Thunder and Riots and What the Heck? in Everyday Ramblings

In spite of the fact that most of the roses lately have been blown out by the unusual warmth there have been a few beautiful ones around to capture.

Wow. We have a curfew tonight at 8PM. Shades of 1968. Our mayor had to come back from his mother’s deathbed to address the riots.

Has the world gotten completely insane? I heard this thing on a podcast from the 90 year old Labor Leader Dolores Huerta when asked about how she felt about the Presidency of Donald Trump and the last four years. She said that what she was focusing on is that in this time so many of the long-term problems in our country have become overwhelmingly visible.

Boy, that is for sure.

I think of the President’s inaugural address written by Steve Bannon about what bad shape America was in and how he was going to make it better. It seems to me that instead what he did, has done has been to manifest that dark vision he laid out.

People here last night set fires in our Justice Center with people inside. That is some powerful rage, a kind of rage intoxication to do that.

Honestly, I get the looting, I understand it, I understand the urge to tear down and destroy all that appears to have been exploiting one and the wild passionate release of pent up anger and fear.

It wasn’t even the transgressive fever high of destroying things that we have seen here before though I expect there was some of that on the fringes. This just seems to have been a boiling over, an explosive rejection of centuries of oppression and disenfranchisement.

Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, William Barr, Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders are all old men. Within the next 20 years most of them will be gone. Nancy Pelosi will be gone.

What will we do with our country then?

Before the riot there were large multi-cultural peaceful demonstrations in our city. Demonstrations that gave young people voice. We see you; we hear you, and we can taste the edges of your pain.

It is time we let those voices begin to change us, just as we have all had this virus change us.

We have had a lot of thunder and a few heavy squalls today. Perfect weather for the mood of our city, our wounded country.

How do we address the fear? How do we live with the uncertainty? Where will we go from here?

Diego had a couple of really bad days this week and I had an unhappy, unwell clingy cat to attend to. He followed me everywhere and wanted to be on me at all times. I finally had to go for a walk so he would settle down. He is better now, eating and drinking water and much calmer.

I had to lock them both in the bedroom when I was teaching this week and when I let them out at the end of class on Wednesday he leapt onto my lap and clung to my chest.

Speaking of class, if you want to participate in my live hour-long class on Tuesday the 2nd at Noon Pacific Standard Time let me know and leave an email address in a private note if I don’t already have it. This week we are working on the core mostly from a seated position in a chair.

Has anyone read Long Bright River by Liz Moore? I finished it yesterday only after my neighbor told me it was for sure worth reading. I am curious what readers think and look forward to talking to her about it now that I have read it. (Well, I listened to the audio book of the last third because my library loan on the e-book expired at 7:35 on Thursday night.)

God, this is one heck of a weird time to be alive.

Last updated May 31, 2020