Forty years ago today, Mt. St. Helens blew up in one of the most dramatic explosions the world has ever seen, permanently decapitating herself, and changing the Pacific NW landscape forever. Fifty-seven people died that day.
Forty years, do you believe it? I was living in Ohio (I grew up there) and getting ready to move to Oregon. My Dad gave me a mask to take with me so I didn’t breath any ash. So much has changed since then, and now masks are with us again in a big way. We all have them now; most of us are wearing them. It has become the norm. Just like cell phones and lattes, we all carry around our mask to put on as soon as we step out of the car.
You, you reading this, yes you – I hope you are staying safe and wearing your mask whenever you go out. Don’t be stupid. Would you rather look good, or stay alive? Besides, “looking good” is an illusion and a matter of opinion. Some masks are becoming quite fashionable.
What’s that you say? It’s hard to breathe with your mask on? Try breathing with a ventillator. Try watching your loved one get sick from the virus you brought home.
Sorry to be blunt. Some days are better than others, and I guess for me this isn’t one of them. Music, where is your medicine? Or maybe it isn’t a medicine but just my drug of choice. I just want to lose myself in practicing something, anything, but there is little to be practicing for.
Actually, I do have a couple little projects for today, so I’d best get those underway. Enough belly-aching.
Please stay safe out there, my friends. The world has changed, and is still changing, and we are being swept along. The best we can do is stay atop our raft if we have one, wear our mask, wash our hands. Have compassion for each other and ourselves. Don’t blow our heads off.
Adrian Dee, flutist, composer 