Sunday Musings

I'm in the Hilton hotel in Gaithersburg this Sunday ... I've spent the weekend in G'burg since I had to be in town these two weeks. I saw no sense in flying all the way back to Tucson just to come back a few days later.

There's something quite lonely about spending a weekend in a hotel in a generic business location. Particularly one that is so close to where I lived for 10 years. It's like I sense this used to be "home" but now I'm just a visitor.

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Yesterday I went to see the movie "Amazing Grace," a biography about William Wilberforce, the MP back in the early 1800's who fought to abolish slavery. It was a very good -- but not perfect -- film. That general style of movies -- the relatively quiet movie where character portrayal trumps action, and where relatively obscure English actors are allowed to quietly project a personality onto the screen -- is my favorite kind of movie.

I got to thinking about the portrayal of William Wilberforce and William Pitt ("The Younger" -- I just learned his father also served as PM ... thanks, Wikipedia). In particular, I was thinking about men who "think big," who have a vision and strive towards that vision. And I compared that to myself. I am no big thinker. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, as we can't all be broad visionaries, out tilting at our particular windmills.

Still, I think there's something within the male of our species that yearns to have a cause bigger than himself. Whatever the spiritual or biochemical motivations for that are, I believe it to be true. If I have such a cause, I'm not sure what it is. Your cause right now is your daughter.

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I was watching an episode of the Simpsons the other day where the family goes to England. Tony Blair meets them at the airport, Homer acts the typical boorish American and later rear-ends the Queen, landing himself in London Tower. I got to thinking: "What does N think about this episode?" Are the British stereotypes shown amusing? Or annoying?

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On the motorcycle forum I frequent there was a thread posted yesterday in which someone with straight pipes (unbaffled exhaust) pulled up next to a woman in a car at a stop light and on her phone. The rider revved the engine, making a very loud noise, for no reason by (his own admission). The woman barked back at him about keeping quiet. So the rider did it again ... this time for an extended period of time.

There was a chorus of "That's great!" and "She deserved it!" from others on the forum.

I saw it different. I didn't see why he had to intentionally aggravate the situation by gunning his engine at a stop light. (Frankly, I don't see the purpose of straight pipes at all, other than to create the impression of being tough, and a "biker.") She could have rolled up her window, so barking back was simply adding to the combined aggression. But the returned revving of the engine, all done in spite, was not an attractive thing to do in my mind.

I see this attitude quite a bit on this forum. Many say "I don't care what people think of me!" They take that as a justification to be quite obnoxious. I think they do care ... when their attitude has consequences. But of course they'll never admit that. It's easier to blame others than take responsibility.

Motorcyclists have a generally poor reputation in the U.S., mostly because of people riding around in an unsafe fashion (sport bike riders), or with the excessively loud pipes (cruiser riders), or who project a thug image (the "motorcycle gang" thing so many seek to play with their black leather. They bemoan the "disrespect" they get from "cagers" (people in cars), yet much of it is of their own making.

I am so tempted to argue back on the forum ... but a little birdy in my conscious is telling me to walk away.