Back to the Future

Well. 2021 has finally arrived with a boatload of expectations.  Suddenly the world was going to be a better place and all bad things would come to an end.  Have I missed something?   

Yes, Covid vaccines are slowly becoming available.  Still, too many people are getting sick and dying. 

Yes, political harassing phone calls and junk mail have ended.  The future of our country is still uncertain. 

Yes, school systems have worked out ways to keep our children’s learning process in motion.  Some students are using the pandemic as an excuse for future failures. 

Yes, we won’t see the Budweiser Clydesdales in a commercial during the Super Bowl this year.  They don’t care and they are just as happy to be home in their cozy stalls. 

Yes, our military is spending less time fighting in foreign countries.  Instead, they are needed at home to protect us from ourselves and our neighbors. 

Yes, all lives matter.  Still, some people think certain lives matter more than others. 

Unfortunately, we can’t snap our fingers and make bad things go away.  We will have to have patience to let time take its course; uphill battles take more time and energy than downhill plunges.  Having patience though does not entitle you to do nothing but wait until an outcome has been established.  Rather it means doing what you can successfully do, while letting things beyond your control at the moment, take its course.   

Instead of getting riled up by staying on social media for hours on end, try reading a book.  If you have the time to be online you certainly can spend some immersed in a good story be it fiction or otherwise.  It’s a good way to get a different perspective on things we may be taking for granted.  

Instead of bemoaning the fact that you are cooped up with your immediate family, embrace it.  Talk to your kids!  Tell them stories about when you were their age – embellish if you must.  Ask them questions and actually listen.  Work on a project together be it a puzzle, painting a room or the entire family contributing and burying a time capsule in the backyard. Get in the car and find a highway you’ve never travelled; see where it leads you! 

We can’t be sure where 2021 will lead us but we can learn from the past and plan ahead for our future.  We can’t waste time making excuses for the past.  Now is the time to step forward into our future and make it better. 

Stay safe and stay prepared. 

Sharon 

Just Thinking

I’ve been staying quiet lately, not seeing any reason to add to the political noise.  We have all been bombarded by unsolicited phone calls, emails, and doorbell ringers for the last few months as well as enough junk mail stuffed in our mailboxes to rebuild a national forest. Escape wasn’t even close to possible in TV Land where each commercial break was nothing more than diatribes exposing one candidate’s faults and their opponent’s virtues.  Well, the election is over, sort of, and we can go back to normal, sort of.  Unless you live in Georgia! 

Here, with two races that will determine control of the Senate, we will continue being bombarded until the runoff election in January.  Both parties will be throwing millions of dollars into this campaign and will be making a push to get every person who was not registered in the national November election to get registered in time to vote in January.  It is great to see so many people who never bothered in the past to fully understand the fact that every vote does count.

There will be a lot of young people voting in Georgia this January for the first time.  They are enthusiastic and optimistic about their future.  My hope is that they will seriously consider all the facts before they make such important decisions.  What may sound good in a speech may not look so good on paper when they are handed the bill.  Look at the whole picture.  TANSTAAFL, or, There Ain’t No Such Thing as a Free Lunch, are words to think about and take seriously.

SURVIVALIST #37, RIDE THE DRAGON is coming along and The Posse will have their hands full as always keeping Michael and the rest of the Rourke family out of harm’s way.  A war is on the horizon, but not all the players have committed their alliances.  What does it take to just enjoy a normal life with your loved ones?  Obviously, it entails lots of violence and bloodshed as well as conspiracies and betrayals.

Another project I’ve been working on is a book of short stories/memoirs titled STORMY NIGHTS.  It’s a collection of childhood remembrances with some fictional stories I’ve been wanting to tell. It covers everything from truck drivers to dentists, to rich uncles and Spanish Draculas, to power-hungry computers who want to rule the world.  Oh, and ghosts; let’s not forget ghosts!

