It's time for a break

Okay, I’ll admit that I let myself get carried away with my last post. Why did I feel the need to rant about the possibility of a “New Normal,” especially when it seems to be arriving before I ever made sense of the “Old Normal.’?

What was I thinking? So what if more than 107,000 of us have died a distressing death from what we were assured was a “hoax”? No matter what the source of our consuming plague the fact remains we stumbled mightily in our national response.

Then for weeks a large portion of our population hunkered down, filling once-vibrant cities and towns with a ghostly silence. By the time we finally woke up and smelled the coffee more than forty-two million of us (42,000,000) had lost their life-sustaining employment……many of them are still waiting for the safety-net benefits promised by state governments that have been literally overwhelmed by the sudden surge.

Meanwhile businesses, large and small, are paying a staggering price for our ill-prepared pandemic response. Tens of thousands of small entrepreneurs have lost everything……years of dreams and efforts have vanished, and for many are lost forever.

So again, what was I thinking? Sure, things were tough. By any measure it had been one devastating “hoax.” But hey, we were still carrying on, weren't we? Things were bound to get better. They sure as heck couldn’t get any worse. Could they?

******************

Well, of course they could……and they have. Just as that lethal pandemic was claiming tens of thousands of lives, and creating unimaginable levels of economic pain, an all-too-familiar societal goblin once again raised its ugly head.

Racism….police conduct….peaceful protest….rioting and looting……stir them together and you may create a toxic blend, capable of producing a wide range of sad outcomes…..especially when viewed against the Constitutional guarantees of freedom of assembly and expression, and the accompanying assurance that “all men are created equal.”

All that emerged in a single brief, hard-to-view instant, documented by a spur-of-the-moment video. In those few seconds the aforementioned health and economic problems were suddenly overlaid with a shocking level of social unrest sparked by a single uniformed policeman reverting to long-standing, often-criticized law enforcement attitudes and techniques. 

In a matter of hours the already toxic blend of societal distrust and dysfunction had turned even more sour…..until it felt like we must be approaching its outer limits. After all, what more could go wrong?

                                     ***************

Then, in a matter of days, we had our answer. From the depths of a White House bunker came the “official” American response. If “fierce dogs” and “tremendous weapons” were not sufficient, then it was time to “dominate” those who dared protest. 

The US military, the strongest forces on earth, would be activated. And sure enough, overnight the District of Columbia effectively became a war zone. “Martial Law” had been dusted off and brought to the sidelines, ready to be used as necessary.

And that is where we are today. Charges have been brought against the officers whose actions set the latest events in motion…….but who certainly did not invent the crimes they committed. At the same time George Floyd has been memorialized over and over.

And in the process I have dealt with about all grief I can handle for now. It is time for me to escape for a while, to move on to something more tasteful and productive. You’re welcome to join me if you wish.

                                     **************

I don’t know what you do when your need a break from the real world, but I know what works for me. Over the years I’ve learned that feeding my own wanderlust virus can be an effective antidote for reality overload.

It takes only minutes to revisit people and places I have known, or wish I had known. ( a click on the red headings will take you there)……for instance...........

Head Rambles…..a blog of rural life in the Wicklow Mts of Ireland as seen through the eyes of crusty old fellow whose motto is ….. “Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference.”

Silver Tiger…..A retired London fellow who blogs about his daily travels among the sights and out-of-the-way places around London. Has a chatty style with lots of photos and a historical bent.

Big John…..Another Londoner, opinionated and outspoken on the events of the day.

Grit and Giggles…..Amanda, the self-proclaimed Bush Babe of Oz blogs about life on an isolated cattle station in the Australian outback.

Peter-Pho2…..Photo sights and insights of expat life in present-day Paris.

