Philosophical Memoir

Fighter pilots see the world differently from other people. This series of books is a philosophical memoir of how I sense humanity, society, and the universe I live in. I began these writings when I was 33 years old. For several decades it never occurred to me that I might want to publish them. In the sunset of my years - I am three-score and twelve, now - it began to dawn on me that it would be important, though I'm not sure to whom, for my progeny to know how I sensed the universe in which I dwelt. When that realization began to awaken, I was at first regretful that I had not undertaken the project much earlier in life. Thoughtful reflection suggests that perhaps I didn't have much to say up until then. I have collaborated with no one in this project. Nor will I, for the whole idea is to leave behind for posterity my own exclusive philosophical cogitations. It will be clear from the text that though there has been no collaboration, there was and is a great deal of influence from a great many people and philosophies on the way my mind perceived things: • My Christian upbringing • My parents, siblings, and other family members • The people of the community where I grew up • The schools where I was formally educated • What I learned in those schools • What I learned in the arena of life • Friends • Professional associations in religion, the military, the field of education, and the entertainment world • Philosophers, both ancient and modern, who communicated with me through Gutenberg's marvelous invention. At first, I referred to this project as "Ecclesiastes." I think that choice may have been influenced by how the biblical book is titled: Ecclesiastes, or the Preacher. As I read through the books, sometimes it seems that I am Ecclesiastes, and sometimes it reads like he is a friend with whom I correspond. I don't think either sense is of any great definitive importance; it doesn't matter much either way. It is my great hope that my children and grandchildren, and theirs, and theirs, and on beyond, will look into my soul as it is reflected in these pages. The progeny of any of my contemporaries are also welcome to inquire. Please be advised, these books are not written in English. They are written in American redneck fighter pilot. They read, especially after about the first 20 years, like they would sound if you and I were having a conversation - polite, casual, or even heated on occasion. Perhaps over a cup of cheer. Consequently, language technicalities sometimes take a bit of a beating. Some examples: • ain't - for am/is/are not • ever - for every • don't - for doesn't • weren't - for wasn't; and the converse • they - for there • anyhoo - for anyhow • 'at - for that • thunk - for thought (past tense of think) • son of a bitch - several variations: sunzabitches, sumbitch, et al • . . . the spaced ellipsis - a favorite device for making print sound like conversation • - the em dash - another device for similar purpose • frequent omission of an essential article or personal pronoun at the beginning of a sentence • occasional omission of the final 'g' and it's replacement with an apostrophe on gerunds and present participles • the use of all upper case letters in some words and phrases; it's my way of shouting in print. There are some exceptions. In the earlier years, I used all upper case for some eternal concepts: LOVE, TRUTH, and occasionally MAN signifying all humankind. • italics are used for one of two purposes: to provide an emphasis in print which would be communicated with vocal inflection in a conversation; or to set apart titles of artistic...

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.