"The Wind," by Nathan Bolls (Elder RiverSoul)

 

     As is normal for this time of year, we’ve had some strong wind days in Kansas during the past 3-4 months.  But, just as for heat, or its absence, cold, or for the force of gravity-- we know the existence of wind only by its actions.  No one has seen the wind, but “when the trees bow down their limbs, the wind is  passing by.” 

     A common reminder of wind from decades past was the presence of numerous windmills drawing groundwater for humans and livestock. The modern wind-driven turbine is increasingly being used to generate electrical energy. On hot days, we always welcome a cooling breeze.

     Most of us are enthralled by the rare glassy smooth, mirrored surface of some lake or stream, but most usually the wind, to some degree—sometimes violently—is pushing the surface into waves.  I’ve heard that, because of the long north/south “fetch” of the Tuttle Creek Reservoir in Kansas, a strong north or south wind can push the water into waves five-six feet high.  Some days no sort of boat normally purchased in this area is safe out on the reservoir.

     Strong wind currents from various types of storms have caused many airplane and ship wrecks and brought untold amounts of destruction to human lives, homes, schools, churches, factories, businesses and infrastructure, and trees.  The sea off Cape Hatteras, part of the coastline of North Carolina, has been called “The Graveyard of the Atlantic.”  I live in “Tornado Alley,” an area that encompasses much of the Midwest and the South, and increasingly the Upper Midwest and East.  Our Atlantic coast is known as “Hurricane Alley.”  And in California, residents dread the annual onslaught of the Santa Ana winds.  In New England, it’s the windy “Nor’easter” storms that can especially cause trouble.  Many Kansans, and surely including numerous MLH residents, have tales to tell about the effects the wind had on topsoil during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. 

     One of the countless examples of the regionalism of awareness and of attitudes is that the Dust Bowl was an abstraction for this pre-teen farm boy during the 1930s in the Missouri River Bottomlands some 100 miles east of Kansas City.   I recall one day, early dusk, when I was walking with my Dad from the barn after he had milked our Jersey cow.  I asked him about the unusually orangish sunset sky.  He remarked that it was “just Kansas blowing by.”

     One prediction from students of climate change is that storms from driven winds will increase in both number and intensity.  It seems that we are seeing that trend now. The insurance industry is reeling from the deluge of claims brought from the greatly increased damages sustained from such storms; we now speak of an increased number of storms and of billion-dollar storms.  And the industry has been forced to realize that both wind and water have to be considered when assessing damages from hurricanes.

     However, without the effects of wind, we would not have certain of the natural spectacles we enjoy.  The huge piles of sand we see in Great Sand Dunes National Park in southern Colorado are the result of winds blowing for eons of time across the broad, flat and dry San Luis Valley west of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, picking up and piling sand up against the western flank of those mountains.   And wind surely played a major role in forming the giant dunes of the Sahara Desert in Africa, those of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan, as well as the dunes we sometimes see in other deserts and along some seacoasts. 

     Another type of soil displacement results in what are called Loess Hills (pronounced luss), a German word meaning “loose,” which refers to a gritty, yellowish-to grayish-tan type of soil often made up mostly of sand and clay.  These sediments can be found blown into hills in eastern China, north-central Europe and in our own Midwest.  By far the largest assemblage of loess hills in our Midwest is the 200-mile long strip (up to 25 miles deep east-to-west) in Iowa just east of the Missouri River.  Some of these hills are 250 feet high, among the tallest known.  

     In the Midwest, the Loess Hill story began some 25-30 thousand years ago when the great ice sheet covering the Midwest as far down as the NE corner of Kansas began to melt and recede from the area.  As the glaciers melted—mostly during summers--water filled the Missouri River Basin.  With winter and reduced melting, the water level in the basin dropped, and large amounts of silt were left behind, exposed.   Much of that silt was swept up by the strong winds of that time and dropped mostly just east of the Missouri River, in western Iowa.  This cycle was repeated over thousands of winters until about 12,000 years ago. 

     A road cut through a loess hill shows the lack of that stratification into layers of clay, flint or chert, limestone, shale, dolomite, etc., that we see in a typical Flint Hills road cut.  Loess soil is very loosely organized and easily subject to erosion.  People have settled in these hills, but much care has to be taken with how the soil is disturbed or tilled.

     No wonder our language is permeated with words and expressions related to the concept of moving air.  We sometimes speak of a strong wind as a blow.  We speak of a puff of this-or-that, describe as all puffed-up someone who is mouthy, boastful or cocky.  We blow up tires and also blow them out by hitting a sharp object while driving; blow off a person, meeting, idea, or an opportunity; blow up a balloon.   We blow up at someone, blow up things with explosives, while our plans and dreams sometimes blow up. We speak of having the wind at our backs.  We test the wind when we float a new idea.  But all is not lost; we do blow kisses to loved ones and friends—on the wind.