Gerry Hasson…..When it comes to making sense of today’s world as seen through UK eyes I enjoy Gerry Hasson’s view with a Scottish slant. For instance his thumbnail sketch of English PM Boris Johnson…..”He is a habitual liar, a cheat, a cruel betrayer of the women he seduces, with no redeeming character…..in short he is unfit to lead the country.” (Where had I heard that before?)

Meet me by the sea…..a photo-filled offering of one of my own favorite English delights…..the beautiful Cornish coast. If this doesn’t transport you to a better place I don’t know what will.

With that in mind I will trek off into the sunset…..reminding myself that none of us get out of this alive.

What is this "new normal" they talk about?

As you might expect, over the years I’ve had a few folks take exception when I label my stories about 60 year olds as October Years” tales. As far as I know no one has argued for “September,” but quite a few of you have suggested a later month. 

Truth to tell, a while back I decided that “November” better described my moods and physical capabilities. Heck, I’ve probably dipped a toe in “December” a time or two. That’s what had me stepping forward to add “and November too” to this blog’s title.

But of course my use of “October” was never meant to be simply about age. When I first used that label I was thinking of October as a state of mind. More to the point, like the October on a calendar, our October Years (and November too) are periods of harvest---a time to gather fruits from the seeds we’ve sown and the things we’ve learned in the course of our already-long lifetime. I happen to believe that even at that age there are ways we can put that experience to good use.

I will admit that one of the risks I face in telling my October stories is the temptation to dwell on the maudlin...stressing the negatives and hardships of late life. Of course, by that stage of the game we’ve had our share of bumpy roads and unexpected detours. And there will be more of those. If we’ve been paying attention at all we should expect that. 

But recent history, the sort that has kept us house-bound for weeks on end, proves there are still “unexpected” twists and turns for which our personal life journey and the life views we have come to lean on have not prepared us to face.

If you are my age, infirmity and distress are sure to have been part of your personal experience. I can accept that. Yet lately this November mind of mine has struggled to make sense of what we are told will be a “new normal”…….a time when the cultural infirmity and deep division that already plagues our society comes face to face with a new set of societal norms. 

Long before the ugly virus raised its head what I had perceived as the chaotic unraveling of our national persona already had me wondering if what I called “normal” had always included the deep division and chaotic internal conflict that taints modern American culture. 

Here we are celebrating another Memorial Day, remembering those who paid the ultimate price for the freedom we enjoy………..including the freedom to choose the middle road that leads to the common good, instead of stoking our extreme and divisive dreams, both right and left.

Perhaps our declining generation has been lulled by decades of relatively-civilized peace. Are we simply experiencing a regression to the human norm? Or has there been a fundamental change in the path of social evolution? Is there a new “normal” being created?

How else would you interpret the headlines that assault our sensibilities? Thousands of our people are dying every day, victims of a silent, unseen assassin. All around us small businesses are devastated, paying their own ultimate price. Unemployment has reached unimaginable levels, signaling potential distress and disaster for millions.

Sadly, those intimidating events have too-often left us numb to the already-existing world of social problems we have failed to resolve. Our “old normal” was the one where homeless camps lined our streets and filled our parks…….where wide-eyed young men unleashed their lethal revenge in our high schools…….and an ever-increasing number of our people, young and old, depended on mind-altering pharmaceuticals? 

Long before Covid-19 took center stage it already seemed as though our beloved nation was drowning in a tsunami of insanity. Our towns and neighborhoods struggled to stay afloat, while finger pointing and blame-game politics  stirred the flames of governmental dysfunction, displacing bipartisan problem solving. 

In a world of spiteful politics and crushing, always mounting debt, most of which will never be repaid, the great majority of us will be hung out to dry as the Wall Street and Washington vultures slowly circle, fighting for their piece of the pie before it vanishes into the economic quicksand. The supposedly “drained swamp” still hides menacing creatures, and smells as bad as ever.

Surely I am not the only one who wonders what has happened to the world I knew. Even before the virus it was becoming harder to recognize the place where I grew up and perhaps thought I understood. Small wonder the October characters I write about are apt to stumble as they try to make sense of it.

