September 9, 2020
Each day I take some time to cruise around social media because even though I should know better, I still do that little thing. Sometimes you find things posted online that just make you shake your head. It amazes me the things some people put out on the clothesline of public discourse for all to see. That practice gives an entirely new meaning to the term about airing one’s dirty laundry.
Despite that, I still turn to social media because it really has a great value these days. It is a good, socially distanced way to check up on friends, readers and even family members. It’s a good way to discover how everyone’s doing and feeling, and if there’s anything that needs my attention.
As you know, for reasons I have never understood completely, I feel compelled to do what I can to give virtual hugs and words of commiseration and/or encouragement. Life is hard, and sometimes it helps to know that it’s not just hard for you, it’s hard for most everyone, especially in this year of 2020.
Almost every day, there are people asking for prayers for loved ones who are ill, for those who are worried about the results of their latest Covid or other medical tests, or about pets who have departed. These are all tense and sometimes tragic events for the folks who are experiencing them, and I do take them seriously. I believe in the power of prayer.
I also love to give congratulations to those celebrating good news, because the truth is, we all could use a bit more good news in our lives.
There have been more prayers offered up lately for friends who have lost family members, or dear friends. There has been far too much death in recent weeks and months. That is sadly a sign of these times that we are all in, that we are all struggling with. I don’t have any magic methods of coping. We really are all in this together.
Clinging to a sense of humor has never been more difficult, nor more crucial. Fortunately, if you are in need of an emergency smile, there are still laughing baby videos on YouTube. Baby goat videos are good for a chuckle, too.
There seem to be a lot more sites lately that offer good, credible advice about how to cope through stressful times. One of the best things about the internet, especially in these days, is there are a lot of options to choose from, and in most cases that choosing can be done anonymously. The days of reaching out for help with stress being a taboo are long past. No one needs to know your business. If you need help, get help.
In a very real way, that’s what I do…I help people cope with the crap in their own lives by weaving stories that hold the reader’s attention and, for a couple of hours at least, lift them out of their every-day life. I’m grateful that I have the ability and the privilege do that, and that for those people who buy my books, the world I give them is a gentler place to visit. I don’t fool myself into believing that what I do is of great importance—but it is something, at least.
David is no longer quite as enamored of the road-building project beside our house as he was when it began. The paving company arrived last week, and in a very short period of time, laid the first layer of asphalt. Then, on Saturday morning, a two-person crew arrived to fix a mistake the pavers had made—they failed to raise the manhole covers, and the cover to the catch basin. Then, Sunday night a wave of intense thunderstorms with heavy rain rolled through our area…and rolled some of that asphalt and underlying roadbed down the hill.
David went out to inspect the damage and said that there were a couple of places where the newly laid surface was cracked and felt “wobbly” when he walked on it. Later that day, when the a team of men came to clean up some of the debris at the bottom of the road, he went out and told them about the state of the road, and their response really got him annoyed. They said those words that are all too common these days: “that’s not our job.”
He was out there again, earlier this morning talking to the job supervisor, and the man agreed that the pavers had done a horrible job. He had reported the problem “up the chain” and the powers that be decided just to lay more asphalt on top of the substandard first layer. This is a small piece of road, from the street behind us to the one we’re on, about the length of two city blocks.
David has been grumbling about pride of accomplishment and giving an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay, and that nobody gives a damn anymore, and I just agree with him. He understands, as I do, that there are days and situations when you can make a difference, and days and situations when you know you can’t.
As we all await our new normal, there are some truths that are truths on whichever side of the great divide you find yourself: the times, they are a changing…and not all the changes are good ones.
Love,
Morgan
http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury
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