Lately,

I Feel Afraid

This isn't about kayaking or even water sports in general. This is about a bad feeling I have been having lately and cannot rationalize away. This is about a vague sense that history may be repeating itself, and not in a good way.

I was born before Pearl Harbor day and remember all the wars since then, including the cold war. I remember, too, the countries with dictators and the atrocities those "leaders" carried out. I remember the countries that were free and healthy only to fall to dictators and decay. Perhaps those memories wounded my psyche and made me over interpret things I see. Perhaps not.

Almost no one I know is aware of my political leanings, and I have never spoken to anyone about how I voted in the last election. But since the new administration has taken over, I have felt that something insidious may be in the offing. No, I am not normally paranoid nor do I see a conspiracy around every corner.

What I do see is a government stepping deeply into the offices of private enterprise in a way the founding Fathers had never envisioned. Were this not enough, it turns out that the homeland office people have a list of criteria of people who may need watching. In essence, this includes such dangerous individuals as disgruntled veterans and right leaning and out spoken people.

So far, no harm, no foul. But I hear ghosts of the past marching, and I remember how fast some unthinkable things happened in my life time. Some how, I find it hard to think about paddling just now.

Now, please, go back to what you were doing and wait for this to play itself out.

Paddle safe...
DS