Yes, it is true. There are too many people who I really could still use in my life. Their years of experience would certainly come in handy, (never mind their love). Personally, I want to ask them for guidance as I navigate the new terrain I find myself walking on. Not that I listened too much while my elders were alive, but their pearls found their way into my major decisions and guided me when my direction was clouded. Beyond my own need for their shepherding, I often pause when I hear something outlandish and wonder what my grandfather would say about the destruction of the Republican party, and their tearing down long-held principles. I know how sick my mother would be over the continued lies bantered about immigrants. My father, an esteemed surgeon, would be appalled by those who turned down a vaccine and instead believed the misinformation spread like a careless wildfire. Daily I wish my elders still sat around our dinner tables so that we could debate and analyze facts derived from reality instead of the lies that now filter our social media feeds and bias our conversations. I do wish I could talk to dead people because I could use lucidity instead of the smoke and mirrors offered.

Politics aren’t the only murky areas these days. There are big concerns about our small little planet and how we might survive on it. Hurricane Helene, has claimed over 200 lives, destroyed countess homes without flood insurance,  and tore up a path across six states in the southeast far beyond coastal areas. 2024 has had a dozen named storms already and these are notably, increasingly wetter and windier than previous ones. Fact check me please.

The Climate Emergency is not a conversation that most Republicans want to take seriously, but considering the trail of destruction ripping through our country and beyond, we must, right? This is certainly not an American issue, this problem is planetary, and a solution will require civility, science, cooperation and action. What type of leadership can accomplish that task? In my view there is one that could very well continue that charge before we are past the tipping point, and we need to ensure her election.

Of course we certainly need learned statespersons to continue working on the conflicts in the Middle East. I can’t pretend to comprehend the severity nor the solution but I sure wish those who oversaw world wars were around to lend their expertise and tempered guidance for this multi-country dispute. I am grateful for Biden and his administration’s tempered responses and hope the next administration uses such caution but can make effective strides with a responsible congress.

I need hope, bunches of hope, which is why I climb a hill at day’s end to catch a glimpse of the big broad sky, let my eye drift to the distant horizon and survey the valley below in a shimmering kaleidoscope. Despite the crazy of the day, I stand in that glory and imagine my elders would remind me there is much within my control. They would add, take positive action when you can. Keep your own home in order. Speak with kindness to all, especially those who have come here to make a good home for themselves, they would say with a smile, because my ancestors and yours made a similar journey decades ago. They would encourage me to diminish lies with truth. With a smile, they would emphatically add, research like your favorite high school English teacher taught you.

But finally, they would remind me to let go of the burden of cynicism, the clutch of fear, the chain of hatred, and echo the brilliant Maya Angelou, “Lift up your eyes upon This day breaking for you. Give birth again To the dream” (On the Pulse of Morning).