Blackshear On Ice

 

Obligatory pictures of a Blackshear snowfall. This one is not much more than a couple inches, but it's extra dangerous because it's coated with ice.

Yep. I grew up in Michigan. I am not a stranger to driving on snow. But ice? That terrifies me. So Alison and I will stay home until the ice melts off.

Some might occur today. But with highs in the mid-thirties, it may not melt off enough to make Thursday morning drivable.

Dogs on ice! They can't break through the snow due to the layer of ice. There are two dogs out there. What? You can't see Pixie, our little white-haired dog?

Yeah.  Not going anywhere with icy snow on the car.

So, is this climate change?

Two things you can attribute to climate change -

1) Average global temperatures are rising. 2024 set new records. Each year is topping itself.

2) As climate changes, more and more extreme weather events will occur. Some would happen anyway. Some are not caused by it but are definitely juiced up by it.

I can tell you who does believe in climate change.

The Orange Conman.

Whaat? Are you kidding me, Tom?

Think about it. Why do you think he's lusting so hard over Greenland and Canada?

Because he knows as they melt off, he can access more fossil fuels and other natural resources!

Is he doing that for the benefit of the people that live there? No, no, no, NO!

Is he doing that for the benefit of the average American? No, no, no, NO!

Is he doing it to enrich himself and his billionaire buddies? Yes, yes, YES!

He wants to dismantle those places and strip them for parts.

He's already, through executive order, doing that to Alaska. He's opened to full exploitation - no environmental protections whatsoever.

No, I won't let this go.

I will keep bringing up the horrid decision made by 49.8% of the voting population.

Anyhoo...

Enjoy the weather as best you can! Stay safe out there!

AOC '28!

Waiting for the Dorian Gray

Yeah.  I tried a version of this joke on a few people and was met with a thud of nonrecognition.  One person did remember that there was a character by that name in the movie The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

It's from a story by Oscar Wilde, published in 1890, about a man who has a portrait of himself that ages while he stays young.  It's a classic.  Trust me.

Sometimes I tell I am Alison's version of a Dorian Gray picture - she stays young while I age for her.

Meanwhile, as I write this, Dorian is a Category 5, doing a sit 'n' spin over Bermuda.  There's not much in the media about the damage Bermuda is getting.  I fear the news may not be good when Dorian finally moves on.

There has been a lot of change and uncertainty concerning its path.  It looks like it's going to follow the coastline as if it were a really angry cruise ship.

Could it affect Pierce County, where I live?  There probably will be some rain and wind.  How strong it will be may depend on close it passes.  Right now, it is likely to pass our area of the Georgia coast at a Category 3.

Have we bought a generator?  Sadly, no.  You would think we would have learned our lesson from the time our power was out about a week last year.  No, it seems like we didn't.

We do have a Hurricane box, with water and flashlights that we have made sure are fully charged.


So we wait.  Our thoughts and prayers are not just for ourselves, but for everyone in its path.


UPDATE Tuesday MORNING:  It's still spinning just above Bermuda.  There is a lot of damage, and we may not know the extent until later today.  The Hurricane's path appears to be taking further into the ocean, causing fewer problems for the continental United States, particularly Florida and Georgia.  Area schools have been canceled for the next two days, out of precaution.  You never know, and it's best to err on the side of caution.

21st Century Authoritarianism Burns Across the Globe: Saturday Political Soap Box 220

The Amazon is on fire.

And we are very limited as to what we can do about it.

Brazil is on fire.

It is on fire with an Authoritarian leader who is committed to the exploitation of the Amazon forests, and to challenging the indigenous populations that occupy them.

Bolsonaro was elected in a sham election, one where his main opposition was imprisoned before the vote.  He is a hateful man, a right-wing authoritarian who wants to persecute the LGBT community in the vilest manner.  He has no respect for the indigenous Amazonian natives and feels no need to preserve the Amazon rain forest.  They are there to be stripped and terraformed to benefit corporations and the wealthy.

