Good morning everyone and welcome to Wednesday’s Morning Open Thread.
Morning Open Thread is a daily, copyrighted post from a host of editors and guest writers. We support our community, invite and share ideas, and encourage thoughtful, respectful dialogue in an open forum.
I’ve come to think of this post as one where you come for the music and stay for the conversation—so feel free to drop a note. The diarist gets to sleep in if she so desires and can show up long after the post is published. So you know, it's a feature, not a bug.
Join us, please.
I got home from work around 5:40 yesterday afternoon. Got a few things done at the house and decided to rest my eyes for a few minutes after a long day. I woke up at 4:00 this morning, still fully dressed, a bit sore from sleeping on the couch, missed texts and a voicemail on my phone, and more than a little discombobulated from the experience.
This all started at a little after 2:00 the night before, though, when is was truly that dark and stormy night we all read about. Battling storms rolled through—violent and with flooding rains—and I was woken by a howling cat at my front door. I got up to check and there was Bobbie-Jean, wet and a bit confused, who shot in when I opened the patio door. She didn’t want comfort so much as company and assurances. While I toweled her off (begrudgingly in her book) and tried to settle her down, she continued to howl and more paced than sat still. But she did relax for a bit, or at least until the next wave of thunder rolled through, the winds circled, and the palmetto bush whipped against my kitchen screen; then she would start up all over again.
By about 4:30 the worst of the storms had passed and the rain had reduced to a bearable pour and she wanted out the house. For then time she was in, I couldn’t keep the door closed all the way because she feels trapped, so we spent the time resting, going to the door to look out, and then trying to judge the severity and length of the next wave on its way. Rough night but she finally pushed her way out by 4:30 and I was able to take my coffee to the small covered area of my patio and watch the flood waters slowly recede and the rumbling of the thunder get more distant by the minute. My day had started earlier than usual and hence the “short” rest when I got home yesterday afternoon.
The first missed text I read this morning was from my friend Jason in Denver: “Uvalde...makes me sick and embarrassed.” It took me about 3 seconds to figure that one out. Nineteen children are reported dead, two adults; I don’t know the number of injured but I do know the number of traumatized will be calculated exponentially. The second—and last—news notice I read told me that fully half of the 10 Republican candidates running for the Gubernatorial primary in Michigan had falsified signatures necessary for them to appear on the ballot. That’s 5 out of the 10 that ostensibly qualified to go up against the incumbent Democratic Governor, Gretchen Whitmer. An estimated 68,000 forged signatures.
Yeah, the rains have stopped here and the thunder is a distant memory. But it is only a matter of time before the next storm comes through and the cats begin to howl at the door and demand temporary comfort and shelter. All the while, the world continues to spin at roughly 1,000 miles an hour, it continues to circle our sun at a blistering 67,000 miles an hour, as we all (sun, planets, moons) circle the center of our galaxy at an incomprehensible 490,000 miles an hour. What we as people do is of no matter to the forces that work in this universe of ours; all we can do is reduce the harm we inflict on ourselves and each other and, on occasion, sacrifice a couple hours of sleep for a soul in distress.
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Be well, be kind, and appreciate the love you have in your life.
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Grab your coffee or tea and join us, please.
What's on your mind this morning?