“You Can Observe a Lot by Just Watching” – Yogi Berra

It was February. I’m in beautiful Detroit Airport, words you might never see together again – beautiful and Detroit, but the remodel is fabulous. Just finished a business trip, was sitting at a bar waiting for my flight home. Seven other humanoids bellied up to the bar for a drink or lunch…(since it was Detroit, I’m guessing drink). All held their cell phones intently staring at the screen, like B-17 bombardiers over Dresden and Nazi Germany during WWII. Once their bombs were away, the real bombardiers probably turned their attention to those around them. Too many people today, the “Down Nosers,” seem to be on an eternal “bombing run.” I asked a person to pass me the mustard. They grudgingly obliged, you would have thought I had said “Red Wings Suck.” Think “Segregation” died? Think again. It just morphed into every race, color and creed being ignored because none of them exist in the “Down Nosers” world, unless connected through their screens. Interaction, conversation, fugetaboutit! I loved the original Star Trek TV series in the late 1960’s. The workhorse tools were the “Communicator” and “Tricorder.” The “Communicator,” was a flip open communication device similar to our cell phone and the “Tricorder” gave environmental readings, close to a tablet today. These were tools used by the Star Trek characters, not security blanket talismans dominating their lives. They explored and conversed with strange new beings and creatures they encountered face to face, “Good God Man!” The show’s opening….. Space: The final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise,
Its 5 year mission: To explore strange new worlds – To seek out new life and new civilizations -To boldly go where no man has gone before, might have had different results had the Enterprise’s crew been “Down Nosers” back in the day. For example:

Captain Kirk: “Scotty…..beam me up.” Scotty: “No response.” Captain Kirk: “Scotty….beam me up!” Scotty: “No response.” Captain Kirk: “Scotty…I’ve got this green lizard, “Zorn” about to kill me with its breath, BEAM…ME…UP!” Captain Kirk materializes in the “Transporter” room, yells at Scotty, “why….. didn’t you respond!” Scotty: “Ah wis texting Mr. Checkov, he sent me Th’ latest calendar holograms of Th’ “Kelvan Wummin,”some “bonnie lasses” those, Whit’s that Awfy Reek ‘n’ why’s that green lizard standing behind ye Captain?”

*Lieutenant Uhura: “Captain, Starfleet sent a red alert saying a sizable mass of anti-matter is approaching us.”Captain Kirk: “Mr Spock……what does your console reading show?” Mr. Spock: “Console reading? Oh a I don’t show any threat heading our way.” Captain Kirk: “Spock….monitor and alert me to any threat.” Sulu: “Captain look at the viewscreen, a huge negative energy amoeba is heading right for us!” Captain Kirk: “Take…evasive action Mr. Sulu!” (Captain runs to Spock’s Science Console. Spock hunched over playing a video game) Captain Kirk: “Spock, what…..are you doing?” Spock: “It’s her fault Jim (pointing to Uhura). What do you think she does when not playing “Inter-Galactic” operator? She plays “Angry Tribbles,” and it’s done a reverse “mind meld” on me,” but I’m almost to the highest level.” Captain Kirk: (turns to Dr. McCoy) “Bones can you please return Mr. Spock to his normal self?” Dr. McCoy: “Jim I’m a doctor not a Vulcan lobotomist!”

Well gotta go, the female humanoid life-form in our house has her phaser set to “stun” if I don’t get the chlorophyll loaded landscape covering sculpted soon. “Live Long and Perspire!”