The Golden Years

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The Future of America is a pretty depressing headline but the alternative was “The Golden Years.” I should say up front I know nothing about these two people so everything that follows is baseless speculation. I took the photo standing in line at the local Burger King. The young (20-something?) man was showing the woman (60+) how to use the cash register. Let’s call them Opie and Aunt Bee.

A job “flipping burgers” long ago achieved cliche status and it’s nothing new to see a “senior citizen” behind the counter. As I watched the woman concentrate to figure out the register I couldn’t help thinking, “This woman is not doing this because she’s bored. She needs this job.” And she’s competing — to some extent — with people 40-50 years younger.

We’re told the jobs that built the American Middle Class in the previous century are gone or going away. Can there be enough fast food jobs (or their equivalent) for all of the young people with only a high school education and the growing army of seniors who didn’t save enough for retirement?

I didn’t see them at our local Burger King but McDonald’s has been replacing counter registers with self-serve kiosks. I’ve been thinking of “flipping burgers” as a job to be avoided but perhaps it will one day be a coveted gig.

Oak Mite

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Insect bites are a real problem for me. A tick bite can plague me for a week or two. Chiggers are too horrible to even mention. I do my best to stay on the concrete but occasionally I forget and wander into the wilderness. A year ago, while walking on the prairie, I stumbled into a swarm/hive/nest of Oak Mites.

After feeding and reproducing, the mite then exits the leaf in the fall looking to find a protected location to overwinter. It is at this time millions of microscopic mites are blown in the wind, falling or landing on us. That is when they bite, resulting in the itchy rashes that are painful. Mites that don’t land on us spend the winter protected, waiting to emerge the following season to potentially start their reign of terror over.

I had never heard of Oak Mites until the Urgent Care physician identified the bites. There’s really not much you can do but treat the bites with anti-itch creams. And friends, there is no itch like an Oak Mite itch. Okay, maybe Poison Ivy or Poison Oak, but it’s close. And it takes at least three weeks to subside and feel remotely human again.

Three weeks ago — one year almost to the day — I managed to drive the Land Rover through some tall grass and again encounter Oak Mites. Even worse this time. The bites were so concentrated I had bites on top of bites. So thick you could not see the individual bites. Too horrible to share photos.

Because these fuckers are wind blown, there’s apparently no way to completely avoid them. But no more walking in tall grass for this boy.