The G-7 conference, without the support of the United States, agreed to send 20 million dollars in emergency aid to combat the fires.  That's a pittance, like trying to fight the fires with a damp cloth.  Even that money was rejected, as Bolsonaro had his knickers in a wad over things President Macron of France had said.

One of the new motives for cutting away more forest is a result of the tariff war our racist President has initiated against China.  China does not want to use agricultural products from the US anymore and is looking for new sources.  Soybeans, in particular, is something Brazil can fill in for, but they need new farmland to do it.  So Trump's hissy fit is causing the permanent loss of soybean exports, and the slack will be picked up by Brazil, even if they have to destroy the Amazon rainforests to do it.  So, ergo, Trump is responsible for the acceleration of the rain forest destruction.

Brazil is just one example of the scariest trend of the 21st century - the rise of authoritarian fascism and the weakening of democracy.


Large swaths of the planet have fallen into the hands of dictators - China, Russia, the Philippines, Brazil, Turkey, Egypt, Poland - just to name a few.

Donald Trump wants desperately to be an authoritarian fascist.  There is some resistance in our institutions, but that is slowly being chipped away.

Even Europe is not entirely resistant to this.  There are fascist parties in almost every European country, with varying degrees of power.   Even the United Kingdom is far on the road to falling, as the Trumpian xenophobe Boris Johnson has taken over, and one of his first acts is to suspend Parliament.

Why is this happening?

I wish I knew a definitive answer.  It would be easier to stop.

The internet that was supposed to set us free, with shared communication, has instead turned into a propaganda tool, selectively enforcing some of the most brutal and ignorant beliefs of people.

Globalization failed, as it allowed the concentration of wealth into fewer hands, rather than uplifting all.

People see their lives and culture slipping and instantly blame the other.  Thousands of years of Progressive faith is flushed down the drain, as religions become dominated by fundamental extremists.

I don't know.  But there is no denying that the world is falling, and with the emergence of the climate crisis, we may continue to devolve and threaten everything. 

I love history, and I've looked at quite often the rise of fascism in the 1930s.  How could that happen?  Why did the people of those countries go along with it?

And now it's happening again, and I still find it confusing.  I try to talk to Trumpeteers, and I just get an earful of how bad Hillary and liberals are, nothing to defend the awful things that they are encouraging.

I'm hoping this will burn itself out (hopefully before the rain forest is completely gone, and the coral reefs, and the glaciers) and that we return to a more Progressive age.

But I just don't know.

I am very worried.

I am very discouraged.

The Green New Deal or Bust: Saturday Political Soap Box 207

What is the Green New Deal?

It is a resolution to come together to formulate a plan to bring about zero emissions by 2050.  That would be the long term goal.

Why do we have to do that?

Because scientific consensus is, that if unchecked, we will have a rise in global temperatures of between 2.5 and 3 degrees, within the next few decades.  Some studies indicate we have less than twelve years before the effects become irreversible.

We don't have to wait twelve years to see the effects of global warming.  You can see it now.  The global temperatures are already rising.  Extreme weather events are occurring now.  Agriculture is already affected.

The Green New Deal proposes to stop or slow this by moving to cleaner energy sources, and by doing so in a way that it improves the economy, and broadens opportunities for EVERYONE, not just a handful of energy gatekeepers.  We need affordable housing and sustainable food for all, not just mansions and caviar for a few.

This is what the Green New Deal will not do -

Ban air travel.

Ban cars.

Ban cows.

Make it so if the wind doesn't blow you can't watch TV.

I could go on and on.  Virtually every negative myth you've heard about the Green New Deal is wrong.  There is one that has an element of truth to it -

It will cost a lot.

But I'm going to tell you a dirty little secret -

It's going to cost a lot more if we do nothing.  Both in terms of money and in human lives.

The cost to clean up after climate change induced extreme weather is rising.  Trillions will have to be spent just to restore the damage that is left in their wake.  And to watch Trump promote tax dollars to repair red state Alabama while denying Puerto Rico what they need, by foully begrudgingly giving them anything - well, that alone is a reason no caring person should ever support or vote for him again.

