So tonight, or at least a few hours ago, was our Super Pink Moon, named not because the moon itself appears pink, but for the pink spring flowers that typically appear around the same time, known in English speaking nations as creeping phlox.
And, even though I've wanted to plant phlox since before we moved to our current place, I have yet to do so, which begs another question . . . why do so MANY of us, particularly but not only women, put off the very things that we KNOW will bring us pleasure, and soothe our souls?
In any case, not only because it brings me great pleasure, but because I suspect that it may bring pleasure to many of you as well, I introduce (or reintroduce) one of Nick Drake's songs, the title song from his third studio album, which was the final complete album released during his lifetime, "Pink Moon," which some of you may recall from its inclusion in a Volkswagen commercial shot in the Bodega Bay area of the Northern California Coast, a number of years ago.
The sad irony here is that, with one television commercial, Nick Drake's iconic song gained greater interest and popularity, by far, than it had in his own all too short lifetime. Damn. But enjoy.
And, even though I know better, I had my emotions yanked to the highest highs and the lows today, though thankfully not in that order.
One of the first stories that crossed my feed this morning was the horrifyingly wrongheaded news that lawmakers in the state of Idaho, in spite of contradictory scientific facts and all logic and reason, passed a bill to PAY TO HAVE KILLED NINETY PERCENT OF THE GREY WOLVES IN THE STATE.
Never mind that environmentalists have been working FOR DECADES to bring wolves back from the brink of extinction.
Never mind that, since wolves have been brought back to Yellowstone National Park, entire ecosystems are now thriving in ways that they haven't for nearly one hundred years, which can be largely attributed to the returning presence of the wolves.
Never mind that scientists and foresters agree that wolves ARE BENEFICIAL to the ecosystems in which they occur, that they are still at a TINY FRACTION of their original populations, and the vast majority of "wolf kills" of livestock in fact turn out to be depredations by other predators, NOT by wolves.
Never mind that, if there are wolves in the area that are NOT preying on your livestock, that they are in fact PROTECTING your livestock by their very presence, and that by removing them, you are inviting other wolves to move into the area, who may NOT spare your livestock, which at this point become your own doing.
And never mind that, by all actual scientifically valid reasoning and logic, grey wolves should STILL be listed as an endangered species; and when our previous criminal administration delisted them, AGAINST the recommendations of the vast majority of scientists who actually knew anything about the subject, they did so as a MASSIVE giveaway to hunters, among whom were some of their largest donors.
Not to mention our former Grifter-in-Chief's own sons.
And, to make matters even more egregious, in several states, including Idaho, it is now legal once again to kill wolf and bear cubs in their dens, as infants, which makes it abundantly clear that morals and ethics have NEVER played even the tiniest of roles in these decisions.
I personally hope that it comes back to haunt them all. Forever.
But then, later in the day, I ran across a story that made me feel really good, and as though the tide is starting to turn, and good and decent people are beginning to find their voices - and courage - once more.
In Manhattan Beach, California, a small beach community just south of Los Angeles, a black couple purchased oceanfront land in 1912, and provided a lovely beach open to black people of the community, as the majority of beaches in 1912 Orange County were white only.
But then, in 1924, through an improper and egregious use of eminent domain, the leaders of the community stole the land belonging to the Bruce family, forced them to leave, with the promise that a park would be built there, which it finally was . . . MANY decades later.
Thanks to my parents, I had always considered my hometown of L.A. to be more progressive than that, which it sometimes was, and that was mostly because of my fathers close friends who were black, who played a large role in my childhood, and in my parents' worldview.
But I remember being shocked, years later, upon seeing "Whites Only" bathrooms depicted, because they were in Bakersfield . . . only a short distance from L.A., but clearly a world away in attitude.
People forget, if in fact they ever knew, that although Los Angeles and San Francisco are largely liberal, the state as a whole has usually tended to be more conservative, hence why we were saddled with both Reagan and Schwarzenegger as governors.
Although, given the choice, I'd take Schwarzenegger over Reagan EVERY time, as Reagan was all about removing power, wealth, and influence from We the People. Look it up.
And Caitlyn Jenner? Please. She's already proven, multipple times, that she has ZERO clue how government is run, doesn't care, and isn't concerned with anyones' welfare but her own.
We've already done the over privileged reality star as government "CEO," it DIDN'T WORK, was a terrible idea to begin with, and she - like our former Grifter-in-Chief, seems to have no interest in learning of value.
As the LGBTQ community has already said, I'll take a hard pass.
But for Manhattan Beach to actually make right a wrong done nearly a century ago, and to finally restore Bruce's Beach to the descendants of the Bruce family - YES!!! I am 100% behind that, and support it all the way.
And yes, I realize and WELCOME that this may open other cases, likely A LOT of other cases, as well it should.
California, and the united States as a whole, have been outright abusing eminent domain for decades, if not longer, and it needs to stop. NOW.
So who is going to stop these abuses?
If not me . . . WHO???
The bottom line in all of this, is that, regardless of who benefits the most in the long run, doing the right thing ALWAYS brings benefits, and always will.
So whether it is the return of wrongly stolen land, or allowing endangered wolves to survive and thrive, or enjoying a song by a British singer/songwriter who died far too young, ALL of these things can enhance and improve the quality of life for us all.
And, as we have seen over and over again, sometimes even the tiniest changes for the good make drastic improvements in the long run. For everyone.
Life is wonderful, and is getting better, better, and better.
Even when it seems that things are going straight in the toilet, the reality, should we choose to notice it, is that the darkness is coming into the light in order to be healed, and we can ALL be a part of the solution, should we so choose.
Thank you, everyone, for being a part of the solution, and for being you.
I love you.
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