Changes #2

In the woods.

Well this is a pretty fix isn't it? As an observer I find our situation captivating. Like a bad accident, I'm compelled to look as I drive by. As a participant I feel numb, overwhelmed by the awfulness coming at us, the illness and deaths, the imploding economy, and the sitting-on-their hands ineptitude of the White House response. It feels like we're on a precipice, with a fire raging behind us and a thousand foot drop ahead.

I've been "sheltering in place" since the second of March, but I go outside often, for walks around the neighborhood, or just around the property here, which is lovely and soothing. On Friday Jennifer and I went for a long hike through the woods behind the local Audubon Society. We spent over two hours wandering various routes, met two deer on the path, and greeted Ruby the resident raptor, a vulture who was sunning herself on the arm of an employee. We stood a respectful 10 feet away and held a one-way conversation.

It's frustrating to have no answers, to not know when this will end, and how. But certainly we are facing change on a massive scale, economically, culturally, and affecting us all. I am heartened by the the ways people are stepping up to help others, and by the creativity I see on social media. Earlier today I ran across Keith Olbermann reading a story by James Thurber. He's a good reader and the stories are, well, Thurber. He plans to do this every night at 8 p.m. ET and you can view anytime on Twitter at #thurbercast.

The inevitable changes we are facing as a nation are likely to be unexpected and difficult. Personally we may suffer loss or illness. As I've written elsewhere, we can only hold on and try to remember that change is good. It is opportunity, it is possibility, it is life and it is death. And it's here. We might as well welcome it.