A Twenty-First Century Flâneur

I confess. I have always been a bit of an eclectic and obsessively curious about everyhing. I grew up on the sunny beaches of Southern California. Warm, fun and free of any social and political anxiety. It was peaceful, safe and an unassuming time. There was little discernible difference among Democrats and Republicans. 

World War II ended in the summer of 1945 leaving Western Europe in shambles.  As our English allies began to restore a great nation of extraordinarily brave and resourceful people, Japan would be occupied under martial law for the needed political and social reform.  Most of Eastern Europe would become part of a desperate Soviet Union collective.  But, we hadn’t yet learned our lesson as a bloody Korean War followed soon after.  Eventually things would settle down and we were finally at peace. A new generation, both foreign and domestic, had begun to enjoy a hard earned democracy that everyone could enjoy. People throughout the world were eager to repair old wounds, and that was particularly true here at home as our vibrant and youthful nation would lead the greatest social and economic revolution in history, pulling the rest of world with us. 

I’m not sure how it all started, but before my thirteenth birthday my father had been institutionalized with chronic depression – Before I was fourteen my mother was dead of a heart attack. I was a mischievous kid, and was told to leave two high schools. I wasted exceptional baseball talent as a switch hitting catcher with power from both sides. I would eventually attend four city colleges and two universities; finishing with two degrees. 

After being fired from the only corporate job I have ever had I sold shoes, pitched floor covering, designed kitchen installations, pumped gas and tuned engines in the back-room of my own service station. I worked briefly as securities broker before I found some integrity. 

I don’t have a Facebook page or Twitter account, and have never sent a text message to anyone even though I was one of the first to monetize the Internet before Google. I built sophisticated interactive websites when all we had was early versions of HTML and Excel.

I don’t speak French, but I’m reasonably literate in the language and read Figero every day. I’ve read the Declaration of Independence, United States Constitution, the Torah, Marx’s Communist Manifesto, Das Kapital , The Prince and The Republic more than once. I enjoy reading the works of Christian academics and apologists, although not one myself. I’ve started the great American novel at least three times, write poetry, vignettes, political and social commentary.

In my time I have walked the streets of Seattle, Sausalito, San Francisco, Los Angels, San Diego. I’ve had Pozole in Tijuana – Tacos in Cabo – Breakfast in Key West – Lunch at the Original Hotel California in Todos Santos – I have Great bangers and beer in Oxford, – Scotch on the rocks at the Hotel Del Coronado – A martini at the “Top of the Mark”- A Bad dinner in Paris – a good dinner at “Rivers End ” – One night at the Ahwahnee, great food in Hell’s Kitchen, fresh clams on Piso Beach. I have been to Wall street, Key West, Miami, Mission Capistrano, Nassau, Yellowstone, Staten Island, Chattanooga, Golden, Yosemite, Disneyland, Newark, Hilo, Butte, Monterey, The Alamo, Oktoberfest in Kansas, The College World Series, The Great Salt Lake, Laughlin, The Mormon Tabernacle, Park City, Laramie, Atlanta, Père-Lachaise, St Pancras Old Churchyard, Silver Terrace, Buckhead, Pottstown, Kona, Carmel, the Wildhorse Saloon, Las Vegas before and after Fremont Street, Saint George, La Paz, Cheyenne, The River Walk when it was a ditch. The Seine is just a dirty river, and I twice missed the train to Brussels. I’ve been to Niagara Falls, Spokane, Boulder, the top of the Continental Divide, the Luxembourg Gardens, Hyde Park, Buckingham, Kensington, Big Ben and the London School of Economics. I’ve been across Lake Tahoe, Down the Tennessee River and to the top of “Lookout Mountain”. I have been to Greenwich Village, Soho, Piccadilly Circus, the rich farmlands of Minnesota, Estes Park, Park City, the Dakota Plains, Montana’s Big Sky, the Statue of Libery, the Sierras, the Rockies, the Heartland, the High Desert of California, the Red rock of Sedona, Hoover Dam inside and out, Alexander Hamilton’s tomb, The Golden Gate at sunset, Sunrise over Biscayne Bay, The London Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge from the Empire State Building, “Old Faithful” and Portsmouth, UK. London is a magnificent city. I have spent Easter Sunday in Central Park, Good Friday in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, four miserable years in Nebraska, one night in Des Moins, a hot summer in Fargo, a beautiful afternoon in Bryant Park. I have surfed the waters of Hawaii, and in the Pacific moonlight of California. I’ve been in at least Twenty-seven states and Nine capitals. I have walked the street of Canterbury, and watched “Super Bowl I ” in a San Clemente bar, and every one since. I have prayed for peace at the Journey Church on 42nd street in New York City, and I hope to do it again.

I’ve had three near death experiences. Once as a B-52 bomber fish-tailed less than 100 feet below our flight deck at 35,000 feet. We were milliseconds away from becoming and international incident. The bomber pilots wore white helmets with tinted visors. I remember that moment sometimes, and I try to see their faces. They are always wearing white helmets with tinted visors.

The glory of creation is everywhere –

I love God and my country. There has been one woman that loved me, three dogs and four snotty cats. I’ve been a devoted friend and neighbor, giving freely of both my time and money. I tried my best to be a good father.

I have a real name, but for now I’m Châz. I have often enjoyed a beautiful sunset with good scotch and a fine cigar. I’ve had some extraordinary accomplishments. And I have reaped more than my share of prosperity. But, not always. There was moment in my adult life when I had no money, job, car, home or a bed of my own. I have seen the best and the worst of my time. So, I have some things to say about life. I would like to share them with you. Somewhere within these pages and posts are the random thoughts, musings and confessions of a “A Twenty-First Century Flâneur”.

Châz