The mystery of what lies ahead

(image from Minnpost)

The shock being felt is probably a lot like the onset of the Great Depression. There's the health aspect and the economics aspect. My generation heard a lot about the Depression but we couldn't relate. We were being doted upon. It is hard to predict right now, how much of a wave of pain or adversity is coming.
What will happen will happen. If we come out on the other side, somehow, surely we will never approach life the same. And surely, young people of the Great Depression like my late parents approached normalcy with such a thankful disposition. So thankful, they didn't want their own kids to experience any hard knocks at all.
Anxiety did not disappear at the end of the Depression. Polio was a huge specter promoting anxiety. I know my parents dealt with that in connection to me. The State Fair was shut down. Words couldn't describe my mother's relief when the vaccination could be done.
And now, what are we facing? I really wish Hillary Clinton was president. She and her party are much more capable of compassion. She would not be disparaging toward anyone. The Dow Jones won't seem to mean much if the pandemic really comes to West Central Minnesota. We'll cling to the tiniest blessings in life. My, we are just getting started with our drastically adjusted lifestyle.
Was it just a week ago we could experience a normal day, making our rounds, taking it all for granted? The Depression generation took nothing for granted in the years after WWII, as they formed the cherished U.S. middle class. My father watched every nickel to the end of his life, you might say to a fault. Or, maybe not.
Will today's young adults be someday called a "greatest generation?" The test may be upon us.
I live alone to begin with. No one depends on me. I can ease into our new order with few complications. But it's hard to keep your chin up. And we may be looking at several months of this. It is truly hard to fathom. Think of the mental health issues that will arrive.
Maybe we should all plead for this Trump fellow to just step aside and let other people take over. His smart-alecky defensive comments now are getting so abrasive, there ought to be another vote on impeachment. Wouldn't it be wonderful to see Hillary Clinton lead a press briefing? Instead we must try to get through this with a quite different persona coming at us.
What came over us, to make us vote for this guy? Actually there were three million more votes for Hillary but her opponent won the electoral college.
 
Will spring's arrival help?
I tried taking a walk to the east of Morris this afternoon, March 22: too windy. The temperature seemed agreeable but the clouds and the wind tempered enthusiasm. Will warmer temperatures be a boost for our disposition?
I'm sitting alone here so I'm tinkering with songwriting thoughts a little. I'm wondering how we all are going to fare by Christmas time. Will our morale be such that we can even embrace a hopeful Christmas time? Can we make lemonade from lemons? The Depression generation must have been genuinely unsure about the future.
What if the U.S. had not developed the atomic bomb? My father might have been part of "Operation Downfall," the planned land invasion of Japan. That would have been more hellish than anything. How much more pain and sacrifice would the American people have accepted? How much are we prepared to absorb now? We can't possibly know what's lying ahead now. Our nature is to embrace hope.
 
Music always applies
I have developed a new Christmas song reflecting the realities. I took a melody for a song I had previously written but not had recorded, and penned new lyrics. So the new title is "A Social Distance Christmas." Previously this melody had a theme about Minnesota: "Ya Sure You Betcha." And I really liked that. I could have one or both songs recorded.
Every other stanza is like a bridge so the structure would be noted as "ABABAB" etc. My new song definitely suggests we should try to make lemonade from lemons. Hope for the best, be thankful, retain the ability to love. So I'm pleased to share the lyrics here, for "A Social Distance Christmas." Thanks for reading.

"A Social Distance Christmas"
by Brian Williams

I'll blow you kisses
In a social distance Christmas
It is not the way it ought to be
Still we have blessings
Just as if we had the whole thing
If we let our spirit hold the key

We can celebrate
In our own way
Make the best of all we can
Pray for everyone to be OK
Even when it hits the fan

I'll share my wishes
In a social distance Christmas
For the best luck everyone can have
God has his methods
It's as if he must remind us
Of the need to seek his guiding hand

So we'll get along
And take each day
Yes we maybe can adjust
With your company we'll be OK
Would that all of us were such

We'll be the richest
In a social distance Christmas
If we have a loving attitude
We need our leaders
To remember all the people
It is not an idle platitude

Watch the president
And what he says
Is he helping us to cope?
Can he rise above the usual mess
I'm not betting but let's hope

We're on a mission
In a social distance Christmas
To renew what matters most of all
It's not the Dow Jones
Or the stuff that's on our iPhones
It's the love that keeps us standing tall


- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com