I was born on June 23, 1950. At those times when I want to feel older I consider that I must have been conceived sometime in September of 1949. Admittedly, at no time do I wish to feel older.

Nevertheless, we all have thoughts that we don’t want to have, and more importantly, thoughts we shouldn’t have.

A guy cuts you off on the highway and you feel snubbed and disrespected. A normal reaction you might say. But what good is it to brood about this apparent social faux pas and, is it worth speeding up in a frenzy of road rage?

A wise person would respond to such an affront by blowing kisses at the perpetrator.  A good friend of mine with whom I used to commute into the Bronx when I was teaching advised just that. I can’t say that I followed his advice all the time but I did try.

The lesson that my friend tried to convey was that we have control over our thoughts. We can control our response to any given situation.

We can opt for happiness in lieu of anger and frustration.

I have limited my activity on Facebook. This is one step for me to try to take control of my thoughts.

I loved the ability of catching up with friends and family who reside in distant parts of the U.S. Some across the sea. But during our most recent Presidential election I saw the meanness of Facebook emerge and I made an effort to visit on a less frequent basis.

Now, I have taken to write about Trump and I am sure I contributed to the same meanness that I describe but I didn’t resort to the vitriol that I  have witnessed.

I am sure some of it was begun by Russian trolls and somehow shared to my page. On one occasion there was a report that Hillary Clinton had four abortions before she gave birth to Chelsea. This was the straw as they say.

Such a despicable lie spread, not to win an election, but to inspire hatred for a woman drove me off the grid.

Back in the days when I was conceived and born you could disagree with your opponents. You didn’t have to be afraid of being hated by anyone who shared a different opinion.

Today’s political leaders lack imagination.

Neither Democrats nor Republicans ever have the fleeting thought that they may be wrong or that the other side may have a valid point.

You can’t compromise with someone you deem incapable of being right.

You can’t work with anybody you can’t meet halfway on an issue.

It can’t always be all or nothing, unless you’re happy with nothing.