As COVID-19 continues to control our daily activities and curtail so many things we associate with the holidays we need to stay strong in spirit and help those who may need a little boost.  Social distancing sucks but it doesn’t mean you can’t get on the phone or use zoom and spend a few minutes with a friend or family member living alone.  When is the last time you sent someone a holiday card or wrote a letter?  Little things can count.  Think about it.

Sharon

Remember?

Remember not so long ago when we were scared and held onto our loved ones, our friends, and even strangers?  Life and the pursuit of happiness suddenly were no longer a given.  We stared at the television:  structures collapsing amid billowing dust and smoke, men and women wondering zombie-like covered in white powder, newscasters in panic mode trying to report when, in fact, no one knew what the facts were.  Was this just the beginning?  Chaos and fear spread. 

Fear eventually turned to anger and a determination to fight back.  We, as a nation, strove to work together to make things right, to turn things around, and show the world what it means to be America strong.  No one cared about the color of a person’s hand when they lifted up the rubble trying to locate survivors or, where he or she went to church or what language they spoke. Questions weren’t asked as to what country a responder was born in as they pulled out a victim’s lifeless body.  Everyone’s blood looked the same running through the transfusion tubes on its way to save a life.  Elected officials broke down the barriers of party lines enough to help our mourning nation. We worked to restore our broken homeland.  We stood respectively for the American flag. Our military ranks swelled as young people saw their chance to help protect our land. We were united by a stronger bond than politics or race or gender. We were Americans! 

The United States proved that it could be one nation for all.  We flew our flags, raised money to help victims, and praised our first responders for their outstanding work and diligence, as well as for, in many cases, their ultimate sacrifices.  Churches, civic groups, and entertainers worked to comfort those in need and to soothe the cries of our frightened children.  Monuments were erected to those who lost their lives.  

Heroes, we had many heroes.  Most heroes never had their names mentioned on the nightly news or spelled out in the papers but their deeds helped pull us back from the brink.  They did what they did because it was the right thing to do.  We as a country stood together under one flag, one goal, all Americans.  We vowed to never forget. We created and celebrate Patriot Day. 

What happened? 

"A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has first destroyed itself from within….”

 Will Durant, The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the World's Greatest Philosophers 

Sharon

September: Time For Some Fresh Air

This year, 2020, will certainly go down in the history books as a one-way roller coaster ride, all downhill. At the very least, it has been way beyond stressful for most people.  What we took for granted in 2019, will never again be a sure thing.  Jobs and education have been put on hold.  Daycare for children and the infirm have not been available for those who need it.  Families and friends have become separated during times of joyful occasions and times of sorrow.  The simple act of a hug or kiss could turn deadly. 

Little annoyances have turned into bigger ones.  Delivery services are overburdened and have overtaken their capacity to deliver goods on time.  It isn’t a major issue if the shoes you ordered arrive two days later than promised but it could impact a person who needs their medication.  With a major upcoming election, some voters are unsure if mail-in ballots will arrive in time to be counted.  Even with the shadow of the coronavirus lurking, I believe many of us will stand in line and vote at designated polling places rather than take the slight risk of our vote not tabulated.

Grocery shopping has become one of my major annoyances. Well, actually, it’s always been near the top of my list.  Sure, wear the mask and fluctuate between a panic attack and respiratory distress.  I understand that spreading germs is bad!  Limiting the number of customers inside at one time is a good idea, keeping people spread out.  Then why, when I’m trying to get my groceries and get out quickly, do these customers have to congregate in the middle of an aisle and discuss the day’s activities while blocking anyone from getting around them. Half the store is empty!  They see me!  They can’t be blind and deaf to my “excuse me’s.”  They just ignore me and keep talking while pushing their young children back into the carts to sit next to the heads of lettuce and boxes of cereal. 

