The State of the State

I find myself in our state's capitol preparing for the first annual user's conference for our student information system. I took advantage of having a free evening by walking around the lake that lies in the middle of the city of Olympia and in the shadow of the Capitol Building. The evening is cool, with the promise of frost by morning and I took note of the other citizens that were walking around the lake. There are the young couples, obviously in love and enjoying the anonymity of darkness and the solitude of the park at this late hour; there are the other fitness fanatics, running or walking in the cool night air, perhaps even taking a moment from their workout to enjoy the stars sparkling in the clear night sky or the inspiring view of the Capitol dome, incadescently lit and glowing in domination of the city skyline; then there are the all too many homeless individuals, carrying their belongings and searching in vain for some warmth in the gathering chill of night. It is this last group that I found the most striking, in that they did not consist of the stereotypical old, withered and socially outcast persons, but instead, young, bright, conversational adults in the prime of their years. I had the occasion to talk with two of them in the darker corners of the park and they were obviously intelligent and amiable individuals, seemingly eager for casual conversation with a passing stranger. I did not risk asking them about their circumstances for fear of dampening their ebullient mood, but I must confess my curiosity as to by what twist of fate or by what design that these promising young men should find themselves adrift from society. I do find it ironic that with all of our concern for the destiny of our youth, there are these young adults who obviously find themselves haven fallen through the cracks of our concern and yet no one is championing their return to society's mainstream...or perhaps they have no desire to rejoin our modern society...and, considering the current state of our society and its mores, can we really blame them? It does make one wonder, perhaps, which are the lost and which are the more fortunate...vertu svalur