Randomly pondered thoughts

I was 19 once and forever. That is, the year I turned 19 was so important to me that I have not moved beyond it. I think we all have that seminal age at which, deep within our psyches, we remain throughout most of our lives. There are possibly several of these ages that we revert to psychologically depending upon circumstances.

There is nothing quite like the first time. It doesn't matter what it is you are doing, the first time you do it right remains a focal point in your life.  The more "first times" you experience, though, the more likely you are likely to sort them into order of importance.

The power of home is so strong that we might return there even if it is the wrong place to go. I met people in the Navy who came from ghettos and barrios that were poverty stricken and hopeless, not to mention dangerous, yet many of these people were eager to return to them as soon as they got out of the service.

I watched a mini-series about the monopolists of the late 1800's on the History Channel. It was a  delicate balance between reviling these men and praising them. Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, and Cornelius Vanderbilt. Fascinating stories, all of them. One wonders if these men had not existed would others have taken their place? Or were these men completely unique?