Last Days of Earth

 North Texas Spring 2023AD 

The Pandamic Plague had ravaged the earth and wreck and up ended societies as we know it. Riots of various sort followed and damaged permentantly the sustainability of largest cities on the planet. Yes,everyone in Society had been victim of the plague and the riots. 

Hoever,that isn't as true as one think. 

Here in North Texas, my young redhair wife Nancy and  I have been part of a new program. The colonization of the moon. China,Russia,Federation and other countries who cities have suffered,those that survived have found a way out. Even Washington DC has lost population and knowledge due to the colonization program. That population powershift has made even mayors of the large cities especially here in the states, not as powerful as they once were. Even rumors have been flying that even city council members have been retiring for thier own power has been reduced. Those along the East and West Coast populace corridors see thier power dwindling. It's as if the pandemic plague has reveal strength and weakness in society and governance. 

As for my lovely redhair wife Nancy who has bright beautiful brown eyes,sharp mind, a dancer and fitness professional by heart, here at the small ranch, we both had this intution that earth itself could facing her last days. Now today as our ranch house AI goes through the process of shutting down the house permantly to be sold. We took care of our last minute details befor our own departure to the new frontier, the moon. For us this morning these final are our own last days on Earth and North Texas. Our own final days and weeks Nancy and I did everything from go away parties by our close friends and doing things we love to do. Sometimes together,sometimes seperate. 

This late morning Nancy and I relax on our old coutch we move under the shade tree along with our duffle bags. You see we packed light for this long trip. It's a beautiful late morning,Nancy lays her head on my shoulder. "Waiting drive me nuts," she quips. 

"Waiting has always drove you nuts," I add with my sense of humor. I stroke her glossy shoulder length redhair. She checks her Samsung Smartwatch. "The SpaceX jet should be landing here in next half hour." 

"I know.Hard to believe we're leaving for the moon." I say. 

"Yeah I love the late morning and early early afternoon horse rides we took." 

I kiss her. "I miss them too." 

Half an hour later...

The SpaceX passenger VSTOL lands at the makeshiff pad in front of us. The electric power exec jet lands gently and we gather our things as we now embark on our new venture. Before boarding we look back at our Victorian ranch home for the last time. Then we turn and climb on board the executive electric power VSTOL. 

In a few hours we'll be leaving the gravitiy of earth. For Nancy and I a new frontier is ahead. It's as if for us the Moon is our new Manifest Destiny.The VSTOL changes her path and we see the ranch for our final time...

Echos of Apollo

This afternoon something wonderful happened.
Something that makes the Riots and Pandemic small in the  larger scheme of the universe.
 A rocket launch.
A rocket launch which Echoed Apollo Man Missions of the late 60s and 70s.

Demos 2 AKA Dragon had its first two astronaunt  mission this afternoon.
Demos 2 as it's called was bult by SpaceX and her familiar capsule Dragon carried two astronaunts into low earth orbit this afternoon. The Falcon 9 blasted off Pad 39A at Cape Kennedy,Florida,the Space Coast. Unlike the NASA Saturn V,and later the Space Shuttle,Falcon 9 appeared smaller than the old Saturn V rockets of 60years ago.
When Falcon 9 roared off the pad this afternoon suddenly everything like riots and pandemic disappeared from my own psyche. Within a few minutes Falcon 9 was in space it's first stage separated and 9minutes later the final stage separated from the Dragon.
At that momet,that second,everything earthbound didn't matter. Dragon is now in earth orbit,below the rioters,which to the astronaunts they're minutely small in vast cold expanse of space. Dragon is headed toward ISS Space Station.

Update this morning:
Dragon has made a successful dock with the ISS Space Station in orbit above. No word from the two astronauts who successful docked with the station overnight. That's the best news.

Historical note:
In December of 1968,the first  three man Apollo Capsule orbited the Moon successfully. I recall it like yesterday becouse I was young kid then and  I watch the legacy news cover it under achorship of Walter Cronkite.
 Yesterday,was a Echos of Apollo and by 2024 NASA will have thier Project Artemis in orbit around the moon.
 Just a concluding reminder Space is infinite and our problems on this small world call Earth are miniscule in the larger scheme of the Universe and the stars around us. Just a thought,that make you think.

How Did I learn I'm GenXer

The wayback memory data server kicks in. A supped up Ferrari Tesstrosa shoots through the neve data centers searching for something specific. The automated Testrosa stops its outolights flip open and with laser precesion it finds the memory light data of decade. The Testrosa fires the nerve light data back to the WayBack Memory server and the red lights spark up and down the server nerves..
The nerve data file opens...
It's vague on location but specifics come to light:
The 90s the last decade of the Twentith Century....

