Chris' Christian Blog

May 5, 2020

"Prompt: Cinco de Mayo: Do you celebrate it? Do you know the story behind it? Do you find it to be a fun holiday, and why do you think it is more popular in the United States than in Mexico?"

I've heard of Cinco de Mayo but I don't celebrate it. It is Mexican Independence Day I believe. It would be similar to the Fourth of July celebration. I think it is celebrated in the US because people in the US are party animals. We would celebrate the grand reopening of Mt. Vesuvius if there was one because we like to party. Cinco de Mayo doesn't mean anything in my opinion. It is merely an excuse. The Mexicans don't celebrate it because they lack the nationalism so prevalent in the USA. We're a proud, cocky people. We are very patriotic, where I don't think Mexicans have such a sense of national identity. Most countries don't.

Prompt: "Find a local news story that makes you feel something. Share the story along with your opinion on it in your blog."

In order to do that, I would have to watch the local news and I personally could not care less about the talking heads and their opinions. It has been a long time since news reporters stuck to the facts and simply reported the news. Around here there isn't too much happening anyway. Most of the time the news is about the weather and my bones tell me all I need to know about the weather. If my right-hand hurts during the winter it is going to snow. If my knee hurts anytime, it is probably going to rain. If my bones aren't hurting clear weather and warm temperatures are coming.

I did see one news story that captured my attention. There was a fire in town and a man and three children were killed in it. My heart goes out to the family and to the firefighters/first responders who were on the scene and made the discovery. The news reported that and for once all they reported was what was known of it. They did not blabber on for five minutes with somebody's "expert opinion" trying to tell me what I should or should not think. I will watch news that simply reports the facts if it is anything important. The local news is usually not much more than a weather forecast and traffic report. If you watch the first five minutes you catch everything important. The rest is perhaps the latest city council zoning meeting or something that means nothing to me. The world opinion I absolutely won't watch. With the world news you have to pick a side because you know the biased reporting is only going to be the reporter hosting a panel of so-called experts either supporting your opinion or telling you how stupid you are for believing it. I ignore the world news altogether for that very reason. The days of Walter Kronkite are over. He would just report the facts and let you figure out what you wanted to do with the information.

"Prompt: Use these words in your blog entry: rain, clouds, valley, taco, turkey, smartphone, and wind."

It is supposed to rain here today. So it is funny that the blog prompt would be about rain. Of course it is still early May so we have some lingering April weather (rain) hanging around. The clouds are usually fluffy and white this time of year in an endless blue sky, but if it rains they will be gray and hazy. The sun will still manage to peek through and it's likely a rainbow will appear. They're frequent this time of year. I can always see the fog gathering in the valley below us on summer days and sometimes during the winter as well. The facility I live in is at the top of a hill overlooking the remainder of the town. It can be a spectacular view at times. I particularly love the view in the summertime because the hills around us are all green and beautiful. On holidays they will line our driveway with American flags, about 25 of them, and set against the backdrop of the green hillsides it is breathtaking.

More than likely though I will have a taco for lunch today. After all it is Cinco de Mayo and this place, like most others in America, does not miss an opportunity to celebrate. We especially don't miss an opportunity to eat and who doesn't like Mexican food? I haven't seen the menu so I don't know, but I suspect we will have tacos for lunch or supper. I may take mine and sit at the picnic table so I can enjoy the pitter-patter of the rain on the tin roof. It will be my luck that they will fool me and serve turkey for lunch instead of tacos. If so I guess I could use my Galaxy X smartphone to order pizza or something. Part of the quarantine has been lifted on us. We are now permitted to leave the facility for a limited number of hours per day, and we can order meals for delivery now. Before deliveries were not allowed.

I personally think the wind of change has blown. Some think we will go back to "business as usual" once this pandemic is over, but I think it has made some significant changes that will remain in place. I would be surprised if it is not recommended that we wear masks, sanitize our hands, and practice social distancing even after the pandemic. I mean these are not bad ideas. my niece had leukemia and the chemotherapy had her immune system very compromised. She could not hug or anything. Social distancing and the practices we have now could still save lives even during non-pandemic times. I'd say the wind is definitely shifting toward that.