I WATCHED the recent President Barack Obama interview and remembered what was, and then looked forward to what could be with the new US presidency.
One minor story amused me. After the completion of his term, President Obama was doing some reading while being driven somewhere and the car stopped.
The reason the car had stopped was because there was a red light and for almost all of the last decade there had been no red lights in his way. He was back to facing some of the parts of life that a normal citizen has to deal with, although still realistically being in a privileged position.
Most ex-presidents have continued to live a public life and kept working in roles and organizations that help to make the country better. The job is really for life although it is uncertain how President Donald Trump will contribute after his retirement apart from supporting the golfing community, especially those playing at his clubs.
What many people fear, especially probably Republicans – although they might not admit it – is that he will have a significant role and maybe control of the Republican Party, its nature and direction.
The Republican party needs to lick its wounds and start to look at how they can return to their true nature and ignore the worst of its voices.
Accept the 2020 decision, look to work with the other side especially in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic as so many are dying, and the social and economic environment needs to be helped.
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Walking a fine line
There has been much discussion about how COVID-19 will still affect our lives once it’s gone. The most obvious being the number of people who will now work from home more often and those that have discovered Zoom or some similar video software.
Talking via a screen is now seen as normal and socially acceptable and sometimes more convenient than travelling to meet.
One of the quirky annoyances that I now face is the number of people who no longer know how to walk properly in shops. During lockdown we could only go out for short shopping visits and alone. The shops were almost deserted, and you wandered as you wished.
Now that they are full, people are still doing the same and mostly in front of me. I am sure that they are not being intentionally rude, but the usual proper manners are gone. It is only a trivial change but there will be others.
How will we, eventually, get back to our old way of life, and should we? This pandemic could be around for another six months to a year before a working vaccine is available and by then, our new habits might be ingrained.
I want a time that was like before this hit us, and I didn’t have to worry about injuring people by walking through them when they stop suddenly.
It’s trivial really but life has changed.
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Unicorn prices are up
There has been so much fake news in the political world that it has led to fake news in the financial world. Bitcoin, the imaginary money, has returned to the papers and has shot up in value, dropped back, and started to rise again, all within a few days.
What the world needs is real news, and hopefully positive news. I know that many consider Bitcoin as real money but it’s too volatile for most. I want money that I can safely hide under my mattress and don’t bother looking, there’s none there.
Bitcoin, however, belongs under the bed with the monsters from our childhood. By the way, prices for Unicorns as pets are also on the rise and who knew that they are not on the protected species list.
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When in Rome – don’t
When in Rome you drink your coffee standing up.
When in Melbourne, you drink your coffee sitting down, but we haven’t been able to for almost six months due to coffee restrictions.
Now, Rome has closed down and Melbourne has opened up. The first day was amazing for the number of people sitting down for coffee and breakfast, and then heading to that Hardware Store.
We all know that the restrictions and facemasks are necessary, except maybe one narcissist in America. But we look forward to the day when the world is safe and we can do whatever we want to, no matter how trivial it is. (dfitzger@melbpc.org.au/PN)
