Tonto and the Lone Ranger...

Trying to move to the "lighter" side of things ... 

I find it oddly amusing that I easily remember the name of the Lone Ranger’s side kick, Tonto, but that I cannot at times remember where I put my wallet/reading glasses/keys.  Now some people in my age group and surrounds would find this to be concerning.  Not me.  I think of it in one of two ways…both normal and relatively harmless ... unless the item you are forgetting has an open flame.

First - when you find yourself standing in a room wondering what it is that you came to retrieve and have no idea what it was, don’t think you are losing it.  Obviously, you have crossed through/under an archway of some sort… maybe more than one.  There are existing studies that speculate on the inner workings of your brain when you do this.  I read about it – can’t remember where.

And second… there is such a thing as benign forgetfulness.  Now there are a lot of things written about this phenomenon, but I choose to ignore all the scary, age related ones and instead to focus on the mentions of stress, anxiety and just plain being overloaded with information and stimuli.  This is a fast-paced world in which we live – we are constantly bombarded with all sorts of information and, let’s face it, misinformation.  Even if we take current events off our minds ... just think of all the things we manage throughout even one single hour of every day… or even in one moment....Did you think about it?  Did you start to make a mental list?  Impressive, right?   

We are rather amazing, are we not?  Anyway – I say take the pressure off… so what if you forget a name once in a while, or take a couple extra seconds to think of the exact word you want… or even if you have concerns similar to the missing wallet/reading glasses/keys issue previously mentioned.  It happens to everyone.  I have even heard young people talk about it. Forget it.  We are just fine.  Go forth….  

The saga continues...

Eleven months ago now, thinking that "it" would only last a few weeks, a close "cousin/friend/like a sister" and I began to "document" the "rural" experience with the damncovid -- although we didn't call it that back then.  I think we actually called it Covid 19... and then that transitioned into "the rona" and from there things went downhill.  The idea was and still is that someday descendants of ours would find this documentation in a dusty bin in someone's attic and be able to read about our experiences during this time. (She lives in a small lakeside village in Chautauqua County in Southwestern New York and I live in a rural township in Erie County in Northwestern Pennsylvania  - just six miles from the Pennsylvania/New York State border.) 

Some background on the process of this writing... I sincerely believe that personal journals give a legitimate accounting of things -- much preferable to those accounts of dubious journalists or removed historians who seem to sometimes believe that all life worth living occurs only in the big city. Further -- I found personal journals to be just what I was looking for when, for example, I was researching over two hundred years of history of the small parcel of land that I own.  Personal journals are the best. You go in knowing that you are reading one person's account from the very start...for them it is true and accurate for that moment in that particular place. You know the "limitations" going in.  All that being said -- our joint recounting is impressive.  It is a depiction of many challenges and of some meaningful victories ... a seemingly odd combination. There are tears and there are moments of laughter.  It is a telling of families trying to sort out unexpected problems, a story of resilience and of attempting to do the best they can within trying and unknown territory. It is -- at least in part -- just like the lives that all of us have been living for the past year or so. Some of the details may vary from place to place, but there is a common bond among us all. (I think people would do well to think more about that bond -- the things we share -- the similarities... rather than the differences.)

Anyway -- we did not anticipate the lengthy duration of the damncovid and we find now that we have over 700 pages of documentation - some of which we simply must edit, because we do not want our descendants to find us to be two crazy old eccentrics with language that sometimes is more befitting to, let us say, people who slam their fingers with a hammer while trying to fix something or while trying to start a cranky lawnmower.  I am thinking that you understand what I am saying.  Frustration sometimes salts and colors language.  To continue... this editing task looms.  Then again somewhere beneath the surface, I am actually beginning to think that maybe it might be more honest to just make two copies and let it stand as it is. (I do feel though that we do need to find time to correct the occasional spelling and grammatical errors as we were both English majors in college and I know that I for one just cannot help myself. I am thinking that she may feel the same way about her writing.  I will have to ask her.)

So... for the sake of the descendants who may discover this record and really for the sake of the entire world, let's get this pandemic thing over with. Now would be good.  Right?  One more set of minor concerns.... I wonder if we will need to make a reservation at a copying place?  How long does it take to copy what will probably end up over 1000 pages long?  Is Kinkos still in existence?  Do those UPS and FedEx stores offer copying services?  Do they offer discounts? Coupons? Will have to check on that.

Pandora's Box

Obviously 2020 will go down in history as a challenging time for a combination of reasons.  It was like someone opened a Pandora’s box and out came the devastations of disease, the wrecking ball of Mother Nature, and … the deadly spread of violence and hatred -- like spilled hot, sticky stuff. Yep – unexpected troubles were unleashed upon an unsuspecting world for sure. And to make matters worse -- all of this continues into 2021.

However -- perhaps we would be wise to keep in mind as we enter 2021 that there is yet another interpretation of this Greek myth.  Some say that Pandora actually released a questionable present – one that appears good on the outside, but is in truth a wicked curse and that curse then comes to be unleashed upon an unsuspecting world.  Hmmm…

Now neither of those interpretations is pleasant, but…  those of you familiar with this myth will remember that Pandora managed to close that box before the very bottom item was able to escape. That item was Hope … and in both interpretations … Hope is saved.  The pessimist might say that Hope is alive, but it is trapped in a box. Others of a more optimistic bent might say that Hope remains in the world.  I, for one, am hanging on to the happier interpretation of this ending. I can't help myself... although... a lot of things are happening in the world today that I never thought would be possible. It is discouraging to say the least. 

