Wide Awake

I'm wide awake.

I shouldn't be because it's 2:38 a.m. But while our congressional "leaders" dither, the fabric of our society frays at an ever-alarming rate. The rhetoric has been about a revolution, but what we really need is an awakening.

The number of people dying from the COVID-19 pandemic is staggering. The tally is comparable to other singular events; 1918 Spanish Flu, World War II, or 9/11. The sheer toll is nearly unimaginable. Sadly, we were ill-prepared.

The problem now is not that tragedy has befallen us. It's not about affixing blame for who didn't do this or that. It's certainly not about talking about how resilient we are. People who lived through The Great Depression and World War II were resilient, but they still had to suffer through it. So will we.

It's about what to do right now. It's about simple survival. Not just from the virus, but from the impending economic fallout on a scale we've never before encountered. This ordeal has already been hard. It's likely to get a lot harder.

First and foremost, we must survive the health crisis. If we don't, nothing else matters. Nothing. Complacency kills. That's how we arrived at this point to begin with. Yet, it's still surprisingly pervasive.

It's imperative that we develop a better and swifter comprehensive response. That'll involve extensive testing, at the very least; something we haven't been able to achieve to date. I'll leave the virus solution to the medical experts, but the economic response so far has been bewildering. Trillions of dollars have been misallocated. Propping up financial markets at this juncture is shortsighted and will ultimately prove ineffective as the longer term impact from record unemployment and crippled industries plays itself out. You're delusional if you think there is a V-shaped recovery on the horizon. It simply isn't going to happen.

Sirens should be sounding on near-term economic concerns that involve the crumbling supply chain and the general welfare of the population. The increasing disruption to producing and distributing necessary goods, especially food, is alarming. Priorities are being redefined, and it's a real question mark of whether those responsible for keeping such things intact are even paying attention. Overall policy decision-making often appears incomplete, uninformed, or outright contradictory. We need to do much better and we'll need new leaders to emerge to make it happen.

That's a lot of doom and gloom to digest. I hope I'm wrong, but I fear I'm right. To paraphrase the band U2, this is not a rebel article...but there's been a lot of talk, maybe too much talk. It's time for an awakening.

A Man On Fire

A Man On Fire.  That's been my online profile description ever since I created my online presence several years ago.  It was conceived expediently to convey my core essence without divulging any public information about myself.  As I ponder expanding my profile description, I thought I'd examine my current one more closely.

A Man On Fire was adopted to convey the urgency of my passions.  Those include my passion for writing and my passion for living.  When you're on fire, it's urgent.  The flames burn brighter each passing moment, culmination is unknown.  As the fire grows, so does the urgency.  I hope to exit in a fierce, fiery blaze when the fire finishes with me, something like a Phoenix, I guess.

It wasn't always this way.  I think the fire started shortly after my sister-in-law passed away after valiantly battling cancer.  I always thought she'd prevail, but was forced to reexamine the frailty of life and our time to live it.  I realized how many things I had procrastinated about, or avoided altogether as a result of low confidence.  I decided to change that if I could, without knowing quite how.  I didn't realize yet that I had been set on fire.

I inadvertently became a local activist.  I started a career in real estate alongside my occupation.  I started to learn guitar.  Still unaware, the fire continued to grow.

A life-changing business trip to Vail made me aware.  I returned home with new perspective and for the first time, discovered I was on fire.  My instinct told me to stop, drop and roll to smother the flames, but I didn't.  Instead, I ran.  And I ran hard.

I resurrected my writing passion, leaped headlong into a unique run for local political office, and focused on building more meaningful relationships with everyone I knew.  More family and friends met their end along the way which galvanized my resolve to live life on purpose.  Be positive.  Encourage others.  Make a worthwhile daily difference.  Be more compassionate.  Write. Connect.  Share.  The fire engulfed me.

I turn 50 years old in a few weeks.  Though I'm healthy (except for the raging fire,) I'm aware of the limited time that fire can continue to burn, even if I get the reasonable life expectancy.  I'm as motivated as ever to fan the flames.  Every single day is still a challenge to live up to my self-imposed expectations.  I often fail.  I'm not deterred.  As I said, as long as I go out in a blaze, I've succeeded.

So, despite still being A Man On Fire, I'm likely to revamp my profile description a bit to include some literal explanation of my passions.  My ultimate hope is that as my last spark flickers, it ignites someone else. 

October Swim

Did someone say the summer is over?  Not at the OC Fortress, where summer is measured not by Memorial Day to Labor Day, but by when the pool opens and closes.  Guess what?  The pool is still open!

That's right...the pool which opened in April is still in operation and awaiting the annual rite of October Swim. No, it isn't heated - should it be?  Anyway, it's pretty self-explanatory, but it involves someone of questionable sound mind (okay, always me) taking a frigid, uh...I mean final, dip of the season for no obvious reason other than I'm late closing the pool again.  I'm always late on that score - pining for just a few more days of summer, usually settling for some approximation of Indian Summer instead.  But swimming while leaves slowly float through the air is somewhat enchanting - assuming of course, I'm able to remain conscious to witness it.

Exactly how the tradition began is a little hazy, no doubt the result of unnecessary exposure to icy cold water.  I don't believe any records are in jeopardy though this year.  October 1st is early for an October Swim and the outside temperature is projected in the mid-70's.  That's a veritable heat wave equivalent for this time in the Northeast.  Pool weather temperature is another thing entirely - today it registered a balmy 56 degrees!  I've had warmer ocean swims than that.  I can hardly wait.

Preparation is ongoing as early Fall leaves are being skimmed daily and I've received medical clearance (physically, not mentally.)  Ready the pool cover at your leisure; last year it didn't go on until the first flakes of snow from a forecast Nor'easter actually began falling.  So wish me good luck, or survival anyway, because last year I thought I induced a heart-attack or embarked on an ill-conceived cryogenics experiment.  Everybody in the pool!  

Monkey Prerogative

I thought I'd start slowly today and attempt to describe what you might expect from this blog.  Honestly, I'm not entirely sure yet.  I'm just one monkey.  In the jungle, one monkey or what he thinks doesn't count for all that much.  But if he manages to not get eaten by a lion, then he gets to keep on thinking, or in my case, writing.

For the most part, I'll aim to keep my opinions monkey-like.  In other words, I'll try to tackle complicated situations with ease, display sparkling wit, and hold on to the branches tightly, all while swinging from tree to tree in the range of topics I cover.  I hope I don't get too serious but I'm very much a serious monkey so I can't make any promises.  Monkeys are unpredictable.  In that vein, the predictability of posting will not likely follow any specific schedule.  I can't be swinging through the trees constantly because even a monkey needs to relax and eat a banana from time to time.  So I'm hopeful that I'll have some Guest Monkeys who'd occasionally like to swing by and share their experiences in the jungle.

Got a topic you'd like to see me explore?  Shoot me an email with your suggestion.  It's time for a banana now and if the lions don't get me, I'll be back to share some more thoughts soon.