Oh, the stress of it all! We fret. We fume. When comes the fun? Covid spiking locally, the highest in the nation for my own Jackson County! What slowly dwindled from 50 or so new cases a day and had gone down to about 10 has suddenly shot up to 350 cases a day, with deaths to go with it, sometimes children. Then there are the friends and loved ones who are dead sure their paranoid suspicions are more reliable than thousands of people who…
Middle of what - the American experiment, western civilization, human progress? How about the middle of geologic earth with billions of years yet to come? Middle-aged for me? Sure, if I live to be 152. Maybe by then, I'll know what I should know by now. Perhaps we're near the middle of global warming (recently called "climate change" in order to make it seem more ambiguous and less alarming). We're either halfway to halting and reversing it back to familiar and comfortable pre-industrial levels (meaning…
"... to our democracy," goes the extremely ironic script mouthed by scores of hometown reporters on TV stations managed by Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sinclair is now owner-manager of both our local Rogue Valley newspapers, our only major news sources. Sinclair manages all sorts of tv stations and newspapers. It both manages some Fox News and competes against them. Fox, while claiming to be "fair and balanced," has been anything but that. But they aren't extreme enough for Trump and those who support him. Having used…
The cars we use are an ethical concern. Whether we're driving down the road emitting harmful gasses that will linger for hundreds of years or not - matters. When I'm using my Taurus V-6 I'm guilty of fouling our earth a bit. When I use my electric bike instead, the overall impact of my ride is improved dramatically for my part of the "bit." Of course, what I or any single person does or doesn't do matters very little to our collective predicament. Yet, a…
I recently submitted an entry to Awakening Starseeds II, a compendium of awakening experiences. I had written another similar piece in the first Awakening Starseeds book, "Be Embodied." (You can find it here at EarthlyReligion, under Writings, under Stories.) I was honored to be asked to return. I'll post it here and add a few comments for this month's entry. I Did This By Byron Bradly Carrier "I did this," says Steve, my professor-of-botany friend. The "I" he unabashedly affirms isn't just him in his…
When I graduated from high school in 1963, this small, simple, affordable, economic Ford was not available in the U.S. However, VW Bugs were. Detroit ignored both.
We worry for the worst. Wary gets scary. Relations grow reactionary. We're susceptible to this, but built for better. On the eve of the most important presidential election in American history, and in the spirit of a realistically scary 2020 Halloween, I slog through this dismal blog with a scary featured image, not to dishearten you, but rehearten you. We need to face realistic fears to move to practical hopes. It was an Innocent Halloween in 2019 Just a year ago we hadn't heard of…
Clothes drying inside is the mildest form of dealing with our current challenges. I discuss a few more.
Stretch is the only name that has emerged for my white cat. He's also gone by Little White Guy or Lank. Something Egyptian seems appropriate. He's majestic yet unpretentious. He likes it when I purr. Stretch wasn't always like this, comfortable on my lap. He was feral as a kitten. When I first got him he wouldn't be petted. He'd slink away from touch. But he's since figured things out. He even mimics the meows I make to him, trying to talk in my cat…
