Contemplations
from the Marianas Trench

"Contemplations from the Marianas Trench" is a pretentious way of saying "Deep Thoughts". But if you're really looking for Deep Thoughts you should probably go to a philosopher or a fool (I have no training in those areas, although I do have experience in both, gotten mostly in my youth when I partied a lot.)

You see, I believe that personal web pages are cheap therapy (depending on your Internet server). It's a great way to forget about the misbehaving kids, the bills to pay, the dinner to cook, the house to clean... And I wanted to figure out how to make a home page. Since I went to all that trouble I thought I may as well actually put it on the Web....

I didn't want it to be like EVERYONE else's...(Gee that's original...) What better than an obtuse title to set it apart... Therapy might embarrass the family, except that we share a sense of humor about all things. This ensures we have more good times than bad and sees us through the bad.

So in spite of the risk of some embarrassment, the Contemplations were created. The Contemplator joined the ranks of those counting "hits" of the non-physical sort. Soon people won't be competing about how many dates they've had, how early their babies talked or how big their "guns" are, but how many hits they've had on their home pages. I think it's fun to see how often Mom stopped by.

I also enjoy writing just for the heck of it (obviously). So I figure this is not only saving me the cost of therapy but fulfilling my need to write as well, which I suppose can be considered just another form of therapy too.... I write but I never finish anything (I bet that's an original too). Still I continue to write: a journal, the beginnings of stories, an academic paper when I'm forced to, and now this. I feel GREAT! Web Therapy is working!

There are no more "Family Values", some say. Liberals, feminists, drugs, violence... What is the world coming to? Where did we go wrong? How do we go back?

Well, I'm not one of those who thinks the world has gone to hell (as a matter of fact I suppose SOME people think I'm part of the reason it has). I'm GLAD for a lot of the changes. Does anyone who is not a conservative white male REALLY want to go back to the 50s?

I just wish people would stop blaming liberals and feminists and complaining that women should be at home with their kids instead of working (nevermind there might not be a home if they didn't work). None of that ruined the American Family. Let's put the blame squarely where it belongs. On McDonalds.

I know what I'm talking about because I go to McDonalds at least once a day, and twice or three times on a good day. I'd be rich if I put all that money in a bank or I'd have a 500mhz pentium and be surfing the net with a direct link. I'd have paid someone to create a "personal" home page..

McDonalds has destroyed the American family because no one sits around the table anymore for dinner. Our family time is in the car GOING to McDonalds and half of that time is "Shut up David..." "No, you shut up Kate..." "No, YOU shut up.." We could be sitting at home at the dinner table instead.

On the other hand, if we were at the family table they wouldn't be bitching at each other, they would be complaining about setting the table, and doing the dishes, or about my cooking (I would too!). No, thank you, I've had family dinners before - I still have them annually at Thanksgiving and Christmas though I'll stop that as soon as McDonald's stays open those days. Family dinners aren't like Leave it to Beaver, never have been. I'd rather go to McDonalds.

I've had a lot of "interests" over the years. None of them were cheap. Horses for instance. From horses I learned not to be obsessive about anything that eats a lot and can't clean up it's manure - but I had babies anyway. They aren't any cheaper than horses, and they’re a lot more contrary.

I used to think I was obsessive about the martial arts. When I started in martial arts, as when I start everything, I wanted to be as good as I could be and I put a lot of time in. I'm not as good as I used to be - because I’m not obsessive about it any more, but I see my family a lot more!

Being obsessive takes a lot of time. Obsession isn't necessarily about doing something to the exclusion of all else - even at my most "enthusiastic" I never did that. It's being so involved in something you neglect duties and responsibilities (I don't have many of those, thank you), and those you care about. One very clever solution is to make a living at your obsession, then it IS your duty and responsibility and no one calls it your obsession any more, they call it your job. Some people don’t make their obsession their job but their job becomes their obsession. (I did say this was deep didn’t I?) . There are dividends, of course, or people wouldn’t be obsessive. For example my kids and video games. If I put the thousands of hours they have into it, I’d be great at it too.

Obsession isn't always about being the best, either. I know a lot of people who are obsessive about things they aren't good at - golf comes to mind. A lot of golfers come to mind. It's amazing I haven't taken up the game. It's expensive, it's difficult and it's evidently addictive. But it's too late, I've decided to become a moderate in everything.

I made this decision only recently. Why? The reason I don't have as many "enthusiasms" isn't because I made a conscious decision, but just that my kids grew up a bit and I have more fun with them than I do anywhere else. I’m not willing to spend all those hours away from them - as an economist would say (and I used to be one in Another Life), the costs exceed the benefits. I like my family. Some people might say that means I'm psychotic now rather than obsessive. And other people might say, "Sure you're not obsessive any more, that's why it's 2:00AM and you're writing to nobody on the Web!"