On fire, the world was always on fire.  It just depends on where you live.  Can you smell smoke?  See flames?  Some of us run for our lives.  And there’s a time when running is impossible, there is nowhere to run to.

I tire of thinking about politics, which has become a reflex, — thinking about politics, that is.  That is a sign that a fire burns nearby.  Whatever you otherwise might have done, you will stop, pay attention to the smoke.  What will the future bring?  Are we living in the tail end of the Great Pandemic, something that we will reflect upon, with a sense of before and after?  Will the next presidential election be “settled” by the customary general freedom of access to the ballot box by every citizen, and then the result duly certified by congress?  Will Caesar cross the Rubicon in order to save the Republic?  If so, whose Caesar? 

Life is more than running or fire fighting. 

Yesterday at dusk along with family members I was privileged to enjoy the Illuminations display at the Morton Arboretum.  Those who live in the Chicago area have heard of the Arboretum.  We walked a path at sunset passing through the trees, almost as if trees were sentient beings, asleep in the seasonal frigid air, under a covering of white snow.  LED lighting was variously used to illuminate the trees and the snow cover to tell a wordless story.  The story which I heard (there was music) and saw featured the theme of humankind and Nature living in grand harmony.  I captured some photos which I will treasure, aids to memory of this walk in the woods. 

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This tune has been commented upon before.  Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers must be one of the most widely known love songs of my generation.  I am inspired every time I hear this one played on the radio.  There is “this” that transcends the limits of the world, the incomplete knowledge of every human, and even the inevitable death which all sentient mammals must confront.