Reply from a 30+ year old cretin

["ROSSI J.A." <rossi@nusc.ARPA>]

Why do I feel like starting this something like Tim, Tim, my son.  I'll resist
the urge.  First, there were hippies and there were real hippies and there
were freaks and there were protesters, in the 60's, that is.  Today there are
fewer typecasts in the college age population (yuppies, moralistic thinkers
and assholes, then again there will always be assholes).  A major diffeence
between today's protesters and those in the 60's is the fact that today's
protester lacks the biggie cause (i.e., Vietnam), today's protesting student
must find something moralistic to protest, after all, they ain't going to
go die in Southeast Asia.  I agree, the two types of people can't be
equated in one dimension.
My statements concern my experience with students attitudes in classroom
situations.  I should have said things like, students appear to be less
competitiv-grade-conscious lately.  Oh well.
Yea, I guess all the hippies are yuppies now.  I wasn't a hippie and I don't
know what I am now.  Maybe I'm a cretin, though, after all, I am in the
Navy.  I don't think I sold out, but, who knows.  I am 16 years older than
I was in the 60's.  I've got a wife and family, shit I've even got a dog
that gets so excited she pisses when I bring home my bi-monthly pay check.
I guess that in the 60's I didn't have all the needs that the contemporary
family person has.  I didn't need a leave blower, a trash compactor, a CD
player, several computers, two servicable automobiles, a house to own.  
But, except for the computers and the house, I guess I still don't.  As a
matter of fact, wait a minute, come to think of it I still drive a 17
year old VW bus (the one I drove in the 60's was only 4 years old).  I don't
own a CD player, either.  I must be a cretin, Christ I'll have to stop off
at True Value on the way home to get my leaf blower and trash compactor.
My God, now that I know what I'm suposed to do, as a cretin sellout that
is, I can start to take advantage of all these technological marvels I was
afraid to purchase because they seemed like overkill.  Riding mowers,
paint sprayers, microwave ovens, CD players, imported Nordic cars, I, I
I, I'm about to Orrrrrrrrrggggggaaaaaaaasssssssmmmmmmmm.......Ah.
Thanks, Tim.  I needed that.

About Oregon etc.  We do have plush hills in New England.

'They say you never can go home'

John
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