I am not patient with plastics – pollution – ignorance. I feel helpless with those who lie daily – like Trump – who denies that the climate crisis exists. Impatiently, trying to convince my trumpster ex-husband of the truth. My consolation: NO KINGS protests rising up across the USA.
Simply living daily with PFAs, microplastics now found in our brains from the infested food that we eat, is not acceptable; can there be patience? I practice: replacing my plastic containers with glass; my garbage cans are now metal: it took much patience to fingernail-remove the large advertisement glued to its face. I have not bought water in plastic bottles for years.
Still, I haven’t totally emptied the recycling of the song I memorized to play on the piano, as a child: I am Not Worthy… the least of his favor. Meaning the Christian god, read of in the bible whose preacher recites from most Sundays, John 3:16, that you will be saved from hell (the scriptures say lake of fire) to obtain eternal life only if you believe in Jesus as your savior.
Jesus is no longer the “light of the world’ for me after taking 38 years to leave my church community. Too patient. Too fearful. Was our family’s religious addiction.
Now, I’m practicing patience while requesting the Town of Caroline Planning Board to shut off the one streetlight that floods my apartment windows, blotting out the natural light of the moon and stars shining over our small village. Over twenty years ago many tall streetlights were installed for safety: to prevent car accidents, or injuries to people walking along the road.
Presently, most homes shine outdoor lights at night. One streetlight turned off will not incur more risk, at the intersection of a dead-end street, where the speed limit is 35mph. I remind myself to “go with the flow,” like the waterfall in my backyard.
It just so happens that this week celebrates Halloween, where many get lost in costumes, and make-believe fears: tricks and boos. On October 27th, I was treated to my first date with Joseph, after meeting on the dating app Our Time, for those over 55 years of age (I refuse to say old😊.) After a two-hour conversation during brunch, we like each other enough to go for a seven-mile hike to Sandy Run Falls, new to both of us. It is a 7-mile loop that we agree we are up for and enjoy 3 waterfalls along our way. Although we follow the orange blazes easily, we eventually realize we are not heading in the right direction as the sun begins to set. Joseph’s GPS does not identify the trails well but see we are too far from the parking lot to reach it before dark.
We do reach a clearing of deer stands, and a deer blind that Joseph says we could stay in overnight when the temperature dips into the 30s. Not acceptable. No livable. Even though I see an opening where telephone poles could lead us somewhere to a road…we are LOST. And we are at risk of hypothermia.
Joseph calls 911. We are assisted by dispatch who finds our cell phone location, at twilight. Greatfully, Joseph gave me his light jacket to put on over my light one. We, ‘patiently’ wait for an ATV to pick us up, take us to an ambulance for a ride to our car.
I laugh most of the way, telling the attendant, this is our very first time to become lost after years of being avid hikers. What a surprising first date! 😊