We’re all aware of the current angry trend of tearing down statues, especially those of Confederate generals. Many that have stood the test of time for more than 150 years will end up as piles of rocks due to politically-correct rioters.

Consider visiting these while still standing, if they actually survive the current destruction craze:
National Statuary Hall, Capitol Hill, Washington DC: 100 statues, 12 of them Confederates.
J.E.B. Stuart, Richmond VA
Robert E. Lee, New Orleans LA
Stonewall Jackson and Lee Statues, Baltimore MD
Stone Mountain Memorial, Georgia: The massive carving on the mountainside will require lots of angry axes to destroy.
Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC: Already hit by spray paint. Hey, rioters. Abe was one of your good guys.

Finally, let’s consider a memorial poem about the Gettysburg Cemetery. The sad words by Francis Finch are typical of how most Americans feel about the terrible sacrifices on both sides during the Civil War:
No more shall the war cry sever,
Or the winding rivers be red;
They banish our anger forever
When they laurel the graves of our dead!
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day,
Love and tears for the Blue,
Tears and love for the Gray.

It has happened to all of we senior flyers too many times. We go aboard, find our seat and a drunk plops down next to us. The breath and annoying behavior are bad enough. Then the drunk barfs.

For some passengers, boarding delay in the airport is boozing time. And with today’s screwed up flight schedules, that means an hour or more at the airport bar, then throw-up sickness after boarding.

A nitwit traveler with obviously too much booze befuddling his brain, recently walked around the ancient city’s streets shouting and doing the Heil Hitler arm gesture. He was attacked by angry Germans because they didn’t want to be reminded of the bad old days. He’s now facing legal problems.

Just a couple of weeks previously, two clueless tourists from China were jailed for doing the same in Berlin. In addition to angering the natives, it’s also against the law to do the hated salute anywhere in that nation.

There’s a lesson to be learned here for senior wanderers. When visiting foreign countries, always obey the local laws and other restrictions. If ignored or you insist on showing off your stupidity, it could get you in trouble. Watch your language, alcoholic drinks, dress codes, sanitary regulations, curfews and other behavior constraints.

It’s already happening on the highways with driverless cars. According to the news service report, predictions are that within a dozen years, human pilots will be gone from some airliners.

Expectations also are that ground-controlled commercial flying will be safer. Sophisticated automated functions would eliminate the human error factor, such as live pilots making wrong decisions and physical impairment suddenly happening in the cockpit.

One of the predictions is of reduced ticket prices, considering that today’s airline pilots get hefty salaries, expense accounts and benefits. The scientific beancounters estimate the savings would be as much as $35 billion annually. A sad note about pilotless airliners for crews is that membership participation in the mile high club would also be greatly reduced.