Well it's 2019 and...hmm...wow, where to start?
I write at a time when the Federal Government has resumed after an entirely nonsensical shut down orchestrated by the most useless of electeds. I write to praise speaker Nancy Pelosi for galvanizing the democrats and standing strong against the entirely useless idea of a border wall.
When the government was shut down for some 35 days, I was reminded of the dispiriting days of 2008 when the state of California furloughed employees for 2 days a month, resulting in a ten percent salary cut. Besides the pressure of completing the same work in less time and getting paid less for it, I recall the bitter taste of disrespect for my work as a librarian and a university employee. I can't imagine being a federal employee who does critical work for agencies like NASA, the EPA, the Coast Guard for goodness sake, and being told not to come to work. The government of people you serve that need you can't see its way past compromise and negotiation.
Again I say praise to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who it seems is one of the few people in national leadership who has the temperament and presence of mind to reject the idiotic demands of the current occupant of the White House. I am encouraged by the number and quality of women elected to national office in this election cycle. It is hard to be patient at this time for change at a time when issues like the environment, homelessness, and public health are such significant problems. When will we learn? When will be do better by our own country?
The future is a bit on my mind lately because I have to take a close look at some images of the recent past. My once beloved Flickr is finally admitting that hey, endless free digital storage isn't really going to supported by some advertisements. Back in the day I adored Flickr and I don't regret any of the time I spent there--I saw so many beautiful photos there and I know that my photographic activity and skills improved as a result. I loved the "groups" where I could happily admire photos of flowers, dogs, buildings, and photo styles. But the time to pay the digital piper has come, and I either have to pony up and pay for a subscription or lose easy access to about 5,000 photos. Sure, I have the digital photo cards, but am I going to reload them somewhere else?
It is an odd thing to curate your memories--sure, I've sorted through the odd box of old letters or postcards before moving and deciding which ones to keep, but to suddenly start looking at 5,000 some memories of the past ten years? They aren't physical objects so I can't do the "spark joy" test (google Marie Kondo if you don't get that) but there sure are a lot of memories and experiences recorded in these digital objects.
It makes me think about where our country will be in the next ten years. Despite the incredible tools for planning, documentation, and communication that have been deployed in the past ten years, there is so much work to be done in terms of equality, equity, and compassion in building a peaceful and healthy environment.
So, signing off now to begin my attempt at sorting my personal digital archive...but as usual I will direct you to some good projects to support:
As always I recommend Donors Choose, and here is a classroom my family is supporting:
https://www.donorschoose.org/project/books-are-the-building-blocks-for-the-fu/3811049/?cachebust=1549144700219
Poets.org because National Poetry Month is around the corner: https://www.poets.org/academy-american-poets/help-champion-poets-and-poetry
And also, take time for an in person or virtual visit to National Museum of African American History and Culture, who is leading the way in using physical and digital objects to learn from the past: https://nmaahc.si.edu/ and click on their Donate page while you are there!
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