So as the number of US deaths from Covid19 in less than a year approaches the entire US death toll in the Vietnam War over some 15 years, I wonder what monuments will be built in Washington DC some day to commeorate the blindness, stupidity, and bull-headedness of the current administration.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_Veterans_Memorial
Some of my friends were having a discussion on FB about how the Covid situation was impacting them, and how some were becoming afraid to go out, even with physical distancing. Here’s my contribution, slightly edited since it’s now out of the context of the thread:
Fear is good. Fear is how we’ve survived as a species for millennia. Anyone who claims they are never afraid of anything is bullshitting.
Humans are terrible at judging risk, and hopefully that’s when a bit of fear steps in to get us to do the right thing, at least in the short term.
For humans are also really bad at remembering history, learning from the past, and staying the course long term.
To some degree I think we need to embrace fear, and let it guide us, but try not to let it overwhelm us.
We’ve all been seeing our lives disintegrating to various degrees for several months. We’ve all been dealing with jobs lost, contracts dwindling, friends and families distancing, plans derailed, reservations cancelled be they for music or theatre or travel, or simply going out with friends. . .
These are tough times. And things will continue to be tough for who knows how long?
So let’s not be hard on ourselves. Let’s admit our emotions. Let’s cry a little. Let’s acknowledge we’re having trouble sleeping and are having nightmares.
And then let’s check up on each other, and help each other along this road.
Virtual hugs to everyone!
Another lovely Byrne Creek ravine walk with my now working-from-home love today. A few more folks than usual out enjoying the trails in the sunshine. I guess more are staying home, but wanting to stretch their legs.
And being properly cautious to give each other a healthy distance when passing on the trails.
If possible, enjoy the outdoors. It’s good not only for the body, but also the mind.
We are animals, physical beings, and we need to move. So many health issues are exacerbated by sedentary habits.
I find great solace in nature. The burbling creek, the wind rustling the trees, the plants of many shapes and sizes and colors budding as spring approaches.
We need to feel the sun on our faces, the breeze in our hair.
The birds and squirrels playing peekaboo, the wee salmon fry popping out of the gravel in the creek.
Frenetic modern life is slowing. That has its ups, and its downs, eh?
I hope that when we’re past this that people can remember the slower, more grounded pace that we can exist at.
My new photography, writing, editing services promo postcard arrived today.
Here we go!
A pub in Himeji, Japan. As an editor, I like it. Clear, precise, plain language 
.
I’m logging out of LinkedIn tonight and will keep it shut it down for awhile.
There is too much useless junk on LI these days.
I’ve been on LI since 2004, and the dilution of quality has increased dramatically over the last year or two.
Why cat videos?
Why finding women in Asia crap?
LinkedIn has to get a handle on this shit, and fast.
This was not planned, but I just hit 10,000 Tweets within days of my 10th anniversary on Twitter.
I recall it took me several attempts to get into the flow, starting and stopping several times the first year, and then it just kept rolling.
I have no idea if this is near average, low, or high. Don’t really care, just find the nice, round 1K/year average interesting.
I was out shooting for a photo project today, and as evening approached, I got myself a cold drink and sat down in a public square to ease my feet and back.
As I unwound, an older fellow pushing a four-wheeler came along. He saw me festooned with cameras and began asking questions.
Sigh. . .
Yes, that was my initial reaction, but then I thought, I’m done for the day, what’s it going to hurt to chat for a few minutes.
Wise decision, Paul.
We shook hands and introduced ourselves.
He was a world traveler and raconteur. He was a photography buff, and we began by discussing what made a good photo — good equipment or a good photographer. We agreed on the later. A good start.
We went back in time to the beginnings of photography, and he knew the inventors, and the dates. We talked paper-backed mid-format roll film.
He recommended a few photo shows that he’d seen recently, and panned a couple, too.
Turned out we’d traveled to many of the same places, but a few decades apart. And he’d traveled to lots of interesting places that I’d never been to. It also turned out we’d even done some similar work over the years. This was good!
He asked if I was retired, and I said, no, that I’d been working on a project today. I gave him my business card, and my volunteer streamkeepers card, and his eyes lit up. Turns out he was proud to support environmental causes.
The plaza was taking on a warm orange glow as the sun moved lower in the sky, and he positioned his wheeler, slowly got himself up and behind it, and said he’d better be moving on.
We shook hands again, and he said, “don’t get old, Paul.”
Damn.
Never underestimate your elders.
P.S. Since we’re first-time acquaintances, I’m not going to share his name. But I hope to meet him again some day. . .
Anne Applebaum, author of Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine, gives a deep, balanced interview on the Holodomor, the forced famine/genocide in Ukraine perpetrated by Stalin and the Soviet regime.