Watching two of my granddaughters twirl with the late afternoon sunlight Wednesday afternoon, I momentarily forgot what I was going to write about for this news cycle.
They were performing a sort of improv combination of gymnastics and ballet and I was their primary audience.
They also were doing it without a care in the world, not about the Ukraine, or Trump or the Canadian truckers or climate change or the midterm elections. They don’t know about any of that stuff yet, nor should they.
Now is their time to dance in the sunlight. There will be plenty of time to confront the abundant darkness around them in the future.
I harbor thoughts like these all the time, but usually in the context of the rest of us who do not qualify as naive children but as battle-hardened adults. We need to dance in the sunlight too at times. I think especially of my peers in the news business trying to find new angles on the stories they report, write informative yet catchy headlines, and promote their work on social media.
Sometimes they should take a break and just dance, twirling around the room like my granddaughters. But if we’re not careful, life has a way of emptying the music out of us over time to the point we no longer remember how to jump, twirl, stretch or skip. Our movements through time and space become stiff and labored and we just watch the young enjoy life.
One way or another so much gets lost in the process. We stop taking risks in life and in love, trying to avoid the pain — but then nearing the end, as we look back on it all, we remember bit by bit what it was like before we got beaten down.
As the songwriter says, “I could have missed the pain…but I’d have had to miss the dance.”
My advice, FWIW, is don’t miss the dance.
TODAY’s HEADLINES (42):
As Russia Welcomes Talks, Biden Warns Invasion Is Still Possible (NYT)
U.S., Russian Aircraft Flew Perilously Close to Each Other Amid Ukraine Tensions (WSJ)
Russia aims to ward off NATO in the event of a Ukraine invasion (WP)
VIDEO: Russian Invasion of Ukraine Still ‘Distinctly Possible,’ Biden Says (AP)
Ukraine crisis: No sign of Russian de-escalation, Nato chief says (BBC)
Ukraine crisis: Nato considering new battlegroups in eastern Europe after ‘no sign’ of Russian de-escalation (Guardian)
Nato says Russian troop numbers still rising near Ukraine border (Financial Times)
Ukraine’s defense ministry says an unprecedented cyber attack is into its second day, targeting its online network and that of two banks. (Reuters)
High gas costs from Ukraine threat pose Biden political risk (AP)
Biden says a Russian invasion of Ukraine would hurt Americans. Here's how (NPR)
Top finance watchdog urges west to ‘think twice’ about Russia sanctions (Financial Times)
Is Russia going to invade Ukraine and what does Putin want? (BBC)
Russia seeks dialogue on security issues with US (NHK)
A World Away From Ukraine, Russia Is Courting Latin America (NYT)
New York’s attorney general will go to court Thursday seeking to enforce a subpoena for Donald Trump’s testimony in a civil probe she says uncovered evidence his company used “fraudulent or misleading” accounting to get loans and tax breaks. The decision could force Trump and his children to testify under oath and comes as the House Jan. 6 committee drills in on his plot to install fake electors to overturn his 2020 defeat. [AP]
Trump-backed Perdue struggles in Republican primary challenge in Georgia (CNN)
Trump Interior secretary crossed lines in land dealings with Halliburton executive, watchdog finds (Politico)
Republicans expressed unease after Trump's longtime accounting firm cut its ties with the former president (Business Insider)
Fed Eyes Potential for Faster Rate Rises to Ease Inflation (WSJ)
In the UK, the annual rate of consumer price inflation rose to 5.5% in January, the fastest annual pace in nearly 30 years. The data suggests there's a strong chance that the Bank of England will raise interest rates for a third meeting in a row in March. (Reuters)
A middle-aged woman is the third patient to be potentially cured of HIV, scientists report (WP)
Can Bitcoin Be a National Currency? El Salvador Is Trying to Find Out. (WSJ)
How a Secret Assault Allegation Against an Anchor Upended CNN (NYT)
Feinstein plummets, Harris underwater in new California poll — Approval rating for California's senior senator reaches a new low. (Politico)
Jury rules against Sarah Palin in New York Times libel case (WP)
The Dark Side of Saying Work Is ‘Like a Family’ — The analogy is accurate—in many unhealthy, manipulative, and toxic ways. (Atlantic)
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was dealt a fresh blow with a jury's rejection of her defamation claim against The New York Times. The verdict came a day after the judge presiding over the trial decided to throw out Palin's case while the jury was still deliberating, saying her claim was unproven. [HuffPost]
Tensions mount in Ottawa as police warn truckers to leave (AP)
‘Carnival of chaos’: Ottawa police face growing flak for failure to end protests (Guardian)
Vaccination during pregnancy may provide infants protection against the coronavirus, CDC study finds (WP)
The Millions of People Stuck in Pandemic Limbo — What does society owe immunocompromised people? (Atlantic)
American journalist, political satirist and best-selling author P.J. O'Rourke has died at the age of 74. O’Rourke was described as “one of the major voices of his generation.” (Reuters)
San Francisco school board members ousted in parental backlash (Politico)
Amid debate, women lift their voices with Muslim sacred text (AP)
A doctors’ group has filed a complaint against U.C. Davis, alleging that a primate research program funded by Elon Musk was a violation of the Animal Welfare Act, reports (Sacramento Bee)
The White House Is Going After One of Climate Change’s Thorniest Problems
— It requires building new factories. Lots of them. (Atlantic)
Sea levels will go up as much as 8 inches in California by 2050, according to recent predictions from federal experts. (SFC)
Académie Française denounces rise of English words in public life (Guardian)
Multiple weather hazards possible as massive storm sweeps across the country (NBC)
Surgeon Totally Blanks On What He Cut Open Patient For (The Onion)
TODAY’s LYRICS
“The Dance”
by Garth Brooks
… Looking back on the memory of
The dance we shared 'neath the stars above
For a moment all the world was right
How could I have known that you'd ever say goodbye
… And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end, the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd have had to miss the dance
… Holding you, I held everything
For a moment wasn't I the king
If I'd only known how the king would fall
Hey, who's to say, you know I might have changed it all
… And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end, the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd have had to miss the dance
… If our lives are better left to chance
Oh, our lives are better left to chance
Oh, our lives are better left to chance
… I could have missed the pain
But I'd have had to miss the dance
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