Paleo poetry, those were the good ole days!

 Good morning,

I pray the day finds you well.

One of my hobbies is anthropology, more specifically, the origin of the Native Americans. You see us Button's have been here for quite a while.

My mother's side of the family came over in 1620.

My father's side came over in the 1660s.

My mother's side came from England.

My father's side came from Wales. 

But to say I am Welsh/English would be a very shortsighted and abbreviated rendering of my family's history. 

One thing that became very apparent to me as I learned more about my family history was the fact that in four hundred years of our existence on this side of the pond, my ancestors married all sorts of nationalities, including Native Americans. 

Yes, in fact, I am a mutt.

I am part Potawatomi. I often wished I had been part Nez Perce simply because it is easier to spell.

I have learned a lot about my heritage. I also learned a lot about the cost of College anthropology books. I have a nice library at home, and my one rule is that a book does not go into my library until I have read it. 

My wife tells me that I am that guy who spent way too much time in school and read way too many books.

I guess that is why I go through life so confused. 

The one thing that t I learned is that the more I understand, the less I know. I guess that is where the confusion comes from. 

It is either that, or I am just an idiot, most people that know me tend to lean towards the latter. 

As I read and learn and learn and read, I am confronted with Paleo poetry, you know, "The Good old days." Life was always better "When I was a kid" or before this happened or that happened. 

I am also interested in a particular aspect of anthropology.

I tend to read and be more interested in cultural anthropology.

A people's culture is fascinating. Knowing how to interact with that culture is a very useful thing. 

As a chaplain in the YMCA, understanding different cultures comes in quite handy. 

I don't talk about it much, mostly because people tend to go to sleep when I do.

Paleo poetry, I hear people take about this a lot.

Why are people so resistant to the opportunities of today?

Why are we so focused on yesterday, not to learn from yesterday, but to relive it?

We tend to romanticize the past as if it was an Edenic place. 

I watch organizations do the very same thing. Instead of embracing a new concept or idea, one is met with, "We don't do that? or that is not who we are?" when it is precisely who they are and exactly what they do.

Cultural Anthropology is "Knowing your audience" organizationally; it translates into knowing your customer and your community.

As I write this, I continually look inward and see where I have fallen into the trap of "the Good Old Days." 

Am I the only one that worries about this stuff? 

Something to ponder.

Blessings,

Roger