Poem: My Children Will Always Be Strangers

digital illustration by S. King, based on a photo by Rene Bernal

My children will always be strangers.
The defining events of their lives,
The bright flags on their timelines;
I saw these as a jaded adult
With decades of perspective
To temper my understanding.
I cannot fathom the imprint
These days leave on young minds.
Whatever shaped me long ago,
The circumstances of my youth,
Are gone or changed forever.
When, someday, I am asked
To answer for the choices made today,
I doubt any reasons will suffice
To those who still remember all
With the stark intensity of childhood.
Each generation has to ask forgiveness
From all the ones who follow.

New Media Pioneers Would Rather Live in Atlanta, Metaphorically Speaking

Back when I lived in Charlotte, I had dinner one night with a group of friends and met another recent transplant to the area. He was from Philadelphia and admitted that he really missed the city. I said that I'd just moved from Atlanta. He said that he had been to Atlanta before, but wasn't too impressed by it. "In Philly," he said, "there's so much history everywhere you look, you feel like you're standing on the shoulders of giants. In Atlanta, everything is too new. There's just no history there."

My immediate reaction was to say something about Sherman's march, but I bit my tongue and sipped my wine instead.

This photo is from Dave Henderson's blog
about Atlanta in the 90's, Return to Atlanta

His comment rankled, though, and it took me a while to realize why. What I liked about Atlanta was that it was so new, that the city was in the process of discovering its identity. I loved the feeling of being part of that discovery. I don't want to stand on the shoulders of giants - I want to stand among the giants whose shoulders others will someday stand on. I want to create history, not just appreciate it from afar.

This post by Brian Solis brought back the memory of this conversation. He warns that surfing the waves of change is as dangerous as it is exciting. He warns that a lot of people don't like the disruption and uncertainty caused by change. I know this is true. For heaven's sake, I've worn the same shirt for the last 14 years: I understand the appeal of the status quo.

But as much as I appreciate the comfort of a familiar shirt, I also love the excitement of novelty. I'm an optimist at heart and believe that all the changes being brought about by the information revolution promise an amazing future.