WHAT HAVE 50 YEARS BROUGHT?
“The best thing for being sad,” replied Merlin, beginning to puff and blow, “is to learn something. That’s the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a lot of things there are to learn.”― The Once and Future King
“The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another; and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is with what he vowed to make it.”
― The Little Minister
― The Little Minister
Yesterday the Weber family engaged in our holiday day trip tradition. Every summer holiday – Memorial, Labor, Independence – we pile into the car and head out of town towards some vague destination within 2 hours of the city limits. Yesterday we pointed the car towards Erin Tennessee, which proudly offers a slice of the old country in Tennessee, to do a little exploring.
Upon arrival, we walked around Erin for a bit before heading towards Dover. On the way, we stopped at the animal resource management lands and witnessed an osprey on her nest. In Dover, we ate at a Taco Johns – which I don’t recommend – and went for a hike at Fort Donaldson – which I do recommend. Along the way we talked, observed, and interacted in an effort to ensure that our family connections remain strong.
In the evening we joined our neighbors for a pleasant holiday BBQ. It was the kind of day holidays are built for. Unfortunately, as I scrolled through social media at the end of the day, the good vibes instilled by a day well spent fled like a herd of gazelles faced with a pride of lions.
As I flipped from public shaming to public shaming, it was like watching a car wreck in slow motion. Vehicles hurling towards each other, the outcome beyond doubt, yet no means offered to alter the quickly approaching calamity.
Tales of people without masks intentionally coughing on those with masks, packed swimming holes in the Ozark’s or Texas, a 70-second video of a confrontation between a white woman and a black man in Central Park, videos of customers verbally chasing a non-mask wearing person from a CONTINUE READING: WHAT HAVE 50 YEARS BROUGHT? – Dad Gone Wild