You're upset by the level of immigration and refugees you see now?  That is a tiny trickle compared to the level of global warming refugees you'll see if we do nothing.  Millions upon millions will have to move away from areas of the planet that will be rendered uninhabitable.

This is a bipartisan issue that all will have to participate in order to secure a livable planet.  Everything is at stake.  Everything.

And yet -

When I looked for pictures to go with this, searching for Facebook for photos of The Green New Deal, 95% or more of what I found was negative memes promoting ugly and horrible lies about the Green New Deal.  The Republicans are working double overtime to create a negative impression about this effort, and in particular, to vilify Congressperson Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

I have never seen such firepower and venom directed at a freshman Congressperson.  Why?

Because they see the future if she is unchallenged.  They fear her.  They know she is speaking directly to the American people, and with such power and force and common sense, that she could rise up the opposition that finally makes the Republicans and their wealthy sponsors irrelevant.  So they have refocused their laser hatred, the same kind used to demean Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi, on trying to break the career trajectory of AOC. 

They want to change the future, even if that costs us the entire planet.  Political demonization is more important to them than the future of Earth.

As brilliant as AOC is, she is nothing without the rest of us.  We have to speak up about wanting the Green New Deal, whatever our political stripe.

This isn't about the career of any politician.  Yes, I am incredibly grateful for AOC leading the way. But in the end, this about the future livability of our planet.

The Green New Deal represents our last, best hope. 

Won't you please set partisanship aside and help us deal with this crisis?

Don't do it for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.  Don't do it for any politician.  Don't do it for me.

Do it for your children.  For your grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

They deserve a livable planet.

September Weather Blues

Trust me.

This is not what September looks like here.

Maybe in parts of North Georgia at some point in time, later in the Fall.

Not here in South Georgia. 

In South Georgia, Fall is an illusory concept.  Technically, Fall is still 18 days away from today (Sep 3).  Practically, we may have a few days that approach Fall-like weather in December or January.  And we may have something that ghosts Winter every decade or so.

Of course, this could change as climate change further shifts weather patterns.

Today, the high is projected to be 86.  I don't even want to talk about the feels like temperatures.  They range from seven to ten degrees higher.

Looking at a fifteen-day forecast, today has the lowest high temp for the next fifteen days,  The rest range from 88 to 91.  So much for any approaching Fall cooldown.

The way people get into holidays here is by over-decorating, mainly outdoors.  Even if it's not cooler, crisper temps, you can decorate like it is, and maybe fool some people.  It doesn't work.  Many a Halloween, I've sat on our porch giving out Halloween candy while swatting mosquitoes, gnats, and flies. The same phenomena happens when you try to walk off your Thanksgiving meal.  Heck, some years I do Christmas shopping while wearing shorts.


This is the most depressing time for me in the South, at least in relation to the weather.  I keep thinking it's going to get cooler, but the heat goes on and on and on.

All in all, though, it's not bad living here, disregarding the relentless heat and the right-wing extremist politics.  I have my family and friends here, and it's easy to find sausage 'n' cheese biscuits.  There are upsides.

The weather just isn't one of them.

We Really Do Care: Saturday Political Soap Box 186

Why did Melania Trump wear a jacket that said:  "I Really Don't Care, Do U?"  across its back?

I really don't know.  Do I care?  I'm not sure.  Did she mean the children?  Her husband?  The media?  The weather? 

But I think we do care.

We care about the children.  The separation of families has struck a chord with many of us, and we don't see a plan to reunite those families.  The American people's reaction is that we do care.  This was a step too far for even immigration hardliners.

We care about her husband.  At least we care about the damage he is doing to our country and the democracy it is founded upon.  We care that he has chosen to identify more with world dictators than he has with democratic leaders.  We care that his rhetoric is tinged with racist paranoia and that he is trying to get us to react in fear, rather than in reason or compassion.

We care about the media.  We care that we have a 24 hours news station that is basically state-run television supporting Trump, no matter how authoritarian he is, no matter what godawful thing he does or says, no matter how much they have to contort or change previous positions.  We care about how much of the media is controlled by only a handful of corporations.  We care that we're losing net neutrality, dramatically increasing the odds that the Internet becomes expensive and under the control of only a few large players.  Please keep reading my blog even if they slow down your access to it.

