Free Thinking

This morning, I convinced my wife to join me in a visit to a local church, Big Cove Presbyterian, to observe the customs of our ancestors in a solemn social gathering every seven days. The church was founded by some of the white settlers of this valley or cove over 150 years ago. As happens in a small community, of the 30 or 40 folks attending the 11:00 a.m. traditional sanctuary service, we personally knew or were connected with a few.

During the service, we joined the attendees in reciting memorized incantations - creeds and prayers - that we members of the religious sect had learned sometime over the years (including the one with "debt...debtors," not "trespasses...trespass").

We met almost all of the church members either during the greeting portion of the service or walking out of the church after the service. From their smiles and general happy attitude, I gather they enjoy the small social circle they have. In all moments of my time with them, I felt comfortable they held the best intentions for our coming back and enjoying their social gatherings. "This is HOME," one member repeated to me, especially after she found out that she and her husband had belonged to the Presbyterian church to which my wife and I still belong.

I am a free thinker. I don't hold much in the way of faith in finding universal meaning in large social gatherings but I do enjoy attending Protestant churches every once in a while to sing four-part harmony and listen to noncommercial, nonelectronic music groups perform (including pianist(s), organist(s), choir, a capella groups and/or soloists). Today, I heard the sweet sounds of an all-female trio, including a former coworker of mine (we worked together at GE in 1987).

Will I return to the church any time soon? Maybe. But most likely not. The small size of the church tells me that every member is essential to their sense of social cohesiveness. I am a free thinker - any sign I see of social cohesiveness means keeping those who have the best of intentions from pulling me into their set of rules.

Late Friday evening, I gave in to the demands of my teaching gig and took some online e-courses that are supposed to indoctrinate me into the ITT Tech Way, showing me how the institute came into existence, its basic rules/policies, how it wants students to learn and how instructors should teach. By receipt of a set of certificates of completion, I am now officially prepared to instruct the students/customers.

After I coached the students/customers during the Saturday morning class, I dropped by Lowe Mill, an artists community, to buy a print from Rita Burkholder, who not only paints and draws but also performs as Helen Keller's Ukulele, a one-woman old-timey musician. I ended up getting three prints, a large 11"x14" set of diatomaceous globules and two business-card sized prints of three other magnified biological creations. Rita gladly shared with me the biology books she uses as inspiration for her artwork. I think the drawings in one of the books of biological specimens was penned by someone named Henckel, who, if I remember Rita's story correctly, had worked for a guy named Ehrenberg until Ehrenberg was overcome with guilt over the death of a student during an expedition. Did she say Ehrenberg discovered diatoms?

In any case, you can't imagine how happy I am. I have a print I have wanted for many months, after seeing it in Rita's studio windows on a previous visit to Lowe Mill. She and her art/music express free thinking in a way I cannot. I also have a CD of her musical persona as Helen Keller's Ukulele. People like Rita make my world go around. Of course, I paid her money for the art and music but wish there was something more meaningful I could have traded, instead. Something of my thought set that someone like her would treasure. However, what can a free thinker give another if he doesn't believe in pushing his thoughts on others?

I am an old man. I am a free thinker. I am set in my ways. These are the tenets of my life. My mantra, as you know, is "havekidstakecareofyourfamily."

Oh well, I will keep writing on this blog, which shows me that humans still allow free thought and expressions, even if they don't understand or don't want to understand discord. I have nothing particularly new to say and in matter of fact, many people like me are saying almost the exact same thing. Again, we humans are alike. We contain all the gene switches to turn on or off dominant or recessive traits. It's in what we do with those traits where individuality grows and prospers.

Statistically speaking, none of us are leaving this planet. The few hundred who have moved further out of Earth's gravitational pull are statistical aberrations. To the casual observer, we're still just a single species getting closer to population saturation on a planetary body in a solar system that happens to have enjoyed a few billion years of nondestructive encounters with cosmic debris. It truly doesn't matter what I do. If I could find a way to live out my days in relative peace and quiet, I would, free to think myself into oblivion. Plus, many parts of me are prone to procrastination and inaction. The future belongs to humans who see life on a more local scale.

In the meantime, I guess I'll keep showing those motivated to have their own kids and take care of them that free thinking does not often put food on the table so get a good set of skills with which they can bargain on the open market and put into play in social gatherings, no matter whether it's their favorite house of religion, house of blues, workhouse or bedroom community.