Chances are every one of us grew up hearing our parents grumble about “the younger generation,” and how things were not that bad in “the good old days.” Perhaps we heard hints of ancient wisdom in their words……..of times when age was equated with hard-earned knowledge. Truth to tell, I keep getting older, but the elder-wisdom I once heard of seems to have eluded me.

There was a time in the world of our childhood and adolescence, when we felt comfortable in the world we knew. Today’s virus-induced normal has brought with it an unsettling dose of uncertainty. What will it look like ……tomorrow’s post-virus world? What should we be doing to get ready for what comes next? 

For some of us this crazy new world impacts our ability to “thrive in our 60s and 70s.” In those moments, I like to think it is my sometimes-faulty elder-wisdom nudging me ahead……reminding me that even at our age we have reasons to look ahead, beyond these uncertain times.

I would appreciate your help here, your input. (The email link below is easy to use.) As always I'd be interested in hearing your input via “Reply.”

With that, I will try to calm down a bit in time for the next post.

What day is not Mother's Day?

        Seems to me the evidence is everywhere, all around us. Among the comforting pleasures of our October and November years are the quiet moments when we pause to consider the young lives we created so long ago, and the seemingly miraculous ways those humble beginnings, four of them in our case, have grown and blossomed.

In his or her own way each of them has become and is still becoming their own person. (I for one can confirm that sometimes takes longer than it should.) Each of them is exploiting the gifts and tendencies they brought with them into this life……while attesting to the one affirming constant in their lives.

We bear, at least the the fortunate among us, the mark of our mother. No matter what her personal way of showing it she has, through all the years and decades from then to now, provided the solid grounding and firm foundation from which our young adventurers were sent off to live their lives.

From day one they were loved, and they knew it. It was a mother’s love. Whether she made it known in a tender touch, or not so subtle no-nonsense reminder, they knew they could count on her.

While Dad was off trying to make sense of his own sometimes confusing world, Mom was maintaining the nurturing home they relied on. Yet even then there was another truth, a too-often unnoticed bit of irony, at work. 

You see, fact is Dad has always needed Mom’s “mothering” as much as those growing, “becoming” kids that hurried through our lives. He has always relied on the way she keeps us on track, never allowing his sometimes off-the-wall schemes and dreams to distract from the central reality of “family.”

And, as it is in every family, further proof of Mother’s efforts is reflected in the young families her children are creating and raising. 

There is simply no way that a single day is enough to honor and celebrate what she means to us. It does, however, provide an opportunity to once again restate the truth of it……..the circle remains unbroken……..because of Mom.

Happy Mother’s Day to all you mothers.

Standing at the edge of.............

Remember what we used to call the “real world’? I’m guessing that most of our October/November generation can recall those times, especially those of us living in the US of A, where we not-so-humbly accept our assumed privileges as proof of Heaven’s endorsement of our efforts.

Yet, we need not dig very deep for hints of how we have abused those opportunities, the ones our people fought so hard to gain.

Am I right in my belief that our extravagant blessings carry with them great responsibility? Should we expect more than we are receiving from our nation, its leaders, and its people when we have been endowed with such wonderful freedoms and expansive lifestyles?

Is it possible that we have failed the legacy we were gifted? You and I can debate the day’s headlines…….and whether we view any given event as evidence of amazing success or colossal failure.

Yet no matter what the occasion, what the “given event” might be…….. extreme division and polarity among the stakeholders is seldom a recipe for unbridled success? Are the greatest leaders of any persuasion the ones who sow discontent and division among the population that will ultimately decide the result they hope to achieve?

Consider our present situation. An endless flood of “funny money” is being thrown in every direction, though it seems to take longer to reach the fringes. Meanwhile, the disruptive elements of corporate greed, competing channels of  communication, and the cult-like direction of an insecure, yet persuasive TV celebrity are taking us places we may not have intended to to go.