We care about the weather.  We care that global warming remains unchecked, indeed has even been accelerated by the actions of the Trump administration.  Rules and regulations concerning pollution have been reversed, and fossil fuels have been favored over alternative energy.  We care that extreme weather, exacerbated by climate change, has become the norm rather than the exception.  The negative effects of global warming will create millions of climate refugees as parts of the planet become uninhabitable.   The current level of refugees will look like a trickle compared to what's coming. There will be mass migration on a level the world has never seen before.

Not everyone who reads this blog cares about every single one of these concerns.  A few may not care about any of them.  But there are many of us who are concerned, about these issues and many others.  And as long as there is breath in our bodies, we will continue to speak out.

What I really don't care about is commenting too much about the lives of the first family.  I have never commented much on Melania Trump, one way or another.  Those of Trump's children who speak out on public issues, including adviser Ivanka Trump, make it fair game as it relates to whatever issue they've spoken out about.  But the rest is not my concern, and I really don't care what they do or don't do,  Do you?

So, I don't know why she wore that jacket.  It could have been completely unintentional with no ulterior purpose.  I doubt it, but it could have been. 

But I do know this.  We care.  And we will continue to care.  There will always be a reason to care.  There will always be people that need caring about, that need kindness and understanding.  There will always be issues that affect us all, that require our action and caring to make things better for all.

We care, Melania.  And I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt.  I think, deep down. you care too.

Only time will tell.

Nope. Can't explain it.

A Once Every Two Decades Event

The first realization that some of the snow falling might stick, and not melt off the minute it hit the ground.

By northern standards, it was a fairly modest event.  A light dusting, a minor nuisance, the kind of early snowfall that could occur briefly in September by October.

By Southeast Georgia standards, it was a snowpocalypse, an unprecedented tsunami of snow and ice that had last occurred in Blackshear on Christmas Day 1989.

It was preceded by several hours of freezing rain, creating a slick layer of true danger.  We didn't think it would turn, even though the forecast said that it would.

But by around 11 AM, the rain began to turn to snow.

This is the front of my house at peak snow.  Yes, it wasn't enough to completely cover the ground, but it was definitely there.  It didn't melt the instant it hit the ground,  It actually stuck and stayed.

And a day later, much of it is still there!

Surprisingly, the small lake (big pond?) near our home did not freeze over.  No need to break out the ice skates, or the ice fishing hut.

Snow to Honda:  I have come to bury you!

Yes, I will wait until it melts off before I go anywhere.

1989 to 2017.  28 years between snowfalls.  Will the next wait for the next snowfall be that long?

I'm betting not. 

Why?  Because of the changing weather patterns caused by global warming.

Yes, because of global warming.  I know that's confusing to my Trumpeteer friends, but it's true,

Usually the rare Arctic blasts we get are composed of dry air, and not accompanied by moisture.  But with global warming, that is changing.  The clouds accumulate more moisture, and rain/snow events, when they happen, drop more moisture, causing floods and blizzards.

Global warming equals climate change equals more extreme weather events.

And we now have an administration whose response to global warming is to not just ignore it, but to accelerate and supercharge it.

Sigh.

Maybe I'll have to break down and buy an ice scrapper.

The World Doesn't Always Go On

A celebrity loses her mind, and posts a photo that is way beyond any measure of good taste, disgusting and despicable.  She is rightly condemned, and she loses her position at a major media corporation.  What she did is, sadly, not an isolated incident.  Horrible statements and photos appear all across both sides of the partisan divide, and one act never justifies another.  We all pray for a greater civility and respect in our culture.  Things can be corrected.  The world goes on.

We are in the process of shredding our social safety net, with huge cuts in programs that benefit the average American.  Health care, Medicaid, Medicare, Meals on Wheels, public education, environmental protections, and even Social Security (particularly the Disability portion) are all being considered for massive cuts, or even elimination. Although the resistance to these changes will be greater than some suspect, these and other domestic programs are under siege and will likely see substantial changes.  But what one group of politicians take away, another group can restore later.  The world goes on.

