In 1948 C.S.Lewis wrote an essay “On Living in an Atomic Age”. Bombs had been dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki so fear about atomic technology was on everyone’s mind. His words in those perilous times, are just as relevant in the uncertain times we are living today. I borrowed this from a blog I follow (erinapier – Hometown).

“In one way we think a great deal too much of the atomic bomb. ‘How are we to live in an atomic age?’ I am tempted to reply: ‘Why, as you would have lived in the sixteenth century when the plague visited London almost every year, or as you would have lived in a Viking age when raiders from Scandinavia might land and cut your throat any night; or indeed, as you are already living in an age of cancer, an age of syphilis, an age of paralysis, an age of air raids, an age of railway accidents, an age of motor accidents.’

“In other words, do not let us begin by exaggerating the novelty of our situation. Believe me, dear sir or madam, you and all whom you love were already sentenced to death before the atomic bomb was invented: and quite a high percentage of us were going to die in unpleasant ways. We had, indeed, one very great advantage over our ancestors – anesthetics; but we have that still. It is perfectly ridiculous to go about whimpering and drawing long faces because the scientists have added one more chance of painful and premature death to a world which already bristled with such chances and in which death itself was not a chance at all, but a certainty.”

“This is the first point to be made: and the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things – praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts – not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.”

“What the atomic bomb has really done is to remind us forcibly of the sort of world we are living in and which, during the prosperous period before, we were beginning to forget. And this reminder is, as far as it goes, a good thing.”

“Let the bomb find you living well.” – C. S. Lewis

Disclaimer – I am not discouraging nor opposing the vaccine. I am not downplaying the seriousness of COVID. I have had COVID. I have had family get very sick with COVID. I have known two people who have died from COVID. I am hurting too and I am tired of being afraid. This essay just helped me put things in perspective and I hope it helps you too.

…and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea!

Discussing religion and politics with anyone other than my family is taboo for me.  It is not worth the backlash and hateful comments from those with opposing views that are shared so easily and freely on social media. It (sadly) amazes me how hateful and rude people can be as they hide behind the keyboard typing things that they most likely would not say if they were actually talking face to face to someone. 

I am stepping out of my comfort zone with this post. It doesn’t really matter if I am supporting President Donald Trump or if I am supporting former Vice President Joe Biden but, I have never felt so anxious about an election as I do today.  

On this Election Day morning, I spent some quiet time praying for our politically and racially divided nation, for our presidential candidates, for the innocent lives that could be destroyed no matter who is declared the winner.  I prayed that we could begin to pull together as a nation in spite of political differences.  

I read where many businesses are boarding up their windows in anticipation of the losing side who may be tempted to act out their rage and despair through riots and destruction of property.  Innocent, hard working people could lose their livelihood as a result of this outrage. The winning side will feel tempted to act triumphantly toward the losers resulting in a potentially deadly combination. 

America faces problems that require we work together. I want to believe most Americans are reasonable and truly desire what is best for the country. I want to believe that Americans are capable of interacting with respectful dialogue as they listen to and try to understand the differing points of view instead of jumping right away into contradictions. I also want believe we might find we are more alike than we might imagine as we work through our differences. 

“I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.”
–Voltaire

Another great thing I am discovering about retirement is that every night can feel like the weekend.  We have a little shed in our backyard and we love to sit outside on its deck off and on from early spring until late fall.  We listen to music, talk softly, grill something delicious to eat, laugh, and just enjoy being outside. Sometimes I pretend we are at an outdoor cafe somewhere in the world or sitting dockside eating delicious seafood while pretending to listen to the waves pound the nearby shore.  M is a good sport and will play along for a couple of minutes.  We often wind up getting too silly or we sigh and wish we were really in that special location.  During this pandemic we have tried to be creative in making meals a little more special and evenings a little more fun since eating out at a restaurant or travelling is not a high priority these days.

M. loves to grill (he has three – gas, charcoal, and a Big Green Egg) and does so almost every single evening.  Yes, the temperatures are warmish, but we still like to sit outside most evenings and enjoy the fruits of his labor.

I like to try new recipes and this was a delicious lump crab cake dinner.  I mixed everything together that morning and let it marinade all day.  We modified the cooking by baking them on a pizza stone on the Big Green Egg instead of heating up our oven.  Recipe here

My siblings and spouses joined us for dinner one evening and it was so so so VERY good to see them.  We took precautions and just being together was worth the effort.

We are in the process of waiting to build a home closer to other grandchildren, so we are trying to soak in as much of what makes us happy in our current location as we can before our dream of a move becomes a reality.