Something to be said for blissful ignorance

I have lived most of my life in blissful ignorance and intend to remain so.

Driving on highways I wondered idly what liquids might be in those mammoth shiny tank trucks. I never knew until reading John Mc Phee’s “Uncommon Carriers.” Hazardous materials, of course, also liquid food. Not in the same trucks, although at least one company carried paint thinner, washed then loaded wine. Was it well rated by oenophiles? And yes these tanks are washed between loads at special high powered stations. You cannot make clutches, brake shoes or brake pads without Cashew nutshell oil from Brazil, but it is hard on the barrels of these tank trucks. Behind one, thankful that the driver is professional, I briefly wonder if it carries degreaser for F-16s or a half-million dollars of cranberry juice.

As a Marine infantry officer, I had little need to know secrets and presumably had a low clearance. The secret information I received was usually available in TIME magazine. And I sleep better without knowing real secrets.

How many suitcase atomic bombs are there? How many lost? Has some smart fellow devised a pocket-sized hydrogen bomb? And a smarter one made it undetectable? And how many devices blowing up at once will poison this planet for centuries and eradicate the human race?

Thanking the Lord for many blessings and appreciating family, friends and fellow citizens, I remain blissful while sufficiently ignorant.

JACQUES-ANDRE ISTEL Mayor, Felicity