The garden is thriving, and there have been no signs thus far of marauding deer nibbling at the Blue Lake bush beans; still, I will erect a short fence around the beds tomorrow, hoping (do they follow this blog?) that they do not decide to pay a visit before then.
The project was a good stress-reliever, and stress relief is in much demand right now. Martha's Mom is not doing very well at all, and she and her sister and brothers have all been pitching in to help. It is not an easy time that they are going through as they watch her decline so quickly. She did not want to undergo chemotherapy, and now she has stopped her radiation treatments, too. But, miraculously, she says that her pain level, initially a three or four on a scale of ten, is now zero. That is a blessing, and it is also a blessing to have so many loving children surrounding her.
Meanwhile, the coronavirus pandemic is continuing to spread in North Carolina, and as expected it has reached Highlands now. One of Old Edwards Inn's restaurants was identified as a "cluster," and two other businesses have closed down while employees are being tested. It is alarming to see so many visitors and local people refusing to wear facial masks. To us, it is a matter of respect and caring for others. I am 100% positive that I am not an asymptomatic carrier - I have been taking every precaution, and this morning I completed a three mile run - but still I wouldn't want my friends and neighbors to think that I am not cooperating with a very sensible recommendation of public health professionals.
I try not to stray into politics in this blog, but how can it be avoided in times like these? On top of the pandemic and the economic collapse it has caused, with 40 million people out of work through no fault of their own, now every city in the nation is experiencing protests not witnessed since the 1960s against police brutality and injustice against black men. There have been large demonstrations in cities that we know well - Raleigh, Asheville, and Greenville. Thus far they have been peaceful, although there was some destruction and looting in Raleigh and Asheville. We even had a small demonstration here in Highlands this week involving about 75 people, which we did not learn about until after it had occurred. Like the coronavirus, outrage against injustice knows no boundaries.
Yesterday we learned that a peaceful protest in front of the White House was disrupted with tear gas so our President could walk across the street to a church and pose for a photo-op with a Bible held in his hand as a prop. If only he would open that Bible, and read it, and offer some words of comfort for a nation that is torn apart!
I don't think I have ever seen a time in our history like this, even the anti-war demonstrations in the Vietnam era and the Civil Rights marches in the 1960s. In such stressful times, it is paramount that we continue to respect each other, have faith in God and in each other, and have faith in our institutions that are under attack every day. As Abraham Lincoln so famously said in times no less tumultuous than these:
"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.
Though passion may have strained,
it must not break our bonds of affection.
The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched,
As surely as they will be, by the better angels of our nature."
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