The Times

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil in the superlative degree of comparison only.

That is the first sentence/paragraph in Charles Dickens “A Tale of Two Cities” (1868).   I had never read this book and when a friend offered a selection of books to me, I chose it to read. 

As I read that first paragraph I was amazed at how well it described our present time.  All the politicians take one extreme side or the other. 

Apparently there really is nothing new under the sun.  I sure will be glad when the political ads go away after the election.

Yesterday my brother called and said they were taking a spur of the moment vacation to Tennessee and would be near my home for a short while today.  Of course,  I invited them to stop by.  We had a short visit and went across the street to the local hangout for a meal.  It was dark when they drove away.  I snapped a picture of them and their new car and my sister-in-law snapped a picture of my brother and me.

They are headed to Gatlinburg.  Hope they have a good time and a safe trip. 

Later….