I’ve tried eye contact and raising my voice.  What if I say something that annoys one of them or is construed as offensive? My next instinct is to push my cart into their “cone of conversation” circle and see if that gets any attention but I suspect a riot and a food fight might be frowned upon by the establishment.  I worry too about our location.  Throwing bags of hamburger buns and dark rye bread is one thing but I’m trapped near the canned vegetables and soup.  Things could get ugly!  I could retreat, and go back the way I came from but that would mean I would be going against the direction the arrows are pointed.  If I’m apprehended by one of the store’s employees, they might disinfect me and make me start all over.  I could get stuck behind one of those people who have to pick up every bunch of bananas, looking for the perfect one or worse, a cantaloupe smeller.  Sweat is beading down my forehead and collecting on the rim of my mask.  What if I scream and yell that I’m having a heart attack?  Will someone get me through to the frozen foods section?  I just want my ice cream!!!

Seriously, with more people returning to work and schools trying to return to some sort of normal, we have a chance to calm down and stop taking our frustrations out on others.  Local schools around here are gearing up for Friday night football, and other activities are starting up on a limited, safe basis.  We are getting into a “places to go and things to do” mode that can have a calming effect on many of us.  Life isn’t going to suddenly change for the better but let’s strive for not making it worse. 

September reminds us that cooler temperatures are on the way and perhaps cooler dispositions will follow.  Yes, we’ve got many problems to solve; let us strive for sorting things out in less destructive ways. 

                        “Stay with me a while
                        I only wanna talk to you
                        We've traveled halfway 'round the world
                        To find ourselves again”

            Neil Diamond September Morn

Stay safe.  Wear a smile under your mask.  No one will see it but you’ll feel better and they’ll never know what you’re thinking as you pass them down Grocery Aisle 5.

Sharon

Turning Back Time

Some random thoughts

Cher said it best when she recorded If I Could Turn back Time. If, that two-letter word has been repeated many times this year.  IF we had known about the Pandemic sooner we could have been better prepared.  IF the leadership of all countries could have communicated with each other, regardless of politics and other differences, information could have been shared.  IF sane and responsible leadership had trickled down to include every city and town, no matter how small.  IF we had listened to our mother and washed our hands more often and learned it’s not good to cough in other people’s faces.

Let’s face reality.  The world was caught completely off-guard with this Pandemic and we all were clueless as to what to do.  With schools closed and social distancing, many of us have been able to slow down and think.  For some, that translates into new ways to support the family, catching up on home projects or maybe just spending more time with the kids. For others, it may be a time of self-evaluation with hopes of coming out of this situation a stronger, better person.

Then we have those who spend their time finding things to complain about.  Finding wrongs and attempting to fix them is an admirable cause but only it is in concurrence of acceptable and workable solutions. Dialogue and compromise must be part of the process.  Dialogue entails words and thoughts that are not shouted or accompanied by threats. No government on this planet is perfect. No law enforcement agency, judicial system, or health care system is perfect.  I can’t think of one person, living or dead that would or could fit that description.  Maybe if we tried to repair things instead of destroying them we’ all come out of this better.

If people generations before us had been more perfect, more socially conscious, more caring – you know, like we are today – the world would be a different place.  Unfortunately, we’re stuck with what we’ve got and we can’t just turn our backs on the past.  History is a little like an old brick house and changing or ignoring the past is equivalent to pulling the bricks out one by one.  Eventually, the structure will collapse and leave all those residing within homeless. Let’s try to settle our differences and keep our house intact.

Truth is, we all need a breather.  Let’s take a break from this virus, violence, inequality, and politics and go back in time when none of this existed.  Yeah, right.  When you find it, let us know!!!

Seriously, we can’t turn back time but we can try to make a better future.

In other news… Folks have been checking if there is another Survivalist book in the works.  As you know, starting with number thirty, they were a joint project of Bob Anderson and me.  When Bob passed away this January I just had to step away for a while and regroup.  I wasn’t ready to think about working on it without Bob.  He loved the series, had some crazy ideas to move the story forward, and was a superb wordsmith. Mostly he was a good friend and I will miss him.  I’m ready to move on now and after a few other projects are completed, Survivalist #37, Ride the Dragon, will be in the works.   The Rourke gang still has a lot of trouble to get themselves out of. I’ll keep you posted.

Sharon