The World is Canceled

Three Scotsmen working on the whiskey caper: Allan Masterton (a distant relative), Willie Nicol, and Robert Burns. Sculpture by David Anderson. It resides in the gardens at Fingask Castle, Scotland

There is no particular reason to include this photo of sculptures from Fingask Castle in Scotland. This sculpture by David Anderson is of three very good friends from the 1700’s: Allan Masterton, Willie Nicol, and Robert Burns. They illustrate the song “Willie brew’d a peck o’ maut” written by Masterton and Burns. Whiskey, of course, is the subject at hand, and Willie was good at making it.

You might have a need for whiskey these days, now that the world is shutting down for a time with the spread of a new virus that is testing it’s abilities to throw the human species into a tailspin. It’s a very strange enforced vacation for some and a nightmare for others. For those on the front lines (healthcare and grocery workers especially) it is truly a worst-case-scenario. The pets think this is pretty cool, having their people around all the time though it’s somewhat confusing when someone is working at home and has to shut the door for long periods.

I suspect some good things will happen. More musicians will figure out how to live stream concerts, more tutorials for making stuff will be created, you can catch up on reading and movies (as long as you can keep paying the internet bill). Perhaps victory gardens will make a comeback. Will neighbors rediscover the need for a neighborhood?

But even though we have the capability to come through this as better people, I’m not so sure we will. Call me cynical. Call me old and cynical. Call me old and poor and cynical. When people feel the need to fight in the aisles over toilet paper and buy more guns it doesn’t give me a lot of hope for the “we’re all in this together” group hug. Oops, no hugs, sorry.

Please be a reasonable human. The service workers are doing the best they can with the mess at hand. They did not create it and getting angry at them will only make their day worse than when it started. Appreciate them. Say “thank you” and “please” and “have a good day”. It will go a long way.

Two things are for sure – 1) An event like this brings out all the things that aren’t working in all our human systems and throws them right in our faces.    2) Mother Nature still has the last word, and will always. She’s not interested in any other details. When it’s time to clean house it’s time.

Be well, be kind, and be hopeful if you can. When the gigs get rescheduled I’ll let you know.