The sky is falling
We’re in the thrust of a lot of heavy news from earthquakes in China to volcano ash spewing over Europe to oil spills in the Gulf – everyday you’d think that the end of the world is upon us or something close. Today, I got up and walked Heidi and Loca and they were all over the place – Heidi sniffing here, Loca jumping there – and I walked to the park where other people were walking there dogs even though the end of the world is about to happen.
Then I went up to my desk and had no more news about the end of the world, but lots of inklings – BP apparently has a rig about to blow that is much worse than the one in play right now. New Orleans lost another young musicians to stupid violence – a lover’s quarrel. The European financial system is in crisis – here’s a quote from today’s New York Times:
With the exception of wartime, “the public finances in the majority of advanced industrial countries are in a worse state today than at any time since the industrial revolution,” Willem Buiter, Citigroup’s top economist, wrote in a recent report.
And yet, today I went to lunch with a friend at a restaurant that just re-opened as it has been shuttered since Katrina – Katie’s on Iberville. It was amazingly packed and nosy and bustling with business. It’s a block away from Liuzza’s that has almost the same menu. Go figure.
Today, I heard that a woman graduated from Mills College (my alma mater) who is 94 years old. She’s one of two over 90 year old women to graduate from college in history.
I found my wishbox pendant as I was getting my clothes together to pack for Miami and in it was a wish for a Croatian baby – wow – that was a couple of years ago – so I put a new wish in the wishbox and cut a lock from Tin’s hair and put it in there with it.
I’m sure the sky is falling and that we are not alone in the universe and that there are negative and evil forces out there that threaten our joie de vivre every day, but today, without a doubt, it is a stunningly gorgeous day on Bayou St. John, we have a new police chief, our birds here are safe, and people who know what they are doing are working alongside the people who don’t know what they are doing to do something about the oil spill, the economic crisis, and peace in the world.
May 18th, 2010 at 5:38 pm
Just to keep your perspective about the state of the world (and I must remind myself every day nearly after I watch the news), you don’t have to go back far to see we’ve been through a lot of crises over the years and somehow managed to squeak by intact. Hope springs eternal. Have a great trip to your Ami!
May 19th, 2010 at 5:51 am
I got on the plane after speaking with my aunt at the airport by phone. She was telling me that she went back and read all my emails when my mom was in the hospital. My mom had been on her mind a lot lately and she said she could see in the email trail my mom’s decline. I got on the plane with regrets. Regrets that I had not told my mother this and that, and that I hadn’t been a better daughter. But then I thought about T right now with her mother and thought, you know you do the best you can to convey your love, but the wrangling of real feelings gets in the way. As we were landing, I thought of all the good things in the world. Someone told me last night, “I didn’t want to send you this email, but only you, a Cuban Jew could hook up with a Croatian woman and adopt an African American baby.” And my response was ain’t it great. And it is.
I know that you have been particularly pushing through your own clouds to see the sunshine. On my name tag here at the conference they asked to give one sentence to describe yourself and mine said, “Born Happy.” I think that describes you too, Alice.