Erik Brooks's Blog, page 14

Harts Pass no. 503

Hmmm, I seem to oscillate back n' forth between depressing Covid news and depressing environmental science news... Perhaps I need to focus on making this comic a little more uplifting rather than relying so much on social commentary? Alas, its a personal exercise more than anything else. A little cathartic drawing is good for the soul!

Harts Pass no. 502

So one of the MANY lame excuses that I have for slow uploads to my site this fall is that I teach full time, coach after school, and have a kid in school of my own who I am trying hard not to ignore before she ever so quickly jumps the ship and heads out into the world on her own. Covid school is pretty OK for us here. 2 days per week of in-person instruction and then another 3 days at home. The school gets sanitized on WED but as teachers we are in the building M/T and TH/FRI. Most kids are "hybrid" but some are fully remote for various reasons. It's a juggle for sure. A MAJOR juggle! But is WAY better than last spring's fully remote for all and we're just about to start week no. 9 with no Covid activity on campus. Onward and upward!

Harts Pass no. 501

Hard to celebrate when you can't actually hug or kiss anyone... but we're not really sure that wolverines socialize like that anyway :) TEN YEARS OF HARTS PASS COMICS!!! (I must be getting old) GRRR!

Harts Pass no. 500

Wolverines in Rainier National Park! Pretty cool to see them showing up in new places (or at the very least finding them there), but traveling right now is kind of a nightmare. GRRR! Maybe next summer...

Harts Pass no. 499

On a slightly different topic, a bunch more wolves were killed in WA state recently. If all things Covid-related are new and different and unsettling, its good to know that the "same old same" old can also be unsettling...

Harts Pass no. 495

Still WAY too many people not willing to wear a mask. Some people are hitting home runs wearing masks... and some people are hiding behind inane right wing propaganda like their concealed carry permits will be invalidated if they wear a mask (not true!) It's not hard. Keep one in your pocket. Keep one in your car. Keep a buff or scarf around your neck and use it as a mask. My wife and I are coaching high school and junior high runners wearing masks. They do it. So can you. Save some lives. This is SUCH a huge little thing.

Harts Pass no. 494

Hiked a trail this week with a bridge out 4 miles in. You could cross the creek with some effort, but it was not an easy thing. A small metaphor for what we are supposed to be doing with our political divide. Build a bridge. Bring people together. Take two far off points and reduce the distance between. Statesmanship is in short supply. We need real leadership not a puffed up schoolyard bully and we need to build bridges.

Harts Pass no. 493

Lots of hiking for me this spring/early summer. LOTS of wildflowers too. Good to find some positive pops of color in all of the Covid gloom. Feeling very lucky to live where social distancing is easy... but also too far away from the easy ability to participate in important protest over social justice inequities that have persisted for FAR too long.

Harts Pass no. 492

I looked REALLY hard to find a good quote about FREEDOM and RESPONSIBILITY. And that's what it comes down to, people. With all of our American freedom comes a true responsibility to do what it right for the common good. Get off of your selfish high horse about not wanting to be told what to do. Think about YOUR high school graduation. Think about YOUR first year of college or your first taste of living on your own and going out and into the world. Now think about how your selfish need to indulge your every whim is keeping SO many kids or others from having that same experience. And I'm being young adult/millenial-centric here because you guys need to step up. You might be at a lower risk of getting really sick, but you also might still be contributing to a greater community spread. If people really want to get back to work. If people really want to get their kids back to school. If people really want the FREEDOM to go and shop and eat out and travel with ease again and all of that... then for the foreseeable future (until we get a vaccine) you need to settle down and do EVERYTHING with a nod towards the greater good. You need to put US and WE first. You need to recognize that everyone will be better off if you think about three other people first before you think about yourself. As it turns out, YOU will actually benefit as well. PS John Dewey has a lot of good writing worth reading as well. Nothing super pithy and quotable, but still. Check him out and realize how little we have progressed regarding ideas of freedom and responsibility and race in the last 100 years.

Harts Pass no. 491

Totally pandemic related, and totally school year/summer break related. There is a fine line for sure between what we were doing and what it felt like when we went on break. Like anything else these days a total recalibration of the norms is necessary. Summer IS hotter BTW!