Lately I've been hearing the siren call of childhood. It occurs unexpectedly.

The last time happened when a TV show played music from the 50s. I was very young then so most of the music I heard was that of my parents (Como, Sinatra, Patti Page (Tennessee Waltz), Tony Bennet, Kay Star.) Anyway, as the song played (I don't remember the specific tune), I felt myself drifting back into the past.

Without noticeable transition, I was there. In the upstairs hallway of an apartment that occupied one-quarter of the house. (Each quarter has basement, first, second, attic.) I was on the linoleum-covered hallway that led to the two bedrooms, a bathroom and entrance to the attic above. I was playing with olive-green plastic soldiers versus a trio of metallic collered plastic robots. I felt the sun warm against both my back and on my face as it bounced back off the white baseboard. The joy I felt was palpable. Contentment washed over me.

I can see why old people drift off into childhood. It's safe. Familiar. A time of slower change. A refuge from the chaotic disorder of today. Seems like it might be a wonderful place to stay until the final call. Then I came back. Maybe the music changed.

This is not the first time this sort of thing has happened. On other occasions it would be different triggers to different eras. I wonder if this experience portends the beginning of a slide into dementia where I am destined to complete my life by retuning to its beginning? I think I might actually enjoy that as opposed to many alternate endings I have envisioned.

News was depressing as usual.

Ben Carson and the West Point dust-up; a Nevada politician who claims cancer is a fungus that can be washed from the body; Bible-thumping AL education official goes bonkers over ‘homosexualist Muslim feminist’ Common Core (I think CC limits the creativity of teachers but I don't see it as a gay plot); KKK leader molesting young girls. Everything I see in the news leads me to think we have a lot of work to do as a society before we chant "We're number one!" at anything anymore.

It's so depressing. I fear I'm watching my country join such notables as the Romans, Egyptians, Mongols, Mayans, et al. Civilizations that defined the world in their times. Then collapse. Gone. Artifacts mulled over by college professors. Next.

Thankfully I see it's after 8 so Friday TV is kicking in.  So let me bounce to other realities.

Last Man Standing (exact same show as Tool Time only with daughters). No thinking needed.

Dr. Ken (Still undecided although I'm inclined to like the characters. The screechy young doctor and the over-the-topness male nurse may tone it down once they get into the characters.)

Hawaii Five-0 (The usual solve any crime, no matter how complex, in under an hour bullshit that just doesn't happen in real life.)

Blue Bloods (Ah, the nobility of the police. I'm not sure I could be comfortable with a family that embedded into a public service but maybe this fake department would be a site better than the situation we have today. )