On Hold...

Am taking a break from blogging as I am currently working on editing the work described in the Preface below.  Looking back through daily writings that began on March 13, 2020  (Friday the 13th) is an interesting journey.  Organizing and editing them is a challenging and time consuming one. Hope to be back at the weekly blog soon or to drop in once in a while here and there. 

                                    A View from Two Porches

     Preface

When researching the history of the small parcel of land on which I live, I found myself in the 1700’s where personal accounts in letters and journals offered the most realistic details of the times.  Ordinary people writing their impressions of their world and stories of their day-to-day lives offered the clearest picture of the way of life, family, and good times as well as of the challenges, stresses, and unexpected hardships.

Fast forward a few centuries and what you will see in this work is a bit of the email exchange over time of two cousins living only about 20 miles apart in two adjoining states, each caught off guard by the pandemic and each determined to come out on the other side a better, more compassionate, and stronger woman… both determined to keep their families together in the face of something no one anticipated, but all had to navigate. They wanted to do it well.

One wrote at night, the other in the morning – each responding to the other. What had been an open line of communication for many years became a lifeline to each – a way to vent, to sort out difficulties, to encourage, to plan and to share the frustrations as well as the good things. Not only do the emails selected here give you an idea of their way of surviving in a Covid world, but also of life in rural America during these times.  They began to save and print their emails as sort of a lark  -- thinking that someday, in years ahead, someone would find their account in a dusty attic bin and wonder who these two "Nanas" were who, so long ago, wrote to preserve their tale of surviving what they came to call the damncovid – uncertain and unsettling times for sure.

Like all journeys this one has its bumps, stumbles and even a fall or two along the way.  In particular you will see mistakes in judgement  -- most easily seen in believing that authorities knew what they were talking about and that those trusted authorities were telling the truth.  There were painful lessons to learn.  Perhaps still are. As we look back, we try to hang on to the belief and the hope that most people were doing the best they could with what they knew at the moment and that most had good intentions – even if that were not the case. Little did we know. We made mistakes, but we always had good intentions and were trying our best. We still do and still are. 

In the words of Isabelle Allende: "Maybe the most important reason for writing is to prevent erosion of time, so that memories will not be blown away by the wind.  Write to register history and name each thing.  Write what should not be forgotten."

Oompa Loompas, Selfies, and Eco-terrorists...

 

It seems to me that as far back as Socrates, we have a written record of the elder generations being critical of the younger ones.  Perhaps it is a side effect of age? Now that I am a septuagenarian, I am a member of this latest elder generation and I really think that I am less ornery and cantankerous than many of this group… although I do mute annoying commercials without guilt and in a rather short-tempered manner.  The thing is – I am thankful to have reached this point. Many friends and family did not. Further -- I find that …most often… I actually enjoy that the generation after me is in charge and get to make all those scary and difficult decisions.  We septuagenarians have done our time there. It’s their turn now. (Ah... remember the days when we thought our parents knew everything? Ah... the blessed ignorance of youth.)

In looking back though – at the same time as trying to keep up to date on the ways of today’s world - there are things that I find amusing in sort of a peculiar way.  Take today’s eco-terrorists for example.   They look surprisingly like many of the great American unwashed hippies of the 60s… same dirty, stringy hair, unruly beards, and frowny and sometimes self-righteous faces.  Sometimes there is even a similar tendency to move toward general irresponsibility and destruction of others’ property as their wishes take priority over everything. A major difference is the lack of Peace and Flower Power signs. I am thinking that they smell the same.

I also must admit that I find cell phone and selfie addiction to be amusing in a twisted way.  Perhaps it is because I, personally, shy away from photos.  It’s bad enough to see myself in the mirror in the morning and wonder who is looking back at me. I haven't changed my profile picture on Facebook in years. That speaks for itself.

I listen to members of two younger generations talk of concerns, of work and school and wonder if they could understand my world of yore. I think back to my Dad telling me about his younger days and wonder if I understand his.  I am not sure I ever thought a whole lot about the life my parents had before I arrived.  There were stories- highlights really, but not the day to day details... at least not enough to piece things together into a complete picture.

I find today's world to be nuts a lot of the time. One thing I know for sure though is that ... I have never ever wondered about the gender of the Oompa Loompas. In fact, I have serious concerns about those who do and about those who find it necessary to declare Oompa Loompas to be gender neutral. Who are these people who want to change the words of others or to ban books? Talk about the height of hubris and "know-it-allness". More fundamentally -- who are these people who think that the Oompa Loompas are real and would therefore be sensitive to such things? It's concerning. Rampant Ridiculosity is alive and well.  Personally I feel like just stepping over it, and moving along my way.  I have more important things to think about. As each day goes by, I am more and more sick of weirdos, no matter their chosen pronouns, trying to push their agendas in my face and down my throat. I am losing patience with all of it. You live your life; I will live mine. Personally... it would be nice to live in a less nutty world.  I am thinking that a lot of elder generations have thought that. They got by. Maybe I am more of a crabby old fuddy-duddy than I would like to acknowledge after all.

There is a lot I don’t understand, but I get by.

Out of step? Maybe.  Don’t care. (I know I am in good company. Go Boomers!)

So I can breathe...

 

In my home I have a small office that I often refer to as The Book Room.  3 of 4 walls are, at least in part, composed of overloaded book shelves. I became annoyed a few months back that the books are two-book deep on many of the shelves and it is hard to find what I am looking for. So… I called upon a local wood working genius to build additional shelves  -- small ones that wrap around three sides of my living room couch. The shelves are the same height as the couch so the two of them on either side can double as side tables. They match the dark woodwork of my home. They are outstanding.  I love them and my granddaughter tells me that sitting on that couch is now extra cozy.  Good enough for me.  Anyway – in sorting through books in order to rearrange them, I have discovered that - naturally over time - several books moved to the bottom of the must read pile, and I now have no idea why I bought them. Obviously I need to move them from the unread category to that of the read.  It’s what I do. "So many books; so little time."

Anyway -- my next soon to be read is a book about a woman’s journey through life in the early 1900’s and her ability to understand her place in her world. Of course reading that on the book jacket got me to thinking (for a few moments) about what I personally understand about myself and my life’s journey. 

The following brief comments are the result of that "scattered thought process”. I also think that I am not alone in this kind of "thing". Am I correct in this?  Here goes...

In a world that at times seems upside down to me, I am the kind of person who:

• has a brand new coffee maker in the basement - still in the unopened original box.  I think of it as the "stand by" coffee maker – waiting in the wings – essential and ready to go. I like knowing that it is there.
• makes notes in books even though I know I will most likely never go back to them.
• keeps all necessary ingredients for homemade Monkey Bread on hand -- always. You know ... in case of emergency hankerings. (Thanks again, PB, for the recipe!)
• if I sleep-in past 5 AM, feels like I am moving through the day with my shoes on the wrong feet.
• has wondered at times if Santa is ever overwhelmed by the flood of greedy letters.

Then on the more serious side... I am the kind of person who:

• wonders sometimes if raving environmentalists know that they “come off” as fascists and then wonders if they care.
• knows that all fears need to be handled carefully.
• when holding things inside wonders if it is obvious from the outside that inside my head I am screaming.
• thinks that it is never “Good-bye; it is always “See you later”.
• is amazed that life can be both simple and complex within the same moment. 
• carries a small notebook around with her most of the time -- just in case I need to write down some idea that I don't want to forget.     

And finally…. I am the kind of person who knows that writing may not solve anything, but it helps me breathe in this world that at times seems upside down to me.