--submitted by Nathan Bolls (Elder RiverSoul)

Please follow us on Facebook

Contact  Elders Speaking if you would like to receive email updates or submit your original work.

"Favorite Anonymous Quotes" submitted by Elder Myster E

 

Image by Grae Dickason from Pixabay

"In the midst of a crowd create your inner sanctuary."

Image by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay

Destination is the same for all.

Why the discord

when getting along

is practice for the distance?

Image by John Hain from Pixabay

"How full is your treasure box before your gratefulness begins."

Anonymous quotes submitted by Myster E

Please follow us on Facebook

Contact  Elders Speaking if you would like to receive email updates or submit your original work.

"Child Labor--An Egregious Business Practice of the Past?" by CD Burr

  

Library of Congress photo and description:   "Manuel, the young shrimp-picker, five years old, and a mountain of child-labor oyster shells behind him. He worked last year (1911). Understands not a word of English. Dunbar, Lopez, Dukate Company. Location: Biloxi, Mississippi." photographer Lewis Wickes Hine, 1874-1940,

Is child labor an egregious business practice of the past, where children work long hours without breaks or work in hazardous conditions?  

While much better than a hundred years ago, child labor continues today, in 2025. 

Consider the following quotes and stats from the Department of Labor website: 

"Since 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor has seen an 88 percent increase nationwide in children employed illegally. In fiscal year 2023, federal investigators identified 955 child labor violations nationwide with 5,792 children at risk – including 502 working in hazardous occupations illegally – and assessed more than $8 million in penalties for employers found in violation." 

"In fiscal year 2024, we concluded 736 investigations that found child labor violations, a 23% decrease from the previous year. We found 4,030 children employed in violation of the law, a 31% increase since 2019, and assessed more than $15.1 million in penalties, an 89% increase from the previous year."

The violations include children under 18 working six days a week, running hazardous machinery such as meat-processing machines, 14-year-olds driving forklifts or vehicles, and breaks only if the child works an eight-hour shift. 

According to the EPI (Economic Policy Institute), six states have tried to weaken child labor laws, but advocates are fighting back.   The Guardian reported that in March 2025, the Trump administration abolished US funding for nearly 70 programs that fought to end trafficking and child labor in other countries.

The lure of cheap child labor is greater than ever.  

--elder CD Burr

This essay also appears on CD Burr's Writer Blog

Please follow us on Facebook

Contact  Elders Speaking if you would like to receive email updates or submit your original work.

"'White Old Lady Privilege' and Encounters with the Police" by Elder D

On Sunday, as I was driving home from church, I was pulled over by a state trooper for speeding.  I got the ticket and went about my business.  I wasn’t angry at the situation, just a little bit annoyed at myself.  But then again, I have been driving for over 50 years and this is only my third speeding ticket, so I’m not doing too badly. 

I thought about my very first speeding ticket in Texas--

I was a freshly minted second lieutenant in the US Army, driving my new car from my post in Louisiana to see a friend in Texas.  In the middle of nowhere, Texas, at the bottom of a steep hill, was a police officer. I was sure I picked up a little speed going down that hill, but it wasn’t by much.  

The officer had on a Smokey Bear hat and tinted glasses.  He looked formidable.  He ordered me out of the car, put my hands on the car roof, and "spread ‘em."  He proceeded to frisk me, but it seemed like more of an opportunity for him to feel me up.  He shouted at me that I was a liar and I needed to go to court to figure this all out.  

I was really afraid- 

I had no idea why he was acting this way--all I did was drive a little fast.   I mean, he could do whatever to me in this vast open space with no traffic, no buildings, nothing around.  Back then, there were no police body cameras or cell phones.  I remember being so shook up, so afraid, probably crying, and he finally let me go.  Was all that really necessary?

 

Fast forward 40-plus years--

I am a white-haired senior lady in Kansas, driving my newish car, when I get pulled over.  The trooper was professional and kind, and I admitted that I had been distracted and was speeding. No need to do anything other than show my proof of insurance and my driver’s license, and I was on my way.  I apparently did not seem to pose a threat.

White Old Lady Privilege--

 

I thought about how being a middle-class, white, over-60-year-old woman gave me some privilege.  Unlike when I was that cute young thing back in the day.  Unlike the person of color who might get pulled over for simply “driving while black.”  Or maybe the undocumented brown person who now faces deportation because he was pulled over for a broken taillight.  Or the person who struggles financially, who now needs to figure out how to pay that $153 speeding ticket due in 30 days.  Do I pay for food or for the fine?  Or that international college student who now faces expulsion from school and deportation back to her home country just because she was speeding 10 miles over the speed limit.

