I've always thought that many times, very small events can have much larger implications in this world. Yesterday (Monday) I had two encounters with people that had two very different larger meanings for me.
First, my wife and I were attending a fairly large regional Craft & Art Fair. Mostly jewelry, art in many different forms, crafts, etc. At one point I heard music being played on a hammer dulcimer and went to find it. Playing the hammer dulcimer was an old musical acquaintance that I used to play with several years ago, and she was playing modern tunes quite well and selling CDs. She's of the "aging hippy" demographic, left of center, but not one to hold grudges. She saw me and got up, came over to me and started to hug me, and she said, "Don't worry, I've had all my shots."
Oh boy, I just laughed, thinking, 'Maybe I should back away' but I didn't. She said the reason no one had seen her for awhile was that she had locked down in quarantine for many months.... blah blah blah... The level of woke-fear was strong. So I let her get back to hawking her CDs and and my wife and I had a chuckle over here "I've had all my shots" statement. I didn't have the heart to tell her what may be in store for her.
Second encounter: I am a long-time member of a 12-Step organization and after we got back from the craft fair, I went to my regular Monday night meeting. There was a new guy there, a tall, robust guy, long ZZ Top beard, in work boots and work clothes. I always make a point of greeting newcomers so I shook his hand and introduced myself to him. Turns out, he and his wife have two small children and were living in an area withing an hour's drive of NYC.
He told me that they could not raise their children in that cesspool and had visited Tennessee in the past and loved it. So they just moved here and he supported the family by working construction. I jokingly said, "Well, buy a couple of ARs and you'll be officially a Tennessean." He said, "Oh I brought mine, and they aren't even New York compliant."
We had a good laugh over that. Good rock solid citizen and I'm glad he's moved here.
So, two very different encounters, both of which encapsulate events going on right now in America. The fearful, compliant Left, fully vaxx'ed and boosted (and possibly dying) vs. a mobile common sense traditional family moving from a blue state to a red state in this critical moment in American history.
I found these two polar-opposites intriguing.
Hopefully I'll be able to leave NYC before fall next year. Had a sideways promotion and it will go a loooong way to saving money to make the move. I'll probably go down to Charleston, SC as a good friend of mine moved down there early this year, so I'll at least have someone I know. His new friends seem to be based, as I went to see him in June. One guy even called the police a criminal organization, I was fucking shocked. I know they respect the police a hell of a lot more than up here, but they're losing the support of Trump voters, fast. Without us, they only have themselves, and that's all they really care about.
If you rat on your "brothers," you end up like Frank Serpico, left for dead in a bad place. The police are the standing army the Founders warned us about.
Good luck to you. Charleston is a very lovely place, but for me, it's way too hot in the summertime. I'm a mountain boy, so I guess that's why east Tennessee suits me so much.
I was on the beach for a few hours, and because I didn't use any kind of sun block (whether poison or homemade), I had some painful sun poisoning. Red all over, and my right leg from mid-calf to foot was swollen. It even hurt to walk.