Have you ever tuned in to both narratives at the same time…… listening as Rachel Maddow and Sean Hannity tell the same story? You might well conclude they are reporting on different events on different planets.

And the truth of it? Well, I have my opinion and I’ll bet you have yours. Still, our leaders, the ones who claim to represent us carry on……leaving us to judge their results and draw our own conclusions about whom they actually represent.

And where will our nation be when the dust settles? Will we be on the verge of Making America Great Again, or standing at the cliff’s edge, peering down on the crumbled remnant of our Great American Democratic Experiment?

To be sure, it was the virus that triggered our current dilemma. But it was an already chaotic environment, the not-so-fertile soil on which that corona seed landed, and from which it sprouted, that has managed to muddle our national response. 

From the chaos of the present endemic we hear again an old, but applicable slogan. “We are all in this together.” That is so true……be it facing an unfriendly virus or the disintegration of our Democratic dream.

To repeat,  I fear we are standing at the edge of an eventful, possibly deflating future……............…wondering whom, if anyone, will be able to lead us from the societal wasteland that stretches out                    before us.

Quarantine quivers

       

      As you have surely guessed by now, the wife and I are long removed from the high life…..if ever we were there. In even the best of times our octogenarian days tend to be calm and quiet. Still, I’ve heard it said that too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. 

It has taken only a couple weeks of enforced confinement in a world of Corona chaos to have me dealing with a serious case of quarantine quivers and ‘stay-at-home’ heebie-jeebies…….bouncing wall to wall,  from one dark mood to another, longing for a few moments of therapeutic peace and quiet.

That began again early this morning, listening to a pair of TV talking heads debate the virtues and pitfalls of Quanitative Easing, corporate bailouts, and helicopter money drops.

Those two had me recalling my long-ago Economics class, where the monotone professor reminded us that just like every family on the block any fiscally responsible nation must live within its means, or pay the dreaded inflationary piper.

By then I was wondering how that economic logic meshes with today’s ‘fiscal alchemy,’ where the Fed, Congress, and Prez create trillions….with a ’T’…..out of thin, politically-charged hot air. Who will pay the piper this time? And when the dust finally settles, what will be the unforeseen costs of our fiscal extravagance?

About the time those uncomfortable questions had my blood pressure clicking up a notch or two I was overtaken by a pair of apparently opposing, yet equally unpleasant bits of modern reality.

While the cursed virus wreaks havoc around the world, it hurts to realize how fragmented, befuddled, and often inept our nation’s response has been. It seems we had a right to expect more and better. Instead, I am reminded of the all-too-relevant wisdom of the great and wonderful Pogo……….”We have met the enemy, and he is us.”

At this point, months into a potentially deadly pandemic the best response we have found to date is retreat……slowing down the disease’s advance by withdrawing from what we call “normal.” True, that seems to be working…….but at a very high cost.

It is hard to call our strategy an outright win when the price to be paid by so many of our people is hunger, unemployment, loss of small businesses, and possible financial ruin. Most of us feel perfectly capable of pursuing the life we call “normal.” Yet in the name of stopping the pandemic we are told we must “Stay home.” If I was in that boat, with a hungry family to feed, long food-bank waits, and/or a family business on the line I believe I would be tempted to raise a little hell.

So what are the options? Stay at home and slow the death rate……..while exposing so many, especially those most in need, to hunger, depression, and bankruptcy?

Should we put our people back to work and accept the likelihood of resurging casualties? It is a choice worthy of King Solomon’s biblical wisdom. And God knows we have is no Solomon in charge today.

I don’t claim to be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I am usually able to stumble toward what seems to me the right answer. Unfortunately, today there seems to be two, somewhat incompatible “right answers.” I urge you to consider both of them, then follow your conscience. As for my house…………we are staying home.

