I Was Going to Write About Gratitude

But...

…I’m not feeling especially grateful right now.

Oh, I know we’re at the beginning of the American holiday of Gratitude and Thankfulness right now, and everyone feels compelled to write something about it despite all the bad things that are going on blah blah blah blah.

That said…

There are some things that I am grateful for. I’m grateful that those who have chosen to read what I write here and over at The Panda Chronicles and do so of their own free will. Some even chose to pay me, and I am especially grateful for that. I am grateful there are so many great writers and artists here, who share their deep thoughts and philosophical musings with me. (Shout outs to

Kelcey Ervick

and

Sue Clancy

and

Susan Wingate

)

But I can’t seem to find all that much to feel grateful about in the aftermath of our recent election. Oh sure, we’re not all dead YET…but with brain worm anti-vax guy being this close to being anointed to run our health department and the Congressional sex pest barely missing his opportunity to start prosecuting all the people who were investigating his …can we say…questionable inclinations?…are we really all that far away from a post apocalyptic dystopian hellscape not unlike Stephen King’s The Stand?

Sigh…

Okay…let me see if I can rouse myself to some gratitudinal enthusiasm….

I have been celebrating my very extended Birthday Season and any number of my friends have gotten into the swing of things. I have a lunch (or maybe several!) on the horizon with friends, my nearest and dearest has given me a tree, along with someone to plant it for me. I would have gone for a smaller version that someone of my age could wrestle in the ground by myself but as he so rightly says, I don’t have time for a small tree.

Lorene Edwards Forkner

of a Handmade Garden (Are you reading her noozletter? You should be!) is responsible for reminding me that I absolutely needed a Parrotia Persica. Look it up. You’ll want one too.

An aside: I love planting trees and having planted trees. I’ve planted more than 50 trees on my property, which already has a lot of great big evergreens, which I am EXTREMELY grateful have not fallen on my house. We plant trees for the future, so I guess on some level, I think there might be one, although I am not 100% convinced. I do intend to keep planting trees as long as I am able, though, just in case.

This is what the inside of my brain looks like….

All of this is to say that I am still really angry about the outcome of this election. I am angry that the stoats and the weasels (see The Wind in the Willows and what happened at Toad Hall) are about to take over the government and I’m not sure that I can stand the day to day tension of what terrible things t***p and his band of miscreants will do to make everyone’s lives (except for his billionaire friends) far worse, and probably cause the deaths of many people.

I’m going to try to take my anger and my sadness and disappointment into my studio and keep making art and panda ‘toons, because I need them and you need them and maybe somehow we will survive. (You should really read

Kelcey Ervick

’s most recent post about sadness and creativity. She always seems to share something that I desperately need.)

In the meantime, you’ll find me talking to the trees, which will patiently try to talk me off the ledge.

Thank you for being here! As I have some new subscribers I want to especially thank them for giving me a place to yap a bit and share the occasional art and panda ‘toon. Comments, rants, and the like are always welcome!