Yesterday was devoted, primarily, to relaxation. We enjoyed naps, sitting on the deck, and a relatively brief jaunt into town (Mendocino) for lunch, some grocery shopping, and a look around a few shops. I think people sometimes feel obligated to “see the sights” when they go on vacations to beautiful or even simply attractive places. My idea is that vacations should feel the “soul.” They should provide the fuel the mind needs for rejuvenation; yesterday, my mind needed unadulterated relaxation.
Today, the trek toward home begins. It is a bit unfortunate that our travels coincide with the Fourth of July holiday weekend, in that the roads will be more crowded than usual with holiday travelers. But we are in no rush, so we can afford to be slow and deliberate. We have mapped out our return, taking a different (much more northerly) route. Mi novia spent a good hour or more last evening, making reservations along the way. While we are not obligated to stay where she made them (except to the extent that we must cancel far enough in advance to avoid charges), it’s less stressful to have confirmations than to feverishly search for vacancies when we’re already tired.
I would like to return to Mendocino—or some similarly beautiful and stress-relieving place along the northern California coast—for a much longer stay; a week or two with no obligations except to tend to the body’s and mind’s need for nurturing relaxation. Even though the expenses associated with staying here are, frankly, outlandish, the cost is worth the benefit derived from spending the money. In other words, there is value in the cost. There is a significant return on the investment. My return to sanity, I think, is not guaranteed, but is far more likely than it would have been had we not invested in making the journey. A significant element of the value was in visiting mi novia‘s family and in seeing my sister. In fact, those elements were probably more important than relaxing on the northern California coast. It will reward me to remember that.
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The majority is always wrong; the minority is rarely right.
~ Henrik Ibsen ~
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I’ve received good advice about what mi novia‘s mother should call me and vice versa. Clearly, my idea was a bad one. I’m mulling over the suggestions. And hoping for more.
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In spite of my sense that this trip has been one of rejuvenation, news about recent decisions and probable upcoming decisions of the Supreme Court disturb me in the extreme. I no longer believe the checks and balances our Republic depends on to protect our democratic freedoms are sufficient. And I no longer believe they will. Unless some major—and awfully disruptive and potentially explosive—actions are taken by legislators and, more importantly, the public, we are at immediate risk of the collapse of our democracy and its replacement by an autocratic, theocratic form of government. I would not be at all surprised to see rabid legislative and court supporters of Second Amendment “rights” turn about, taking actions to ensure that progressives and others who disagree with the minority takeover of governmental control lose those “rights.” I have never been one to support unchecked gun ownership, but in light of the very real possibility that the minority government may protect itself by seizing or preventing the sale of weapons of personal protection, I am reconsidering my thinking. The Supreme Court has demonstrated that it is willing to overturn “settled law” by overturning Roe v Wade. It has altered other, less sensational, precedents. And it could just as easily overturn others that, heretofore, would have prevented governmental overreach in many other areas. I am afraid electing a majority Democratic government and packing a Supreme Court with additional justices who would protect rights instead of remove them might not be enough. I am afraid something vastly more difficult and monumentally destructive might be necessary; something that, at first, might appear utterly contrary to fundamental rights. Something along the lines of “do to them what they are trying to do to us.”
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Grey skies and cold winds are omniscient. They see the future. But the problem is they do not say which one they see, and when they see it.