 

White Old Lady Privilege.  I got a good lesson this week.  How can I use this privilege to help those without it?  That’s a lesson for the rest of my life. 

Submitted by Elder D

First image: Adobe stock photo

Second image by Charlie Yoon from Pixabay

Please follow us on Facebook

Contact  Elders Speaking if you would like to receive email updates or submit your original work.

"Keeping History Alive with Travel" by Sandi McCoy Kramos

 

A mass grave at the Bergen Belsen concentration camp in Germany reads: 

"Here Rest 5000 Dead" (Photo by Greg Kramos)

Keeping History Alive with Travel

Many years ago when my cousin, Jill, and I were traveling in Germany, we told a German friend whom we were visiting that we wanted to visit a concentration camp. The friend expressed some dismay at this. To bolster her argument against visiting a place where Nazi’s imprisoned and killed Jews and other citizens they considered undesirable, she asked, “Do you make a point of visiting places where American soldiers killed Indians?”

She had a point, and she changed some of my thinking about history…  just not in the direction she intended to change it. 

Instead of talking us out of visiting Sachsenhausen concentration camp outside of Berlin, she convinced me that sometimes it’s important to visit places where humans have demonstrated the worst of their humanity as a reminder – both to remember and honor those who were mistreated, and to remember and learn from the mistakes we hope won’t be repeated.

Why We Should Pay Attention to the Dark Side of History

Throughout history, there are numerous examples of positive human behavior and achievement. It’s why we love visiting art museums to witness the amazing creativity and beauty of the human spirit. It’s the same with observing stunning architecture, eating delicious food, and visiting sites where someone has acted with inspiring courage or generosity. Humans really can do incredible things.

Humans also can do incredibly horrible things, especially to each other. Much of the time, most of us want to turn away from the horrors humans inflict upon each other. The desire to look away shows you have a heart and can feel empathy for the suffering of others. 

Sometimes, though, our curiosity overrides this impulse. Hence, the popularity of true crime television shows and podcasts!

If we always look away from the pain, there is a risk of losing both our empathy and all of the hard-won wisdom that comes with it. As George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” But it’s also important to not let our curiosity become an obsession and override our empathy.

Keeping History Alive

There are many people – not just my friend but leaders of countries – who would prefer to whitewash history and only show the parts that they consider noble and glorious. Doing so, however, does a disservice to society.

Sure, we all wish we were perfect, so it’s not surprising that many want to believe their culture or their country is perfect. We also all know that no one is perfect. No person. No country.

Trying to ignore the mistakes and problems of the past flattens out the depth and meaning of a place. Much like living with a cardboard cutout of your spouse would mean less arguing over shoes left by the front door, or whose turn it is to carry out the garbage. That cutout could also stay perfect and never age, but I’m pretty sure you could never love it the way you do your actual, flawed partner.

Here in the US, we have a long, dark history of slavery, inequalities, and abuses of power. That history has prevented us from attaining the ideals created by the founding fathers in the Declaration of Independence.

I wish our history was different. But it’s not. And trying to ignore that history won’t make it go away.

Recognizing and learning more about my country’s dark history will hopefully help me recognize current problems of inequality, whether in my country or in my neighborhood. We can’t address a problem if we can’t see it. Knowing more about history helps us see those problems as they occur today.

Doesn’t It Make You Feel Bad?

If you visit a World War II concentration camp, I hope it makes you feel bad. I also hope you feel bad if you visit the Sand Creek Massacre Site in Colorado, or the slave quarters on a former southern plantation. 

Feeling bad isn’t necessarily a bad thing. 

As I said before, feeling sad or angry when you learn about the atrocities committed in such places is a sign that you have a heart and can feel empathy for your fellow human beings.

Sometimes, visiting these places can also make you feel good about humans. Not because of the hatred and prejudice that were exhibited, but because of what can happen in spite of all of those negative actions.

For example, when I visited Sachsenhausen, and many years later the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, I was overwhelmed by feelings of sadness and anger at how humans could treat each other. I also experienced a feeling of awe in considering the strength and tenacity of the individuals who survived those camps. I’m amazed how they didn’t give up entirely on the human race, and they were able to go on and live creative and productive lives!

“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”

– Viktor E. Frankl

The Bad Parts Don’t Cancel Out the Good Parts

We currently live in a “cancel culture” in which celebrities who do or say something unacceptable are often boycotted or shunned on social media. I think our friend, in discouraging my cousin and me from visiting a German concentration camp, may have had a fear of something similar happening – she may have been worried we would no longer enjoy Germany or the German culture once we had witnessed the dark side of their history up close.

