I squandered a great deal of my very productive years with my problems with the Navy and will never know where I could've gotten had I just stuck with it and finished out my enlistment. I certainly would be far ahead financially now and would have a lot of other options available to me such as maybe running for political office. Maybe it's a good thing not having that ability after seeing the changes it makes in most humans.

As Frank says, deep thinking about family and preferences for their evolution really get you nowhere because so much of that is simply out of your control. You certainly have influence over your children but it isn't total. They're sentient beings able to make their own choices in the end. All in all though I'm very proud of the family that's evolved.

One problem in my life has been too many choices. I seem to have a very balanced brain that is capable of both left and right lobe emphasis and that has given me the ability to just about master any task or challenge, both mental as well as physical. I've always excelled at athletics, have excellent music and singing abilities, a keen eye and hands for art and photography, the ability to do any kind of mechanics I've tried, and the ability to learn new skills without formal training. I seem to have natural insight into human behavior and can use that talent to socialize with, entertain, or manipulate other human beings. (I really try not to use the latter except when necessary). I got the impression ER had much the same skills.

Damn, I read back on that paragraph and it sounds as if I'm some form of narcissist but please believe that I don't go around advertising and gloating about that kind of stuff or does it make me feel superior. But with a question like this I really couldn't answer it without that background because all those things can be both a blessing and a curse and greatly influence my impression of my life so far.

When you have some single talent that you can pursue in life, dedication to that task can leave you very fulfilled and I think it's easier to reach the pinnacle. Having this seemingly unlimited supply tends to make you downright flaky. You explore some new area, get good at it and suddenly your mind starts going to the next challenge before the last one is fully developed.

So in essence, the curse is that you end up with lots of unfinished and unfulfilled projects and dreams. I have 30+ pages of a novel written, have taken 2 flight lessons, have an unfinished song sitting on the keyboard, grand ideas for making a movie, backyard projects partly realized and I come home at night not knowing which to take on so I end up farting around on the computer and not doing any of them. Of course I'm solving the world's problems on here and rationalizing that it's honing my writing skills but in essence I'm not getting anywhere beyond making a living, surviving, and keeping my family together.

All in all though, life doesn't suck.

Art