BUT I DO LIKE HAMBURGERS
“I feel that the dormant goodwill in people needs to be stirred. People need to hear that it makes sense to behave decently or to help others, to place common interests above their own, to respect the elementary rules of human coexistence.”―
“A life that partakes even a little of friendship, love, irony, humor, parenthood, literature, and music, and the chance to take part in battles for the liberation of others cannot be called ‘meaningless’…”
― Hitch 22: A Memoir
― Hitch 22: A Memoir
Another weekend has come and gone. For many, weekends are considered a time of leisure and a time to recharge batteries drained by the stress of the workweek. Unfortunately, these times don’t recognize any schedules and thus the specters of health, race, and economics never stray far from our conscious. Weekends are no exception.
Cormovirus numbers are on the increase and photos from downtown bars served to heighten anxiety, leading to the health department issuing citations for violations. There is a growing fear that Nashville may actually recede backward to stage 1 of its opening plan, further delaying recovery.
Meanwhile, as the COVID numbers grow, economic concerns grow exponentially. The reality has begun to sink in that even if we survive the health threat, the economic threat will bury countless others. A debate over a city budget that calls for an increase in property taxes scheduled for the next two weeks will not serve to quell those fears.
Race and its implications continue to be at the forefront of conversations as well. On Friday a group of organizers took over the legislative plaza in Nashville in an attempt to foster change. Governor Lee let them stick around for 22 hours before quietly clearing the plaza, and closing it down for a purported pressure washing. Organizers are promising to return this morning.
In Atlanta, another young black man was killed by police when a drunk driving stop went terribly awry. In response, Atlanta’s Chief of Police resigned. Just last week she was hailed as a model of police leadership.
In our household, the weekend brought anticipation. Peter’s best friend Noel was in town for the weekend from St. Louis and as a result, he could barely contain his excitement.
Noel is a black young man whose grandparents live around the corner. About a year ago Peter and he bonded over basketball, football, YouTube, and whatever it is that 9-year old boy’s bond over CONTINUE READING: BUT I DO LIKE HAMBURGERS – Dad Gone Wild