Initial Descent
I hate flying. I hate everything about it, from getting to and parking at the airport to the crowds trying to get through check-in and security. Then there is getting through the mass of humanity in the terminal and being herded and packed into the sardine can of a modern jet airliner. And the passengers, don’t get me started on my fellow passengers, a more selfish, grotesque and entitled bunch you could not dream up in your worst nightmares. The most uncomfortable part of the whole awful experience is the seating, and the gamble of getting the worst possible human being seated next to you and the jerk in the seat directly in front that has to lower his chair into your knees. The minuscule cookie or tiny bag of peanuts with a dribble of soda that passes for a snack these days is the ultimate insult, it is almost worth paying a astronomical amount for a drink of something stronger to numb the mental processes in order to survive the flight.
The only good thing about the entire process is reaching that almost imperceptible moment when you feel the slightest pause in the hiss of the atmosphere over the airframe of the jet that signals a decrease of speed and a beginning drop in altitude leading to an eventual landing and an end to your ordeal. This initial descent is the most anticipated and joyous part of the whole flight for me.
In the last couple of weeks I have experienced something very close to that moment when you realize that the initial descent has occurred. Certainly the recent national elections are a cause for hope as the more radical elements were slowed and in many cases rejected for a more moderate approach. To be sure, there is a still grave danger to our democracy, but perhaps younger voters may ultimately reject the extreme politics of our aging, white, brain-dead elected representatives. There is also, finally, a louder voice saying we need to be more proactive in defending our planet against climate change and environmental damage. Many countries are starting to become more concerned about the future consequences of further inactivity in limiting global warming. The recent crashes in crypto money and declines in the fortunes of Amazon, Facebook, Twitter and others have busted the myth of the billionaire genius techno wizards. It is, as it always was, a bunch of clueless nerds with too much money making mostly ill informed decisions for us. Another myth recently busted is the superiority of the Russian military as a threat to the rest of the world. They couldn’t even take on the Ukrainians. In another view of our climate crisis, we are actually getting worried that bad things could really be happening to us. In the next couple of years there may not be enough water in the Colorado River for the number of people living in the Western US dependent on it. But, at least we realize that now, and are beginning to doing things to help with the problem.
There is still a long way to go for a safe landing and a lot of awful people to deal with when we get there, but our initial descent has begun and it is a hopeful beginning. (Below, My son Rob sitting on a precipice above the Colorado River in Canyonlands National Park years ago, when there was still plenty of water in the river.)