Our democratic institutions are under severe stress, as there may have been collusion between a political campaign and a hostile foreign power.  But we should not lose hope.  There is now a special Prosecutor, and the free press has not yet been dismantled.  I have faith that the truth will be revealed, and that patriots on both sides of the partisan divide will come together to resolve the problem in the best interests of the United States of America.  The world goes on.

President Trump, in his infinite lack of wisdom, withdraws our country from the Paris Climate Accords.  The idea, I guess, is to put America First, and to double down on the fossil fuels that are causing climate change.  In this case, the world doesn't go on.

At least, it doesn't go on in any recognizable way.  The likelihood of worst case scenarios, as projected by the overwhelming body of scientists and scientific evidence, becomes almost a virtual lock if the United States government turns it back on it.  The worst case scenario is that, within the next generation or two, large swaths of the Earth will become uninhabitable, and there will be hundreds of millions of climate refugees  It will make the few thousand Syrian refugees we were afraid of look like a grain of sand on an infinite beach.  The best case scenario is that other countries ignore us and find green solutions and alternative energies that mitigate the extremity of damage we could face.  Of course, that leaves the United States as a declining and irrelevant power, and out of the loop for the green economy to come.  But that is the choice our President has made.  America First will become America Last.

There are still signs of hope.  Many states, municipalities and even corporations are turning their backs on the President's withdrawal, and forming a kind of Climate Rebel Alliance.  Lacking federal support will hurt immensely, but not surrendering shows courage and the vital importance of moving ahead, whatever the obstacles.

The world doesn't always go on.  It may be easier to break than some people think.  But you have to hope and pray that more wake up to their mission, as spoken of in many of the great faiths, to be good stewards of this fragile planet.

98 & Tied

It's a-fixin' to reach 98 today.

And, yep, that's me up there, sportin' a tie.

It seems rather ridiculous, don't it?

Yes, I know.  I work in an air-conditioned office, gittin' there in an air-conditioned car.

Still, it don't seem quite right.

Let's mot even get into the concept that this is only early May, and much hotter weather is yet to come.  That is doesn't even factor in the "feels like" temp, or the humidity index.

Just when tax season is over and I can enjoy the outdoors more, it becomes satanically hot, not to mention the gnats.  They love me so much, they hang around outside the door, waiting for me to dare to step outside for a walk.  And walk I must, as part of a new regimen to reduce my high blood pressure and cut some weight.

Then there's the incredibly huge fire going on the Okefenokee Swamp, extending over almost 150,000 acres!  The fire is more south and west of us, but the smoke does come through when the winds shift.  I pray that it is controlled and extinguished soon, and I pray for the towns it is close to, and to the valiant firefighters who are putting themselves on the line to contain it.

It makes me having to wear a tie, in weather inappropriate for it, seem rather small.

Nevertheless, it would be nice to go without it until the weather gets back to 58 again.

58?  What?  What am I thinking?  I thinks I drifted off to Michigan again.

Catch you later.

Now it's time to say good morning to the gnats that love me.

Fall? What is this thing called Fall?

Ah, yes!

Those beautiful days when the calender says it is Autumn, and leaves turn colors, and start to descend to the ground.  The weather turns cooler, and the wind and rain bring a refreshing chill to the air. Not too cold, but inviting enough to wear a jacket, and be outside without having to worry about flying, biting insects.

There is nothing better than going to the A & W Root Beer Stand, and getting a frosty mug of A & W Root Beer.  It never tastes better than it does in the Fall.

There is nothing better than a visit to an apple orchard, and drinking freshly milled apple cider.  Or a visit to a pumpkin patch.  Or getting up early on a Football game day, and participating in a tailgate, so early that you're wearing a jacket and warming by the different fires and grills that are set cooking hamburgers and kielbasas. 

There is nothing better than a bike ride in the cool, crisp autumn air.  The wonder and quiet and cleanness can take you to another world, like you're on a movie set, placed in a technicolor dream world.

