The Second Amendment
The second amendment is one of the most important for guaranteeing the freedoms established in the Constitution. Those who oppose this amendment resort to all manner of creative interpretations of the wording. But the only "true" interpretation is in terms of common word usage at the time of first publication. Only then is the real meaning of the amendment made clear.
"He was haunted by what had been, what might have been, and what could never be."
-- Dean Koontz, The Other Emily
In every life there are nexuses where a single decision sets the course for everything that follows. While the nexus may not be recognized when it is occurring, one can almost always locate the specific moment in retrospect. It could be as simple as a high school breakup, or a pivotal moment where you planned to "pop the question" but didn't, or it could be as simple as not taking action when action was due. Those moments populate the stage with "what had been." It is in retrospect that one asks "I wonder what might have been" if I had only ... And alas, that's where the haunting begins because at this point you have already entered the "could never be" stage. You should not infer that the haunted is necessarily dissatisfied with the status quo but rather haunted by curiosity about how life would have played out had the alternate decision been made. I have had three such nexuses in my life and COVID-19 had provided the leisure to contemplate them. Now it would be interesting to compare notes with the other(s) involved to understand the effect of the nexus from their perspective and how their lives were altered for better or worse.
Fairness is an illusion of the weak and ignorant; it is the insincere promise made by those who manipulate the masses for gain.
-- Dean Koontz, The Night Shadow
Although I have always been too shy to do so in public, I've always enjoyed playing the piano. My grandmother, a violinist from the Boston Conservatory, started to teach me piano when I was 8 years old. But after a few years when I started to play Boogie Woogie and stuff she left in disgust never to return for another lesson. In early 2011 I noticed that my hands were getting ever worse with arthritis so I thought it was about time I preserved a few of my favorite pieces. The Riffs and Variations on a Theme are my creations, Moonlight Sonata is Beethoven's of course and the Preludes are Chopin's. The Well Tempered Clavier, Vol I No 1 is Bach and is also known as his Ave Maria but is so different from Schubert's variation that you really can't sing to it. And finally Photo Jaunie is one of the most beautiful creations by the Canadian Composer André Gagnon (I'm sorry André that I cannot do it justice but perhaps people who gear it will look you up and buy your albums!). I hope you enjoy hearing these as much as I have enjoyed playing them.
01 - David's Riff Variation 1
02 - First Variation On A Theme
03 - Moonlight Sonata
04 - Photo Jaunie
05 - Prelude Op 28 No 4
06 - Prelude Op 28 No 20
07 - Second Variation On A Theme
08 - Well Tempered Clavier, Vol I No 1
09 - Waltz in Am
10 - David's Riff Variation 2
I have been pondering the acceleration of time with age. If you're over 50 you know the feeling that time seems to be flowing faster and the older you get the worse it gets. Of course I would not have brought it up if I didn't have a theory :). So here goes.