Something in the way our brains are wired, or perhaps something in the way *my* brain is wired, sublimates long-term concerns like climate change beneath more hopeful short-term pleasures like rain.
So as we get hit in Northern California by the first substantial rains we have seen in a long, long time, a tiny hope starts to form in my consciousness that maybe we will escape the harsh consequences of what we humans have done to the planet.
This, as our bone-dry conditions yield to an atmospheric river in the sky.
It's irrational, I know, but plenty of those around me feel the same way during this unexpected respite from the drought.
Then again, "pleasure" may be a misleading word when it comes to rain. What gives me pleasure is to be inside, warm and safe while the water slams into the outside of the house or car or whatever enclosure is protecting me from the storm.
As a kid, I felt this way inside my tent in Michigan when the rain poured against the canvas. Staying vigilant against rubbing the inside of the tent's surface because that would cause leaks, I'd fall to sleep inside a sleeping bag on an insulated mattress, feeling well-sheltered.
***
It can be less than pleasureful to venture out on these rainy nights. When I did so recently to the first public event I've attended in years, afterward I wound up unable to effectively shield myself from the driving rain while waiting for a Lyft to appear.
It was definitely on me that I wasn't dressed properly, since when all of my possessions were discarded, that included raincoats, hats, boots and multiple umbrellas.
I was in my old neighborhood, where I lived for 17 years, but post-Covid and in the dark it seemed strangely empty and devoid of life.
As I shivered in the shadow of a large building, one other soul ventured into view. She seemed suitablydressed for the weather but for one oddity -- she carried a large umbrella upside down, as if she were collecting the precious commodity falling from the sky.
She moved slowly, in and out of the shadows, visible to me streetlight-to-streetlight but otherwise obscured.
The umbrella continued to dangle from her arm upside-down. She appeared to be in no hurry.
We were not utterly alone out there -- cars passed noisily by from time to time, headed north, south, east or west, splashing through the four-way stop at the nearby intersection.
But they came and went one at a time, and eventually it dawned on me that none of them were bothering to stop; they just continued through the intersection as though the large red stop signs were invisible in the night.
The lady with the upside-down umbrella eventually angled across the intersection herself and I began to get concerned for her safety, given the incautious drivers afoot, but fortunately no cars came while she crossed.
Halfway through her jaywalk, she spotted me standing next to the building and looked me straight in the eyes. She didn't look alarmed, or angry or curious or any way at all. She just looked passively as if I were just another piece of the environment, fixed and forgettable.
After she vanished, heading north, I shivered. Just then my ride showed up and the driver unlocked the door as I eased in and he said cheerily. "Hello David."
I said "Hello Ramon," and we rode the rest of the way out of the big city, over the bridge and into the hills in utter silence.
Halfway through the ride I noticed a feature on his dashboard I'd never noticed previously although I hire these cars several time each week.
It was a banner that played across a small monitor like they do on TV and it read, in red type, "Hello David...Hello David...Hello David." When I got to my destination and exited the car, I looked back. It was still telling me hello.
***
THE HEADLINES:
* Taliban tells Kabul’s female city government employees not to come to work (WP)
* Opinion: Afghanistan needs aid, but that won’t fix our broken nation. Uplifting girls will. (WP)
* Melbourne residents flocked to the city's pubs, restaurants and hair salons in the early hours of Friday after the world's most locked-down city emerged from its latest spate of restrictions designed to combat the spread of COVID-19. (Reuters)
* The Pfizer /BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine showed 90.7% efficacy against the coronavirus in a clinical trial of children 5 to 11 years old,the U.S. drugmaker said. (Reuters)
* Climate Change Poses a Widening Threat to National Security -- Intelligence and defense agencies issued reports warning that the warming planet will increase strife between countries and spur migration. (NYT)
* White House, intelligence agencies, Pentagon issue reports warning climate change threatens global security(WP)
* In a climate report released this week, researchers with the medical journal The Lancet warned that the warming climate “will affect every U.S. region” and there is “no safe global temperature rise from a health perspective.” The report noted “decades of racially biased policies” place Black, Latinx, Asian and Native people, as well as low-income communities, at disproportionately high risk amid the climate crisis. [HuffPost]
* Extreme atmospheric rivers to bombard drought-stricken California with beneficial precipitation (WP)
* A series of strong storms is expected in the West over the next several days. (NPR)
* Tech giant Apple will require its unvaccinated employees to take daily coronavirus tests to enter the office. (SFC)
* Where civilization emerged between two rivers, climate change poisons land and empties villages (WP)
* After months of investigation into a family found dead in Mariposa County along a steep hiking trail, medical officials say the couple and their 1-year-old daughter died of high body temperatures and possible dehydration. (SFC)
* We’re headed for a global energy crisis. What we need is a transition strategy. (Fareed Zakaria/WP)
* Actor Alec Baldwin fired a “prop firearm” on the set of a movie he’s filming in New Mexico, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. A spokesperson for the film said the incident involved “the misfire of a prop gun with blanks.” The sheriff promised an active investigation. [HuffPost]
* House votes to hold Bannon in contempt for refusing to comply with Jan. 6 subpoena
(WP)* President Joe Biden said that major planks of his administration’s agenda — including a proposal for tuition-free community college, a hike in corporate tax rates, and free dental coverage for senior citizens — lack the support of all 50 Democratic senators and can’t pass Congress. “Look, in the United States Senate, when you have 50 Democrats, every one is president,” Biden said. [HuffPost]
* Energizing Conservative Voters, One School Board Election at a Time -- Republicans hope that concerns about critical race theory can help them in the midterm elections. The issue has torn apart one Wisconsin suburb. (NYT)
* For teens, navigating the mental health pitfalls of Instagram is part of everyday life (WP)
* VIDEO: Object Streaks Across Midwestern Skies -- During pre-dawn hours on Wednesday, the object — possibly a Russian military satellite — flew over Ohio, Michigan and Indiana, leaving a fiery trail and breaking apart into smaller pieces during its descent. (Storyful)
* As Chinese Women Seek to Crack Male Professions, Schools Stand in the Way -- In China, some academic programs accept only men or cap the number of female applicants, who often must test higher than their male counterparts. (NYT)
* A Groundbreaking Tardigrade Fossil Discovery Offers Clues to Our Past --Researchers have discovered the third-ever tardigrade fossil on record. Understanding the tiny creature’s developmental history is critical for unpacking important evolutionary milestones that have shaped thousands of species across the planet. (WSJ)
* An endangered Sumatran orangutan at the New Orleans zoo is expecting twins (NPR)
* FBI Declassifies J. Edgar Hoover’s Extensive File On The Munster Family (The Onion)
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