It's all about her now

"You're a funny little Capricorn." She tells me. "You're a land spirit. A goat. A climber. What are you doing at the ocean? You can't even swim."

Not true, my dear. I can. Barely. When jet-skiing someone throws a life-coat on me and I'm still alive to blog about it. For now anyway. 

SeaWorld can no longer afford breeding/holding whales against their will in captivity. BLACKFISH, CNNfilms, WILDLIFE PROTECTION groups. Conscientious supporters. Success!!

I've decisively reached a stage of semi early retirement. For my own well being. I've become emotionally exhausted in the past year. Mentally exhausted. I'll let the younger, angrier, stronger groups of philosophical unrest, proceed to either better or worsen this country. Entirely up to them. 

Pick your battles.

The elders in my family were/are generous with holiday money. Like clockwork. Christmas. Birthdays. Etc. After a certain age, I just felt too old to be receiving "holiday money". I could be 60 years old, and if my older relatives were still alive, they would still be mailing birthday money to me. Not to sound ungrateful, but...

I told my dad, as gently/appreciative as I could, "Spend the money on yourself. You deserve it. And if you refuse to spend the money on yourself, pick a charity and give it to them." 

And so he did. Dad picked a charity. This charity...

https://instagram.com/p/BDLjpippLIr/

https://instagram.com/p/BDLjvzlJLJA/

Dad started giving the money to her, and kids like her, year after year. 

My dad died last year, and so now it's my turn to give the money to her, and kids like her. I always wondered though, I think about her, and I wonder if that little girl made it. But I don't have the heart to find out.

My friends were/are a little harder to convince this is how I want my holidays spent. Whatever money you want to spend on me, thank you, thank you for loving me, but please give the money to her, to ASPCA, to Planned Parenthood, to Wildlife Preservation...

Remember all the flowers, candles, stuffed animals and gifts mourners left Princess Diana, all that could have gone to charity...

I understand people want to show their love and affection, but she was a renown world humanitarian...

I think about death, a lot. Not in a depressed suicidal way. People my age think about death. How I want to die. How I want to be remembered. Where do I want to die. Where should my ashes go. What do I want to accomplish before I die. I think about these things. A lot. 

When my childhood friend Rick, died of a brain tumor, he was barely 40 years old. He was in my oldest brother's graduating class. We were all very close. I remember talking to my brother about it. Rick was so young! And my brother responded by being so... Blasé... It just made me mad.

So now...

It's your turn, young America. 

I'm going to the beach. Listen to some waves. Meditate. Check out hot surfers. I mean, meditate. Ohm.