You worry about the planet, you know, our looming climate catastrophe? You worry about the eternal human conundrum, you know, why are people so fucked up? You worry about where it's all headed, you know, what of the "progress of humanity?" But then, on the other hand, you think it's all so very complicated, and a bit out of your control.
You hope things will work out for the best.
And then you have to face the day. You have appointments to keep, and it's sub-zero out there. You bundle up, you put your thick socks on, your heavy boots, your layers of sweaters, your over-sized hoodie, your funny winter hat with the flaps, your two layers of masks, and you head out into a hostile landscape.
Snow, treacherous ice, cold wind, dark, looming clouds. You trudge. You trudge slowly, one slow-walk step at a time. A bit zombified. You feel like a character in a Samuel Beckett play. Just a simple, plain human being facing the great an epic battle; ragged, beat, just trying to endure the incomprehensible elements of daily living.
You worry about falling. Falling is bad. Not recommended. You do not want to fall. You walk. Alone. For hours. You go here, you go there, you do the things you have committed to doing. It's a long day of trudging. When you get back home, you are exhausted. Tired. Beyond tired. That's a day right there.
You put your headphones on and listen to music. And then, early evening, you and your companion stream the last three hours of Tony Kushner's great epic Pulitizer Prize winning masterpiece play: "Angels in America," directed by Mike Nichols, and starring Jeffery Wright, Meryl Streep, Al Pacino, Mary Louise Parker, and a fully-stocked cast of brilliant actors.
It's an epic work about the mid 80's plague years. So resonant, relevant and alive today. All the same issues and concerns are embedded in the work. It is about then and about now, all the brilliance flashing thru the 2020's plague years too.
Art. It is a life-saver. Fills you up, inspires, revives. A much needed booster shot. No doubt. Fortified to face another day.
