Bonnie Brown: Don't Be Afraid To Let Your Mind Ramble

Do you ever wake up in the morning and feel more tired than refreshed? I do often. Even though I think I had a sound sleep through the night, I feel really, really tired. Why? I have pondered this and believe that I have finally come up with an answer. Through the night, my body was growing back every hair that I cut, shaved, or plucked. It’s a vicious cycle. 
Everyone seems obsessed with their privacy. They are horrified that the government will know their business. And yet, they put every little detail of their private life out there in social media for public consumption. My feeling is that you should live your life such that you don’t mind if people know what you’re doing. 
Don’t get me wrong.  For those women who have been sexually harassed, discriminated against, and were violated in other ways, I feel angry on their behalf.  But I question why did they put up with it and why did they wait years–and in some cases decades–to come forward and out their abusers?  They didn’t “ask for it” and it went beyond the flirting stage.  So why deal with the feeling of being so vulnerable for so long?  Does it have something to do with age?   I feel pretty sure I wouldn’t have suffered in silence.  But that brings me to another question.  Should I feel unattractive that no one came on to me?  Should I start a movement of Why Not #MeToo?
Does anyone actually understand “the cloud?”  I have not a clue how to utilize my “clouds.”  And it seems that I have several.  Or does it just seem that way.  My iCloud, my iPhotos, and on and on.  Yet, my devices seem to all be at storage capacity.  Guess I’ll just continue to muddle along. 
Do you remember what we did before the internet and Google?  How many of you have actually accessed, or even know what the Dewey Decimal System is?  Have you ever spent an afternoon actually researching a topic in a library with reference books?  There’s something about the smell and the tactile experience of the library that is so satisfying.  My younger son Jeffrey gave me some candles thats fragrance is titled “Antique Books.”  I love that he was drawn to this scent and commented that it reminded him of the Lafayette County and Oxford Public Libraries.

I don’t really understand the concept of how a massive airplane, filled with lots of people and all their stuff, is able to become airborne and remain there for an extended period of time.  Not only that, but you reach a pre-determined destination.  Again, my son Jeffrey got his pilot’s license when he turned 17 and has attempted to explain it to me but has given up since I actually believe it’s some form of magic. 
And speaking of magic, there’s so much magic in remote controls.  We seem to have dozens of them in our house.  There’s even one for the timer on our outdoor fountain.  I press a button and it turns it on and off.  Don’t get me started on wireless devices.  How do computers, printers, garage door openers, telephones, televisions, etc. work?  My home must be filled to capacity with radio waves bouncing around every room. 
Morning coffee has changed in recent years.  I remember my mother had a drip coffee maker.  You put coffee grounds into a basket, then poured boiling water through them.  We then advanced to a percolator.  Same concept but took more time to make, but it stayed hot as long as it was plugged in.  Then the drip concept came back with single serve coffee makers.  But of course, we wanted to emulate Starbucks in our morning routine, so along came milk frothing.  Which is a good thing since I don’t think anyone wants to see me stumbling into a coffee shop for my morning coffee in my nightgown and with bed head. 
One thing that hasn’t changed much is grass cutting.  My husband disagrees and says that the mowers have changed significantly through the years.  It grows, you mow it.  You fertilize it to make it grow more, which means you have to cut it more often.  Rinse and repeat.
Politics haven’t evolved much through the years.  Back in the day, there were kings whose rule was  absolute.  Then came the American Revolution.  From what I’ve read, the Constitution never called for American politics to be divided into factions.  Why did it happen and why does it continue?
Why do we have dessert last?  Is it some devilish plot of our mothers to get us to eat vegetables with the promise of something sweet if we comply?  When eating out, I’m very tempted to order dessert first! 
Do you ever try to analyze your dreams?  Do you dream often?  Dream in color?  Have you ever had a dream in which you were able to solve a problem or get some insight into an issue you’ve been dealing with?  I have crazy dreams.  They are very vivid and very detailed.
Don’t forget to let your mind ramble. It’s amazing what random thoughts will come to you. 

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Bonnie Brown is a retired staff member of the University of Mississippi. She most recently served as Mentoring Coordinator for the Ole Miss Women’s Council for Philanthropy.
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