The Time Has Come, the Walrus Said...

The time has come, the Walrus said,
to speak of many things.
Of shoes and ships and sealing wax
of cabbages and kings.

In this time of uncertainty, we are reaching out to friends and
family on a daily basis.  "Are you OK?  Yes, I am well."  The
same question and answer over and over again.  It is as if we
need that reassurance, it keeps us grounded.  If they are alright,
and I am alright, then the world is alright.  But the world is
not alright and I have no idea when it will be alright.  And it is
that not knowing that is so unsettling.

From morning to evening everything changes; black is white,
left is right, day is night.  I was to do this, now I shouldn't.
Take the test, no I mustn't. Stay at home, no go out to vote.
Wash my hands, wash my hands, wash my hands...  I awake
in the morning to news that overnight things have gotten worse.
What is worse than terrible?  I dread the daily count; how many
sick, how many died, where, how old?

Last week the emergency alarm went off on my phone.  I raced
to pick it up with trembling hands.  The message was that
Covid-19 was in my area and I should wash my hands.  Where
is it?  How far? How near?  The five o'clock news said it was
to remind people to stay alert and wash their hands.  Really?
Whose sick idea was that?

I can't help but think this is Mother Nature's revenge, it is as if
the Earth is saying, "I have had enough of you!  You have
despoiled everything you touched.  You have fouled the
water and the air.  You have turned fertile land into desert.
Now I am through with you all.'  It is as if the forces that be
are saying you must finally work together if you are to
survive.  If this true, we have failed again.  How can we expect
nations to work together when men hoard necessities that they
don't need just because they can.

The federal Government has announced that they have crafted
legislation to help the nation in this time of recession.  As
incredulous as it may seem, both Houses of Congress have
voted to approve the bill and the President has signed it into
law.  Gathered around the President were members of his party,
and only his party, even in times such as this partisanship raises
it's ugly head.  The bill does very little to help the average
American individual, it is laden with more pork than an Oscar
Meyer processing plant.  But we, that is those who are know to
the IRS, will receive a lump sum of $1200, and, I guess because
they don't eat as much, each child will receive $600.

That is wonderful as far as it goes, but it is a bandage on a
hemorrhage. To the people who need it the most, it is simply
a token, a breadcrumb to a starving man, a roll of paper towels
to stem a flood, an aspirin for a broken leg. I cannot imagine the
desperation of a family whose income is cut in half, dealing with
hungry children, children who once received breakfast and lunch
at their school.  They now have to provide, per child, fourteen
additional meals a week , sixty more meals a month, on a food
budget that was stretched to the limit before.

I am in a comfortable position, I do not need the $1200 the government
will be sending me, neither do my friends, or my family.  I am not
wealthy, nor are my friends but we live within our means because
we were lucky. We lived in a time of dedicated pensions, which now
provide us, along with social security, a livable income.  I am going to
send my $1200 to my favorite charity, I ask you to do the same.
If you are able.

Today the party in power has found a new way to put the blame for the
coronavirus on the other party.  Our much-admired smiling turtle-faced
Senate majority leader said the president was too distracted with his
impeachment to concentrate on the impending doom.  Wow, there a
word we haven't heard in awhile, impeachment.  Remember those good
old days when the news was all about impeachment, day and night,
24/7.  We didn't know how good we had it.

And as long as we are in a political frame of mind, I have two things
to say; one, damn it Bernie give it up, it isn't about you, you egotstical
bastard, it's about the country, you know the country you claim to love
and want the best for.  Well the best thing you can do is go back to the
Senate.  And number two; Lizzie, get off the fence! If you want to see
anymore money from me you will endorse Joe Biden for president.  Now
you are asking for more money for your Senate campaign.  You will see
my cash when I see your endorsement.  And by the way, Obama, how come
you didn't know my name when you were President but now I am your bestie?

I have read stories concerning the great need for counseling, it appears
psychologists and psychiatrist are in great demand at this time of home
quarantine.  People, it has been less than a week, two weeks at the best!
If you are ready to go over the edge, perhaps you were standing too close
to the edge to begin with.  The front-page story in my local paper reports
there is a marked increase in domestic violence since 'stay safe, stay inside'
it seems not everyone is taking that to heart.  And they were predicting a rise
in the birth rate come January.

Well, I guess I have carried on long enough, in my defense I have too much
time to mull over the little problems of the day.  Perhaps I should concentrate
on the bigger conundrums, such as string theory, or the singularity.  If I
have any breakthoughs you will read about it right here.

                                                             I'm just sayin'