Objective: meditative reflection. :) Weather: Mid 40s F, breezy (the wind storm of last night died down just in time), mostly cloudy. Happy Thanksgiving to all my blog friends! I am so glad to have this support in my life! I
may have to go on and on a bit here, so feel free to just change the
channel right now if you have better things to do. I spent my run
enjoying the daylight (an actual sunbeam landed on me once) and
reflecting on the many joys of my life. These range from the mundane
(such as, it's great that my running is more than just The Price of
Eating Pie) to the deeper issues: my good health, my wonderful husband
and daughter, our home and our beautiful Northwest. As I have
done many times before, I thought about my grandparents. Both my father
and his father were "old" parents, so I have to look only two
generations back to see my ancestors crossing the Atlantic, dreaming
down in steerage of a better life. They had very little money, almost
no English, and they were not "young and strong." On my mother's side,
I come from pioneers and cowboys. My mother's family was so poor that
one year she received only an orange for Christmas, and was delighted
to get it. They are all dead now, both my parents and
grandparents. How they would be amazed to see what a change in
circumstances has taken place. I live in what they would have
considered a palace. I have every toy and gadget I could want. My
cats eat human-grade meat. I could be wrong, but I believe that what
would have made them happiest is that I have a loving family and a good
education. And they would be incredulous that, at my age, I am healthy
and strong enough to run marathons! One thing my grandparents
had, however, that is almost completely absent in these times is a
Bottom Rung on the ladder of success. My grandfather was a cobbler and
could step off that ship with his tools and go to any street corner to
begin his new life. I believe we are facing the kind of future
in which conditions will approach those that prompted my grandparents'
emmigration. I do hope I am wrong. But when the feds are "giving out
billions of dollars" that they don't have (all they have is a printing press),
I see a domino falling, and it is landing awfully close to the one next
to it. The domino at the end of the line is not just a Depression, it
is Fascism.
Whoa, you may be thinking. Whatever happened to the cheery
count-your-blessings post that seemed inevitable in the earlier
paragraphs? Never fear. I'm going back to it now. When I sit down
today to raise a glass to all the joys of my life, I will be very
mindful of the contrast between my own life and the hardship that has
characterized not only the lives of my grandparents and parents but
those of most of human history. I will also contrast my present
blessings with the years of change that may be ahead for all of us.
Cheers.
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