As vaccine cards are issued and COVID masks come off in our neighborhood — not that masks were ever fully on or that everyone has acquired a card — we can move about the country in a more unrestrained manner. I use the word, “our,” because, we still can’t get into Canada except by special permission. Travel overseas is possible, but the hoops are many and convoluted and each country has its own rules about the proper response to COVID-19. Eighteen months after it reared its head, nobody knows yet quite what to do with the coronavirus.
The good news.
The good news is that we appear to
be moving beyond the worst of the pandemic. The bad news is that we still don’t
quite understand how the virus works or what it might mutate into. And, some
folks still insist that it doesn’t really exist, even after the next door
neighbors ended up in the hospital — or the morgue.
What we do know is that it affects those
who get it in radically different ways. It has killed or made critically ill
millions of people world-wide — more death that those of both World Wars, our
Civil War and most of the “little” wars that have been or are still being
fought since Korea. Yet, many millions more cases went unreported because the
symptoms were minor enough to be written off as a cold, or, in the case of many
third-world populations, there was no health care system to report it to. I
suspect that thousands of cases in the US were not reported — even critical
ones — because the infected could simply not afford to get care. Or they
couldn’t bring themselves to admit that COVID-19 was actually a real thing.
In my case, I got it from God knows
where, isolated myself for a couple of weeks, recovered without suffering, and
got my sense of smell back. I also got vaccinated, one shot in each arm about
three weeks apart, so now I have that imbedded mini-micro-chip that lets Big
Brother and the Cabal know where I am at all times. Maybe even two of them. Who
knows? I mean besides Big Brother and his minions.
In my case, I will defend myself against this tracking system simply by being a compliant citizen of the world. I don’t have a huge stock of arms and ammunition with which to defend myself against the Cabal — or the uprising of the rabble. As a matter of fact, I might be part of the rabble, myself. I still think the Constitution is a great document, even though interpretation of the 2nd Amendment by the NRA and its minions is egregiously erroneous. I mean, where is this “well-regulated militia” all of us citizens bearing arms are supposed to provide for. There seem to be quite a few varieties of militia out there, but they don’t appear to be very well-regulated. In fact, I suspect that if the most apocalyptic dreams of some militias come true, they will consume each other in battles for control of what’s left of the civilized world.
The meek shall inherit the earth.
Though many of Jesus’ words have
been convoluted and twisted around by power-seekers and charlatans, he still
had some really good things to say. He never flew the “Don’t Tread On Me” flag,
though, and I don’t think if he were to come back today, he would go to North
40 and buy himself an AR-15 or three. I also don’t think he’s coming back today
or any time soon. But he did say something I find appropriate to our times:
“The meek shall inherit the earth.” If the end of the world as we know it
really comes, when the overly-aggressive and the paranoid get done with each
other, the rest of us will still be here. That’s what I think.
Sandy
Compton’s newest book, The Dog With His Head On Sideways, is available in local bookstores or online
exclusively at bluecreekpress.com/books Take that, Amazon!
Long ago, I saw (by accident) an episode of “The Apprentice,” and learned that Donald Trump is a bully. I never ventured there again. Trump is still a bully. He likes to pick on people. He likes to see others squirm and suffer. He loves to make others angry. He
Winter has finally arrived, though the frosting on my small forest looks more like December than January. Thankfully, the frosting is much thicker on our mountains. I’ve not had to use the snowblower or shovel down here — at least not yet. Up there is plenty to ski on. Those
When I was young, I had a book, I Have Five Pennies, in which a young boy is sent to the store by his mom for groceries. She gives him five pennies for himself, and as he goes, he sings, “I have five pennies to spend on candy; all for
This was written some time ago, but it still applies, I believe. Thanks for reading. Dear friends, On my drive home tonight, at the small city of Hope, Idaho, I watched a meteor inscribe the black heavens with a golden signature. It blew across the southern sky, as if launched
In John Prine’s song, “Way Back Then,” he sings, “I am out undoing all the good I’ve done.” That could be a theme for the past few years in the United States. Environmental laws passed “way back then” are weakened, international agreements are abandoned, traditional friends are snubbed and rancorous,
A few thoughts on our post-COVID world.