Ugh... big, fat, heavy... and... dirty boots....

 

This week I was going to tale a break from all the scary things that are happening and instead post a blog about the journalistic efforts involved in a damncovid project I am currently working on with another voice of small-town America. Maybe I will be able to post that next week if things calm down a little bit.  Today I am compelled to talk about the right to free speech.  That issue is important to me and I am thinking that it is important to you as well. Do you know one single American who does not cherish the right to say what he or she wants to say? Do we not all want to be heard?  I used to joke that it was a good thing that I didn’t live during the times of the Salem witch trials because I would have been burned at the stake, hung, or dunked repeatedly into some slime covered pond for sure – just because I would not have been able to keep my opinions to myself.  I am not going to joke about that today.

Here’s the thing.  It seems that those in power at the moment, such as several Big Tech “platforms”, are taking every opportunity to erase each voice that may disagree with the thinking of the currently “self-proclaimed to be popular” stance on things. In contrast – others -- not in this inner circle -- might see this position as a rather condescending and clueless elitist attitude. Have you noticed how bossy and pushy these people are?  They are really appallingly narrow and/or close minded… so disappointing.  It’s like they are afraid to hear what others may have to say. What are they so afraid of?  To think that I remember the day when liberal meant open-minded.  My how language evolves over time. Yep – I am getting older every minute….

Anyway – back to the point –these days any comment on a matter… or each comment that does not meet or further a certain agenda is just simply erased.  Poof… gone….  What is that agenda? The answer to that question is also frightening.  Now I realize that these powerful companies are privately owned and can do pretty much what they want to do, but I thought it meant something when they advertised themselves as forums where people could express and exchange ideas within certain limits. (Obviously no one can yell fire in a closed theater… that kind of thing.)  What is most amazing to me is that few people are saying much about the current state of affairs.  Is this because they, too, think that they will be “punished” in some way if they express their dismay, horror, or disbelief that this could happen in the United States of America? How can it be possible these tyrants have removed themselves so much from us common folk that they now exist in some isolated bubble that does not embrace any sense of what it is like in the world that is not elitist or entitled?  The condescension of these people is most unpalatable. And... the thing is… they don’t get it at all.  It is a do as I say, not as I do mentality. You can see this in other touchy areas in these times as well.  Sad really… and… somewhat infuriating.   Further – what is really amazing to me is that many of these people don’t see their own condescension. They think they are entitled to do whatever they want to do because they are in the catbird seat at the moment. They are enjoying having the upper hand. I call it the Marie Antoinette syndrome. I think that inability to take a look at a broader view is what is most dangerous. 

I realize as this rant comes to and end that -- in some sense I am entitled too...but in a different sense of the word.   I am entitled to think and to say whatever I want to think and to say.  You know what? You are too.  We all are. Let’s celebrate that.  I promise you this.  Even if I disagree with you, I cherish your rights to think and say what you want as much as I do my own. Further – even if I disagree with you, I will not hate you or try to “cancel” you.  There is room for a fair exchange of ideas – this is America after all.

All that being said, if my Facebook page suddenly disappears or Blogspot, owned by Google, drops my blog… you will know what has happened.  I am small potatoes, but these days – who knows. These bullies have big, fat, heavy… and … dirty boots.

 

 

And so 2021 begins...

 Here we are in the new year that all of us have been waiting for with hope and anticipation of a new beginning of, among other wonderful things, a healthier, calmer, kinder year. So… obviously, that is not happening. I don’t know about you, but it is going to take me awhile to sort out all the events of yesterday. And – if the “news” is an indication of anything, I simply must mention that among all the things that we need to think about as American citizens is that all Representatives and Senators -- well all elected officials actually -- need to take pause and think what they have done or not done to contribute to all that has happened and is happening and … all that will happen.  It is so easy to point fingers, but as my best friend’s Mom used to say when we were growing up, “Be careful when pointing fingers, because when you do, there are four more fingers pointing back at you.  She also reminded us to ask ourselves three questions before talking.  “Is it kind? Is it true? Is it necessary?  She was a most wise woman. I miss her.

I, for one, am going to take some time now to try to sort out what is going on in our wonderful country.  Oh, how I wish I had a source of information that was not telling me what I should think and feel about things.  I have always questioned just how objective a reporter of news could be, because there is, after all, the human component to be considered, but in these times the “news’ is so slanted and full of opinion that it is difficult to sort anything out and that slant and opinion changes as the channels change.

Reporters during the Vietnam era simply lied outright to the American people.  In contrast or perhaps in addition to the lying aspect, reporters today of the mainstream “news” have become commentators, not conveyors of events. And the thing is, they don’t even try to disguise their role.  They are just “in your face’ with their interpretation of things assuming, blatantly, that of course you will believe them because you are stupid. Well – that is just not true.  I am not stupid. You are not stupid.  All of this makes it beyond difficult to sort through all the muck. The thing is – the news media still doesn’t get it.  We are on to them. It would be sad if it were not so potentially dangerous. Well maybe it is still sad. 

So here we are again, just when we hoped things could be different – you know – the dreams of healthier, calmer, kinder times.  It’s discouraging. It’s exhausting. “The more things change, the more they stay the same”. I had hoped for better.  I am thinking that you did too.  Sorry – no magic wands here.  If I had one, I would share it with you.  Honest.