Presidio Sentinel San Diego,
December 2015
By
Laura Walcher
I’m
a little challenged this month, having been determined to report some good news
and raise a few laughs, but it just ain’t easy.
Dreadful
Donald has scooped up most of the available ink and air; seeking safety,
seeking grounding, migrants rush desperately from country to country – and now,
as I write, their plight is being made more difficult by fears of terrorists
amongst ‘em. The
Southern Poverty Law Center counts 784 “active hate groups in the U. S.” (the “winners” are Neo-Nazi and anti-LGBT organizations); ISIS, Boko Harom (or whatever they’re
called) reign mysteriously and shockingly unabated, seemingly unstoppable; a world
spokesperson calls Pres. Obama an “anti-semite, and says John Kerry “ … has the
intellect of a pre-teenager.” OK,
so this commentator is
Israel’s
Chief of Public Diplomacy. You got a problem with that? The innocents don’t even win lately, per half
the
antelopes dead from a bacteria that used to be harmless and has now turned
deadly.
and
… whoops!!! Have I cheered you up, yet?
Fortunately
for our spirits and psyche, we can
find corresponding good news. We
liked it when ex-presidents, George W. Bush (Bush 43) and Bill Clinton appear
on a TIME cover as compatriots, warmly reminiscing about their illustrious (and
semi-illustrious) pasts.
Separately and together, they now contribute their time and energy to benefit
the less lucky of us (i.e. earthquake victims in Haiti). George is a respectable artist; Bill’s got his Hillary to support.
And
amends are being made: Volkswagon,
per its sins, had been such
a disappointment, its decades-long superb reputation eroding by the day’s news’
deadlines. But, they seem determined to save themselves. Their recent full-page NY Times ad
headline reads, “We’re working to make things right. “ Dealers breathe a sigh
of relief, and affected VW owners get gifts, a “goodwill package,” says Michael
Horn (VW Group of America).
Sincere
apologies with gifts … that works.
Around
here, I’ve been the last senior
standing.
We
won’t mention names, but count the family in, for
recovering
from a stroke, a deep-vein
thrombosis, a fractured wrist.
So
don’t go reading any newspapers (save this one), and pay scant attention to the
world’s ills. We forget, they’ve
always been ‘round; for better or
for worse, our fabulous modern
technology helps us know all about them, all the time.
If
all else fails, remember Winston Churchill, that reasonably good guy: “If you’re going through hell, “ he said, “keep going!” xxx
