Hommel Mangas
Flummoxed and I don’t know why
I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling a bit flummoxed today. I’m not even sure why.
Maybe because Wednesday was a sunny 74 degrees and at this writing it’s a bone-chillingly damp 36 degrees.
Possibly it is because my 9-year-old nephew, Drew, and I spent a few hours picking up sticks and less than six hours later we had wind advisories. Many of our beloved trees felt attacked and threw down more branches in defeat.
The same age-old magnificent trees who reduce erosion, remove carbon dioxide, and provide shade and habitat for numerous animals had a similar branch-spitting hissy fit after the thunderstorms and high winds of March 6 and 7 — wind damage that came exactly six hours after Steve and I had chored the entire day cleaning up the “ranch.”
I may have started revenge whistling the tune to Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi,” particularly the line that goes, “They paved paradise, put up a parking lot.”
Perhaps I’m flummoxed because of the horrific news of the despair and destruction of the people of Ukraine — news that comes just months after tens of thousands of Afghan people fled their country after the Taliban took control in August.
Maybe minutely, it’s partly due to the inability to avoid the news of comedian and Oscar presenter Chris Rock being slapped on stage with no repercussions, thus far, to Will Smith, a.k.a. the slapper.
It is conceivable that I’m feeling out-of-sorts because there are two new moons in April — yesterday, April 1st at 2:24 a.m. and April 30th at 4:28 p.m. — which means absolutely nothing to me, but sometimes when you’re flummoxed you grasp at straws.
For all one knows it’s the day-to-day business demands in life, or it could be the challenges of family dynamics, or …
Very likely I’m just having a day described by astute author Judith Viorst in her 1987 paperback picture book: “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” I suppose one could go about doing the next thing whilst humming the theme song to the musical Annie “Tomorrow” in my heart.
But today, I’m just going to be flummoxed.
