Twisty, Curvy Roads

For as long as I can remember, I have loved to explore new places.  Every curve in the road compels me onward. Each hill dazzles me with the promise of treasures that I am certain will be just over the next rise.  And mountains..., Oh! My soul quakes at the very thought of the wonderful secrets that they hide. Little wonder that my Casita has become such an important fixture in my life. Even when I am not on the road, I prefer to sleep in my Casita instead of my house. That may seem strange to most folks. My house is chained to a single locale.  No matter how much I like the neighborhood, it is still the same neighborhood night after night, month after month, year after year.  My Casita is not chained to any specific place.  It is home in the mountains of Colorado and New Mexico; at a wonderful hidden lake in Alabama, or even at a hidden little beach on the California coast. That means that when I close my eyes, I can be anywhere my imagination wan...

One of the few good professors that I met at the University of Alabama, was a Dr. Wheeler. (he was actually a visiting professor from Rutgers who was teaching during the summer term at UofA). He once said that the real purpose of education was to “extend adolescence and keep people out of the job market”. He also said that the secondary purpose of education is to “fund the teacher’s lifestyle”! Obviously, he was stretching slightly to make a point. Historically, what he said is certainly true! Granddaddy and Grandmother Westmoreland both finished the 8th grade and then went to work in the cotton mills. In the early 20th century that was very common. Children competed with grown men and women for jobs. A part of the government’s solution was to pass compulsory education and child labour laws. Of course, there was a social justification of preventing unjust treatment of children, but there was also a hidden agenda of removing competition in the job market. For centuries, adolescence...