Important

Not that anyone reads this, but if you are, and you happen to be a veteran, thanks man.

Does anything not suck anymore?

My daughter asked me that question shortly after turning thirteen (and acquiring the commensurate level of teen angst the age implies). We were just sitting there watching a show about submerged freshwater caves, so the question caught me a little off guard. I stumbled through it as best I could with a quasi-reassuring “No, of course not, there’s plenty of things that don’t suck.” or something like that. I don’t think she bought it, and when I thought more about it later, neither did I. Admittedly I have a habit of what my wife calls “nostalgizing” the past and remembering everything as one great big happy, and maybe I was just in a negative mood, what with the caves and all (damn caves!) but as I sat there thinking about it, as far as the world outside my own little family bubble was concerned, everything just seemed to, well, suck. I don’t want to get into specifics too much because then I start with the unending “When I was a kid…” litany which nobody really wants to hear. It's just depressing to see my kids growing up in a world so different than the one I had. Hmm.. I bet my parents would say that too now that I think of it.