And while we are here, in the comfort of our four walls, I intend to once again indulge in a bit of low-grade escapism. I invite you to join me there, if you are so inclined. Simply make you way to the link below.  Once on that new page scroll down to the “Photos” section, and at the bottom of that display click on “See all.” 

On the next page scroll down to “All photos.” Click on the first picture and settle back to soak up the sights and feel of a more comfortable place. Scroll through the “Comments” on the side of the page……. notes from all over the world. Then, using the arrow at the side of the photo, move on to the next scene. 

With that brief introduction I invite you to move beyond today’s trials for a few minutes or hours, knowing all that everything you hope to escape will be waiting for you when you return from your mind-bending travels. 

Why not check out This Magic Link and enjoy a few minutes in a better place? 

Corona? No thanks.

       

      This is another of my purely selfish posts. I want the following bit of contemporary history, in an easy-reading poetic form, to be saved……. available to be read and reread in the future.

Using the moniker “Ednold,” our maverick poet has painted an all-too-familiar word picture of what has become an all-too-familiar reality for each of us. For best effect try reading it out loud.

For those who are interested, more of Ednold’s ramblings wait HERE.

Finally, please feel free to share this bit of rhyming fun as you will.

CORONA? NO THANKS.

Would I like a Corona?

A year ago, YES!

But that was before

We were all in this mess

Now we’re living confined 

To our own home address

But then, things could be worse

I’m still alive, more or less

Things have recently changed

Now we’re stuck in our houses

With all of our pets and our

Children and spouses

We all just stand around

Like some sheep or some cowses

Fearing tiny little bugs 

That are smaller than louses

This thing we can’t see

It has caused isolation

And has forced us all into

Spring-time hibernation

For this wee little thing 

There is no medication

But this distancing requires

Some real dedication

A big part of the plan

Is to keep our hands clean

That’s not too big a problem

I’ve always been keen

Cleaner hands now, I think

You may never have seen

They belong on the cover 

Of “Hands” magazine

We keep washing our hands

I’m a hand-washing fool now

And I don’t touch my face

Because that is the rule now

I know some of you think

That I’m just a big tool now

But the joke is on you

Because hygiene is cool now

Online you can place

All your household need orders

I’m stocking up now

On my lagers and porters

But leave me some TP

You panicking hoarders 

What kind of incessant poopers

Do you have for boarders?

They say we’ll be safe 

If we just stay alone

Far from friends and our kin

In a six-foot-wide zone

If we want to converse

Well, we each have a phone

On my face I have taken

To wearing a cone

I’m trying to stay healthy

Please excuse my insistence

I need a wide berth

You must maintain your distance

I’m guarding my turf now

With dogged persistence

Your attempts to intrude

Will be met with resistance

I’m minding my six feet

With vigor and verve

Defending this space

That I now must preserve

Why are you encroaching?

You must have some nerve

If you get any closer

I’ll flatten YOUR curve!

Dude! What are you doing?

Stay out of my bubble

You must give me my space 

Or there just might be trouble

I don’t want to reduce

Your whole face into rubble

So politely back off now

Quick-time, on the double!

I said give me my six feet

You unthinking swine!

I am giving you yours

And you can’t give me mine?

Get away from me now

Must I draw you a line?

Just take two more steps backward

And then we’ll be fine

How I long for the days

When the traffic was slow

People all in my way

Everywhere I would go

These days they avoid me 

Like the plague, don’t you know?

Will those bad days be back?

We can only hope so

My kitty’s not scared

It’s strange with that cat

She’s not worried by a virus

She sleeps where she sat

And the birds at the birdfeeder

Just getting fat

Don’t seem too concerned

Tell me, what’s up with that?

Premier League, where are you?

I miss you, I say

And my 4am meetings with you

On gameday

Now there are no weekly fixtures

No Wembley in May

For just one good derby

What wouldn’t I pay?

Are there any sports on?

Yeah! It’s ESPN8!

Dodgeball? On TV?

Wonderful. Great.

