The sky is a beautiful blue, and there’s just enough chill in the air to make it fresh.

Buzz and I are loping great big one-eighth mile circles. He has his head down and just enough round in his back to make it comfortable for us both. I have the reins thrown to him and get to thinking about culture.

Culture. It’s a person, place or thing. A particular for or stage of civilization, as that of a certain nation or period.

The United States of America has been around 241 years. Most of the other countries in the world have stuff in the back of their fridge older than that.

It strikes me that we’re the youngsters, and as it so often is with youngsters, we seem to have a lot of great big ideas and ideals with all of 241 years to back them up.

Have you ever run into someone that just learned something new and wanted to tell you about it? At length? Gets kind of tiring doesn’t it.

Seems to me that’s where we are. Doing our dead level best to sell the rest of the world on the “two Cs” of Christianity and capitalism. We may be just a tad “wet behind the ears” to be pushing so hard.

I wonder if that’s why the rest of the world seems to have their teeth bared at us?

They may be tired of listening.

But hell, what do I know? I’m just a guy going around in circles on the back of the most majestic beast on earth (mentioned in at least two of the top ten religion books).

Do yourself a favor and color outside the lines today ...

Tom James was riding horses before he could walk. He currently hangs his hat in Ignacio. Reach him at outlivedthemallsofar@gmail.com.