Of course, none of this takes place in South Georgia.

Oh, eventually some leaves may turn.  There may be some days where the temperatures drop, maybe even into the low 70s in the day and the high 50s in the night.  But you're just as likely to have days in the mid to high 80s.  The gnats don't quit, and they bring their friends - wasps and hornets.  Spiders are everywhere - it's almost impossible to walk between tress or shrubs without getting a face full.

I mowed the yard Friday.  It was much warmer than I expected, even at 10 in the morning.  And the gnats?  Oh, yes!  The gnats were there.  They swarmed me as usual, and I looked like Pigpen from the Peanuts cartoon.  

Eventually, a kind of mild Fall will come to South Georgia, at least for short periods or bursts.  They have a special name for it down here.  It's called Winter.

Yes.

Winter is coming.

Maybe.  Disguised as a mild Michigan early Fall.

I miss the seasons.

The Weather is Going to Get You

Watch out, politicians!  The weather and traffic are going to get you!

It is more swift and certain than any scandal or disagreement of policy, any corruption or personal sliminess.  Misdeeds do not count as much as misreads of the weather.

Even Tammany Hall machine politicians in the 19th century knew not to mess with basic services, and providing support when weather went afoul.  Mayor John Lindsay of New York city caught hell for handling snow and garbage collection wrong.

President Bush Jr.mishandled and set us down the wrong track on so many things, from Iraq to creating huge debt, tanking the economy and removing privacy rights.  But none of this was enough to make the American people turn on him.  It was Katrina, and a picture of him observing the mess in an airplane, regally flying by it, completely tone deaf to the mess that it caused.   His popularity never recovered.

Governor Christie emerged from the pack of contenders for national recognition when he put political feelings aside and embraced President Obama, seeking federal help in the devastation of Hurricane Sandy.  It helped him soar to a major re-election victory in New Jersey.  He had huge political popularity among Republicans, Independents and Democrats.

But the same things that made him made him broke him.  Using traffic congestion to get revenge on a stubborn mayor?  Using Sandy funds as a political cudgel to discipline opposing politicians, and to support redevelopment projects for your big corporate sponsors?  Found sleeping with a hooker or even a horse, taking gifts he shouldn't or strong arming public unions?  Those he could get way with, but deliberately messing with traffic and making your commute longer just for spite?  Unforgivable!

President Obama has escaped such judgments so far. He has enough political savvy to know to be all in, and offer help as quickly as possible.  And any politician worth his salt, no matter how conservative, should know not to penny pinch when it comes to weather crises.

Mayor Reed of Atlanta, whom I like, and Governor Deal, whom I despise with every fiber of my being, are both political toast.  Their response and complicity in the Atlanta SnowInch-Mageddon has done them in.  They will not be forgiven nor redeemed.  Is that fair?  Yes, they do seem to share some legitimate responsibility.  At the root, though, metro Atlanta has had a miserable time being able to properly develop infrastructure.  They have traffic problems in the best of times.  This state, and other states, often do a piss poor job of helping their major cities. Urban centers are the major economic engines that fuel a state's ability to progress and grow their economy.  But often rural and suburban politicians spend far too much time thinking the cities (often filled with, gasp!, minorities) are the enemies.

The American people, although not ignoring storm response, should also be focused on the engine that is creating more extreme weather in the United States - climate change.  Until we elect politicians determined to deal with that, than the traffic problems in New Jersey and Atlanta are going to look like chump change.

Be ready for a lot of turn over, American politicians!  The weather crises, unfortunately, may be just beginning.

Cold Nights, Warm Planet

It was cold outside last night.

Why, in some parts of the country, it snowed.

Therefore, global warming is a hoax.

Excuse me while I bang my head against the wall for a few minutes.  Please have a delicious beverage while I'm gone.

Okay, I'm back.

These early morning blog stories are not meant to be scholarly exercises, with tons of references and notes, but it does not take much investigation to realize that a) the average global temperature is indeed going up, and at an alarming rate and 2) that will cause global shifts in weather patterns, some of which may involve greater moisture and arctic air shifting further south as air currents change.  Ask Alaska about the winter - they are having one of their warmest ones ever.

