These last few days have been something a little different than what I would call interesting.
An American judge got a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court. There are credible allegations of past sexual assaults. But he was confirmed anyway, without a meaningful investigation.
An apolitical group of climate scientists issued an assessment that the world has about ten years left to get global warming under control before it’s too late. Our toddlers won’t be finished high school by then.
A Washington Post writer was murdered in Turkey by the Saudi Arabian government for being a vocal dissident. The Americans likely knew of the plan ahead of time but billion dollar arms deals, oil deals, and real estate deals will always negate any significant consequences. What’s the life of one reporter worth? If 9/11 didn’t do it, why would this?
The third largest hurricane in history to hit the American mainland happened and it’s barely a story for more than a few days.
A musician, who is either mentally ill and off his meds, or just an asshole, or perhaps he’s both, carried on with a monologue in the Oval Office. He called himself a motherfu*ker on live TV in the White House while the president listened thoughtfully.
A three year old child, who had been separated from his parent by American authorities, appeared in court at an immigration hearing. The authorities are deporting children they are not keeping in cages and camps, without telling their parents. Because that was never part of the plan. It never was and it’s seemingly not important.
I watched a few baseball games.
I played with a four year old boy, covering him with autumn leaves and pushing him on a swing as high as I could, until his laughter was as loud as my arms were sore.
I made a Shepherd’s Pie and it was good to eat leftovers. I feel like I’ve forgotten that I grew up on leftovers half the time.
I listened to some music, wrote a song, talked to an old friend.
This week, I saw some terrible things that made me angry, made me sad, and frustrated me beyond my comprehension.
But I also woke up seven times, went to bed well-fed and safe, had some laughs, and thought about tomorrow as much as I thought about yesterday and today.
A lot can happen in a week. But maybe it would be better to focus on the autumn leaves while they last. The world isn’t going away anytime soon but the colours of fall will be gone just as soon and as assuredly as the wind blows.