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July 22, 2020: Troubled Times

We on this planet are right now in the thick of it; meaning (for lack of better words), that change is occurring on all levels, environmental, social, political, economic, included. We’re all attempting to deal with a world-wide pandemic. In the US we are having to deal with the unreasonable dictates of an elected dictator. The latter term sounds like an oxymoron. This leader is not an oxymoron, just a moron. His refusal to act in the best interest of the people is his way of sanctioning an indirect form of genocide.

And there is also world-wide civil unrest. I lived through the Vietnam era and saw how the then president finally caved in to


Nobody here but us chickens

the wishes of the people, which was to get us out of an unjust and immoral war.

Now we have protests continuing in the major U.S. cities. Very brave individuals are putting their lives on the line on a nightly basis. This is something that I can’t stop thinking about – pregnant women are on the front lines; they call themselves the moms. Think about it. The strongest instinct is maternal. All animal mothers protect their babies from harm. These women are so outraged by what they rightly see as injustice that they are willing to die for the cause, and of also risk the lives of their future offspring. Add to this, they are, in being in close contact with others, increasing the odds of their contacting COVID 19. Their actions are unprecedented. And here I am, in Alaska, both cheering them all on and sending positive energy their way.

The question that is hanging in the air now is what is to become of us all? Will the political pendulum swing back to the left or is it going to remain stuck on the right? Only time will tell and right now she’s mum.

It’s interesting – when I talk with friends about the current political situation, they agree that it’s dire, but they do not mention the name of Donald Trump. I suspect that this is because if they did so, this would mean that they are conceding that they erred in voting for him. In my mind, it all likens to the way many behaved when the Nazis were in power. Many, as they are doing now, just turned their heads the other way and pretended as if nothing bad was happening. Those who did this then and are doing this now are complicit.

Pete and I live in a semi-remote area, so we are not being directly affected by the pandemic. The best we can do is what we have been doing, paying attention to what’s going on at the local, national, and federal levels. And, when the opportunity presents itself, speaking up, rather than agreeing with those who express their unsubstantiated opinions.

We’re also preparing for the upcoming winter, well knowing that already tenuous infrastructure between here and the Lower 48 might collapse. We have wood in the barn, hay in the shed, strawberries in the freezer, and fish in cans.

What else can we do? I am not at all sure.

Next: 203. 7/23/20: And if at the end of a long day

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