The moon, masks and morons

New Year's Ramblings and Other Contemplations:

The moon

Why do people want to go to the moon? I don't get it.

First, we spend millions of dollars and hire thousands of people to build a rocket. Then we shoot it into nothing. When astronauts get there, it's more nothing.

They hold hands with fellow explorers and say, "Ah, look at all the nothing!"

Then they take pictures of nothing and send them back to Earth.

At that point, they fly through nothing back to Earth where there is something.

Let's do it again next year. Maybe someday, we can visit nothing on Mars too!

The Mask

Last week, I was walking past a house when I spotted an older woman in her yard.

Although alone, at least 50 feet away and outdoors, she immediately pulled up her mask.

I asked, "Why?"

She said she didn't want to "offend" me and was afraid I might "turn her in."

I told her I wasn't the secret police — like the Stasi of former East Germany.

She paused, expressed a sigh of relief and then lowered her mask.

At that point, I wondered: "When did common sense become history?"

I must have missed that newscast.

God

There's no doubt God has a sense of humor.

He must be looking down at his creation and having a good laugh.

Otherwise, why would the better food tastes, the worse it is for you?

Why do we get wisdom toward the end of life when it's mostly useless?

Why do we strive to look like a biological age when we didn't know anything?

Why is it no matter what we acquire in life, we have to give it all up in the end?

It really isn't fair. But then, maybe the idea of "fairness" is just another good laugh too.

Cars

The other day it dawned on me how much people and cars are alike.

When they are new, we show them off with pride to friends and family.

But as time goes by, they begin to show signs of age, wear and tear.

After a number of years, things start to break and wear out.

Eventually, both end up in graveyards.

New ones are produced to replace the old ones, and the cycle continues.

Wouldn’t it be better if we just had permanent people and cars to avoid all this hassle?

Morons

Half the country thinks the other half is composed of morons.

But wait a minute:

That same other half thinks the first half is composed of morons too.

Half say it’s a new beginning of a great country. The other half say it's the end.

They both can't be right — can they?

Maybe we're all morons, and it’s really a great beginning of the end.