On paying attention

Three conversations just this month have given me new slants on reality.

Frances said new variations of covid-19 could continue being created if people can do what they want about shots and masks. We might be in for another black plague-like epidemic.

Joann said they came back early from their vacation because of storm warnings. She said the family vacation was great until they got back to Arkansas where the roadsides were littered with trashy paper, plastics and tins. She said the other states they’d been through were clean. She said she wanted to report this somewhere but found only lots of general resources. Remember when too much information confused the facts?

I asked Marilyn if she thought we’d come to a point where Americans were for sale. She said, “They’ve already sold out,” and my stomach became an iced knot. What came to mind was the Boy Scouts of America and leaders who had different goals and purposes and lots of folks not paying attention.

Well, I’ve been around long enough to see lots of changes in the USA, but I still think the good outweighs the bad. Maybe paying attention to what’s beyond our own paths and interests will help us get that good old American savvy back on track.

JUDITH BAUM North Little Rock