Diary 31

Saturday, April 18th

This morning provided the surprise of 2 or 3 inches of wet snow. I don’t think the flowers or buds appreciated that. After a winter of very little snow and warmish temperatures one can’t help feeling that things are out of balance. This time, now, when people are getting cabin-fever and taking walks outside like never before, would be a superb time to think about climate and what we might want to do to try and stabilize it. After all, we seem to value Nature more than ever we did before in our rush-around-in-cars-and-planes days. 

Those days may soon be back, though. The various protesters around the country who want to end the lockdown seem to be making progress. The “president” is saying he thinks they’re ‘very responsible’. They give voice to some of our frustrations, though. It’s like watching someone scale a fence to get into a ball game, and then we wonder if we’re chumps for standing in line to buy a ticket. Except the consequences are likely to be worse, in this case.

Such actions seem, to me, to be almost typical of some “American” values as other nations might see us. We don’t wait. We barge ahead. We always have. Open up the country and a few more people will die. So what? It won’t be me. That’s the thinking – if one can call it thinking. Perhaps it’s displaced rage at the gross inqualities we see daily, and so it becomes a sufficient scapegoat.

I think whimsically of one placard that read: “I need a haircut!” Well, so do I. Not that anyone sees me, because I don’t go out much these days….  My wife has ordered clippers (there’s long wait time for those) and says she’ll take care of it, or me. 

I can hardly contain my excitement.