There are mysterious movements afoot! They are social, political, individual and seldom, if ever, addressed by news media. Surely we have all seen this sign protesting road work:
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When I was young, we used to contract dinosaurs to discourage unfair excesses of highway maintenance. It worked until their tails fell off and their teeth grew to where I couldn't tell them from relatives. It's getting rather late and I ought to include at least one more event anent this subject. It is a demonstration conducted by strangely-dressed foreign people concerning Baron Geo.-Eugène Haussmann's 1853 urban renewal program in Paris. He retired in 1870 after snapping the curly streets straight but the work wasn't complete until the 1920s --which, as we were all taught in grammar school, touched off the French Revolution in 1789.
Strange thing (enigmatic thing even) is I approve of road work. I mean people are safer without potholes and but sometimes I have to try looking at the other side of a thing and...well, it's getting on to 2 a.m. and I need to go to bed. Anybody else going nuts in quarantine?
Even without having Covid, I have gotten brain fog these past seven months. I keep in contact with friends and family by phone and wonderful zoom. After two minutes of pleasantries, the inevitable question comes up, “What’s new? “. Unless we talk about politics (with like minded people), I got nothing unless I talk about the cats or the grass growing. We did have a Road Work incident recently when we drove over a plate in the road put there by a utility company. The rebar had come loose and took out the carriage of the car and did a lot of damage. Thankfully, the car can be fixed and the power company will pay. It also gave us something to talk about.
ReplyDeleteThinking of you and Norma and hope you are doing OK. My heart goes out to all those living on the west coast.
Kind, beautiful Arleen, I'm collecting the same impressions of this smoky, virus-ridden time as you are-- also, an appreciation of the daring dedication of outdoor municipal workers. I gardened public places for 37 years, which kept me fit but left me with copd. Worth it? Got 4 kids thru college and into lives they love. So yes. But you've doubtless encountered similar things. Happily, I never did anything that gutted a car's undercarriage. Glad to learn your power co. accepted responsibility.
DeleteMy great-great-grandfather was the co-found of Eugene Skinner each donated 40 acres of land to build the county courthouse. It's now a new, beautiful building, the Wayne Morse Courthouse. The Mulligan deed was never recorded in the county records. From 1 to 2:30am I think about how to get the 40 acres back. My kids think I've gone round the bend.
ReplyDeleteSomehow my pc did a job on my comment. 'was the co-founder of Eugene Oregon' 'Charnelton Mulligan and Eugene Skinner each donated..."
ReplyDeleteSorry, this damn chromebook is a disaster.
Dear Mike, you've got quite an impressive family history! My own goes back only one "great". Paternal "great" was a Portuguese whaler who jumped ship in SF harbor during the California gold rush, homesteaded land at Babel Slough --no records(titles were loosely recorded back then). My enate great granddad was a Confederate soldier. Early on, I decided against both occupations. Let your 1 to 2:30 a.m. cogitations dwell on the lives you've helped. Indeed, chromebook is a disaster, but your decision to become a physician was certainly not.
DeleteI was nuts before so I really don't notice a difference.
ReplyDeleteDear Emma, I'm with Mark Twain on this one:"Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination." Let's stay happy, even in quarantine.
DeleteCuriously enough, a friend posted a photo of a downed cactus in Phoenix the other day and I commented that it looked like a lurking dinosaur. That's all I've got.
ReplyDeleteDear Bruce, all us boys like dinosaurs from an early age --used to draw them in grammar school. After all, they crashed and roared around this planet like they owned it (and did) for 150 million years until the Cretaceous Period. Here we are 50 million years later, still thinking about them. They lurk in spirit and it's no error to use the analogy.
DeleteWell, I'm not doing to bad. But at least I was able to escape to the mountains with my friend at his site...so nature has been a saving grace for me. I'll be better once I go back to work, but I fear just looking for a new job right now with rates rising at a alarming rate again. I continue to volunteer at the local ASPCA, who were in need and will help out on election day.
ReplyDeleteBut road work? Never minded it, except when they close so many miles down at once, yet no work going on in all the miles except for the two or three miles they were paving.
Here to quarantining!
Dear Maddie, I sure hope your job-hunt goes well. As for work with ASPCA, I can't thank you enough. Covid-19 hit rather hard here and took my friend of 60 years --and his mother. Their house next door is empty. Their three cats, in addition to the 2 we already had, have come here and appealed to us for care. ASPCA offers (TNR=trap, neuter, return) also rabies vaccination --services we have received before and to which we have contributed. Here (yes, in tragedy and quarantine) we go again.
DeleteI'm not going nuts, but my moods bounce around quite a bit. I have to work hard at finding the good.
ReplyDeleteAs do we all, dear Margaret. Finding the good involves an energy we don't ordinarily find strenuous. But these are not ordinary times. I too find it hard work to maintain an equilibrium, to find the good. I find a good example in you.
