Roars, Rants, Raves, Reviews, and Reflections from Rex
Beads from the week 5/10/20 to 5/16/20
In lockdown I have begun a discipline of capturing pull quotes from articles I have read through through the week and wondering how they might string together. Here are beads/quotes from seven articles in italics. If you would like to know where the beads came from you can read about that on my blog (click on the lion)
We have entered the endurance phase of this pandemic. And you may be accepting that housekeeping can be negotiated into revolving chores. Often, however, it defaults to the person with the least filth tolerance. That burden not withstanding if you can say I’m not interested in making anybody a villain; I’m just trying to help people, there is way for you to make a difference - because it doesn’t take formal training or license, just the gift of connecting and the will to help, the preference to be damned for doing than damned for not.” and the conviction that There is no ecosystem too large to be imperiled, no action too small to have a consequence. “Either we try to preserve the bloody stump of the way we used to do things — or we invent new ways of solving today’s problems.”
“We have entered the endurance phase of this pandemic.” comes from David Brooks’ column in the NY Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/14/opinion/coronavirus-us.html Brooks feels like ordinary people are the leaders and heroes of the present moment. This sets the tone for this string of beads.
Amy Koss who always writes with good humor brought the insight that housekeeping can be negotiated into revolving chores. Often, however, it defaults to the person with the least filth tolerance. She concluded that hopefully we are gaining an appreciation for the skill and care of those we ordinarily would be paying to clean the secret foul places in our homes.
Moe’s book about his wrestle with depression contains, as you would expect, some revelations about his family of origin. Miller asked Moe if his mother had read the book. Moe replies that he hopes she will and that he told her - I’m not interested in making anybody a villain; I’m just trying to help people,
Darrell Steinberg, formerly California Senate President and currently mayor of Sacramento California is the founder of the Steinberg Institute, an advocate for mental health policy wrote a column in the L A Times http://enewspaper.latimes.com/infinity/article_share.aspx?guid=2cc2865f-5404-4eb2-9d2e-9f251c18a2dc urging action to address the mental health crisis that the covid virus lockdown will cause. One action he lifts up is plain human connection. Steinberg cites the example of his grandmother who had no formal training or license, just the gift of connecting and the will to help.
Wood, 73 years old, surveys homeless encampments in West LA every day creating a photo record of changes that he forwards to authorities. When Lopez asked him about the motive for this Wood replied two things One is do unto others, the golden rule,” “The other is that I’d rather be damned for doing than damned for not.”
He closed the piece with an affirmation I find worthy of remembering and repeating regularly. There is no ecosystem too large to be imperiled, no action too small to have a consequence.
Cole talks with Mozingo about ways that cities operate that have become unsustainable. Mozingo ends the piece and I end this piece with these words from Cole “Either we try to preserve the bloody stump of the way we used to do things — or we invent new ways of solving today’s problems.”
