November 25, 2020
We awoke Sunday morning to three
inches of snow on the ground, and while it did seem to be melting, it also kept
falling throughout the day. This was two days after it being in the high
fifties, again. That turned out to be another set of warm few days that made us
all want to check the calendar to make certain it was November!
Monday morning, I did a double
take, because my back yard had a wide patch where there was no snow and the
rest had yes, three inches. It took me a moment to understand the wind must
have been out of the west. We have a line of cedar trees on the hill at the
edge of our lower back yard, and they acted like a giant natural snow fence for
part of our yard.
There was a time when the
first snow fall would have arrived in late October and stayed until mid-May. There
would rarely be a complete January Thaw, and yes, that was a thing. But that
few days of warmer temperatures rarely got rid of all the snow. That first
one, the base of our winter accumulation, looked old and tired when it finally
would be revealed in mid-to-late April.
Now those were winters! I can
recall riding in my mother’s car as we made our way home, down our country road
with snowbanks higher than our car. Some days, you had to count the driveways
to get to the right one. We built snow forts, had a natural outdoor skating
rink that stretched for a mile…as I said, those were real winters.
We are acclimating ourselves
to being in a “locked down” state of mind once more here in the Ashbury
household. This county, while not high by some standards, our infection numbers
are climbing, and they are in fact higher than they were during the first wave last
spring.
I’m not surprised. They told
us it would happen that way. Studies of the last great pandemic to hit us, the
Spanish Flu outbreak of the last century, showed that it was the second wave
that proved to be the deadliest.
In these modern times, with
all of the scientific improvements that have allowed us to know how to slow
this virus and to take hope in the knowledge that innovations have allowed for
an new kind of vaccine, the only low point is the failure of the common human
being to process information efficiently so that they are able to discern the main
thing, and keep that as their focus.
All the innovation in the
world doesn’t mean squat when knuckle-dragging humans insist on clinging to
their inner primordial psyches.
As I listen to the words of those
who cling to their right not to wear a mask, it reminds me (the parent and
grandparent me) of arguing with a child, trying to get them to willingly do something
that you know is right and good and will keep them safe, and that they just do
not want to do.
I understand, a little, the
psychology behind this. Modern life moves too fast and is scary. Sometimes,
crap happens that is difficult to understand. Some people don’t want to
understand the logical and scientific reasons why things happen. It’s easier to
just make something up and by doing so, have someone or something to blame. If
you have someone or something to blame, then you can vent your fear and energy on
hurling hate at your target, making yourself believe you feel better—that you
feel in control in a world where that sensation is too often unattainable.
The psychological placebo of conspiracy
theory, however, never lasts long. And before you know it, you have to find an
entirely new conspiracy theory to replace the first one…and so on and so on and
so on.
Because making stuff up or believing
as true that which others make up without actually exercising the brain that
the Good Lord gave you is nothing more than a placebo. It does nothing to help
you grow as a human being. And it does just the opposite of giving you any kind
of control in your life. Instead, clinging to conspiracy theories makes you a
slave.
Some people are afraid to grow
up. And I guess in a free society, that has to be allowed. I just wish they’d
all go to a playroom somewhere, lie down on their towels and take a nice, long nap.
Oh, and lest I forget…wear a
damn mask!
Love,
Morgan
http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury
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