Morning’……and……Tie me Kangaroo down, sport:
“I go; thou stayest: two autumns”………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …Basho
“If we don’t change the direction we are headed, we will end up where we are going” …………………………………………………………. Chinese Proverb
“You have to come to the shore. There are no instructions” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Denise Levertov
Well, it’s been a robust semi-recovery week here in the Greens……the kids left, friends came, leaves turned……A LOT……and we had Indigenous Peoples summer (trying to improve my political correctness)……..I was mulling the sensibility of doing the usual blog, when there is so much else going on of import at the moment……..but The Queen advises that, though Bloggish may indeed seem trite at the moment, we all need distractions…….so, I’m torn…..and will meet myself halfway….some blog…and some social commentary….which I’m also sure we’ve all had just about enough of these days……but, then….who asked?
We celebrated Jenn’s fifty something birthday last Sunday after the hub bub died down, and the kids went back to the heartland……picked up dinner from the reopened, legendary Harry’s Café just down 103…..pricey but worth it……and the ten-minute drive to get it a fading dusk, with leaves shimmering and brisk autumn air/ late day light delight……priceless……We are doing an “Adventure Dinner” in early October for the birthday, somewhere in the mountains, locale top secret…….blindfolded and taken to the chuck wagon for wandering chef inspired autumn cuisine and paired cocktails…..I’m not making this shit up….
Not sure why now, but Papi had a daunting amount of work projects this week…. of a dizzying variety……which interferes mightily with daily leave drop watching…and TQ is now holding court with nightly gatherings of The Association around our fire pit- flames rising against the advancing chill, masks on, Ouija board out……it’s a sight to behold…. but socially distanced…
Have you opened an investment account and bought Zoom yet…who knew?
My great pal, Feel, and his wife Maux, arrived on Thursday for a few nights on their way to a Maine getaway…having gotten tested in the wilds of Jersey, and declared pure…and we had two magical nights together……lots of cooking, drinking, stories of days gone by…….got in a nice hike on Friday over Bomoseen way on a 75 degree day, glowing drive there and back and a reward trip to Roxy’s Famous Fries…..our hiking discussion mainly centered around the works of Aristotle, Plato and Tom Waits (I shit you not) ….as Phil says….”what’s a hike without ancient Greek Philosophy?”……it’s good when young friends grow old together, no?…………
Sent them on their way yesterday morning, and after clean-up, Dumpmaster visit and naps, found a primo dirt road up in Shrewsbury for perfect 78 degree late afternoon walk……and then the Saturday obligatory trip to Rutland for dinner on the ground at the deserted chiropractic complex……this time from the local Bavarian house serving up special Oktoberfest fare…………Schnitzel is now KING……
Talking about ageing… Jen got Facebooked by a young man she had on probation at the court in the 90s……who is now retired!!!…. uggh……where have all the flowers gone?
And that’s the week as it was……off this afternoon to outdoor ribs diner at the Jewish Pig Farmer and the Empress of Death’s house……. more leaf watching to come…
On to sermonizing……. promise to keep it brief…maybe get a snack right about now?
I know I regularly drop in subliminal political jabs during these missives, which you may or may not roll your eyes at……but a serious few words today……Not going to argue politics here…. I’m a liberal and a progressive, but I find that mostly irrelevant at the moment. We can disagree about ideology…. that’s what democracy is……Extreme partisanship, on both sides, has really dragged us down, and getting worse right now with the SCOTUS issues……I certainly have a position on this and how it is being handled and strong feelings as well…. but this is not a political rag, so lets’ just say we all have differing views on what democracy means….
So-putting democrat/republican, conservative/liberal, pro this/con that aside……. I do want to think about our children and especially our grandchildren…and the kind of place they will grow up and live in……Who are we? Are we a people with leaders and citizens who call each other names and speak the dialect of hate, intolerance, closed- mindedness and disdain for difference? I care less about party and ideology at the moment than I do about dignity, integrity, human care and concern, charity and respect………principles of all religions I might add……let’s get back to a reasonable discourse on ideological differences, not a platform based on hate and distrust….
I don’t think the discussion right now is about Democrat/Republican or conservative/ progressive ideologies. It’s more about humanity in my mind….and it seems we are bombarded with a daily dose of lost humanity………that……. has got to change…….
That is, all I got…. Be safe, wear your mask, WWJD?………Speak out and VOTE………
Be willing to be a beginner every single morning…….
Stu
