No Regrets

The 2020 election is a week from now and it will be a personal one for me.  

I'll explain why. Today is my youngest's birthday. She is 22, living in New Jersey, studying classes remotely at her college in Maryland, and is one of the brightest lights of my life.

Over the past four years, since she left for college, I've only gotten to see her a few times each year. If you have children, you know how it is when the youngest grows up and leaves home. 

She was the last one there with me, a few nights each week, after the boys had gone out-of-state for their educations, and we had redone the second bedroom together to make it her own -- finally -- with a new bed, bedding, lamps and framed pictures.

She had a much nicer room at her Mom's, of course, but we made this one as nice as we could. About a year later, after she left for school, it felt particularly empty. I'd go in there at times and just sit on the bed and look around. 

Several years passed, I worked, and then last year brought me a bout of bad health. My daughter came home for the Christmas holidays but I was in the hospital. The first time I saw her was when I was recuperating at a skilled nursing facility south of San Francisco, near the ocean in Pacifica. She came to visit me one night early in January and I greeted her in the dining area, excited to be relatively healthy after a year of repeated illnesses and hospitalizations.

That night I explained something I had never talked with her about before -- that I have harbored a deep inner anger at the social injustices I've seen around me since my childhood, and I don't know why. But it has inspired my work all of my adult life.

Later, as she was leaving, she said, "Thank you for telling me about your anger, Dad. I have always felt the same anger inside, and I've wondered where it came from. 

"Now I know." And she hugged me.

I held my emotions in check and promised her I would try to do *something* to affect the outcome of this year's election, because we both knew social justice would be on the ballot.

Well, these essays are that something. They may not be much but they're the best I could do. However it turns out, I have no regrets.

***

On to the news...    

 * Mary Trump, a clinical psychologist and the niece of the president, painted a grim image of what she believes is going on in her uncle’s head as he trails in the polls ahead of the election. “My theory about the way Donald has run his campaign is that he knows he’s in desperate shape, so he’s going to burn it all down ... because that’s where he succeeds,” she said. “He knows that he’s losing – he’ll deny it mightily – and at some level, he understands what’s at stake. If he loses, he’s probably going to prison. So, if he’s going down, he’s going to take us all down with him.” [HuffPost]

* Homegrown Disinformation Could Disrupt This U.S. Election (NYT)

* U.S. stocks dropped sharply, with the Dow industrials down more than 650 points, as coronavirus cases surged in America and Europe, adding to worries about the economic outlook after Congress and the White House failed to agree on a much-anticipated fiscal stimulus deal. (WSJ)

* Italy imposes harshest coronavirus restrictions since spring lockdown as second wave sweeps Europe (WashPo)

* In San Francisco, normal life has returned. Restaurants and stores are open. Clad in masks, pedestrians last week clutched bags from stores where they had just shopped. Diners sat at tables outside restaurants and cafes. People strolled along the bay on the Embarcadero, and a huge Ferris wheel opened for business at Golden Gate Park. Risk of infection, according to the state’s color-coded tiers, is considered minimal, even though San Francisco is the second-densest city in the country after New York. (LAT)

* California sees new wildfires break out as powerful 100-plus mph winds buffet state (WashPo)

* Trump Supporters and Protesters Collide in Times Square (NYT)

*The U.S. and Europe are losing the coronavirus battle (WashPo)

* The week in polls: Trump gains in 9 of 12 swing states, but Biden still leads in 10 of them (USA Today)

* Biden is favored to win the election -- We simulate the election 40,000 times to see who wins most often. The sample of 100 outcomes below gives you a good idea of the range of scenarios our model thinks is possible. (538)

* Japan, the world’s third-largest economy, vows to become carbon-neutral by 2050 (WashPo)

* Bear sightings in Japan hit five-year high (NHK)

* Pair of studies confirm there is water on the moon’s surface and hint at widespread lunar ice (WashPo)

***

Happy Birthday, Julia!

Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regrette rien
Ni le bien, qu'on m'a fait
Ni le mal, tout ça m'est bien égal !

Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regrette rien
C'est payé, balayé, oublié
Je me fous du passé !

Avec mes souvenirs
J'ai allumé le feu
Mes chagrins, mes plaisirs
Je n'ai plus besoin d'eux !
Balayés les amours
Avec leurs trémolos
Balayés pour toujours
Je repars à zéro

Non, rien de rien...
Non, je ne regrette rien...
Ni le bien, qu'on m'a fait
Ni le mal, tout ça m'est bien égal !

Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regrette rien
Car ma vie, car mes joies
Aujourd'hui, ça commence avec toi !

-- Edith Piaf

-30-