It’s important to remember that cultures, like individuals, are complex. 

Yes, Nazi concentration camps are a horrific piece of Germany’s history that should never be repeated. That doesn’t mean there aren’t parts of Germany’s history that should also be celebrated. For example, knowing that concentration camps exist didn’t keep me from enjoying the beauty of castles along the Rhine River.

And visiting a concentration camp didn’t keep me from returning to Germany for two later visits. And I hope to visit again in the future.

Here in the US, there are some individuals who believe we should hide our history of slavery, racism, and discriminatory policies like Jim Crow laws and red-lining. Some even feel that learning about racism makes white children feel bad and therefore shouldn’t be taught in schools. 

There are politicians trying to cut funding to museums and historical sites that share this dark part of our nation's history. Unfortunately, they are failing to accept that, like it or not, it is part of our history. And in failing to recognize it, they are taking away the opportunity to recognize the resilience of individuals who survived these experiences, as well as opportunities to celebrate when the American experiment of democracy has overcome these problems and lived up to its ideals.

Recognizing that racism existed and still exists in the US doesn’t mean forgetting there are good things about American culture as well.

A field of 168 empty chairs represents those killed in the Oklahoma City bombing with 19 smaller chairs representing the children who were killed (Photo by Greg Kramos)

Dark Tourism

Much of what we have been discussing is referred to as “dark tourism.” There are actually some travel industries that focus on visiting places of tragedy and death, and there are some individuals who choose primarily to travel to these areas around the world.

Getting out of balance isn’t healthy. For example, ice cream is great, but a diet consisting of nothing but ice cream will eventually land you in the emergency room. Similarly, focusing your leisure time on all of the worst things that human beings have done to each other probably isn’t going to be good for your emotional health.

Just as it’s important not to hide our dark histories, it’s important not to celebrate or fetishize them.

Respect

If you google “dark tourism,” also known as morbid tourism, you’re likely to find some criticism of the practice. This criticism isn’t so much about the belief that we should try to erase negative parts of history as it is about individuals who revel in the human tragedy of these areas. This is not the empathetic response we were talking about earlier.

Finding enjoyment in others’ suffering, even if that suffering was long in the past, is not a healthy or respectful human response. Indifference is not much better.

These are the tourists whom you see in the news getting in trouble for trying to take a piece of human bone from an archeological dig at a mass killing site. Or the Instagramer shamed online for taking a goofy selfie at Auschwitz. 

The problem is not that they are visiting places with a dark, inhumane history, but that they are doing so in a disrespectful manner. 

Most people when they travel are focused on things they enjoy. No problem with that. Many often travel for experiences or knowledge, even if some of that involves exploring painful parts of history. There’s also no problem with that. 

Being disrespectful, however, is a problem.

Regardless of why you travel, it’s important to show respect for others’ history and culture. When visiting a site where past tragedies have occurred, respect means remembering it was real human beings who suffered and died there. Remember you’re visiting, in part, to keep the memory of what they experienced alive.

How We Can Help

In many parts of the world, including in the US, there are political leaders who would like to erase parts of the past. As brave, wise travelers, we can fight back. How? By doing our part to keep history alive.

In addition to all of the fun things you have planned during your next travel adventure, do some research about the history of the area and consider visiting places that are less well-known but important to history, especially the history of minorities or marginalized people. 

Also, check out museums and historical sites in your local area. Too often, we put off visiting local tourist activities because we feel we already know the history, and there isn’t any urgency to visit when we know we can go see it anytime. But often, being able to actually see and touch places where significant events occurred in the past brings the history alive for us. For example, visiting the Brown v. Board of Education Museum in Topeka, just an hour from where I live, brought more meaning to the event than just seeing old newspaper articles ever did.

Travel is one of the most powerful tools we have to preserve our history, deepen our understanding of it, and inspire action toward something better. When we choose to confront history honestly—not just its triumphs but also its tragedies—we honor those who came before us and equip ourselves to build a better future. So go ahead, keep planning those castle tours and market strolls—but don’t shy away from the places that make you pause, reflect, and feel.

What events in history, including sad and painful episodes, would you like to learn more about? Are there historical sites you can plan to visit during your next travel adventure?

--Submitted by Sandi McCoy Kramos, a licensed clinical psychologist and a lifelong traveler. "Keeping History Alive with Travel" can also be found on her blog, Brave Wise Traveler. Find more interesting articles and tips for traveling at https://bravewisetraveler.com/

 Please follow Elder Speaking on Facebook
Contact  Elders Speaking if you would like to receive email updates or submit your original work.