I often think of humankind as a long procession whose beginning and end are out of sight. We the living… have no control over when or where we enter the procession, or even how long we are part of it, but we do get to choose our marching companions. And we can all exercise some control over what direction the procession takes, what part we play, and how we play it.
— Marty Wilson, a friend of James Haught
This is very true. Interestingly, my daughter and I were discussing yesterday how different our lives would have been had we been born in a different era. As females, most likely we would have been illiterate, married early, and may have died young. She also wondered if her current high school education level would have been equivalent (at the time) for a young rich man if noble birth. She also thought it was a shame that Ben Franklin wasn’t born in our era as he would have been ecstatic over modern physics. I told her he did the best he could with the available knowledge at the time. Interesting concepts to ponder…