Bits & Pieces

Future of Face Masks: I predict they are here to stay. I should have been wearing a face mask during cold winter months for years but didn’t because of how they looked, and I feared looking foolish. However, I needed to wear them to protect my lungs from extreme cold.

There are other reasons I will continue to use face masks. During the pandemic our household did not experience our usual allergies. Nor did we contract the common cold. Not once in 2 years. We also were free of flu and did not get COVID, at least not so far.

The conclusion for us is masks worked then and will work in the future. Even if the mask mandate is withdrawn, we will continue to wear masks in crowded areas like grocery stores, big box stores, schools and churches. It makes sense for us. I have no desire to revisit the world of the common cold, allergies or any other current disease.

Everyone else can suffer. We will continue to live a more healthy lifestyle.

Social Justice: I grew up in a home that taught non-discrimination. We were supporters of justice for the American Indian, African Americans, Mexican immigrants, refugees from all over and the early press for women’s rights. In school – elementary, junior high [pre middle school days!] and high school – we were taught civics, how our form of government came into being and how it works. We were encouraged to live with open minds and accept the inherent talents and worth of each individual.

What a shock to watch the shenanigans of the House of Representatives and the Senate with regard to these same principles today. Many of these people are my age or near. They were raised as I was. Why do they now wear snarly faces in the halls of Congress and on their campaign trails? They look hateful, mostly because they are. For them social justice is a cause of hatred, theirs. The horrible truth is they earn political credit from their supporters. Has the tide changed? Is America now the land of the white supremacist and the hater?

Where is our common belief of old that the American melting pot was a thing of beauty, enrichment and genius? I shudder to see my nation sink back into its discriminatory and racist past. One wonders if the teachings were real or just a cover of scrim?

Political Olympics: when Russia last hosted the Olympics, they used it as cover for their takeover of Crimea. Today they are using the same tactic to take back Ukraine. In the recent past Russian athletes were accused and convicted of drugging to enhance their performance. They compete in the Olympics under the moniker of Russian Olympic Committee, not the nation. That is because of their history of drugging athletes. Today the story is the same.

It does not matter to me that the women’s figure skater is only 15 years old. She stands accused of drugging. Whether she did so on her own or merely followed the training protocols told to her, I don’t know nor do I care. Russia does not respect the rules everyone else follows. They do not play fair on the fields of either sports or international relations.

China has smudged its reputation with the Olympics by politicizing their stance on human rights vis a vis Uighurs. Hitler played games when Germany hosted the Olympic Games in the 1930’s.

When will the Games return to the political purity of Greece? In my lifetime? There’s precious little time left for that!

February 23, 2022

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Intimacy

As we mature, we become deeply involved in relationships. Some of this is basic family relations – siblings, parental – and the like. Next is friends who enter our homes and we theirs. Neighbors, classmates, mutual hobbyists and so forth. Then we develop friendships that go much deeper. We comfort one another when we are hurting physically or emotionally. We discuss the matters of life and learn much more about ourselves and each other. We can even anticipate how others will react to various situations and stimuli. Good friendships do not spread to everyone we know. No, good friendships are special, close and deeply personal. We focus attention and brainpower on these few friends. Some special relationships focus on specific topics of interest and importance. Yes, we have specialized friendships. Most common. But one day, we get to know one person very well. An emotional connection forms with deep roots. A need to know the person more fully expands in personal ways. We sense this b...
Read more

Bits & Pieces

Pie: Apple pie more specifically. With Thanksgiving just passed, many of us enjoyed a good apple pie. Sure, there was pumpkin to accompany the turkey, but in our family multiple pies are offered in the holidays. Apple is surely one. Pecan, pumpkin and others, too. But I almost always choose apple. When I was in college, I was asked what kind of pie did I eat most often. In front of my mom, I answered apple, because I was always looking for a pie as good as mom’s own. Of course my mother was pleased, but it was a true statement just the same. When I was married, Ann’s pie was darned good. Her mother’s recipe. But we fiddled with the recipe until it took on its own generational name, and boy, was it good! Today I still order apple pie for dessert because I am always looking for a great pie to challenge our family recipes. I rarely do find such a prize. Do others do the same? Do you search for a great pie of choice, continually? If you do, what’s your story? Why do you do this? ...
Read more

Remembering Tom Sherlock

Tom Sherlock died on Wednesday, April 3rd. He was 65 years old and did not survive a heart surgery. That was his unexpected end and sad enough. But there is more to his story. Tom joined Dan Schuyler and George Safford to create what became the Village Chronicles, a weekly newspaper serving Warrenville, Illinois. That paper expanded to serve Winfield and then West Chicago. The paper published for eight years and built a good reputation for itself. Tom served the paper in several ways. He was our information technology guru, provided hardware and software to support the paper's operations. He was our sole bookkeeper, accountant and financial manager. He designed our distribution process and provided office space for meetings and layout and typesetting. His efforts supported the work of 32 volunteers who wrote and reported on the communities we served.  The newspaper broke even financially most of the time, but it was a struggle. Tom managed to find money to keep the newspaper afloat...
Read more