Depression Stalks Us

Life looks very different when, in the space of three years, you see that you could lose everything. When, the earth under you twists and shakes and rattles everything around you. When, your best friend is told that she has lung cancer, surgery will be necessary. When, a million-acre fire blows into your town and you are evacuated for seven weeks. When, your loved-ones struggle with a deadly virus. When, you are told you have a large tumor in your colon and it'll have to be surgically removed (your doctor says, "You could die on the operating table."). When, you realize that a formidable percentage of your neighbors are politically willing to "throw-it-all-away" by shucking the rules we live by out the nearest window, held open by an abberation called "The Tea Party"...and when, that neighbor's window has encroached 100 yards closer to your own. Life looks very different now...each moment, each day is still a precious gift. Attitudes are adjustable, outlooks are changable..."it could be worse" comes to mind. People are suffering around the world...and even in our own villages, to degrees unimaginable to someone who has been as fortunate as I have been these last 73 years.