As vaccine cards are issued and COVID masks come off in our neighborhood — not that masks were ever fully on or that everyone has acquired a card — we can move about the country in a more unrestrained manner. I use the word, “our,” because, we still can’t get into Canada except by special permission. Travel overseas is possible, but the hoops are many and convoluted and each country has its own rules about the proper response to COVID-19. Eighteen months after it reared its head, nobody knows yet quite what to do with the coronavirus.
The good news.
The good news is that we appear to be moving beyond the worst of the pandemic. The bad news is that we still don’t quite understand how the virus works or what it might mutate into. And, some folks still insist that it doesn’t really exist, even after the next door neighbors ended up in the hospital — or the morgue.
What we do know is that it affects those who get it in radically different ways. It has killed or made critically ill millions of people world-wide — more death that those of both World Wars, our Civil War and most of the “little” wars that have been or are still being fought since Korea. Yet, many millions more cases went unreported because the symptoms were minor enough to be written off as a cold, or, in the case of many third-world populations, there was no health care system to report it to. I suspect that thousands of cases in the US were not reported — even critical ones — because the infected could simply not afford to get care. Or they couldn’t bring themselves to admit that COVID-19 was actually a real thing.
In my case, I got it from God knows where, isolated myself for a couple of weeks, recovered without suffering, and got my sense of smell back. I also got vaccinated, one shot in each arm about three weeks apart, so now I have that imbedded mini-micro-chip that lets Big Brother and the Cabal know where I am at all times. Maybe even two of them. Who knows? I mean besides Big Brother and his minions.
In my case, I will defend myself against this tracking system simply by being a compliant citizen of the world. I don’t have a huge stock of arms and ammunition with which to defend myself against the Cabal — or the uprising of the rabble. As a matter of fact, I might be part of the rabble, myself. I still think the Constitution is a great document, even though interpretation of the 2nd Amendment by the NRA and its minions is egregiously erroneous. I mean, where is this “well-regulated militia” all of us citizens bearing arms are supposed to provide for. There seem to be quite a few varieties of militia out there, but they don’t appear to be very well-regulated. In fact, I suspect that if the most apocalyptic dreams of some militias come true, they will consume each other in battles for control of what’s left of the civilized world.
The meek shall inherit the earth.
Though many of Jesus’ words have been convoluted and twisted around by power-seekers and charlatans, he still had some really good things to say. He never flew the “Don’t Tread On Me” flag, though, and I don’t think if he were to come back today, he would go to North 40 and buy himself an AR-15 or three. I also don’t think he’s coming back today or any time soon. But he did say something I find appropriate to our times: “The meek shall inherit the earth.” If the end of the world as we know it really comes, when the overly-aggressive and the paranoid get done with each other, the rest of us will still be here. That’s what I think.
Sandy Compton’s newest book, The Dog With His Head On Sideways, is available in local bookstores or online exclusively at bluecreekpress.com/books Take that, Amazon!
A Few Thoughts on Bullies and Bravery
Long ago, I saw (by accident) an episode of “The Apprentice,” and learned that Donald Trump is a bully. I never ventured there again. Trump is still a bully. He likes to pick on people. He likes to see others squirm and suffer. He loves to make others angry. He
A Few Thoughts on Learning to Ski
Winter has finally arrived, though the frosting on my small forest looks more like December than January. Thankfully, the frosting is much thicker on our mountains. I’ve not had to use the snowblower or shovel down here — at least not yet. Up there is plenty to ski on. Those
A few thoughts (or more) on November 6 at 8:30 a.m.
When I was young, I had a book, I Have Five Pennies, in which a young boy is sent to the store by his mom for groceries. She gives him five pennies for himself, and as he goes, he sings, “I have five pennies to spend on candy; all for
Happy Holidays from the Scenic Route
This was written some time ago, but it still applies, I believe. Thanks for reading. Dear friends, On my drive home tonight, at the small city of Hope, Idaho, I watched a meteor inscribe the black heavens with a golden signature. It blew across the southern sky, as if launched
A Few Thoughts on Abortion and Sex Education
In John Prine’s song, “Way Back Then,” he sings, “I am out undoing all the good I’ve done.” That could be a theme for the past few years in the United States. Environmental laws passed “way back then” are weakened, international agreements are abandoned, traditional friends are snubbed and rancorous,