South San Francisco, CA March 16, 2020 by Mel Ellison
As the lyric goes “the sun will come out tomorrow”….and it is tomorrow….and the sun has come out….again…as it always does, (but it should be noted: quite spectacularly this morning!)…as it does every day…and will continue to do long after this scare is over….and as it will continue to do long after we’re gone.
I hope you all are doing well. As for me, my life hasn’t been altered that much. Plenty of time to relax and think about what all this means….I mean ALL of this….the ups and downs….the cyclical nature of all life…..everything.
Like so many, our investments have taken a huge hit….but it’s happened before. Remember the bleakness after 9/11/2001? The huge, painful economic downturn in 2008? We got through those bad times, and we’ll get through this.
This “shelter-in-place” thing is a novelty right now and everyone is trying to make the best of it, mostly in a fun, playful way.
It brings to mind the beginning of the Civil War. Most people at the time thought it would be over quickly. So much so, that during the first few battles people actually came out to watch. Some folks even brought picnic baskets along thinking “Hey, we can watch this war stuff for a few hours, wrap this whole secession thing up, and be back home in time for dinner!”
Well, as we know, the war dragged on and turned out to be much more costly, in so many more ways than anyone could have possibly imagined at the start. Not that this virus is going to approach the Civil War in cost of lives and resources. But there are a couple of points we can learn from the analogy:
The first is that this pall that has been cast over our lives and the ramifications thereof, are probably going to last longer than we can imagine right now.
Secondly, we will get through it and, although scarred and battle-worn, we will be stronger for it.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say we may have been getting a little “fat and sassy” and needed a good kick in the butt…..and nature, as always happens, was more than happy to oblige! It may seem callous, but it is the way life works….try as we might, I guess we weren’t meant to get TOO comfortable.
One thing is sure, life will be forever changed. How we interact with each other is undergoing a complete revolution. We may find ourselves becoming a wee bit more appreciative of a lot of stuff (and people) we took for granted….and things we thought we could absolutely not do without…well, maybe we’ll find they’re not as important as we thought after all. This is not necessarily a bad thing.
If you have managed to read this far, I want to wish you and your families….(that’s those other people stuck inside with you!)…a great day! Please be safe, and stay well….
…..and look for the sun to rise tomorrow morning…..it will be there as always, quietly and beautifully lighting our world with color and warmth.
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Mel Ellison is a free-lance writer and photographer who covers special features for Everything South City as well as taking the role of co-admin on our social media. Married to Lynn Brunetti, they enjoy family time with their grandchildren and enjoying their Brentwood neighborhood in South San Francisco. When not dazzling us with his photography you will find Mel on the open seas pursuing his love of sailing or creating music as he is also an accomplished musician.
To view more of Mel’s photography and travels follow him on FACEBOOK HERE To see a partial collection of photos taken for Everything South City CLICK HERE If you are interested in purchasing any of Mel’s fine art, please CLICK HERE
Absolutely gorgeous!!
this is only the begining, look what the
chinese went through, it’ only gping to
get worse