Through a mixture of memoirs, poetry, essays, and humorous playlets, I attempt to make the puzzling questions of philosophy understandable to the average person. Unlike most books of poetry, I have included a memoir of my life, so that the reader can understand what motivated my writing. I also explain my motivation to author the poem giving it context and assuring understanding. I try to encourage the reader to explore the great questions of philosophy and religion and to encourage them to create a set of beliefs that will comfort them through life’s difficult periods and sacrifices. Anyone can write poetry, and it can be a framework for defining your own life and leaving a legacy to your family.
Through a mixture of memoirs, poetry, essays, and humorous playlets, I attempt to make the puzzling questions of philosophy understandable to the average person. Unlike most books of poetry, I have included a memoir of my life, so that the reader can understand what motivated my writing. I also explain my motivation to author the poem giving it context and assuring understanding. I try to encourage the reader to explore the great questions of philosophy and religion and to encourage them to create a set of beliefs that will comfort them through life’s difficult periods and sacrifices. Anyone can write poetry, and it can be a framework for defining your own life and leaving a legacy to your family.
CHAPTER 1 MYSTERIES There are so many mysteries in our universe to ponder that it can be overwhelming. Here are just a few of the impossible questions that have disturbed humanity since our inception: • Who and what are we and why are we here? • Is there a God, and if it exists what form(s) does it take? • Are there parallel universes and wormholes that are adjacent to ours? • What is the nature of life, how did it begin on earth and how does matter exist through our senses? • What was the missing link in our evolutionary path to humankind? • In our human state, what is the nature of free will, or are we programmed to be who we are regardless of environmental or sociological circumstances? • Does fate exist or do we determine fully our own destinies? • Is there life after death and is our consciousness composed of spiritual properties? • What is the ultimate meaning of life? PA Walk in the Twilight 3 These are just some of the mysteries which I have pondered during my life. Before I die, I was hoping to have some answers to these questions, but unfortunately, there are no answers, only suppositions, guesses, wishful thinking, and unfinished science. These questions do not lend themselves comfortably to the scientific method, but are more in the domain of philosophers, theologians, novelists, and poets. When I was a boy, I would check out from the library various volumes on philosophy, religion, and those literary works that might illuminate answers to these questions. I loved science fiction and would read great masters like Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Frederik Pohl, and others. I loved TV shows that portrayed the possibilities of space travel and hinted at some of these philosophical dilemmas. like Star Trek, Amazing Stories, One Step Beyond, Twilight Zone, and many others. I tried in vain, like so many before me, to form my own unified theory of the cosmos. Seventy-Five years and counting, I am no nearer to certainty in a comprehensive belief system, but nevertheless I can see more clearly before me a working outline of truths that work for me. Some components of these questions have become slightly more understandable than they were when I was young, but I can say with great trepidation that I have created working hypotheses that serve me well in my autumn years. Does this happen through aging, awareness of natural law, or intuition, I am not sure, but I do know that contemplative research is rewarding and satisfying for the mind and body. PA Walk in the Twilight 4 Some people answer these questions with finality either because of religious beliefs, or some other intellectual exercise that gives them certitude. I am happy for them, and I wish I could share in their belief structure, but for me, my beliefs lie in the doubt, in the questions, and in the twilight of dawn and dusk clustered in a few words of poetry
Writing a memoir for publication requires a fine balance between personal satisfaction and respect for your readers and ideally tells a story of triumph over adversity, finding something that is lost, or a homecoming after an arduous journey. John Bosco's book A Walk in the Twilight, subtitled A Librarian Searching for Questions, has none of these attributes but is rather a detailed account of a rather uneventful life, with the author beginning and ending his book with the same big questions that every thinking teenager grapples with such as, What is the meaning of life? Does God Exist? Why are we here? Bosco acknowledges that in spite of all his reading, there are no real answers, and his inconclusive digressions are therefore unsatisfactory to those of us who came to the same conclusion decades ago. An overly protected only child, a loving husband, father and grandfather, Bosco's life follows a familiar pattern of rejecting the Catholic religion of his childhood and failing to find a spiritual purpose to replace it. Reluctant to be drafted for the Vietnam War he joined the Air Force as a clerk in Colorado so saw no traumatic action to regret in later years. He worked as a small-town librarian most of his life, changing jobs frequently, seemingly due to his reluctance to take orders from library trustees with whom he disagreed, eventually being fired, wrongfully, he insists, for "insubordination and misconduct." He suffered for a time from panic attacks and his therapist prescribed Zoloft which helped him to forgive himself and he took up teaching. The second part of his book consists of his own poetry with commentaries, displaying a preoccupation with death, decay and depression with the occasional light touch such as the poem, The Preying Mantis. Bosco pays tribute to his collaborator described as " a beautiful friend and literary counselor." He calls her M Squared as she wished to remain anonymous and some of her writing is included, somewhat detracting from his work as it is seems banal and obscure in comparison. The book might have become more alive if his wife Rosemary had been given more attention and if the curious relationship with M Squared had been developed to satisfy readers' curiosity. As it is, John Bosco's memoir is the rather unremarkable story of a nice, well-read but unremarkable man, of interest to friends and family, and perhaps to retired librarians in New York, but hardly inspirational for contemporary readers.