Insane Earthlings

We were in the basement. The T.V. had sent out that alarm that would usually say, “This has been a test, only a test of the Emergency Broadcast System.” But instead, the voice had warned that a tornado had been spotted and had touched down in Southeast part of town.” We looked outside and it was eerily calm and still. And yellowish.   I was only 10 years old, but recognized an ominous scene when I saw one. Then we heard the train whistle noise. We had been warned about that in school.  It meant a tornado was very close by. So, now we were huddled together. My father had grabbed the mattress off of my brother’s bed in the basement. (His hippie dream room, beaded curtains and all) All four children and my Mom and Dad crouched behind the mattress. We could hear the sounds of tree limbs cracking and falling, hard rain, wind, and unpleasant crunching of metal and wood. I was scared. My sister suddenly remembered that our cat, Scooter, was upstairs and vulnerable if the giant...

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” Franklin D. Roosevelt We have all heard this famous quote. We were raised in a world that has the capacity to destroy itself in an instant. I never really understood the words uttered by FDR at his first inauguration. It has been re-quoted over and over by people of every political viewpoint. It has been used by both well intentioned people and those who seek to do evil.   These words feel powerful and reassuring, but in such a way that they can be easily manipulated by anyone for any cause of action. We were taught these words, but rarely were made aware of the context in which they were used. In my life, I do not recall ever having an in-depth conversation about what having only fear itself to fear means. But the world is once again at a key juncture in which we must choose between fear and hope. So, as I read an article by David Brooks in the New York Times just now, I realized that the meaning of Roosevelt’s words should ha...

“In the shuffling madness Of the locomotive breath, Runs the all, time loser, Headlong to his death.” Jethro Tull If I had a flute, I would be wailing away on it right now. Ian Anderson style. Blasting it with no regard for how the instrument was intended to be played. I feel like we are all inside that song right now. Locomotive Breath. The song begins with a foreboding piano solo in which the dark ride about to begin could easily be overlooked. The piano piece is pretty and sounds a lot like complacency. It’s not going anywhere, but there are sad undertones in the notes. But then the piano marches into an unmistakable train cadence. The passengers are probably feeling pretty comfortable and confident at this point. Just a normal train ride with a competent Conductor. But then the band kicks in you know that we are on a runaway train. You can feel it in the guitar and the rhythm. Ian Anderson uses his flute to scream out a warning. The flute pleads for us to notice that t...