Being as how aerospace has kinda been Pop’s business for a long time, I occasionally hear him talking about something to do with that sorta thing. During all the celebration with the SpaceX launch and recovery recently, he said something about this thing called the Karman Line.
Seems it has to do with, relative to earth, where the edge of space starts. For folks that fly, that means an arbitrary altitude of 333,000 feet where our atmosphere becomes too thin to support aeronautical flight. At that point aerodynamics stop and astronautics begin.
Now you’re probably already wonderin’ where a dawg like me is going with all this. Well, I’ll tell ya. When the work day is done and I get to lolligag around in front of the TV, I hear what the news people say. And lately I don’t much like a lot of what I’m hearing. Folks (including some cats & dogs) are gettin’ sick from some dang virus, people are fussin’ about politics, and some just plain ain’t bein’ nice to each other. Pop says those news folks even flat out tell lies about people & stuff sometimes instead of just reporting what actually happened. He said it’s about as bad as he’s ever seen. Even I’m smart enough to know what an analogy is so I’m thinkin’ that a good one is that folks are approaching sort of a Karman Line of tolerance. It’s gettin’ mighty thin. Too thin to tolerate much more of this foolishness of rioting, looting, and lawlessness along with the childish bickering from Senators and Congresspeople (who darn sure know better).
I’m no canine Confucius but I would philosophize that the silent majority of you folks on hind legs might want to start considering when enough is enough. There always comes a time when, in order for civility to prevail, good folks have to step up. I think that one of the best things all of us can start remembering to do is just be nice. When I’m out at the barn helpin’ Pop, I don’t pester nobody. I get along just fine with the peafowl, the chickens, the horses (even our Donkey, Jasper), and most of the longhorns (Lucy the heifer don’t like me so I steer – pun intended – clear of her). I even get along with my pal Warren the turkey who follows us around tryin’ to help do stuff, too. (Actually, I think he’s just curious about everything since he’s only about 4 months old so he’s usually in the way.) Shoot, we’ve even got 4 little peachicks that recently hatched livin’ in the house right now and Lula Belle the kitty and I leave ‘em alone cause they’re kinda cute. Anyway, it’s just a “peaceable kingdom” for all of us who live around here. And if we can control our instincts, then how come folks can’t do the same durn thing? Reminds me of a sayin’ I heard from the missus a while back, “Live in such a way that if anyone should speak badly of you, no one would believe it.” She and Pop are always tellin’ me what a good boy I am so I reckon I must be doin’ things mostly right. Y’all be nice to each other.