Carl Kracht:  

Bake some bread. A *realist* views the world as it is and doesn't care - optimists see them as pessimists, pessimists think they are optimists - they often follow behind a plow behind a horse's ass; an *optimist* ignores the world as it is and believes things are great and will get better - they are gullible and naive - gullible and naive, politicians love them. "Optimism and stupidity are nearly synonymous" - Hyman Rickover; a *fatalist* is not a pessimist, fatalists view the world as it is and invariably believe things will get worse - requiring no evidence whatsoever - they are boring because they do nothing; a *pessimist* observes the world as it is and remains a skeptic, they require proofs that things are better or will get better, they are investigators and scientists. Of course, I'm a pessimist. So what happened? The usual B.S.: high school, Democratic National Convention, college, the draft, LBJ, Nixon, the Navy, Yom Kippur War, Cyprus, marriages, divorces, dogs, cats, tropical fish, whales and dolphins, cars, photography, cycling, more college, lab work, many stitches, many broken bones, work, work, work, retirement. Eight states, four countries, three universities, twenty ships, aircraft and submarines, two decent jobs, four good friends - two remain dead, countless assholes - which probably makes me one. Starting up with dogs and cats again as they are trustworthy. Never met anyone from high school nor Illinois that I know of. Mildly interesting how few remain stuck in my memory: Mazur, Gardner, McCandles, Lederer, Milleville, Schmidt, Kramer. I interact with more people from the Navy than HS (zero) - I think the Navy pissed on the colored chalk that was HS - funny how something important does that. What do you believe happened 55 years ago? . . . quiet desperation; . . . best of times, worst of times? I've owned two cars over the years that were an absolute blast to drive: A 1973 Superbeetle that I bought in Italy, and a 1974 Alfa 2000 GTV I bought in Texas. Alfas are the gorgeous, smart redheads of the automobile world - I o...Expand for more