Losing Our Bearings

I had the most intriguing dream last night. I was in another city frantically searching for a hotel I had previously visited. After taking a variety of wrong turns I realized I had "lost my bearings." To regain my bearings I needed to stop--remember my goal and develop a reasonable plan on how I was to achieve the goal. After doing that I found the hotel.

I can think of no other reason why I'd have such a dream other than the fact that it was puzzling to me as to why Sen. Barak Obama's comment about Sen. John McCain losing his bearings would be interpreted to have something to do with McCain's age. Anyone at any age can lose his or hear bearings at any time in any situation.

The media has spent hundreds of hours interviewing numerous people trying to figure out what Sen. Obama meant by his comment without ever properly interpreting what the phrase losing your bearings means. It's a reminder to all of us to be cautious about the amount of time we waste trying to interpret a phrase someone else may have used, especially when we aren't even basing it on a correct definition of the phrase. This wasted time could have been used in a much more productive manner discussing important issues at hand whether in a presidential race or in our own personal encounters.