Getting There

News Break: Around 20 minutes ago, we had an earthquake here in Northern California. It measured 5.6 on the Richter scale, and felt unusually strong here in the Mission district.



Beauty's all around, even as winter has struck this region. Northern California is strange. The seasons are all out of synch here, from a Midwesterner's perspective. Summer is cold and foggy; late Spring and early Fall are hot and sunny; then the rainy season takes over (or doesn't, in a drought year) and it's quite a dark, chilled Wintry world we inhabit.



You know it's not really your day when your cell phone rings while your jaw is getting numb in the dentist's chair, prior to repair of yet another loose filling, and it's your wife's lawyer, letting you know papers have been filed and you'll be served tomorrow.



Oh well, divorces are never fun, and better when you're unemployed, with time on your hands, than when you are in high demand, with nary a moment to yourself.



Still, after a separation of four or five years, it's simply the natural progression of things. Yet, a sense of sadness will remain. There is no doubt that when a marriage has failed, the world gets a little dimmer.



Why? Because some of us actually believe in love. But fewer of us achieve it, or are able to sustain the relationships born of love.



And then, of course, there are the children, but that subject is too sad for words, and always will be.



Today, I also had the distinctly unpleasant chore of exploring the "unemployment insurance benefits" in this jurisdiction. It's sobering to realize that the state only feels responsible to make up one-eighth of your previous income.



I suppose one is expected to gather one's food from the parks and median strips, where edible weeds grow; to take on roommates; and cut back on all non-essentials.

I wonder how the rich guys feel -- you know the type. The ones who run companies, hiring and firing people at will, without any concern whatsoever happens to those who so loyally served them over the years. Do they sleep well at night?

Of course, because no one can touch them; no one can destroy the careful balance a person tries to maintain between home and work. They just go on, living their gilded lives, shaking their heads at how everyone else turns out.


-30-


Sometimes my burden seems more than I can bear
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there

-- Not Dark Yet by Bob Dylan