Time is the resource we can't get back once it's been spent. Not so memory.
A long time ago I lay on my back in a field looking at one particular tree. It was a deciduous tree, I'm not sure which type, probably a maple given its perfect shape. I was a boy and was in Michigan.
When I say perfect in shape, I mean that the roundness of its branches and its leaves were a perfect complement to its firm trunk and its straightness. I liked the way she was put together. It looked like it smelled good as it stood all alone in a field, perhaps spared by the farmer who had cleared that field simply because of her pure beauty.
As I gazed on this lovely image, I noticed that a single leaf was twirling ever so slowly back and forth on its stem. There was no perceptible breeze, yet that leaf twisted and turned as if it yearned to be free.
Lying there alone, its only witness, I felt a weird thing -- that the leaf and I were one.
It was late summer, which in Michigan means autumn was already in the air. One by one all of these leaves would be turning spectacular colors -- red, yellow, orange -- before falling and browning, scattering into dust.
Time seemed suspended; it was just the leaf and me, eyeing each other warily. Neither of us knew who would make the next move. First I noticed a cloud on the horizon, moving up and over to above where I lay. Next a small breeze stirred the grasses around me. Now other leaves on the tree started to stir as well, like an orchestra warming up before its performance.
But my one leaf turned in the opposite direction from the rest.
It was getting colder and darker; I shivered. A flock of Canadian geese passed overhead in formation, flying south. The wind increased.
Then the wind stopped, time stopped. I looked at the leaf and the leaf looked at me.
I held my breath as she detached from her branch and twirled to the ground. She floated like a feather, or a ballet dancer, first this way, then that way, taking her time until she settled beneath her host.
Slowly I exhaled; it felt stone cold. I wanted to go over and touch the leaf, to run my fingers over her smooth body before it stiffened.
I never went back there. Until today.
***
The news:
* In the Atlantic Ocean, Subtle Shifts Hint at Dramatic Dangers -- A warming atmosphere is causing a branch of the ocean’s powerful Gulf Stream to weaken, some scientists fear. (NYT)
* U.S. appears poised to postpone troop withdrawal from Afghanistan (WP)
* More than half of U.S. adults who have been infected with Covid-19 have symptoms of depression, new study finds (Daily Mail)
* Russian police detain around 200 people, including leading opposition figures, at Moscow meeting (Reuters)
* Biden’s ambitions delight liberals — but pose political risks for his party -- President Biden’s expansive agenda could put moderate Democrats at risk in the midterms and give Republicans ammunition to portray Biden as a left-leaning radical. (WP)
* National Guard members from 11 states and the District of Columbia will provide security at the U.S. Capitol through the spring (WSJ)
* Texas 'Cold-Stun' Of 2021 Was Largest Sea Turtle Rescue In History, Scientists Say (NPR)
* Mayors decry partisanship over covid relief: ‘If cities do not recover, there is no national recovery’ (WP)
* More than 715 refugees have postponed travel to the United States after waiting for years in camps. President Biden has pledged to welcome more but has left thousands in limbo. (NYT)
* IRS is behind on issuing tax refunds as it copes with stimulus (WP)
* Nurses fight conspiracy theories along with coronavirus (AP)
* Army reviewing investigation into Michael Flynn’s dealings with Russia, foreign firm (WP)
* Colorado Braces for a Major Snowstorm This Weekend (NYT)
* NASA Uses Navajo Language To Name Features on Mars (NPR)
* At an intense pace, lawmakers in Republican-governed states are considering an array of tough anti-abortion restrictions they hope might reach the Supreme Court (AP)
* Justice Dept. expects to charge at least 400 in Capitol riot case, seen as one of largest in U.S. history (WP)
* There is bipartisan interest in removing fencing around the Capitol and dismissing the National Guard troops deployed there, but law enforcement officials fear new threats. (NYT)
* Hundreds of Covid cases reported at Tesla plant following Musk’s defiant reopening, county data shows (WP)
* Alcoholic Father Disappointed In Pothead Son (The Onion)
***
She never mentions the word "addiction"
In certain company
Yeah, she'll tell you she's an orphan
After you meet her family
She pulls her shades down tight
Girl, give a smile when the pain come
Pain, the only thing don't make it alright
Said they call her out by her name
Oh well, she talks to angels
And they call her out by her name, ooh yeah
She wears a cross around her neck
They say that the hair was from a little boy
The cross from someone she had not met
No, not yet
And they call her out by her name
Well, she talks to angels
And they call her out by her name
None that I've ever seen
To her that don't mean nothin'
But to me, it means
Means everything
-30-
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