Starting somewhere.
It came to me last night.
I’ve known all along that the pandemic was going to change a lot of things forever.
Small businesses will close. Shopping centers too. Restaurants operate on a razor thin margin. Many will close. New ones may replace them. They will be created for the new world before they open.
Airlines and airports will have to rethink what they are doing today. In fact, we won’t be able to travel like we used to do. In my other world, the concert business won’t be back until October 2021, if then.
Schools? That’s a topic for a big argument. K – 12 schooling is in flux as we speak. Small, private colleges probably won’t survive. Big universities will survive, but nobody knows what they will look like.
Universities are already cutting sports. Stanford ended 12 fall sports forever. The Big Ten with schools like Michigan State and Ohio State are not playing football this year. Nor, are the Ivy League schools.
And, so it goes.
I’ve been saying that we have the opportunity for positive change.
We have to be smart about it. We have to talk to each other even if our philosophies are opposing each other.
We can’t run around willy nilly.
In New Orleans, some people took down statues of people who helped many people. They destroyed two statues of John McDonogh. He was a businessman and slave owner. After his death his will specified that schools be built to serve everybody. He funded freed slaves if they wanted to go to Liberia.
Redemption. That’s a big word. Apparently in our cancel culture, nobody is allowed to atone for their mistakes.
Except for one person.
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees. He spoke out against the action of kneeling on a football sideline. He said the American flag comes first. Within hours he walked that back and apologized after he spoke with many of his Black teammates. He apologized again. Then, his wife apologized.
All is apparently good. My friends don’t trust him. They say the apologies came to fast. That they didn’t feel right.
I don’t know.
These are the thoughts that have been running around in my head.
I’m pretty good at logistics and making things right. I know one thing about every issue I’ve raised. Well, two things.
We are going to have to work very hard at whatever we do. I think that we need the wisdom that comes with age not to correct, but to consult.
And, money.
This is going to cost a lot of money. Money that only the federal government can provide. Money that comes from good leadership, not some babbling nabob of negativity.
The picture
It’s about time that I talk about that, yes? It’s a layered picture, made to show the richness of a summer forest floor. In posting it, I have finally found my direction. At least for this hour.
I’m following a lot of artists on Instagram. There a couple whose work excites me. They also understand that they have to earn a living. I’ve talked with them via private messaging. I’m trying to pick their brain about modern marketing and seo.
For the record, I think maybe 85% of the photography on Instagram is derivative. One photographer makes a kinda cool picture and 1,000 more follow him. Sorta like masks. Everybody is making and advertising masks. Derivative. That’s why I follow artists. Their work is mostly original.
Stay safe. Stay mighty. Wear your mask. Wash your hands. Keep your distance. Enjoy all the M&Ms.
STORYTELLER 
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