The Masters in autumn?

Now that’s a new date!

An odd-year Olympics?

We’ll just have to wait

So I read my dad’s book

That he’d just completed

It was full of advice

That, of course, I’d not heeded

But my unread-book stack

It has hardly receded

I should crack one book open

Each time that I’m seated

And thank god for Netflix

And those girls all from Derry

And the show’s one sane person 

I can so relate, Gerry!

Just how do you put up

With Grandpa Joe and Mary?

And old Uncle Colm

Is he weird? I’d say “very”

We’re zooming, we’re skyping,

We’re facetiming too

Imagine 10 years ago

What would we do?

I chat with my siblings 

Now that’s something new

And my kids and my parents

I could chat with you!

I’ve seen more of my niece

And my nephews of late

Than I’ve seen them in years

Now they don’t have to wait

To see cool Uncle Ednold

It’s now a weekly date

Their desire to see me

I’m sure I can’t sate

I even did Zumba

The class was online

No one saw me dancing

So it was just fine

I still ache from that dancing

Which is not a good sign

The next class I take 

Will involve beer or wine

Mrs. Ednold is lucky

And I’m glad you’re home, honey

And you still have a job

We’re not yet out of money

Do you think you’ll still be here

When the weather’s real sunny?

Some strange things this April:

No egg hunt, no bunny

But millions are out of work

What will they do?

The have-nots list is growing

The haves are but few

Lots of people need help

There’s no end to that queue

I hope soon we can say

“Things are better, woohoo!”

What’s it like for the people

Who are still employed

At a job where they spend all day 

Trying to avoid

All that sickness while having

Their bubble destroyed

By us people who need them?

I’d be quite annoyed

Something else bugs me

Some people are “essential”

As if some people aren’t

We should be penitential

I think everyone is

Or at least has potential

To be worthy of having

That self-same credential

And the sick call takes longer

Each day that I hear it

Will I one day be added?

I hope not, but I fear it

Keep that virus away

I don’t want to be near it

And when it’s finally died off

I will certainly cheer it

Talking heads on TV

With their endless dumb prattle

I could get better info

From goats or some cattle

They must tell us who’s winning

The global death battle

Who’s got more cases now?

New Orleans or Seattle?

Are we all really needing

Non-stop information

On the latest update

To some new regulation?

Common sense is the best thing

In plan formulation

To save those at risk

In our whole population

It bothers me, the blaming

“We should have been more prepared

If we just had more of this

Or of that, we’d be spared”

But all of the onus

Should really be shared

We knew it was coming

But back then, who cared?

Hey! We’ve just moved ahead

Of that one boot-shaped nation

USA’s #1

In this virus invasion!

We can’t really enjoy it

We can’t take a vacation

This win doesn’t come with

That winning sensation

But there’s an upside to being 

Stuck here in this box

I’m now not wearing pants

Though I put on some socks

You don’t have to dress up

To avoid this new pox

And spending the day

In my undies, it rocks!

One more good thing, I guess:

We’re all using less gas

Now I only use some

When I’m mowing the grass

And I walk everywhere

I don’t need a bus pass

Since there’s nowhere to go

I just sit on my ass

We can look on the bright side

Some things are still good

And some things stand much better

Than they’ve ever stood

Our pollution is down

And I think that we could

Make the good things a trend

Yes, I think that we should

We should keep looking out

For the ones who could use it

And when people are kind

Let’s try not to abuse it 

If there’s something to say

Try not to fake-news it

Let’s keep thinking of others

Let’s try not to lose it

There’s sickness all over

In each hemisphere

So many have already lost

Someone dear

I may say silly things

But I want to be clear

I hope no one I know loses

Someone who’s near

To end this, my friends

Please let me just take

One moment in all

Of this rhyming and make

Just one final point

While you’re all still awake

Please take care of yourselves

Just for old Ednold’s sake

www.ednold.wixsite.com/cphc