Who Dad?!

Maui is Burning!

Maui is burning! Maui! Is there no refuge, no escape anywhere?

And this after weeks of extreme heat, tornadoes, and floods. Power out for millions everywhere. We are living in apocalyptic times and yet so many will not accept what is happening as anything abnormal. How is that possible? Denial may be the most powerful shield a human can wield.

Earlier, while walking a morning nine, I came upon a large rattlesnake in the early stages of the slow swallowing of a full grown rabbit. The rabbit's head could not be seen in the rattlesnake's mouth that somehow had opened and expanded several times its original size. I approached with grisly fascination. The snake rattled, but could not let go. Instead, it tried to back away, pulling its unfinished meal to somewhere more private. I resisted any impulse to interfere. It's hard to know whose side to be on when one is both predator and prey.

Driving home and behind a woman barely managing the 30 mph speed limit, I relaxed into her pace. Her right turn signal went on and I was patiently edging towards the upcoming left turn lanes when suddenly a vehicle that was two cars behind me barreled past me on my left.

There was no road on my left! 

And yet this maniac flew by me and then abruptly swung over to the right to cut off the woman trying to go right. Startled shock and disbelief were my first reactions. This would have been hard to stage in an action movie chase scene without any collisions.

I did not swear, was not angry, just stunned. Although surprising, it fit with the narrative I've been assembling about this time we're in. The working title is, On the Verge. I don't imagine that particular insane driver will last long, but who will suffer in his suicidal reckless wake?

Of more concern is how much seems to be on the verge of collapse or breakdown.

The only question that matters is what can be done about it? My personal approach has always been one of preemptive action, which allowed my life to go on with minimal interruption and hassle. That doesn't seem to work anymore, even for me at home, let alone in the larger arena. There are just too many things going wrong or needing attention, and with ever decreasing intervals between events.

So, what to do? How to live a good life in a time of diminishing sanity with dimwits increasingly on the loose?

Long ago, I decided not to own a gun, mainly because I didn't trust what would happen if I were ever blinded by rage. But a car can be the most powerful weapon an ordinary person will ever possess. (I've thought about giving up having a vehicle too, for a variety of reasons, but let's be real, life is hard enough already.)

I have repeatedly challenged myself to be a more alert, proactive, and conscientious driver. And, have often failed. Until that is I came up with a way to reprogram myself.

Most vehicles have some kind of trip meter, right? Typically, I'd reset mine after filling the tank to get an idea of gas mileage. But then I had another idea: reset after each time I acted badly behind the wheel. Whenever I got impatient, frustrated, pissed off, or let someone else's action negatively influence how I drove, I had to reset back to zero. O.C.D. behavior perhaps, but I thought of it instead as my Odometer Challenge Daily.

It only took a few days before my ongoing attention to external triggers became sharper and I was able to alter the path that led to becoming upset behind the wheel. This odometer reset was the exact tool I had needed for changing lifetime driving habits and responses. It had only taken me 50 years to master the emotional components of driving a motor vehicle. (I'm not a particularly quick study.)

Of course, I couldn't help but think what a difference it would make if this way of driving were part of Drivers Education or rewarded by the insurance industry.

(*Golf tip: Ever feel impatient behind slow golfers or rushed by a group behind you? How is your game when under pressure? The odometer reset is also a great daily training for the inner game of golf!)

Human Race

But what if it were not a race

and we simply watched out for each other?

The way it is now, the most educated have the fewest children

while those in greatest need have the most.

Many have nothing but a prayer for aid.

Others hold more than can be used,

live in comfort, worry all the same.

These past years have not been easy.

We are more broken than we know,

more than what can be spoken.

There are no words we all can hear.

No name for what is afflicting us.

States pass laws designed to turn us

even more against each other.

Couples with kids walk away from marriage.

People with no savings quit jobs.

And so many taking their own lives.

Anything left unguarded is gone.

Angry fingers point.

The loudest know the least.

Yet so much suffering is silent.

It is though what I hear

when I come out from hiding,

make the effort to connect,

listen to another.

Save your solutions

but share your pain.

We can meet there.

Perhaps find a way to end the race

and begin a life of watchful grace.