The Road Home….

   Several times each year we take a few days, pack up the car and get away. That was the case recently, enjoying the quiet and seclusion of the mountains and the calming waves slapping against the rocks on the shore of the lake. And despite a bit of unusual weather for this part of the country, the time away provided a break from the customary daily life and routines. But the week soon ended and it was time to hit the road and return home.

   With the car loaded and after turning in the key to the cabin we headed down the mountain for the trip home.

   The rain had started about an hour before our departure and by the time we pulled out of the driveway, the rain had reached a downpour stage. Cautiously moving down the highway, the windshield wipers struggled to keep up with the pace of the rain to the point where, for a few minutes, it was safter to pull off the roadway and allow the storm to pass. We stopped at Smalls Falls. After about fifteen minutes the rain stopped and the journey continued.

   The trip down the once familiar road seemed a bit different this year and did not reflect what I had once remembered.  There seemed to be more vacant homes and buildings and fewer people out and about. And many of those places along the roadway needed repair and maintenance. And as we approached the several small communities between home and away, they did not exhibit the enthusiasm and activity that I remembered. The past few years have seemed like some challenging times and from my perspective as a Boomer the current state of affairs and life and society we have evolved into is having a very difficult time on, not only my generation, but the younger generations as well.

   Looking back on what I am able to remember today, growing up in the 60’s as a Boomer was filled with it’s own governmental, societal and world challenges. Many of us were born into families whose parents and grandparents had fought in several world wars in defense of democracy and a free society. But little did we know as young adults at the time the society was not as free as we had thought or had been taught and as we lived through the times, we struggled to insure the American freedom we had hoped to achieve. After all, we had been part of several world conflicts ourselves, fighting to make the world a safe place for everyone.

   But even as Boomers, out to make the world a better place to live, we were and to this day still are involved in wars and conflicts around the world, a world where dictators and societies fight to demonstrate their ability to prove that they may one day will rule the planet, where women are still forced to cover themselves from head to toe and may not attend school. We are part of a world where countries and some world leaders continue to threaten those they attempt to control with weapons and other medieval methods like destroying food sources and controlling population growth.

   All of this behavior, the news broadcasts on an hourly basis, the rising cost to put food on the table, put gasoline in your car, or send you children and grandchildren to school is having a real effect upon everyone and our attitudes.

    And as a Boomer, I really do feel that we took some wrong paths down the road as we grew, with a leadership model lacking a strong focus and commitment, a commitment where often more emphasis was placed richness, rewards, and being competitive rather that learning how to grow and work together.

   And if you think that the recent heat and weather conditions are only temporary and will go away in a couple of years, you may want to sit back and listen to Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A Changing” song, because they are and right now, it’s going to be even more challenging.

   I worry about the world my children and grandchildren will grow up in as should every Boomer. What will it be like living in a world where the average daily temperature exceeds 100 degrees per day or the waters from the Atlantic Ocean lap at the Ohio state line at high tide.

   Now you are probably grumbling and saying….” What’s wrong with this guy? Has he lost it? He once promised he would not go political in his columns. And what does this have to do with the road home.”

   My point is quite simple. Coming down the mountain and heading home reminded me how quickly things can change. With time and taking an honest look around we allow ourselves to view things a bit differently. As Boomers, we may have made some mistakes, done some things that we would like to take back. But it’s not too late. Many of us are still here, and our life experiences can help navigate a more successful future for those who will follow us and take our place.