Anyhoo, I prefer colder weather to warmer weather.  Dropping below freezing, as happens here occasionally  in the winter, can be a disturbing surprise, particularly as it never seems to snow when it does.  It seems a waste of cold to not snow, but I guess when we do get cold enough, it is dry arctic air that causes it.  Then it will warm back up and when it does, that is when the rains come.  Sigh.

Cold nights down here in South Georgia are hard to enjoy, not just because of the unexpected chill, but because everyone is so stressed about their pipes freezing.  I've been told it is because of the type of pipes here are not as cold resistant as the ones up north, something to do with PVC or something, I don't really know.  Really?  Like it's never going to get cold down here?  Are the pipes used here so much cheaper than up north that it's worth stressing all winter, or the cost of a break when it occurs?  Jeesh!  C'mon, people!  It does get cold sometimes - take the hit and get the better pipes!

I like it best when the temperature is no higher than 58.  I love to walk outdoors when I don't have to worry about a cloud of gnats surrounding my head.  But there is very little outdoor walking by me in the winter, because I am in tax season, and I don't often see the world in daylight.  So most of my favorite season here is spent in my cloistered, windowless attic office.

But speaking of winter, guess what Olympics is around the corner?  That's right - the Winter Olympics!  It's in a place called Sochi.  It's in Russia.  South Russia, on the Back Sea, near the Republic of Georgia.

Georgia.

Snow?

Well, let's wish them the best.

Watery Weekend and Other Monday Musings

Benjamin spent his Sunday afternoon away from us.  Our friends and fellow parishioners, John Pharr and Carolyn McNeely took him to Brunswick, where he learned about what he could do to help take of the Satilla River, how he could help preserve and make sure the water was safe.  He learned testing techniques.  He enjoyed it, and is ready to join the Satilla Riverkeepers. Now, if he can learn to get over his genetically inherited terror of insects, he might actually be able to contribute year round.

There are a lot of people who use the river irresponsibly, polluting and contamination coming from both public and commercial users.  The number of river users who thinks it's okay to strew trash all over it is astounding.  Chances are anyone who reads this is not part of the problem, but you may know somebody who is.  If you can ask them what the hell they are thinking, why they think dumping crap in the river or on it's banks is okay.  I can't imagine what the answer will be.

Speaking of watery pollutants, one of the biggest news stories in the country, although you may not be able to tell that from the mainstream media, is that 300,000 plus are without water in West Virginia due to an industrial polluter leaking some very dangerous chemicals into the water supply.  The corporation that did this is and remains unregulated, because in West Virginia law, they only store and don't produce.  Expect more of these fun loopholes as TeaPartyPublicans continue to tighten their grip on Red State America.

Another fun fact about Republicorp hold on vast swaths of this great land is it's resistance to any upgrades or repair of infrastructure.  Benjamin left school Friday almost immediately upon arriving as a water main broke near the middle school and high school.  Without working water, they were not going to keep the kids there. The pipes and much of the water supply infrastructure in Blackshear is over a century old, made of clay, and is way past the need to be replaced.  In the current political environment, good luck getting that to happen.  We will just have to stagger from crisis to crisis.

There were strong storms this weekend, and at times we heard some loud bangs on our metal roof.  We never saw anything, but we suspect that there were some major tree limbs or other objects that gave, somewhere on or near our house, a good thwack.  The weather patterns in this area are such that when the temperatures drop below freezing, it is dry arctic air, ergo killing any chance of snow.  Then the temps warm up and lo!  - the rains doth come!

It was the weekend at our church to celebrate the baptism of Jesus.  There was much focus on the renewing spirit of water, and the life and rebirth it represents.  Sunday school discussed how God is in our very act of breathing.

All in all, a very watery weekend.  A vibrant necessity to the wonder of life, and the very renewal of our spirit.  And something we each have a responsibility for.  For helping to keep pure.  To holding it sacred and holy.  For without water, there is no life.

