"What are them others put here for . . . ?"

 

                                          "It's a two way street"
           

  A church school teacher told her class, "Girls and boys, we were put here to help others."  After a moment of reflection, one 7 year old boy asked, "What were them 'others' put here for ?"

       Maybe she was trying to instill in those youngsters an awareness of the "Golden Rule". You know, treat other people in the same way you would want to be treated.  And that principle appears prominently in Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and other major world religions as well as in Christianity. 

    A prominent bioethicist asserts that : "the foundational questions about ethics are about what we owe others, not just ourselves, not just our family and friends."  And, she concluded sadly  that "Americans do not agree about the duty to protect others, whether it's from a virus or gun violence."

    Her comments appeared in a recent New York Times column entitled "For Older Americans, the Pandemic is Not Over". Being right on the cusp of turning 85, I found grim statistics in that piece.  Last month (January 2023), "about three-quarters of Covid deaths have occurred in people over 65." Those 65 and over accounted for "about 90 percent of the nation's Covid deaths." 

    So, what about any responsibility "them others" who are at lower risk for Covid have for those at higher risks.  Regrettably, for many reasons, a high percentage of elders are not taking precautions for their own well-being.  Avoiding transmitting contagion rests on all of us.  

    Society has "opened up" with many pre-Covid activities resuming. Far from being hermits, many of us want to return to "normality" but the enduring risks mandate caution.  In that same article, a 67 year old Charlotte, N.C., woman who along with her husband recently experienced a particularly harsh Covid case explained their resumption of activities: "It's a risk I'm willing to take. I feel like I'm living life on my terms, doing the things  I want to do." I counted five first person pronouns : I and my.  There was no mention about whether they were exercising precautions for the sake of others, like wearing a mask.

    Remember Sinatra's boast "I did it my way" ? Runs counter to the old fashioned (some might say 'outdated') notion of 'commonwealth' . . . our mutual well-being. In another recent NYT article , David French maintained that "what we do for others is infinitely more rewarding than what we ask them to do for us."  Said another way, I am wearing my mask not only for me but also for you because we are still in this together.

    A man who recently lost his elderly father to Covid still encounters comments from strangers because he wears a mask in public pleads, "people just need to care about other people, man. That's my soapbox."

    Mine too !

         Satchel

   

HARBINGERS . . .

 GROUNDHOG FORESHADOW ?

HARBINGER noun . . . something that foreshadows a future event; something that gives an anticipatory sign of what is to come   

The mammalian weather prognosticator aka  "Weather Prophet Extraordinary", (among other titles), Punxsutawney Phil rendered his shadowy prophesy for this year.  When he left his burrow, he saw his  shadow and we are in for six more weeks
of Winter. Phil's batting average for accuracy over the past decade or so is a mediocre 40%.  That was in Pennsylvania and here's hoping that his jurisdiction does not extend to North Carolina where everything was gloomy and overcast. As it happened, there was no prediction from our  state's groundhog, Sir Walter Wallie. After several years of forecasting, he has          decided to retire.                                                        

         Winter around here has generally been 'mild', no snow, no ice, with few mornings of scraping car
windows.  Elsewhere in  the US, other kinds of weather  have been the norm.  Pictures of pre- Christmas monster snows in northern states and more recently ice-storms in the mid-west appeared frequently on tv. The calendar indicates about six more weeks before the equinox occurs at 21:25 (9:25 pm) on March 20 and Spring officially springs.  Even so, the myth of Phil's status as a harbinger of Spring's advent still holds sway for many.  This year that could mean bad news. There was a FB meme going around showing a female groundhog, Phil's ex-wife in Florida, who left him because he was allegedly
an habitual liar.               

Walking through our yard and a nearby vacant lot  last week, I spotted another kind of harbinger.  Remember the saying "If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind," ? Right in the midst of dormant bushes and trees, these beauties and those below foretold warmer, more colorful times :

Soon, the drab grayness will be replaced by a riot of   colors.

     Not only  does "Winter" occur as a calendar Season but for many it is a "season" of their heart, of their spirit, of their emotions.  Not surprisingly, harbingers of hope and relief are eagerly sought.  
Likely, these will not be found in the "shadows"; rather, more likely in either "bright spots" and sometimes in unexpected times and places like these flowers.

Satchel