Everybody’s having them dreams

I was talking yesterday with the guy in the office next to mine. He kindly stuck his head in my door to ask how I was doing. The last time we had had a conversation like that was two years ago or more. And so a lot came out.

I write on this blog a fair amount about what's going on in Portland, and that's what most viewers seem to want to read. But really, what's happening in our town is small potatoes compared to The Bigger Picture. 

We have just barely caught a breather from the global pandemic, glad to still be breathing, but before we can regain our focus on the alarming things we've already done and are still doing to the planet, along comes World War III. Not to mention what's happened to our national institutions. Especially the Supreme Court. But also what you get when you look at your screen. Garbage, most of it.

I feel so bad for the young people growing up through all this. My group had it so easy. We had Viet Nam to worry about, that was about it. Today's young people's lot in life is as bad as my parents' was, at least from a psychological standpoint. Maybe worse. May they have strength, and faith in themselves, and somehow hold on to kindness and compassion.

I will get back to Portland's problems, and its occasional blessings, momentarily. But I've had to take a pause, as a citizen of the world. These times, they are dark indeed.