That's What Time Does

There's a new Oso Oso album coming soon!

My nephew Thomas stayed with us last week. I didn’t think it was a good use of the time I had with him to spend it writing, so I didn’t. He’s back home now and enjoying his last days of summer vacation. Sacred time.

We played video games and board games. Watched the entirety of Avatar: the Last Airbender. Saw Deadpool & Wolverine in the theaters. Logan and Hit Man in our living room. Listened to music and talked about what life is like as a newly minted teenager in 2024.

Hopefully Camp Essex, as my sister called it, can be a yearly thing. Thomas is introspective and digests the media he consumes. That’s unusual for someone at any age. What a treat to get a different perspective. We could all use that level of introspection when it comes to our fast and furious news cycle.

One of the big talking points in politics right now, at least from Republican VP hopeful JD Vance, is the idea that someone without children can’t be invested in the future of the country/world/etc. Vance is a clown and a spineless grifter, but he does have an audience. People still swear by his bootstrap call to arms Hillbilly Elegy, a book that mines a certain pathos to great effect.

It isn’t a good book and the movie was lambasted by critics. It does appeal to the idea that the American Dream is possible for anyone, regardless of circumstance. And if you don’t digest media like Thomas, you might swallow it whole and find Vance’s meteoric rise to be inspiring. Much like L Ron Hubbard’s pathway to being rich¹, Vance knew what worked on his former peers².

And he continues to peddle nonsense to varying effect. The Republican party got a monkey paw moment with Biden stepping down. Harris is currently riding a huge blue wave of support that I hope will continue through the election. I certainly have issues with Kamala Harris, but we know what Trump presidency looks like and it isn’t good.

I take particular umbrage with the idea that those of us who choose not to have children have no stake in our future. For starters, I likely have thirty to forty years left on the planet. A lot can change in a decade, let alone four. Forty years from now I might be meeting Thomas’ grandchild, should his life take that path.

The sheer number of children who have called me an uncle in my lifetime is humbling. Friends and family who have been kind enough to invite me into their lives and let me know their next generation.

I saw my cousins at Camp Linn Haven over the summer when we interred my father’s ashes in his niche. I got to meet girlfriends and wives. Some of them still know me as Uncle Ricky, despite a child on the way. It’s a bond I take seriously.

My nephew Dorian is finishing college and his sister Nora is in college now. I got to spend some time with them when they visited my father before his passing. They are entering a world they had no hand in shaping, but they deserve a chance at a good future.

Our friends Jefferson and Chrissy have three daughters that are starting to make the journey into young adulthood. The conversations about the future are becoming real in that house, much like it is for Owen and Thomas.

Adrianne’s dear friend Karina (and mine as well!) has two daughters that are crossing the threshold into adolescence. That’s a challenging time for parent and child alike, why should we make it any harder on them?

We have friends overseas with two elementary aged children and here in Richmond we get the honorary title of Aunt and Uncle to a young kid starting their elementary education. We have friends who had kids in the midst of the pandemic and others who are due any day now. We had TWO babies attend RocketCon this year. It was a delight.

Let me ask you, why would I not be invested in their future? People like Vance make statements that make sense on the surface. That those of us who don’t have children are concerned with our time on earth alone. But how can I love someone and not want them to have the best future possible? And if they deserve a great future, then why don’t all children?

Also, here’s some music I’ve been into lately. Most of it is from this year!

1. Quote by L. Ron Hubbard: “You don't get rich writing science fiction. If ...” (goodreads.com)

2. The Lives of Poor White People | The New Yorker