
Every parent harbors an unspoken fear of something happening to their children. When that moment comes, or it possibly has come, one has to make a decision on how to react. G tested our response yesterday, though he was never in any real danger and arrived home without our help. The “unexpected adventure” started simply enough. “I’m going to explore more of bus route 15 since I have more time today,” was the text he sent me a little before 4:00 yesterday afternoon. I told him that was fine. Having a good knowledge of the bus route is never a bad thing. But then…
When the bus got to the end of the route, he got off. The next bus heading back into town wouldn’t be there for another hour. So, G decided to walk to the nearby Home Depot and explore there for a while. Not finding the store very stimulating, he decided to walk the bus route back, catching the bus at a different stop along the way. While walking along the route, though, he was struck by a sense of nostalgia as he remembered some of the neighborhoods from when his school bus went through them. He detoured to explore a little bit.
As he walked, G’s phone died. He looked around for a public place where he might plug in his charger for a minute, but he was surrounded by retail stores, none of which were conducive to finding an open outlet. He decided to keep walking. And walking.
I didn’t grow concerned until I stepped outside to start the grill for dinner, around 6:30. I sent him a message, but got no response. To some degree, that’s not unusual. G doesn’t live with his phone in front of his face like some teens do. He frequently misses messages completely. When he still wasn’t home and I hadn’t heard anything by 7:00, though, it was time to call Kat. We discussed our options for a moment. We didn’t want to overreact. Still, we both know that Indy’s not the safest place to walk. Over 100 pedestrians were hit on the streets here just in August. After talking it over for a while, Kat decided she’d head back in from Fishers to look for him. I planned to take the meat off the grill, put Hamilton in a harness, and start walking from this direction.
As I was about to take the meat off the grill, I looked up and saw G coming down the sidewalk. I called Kat to let her know that he was safe. G trotted the rest of the way home and jumped the front fence. He had walked the entire six-plus miles from the end of the bus route. He came in, plugged in his phone, called his mom, ate leftover tacos, and fell fast asleep. Our boy was safe. We breathed a sigh of relief.
By this point, Tipper was already asleep as well. I ate my dinner alone, watched a couple of short documentaries, and went to bed thankful that we hadn’t become a statistic in the number of families who lost children. We’re fortunate that G’s a sharp kid and keeps his wits about him even when a situation doesn’t go exactly as planned.
Not everyone’s day ends on a good note. Four people who were killed on a Chicago L train on Monday were likely asleep when they were shot at close range. A Mountain lion attacked a 5-year-old at a Southern California park. Boko Haram militants on motorcycles attacked a Nigerian village, killing over 100. An 11-Year-Old Is Charged in Killing of 82-Year-Old Ex-Mayor and His Daughter. An Ex-Doctor Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter in New York Woman’s Suicide. And all that is without considering those killed in continuing wars.
We know that the world is a violent place. We live with the hope that the violence stays away from us, but statistically, we’re all eventually victims in one form or another. None of us get out of here without harm coming to us. This is the reality of the human condition. No, it’s no worse now than it was 100 years ago. The mode and means have changed, but the world has always been like this. If nature isn’t trying to kill us, we’re trying to kill each other. The world has never been safe.
We’re not necessarily the smartest creatures on the planet, either. Another boat carrying several dozen people appears to be making another attempt to cross the English Channel seemingly to Britain from northern France just a day after 12 migrants died. An Oregon hospital was hit with a $303M lawsuit after a nurse was accused of replacing fentanyl with tap water. A Philadelphia woman who was driving a partially automated Mustang Mach-E was charged with DUI homicide.
We also fall for stupid shit. Posts falsely claim video shows Harris promising to censor X and owner Elon Musk. China-linked ‘Spamouflage’ network mimics Americans online to sway US political debate. And Clearview AI was fined $33.7 million by a Dutch data protection watchdog over an ‘illegal database’ of faces.
I know you won’t take the time to click all those links. Hell, it’s rare that anyone double-checks me at all. Do you really trust me that much? Should you? I’ll keep providing the links because no one should take anyone at their word on important matters. That’s what allows us to get stuck with the stupidest of politicians in office.
Speaking of, the Times has an interesting conversation going on in their Opinion section this morning. David Brooks writes How Trump Wins (and Harris and the Democrats Blow It). Then, Ross Douthat counters with How Harris Wins (and Trump and the Republicans Blow It). Next, Thomas L. Friedman enters the fray with How Netanyahu Is Trying to Save Himself, Elect Trump, and Defeat Harris and Thomas B. Edsall winds matters up with Why Is the Presidential Election This Close? You’ll blow most of an hour reading all four pieces, but you’ll be better for doing so.
I wonder if any of us truly know what we’re doing. Maybe we’re fooling ourselves, creating an illusion of competency so that we’re not depressed by the depth of our inadequacy.
Or, maybe we just need more coffee.
Morning Update: 09/07/24
The cats waited until 6:30 this morning before waking me up. I got to sleep in! After filling their food bowls and starting coffee, I came back to the room for a clothing adjustment. All the electronic devices were registering 50 degrees outside. Today’s high won’t reach 70. That makes it time to break out the long-sleeve t-shirts and compression leggings. My calves were immediately grateful for the extra support. Having the full-length coverage back felt nice. Sure, I know it will be back up in the 80s by midweek, but next weekend promises to be even cooler than this one. I may swap back and forth on t-shirts but I’m keeping the leggings.