DeleteStill working front line. Successfully survived a serious covid out break on my unit. Tested negative myself x 2 so far. Am thankful for that. Stopped blogging as have no time for that. CKUA Radio is playing 24/7. Nice :) Keep well and stay safe, friend Geo, hmmm? Much love, cat.
ReplyDeleteDear Cat, keeping as well as I can at my age. So glad you emerged from covid outbreak uninfected. You're important to me, and most definitely to those in your unit. You stay safe too, friend Cat. Love appreciated and reciprocated.
DeleteGeo, I am not going stir-crazy in quarantine and thankful that we have been able to get out, whether to the grocery store or for walks downtown or in the woods nearby. Our life style has changed in the lack of travel to see friends, family and just plain adventuring. But those drawbacks seem minor compared to the misfortunes of so many others.
ReplyDeleteDear Beatrice, you describe a healthy and compassionate attitude that is most helpful in these hard times. You have my thanks and respect.
DeleteTo your question first-yes this year with its restrictions on socializing is tough on the psyche.
ReplyDeleteMy question about road is why they begin putting the warning signs and cones and lane restrictions so many miles from the actual work. Must be a safety regulation passed in Sacramento sometime, but it seems to be a half a mile of lane restrictions might be enough, especially if the warning signs precede it by a mile or two. I want the workers to stay safe, for sure, but maybe a little moderation would be in order. Just sayin'
Oh Tom, I too have slowed to a hastily posted 25 mph cone-zone that goes on forever only to find 2 or 3 helmeted figures staring down a hole. My response echoes yours, and yes I too figure they know better than I how much fortification they need to get home safely.
DeleteFirst off, the word nerd part of me loves that you used the word "anent." :)
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, I dunno. About that going crazy stuff, I mean. Could be that I'm so far around the bend, it's already a lost cause. That'd explain why I'm so darned super-duper "okay"... delusional, maybe? For some reason, in spite of everything, I'm filled with serenity and buoyed by a crinkly joy-sprinkled feeling of inner peace. I know... crazy, right? It's difficult to describe, but it's almost as though I'm a casual observer, just watching things unfold around me without experiencing any angst or worry. Could be I've internalized the Serenity Prayer. Or I've gone batshit crazy...
Take care, dude. Hugs to you and Norma.
Dear Susan, Re.,"anent": There are at least 3 reasons I used that word; rhymes with neighbor word,"event",& my fingers were over there anyway; 2am brings out the onomatopoet in me and I avoid "b" words because they are shouty; there's a 3rd reason that involves amnesia but I forget what it is.
DeleteListen Kid: You are not delusional. You are a stabilizer, a social rarity I've seldom encountered. Early on, I resolved to marry one at my 1st opportunity. I did. Even now, I have no doubt (considering her family lives to age 100) that she will have to turn that stabilizing lens upon herself someday. You give me confidence that the result will leave her strong and intact. --Love, Geo.&Norma
Kid? Wow, nobody's called me that for a looooong time... :)
DeleteThank you. I can't say that anyone's EVER called me a stabilizer, but I like it.
I strive for accuracy.
DeleteYou are accurate. Susan is one of those people who will always be a kid, yet also a stabilized.
DeleteWe have recently been able to mingle with grandchildren, their bonkersness is an antidote to all stresses. Care work shifts mean most of my time is spent away from home, so I have the opposite of cabin fever - a travel chill? Sending love and coping wishes xxx
ReplyDeleteYour grandchildren are bonkers too? Well that's something we have in common! I sure hope ills of fever and chills subside soon. We need Normal again. Coping and love likewise wished to you. Stay safe, dear Lisa.
DeleteAnent! I think I'm in love with you. And I have relatives who are dinosaurs.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Shucks ma'am, 'twern't nothin'. "Anent" just sounds gentler between pillowed heads than "about"--which has that doggone 'b' in it. As for relatives, I learned as a child to scamper under the table at family picnics to avoid being eaten.
DeleteAnything with dinosaurs catches my eye. Geo. I'd love that one in the first photo to put in my yard. All the cutsie trolls, bunnies, turtles, and fairies need a little competition. We actually went out for dinner tonight, sitting outside at our favorite restaurant on a quiet night. Third time since mid-March, and it felt so good sitting in the setting sunshine and drinking wine. Please stay safe and happy!
ReplyDeleteDear Louise, "sitting...in the sunshine...drinking wine" strikes me as a great opening to a poem. I believe the ubiquity of dinosaurs in yards here began with a '60s classmate and creative welder, but it would appear they've been sold off in recent years, and the artist has moved on. Maybe it's time we took up welding.
DeleteIt annoys me having to wear a mask, especially when it fogs up my eyeglasses to where I can hardly see.
ReplyDeleteSame here, Lon. I have to take my glasses off sometimes but the main discomfort at my age is a lifelong fear of some guy walking into my bank with a mask on. Now I'm that guy.
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