Am I alone in thinking that the news these days just plain sucks?
Seriously, I find myself wanting to take a break — not so much from blogging, but from having to read, subject myself to, and react to the relentless onslaught of bad news. It is dreadfully depressing, and I am not alone in feeling this way.
So I thought I should blog about something else.
But what? It’s good to have some perspective about these things, and going through boxes yesterday I found an old family picture which I thought to scan because it was so deteriorated:
It was taken not long after World War One. That’s my grandfather holding my aunt all the way on the left, and my grandmother is the woman in the middle (behind the two girls), while my father is the boy in the middle of the group of boys, next to the boy at the end on the right.
They got through not only World War One, but survived the great Influenza Epidemic of 1918 which killed hundreds of thousands of Americans — more than the war. (hundreds of thousands. Both of these events would be considered bad news by any standard, and there was worse news to come. The Great Depression wiped out the family’s savings in the late 20s, forcing my dad to leave college. Later he returned, but he had to work several jobs to pay his way. Life became very grim, and he worked himself nearly to death in that period. (Seriously, he caught pneumonia from work-related lack of sleep, and nearly died. No antibiotics in those days….)
So…. I guess you could call the above a happy pre-Depression picture!
My dad said people really had fun in the 20s, partying like it was going out of style.
And who could blame them?
Comments
5 responses to “Depressions and news come and go”
Good pic. And like you, my neighbors and I feel the same, everything going to hell in a handbasket.
Thanks for the perspective. I ran across this story about a Japanese/American couple who spent their youth in internment camps, and the years since struggling and succeeding with a beautiful nursery.
http://tdn.com/news/local/article_1035195c-5293-11e0-bd8b-001cc4c002e0.html
Too bad people tried to keep the party going by electing a Progressive Rino then repeatedly electing an uber-liberal Democrat.
Hard work and small government would have been a much better alternative to that Depression or this one.
My therapist (for stress, anxiety, and avoiding burnout,) recommended I just avoid or limit the amount of time I spend reading/discussing things I have no control over. I’ve always tried to do that, but I’d gotten out of control over the last year.
So, now I just lightly skim the news, and avoid commenting, or reading comments, as much as possible.
Amazing how much time that’s freed up for productive work, especially around the house. I’ve actually completed a few projects that have been languishing for several years. And I’ve been prepping for the coming economic “difficulties” we’re going to experience for years now (reducing debt, getting off credit cards, and living within our means.)
I remember your dad, Eric. Smart guy, did good stuff for many. Glad you took after him. Your politics are my style so keep up the pressure.
It’s been since 1975 or 1976… you may well recall one Mr Massey.
Chris