There have been a few things to think about over the past few days: Arctic air that resulted in a record-setting wind chill of -108 degrees on the summit of Mount Washington; an earthquake in Turkey and Syria that killed thousands; and the Chinese spy balloon that created panic and derailed a planned diplomatic meeting between the U.S. and the People’s Republic.
But how about these revelations: Comedian Soupy Sales held a master’s degree in journalism, and his sons played in the band Tin Machine with David Bowie. Or how about Tom Waits’ lament for the owners of book and record stores that “used to be oracles … you’d go in this dusty old place and they might point you toward something that would change your life. All that‘s gone.”
“Snow birds” flee the cold of the Northeast to join traffic jams in South Florida. As a bonus, they may have a chance to meet Governor Ron DeSantis, who attempts to insert government into every freedom he opposes. To quote Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, “One has to wonder why conservatives who complain that their phone can track them don’t have the same outrage about intrusive mandatory questions from the government. Does their defense of constitutional rights to privacy stop when they don’t like the people whose rights are being violated? It’s crucial that they understand that if one group’s rights can be violated, then anyone’s can.”
Attempts to control people through fear is something both political parties have become very at doing. If one crisis ends, another crops up almost immediately to keep people off-balance, and that is why we need to appreciate Soupy Sales and Tom Waits and all those who insert a little levity into our lives.
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We can all always use a good chuckle!