Upheaval

Jared Diamond has always impressed me by his insights into major issues effecting us humans. UPHEAVAL has had its share of critics, but I am not one of them. Based on factors related to human personal crises, he focuses on the history of seven nations (Finland, Japan, Chile, Indonesia, Germany, Australia) that have experienced painful historical crises that resulted in much national pain. He uses the history of these nations as a backdrop to his focus on the United States. 

The United States has been blessed by its geography (huge landmass with two ocean borders and non-threatening neighbors). And yet, the nation shares potential disasters that threaten all nations. While the nations cited for historical 

analysis is interesting, it is his concern about our world’s handling of issues that have no national boundaries that makes one most concerned. Anyone of these issues would make us anxious. As a group, he has elsewhere stated that there is a 49% chance that “the world as we know it will collapse by about 2050” (just think that my oldest grandchild will only be 44 years old).

Given that so many nations have nuclear bombs, there is a major concern that some nation will deploy such a weapon that may well be reciprocated. It is hard to believe that the fear of the use of nuclear is not a deterrent, but clearly there is only evidence of more nations ensuring that they have such power. 

His other concerns have the attention of many, but there is no evidence that we are collectively addressing them.

If we only consider the United States, there is evidence that we are aware of the problem.  But, the efforts to address the issue is, at best, limited. When you consider warming globally, I am impressed that the steps taken by nations is no where commensurate with the measures required to avoid the consequences of global warming.

The consequences of global warming are many. Drought conditions resulting in fire prone area, decreased food production, transmission of insect borne diseases, and the rise of sea levels.  The depletion of natural resources, e.g., oil, will clearly impact our lives even with the growing increase in alternative sources of energy. 

Whatever attempts are made to address the problems associated with global warming will be frustrated by the lack of cooperation between all nations. The United States seems unable to deal with many issues requiring compromise. Our legislative body is deadlocked. The Senate and the House seem diametrically opposed to each other. 

And while attempts are being made to address global warming, the world’s population will increase, especially in Africa, with inevitable need for many to migrate from areas suffering from the lack of resources, e.g.,food, needed for survival. 

I have been very concerned about our world’s survival since I see no evidence of wide-spread appreciation of the serious nature of the problem in the United States, far less the nations of the world. 

Week One for Maggie Mae!

On June 8  Maggie Mae left the remaining litter to become a member of our family.  While Maggie will enjoy the two of us usually, she is considered a member of the family of six grandchildren. 

We left North Berwick after noontime and wondered how Maggie would endure the long ride.  It did not take long to see how fortunate we were. There were no simpers as she either rested or glanced at us from her crate.

We decided to stop in Cambridge so Mika and Emi could meet Maggie. You would think that she was a long lost friend. There was no hesitation as Maggie displayed her affection for them. The visit was great. 

On her first full day in Scituate we decided to do something special with Maggie.  Since we plan to take a short ride with her daily to get her accustomed to the car, our goal this day was a visit to my hospice patient. We had often talked about dogs. He shared stories about his history with dogs. I thought that he would appreciate seeing Maggie. You cannot imagine how much he treasured the experience. Tears were the joy of having Maggie on his chest. 

Needless to say, Joyce (the breeder) had provided us with a boatload of information about our interaction with Maggie.  As recommended, Maggie eats at 7 a.m., noon, and 5 p.m.  Following meals, she is taken outside to pee and poop. And like clockwork, Maggie has performed perfectly. She has slept from 10 pm to 5 am. She enjoys our kitchen “decor” with an occasional bleep indicating that she would rather roam around. Generally, she has enough free time to explore her new house and play wilth her toys. 

In less than one week (June 13), Maggie has had a car ride every day to get her accustomed to travel. She loves everyone she meets.  She seems to need to kiss everyone. With such an attitude toward other humans, it is understandable how she has adopted the role of a hospice dog. Since my current hospice patient and I talked about our history with dogs, I wanted him to experience Maggie. This time Maggie made all the people on the first floor want be near her. Some elderly people in wheelchairs smiled and smiled. Some held her and got a kiss. And then, we went upstairs where Maggie laid on the bed with hand resting on her. Could you dream of a better experience with a nine week old puppy!

On June 13, we went for a vet visit. Every one of technicians wanted to get close to Maggie. Their day was starting off great. Maggie’s visit was as expected.  She did not mind the vaccine to avoid kennel cough. We will wait for three weeks for the next visit.