Day 4446

The cold wave continues. We didn't even try to walk Dawn this morning. She hates the cold and we don't want walking to feel like punishment. Dawn is a smart dog. I think she's realized that if she runs out in the back yard first thing in the morning and does her business quickly, she can forget the walk and spend the rest of the day resting on the bed. We were hoping that temperature would warm up enough so that we could all take a walk in the afternoon, but the weather did not cooperate. It stayed cold all day.

I typically channel surf the news channels while I'm eating breakfast and I've just about had enough. There is no such thing as objective news anymore. Everyone has a narrative they are trying to push and they gather just enough plausible information to support their pre-drawn conclusion. It doesn't matter what the subject is. Vaccine mandates, inflation, trucker convoys, January 6, climate change, and even Ukraine. Take your pick. 

There are opposing narratives on just about everything. If you don't agree with something, you just call it fake news. Although most people seem to agree that what is happening in Ukraine is terrible they certainly don't agree on what to do about it. The recommended responses range all the way from doing nothing at all to preemptively starting World War III. I remember a time when the country agreed on the important things. The memories are getting fuzzy though. It's been a long time since we've been able to reach a consensus on anything.

The trouble with pushing a narrative is that it makes it impossible to see the big picture. You only see one side of what is usually a very complex story. People are very poor students of history and they forget that what is happening now has been happening over and over again since the dawn of time. The dawn of time for humans is just a grain of sand in the ocean too. We haven't been around nearly as long as the dinosaurs.   During our short time on this planet we have been constantly fighting with each other. Archeology is basically a study of ancient conquests. The boundaries of every country on earth have been established through countless wars. You can virtue signal all you want but you can't erase the fact that humans are pretty nasty creatures.

I think about things like this while I am walking. Probably even more so while I'm looking at the stars at night. What I see is only a tiny fraction of the know universe. The earth and its inhabitants are almost inconsequential. Humanity is here for a while but our fate will probably be just like the dinosaurs. Something else will replace us. This is why it is so insane to spend so much time fighting. In cosmic terms we are only here for the blink of an eye. Why can't we enjoy and make the most of the short time we've been allotted?

I'll admit that I didn't have a lot of deep thoughts on my walk today. It was so cold that I just concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. I don't do a lot of sightseeing or even hear much on cold days like this. My parka restricts my hearing and side vision. I'm usually just looking at the trail immediately ahead so that I don't trip on anything. It's still peaceful walking in the woods though. Even the coldest day outside is better than watching the news on TV inside.

After hauling the week's trash out to the curb in the cold last night, the trucks didn't even come to pick it up today. It was this way last week as well. Getting back to normal after Covid is proving to be much more difficult than many people expected. Admittedly, these are first world problems. I'm worried about garbage pickup while on the other side of the world people are wondering if they've got a country left.

Cookie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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