during the Cold War, and I was a teenager. Perhaps these two factors combined to cause the book to make a deep impression on me. I recently remembered the book, and was inspired to read it again. Forty years later, I am, again, deeply impressed by the book. Although the technology described in the book seems quaint and old-fashioned, the behavior of the people is like reading current events. The sociological aspects of the book span the years and are still applicable to today.

Find this book at a used bookstore and enjoy "The most important and dramatic novel of the atomic age."

Sometimes I suspect I waste time.  I spent time this past week and weekend encouraging people to contacting Senators and Representatives concerning the health care legislation facing Congress this week. I encouraged anyone who would listen, even strangers. I did the encouraging by urging people to understand the legislation and how it affects them.

Following my own advice, I calculated the legislation's affect on me. I currently pay $5,616 annually for a $5,000 deductible health insurance policy. I pay the total cost, as I am my own employer. The current legislation will provide a $4,380 subsidy to me. That sounds good. I CAN use those dollars! If I conclude my analysis with that, I certainly can support the legislation!

Maybe others have done the same as me, and have calculated the personal benefits, and feel that the legislation will be beneficial in the short-term. Why get fussed over the future? Really, is there a need to contact Senators and Representatives when one calculates a personal, current benefit?

Perhaps I have wasted time and energy talking to others about this issue. Perhaps I have wasted my time composing letters.

But wait, I just gained an hour of time on Saturday night, with the time change! That makes up for that possibly wasted time

John Mauldin, an investment broker/economist, writes an interesting weekly newsletter. I copied this information from few paragraphs he wrote last month:

"I have seven kids. As our family grew, we limited the choices our kids could make; but as they grew into teenagers, they were given more leeway. Not all of their choices were good. How many times did Dad say, 'What were you thinking?' and get a mute reply or a mumbled 'I don't know.'

"Yet how else do you teach them that bad choices have bad consequences? You can lecture, you can be a role model; but in the end you have to let them make their own choices. And a lot of them make a lot of bad choices. After having raised six, with one more teenage son at home, I have come to the conclusion that you just breathe a sigh of relief if they grow up and have avoided fatal, life-altering choices. I am lucky. So far. Knock on a lot of wood.

"I have watched good kids from good families make bad choices, and kids with no seeming chance make good choices. But one thing I have observed. Very few teenagers make the hard choice without some outside encouragement or help in understanding the known consequences, from some source. They nearly always opt for the choice that involves the most fun and/or the least immediate pain, and then learn later that they now have to make yet another choice as a consequence of the original one. And thus they grow up. So quickly."

In following letters, he discusses the fact that the US made some very bad choices in the past, and is now suffering the consequences. Could it be that the breakdown in the economy has its roots in the breakdown of the family? Seems to me that a great majority of children raised in the last thirty years, and currently being raised, believe that they are the center of their world, that they deserve everything wonderful, and that other people are to blame if life is not wonderful.  This belief system underlies our national economic policies. My generation raised such kids. And my generation is deeply involved in the current economic troubles of the United States. We should ask ourselves, “What were you thinking?”

And today, I did them all!
     Pet a cow.
     Pet a few cats.
     Planted 11 trees.

What a wonderful four days I enjoyed with this couple

[Monday morning edit: I worked on financial statements until late last night, and as I was working, downloaded pictures to xanga. I worked late because the weather forecast is for fine fall weather for a few days. I was fussy after the multi-tasking, and did not label, or finish, the vacation pictures. To my faithful viewers -- I do hope to finish the project within the next few months, after enjoying the fall weather. ]