I was in bookstore I don't remember its name as for the location all I can it's vague at best. It could be in Bookland in Pemberton Mall now gone. Or another bookstore in Jackson,Ridgeland Ms but all I know it was a bookstore. That's where I came across it. At the time when bookstores,box bookstores in retail were still around. I don't recall what year but I know the decade for I know it was the 90s. Some ten years from the beginning of the new Millinnium. I was in early 30s too. But since I love to read I would explore a bookstore like Indiana Jones would explore archeligical site. In my case something new and interesting.
 I don't recall what section of the bookshelves that I came across this particular book. A paperback. I don't recall the author's name but I remember the title:
  GENERATION X. 

So I browse through the book. Taking my time. What I read was interesting as I read some then I made the connections. They leaped out. I can't recall what I read once done I bought it. But the author too made mistakes in his own book too.

When it came to us Xer's as I read it, he didn't want to count in those of us born in 1961. I later learned for example that those of us born in in 61 was problematic for Generation experts. Frankly I in my opioin the Gen Experts who study and research generations make mistakes. Some have called those of us born in 1961 "The Filler Generation." It's a term I disagree with. For I saw it in yahoo coments on a news article I read. At the time Generation X was written in thee 90s, some generation experts had already grouped those us born in 1961 as Baby Boomers. That's where I caught the mistake. I don't want to touch on much details about it but my memory had recalled then that had been young child growing up in the 60s, that I wasn't part of Woodstock,the anti Vietnam War movement and other movesments that made the 1960s a turbelant decade.
 Witthin ths book too I made the connection to the traits which I couldn't remember. But the author was funny too,wrote that some of us Xer's well in our older age would be enjoying hip hop and rap.
 Er wrong.
Well this older Gen Xer enjoys 80s Miami Vice, Jan Hammer and cool 80s pop tune like The Boys of Summer by Don Henley. By the way I still love movies on the screen too and cool iTunes soundtracks.
I'll wrap up with this nickname my dad gave me: A Gentleman and A Scholar. One word of advice to you GenZer's who called us GenXer's The Karen Generation. You don't know how a large majority of us grew up nor do you know our personal experinces. Get my Drift?
 So ponder the phrase.
For now signing off.

Being a GenXer in The Time of Pandemic

WE LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMES--CHINESE PROVERB...

For years,decades we Generation Xer's have been ignored.
Then on the Yahoo News Portal several news suddenly appeared. So I linked into one of them.
It appears some journos have discovered who are resilent during quarantine. Yes,resilient. The word in the headline leaped out like neon on a movie marquee.

It now appears the generation ignored,the generation I'm damn proud to be a in,has emerged as the strong one. Where Millinniels are in a panic,GenZer's are partying for spring break on a Florida beach as the Wuhan Virus is reaking havoc,chaos and death upon the world,us GenXer's are doing and holding up rather well during ordered quaratines,shut ins.
A crash history: a majority of us Generation Xer's have been shut ins,latchkey kids while our parents worked. Some of us took care of ourselves: did our schoolwork, took care of the chores around the house while some of us grew up to adulthood.
As for myself,born in 1961,when  JFK was president to my adulthood when President Ronald Reagon was elected at the beginning of the 80s. I do remember the 70s during my high school years and I recall some of Watergate,the Iranian Hostage crisis which all happened under Jimmy Carter. I can even tell you the 70s was a dull decade unlike the 1960s. Yet as I sailed throught the late 70s,I graduated from High School Class of 1980. What I recall about this time the spring of 80, I gor my braces off and everyone in my senior class saw me very differently. Including my close friends. You see I graduated on a Friday Night in May of 1980. For that Saturday,the day after graduated from high school, Mount St. Helens exploded. I saw it on Saturday 530 network news. At that time cable was in infancy; there was no internet nor smartphones. The world was so retro then and fun.
 The 80s this GenXer like all GenXer's came of age in. I can go on about the 1980s it was a cool decade to go to college in. I graduated Hinds Jr College Class 83. I have an Associate Arts degree and I have been to University but I didn't complete my degree. By heart I'm a film buff and film was my major; yet in college I studied Advertising,Art Appreciation,creative writing,Journalism and television broadcasting too. During the 90s my aunt in Texas introduce me to travel and on my first trip to mexico,Puerto Vallarta, was my first trip outside the US. That was just the beginning. In the early 2000s,I've traveled to Europe twice,the Caribbean and Key West,South Florida. The world opened my eyes. For everytime I came home from a trip, I would where I was born,Vicksburg Ms, very differently. Travel will do that to your mind.
 As for this quarantine,I'm doing all right. I'm not depressed,not angry. I'm actually shy but in person I'll talk your ear off. I keep my mind occuppied in a variety of ways.
  U other GenXer's on the Wuhan Virus front: keep up the battle where ever you are. Just remember we're resilient.