Polka Dot Clay Studio: Slumming

Always colorful at Lovers Point...

Politics has really been a bummer of late. I feel relatively positive about our country. So, listening to the doom and gloom version of America has caused a dissonance. Do we have problems? You betcha. Perhaps the problems loom larger because of social media and nearly constant exposure. Everyone witnesses everything. There was a video of Philando Castile's last living moments: he was actually bleeding to death for society to observe. Utterly heartbreaking. Just imagining all of the students at his school watching this video made me hurt. I spent a lot of time thinking about the loss of Philando, a fellow kid lover and enjoyer. Our team can't afford to lose more players. People who work with kids understand this.

Our country has always had race issues. I spent 13 years working at a school ruled by de facto segregation. A teacher actually posted, on the multipurpose room wall, a quote by a kid from the segregated gifted and talented classroom which read, "I really like being in a class with kids that are just exactly like me." It is not a surprise that these problems continue to persist. Everyone is racist in some way. I will make an exception for babies and toddlers in my generalization. I firmly believe that racism is learned. Even if it is unlearned, bias still often clouds our judgement.

A few years ago, my entire neighborhood was empty. Literally, seven houses on my street had NOT been repossessed. There were bank signs on all of the other homes. When I walked the dog, I felt alone. We're a working class neighborhood. Everyone tries hard to be here. So, when someone falls off the economic treadmill, it's painful. When the entire neighborhood falls, it's tragic. Sometime near the middle of President Obama's first term, that started to change. Houses were purchased or rented, and they were actually "fixed up". There are currently no empties. All of my unemployed friends and family are now working. So, I feel hopeful. I felt hopeful watching President Obama take the oath of office on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial with his hand resting on Abraham Lincoln's 1861 inauguration bible. It seemed like we were taking a baby step against racism.

After mowing the lawn this morning, I took the day off. I headed south to Carmel and Pacific Grove. Then, I attended a chamber music recital, featuring work by Bach, Handel and a Suite for Trumpet and Organ by Jeremiah Clarke. It felt so good to sit in the historic San Carlos Cathedral. It was built in 1770 as a mission, but then was used as the church for the Monterey Presidio when the mission was moved to Carmel. As I reflected on my day off, I thought about the people I live near on the California coast. I feel pretty blessed to live here. Which I guess means that I don't mind living in America too much. If we stay positive, my eventual retirement in Spain won't be for a few more years...