Keeping life simple
Life seems to be so complex today. Was it always this way and I was so busy I didn鈥檛 have time to notice? Does it really rain more? Is it hotter, colder, drier or wetter than it was in the past? We live in a time when every storm and perhaps even every snowflake is captured on film. Years ago, a tornado could form, cover a few miles and die without being detected.
What is really going on with our weather? How much has it really changed? I still remember the Big Snow of 1950, Hurricane Agnes and the floods of 1972, the torrid heat and humidity of the summer of 1988. Today, every flood and storm seems to be worse. I can remember receiving letters from my dad when I was in the service telling me all about the weather back in Pittsburgh. Today, in a few seconds, I know what the weather is all over the world.
We seem to be a bunch of anxious souls made fearful by too much news. Today, its 24 hours of constant news and weather. Everything is called 鈥渂reaking news鈥� and if we will somehow just stay tuned, we will be constantly informed on the latest changes and developments.
Fires, floods, wars and disasters have always been around. In the old days, the evening news consisted of 15 minutes of local news and weather, followed by 15 minutes of world news and that was it until tomorrow. Today, the local evening news starts at 4:30 p.m. and goes on until 7 p.m. One channel will even let me know what time the rain is coming tomorrow, but I have to stay up until 11p.m. Don鈥檛 they know us old-timers are long in bed before 11 and who cares, since the morning news and weather begins at 4:30 a.m. and continues for 4 or 5 hours. Then too are the 24 hour news and weather stations that go over the news and weather and offer opinions and comments on every detail and then some in an effort to keep you tuned in and to reinforce a position on the subject.
I still enjoy the daily paper and must confess that I do read it on line. The paper news is usually a bit dated but the joy is I don鈥檛 have to stay tuned and listen to a barrage of drug commercials. I also can pick and choose the articles I want to read and many times the paper story will have lots of details that you do not get in the hype of TV or digital versions. I don鈥檛 think good journalism will ever go out of style. The editorial in last Monday蘑菇视频 Herald Standard on flood insurance is a good example of a story that needs to be told.
The program has moved far away from its original intent and become a taxpayer subsidized benefit to rich folks and developers who own homes at the beach. Insurance is about the law of large numbers, with the premiums of the many paying for the claims of the few. The program has never collected enough in premiums to pay the claims and relies on taxpayers to make it work. The amounts are staggering. With the seas rising and thousands of homes continuing to be built in areas that will be someday be under water, Congress needs to act, but they won鈥檛. Will we ever learn? No wonder life never gets any easier. No one seems capable of making any decisions that would make it a bit easier.