To: My Great-Grandchildren and Great-Great-GrandchildrenSubject: An apologyToday’s date: June 13, 2013I want you to know how sorry I am that you have to wear a “breathing-apparatus” when you go outside. There were many of us, (in my day), who tried to make what we called the “big corporations”, (you probably call them “Big Brother” now), stop the companies who produced carbon emissions into the fresh air (well, what USED to be “open air”, now it’s polluted air). But, sadly not enough of the people in my generation paid enough active attention, or spent enough money, or convince enough corrupted officials, to reverse those emission policies. Had we done that, you might be able today to go outside without that darned “breathing” thing.Those “breathing-apparatus” functions are supposed to allow you to breathe the outside air, but I understand it doesn’t always prevent your eyes from burning. Maybe your Mom can find a pair of cool-lookin’ googles to wear, (“cool” was a term that meant “socially acceptable and desired” in my day!).I wish, too, that you could taste real, bee-made honey, instead of the man-made stuff. But, pollinating bee populations have been dead and gone now for decades, and, unless they can find a way to “clone” an entire colony from a dead bee somewhere, I’m afraid you’ll just have to get used to the man-made stuff. The original stuff sure was good – especially with a piece of the honeycomb! Honest – you could eat the honeycomb, too – and it was good for you! But the chemicals used to treat commercial crops of my day, helped kill-off the bees.Of course you’ve studied in school about the man-created rise in global temperature – and why so many people now live so far away from either of the coastlines in what used to be the United States (I don’t know what they call the country I grew up in now, in your day). You’ve probably seen old photos of the Earth’s polar ice caps – and, of course, you know they’ve been melted away for some years. They held so much water (in the form of ice), that when they melted, all the world’s oceans water levels rose by six feet! And you’ve probably heard in your history classes about the massive tsunami’s after that melting took place – that destroyed hundreds of thousands of miles of shorefront property – and downed millions of people. That, too, could have been prevented during my life time – but, you have to understand: Most of the people of my era, wanted to watch television, and sports games, and movies and play games on their computers, cell phones and tablets (cell phones and tablets are what we used to use for communications – instead of those fancy things you all have embedded under your skin today!) So … they were too busy to be bothered with fixing the future for the kids of your generations to enjoy. The watch phrase of my generation was: Have Fun!!! I’m sorry that you can’t have as much fun today, what with all the restrictions you’re forced to adhere to …Whether you know it or not … water used to be … FREE! Honest! I can remember when my Mom, Dad, sister and brother would go out to a stream to have a pick-nick (we could do that back then – the water was fresh, clean and clear, and the air was just as fresh as could be!) – and we’d always go fishing. The fish we’d catch we could eat – right there on the spot! (No, we wouldn’t eat them “raw”, we build a fire and cook them. You would NOT believe how good that was!). There are no fish anymore, as you know – well, except those raised in “hatcheries”, within that “processed” water. The poisoned water from hydraulic fracturing (FRACKING) and concentrated animal feeding farms (CAFO) have killed off all the “wild” fish. I understand in the entire country (the one that used to be the United States of America) there are only three openly fresh water streams – and they are high in the mountains, and protected by huge domes. Maybe you’ve been on vacation with Mom and Dad … and have gone to see those domes – and the water. All that water and all those streams used to be … everywhere!You may not know how expensive drinking/bathing water is today – but you can bet your Mom and Dad know! Those de-salinization and distilling plants, (I’ll bet your class has taken a tour of one of them), which are located everywhere, and run by “Big Brother”, are VERY expensive to operate (I just hope none of them are contributing to MORE air and water pollution!). But, as expensive as they are, there would be NO drinking/bathing water without them, (sometimes I think the “Big Brother” made sure the water and air were purposefully polluted just so they could charge a fee for water … and those “breathing-apparatus” things).Well … I wish I could have convinced more people of my generation to have been really “involved” with our planet and other such things. It would have made it soooo much better for you in your day.I don’t think it’s allowed in any of the history books anymore, but, that country I grew up in, (the one that was named United States of America), was a democracy. That form of government is, I understand, now defunct – it might even be outlawed (probably is!). The plutocracy (if you don’t know what that means, you’ll need to look it up via your space probe data-mining devices) that now rules my former country – some of you may still be living in the same area as I when I was your age. I’m so sorry you’ll never be able to own your own private house. The government subsidies for dwellings are soooo expensive now. I do understand why three and four families ban together in order to lease one. But … it didn’t used to be that way. It used to be that EVERY family had a chance to own their own home. But the F.R.M.W. (Filthy Rich and Mega Wealthy) now own all land in that country I used to live in, and to live there, you have to pay for a lease.I’ve prayed and prayed that you aren’t too scared on those occasions when “The Troops” barge into you homes at night looking for sources of what “The Exalted Leader” calls illegal communications. Whatever you do – do NOT take photos of “The Troops” with your embedded cameras! Several of my elderly friends here at the retention center have had members of your generation arrested and placed into those “camps” (there was one infamous camp in my day called Guantanamo – it was in a country that used to be called Cuba) – and neither those children, or their parents, have been heard from since! So do NOT take photos/images of “The Troops” while they’re in your house!Okay … it’s almost lights out here in the E.R.C., (Elderly Retention Center), so I’d better hurry and get this finished.Don’t forget to give your salutations to “The Exalted Leader” before you go to bed (“they” listen, you know, to make sure you do that!) …Take care … love you all! Great-great-Gran’pa Jack