We have incoming these days. Among my recent conversations:
* A friend from college is in the hospital after a stroke and beginning what will probably be a long process of recovering his mobility, speech and confidence. My advice to him? That scary stage when you lack self-confidence in your mental abilities will pass. So rely on others until you no longer need to. Just take it day by day, step by step.
* A young friend is dealing with the sudden shock of an unexpected breakup he didn't see coming. My advice? Concentrate for now on eating, sleeping and exercising. Take care of your physical needs. Don't think too much about her. If you can't sleep, the best thing to remember is what our poets and artists say -- the darkest hour is just before dawn.
* Another good friend is lonely and waits for a phone call that never seems to come. My advice? Much like the routine for surviving a breakup. Maybe the phone call never will come or it will come too late. But sometimes just when you've given up, the phone rings. It might be somebody else altogether yet it might herald the start of a new day.
I'm not sure when or how I got into this business of giving other people advice, as if I knew anything worth hearing. Maybe it's an age thing, maybe a gender thing. Maybe I just need to feel useful, even though being a good friend mainly means listening without judgment, and I know that. But if you are constituted in a way that you feel compelled to *do* something, you offer suggestions, however unoriginal.
Thus, when my friends who are journalists approach me with their dilemmas, I usually counsel them to try and "write their way out of it"...
That, of course, is what I am doing right here, right now. So far, it isn't really working.
***
The news marches on:
* Moderna said its experimental vaccine was 94.5% effective in preventing COVID-19 based on interim data from a late-stage clinical trial, becoming the second U.S. company in a week to report results that far exceed expectations. (Reuters)
* Across the eight most commonly named main sources for political and election news, NPR and The New York Times stand out in their appeal among younger Americans. (Pew Research Center)
* Abolish the electoral college. (Editorial/WashPo)
* President Trump is widely expected to leave President-elect Joe Biden with a crisis in Iran that is worse, by nearly every measure, than when he was elected four years ago. (WashPo)
* A deal brokered by Russia ended the fighting for now over Nagorno-Karabakh, leaving Armenians to pack up and burn their houses as they retreat, while Azerbaijanis plan a return to long-lost lands. (NYT)
* As schools reopen in Africa, relief is matched by anxiety (AP)
* In Ethiopia, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s two-year feud with the rebellious ruling party of the Tigray region has exploded into a war, with bombings, massacres and ethnic divisions, that threatens to upend the entire Horn of Africa. (NYT)
* Hong Kong is beating this virus. Why can’t we? (WashPo) |
* Peru’s President Steps Down After Just 6 Days, Leaving Country Adrift (NYT)
* Trump officials rush to auction off drilling rights to Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (WashPo)
* Americans across party lines, regions embrace marijuana (AP)
* The ending of Trump’s presidency echoes the beginning — with a lie. (WashPo)
* Biden's popular vote victory margin has passed 5.6 million and may reach the "538" prediction of 6 million. (numerous)
* No Amount Of Training Could Have Prepared Cat For First Experience Seeing Mouse In Real Life (The Onion)
| *** |
"Scars"
Some never hurt at all, some hurt a lot
Some are there from our mistakes
Some are all that's left to show of the choices that we've made
Even the ones too small to notice,
are there to remind us who we are
Even if the world could look inside us
They might miss the blemish on our hearts
These scars
I've got mine, you've got yours
I've lived long enough to know not to hide them any more
'Cause we've had time, and time can heal
If they could change the way we look,
they can change the way we feel
I understand as well as you do
Sometimes a touch can go too far
Love was never meant to be that easy
And some don't just disappear in the dark
These scars
Pain that I remember, is the pain that makes me stronger
I've had to look at life that way
I've learned to rise above it, to keep from going under
Well I take it step by step, day by day
I'm not ashamed of what you see,
'cause every single scar has become a part of me
And all I know, is here and now,
yesterday's gone, but we made it through somehow
Looking back I'm glad I took my chances,
'cause they were worth at least enough to leave a mark
Baby I'm not sure where we're going,
but it means a lot to know just where we'll start
With these scars
Some are deep, some are not
Some never hurt at all, some hurt a lot...
-30-
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