Legacy

I have been reading an awesome book: "The Network State" by Balaji Srinivasan. (hat tip to Zero.btc and HODLSTX.BTC from Zero Authority DAO for turning me on to it). This book does what all great books do, it makes me think. So, despite my just getting off a 12 hour shift, I find myself compelled to write this piece.

There is nothing new under the sun

One of the reasons I started writing on Sigle was because this app allows me to record my thoughts on Bitcoin. The words I write belong to me, and I cannot be cancelled or censored by anyone. Someone would have to own the Explorer linked to my account in order to control these words that I now type. With that in mind I wanted to write about the things that I like, and hopefully they would resonate with people. Worst case scenario at least my grandchildren and their children would have some insight into who I was while on this Earth. The subjects that I write about often have information in them that was hard won during various trials and tribulations. I share them for the benefit of others who may still be wet behind the ears, and this will be useful information for my descendants to have. Human nature doesn't change. As King Solomon said in Ecclesiastes "There is nothing new under the sun"

This ability granted to me by Bitcoin and Sigle places me in a position that the overwhelming majority of humans have never been in. My grandchildren's grandchildren will know more about me than I even know about my own grandparents.

My grandparents died when I was young, all of them. By the time I was eight, they were all gone (grandparents day at school really sucked for young Jack). I have a few scattered memories, but that is it. I never received the benefit of their wisdom. I know that my paternal grandfather never met my Dad until after his third birthday, as he was busy fighting a war. I know that he made his living in the swamps of South Louisiana, and eventually in the petrochemical industry. I also know that he died from a very aggressive form of prostate cancer when I was six years old. I know that he was an excessively stern man, and despite making a good living, I know that my dad was given very little in the way of material goods. I wish I could know this man better, to understand why my dad had to go to school one year wearing shoes he found in a dump.

My maternal grandfather was not a good man. I know that he beat my grandmother, and frequently left her to raise his children without any assistance. I know that he was sent to the penitentiary, but I am not 100% sure why. My mother doesn't speak of him much. From what I gathered over the years is that he was a low level thug who liked to hang around with the Italian Mafia. There was a murder he was apparently implicated in, but that is the extent of my knowledge.

My paternal grandmother died of cancer approximately 6 months after my grandfather (her ex-husband) passed. My maternal grandmother died before I was born. The country girl who moved to the city succumbed to her alcoholism after falling in her home and hitting her head against a table.

That's it.

My future grandkids on the other hand already possess over 60 journal entries that give them insights into who I am. Provided that I am tasked with a long life, they will have many more. The significance of this cannot be overstated. Not only because of some vain notion of legacy, but because with Bitcoin everything can be recorded. This utility is available to all, and soon Bitcoin will cease to be thought of as this expensive thing that people don't understand. It will just be there, and the world will never be the same. Future people will know more about us and how we lived than we could ever know about even the greatest civilizations of the past.

With all this in mind, I will continue to do what I do. I may never gain fortune or notoriety, but my place in history is being written in real time. What will you do with this information anon?

As I sit here struggling to keep my eyes open, and my mind focused on this task, I realize that I should get some sleep. My inability to work in moderation is likely a trait that at least one of my descendants will inherit. When you get to this part of the post child, use this as a reminder to get adequate rest.

I don't have anything else to say for now, until next time. Grandpa Jack.

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