When will the storm be over? in Daydreaming on the Porch
- Sept. 14, 2020, 2:09 a.m.
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- Public
And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.
― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore
It’s 4:30 in the morning. I’ve just been reading about the “apocalyptic” smoke and wildfires in California, Washington and Oregon. My sister in Washington has had to stay indoors. The air pollution in Seattle and San Francisco is so bad it’s like smoking 25 cigarettes a day. Three million + acres burned in California alone. Climate scientists predicted these effects from global warming decades ago, but few could have predicted these nightmarish conditions would arrive so soon, and with such intensity. And we’ve kept on dumping more and more carbon into the atmosphere, as if there was no end to he fossil-fueled party and the “good life” of the American Dream (Nightmare).
On the coast of South Carolina where I live, we’re nervously tracking five storms in the Atlantic, including a hurricane now heading to my hometown of New Orleans.
The coronavirus pandemic is in month 8 now with no end on sight.
Am then to add to this collective storm over humanity, a U.S. presidential election is not far away with many people, myself included, anxiously awaiting the news that Trump and his minions have been flushed down the electoral college sewer for good.
The convergence of all these factors at once can make life seem ever more surreal as the days tick by. In fact, everything about life seems different, a strange upheaval that makes planning for anything seem like an act of faith in a future more uncertain than ever with the pandemic quarantines, massive unemployment, business closures, and everything else.
Everything I had planned to do in retirement is on hold. I’m living one day at a time, waiting, listening, observing and hoping my time is not yet up. Why is this a daily concern? Because we’ve never lived through anything like this before. Whoever knew 2020 would mark the tipping point?
Last updated September 14, 2020
A Pedestrian Wandering ⋅ September 14, 2020
A counselor of mine, during a particularly rough stretch in my life, used to say "Let it unfold." As if I had a choice in the matter. But this circumstance leaves me saying "What's next?" and being truly fearful of the answer.
Oswego A Pedestrian Wandering ⋅ September 14, 2020
We’ve altered everything about his planet so detrimentally to life of every kind, including us, that what will unfold is too horrible to think about more than fleetingly.
Kristi1971 ⋅ September 14, 2020
Not me. I remember how excited I was for 2020 to be here..hopeful, full of plans and ideas. I feel like those were perhaps flushed down a toilet. I will say the upcoming election does give me hope that this part of the nightmare can be put behind us, but I'm afraid to have too much hope.
Oswego Kristi1971 ⋅ September 14, 2020
Well put!
When my caregiving duties ended, I planned to do so many things retirement allows one to do. Now everything is on hold, and at my age my main goal is keeping safe and trying my best not to get this dreadful disease. A vast number of us will come out of this changed for the better. Life will go on, and hopefully the younger generations will learn how to save the planet from the worst of global warming. However, f the election does not go well, we will all pay a terrible price, and we will have received the sign we cannot ignore.
MageB ⋅ September 14, 2020
Oh, so true.
Jinn ⋅ September 14, 2020
Even if Trump is voted out I wonder if we can undo decades of abuse to the planet in four years or eight years? . I fear the majority of people just do not care enough about today or the future. We are over populated and environmentally irresponsible on a global scale . I see young people having multiple children ; totally unconcerned about what the world is going to be like that they will have to live in or how they will even care for them now :-( . It’s frightening. In just my lifetime I have seen huge changes to the environment and it feels like that can not be repaired. The best we can hope is to salvage what we have left , if we could get the world on board and if we could even get our own people united , we might have a chance. It does feel like we are on the brink .
As for me personally I try to focus on what is important to me these days and to continue my tiny contribution to trying to not do any damage . People our age only have so much quality time left and I want to enjoy as much of that time as I can . Home, family , pets, plants , books , writing , music, movies and sometimes I like to do crafts. I miss my friends but we are all being careful during the pandemic . I miss my youngest son most of all but he is in Vegas and has his own life so frequent phone conversations is how we cope . It’s ok. Not like before but it’s still good .
Oswego Jinn ⋅ September 15, 2020
I think with a new, sane president, we will at least have a chance to steer the ship away from the iceberg. We’ve done incalculable damage to the environment. I think a huge part of the problem is exponential overpopulation which has led to massive levels of subsistence living, poverty, extreme pollution, and lack of education. It gives me a headache to think about what my niece and nephew will face in the coming years. They are fortunate, however, in that they’ve had the good bings in life. Their educational backgrounds will enable them to help turn the tide and create solutions to he mess we are in.
I totally agree about making the most of the time left for people our age, enjoying those things we love and treasure most.
ConnieK ⋅ September 14, 2020
When walking through fire, I tell myself that good times never last forever but neither do bad times.
Oswego ConnieK ⋅ September 15, 2020
Unfortunately the bad times seem to have no end insofar as the type of world future generations will inherit from us. Just look at what young people now are facing.
ConnieK Oswego ⋅ September 15, 2020
Life has never been easy. Plagues, whether COVID or Bubonic, are faced. I have faith in the coming generation who will direct focus on the environment and human rights. Trump and Putin will do their damage just as Hitler and Stalin once did. The generations march forward to continue the good fight. It is in our nature, I think, to strive to reach our Creator. JMO
Marg ⋅ September 16, 2020
We live in frightening times - but we can’t say we weren’t warned about some of it. It took years to do the damage, I’m sure it’ll take years to rectify it if that’s even possible. But first of all, we have to care.