Do you ever wonder why...?

Members of my family have long enjoyed the weekly musings of Andy Rooney when he appeared regularly on Sunday nights on the TV show 60 Minutes. Recently it was announced that at age 92 Andy would be stepping back and making only occasional appearances on the show.

More often than not, at some point in his video essays, Rooney would pose the question that I’m using as the title for this post, “Do you ever wonder why...?” He’d pose the question, make his feelings known and then conclude the essay with his own slant on the issue.

Mr. Rooney has been referred to as a curmudgeon, a crank, and an old fart. I always fancied him an older, more famous and successful, version of myself. We both have eyebrows that grow to prodigious lengths and in a myriad of directions. I get mine trimmed regularly. Rooney has not attended to his since, I’d guess from the looks of it, the Nixon administration.

We both like to ask questions to gather information, to evoke a reaction, or, sometimes to just make people think. I’m guessing we could all use a little more time to just sit and ponder, think our thoughts, dream our dreams, and generally just figure crap out.

Now that he’s semi-retired Andy Rooney will have more time to figure things out.

Me? I’m still workin’ for a livin’, so here is a list of things that I’ve given some thought to but haven’t been able to figure out yet.

Do you ever wonder why the people who complain that government is too big (read Conservatives), that it limits their freedom, are most likely to be the ones voting in favor of a constitutional amendment defining marriage in the state of Minnesota as being only between a man and a woman?

These people don’t want government up in THEIR business, but, they are willing to put the government in the bedrooms (sex), hospital rooms (visitation rights), and homes (rights of survivorship), of their neighbors who may love someone of the same sex. How do they rationalize that contradiction?

Who knows?

Do you ever wonder why a faith and belief system (read Catholicism) that holds the Virgin Mary in such high esteem so adamantly opposes even considering allowing women to become priests? (“Catholics campaigning for women priests detained at Vatican.”) http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2011/10/17/catholics-campaigning-for-women-priests-detained-at-vatican/

Really?

Mary is a saint.

Catholics recite Hail Marys, good Catholics do so daily.

But women are not allowed to preach the gospel in Catholic churches? Not allowed to lead Mass? What’s up with that?

Who knows?

Do you ever wonder why you ended up with the career you have? Every time I hear about people starting their careers or changing career directions midstream I always hear talk of, “follow your passion.”

I still haven’t decided what I want to be if/when I grow up. Don’t get me wrong, I like my job and the people I work with, but sitting in a cube working with numbers hardly stirs my passions.

Maybe I should have gone to Rodeo Clown College all those years ago before my freshman year at the U of M. Trying to stay alive, keep a cowboy safe, and a crowd entertained, while a ton of fierce animal attempts to stomp me into the ground, kick me around the arena, or even gore me beyond recognition - I’d like to think THAT would stir my passions.

I'll keep enjoying the job I have, a lot of people are not as fortunate to have a job as good as mine. I’ll just use my spare time instead to follow my passions. I just need to figure out what my passions are.

Who knows?