The Basement of Time

To see

To know

To be

To sew

To hope

To need

To cope

To weed

To start

To end

To smart

To mend

To grow

To know

To be

To sow

I shall pass this way but once; any good that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being; let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”

Etienne de Grellet QUAKER MISSIONARY

www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-30/china-set-its-sights-on-taiwan-after-hong-kong-crackdown

Taiwan is now the last bastion of democracy in China. We seem to have failed Tibet and now Hong Kong. If we don’t stand here, what comes after Hong Kong, Taiwan? This is a struggle that can no longer bear further retreat. What makes it close to home is knowing students who are on the front lines in their struggle against this totalitarian rule. Those in Hong Kong have either fled or, if caught, are subject to life in prison without a trial.

As I sit in my game room, which has now become my office there are so many changing emotions as we reach day 25 of lockdown. This all started with a notice from the New Mexico Governor’s Office on the 19th of March that she was going to lock down the state, so we left Phoenix where we were spending time with family, lost about $600 on the final night of the house we had rented and headed back home to Roswell. We made it back in the state within 24 hours of her announcement and since we have not left Roswell. We have gone out for exercise for what had to be done at work and to get groceries and household supplies. We have ordered delivery a few times, but mainly we have hung out around the house and gone through lots of old boxes, planted some things and had a good time with family. I don’t know what will come out of this long term, but in the short term it has been a bit of a reset. Before this lockdown event we were planning a March trip to Germany, but that eventually changed to the UK, a May trip to visit family in California, a June trip to go camping and a July trip to visit family in Kansas City. We moved our UK trip to June, met halfway to visit the family from California and we are still planning to go to Kansas City in July. The future travel plans have changed a bit. I don’t know when we will head off the continent again after our June trip, and likely plan more discoveries in North America for the foreseeable future. Maybe when my kids get to high school or college in 2-6 years from now we will rethink (or if we get a crazy cheap fare) then we may consider other options, but aside from that I think this continent is enough for me.

I was perusing my e-mail inbox today and came across a tragic story of a dementia patient who was killed due to paranoia surrounding this outbreak. Here is the link to the story that outlines how an 86 year old woman died after grabbing hold of another patients IV pole to steady herself, but in so doing broke various social distancing mores. She was pushed by the patient, fell and hit her head and later died.

This story strikes home with me on so many levels. My father died of complications from Berylliosis, which caused many health issues finally including early onset Alzheimer’s and dementia. He wandered too. Mom would find him driving having found a set of keys somewhere after we took them all away…once that loophole closed, she would find his bike missing…finally he started just walking. Its not something you can control and everyone around does their very best to keep any sort of dangerous things away and watches all the time. Finally their bodies get to the point that they can’t roam…shortly thereafter death likely approaches. To say I feel sorry for both of these victims is an understatement. I know how shocking it can be to have someone invade your personal space and start talking two inches from your face. In any circumstance it is surprising. As most things in life, its all in how you deal with it. As we ramp up our fear of this enemy, lets not lose our humanity. A moment of kindness would have saved two lives.

Lets sow love, not hate…grace, not judgement…and caution, not fear. The virus is one unseen and largely uncontrollable enemy. However, we control how we respond. Be kind, be calm, LIVE, LIVE, LIVE…even in this time. Self-control, particularly in times of adversity, is one of the most challenging things to build as a person. However, if you can’t control yourself when times are tough, then there is no way it gets any better when your situation improves.

Be good…