Until next time,

T. M. Strait

Apocalyptical Two Stepping

Are things getting better or worse?

Many generations have faced their mortality with apocalyptic thinking.  My own world is coming to an end, so therefore the whole world must be coming to an end.  Every generation has its prophets of doom, predicting the demise of the world, or the world as we know it.

The turn of the millennium was fraught with this kind of thinking.  I'm talking, of course, of 1000 A.D. Many at that time predicted the destruction of Revelations and the second coming.  Didn't really pan out.

More recently, the 1830s had an inexplicable rise in apocalyptic thinking, with groups like the Seventh Day Adventists.  It was also at this time that the doctrine of the rapture developed, the idea that a subset of people (Jehovah Witnesses had advocated that it would be 144,000, but that may not be true now - hey, people change!) would be taken straight to heaven while the rest face the horrors of  Satan's reign.

In our times, there are still cults that predict our imminent end, including going off to bunkers to commit suicide.  Every few years, someone is brave enough or crazy enough to set a date.  And then when that date passes to busily recalculate to see where they went wrong.

Y2K, the Mayan calender, red heifers - all these warnings and dates pass us by.  Meanwhile, as always, life improves in some ways and slips back in others.

But something special is happening now.  We're no longer dependent on biblical prophecy or mortality fears to drive us towards concerns of Armageddon.  We are now more than capable of really taking ourselves out, without the involvement of a wrathful deity, nor a stray meteorite. We now have the nuclear capacity to blow up the world many times over, and we live with that threat, either on purpose or by accident, every single day.

And, although it may not end all life, our world is being completely changed by climate change.  All the plagues inflicted on Egypt during Exodus are going to seem like child's play compared to what we are inflicting on ourselves.

If anyone has been paying attention it seems like the rhetoric regarding climate change has gone from 1) we've got to stop this while we can, to 2) it's not too late to at least mitigate the damage from this, to finally 3) hang on, everybody! It's going to be a bumpy ride!

This jeopardizes all the considerable progress the world has made in human rights, in lifting people out of poverty, of creating a more spiritual, caring world. The coming resource wars are going to make previous wars look like toddler fits.

But maybe we'll be lucky and bright.  Maybe it's not too late for the mitigation route. I'm trying hard not to play the Apocalyptic Two-Step.

One thing, even if we check what's happening, is pretty clear.

Be prepared for the possibility of visiting your grandchildren on Baffin Island.  Bring sunscreen.

Sumer is Icumen

In the wonderfully awesome book series A Game of Thrones, each family not only has their banner and decorated shield, they also have their own totem animal and a saying that represents them.  For the Lannister's it is the lion and their saying is, "A Lannister pays his debt".  For the Starks it is the wolf and the saying is, "Winter is coming".

For the Straits, we are adopting the doxie (Dachshund mix), and after some consideration are adopting the slogan, "Summer is coming".

What does that mean for us?  A long stretch of unrelenting heat in which it is difficult to even be outside.  Gnats and mosquitoes so thick you can't even see in front of you.  Wasps and hornets so big they could have a passenger service.  Global temperatures rising at a dramatic rate, and as climate change accelerates and the summer season lengthens, having to listen to people around here dismiss global warming as the reality of it sizzles all around them.

On the bright side, we often all have Fridays off at our household, so we have more long weekends.  We take some vacations, particularly to Michigan, to see my father and sister.  Often the weather is cooler up there, although that is no longer a gimme.  For Alison, the summer means one of her favorite series, So You Think You Can Dance (easy question for me to answer).  It also often features many blockbuster movies, some real good and some not so good.  I am looking forward to Prometheus, The Dark Knight Rises and The Amazing Spider-Man, to name a few.

I also may get to do a bit more reading over the summer.  I have a stack of books that exceeds my height.  Which ones I will pick will be random and fun, but I have plenty that could be picked.

So, yes, indeedy, sumer is icumem!  The good, the bad, and the hot-hot-hot!  Just with my pheromones, don't expect me to stand outside and drink in the sunlight while swallowing the gnats.