If I were smarter

If I were smarter, I would write about all of the questions that seem to have no answer; questions that most often are asked by children when trying to comprehend the world. There are questions I probably asked my parents when I was a child, and most likely received a less than adequate response. I did not have the luxury of logging on to the Internet and typing my question into Google or Yahoo or Ask Jeeves. My knowledge was limited to encyclopedias (my family opted for the less popular version whose name escapes me even though I spent much time browsing through them as a child). I might write about:

• Who is God’s mother


• When is Santa Claus’ birthday


• Why do we die


• Why do bad things happen
• Do aliens really exist

Although all of these questions surely have some philosophical (and possibly historical) answer, I’d rather have the knowledge available deep inside my brain, readily available as if asked what 2+2 equals. I’d prefer not to have to reply, “go look it up.”