What Do I Know?

I had a really bad dream a couple of nights ago. Someone had broken into our house and stolen all of my musical equipment. Guitars, speakers, amplifiers, computers were all gone. I was devastated because there was no way to replace any of it. This dream was brought on by the fact that we are going away for a week, the dogs will be left in the kennels, and it would be very easy for someone to break into our house. So last night I bought some property insurance to cover the contents of our lowly little house. Heather reminded me of an old song that I wrote some time in college (note: this is not a very good song, if you are offended by hastily written lyrics, cheap clichés, and contrived stories please look away now).

(verse 2)
So one day my car was broken and I had to catch a bus
I sat next to a friendly man who said his name was Gus
I asked 'bout his job and I asked 'bout his day
As he was reading in the paper about clones and DNA
With a big black shiny brief case and a Windsor knotted tie
He tried to sell me house insurance to protect the things I buy
I said I don't know about money, there's not that much I own
And I don't know why the scientists are trying to make clones
but there is one thing I know...

(chorus)
There's been a change in me
I was blind but now I see
And now I know the truth
And the truth has set me free...

I had to look up the words in my old songbook because I couldn't really remember it. I told Heather that is must be a really good song for her to remember it after all these years. She told me that she did not remember it because it was a very good song, but because I played it over and over again (apparently I do this with all my songs, in addition, there is a "riff" that I always play on my guitar that drives her nuts). She thought it was funny that I had written this song as an idealistic college student with no care for my possessions, and now I was buying house insurance from Tesco and having nightmares about my precious guitars getting stolen.

It seems that things were much simpler then. Now I am closer to the guy wearing the Windsor knotted tie, than I am to the idealistic person striking up a conversation on a bus with a stranger. At the same time, I know that I have grown since I wrote that song. My values have not really changed very much, but I have a deeper understanding of the complexities involved. I have learned that everything is not as cut and dry as it once seemed to me. I know why the scientists would want to make clones (though I don't necessarily agree with it). I know there have been many great quotes regarding getting older, knowing more, knowing less, blah, blah, blah. Here's one from Oscar Wilde:

"I am not young enough to know everything"