Occupation of Independence

Frankly, the lower Colorado River desert is a disgrace to planet Earth. But d on't get me wrong: I like visiting the desert along the lower Colorado River in December and January. The temperature is moderate, and usually there are just a few days of soft rain. With all the rubble and desert "pavement," muddy roads are not the problem they are in other parts of the country. Still, by February, I am eager to leave that ghastly rubble and head towards southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. Coffee Girl loves to run on dirt as much as I love to mountain bike on it. Besides the comfort, something seems wholesome about land that has vegetation and soil. The ancients had their goddess, Ceres, for grain. But was there a god for rubble, spines, and stickers?  It might sound slightly comical, but the term "anthropologically-correct" seems fitting to describe grasslands. What good are deserts and mountains, except as postcard fodder?

The downtown/old town is the "draw" around here. I took a walk through downtown, just out of curiosity. It was so dead, it felt like one of those post-apocalypse science fiction movies. But I shouldn't have been surprised. There is hardly one "essential" store in the entire downtown. What it does have is yoga/pilates instruction, art galleries (trinket shops), over-priced food fad boutiques, antique shops, tattoo parlors, restaurants (offering small portions and high prices), and metaphysical centers. There were hardly any cars, and not many pedestrians either. Normally you would see a diverse sample of the menagerie of the Democratic party. A culture has to create some sort of economy, and perhaps looking at the economy tells us a lot about culture. But in thinking about this example, Cause and Effect get confused in my mind. It was thought-provoking to see an already weak economy completely crumble. Perhaps groceries, hardware, and tire stores really

It is nice to see some pestilential germ-holes shut down. But it staggers the mind to think of millions and millions of people trapped in their houses, and consuming media all day. How can it be mentally healthy to shovel that mind-rot, fear, and panic into people's heads, hours and hours per day?! People aren't used to seeing media consumption as a bacillus or virus -- but they should. In fact, media consumption is the ultimate form of contamination. But it is one thing to condemn mass media; it is quite another thing to propose healthy alternatives. The easy answer is 'books.' But I don't have a high enough opinion of authors and the publishing industry to be a cheerleader for this option. Listening to music is certainly a healthy pass-time.  But if you listen to too music, you become numb to it. It might help to accept background music as "real" music, and to renounce the expectation that you are supposed to be swept off your feet by gorgeous melo

In our society, words like hero, honor, and support get bandied about, usually for work that is unnecessary and destructive. Lately, going into Walmart stores, I admired and appreciated the work done by the employees. Without them, the economy would almost be shut down. You could say the same thing of grocery store employees and many others. Wouldn't it be great if the virus panic caused us to start honoring people like these who are doing something necessary and constructive?! I hope it becomes a permanent change.