“Participation verses empathy or surrender lends to a tangible promise for a better tomorrow, one that might be swept up and corralled into a better purpose that steers us to setting things right.”
By MICHELE MILLER
What’s What New Port Richey
The morning after Eta blew on through there was a slight feeling of relief, then the clean-up ensued.
We are none the worse for wear. Better off than expected, save for some errant dead branches cleaned out of the oaks, and the thousands – yes thousands – of acorns that blanketed the backyard patio.
It has been a banner year for the acorns that have been falling in flurries these past weeks, some launched with a mischievous squirrel’s agile landing, or a sudden easy breeze that has them bouncing hard off the roof.
“Rat-a-tat-TAT!” they went all through the night with Eta.
“Maybe it means our oaks are healthy,” I offered up sheepishly to the old man who, the morning after, was corralling the mess into a bucket with a rake and broom.
“At least you have something to do,” I tell him, trying to conjure deeper thoughts than the fact that COVID has him evolving into a more liberal version of his late father, who spent much of his retirement watching day time game shows and listening to the talking heads on cable news.
Maybe it’s a metaphor. The acorns, that is.
So many acorns cast off the oaks this November day. So many votes cast in the 2020 General Election a little over a week ago.
And still counting.
We voted in record numbers and that’s a good omen, even as we size up the post-election mess that’s still tearing through our country.
We are weary….still.
Any kid who has woken up the morning after a parent’s all-night bender, where broken glass is spewed along with broken feelings, knows well the feeling.
The tirade is over. Now we’re standing in a heap and wishing for a stable parent to step in and clean it all up. Set things right again.
There’s some feeling that has been found in this election with a president-elect that portrays a sense of calm even as reckless instability swirls about us.
But it has yet to take hold.
Those who have lived it know that there is no end to dysfunction when an enabling parent – in this case a purposefully ineffective political party – proves time and again, that they will never leave the abuser.
Others will have to stand up. Be the adult in the room. In record numbers.
Participation verses empathy or surrender lends to a tangible promise for a better tomorrow, one that might be swept up and corralled into a better purpose that steers us to setting things right.
Unfortunately, our country is the worse for wear. Better off than expected, perhaps, if you never put stock in the polls in the first place.
Save for a couple of errant senators from Georgia.
And two more who are up for re-election here in Florida in 2022. Word is they might have an eye on the 2024 presidential election.
No, we are not done yet.
Now, onward.
Michele Miller is the owner and editor of What’s What New Port Richey. A local blog that aims to connect locals to the community they live in. She is a former staff writer and photographer for the St. Petersburg Times/Tampa Bay Times in Florida.