Bat Country

Thunderbirds come to Oklahoma 4.12.20 Covid Thoughts Once upon a time, as a young boy growing up on an Air Force base in the lush southwestern corner of Oklahoma, Altus to be exact, the first object of daily hero worship were the cowboys.  They were a common sight off base, in town - hats, boots, trucks, the occasional chaps.  They were the real McCoy, likely had cows hiding somewhere.  We rode horses, suffered through dust storms, dreaded tornados (except Dad whose protocol when the sirens went off was grab a beer, his camera and the kitchen stool to post himself on top of the station wagon to get a shot). Annually, the USAF's drill team, The Thunderbirds, would roll into town for an air show. Now, cowboys are cool when you're 10 years old.  Horses are cool.  But these guys...they were as close to deities as one was ever going to meet.  We would attend the shows religiously, beginning at our previous post in Charleston. At one show in Charleston, ...

So, Thursday, April 9, it happened.   What is “it” you might ask.   Well, I came unglued.   I had a full blown go to pieces. The events of the previous 3 weeks finally took their toll, and I cracked.   Once that fissure materialized, it widened with seismic effects.   The tectonic pressure finally showed itself and plates shifted, with the expected ugliness of such a moment. The dam broke, and I cried like I haven’t cried in a long time.   I cried hard.   Unfortunately, I was on the phone with my son at the time.   It wasn’t pretty.   He is my rock, the singular object of my love and all that I believe is good in the world.   We hadn’t seen each other since March 9, just before all hell broke loose and the world, once again, became a new world of undefined expectations, existential threats, imminent bad things.   Time with him is a heightened reality, each moment precious and reorienting to what is important on this p...

3.20.20 Well, here we are.   I have always thought in apocalyptic terms, but have tried to temper my thoughts with reality.   For instance, when events like Hurricane Katrina and the Fukishima fiasco happened, I got over it pretty quickly.   Arab Spring, not so much. Now, there is something loose in society that we haven’t defined – Covid-19.   What is it and where is it are the pivotal questions in the world right now.   Leaders need to be very clued in and in communication with each other.   So, where am I?   I started chronicling my situation a few days ago, but that file has disappeared, so I’m starting over. Whoo boy, what a time.   What the actual f is going on?   On the one hand we hear apocalypse, on the other, salvation is right around the corner.   I live in a very rural part of Tennessee.   I drive 1.25 hours each way to work, where we see every sector and manner of human.   I feel like shi...