Filling time

I watched the debate Thursday, after skipping the first one. I thought about skipping this one too but a neighbor tempted me with a glass of wine so I went over and we watched it together. It was as expected, but it gave us time for a satisfying, socially distant conversation, and walking down the hill in the dark I had a good view of the moon and the streaming bits of fog attending it. I am so surrounded by trees here that I seldom see the moon unless I make an effort, and it was like meeting an old friend.

Like most of you, I suppose, I'm anxious about November 3 and hoping that we don't have to suffer through weeks of not knowing the outcome. The closer we get to the election the more strange everything feels. Time contracts and expands, my mood rises and falls with the polls, the days fly or creep by with little accomplished. Waiting has never been easy for me and without Ray to temper my anxiety I pace or drink endless cups of tea. The sweets I crave are deliberately left on the grocery shelves because, for some reason, that's all I want to eat. There are plenty of projects to do, and in fact I have made progress with a few of them. But attention is in short supply and checking the news is so compelling.

A few days ago I watched "The Trial of the Chicago Seven." The riots, the racism, and the abusive justice system triggered the same emotions I felt watching events unfold this year. The parallels to 2020 are striking and I remembered a surprising number of details (the awful Julius Hoffman for one). Of course 1968 was only one of many painful and difficult years of that period. It was in 1971, I think, that I met one of the Chicago Seven, John Froines. He was a bit player in the trial and our acquaintance was equally brief. He was in Eugene and had written a statement he wanted the Register-Guard to print. I lived next door to the friend he was visiting. I had a typewriter. Would I type it for him? Of course. After all, he was against  the war; I was Another Mother for Peace.

His handwritten statement came to two typed pages and at the end he had printed in block letters "ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE!" So I dutifully typed it in all caps and the Guard ran it that way, which made me laugh. To return the favor John gave me a pin from North Vietnam that he assured me was the only one of its kind in the US and was made of metal from downed planes. I thanked him but remained skeptical, and eventually it found its way into the little basket that held our ubiquitous peace-sign pins. I don't think I ever wore it, but I still have it.

The movie is very good, by the way, I recommend it. For one thing it was written and directed by Aaron Sorkin who always writes beautiful dialog (e.g. "West Wing"). As for the upcoming election I have nothing to say except Hurry Up! So I will go back to my unending photo project and try not to think too much. Maybe together we can watch the leaves turn from green to yellow to red, and dream of a new and better year.

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If you're looking for a change of scene check out window-swap.com which is endlessly entertaining.