Said the Mad Hatter to Alice, “Leave Wonderland for the notoriously unstable United States of America?! You must escape post haste! It’s known for its promotion of ‘international discord and general ascendant stupidity!’”
When the total irrationality of Wonderland starts looking more attractive than life in the US, it’s time to reorder one’s priorities. If only France weren’t so bureaucratically constipated and, at least, lived by the rules and regulations they promulgate, one would have an easier chance at political asylum. Once more, c’est la vie.
So, what does one do when ‘Rome’ is burning? Discover new and previously unexplored outlets for maintaining our sang froid. What’s that fascinating film festival in Yonkers? Wow! A jazz venue in Tarrytown! An exciting entertainment theatre in Mamaroneck! You get the drift; for sure those and other diversions have been there for quite some time, but it often takes motivation to explore our own surroundings. As we no longer read the top of the newspaper, Jayne and I find other sections in which to immerse ourselves. She heads for The Arts section, I the Mini Puzzle, then Sports. We’ve also gone back to reading books, preferably the ones that are contained between hard covers and are printed on actual paper. We do miss the innocuousness of Nice Matin. Bientôt.
You say, “How dare you avoid the mess and mayhem of reality?” We have Netflix and Hulu for that. Dial up some angst with some mayhem thrown in? Wallander. DCI Banks. The list is too long and delightful to get into. We channel our angst healthily into finding a bigger flat in which to live. It’s more than a chore hunting for a decent place that has enough room for two people to disappear from each other for a while, parking, a lift [if on an upper étage], a patio or terrace, and a functioning kitchen, which allows access to all appliances. In other words, a jumping-off and landing space. Just call us Don & Donna Quixote.
Meanwhile, when Jayne isn’t apartment hunting she’s looking for volunteer/part-time opportunities in which she can leverage her extensive organizational talents accrued from a lifetime of corporate positions. [The preceding sentence is typical of the sort of stuff with which I used to fill countless senior-level executive résumés for more than 25 years. I just wanted to see if I still had it. Unfortunately, it never goes away.]
À bientôt]
