Most retired people still have dreams about work. Most working people have dreams about school. Most kids have dreams about monsters.
These are gross generalizations, certainly, which is what makes them interesting. But to deal with the retired person first, why would we expect it to be any different? After 40 or 50 years of repetitive behavior befitting a Marx Brothers’ movie, most of us have enough material to script hundreds of nightmares.
Bad bosses, double-crossing colleagues, shocking failures, absurd successes, compliments, insults, promotions, demotions, hirings, firings. The parade of inputs goes on and on. If we were writing a movie script, this would all be back-story to the current drama, which is but a dream.
The working person relives his or her high school and college years while sleeping. There were enough anxieties during those passages to populate a million dreams during your working years.
Anything to avoid dreaming about your present reality!
One friend in her 30s told me she dreamt about her boss, a slightly older woman but in her dream, her boss was her mother. There is that too, the parents who keep showing up long after you’ve left home, long even after they’ve departed this world.
Kids have to sort out an immensely confusing world where magic beings like the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus have more power than any of the more visible authority figures, plus they tend to use it (power) in much better ways.
That helps explain magic, which in turn might help ward off this monsters under the bed, in the closet or just around the next bedtime.
***
This weekend brought a return to how things used to be before the pandemic — brunches, gatherings to watch sports games, spring-like weather. After taking the train into the city on Sunday, I met my three youngest for brunch at a place in the Mission District we’ve been visiting since it opened way back in 2004.
They were little kids then (ten, eight and six) but now they are all in their twenties, starting in on their careers and navigating life in the Covid era like everyone else. One difference from the past is the restaurant has outdoor booths now like many places in San Francisco.
So much in our lives has changed over the past two years that each time I can revisit life as I used to know it in the city brings an almost overwhelming sense of nostalgia. There are the stairs we always climbed inside the parking structure, that’s the yellow pad & clipboard where they write the names of those waiting for a table, there’s that same old menu, familiar and comforting.
These were the details I took for granted for years, not knowing what was to come. Frankly, I’m shocked the establishment was able to weather the pandemic and stay in business; I gather it came close to closing like so many others did.
It’s little moments like Sunday’s that I savor most now. Maybe Covid has more surprises in store for us, but we’ve made it through surge after surge and we’re still here.
And I’m grateful for that.
TODAY’s NEWS:
Democrats Decried Dark Money. Then They Won With It in 2020. — A New York Times analysis reveals how the left outdid the right at raising and spending millions from undisclosed donors to defeat Donald Trump and win power in Washington. (NYT)
Trump suggests that if he is reelected, he will pardon Jan. 6 Capitol rioters (WP)
Nixon aide: Trump pardon promise for Capitol rioters is ‘stuff of dictators’ (Guardian)
Inside the campaign to pressure Justice Breyer to retire — The Supreme Court justice’s decision to step down followed a year-long campaign designed to get him to retire and make way for a new nominee to be named by a Democratic president. (WP)
Canada withdraws non-essential personnel from embassy in Ukraine (Reuters)
U.S. Sanctions Aimed at Russia Could Take a Wide Toll — The boldest measures that President Biden is threatening to deter an invasion of Ukraine could roil the entire Russian economy — but also those of other nations. (NYT)
Britain offers jets, warships to bolster NATO forces amid escalating Russia threat to Ukraine (WP)
Ukraine conflict shines light on deepening ties between Beijing and Moscow (Financial Times)
Scientists on alert over rising cases caused by Omicron cousin BA.2 (Reuters)
Anthony Fauci is up against more than a virus — Two years into the pandemic, the threats and vitriol have not stopped. And the many Americans who still trust him are exhausted. (WP)
Living by the Code: In China, Covid-Era Controls May Outlast the Virus — The country has instituted a wide range of high-tech controls on society as part of a mostly successful effort to stop the virus. The consequences may endure. (NYT)
In the wake of the omicron wave, single parents are struggling once again (WP)
Omicron Pushes World Toward Accepting Covid as Fact of Life (WSJ)
When Omicron Isn’t So Mild — For those with underlying medical conditions, the latest pandemic wave has still posed a threat. (NYT)
7 signs you might have had omicron variant without knowing it (Deseret News)
Maybe the volatility of cryptocurrencies is a feature, not a bug (WP)
Breakdown: Real profit and loss in the metaverse (Reuters)
How a hyperactive cell in the brain might trigger Alzheimer's disease (NPR)
Housework or sleep? Study says it depends when you were born (AP)
Parenting Is Lonely. Here’s How to Find and Keep Friends in 2022. (WSJ)
Trump declared a war on the media. Now proxy battles are being waged in American courts. (WP)
Sales soar for ‘Maus’ after its banning in Tennessee (Politico)
Public education faces crisis of epic proportions amid pandemic, culture wars (WP)
Even at College, Our Children Are Home — Texting and social media allow today’s students to stay connected to family and old friends in a way unimaginable to previous generations. (WSJ)
U.N. report says Taliban have killed scores of former Afghan officials, others (Reuters)
Pregnant New Zealand journalist stranded by quarantine rules says she turned to Taliban — Charlotte Bellis says group offered her safe haven while quarantine backlog prevented return home (Guardian)
How Africa will become the center of the world’s urban future — By 2100, 13 of the world’s 20 biggest urban areas will be in Africa. (WP)
Is California on the Verge of a Second Gold Rush? — Gold mines are reopening in places where mining was once thought to be economically unfeasible. (Atlantic)
What would happen if an asteroid hit Earth today? (NY Post)
Boyfriend Announces Plan To Spend Infuriating Afternoon Speaking In Australian Accent (The Onion)
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