I slipped on a coat before taking the dogs out. There wasn’t a breeze so the cool air felt comfortable. The sky was a pale blue as the sun was beginning to rise. As far as we could tell, we were the only ones in the neighborhood up and moving. Well, us and the neighbor’s rooster. The sound of traffic on I-65, about 1.5 miles away, drowned out the sounds of I-465, bearing witness to the lack of wind. If there’s any wind, we tend to hear 465’s traffic first. Mornings like this, the photographer in me wonders if I could get away with shooting a naked model in the middle of the street. The tough part would be finding someone willing to stand naked in the chilled air.
My plan for today is to let everyone take it easy. The week seems to have been unusually rough on everyone, especially Kat. After spending most of Thursday night up vomiting, she came home yesterday with the news that one of her bosses and one of her clients had both tested positive for COVID. She immediately took a test and it came back negative, but Brandon took one as well and his was positive. I’m not sure what her plans are for today. I’m not asking anything more of the kids than their basic chores. There’s more than enough food to feed everyone, so the only schedule we’ll have to keep is the one imposed by the pets.
I did set a new record for head pain yesterday. The problem started when I fixed myself a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich for breakfast. While it tasted better than anything you’ll find in a restaurant, the uncured bacon (sugar-free) does sometimes cause some digestive issues. After eating, I took my meds and settled down to do some more reading. That’s when the bacon backed up and forced a burp. What happened next was unlike anything I’ve ever felt. The poison of the chemo pills came up and out my nose. My head immediately felt as if it were on fire from the inside. This wonderful feeling was worse than when I vomited up the poison a couple of weeks ago. The pain lasted for almost three hours, forcing me to lie down and try to ignore the fact that I was pretty sure my head and digestive tract were melting. Be sure that I’ll be much more careful to give the bacon time to digest from now on.
The big news this morning is one that puts the US at odds with Israel. Yesterday, Israeli troops shot a Turkish-American woman dead at a West Bank protest. The 26-year-old woman, Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, had recently graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle. Passionate about human rights, she was participating in a regular protest against West Bank expansion. Israel says the troops were shooting toward a male “main instigator” who posed a threat by hurling rocks at soldiers. In the careless use of live fire, Eygi was shot in the head. The Biden administration has called the matter “concerning” and wants an investigation. Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan condemned Eygi’s death, saying in a post on social media that Turkey “will continue to work in every platform to halt Israel’s policy of occupation and genocide”.
There’s a lot of pressure on the Biden administration to do more to find a cease-fire agreement in the Israel-Hamas war. The same is happening in the UK as well. In response, Biden will host British Prime Minister Starmer next week for White House talks, and in advance of that, the heads of the CIA and MI6 issued a joint call for a cease-fire in Gaza. Whether either effort will do any good is doubtful, though. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has his heels firmly dug in, refusing to consider any type of cease-fire that does not allow Israel control over multiple areas of Gaza.
This is a no-win situation for the US. Eygi is the third US citizen to be killed since the October 7 attack by Hamas last year. The standard response is that people who put themselves in harm’s way cannot expect to be protected from dangerous situations. That response isn’t going to be enough for Eygi’s family, though, nor a growing number of people in the US who are tired of the whole mess. Eygi’s family described her as a “fiercely passionate human rights activist” who had recently participated in college campus protests against U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza. The statement called on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to pursue an independent U.S. probe into her killing. That sentiment was echoed by U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen who said, “If the Netanyahu Government will not pursue justice for Americans, the U.S. Department of Justice must.”
In a nation clearly divided in its support for Israel, the issue is a major one for both presidential campaigns. The death of an American citizen can’t be ignored and one has to wonder at what point American attitudes toward Israel might flip, viewing them as an aggressor rather than an ally. The White House can’t respond fast enough on the issue.
The rest of the news is significantly less important. Barkley scored 3 TDs as the Eagles beat the Packers 34-29 in Brazil. Republican former VP Dick Cheney says he will vote for Kamala Harris. Paris Hilton waited 18 years to drop a new album. On ‘Infinite Icon,’ she’s here to ‘save pop music’ (try to not choke on your laughter). And the New York Times has some advice for those who are fed up and want to leave the US.
The Times also asks an important question: If a Threat Is Not a Crime, Can the Police Prevent a School Shooting? I found that a thought-provoking read, though it comes up short on workable answers. You might also be interested in David Brooks’ opinion piece, The Junkification of American Life. I found it worth my time.
Somewhere along the way, I expect to find some NCAA football streaming. I know Iowa State at Iowa will be live on Prime. ESPN+ has Arkansas vs. #16 Oklahoma State. I don’t have a Peacock subscription, though, so I don’t know what, if anything, they’re streaming. I should check to see if Verizon will give me a discount on that one.
Fat Guy is sitting on the desk soaking up all the love and scratches I can give him. The cooler temps have all the animals in the mood to snuggle. I can’t object to that reality at all.
And, of course, there’s coffee. Fill your cup, sit back, and relax.
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